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Innocent III, Sermon Collection Prologue
nnocent, bishop, servant of the servants of God, to beloved son
Arnald, Cistercian abbot, salvation and apostolic blessing.
Prophetic authority teaches that those who cast seed over the waters
are blessed. For, the seed is the word of God, and ‘the many waters
are many peoples.’ On the other hand, ‘Cursed among the people is
the one who hoards grain’ and who buries his talent in the earth;
because the innkeeper, who accepts two denarii for the Samaritan,
ought to do something more; and the servant, to whom the lord
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commits two talents, ought to return a greater profit. For, also,
golden bells hang down from the purple tunic, lest the high priest,
silently entering the sanctuary, be killed.1 Indeed, the virtue of holy
preaching2 is the highest among the other things that belong to the
pastoral office, just as the distinguished preacher teaches, the Lord did not send me, he
says, to baptize but to preach; Preach the word, entreat in favorable or unfavorable
times, do the work of evangelism. And similarly, the prophet, How beautiful are the feet
of those who bring a message of peace, who bring a message of good things! Shout! Do
not stop! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! For, the Lord imposed this office principally
on the apostles, saying, What, moreover, I tell you in the dark, tell in the light, [and what
you hear whispered, preach over the rooftops]3 – Going into the whole world, preach [the
good news to every creature].4
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Of what great virtue is preaching! It recalls the soul from error to truth and from vices to
virtues, changes crooked things into straight and converts rough into smooth; it teaches
faith, encourages hope, and strengthens love; it uproots hurtful things, plants useful
things, and fosters worthy things; it is the way of life, the ladder of salvation, and the
door of paradise.5 And so, a preacher ought to have gold, silver, and balsam – that is,
wisdom, eloquence, and integrity – so that what he says and does, he understands, and
what he has said and understood, he does. For, he who does and teaches, he will be
called great in the kingdom of heaven. Otherwise, someone says to him, Physician, heal
yourself; he is like a fig tree, which produces leaves but not fruit. Indeed, every scribe
trained for the kingdom of heaven brings out of his treasure new and old things, whether
he produces holy texts from both the New Testament and the Old Testament, or he builds
up the sermon both from the newness of grace and from the oldness of sin, or he offers
both rewards and supplications, which are owed to those renewed in the good and longestablished in evil. Moreover, from these and those he ought to speak in this way and
that way for a diversity of persons and circumstances; concerning this it is said to the
bride in the Song of Songs, We will make for you golden necklaces, inlaid with silver.
‘Gold’ here means wisdom, as Solomon testifies, A desirable treasure rests in the mouth
The sense here seems to be that the high priest, who has the greater honor – he may enter YHWH’s
sanctuary – also runs the greater risk; the tintinnabula are a way to deal with that risk.
2
Cf. late 13th-century meaning of ‘virtus juratorum’ as ‘charge to a jury’ (RMLW 515).
3
The other manuscripts probably more closely reflect Innocent’s words, since the key word, preaching,
is in the part of the verse left out by the Wilhering scribe.
4
Again, the manuscript evidence leans toward including the last three words of this verse.
5
Subtle changes of biblical texts into his own context.
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Innocent III, Sermon Collection Prologue
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of the wise. ‘Silver’ here is understood to be eloquence, as the psalmist says, The speech
of the Lord is pure, silver refined by fire. Therefore, flowers of wisdom are fittingly
designated by golden necklaces, with which the neck and chest of the church – that is, the
preachers and doctors – are adorned. Moreover, inlaid – that is, embellished and
variegated – with silver, that is to say, eloquence – means that the style and quality of a
sermon is varied according to the variety of material and person.6 For, the apostle says,
We speak wisdom among the perfect; among you, moreover, I have judged that I know
nothing, except Jesus Christ and him crucified; and again, I am not able to speak to you
as spiritual persons but as carnal; as if you were little children in Christ, I have given
you milk to drink, not solid food. The Truth says to those who are wise and perfect,7 To
you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God; on the other hand, to the
unlettered and weak, I have many things to say to you, but you are not able to bear them
just now. On this account, the Truth prudently enjoins, Do not give what is holy to dogs,
nor throw pearls before pigs; but to those who are worldly, ‘You shall be like animals,’
which at the same time chew the cud and have a divided hoof. For, a preacher ought to
have wine and oil, staff and manna, fire and water, bringing out each as his situation
dictates. Moreover, a preacher ought principally to attend to the instruction of faith and
to the formation of life, to both the foundation and the building, confirming what he says
by means of arguments, authorities, and examples, so that the three-strand cord is with
difficulty cut apart.
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Indeed, because the dust of empty glory frequently clings to the feet of preachers, a
preacher ought to shake the dust from his feet and to wash them with the water of
remorse, in order that the whole world may be his – so that, after he preaches with power
to others, he himself may not be disqualified. Moreover, in the office of preaching would
that I myself might do what I say! But I am as much challenged by encumbering
incursions as I am busied with entangling obligations, so that I am of necessity divided
among many things and unable to attend fully to any one thing.8 For sure, I am not
allowed to be contemplative – but neither am I allowed to breathe – so that I almost seem
to be diminished in my inmost self. Indeed, lest I neglect entirely the cure of spiritual
things, which rests heavily upon me according to the office of apostolic service, replacing
it9 with the care of temporal things, which oppress me greatly (due to the evil exigency of
the time), I have preached and composed certain10 sermons to the clergy and the people,
sometimes in Latin and sometimes in Italian. At the request of your petition – the request
you made to me through our common son, brother Nicholas, my chaplain and your monk
– I have taken pains to send these sermons to your devotion, begging and imploring in
This may be the basic understanding of what a ‘new’ sermon constitutes for Innocent – he’s simply
adding ‘variety’ – by the fact that he is using some different material and by the fact that he uniquely
preaches – to a basically standard message.
7
This is not the first time I3 used ‘perfect’ here – a direct reference to Cathar perfects?
8
Literally: ‘so that it is necessary to be found to be divided in each thing, to be lessened in several
things.’ The sense here seems to be that the burdens mentioned in the previous clause result in the
necessity of dividing himself among many things and the inability to give full attention to any one thing.
This sense follows from the preceding clause and is made more specific in the next sentence.
9
The sense here is of replacing spiritual things with temporal things.
10
The ‘quosdam’ here – instead of ‘quos’ or ‘aliquos’ –implies a level of choice / construction.
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Innocent III, Sermon Collection Prologue
Christ Jesus that you repay me by remembering me in your prayers before the most just
judge and most loving father.