Bonaventure

Capitulum XI.

De beneficiis pertinentibus principaliter ad adversariorum punitionem.

Direxit opera eorum. Hic agit de beneficiis pertinentibus ad adversariorum punitionem, et primo de pertinentibus ad punitionem per poenas leviores, ordinatas ad eorum correctionem, scilicet in isto capitulo et in capitulo duodecimo⁷; secundo de pertinentibus ad punitionem per poenas graviores, ordinatas ad condemnationem, scilicet capitulo decimo tertio et deinceps.

Primo, de punitione per poenas leviores agitur dupliciter.

In prima primo agit principaliter de punitione Aegyptiorum Israelitas iniuste deprimentium; secundo, de punitione Chananaeorum eorum terram iniuste detinentium, scilicet capitulo duodecimo.

Primo, de punitione Aegyptiorum propter duplex peccatum, primo propter depressionem iniustam.

In prima primo agitur de punitione Aegyptiorum propter filiorum Israel depressionem iniustam; secundo, propter idololatriam: Quod quidam errantes.

In prima primo ostenditur erga filios Israel, quos detinere volebant, Dei misericordia; secundo, contra Aegyptios volentes iniuste detinere illos Dei iustitia: Per quae enim. — In prima primo tangitur Israelitarum in via directio; secundo, impedimentorum in via occurrentium expeditio sive amotio: Steterunt; tertio, ipsorum in via refectio: Sitierunt.

(Vers. 1.). Dicit ergo: Direxit, quasi dicat: non solum praedicta beneficia fecit sapientia populo Israelitico, sed etiam direxit opera illorum; Glossa⁸: « Israelitarum », post recessum scilicet eorum de Aegypto; in manibus, id est in potestate et regimine, Prophetae sancti; Glossa: « Moysi », qui fuit propheta quoad doctrinam; Deuteronomii decimo octavo: « Prophetam sicut me suscitabit tibi Dominus »; sanctus quoad vitam; Exodi trigesimo tertio: « Invenisti gratiam coram me ». Hic eos docebat et regebat non solum verbis, quia propheta, sed etiam exemplis, quia sanctus, ut possit dici de eo illud Lucae vigesimo quarto: « Fuit propheta potens in opere et sermone ».

(Vers. 2.). Iter fecerunt; Glossa⁹: « Properantes ad terram promissionis »; per deserta, id est per plura loca derelicta, scilicet a cultoribus; quae non habitabantur, scilicet ab incolis hominibus. Et hoc p. 178 factum est, sapientia dirigente eos per manum Moysi, secundum illud Psalmi: « Deduxisti populum tuum sicut oves in manu Moysi et Aaron ». Quod non recognoverunt multi; unde Ieremiae secundo: « Non dixerunt: Ubi est Dominus, qui traduxit nos per desertum, per terram inhabitabilem et inviam »? Et in locis desertis fecerunt¹ casas; Glossa: « Tabernacula », id est pauperes domunculas, et dicuntur casae a cadendo, quia de facili cadere possunt; similiter legitur de Abraham, quod habitavit « in casulis », ad Hebraeos undecimo. Et hoc fecerunt per duas et quadraginta mansiones, quae determinantur Numerorum trigesimo tertio.

(Vers. 3.). Steterunt contra hostes, scilicet contra Amalecitas, cum eis pugnando, ut habetur Exodi decimo septimo², et contra Madianitas, Numerorum trigesimo primo. Et de inimicis, scilicet Amalecitis, se vindicaverunt, scilicet triumphando et eos occidendo, et hoc per orationem Moysi et elevationem manuum eius, ut patet Exodi decimo septimo.

(Vers. 4.). Sitierunt, scilicet ex parte corporis propter aquae penuriam, ut patet Exodi decimo septimo³ et Numerorum vigesimo; et invocaverunt te, scilicet ex parte animae, et hoc per se ipsos, vel per Moysen; unde Numerorum vigesimo: « Domine Deus, audi clamorem populi huius »; in Psalmo: « Clamaverunt ad Dominum, cum tribularentur ». Et data est illis aqua de petra altissima, id est de rupe alta; Exodi decimo septimo⁴: « Percuties petram » etc.; item Numerorum vigesimo: « Loquimini ad petram, et illa dabit vobis aquas ». Et requies sitis, id est sedatio sitis per potum aquae, de lapide duro, repete: data est eis; in Psalmo: « Percussit petram, et fluxerunt aquae »; item Numerorum vigesimo: « Egressae sunt aquae largissimae, ita ut biberet populus et iumenta ». Dicitur autem petra altissima, id est valde alta, vel altissima ratione significati, scilicet quia significabat Christum; unde primae ad Corinthios decimo⁵: « Petra autem erat Christus ». De hac petra egrediuntur spirituales aquae gratiarum; Ioannis quarto: « Qui biberit ex aqua, quam ego dabo illi » etc.; item Ioannis septimo: « Si quis sitit, veniat ad me et bibat ».

Per quae enim. Hic ostenditur divinae iustitiae effectus adversus Aegyptios, qui Israelitas detinere volebant. Et primo tangitur per defectum aquae Aegyptiorum punitio; secundo, congruentia poenae: Nam pro fonte; tertio, intentio punientis: Qui cum minuerentur; quarto, gravitas punitionis: Hos quidem; quinto, effectus in punitis: Cum enim audirent.

(Vers. 5.). Per quae etc.; Glossa⁶: « Memoratis beneficiis priori populo datis, narratur poena inimicorum ». Per quae enim etc., quasi dicat: Israelitis data est aquarum abundantia; enim, pro quia; per quae poenas passi sunt inimici illorum, scilicet Aegyptii, a defectione potus sui, scilicet tota aqua Aegypti versa in sanguinem, ut de ea non possent bibere, ut patet Exodi septimo⁷. Et in eis, cum abundarent, filii Israel, scilicet in aquis, quae in terra Gessen abundabant, vel secundum Glossam: « Quae fluxerant de petra », Numerorum vigesimo; laetati sunt.

(Vers. 6. 7.). Per haec, scilicet per aquas, cum illis deessent, scilicet aquae, Glossa⁸: « Israelitis », bene cum illis actum est, quia defectus ille per miraculum suppletus est. — Nam pro fonte etc., quasi dicat: bene et congrue Aegyptiis defectus aquae, Israelitis vero aquarum abundantia collata est; nam pro fonte quidem, certe, sempiterni fluminis, id est Nili a principio mundi continue fluentis; est enim de fluminibus paradisi⁹; humanum sanguinem, id est speciem humani sanguinis, dedisti iniustis, id est Aegyptiis, quoniam, secundum Glossam, « aquae eorum in sanguinem versae sunt », ut patet Exodi septimo.

(Vers. 8.). Qui, scilicet filii Israel, cum minuerentur in traductione infantium occisorum, id est propalatione et occisione infantium, quae fiebat, ne populus multiplicaretur, sed minueretur, ut patet Exodi primo¹⁰; dedisti illis, scilicet filiis Israel, abundantem aquam insperate, « id est ex p. 179 improviso », quia in deserto et de petra fluente per miraculum in deserto. « Miraculum est opus arduum et insolitum supra spem et facultatem existens admirantis¹ ». Humanum sanguinem etc., quasi vellet dicere, secundum Glossam: Aegyptiis pro aqua sanguinem, Israelitis pro sanguine puerorum effuso aquam dedisti.

(Vers. 9.). Ostendens, o Domine, per sitim, quae tunc fuit, scilicet in Aegypto Aegyptiis et in deserto Israelitis; quemadmodum tuos exaltares, scilicet in futuro, cum « torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos² »; in hoc scilicet, quod tam mirabiliter potasti eos in praesenti. Et adversarios illorum necares; Glossa: « Siti aeterna », sicut divitem epulonem, de quo Lucae decimo sexto; item Isaiae sexagesimo quinto: « Ecce, mei servi bibent, vos sitietis ». Vel secundum litteram per hoc figurabantur Aegyptii in mari rubro necandi et Israelitae liberandi³.

(Vers. 10.). Cum enim tentati sunt, scilicet filii Israel in deserto tentationibus multis et plagis; Glossa⁴: « Israelitas peccantes dignis plagis corripuit Deus et poenitentes consolatus est ». Unde sequitur: Et quidem, id est certe, cum misericordia disciplinam acceperunt⁵; in Psalmo: « Iratus es et misertus es nobis »; cum misericordia, scilicet consolante, disciplinam, corripientem; vel: misericordem et levem correptionem seu flagellationem pro culpis suis, et ideo ipsam abiicere non debuerunt; Proverbiorum tertio: « Fili mi, disciplinam Domini ne abiicias »; ad Hebraeos duodecimo: « Quodsi extra disciplinam estis, adulteri estis et non filii ». Scierunt, scilicet per experimentum, quemadmodum cum ira, id est quam aspere, quod timebat Propheta⁶ dicens: « Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me, neque in ira tua corripias me »; iudicati impii, scilicet in praesenti, tormenta paterentur, scilicet in futuro incomparabiliter graviora: « Pluet enim super peccatores laqueos » etc. Scierunt, inquam, per experimentum et in hoc, quod tam aspere correcti sunt; Lucae vigesimo tertio⁷: « Si in viridi ligno hoc fit, in arido quid fiet »? Item Proverbiorum undecimo: « Si iustus in terra recipit, quanto magis impius et peccator »? Item Ieremiae vigesimo quinto: « Ecce, in civitate, in qua invocatum est nomen meum, ego incipiam affligere; et vos quasi innocentes et immunes eritis »? quasi dicat: non.

(Vers. 11.). Hos quidem; Glossa⁸: « Israelitas »; tanquam pater monens, scilicet ad maiorem profectum vel ad proficiendum in melius, probasti, id est, de sua correctione monendo probatos reddidisti. « Flagellat enim Dominus omnem filium, quem recipit », ad Hebraeos duodecimo; et Proverbiorum tertio: « Quem diligit Dominus corripit, et quasi pater in filio complacet sibi »; item supra tertio: « Tanquam aurum in fornace probavit illos ». Illos autem; Glossa⁹: « Aegyptios, aut Chananaeos »; tanquam rex durus, per effectum scilicet punitionis, qui in natura tua benignus es; interrogans, poenis scilicet et quaestionibus tormentorum, sicut latrones et fures et malefactores ponuntur in quaestionibus et torquentur; Gregorius: « Poena interrogat, si quis quietus veritatem amat ». Condemnasti, quia per flagella non sunt emendati, sed deteriorati; Ezechielis vigesimo quarto¹⁰: « Multo labore sudatum est, et non exivit de ea nimia rubigo eius neque per ignem »; item Ieremiae sexto: « Argentum reprobum vocate eos, quia Dominus proiecit illos ».

(Vers. 12.). Absentes enim etc., quasi dicat: bene dixi, quod dure condemnasti eos. Absentes enim, scilicet Aegyptii a praesentia Moysi et Pharaonis, vel a filiis Israel, et praesentes, scilicet malitiae Pharaonis expresse consentientes; vel etiam, secundum Glossam¹¹, Chananaei, sive qui ab Israel occisi sunt, sive qui victoriam aliorum audierunt; similiter torquebantur, quia plagae erant « in tota terra Aegypti », ut patet de plaga sanguinis, Exodi septimo. Vel: praesentes torquebantur corpore, absentes, qui hoc audiebant, torquebantur mente.

Sed tunc quaeritur: quomodo ergo similiter torquebantur, scilicet absentes mente, praesentes vero corpore?

Dicendum, quod similiter in genere, scilicet quantum ad hoc, quod tam isti quam illi torquebantur, sed non similiter in specie vel modo.

p. 180(Vers. 13.). Duplex enim illos acceperat, scilicet quasi in possessione, taedium, id est afflictio, secundum illud Psalmi¹: « Induantur sicut diploide confusione sua »; Ieremiae decimo septimo: « Duplici contritione contere eos ». Duplex, inquam; et, pro id est; gemitus, de incursu malorum praesentium; cum memoria praeteritorum, id est cum dolore, quem habebant ex recordatione praeteritorum malorum, videntes, quod plagae plagis succedebant. Glossa²: « Duplex taedium, id est praeteritorum malorum recordatio et praesentium tempestas ».

Cum enim audirent etc. Hic ostenditur punitionis effectus in punitis, primo ex parte Israelitarum; secundo, ex parte Aegyptiorum: Quem enim etc.; tertio, ex parte utrorumque: Non similiter.

(Vers. 14.). Quasi dicat: vere hos probasti et illos condemnasti³. Cum enim audirent, scilicet filii Israel, Moyse hoc praedicante; per sua tormenta bene secum agi, id est utiliter, scilicet ad eorum salutem, secundum illud ad Romanos octavo: « Diligentibus Deum omnia cooperantur in bonum »; commemorati sunt Dominum, quem scilicet quasi oblivioni tradiderant; qui desperantes; in Psalmo⁴: « Non sunt recordati manus eius » etc.; item: « Obliti sunt benefactorum eius et mirabilium eius, quae ostendit eis »; postea tamen afflicti sunt eius recordati: « Oculos enim, quos culpa claudit, poena aperit », ut dicit Gregorius⁵; in Psalmo: « Et rememorati sunt, quia Deus adiutor eorum est ». Admirantes, scilicet Dei potentiam et misericordiam, in finem exitus, id est post finem eventus rei; ex fine enim dependet rectum iudicium. « Exitus enim acta probat⁶ »; unde et Petrus Christum sequebatur, « ut videret finem », Matthaei vigesimo sexto.

(Vers. 15.). Quem enim etc., quasi dicat: et vere ita est; quem, scilicet populum Israeliticum vel Moysen, in expositione prava proiectum, id est male et periculose proiectum in flumine, deriserunt, scilicet Aegyptii tanquam periturum in flumine, non obstante fiscella⁷. In finem eventus mirati sunt, id est post finem eventus rei videntes, scilicet Moysen ita sublimatum miraculis; unde Exodi undecimo: « Fuit itaque Moyses vir magnus valde coram servis Pharaonis et omni populo ». Vel: in finem mirati sunt, scilicet populum miraculose liberatum; Exodi decimo quarto⁸: « Fugiamus enim Israelem; Dominus enim pugnat pro eis contra nos ». Sic errant impii non considerantes finem iustorum, sed tantum praesentem afflictionem; supra quinto: « Nos insensati vitam illorum aestimabamus insaniam et finem illorum sine honore ». Non similiter etc., quasi dicat: sic impios condemnasti et iustos liberasti; tu, dico, non similiter iustis faciens⁹; Glossa: « Ut iniustis »; quia Proverbiorum decimo sexto: « Septies in die cadit iustus et resurgit, impii autem corruent in malum ». Ratio vero diversitatis non est ex parte Dei, cum « non sit acceptor personarum », Actuum decimo, sed ex parte iniustorum.

(Vers. 16.). Unde sequitur: « Pro cogitationibus autem; bene dixi: non similiter; autem, pro sed potius; pro cogitationibus insensatis, id est in malo induratis, iniquitates¹⁰ illorum, scilicet exteriores sunt, quasi dicat: pro malis cogitationibus permittuntur cadere in malas operationes; unde Glossa: « Iniqua opera ex cogitationibus prodeunt », quia reprobi non mutant cor inter flagella Domini; ad Romanos secundo: « Secundum duritiam tuam et cor impoenitens thesaurizas tibi iram in die irae » etc.; Apocalypsis vigesimo secundo: « Qui in sordibus est sordescat adhuc ».

Secundo, de punitione Aegyptiorum propter idololatriam.

Quod quidam errantes etc. Hic tangitur punitio Aegyptiorum propter idololatriam, et hoc per immissionem muscarum. Et ostenditur huius poenae congruitas primo ex parte peccantis; secundo, ex parte iudicis punientis, ibi: Non enim.

(Vers. 16.). Quod quidam etc., quasi dicat: sic puniti sunt pro Israelitarum oppressione; quod, pro quia; quidam, Aegyptiorum, errantes, scilicet a fide; Proverbiorum decimo quarto¹¹: « Errant qui operantur malum ». Colebant mutos serpentes; mutos dicit ad differentiam serpentis, qui locutus est Evae in paradiso terrestri, Genesis tertio; et bestias supervacuas, id est inutiles ad colendum; colebant enim Aegyptii Aesculapium sub specie serpentis, Mercurium sub specie canis, Iovem sub specie arietis, Apim sub specie bovis; ad Romanos primo¹²: « p. 181 Mutaverunt similitudinem incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem corruptibilis hominis et volucrum et quadrupedum et serpentum ». Immisisti illis multitudinem mutorum animalium in vindictam, scilicet ranas et muscas, cinifes et locustas, secundum illud Psalmi: « Misit in eos coenomiam, et comedit eos, et ranam, et disperdidit eos; et dedit aerugini fructus eorum et labores eorum locustae ».

(Vers. 17.). Ut scirent, quia per quae, id est per qualia, peccat quis, per haec, id est per similia, et, id est etiam, torquetur; Glossa¹: « Ut ex similitudine poenae cognoscerent qualitatem culpae », sicut « Aman suspensus est in patibulo, quod paraverat Mardochaeo », Esther septimo; et Golias interfectus proprio gladio, primi Regum decimo septimo; et Holofernes proprio pugione occisus est a muliere, quam male concupierat, Iudith decimo tertio.

Non enim impossibilis etc. Hic ostenditur poenae congruentia ex parte iudicis punientis, qui potius vult uti misericordia quam potentia. Et primo ostenditur, quod huiusmodi levis punitio non fuit ex impotentia; secundo, quod fuit ex misericordia: Sed omnia; tertio subditur probatio potentiae: Multum enim; quarto, probatio misericordiae: Et² misereris.

In prima ostendit, quod poterat eos aliter punire, scilicet aut per instrumentum vindictae iam creatum, aut per aliud de novo creandum, ibi: Aut novi generis; aut immediate per se ipsum: Nam³ et sine his.

(Vers. 18.). Dicit ergo: Non enim etc. Bene dixi, quod punivisti eos per ea, per quae peccaverunt, et hoc propter poenae ad culpam convenientiam, non propter tuam impotentiam. Non enim impossibilis erat, id est valde impotens, manus tua, « id est Filius tuus⁴ », secundum illud Psalmi: « Emitte manum tuam de alto »; omnipotens; unde infra decimo octavo: « Omnipotens sermo tuus, Domine » etc. Quae creavit, id est formavit, orbem terrarum; creare enim est de nihilo aliquid facere, formare vero, ex materia praeiacenti. Orbis autem terrarum fuit ex materia praeiacenti, prius tamen creata informi; unde sequitur: Ex materia invisa, id est ex prima materia, quae invisa, id est invisibilis, tunc erat et ex parte sui, quia carebat forma distincta, et ex parte agentis, quia deerat lux, quae necessaria est ad reducendum sensum visus de potentia in actum; unde Genesis primo⁵: « Terra erat inanis et vacua », scilicet quoad primum defectum; « et tenebrae erant super faciem abyssi », quoad secundum. Immittere illis, scilicet pro vindicta, multitudinem ursorum, aut leones audaces, quae sunt animalia fortia et rapacia; propter quod de eorum superatione gloriatur David primi Regum decimo septimo⁶: « Leonem et ursum interfeci ». Immittere, inquam, leones etc., sicut fecit, quando in terram Samariae misit leones, qui populos illuc translatos devorabant, quia Deum non colebant.

(Vers. 19. 20.). Aut novi generis ira plenas et⁷ ignotas bestias, et ideo terribiliores; Deuteronomii trigesimo secundo: « Dentes bestiarum immittam in eos cum furore trahentium super terram » etc. Aut vaporem igneum, vel ignium, spirantes, scilicet ad consumtionem; aut odorem fumi proferentes, scilicet ad aëris infectionem, aut horrendas ab oculis scintillas emittentes, ad terrorem. — Quarum non solum laesura, facta scilicet percutiendo, poterat illos exterminare, id est extra terminos vitae ponere; sed et aspectus, videndo, per timorem occidere, scilicet iniustos et malos; de iusto enim dicitur in Psalmo⁸: « Super aspidem et basiliscum ambulabis, et conculcabis leonem et draconem ».

Notandum autem, quod per diversas praedictas bestias possunt sex genera peccatorum intelligi: per ursum vitium gulae; per leonem, superbiae; per bestias ira plenas, irae; per vaporem igneum spirantes, luxuriae; per odorem fumi proferentes, avaritiae; per scintillas ab oculis emittentes, invidiae.

(Vers. 21.). Nam⁹ et sine his etc. Nec solum hoc modo poteras eos punire, nam et sine his, id est sine harum bestiarum adminiculo, uno spiritu poterant occidi; Glossa¹⁰: « Id est una indignatione vel iussu ». Sic accipitur spiritus, ubi dicitur Genesis sexto: « Non permanebit spiritus meus in homine », id est indignatio mea etc. Vel: uno spiritu angelico, sicut Sennacherib et exercitus eius, ut patet Isaiae trigesimo septimo. Persecutionem passi, scilicet tanquam a causa meritoria, ab ipsis factis suis, ita quod ipsis operibus suis perimerentur, sicut vipera suo partu perit; Lucae tertio¹¹: « Genimina viperarum » etc.; in Psalmo: « Secundum opera manuum eorum tribue illis ». Et dispersi, scilicet per p. 182 loca diversa extra terram suam, per spiritum virtutis tuae. Hoc potest intelligi intransitive, et tunc intelligitur de spiritu increato; vel transitive sive effective, et tunc potest intelligi de spiritu creato; Iob quarto¹: « Vidi eos qui operantur iniquitatem, flante Deo, periisse, et spiritu irae eius esse consumtos ».

Sed omnia etc. Hic ostendit, quod ex misericordia punivit et punivit minus, quam posset; et primo per hoc, quod non punivit ultra, quam exigeret culpae quantitas, quia in mensura; secundo per hoc, quod non punivit ultra, quam exigeret culpae multiplicitas, quia in numero; tertio, quia non ultra, quam exigeret peccantis conditio vel qualitas, quia in pondere.

(Vers. 21.). Bene dixi, quod non punis secundum immensitatem potentiae tuae, id est, in quantum posses; sed omnia etc., quasi dicat: non tantum creaturas ipsas, sed et earum retributiones et poenas seu punitiones, disposuisti in mensura, ut non excedant culpae quantitatem; et numero, ut non excedant culpae multiplicitatem; et pondere, ut non excedant peccantis conditionem vel peccati circumstantiam. Quod autem puniat secundum mensuram, Apocalypsis decimo octavo²: « Quantum glorificavit se in deliciis, tantum date ei tormentum et luctum »; item Isaiae vigesimo septimo: « In mensura contra mensuram, cum abiecta fuerit, iudicabis eam »; item Lucae sexto: « In qua mensura mensi fueritis, remetietur vobis ». Quod secundum numerum, Apocalypsis decimo octavo³: « Duplicate ei duplicia secundum opera eius »; item Isaiae quadragesimo: « Suscepit de manu Domini duplicia pro omnibus peccatis suis », id est duplicem poenam, scilicet poenam damni et poenam sensus, vel poenam corporalem exteriorem et spiritualem interiorem, id est conscientiae remorsum. Quod secundum pondus, patet supra sexto⁴: « Exiguo conceditur misericordia, potentes potenter tormenta patientur ».

Aliter potest sic exponi: omnia, scilicet corporalia quantum ad suam naturam, disposuisti in mensura, numero et pondere, quia mensura omnium corporalium sunt quatuor elementa, quae habent numerum, pondus et mensuram, ut patet. — Vel aliter: pondus refertur ad potentiam operantis; numerus, ad sapientiam ordinantis; mensura, ad clementiam conservantis; ad Romanos undecimo⁵: « Ex quo omnia », quantum ad potentiam Patris; « per quem omnia », quoad sapientiam Filii; « in quo omnia », quoad clementiam Spiritus sancti. — Secundum Glossam Rabani: « In mensura, qualitas; in numero, quantitas; in pondere, ratio ». — Secundum Augustinum⁶, mensura creaturae est eius certa quantitas, qua dicitur magna vel parva vel mediocris; numerus, certa qualitas, qua ab alia disiungitur; pondus, proprietas, qua in loco suo consistit; unde secundum Augustinum, mensura idem est quod modus; species idem est quod numerus; ordo idem, quod pondus. « Haec tria », scilicet modus, species et ordo, « ubi magna sunt, magna bona sunt; ubi parva, parva; ubi nulla, nulla », sicut ipse dicit⁷. — Vel potest hoc exponi de mensura, numero et pondere in increatis sic: in mensura, id est in te omnia mensurante, id est modum rei cuilibet praefigente; in numero, id est in te omnia numerante, id est cuilibet rei speciem propriam largiente; in pondere, id est in te omnia ponderante, id est omnibus proprium et certum ordinem assignante. Huic concordat quaedam expositio Augustini⁸ dicentis: « In mensura, id est in te ipso, qui es mensura sine mensura unicuique rei modum praefigens; numerus sine numero omni rei speciem praebens: pondus sine pondere omnem rem ad stabilitatem trahens ». Primum in ratione causae efficientis, secundum in ratione exemplaris, tertium in ratione causae finalis. — Moraliter sic: In mensura, contra vitium superfluitatis; in numero, contra vitium singularitatis; in pondere, contra vitium levitatis⁹.

Sed obiicitur: si omnia disposuit in mensura, numero et pondere: ergo mensuram in mensura etc., et sic in infinitum.

p. 183 Potest dici, quod loquendo de numero, pondere et mensura in increatis, distributio est universalis; loquendo vero de creatis, distributio est accommoda, ita scilicet, quod intelligatur fieri distributio pro mensuratis, numeratis et ponderatis¹. Vel: Omnia, entia completa, in alio non concreata. Talia autem non sunt mensura, numerus et pondus; sed in aliis concreantur, cum non sint entia per se stantia et completa².

Multum enim etc. Hic ponitur probatio potentiae divinae, primo per eius magnitudinem in se; secundo, per parvitatem creaturae: Quoniam tanquam etc.

(Vers. 22.). Multum enim etc., quasi dicat: bene patet, quod ex impotentia non fuit, quia sic eos punivit; multum enim valere, id est valde posse, tibi soli, et sine alterius adiutorio, supererat semper, scilicet propter infinitatem potentiae tuae. « Infinitum enim est, cuius partes vel quantitatem accipienti semper est aliquid extra accipere³ »; Lucae primo: « Non erit impossibile apud Deum omne verbum »; semper, id est omni tempore vel in aeternum, secundum illud Danielis septimo: « Potestas eius potestas aeterna ». Et virtuti, id est perfectae potentiae, quia, secundum Philosophum⁴, « virtus est ultimum de potentia in re »; brachii tui, secundum illud Isaiae quinquagesimo primo: « Induere fortitudinem brachium Domini »; quis resistet? quasi dicat: nullus potest; et hoc est, quia non patitur ab aliquo.

(Vers. 23.). Quoniam etc., quasi dicat: vere ita est; quoniam totus orbis terrarum, id est universitas creaturarum, sic est ante te, id est in tua dispositione, vel in tua comparatione; tanquam momentum staterae, id est illud modicum, quo statera huc vel illuc inclinatur; unde dicitur momentum a movendo⁵, vel quia, sicut faciliter et quasi in momento movetur huc vel illuc, sic divina virtute mundus ad nutum Dei movetur; unde Isaiae quadragesimo: « Ecce, gentes quasi stilla situlae et sicut momentum staterae reputatae sunt »; et tanquam gutta roris antelucani, id est ante lucem cadentis, quae descendit in terram, quae a facie solis facile dissolvitur nec ei potest resistere. Et notandum, quod dicit, creaturam esse tanquam momentum etc., respectu Dei quantum ad facilitatem agendi in ipsam; et tanquam gutta roris etc., quantum ad impossibilitatem patiendi ab illa; Isaiae quadragesimo⁶: « Omnes gentes, quasi non sint, sic sunt coram eo ».

Et⁷ misereris omnium etc. Hic ponitur probatio divinae misericordiae; et primo probat eam per effectum dissimulationis; secundo, per effectum dilectionis: Diligis enim; tertio, per effectum conservationis: Quomodo autem posset etc.; quarto, per effectum remissionis: Parcis autem.

(Vers. 24.). Et misereris omnium, id est, in omnibus exerces misericordiae effectum, secundum illud Psalmi⁸: « Miserationes eius super omnia opera eius »; item: « Universae viae Domini misericordia et veritas »; item: « Misericordia Domini plena est terra ». Quoniam omnia potes; unde omnia sunt facturae tuae et opera tua, secundum illud Psalmi: « Qui fecit caelum et terram, mare et omnia, quae in eis sunt ». Et dissimulas, ad tempus scilicet non puniendo, peccata hominum; non dicit angelorum, quia peccatum angelorum statim fuit punitum; unde Isaiae decimo quarto⁹: « Quomodo cecidisti, lucifer, de caelo, qui mane oriebaris »? Propter poenitentiam; unde ad Romanos secundo: « Ignoras, quia benignitas Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit »? Ezechielis decimo octavo: « Si egerit impius poenitentiam ab omnibus peccatis suis etc.; vita vivet et non morietur ».

(Vers. 25.). Diligis enim omnia, quae sunt, scilicet bona eorum approbando et conservando; unde Genesis primo¹⁰: « Vidit Deus cuncta, quae fecerat, et erant valde bona »; Glossa: « Bonus opifex opus suum diligit »; Deus autem peccatum non fecit; unde Ioannis primo: « Sine ipso factum est nihil », id est « peccatum », secundum Augustinum. Et ideo peccatum non diligit, sed odit, secundum illud Psalmi: « Dilexisti iustitiam et odisti iniquitatem ». Et nihil odisti eorum quae fecisti, nullum scilicet reprobando.

Contra quod dicitur in Psalmo¹¹: « Iniquos odio habui »; item: « Odisti omnes, qui operantur iniquitatem »; item Ecclesiastici duodecimo: « Altissimus odio habet peccatores ».

Sed dicendum, quod non odit facturam suam, sed facturae vitium, sicut artifex statuam, quam fecit, diligit, et tamen aliquem nodum ex parte materiae in ea existentem odit.

Nec enim odiens, id est invitus, aliquid constituisti, scilicet de nihilo ipsum creando, aut <!-- page 184 --> fecisti, de materia praeiacenti formando; unde Boethius¹:

Quem non externae pepulerunt fingere causae Materiae fluitantis opus, verum insita summi Forma boni etc.

Unde Proverbiorum decimo sexto²: « Universa propter semetipsum operatus est Dominus ».

(Vers. 26.). Quomodo autem posset aliquid, id est ulla creatura, permanere, scilicet in suo esse; nisi tu voluisses, id est, nisi tua bonitate voluntarie conservares? quasi dicat: nullo modo; unde Gregorius³: « Cuncta, quae sunt, in nihilum tenderent, nisi manu Creatoris sustentarentur vel tenerentur ». Aut quod a te vocatum non esset, id est, nisi tua sapientia intuendo approbares; ad Romanos quarto: « Qui vocat ea quae non sunt » etc.; conservaretur? quasi dicat: nihil.

(Vers. 27.). Parcis autem omnibus, scilicet hominibus, qui dicuntur omnis creatura, secundum illud Marci ultimo⁴: « Praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae »; parcis, inquam, quia tibi est proprium, iuxta illud: « Deus, cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere ». Quoniam tua sunt, Domine; Ezechielis decimo octavo⁵: « Omnes animae meae sunt »; qui amas animas; quod patet, quia animam tuam posuisti pro eis; Ioannis decimo quinto: « Maiorem hac dilectionem nemo habet » etc.; unde Bernardus: « Maiorem habuisti, eam ponens pro inimicis tuis ».

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Chapter XI.

On the benefits pertaining principally to the punishing of the adversaries.

She directed their works. Here he treats of the benefits pertaining to the punishing of the adversaries, and first of those pertaining to punishing through lighter punishments, ordained to their correction, namely in this chapter and in the twelfth chapter⁷; secondly, of those pertaining to punishing through heavier punishments, ordained to condemnation, namely in the thirteenth chapter and thereafter.

First, punishing through lighter punishments is treated in two ways.

In the first part he first treats principally of the punishing of the Egyptians, who unjustly pressed down the Israelites; secondly, of the punishing of the Chanaanites, who unjustly held back their land, namely in the twelfth chapter.

First, on the punishing of the Egyptians for a twofold sin, first for the unjust pressing down.

In the first part it is treated first of the punishing of the Egyptians for the unjust pressing down of the children of Israel; secondly, for idolatry: For some, being in error.

In the first part there is shown first, toward the children of Israel, whom they wished to hold back, the mercy of God; secondly, against the Egyptians, who wished unjustly to hold them back, the justice of God: For by what things. — In the first is touched first the directing of the Israelites on the way; secondly, the clearing, or removal, of the hindrances that met them on the way: They stood; thirdly, their refreshment on the way: They were thirsty.

(Vers. 1.). He says therefore: She directed, as if he should say: wisdom not only did the aforesaid benefits for the Israelite people, but she also directed their works; the Gloss⁸: « Of the Israelites », namely after their departure from Egypt; in the hands, that is, in the power and rule, of the holy prophet; the Gloss: « Of Moses », who was a prophet as to teaching^tr.; Deuteronomy, the eighteenth: « The Lord will raise up to thee a prophet like unto me »; holy as to life; Exodus, the thirty-third: « Thou hast found grace before me ». He taught and ruled them not only by words, because a prophet, but also by examples, because holy, so that that of Luke, the twenty-fourth, could be said of him: « He was a prophet mighty in work and word ».

(Vers. 2.). They went; the Gloss⁹: « Hastening to the land of promise »; through deserts, that is, through many places forsaken, namely by tillers; which were not inhabited, namely by human dwellers. And this p. 178 was done, wisdom directing them by the hand of Moses, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast conducted thy people like sheep by the hand of Moses and Aaron ». Which many did not acknowledge; whence Jeremias, the second: « They have not said: Where is the Lord, that led us through the desert, through a land uninhabitable and without way »? And in desert places they made¹ cottages (casas); the Gloss: « Tents », that is, poor little houses, and they are called casae from falling (a cadendo), because they can easily fall; in like manner it is read of Abraham that he dwelt « in cottages », to the Hebrews, the eleventh. And this they did through two and forty stations, which are set down in Numbers, the thirty-third.

(Vers. 3.). They stood against their enemies, namely against the Amalecites, fighting with them, as is had in Exodus, the seventeenth², and against the Madianites, Numbers, the thirty-first. And revenged themselves of their adversaries, namely of the Amalecites, namely by triumphing and slaying them, and this through the prayer of Moses and the lifting up of his hands, as is clear in Exodus, the seventeenth.

(Vers. 4.). They were thirsty, namely on the part of the body, for want of water, as is clear in Exodus, the seventeenth³, and Numbers, the twentieth; and they called upon thee, namely on the part of the soul, and this through themselves, or through Moses; whence Numbers, the twentieth: « O Lord God, hear the cry of this people »; in the Psalm: « They cried to the Lord, when they were in trouble ». And water was given them out of the high rock, that is, out of the lofty crag; Exodus, the seventeenth⁴: « Thou shalt strike the rock » etc.; likewise Numbers, the twentieth: « Speak to the rock, and it shall yield waters to you ». And rest from thirst (requies sitis), that is, the allaying of thirst by a draught of water, out of the hard stone, repeat: was given them; in the Psalm: « He struck the rock, and the waters gushed out »; likewise Numbers, the twentieth: « There came forth water in great abundance, so that the people and their cattle drank ». Now the rock is called most high, that is, very lofty, or most high by reason of what it signified, namely because it signified Christ; whence the first to the Corinthians, the tenth⁵: « And the rock was Christ ». From this rock go forth the spiritual waters of graces; John, the fourth: « He that shall drink of the water that I will give him » etc.; likewise John, the seventh: « If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink ».

For by what things. Here is shown the effect of the divine justice against the Egyptians, who wished to hold back the Israelites. And first is touched the punishing of the Egyptians through the want of water; secondly, the fittingness of the punishment: For instead of a fountain; thirdly, the intention of the one punishing: Who when they were diminished; fourthly, the gravity of the punishing: For these indeed; fifthly, the effect in the punished: For when they heard.

(Vers. 5.). For by what things etc.; the Gloss⁶: « Having recalled the benefits given to the former people, the punishment of the enemies is narrated ». For by what things etc., as if he should say: abundance of waters was given to the Israelites; for (enim), for because; by what things their enemies suffered punishment, namely the Egyptians, through the want of their drink, namely all the water of Egypt being turned into blood, so that they could not drink of it, as is clear in Exodus, the seventh⁷. And whereas the children of Israel abounded with them, namely with waters, which abounded in the land of Gessen, or according to the Gloss: « Which had flowed from the rock », Numbers, the twentieth; they rejoiced.

(Vers. 6. 7.). By these, namely by waters, when they were wanting to them, namely the waters, the Gloss⁸: « To the Israelites », it was well done with them, because that want was supplied by a miracle. — For instead of a fountain etc., as if he should say: well and fittingly was want of water conferred on the Egyptians, but abundance of waters on the Israelites; for instead of a fountain indeed, surely, of an ever-running river, that is, of the Nile, flowing continually from the beginning of the world; for it is of the rivers of paradise⁹; human blood, that is, the appearance of human blood, thou gavest to the unjust, that is, to the Egyptians, since, according to the Gloss, « their waters were turned into blood », as is clear in Exodus, the seventh.

(Vers. 8.). Who, namely the children of Israel, when they were diminished in the bringing out of the infants slain, that is, in the exposing and slaying of the infants, which was done lest the people should be multiplied, but rather diminished, as is clear in Exodus, the first¹⁰; thou gavest to them, namely to the children of Israel, abundant water unhoped for, « that is, unexpectedly p. 179 (ex improviso) », because in the desert, and flowing from the rock by a miracle in the desert. « A miracle is a work arduous and unwonted, existing above the hope and the capacity of the one who wonders¹ ». Human blood etc., as if he wished to say, according to the Gloss: to the Egyptians thou gavest blood for water, to the Israelites water for the blood of the children shed.

(Vers. 9.). Shewing, O Lord, by the thirst that was then, namely in Egypt for the Egyptians and in the desert for the Israelites, how thou didst exalt thine, namely in the future, when « thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure² »; in this, namely, that thou didst give them drink so wonderfully in the present. And how thou didst kill their adversaries; the Gloss: « With eternal thirst », like the rich glutton, of whom Luke, the sixteenth; likewise Isaias, the sixty-fifth: « Behold, my servants shall drink, and you shall be thirsty ». Or, according to the letter, by this were figured the Egyptians who were to be slain in the Red Sea and the Israelites who were to be delivered³.

(Vers. 10.). For when they were tried, namely the children of Israel in the desert, by many trials and plagues; the Gloss⁴: « God corrected the Israelites when they sinned with deserved plagues, and consoled them when they repented ». Whence there follows: And indeed, that is, surely, they received discipline with mercy⁵; in the Psalm: « Thou hast been angry, and hast had mercy on us »; with mercy, namely consoling, discipline, correcting; or: a merciful and light correction or scourging for their faults, and therefore they ought not to cast it off; Proverbs, the third: « My son, reject not the discipline of the Lord »; to the Hebrews, the twelfth: « But if you be without discipline, then are you bastards, and not sons ». They knew, namely by experience, how with wrath, that is, how harshly, which the Prophet⁶ feared, saying: « O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath »; the impious being judged, namely in the present, should suffer torments, namely in the future, incomparably heavier: « For he shall rain snares upon sinners » etc. They knew, I say, by experience and in this, that they were so harshly corrected; Luke, the twenty-third⁷: « If this is done in the green wood, what shall be done in the dry »? Likewise Proverbs, the eleventh: « If the just man receive in the earth, how much more the impious and the sinner »? Likewise Jeremias, the twenty-fifth: « Behold, I begin to bring evil on the city wherein my name is called upon; and shall you be as innocent and free from punishment »? as if he should say: no.

(Vers. 11.). For these indeed; the Gloss⁸: « The Israelites »; as a father admonishing, namely to greater progress or to advancing for the better, thou didst prove, that is, by admonishing them concerning their correction thou didst render them proved. « For whom the Lord loveth he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth », to the Hebrews, the twelfth; and Proverbs, the third: « For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth, and as a father in the son he pleaseth himself »; likewise above, the third: « As gold in the furnace he hath proved them ». But the others; the Gloss⁹: « The Egyptians, or the Chanaanites »; as a severe king, namely by the effect of punishing, thou who in thy nature art kind; examining, namely by punishments and by the questionings of torments, as robbers and thieves and evildoers are put to the question and tortured; Gregory: « Punishment questions whether one at rest loves the truth ». Thou didst condemn, because by the scourges they were not amended, but made worse; Ezechiel, the twenty-fourth¹⁰: « Great pains have been taken, and the great rust thereof is not gone out, not even by fire »; likewise Jeremias, the sixth: « Call them reprobate silver, for the Lord hath rejected them ».

(Vers. 12.). For whether absent etc., as if he should say: well have I said that thou didst harshly condemn them. For whether absent, namely the Egyptians, from the presence of Moses and of Pharao, or from the children of Israel, or present, namely expressly consenting to the malice of Pharao; or also, according to the Gloss¹¹, the Chanaanites, whether those who were slain by Israel, or those who heard of the others' victory; they were tormented alike, because the plagues were « in all the land of Egypt », as is clear of the plague of blood, Exodus, the seventh. Or: the present were tormented in body, the absent, who heard this, were tormented in mind.

But then it is asked: how therefore were they tormented alike, namely the absent in mind, but the present in body?

It must be said that they were alike in genus, namely as to this, that both these and those were tormented, but not alike in species or in mode.

p. 180(Vers. 13.). For a double … had taken hold of them, namely as it were in possession, weariness (taedium), that is, affliction, according to that of the Psalm¹: « Let them be covered with their confusion as with a double cloak »; Jeremias, the seventeenth: « With a double destruction destroy them ». Double, I say; and (et), for that is; mourning, at the onset of present evils; with the remembrance of things past, that is, with the sorrow which they had from the recollection of past evils, seeing that plagues followed upon plagues. The Gloss²: « A double weariness, that is, the recollection of past evils and the storm of present ones ».

For when they heard etc. Here is shown the effect of the punishing in the punished, first on the part of the Israelites; secondly, on the part of the Egyptians: For him whom etc.; thirdly, on the part of both: Not as.

(Vers. 14.). As if he should say: truly thou didst prove these and condemn those³. For when they heard, namely the children of Israel, Moses preaching this, that by their torments it was well with them, that is, profitably, namely for their salvation, according to that of the Romans, the eighth: « To them that love God all things work together unto good »; they remembered the Lord, whom namely they had as it were given over to oblivion; who were despairing; in the Psalm⁴: « They remembered not his hand » etc.; likewise: « They forgot his benefits, and his wonders that he had shewn them »; yet afterwards, being afflicted, they remembered him: « For the eyes which fault closes, punishment opens », as Gregory says⁵; in the Psalm: « And they remembered that God was their helper ». Wondering, namely at the power and mercy of God, at the end of the event, that is, after the end of the outcome of the matter; for right judgement depends on the end. « For the outcome proves the deeds⁶ »; whence Peter also followed Christ « to see the end », Matthew, the twenty-sixth.

(Vers. 15.). For him whom etc., as if he should say: and truly it is so; whom, namely the Israelite people or Moses, cast forth in a wicked exposing, that is, cast forth into the river badly and perilously, they scoffed at, namely the Egyptians, as one about to perish in the river, the basket notwithstanding⁷. At the end of the event they wondered, that is, after the end of the outcome of the matter, seeing, namely, Moses so exalted by miracles; whence Exodus, the eleventh: « And Moses was a very great man in the sight of the servants of Pharao and of all the people ». Or: at the end they wondered, namely at the people miraculously delivered; Exodus, the fourteenth⁸: « Let us flee from Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against us ». So the impious err, not considering the end of the just, but only their present affliction; above, the fifth: « We fools esteemed their life madness, and their end without honour ». Not as etc., as if he should say: thus thou didst condemn the impious and deliver the just; thou, I say, not doing as to the just⁹; the Gloss: « As to the unjust »; because Proverbs, the sixteenth [so printed; the verse is Prov. 24:16]: « A just man falleth seven times in a day and riseth again, but the impious shall fall down into evil ». But the reason of the diversity is not on the part of God, since he « is not a respecter of persons », Acts, the tenth, but on the part of the unjust.

(Vers. 16.). Whence there follows: « But for the thoughts; well have I said: not as; but (autem), for but rather; for the foolish thoughts, that is, hardened in evil, their iniquities¹⁰, namely the outward ones, are, as if he should say: for evil thoughts they are permitted to fall into evil deeds; whence the Gloss: « Wicked works proceed from thoughts », because the reprobate do not change their heart amid the scourges of the Lord; to the Romans, the second: « According to thy hardness and impenitent heart thou treasurest up to thyself wrath against the day of wrath » etc.; Apocalypse, the twenty-second: « He that is filthy, let him be filthy still ».

Secondly, on the punishing of the Egyptians for idolatry.

For some, being in error etc. Here is touched the punishing of the Egyptians for idolatry, and this through the sending in of flies. And the fittingness of this punishment is shown first on the part of the one sinning; secondly, on the part of the judge punishing, there: For thy … was not unable.

(Vers. 16.). For some etc., as if he should say: thus were they punished for the oppression of the Israelites; for (quod), for because; some, of the Egyptians, being in error, namely from the faith; Proverbs, the fourteenth¹¹: « They err that work evil ». They worshipped dumb serpents; dumb he says by way of difference from the serpent which spoke to Eve in the earthly paradise, Genesis, the third; and worthless beasts, that is, useless for worshipping; for the Egyptians worshipped Aesculapius under the form of a serpent, Mercury under the form of a dog, Jove under the form of a ram, Apis under the form of an ox; to the Romans, the first¹²: « p. 181 They changed the likeness of the incorruptible God into the likeness of corruptible man, and of birds, and of fourfooted beasts, and of serpents ». Thou sentest upon them a multitude of dumb beasts for vengeance, namely frogs and flies, sciniphs and locusts, according to that of the Psalm: « He sent among them divers sorts of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them; and he gave up their fruits to the blast, and their labours to the locust ».

(Vers. 17.). That they might know that by what things, that is, by such things as, a man sinneth, by the same, that is, by like things, also, (et), that is, even, he is tormented; the Gloss¹: « That from the likeness of the punishment they might know the quality of the fault », as « Aman was hanged on the gibbet which he had prepared for Mardochai », Esther, the seventh; and Goliath was slain by his own sword, the first of Kings, the seventeenth; and Holofernes was slain with his own dagger by a woman whom he had wickedly lusted after, Judith, the thirteenth.

For thy … was not unable etc. Here is shown the fittingness of the punishment on the part of the judge punishing, who wills rather to use mercy than power. And first it is shown that such light punishing was not from want of power; secondly, that it was from mercy: But all things; thirdly is added the proof of the power: For great power; fourthly, the proof of the mercy: And² thou hast mercy.

In the first he shows that he could punish them otherwise, namely either by an instrument of vengeance already created, or by another to be created anew, there: Or of a new kind; or immediately by himself: For³ even without these.

(Vers. 18.). He says therefore: For … not etc. Well have I said that thou didst punish them by the things by which they sinned, and this on account of the agreement of the punishment with the fault, not on account of thy want of power. For … was not unable, that is, very powerless, thy hand, « that is, thy Son⁴ », according to that of the Psalm: « Put forth thy hand from on high »; almighty; whence below, the eighteenth: « Thy almighty word, O Lord » etc. Which created, that is, formed, the world; to create is to make something from nothing, but to form, from pre-existing matter. Now the world was from pre-existing matter, yet created before as unformed; whence there follows: Of unseen matter (ex materia invisa), that is, of prime matter, which was then unseen, that is, invisible, both on the part of itself, because it lacked distinct form, and on the part of the agent, because light was lacking, which is necessary for bringing the sense of sight from potency into act; whence Genesis, the first⁵: « The earth was void and empty », namely as to the first defect; « and darkness was upon the face of the deep », as to the second. To send upon them, namely for vengeance, a multitude of bears, or fierce lions, which are strong and ravening animals; on account of which David glories in overcoming them, the first of Kings, the seventeenth⁶: « I have killed both a lion and a bear ». To send, I say, lions etc., as he did when he sent lions into the land of Samaria, which devoured the peoples carried over there, because they did not worship God.

(Vers. 19. 20.). Or beasts of a new kind, full of rage and⁷ unknown, and therefore the more terrible; Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: « I will send the teeth of beasts upon them, with the fury of creatures that trail upon the ground » etc. Or breathing out a fiery vapour, or one of fires, namely to consume; or sending forth a stinking smoke, namely to infect the air; or shooting horrible sparks out of their eyes, to terrify. — Whereof not only the hurt, namely that done by striking, could destroy them (exterminare), that is, put them outside the bounds (extra terminos) of life; but also the very sight, by seeing, could kill them through fear, namely the unjust and wicked; for of the just man it is said in the Psalm⁸: « Thou shalt walk upon the asp and the basilisk, and thou shalt trample under foot the lion and the dragon ».

But it is to be noted that by the various beasts aforesaid six kinds of sins can be understood: by the bear the vice of gluttony; by the lion, of pride; by the beasts full of rage, of anger; by those breathing out a fiery vapour, of lust; by those sending forth a stinking smoke, of avarice; by those shooting sparks out of their eyes, of envy.

(Vers. 21.). For⁹ even without these etc. Not only couldst thou punish them in this way, for even without these, that is, without the aid of these beasts, they might have been slain with one blast; the Gloss¹⁰: « That is, with one indignation or command ». So spirit (spiritus) is taken where it is said in Genesis, the sixth: « My spirit shall not remain in man », that is, my indignation etc. Or: with one angelic spirit, as Sennacherib and his army, as is clear in Isaias, the thirty-seventh. Persecuted, namely as by a meritorious cause, by their own deeds, so that they should perish by their own works, as the viper perishes by its own offspring; Luke, the third¹¹: « Ye offspring of vipers » etc.; in the Psalm: « According to the works of their hands give thou to them ». And scattered, namely through p. 182 divers places outside their land, by the breath of thy power. This can be understood intransitively, and then it is understood of the uncreated spirit; or transitively, or effectively, and then it can be understood of a created spirit; Job, the fourth¹: « I have seen those that work iniquity perish by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath ».

But all things etc. Here he shows that he punished from mercy and punished less than he could; and first by this, that he did not punish beyond what the quantity of the fault required, because in measure; secondly by this, that he did not punish beyond what the multiplicity of the fault required, because in number; thirdly, because not beyond what the condition or quality of the one sinning required, because in weight.

(Vers. 21.). Well have I said that thou dost not punish according to the immensity of thy power, that is, as much as thou couldst; but all things etc., as if he should say: not only the creatures themselves, but also their requitals and punishments or punishings, thou hast ordered in measure, so that they do not exceed the quantity of the fault; and number, so that they do not exceed the multiplicity of the fault; and weight, so that they do not exceed the condition of the one sinning or the circumstance of the sin. Now that he punishes according to measure, Apocalypse, the eighteenth²: « As much as she hath glorified herself and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her »; likewise Isaias, the twenty-seventh: « In measure against measure, when it shall be cast off, thou shalt judge it »; likewise Luke, the sixth: « With what measure you shall mete, it shall be measured to you again ». That according to number, Apocalypse, the eighteenth³: « Double unto her double according to her works »; likewise Isaias, the fortieth: « She hath received of the hand of the Lord double for all her sins », that is, a double punishment, namely the punishment of loss and the punishment of sense, or a bodily outward punishment and a spiritual inward one, that is, the remorse of conscience. That according to weight, is clear above, the sixth⁴: « To him that is little, mercy is granted, the mighty shall be mightily tormented ».

Otherwise it can be expounded thus: all things, namely bodily things as to their nature, thou hast ordered in measure, number and weight, because the measure of all bodily things is the four elements, which have number, weight and measure, as is clear. — Or otherwise: weight is referred to the power of the one working; number, to the wisdom of the one ordering; measure, to the clemency of the one preserving; to the Romans, the eleventh⁵: « Of whom are all things », as to the power of the Father; « by whom are all things », as to the wisdom of the Son; « in whom are all things », as to the clemency of the Holy Spirit. — According to the Gloss of Rabanus: « In measure, quality; in number, quantity; in weight, proportion ». — According to Augustine⁶, the measure of a creature is its fixed quantity, by which it is called great or small or middling; number, the fixed quality, by which it is marked off from another; weight, the property by which it rests in its own place; whence according to Augustine measure is the same as mode; species is the same as number; order the same as weight. « These three », namely mode, species and order, « where they are great, are great goods; where small, small; where none, none », as he himself says⁷. — Or this can be expounded of measure, number and weight in uncreated things thus: in measure, that is, in thee measuring all things, that is, prescribing to each thing its mode; in number, that is, in thee numbering all things, that is, bestowing on each thing its proper species; in weight, that is, in thee weighing all things, that is, assigning to all a proper and fixed order. With this agrees a certain exposition of Augustine⁸, who says: « In measure, that is, in thyself, who art measure without measure, prescribing to each thing its mode; number without number, furnishing species to every thing; weight without weight, drawing every thing to stability ». The first in the account of efficient cause, the second in the account of exemplar, the third in the account of final cause. — Morally thus: In measure, against the vice of superfluity; in number, against the vice of singularity; in weight, against the vice of levity⁹.

But it is objected: if he ordered all things in measure, number and weight: then measure in measure etc., and so to infinity.

p. 183 It can be said that, speaking of number, weight and measure in uncreated things, the distribution is universal; but speaking of created things, the distribution is accommodated, in such wise, namely, that the distribution is understood to be made for things measured, numbered and weighed¹. Or: All things, complete beings, not concreated in another. But measure, number and weight are not such; rather they are concreated in other things, since they are not beings standing by themselves and complete².

For great power etc. Here is set down the proof of the divine power, first by its greatness in itself; secondly, by the smallness of the creature: For as etc.

(Vers. 22.). For great power etc., as if he should say: it is well clear that it was not from want of power that he punished them thus; for great power, that is, to be very powerful, always belonged to thee alone, and without the help of another, namely on account of the infinity of thy power. « For that is infinite, of which, for one taking its parts or quantity, there is always something outside to take³ »; Luke, the first: « No word shall be impossible with God »; always, that is, at every time or for ever, according to that of Daniel, the seventh: « His power is an everlasting power ». And the strength (virtuti), that is, the perfect power, because, according to the Philosopher⁴, « strength (virtus) is the uttermost of power in a thing »; of thy arm, according to that of Isaias, the fifty-first: « Put on strength, O thou arm of the Lord »; who shall resist? as if he should say: none can; and this is because he suffers from nothing.

(Vers. 23.). For etc., as if he should say: truly it is so; for the whole world, that is, the universe of creatures, before thee is, that is, in thy disposal, or in comparison with thee, as the least grain of the balance (momentum staterae), that is, that small amount by which the balance inclines this way or that; whence momentum is said from moving (a movendo)⁵, or because, as it is easily and as it were in a moment moved this way or that, so by the divine power the world is moved at the nod of God; whence Isaias, the fortieth: « Behold, the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the smallest grain of a balance »; and as a drop of the morning dew, that is, falling before the light (ante lucem), that falleth down upon the earth, which is easily dissolved before the face of the sun and cannot resist it. And it is to be noted that he says the creature is as the least grain etc. in respect of God as to the ease of acting upon it; and as a drop of dew etc., as to the impossibility of suffering from it; Isaias, the fortieth⁶: « All nations are before him as if they had no being at all ».

And⁷ thou hast mercy upon all etc. Here is set down the proof of the divine mercy; and first he proves it by the effect of overlooking; secondly, by the effect of love: For thou lovest; thirdly, by the effect of preservation: And how could etc.; fourthly, by the effect of remission: But thou sparest.

(Vers. 24.). And thou hast mercy upon all, that is, in all things thou exercisest the effect of mercy, according to that of the Psalm⁸: « His tender mercies are over all his works »; likewise: « All the ways of the Lord are mercy and truth »; likewise: « The earth is full of the mercy of the Lord ». Since thou canst do all things; whence all things are thy makings and thy works, according to that of the Psalm: « Who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all things that are in them ». And overlookest (dissimulas), namely for a time by not punishing, the sins of men; he does not say of angels, because the sin of the angels was punished at once; whence Isaias, the fourteenth⁹: « How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning »? For the sake of repentance (poenitentiam); whence to the Romans, the second: « Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance »? Ezechiel, the eighteenth: « If the impious do penance for all his sins etc.; living he shall live, and shall not die ».

(Vers. 25.). For thou lovest all things that are, namely by approving and preserving their goods; whence Genesis, the first¹⁰: « God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good »; the Gloss: « A good craftsman loves his work »; but God did not make sin; whence John, the first: « Without him was made nothing », that is, « sin », according to Augustine. And therefore he does not love sin, but hates it, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast loved justice, and hated iniquity ». And hatest none of the things which thou hast made, namely by rejecting none.

On the contrary, there is what is said in the Psalm¹¹: « I have hated the wicked »; likewise: « Thou hatest all the workers of iniquity »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the twelfth: « The Most High hateth sinners ».

But it must be said that he does not hate his making, but the fault of the making, as a craftsman loves the statue that he has made, and yet hates some knot on the part of the material existing in it.

For thou didst not hating, that is, unwillingly, appoint anything, namely by creating it from nothing, or <!-- page 184 --> make it, by forming it from pre-existing matter; whence Boethius¹:

Whom no outward causes drove to fashion The work of fluid matter, but the inborn form Of the highest good etc.

Whence Proverbs, the sixteenth²: « The Lord hath made all things for himself ».

(Vers. 26.). And how could anything, that is, any creature, endure, namely in its being; if thou wouldst not, that is, unless thou preservedst it willingly by thy goodness? as if he should say: in no way; whence Gregory³: « All things that are would tend to nothing, unless they were sustained or held by the hand of the Creator ». Or that which was not called by thee, that is, unless thou didst approve it by beholding it with thy wisdom; to the Romans, the fourth: « Who calleth those things that are not » etc.; be preserved? as if he should say: nothing.

(Vers. 27.). But thou sparest all, namely men, who are called every creature, according to that of Mark, the last⁴: « Preach the Gospel to every creature »; thou sparest, I say, because it is proper to thee, according to that saying: « O God, whose property is always to have mercy and to spare ». Because they are thine, O Lord; Ezechiel, the eighteenth⁵: « All souls are mine »; who lovest souls; which is clear, because thou hast laid down thy soul for them; John, the fifteenth: « Greater love than this no man hath » etc.; whence Bernard: « Thou hadst a greater, laying it down for thine enemies ».

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