Bonaventure

Partis secundae membrum II. De remedio triplici contra triplicem vanitatem culpae, id est, contra malum, quod consequitur malitiam.

Custodi pedem tuum. Actum est supra de vanitate culpae. Quoniam illa vanitas est mortalis et pestifera; ideo agitur hic de remedio contra illam vanitatem. Et quia triplex praecessit vanitas, scilicet malitiae, avaritiae, imprudentiae; ideo hic ponit tria remedia. Et primo dat remedium contra malitiam; secundo contra avaritiam, ibi¹: Avarus non implebitur; tertio contra imprudentiam, ibi: Quid habet amplius etc. Sed quoniam malitiae morbus de se est irremediabilis et ulterius alios corrumpere potest; ideo ponitur hic remedium non contra malitiam, sed contra corruptionem malitiae sive malum, quod consequitur in aliis ex aspectu malitiae alienae.

Art. 1. De remedio contra vanitatem malitiae, ex qua oritur triplex inordinatio.

Oritur autem ex hoc triplex inordinatio, scilicet in opere per praevaricationis inobedientiam; in ore per locutionis stultitiam; in corde per cogitationem erroneam. Ad quae omnia ruit incautus considerator malitiae alienae. Dum enim quis malos considerat impunitos, credit, non esse providentiam; ecce, cogitatio erronea; et per hoc libere dicit stulta, quia credit, quod non sit qui reprehendat; et ulterius transgreditur mandata, quia non credit, quod sit qui puniat.

Primo igitur dat remedium contra inobedientiam; secundo, contra loquelam stultam, ibi²: Ne temere quid loquaris etc.; tertio, contra cogitationem erroneam, ibi: Si videris calumnias egenorum etc.

Primo datur remedium contra inobedientiam.

(Vers. 17.). In remedio contra inobedientiam inducitur exhortatio, et subiungitur exhortationis ratio. Exhortatur autem ad diligentem pedum custodiam, ne transgrediatur mandata divina; ideo dicit: Custodi pedem tuum, ne forte declinet a via recta; ad Hebraeos duodecimo³: « Gressus rectos facite pedibus vestris, ut non claudicans quis erret ». Ingrediens in domum Dei, id est, in ecclesiam, vel in servitutem Dei, in quam cum timore debet homo ingredi; unde in Psalmo: « Introibo in domum tuam, et adorabo ad templum sanctum tuum in timore tuo ». Ita debet pedem suum servare ab inobedientia et promptum habere ad obedientiam; propter quod dicit: Et appropinqua, ut audias, id est obedias: appropinqua, quia Deuteronomii trigesimo tertio⁴: « Qui appropinquant pedibus eius accipient de doctrina illius »; audias, obediendo; Ieremiae decimo septimo: « Audite verbum Domini, universi, qui ingredimini per portas has. Haec dicit Dominus: custodite animas vestras ». — Et subiungitur exhortationis ratio: Multo enim melior est obedientia quam stultorum victimae, qui nesciunt, quid faciunt mali, qui non recognoscunt suas transgressiones nec curant obedire; Gregorius⁵: « Melior est obedientia quam victimae, quia in obedientia mactatur voluntas propria, in victima caro aliena ». Abusiva est comparatio, quia obedientia est bona, et ideo placet; unde Threnorum tertio⁶: « Bonum est viro, cum portaverit iugum ab adolescentia sua »; sed victimae stultorum displicent; Proverbiorum decimo quinto: « Victimae impiorum abominabiles Domino »; unde Saul reprehensus fuit, quia amore oblationis transgressus est divinum imperium; primi Regum decimo quinto: « Nunquid vult Dominus holocausta, aut victimas, et non potius, ut obediatur ei? Melior est enim obedientia quam victimae, et auscultare magis quam offerre adipem arietum ».

Capitulum V.

Secundo datur remedium contra locutionem stultam, quae fit triplici modo.

Ne temere quid loquaris. Hic dat remedium contra locutionem stultam sive inordinatam. Inordinata autem est locutio, aut quia inconsiderata; aut quia falsa, et hanc prohibet, ibi: Si quid vovisti etc.; aut quia erronea, et hanc ibi prohibet: Ne dederis os tuum, ut peccare facias etc. — Circa locutionem inconsideratam prohibet p. 43 praecipitationem et subiungit rationem et adhibet exempli confirmationem.

(Vers. 1.). Prohibet igitur praecipitationem; unde dicit: Ne temere quid loquaris, id est inconsiderate; Ecclesiastici nono¹: « Temerarius in verbo suo odibilis erit »; et rursus Ecclesiastici vigesimo octavo: « Verbis tuis facito stateram et frenos ori tuo ». Et quia non potest homo velox deliberare, ideo subdit: Neque cor tuum sit velox ad proferendum sermonem, immo diu deliberare oportet; unde Proverbiorum vigesimo nono: « Vidisti hominem velocem ad loquendum? stultitia speranda est magis quam illius correptio ». Unde distantia debet esse inter os et cor; quo contra Ecclesiastici vigesimo primo²: « In ore fatuorum cor illorum ». Unde dicitur Iacobi primo: « Sit omnis homo velox ad audiendum et tardus ad loquendum »; et Seneca: « Tardiloquum te esse volo ». — Et subditur ratio divinum iudicium, quod omnia videt; ideo dicit: Deus enim in caelo, supple: omnia videns; unde in Psalmo³: « Dominus de caelo in terram aspexit »; et tu super terram, in manifesto sibi positus, ita non lates eum; Ecclesiastici vigesimo tertio: « Oculi Domini multo plus lucidiores sunt super solem, circumspicientes in omnes vias hominum ». Idcirco sint pauci sermones tui, quia scilicet loqueris coram Deo, quia ipse exiget rationem de omnibus; Matthaei duodecimo: « De omni verbo otioso, quod locuti fuerint homines, reddent rationem de eo in die iudicii ». — Et vix potest esse, quod qui multa loquitur Deo non displiceat. Unde hoc manifestat exemplo et simili dicens: Multas curas sequuntur somnia, et ideo stultum est eis attendere; Ecclesiastici trigesimo quarto⁴: « Multos errare fecerunt somnia ». Et in multis sermonibus invenitur stultitia; Ecclesiastici vigesimo: « Qui multis utitur verbis laedit animam suam »; et Proverbiorum decimo: « In multiloquio non deerit peccatum »; sed econtra infra decimo: « Stultus verba multiplicat ».

(Vers. 3. 4.). Si quid vovisti etc. Hic secundo prohibet locutionem falsam, qua scilicet promittitur quod non impletur. — Hortatur igitur implere quod promissum est; unde dicit: Si quid vovisti Deo, id est, per votum promisisti; ne moreris reddere; unde in Psalmo⁵: « Vovete, et reddite Domino Deo vestro, omnes, qui in circuitu eius affertis munera »; et Glossa: « Vovere est voluntarium, sed reddere necessarium », quia alioquin est homo falsus in promisso; unde subdit: Displicet enim Deo infidelis et stulta promissio: infidelis, in qua non est veritas; stulta, in qua non est iudicium, quia stulta promissio non est facienda; unde Isidorus⁶: « In malis promissis rescinde fidem, in turpi voto muta decretum ». Ideo subdit, quod veritas est in promissione servanda, cum dicit: Sed quaecumque voveris redde, non variando; Levitici vigesimo septimo: « Animal mundum, quod immolari potest, si quis voverit, sanctum erit et mutari non poterit, nec in melius nec in peius ». — Alioquin melius fuerat non vovere; ideo dicit: Multoque melius est non vovere, id est minus malum, quia sine culpa; quam post votum promissa non reddere; secundae Petri secundo⁷: « Melius erat eis viam veritatis non cognoscere, quam post agnitionem retrorsum converti »; quia Lucae nono: « Nemo mittens manum ad aratrum et respiciens retro aptus est regno Dei ».

(Vers. 5. 6.). Ne dederis os tuum etc. Hic tertio prohibet locutionem erroneam; et dehortatur locutionis errorem, et deinde subdit rationem, et post manifestat erroris radicem. — Locutionis errorem dehortatur dicens: Ne dederis os tuum, ut peccare facias carnem tuam, id est, non loquaris erroneam locutionem, ex qua praecipiteris in peccatis. Et exprimit, de qua locutione intelligit, subdens: Neque dicas coram Angelo: Non est providentia, id est, non dicas, neque in secreto neque in occulto, quia in occulto audiunt Angeli, qui sunt ad custodiam deputati; unde infra decimo⁸: « In cogitatione tua regi ne detrahas, et in secreto cubili tuo ne maledixeris diviti, quia aves caeli portabunt vocem tuam ». Et subditur ratio exhortationis: Ne forte iratus Dominus dissipet opera tua, id est, reddat inutilia; iratus, non per animi commotionem, sed per culpae rigidam punitionem. Sic iratus est super sermones p. 44 Rabsacis et omnia opera regum Assyriorum per Angelum nocte destruxit; Isaiae trigesimo septimo¹: « Si quo modo audiat Dominus Deus tuus verba Rabsacis, quem misit rex Assyriorum ad blasphemandum Deum viventem »; Proverbiorum vigesimo: « Dissipat impios rex sapiens » etc. — Et subditur huius locutionis origo: quia non oritur a recta ratione, sed a somniorum illusione; propter quod dicit: Ubi multa sunt somnia, plurimae sunt vanitates, quia somnium vanitas; Isaiae vigesimo nono²: « Somniat esuriens et comedit, et postea, cum expergefactus fuerit, vacua est anima eius ». Et sermones innumeri, hi sequuntur ad somnia, quia nihil certum ex eis potest sciri; quia Ecclesiastici trigesimo quarto: « Divinatio erroris et auguria mendacia et somnia malefacientium vanitas est ». Et ideo de talibus non est curandum, sed de Deo; unde subdit: Tu vera time Deum, quia ipse solus est, qui potest nos perdere et salvare, non somnia, non auguria; Lucae duodecimo: « Ostendam vobis, quem timeatis: timete eum qui postquam occiderit, habet potestatem mittere in gehennam ».

Tertio datur remedium contra cogitationem erroneam.

(Vers. 7. 8.). Si videris calumnias etc. Hic tertio retrahit a cogitatione erronea, scilicet ut ex visa hominum malitia non credat, deesse providentiam; unde dicit: Si videris calumnias egenorum; supra quarto³: « Vidi calumnias, quae sub sole geruntur, et lacrymas innocentium ». Et iudicia violenta, quae vidit, supra tertio: « Vidi sub sole in loco iudicii impietatem ». Et subverti iustitiam in provincia; quod similiter supra tertio viderat: « Vidi in loco iustitiae iniquitatem ». Ex hac, inquam, consideratione mirari non debet, quasi non sit qui regat nec qui corrigat; unde dicit: Non mireris super hoc negotio, quasi non sit qui regat, quia unus est omnium ordinator; unde subdit: Quia excelso excelsior est, et super hos quoque eminentiores sunt alii; unde Matthaei octavo⁴ dixit centurio: « Ego sum homo sub potestate constitutus, habens sub me milites, et dico huic: Vade, et vadit ». — Et insuper universae terrae rex imperat inservienti; quamvis ergo non serviant sibi invicem et non ordinentur per se, ordinantur tamen a Deo, qui scit malis bene uti; Genesis quadragesimo primo significatum est: « Ego sum Pharao, absque tuo imperio non movebit quisquam manum aut pedem in omni terra Aegypti ». Unde dicitur Apocalypsis decimo nono: « Habebat in veste et in femore suo scriptum: Rex regum et Dominus dominantium ». Et ipse nihil pervertit; unde dicitur Deuteronomii decimo: « Dominus Deus noster, ipse est Deus deorum et Dominus dominantium, Dominus magnus, potens, terribilis, qui personam non accipit nec munera; facit iudicium pupillo et viduae »; et ideo, si imperat, non pervertitur de iustitia.

Quaestiones.

I. Incidit hic quaestio de hoc quod dicit: Quaecumque vovisti redde; utrum qui vovit indiscrete teneatur, supposito, quod se obligare intendat; quia, si non:

1. Tunc reportat commodum de indiscretione sua⁵

2. Item, ipse tenetur facere veritatem⁶; sed qui non facit quod promisit, non facit veritatem, immo mentitur: ergo talis tenetur facere quod vovit.

3. Item, Iephte indiscrete vovit et solvit, et ab Apostolo commendatur ad Hebraeos undecimo⁷: ergo debemus indiscreta vota persolvere et implere.

Contra: 1. Quod indiscretum est dicere indiscretum est facere: si ergo ille qui sic vovet, hoc ipso quod dicit, est indiscretus; si facit, est multo magis indiscretus et magis peccat: ergo omittendo bene facit.

2. Item, malum praecedens non excusat sequens: ergo si vovit quis stultum et facit, non est minus reprehensibilis, quam si faceret sine voto; nec votum minus reprehensibile, quam si non faceret: ergo etc.

3. Item, Isidorus⁸: « In malis promissis rescinde fidem, in turpi voto muta decretum »: ergo etc.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod non tenetur; immo, si facit, addit peccatum super peccatum; unde et Iephte solvendo votum magis peccavit, quam si non solvisset; quia in vovendo fuit stultus et in solvendo impius, sicut dicit Augustinus⁹.

3. Quod obiicitur, quod commendatur; dicendum, quod non de voto nec de voti solutione commendatur, quia Apostolus commendat ibi¹⁰ fidem, et p. 45 commendat fidem Iephte, quod ipse credidit triumphare de inimicis Domini auxilio.

1. Quod obiicitur, quod reportat commodum; dico, quod falsum est; quia statim in ipso voto peccat et dignus est poena.

2. Quod obiicitur de veritate, dicendum, quod veritas substernit sibi iudicium; quia igitur sine iudicio vovit, ideo solvere non potest cum veritate; et propterea non potest in tali voto esse veritas, et ideo nulla est obligatio.

II. Quaeritur, utrum possit mutare. — Quod non, videtur per illud Levitici ultimo¹: Non poterit mutari, nec in peius nec in melius.

Quod autem sic, videtur: quia licet partem Domini facere meliorem: ergo, etsi non liceat in peius, licet tamen in melius.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod est mutare votum in peius omnino, et est mutare in melius, quod istud includit, sicut qui vovit intrare religionem minus perfectam, intrat in perfectiorem, quae illam claudit intra. Mutare est ultra in melius non includens, sicut ire Romam² in iter ultramarinum. — Primum non licet omnino, sed est prohibitum; secundum licet per se; tertium licet³, non tamen licet sine auctoritate maioris. Quia enim sum Domino obligatus, non possum mutare nisi pro eius arbitrio; et quia ipse non alloquitur me nisi per suum ministrum, qui tenet eius partes: non possum mutare sine auctoritate superioris, nisi Dominus ipse interius certissime inspiret. Et sic patet illud⁴.

III. Quaeritur etiam de hoc quod dicit: Ne dicas coram Angelo: Non est providentia.

Contra: videtur, quod non sit providentia:

1. Primo, quia providentia dat debitum ordinem rebus; sed iste non est in mundo, infra decimo⁵: Vidi servos in equis et principes ambulantes super terram quasi servos.

2. Item secundo: quia providentia dat debitam remunerationem, sed haec non est in mundo, infra nono⁶: Eadem cunctis eveniunt.

3. Item tertio: quia dat debitam durationem; sed haec simpliciter non est in mundo, infra septimo⁷: Impius longo vivit tempore in impietate sua.

Sed quod sit necessarium ponere, videtur:

1. Quia sapientis est providere domui: ergo summe sapientis multo magis.

2. Item, sapientis artificis non tantum est facere, sed etiam conservare⁸; sic ergo Deus conservat et gubernat; sed ipse est sapiens, et sapiens omne, quod gubernat, per providentiam gubernat: ergo etc.

3. Item, quia Deus summe sapiens est, non potest facere, quin videat mala nostra: ergo cum sit summe iustus, non potest facere, quin vindicet mala et remuneret bona⁹: ergo omnium est remuneratio, ergo et providentia.

IV. Item quaeritur, quis magis peccet, utrum qui negat providentiam, an qui divinam providentiam reprehendit.

Videtur, quod magis qui negat; quia ille qui credit, providentiam esse, hoc ipso quod credit, bene facit: ergo aliquid habet de bono; sed qui simpliciter negat, nihil: ergo magis est reprehensibilis.

Contra: Hieronymus¹⁰ dicit, quod magis peccat qui providentiam ponit et Deum accusat, quam qui providentiam simpliciter negat.

Respondeo ad primum, quod providentia est.

1. Quod obiicitur de debito ordine, respondetur, quod duplex est ordo, particularis scilicet et universalis; aliquid potest privari ordine particulari, sed non universali, ut dicit Boethius¹¹. Universalis ordo cuncta complectitur; unde qui cadit ab ordine naturae incidit in ordinem poenae; sicut exemplum Augustini¹² est de nube, in qua est turbo et p. 46 involutio inordinata in se, sed ordinata ad fructum terrae; sic mali praesunt bonis ad bonorum exercitationem et malorum punitionem.

2. Similiter de remuneratione dicendum, quod in praesenti malis bona veniunt iusto modo, ut hic remunerentur et in futuro aeternaliter crucientur; et bonis mala, ut hic purgentur et aeternaliter praemientur.

3. Quod obiicitur de vita, dicendum, quod mali diu vivunt propter dictam causam, sed boni moriuntur; quia dicitur de Henoch, quod raptus est, ne malitia mutaret eius intellectum¹. Quoniam igitur divina iudicia in praesenti occulta sunt propter hominum probationem; et quia simplices et rudes occulta non percipiunt: videtur, quod omnia sint inordinata; et ideo Ecclesiastes docet respicere ad eum, sub quo omnia ordinantur.

Quod quaeritur, quis magis peccet; respondeo: dicendum, quod providentiam negare, hoc potest esse dupliciter: uno modo, quia credamus Deum ignorantem, aut quia credamus, ipsum non curare de factis mortalium. Similiter et accusare dupliciter: aut quia non curat, aut quia pervertit. Utroque modo accusare providentiam peius est, quia non tantum errat, immo Deum vituperat et blasphemat; et ita simpliciter magis peccat, et cognitio ibi non excusat, immo aggravat.

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Member II of the second part. On the threefold remedy against the threefold vanity of fault, that is, against the evil which follows upon malice.

Keep thy foot. It was treated above of the vanity of fault. Since that vanity is deadly and pestilent, therefore here it is treated of the remedy against that vanity. And since a threefold vanity went before, namely of malice, of avarice and of imprudence, therefore he here sets down three remedies. And first he gives the remedy against malice; secondly against avarice, at¹: A covetous man shall not be satisfied; thirdly against imprudence, at: What hath the wise man more etc. But since the disease of malice is of itself irremediable and can moreover corrupt others, therefore the remedy is set down here not against malice, but against the corruption of malice, or the evil which follows in others from the sight of another's malice.

Art. 1. On the remedy against the vanity of malice, from which a threefold disorder arises.

Now from this there arises a threefold disorder, namely in deed, through the disobedience of transgression; in mouth, through the folly of speech; in heart, through erroneous thought. Into all of these the incautious beholder of another's malice rushes. For when someone considers the wicked unpunished, he believes that there is no providence: behold, erroneous thought; and through this he freely speaks foolish things, because he believes that there is none to reprove him; and further he transgresses the commandments, because he does not believe that there is one to punish him.

First, then, he gives the remedy against disobedience; secondly, against foolish speech, at²: Speak not any thing rashly etc.; thirdly, against erroneous thought, at: If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor etc.

First, the remedy against disobedience is given.

(Vers. 17.). In the remedy against disobedience an exhortation is brought in, and the reason for the exhortation is added. Now he exhorts to a diligent guarding of the feet, lest one transgress the divine commandments; therefore he says: Keep thy foot, lest perhaps it turn aside from the right way; to the Hebrews, the twelfth chapter³: « Make straight steps for your feet, that no one halting may go astray ». When thou goest into the house of God, that is, into the church, or into the service of God, into which a man ought to enter with fear; hence in the Psalm: « I will go into thy house, and I will worship towards thy holy temple in thy fear ». So ought he to keep his foot from disobedience and to have it ready for obedience; on account of which he says: And draw nigh to hear, that is, to obey: draw nigh, because Deuteronomy, the thirty-third chapter⁴: « They that approach to his feet shall receive of his doctrine »; to hear, by obeying; Jeremias, the seventeenth chapter: « Hear ye the word of the Lord, all ye that enter in by these gates. Thus saith the Lord: Take heed to your souls ». — And the reason for the exhortation is added: For much better is obedience than the victims of fools, who know not what evil they do, who do not acknowledge their transgressions nor care to obey; Gregory⁵: « Obedience is better than victims, because in obedience one's own will is slain, in a victim another's flesh ». Improper is the comparison, because obedience is good, and therefore pleases; hence Lamentations, the third chapter⁶: « It is good for a man, when he hath borne the yoke from his youth »; but the victims of fools displease; Proverbs, the fifteenth chapter: « The victims of the wicked are abominable to the Lord »; hence Saul was reproved, because out of love of offering he transgressed the divine command; I Kings, the fifteenth chapter: « Doth the Lord desire holocausts, or victims, and not rather that he be obeyed? For obedience is better than victims, and to hearken rather than to offer the fat of rams ».

Chapter V.

Secondly, the remedy is given against foolish speech, which happens in three ways.

Speak not any thing rashly. Here he gives the remedy against foolish or disordered speech. Now speech is disordered either because inconsiderate; or because false, and this he forbids at: If thou hast vowed any thing etc.; or because erroneous, and this he forbids at: Give not thy mouth, that thou cause to sin etc. — Concerning inconsiderate speech he forbids p. 43 precipitancy, and adds the reason, and applies the confirmation of an example.

(Vers. 1.). He forbids, then, precipitancy; hence he says: Speak not any thing rashly, that is, inconsiderately; Ecclesiasticus, the ninth chapter¹: « He that is rash in his word shall be hateful »; and again Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-eighth chapter: « Make a balance for thy words and bridles for thy mouth ». And since a man who is hasty cannot deliberate, therefore he adds: Nor let thy heart be hasty to utter a word, but rather one must deliberate long; hence Proverbs, the twenty-ninth chapter: « Hast thou seen a man hasty to speak? folly is rather to be looked for than his amendment ». Hence there ought to be a distance between the mouth and the heart; against which Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-first chapter²: « In the mouth of fools is their heart ». Hence it is said in James, the first chapter: « Let every man be swift to hear and slow to speak »; and Seneca: « I would have you slow of speech ». — And the reason is added, the divine judgement, which sees all things; therefore he says: For God is in heaven, supply: seeing all things; hence in the Psalm³: « The Lord hath looked from heaven upon the earth »; and thou upon earth, placed in plain sight of him, so thou art not hidden from him; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third chapter: « The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun, beholding round about all the ways of men ». Therefore let thy words be few, since namely thou speakest before God, because he will demand an account of all things; Matthew, the twelfth chapter: « Of every idle word that men shall speak, they shall render an account for it in the day of judgement ». — And it can scarcely be that he who speaks much does not displease God. Hence he makes this plain by an example and a likeness, saying: Dreams follow many cares, and therefore it is foolish to attend to them; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-fourth chapter⁴: « Dreams have made many to err ». And in many words shall be found folly; Ecclesiasticus, the twentieth chapter: « He that useth many words shall hurt his own soul »; and Proverbs, the tenth chapter: « In the multitude of words there shall not want sin »; but on the contrary, below, the tenth chapter: « A fool multiplieth words ».

(Vers. 3. 4.). If thou hast vowed any thing etc. Here secondly he forbids false speech, that is, that by which something is promised which is not fulfilled. — He exhorts, then, to fulfil what has been promised; hence he says: If thou hast vowed any thing to God, that is, promised by a vow, defer not to pay it; hence in the Psalm⁵: « Vow ye, and pay to the Lord your God, all you that round about him bring presents »; and the Gloss: « To vow is voluntary, but to pay is necessary », since otherwise a man is false in his promise; hence he adds: For an unfaithful and foolish promise displeaseth God: unfaithful, in which there is no truth; foolish, in which there is no judgement, because a foolish promise is not to be made; hence Isidore⁶: « In evil promises break faith; in a base vow change the decree ». Therefore he adds that truth is to be kept in a promise, when he says: But whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it, without varying it; Leviticus, the twenty-seventh chapter: « A clean beast, which may be sacrificed, if any one shall vow it, shall be holy and cannot be changed, neither for better nor for worse ». — Otherwise it had been better not to vow; therefore he says: And it is much better not to vow, that is, a lesser evil, because it is without fault, than after a vow not to perform the things promised; II Peter, the second chapter⁷: « It was better for them not to know the way of truth, than after the knowing of it to be turned backward »; because Luke, the ninth chapter: « No man putting his hand to the plough and looking back is fit for the kingdom of God ».

(Vers. 5. 6.). Give not thy mouth etc. Here thirdly he forbids erroneous speech; and he dissuades from the error of speech, and then adds the reason, and afterwards makes plain the root of the error. — He dissuades from the error of speech, saying: Give not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin, that is, do not speak erroneous speech, by which thou art cast headlong into sins. And he expresses of what speech he means, adding: And say not before the angel: There is no providence, that is, do not say it, neither in secret nor in hiding, because in hiding the Angels hear, who are deputed to guard us; hence below, the tenth chapter⁸: « In thy thought detract not the king, and in thy secret bed speak not evil of the rich man, because the birds of the air will carry thy voice ». And the reason of the exhortation is added: Lest perhaps the Lord, being angry, destroy thy works, that is, render them useless; angry, not through commotion of mind, but through the rigorous punishment of fault. So was he angry at the words p. 44 of Rabsaces, and destroyed by an Angel in the night all the works of the kings of the Assyrians; Isaias, the thirty-seventh chapter¹: « If by any means the Lord thy God may hear the words of Rabsaces, whom the king of the Assyrians sent to blaspheme the living God »; Proverbs, the twentieth chapter: « A wise king scattereth the wicked » etc. — And the origin of this speech is added: that it does not arise from right reason, but from the illusion of dreams; on account of which he says: Where there are many dreams, there are very many vanities, since a dream is vanity; Isaias, the twenty-ninth chapter²: « The hungry man dreameth and eateth, and afterwards, when he is awaked, his soul is empty ». And words without number: these follow upon dreams, because nothing certain can be known from them; for Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-fourth chapter: « The divination of error, and lying omens, and the dreams of evildoers are vanity ». And therefore one is not to care for such things, but for God; hence he adds: But do thou fear God, because he alone it is who can destroy and save us, not dreams, not omens; Luke, the twelfth chapter: « I will shew you whom you shall fear: fear him who, after he hath killed, hath power to cast into hell ».

Thirdly, the remedy is given against erroneous thought.

(Vers. 7. 8.). If thou shalt see the oppressions etc. Here thirdly he draws back from erroneous thought, namely lest from the malice of men that he has seen one believe that providence is wanting; hence he says: If thou shalt see the oppressions of the poor; above, the fourth chapter³: « I saw the oppressions that are done under the sun, and the tears of the innocent ». And violent judgements, which he saw, above, the third chapter: « I saw under the sun in the place of judgement wickedness ». And justice perverted in the province; which likewise he had seen above, the third chapter: « I saw in the place of justice iniquity ». From this consideration, I say, one ought not to wonder, as though there were none to rule nor to correct; hence he says: Wonder not at this matter, as though there were none to rule, because there is one orderer of all things; hence he adds: For he that is high hath another higher, and there are others still higher than these; hence in Matthew, the eighth chapter⁴, the centurion said: « I am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers; and I say to this one: Go, and he goeth ». — And moreover the king commandeth all the land that serveth him; although, then, they do not serve one another and are not ordered of themselves, they are nevertheless ordered by God, who knows how to use evil things well; in Genesis, the forty-first chapter, it is signified: « I am Pharao; without thy command no man shall move hand or foot in all the land of Egypt ». Hence it is said in the Apocalypse, the nineteenth chapter: « He had on his garment and on his thigh written: King of kings and Lord of lords ». And he perverts nothing; hence it is said in Deuteronomy, the tenth chapter: « The Lord our God, he is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great Lord, mighty, terrible, who accepteth no person nor gifts; he doth judgement to the fatherless and the widow »; and therefore, if he commands, he is not perverted from justice.

Questions.

I. A question arises here concerning what he says: Whatsoever thou hast vowed, pay it; whether one who has vowed indiscreetly is bound, supposing that he intends to bind himself; for, if not:

1. Then he carries off an advantage from his own indiscretion⁵.

2. Likewise, he is bound to do the truth⁶; but one who does not do what he promised does not do the truth, nay rather lies: therefore such a one is bound to do what he vowed.

3. Likewise, Jephte vowed indiscreetly and paid, and is commended by the Apostle to the Hebrews, the eleventh chapter⁷: therefore we ought to pay and fulfil indiscreet vows.

On the contrary: 1. What it is indiscreet to say it is indiscreet to do: if therefore he who vows thus is indiscreet by the very fact that he says it, if he does it he is much more indiscreet and sins more: therefore by omitting it he does well.

2. Likewise, a preceding evil does not excuse a following one: therefore if someone has vowed something foolish and does it, he is not less reprehensible than if he did it without a vow; nor is the vow less reprehensible than if he did not do it: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, Isidore⁸: « In evil promises break faith; in a base vow change the decree »: therefore etc.

I respond: it must be said that he is not bound; nay rather, if he does it, he adds sin upon sin; hence Jephte too sinned more in paying the vow than if he had not paid it; for in vowing he was foolish and in paying impious, as Augustine says⁹.

3. As to the objection that he is commended, it must be said that he is commended not for the vow nor for the payment of the vow, because the Apostle there¹⁰ commends faith, and p. 45 commends the faith of Jephte, in that he believed that he would triumph over his enemies by the Lord's help.

1. As to the objection that he carries off an advantage, I say that it is false; for in the very vow he at once sins and is worthy of punishment.

2. As to the objection concerning truth, it must be said that truth places judgement beneath itself; since, then, he vowed without judgement, therefore he cannot pay with truth; and therefore there cannot be truth in such a vow, and therefore there is no obligation.

II. It is asked whether one can change it. — That not, seems from that of Leviticus, the last chapter¹: It cannot be changed, neither for worse nor for better.

But that so, seems: because it is lawful to make the Lord's part better: therefore, even if it be not lawful for the worse, it is nevertheless lawful for the better.

I respond: it must be said that there is changing a vow altogether for the worse, and there is changing it for the better, which includes this one, as when one who vowed to enter a less perfect religious order enters a more perfect one, which encloses that one within it. There is changing beyond, into a better that does not include it, as to go to Rome² into a journey overseas. — The first is not lawful at all, but is forbidden; the second is lawful of itself; the third is lawful³, yet it is not lawful without the authority of a superior. For since I am bound to the Lord, I cannot change except at his decision; and since he does not speak to me except through his minister, who holds his place, I cannot change without the authority of a superior, unless the Lord himself inspire it inwardly with the greatest certainty. And thus that is clear⁴.

III. It is asked also concerning what he says: Say not before the angel: There is no providence.

On the contrary: it seems that there is no providence:

1. First, because providence gives things their due order; but this is not in the world, below, the tenth chapter⁵: I have seen servants upon horses, and princes walking on the ground as servants.

2. Likewise, secondly: because providence gives due reward, but this is not in the world, below, the ninth chapter⁶: The same things happen to all.

3. Likewise, thirdly: because it gives due duration; but this simply is not in the world, below, the seventh chapter⁷: The wicked man liveth a long time in his impiety.

But that it is necessary to posit it, seems:

1. Because it belongs to the wise man to provide for his house: therefore much more to the supremely wise.

2. Likewise, it belongs to a wise craftsman not only to make but also to preserve⁸; so, then, God preserves and governs; but he is wise, and the wise man governs by providence everything that he governs: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, since God is supremely wise, he cannot but see our evils: therefore, since he is supremely just, he cannot but punish evils and reward goods⁹: therefore there is a reward for all things, therefore also a providence.

IV. Likewise it is asked who sins more, whether he who denies providence, or he who finds fault with the divine providence.

It seems that he who denies it sins more; for he who believes that there is a providence does well by the very fact that he believes: therefore he has something of good; but he who simply denies it has nothing: therefore he is more reprehensible.

On the contrary: Jerome¹⁰ says that he sins more who posits providence and accuses God than he who simply denies providence.

I respond to the first, that there is a providence.

1. As to the objection concerning due order, it is answered that order is twofold, namely particular and universal; something can be deprived of particular order, but not of universal, as Boethius says¹¹. Universal order embraces all things; hence he who falls from the order of nature falls into the order of punishment; as Augustine's example¹² is of the cloud, in which there is a whirlwind and p. 46 an involution disordered in itself, but ordered to the fruit of the earth; so the wicked are set over the good for the exercise of the good and the punishment of the wicked.

2. Likewise concerning reward it must be said that in the present life good things come to the wicked in a just manner, that they may be rewarded here and be tormented eternally in the future; and evil things to the good, that they may be purged here and be rewarded eternally.

3. As to the objection concerning life, it must be said that the wicked live long for the said cause, but the good die; for it is said of Henoch that he was taken away, lest malice should alter his understanding¹. Since, then, the divine judgements are hidden in the present life for the testing of men, and since the simple and unlearned do not perceive hidden things, it seems that all things are disordered; and therefore Ecclesiastes teaches us to look to him, under whom all things are ordered.

As to the question, who sins more, I respond: it must be said that to deny providence can be in two ways: in one way, because we believe God to be ignorant, or because we believe that he does not care about the deeds of mortals. Likewise to accuse it is twofold: either because he does not care, or because he perverts. In either way to accuse providence is worse, because it does not only err, nay rather it blames and blasphemes God; and so it sins more simply, and knowledge there does not excuse, nay rather aggravates.

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