And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
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Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
De Con. Evan., 4, 5: We must take care that this saying of the Lord appear not to be contrary to that where He says, “He who is not with Me is against Me.” But surely what is implied is that aman is not with Him in as far as he is against Him, and is not against Him inas far as he is with Him. For instance, he who worked miracles in the name of Christ, and yet did not join himself to the body of His disciples, inas far as he worked the miracles in His name, was with them, and was not against them; again, in that he did not join their society, he was not with them, and was against them. Be because they forbade his doing that in which he was with them, the Lord said unto them, “Forbid him not:” for they ought to have forbidden his being without their society, and thus to have persuaded him of the unity of the Church, but they should not have forbidden that in which he was with them, that is, his commendation of the name of their Lord and Master by the expulsion of devils. Thus the Church...
He did not shrink from using the same words three times over in one passage. And who is not terrified by this repetition and by the threat of that punishment uttered so vehemently by the lips of the Lord himself? The City of God
John, loving the Lord with eminent devotion, thought that He who performed an office to which He had no right wasto be excluded from the benefit of it.Wherefore it is said, “And John answered Him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in Thy name, and hefolloweth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.”.
By which He shows that no one is tobe driven away from that partial goodness which he possesses already, but rather to be stirred up to that which he has not as yet obtained.
And fitly the man who if offended is called a little one, for he who is great, whatever he may suffer, departs not from the faith; but he who is little and weak in mind looks out for occasions of stumbling. For this reason we must most of all look to those who are little ones in the faith, lest by our fault they should be offended, and go back from the faith, and fall away from salvation.
And if thy hand scandalize thee, cut it of. For a scandal is so pernicious that it harms not only the doer but the sufferer of it. Wherefore, if thou sufferest a scandal from thy hand, cut it off. That Isaiah , if any one, relative or friend, as useful and as dear to thee as thy hand, thy foot, thine eye, scandalize thee, that Isaiah , draw thee into sin, separate such an one from thy company, lest he drag thee with him into Gehenna.
In Faeceh., 1, Hom. 7: We must observe, however, that in our good works we must sometimes avoid the offence ofour neighbour, sometimes look down upon it as of no moment. For in as far as wecan do it without sin, we ought to avoid the offence of our neighbour; but if astumblingblock is laid before men in what concerns the truth, it is better toallow the offence to arise, than that the truth should be abandoned.
de eura, past. p.i.v.2: Mystically by a millstone is expressed the tedious round and toil of a secular life, and by the depths of the sea, the worst damnation is pointed out. He who therefore, after having been brought to a profession of sanctity, destroys others, either by word or example, it had been indeed better for him that his worldly deeds should render him liable to death, under a secular garb, than that his holy office should hole him out as an example for others in his faults, because doubtless if he had fallen alone, his pain in hell would have been of a more endurable...
Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: For many believers received gifts, and yet were not with Christ, such was this man who cast out devils; for there were many of them deficient in some way; some were pure in life, but were not so perfect in faith; others again, contrariwise.
Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc. It was not from jealousy or envy, however, that John wished to forbid him who cast out devils, but because he wished that all who called on the name of the Lord should follow Christ and be one body with His disciples. But the Lord, however unworthy they who perform the miracles may be, incites others by their means to believe on Him, and induces themselves by this unspeakable grace to becomebetter.Wherefore there follows: “But Jesus said, Forbid him not.”.
Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.: In conformity to this, He shows that he is not to be forbidden, adding immediately after, “For there is no man which shall do a miracle in My name, that can lightly speak evil of Me.” He says “lightly” to meet the c...
Or again, some unbelievers, seeing that the name of Jesus was full of virtue, themselves used it, and performed signs, though they were unworthy of Divine grace; for the Lord wished to extend His name even by the unworthy.
For how can he speak evil of Me, who draws glory from My name, and works miracles by the invocation of thisvery name. There follows, “For he that is not against you is on your part.”.
Not only will I not forbid him who works miracles in My name, but also whosoever shall give you the smallest thing for My name’s sake, and shall receive you, not on account of human and worldly favour, but from love to Me, shall not lose his reward.
