St. Zeno of Verona (died c. 380 AD) was the second Bishop of Verona, an African by origin, and one of the most energetic anti-Arian preachers of the Latin West. He is venerated as a martyr and confessor, his feast observed on 12 April. His collected Tractatus — short, rhetorically polished sermons of great theological density — are preserved in Patrologia Latina, Volume 11, edited by J.-P. Migne (Paris, 1844), reproducing the critical edition of the Ballerini brothers (Verona, 1739). The passages below are drawn from his two books of Tractatus, encompassing sermons on circumcision, sacrifice, the Nativity, the patriarchs, the Prophet Isaiah, and the Paschal cycle. The Latin text is Migne’s; the English renderings below are translated directly from that Latin.
I. Tractatus I.VI — De Patientia (col. 315)
On Patience
On the Jews as Overthrowers of the Altar, Slayers of the Prophets, and Perpetual Ingrates toward God
“Judæi concinionibus tument, altaria divina cum venerantur evertunt, varia cæde prophetas elidunt, Moysen amore nimio lapidare conantur: adversus Dominum semper ingrati variis molitionibus pugnant, multisque diis ac regibus servire gestiunt, qui uni Deo per impatientiam servire minime potuerunt.”
“The Jews swell with boasting; in the very act of venerating the divine altars they overturn them; they destroy the prophets by various slaughters; they attempt to stone Moses out of excessive frenzy; ever ungrateful to the Lord, they fight against Him by manifold machinations, and eagerly desire to serve many gods and kings — those who could not endure to serve the one God through patience.”
PL 11, col. 315 — Tractatus I.VI, De Patientia
II. Tractatus I.XIII — De Circumcisione (col. 345–360)
On Circumcision
On Circumcision as a Mere Circular Scar, and on the Vainglory of Jewish Boasting
“Circumcisionis, cujus non tantum in præsenti lectione, sed et aliquot in locis fecit Paulus beatissimus mentionem, ratio videtur esse reddenda, ut et Christianus veritatem, et Judæus suum cognoscat errorem. Solet enim magnis cum vociferationibus sæpe jactare, hanc esse gentis suæ nobilitatem, hanc cœlestis sacramenti virtutem, hanc æternæ vitæ legitimam genetricem, hanc perpetuam futuri regni consortem, sine qua nemo possit omnino ad Dei notitiam pervenire. Unde primo omnium definiendum puto, quid sit circumcisio, ut tunc demum, qualis sit, jure possit agnosci. Circumcisio est, fratres, in damnum rotundi vulneris ferro circulata cicatrix.”
“An account of circumcision must seem to be given — that which the most blessed Paul mentions not only in the present lesson but in several other places — so that the Christian may know the truth and the Jew his own error. For he is accustomed with great outcries to boast often that this is the nobility of his race, the virtue of a heavenly sacrament, the lawful mother of eternal life, the perpetual companion of the Kingdom to come, without which no one can arrive at any knowledge of God. Wherefore I think we must first of all define what circumcision is, so that then at last its true nature may rightly be recognised. Circumcision, brethren, is a circular scar, inscribed by iron to the injury of a round wound.”
PL 11, col. 345 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §I
On the Futility of Carnal Circumcision: It Cannot Save, for the Flesh Inherits Nothing
“Consequens est, ut profiteatur, utrum hanc carnalem an spiritalem esse defendat. Si spiritalem, cur de carne gloriatur? Si carnalem, animæ prodesse non poterit, quia caro et sanguis regnum Dei possidere non possunt.”
“The consequence is that he must declare whether he maintains this to be carnal or spiritual. If spiritual, why does he glory in the flesh? If carnal, it cannot profit the soul, because flesh and blood cannot possess the Kingdom of God.”
PL 11, col. 347 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §II
On Circumcision as Assigned Merely as the Mark of the Jewish Carnal People
“Manifestum est circumcisionem non Abrahæ fuisse necessariam, sed in designationem Judaici populi, qui carnalis futurus fuerat, procuratam. Denique nihil illi contulit: quia Deo ante, non postea quam circumcisus est, placuit: præmiumque non circumcisionis, sed in acrobustia meritæ repromissionis accepit. Unde manifestum est Abraham gemini populi typum in semetipso portasse, ut circumcisionis nota exprimeret Judæum, credulitatis justitia Christianum.”
“It is manifest that circumcision was not necessary for Abraham, but was appointed as the mark of the Jewish people, who were destined to be carnal. And indeed it conferred nothing upon him: because he pleased God before, not after, he was circumcised; and he received the reward not of circumcision, but of the promise earned in uncircumcision. Whence it is manifest that Abraham bore in himself the type of a twofold people: so that the mark of circumcision expressed the Jew, while the righteousness of faith expressed the Christian.”
PL 11, col. 351 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §IV–V
On Circumcision as Pointing to the Seat of the Original Sin, Not Conferring Salvation
“Circumcisio ista non tam salutem non pollicetur, quam locum caputque criminis monstrat. Adam enim cum illicitum pomum hoc membro decerpsit, sic in genus humanum jus mortis induxit. Necessario ergo luxurioso populo Deus hoc signum dedit: ut, locum matricalis culpæ cum denotat, etiam alia crimina fugienda cognoscat.”
“This circumcision not only confers no salvation, but marks out the very seat and source of sin. For when Adam plucked the forbidden fruit by means of this member, he thus brought the law of death upon the human race. Therefore of necessity God gave this sign to a licentious people: that, while it points out the seat of their original guilt, they might also recognise that other sins must be fled.”
PL 11, col. 351 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §V
On Scripture’s Condemnation of All the Members of the Jews
“Hoc genere Judæos Scriptura denotat ab auribus incipiens: Clamavi, inquit, ad eos, et non audiverunt, clamabunt ad me, et non erit, qui exaudiat eos. Similiter et de manibus dicit: Manus enim vestræ inquinatæ sunt sanguine, et digiti vestri in peccatis. Labia autem vestra locuta sunt facinus, et lingua vestra injustitiam meditatur. Et iterum de cæteris membris: Sepulcrum patens est guttur eorum, linguis suis dolose egerunt, venenum aspidum sub labiis eorum, quorum os maledicto et amaritudine plenum est, veloces pedes eorum ad effundendum sanguinem: contritio et miseria in viis eorum, et iter pacis non cognoverunt, non est timor Dei ante oculos eorum.”
“In this manner Scripture denounces the Jews beginning from their ears: ‘I cried unto them, and they heard not; they shall cry unto me, and there shall be none to hear them.’ Similarly concerning their hands: ‘Your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with sin; your lips have spoken iniquity, and your tongue meditates injustice.’ And again concerning their remaining members: ‘Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness; their feet are swift to shed blood; destruction and misery are in their ways, and the way of peace they have not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes.'”
PL 11, col. 353 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §VI
The Challenge to the Pharisee: Where Is Your Heart?
“Hinc nunc vobis iterum dicam. Pharisæe, responde, ubi cor habeas constitutum. Si in regione pectoris; quid deformi vulnere inferna metiris? Si, quod quidem recte æstimas, in infernis; procul dubio omnes sacrilegos antecedis, qui Moysis reprobans dictum, per hanc injuriosam corporis stipem Deo placere te posse præsumis.”
“I will now speak to you again. Pharisee, answer: where do you hold your heart to be situated? If in the region of the breast, why do you measure out the lower parts with so foul a wound? If — as you rightly reckon — in the lower parts, then beyond doubt you surpass all the sacrilegious, who, repudiating the word of Moses, presume that you can please God through this disgraceful tax of the body.”
PL 11, col. 355 — Tractatus I.XIII, De Circumcisione, §VII
III. Tractatus I.XIV — De Spirituali Aedificatione Domus Dei (col. 353–368)
On the Spiritual Building of the House of God
On the Synagogue and Temple as Beneath the True House of God
“Quamvis sit optimum laudare quæ Dei sunt, tamen præcipuum non est, quod cum Gentibus, vel Judæis potest esse commune; nam et illis si liceat, vel si velint, fortassis cultius synagogas ædificent, cultius erigant capitolia; sed in his omnibus operibus vero judicio structores magis possunt placere, quam sacerdotes.”
“Although it is excellent to praise the things of God, yet that which can be common to the Gentiles and the Jews is not pre-eminent: for if it be permitted to them, or if they will, perhaps they may build more ornately their synagogues, more ornately erect their temples; but in all these works, by true judgment, the builders can give more pleasure than the priests.”
PL 11, col. 353 — Tractatus I.XIV, De Spirituali Aedificatione Domus Dei, §I
On the Temple of Solomon Rebuked by God, and the True Temple Being the Faithful People
“Reprobat ergo tam immensum, tam insigne, tam opulens templum, quia in eo verum non erat templum; etenim hominum conciliabulum est contextio ista parietum; fidelis autem populus Dei templum, Apostolo dicente: Vos estis templum Dei, et spiritus Dei habitat in vobis. Et verum est; nam sicut idolis insensatis similia templa conveniunt, ita viventi Deo viva templa sunt necessaria; in his enim solis sacerdotum Dei structura et propria est et perennis; qua et Judæos et Gentes vel cæteros antecedimus.”
“He therefore rejects so vast, so renowned, so wealthy a temple, because the true temple was not in it; for this fabric of walls is merely a place of assembly for men; but the faithful people is the temple of God, as the Apostle says: ‘You are the temple of God, and the Spirit of God dwells in you.’ And this is true; for just as temples similar to senseless idols are fitting for those idols, so for the living God living temples are necessary. In these alone the structure of God’s priests is both proper and enduring; and by this we surpass both the Jews and the Gentiles and all the rest.”
PL 11, col. 357 — Tractatus I.XIV, De Spirituali Aedificatione Domus Dei, §II
On Jerusalem Rebuked for Slaying the Prophets and the Desolation of Her House
“In Evangelio quoque sic dicit: Hierusalem, Hierusalem, quæ interficis prophetas, et lapidas missos ad te, quoties volui colligere filios tuos, sicut gallina pullos suos sub alas, et noluisti? Ecce remittetur vobis domus vestra. Et iterum: Non relinquetur in templo lapis super lapidem, qui non dissolvatur.”
“And thus He says also in the Gospel: ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldst not! Behold, your house shall be left unto you desolate.’ And again: ‘There shall not be left in the temple one stone upon another that shall not be thrown down.'”
PL 11, col. 357 — Tractatus I.XIV, De Spirituali Aedificatione Domus Dei, §II
IV. Tractatus I.XV — De Triplici Genere Sacrificiorum (col. 363–382)
On the Triple Kind of Sacrifices
On the Jew and the Arian — Deniers Both of the Divine Son — and on the Three Kinds of Sacrifice
“Hæc enim res et fecit, et facit, ut Judæus, et Judæo deterior Christianus, Dei filium Deum esse non credant.”
“For this very thing has caused and still causes both the Jew and the Christian who is worse than the Jew not to believe that the Son of God is God.”
PL 11, col. 363 — Tractatus I.XV, De Triplici Genere Sacrificiorum, §I
Note: The editor’s gloss confirms that by “Christian worse than the Jew,” Zeno means the Arians, who like the Jews denied the full divinity of the Son, but did so with graver guilt, having received the full Gospel.
On the Three Kinds of Sacrifice: Detestable, Reprobate, and Clean
“Immola, inquit, Deo sacrificium laudis. Primo omnium, sacrificiorum tria esse genera novelle disce, Christiane, ne quo seducaris errore. Unum est enim detestabile, alterum reprobum, tertium mundum. Detestabile est Gentium, reprobum Judæorum, populi christiani mundum.”
“‘Offer to God the sacrifice of praise.’ First of all, learn anew, O Christian, that there are three kinds of sacrifices, lest you be led into any error. For one is detestable, another reprobate, the third clean. Detestable is the sacrifice of the Gentiles; reprobate that of the Jews; clean that of the Christian people.”
PL 11, col. 365 — Tractatus I.XV, De Triplici Genere Sacrificiorum, §II
On the Reprobation of Jewish Sacrifices by God Himself
“Nunc Judæorum quoque sacrificia a Deo repudiata cognoscite. Audi populus meus, et loquar, Israel, et testificabor tibi: quoniam Deus Deus tuus ego sum. Numquid manducabo carnes taurorum, aut sanguinem hircorum potabo? Per alium adæque Prophetam Spiritus sanctus clamat, et dicit: Præcingite vos, et plangite, sacerdotes, lugete omnes, qui deservitis altari: quoniam ablata est de domo Domini vestri hostia et immolatio. Multa sunt, quæ dici possunt: sed satis otiosum est in his demorari, quæ in toto jam non sunt.”
“Learn now also how the sacrifices of the Jews have been repudiated by God. ‘Hear, O my people, and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify to thee: for I am God, thy God. Shall I eat the flesh of bulls, or shall I drink the blood of goats?’ By another Prophet likewise the Holy Spirit cries aloud, saying: ‘Gird yourselves and lament, O priests; mourn, all ye that serve the altar; because the sacrifice and the libation are taken away from the house of your God.’ Many things might be said, but it is idle enough to dwell upon those things which now exist in their entirety no longer.”
PL 11, col. 367 — Tractatus I.XV, De Triplici Genere Sacrificiorum, §III
On the God-Pleasing Sacrifice Passing from the Jews to the Gentiles
“Non est mihi voluntas circa vos, dicit Dominus: et sacrificium acceptum non habeo ex manibus vestris: quoniam a solis ortu usque in occasum clarificatum est nomen meum apud Gentes, et in omni loco odores incensi offeruntur nomini meo, et sacrificium mundum: quoniam magnum est nomen meum apud Gentes, dicit Dominus.”
“‘I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord, and I will not receive a gift from your hand: for from the rising of the sun even to the going down, my name is great among the Gentiles; and in every place there is sacrifice and there is offered to my name a clean oblation, for my name is great among the Gentiles, saith the Lord of hosts.'”
PL 11, col. 367 — Tractatus I.XV, De Triplici Genere Sacrificiorum, §IV
V. Tractatus II.VII — De Nativitate Domini I (col. 409–412)
On the Nativity of the Lord, I
On the Jews as Truly Blind, Denying the Son Despite Their Own Scripture
“Tertia Judæa est vere cæca, quæ cum in lege, ut dicere solet, sua legat ubique duas Patris et Filii designari personas, tamen nunc usque contendit Deum Filium non habere. Quibus omnibus exempla, vel ratio, quam prosecuturi sumus, argumentationis totius uno ictu omnes nervos abscindet.”
“The third is the Jew, truly blind, who, though he reads in his Law — as he is wont to say — that everywhere two Persons are designated, those of the Father and of the Son, nevertheless contends even to this day that God does not have a Son. Against all of these alike, the examples or the line of argument which we are about to pursue will cut through all the sinews of their objection at a single stroke.”
PL 11, col. 409 — Tractatus II.VII, De Nativitate Domini I, §I
VI. Tractatus II.XI — De Abraham II (col. 421–424)
On Abraham, II
On the Impious Counsels of the Jews against Christ, and Their Blindness
“In cœlesti prole, non semine progenitum, certissimum Dominum impia Judæorum exarsere consilia: quem tacentem, tamquam obnoxium, et pro ipsorum tantummodo cæcitate mærentem, ut Isaac non periturum ad aram, ita ad crucem Christum sublimandum nefarii perduxerunt. Sed quia nescit æternitas mori, revixit Dominus post sepulcrum, et ad Judæos.”
“Against the most certain Lord, begotten of heavenly offspring and not of seed, the impious counsels of the Jews blazed up. Him remaining silent — as though guilty — and mourning solely on account of their own blindness, the wicked ones led Christ to be lifted up upon the Cross, as Isaac was led not to perish upon the altar. But because eternity knows not how to die, the Lord rose again after the tomb — even in the sight of the Jews.”
PL 11, col. 423 — Tractatus II.XI, De Abraham II, §IV
VII. Tractatus II.XIV — De Juda (col. 433–440)
On Judah
On Judah Losing His Wife as a Figure of the Death of the Synagogue’s Faith
“Judas amittit uxorem, id est synagogæ fides moritur. Quod autem inquit, consolatus est, utique intelligitur spe Christi venientis, qui non tantum prophetis synagogæ lapsu desolatis solatium præbuit, sed etiam nos omnes in aliqua constitutos angustia recreare consuevit.”
“Judah loses his wife — that is, the faith of the Synagogue dies. But the fact that he is said to have been consoled is understood as hope in the coming Christ, who provided consolation not only to the prophets desolated by the fall of the Synagogue, but has also been accustomed to refresh all of us when placed in any tribulation.”
PL 11, col. 435 — Tractatus II.XIV, De Juda, §V
On the Jews as Children of the Devil, Per the Lord’s Own Rebuke
“Pater enim omnium corrupte viventium diabolus designatur, Domino Judæos sic increpante: Vos de diabolo patre estis, et concupiscentias patris vestri facere vultis.”
“For the devil is designated the father of all who live corruptly, the Lord rebuking the Jews in these words: ‘You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you will do.'”
PL 11, col. 435 — Tractatus II.XIV, De Juda, §V
On Thamar as a Figure of the Church: The Gentiles Believed Where the Jews Did Not
“Non cognoscitur a socero: ad Judæos enim, non ad Gentes prophetæ fuerant destinati. Fornicariam putat recte, quia deorum populo serviebat. Cum ea convenire cupit, quia prophetiæ magis Gentes, quam Judæi fuerant credituri, Domino dicente: Amen dico vobis, quia publicani et meretrices præcedent vos in regnum Dei.”
“She is not recognised by her father-in-law: for the prophets had been sent to the Jews, not to the Gentiles. He rightly supposes her a harlot, because she was serving the people of the gods. He desires to meet with her, because the Gentiles were more ready to believe the prophecies than the Jews — the Lord saying: ‘Verily I say unto you, that the publicans and harlots shall go before you into the Kingdom of God.'”
PL 11, col. 437 — Tractatus II.XIV, De Juda, §V
VIII. Tractatus II.XXVIII — In Isaiam VII (col. 465–472)
On Isaiah, VII
On the Jewish People Reproved for Impiety, and the Christian Warned by Their Example
“Quantum sonus lectionis indicat, fratres, Judaicus quidem populus impietatis arguitur, sed Christianus, ne talis evadat, pariter commonetur. Denique, ut iste plus timeat, ille terretur: ille vapulat, ut iste proficiat. Compendiosum felicitatis genus alterius periculo discere, quid debeas devitare.”
“As the tone of the reading indicates, brethren, the Jewish people is indeed convicted of impiety, but the Christian is likewise admonished lest he fall into the same. For in order that this one may fear the more, that one is terrified; that one is beaten, so that this one may profit. It is a brief path to happiness to learn from another’s peril what you ought to avoid.”
PL 11, col. 465 — Tractatus II.XXVIII, In Isaiam VII, §I
On the Synagogue as a Sterile Vine Abandoned by God, and the Church as the New Vineyard
“Vinea Dei quidem prior synagoga fuit, silvosis errantium palmitum crinibus vilis; quæ cum per voluptuosa ac profana loca lasciva passim se fronde diffundit, generavit pro fructibus spinas, pro uva labruscam. Cujus rei indignitate commotus Dominus, illa deserta, aliam sibi, id est Ecclesiam matrem, sua pro voluntate plantavit, quam sacerdotalibus officiis excolens, piaque potatione fecundans, felici ligno suspensam, uberrimam docuit adferre vindemiam.”
“The prior vineyard of God was indeed the Synagogue — worthless with the tangled branches of wandering shoots; which, spreading its wanton foliage promiscuously through sensual and profane places, bore thorns in place of fruit and wild grapes instead of the grape. Moved by indignation at this state of things, the Lord abandoned it and planted for Himself another — that is, the Church, our mother — according to His own will; and cultivating it with priestly offices, making it fruitful with holy pruning, and suspending it upon the blessed wood, He taught it to bring forth a most abundant vintage.”
PL 11, col. 467 — Tractatus II.XXVIII, In Isaiam VII, §I
IX. Tractatus II.LXI — De Exodo VIII / De Judaeis (col. 513–516)
On Exodus, VIII — titled “De Judaeis” in the Zenonianus manuscript
On the Jew’s Claim to a Legitimate Passover, and the Temple Laid in Ashes
“Judæus legitimum gerere se pascha contendit; cui nihil aliud de veteri sacramento, quam inanibus intexta suspiriis fabula remansit. Denique regium illud templum campis æquatum jacet. Altaria ejus subversa manu cum suis sibi sacrificiis, sparsa in pulverem vanuerunt. Sacerdotalis cathedra pestilentiæ suo nomine deleta est.”
“The Jew contends that he celebrates a legitimate Passover; to whom nothing remains of the ancient sacrament but a tale woven together with empty sighs. For that royal temple lies levelled to the fields. Its altars, overturned by a hand together with their own sacrifices, have crumbled away scattered to dust. The priestly throne of pestilence has been destroyed under its very name.”
PL 11, col. 513 — Tractatus II.LXI, De Exodo VIII (De Judaeis), §I
X. Tractatus II.LXII — De Exodo IX / De Judaeis (col. 517–520)
On Exodus, IX — titled “De Judaeis” in several manuscripts
On the Total Condemnation of All Jewish Rites: Synagogue, Priesthood, Sacrifice, Circumcision, Sabbath
“Pharisæi agere se legitimum pascha contendunt: qui cum templo summo, ut putabatur, summum sacerdotium perdiderunt; regalis unguenti cornu privati sunt. Circumcisio testimonium mentis impuræ jam jamque illis imminere supplicium denotati vulneris inflictu minatur. Omne genus pecudum cum suo sibi sacrificio reprobatur. Jejunia eorum, dies festi, omnisque solemnitas abominatio est apud Deum. Cum hæc ita sint, a quibus, quomodo, unde pascha celebratur?”
“The Pharisees contend that they celebrate a legitimate Passover — those who, together with the supreme Temple, lost the supreme priesthood as well, and have been deprived of the horn of royal unction. Circumcision, as the witness of an impure mind, threatens that punishment now imminent will be inflicted by the wound with which they are already marked. Every kind of beast, together with its own sacrifice, is reprobated. Their fasts, their feast-days, and all their solemnity are an abomination before God. These things being so — by whom, in what manner, from what source, is the Passover celebrated?”
PL 11, col. 517 — Tractatus II.LXII, De Exodo IX (De Judaeis), §I
XI. Tractatus II.LXIII — De Exodo X / De Judaeis (col. 519–520)
On Exodus, X — titled “De Judaeis” in the Zenonianus and Venetian editions
On Christian Redemption Surpassing Jewish Memory of the Exodus in Every Particular
“Si Judæi vacuatæ imaginis recordatione gloriantur, quanto magis Christianus, in quo non est figura, sed veritas? Judæi majores suos Pharaonis exercituisque ejus gravi servitutis jugo depressos de Ægypto prædicant liberatos. A diaboli rabie idolorumque turba violenta non tantum nostri majores, sed omnis Christiana progenies de vera Ægypto, id est de isto mundo, semper momentis omnibus liberatur. Illis ducatum Moyses præbuit: dux noster Christus est Dominus. Illis columna nubis atque ignis viam demonstravit: nobis Testamenti Veteris ac Novi clarissima oracula viam et verum Christum Dominum prodiderunt.”
“If the Jews glory in the memory of an image now emptied out, how much more the Christian, in whom there is not a figure but the truth itself? The Jews proclaim that their ancestors were freed from Egypt, pressed down under the heavy yoke of servitude to Pharaoh and his army. From the fury of the devil and the violent mob of idols, not only our ancestors but the entire Christian race is delivered from the true Egypt — that is, from this world — at every moment, always. Moses provided the leadership for them; our Leader is Christ the Lord. A pillar of cloud and fire showed them the way; for us, the most luminous oracles of both Testaments, Old and New, have brought forth the way and the true Lord Christ.”
PL 11, col. 519 — Tractatus II.LXIII, De Exodo X (De Judaeis), §I
XII. Tractatus II.LXIV — De Exodo XI (col. 521)
On Exodus, XI
On the Vain Swelling of the Pharisee, and Roman Servitude as Divine Punishment
“Quid tumet Pharisæus inanis, quem momenti præterita delectat umbra? Exsultat, quod in Ægypto creverit: at in originali decrevit solo. Quod captivitatis sit nexibus exsolutus: sed est nunc usque barbarici furoris moribus alligatus. Deus illi ducatum præbuit: idem a sua cum facie postmodum abjecit. Consecutus est regnum, ut post regiam dignitatem majore dedecore Imperio Romano serviret.”
“Why does the empty Pharisee swell with pride — he whom the fleeting shadow of the past delights? He exults that he grew great in Egypt; but he has diminished in his native soil. That he has been loosed from the bonds of captivity; but he is still to this day bound by the customs of barbarian fury. God provided him with leadership; the same God afterwards cast him away from His own presence. He obtained a kingdom, only that after royal dignity he might serve the Roman Empire to his greater shame.”
PL 11, col. 521 — Tractatus II.LXIV, De Exodo XI, §I
XIII. Tractatus II.LXV — De Exodo XII / Ad Judaeos (col. 523)
On Exodus, XII — the Zenonianus manuscript inscribes this “Ad Judaeos”
On the Darkness of the Jewish Heart and the Challenge to Celebrate a Legitimate Passover
“Quamdiu, Judæe, bruti cordis nec dum discutis tenebras, sacræque legis oracula jam in Christo completa nec probando cognoscis? Verumtamen pro tuo sensu si vis pascha legitimum celebrare, agnus requirendus est tibi, sicut præceptum est, ex agnis et hædis discordi natura commissus, quem in gregibus pecuinis ipsi tui non invenere majores. Atque utinam tu invenias: dignus es enim immolatione tali, qui salutem tuam in incerti pecoris sitam visceribus opinaris.”
“How long, O Jew, do you not yet scatter the darkness of your brutish heart, and fail to recognise — even by testing them — the oracles of the sacred Law now fulfilled in Christ? Yet, according to your own sense, if you wish to celebrate a legitimate Passover, you must seek the lamb as it was commanded, formed from the discordant nature of both lambs and goats combined — which your own ancestors never found among the flocks of cattle. And would that you might find it; for you are indeed worthy of such an immolation, you who suppose your salvation to lie in the entrails of an uncertain beast.”
PL 11, col. 523 — Tractatus II.LXV, De Exodo XII (Ad Judaeos), §I
XIV. Tractatus II.LXVI — De Exodo XIII / De Judaeis (col. 525)
On Exodus, XIII — titled “De Judaeis” in the Zenonianus and Venetian editions
On the Impossibility of a Jewish Passover: A Comprehensive Indictment
“Judæos legitimum pascha celebrare non posse paucis accipe, Christiane. Salomonis templum hostili vastatione subversum cum ruina sua jaceat sepultum: ubi sacrificant? Sacerdotes jam non habent, qui eorum pro salute sacrificent. Tauros, hircos, arietes, et agnos abhorret Dominus; unde sacrificant? Deum dereliquerunt, altaria ejus everterunt: cui sacrificant? Sane hoc solum proprium retinent, quod, ut vilem libidinem magis ac magis augeant, vilioribus se lavacris omni momento baptizant, Deo semper ingrati.”
“Learn in a few words, O Christian, that the Jews cannot celebrate a legitimate Passover. The Temple of Solomon, overthrown by hostile devastation, lies buried in its own ruin — where do they sacrifice? They no longer have priests to sacrifice for their salvation — through whom do they sacrifice? The Lord abhors bulls, goats, rams, and lambs — what do they offer? They have abandoned God and overturned His altars — to whom do they sacrifice? Indeed this alone remains their own: that, to increase their base lust more and more, they baptise themselves at every moment in ever more sordid washings — ever ungrateful to God.”
PL 11, col. 525 — Tractatus II.LXVI, De Exodo XIII (De Judaeis), §I
On the Full Catalogue of Jewish Loss and Condemnation in Scripture
“Synagoga spelunca latronum: sacerdotalis cathedra pestilentia: sacrificium canina mactatio: jejunia odium: populus progenies viperarum. Post hæc quid præsumant, æstimare non possum, homines, qui salutem suam in pecorum morte constituunt: cum Deus posteaquam de Ægypto egressi sunt, ubi imaginarium pascha gesserunt, dicat: Plenus sum holocaustomatis arietum et pinguamine agnorum: quis enim hæc exquisivit de manibus vestris? Utique, fratres, incunctanter eis ademit pascha, qui id per quod ab eis pascha geritur, reprobavit.”
“The Synagogue — a den of thieves. The priestly throne — pestilence. The sacrifice — the slaughter of dogs. The fasts — hatred. The people — a generation of vipers. After all this I cannot estimate what they presume, men who place their salvation in the death of cattle — when God, after they came out of Egypt where they performed a merely figurative Passover, says: ‘I am full of holocausts of rams and the fat of fatlings; who hath required these things at your hands?’ Assuredly, brethren, without hesitation He removed from them the Passover — He who repudiated that by means of which their Passover is observed.”
PL 11, col. 525 — Tractatus II.LXVI, De Exodo XIII (De Judaeis), §II
On the Jews as Still Venerating Only an Empty Image, Lacking Its Truth
“At imaginem colunt. Nec ipsam quidem, qui falso colit imaginem, qui ejus non diligit veritatem. Sane hoc solum proprium retinent… Circumcisio vacuatur. Sabbatum denotatur. Neomeniæ et dies festi odio habentur. Potiuntur eorum Romani regno. Nihil, ut arbitror, restitit illis proprium, nisi quod Agno salutari neglecto, ingrati viles agnos cum amaritudine, homines amari manducant.”
“But they honour an image. And not even that truly — he who falsely honours an image, yet does not love its truth. Indeed this alone remains to them… Circumcision is made void. The Sabbath is branded. New moons and feast-days are held in hatred. The Romans hold possession of their kingdom. Nothing, as I judge, has remained to them as their own, except that — having neglected the saving Lamb — they eat in bitterness their vile lambs ungratefully, bitter men all.”
PL 11, col. 525 — Tractatus II.LXVI, De Exodo XIII (De Judaeis), §II
XV. Tractatus II.LXVII — De Exodo XIV (col. 527)
On Exodus, XIV
On the Jews Retaining Nothing Whatsoever of Divine Religion
“Judæos non tantum legitimum pascha celebrare non posse, sed religionis divinæ prorsus nihil retinere paucis accipite. Salomonis templum, de quo præsumebant, cecidit. Altaria Dei ipsi everterunt. Lex et prophetæ usque ad Joannem. Sacerdotibus eorum luctus indicitur. Immolatio aufertur. Circumcisio vacuatur. Sabbatum denotatur. Neomeniæ et dies festi odio habentur. Potiuntur eorum Romani regno.”
“Learn in brief that the Jews cannot celebrate not merely a legitimate Passover, but retain absolutely nothing of divine religion. The Temple of Solomon, upon which they presumed, has fallen. They themselves overturned the altars of God. The Law and the Prophets extend only until John. Mourning is imposed upon their priests. Immolation is taken away. Circumcision is made void. The Sabbath is branded as reprobate. New moons and feast-days are held in abhorrence. The Romans hold dominion over their kingdom.”
PL 11, col. 527 — Tractatus II.LXVII, De Exodo XIV, §I
On the Synagogue as a Den of Thieves, Its Throne as Pestilence, Its People as a Generation of Vipers
“Synagoga spelunca latronum: sacerdotalis cathedra pestilentia: sacrificium canina mactatio: jejunia odium: populus progenies viperarum.”
“The Synagogue — a den of thieves. The priestly throne — pestilence. The sacrifice — the slaughter of dogs. The fasts — hatred. The people — a generation of vipers.”
PL 11, col. 527 — Tractatus II.LXVII, De Exodo XIV, §I
Note: Zeno here strings together the condemning Scriptural designations applied by Christ and the Prophets to the Jewish religious order: the “den of thieves” (Matt. 21:13, Jer. 7:11), “seat of pestilence” (Ps. 1:1), and “generation of vipers” (Matt. 3:7; 12:34).
Sources
- Patrologia Latina, Tomus XI: Sancti Zenonis Episcopi Veronensis Tractatus; Sancti Optati Milevitani de Schismate Donatistarum. Accurante J.-P. Migne. Parisiis: Excudebatur et venit apud J.-P. Migne Editorem, 1844.
- Zenonis Veronensis Tractatus, ed. Bengt Löfstedt, Corpus Christianorum Series Latina 22 (Turnhout: Brepols, 1971). (The modern critical edition, using a different tractate-numbering system than Migne.)
- Bigelmair, Andreas. Zeno von Verona. Münster: Aschendorff, 1904. (The standard monograph on Zeno’s life, works, and theology.)
All Latin text is as printed in Migne’s Patrologia Latina, vol. 11 (Paris, 1844), collated against the Ballerini brothers’ edition (Verona, 1739). English renderings are translated directly from that Latin. Tractate numbering follows Migne; the Löfstedt (CCL 22) numbering differs. Manuscript sigla cited in Migne’s footnotes (Rem. = Remensi; Vat. = Vaticano; Pomp. = Pompeiano; Zen. = Zenoniano; Tol. = Tolentinate; Urb. = Urbinate; Ven. = Editio Veneta; Ver. = Editio Veronensis) are omitted in the translations above for readability.