Tuesday, April 21, 2015

On Discretion and Hypocrisy

Multis autem turbis circumstantibus, ita ut se invicem conculcarent, coepit dicere ad discipulos suos: Attendite a fermento pharisaeorum, quod est hypocrisis. And when great multitudes stood about him, so that they trod one upon another, he began to say to his disciples: *Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.
 
Nihil autem opertum est, quod non reveletur: neque absconditum, quod non sciatur. For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed: nor hidden, that shall not be known.
 
Quoniam quae in tenebris dixistis, in lumine dicentur: et quod in aurem locuti estis in cubiculis, praedicabitur in tectis. For whatsoever things you have spoken in darkness, shall be published in the light: and that which you have spoken in the ear, in the chambers, shall be preached on the house-tops.
 
Dico autem vobis amicis meis: Ne terreamini ab his qui occidunt corpus, et post haec non habent amplius quid faciant. And I say to you, my friends: Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do.
 
Ostendam autem vobis quem timeatis: timete eum qui, postquam occiderit, habet potestatem mittere in gehennam: ita dico vobis, hunc timete. But I will shew you whom ye shall fear: fear ye him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell. Yea, I say to you, fear him.


Latin text from:
Latin Vulgate (Clementine), St. Luke 12
http://drbo.org/x/d?b=lvb&bk=49&ch=12&l=3#x


English text from:
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary, 1859 edition. St. Luke Chapter 12
http://haydock1859.tripod.com/id76.html


This site gives two comments to the verses cited:

Ver. 1. Beware ye of the leaven, &c. Christ calls the hypocrisy of the Pharisees leaven, which changes and corrupts the best intentions of men; for nothing is more destructive than hypocrisy to such as give way to it. (Theophylactus)

Ver. 3. House-tops. Our divine Saviour speaks here according to the custom of his own nation, where it was not uncommon for men to preach from the house-top, when they wished to deliver any thing to the public; for their houses had flat roofs. (Ven. Bede)

Neither of these makes it clearly doubtful what came to my mind, that discretionism, relying on certain words remaining betwen closed doors, is a kind of hypocrisy./HGL

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