Luther quotes

“There is no need to force anyone to disclose secrets of his heart. As the saying goes, no one shall be compelled to faith; he is only called to it.” Martin Luther, An Instruction to Penitents, LW, AE, 44:224

Latin proverbs

Nihil est... simul et inventam et perfectum. (Cicero)

Nothing is at the same time both discovered and perfected.

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Leo IV, 775-780

- son of Constantine, won victories against the Arabs, but died early

Constantine VI, 750-797

- son of Leo, who came to the throne as a child, under the influence of his mother, Irene - in 787 Irene brought another council together that condemned Iconoclasm, which placed the monks on her side, but the army mutinied and forced her to “retire”  

- in 792, Constantine brought his mother back - she arranged a divorce and remarriage for him which upset all his supporters - then she arranged an army revolt in her favor and had her son blinded

Imitation of Christ

Multum proinde proficies, si te seriatum ab omni temporali cura conserves. Valde deficies, si aliquid temporale reputaveris. Nihil altum, nihil magnum, nihil gratum, nihil acceptum tibi sit, nisi pure Deus, aut de Deo sit. Totum vanum exstima, quidquid consolationis occurrit de aliqua creatura. Amans Deum anima sub Deo contemnit, despicit universa. Solus Deus æternus et immensus, implens omnia, solatium est animæ et vera mentis lætitia.

Then you will make great progress if you keep yourself free from all temporal care. You will lamentably fall away if you set a value upon any worldly thing. Let nothing be great, nothing high, nothing pleasing, nothing acceptable unto you, save God Himself or the things of God. Reckon as altogether vain whatsoever consolation comes to you from a creature. The soul that loves God looks not to anything that is beneath God. God alone is eternal and incomprehensible, filling all things, the solace of the soul, and the true joy of the heart. 

Imitation of Christ, II, 5:3

Ecclesiasticus

"If you do a kindness, know to whom you do it, and you will be thanked for your good deeds. Do good to a godly man, and you will be repaid – if not by him, certainly by the Most High." Ecclesiasticus 12:1-2

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Constantine V, 741-755

- Leo's son, began an offensive against the Arabs - in 746 he defeated them and regained the island of Cyprus, but in the same year the plague struck the empire again - he was successful in defeating the Arabs to the east and the Bulgars to the north

- 753, the Iconoclastic controversy heated up when a council of the church said that icons were incompatible with Christianity - monks, who supported icons, were imprisoned, exiled or killed, and some monasteries were closed and their property taken

Patristics

“Moreover also, that His power is sufficient for the raising of dead bodies, is shown by the creation of the same bodies. For if, when they do not exist, He made at their first formation the bodies of men, and their original elements, He will, when they are dissolved, in whatever manner that may take place, raise them again with equal ease: for this, too, is equally possible to Him.” Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead, III, ANF 2:150

Baier's axioms

Macrocosmus in gratiam microcosmi est conditus.

The macrocosm was established for the sake of the microcosm.

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Leo III, 717-741

- a great general and organizer - he rewrote military regulations and brought the army back under control - he reorganized the government and imposed heavy taxes, but tried to protect the poor - he had the law code simplified and easier for all to understand

- 726, Leo began the Iconoclastic controversy - icons were “holy pictures” very loved in the east, but Leo outlawed them as idolatry - reasons for this include (1) Muslim accusations of idolatry, (2) the rise of superstition in general and (3) the alarming spread of monasticism (thousands of men were leaving the economy and the army to become monks, and the monasteries were becoming very wealthy)

Luther quotes

“For faith is a free act, to which no one can be forced. Indeed, it is a work of God in the spirit, not something which outward authority should compel or create. Hence arises the common saying, found also in Augustine, 'No one can or ought to be forced to believe.'” Martin Luther, Temporal Authority, LW, AE, 45:108

Latin proverbs

Paratae lacrimae insidias, non fletum, indicant. (Pub. Syrus)

Contrived tears indicate treachery, not grief.

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Philippicus, 711-713
Anastasius II, 713-715

Theodosius III, 715-717

- all basically incompetent, unable to defend the empire

Imitation of Christ

Internus homo sui ipsius curam omnibus curis anteponit: et qui sibi ipsi diligenter intendit, faciliter de aliis tacet. Nunquam eris internus et devotus, nisi de aliis silueris et ad te ipsum specialiter respexeris. Si tibi ipsi et Deo totaliter intendis, modicum te movebit, quod foris percipis. Ubi es, quando tibi ipsi præsens non es? Et quando omnia percurristi, quid te neglecto profecisti? Si debes habere pacem et unionem veram, oportet, quod totum adhuc postponas et te solum præ oculis habeas.

The spiritually-minded man puts care of himself before all cares; and he who diligently attends to himself easily keeps silence concerning others. You will never be spiritually minded and godly unless you are silent concerning other men's matters and take full heed to yourself. If you think wholly upon yourself and upon God, what you see out of doors shall move you little. Where arr you when you are not present to yourself? and when you have overrun all things, what has it profited you, yourself being neglected? If you would have peace and true unity, you must put aside all other things, and gaze only upon yourself.

Imitation of Christ, II, 5:2

Ecclesiasticus

"From a spark of fire come many burning coals, and a sinner lies in wait to shed blood." Ecclesiasticus 11:32

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Justinian II, 705-711

- was returned to the throne (for the second time) with the aid of the Bulgar king - he sought revenge on all who had opposed him, which resulted in a reign of “insane terror” - he was killed in a revolt

Patristics

“And when we say that those women who use drugs to bring on abortion commit murder, and will have to give an account to God for the abortion, on what principle should we commit murder? For it does not belong to the same person to regard the very fetus in the womb as a created being, and therefore an object of God's care, and when it has passed into life, to kill it; and not to expose an infant, because those who expose them are chargeable with child-murder, and on the other hand, when it has been reared to destroy it.” Athenagoras, A Plea for the Christians, XXXV, ANF 2:147

Baier's axioms

Caetera Deus non jussisset fieri, nisi decrevisset hominem facere.

God would not have commanded the rest to be made, unless He had determined to create man.

Murphysboro Centuries, 8th secular

Tiberius III, 698-705

- brought to power by another army revolt - his reign marked by revolts and Arab raids

Luther quotes

“This is what we think. When the Holy Spirit makes us aware of the work of Christ and of his merit, outwardly through the gospel and inwardly through his gift, when he bestows this merit upon us and causes us to believe in it, then this faith is nothing else than a living trust and confidence in the merit that Christ has bestowed upon us. We rely upon it from the bottom of our hearts, without doing any works of our own.” Martin Luther, The Adoration of the Sacrament, LW, AE, 36:301-2

Latin proverbs

In virtute posita est vera felicitas. (Seneca)

True happiness is placed in virtue.