Complete Works of Saint Jerome, Vol. VII

and in the latter parts there is the commandment: Do not be anxious about tomorrow (Matthew vi, 34). "Amen." This is the seal of the Lord's Prayer: which Aquila translates as "faithfully," though we may translate it as "truly."

(Verse 14.) "For if you forgive men their sins, your heavenly Father will also forgive your transgressions." This which is written1: I have said, You are gods, and all of you are children of the Most High: but you shall die like men, and fall like one of the princes (Psalm lxxxi, 6, 7), is said to those who, because of their sins, deserved to be gods but became men. Therefore, rightly are they called men to whom sins are forgiven.

(Verse 16.) "For they disfigure their faces, that they may appear to men to be fasting. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward." The word "disfigure" Latin: exterminant, which through the error of translators has become trite in ecclesiastical Scriptures, signifies something quite different from what is commonly understood. For those who are sent outside the borders are "exterminated" referring to the etymology of ex (out) and terminus (boundary/end). Therefore, for this word, we should always understand "to demolish" Latin: demoliuntur: which in Greek is called ἀφανίζουσι they make invisible/disfigure. The hypocrite demolishes his face to feign sadness; and while his mind may perhaps be rejoicing, he wears mourning upon his countenance.

(Verses 17-19.) "But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, that you may not appear to men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret: and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where rust and moth demolish, and where thieves dig through and steal." He speaks according to the custom of the province of Palestine, where on feast days they are accustomed to anoint their heads. He commands, therefore, that when we fast, we show ourselves to be joyful and festive. Many, reading that of the Psalmist: Let not the oil of the sinner anoint my head (Psalm cxl, 5), wish it to be the opposite of the good oil, of which it is said elsewhere: God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness2 above your fellows (Psalm xliv, 8). And it is commanded that, while practicing virtues, we ought to anoint the principal part (ἡγεμονικὸν ruling faculty/the leading part of the soul) of our heart with spiritual oil.

(Verse 21.) "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." This is to be understood not only regarding money, but regarding all passions or possessions. The glutton's god is his belly: therefore he has his heart where his treasure is. The treasure of the luxurious man is his feasts. The lascivious man, his playthings; the lover, his lust: By whom a man is overcome, of this he is a slave (II Peter ii, 19).

(Verses 22, 23.) "If your eye is simple, your whole body will be light. But if your eye is evil, your whole body will be dark. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great will that darkness be!" Those with bleary eyes are accustomed to seeing multiple lamps: a simple and pure eye beholds simple and pure things. He transfers this whole matter to the senses. For just as the body, if the eye is not simple, is entirely in darkness: so too the soul, if it has lost its principal radiance, will have its entire perception dwelling in gloom. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great will that darkness be! If the faculty that is the light is darkened by the vice of the soul, what darkness will the soul itself be enveloped in, do you think?

(Verse 24.) "You cannot serve God and mammon." Mammon is called "wealth" in the Syriac language. "You cannot serve God and mammon." Let the greedy man hear this, let him who is reckoned by the name of Christian hear that he cannot serve wealth and Christ at the same time. And yet, He did not say "whoever has wealth," but "whoever serves wealth." For he who is a slave to wealth keeps his wealth like a slave; but he who has shaken off the yoke of servitude distributes it like a master.

(Verse 25.) "Therefore I say to you: Do not be anxious for your soul, what you shall eat, nor for your body, what you shall wear." In some codices, it is added: nor what you shall drink. Therefore, we are completely liberated from the care of that which nature bestows on all, and which is common to beasts, cattle, and men3. But we are commanded not to be anxious about what we eat: because in the sweat of our face we prepare bread for ourselves (Genesis iii, 19). Labor must be exercised; anxiety must be removed. Let us accept what is said: "Do not be anxious for your soul what you shall eat, nor for your body what you shall wear," as referring to carnal food and clothing. For the rest, we should always be anxious about spiritual food and clothing. "Is not the soul more than meat, and the body more than clothing?" What he says is of this sort: He who granted the greater things will surely also grant the lesser.

(Verse 26.) "Behold the birds of the air, for they do not sow, nor do they reap, nor do they gather into barns: and your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" The Apostle commands (Romans xii, 3) that we should not think more highly than we ought to think. This testimony is also to be preserved in the present chapter. For there are some who, while they wish to overstep the boundaries of the fathers (Proverbs xxii, 28) and fly to high things, are submerged in the depths: saying that the birds of the air are angels and other powers in God's service, which are fed without their own care by God's providence. If this is so, as they wish it to be understood, how does the saying to men follow: Are you not of more value than they? Therefore, it must be accepted simply: if the birds are fed without care and tribulation by God's providence, they who are today and will not be tomorrow5: how much more are men, to whom eternity is promised, governed by God's will!

Glossary 1: One Palatine manuscript, "If this which is written."
Glossary 2: Three Palatine codices, "oil of exultation."
Glossary 3: We have removed from here the negative particle that the printed editions previously inserted, against the testimony of all the manuscript books we use, and two others praised by Martianaeus. The printed books add the negative particle: "we are not completely liberated from the care of this." However, two manuscript codices retain it without the negation. Both readings are not contradictory if we take "care" to mean "anxiety." - MART.
Glossary 4: Three Palatine manuscripts do not know the word "more."
Glossary 5: Here also the printed books add "ms. many."