Bonaventure

p. 80Si spiritus potestatem habentis. Praemissa est supra sapientis despectio et econtra ipsius iusta commendatio; subiungitur hic tertio stultorum promotio. Et quia praelatio stultorum est onerosa, ideo praemittitur patientiae armatura, et subiungitur stultorum praelatio inordinata, ibi: Est malum, quod vidi etc.

(Vers. 4.). Praemittitur ergo patientiae armatura, propter quam habendam dicit: Si spiritus potestatem habentis, id est furor praelati; spiritus enim furor dicitur Isaiae secundo¹⁰: « Quiescite ab homine, cuius spiritus in naribus eius »; tertii Regum decimo nono: « Spiritus grandis et fortis, subvertens montes et conterens » etc. Ascenderit super te, ad opprimendum scilicet; Ieremiae quarto: « Ecce, quasi nubes ascendet, et quasi tempestas currus eius; vae nobis, quoniam vastati sumus ». Locum tuum ne dimiseris, id est locum patientiae et constantiae, in quo anima conquiescit, secundum illud Lucae vigesimo primo¹¹: « In patientia vestra p. 81 possidebitis animas vestras »; primae Petri secundo: « Servi, subditi estote in omni timore dominis vestris, non tantum modestis, sed et discolis; haec est enim gratia, si propter conscientiam Dei sustinet quis » etc. Et redditur ratio utilitatis: Quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima. Vocatur hic curatio flagellorum afflictio, in quibus homo curatur; Sapientiae sexto¹: « Cura disciplinae est dilectio, et dilectio est custoditio legum ». Causalis est utrobique praedicatio, quia, si per multa flagella pervenitur ad dilectionem, et per hanc custoditur lex; ergo cessare facit peccata.

Aliter exponitur: Si spiritus potestatem habentis, id est, si spiritus ambitionis, id est malitia ambitiosi, ascenderit super te, id est, si venerit tibi in mentem, ut velis esse praelatus; locum tuum ne dimiseris, locum scilicet subiectionis et servitutis, de quo Lucae decimo quarto²: « Cum invitatus fueris ad nuptias, recumbe in novissimo loco »; et Ecclesiastici undecimo: « Confide autem in Deo, et mane in loco tuo ». Et ratio redditur: Quia curatio faciet cessare peccata maxima. Translatio Symmachi habet³: Quia pudicitia; unde primae ad Corinthios nono: « Castigo corpus meum et in servitutem redigo, ne forte, cum aliis praedicavero, ipse reprobus efficiar ».

Aliter exponitur de diabolo: Si spiritus potestatem habentis, id est diaboli; Iob penultimo⁴: « Non est potestas super terram, quae possit ei comparari »; ascenderit super te, et hoc tentando; Lucae undecimo: « Cum immundus spiritus exierit ab homine, ambulat per loca inaquosa, quaerens requiem, et non invenit ». Locum tuum ne dimiseris, locum scilicet poenitentiae; ad Ephesios quarto: « Nolite locum dare diabolo ». Quia curatio cessare faciet peccata maxima; littera Origenis⁵ habet: salvatio, quae quidem est per medicinam poenitentiae; Ecclesiastici undecimo: « Malitia unius horae oblivionem facit luxuriae maximae », id est brevis poenitentia magni peccati.

(Vers. 5.). Est malum, quod vidi etc. Tangitur hic secundum, scilicet stultorum praelatio inordinata, tum propter defectum scientiae, tum propter defectum vitae, quia stulti et mali praeficiuntur, sed sapientes et divites bonis moribus deprimuntur. Propter quod dicit: Est malum, quod vidi sub sole, id est in praesenti statu hominum, quasi per errorem egrediens, non per errorem secundum veritatem, sed apparenter per errorem, sed tamen secundum iustam discussionem; a facie principis, illius scilicet, a quo est omnis potestas, qui iusto iudicio dat aliquando malos praelatos; Osee decimo tertio⁶: « Dabo tibi regem in furore meo, et auferam in indignatione mea ».

(Vers. 6.). Et exprimit, quod est illud malum quantum ad defectum scientiae: Positum stultum in dignitate sublimi; positum, bene dicit, quia non est ibi nisi falsa positio; Psalmus⁷: « Posuisti eis, deiecisti eos, dum allevarentur ». Vel: positum tanquam lapidem inutilem; unde Zachariae undecimo dicitur stulto praelato: « O pastor et idolum! derelinquens gregem, gladius super brachium eius et super oculum dexterum eius; brachium eius ariditate siccabitur, et oculus dexter eius tenebrescens obscurabitur »; et ideo Proverbiorum vigesimo sexto: « Sicut qui mittit lapidem in acervum mercurii, ita qui tribuit insipienti honorem ». Econtra: Divites sedere deorsum; divites, scilicet bonis moribus et scientia et gratia, de quibus primae ad Corinthios primo⁸: « In omnibus divites facti estis in illo, ut nihil vobis desit in ulla gratia »; et Isaiae trigesimo tertio: « Divitiae salutis sapientia et scientia ».

(Vers. 7.). Quantum ad vitae defectum dicit: Vidi servos in equis; servos dicit peccatores, de quibus Ioannis octavo⁹: « Qui facit peccatum servus est peccati »; in equis, pluraliter dicit ad expressionem pompae; Deuteronomii decimo septimo: « Cum fuerit constitutus, non multiplicabit sibi equos ». E contra: Principes ambulantes quasi servos, illos scilicet principes, qui sibi per bonam vitam principantur; Seneca: « Si bene te rexeris, princeps eris »; istos vidit quasi servos, sed in futuro erit e contrario; Lucae decimo quarto: « Omnis, qui se humiliat, exaltabitur, et qui se exaltat humiliabitur ».

Quaestio.

Quaeritur hic, utrum iustum sit, quod mali praesint bonis. Quod sic, videtur:

p. 82 1. Quia dicitur ad Romanos decimo tertio¹: Non est potestas nisi a Deo: ergo mali principes non habent potestatem nisi a Deo.

2. Item, Ioannis decimo nono²: Non haberes, ait Christus Pilato, potestatem adversus me ullam, nisi desuper tibi datum esset. Et exponit Augustinus desuper: id est a Deo: ergo si Pilatus malus erat et male utebatur potestate, ergo quod mali praesint, hoc est a Deo.

3. Item, primae Petri secundo³: Subditi estote non tantum bonis et modestis, sed etiam discolis; et reddit rationem: propter conscientiam: ergo si iustum est eis subesse, cum omne iustum sit a Deo, hoc etiam ab ipso erit.

4. Item, Iob trigesimo quarto⁴: Qui facit regnare hypocritam propter peccata populi etc.: ergo etc.

Contra: 1. Osee octavo⁵: Ipsi regnaverunt et non ex me; principes exstiterunt, et ego non cognovi: ergo videtur, quod praelatio malorum non sit a Deo.

2. Item, servitus est poena inflicta pro peccato⁶, ergo nulli recte et iuste infligitur nisi peccatori: ergo ab oppositis, nec dominium iuste datur nisi iusto. Ergo si dominium datur peccatori, et servitus iusto; est ibi defectus ordinis et iustitiae: ergo non est a Deo.

3. Praeterea, si potestas malorum est iusta et a Deo, quia a Deo nihil est nisi iustum; cum nullus debeat alicui auferre ius suum⁷: ergo nullus debet laborare ad depositionem mali praelati: ergo quicumque laborat, contra hoc peccat.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod malus vel iniustus praelatus est sub triplici differentia. Quidam est iniustus in se, tamen iuste ingreditur et iuste exsequitur; et talis iuste⁸ praeesse potest nec in hoc peccat, et iustum est tali subesse. Est et alius, qui iniuste ingreditur et exsequitur; et talis non potest iuste praeesse, nec tali debet homo subesse. Est et alius, qui iniustus est, sed tamen iuste ingreditur, sed iniuste exsequitur, quia affligit bonos et promovet malos; tali iustum est subesse in his quae spectant ad iustitiam; sed in his quae contra Deum sunt, non debet homo subesse; et « quia privilegium meretur amittere qui concessa sibi abutitur potestate⁹ », etsi iuste ingressus fuerit; tamen iustum est, eum amoveri.

Quod ergo obiicitur ad primam partem, utrum malos praeesse sit iustum; dicendum, quod malos, qui bene regunt, praeesse, non est malum reipublicae; sed qui male regunt iustum est praeesse, non sua iustitia, sed divina, quia facit eum regnare propter peccata populi¹⁰. — Et sic patet responsio ad prima obiecta, quod malorum hominum potestas a Deo est.

1. Quod obiicit in contrarium primo, dico, quod intelligit quantum ad eos qui intrant illegitime et propria auctoritate, non divina.

2. Quod obiicit de ordine, dico, quod poena peccati manet etiam sine peccato ad exercitationem; sic etiam dico de servitute in bonis.

3. Quod obiicit: si a Deo, ergo iustum est, istum habere talem potestatem; dicendum, quod per comparationem ad merita sua non est iustum, immo iniquum; comparatione ad merita malorum subditorum est iustum. Et quia ex diversis causis licitum est nobis velle contraria, ubi non patet divina voluntas; et nescimus, quid horum de futuro magis placeat Deo: iuste potest homo laborare, ut iniustus praelatus amoveatur. — Praeterea, talem potestatem habuit a Deo, sed exsecutionem a se; potestatem habuit iuste, sed exsequitur iniuste: et ideo quamdiu a Deo habet potestatem, est obediendum; sed quia iniuste exsequitur, ut non habeat, est laborandum. Sic patet illud¹¹.

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p. 80If the spirit of him that hath power. Above was set forth the despising of the wise man and, on the other hand, his just commendation; here is added, thirdly, the promotion of fools. And because the prelacy of fools is burdensome, therefore the armour of patience is set first, and the disordered prelacy of fools is added, at: There is an evil that I have seen etc.

(Vers. 4.). First, then, the armour of patience is set forth, for the having of which he says: If the spirit of him that hath power, that is, the fury of the prelate; for fury is called spirit in Isaias, the second¹⁰: « Cease ye from the man, whose spirit is in his nostrils »; of the third of Kings, the nineteenth: « A great and strong spirit, overthrowing the mountains and breaking » etc. Ascend upon thee, namely to oppress; Jeremias, the fourth: « Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots as a tempest; woe unto us, for we are laid waste ». Leave not thy place, that is, the place of patience and constancy, in which the soul rests, according to that of Luke, the twenty-first¹¹: « In your patience p. 81 you shall possess your souls »; the first of Peter, the second: « Servants, be subject in all fear to your masters, not only to the modest, but also to the froward; for this is grace, if for conscience towards God a man endure » etc. And the reason of the usefulness is given: Because care will make the greatest sins to cease. Here the affliction of scourges, in which a man is cured, is called care; Wisdom, the sixth¹: « The care of discipline is love, and love is the keeping of laws ». The predication is causal in both places, since, if through many scourges one comes to love, by this too the law is kept; therefore it makes sins to cease.

It is expounded otherwise: If the spirit of him that hath power, that is, if the spirit of ambition, that is, the malice of the ambitious man, ascend upon thee, that is, if it come into your mind that you would be a prelate; leave not thy place, the place, namely, of subjection and servitude, of which Luke, the fourteenth²: « When thou art invited to a wedding, sit down in the lowest place »; and of Ecclesiasticus, the eleventh: « But trust in God, and stay in thy place ». And the reason is given: Because care will make the greatest sins to cease. The translation of Symmachus has³: Because purity; whence the first to the Corinthians, the ninth: « I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway ».

It is expounded otherwise of the devil: If the spirit of him that hath power, that is, of the devil; Job, the last but one⁴: « There is no power upon earth that can be compared with him »; ascend upon thee, and this by tempting; Luke, the eleventh: « When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through places without water, seeking rest, and findeth not ». Leave not thy place, the place, namely, of penance; to the Ephesians, the fourth: « Give not place to the devil ». Because care will make the greatest sins to cease; the text of Origen⁵ has: salvation, which indeed is through the medicine of penance; of Ecclesiasticus, the eleventh: « The affliction of one hour maketh one forget the greatest delights », that is, a brief penance of a great sin.

(Vers. 5.). There is an evil that I have seen etc. Here the second is touched, namely the disordered prelacy of fools, both on account of a defect of knowledge and on account of a defect of life, since fools and the wicked are set over others, but the wise and those rich in good morals are pressed down. On account of which he says: There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, that is, in the present state of men, as it were by an error proceeding, not by error according to truth, but apparently by error, yet nevertheless according to a just judgement; from the face of the prince, namely of him from whom is all power, who by a just judgement sometimes gives wicked prelates; Osee, the thirteenth⁶: « I will give thee a king in my wrath, and will take him away in my indignation ».

(Vers. 6.). And he expresses what that evil is as regards the defect of knowledge: A fool set in high dignity; set, he says well, because there is nothing there but a false setting; the Psalm⁷: « Thou hast put it to them, thou hast cast them down when they were lifted up ». Or: set as a useless stone; whence in Zacharias, the eleventh, it is said to the foolish prelate: « O shepherd and idol! that forsaketh the flock, the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened »; and therefore in Proverbs, the twenty-sixth: « As he that casteth a stone into the heap of Mercury, so is he that giveth honour to a fool ». On the other hand: The rich sitting beneath; the rich, namely in good morals and knowledge and grace, of whom the first to the Corinthians, the first⁸: « In all things you are made rich in him, so that nothing is wanting to you in any grace »; and Isaias, the thirty-third: « Riches of salvation, wisdom and knowledge ».

(Vers. 7.). As regards the defect of life he says: I have seen servants upon horses; by servants he means sinners, of whom John, the eighth⁹: « Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin »; upon horses, he speaks in the plural to express pomp; Deuteronomy, the seventeenth: « When he is appointed, he shall not multiply horses to himself ». On the other hand: Princes walking as servants, those princes, namely, who rule themselves by a good life; Seneca: « If you rule yourself well, you will be a prince »; these he saw as servants, but in the future it will be the contrary; Luke, the fourteenth: « Every one that humbleth himself shall be exalted, and he that exalteth himself shall be humbled ».

Question.

It is asked here whether it is just that the wicked be set over the good. That it is so, seems:

p. 82 1. Because it is said to the Romans, the thirteenth¹: There is no power but from God: therefore wicked princes do not have power except from God.

2. Likewise, John, the nineteenth²: Thou shouldst not have, says Christ to Pilate, any power against me, unless it were given thee from above. And Augustine expounds from above: that is, from God: therefore if Pilate was wicked and used power ill, then that the wicked are set over others is from God.

3. Likewise, the first of Peter, the second³: Be subject not only to the good and modest, but also to the froward; and he gives the reason: for conscience: therefore if it is just to be subject to them, since everything just is from God, this too will be from him.

4. Likewise, Job, the thirty-fourth⁴: Who maketh a hypocrite to reign for the sins of the people etc.: therefore etc.

On the contrary: 1. Osee, the eighth⁵: They have reigned, but not by me; they have been princes, and I knew not: therefore it seems that the prelacy of the wicked is not from God.

2. Likewise, servitude is a punishment inflicted for sin⁶, therefore it is rightly and justly inflicted on no one but the sinner: therefore from opposites, neither is lordship justly given except to the just. Therefore if lordship is given to the sinner, and servitude to the just, there is there a defect of order and of justice: therefore it is not from God.

3. Moreover, if the power of the wicked is just and from God, since nothing is from God but what is just; since no one ought to take away from anyone his right⁷: therefore no one ought to labour for the deposition of a wicked prelate: therefore whoever labours for it sins against this.

I respond: It must be said that the wicked or unjust prelate falls under a threefold difference. One is unjust in himself, yet enters justly and executes justly; and such a one can justly⁸ preside and does not sin in this, and it is just to be subject to such a one. There is also another, who enters unjustly and executes unjustly; and such a one cannot justly preside, nor ought a man to be subject to such a one. There is also another, who is unjust, but yet enters justly, but executes unjustly, since he afflicts the good and promotes the wicked; to such a one it is just to be subject in those things which pertain to justice; but in those things which are against God, a man ought not to be subject; and « since he deserves to lose his privilege who abuses the power granted to him⁹ », although he entered justly, yet it is just that he be removed.

As to what is objected, then, concerning the first part, whether it is just that the wicked preside: it must be said that for the wicked who rule well to preside is not an evil for the commonwealth; but for those who rule ill it is just to preside, not by their own justice, but by the divine, since he maketh him to reign for the sins of the people¹⁰. — And so the response to the first objections is clear, that the power of wicked men is from God.

1. As to what he objects to the contrary first, I say that he understands it as regards those who enter unlawfully and by their own authority, not by divine authority.

2. As to what he objects concerning order, I say that the punishment of sin remains even without sin, for exercise; so too I say of servitude in the good.

3. As to what he objects: if it is from God, then it is just that this man have such power: it must be said that by comparison with his own merits it is not just, nay rather unjust; in comparison with the merits of the wicked subjects it is just. And because for diverse causes it is lawful for us to will contraries, where the divine will is not plain; and we do not know which of these will please God more in the future: a man can justly labour that an unjust prelate be removed. — Moreover, he had such power from God, but the execution from himself; he had the power justly, but executes unjustly: and therefore so long as he has the power from God, he is to be obeyed; but because he executes unjustly, it is to be laboured that he may not have it. Thus that is clear¹¹.

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