Caesarius, bishop of Arles, in his Sermon 33, On paying tithes: Before the nativity of St. John the Baptist, admonishes people to stay chaste and honest in the days preceding the feast of the nativity of *John the Baptist (S00020), and to abjure a 'pagan' practice on the festival, of night-time or early morning bathing in springs and rivers. Written in Latin at Arles (southern Gaul), 503/542.
E07232
Literary - Sermons/Homilies
Caesarius of Arles
Caesarius of Arles, Sermon 33, De reddendis decimis: ante natale Sancti Iohannis Baptistae
The earlier parts of this sermon (§§ 1-3) are devoted to a justification for paying tithes, and do not mention John the Baptist.
(4.) Et quia natale sancti Iohannis baptistae cum gaudio cupimus celebrare, sicut et reliquis festivitatibus supervenientibus, ita inminente ista tam praeclara sollemnitate ante plures dies castitatem et honestatem omnes omnino custodiant; ut festivitatem istam possint omnes cum gaudio celebrare, et ad altare domini cum libera et sincera conscientia mereantur accedere. Hoc etiam deprecor, et per tremendum diem iudicii vos adiuro, ut omnes vicinos vestros, omnes familias, et cunctos ad vos pertinentes admoneatis, et cum zelo dei severissime castigetis; ne ullus in festivitate sancti Iohannis aut in fontibus aut in paludibus aut in fluminibus nocturnis aut matutinis horis se lavare praesumat: quia ista infelix consuetudo adhuc de paganorum observatione remansit. Cum enim non solum animae, sed etiam, quod peius est, corpora frequentissime in illa sacrilega lavatione moriantur, vel de corporis morte timeant, qui de animae suae salute non cogitant. Sed credimus de dei misericordia, quod castigantibus vobis aut pauci aut forte nullus hoc malum de reliquo audebit admittere. Etiam et hoc admonete, fratres, ut cantica turpia vel luxoriosa, castitati et honestati inimica, familiae vestrae ex ore non proferant: quia non est iustum, ut ex illo ore, ubi eucharistia Christi ingreditur, canticum luxoriosum vel amatorium proferatur. Haec enim si secundum vestram consuetudinem libenter auditis, et Christo auxiliante inplere contenditis, et in hoc saeculo sanctorum sollemnitates mundo corde et casto corpore cum gaudio celebrabitis, et in futuro ad ipsorum sanctorum consortium feliciter venietis: praestante domino nostro Iesu Christo, cui est honor et gloria in saecula saeculorum. Amen.
'We desire to celebrate joyfully the nativity of St. John the Baptist, just as we do the other feasts that come around. Since that illustrious feast is coming soon, let us all observe perfect chastity and honesty the several days preceding, in order that we may be able to celebrate the feast with joy and may merit to approach the Lord with a clear and upright conscience. I beseech and adjure you by the dreadful day of judgement to admonish your neighbours, your household, and all who are related to you, and to reprove them severely out of zeal for God. Let no one on the feast of St. John dare to bathe in the springs or marshes or rivers either at night or early in the morning; for that wretched custom still remains from pagan observances. Although not only souls but, so much the worse, bodies very frequently die as a result of that impious bathing, people who are unconcerned over the salvation of their soul do not even fear bodily death. However, we trust in God's mercy that through your reproofs very few or practically no one will dare to commit this evil any more. We likewise admonish you, brethren, not to allow your household to sing shameful, dissolute songs which are opposed to chastity and upright living. Indeed, it is not right for a mouth into which the Eucharistic Christ enters, to sing dissolute love songs. If you willingly listen as you usually do, and with Christ's help strive to fulfill this, you will joyfully celebrate the feasts of the saints with a pure heart and chaste body in the world, and in the life to come you will happily obtain their companionship: with the help of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom is honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.’
Text: Morin 1953, 146-7.
Translation: Mueller 1956, 166-167, lightly modified.
Sermon/homily
FestivalsSaint’s feast
Cult PlacesHoly spring/well/river
Activities accompanying CultFeasting (eating, drinking, dancing, singing, bathing)
Source
After an early career as an ascetic monk, first at the island monastery of Lérins, Caesarius became bishop of Arles in 503, and held this post, through many political vicissitudes, until his death in 542 (for his Life see E06283).Caesarius acquired a considerable reputation as a preacher, delivering sermons in a straightforward style and language, with limited use of rhetorical effects; most of his sermons address issues of Christian morality and practice, and the handful that he delivered on the feast days of saints are often concerned with proper behaviour at their festivals. His sermons were popular, and are widely attested in the manuscript tradition.
Germain Morin, the most recent collector and editor of his sermons, attributed nearly 250, in whole or in part, to Caesarius; many, according to Morin, are reworkings of earlier sermons, with shorter or longer additions by Caesarius. Although Morin's attributions are not always certain, we have accepted them without question, since to look into this issue is beyond the scope of our project. Morin divided the sermons into five groups: sermons or admonitions on various topics (1-80), sermons on Scripture (81-186), seasonal sermons (187-213), sermons on the saints and feast days (214-232), and sermons to monks (233-238).
Discussion
The feast of the nativity of the Baptist occurs on 24 June, then believed to be midsummer's day, paralleling the feast of the nativity of Jesus six months earlier. On this feast and its connection with midsummer, see E07234It is not known what people thought they were doing bathing outdoors on the night of the feast, but this was presumably a traditional practice, possibly, as Caesarius claims, one inherited from some pagan belief (though Caesarius tends to brand as 'pagan' any practice that he did not think was sufficiently Christian; see also E07562).
Bibliography
Edition:Morin, G., Sancti Caesarii Arelatensis sermones, pars prima (Corpus Christianorum, Series Latina 103; Turnhout: Brepols, 1953), 143-147.
Translations:
Mueller, M.M, Caesarius of Arles, Sermons,, vol. 1 (Fathers of the Church 31; Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1956), 162-167.
Delage, M.-J., Césaire d’Arles, Sermons au peuple, vol. 2 (Sources Chrétiennes 243; Paris: Cerf, 1978), 168-181.
Further reading:
Klingshirn, W.E., Caesarius of Arles: The Making of a Christian Community in Late Antique Gaul (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994).
Katarzyna Wojtalik
30/12/2018
| ID | Name | Name in Source | Identity | S00020 | John the Baptist | Iohannes Baptista | Certain |
|---|
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