Page:Bible (Douay Rheims NT, 1582).djvu/34

8 & fire. Whose fanne is in his hand, and he shal cleane purge his ″ floore: and he wil gather his wheate into the barne, but the chaffe he wil burne with vnquenchable fire.

Then cometh from Galilee to Iordan, vnto Iohn, to be baptized of him. But Iohn stayed him, saying: I ought to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And answering, sayd to him: Suffer me for this time. For so it becommeth vs to fulfil al iustice. Then he suffered him. And being baptized, forthwith came out of the water: and loe the heauens were ″ opened to him: & he saw the Spirit of God descending as a doue, & coming vpon him. And behold a voyce from Heauen saying: This is my beloued Sonne, in vvhom I am wel pleased.

ANNOTATIONS . III. 1. Desert.) Of this word desert (in Greeke eremus) commeth the name Eremitages and Eremites, that liue a religious and austere life in deserts and solitarie places, by the example of S. Iohn Baptist; whom the holy Doctours therfore cal the Prince and as it were the authour of such profession. S. Chrys. ho. 1 in Marcum & ho. de Io. Baptista. Hiero. ad Eustoch. de custod. virg. Isid. li. 1. c. 15 de diu off. Bernardus de excel. Io. Baptista. Wherewith the Protestants are so offended that they say, S. Chrysostom spake rashly and vntruely. And no maruel, for whereas the Euangelist himself in this place maketh him a perfect paterne of pennance, and Eremitical life, for desert or wildernes, for his rough and rude apparel, for abstayning from al delicate meates (according to our Sauiours testimonie also of him Mt. 11, 8. Luc. 7, 33) they are not ashamed to peruert all with this strange commentarie, that it was a desert ful of townes and villages, his garment was chamlet, his meate such as the countrey gaue, and the people there vsed: to make him thereby but a common man like to the rest, in his manner of life: cleane against Scriptures, Fathers, & reason.

2. Doe penance.) So is the Latin, word for word, so readeth al antiquitie, namely S. Cyprian ep. 52. often, and S. Augustine li. 13 Confes. c. 12. and it is a very vsual speache in the New Testament, specially in the preaching of S. Iohn Baptist, Christ himself, and the Apostles; to signifie perfect repentance, which hath not only confession and amendment, but contrition, or sorow for the offence, and paineful satisfaction: such as S. Cyprian speaketh of in al the foresaid epistle. But the Aduersaries of purpose (as namely Beza protesteth) mislike that interpretation, because it fauoureth Satisfaction for sinne, which they cannot abide. Where if they pretend the Greeke word, we send them to these places Mat. 11, 21. Lu. 10, 13. 1 Cor. 7, 9. Where it must needes signifie, sorowful, payneful, and satisfactorie repentance. We tel them also that S. Basil a Greeke Doctour calleth the Niniuites repentance with fasting, and hairecloth, and ashes, by the same Greeke word μετανοεω. And more we wil tel them in other places.

8. Confessing their sinnes.) Iohn did prepare the way to Christ and his Sacraments, not only by his Baptisme, but by inducing the people to cōfession of their sinnes. Which is not to acknowledge themselues in general to be sinners, but also to vtter euery man his sinnes.

9. Fruit worthie.) He preacheth Satisfaction by doing worthy fruits or workes of penance, which are (as S. Hierom saith in 2. Ioel) fasting, praying, almes, and the like. 10. The