Voices and influences
Bede
He wrote England's first history from inside a Northumbrian monastery, and taught the world to count years from the birth of Christ.
Summary
This site quotes Bede 510 times across 28 books, and lists 0 works.
- Lived died 735.
- Quoted here most in Mark: 118 of 510.
Bede
- Lived
- died 735
- Tradition
- Patristic
5 of 510 quotations
Own words
Quoted at 50 words or fewer, because Bede's works are in copyright.
Clothed in flesh, [Christ] descended into the water as "an angel of great counsel," that is, as a herald of the Father's will to Jewish people. By his deeds and his teaching he moved sinners, so that he would be killed—he who, by his bodily …
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government will be upon His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. BSB
The windows of the temple are the holy teachers and all the spiritual people in the church to whom when in divine ecstasy it is granted more specially than to the others to see the hidden mysteries of heaven. And when they reveal publicly to …
1 Kings 6:4 He also had narrow windows framed high in the temple. BSB
King Cyrus also brought forth the vessels of the temple of the Lord, etc. Nebuchadnezzar took the vessels of the Lord from Jerusalem, as any unclean spirit, snatching certain of the faithful from the Church, deprives them of the joy of internal peace. Moreover, he …
Ezra 1:7 King Cyrus also brought out the articles belonging to the house of the LORD that Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from Jerusalem and placed in the temple of his gods. BSB
After these things were completed, etc. The guilt of this transgression is also clearly described and reproved by prophetic authority in the prophet Malachi; because evidently those who returned from Babylonian captivity, both princes and priests and Levites, as well as the rest of the …
Ezra 9:1 After these things had been accomplished, the leaders approached me and said, “The people of Israel, including the priests and Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the surrounding peoples whose abominations are like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians, and Amorites. BSB
"And poverty will come upon you like a traveler," etc. For poverty and misery are the ultimate punishment, in which the damned deserve nothing of wealth: they will come like a traveler, because unforeseen and sudden; like an armed man, because they cannot be conquered …
Proverbs 6:11 and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and need like a bandit. BSB
Influence, on the record
This site quotes Bede 510 times across 28 books.
This site’s own count of what it does with the voice
The life, in order
The life told as one accountfrom this site's record
Bede was born about 673 on land belonging to the twin monastery of Wearmouth and Jarrow, in Northumbria. He was handed over to the monks at the age of seven. He never really left. In the last paragraph of his great history he wrote that he had spent his whole life in that monastery, giving his attention to studying the Scriptures, and that amid the observance of the Rule and the daily task of singing in church, it had always been his delight to learn, to teach, or to write. He was ordained deacon at nineteen and priest at thirty. He travelled almost nowhere — a trip to Lindisfarne, a trip to York. The great sweep of his work was done from a library and a scriptorium at the northern edge of the known world. That library was the point. Benedict Biscop, who founded the monastery, had made five journeys to Rome and hauled back books. Bede therefore had access to a collection unlike anything else in northern Europe, and he used every volume of it. He wrote around sixty works. Most of them are biblical commentaries — Genesis, Samuel, Kings, Ezra and Nehemiah, Proverbs, the Song of Songs, Mark, Luke, Acts, the catholic epistles, Revelation — plus homilies, saints' lives, works on grammar, metre, orthography, and the natural world. Two of them changed things permanently. The first is The Reckoning of Time, a technical book about the calendar, the tides, the moon, and the dating of Easter. In it he laid out the anno Domini system — counting years forward from the incarnation — and used it consistently. The idea came from Dionysius Exiguus two centuries earlier, but it was Bede who put it to work in a book everyone read, and that is why the year has the number it has. The second is the Ecclesiastical History of the English People, finished in 731. It is the reason we know anything about Anglo-Saxon England: Augustine's landing in Kent, Edwin's conversion and the sparrow flying through the lighted hall, the Synod of Whitby, Caedmon the cowherd who was given a song in the night, Cuthbert on his island. Bede named his sources, distinguished what he had verified from what he had only heard, and wrote a preface asking readers to correct him. That is a historian's conscience, four hundred years before anyone else in Europe was showing one. He died on 25 May 735, dictating the last sentence of a translation of John's Gospel into English. His pupil Cuthbert wrote the account: the boy taking dictation said the sentence was finished, and Bede said, It is well, you have spoken truth — it is finished. Sources: Bede, Ecclesiastical History of the English People and The Reckoning of Time; Cuthbert, Letter on the Death of Bede; Philip Schaff, History of the Christian Church, vol. IV; The Catholic Encyclopedia (1913).
510 quotations across 28 books
Where this voice is quoted
The fool delights in shameful conduct, but a man of understanding has wisdom.
“As if through laughter a fool works mischief, etc. Prudence takes its name from providence. Therefore, it is foolish to rejoice in mischief (Proverb. XIV).”
What the wicked man dreads will overtake him, but the desire of the righteous will be granted.
“What the wicked fears shall come upon him, etc. He speaks of that wicked one who sins knowingly. Therefore, the wicked fear to see the strict judge; the righteous desire to be dissolved and be with Christ: he, lest he be deprived of earthly joys…”
When the wicked man dies, his hope perishes, and the hope of his strength vanishes.
“"And the expectation of the diligent will perish." Similarly, there is one kind of diligence with which the good are always girded to fulfill God's commandments; another, with which the wicked, when they sin knowingly, fear diligently lest they someday be seized for eternal punishment.”
The righteous man is delivered from trouble; in his place the wicked man goes in.
“"The righteous is delivered out of trouble," etc. Any martyr freed from the distress of suffering after death will be entrusted to punishment on account of his cause to the persecutor who caused him distress.”
With his mouth the ungodly man destroys his neighbor, but through knowledge the righteous are rescued.
“"A hypocrite with his mouth destroys his neighbor," etc. A heretic who pretends to teach Catholic doctrine deceives his listener; but those who justly follow the truth of the Gospel will be freed by Catholic knowledge so that they are not snatched by heretic deception.”
A gossip reveals a secret, but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.
“"He who walks prudently reveals secrets," etc. And the Lord in the Gospel, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone; if he listens to you, you have gained your brother," etc. (Matt. XVIII).”
One gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor.
“Others seize what is not theirs, etc. He says, They will always be in poverty, not only in torments, where they receive not even a drop of water to be refreshed for a short while (Luke XVI), but even in this life, where although they…”
A generous soul will prosper, and he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
“The soul that blesses will be enriched, etc. He who outwardly blesses by preaching receives inwardly the fatness of increase. And while he ceases not to drench the minds of his hearers with sacred discourse, he himself grows fat with the multiple drink of grace.”
He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will thrive like foliage.
“He who trusts in his riches will fall, etc. He who hankers after present goods and does not think of future ones, will lack both in the end.”
The plans of the righteous are just, but the counsel of the wicked leads to deceit.
“The thoughts of the righteous are judgments, etc. The righteous judge their actions by diligent meditation, to see if they please the Lord, lest, by any chance, being less careful, the heavenly arbiter dispenses adversities against them invisibly; according to that of the Apostle, If…”
A man is praised according to his wisdom, but a twisted mind is despised.
“A man will be known by his doctrine. Scripture usually calls those endowed with divine virtues men. Hence the Apostle: Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men (I Cor. XVI).”
Better to be lightly esteemed yet have a servant, than to be self-important but lack food.
“Better is the poor who is sufficient for himself, etc. Better is the simple and humble brother, who, working the good he knows, earns life in heaven, than he who is renowned for scripture learning or even performs the office of a doctor, but lacks…”
A righteous man regards the life of his animal, but the tender mercies of the wicked are only cruelty.
“But the compassion of the wicked is cruel. Who not only do not sympathize with those under them, but also, according to what the Lord says: Beat the male and female servants, saying, My master is delayed in coming (Luke XII).”
A fool’s anger is known at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult.
“The fool immediately shows his anger, etc. He who desires to avenge himself in the present is a fool; but he who disregards an injury for the sake of the Lord is wise.”
Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.
“The lip of truth shall be established forever, etc. The faith of the Church shall always remain. But he who suddenly introduces new dogmas is a minister of the heretic.”
A shrewd man keeps his knowledge to himself, but a foolish heart proclaims its folly.
“A shrewd man conceals knowledge. Shrewd in this place is understood in a good sense, that is, wise and prudent, who sometimes conceals his knowledge out of prudence: for two reasons, either not being able to speak to weak listeners as to spiritual ones, but…”
A mocker seeks wisdom and finds none, but knowledge comes easily to the discerning.
“The mocker seeks wisdom, etc. Caiaphas, who said to the Lord, "I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ"; because he sought badly, he did not deserve to find what he sought.”
A truthful witness saves lives, but one who utters lies is deceitful.
“A faithful witness delivers souls, etc. Christ, who is the faithful witness, liberates souls, as we read in the Apocalypse; and, as the Apostle says, he testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate (I Tim. VI).”
The fear of the LORD is a fountain of life, turning a man from the snares of death.
“The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, etc. This then is the hope of those who fear the Lord, that turning away from the ruin of death, they may merit to come to Him who says, I am the way, and the…”
A king delights in a wise servant, but his anger falls on the shameful.
“His wrath will fall upon the useless. He indeed about whom the same says: And cast the useless servant into the outer darkness (Ibid.)”
Discipline is harsh for him who leaves the path; he who hates correction will die.
“The instruction of the wicked leads away from life, etc. The doctrine is evil of those who desert the path of truth; about whom the Lord says, Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least…”
Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great treasure with turmoil.
“Better is a little with the fear of the Lord, etc. As it is in the psalm: Better is a little that the righteous person has than the riches of many wicked (Ps. XXXVI).”
The light of the eyes cheers the heart, and good news nourishes the bones.
“The light of the eyes rejoices the soul, etc. It rightly delights the human mind, when it recognizes, by the Lord's revelation, that it has perceived the light of heavenly mysteries.”
He who listens to life-giving reproof will dwell among the wise.
“The ear that hears the corrections of life, etc. The disciple who obediently listens to the corrections of teachers often progresses to the very seat of honor. Finally, Paul, who humbly submitted to the correction of his Creator, subsequently reached the seat of apostolic dignity.”
Better a little with righteousness than great gain with injustice.
“Better is a little with righteousness, etc. And the Lord says, Blessed are the poor, for yours is the kingdom of God (Matthew V). And again, Woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation (Luke VI).”