bold suggestion. Other Fathers may have made it too; which would account, possibly, for Pilate
90 SAINT AUGUSTINE - SERMONS
7. If Augustine was suggesting that Pilate took his seat there along with the Magi, it was a very bold suggestion. Other Fathers may have made it too; which would account, possibly, for Pilate being honored as a saint, I believe, in the Ethiopian Church.
8. He means, above all, circumcision and the observance of the sabbath and the dietary laws. His attitude to the Jews in this sermon leaves rather a bad taste in the mouth; finding unfailing delight in contemplating their discomfiture, without giving a thought to texts he is constantly quoting him¬ self in this context: Eph 2:2-22, and above all Rom 11. His attitude toward the Jews is distinctly less sour (though of course in no way ecumenically friendly) in Sermons 196 and 196A, which we saw reason to date as late as 420 to 425. So I am inclined to date this sermon considerably earlier. But as its style and syntax are somewhat rough and ready, I would not put it among the earliest; my guess would be between 411 and 415.
9. See Gn 4:1-16. 10. As distinct from the "spiritual" or "figurative" manner in which Christians observe them.