Fulgentius of Ruspe

In his own words on Sirach

• Sirach 1:1

  If the Arians say that God the Father is not created and God the Son is, then, as the natural creation of the innate Father makes known the unity of nature in the Father and in the Son, so eternity by nature of the Father does not allow one to attribute a beginning to divine creation. Therefore, the Father and the Son are without beginning, and the Father and the Son are one single and true beginning. For this reason God the Father speaks to his Son in the psalm: "With you the beginning, on the day of your power, among the splendors of the saints; from the womb I have created you before the dawn." What is "with you the beginning," if not that which is said elsewhere of wisdom, "It comes forth from the Lord our God and has always been with him and is before the beginning of time"? Therefore, rightly so, the Son affirms himself to be the beginning since he knows that he is coeternal with the Father from the beginning, just as he knows that he by nature is one single beginning with the same Father. And affirming himself to be the alpha and the omega, that is, the beginning and the end, the Son confirms himself to be without beginning and without end. Just as, in fact, no letter exists before the alpha, in the same way no nature could possibly exist before the Son. Therefore, the Son says he is the alpha in order to demonstrate that he is the beginning of all things, before which there can be no other beginning. This is the reason why the Evangelist, wanting to express the eternity of the Word without beginning, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit has found nothing more suitable or more congruous to say than, "In the beginning was the Word."

  AGAINST FABIANUS, FRAGMENT 19:2-3

• Sirach 2:10

  Know that God is working in you both to will and to do, according to a good will. Therefore, attend to your salvation with fear and trembling. Humble yourself before the Lord so that he may exalt you. Ask him for the beginning of a good will, seek from him the effects of good works, ask him for the gift of perseverance. Do not believe that when his support has stopped you can want or do anything good. Ask him to turn your eyes somewhere else so that they do not see vanity; beseech him to show you the way you should go, pray, so that he may direct your steps according to his Word and so that you will not be dominated by sins; call on him so that he can direct the work of your hands for you. Therefore, "be strong and take heart." "Entrust your concerns to the Lord, and he will provide for them."As he told you, you must not ascribe anything to your own strength, for you must not distrust divine power and devotion in anything. For, "The Lord is faithful in his words and holy in all his works." He will not deny you his help in this world, nor will he withhold your reward in that life which is to come. He has shown you the right way and is himself the guide that will lead you to your heavenly home. "Trust, therefore, in the Lord, and do good." Do not believe you will fail if he has agreed to have you under his protection. It is indeed written, "Has anyone trusted in the Lord and been put to shame? Or, has anyone persevered in the Lord and been abandoned? Or, has anyone called upon him and been neglected by him?" Therefore, do not lose your confidence which will have a great reward. Be strong and steadfast, knowing that your work shall not prove fruitless in the Lord.

  LETTERS 2:36.20-37:21

• Sirach 2:13

  Faith competes with human nature—something for which the Creator has taken a great deal of care in ensuring that even the very hairs on our head are counted—such that it is obvious that only when human nature senses that it is loved by God does it love God who loves it and then binds itself to him by means of pure-hearted faith. Faith is the way that carries us to blessedness; lack of faith brings great misery. Because of this you will be rightly punished when you do not believe in the Son of God, because your infidelity is your vice, just as faith is your strength—although it not the kind of strength one discovers in evil spirits but the kind God gives to his saints that triumphs over their wickedness. It is the same "faith that works through love." In fact, "the evil spirits believe and tremble," but they do not love him from whom they are far removed because of pride. The first man was made to fall in pride through the counsel of the devil, through which he lost humility, through which he lost faith. And when he lost his faith, he lost divine protection. It is in fact written, "The one who does not believe in God will not be protected by God." From that moment the one who was earth and ashes began to be proud because he threw away what was innermost in his life. The Word of the Lord, thus, does not stop calling humanity to return to its most intimate longing, saying: "Return, you rebels, to the heart."

  LETTERS 17:44

• Sirach 3:26

  He receives the never-ending share of the heavenly inheritance who, guarding the unity of brotherly love within the catholic church, before finishing the present life gives up the lethal hardness of the impenitent heart and does not despair that within the one and truly catholic church the remission of all sins will be given by the Holy Spirit to those who have converted. Our Savior demonstrates as much. Indeed, after the resurrection, breathing on his disciples and giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit, he gave them the power to forgive sins, saying, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of anyone, they shall be forgiven; if you retain them, they will be retained." Therefore, they do not close the door of mercy—an action that would create a desperation that leads to death—on those who, separated from the catholic church, are tied to the error of whatever heresy or schism. Those heretics or schismatics will give up their hard-heartedness if they do not want to be punished with evils that will have no end. It is indeed written that "the stubborn mind will be afflicted at the end, and whoever loves danger will perish by it." What is there that is more dangerous than not offering obedience to the divine Word and disdaining the will of God who calls? Therefore, in the book of holy Job, just as eternal glory is promised to those who convert, the impious are denied the gifts of salvation because they do not obey. If indeed it is written, "Those who return from iniquity, if they listen and obey, will fill their days with blessings and their years with honor. But he does not preserve the ungodly because they are not willing to know the Lord and because when reproved they were disobedient," they therefore ought not to disdain the time dedicated to obedience but ought to return to the catholic church in which alone, through the gift of the Holy Spirit, "love covers a multitude of sins."

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1:25.2-26:1

• Sirach 5:7

  Therefore the Savior warns each one of us ahead of time, saying, "Make friends quickly with your adversary, while you are going with him to court, lest your adversary hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly, I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny." People turn the Word of God into their adversary when they do the very things that the word of God prohibits. In the Psalms they are told, "You hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you." If someone will not consent to this divine Word until he is on his way, that is, if he does not consent soon in this life, then once he is thrown into prison, into the eternal fire, there will be no more peace. In fact, the best adversary is the one who is hostile toward us in keeping us away from the hostility of sin that is the bearer of death. We learn from another passage of Scripture that we should repent soon because the more we delay our repentance, the more chance death has to lead us to damnation instead of salvation. And so Scripture says, "Do not delay turning back to the Lord or put it off from day to day; for suddenly his wrath will come, and in the time of vengeance he will destroy you." The Word of God reveals that when the time of vengeance arrives, our repentance will certainly not deliver us from the pain of punishment; rather, God's vengeful wrath will give us the sentence we deserve. This, in fact, will not be a time of forgiveness or of indulgence but of vengeance. It is deferred due to the long-suffering of God as he waits for the full number of saints to be completed. The blessed John recalls in the Apocalypse that the saints have in fact asked for this vengeance when they cry out, "O sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And in order to teach that the time of vengeance is deferred, by divine disposition, because of those who still must join this gathering, John continues, "Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren should be complete."

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 2:5.1-3

• Sirach 7:1

  If some people are in the catholic church but live badly, let them hurry to distance themselves from their evil life before concluding this life. Do not let them think that the catholic name is sufficient for their salvation if they do not do the will of God. In fact, our Savior says, "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven shall enter into the kingdom of heaven." Indeed, also in the book of Psalms it is written that "the Lord is close to all who call on him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear him, and he will hear their prayers, and he will save them." Therefore also in Proverbs each one of us is ordered both to fear the Lord and to distance ourselves from evil. There you can read, "Fear the Lord and turn away from all evil, and your body shall have peace and your bones rest." In fact, also in Ecclesiasticus, all the faithful are warned not to do evil with these words: "Do not perform evil deeds, and they will not seize you. Distance yourself from evil, and evil will distance itself from you. Do not sow evil deeds in the furrows of injustice, and you will not harvest them multiplied seven times." In the same book again, because no one, adding sin to sin, wants to deceive himself with a vain thought regarding the mercy of God, the doctrine of salvation meets us with words of this kind: "Do not … add sin to sin. Do not say, 'His mercy is great, he will forgive the multitude of my sins,' for both mercy and wrath are with him, and his anger rests on sinners." Again, saint Job says, "Does not calamity befall the unrighteous and disaster the workers of iniquity?" It is written in Proverbs, "The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is caught in the toils of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is lost."

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1:26.23

• Sirach 9:10

  The New Testament must be held in veneration in such a way that the Old Testament not be neglected in any way. This is what Ecclesiasticus seems to me to recommend under the guise of old and new friends when it says, "Forsake not an old friend, for a new one does not compare with him." From the mouth of Jeremiah, the divine Scripture anticipates the difference that is found in the mysteries of the two Testaments, saying, "The days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new testament with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not according to the testament that I made with their ancestors." For the other, that is, the New Testament comes, not like the Old Testament which was brought to an end by the Lord, but as the one in which the Lord has given the fulfillment of the commandments, and after he had removed the old mysteries, he instituted the different mysteries of the revealed truth. Therefore, what he promised in the Old he has brought to fulfillment in the New. Since therefore the knowledge of the mysteries of the New Testament can be truly salutary and joyful only if one acknowledges that the promise that went before in the mysteries of the Old Testament is true, when the Scriptures says, "Do not leave an old friend because the new one will not be like him," there is immediately added, "A new friend is like new wine; when it has aged, you will drink it with pleasure." What does "aged" mean except that the type of the New Testament appears in the Old Testament? This new wine is thus drunk with joy if its meaning and promise are acknowledged in the Old Testament.

  LETTERS 14:46

• Sirach 10:9

  We should not think of God as the author of good works as if only at the dawn of creation he provided human nature the possibility of doing good in such a way that, after his help was taken away, human nature on its own could want or do anything good on its own. In reality, on its own initiative, human nature could not have realized such a possibility, not even in the first man even while he was still not yet wounded by sin. Therefore, how can human nature restore its own health without the aid of a physician since, while it was healthy, it could not even succeed in safeguarding its health then? Therefore, earth and ash should not get puffed up because it has abandoned its most visceral thoughts in this life; nor should the wounded act as if he were healthy because he thinks he has healed that part of himself. Rather, he should reflect with the humility of a wounded heart on the putridness of his wounds so that, proclaiming with the prophet, "My wounds grow foul and fester because of my foolishness," he can obtain healing not because of his own merit but because of the free gift of divine mercy. In fact, what does a person possess that he has not already received? But if he has received it, then why does he glory in himself as if he had not received it?

  LETTERS 4:2.3-4

• Sirach 12:6

  The impious and sinners who have no intention of repenting of their impiety or iniquity will be condemned at the end to eternal torments, while to those who have repented God will lavish his mercy. This is what is written in the book of Ecclesiasticus: "The Most High has mercy on the penitent and will inflict punishment on the impious and sinners." Further, in the same book it is said, "Remember that wrath will not be late in coming. Humble yourself to the utmost, because fire and worms fill up the punishment of the ungodly." Again, Isaiah says that "their fire shall not be quenched, and their worm shall not die." It is also written in Ecclesiasticus, "A synagogue of sinners is like a bundle of oak, and their end will be the flame of fire. The way of sinners is full of offenses, and, at the end, there will be the fiery pit, darkness and pains."

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1:27.2

• Sirach 18:20

  Therefore, the blessed hope, the sure expectation, the future happiness is for those who, having rejected the secular ungodliness and desires, have lived soberly and with justice and piety in this world. Therefore, sobriety, justice and piety must be very carefully guarded by Christians. The one who guards his sobriety harmonizes his customs with his life. The one who lives with justice does not bring evil on his neighbor and, in so far as he can, offers aid with good works. The one who lives with piety neither believes or says anything perverse in regard to God. Whoever, therefore, wants to reach the kingdom of heaven must live soberly, practice justice with his neighbor and persevere in piety toward God.These virtues then will be of help in the future life if they are a reality in the life of this present world. This in fact is what the blessed apostle knew and taught when he ordered us "to live soberly and with justice and piety in this world," teaching that those who before the judgment have led a just life in this world will receive mercy in the judgment. Therefore divine Scripture warns us in the book of Ecclesiasticus, "Procure justice before the judgment, and you will find propitiation in the presence of God." Therefore, anyone who wants to find propitiation in the presence of God must prepare justice for himself here. In fact, whatever one has not begun to procure in the present world, he will not have at the time of future retribution.

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1:28.2-29

• Sirach 21:1

  Penance can be useful to every person in this life. Whenever one does it, however evil he was, however burdened with years of life, if with all his heart he has renounced the sins of his past and poured out tears in the presence of God, not only for the body but also for the soul, and he has taken care to wash the stains of his evil works with good works, he will receive the forgiveness of all his sins. This, in fact, is what the Lord promises to us with the words of the prophet, saying, "If you will be converted and weep, you will be saved." Elsewhere it is also said, "My child, have you sinned? Sin no more, but ask forgiveness for your previous sins so that they may be forgiven." Prayer for sins would not have been commanded of the sinner if forgiveness of sins would not have to be granted to the one praying. But penance is fruitful for the sinner if it takes place in the catholic church; to the church, God in the person of Peter granted the power to bind and to loose, saying, "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Therefore, at whatever age an individual makes true penance for his sins and corrects his life through the gift of illumination that God gives to him, he will not be deprived of the gift of forgiveness because God, as he asserts through the prophet, does not desire the death of one dying but rather that he be converted from his perverse way and that his soul live.

  LETTER TO PETER ON THE FAITH 39

• Sirach 34:26

  When it is said to a sinner who desires to receive the benefit of salvation that if he converts and groans he will be saved, one must also understand that if he groans but is not converted, he will not be saved. Indeed, not in vain did the Word of God unite both these elements, that we might know that both are necessary, conversion and groaning, to attain salvation. Some, in fact, humiliated by the consideration of their offenses, groan in prayer over their iniquities, but, this notwithstanding, they do not distance themselves from their bad actions. They recognize they have behaved badly but do not want to put an end to their wicked actions. They humbly denounce before God the sins that oppress them but obstinately pile up in their perverse heart the same sins they denounce with their humble speech. The indulgence that they ask for with tearful groanings, they take away by their bad actions. They ask the doctor for medicine and give sustenance to the sickness, to their ruin. And thus vainly they seek by their words to placate the just judge, who they incite to greater fury by wicked actions. Such people will never purify their sins with groanings, because they do not stop sinning after their groaning. They groan for their misdeeds, and after they groan, they return to them. In Ecclesiasticus, the sacred Scripture speaks of such persons thusly: "The one who purifies himself after having touched a dead person and touches him again, what good did it do him to have been purified? Likewise, the person who fasts for his sins and again does the same actions, what advantage does he gain from humiliating himself? Who will listen to his prayers?" Fine, says God to such a person, "If you convert and groan, you will be saved." With the severe and good God, when one has turned to God with the humility of a contrite heart, then the prayer of the one who groans will be heard, the request made with tears will be attended to, salvation will be granted to the one who weeps. Certainly God will pardon the sinner and have mercy on him if the sinner acknowledges his iniquity by conversion.

  ON THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS 1:12.1-2

• Sirach 35:17

  We defeat the adversary only if we fight with tears and with prayers, in continual humility of heart. It is written, in fact, that "the prayer of the humble penetrates the clouds and is not withdrawn from God until it is answered." The weeping of the humble is therefore a great antidote against carnal concupiscence. Tears that spring from compunction of heart defeat the enemy and gain for us the gift of a victorious happiness. In fact, those who "go out weeping, scattering their seeds, will return rejoicing, carrying their sheaves." How wisely the holy prophet teaches that the seeds of good works must be watered with rivers of tears! Indeed, no seed germinates without being watered. Nor does a seed bear fruit if it has been without the benefit of water. We also, therefore, if we wish to harvest the fruits of our seeds, should not cease watering them with tears, which should spring from the heart more than from the body. This is why we are told through the prophet to rend our hearts, not our garments.

  LETTERS 4:9.5