Bonaventure

Pars III. Probatur vanitas poenalitatis duplicis, tam quae est peccati occasio, quam quae est pura afflictio.

Cuncta tentavi etc. Supra egit de vanitate mutabilitatis et iniquitatis; in hac parte intendit agere de vanitate poenalitatis. Et quia duplex est poena: quaedam, quae est peccati occasio, sicut concupiscentia; quaedam, quae est pura afflictio, sicut mors et infirmitas corporis: ideo primo agit de prima poenalitate, quae est peccati occasio; secundo, de ea quae est pura afflictio, infra duodecimo¹: Memento Creatoris tui etc.

Partis tertiae membrum I. Ostenditur duplex poena, quae est peccati occasio.

Et quoniam poena, quae est peccati occasio, duplex est, una scilicet ex defectu amoris, et haec est pronitas; alia ex defectu timoris, et haec est securitas; prima reddit pronum ad malum, et secunda securum, quia non timet, dum non credit puniri: ideo habet haec pars duas: in prima agit de vanitate pronitatis, in secunda, de vanitate securitatis; et incipit secunda pars infra octavo²: Omnia haec consideravi et dedi cor meum etc.

Art. 1. De prima peccati occasione, quae est pronitas ad peccatum per concupiscentiam, agitur dupliciter.

Et quia vanitas pronitatis concupiscentiae est periculosa, nec liberatur quis nisi auxilio divinae sapientiae; ideo primo notatur inventio concupiscentiae. Secundo subiungitur remedium sapientiae, ibi³: Quis talis, ut sapiens est etc.

Primo notatur inventio concupiscentiae, et primo praemittitur eiusdem diligens inquisitio, quae secundum tria describitur.

Et quoniam, ubi est latentis inventio, praecedit diligens inquisitio; ideo primo describitur diligens ipsius inquisitio; secundo, concupiscentiae inventio, ibi⁴: Et inveni amariorem morte etc.

Diligens igitur ipsius inquisitio, quae adeo diligens fuit, ut in curiositatem degeneraret, hoc ordine describitur primo quoad praesumtionis suae curiositatem, quoad inquisitionis sublimitatem, quoad considerationis studiositatem.

(Vers. 24. 25. 26.). Quantum igitur ad suae praesumtionis curiositatem dicit: Cuncta tentavi in sapientia, id est in inquisitione, ecce, curiositatis inquisitio; Ecclesiastici tertio⁵: « In pluribus operibus eius ne fueris curiosus ». Dixi: Sapiens efficiar, ecce, praesumtionis elatio; Isaiae quinto: « Vae, qui sapientes estis in oculis vestris » etc.; et primae ad Corinthios tertio: « Si quis vestrum videtur esse sapiens in hoc saeculo, stultus fiat, ut sit sapiens ». — Quantum ad inquisitionis sublimitatem dicit: Et ipsa longius recessit a me, quam erat prius, quia visa est ei quaestio difficilior, dum magis inquireret, et hoc divini iudicii severitate; ad Romanos primo⁶: « Dicentes, se esse sapientes, stulti facti sunt »; et quaestionis altitudine; ideo dicit: Et alta profunditas, quis inveniet eam? Alta est profunditas inquisitionis sapientiae; Ecclesiastici vigesimo quarto⁷: « Ego in altissimis habitavi, et thronus meus in columna nubis ». Et ideo quis potest invenire? Pauci sufficienter, sed nulli perfecte; Ecclesiastici quadragesimo tertio: « Ne laboretis; non enim comprehendetis »; et ad Romanos undecimo: « O altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei » etc. — Quantum ad considerationis strenuitatem subiungit: Lustravi universa in animo meo, id est, circuivi et diligenter undique consideravi; Ecclesiastici sexto⁸: « Quasi is qui arat et qui seminat, accede ad illam ». Et ratio movens tangitur: Ut scirem, in habitu; et considerarem, in actu; sapientiam, in appetitibus; rationem, in operationibus. Et e contrario: Ut cognoscerem impietatem stulti, in operandis; et errorem prudentiae, in credendis; supra primo: « Dedi cor meum, ut scirem prudentiam atque doctrinam erroresque et stultitiam ».

Secundo describitur ipsa concupiscentiae inventio et ipsius triplex conditio.

Et inveni etc. Descripta est diligens inquisitio; describitur hic concupiscentiae carnalis inventio, et hoc quantum ad triplicem conditionem. Primo notatur ipsius concupiscentiae pronitas, secundo generalitas, tertio causalitas.

(Vers. 27.). Primo igitur tangitur ipsius concupiscentiae vehemens pronitas, quia perducit ad maximam amaritudinem sub specie dulcedinis. Ideo dicit: Inveni amariorem morte mulierem, et hoc post nefarii operis perpetrationem, ad quod concupiscentia pertrahit; unde Proverbiorum quinto⁹: « Favus distillans labia meretricis, et nitidius oleo guttur eius ». Ad hoc pertrahit concupiscentia illa, p. 63 quae a muliere habuit ortum et in muliere habet fomentum, quae sua pulcritudine illaqueat per dilectionem; ideo dicit: Laqueus est venatorum, id est daemonum, qui venantur animas hominum. Illaqueat verbis et aspectibus; Proverbiorum septimo¹: « Irretivit eum multis sermonibus et blanditiis labiorum protraxit illum ». Illaqueat pulcritudine faciei; Ecclesiastici nono: « Propter speciem mulieris multi pereunt ». Illaqueat etiam verbis; unde ibidem: « Colloquium illius quasi ignis exardescit ». Non solum illaqueat in dilectione, sed etiam deglutit in nefario opere; unde dicit: Et sagena cor eius, cum iuxta votum eius consentitur operi nefario. Haec est sagena diaboli; Habacuc primo²: « Totum in hamo sublevavit; traxit illud in sagena sua ». Sed postmodum ligat per affectionem; et ideo dicit: Et vincula manus illius; Proverbiorum septimo: « Sequitur eam et ignorat, quod ad vincula stultus trahatur ». Ab hac pronitate nullus eripitur, nisi qui a Domino iuvatur, tanta est; ideo dicit: Qui placet Deo effugiet illam, secundum illud primae ad Corinthios sexto³: « Fugite fornicationem »; Sapientiae octavo: « Scivi, quoniam aliter non possem esse continens, nisi Deus det ». Qui autem peccator est capietur ab illa; Proverbiorum quinto: « Iniquitates suae capiunt impium, et funibus peccatorum suorum constringitur ».

(Vers. 28. 29.). Ecce, hoc inveni etc. Hic notatur secundum, scilicet concupiscentiae generalitas, cuius rationem videre fuit difficultas; ideo dicit: Ecce, hoc inveni, dixit Ecclesiastes, unum, scilicet ipsius concupiscentiae pronitatem, et alterum, scilicet ipsius generalitatem. — Et laboravi, supple, ut invenirem rationem, quam adhuc quaerit anima mea; haec est ratio generalitatis concupiscentiae, quare in omnibus est. Et non inveni, scilicet proprio ingenio; quia hoc philosophi scire non noverunt; sed tamen fide cognovit rationem⁴ et experientia cognovit effectum, scilicet generalitatem. Ideo dicit: Virum unum de mille reperi, et mulierem ex omnibus non inveni; hyperbole est, et vult dicere, quod paucissimos invenit viros, in quibus concupiscentia non regnaret; sed ipse nullas invenit mulieres; nec mirum, quia Ecclesiastici vigesimo quinto⁵: « Brevis omnis malitia super malitiam mulieris ». — Possemus autem hoc exponere de Christo, qui solus evasit a corruptione concupiscentiae originalis, qui solus fuit « inter mortuos liber ».

(Vers. 30.). Solummodo hoc inveni. Hic notatur tertium, scilicet concupiscentiae causalitas, quae quidem non fuit a Deo, sed a primo peccato. Ideo dicit: Solummodo hoc inveni, quod fecit Deus hominem rectum; Ecclesiastici decimo septimo⁶: « Deus de terra creavit hominem, et secundum imaginem suam fecit illum ». Et huius signum est rectitudo staturae, quae adhuc manet in corpore. Et ipse se, propria scilicet libertate, infinitis miscuit quaestionibus; quia recedendo ab uno factus est pronus ad multa et infinita, quia in eis sua concupiscentia non finitur nec satiatur; Proverbiorum trigesimo⁷: « Tria sunt insaturabilia, et quartum, quod nunquam dicit, sufficit: infernus et os vulvae et terra » etc.

Quaestiones.

I. Dubitari potest de hoc quod hic dicit: Cuncta tentavi in sapientia; utrum in hoc fuerit reprehensibilis. Quod sic, videtur:

1. Per ipsam litteram: Dixi: Sapiens efficiar, et ipsa longius recessit a me.

2. Item, per illud quod dicitur Ecclesiastici tertio⁸: In pluribus operibus eius ne fueris curiosus.

Contra: 1. Spiritualis homo iudicat omnia, et ipse a nemine iudicatur⁹: ergo si Salomon habebat spiritum sapientiae, ergo eius erat de omnibus iudicare.

2. Praeterea, primae ad Thessalonicenses ultimo¹⁰ ait Apostolus: Omnia probate; quod bonum est tenete: bonum est igitur tentare omnia.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod tentare aliquid est dupliciter: uno modo cognoscere per experientiam, sicut cognoscit et tentat quis vinum, quod gustat; alio modo per examinationem et approbationem et reprobationem. Primo modo non sunt tentanda nisi utilia tantum; si autem ampliora quis velit tentare, curiositas est. Secundum autem quod tentare idem est quod examinare, sic accipit Paulus probare, et sic omnia sunt examinanda, non tantum bona et utilia, sed etiam inutilia. Sic dicitur, quod spiritualis homo omnia iudicat¹¹; sic etiam dicitur: omnia probate, id est: omnia examinate, utrum bona vel p. 64 mala in nostris operibus, de quibus dubitare possumus; sed in operibus Dei, de quibus supponere debemus, quod bene sint facta, curiositas est probare vel examinare. Quoniam ergo Salomon extendit suum examen ultra ea quae salutis sunt; ideo curiositas fuit. Et concedendum est illud. — Auctoritates illae duae intelliguntur de his quae ad salutem spectant et ad se pertinent, sed Salomon ultra processit.

II. Item dubitatur de hoc quod dicit: Virum de mille unum reperi. Secundum hoc videtur confirmare haeresim illam, quod nulla mulier salvatur; et hoc nituntur probare haeretici:

1. Quia, si solum salvatum est quod assumsit Christus; et ipse assumsit solum sexum viri: ergo ille solus salvabitur.

2. Et hoc nituntur probare per illud quod dicitur Marci ultimo¹: Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit; non dicit: quae baptizata fuerit. Et id ipsum dicitur Ioannis tertio.

Contrarium huius ostenditur: 1. Per illud quod dicitur Matthaei vigesimo primo²: Meretrices praecedent vos in regnum Dei.

2. Item, hoc ostenditur, quia Dominus utrumque sexum recepit, utrumque sanavit corporaliter, utrumque vocavit per Apostolos. Ipse etiam Salomon utrumque laudavit, et de forti muliere Proverbiorum ultimo³: Ridebit in die novissimo. Quid est ergo quod dicit: Mulierem ex omnibus non inveni etc.

Respondeo: dicendum, quod ipse loquitur de generalitate concupiscentiae, et de hac est loqui dupliciter: uno modo quantum ad propagationem carnalem, quia ipsa transfunditur; alio modo quantum ad prosecutionem per actuale peccatum. Si primo modo, est sermo verus et proprius, quia solus Christus sine peccato conceptus et originale non contraxit. Si secundo modo, sermo est hyperbolicus; et hoc patet, quia non tantum est unus vir bonus et salvandus, immo multi; et dicitur illud quantum ad raritatem eorum qui tempore illo inveniebantur ab actu concupiscentiae immunes.

1. Quod obiiciunt haeretici, quod assumsit sexum virilem; respondeo, quod etsi virilem assumsit, attendendum, quod assumsit de muliere; quod non fecisset, si ad salutem non pertineret. Praeterea, unius naturae est vir et mulier et unum corpus⁴.

2. Quod obiiciunt de Evangelio, quia in masculino; dicendum, quod confusum est illud masculinum et stat ibi pro natura, non pro sexu; et frequenter masculinum genus concipit femininum secundum morem Scripturae⁵.

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Part III. The vanity of a twofold penalty is proved, both that which is an occasion of sin and that which is pure affliction.

I have tried all things etc. Above he treated of the vanity of mutability and of iniquity; in this part he intends to treat of the vanity of penalty. And since punishment is twofold: one, which is an occasion of sin, as concupiscence; another, which is pure affliction, as death and infirmity of body: therefore first he treats of the first penalty, which is an occasion of sin; secondly, of that which is pure affliction, below in the twelfth¹: Remember thy Creator etc.

Member I of the third part. The twofold punishment which is an occasion of sin is shown.

And since the punishment which is an occasion of sin is twofold, one, namely, from a defect of love, and this is proneness; the other from a defect of fear, and this is security; the first renders one prone to evil, and the second secure, because he does not fear, so long as he does not believe he will be punished: therefore this part has two: in the first he treats of the vanity of proneness, in the second, of the vanity of security; and the second part begins below in the eighth²: All these things have I considered and I gave my heart etc.

Art. 1. On the first occasion of sin, which is proneness to sin through concupiscence, it is treated in two ways.

And since the vanity of the proneness of concupiscence is perilous, and no one is freed except by the help of divine wisdom; therefore first the finding of concupiscence is noted. Secondly the remedy of wisdom is subjoined, there³: Who is such as the wise man etc.

First the finding of concupiscence is noted, and first its diligent inquiry is set before it, which is described according to three things.

And since, where there is the finding of something hidden, a diligent inquiry precedes; therefore first its diligent inquiry is described; secondly, the finding of concupiscence, there⁴: And I have found more bitter than death etc.

Its diligent inquiry, then, which was so diligent that it degenerated into curiosity, is described in this order: first as to the curiosity of his presumption, as to the sublimity of the inquiry, as to the studiousness of the consideration.

(Vers. 24. 25. 26.). As to the curiosity of his presumption, then, he says: I have tried all things in wisdom, that is, in inquiry; behold, the inquiry of curiosity; Ecclesiasticus, the third chapter⁵: « In many of his works be not curious ». I have said: I will be wise, behold, the elation of presumption; Isaias, the fifth chapter: « Woe, you that are wise in your own eyes » etc.; and the first to the Corinthians, the third chapter: « If any of you seem to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise ». — As to the sublimity of the inquiry he says: And it departed farther from me than it was before, because the question seemed more difficult to him the more he inquired, and this by the severity of divine judgement; to the Romans, the first chapter⁶: « Saying that they were wise, they became fools »; and by the height of the question; therefore he says: And a deep depth, who shall find it? Deep is the depth of the inquiry into wisdom; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth chapter⁷: « I dwelt in the highest places, and my throne is in a pillar of a cloud ». And therefore who can find it? Few sufficiently, but none perfectly; Ecclesiasticus, the forty-third chapter: « Labour not; for you shall not comprehend »; and to the Romans, the eleventh chapter: « O the height of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God » etc. — As to the strenuousness of the consideration he subjoins: I have surveyed all things in my mind, that is, I went round about and diligently considered on every side; Ecclesiasticus, the sixth chapter⁸: « As one that plougheth and that soweth, come to her ». And the moving reason is touched: That I might know, in habit; and consider, in act; wisdom, in the appetites; reason, in operations. And on the contrary: That I might know the wickedness of the fool, in things to be done; and the error of prudence, in things to be believed; above, in the first: « I have given my heart to know prudence and learning^tr., and errors and folly ».

Secondly the finding itself of concupiscence is described, and its threefold condition.

And I have found etc. The diligent inquiry has been described; here the finding of carnal concupiscence is described, and this as to a threefold condition. First is noted the proneness of concupiscence itself, secondly its generality, thirdly its causality.

(Vers. 27.). First, then, the vehement proneness of concupiscence itself is touched, because it leads to the greatest bitterness under the appearance of sweetness. Therefore he says: I have found a woman more bitter than death, and this after the perpetration of the wicked work to which concupiscence draws; whence Proverbs, the fifth chapter⁹: « A honeycomb dropping are the lips of a harlot, and her throat is smoother than oil ». To this that concupiscence draws, p. 63 which had its rise from a woman and has its kindling in a woman, who by her beauty ensnares through love; therefore he says: She is the snare of hunters, that is, of demons, who hunt the souls of men. She ensnares by words and by looks; Proverbs, the seventh chapter¹: « She entangled him with many words, and drew him away with the flattery of her lips ». She ensnares by the beauty of her face; Ecclesiasticus, the ninth chapter: « Because of the beauty of a woman many perish ». She ensnares also by words; whence in the same place: « Her converse is kindled as a fire ». Not only does she ensnare in love, but she also swallows in the wicked work; whence he says: And her heart a net, when according to her wish consent is given to the wicked work. This is the devil's net; Habacuc, the first chapter²: « He lifted up the whole with a hook; he drew it in his net ». But afterwards she binds through affection; and therefore he says: And her hands are bands; Proverbs, the seventh chapter: « He followeth her, and knoweth not that he is drawn like a fool to bonds ». From this proneness no one is rescued except one who is helped by the Lord, so great is it; therefore he says: He that pleaseth God shall escape her, according to that of the first to the Corinthians, the sixth chapter³: « Fly fornication »; Wisdom, the eighth chapter: « I knew that I could not otherwise be continent, unless God give it ». But he that is a sinner shall be caught by her; Proverbs, the fifth chapter: « His own iniquities catch the wicked, and he is bound fast with the ropes of his own sins ».

(Vers. 28. 29.). Lo, this have I found etc. Here the second is noted, namely the generality of concupiscence, whose reason it was difficult to see; therefore he says: Lo, this have I found, said Ecclesiastes, one thing, namely the proneness of concupiscence itself, and another, namely its generality. — And I have laboured, supply, that I might find the reason, which my soul still seeketh; this is the reason for the generality of concupiscence, why it is in all. And I have not found, namely by my own wit; because the philosophers did not know how to know this; but yet by faith he knew the reason⁴ and by experience he knew the effect, namely the generality. Therefore he says: One man of a thousand I have found, and a woman among them all I have not found; it is hyperbole, and he means that he found very few men in whom concupiscence did not reign; but he himself found no women; nor is it surprising, because Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fifth chapter⁵: « All malice is short to the malice of a woman ». — We could, however, expound this of Christ, who alone escaped the corruption of original concupiscence, who alone was « free among the dead ».

(Vers. 30.). Only this have I found. Here the third is noted, namely the causality of concupiscence, which indeed was not from God, but from the first sin. Therefore he says: Only this have I found, that God made man right; Ecclesiasticus, the seventeenth chapter⁶: « God created man of the earth, and made him after his own image ». And the sign of this is the uprightness of stature, which still remains in the body. And he himself, namely by his own liberty, hath entangled himself with infinite questions; because by withdrawing from the one he became prone to many and infinite things, because in them his concupiscence is not ended nor sated; Proverbs, the thirtieth chapter⁷: « There are three things that are insatiable, and the fourth, which never saith, It is enough: hell, and the mouth of the womb, and the earth » etc.

Questions.

I. It can be doubted concerning what he says here: I have tried all things in wisdom; whether in this he was blameworthy. That he was, it seems:

1. By the letter itself: I have said: I will be wise, and it departed farther from me.

2. Likewise, by that which is said in Ecclesiasticus, the third chapter⁸: In many of his works be not curious.

On the contrary: 1. The spiritual man judgeth all things, and he himself is judged of no man⁹: therefore if Solomon had the spirit of wisdom, then it was his to judge of all things.

2. Moreover, in the first to the Thessalonians, the last chapter¹⁰, the Apostle says: Prove all things; hold fast that which is good: it is good, therefore, to try all things.

I respond: It must be said that to try something is in two ways: in one way, to know by experience, as one knows and tries wine, which he tastes; in another way, by examination and approbation and reprobation. In the first way nothing is to be tried except useful things only; but if one wishes to try more, it is curiosity. But according as to try is the same as to examine, so Paul takes to prove, and so all things are to be examined, not only good and useful things, but also useless ones. So it is said that the spiritual man judgeth all things¹¹; so also it is said: prove all things, that is: examine all things, whether they be good or p. 64 evil in our works, concerning which we can doubt; but in the works of God, concerning which we ought to suppose that they are well made, it is curiosity to prove or examine. Since, therefore, Solomon extended his examination beyond the things which are of salvation; therefore it was curiosity. And that is to be conceded. — Those two authorities are understood of the things which look to salvation and pertain to oneself, but Solomon went further.

II. Likewise it is doubted concerning what he says: One man of a thousand I have found. According to this he seems to confirm that heresy, that no woman is saved; and the heretics strive to prove this:

1. Because, if only that is saved which Christ assumed; and he assumed only the male sex: therefore that alone will be saved.

2. And they strive to prove this by that which is said in Mark, the last chapter¹: He that believeth and is baptized; he does not say: she that is baptized. And the same is said in John, the third chapter.

The contrary of this is shown: 1. By that which is said in Matthew, the twenty-first chapter²: The harlots shall go before you into the kingdom of God.

2. Likewise, this is shown, because the Lord received both sexes, healed both bodily, called both through the Apostles. Solomon himself also praised both, and of the valiant woman, Proverbs, the last chapter³: She shall laugh in the latter day. What is it, then, that he says: A woman among them all I have not found etc.

I respond: It must be said that he speaks of the generality of concupiscence, and of this one can speak in two ways: in one way as to carnal propagation, because it is transfused; in another way as to the pursuit through actual sin. If in the first way, the saying is true and proper, because Christ alone was conceived without sin and did not contract original sin. If in the second way, the saying is hyperbolic; and this is clear, because not only one man is good and to be saved, but rather many; and that is said as to the rarity of those who at that time were found immune from the act of concupiscence.

1. As to what the heretics object, that he assumed the male sex; I respond that, although he assumed the male, it must be attended that he assumed it from a woman; which he would not have done, if it did not pertain to salvation. Moreover, man and woman are of one nature and one body⁴.

2. As to what they object from the Gospel, that it is in the masculine; it must be said that that masculine is confused and stands there for the nature, not for the sex; and frequently the masculine gender takes in the feminine according to the custom of Scripture⁵.

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