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CHAPTER 1. Of the humility of Abbot Pinufius, and of his hiding-place.

CAPUT PRIMUM. De abbatis Pinufii humilitate et eiusdem latebra.

1.1. NOW that I am going to relate the precepts of that excellent and remarkable man, Abbot Pinufius, on the end of penitence, I fancy that I can dispose of a very large part of my material, if out of consideration lest I weary my reader, I here pass over in silence the praise of his humility, which I touched on in a brief discourse in the fourth book of the Institutes,( Inst. 4. 30-31) which was entitled “Of the rules to be observed by renunciants,” especially as many who have no knowledge of that work, may happen to read this, and then all the authority of the utterances will be weakened if there is no account of the virtues of the speaker.

I. Praeclari ac singularis uiri abbatis Pinufii de fine paenitentiae praecepta dicturus magnam materiae partem mihi uideor amputare, si humilitatis eius laudem, quam in quarto institutionum libro , qui est super instituendis renuntiantibus titulatus, breui sermone praestrinxi, lectoris fastidio consulens hic silentio praetermittam, cum praesertim multi illius opusculi notitiam non habentes in hanc possint incurrere lectionem et omnis dictorum uacillet auctoritas, si dicentis meritum subtrahatur.

1.2. For this man when he was presiding as Abbot and Presbyter over a large coenobium not far from Panephysis, a city, as was there said, of Egypt, and when all that province had praised him to the skies for his virtues and miracles, so that he already seemed to himself to have received the reward of his labours in the remuneration of the praise of men, as he was afraid lest the emptiness of popular favour, which he especially disliked, might interfere with the fruits of an eternal reward, he secretly fled from his monastery and made his way to the furthest recesses of the monks of Tabennae, where he chose not the solitude of the desert, not that freedom from care of which the life of one alone affords, which even those who are imperfect and who cannot endure the effort which obedience requires in the coenobium, sometimes seek after with proud presumption, but he chose to submit himself to a most famous monastery.

2. Hic siquidem cum haud longe a Panephysi, Aegypti ut illic dictum est ciuitate, abbas et presbyter ingenti coenobio praesideret tantumque eum omnis illa prouincia uirtutum suarum atque signorum gloria subleuasset, ut sibi iam uideretur retributione laudis humanae laborum suorum recepisse mercedem, timens ne sibi specialiter inuisa popularis fauoris inanitas fructum praemii uacuaret aeterni, occulte monasterium suum fugiens ad intima Tabennensium monachorum secreta contendit, ubi non heremi solitudinem, non singularis uitae securitatem, quam etiam inperfecti quique laborem oboedientiae in coenobiis non ferentes superba nonnumquam praesumptione sectantur, sed celeberrimo praelegit coenobio subiugari.

1.3. Where, however, that he might not be betrayed by any signs of his dress, he clothed himself in a secular garb, and lay before the doors with tears, as is the custom there, for many days, and clinging to the knees of all after being daily repulsed by those who to test his purpose said that now in extreme old age he was seeking this holy life not in sincerity, but driven by the lack of food, at last he obtained admission, and there he was told off to help a young brother who had been given the charge of a garden, and when he not only fulfilled with such marvellous and holy humility everything which his chief ordered him or which the care of the work entrusted to him demanded, but also performed in stealthy labour by night certain necessary offices which were avoided by the rest out of disgust for them, so that when morning dawned, all the congregation was delighted at such useful works but knew not their author; and when he had passed nearly three years there rejoicing in the labours, which he had desired, but to which he as so unfairly subjected, it happened that a certain brother known to him came there from the same parts of Egypt from which he himself had come.

3. Vbi tamen, ne ullo habitus sui proderetur indicio, indutus ueste saeculari multis ut illic moris est diebus lacrimans pro foribus excubauit, atque ad omnium genua prouolutus post diuturna fastidia eorum, qui ad explorandum eius desiderium in ultima eum iam aetate uelut ob panis egestatem conpulsum non sincere illius propositi sanctitatem expetisse dicebant, tandem ut susciperetur obtinuit. Vbi adulescenti cuidam fratri, qui hortum susceperat excolendum, in adminiculum deputatus cum non solum omnia, quae idem praepositus imperasset uel quae iniuncti operis cura poscebat, cum admiratione tam sanctae humilitatis impleret, uerum etiam quaedam necessaria opera, quae propter horrorem sui a ceteris uitabantur, ita furtiuo per noctem labore perficeret, ut adueniente diluculo omnis illa congregatio tam utilium operum admirans ignoraret auctorem, cumque ita triennium ferme illic gaudens desideratis tam iniuriosae subiectionis laboribus exegisset, accidit ut quidam frater eidem cognitus ex illis unde ipse discesserat Aegypti partibus adueniret.

1.4. And this man for a time hesitated because the meanness of his clothes and of his office prevented him from readily recognizing him at once, but after looking very closely at him, fell at his feet, and first astonished all the brethren, and afterwards, when he betrayed his name, which the fame of his special sanctity had made known to them also, he smote them with sorrow and compunction because they had told off a man of his virtues and a priest to such mean offices.

4. Qui cum de indumentorum eius atque officii uilitate promptissimae agnitionis facilitatem diu haesitans cohiberet, post explorationem manifestissimam ad eius genua prouolutus primum stuporem fratribus cunctis, dehinc prodito etiam nomine, quod apud illos quoque praecipuae sanctitatis fama uulgauerat, etiam dolorem conpunctionis incussit, quod scilicet tanti meriti et sacerdotii uirum tam iniuriosis operibus deputassent.

1.5. But he, shedding copious tears, and charging the accident of his betrayal to the serious envy of the devil, was brought in honourable custody by his brethren surrounding him to the monastery; and after that he had stayed there for a short time, he was once more troubled by the respect shown to his dignity and rank, and stealthily embarked on board ship and sailed to the Palestinian province of Syria, where he was received as a beginner and a novice in the house of that monastery in which we were living, and was charged by the Abbot to stop in our cell. But not even there could his virtues and merits long remain secret. For he was discovered and betrayed in the same way, and brought back to his own monastery with the utmost honour and respect.

5. Sed postquam flens ubertim et diabolicae inuidiae quasi grauem proditionis suae inputans casum ad monasterium suum honorifica fratrum custodia ambiente perductus est, exiguo illic tempore demoratus rursus offensus est ipsis honoris sui ac primatus obsequiis ac furtim conscendens nauem ad Palaestinam Syriae prouinciam transmeauit, ubi uelut incipiens atque nouicius in illo in quo nos degebamus monasterii receptus habitaculo in nostra cellula ab abbate praeceptus est conmanere. Sed nec illic quidem diu uirtutes eius ac merita latere potuerunt, nam simili proditione detectus atque ad monasterium suum cum ingenti honorificentia ac laude reuocatus est tandem quod erat esse compulsus est .

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CHAPTER 2. Of our coming to him

CAPUT II. De adventu nostro ad eundem.

2.1.WHEN then after no long time a desire for holy instruction had urged us also to visit Egypt, we sought him out with the utmost eagerness and devotion and were welcomed by him with such kindness and courtesy that he actually honoured us, as former sharers of the same cell with him, with a lodging in his own cell which he had built in the furthest corner of his garden. And there when in the presence of all the brethren at service he had delivered to one of the brethren who was submitting to the rule of the monastery sufficiently difficult and elevated precepts, which as we said, I summarized as briefly as I could in the fourth book of the Institutes, the heights of a true renunciation seemed to us so unattainable and so marvellous that we did not think that such humble folks as we could ever scale them. And therefore, cast down in despair, and not concealing in our looks the inner bitterness of our thoughts, we came back to the blessed old man with a tolerably anxious heart: and when he at once asked the reason why we were so sad, Abbot Germanus groaned deeply and replied as follows.

II. Cum igitur post non longum tempus nos quoque Aegyptum petere sanctae institutionis desiderium conpulisset, summo eum affectu ac desiderio perquirentes tanta eius sumus gratia atque humanitate suscepti, ut nos tamquam pristinos syncellitas etiam cellulae suae, quam in extrema horti sui parte construxerat, honoraret hospitio.

2. Vbi cum satis ardua atque praecelsa cuidam fratri monasterii regulam subeunti coram omnibus in synaxi fratribus praecepta tradidisset, quae in quarto ut diximus institutionum libro  quanta potui breuitate conplexus sum, tam inconprehensibilia nobis, tam mirifica uerae abrenuntiationis culmina uidebantur, ut nullo modo illuc humilitatem nostram crederemus posse conscendere.

3. Igitur desperatione deiecti et ipso etiam uultu intimam cogitationum amaritudinem non celantes ad beatum senem satis anxia mente recucurrimus : cui protinus causam tantae maestitudinis inquirenti abba Germanus grauiter ingemescens ita respondit.

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CHAPTER 3.  A question on the end of penitence and the marks of satisfaction.

CAPUT III. Interrogatio de poenitentiae fine et satisfactionis indicio.

3.1.AS your grand and splendid exposition of a doctrine new to us has opened out to us a more difficult road to the most glorious renunciation, and has removed the scales from our eyes, and shown to us its summit raised in the heavens, so are we proportionately cast down with a greater weight of despair. Since, when we measure its vastness against our puny strength, and compare the excessively humble character of our ignorance with the boundless height of virtue shown to us, we feel that we are so small that we not only cannot attain to it, but that we are sure to fall short in what we have. For as we are weighed down by the burden of excessive despair, we fall away somehow from the lowest depths to still lower ones. Accordingly there is one and only one support which can provide a cure for our wounds; viz., for us to learn something of the end of penitence and especially on the marks of satisfaction, that we may feel sure of the forgiveness of past sins, and so be spurred on to scale the heights of the perfection described above.

III. Quanto magnificentior atque sublimior incognitae nobis sermo doctrinae iter arduum praecelsissimae renuntiationis aperuit et quasi remota oculorum nostrorum caligine conditum caelo eius culmen ostendit, tanto maiore desperationis mole deprimimur. Inmensitatem siquidem eius cum exiguitate nostrarum uirium metientes et nimiam humilitatem ignorantiae nostrae cum infinita uirtutis ostensae celsitudine conferentes paruitatem nostram non solum ad illam non posse proficere, uerum etiam ab eo quod est deficere posse sentimus.

2. Nam ponderibus nimiae desperationis oppressi quodammodo de infimis ad inferiora prolabimur. Vnum proinde ac singulare praesidium medellam nostris potest conferre uulneribus, ut de fine paenitentiae et maxime satisfactionis indicio aliqua discamus, ut certi de remissione praecedentium delictorum possimus etiam ad conscendenda fastigia praedictae perfectionis animari.

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CHAPTER 4. The answer on the humility shown by our request.

CAPUT IV. Responsio de humilitate interrogationis nostrae.

4.1.PINUFIUS: I am indeed delighted at the very plentiful fruits of your humility, which indeed I saw with no indifferent concern, when I was formerly received in the habitation of that cell of yours, and I am very glad that you welcome with such respect the charge given by us, the least of all Christians, and the words that I have taken the liberty of saying so that if I am not mistaken you carry them out as soon as ever they are spoken by us; and though, as I remember, the importance of the words scarcely deserves the efforts you bestow on them, yet you so conceal the merits of your virtue, as if no breath ever reached you of those things which you are daily practising. But because this fact is worthy of the highest praise; viz., that you declare that those institutes of the saints are still unknown to you as if you were still beginners we will, as briefly as possible, summarize what you so eagerly ask of us. For we must even beyond our powers and ability, obey the commands of such old friends as you. And so on the value and appeasing power of penitence many have published a great deal, not only in words but also in writing, showing how useful it is, how strong, and full of grace, so that when God is offended by our past sins, and on the point of inflicting a most just punishment for such offences, it somehow, if it is not wrong to say so, stops Him, and, if I may so say, stays the right hand of the Avenger even against His will. But I have no doubt that all this is well known to you, either from your natural wisdom, or from your unwearied study of Holy Scripture, so that from this the first shoots, so to speak, of your conversion sprang up. Finally, you are anxious not about the character of penitence but about its end, and the marks of satisfaction, and so by a very shrewd question ask what has been left out by others.

IIII. PINFIVS : Delector quidem admodum copiosis humilitatis uestrae fructibus, quos etiam cellulae illius quondam habitatione susceptus non incuriosa aestimatione perspexi, ualdeque gaudeo quia id, quod a nobis omnium Christianorum infimis sola forsitan uerborum libertate praecipitur, tanta admiratione suscipitis, ut, cum ea si non fallor haud segnius quam a nobis dicta sunt impleatis, cumque sicut memini labore operis uestri paene dictorum grauitas adaequetur, ita meritum uestrae uirtutis occultetis, tamquam si nulla ad uos eorum quae cotidie exercetis aura peruenerit.

2. Sed quia id ipsum summa laude dignissimum est, quod uelut adhuc rudes incognita esse uobis ista sanctorum instituta testamini, id quod a nobis sedulo postulatis breuiter ut possumus conplectemur. Necesse est enim ut ultra possibilitatem nostram atque uirtutem antiquae familiaritatis uestrae pareamus imperio. Itaque de paenitentiae exoratione uel merito multi non solum dictis, uerum etiam scriptis plurima uulgauerunt monstrantes quanta eius utilitas, quanta uirtus quantaque sit gratia, ita ut deo praeteritis facinoribus offenso iamque iustissimam poenam pro tantis criminibus inferenti, si dici fas est, quodammodo obsistat et quasi inuiti ut ita dixerim dextram suspendat ultoris.

3. Verum haec omnia uobis uel pro sapientia naturali uel pro indefesso sacrarum studio litterarum ita cognita esse non ambigo, ut de his prima plantatio uestrae conuersionis inoleuerit. Denique non de paenitentiae qualitate, sed de eius fine ac satisfactionis indicio solliciti id quod ab aliis praetermissum est sagacissima interrogatione disquiritis.

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CHAPTER 5. Of the method of penitence and the proof of pardon.

CAPUT V. De modo poenitentiae, et indulgentiae documento.

5.1.WHEREFORE in order to satisfy as briefly and shortly as possible, your desire and question, the full and perfect description of penitence is, never again to yield to those sins for which we do penance, or for which our conscience is pricked. But the proof of satisfaction and pardon is for us to have expelled the love of them from our hearts. For each one may be sure that he is not yet free from his former sins as long as any image of those sins which he has committed or of others like them dances before his eyes, and I will not say a delight in--but the recollection of--them haunts his inmost soul while he is devoting himself to satisfaction for them and to tears. And so one who is on the watch to make satisfaction may then feel sure that he is free from his sins and that he has obtained pardon for past faults, when he never feels that his heart is stirred by the allurements and imaginations of these same sins. Wherefore the truest test of penitence and witness of pardon is found in our own conscience, which even before the day of judgment and of knowledge, while we are still in the flesh, discloses our acquittal from guilt, and reveals the end of satisfaction and the grace of forgiveness. And that what has been said may be more significantly expressed, then only should we believe that the stains of past sins are forgiven us, when the desires for present delights as well as the passions have been expelled from our heart.

                V.  Quapropter ut omni breuitate atque conpendio propositionis uestrae desiderio satisfiat, paenitentiae plena et perfecta definitio est, ut peccata, pro quibus paenitudinem gerimus uel quibus nostra conscientia remordetur, nequaquam ulterius admittamus. Indicium uero satisfactionis et indulgentiae est affectus eorum quoque de nostris cordibus expulisse.

2. Nouerit enim unusquisque necdum se peccatis pristinis absolutum, quamdiu et satisfactioni et gemitibus incubanti uel illorum quae egit uel similium criminum ante oculos imago praeluserit eorumque non dicam oblectatio, sed uel recordatio infestauerit mentis arcana. Itaque tunc se is qui pro satisfactione peruigilat criminibus absolutum ac de praeteritis admissis ueniam percepisse cognoscat, cum nequaquam cor suum eorundem uitiorum inlecebris senserit uel imaginatione perstringi.

3. Quamobrem uerissimus quidam examinator paenitentiae et index indulgentiae in conscientia residet nostra, qui absolutionem reatus nostri ante cognitionis et iudicii diem adhuc nobis in hac carne commorantibus detegit et finem satisfactionis ac remissionis gratiam pandit. Et ut haec eadem quae dicta sunt significantius exprimantur, tum demum praeterita nobis uitiorum contagia remissa credenda sunt, cum fuerint de corde nostro praesentium uoluptatum desideria pariter passionesque depulsae.

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CHAPTER 6. A question whether our sins ought to be remembered out of contrition of heart.

CAPUT VI. Interrogatio, an reminiscenda sint pro cordis compunctione peccata

6.1. GERMANUS: And whence can there be aroused in us this holy and salutary contrition from humiliation, which is described as follows in the person of the penitent: “I have acknowledged my sin, and mine unrighteousness have I not hid. I said: I will acknowledge against myself mine unrighteousness to the Lord,” so that we may be able effectually to say also what follows: “And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart;”(Ps. 31 (32):5, 6) or how, when we kneel in prayer shall we be able to stir ourselves up to tears of confession, by which we may be able to obtain pardon for our offences, according to these words: “Every night will I wash my bed: I will water my couch with tears;”(Ps. 6:7) if we expel from our hearts all recollection of our faults, though on the contrary we are bidden carefully to preserve the remembrance of them, as the Lord says: “And thine iniquities I will not remember: but do thou recollect them”?(Ps. 6:7) Wherefore not only when I am at work, but also when I am at prayer I try of set purpose to recall to my mind the recollection of my sins, that I may be more effectually inclined to true humility and contrition of heart, and venture to say with the prophet: “Look upon my humility and my labour: and forgive me all my sins.”(Ps. 24 (25):18)

VI.  GERMANVS : Et unde nobis gigni poterit humiliationis tam sancta salutarisque conpunctio, quae ex persona paenitentis ita describitur : Peccatum meum cognitum feci, et iniustitiam meam non operui. Dixi : pronuntiabo aduersus me iniustitiam meam domino . Vt illud quoque quod sequitur efficaciter dicere mereamur : Et tu remisisti inpietatem cordis mei , uel quemadmodum in oratione prostrati nosmet ipsos ad confessionis lacrimas ualebimus excitare, per quas delictorum ueniam consequi mereamur secundum illud : Lauabo per singulas noctes lectum meum : in lacrimis stratum meum rigabo, si peccatorum nostrorum memoriam de nostris cordibus extrudamus, quam iubemur e contrario tenaciter custodire dicente domino : Et iniquitatum tuarum non recordabor. Tu uero memento ?

2. Ob quam rem non solum operans, uerum etiam orans ad peccatorum meorum recordationem mentem meam etiam de industria reuocare contendo, ut ad humilitatem ueram et contritionem cordis efficacius inclinatus audeam dicere cum propheta : Vide humilitatem meam, et laborem meum : et dimitte omnia peccata mea .

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CHAPTER 7. The answer showing how far we ought to preserve the recollection of previous actions.

CAPUT VII. Responsio quo usque anteriorum actuum recordatio sit habenda.

penitential/consoling catena of

biblical texts

“I have acknowledged my sin, and my unrighteousness have I not hid;” and:

“My tears have been my meat day and night;” so that in the end it may be vouchsafed to him to hear these words:

“Let your voice cease from weeping, and your eyes from tears: for there is a reward for your labour, saith the Lord;”(Ps. 31 (32):5; 41 (42):4; Jer. 31:16)

3. Delictum meum cognitum feci, et iniustitiam meam non operui ,

et : Fuerunt mihi lacrimae meae panis die ac nocte , ut consequenter mereatur audire :

 Quiescat uox tua a ploratu, et oculi tui a lacrimis : quia est merces operi tuo, ait dominus ,

 and these words also may be uttered of him by the voice of the Lord: “I have blotted out as a cloud thine iniquities,and as a mist your sins:”

and again: “I even I am He that blotteth out your iniquities for my own sake, and your offences I will no longer remember;”(Is. 44:22; 43:25)

 illud quoque similiter ad eum uoce domini dirigatur : Deleui ut nubem iniquitates tuas, et quasi nebulam peccata tua ,

 et iterum : Ego sum, ego sum qui deleo iniquitates tuas propter me, et peccatorum tuorum iam non recordabor.

and so, when he is freed from the “cords of his sins,” by which “everyone is bound,”(Prov. 5:22)

he will with all thanksgiving sing to the Lord: “You have broken my chains: I will offer to you the sacrifice of praise.”( Ps. 115:16, 17)

 Et ita funiculis peccatorum suorum , quibus unusquisque constringitur,

absolutus domino cum omni gratiarum actione cantabit : Disrupisti uincula mea : tibi sacrificabo hostiam laudis .

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CHAPTER 8.  Of the various fruits of penitence.

CAPUT VIII. De diversis paenitentiae fructibus.

(From Origen's 7-fold remission in Hom Lev. 2.8 This is the basis of the later Twelvefold Remission of Sins of Pseudo-Caesarius and the Penitentials); [1] Catechism 1434-1436

De duodecim remissionibus peccatorum

[1] 8.1. FOR after that grace of baptism which is common to all,

1. Post illam namque generalem baptismi gratiam

[12] and that most precious gift of martyrdom which is gained by being washed in blood, there are many fruits of penitence by which we can succeed in expiating our sins.

et illud pretiosissimum martyrii donum, quod sanguinis ablutione conquiritur, multi sunt paenitentiae fructus, per quos ad expiationem criminum peruenitur.

[2] For eternal salvation is not only promised to the bare fact of penitence, of which the blessed Apostle Peter says: “Repent and be converted that your sins may be forgiven;” and John the Baptist and the Lord Himself: “Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand:”(Acts 3:19; S. Matt. 3:2) but also by the affection of love is the weight of our sins overwhelmed: for “charity covers a multitude of sins.”(1 Pet. 4:8)

Non enim tantum simplici illo paenitentiae nomine salus aeterna repromittitur, de qua beatus apostolus Petrus paenitemini, inquit, et conuertimini, ut deleantur peccata uestra , et Iohannes Baptista uel ipse dominus : paenitentiam agite : adpropinquauit enim regnum caelorum , sed etiam per caritatis affectum peccatorum moles obruitur : caritas enim operit multitudinem peccatorum .

[3] 8.2. In the same way also by the fruits of almsgiving a remedy is provided for our wounds, because “As water extinguishes fire, so does almsgiving extinguish sin.”(Ecclus. 3:33)

2. Similiter etiam per elemosynarum fructum uulneribus nostris medella praestatur, quia sicut aqua extinguit ignem, sic elemosyna extinguit peccatum .

[4] So also by the shedding of tears is gained the washing away of offences, for “Every night I will wash my bed: I will water my couch with tears.” Finally to show that they are not shed in vain, he adds: “Depart from me all ye that work iniquity, for the Lord hath heard the voice of my weeping.”(Ps. 6:7, 9)

Ita et per lacrimarum profusionem conquiritur ablutio delictorum : Lauabo enim per singulas noctes lectum meum : in lacrimis stratum meum rigabo . Denique subiungit ostendens non inaniter eas fuisse profusas : Discedite a me omnes qui operamini iniquitatem : quoniam exaudiuit dominus uocem fletus mei .

[5] 8.3. Moreover by means of confession of sins, their absolution is granted: for “I said: I will confess against myself my sin to the Lord: and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart;” and again: “Declare thine iniquities first, that thou mayest be justified.”(Ps. 31 (32):5; Is. 43:26)

3. Nec non per criminum confessionem eorum ablutio condonatur : dixi enim: pronuntiabo aduersus me iniustitiam meam domino : et tu remisisti inpietatem cordis mei , et iterum : Narra tu iniquitates tuas prius  ut iustificeris.

[6] By afflicting the heart and body also is forgiveness of sins committed in like manner obtained, for he says: “Look on my humility and my labour, and forgive me all my sins;”

Per adflictionem quoque cordis et corporis admissorum scelerum remissio similiter obtinetur : nam uide, inquit, humilitatem meam, et laborem meum : et dimitte omnia peccata mea ,

[7] and more especially by amendment of life: “Take away,” he says, “the evil of your thoughts from mine eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do well. Seek judgment, relieve the oppressed: judge the orphan, defend the widow. And come, reason with Me, saith the Lord: and though your sins were as scarlet, yet shall they be as white as snow, though they were red as crimson, they shall be as white as wool.”(Ps. 24 (25):18; Is. 1:16-18)

praecipueque per emendationem morum : auferte, inquit, malum cogitationum uestrarum ab oculis meis : quiescite agere peruerse, discite bene facere : quarite iudicium, subuenite obpresso, iudicate pupillo, defendite uiduam. Et uenite, arguite me, dicit dominus : et si fuerint peccata uestra ut coccinum, uelut nix dealbabuntur : si fuerint rubra quasi uermiculus, uelut lana munda erunt .

[8] 8.4. Sometimes too the pardon of our sins is obtained by the intercession of the saints, for “if a man knows his brother to sin a sin not unto death, he asks, and He will give to him his life, for him that sinneth not unto death;” and again: “Is any sick among you? Let him send for the Elders of the Church and they shall pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he be in sins, they shall be forgiven him.”(1 John 5:16; S. James 5:14, 15)

4. Interdum etiam intercessione sanctorum inpetratur uenia delictorum : Qui enim scit fratrem suum peccare peccatum non ad mortem, petit, et dabit ei uitam, peccanti non ad mortem , et iterum : Infirmatur quis ex uobis? inducat presbyteros ecclesiae, et orent super eum, unguentes eum oleo in nomine domini, et oratio fidei saluabit infirmum, et alleuabit eum dominus : et si in peccatis sit, dimittuntur ei .

[9] 8.5. Sometimes too by the virtue of compassion and faith the stains of sin are removed, according to this passage: “By compassion and faith sins are purged away.”(Prov. 15:27)

5. Nonnumquam misericordiae ac fidei merito labes excoquitur uitiorum secundum illud : Per misericordiam et fidem purgantur peccata .

[10] And often by the conversion and salvation of those who are saved by our warnings and preaching: “For he who converts a sinner from the error of his way, shall save his soul from death, and cover a multitude of sins.”(James 5:20)

Per conuersionem plerumque ac salutem eorum, qui nostris monitis ac praedicatione saluantur, quoniam qui conuerti fecerit peccatorem ab errore uiae suae, saluabit animam eius a morte et cooperiet multitudinem peccatorum ,

[11] Moreover by pardon and forgiveness on our part we obtain pardon of our sins: “For if ye forgive men their offences, your heavenly Father will also forgive you your sins.”(Matt. 6:14)

per indulgentiam nihilominus ac remissionem nostram ad indulgentiam nostrorum facinorum peruenitur : Si enim dimiseritis hominibus peccata eorum, dimittet et uobis pater uester caelestis delicta uestra .

You see then what great means of obtaining mercy the compassion of our Saviour has laid open to us, so that no one when longing for salvation need be crushed by despair, as he sees himself called to life by so many remedies.

Videtis ergo quantos misericordiae aditus patefecerit clementia saluatoris, ut nemo salutem cupiens desperatione frangatur, cum uideat se tantis ad uitam remediis inuitari.

THEN atone for them by profuse almsgiving.

IF you have nothing that you can give to the needy (although the claims of want and poverty exclude none from this office, since the two mites of the widow are ranked higher than the splendid gifts of the rich, and the Lord promises that He will give a reward for a cup of cold water),

 Indigenti si non habes quod inpertias ( licet nullum ab hoc opere necessitas inopiae ac paupertatis excludat, quando quidem et illius uiduae duo tantum minuta ingentibus diuitum donariis praeferuntur , et pro calice aquae frigidae mercedem se redditurum dominus repromittit ), c

at least you can purge them away by amendment of life.

you can show a pious anxiety for the good and salvation of another.

you can cover your sins by the affection of love.

at least you should submissively with a feeling of humility entreat for remedies for your wounds by the prayers and intercession of the saints.

Finally who is there who cannot humbly say: “I have acknowledged my sin: and mine unrighteousness have I not hid;” so that by this confession he may be able also to add this: “And Thou forgavest the iniquity of my heart.”(. Ps. 31 (32):5)

 Postremo quis est qui non possit suppliciter dicere : Peccatum meum cognitum feci : et iniustitiam meam non operui ? ut per hanc professionem etiam illud subiungere mereatur : Et tu remisisti inpietatem cordis mei .

you should not cease to confess them with constant supplication to Him from Whom they cannot be hid, and to say to Him: “I acknowledge mine iniquity, and my sin is ever before me. Against Thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before Thee;”(Ps. 50 (51):5, 6) as He is wont to heal them without any publication which brings shame, and to forgive sins without any reproaching.

And further besides that ready and sure aid the Divine condescension has afforded us another also that is still easier, and has entrusted the possession of the remedy to our own will, so that we can infer from our own feelings the forgiveness of our offences, when we say to Him: “Forgive us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.”(Matt. 6:12)

 Post istud quoque tam promptum certumque subsidium aliud quoque adhuc facilius largita nobis est diuina dignatio ipsamque remedii opem nostro conmisit arbitrio, ut indulgentiam nostrorum scelerum pro nostro praesumamus affectu dicentes ei : Dimitte nobis debita nostra sicut et nos dimittimus debitoribus nostris .

8.9. Whoever then desires to obtain forgiveness of his sins, should study to fit himself for it by these means. Let not the stubbornness of an obdurate heart turn away any from the saving remedy and the fount of so much goodness, because even if we have done all these things, they will not be able to expiate our offences, unless they are blotted out by the goodness and mercy of the Lord, who when He sees the service of pious efforts offered by us with a humble heart, supports our small and puny efforts with the utmost bounty, and says: “I even I am He that blotteth out thine iniquities for Mine own sake, and I will remember thy sins no more.”(Is. 43:25)

9. Quisquis igitur ad indulgentiam suorum criminum desiderat peruenire, istis semet ipsum aptare studeat instrumentis. Neminem obdurati cordis peruicacia a remedio salutari et fonte tantae pietatis auertat, quia etiamsi haec omnia fecerimus, non erunt idonea ad expiationem scelerum nostrorum, nisi ea bonitas domini clementiaque deleuerit. Qui cum religiosi conatus obsequia supplici mente a nobis oblata perspexerit, exiguos paruosque conatus inmensa liberalite prosequitur dicens : Ego sum, ego sum qui deleo iniquitates tuas propter me, et peccatorum tuorum iam non recordabor

8.10. Whoever then is aiming at this condition, which we have mentioned, will seek the grace of satisfaction by daily fasting and mortification of heart and body, for, as it is written, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission;” (Heb. 9:22) and this not without good reason. For “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.”(1 Cor. 15:50) And therefore one who would withhold “the sword of the spirit which is the word of God”(Eph. 6:17) from this shedding of blood certainly comes under the lash of that curse of Jeremiah’s; for “Cursed,” says he “is he who withholds his sword from blood.”(Jer. 48:10)

.10.Ad hunc igitur quem praediximus statum quisque contenderit, satisfactionis gratiam cotidianis ieiuniis et mortificatione cordis et corporis adsequetur, quia, sicut scriptum est, sine sanguinis effusione non fit remissio . Nec inmerito. Caro enim et sanguis regnum dei possidere non possunt . Et ideo quisquis ab huius sanguinis effusione gladium spiritus, quod est uerbum  dei, uoluerit inhibere, absque dubio illa Hieremiae maledictione plectetur : nam maledictus, inquit, qui prohibet gladium suum a sanguine .

Now weep, not for sorrow, but for joy of things to come

AND so he will begin to weep no more at the recollection of former sins, but at the hope of what is to come, and, thinking less of past evils than of good things to come, will shed tears not from sorrow at his sins, but from delight in that eternal joy, and “forgetting those things which are behind,” i.e., carnal sins, will press on “to those before,”(Phil. 3:13) i.e., to spiritual gifts and virtues.

Et ita iam non recordatione ueteris admissi, sed spe futurorum flere incipiet gaudiorum, nec tam de praeteritis malis quam de uenturis cogitans bonis non ex peccatorum maerore lacrimas, sed ex aeternae illius laetitiae alacritate profundet, atque obliuiscens ea quae posteriora sunt , id est carnalia uitia, ad ea quae in ante sunt extendetur, hoc est spiritalia dona atque uirtutes.

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CHAPTER 9. How valuable to the perfect is the forgetfulness of sin.

CAPUT IX. Quod utilis sit perfectis oblivio peccati

So then we should forsake not only all foul but even all earthly thoughts and ever raise the desires of our soul to heavenly things, in accordance with this saying of our Saviour: “For where I am,” He says, “there also shall My servant be.”(John 12:2) For it often happens that when anyone out of pity is in thought going over his own falls or those of other faulty persons, he is affected by the delight and assent to this most subtle attack, and that which was undertaken and started with a show of goodness ends with a filthy and damaging termination, for “there are ways which appear to men to be right, but the ends thereof will come to the depths of hell.”(Prov. 16:25)

5. Derelictis ergo non solum turpibus, sed etiam terrenis cogitationibus uniuersis erigenda semper est ad caelestia nostrae mentis intentio secundum saluatoris nostri sententiam : Ubi enim ego sum, inquit, illic et minister meus erit . Solet enim frequenter accidere, ut dum uel suos uel aliorum lapsus imperitorum quispiam miserantis retractat affectu, ipse etiam subtilissimi teli uoluptario perstringatur adsensu et initium sub specie pietatis exortum obsceno ac noxio fine concludat : Sunt enim uiae quae uidentur apud homines rectae, nouissima autem earum uenient in profundum inferi .

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CHAPTER 10. How the recollection of our sins should be avoided.

CAPUT X. Quod flagitiorum recordatio sit vitanda

10.1. WHEREFORE we must endeavour to rouse ourselves to this praiseworthy contrition, by aiming at virtue and by the desire for the kingdom of heaven rather than by dangerous recollections of sins, for a man is sure to be suffocated by the pestilential smells of the sewer as long as he chooses to stand over it or to stir its filth.

X. Quapropter studendum nobis est, ut uirtutum potius adpetitu et desiderio regni caelorum quam noxiis uitiorum recordationibus nosmet ipsos ad conpunctionem laudabilem prouocemus, quia necesse est tamdiu quempiam pestilentissimis cloacae faetoribus praefocari, quamdiu super eam stare uel caenum eius uoluerit commouere.

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CHAPTER 11. Of the marks of satisfaction, and the removal of past sins.

CAPUT XI. De satisfactionis indicio, et abolitione praeteritorum criminum

11.1. BUT we know, as we have often said, that then only have we made satisfaction for past sins, when the very motions and feelings, through which, we were guilty of what we have to sorrow for, have been eradicated from our hearts. But no one should fancy that he can secure this, unless he has first with all the fervour of his spirit cut off the opportunities and occasions, owing to which he fell into those sins; as for instance, if through dangerous familiarity with a woman he has fallen into fornication or adultery, he must take the utmost pains to avoid even looking on one; or if he has been overcome by too much wine and over-eating, he should chastise with the utmost severity his craving for immoderate food. And again if he has been led astray by the desire for and love of money, and has fallen into perjury or theft or murder or blasphemy, he should cut off the occasion for avarice, which has allured and deceived him. If he is driven by the passion of pride into the sin of anger, he should with all the virtue of humility, remove the incentive to arrogance. And so, in order that each single sin may be destroyed, the occasion and opportunity by which or for which it was committed should be first got rid of. For by this curative treatment we can certainly attain to forgetfulness of the sins we have committed.

XI. Nouerimus autem nos, ut saepe diximus, tunc demum pro praeteritis satisfecisse peccatis, cum ipsi motus atque adfectus, per quos paenitenda conmisimus, fuerint de nostris cordibus amputati. Quod tamen nullus obtinere posse se credat, qui non prius ipsas causas atque materias, pro quibus in illa conlapsus est crimina, omni spiritus sui feruore succiderit : ut uerbi gratia si in fornicationem uel adulterium perniciosa feminarum familiaritate conlapsus est, summa festinatione etiam ipsum earum deuitet aspectum, aut certe si per abundantiam uini epularumque est nimietatem succensus, inlicientium ciborum crapulam summa districtione castiget.

2. Et rursum si in periurium aut furtum aut homicidium aut blasphemiam pecuniarum desiderio atque amore corruptus incurrit materiam auaritiae inlectricem suae deceptionis abscidat : si in iracundiae uitium superbiae passione conpellitur, adrogantiae ipsius fomitem summa humilitatis uirtute conuellat. Et ita ut unumquodqud peccatum possit extingui, causa atque occasio per quam uel ob quam admissum est debet primitus amputari. Isto enim curationum remedio ad obliuionem quoque admissorum criminum sine dubio peruenitur.

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CHAPTER 12. Wherein we must do penance for a time only; and wherein it can have no end.

In quo temporaliter sit agenda paenitudo et in quo finem habere non possit.

12.1. BUT that description of the forgetfulness spoken of only has to do with capital offences, which are also condemned by the mosaic law, the inclination to which is destroyed and put an end to by a good life, and so also the penance for them has an end. But for those small offences in which, as it is written, “the righteous falls seven times and will rise again” (Prov. 24:16) penitence will never cease.

XII. Verum ista praedictae obliuionis definitio super capitalibus tantum sit criminibus constituta, quae Moysaica quoque lege damnantur, quorum sicut per conuersationem bonam abiciuntur uel consummuntur adfectus, ita etiam paenitentia accipit finem. Ceterum ad istis minutis, in quibus septies iustus cadit  ut scriptum est et resurgit, numquam deerit paenitudo.

Thus far Abbot Pinufius discoursed on the marks of satisfaction and the end of penitence. And although he pressed us with anxious love to decide to stay in his coenobium, yet when he could not retain us, as we were incited by the fame of the desert of Scete, he sent us on our way.

Huc usque abbas Pinufius de satisfactionis indicio ac paenitentiae fine disseruit. Qui licet ut in eius coenobio residere mallemus sollicito precaretur affectu, tamen fama Scitioticae solitudinis inuitatos, cum retinere non posset, emisit.