Cyprian — Commentary on Scripture

Proverbs 3:12

If God chastises whom he loves, and chastises that he may correct, brethren also, and priests particularly, do not hate but love those whom they chastise that they may correct, since God also prophesied before through Jeremiah and pointed to our own time saying, “I will give you pastors according to my own heart, and they shall nourish you, feeding you with discipline.”

Treatise II. On the Dress of Virgins 1

Proverbs 9:1

Moreover the Holy Spirit by Solomon shows before the type of the Lord's sacrifice, making mention of the immolated victim, and of the bread and wine, and, moreover, of the altar and of the apostles, and says, "Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath underlaid her seven pillars; she hath killed her victims; she hath mingled her wine in the chalice; she hath also furnished her table: and she hath sent forth her servants, calling together with a lofty announcement to her cup, saying, Whoso is simple, let him turn to me; and to those that want understanding she hath said, Come, eat of my bread, and drink of the wine which I have mingled for you."11 He declares the wine mingled, that is, he foretells with prophetic voice the cup of the Lord mingled with water and wine, that it may appear that that was done in our Lord's passion which had been before predicted.

Epistle LXII.5

Proverbs 10:1-3

Do you fear that your patrimony may fail if you begin to act generously from it? For when did it happen that resources could fail a just person, when it is written, “The Lord will not afflict the soul of the just with famine.”

Treatise VIII. On Works and Alms 11

Proverbs 15:3

“In every place the eyes of the Lord behold the good and the evil.” And when we are gathered together with the brethren in one place and celebrate divine sacrifices with a priest of God, we ought to be mindful of modesty and discipline and not toss our prayers about at random with uncouth voices and not cast forth with turbulent loquaciousness our petition. Rather, our petition should be commended to God in modesty, because it is our heart, not our voice, that will be heard. God, who sees our thoughts, is not to be admonished by shouts, as the Lord proves when he says, “Why do you think vainly in your hearts?” And in another place, “And all the churches shall know that I am a searcher of the desires and the heart.”

Treatise IV. On the Lord's Prayer 4

Proverbs 16:6

The Holy Spirit speaks in the Scriptures, saying, “By alms and by faith sins are cleansed.” Surely not those sins which had been contracted before, for they are purged by the blood and sanctification of Christ. Likewise again he says, “As water quenches fire, so do alms quench sin.” Here also it is shown and proved that just as with laver of the waters of salvation the fire of Gehenna is extinguished, so by almsgiving and good works the flame of sin is quenched. And because the remission of sins is once granted in baptism, constant and continuous labor acting in the manner of baptism again bestows the mercies of God. This the Lord also teaches in the Gospel. For when it was noted that his disciples were eating without first having washed their hands, he replied and said, “He who made the inside made also the outside. Truly give alms, and behold all things are clean to you.”

Treatise VIII. On Works and Alms 2

Proverbs 21:13

He will not be able to merit the mercy of God who himself has not been merciful, nor will [he] gain any request from the divine love by his prayers who has not been humane toward the prayer of the poor.

Treatise VIII. On Works and Alms 5

Proverbs 26:4

I had treated you with contempt, Demetrian, as you railed with sacrilegious mouth against God, who is one and true, and frequently cried out with impious words, thinking it more fitting and better to ignore with silence the ignorance of a man in error than to provoke with speech the fury of a man in madness. And I did not do this without the authority of the divine teaching, since it is written, “Do not say anything in the ears of the foolish, lest when he hears he may mock your wise words,” and again, “Do not answer the foolish according to his folly, lest you become like him.”

Treatise V. An Address to Demetrianus 1