[Sermones "Dormi secure" de tempore]

These three, namely Herod, Philip, and Lysanias, were procurators of these three regions, all three were called tetrarchs because each one had a fourth part of the kingdom. But Pilate had Jerusalem, and two high priests, namely Annas and Caiaphas. When, therefore, these four princes were reigning, then the word of the Lord came upon John the son of Zechariah in the desert, near the region of the Jordan, through the baptism of penance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of Isaiah: The voice of one crying in the desert, prepare the way of the Lord, make His paths straight. Every valley will be filled, that is, every humble person will be exalted, and every mountain and hill will be humbled, that is, every proud and presumptuous person will be humbled, and the crooked will be made, that is, evil works into straight, and the rough ways of penance into the smooth ways of divine grace. And all flesh, that is, every man, will see the salvation of God, that is, the coming of the Savior. And thus the Gospel is clear.

On the theme: Under the princes, etc. Concerning which word it is to be known that just as four princes were ruling the kingdom of the sons of Israel, so there are four virtues that ought to govern the regimen of our conscience, where the soul

is like an emperor. The first virtue is justice. The second is temperance. The third is fortitude. The fourth is prudence. The first virtue in the region of our conscience as a prince is justice, which has to correct a man regarding past evils that were committed. The work of justice is to correct the wrongdoer for his evils; therefore judges are appointed. A figure of which we read in Exodus 17: When Amalek, an evil prince, attacked the sons of Israel, Moses ascended the mountain having in his hand a rod, which when he held it elevated, the people of Israel were winning. And because when the hands of Moses were weary, they were supported by Aaron, and thus they were winning against Amalek. Thus, morally, by Amalek, the evil prince, note the devil, who attacks the sons of Israel, both in conscience and in cities with evil morals so that the unity of peace may be dissolved. Which, if this evil people is not corrected by a prince, it will lose many. Whence Cassiodorus on the Psalm: The iniquity of mortals would disturb many in society, if judicial correction did not prune it. Therefore, Moses, that is, justice or the prelate, ought to ascend the mountain, that is, the tribunal of justice, and hold the rod of correction, so that when the guilt of the delinquent requires it, the discipline of justice may not sleep. Therefore, judges or distinguished men and prelates ought to correct evils. Similarly also when a man sins, justice itself as a prince of the emperor of the soul must correct the body so that it may not be damned eternally. Whence the Apostle Paul says: If we would judge ourselves, we would not certainly be judged by the Lord. And thus the virtue of justice is the first prince in the kingdom of the soul. The second prince