Chapter 25
367 | Text and Translation Chapter 25 What and how great the goods are of those who enjoy it O he who will enjoy this good; what will be his and what will not be his!
Surely, whatever he will want, will be; and whatever he will not want, will not be.
Indeed, all the goods of body and soul will be there, and of such kind that neither eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor has been thought in the heart of man.
Why, then, do you wander among them, insignificant man, seeking the goods of your body and soul?
Love the one good, in which all goods are, and it will be sufficient.
Desire the simple good, which is every good, and it will be enough.
For what, O my flesh, do you love; what, O my soul, do you desire?
There it is, whatever you love, whatever you desire.
If beauty delights you: the righteous will shine like the sun.
If the speed or strength or freedom of a body that nothing can resist: they will be like the angels of God; for it is sown as a natural body, and will rise as a spiritual body—in power, of course, not in nature.
If a long and healthy life: there is a wholesome eternity and an eternal wholesomeness; for the just shall live forever and the welfare of the just is with the lord.
If satiety: they will be satisfied, when the glory of God becomes visible.
If intoxication: they will be made drunk by the overabundance of the dwelling of God.
If melody: there choirs of angels join in singing to God without end.
If any kind of pleasure, not impure but pure: God will give them to drink from the torrent of his pleasure.
If wisdom: the very wisdom of God will reveal itself to them.
| PROSLOGION
Si amicitia: diligent Deum plus quam seipsos, et invicem tamquam seipsos, et Deus illos plus quam illi seipsos; quia illi illum et se et invicem per illum, et ille se et illos per seipsum.
Si concordia: omnibus illis erit una voluntas, quia nulla illis erit nisi sola Dei voluntas.
Si potestas: omnipotentes erunt suae voluntatis, ut Deus suae. Nam sicut poterit Deus quod volet, per seipsum, ita poterunt illi quod volent, per illum; quia sicut illi non aliud volent quam quod ille, ita ille volet quidquid illi volent; et quod ille volet, non poterit non esse.
» Si honor et divitiae: Deus suos servos bonos et fideles supra multa constituet; immo filii Dei et dii
Mt 25:21; ibid., 23 vocabuntur et erunt; et ubi erit Filius eius, ibi erunt et illi, haeredes quidem Dei, cohaeredes autem
Mt 5:9; Ps 81:6
Christi.
Rom 8:17
Si vera securitas: certe ita certi erunt numquam et nullatenus ista vel potius istud bonum sibi defuturum, sicut certi erunt se non sua sponte illud amissuros, nec dilectorem Deum illud dilectoribus suis invitis ablaturum, nec aliquid Deo potentius invitos Deum et illos separaturum.
Gaudium vero quale aut quantum est, ubi tale ac tantum bonum est?
Cor humanum, cor indigens, cor expertum aerumnas, immo obrutum aerumnis: quantum gauderes, si his omnibus abundares? Interroga intima tua, si capere possint gaudium suum de tanta beatitudine sua.
Sed certe, si quis alius, quem omnino sicut teipsum diligeres, eandem beatitudinem haberet, duplicaretur gaudium tuum, quia non minus gauderes pro eo quam pro teipso. Si vero duo vel tres vel multo plures idipsum haberent, tantundem pro singulis quantum pro teipso gauderes, si singulos sicut teipsum amares. Ergo in illa perfecta caritate innumerabilium
369 | Text and Translation If friendship: they will care for God more than themselves, and for each other as themselves, and God for them more than they for themselves; for they will care for him and themselves and one another through him, and he for himself and them through himself.
If concord: there shall be a single will for all, since there will be nothing but the will of God alone.
If power: they will be omnipotent in their will, like God in his.
For just as God is able to do through himself what he wills, so they will be able to do through him what they will; for just as they will not will anything other than he, so he shall will whatever they will. And what he shall will cannot fail to be.
If honor and riches: God will establish over many things his good and faithful servants—or rather, sons of God, and gods they will be called, and they will be. And where his Son will be, there will they be also, heirs indeed of God and coinheritors with Christ.
If true security: surely they will be as sure that this or, rather, these goods will in no way ever fail them as they can be sure that they will not let go of it through their own free will, nor that a caring
God will remove it, against their will, from those who care about him, nor that something more powerful than God will separate God from them involuntarily.
And yet, of what sort and how great is the joy, where such and so much goodness is?
O human heart, heart in need, a heart well versed in suffering, indeed, overcome by distress: how much would you rejoice if you overflowed with all of these? Ask your inwardness whether it can contain its joy over even its own great blessedness.
But certainly, if someone else, for whom you cared in every way as for yourself, enjoyed the same beatitude, your own joy would be doubled, since you would rejoice no less for him than for yourself.
And if two or three or many more were to enjoy the same, you would rejoice for each one of them as much as for yourself, if you loved each as yourself. Therefore, in that perfect love of innumerable good
| PROSLOGION
beatorum angelorum et hominum, ubi nullus minus diliget alium quam seipsum, non aliter gaudebit quisque pro singulis aliis quam pro seipso.
Si ergo cor hominis de tanto suo bono vix capiet gaudium suum: quomodo capax erit tot et tantorum gaudiorum? Et utique, quoniam quantum quisque diligit aliquem, tantum de bono eius gaudet: sicut in illa perfecta felicitate unusquisque plus amabit sine comparatione Deum quam se et omnes alios secum, ita plus gaudebit absque existimatione de felicitate
Dei quam de sua et omnium aliorum secum.
Sed si Deum sic diligent toto corde, tota mente, tota anima, ut tamen totum cor, tota mens, tota anima non sufficiat dignitati dilectionis: profecto sic gaudebunt toto corde, tota mente, tota anima, ut totum cor, tota mens, tota anima non sufficiat plenitudini gaudii.
Mt 22:37 ibid.
371 | Text and Translation angels and men, when no one will care less for another than for himself, each will rejoice for each other no differently than for himself.
If, then, the heart of man can scarcely contain its own joy over its own so great good, how will it be able to contain so many and such great joys? And especially since to the extent to which anyone cares
. for someone, he will to that degree rejoice over their good, just as in that perfect happiness each and every one will love God incomparably more than himself and all others with him, so he will rejoice immeasurably more in the happiness of God than of himself and of all others with him.
But if they so care for God with their whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul, such that even a whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul is insufficient for the grandeur of such belovedness, surely they will rejoice with a whole heart, whole mind, and whole soul such that their whole heart, whole mind and whole soul will not be sufficient for the fullness of joy.
3721 PROSLOGION
CAPITULUM XXVI
An hoc sit gaudium plenum quod promittit Dominus Deus meus et Dominus meus, spes mea et gaudium cordis mei, dic animae meae, si hoc est gaudium, de quo nobis dicis per Filium tuum: Petite et accipietis, ut gaudium vestrum sit plenum.
Jn 16:24
Inveni namque gaudium quoddam plenum, et plus quam plenum. Pleno quippe corde, plena mente, plena anima, pleno toto homine gaudio illo: adhuc supra modum supererit gaudium. Non ergo totum illud gaudium intrabit in gaudentes, sed toti gaudentes intrabunt in gaudium.
Dic, Domine, dic servo tuo intus in corde suo, si hoc est gaudium in quod intrabunt servi tui, qui intrabunt in gaudium Domini sui. Sed gaudium illud certe, quo gaudebunt electi tui, nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit.
Mt 25:21
1 Cor 2:9
Nondum ergo dixi aut cogitavi, Domine, quantum gaudebunt illi beati tui. Utique tantum gaudebunt, quantum amabunt; tantum amabunt, quantum cognoscent. Quantum te cognoscent, Domine, tunc, et quantum te amabunt? Certe nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit in hac vita, quantum te cognoscent et amabunt in illa vita. ibid.
Oro, Deus, cognoscam te, amem te, ut gaudeam de te.
Et si non possum in hac vita ad plenum, vel proficiam in dies, usque dum veniat illud ad plenum.
Proficiat hic in me notitia tui — et ibi fiat plena; crescat amor tuus — et ibi sit plenus, ut hic gaudium meum sit in spe magnum, et ibi sit in re plenum.
Domine, per Filium tuum iubes, immo consulis petere et promittis accipere, ut gaudium nostrum plenum sit.
Jn 16:24