The Sayings of the Elders (Verba seniorum, Book VII)
On repentance
De Pœnitentia.
This book is not translated in the edition used; the Latin is given alone.
Requisivit quidam frater abbatem Pimenium, dicens: Quid est pœnitentia? Cui senex respondit: Pœnitentia peccatorum est, ulterius non peccare. Hæc enim vox ad hominem semper clamat usque ad ultimam respirationem: Hodie convertimini, ne vobis repentina mors tanquam fur superveniat.
Abbas Pimenius dixit cum gemitu: Omnes virtutes ingressæ sunt in cellam meam, præter unam virtutem, et ex ejus labore stat homo. Interrogaverunt eum fratres: Quæ est ista virtus, abba? Respondit senex: ut semper seipsum reprehendat homo.
Latin text: Verba seniorum, Book VII of the Vitae Patrum, translated from the Greek by Paschasius of Dumium for Abbot Martin (Martin of Braga), in H. Rosweyde’s edition as reprinted in Migne’s Patrologia Latina, vol. 73 (1879 reprint), cols. 1025–1062, checked against the scans; without the editor’s notes and cross-references, and without the Greek text of chapter XLIV printed in the notes. Public-domain text in France (art. L123-1 of the French Intellectual Property Code). Transcription and revision: Abbatia Sancti Petri de Curte. Report an error