Lecture 4
Lectio 4
Healing of two women
Curatio duae feminarum
9:18 As he was speaking these things to them, behold a certain ruler came up, and adored him, saying: Lord, my daughter is even now dead; but come, lay your hand upon her, and she will live. [n. 775]
9:18 Haec illo loquente ad eos, ecce princeps unus accessit, et adorabat eum dicens: Domine, filia mea modo defuncta est, sed veni, inpone manum super eam, et vivet. [n. 775]
9:19 And Jesus rising up followed him, with his disciples. [n. 779]
9:19 Et surgens Iesus sequebatur eum, et discipuli eius. [n. 779]
9:20 And behold a woman who had been troubled with an issue of blood for twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment. [n. 780]
9:20 Et ecce mulier quae sanguinis fluxum patiebatur duodecim annis, accessit retro, et tetigit fimbriam vestimenti eius. [n. 780]
9:21 For she said within herself: if I will touch only his garment, I will be healed. [n. 783]
9:21 Dicebat enim intra se: si tetigero tantum vestimentum eius, salva ero. [n. 783]
9:22 But Jesus turning and seeing her, said: be of good heart, daughter, your faith has made you whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour. [n. 784]
9:22 At Iesus conversus, et videns eam dixit: confide, filia. Fides tua te salvam fecit. Et salva facta est mulier ex illa hora. [n. 784]
9:23 And when Jesus had come into the house of the ruler, and saw the minstrels and the multitude making a commotion, he said: [n. 785]
9:23 Et cum venisset Iesus in domum principis, et vidisset tibicines, et turbam tumultuantem dicebat: [n. 785]
9:24 move away, for the girl is not dead, but sleeps. And they laughed him to scorn. [n. 787]
9:24 recedite, non est enim mortua puella, sed dormit. Et deridebant eum. [n. 787]
9:25 And when the multitude was driven out, he went in, and took her by the hand, and said: young girl, arise. And she arose. [n. 788]
9:25 Et cum eiecta esset turba, intravit, et tenuit manum eius, et dixit: puella, surge. Et surrexit. [n. 788]
9:26 And the fame of this went abroad into all that country. [n. 789]
9:26 Et exiit fama haec in universam terram illam. [n. 789]
774. He set down the miracles by which remedies are applied against the dangers of sin; here he sets down those by which remedies are applied against the dangers of death.
774. Posuit miracula quibus adhibentur remedia contra pericula peccati, hic ponit illa quibus adhibentur remedia contra pericula mortis.
And it is divided into two parts, because
Et dividitur in partes duas: quia
first, he tells how he restored life;
primo narrat quo modo vitam restituit;
second, how he restored the works of life, at and as Jesus passed from there (Matt 9:27).
secundo, quomodo opera vitae, ibi et transeunte inde Iesu.
Concerning the first,
Circa primum
first the invitation to work the miracle is set down;
primo ponitur invitatio ad miraculum peragendum;
second, a sign, at and behold a woman;
secundo indicium, ibi et ecce mulier etc.;
third, the preparation of the miracle, at and when the multitude was driven out.
tertio miraculi praeparatio, ibi et cum eiecta esset turba.
Concerning the first, he does four things:
Circa primum quatuor facit.
first, the time of the invitation is described;
Primo describitur tempus invitationis;
second, the person inviting;
secundo persona invitans;
third, the invitation;
tertio invitatio;
fourth, the reception of the invitation.
quarto admissio invitationis.
775. He says then, as he was speaking these things, namely in Matthew’s house.
775. Dicit ergo haec illo loquente, scilicet in domo Matthaei.
But there is an objection, because Mark and Luke tell it in a different order, namely that this man came to Jesus after he had passed over the sea (Mark 5:21; Luke 8:40).
Sed est obiectio: quia Marcus et Lucas alio ordine recitant, scilicet quod iste accessit ad Iesum postquam transfretaverat.
Augustine resolves it by saying that when something is set down in the evangelists which pertains to time, if it is set down at once, then the order of history is represented; and so when it says here, as he was speaking these things, the order of history is indicated; but in Mark and Luke it refers to the order of their own memory. Or one can say that there was some middle place where this happened. For sometimes they do not say whether they mean immediately, after, or when something was done.
Augustinus solvit quod quando ponitur in evangelistis aliquid ad tempus pertinens, si statim ponitur, repraesentatur tunc ordo historiae; et ideo cum dicitur hic haec eo loquente, significatur ordo historiae; sed in Marco et Luca refertur ad ordinem memoriae suae. Vel potest dici quod fuit aliquis locus medius ubi istud accidit. Aliquando enim non dicunt utrum statim, post, vel quando factum quid sit.
776. There follows behold a certain ruler. Here the person inviting is set down, namely the ruler of the synagogue, and he is called Jairus, ‘enlightening’ or ‘enlightened’. My Lord, hear us, you are a prince of God among us (Gen 23:6).
776. Sequitur ecce princeps. Hic ponitur persona invitans, scilicet princeps synagogae, et dicitur Iairus ‘illuminans’ vel ‘illuminatus.’ In Gen. XXIII, 6: princeps Dei est apud nos.
777. There follows the invitation. And he does two things:
777. Sequitur invitatio: et duo facit.
first, he showed reverence, because he personally came up. Likewise, he adored. Similarly, he confessed his power, because he says, Lord. This ruler signifies the ancient fathers, because they approached through desire, and, believing that the Christ was to come, they adored; we will adore in the place where his feet stood (Ps 131:7). Likewise, they confessed; know that the Lord, he is God (Ps 99:3).
Primo exhibuit reverentiam, quia personaliter accessit. Item adoravit. Item potestatem confitetur, quia dicit Domine. Iste princeps significat antiquos patres, quia isti accesserunt per desiderium, et credentes Christum venturum adoraverunt; Ps. CXXXI, 7: adorabimus in loco ubi steterunt pedes eius. Item confitebantur. Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus. Ps. XCIX, 3.
778. There follows the danger: my daughter is even now dead.
778. Sequitur periculum filia mea modo defuncta est.
The contrary is said in Luke and in Mark, because there it is said, my daughter is at the point of death (Mark 5:23; see also Luke 8:41). And while they were on the way, some came from the ruler of the synagogue’s house, saying: your daughter is dead (Mark 5:35).
Contrarium habetur in Luca VIII, 41 et in Marco V, 22 quia ibi dicitur: filia mea in extremis est. Et cum essent in via occurrerunt ei famuli, et cetera.
Augustine resolves it, saying that when this man Jairus left, she was already in her last moments, and he believed that he would not find her alive; so he asked rather that Jesus would come and reawaken her than that he would heal her. Hence he says, my daughter is even now dead, as though to say: I believe that she is now dead. Therefore, the others spoke according to what happened, but Matthew referred to his meaning. And so Augustine gives a good lesson, that it is not necessary that they be referred to the same words, but it is enough that only the meaning is spoken.
Solvit Augustinus: quia quando iste Iairus recessit, iam erat in extremis, et credebat quod eam non inveniret vivam; ideo magis petebat ut veniret, et resuscitaret eam, quam ut curaret; unde dicit filia mea modo defuncta est etc., quasi dicat: credo quod iam mortua sit. Alii igitur dixerunt secundum quod fuit; sed Matthaeus ad intentionem retulit. Ideo Augustinus dat bonum documentum, quod non est necessarium quod eadem verba referantur; sed sufficit quod solum intentio dicatur.
But why did those of the ruler’s household say, why do you trouble the master? (Mark 5:35; Luke 8:49). This seems to have been unbelief.
Sed quare dixerunt famuli: noli vexare magistrum? Videtur hoc fuisse incredulitatis.
One should say that this would be true, if they had said this by their lord’s intention, but they did not know his intention. Chrysostom explains it in this way: it is customary among some when they wish to move someone to pity that they exaggerate the evil; for this reason, to move him more, he said, my daughter is even now dead.
Dicendum quod hoc verum esset, si hoc dicerent ex intentione domini; sed ipsi nesciebant eius intentionem. Chrysostomus sic exponit: consuetudo est aliquorum quando volunt movere ad pietatem, quod exaggerant malum; ideo ut magis moveret eum, dixit defuncta est.
This daughter is the synagogue, which is the daughter of the ruler, namely of Moses, which died through infidelity; but now they are hidden from your eyes (Luke 19:42). But there seems to be faith joined to infidelity in this man, because the fact that he believed that he would reawaken her was from faith; but the fact that he believed he could not do it while absent was from unbelief. Hence this man seems similar to Naaman, who said, I thought he would have come out to me, and standing would have invoked the name of the Lord his God, and touched with his hand the place of the leprosy, and healed me (2 Kgs 5:11).
Ista filia est synagoga, quae filia est principis, scilicet Moysi, quae mortua est per infidelitatem; Luc. XIX, 42: nunc autem abscondita est ab oculis tuis et cetera. Sed videtur esse in isto fides infidelitati coniuncta, quia quod credebat quod resuscitaret erat fidei; sed quod credebat quod absens non posset, hoc erat infidelitatis. Unde iste videtur similis Naaman, qui dixit: putabam quod egrederetur ad me, et stans invocaret nomen Domini Dei sui, et tangeret manu sua locum leprae, et curaret me et cetera. IV Reg. V, 11.