1 Paulinus, who had been in constant attendance on St.Ambrose, and was with him at his death, wrote this life a few years after that event, at the request of St. Augustine.
5 De Sp. S. I. 79, 80; De Fide, V. 91.
7 For the force of the word transfigurantur in early ecclesiastical Latin, compare Tertullian, adv. Praxeam, c. 27: "Transfiguratio interremptio est pristini. Omne enim, quoacunque transfiguratur in aliud desinit esse quod fuerat, et incipit esse quod non erat."
10 Ep. 22 De ob. Theod. 41-51; De Viduis., 55.
13 Ep. 63-78, De Parad. II. 7.
17 The exact date depends upon whether the passage "barbaracis motibus et bellorum procellis," etc., Ep. lix., 12-3, refers to the war against Maximus, a.d. 387, or to that against Eugenius, a.d. 393-4; so that the birth year of St. Ambrose might be 333 or 340. The latter date is, however, most generally accepted.
18 Of the 116 provinces of the empire 37 were governed by magistrates with the title of consular.
19 De Exc. Sat. I. 25, 49, 58.
20 Auxentius, a Cappadocian, was ordained priest by Gregory, usurper of St. Athanasius, see of Alexandria. He was much esteemed by the Arians; and when after a synod at Milan, a.d. 355, the Catholic Bishop Dionysins was banished with many others, Auxentius was intruded in his stead, and, as St. Athanasius remarked, a Latin Church received as its pastor one who was ignorant of the Latin tongue, St. Hilary and others endeavoured to remove him, but in vain, and in 369 Auxentius was excommunicated in a synod at Rome, but succeeded in maintaining his post.
24 Scriptorum veterum nova Collectio, Vol. X.
3 Paulinus, in his Life of St. Ambrose, relates various, expedients that he tried, to enable him to avoid the office to which he had been called; e.g. how he caused torture to be applied to prisoners, contrary to his usual practice, in the hope that this might lead to his rejection. More than once, also, he endeavoured to escape the honour by flight.
6 St. Ambrose, at the time of his election to the episcopate, was a consular magistrate, and was not even baptized. The infula was a flock of red and white wool formed into a fillet, and worn on the head; from which ribands hung down on either side. It was a mark of religious consecration, and so worn by the priests and vestal virgins. In later times it was adopted also by the emperors and magistrates as a sign of their semi-sacred character.
7 The following is found in many mss., but not, in the Benedictine edition "Et quantumlibet quisque profecerit nemo est qui dacere non egeat dum vivit."
21 Ecclus. xxviii. 24, Ecclus. xxviii. 25.
26 Symmachus, said to have been an Ebionite, lived c. 193-211. He translated the Old Testament into Greek. This was one of the versions Origen made use of in his Hexapla edition of the Bible.
29 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xvi. 6 ff.
30 This psalm in the Hebrew is inscribed to Jeduthun, one of the three leading musicians in the temple services.
31 A Stoic philosopher who lived and taught at Athens, c. b.c. 120. His chief work was a treatise peri tou kaqhkoutoz, which Cicero himself afterward used as the groundwork of his own book de Officiis.
33 Luke i. 23. The Vulgate has officii; the Greek text reads: thj leitonrgiaj.
34 In this section it is impossible to give the point in a translation, but the passage does not affect the argument. The text runs as follows: "Nec ratio ipsa abhorret, quandoquidem officium ab efficiendo dictum putamus, quasi efficium: sed propter decorera sermonis una immutata litera, officium. nuncupari, vel certe, ut ea agas quoe nulli officiant, prosin omnibus."
45 S. Matt. xix. 17, Matt. xix. 18, Matt. xix. 19.
46 S. Matt. xix. 20, Matt. xix. 21.
49 Job xxix. 15, Job xxix. 16.
51 Job xxi. 2-4, differing, however, widely from both the Hebrew and Greek text.
56 Job xxi. Very freely used all through this section.
59 It is only fair to state that the character of Epicurus is mainly known in modern times from opponents or persons who did not understand him. See the account in Dict. of Gr. and Rom. Biography.
60 Arist. Metaph. i. 2. An allusion to Aristotle's saying that "the poets lie much."
68 Job xxiv. 14, Job xxiv. 15.
72 2 Tim. iv. 7, 2 Tim. iv. 8.
82 Thus the Benedictine edition reads; most others have: "accressent simul studia bonorum actuum."
91 S. Luke xviii. 13, Luke xviii. 14.
100 "modestia. quam a modo scientioe, quid deceret, appellarant arbitror."
102 1 Cor. xii. 22, 1 Cor. xii. 23.
103 Ambr. de Noe et Arca. cap. viii.
106 Ex. xxviii. 42, Ex. xxviii. 43.
112 Ps. xxxiv. [xxxiii.] 13, Ps. xxxiv. [xxxiii.] 14.
115 lived c. b.c. 400. A noted philosopher, and also general.
132 Gen. xv. 4; Gen. xvii. 15.
134 Gen. xxv. 34. St. Ambrose at times gets carried away by his his subject and says more than is warranted by the words of the Bible. Cf. also II. §101; II. §154; III. §64.
142 Manes, the founder of Manicheism, living about a.d. 250. He taught that there were two original principles absolutely opposed one to the other. On the one side God, from Whom nothing but good can go forth; on the other original evil-the author of all matter-which therefore is evil too. Man was formed by this evil spirit. For, whilst man's soul is an emanation from the good God, man's body in which the soul is imprisoned was framed of material elements. Hence the Manichaean is here represented addressing the devil as his father, the author of his earthly existence.
143 The father of Arianism, born a.d. 256, was condemned at the Council of Nicaea a.d. 325. He denied that Christ was "of one substance with the Father;" but held Him to be a kind of secondary God, created out of nothing before the world. But he considered Him to be the creator of the world.
144 Marcion flourished between the years a.d. 140-190. He also taught the existence of more than one Principle, and held that man was created by an inferior Being.
145 Eunomius was the leader of the extreme Arian party, flourishing c. a.d. 360. He maintained the absolute unlikeness of the Son to the Father not only in substance but even in will. Hence his party were called Anomoeans (anomoioj, unlike). In baptizing they also applied no water to the lower part of the body, asserting that it was created by an evil spirit, thus with Marcion recognizing the dual Principle. Theodoret, who is the authority for this latter and some other charges against the Eunomians, says, however. that he is speaking from hearsay, not of his own knowledge. Hoer. Fab. IV. 3.
150 Gen. xxxii. 29, Gen. xxxii. 30.
159 Some mss. have "injustitioe," others "pecunioe," which seems to be a correction to bring it into harmony with the LXX: "inati uphrce xrhmata afroni."
162 Summa Theol. II. 2, q. 101. St. Thomas Aquinas agrees in making piety a part of justice, and a gift of the Holy Spirit, but places parents before instead of after our country.
194 S. Luke xxi. 3, Luke xxi. 4.
197 "Et se juste facere putant." These words are omitted in many mss.
203 St. Ambrose, allowing clergy to retain some of their patrimony so as not to burden the Church, is less strict than St. Augustine, who would have them give up everything and live in common. Serm. 355.
211 Allusion is made to Ecclus. iii. 31.
212 S. Luke vi. 37, Luke vi. 38.
219 1 Sam. [1 Kings] xx. 11 ff.
236 1 Sam. [1 Kings] xvii. 39 ff.
244 Job xxix. 12, Job xxix. 13.
245 Cf. Job i. 12, w. Job i. 22, and Job ii. 6, w. Job ii. 10.
246 Job xl. 2, Job xl. 5, Job xl. 6 [LXX.].
254 Col. ii. 20, Col. ii. 21, Col. ii. 22.
269 There is a considerable variation of text here. The original of the translation is: "iracundiam velut quibusdam propulset armis, quoe tollat consilium, et tanquam oegritudinem vitet." Cod. Dresd. reads: "iracundiam ...propulset arietibus armisque tollat et convicia tanquam oegritudinem vitet."
277 The Latin text has: "utraque manu interficiebat, donec pervenit ad bestiam." Cod. Dresd., ed. Med. have: "utraque manu interficiebat bestiam, atque intravit sab eam."
278 Ed. Bened. here has: "ita ut ab ortu solis per singulas bestias velut montes quidam splendor armorum corusco, tanquam lampadibus ardentibus." Cod. Dresd. and Goth.: "ita ut ...quidam armorum coruscorum ...refulgerent." Other ancient editions: "ita ut ...quidam armorum corusco ...refulgerent."
284 "Consecrationem." So all mss. Ed. Rom. alone has "dispensationem."
285 Consecration seems a strange expression in the mouth of a deacon, but it may be explained either by the intimate connection between the celebrant and his deacon, as at the present day in the Liturgy of the Eastern Church; or it may refer to the hallowing of the faithful in the partaking of the Sacrament. The word consecratio is not always restrained to the consecration properly so called, as may be seen by the prayer in the Roman missal said by the priest when he drops a consecrated particle into the chalice which has also been already consecrated;-"Hoec commixtio et consecratio Corporis et Sansguinis ...fiat nobis in vitam oeternam."
291 It has been supposed that St. Ambrose in this passage by "father" means "spiritual father," in whose hands the teaching and guidance of the young was put. But there is no reason why the word should not be taken in its ordinary sense. If so, however, the father must have been in one of the inferior orders only, or else his children must have been born before he was admitted to the priesthood. For elsewhere (I. 258), as here, St. Ambrose clearly shows that absolute continence is required of priests, after entering on their sacred office.
295 The words decorum and honestum being used in different senses, it is not possible to give the points in a translation as in the original.
299 1 Tim. ii. 9, 1 Tim. ii. 10.
301 1 Cor. xi. 13, 1 Cor. xi. 14.
302 Prov. viii 30, Prov. viii 31 [LXX.].
305 "inequitat." Ed. Med. has "inquietat."
311 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xvi. 11, 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xvi. 12.
315 Cf. St. Amb. Enarr. in Ps. xxxix. [xxxviii.].
325 The question kept coming up from time to time: Did Baptism annul all previous impedimenta ordinationis? Even in the fifth century, as Pope Innocent I. (Ep. XXIX.) shows some maintained that as Baptism puts away all sins committed previous to its reception, so also it removes all impediments to ordination. This same idea St. Ambrose combats here.
327 Num. iii. 12, Num. iii. 13.
331 Prov. ix. 10, and Ps. cxi. [cx.] 10 .
339 Deut. xxxiii. 8, Deut. xxxiii. 9.
4 Hieronymus, often mentioned by Cicero. Cf. Cic. de Finib. II. 3.-He lived about b.c. 300, at Rhodes. He held that the nighest good consisted in freedom from pain and trouble.
5 Herillus. Cf. Cic. de Finib. V. 25. Of Carthage; a Stoic. The chief good, according to him, consisted in knowledge.
6 Aristotle, the famous philosopher and writer. Born b.c. 384. Taught chiefly at Athens, where Theophrastus was his pupil.
7 Theophrastus of Eresus in Lesbos, also a voluminous writer: He is mentioned by Cicero thus: "Soepe ab Aristotele, a Theophrasto mirabiliter caudatur scientia, hoc una captus Herillus scientiam summum bonum esse defendit." (de Fin. V. 25.)
8 Epicurus. Cf. Cic. Tuscul. V. 30. Born b.c. 342 in Samos. The founder of the Epicurean School of Philosophy. With him pleasure constituted the highest happiness, but probably not sensual pleasures. Cf. note on I. 50.
9 Callipho. Cic. Acad. II. 42: A disciple of Epicurus. The chief good of man he said consisted in the union of a virtuous life with bodily pleasure, or, as Cicero puts it, in the union of the man with the beast. (Cic. de Off. III. 33.)
10 Diodorus living about b.c. 110, at Tyre. His view was as stated above by St. Ambrose, whereby an attempt was made to reconcile the Stoics and Epicureans.
11 Zeno of Citium, the founder of the Stoic School.
17 Ps. cxii. [cxi.] 5, Ps. cxii. [cxi.] 6 .
19 See St. Augustine, De Civit. Dei. XIX. 1.
22 S. Matt. v. 11, Matt. v. 12.
27 Phil. iii. 7, Phil. iii. 8.
32 S. Luke vi. 20, Luke vi. 21.
33 S. Luke vi. 24, Luke vi. 25.
41 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xii. 16; 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xiii. 31; 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xviii. 33.
67 2 Sam. [2 Kings] v. 1, 2 Sam. [2 Kings] v. 2.
74 1 Cor. xiii. 7, 1 Cor. xiii. 8.
90 1 [3] Kings x. 2, 1 [3] Kings x. 3.
105 Vide Virg. Aen. IV. 13: "degeneres animos timor arguit."
106 Wisd. vii. 29, Wisd. vii. 30.
107 Wisd. vii. 22, Wisd. vii. 23.
112 This was in the year 378. These provinces were invaded by the Goths, who after the defeat and death of Valens at Hadrianople ravaged the whole country, and carried away with them a vast number of captives and afterwards sold them into slavery. St Ambrose busied himself in redeeming all he could. He tells us himself how his efforts were met by the Arian party.
128 Gen. xlix. 22, Gen. xlix. 25, Gen. xlix. 26.
129 Deut. xxxiii. 16, Deut. xxxiii. 17.
132 "propter me." Cod. Dresd., Ed. Med. have "proeter me."
133 Gen. xxxix. 8, Gen. xxxix. 9.
134 "humilitatis, quia domino deferebat; honorificentioe, quia referebat gratiam." Others read: "humilitatis ...deferebat honorificentiam, quia," etc.
154 Ex. xiv. 21. Cf. also Josh. x. 12.
179 Hushai is probably meant by this, who advised Absalom to delay his attack on the king.
180 2 Sam. [2 Kings] xviii. 5.
183 S. Luke xiv. 12, Luke xiv. 13.
187 "linguam auream." Other readings are: "lineam auream," or "regulam auream."
193 Judg. xv. 14, Judg. xv. 15.
203 This was attempted by the Emperor Valentinian II., who was induced to act in this way by his mother Justina. She being an Arian was only too ready to harass in every possible way a Catholic bishop such as Ambrose of Ticinum was.
207 S. John ii. 17. St. John, however, only says: "The disciples remembered that it was written."
5 Cic. de Off. III. 1. Scipio, born b.c. 234. He was the greatest Roman of his time, a famous general and the conqueror of Hannibal. His exploits in Africa won him the surname of Africanus. Owing to jealous intrigues he in b.c. 185 left Rome and retired to his estate, where he passed the rest of his days in peaceful employments. Cicero (de Off. III. 1) relates on Cato's authority that he used to say: "Nunquam se minus otiosum esse quam cum otiosus, nec minsolum quam cum solus esset."
23 Rom. viii. 35, Rom. viii. 38.
25 "utile." Some read "inutile."
34 1 [3] Kings iv. 29, 1 [3] Kings iv. 30.
36 1 Cor. x. 23, 1 Cor. x. 24.
41 The text here runs as follows: "Considera, O homo, unde nomen sumseris; ab humo utique."
61 1 Sam. [1 Kings] xxvi. 8-10.
66 Ps. lxxi. 15 [LXX.]. "Sanctus in negotiationem introisse se negat," says St. Ambrose, from Ps. lxxi. 15. According to the Septuagint, "ouk egnwn pragmateia," which in the old Latin versions became "quoniam non cognovi negotiationes" (the Vulgate has "literaturam" for "negotiationes").
69 Prov. xi. 26. St. Ambrose cites the same verse each time, but the first time according to LXX. The second time he varies the commencement.
71 It is not certain to what date the famine mentioned by St. Ambrose is to be referred, nor is the name of the prefect of the city certainly known. The Praefectus Urbis was at this time the highest officer of the city, directly representing the emperor, and except to the latter there was no appeal from his decisions. Amongst other duties he exercised a supervision over the importation, exportation, and prices of provisions. As St. Ambrose, §48, calls him "sanctissimus senex," he was probably a Christian.
73 tua curia. Ed. Med. has "tua cura."
74 Num. xiii. 27, Num. xiii. 28.
86 This hardly agrees with 1 [3] Kings xxi. 16.
96 Cic. de Off. III. 14. This story is related by Cicero as a clear example of downright fraud, against which in his time there was no remedy at law.
103 Cic. de Off. III. 24, §93.
112 Cic. de Off. III. 10, §45.
117 Cic. de Off. III. 11, §49.
120 This affair happened in the war which Pyrrhus waged against the Roman people. Caius Fabricius was the general who refused to take advantage of the base offer.
152 S. John vii. 37, John vii. 38.
169 2 [4] Kings vii. 1, 2 [4] Kings vii. 2.
170 2 [4] Kings vii. 6, 2 [4] Kings vii. 7.
171 2 [4] Kings vii. 3, 2 [4] Kings vii. 4.
172 2 [4] Kings vii. 8, 2 [4] Kings vii. 9.
176 Esther vii. 9, Esther vii. 10.
177 Cic. de Off. III. 10, §43.
179 1 Sam. [1 Kings] xxii. 17.
193 Cic. de Off. III. 10, §44.
203 Ps. liv. [lv.] 13, Ps. liv. [lv.] 14.
206 This is really in excess of the number which are now to be considered as fixed in date.
207 De doct. Christ. IV. c. 21.
22 S. John xiii. 13, John xiii. 14.
24 Whence this statement is derived cannot be ascertained. Possibly it is merely an assumption of St. Ambrose founded on his estimate of Gideon's character.
28 "Alia est iniquitas nostra, alia calcanei nostri, in quo Adam dente serpentis est vulneratus et obnoxiam hereditatem successionis humanoe suo vulnere dereliquit, ut omnes illo vulnere claudticemus." St. Aug. Exp. Psal. xlviii. 6, and St. Ambrose, Enar. in Ps. xlviii. 9: "Unde reor uniquitatem calcanei magis lubricum deliquendi quam reatum aliquem nostri esse delicti." This lubricum delinquendi, the wound of Adam's heel, seems to have been understood of concupiscence, which has the nature of sin, and is called sin by St. Paul.
33 Athanaricus, king or judex of the West Goths in Dacia, defeated in 369 by the Emperor Valens. Subsequently, in 380, being defeated by the Huns and some Gothic chiefs, he was forced to take refuge in Constantinople, when he was received with all the honour due to his rank. He died the next year.
34 Damasus of Rome, Peter of Alexandria, Gregory of Constantinople, and St. Ambrose himself. Peter had died by this time, but the fact was probably not yet known at Milan.
49 S. Matt. iii. 11; S. Luke iv. 16; S. John i. 26, John i. 27.
50 This passage has given rise to the question whether St. Ambrose taught, as some others certainly did (probably on his authority), that baptism in the Name of Christ alone, without mention of the other Persons, is valid. But it is difficult to believe that St. Ambrose meant more than to refer to the passage in the Acts as implying Christian baptism. He says just below that baptism is not complete unless one confess the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, which would seem to imply the full formula, and he would hardly dissent from St. Basil, who distinctly asserts [De Sp. Sanct. XII.] that baptism without mention of the Three Persons is invalid; and St. Augustine [De Bapt. lib. vi. c. xxv. 47] says that it is more easy to find heretics who reject baptism altogether, than such as omit the fight form. Compare also St. Ambrose on St. Luke vi. 67; De Mysteriis, IV. 20; De Sacramentis, II. 5 and 7, especially the latter when he says: In uno nomine ...hoc est in nomine Patris et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti.
70 Gen. xviii. 22, Gen. xviii. 23.
81 S. John xiv. 16, John xiv. 17.
86 S. Luke xii. 11, Luke xii. 12.
89 Rom. viii. 19, Rom. viii. 21.
145 Zech. iii. 2, Zech. iii. 3.
181 The Sabellians, anxious to maintain the Unity of God, denied the distinction of Persons, identifying the Father and the Son. See D. Chr. B. III. 568, and Blunt, Dict. of Sects, etc., sub voc.
203 In these words St. Ambrose appears plainly to set forth the procession of the Holy Spirit from the Son, though he admits that some consider the Father to be the Fount of Life, but he argues even in this case the Son was with Him.
207 John vii. 38, John vii. 39.
16 Judg. xvi. 7, Judg. xvi. 11, Judg. xvi. 19.
38 S. John xvii. 14, John xvii. 15.