Last sermon, on Exodus (sermon 22)
Forbidden to preach, Savonarola takes leave of the people and commends the faithful to God; his last sermon.
Santa Maria del Fiore.
Italian text: Pasquale Villari and Eugenio Casanova, eds., Scelta di prediche e scritti di fra Girolamo Savonarola (Florence: Carnesecchi, 1898), pp. 318-331 (passages selected by the editors from the sermon). English: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), public domain (CC0).
1Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 318
Quando accade qualche disordine in questo universo, alle cause particolari ha a supplire la causa universale, e non lasciare quel vacuo per non disordinare l'universo. Ma, quando manca ogni cosa, e che la causa universale non vi provvede, bisogna ricorrere a Dio, causa universalissima; e allora non gli è altro rimedio. Sicché tu vedi che per fuggire il disordine, quando manca la causa particolare, si ricorre alla universale, e quella provvede. — Ma dimmi più forte: quando le cause universali fossero infette e maculate; e avessero pessime influenze, che bisognerà fare? — Ti rispondo che non solo non si deve ricorrere ad esse, ma fuggirle, e fargli resistenza. È dunque da considerare, quando viene il disordine nell' universo di Cristo, se le cause universali sono in termine che si possa andare al loro ricorso. Verbigrazia, se in un monastero, un frate particolare fa un disordine, diciamo d' un novizio, e' gli provvede la sua causa universale, cioè il maestro de' novizi; e, se lui non vi provvede, si ricorre al priore del convento; e se lui non provvede, si ricorre poi al superiore del priore, cioè al provinciale o al vicario generale; se lui non provvedesse, si ricorre poi al generale; e, se il generale non vi provvede, si ricorre finalmente al Papa, come causa più universale di tutti. Ma, se il Papa poi non li provvede lui, e mancasse quella causa universale, si ricorre poi al Papa celeste, cioè, a Cristo. Un altro esempio ancora: se un cittadino facesse male contro alla Chiesa, verbigrazia, dicesse male della fede, si ricorre, il primo tratto, al suo parrocchiano; e, se lui non gli provvede, si ricorre al vescovo; e, se il vescovo non gli provvede, si ricorre al Papa; e, se il Papa non provvede, si ricorre a Cristo, perché quello è l'ultimo rimedio.
When some disorder occurs in this universe, the universal cause must make up for the particular causes and not leave that gap, so as not to throw the universe into disorder. But when everything fails, and the universal cause does not provide for it, one must have recourse to God, the most universal cause; and then there is no other remedy. So you see that, to avoid disorder, when the particular cause fails, one has recourse to the universal, and it provides. “But tell me something harder: if the universal causes were infected and stained, and had very bad influences, what will one have to do?” I answer you that not only must one not have recourse to them, but one must flee them and resist them. It must therefore be considered, when disorder comes into the universe of Christ, whether the universal causes are in such a state that one can have recourse to them. For example, if in a monastery a particular friar causes a disorder, let us say a novice, his universal cause provides for it, that is, the master of novices; and if he does not provide for it, one has recourse to the prior of the convent; and if he does not provide, one then has recourse to the prior's superior, that is, to the provincial or the vicar general; if he did not provide, one then has recourse to the master general; and if the general does not provide, one finally has recourse to the Pope, as the most universal cause of all. But if the Pope then does not provide for it himself, and that universal cause failed, one then has recourse to the heavenly Pope, that is, to Christ. Another example: if a citizen did wrong against the Church, for example spoke ill of the faith, one has recourse in the first place to his parish priest; and if he does not provide, one has recourse to the bishop; and if the bishop does not provide, one has recourse to the Pope; and if the Pope does not provide, one has recourse to Christ, because that is the last remedy.
Notes and citation
Summary: In his last sermon Savonarola argues that when lower authorities fail, one appeals to higher ones up to the Pope, and when the Pope fails, to Christ.
- This is Savonarola's last sermon, the twenty-second on Exodus, preached at San Marco on 18 March 1498, after the Signoria, under threat of a papal interdict, asked him to stop preaching. The text is a selection by the editors; the ellipses mark their omissions.
- The language of universal and particular causes is scholastic natural philosophy, applied here to the order of the Church.
- The words “Di FRA GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA 319” in the printed text are a running head and page number of the edition and are left untranslated.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “disordinare l'universo Ma,”; corrected to “disordinare l'universo. Ma,” (lost full stop in the OCR).
- Printed text read “altro "rimedio. Sicché tu vedi Di FRA GIROLAMO SAVONAROLA 319 che”; corrected to “altro rimedio. Sicché tu vedi che” (running head and page number of the edition in the OCR).
- Printed text read “fargli resistenza E dunque”; corrected to “fargli resistenza. È dunque” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “Yerbigrazia”; corrected to “Verbigrazia” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §1 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 318; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-1).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
2Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 318-320
Ma, se accadesse che queste cause universali dell' universo di Cristo e della sua Chiesa non solamente non aiutassero, ma più presto fossero infette, e avessero cattiva influenza da guastare la Chiesa di Cristo, che si ha a fare allora? Ecco: se tu avessi un giardino, e una parte di quello la guastasse il vento, tu gli faresti un muro per fargli resistenza, che quella influenza non guasti il tuo giardino; cosi dunque, se tu vedessi che i prelati e le cause universali della Chiesa la guastassero, e che dessero animo ai cattivi, li aiutassero e favorissero, e perseguitassero i buoni, che si ha a fare allora? Hassi a resistere a questa influenza: hai a fare orazione, e hai a ricorrere a Cristo. Questo è quanto rimedio tu hai bisogno, dico fargli resistenza; e ognuno deve resistere alla influenza cattiva. — frate, e' non si ha andare contro alla potestà ecclesiastica. — Dico che quando la guasta la Chiesa, non è potestà ecclesiastica, ma è potestà infernale, ed è potestà di Satanasso. Io ti dico che, quando ella aiuta le meretrici, i cinedi e i ladroni, e perseguita i buoni, e cerca di guastare il ben vivere cristiano, allora ella è potestà infernale e diabolica, e hassegli a far resistenza, e riprenderla arditamente, come fece san Paolo a san Pietro, il quale lo riprese arditamente, e dice: Reprehendi eum quia reprehensibilis erat. Sicché voi dite che non si ha a riprendere? Voi credete adunque che le chiavi di Cristo siano fatte contro a Cristo?
But if it happened that these universal causes of the universe of Christ and of his Church not only did not help, but rather were infected, and had a bad influence so as to spoil the Church of Christ, what must be done then? Look: if you had a garden, and the wind was spoiling a part of it, you would build a wall to resist it, so that that influence should not spoil your garden; so then, if you saw that the prelates and the universal causes of the Church were spoiling it, and were encouraging the wicked, helping and favouring them, and persecuting the good, what must be done then? One must resist this influence: you must pray, and you must have recourse to Christ. This is all the remedy you need, I say: to resist it; and everyone must resist the bad influence. “O friar, one must not go against the ecclesiastical power.” I say that when it spoils the Church, it is not ecclesiastical power, but infernal power, the power of Satan. I tell you that when it helps prostitutes, sodomites and robbers, and persecutes the good, and seeks to spoil good Christian living, then it is infernal and diabolical power, and it must be resisted and rebuked boldly, as Saint Paul did to Saint Peter, whom he rebuked boldly; and he says: “I rebuked him because he was blameworthy.” So you say that one must not rebuke? Do you believe, then, that the keys of Christ were made against Christ?
Gal 2:11 (allusion, high confidence) · Matt 16:19 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He argues that when prelates corrupt the Church and favour the wicked, their power is not ecclesiastical but diabolical and must be resisted, as Paul rebuked Peter.
- “I rebuked him because he was blameworthy” adapts Gal 2:11 [Vulgate “in faciem ei restiti quia reprehensibilis erat”].
- “The keys of Christ” recalls Matt 16:19.
- This passage, delivered while Savonarola was under excommunication by Alexander VI (May 1497), is translated exactly as he spoke it.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “a Cristo-.”; corrected to “a Cristo.” (stray hyphen in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §2 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 318–320; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-2).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
3Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 320-321
Signore, tu hai fatto le tue cose e la tua potestà contro a te medesimo e contro ai tuoi? Nequaquam: questo non sarà mai vero. Sicché avranno la potestà ecclesiastica per potere meretricare, e poter lussuriare, e poter fare ogni male senza riprensione, e per avere licenza di guastare il ben vivere? Le leggi che non ha fatto Cristo, io ti dico che elle non son buone. — Oh! Cristo non ha egli fatto tutte le leggi della Chiesa? — Io ti dico che Cristo ha fatte tutte le leggi buone, perché nessuno può pensare, né fare cosa buona, se non l'ha dato Cristo. Tutte adunque le leggi buone vengono da Cristo; e ogni volta che una legge è contro alla intenzione di Cristo, sappi ch'ella non è più legge, perché è contro al bene. Dunque tu credi che gli scellerati e cattivi uomini con queste leggi si potessero difendere a far male? Credi tu che questa sia intenzione di Cristo? Non lo credere. Se questa fosse la intenzione di Cristo, non sarebbe più Cristo. Se tu vuoi che la potestà ecclesiastica possa fare ogni cosa e ogni male, adunque potrebbe ammazzarti, e torti la tua donna, e fare ogni altro male; e tu avresti a starti con le mani legate e cortesi. Io ti dico che ogni volta che la legge è contro alla intenzione di Cristo non è più legge. Questi religiosi allegano pure il privilegio del mare magnum. Non è quel privilegio, vi dico io, fatto per far male, e, se fosse fatto per servire a questo, non sarebbe privilegio, né legge.
Lord, have you made your things and your power against yourself and against your own? By no means: this will never be true. So they will have ecclesiastical power in order to be able to whore, and to be able to indulge their lust, and to be able to do every evil without rebuke, and to have licence to spoil good living? The laws that Christ did not make, I tell you, are not good. “Oh! did not Christ make all the laws of the Church?” I tell you that Christ made all good laws, because no one can think or do a good thing unless Christ has given it. All good laws, then, come from Christ; and whenever a law is against the intention of Christ, know that it is no longer a law, because it is against the good. So do you believe that wicked and bad men could shield themselves with these laws to do evil? Do you believe that this is the intention of Christ? Do not believe it. If this were the intention of Christ, he would no longer be Christ. If you want ecclesiastical power to be able to do anything and every evil, then it could kill you, and take your wife, and do every other evil; and you would have to stand there with your hands tied, and politely. I tell you that whenever the law is against the intention of Christ, it is no longer law. These religious also cite the privilege of the Mare magnum. That privilege was not made, I tell you, for doing evil; and if it were made to serve this, it would be neither privilege nor law.
Notes and citation
Summary: He argues that Christ is the source of all good laws, so that a church law or privilege used against Christ's intention is no law at all.
- “By no means” renders the Latin “Nequaquam”.
- The Mare magnum was the collective name for the papal privileges granted to the mendicant orders (notably by Sixtus IV in 1474); Savonarola's opponents among the religious appealed to it.
- The principle that a law against the purpose of the lawgiver is no law follows Aquinas, Summa theologiae I-II q.96 a.4.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “ben vivere Le leggi”; corrected to “ben vivere? Le leggi” (lost punctuation in the OCR).
- Printed text read “ogni volta che mia legge”; corrected to “ogni volta che una legge” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “sappi eli' ella”; corrected to “sappi ch'ella” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “intenzione di" Cristo”; corrected to “intenzione di Cristo” (stray character in the OCR).
- Printed text read “fatto,per servire”; corrected to “fatto per servire” (stray comma in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §3 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 320–321; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-3).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
4Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 321-322
Tu hai adunque inteso che, quando le cause universali non provvedono, o che danno cattiva influenza alla Chiesa, che s' ha a ricorrere a Cristo e dirgli: Tu sei il mio prelato, il mio parrocchiano; tu sei il mio vescovo; tu sei il mio papa. Signore mio, Iesù Cristo, provvedi alla tua Chiesa; provvedi al tuo universo; leva via questa influenza cattiva, fa' vendetta, Signore, che non si può star più sotto. Ecco or che tu hai veduto, che i discorsi che ti feci in principio del nostro parlare, a che proposito eran detti; ed hai visto che sono molto bene a proposito nostro. Or lasciami un poco riposare. Sicché voi credete che Cristo abbia dato la potestà ecclesiastica per guastare il suo universo? Io ti dissi di sopra che nessuno poteva guastare l' ordine dell' universo, se non Dio che l' aveva fatto. Cosi questo universo della Chiesa di Cristo, il quale lui ha fatto, tocca a lui a mantenerlo, guastarlo e conservarlo. Non appartiene, ti dico io, alle parti inferiori a poter disordinare l'universo; ma, ogni volta che le inferiori volessero fare disordine, tocca alle cause superiori universali a provvedervi, e, ultimo, tocca a Dio, come t' ho detto. Ma perché tu di': — Frate, tu debiliti la potestà ecclesiastica; — ti rispondo che questo non è vero, anzi voglio stare sotto la potestà ecclesiastica, e cosi mi sottometto, me e tutto quello che ho sempre detto, alla correzione della romana Chiesa e della potestà ecclesiastica, e non la debilito punto, anzi l' aumento e voglio star sotto quella, e non già sotto la potestà infernale, e non sotto la potestà diabolica.
You have understood, then, that when the universal causes do not provide, or give a bad influence to the Church, one must have recourse to Christ and say to him: You are my prelate, my parish priest; you are my bishop; you are my pope. My Lord Jesus Christ, provide for your Church; provide for your universe; take away this bad influence; take vengeance, Lord, for we can bear it no longer. See now that you have seen to what purpose the arguments I made at the beginning of our discourse were spoken; and you have seen that they are very much to our purpose. Now let me rest a little. So do you believe that Christ gave ecclesiastical power in order to spoil his universe? I told you above that no one could spoil the order of the universe except God, who had made it. So this universe of the Church of Christ, which he made, it belongs to him to maintain, to spoil and to preserve. It does not belong, I tell you, to the lower parts to be able to throw the universe into disorder; but whenever the lower ones wanted to cause disorder, it belongs to the higher universal causes to provide for it, and lastly it belongs to God, as I have told you. But because you say, “Friar, you weaken the ecclesiastical power,” I answer you that this is not true; on the contrary, I want to remain under the ecclesiastical power, and so I submit myself, myself and all that I have ever said, to the correction of the Roman Church and of the ecclesiastical power; and I do not weaken it at all; on the contrary I increase it, and I want to remain under it, and not under the infernal power, and not under the diabolical power.
Notes and citation
Summary: He tells his hearers to appeal to Christ as their true prelate and pope, and declares that he submits all he has said to the correction of the Roman Church, though not to an infernal power.
- His submission to the correction of the Roman Church is translated exactly as he made it.
- The word “Savonarola” printed in the middle of the section is a running head of the edition and is left untranslated.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “Signore mio, lesù Cristo”; corrected to “Signore mio, Iesù Cristo” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “eraii detti”; corrected to “eran detti” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “guastarlo e Savonarola conservarlo”; corrected to “guastarlo e conservarlo” (running head of the edition in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §4 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 321–322; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-4).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
5Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 322-323
Io la difendo la potestà ecclesiastica, e la Chiesa romana, e la dottrina di Cristo. La potestà ecclesiastica e la romana Chiesa vuole il ben vivere, vuole difendere i buoni, non aiutare i cattivi, non favorirli: sicché io la magnifico, io la esalto. Come credete voi che io non voglio la potestà ecclesiastica? Ma io voglio che tu intenda come si ha ad intendere. — frate. Papa omnia potest. — Come intendi tu questo omnia potest? Il Papa non può tor via il battesimo; questo non può già fare il Papa; ergo non omnia potest. Se ti comandasse e dicesse: — Io non voglio che tu ti confessi mai, e non voglio che tu ti battezzi; — io gli direi: — Papa, tu sei eretico, e non ti voglio obbedire. Dunque il Papa non può ogni cosa. Quell'omnia s'intende che può tutte le cose che confanno con Cristo, e che concordano con la sua intenzione. Esponi dunque quell' omnia cioè, tutte le cose buone, perché quello che è male e che è ingiusto è nulla. Or tu vedi che te l' ho esposto bene io. Orsù, è necessario adunque che i cristiani vogliano esser cristiani, e che quando mancano le cause universali, si riducano a Cristo, e facciano orazione, e che lui provveda alla sua Chiesa e al suo universo. Io l' ho fatto, e dicolo qua in presenza d' ognuno, che tu, Signore, hai udita l' orazione, ed hai promesso di esaudire e di soccorrere, e presto. E l'ha promesso, e sótti dire che lo farà, e conserverà la sua Chiesa, e la potestà ecclesiastica. — frate, tu sei in un grande pericolo. — Andando iersera cosi pensando sopra questo punto, apersi cosi la Bibbia e trovai quello che accadde a Ieremia, al XX capitolo; e che lui fu ancora in gran pericolo.
I defend the ecclesiastical power, and the Roman Church, and the doctrine of Christ. The ecclesiastical power and the Roman Church want good living, want to defend the good, not to help the wicked or favour them: so I magnify it, I exalt it. How can you believe that I do not want the ecclesiastical power? But I want you to understand how it is to be understood. “O friar, the Pope can do all things.” How do you understand this “can do all things”? The Pope cannot take away baptism; this the Pope certainly cannot do; therefore he cannot do all things. If he commanded you and said, “I do not want you ever to confess, and I do not want you to be baptized,” I would say to him: “Pope, you are a heretic, and I will not obey you.” So the Pope cannot do everything. That “all things” is understood to mean that he can do all the things that agree with Christ and accord with his intention. Expound, then, that “all things” as: all good things, because what is evil and unjust is nothing. Now you see that I have expounded it well to you. Come, then, it is necessary that Christians be willing to be Christians, and that when the universal causes fail, they turn to Christ, and pray, so that he may provide for his Church and for his universe. I have done so, and I say it here in the presence of everyone, that you, Lord, have heard the prayer, and have promised to grant it and to come to our aid, and soon. And he has promised it, and I can tell you that he will do it, and will preserve his Church and the ecclesiastical power. “O friar, you are in great danger.” Going about last night thinking over this point, I opened the Bible at random and found what happened to Jeremiah, in chapter 20, and that he too was in great danger.
Jer 20:1–18 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He explains that the Pope's power extends only to what accords with Christ, so that a pope who commanded what is evil would not be obeyed, and says that God has promised to come soon to the aid of his Church.
- “The Pope can do all things” renders the Latin maxim “Papa omnia potest”.
- “Pope, you are a heretic” is a hypothetical answer in his example; it is translated exactly.
- The chapter he found is Jer 20, which he expounds in the following sections.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “la difendo' la”; corrected to “la difendo la” (stray character in the OCR).
- Printed text read “omnia potesti II Papa”; corrected to “omnia potest? Il Papa” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “Quell'omnm”; corrected to “Quell'omnia” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “le <iause universali”; corrected to “le cause universali” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “che tu. Signore”; corrected to “che tu, Signore” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “accadde a leremia”; corrected to “accadde a Ieremia” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §5 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 322–323; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-5).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
6Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 323-324
Cosi è accaduto a me ora. Sta' a udire, che te lo dirò. Et audivit Phassur filius Emmer, sacerdos, qui constitutus erat princeps in domo Domini Hieremiam prophetam sermones istos. leremia aveva profetato contro a Ierusalemme, e finalmente fu percosso da Fassur, principe de' sacerdoti. Povero Ieremia, egli ebbe maggior persecuzione di noi! — frate, tu non ne sei ancora fuori tu! — Egli è vero che noi abbiamo avere ancora maggior persecuzioni di queste. Io apparecchio le spalle a riceverle volentieri. — Padre, la parte sensitiva come farà? — Io ti dirò poi di questa, più di sotto; ma se io stessi sempre, come io sto quassù, non avrei paura nessuna. — Oh! pure allora che credi tu, frate! — Non ti voglio dir quello che sarà allora, perché non ho ancora veduto la spada. Quando la vedrò, ti saprò dire allora come faremo. Quanto alla parte sensitiva, spero bene in Dio che la ragione starà salda. Il Salvatore nostro, quando fu presso alla passione sua, si volle risentire per nostro esempio ancora lui, quanto alla parte sensitiva, e disse: Tristis est anima mea usque ad mortem, l'anima mia è piena di tristizia insino alla morte. Questo fu quanto al senso, perché era uomo, benché fosse ancora Dio; ma tutto fu per nostro esempio, che non ci confidiamo nella nostra fragilità. La parte sensitiva ha questa inclinazione e questa natura, di contristarsi nella tribolazione; e le cose della natura non si possono da noi rimuovere, ma seguitano il loro naturale. Dirò dunque stamani arditamente: Se io sono ingannato, Cristo, tu m' hai ingannato tu.
So it has happened to me now. Listen, and I will tell you. “And Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest, who was appointed chief in the house of the Lord, heard Jeremiah the prophet speaking these words.” Jeremiah had prophesied against Jerusalem, and at last he was struck by Pashhur, chief of the priests. Poor Jeremiah, he had greater persecution than we! “O friar, you are not out of it yet, you!” It is true that we are to have still greater persecutions than these. I am making ready my shoulders to receive them willingly. “Father, what will the sensitive part do?” I will tell you about that further on; but if I were always as I am up here, I would have no fear at all. “Oh! but then what do you think, friar?” I do not want to tell you what will happen then, because I have not yet seen the sword. When I see it, I shall be able to tell you then what we shall do. As for the sensitive part, I trust well in God that reason will stand firm. Our Saviour, when he was near his passion, chose to feel it himself also, for our example, as regards the sensitive part, and said: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death,” my soul is full of sorrow even unto death. This was as regards the senses, because he was man, although he was also God; but it was all for our example, so that we should not trust in our own frailty. The sensitive part has this inclination and this nature, to be saddened in tribulation; and the things of nature cannot be removed by us, but follow their natural course. I will say, then, this morning boldly: If I am deceived, Christ, you have deceived me.
Jer 20:1–2 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 26:38 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 20:7 (allusion, medium confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He compares himself with Jeremiah persecuted by the priest Pashhur, admits that his senses fear suffering as Christ's did in Gethsemane, and declares that if he is deceived, Christ has deceived him.
- The Latin is Jer 20:1 in the Vulgate (printed “filius Emmer”, Immer).
- “The sensitive part” is the scholastic term for the part of the soul that feels and has emotions, as distinct from reason.
- “My soul is sorrowful even unto death” is Matt 26:38.
- “If I am deceived, you have deceived me” echoes Jer 20:7 (“you have deceived me, O Lord”).
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “contro a lerusalemme”; corrected to “contro a Ierusalemme” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “Povero leremia”; corrected to “Povero Ieremia” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “V anima mia”; corrected to “l'anima mia” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “loro naturale Dirò”; corrected to “loro naturale. Dirò” (lost full stop in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §6 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 323–324; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-6).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
7Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 324-325
Santa Trinità, se io sono ingannato, m' hai ingannato tu. Angeli, se io sono ingannato, m'avete ingannato voi. Santi del Paradiso, cioè molti santi, se io sono ingannato, m'avete ingannato voi. Dico che queste proposizioni sono verissime, ma le parti loro sono impossibili, perché è verissimo tutto quello che ha detto Dio, i suoi angeli, e i santi, ed è impossibile che mentiscano: e però è impossibile che, recitando io quello che hanno detto, mentisca io. Intendi bene dunque come io ho parlato, e lascia stare tante tue contradizioni, le quali tu fai malignamente. Io vedevo ben qualche cosa, da principio, che entravo in mare; ma mi fu detto: Non dubitare; passeremo presto questo mare. Se io avessi veduto allora il tutto, da principio, io mi sarei forse fuggito, come fece Iona in Tharsis. Omnes subsannant me, ognuno si fa beffe de' fatti miei. Io son fatto in derisione a tutto il mondo. Ognuno dice di me come di pazzo e d' un uomo insensato quia iam olim loquor vociferans, perché, un gran pezzo fa, io non so altro che gridare e chiamare ognuno a penitenza, e che verranno tribolazioni. Iniquitatem et vastitatem clamito; io ho tanto tempo già gridato contro all'Italia e contro a Roma che la sarà guasta, e che verranno i barbieri che la dissiperanno; e perché par che non venga ancora nulla, la brigata non crede quasi più niente: e però io son fatto in derisione a tutto il mondo; son fatto in obbrobrio a ciascheduno. Et factus est mihi sermo Domini in opprobrium et in derisum tota die; et dixi: Non recordabor neque loquar ultra in nomine illius dice Ieremia: io ho fatto proposito di non parlare più, Signore, de' fatti tuoi.
Holy Trinity, if I am deceived, you have deceived me. Angels, if I am deceived, you have deceived me. Saints of Paradise, that is, many saints, if I am deceived, you have deceived me. I say that these propositions are most true, but their parts are impossible, because all that God, his angels and the saints have said is most true, and it is impossible that they should lie; and therefore it is impossible that I, in repeating what they have said, should lie. Understand well, then, how I have spoken, and leave off so many of your objections, which you make maliciously. I did see something at the beginning, when I was entering the sea; but I was told: “Do not doubt; we shall soon cross this sea.” If I had seen everything then, at the beginning, I would perhaps have fled, as Jonah did to Tarshish. “All mock me”: everyone makes fun of me. I have become a laughing-stock to the whole world. Everyone speaks of me as of a madman and a senseless man, “for now for a long time I speak crying out”, because for a long while I have done nothing but cry out and call everyone to penance, and say that tribulations will come. “I proclaim iniquity and devastation”: for so long now I have cried out against Italy and against Rome that she will be laid waste, and that the barbers will come who will scatter her; and because it seems that nothing has come yet, people hardly believe anything any more; and therefore I have become a laughing-stock to the whole world; I have become a reproach to everyone. “And the word of the Lord has become to me a reproach and a derision all the day; and I said: I will not remember him, nor speak any more in his name,” says Jeremiah: I have resolved not to speak any more, Lord, of your affairs.
Jonah 1:3 (allusion, high confidence) · Jer 20:7–9 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He argues that he cannot be deceived if God, the angels and the saints have spoken to him, and applies Jeremiah 20 to his own ridicule and his preaching against Italy and Rome.
- The conditional oaths (“If I am deceived, you have deceived me”) are translated exactly; he explains them as true conditionals whose antecedent is impossible.
- Jonah fled to Tarshish: Jonah 1:3.
- The Latin phrases are Jer 20:7–9 in the Vulgate.
- “The barbers” (i barbieri) is Savonarola's recurring image for the invaders who will “shave” Italy; it may also play on “barbari” (barbarians).
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “detto: [Non dubitare”; corrected to “detto: Non dubitare” (stray character in the OCR).
- Printed text read “olirà loqiior vociferanSj”; corrected to “olim loquor vociferans,” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “liiiquitatem et vastitatem damito]”; corrected to “Iniquitatem et vastitatem clamito;” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “contro a Homa”; corrected to “contro a Roma” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “milii sermo Domini in opprohrium”; corrected to “mihi sermo Domini in opprobrium” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “ncque loqtiar”; corrected to “neque loquar” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “dice leremia”; corrected to “dice Ieremia” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §7 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 324–325; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-7).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
8Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 325
Cosi io qualche volta ho fatto pensiero, quando io son giù, e detto: Io non voglio più parlare, né predicar di queste cose; ma voglio starmene e lasciare ora fare a Dio. E tamen come io son poi salito quassù non son potuto contenermi. Et factus est in corde meo quasi ignis estuans claususque in ossibus meis, et defeci ferre non sustinens io non ho potuto fare altro. Il parlare del Signore si è fatto quassù, a me, come un fuoco estuante, rinchiuso nelle ossa mie e nel cuore mio, e non ho potuto sostenerlo, e non posso fare che io non dica, perché io mi sento tutto ardere, io mi sento tutto infiammato dallo spirito del Signore; ma poi, quando io son giù io dico da me: Io non voglio più parlare di queste cose; e tamen come io son rimontato quassù, non si può frenare questa lingua, non si posson tenere queste parole. Signor mio, o spirito, oh! tu non hai paura di persona del mondo. Tu non guardi in faccia di uomo, e sia che si voglia, tu di' la verità a ciascheduno. spirito, tu vai eccitando persecuzioni e tribolazioni contro di te; tu vai commovendo le onde del mare, come fa il vento; tu vai eccitando le tempeste. Deh! non fare, spirito. Non si può fare altro! Questa è la conclusione, e bisogna far cosi. Or lasciami dunque un poco riposare questo fuoco delle ossa mie. Dicono costoro: Vediamo se possiamo torre costui, e cavarlo di qua con mandarlo a Roma.
So I too have sometimes thought, when I am down below, and said: I do not want to speak or preach of these things any more; but I want to keep still and now leave it to God. And yet, when I have then climbed up here, I have not been able to contain myself. “And it became in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I fainted, unable to bear it”: I could do nothing else. The speaking of the Lord has become, up here, to me like a burning fire, shut up in my bones and in my heart, and I could not bear it, and I cannot keep from speaking, because I feel myself all burning, I feel myself all inflamed by the spirit of the Lord; but then, when I am down below, I say to myself: I do not want to speak of these things any more; and yet, when I have climbed back up here, this tongue cannot be bridled, these words cannot be held back. My Lord, O spirit, oh! you are not afraid of anyone in the world. You do not look at the face of man; whoever it may be, you tell the truth to everyone. O spirit, you go stirring up persecutions and tribulations against yourself; you go moving the waves of the sea, as the wind does; you go stirring up the storms. Ah, do not do it, O spirit! It cannot be otherwise! This is the conclusion, and so it must be. Now let me, then, rest this fire in my bones a little. These men say: Let us see whether we can get rid of him and remove him from here by sending him to Rome.
Jer 20:9 (quotation, high confidence) · Matt 22:16 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: Like Jeremiah, he says, he resolves to be silent but cannot, because the word of the Lord burns in him, and he notes that his enemies plan to send him to Rome.
- The Latin is Jer 20:9 in the Vulgate.
- “You do not look at the face of man” echoes Matt 22:16.
- Alexander VI had demanded that Savonarola be sent to Rome.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “estuans claususque in ossihus ineisy et de feci ferve non sustinens”; corrected to “estuans claususque in ossibus meis, et defeci ferre non sustinens” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “queste parole Signor mio, o spirito”; corrected to “queste parole. Signor mio, o spirito” (lost full stop in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §8 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 325; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-8).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
9Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 325-326
Ma Ieremia risponde, e dice: Dominus autem mecum est tamquam bellator fortis: il Signore è con esso meco. Non ho paura alcuna di voi, diceva leremia. Il diventava, ti so dire, gagliardo. Cosi dirò io arditamente, che il Signore è meco. Signore, non lo posso io dire? Sicché lo posso dire, quia Dominus mecum est. Roma, fa' quanto tu vuoi, che io ti fo certa di questo, quia Dominus mecum est. Roma, durum est contra stimulum calcitrare, ti sarà cosa dura calcitrare contro lo stimolo. Tu ti purgherai, credilo a me. Tu vedi solamente questo legno; ma tu non vedi lo stimolo e il ferro che vi è dentro. Egli t' ha punto tanto, che tu ne sei mal contenta, e vorresti poter tornare indietro con tuo onore. Ma credi a me ch'egli ti purgherà ancora più. Italia, Italia, Dominus mecum est, il Signore è con esso meco. Tu non potrai far nulla. Firenze, Firenze, idest, cittadini cattivi di Firenze, armatevi quanto volete, e fate scale, quanto volete. Voi sarete vinti a questa volta, e non potrete calcitrare contro lo stimolo, perché il Signore è meco, come un forte combattitore. Iccirco qui persecuntur me cadent et infirmi erunt et confundentur vehementer; per questo io ti dico che questi che mi perseguitano cadranno, chi di spada, chi di pestilenza, e saranno tutti mandati per terra, e le forze loro saranno invalide e inferme, come di formiche, e saranno confusi veementemente, e la loro confusione sarà grandissima. — Hai maledetto anche tu, frate, il di che tu nascesti.— Non io già, ma il Signore non mi vede forse tanto forte quanto leremia; e però non mi lascia venire forse quella tentazione.
But Jeremiah answers and says: “But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior”: the Lord is with me. I have no fear at all of you, said Jeremiah. He became, I can tell you, bold. So I will say boldly that the Lord is with me. Lord, can I not say it? So I can say it, “for the Lord is with me.” Rome, do as much as you will, for I assure you of this, “for the Lord is with me.” Rome, “it is hard to kick against the goad”: it will be a hard thing for you to kick against the goad. You will be purged, believe me. You see only this wood; but you do not see the goad and the iron that is inside it. It has pricked you so much that you are ill pleased by it, and you would like to be able to turn back with your honour. But believe me that it will purge you still more. Italy, Italy, “the Lord is with me”: the Lord is with me. You will be able to do nothing. Florence, Florence, that is, wicked citizens of Florence, arm yourselves as much as you will, and make ladders as much as you will. You will be beaten this time, and you will not be able to kick against the goad, because the Lord is with me, like a strong fighter. “Therefore those who persecute me will fall and be weak, and will be greatly confounded”: for this reason I tell you that those who persecute me will fall, some by the sword, some by pestilence, and they will all be thrown to the ground, and their strength will be powerless and feeble, like that of ants, and they will be greatly confounded, and their confusion will be very great. “Have you too, friar, cursed the day you were born?” Not I; but perhaps the Lord does not see me as strong as Jeremiah, and therefore perhaps does not let that temptation come to me.
Jer 20:11 (quotation, high confidence) · Acts 26:14 (quotation, high confidence) · Jer 20:14 (allusion, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: With Jeremiah he declares that the Lord is with him like a mighty warrior, so that Rome, Italy and his Florentine enemies cannot prevail against him.
- The Latin phrases are Jer 20:11 in the Vulgate (“bellator fortis”, mighty warrior).
- “It is hard to kick against the goad” is Acts 26:14 (also in the Vulgate of Acts 9:5).
- Cursing the day of one's birth: Jer 20:14.
- His predictions against his persecutors are translated exactly as he made them.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “Ma leremia risponde”; corrected to “Ma Ieremia risponde” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “tamquam hellator fortis il Signore”; corrected to “tamquam bellator fortis: il Signore” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “E-oma, durum”; corrected to “Roma, durum” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “grandissima — Hai”; corrected to “grandissima. — Hai” (lost full stop in the OCR).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §9 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 325–326; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-9).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
10Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 326-327
Lascia pur fare al Signore: il maestro è lui stato di tutti i profeti e di tutti i santi uomini. Il maestro è che opera il martello, e quando l'ha operato a quello che vuole, non lo ripone già nella cassa, ma buttalo là. Cosi fece a Ieremia, che quando l'ebbe operato quanto volle, lo buttò poi là, e fecelo lapidare. Cosi sarà ancora a questo martello: quando l'avrà adoperato a suo modo, lo butterà là. Orsù, siamo contenti, faccia il Signore quello che vuole e quanto più male sarà quaggiù, tanta maggiore corona sarà poi lassù. — Padre, noi ci siamo scandalizzati un poco, che tu vuoi rimettere queste cose negli uomini, cioè, del predicare o non predicare. Non ci pare conveniente che, se fosse opera di Dio, si dovesse rimettere in uomini; e per questo non crediamo più. — Io dissi che Dio e lo spirito mi diceva che fosse bene a predicare; e cosi, che era volontà di Dio e dello spirito che si predicasse, cioè, che, quanto dalla parte mia, io non lasciassi la predica; ma ben vi dissi che non era già volontà di Dio darvi la dottrina e la salute a vostro dispetto: e però vi conclusi che voi facessi vostri Consigli, e secondo che voi concludevi, cosi farei, perché il Signore non vuole già darvi il bene per forza. — frate, tu hai detto che tu non starai mai cheto, e che, se tu avessi bene il capo in sul ceppo, che tuttavia dirai. — Ohimè! io credevo che voi aveste fede, e se io ben dicessi il contrario, che voi non lo credessi.
Leave it to the Lord: he has been the master of all the prophets and of all holy men. The master is the one who works the hammer, and when he has worked it to what he wants, he does not put it back in the chest, but throws it aside. So he did with Jeremiah: when he had worked with him as much as he wished, he then threw him aside and had him stoned. So it will be with this hammer too: when he has used it in his own way, he will throw it aside. Come, let us be content; let the Lord do what he will; and the more evil there is down here, the greater the crown will be up there. “Father, we were somewhat scandalized that you wanted to leave these things to men, that is, preaching or not preaching. It does not seem fitting to us that, if it were the work of God, it should be left to men; and for this reason we no longer believe.” I said that God and the spirit told me that it was good to preach; and so that it was the will of God and of the spirit that there be preaching, that is, that as far as I was concerned I should not give up preaching; but I told you plainly that it was not God's will to give you doctrine and salvation against your will; and therefore I concluded that you should hold your councils, and that as you concluded, so I would do, because the Lord does not wish to give you the good by force. “O friar, you have said that you will never be silent, and that even if you had your head on the block, you would still speak.” Alas! I thought that you had faith, and that even if I said the contrary, you would not believe it.
Heb 11:37 (echo, low confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He compares himself to a hammer that God will throw aside after use, as Jeremiah was stoned, and explains why he left the decision about his preaching to the city's councils.
- That Jeremiah was stoned is a tradition (compare Heb 11:37), not stated in the book of Jeremiah.
- “Your councils” are the councils of the Florentine republic, which had debated whether to obey the papal demand that he stop preaching.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “fece a leremia”; corrected to “fece a Ieremia” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §10 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 326–327; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-10).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
11Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 327-328
Io vi dico: se dicessi il contrario di quello che io ho detto, e se venisse un angelo il quale vi parlasse, che dicesse il contrario di quello che ho detto io, non dico contro alla filosofia e molte cose eh' io ho detto da me, ma contro a quello che io ho detto da parte di Dio, non lo crediate, ma dovete avere questa fede, che un angelo non può dire il contrario; e dovete dire allora: Io non intendo questo. Io vi dico che questa cosa ad ogni modo è da Dio, e ha andare innanzi; e quando fossi ben morto io, dovete tenere per certo che ha andare innanzi senza dubbio nessuno... Egli è un savio uomo Iesù Cristo, e fa di bei colpi. Si parti lo spirito di Santa Liberata, non ti dico il frate, ma lo spirito che ti predica, e venne qua, perché tu non dessi imputazioni a lui, se scandalo fosse seguito. Ora predicavamo qua. Ieri sera a ore tre di notte incirca, quoniam qui male agit odit lucem venne qui ambasceria da parte di chi regge, e disse che mi pregava che io non predicassi per molti rispetti. Io gli dissi: Avete voi fatto quanto v'han detto i vostri Signori? — Si. — Io ho ancora io signore, e intenderò quello che vuole, e domattina vi darò la risposta. E non gli detti per allora altra risposta che questa. Sicché stamani gli darò la risposta quassù. Udite adunque questo. Dice il Signore: Voi mi pregate che si lasci la predica; dico, voi pregate me, non il frate, perché sono io quello che predico, non è il frate, e io vi ho esauditi e non vi ho esauditi.
I tell you: if I said the contrary of what I have said, and if an angel came and spoke to you and said the contrary of what I have said (I do not mean against philosophy and many things I have said of myself, but against what I have said on God's behalf), do not believe it; but you must have this faith, that an angel cannot say the contrary; and you must then say: I do not understand this. I tell you that this thing is in any case from God, and is to go forward; and even if I were dead, you must hold for certain that it is to go forward without any doubt… He is a wise man, Jesus Christ, and he strikes fine blows. The spirit left Santa Liberata (I do not mean the friar, but the spirit that preaches to you) and came here, so that you should not lay the blame on it if scandal had followed. Now we were preaching here. Last night, at about three hours after nightfall, “for whoever does evil hates the light”, an embassy came here on behalf of those who govern, and said that they begged me not to preach, for many reasons. I said to them: “Have you done what your Lords told you?” “Yes.” “I too have a Lord, and I will hear what he wills, and tomorrow morning I will give you the answer.” And for the moment I gave them no other answer than this. So this morning I will give them the answer up here. Hear, then, this. The Lord says: You beg me that the preaching be given up; I say, you beg me, not the friar, because it is I who preach, not the friar; and I have heard you and I have not heard you.
Gal 1:8 (allusion, medium confidence) · John 3:20 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He insists that even an angel contradicting his prophecies should not be believed, and reports that the Signoria's envoys asked him the night before to stop preaching, to which God answers, “I have heard you and not heard you.”
- “If an angel came … do not believe it” echoes Gal 1:8.
- Santa Liberata is the old name of Florence cathedral (Santa Maria del Fiore); after his excommunication he had moved his preaching to San Marco.
- “Whoever does evil hates the light” is John 3:20 in the Vulgate.
- Three hours after nightfall (ore tre di notte) is about nine in the evening in March.
- Savonarola presents the Lord's answer as words given to him; they are translated exactly.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “venisse Un angelo”; corrected to “venisse un angelo” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “uomo lesù Cristo”; corrected to “uomo Iesù Cristo” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “qui male agii odit”; corrected to “qui male agit odit” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §11 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 327–328; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-11).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
12Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 328-329
Io stavo a udire questo parlare, e stavo stupefatto, e cerco d' intendere che vuol dir questa risposta: Io vi ho esauditi e non esauditi. Dissemi: Non ti ricordi tu di quel testo di Iob, il quale dice: Et cum invocantem exaudierit me, non credo quod audierit vocem meam? Vuoi tu intendere che si vuol dir questo? Mi levai stamani a buon' ora, e andai a vedere il testo, che non mi ricordavo cosi bene delle parole, ma bene mi ricordavo della esposizione. E, come io lo vidi, dissi: Ben, ben, io mi ricordo ora dell' esempio, che pongono, del medico, sopra questo testo, che quando un infermo dice: — Io vorrei del vino; — e il medico gli risponde: — Tu morrai, se tu bevi vino; — e lui pur dice: — Io vorrei del vino; — e il medico risponde: — Io ti esaudirò e non ti esaudirò, — e cede, e dagli del vino; il medico l'ha esaudito, quanto al contentarlo di dargli il vino, ma non lo ha esaudito, quanto al principale intento, perché non avrà la salute e la sanità che lui cerca. Quando tu preghi Dio, che ti levi via la tentazione e le tribolazioni, le quali purgano più il cristiano, e lui te le leva, lui ti esaudisce, che ti toglie via le tentazioni, quanto alla fragilità; ma non ti esaudisce, quanto alla tua salute. Cosi il Signore adesso vi ha esauditi e non vi ha esauditi: esauditi vi ha, di torre via la predica; ma non v' ha esauditi della vostra salute.
I stood listening to this speech, and I was astonished, and I sought to understand what this answer meant: “I have heard you and not heard you.” He said to me: “Do you not remember that text of Job which says: ‘And when he has heard me calling, I do not believe that he has heard my voice’? Do you want to understand what this means?” I rose this morning early, and went to look at the text, for I did not remember the words so well, but I did remember the exposition well. And when I saw it, I said: Good, good, now I remember the example they give on this text, of the physician: when a sick man says, “I would like some wine,” and the physician answers him, “You will die if you drink wine”; and he still says, “I would like some wine”; and the physician answers, “I will grant you and I will not grant you,” and yields, and gives him wine; the physician has granted his request as to satisfying him by giving him the wine, but has not granted it as to his principal aim, because he will not have the health and soundness he seeks. When you pray God to take away from you temptation and tribulations, which purge the Christian most, and he takes them away, he grants your prayer, in that he takes away the temptations, as regards your frailty; but he does not grant it as regards your salvation. So the Lord has now granted you and not granted you: he has granted you the taking away of the preaching; but he has not granted you your salvation.
Job 9:16 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He explains God's answer by Job 9:16 and the example of a physician who gives a sick man the wine he begs for, so that God grants the end of the preaching but not the city's salvation.
- The Latin is Job 9:16 in the Vulgate.
- “Heard” and “granted” both render the Italian “esaudire”, which means to hear a prayer and to grant it.
- The physician example is from the medieval commentaries on Job (for example Gregory the Great's Moralia and Aquinas's exposition), as Savonarola says “they give”; the exact source is unidentified.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “testo di lob”; corrected to “testo di Iob” (OCR slip).
- Printed text read “Et cicm invocantem”; corrected to “Et cum invocantem” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §12 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 328–329; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-12).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
13Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 329-330
Ma la novella non vorrei avervela a dire! E tolta via la predica; non tutta, ma questa sola, perché si ripredica qui per qualcun' altro. Ell'è stata questa predica la salute della vostra città, e anche è stata la salute corporale di questi cattivi, i quali sarebbero ora rovinati, se non fosse stata salda questa predica. Voi avete stimolato tanto, che il medico ha condisceso, e gli uomini che vanno bene hanno condisceso a darvi del vino. Ma sappiate che il Signore è fortemente adirato. Ricordatevi voi in quei principi, quando cominciammo a predicare queste cose (io ve lo dirò pur chiaro: al tempo di Lorenzo de' Medici)? E' vennero a me cinque cittadini vostri principali, che allora reggevano nella città, de' quali n' è vivi ancora quattro, e fecero ammonizione, come da loro, che io non dicessi quelle cose. Io gli risposi. Tra l' altre cose dissi: Voi dite che non siete stati mandati; e io vi dico di si. Andate, e rispondete a Lorenzo de' Medici, che faccia penitenza de' suoi peccati, che Dio lo vuole punire lui e i suoi. Io non so se essi glielo dissero. Io gli feci questa risposta, se vogliono dir la verità. E dipoi, seguitando io, molti mi dicevano che io non dicessi, e che io sarei confinato; ai quali io risposi: Abbiate paura voi dei confini, che avete moglie e figliuoli. Io non ho paura, che, quando bene io non stessi qua, questa vostra terra è come un granello di lente a comparazione del resto di tutta la terra.
But I wish I did not have to tell you the news! The preaching is taken away; not all of it, but only this, for there will be preaching here again by someone else. This preaching has been the salvation of your city, and has also been the bodily salvation of these wicked men, who would now be ruined if this preaching had not stood firm. You have pressed so much that the physician has yielded, and the men who walk rightly have yielded to give you wine. But know that the Lord is greatly angered. Do you remember, in those beginnings, when we began to preach these things (I will tell you plainly: in the time of Lorenzo de' Medici)? Five of your leading citizens, who were then governing the city, came to me, of whom four are still living, and warned me, as if on their own account, not to say those things. I answered them. Among other things I said: “You say that you have not been sent; and I tell you that you have. Go and answer Lorenzo de' Medici that he should do penance for his sins, for God wants to punish him and his family.” I do not know whether they told him. I gave them this answer, if they are willing to tell the truth. And then, as I went on, many told me not to speak, and that I would be exiled; to whom I answered: “You be afraid of exile, you who have wives and children. I am not afraid, for even if I were not here, this city of yours is like a grain of lentil compared with all the rest of the earth.”
Notes and citation
Summary: He announces that he will stop preaching, warns that God is angered, and recalls how in Lorenzo de' Medici's time he refused leading citizens who told him to be silent.
- The meeting with the five citizens took place in 1491, early in his Florentine preaching.
- “Exiled” renders “confinato” (sent into confinement, banished to a fixed place).
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “Eli' è stata”; corrected to “Ell'è stata” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §13 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 329–330; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-13).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
14Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 330
Io non me ne curo. Faccia lui! Ma sappia questo: che io son forestiero, e lui è cittadino, e il primo della città; io ho a stare qua, e lui se ne ha andare. Io ho a stare, e non lui. Ricordatevi ancora, che quando, anno, fu levata via la predica, che a chi veniva febbriconi, e a chi pestilenza, e a chi coltello di quelli che furono cagione di impedirla. E molti che volevano diventare grandi tu sai ora come sono iti. Sicché, d'allora in qua, è morta molta gente, e sonno andati molti all'Inferno, ti so dire io. Ora che sarà? Starai a vedere quello che verrà adesso. Non voglio dirti altro. Starai pure a vedere; ma la nuova non vorrei averla a dire! Ricordati ancora di quelli che, anno passato, vennero alla predica, quando era cominciata la moria, che non ne infermò nessuno. Bisognerebbe bene notare quelli che hanno procurato queste scomuniche, e queste cose; e vedrai poi quello che seguirà. Voi dite che avete paura di interdetto e di perdere la roba. Or dite loro, che Dio manderà lui un interdetto, che perderanno la roba e la vita; e dite ancora a quei cattivi, che son causa di questo male, che per questo non avranno l'intento loro, ma il contrario di quello che disegnano. Faremo con le orazioni quello che avrebbe fatto la predica. Raccomanderemo al Signore i buoni e retti di cuore. E circa l'avere levato questa predica, io ti dico il vero, per me, quanto alla parte sensitiva, l' ho caro a starmi più presto nei miei studi; e a me non potevi fare il maggior piacere.
“I do not care. Let him do it! But let him know this: I am a foreigner, and he is a citizen, and the first in the city; I am to stay here, and he is to go away. I am to stay, and not he.” Remember also that last year, when the preaching was taken away, high fevers came to some, and pestilence to some, and the knife to others, of those who were the cause of hindering it. And many who wanted to become great, you know now how they have fared. So since then many people have died, and many have gone to hell, I can tell you. Now what will happen? You will wait and see what comes now. I do not want to tell you more. You will see; but I wish I did not have to tell the news! Remember also those who last year came to the sermon when the plague had begun, and none of them fell sick. It would be well to take note of those who have procured these excommunications and these things; and you will see afterwards what will follow. You say that you are afraid of interdict and of losing your property. Now tell them that God himself will send an interdict, so that they will lose their property and their life; and tell also those wicked men who are the cause of this evil that for this they will not get what they intend, but the opposite of what they plan. We shall do with prayers what the preaching would have done. We shall commend to the Lord the good and upright of heart. And as for having taken away this preaching, I tell you the truth: for my part, as regards the sensitive part, I am glad to stay rather in my studies; and you could not have done me a greater pleasure.
Notes and citation
Summary: He recalls the sudden deaths of those who stopped his preaching the year before, warns those who procured his excommunication of God's own interdict, and says that for himself he is glad to return to his studies.
- The opening words continue his reported answer about Lorenzo de' Medici; Lorenzo died in April 1492, while Savonarola remained in Florence.
- “Last year” refers to the suspension of his preaching after Ascension 1497 and to the plague of that summer.
- His predictions against his opponents are translated exactly as he made them.
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §14 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 330; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-14).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27
15Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), p. 330-331
Parlo, come ha fatto di sopra leremia, quanto alla parte sensitiva; non dico cosi già quanto alla ragione. — Padre, noi aspettavamo che tu facessi ora qualche cosa. Tu avevi detto di mostrare questa cosa con ragioni naturali e con ragioni e segni soprannaturali. — Tu hai ritardato quello che forse la predica avrebbe accelerato; ma noi faremo con le orazioni quello che avevo a fare con la predica. Signore, io ti raccomando i buoni e retti di cuore; e pregoti tu non voglia guardare alla negligenza dei buoni, perché la fragilità umana è grande, la fragilità, dico, è grande. Bisogna che ti sian raccomandati i buoni e retti di cuore. Benefac Domine bonis et rectis corde. Signore, io ti prego che tu non voglia indugiare più a mandare le tue promesse
I speak, as Jeremiah did above, as regards the sensitive part; I certainly do not say so as regards reason. “Father, we were expecting you to do something now. You had said that you would show this thing with natural reasons and with supernatural reasons and signs.” You have delayed what the preaching would perhaps have hastened; but we shall do with prayers what I was to do with preaching. Lord, I commend to you the good and upright of heart; and I pray you not to look at the negligence of the good, because human frailty is great; frailty, I say, is great. The good and upright of heart must be commended to you. “Do good, O Lord, to the good and to the upright of heart.” Lord, I pray you that you will no longer delay to send your promises
Ps 125:4 (quotation, high confidence)
Notes and citation
Summary: He closes his last sermon by commending the good and upright of heart to God and praying that God will no longer delay his promises.
- “Do good, O Lord, to the good and to the upright of heart” is Ps 125:4 [Vulgate Ps 124:4].
- The challenge to show “supernatural signs” refers to the proposed ordeal by fire, which took place on 7 April 1498, three weeks after this sermon.
- The editors' selection ends in the middle of the sentence.
Notes on the original text
- Printed text read “Beiiefac Domine honis”; corrected to “Benefac Domine bonis” (OCR slip).
Cite (SBL): Savonarola, Es. 22 §15 (Villari and Casanova, Scelta (1898), pp. 330–331; trans. Sophia Scriptura, https://sophiascriptura.com/savonarola/sermon-exodus-22-last/#p-15).
Translation: Claude (claude-opus-5-5), 2026-10-27