Bonaventure

Capitulum XII.

Secundo, de punitione Chananaeorum et Amorrhaeorum.

O quam bonus etc. Postquam egit de beneficiis exhibitis filiis Israel in afflictione vel punitione Aegyptiorum principaliter; hic agit de beneficiis exhibitis eisdem in afflictione Chananaeorum et Amorrhaeorum terram promissionis inhabitantium principaliter.

In prima primo ostenditur illorum populorum iusta punitio; secundo, misericordia exhibita in puniendi modo: Sed et his; tertio, populi Dei in utroque instructio: Tu autem, dominator; quarto, adversariorum incorrigibilium per utrumque condemnatio: Unde et illis.

Primo, de horum populorum iusta punitione dupliciter.

In prima primo tangitur pia intentio punientis; secundo, aequitas punitionis: Illos enim. — Piae intentionis primo ostendit causam, secundo signum: Ideoque etc.; tertio finem: Ut relicta malitia etc.

(Vers. 1.). O quam bonus etc. Exclamatio est innuens insufficientiam loquentis ad exprimendum bonitatem Creatoris; est enim sensus: O quam etc., quasi dicat: non valeo exprimere quantum, et hoc propter infinitatem bonitatis tuae. Bonus, scilicet bona tua communicando; « est enim bonum diffusivum sui », secundum Dionysium⁶; Matthaei decimo nono: « Nemo bonus nisi solus Deus »; solus enim Deus communicat sua, omnis creatura alienum, quia nihil habet suum; unde primae ad Corinthios quarto: « Quid habes, quod non accepisti »? Et suavis est, Domine, spiritus tuus in omnibus, scilicet malis parcendo nostris; in Psalmo⁷: « Gustate et videte, quoniam suavis est Dominus »; spiritus, inquam, tuus in, nobis scilicet, omnibus, Glossa: « Quia amor Dei fons totius boni est ». In omnibus, maxime in quibus magis apparet Dei misericordia; in Psalmo: « Suavis Dominus universis ».

(Vers. 2.). Ideoque, quia bonus et suavis, eos qui exerrant, id est, extra viam veritatis errant in fide, vel moribus, sicut illi, de quibus Isaiae quinquagesimo tertio⁸: « Omnes nos quasi oves erravimus »; item Threnorum quarto: « Erraverunt caeci in plateis »; partibus corripis, id est flagella per partes, non simul, sed successive immittendo, secundum illud Exodi vigesimo tertio⁹: « Non eiiciam eos a facie tua anno uno », sed « paulatim expellam eos »; Iob trigesimo quinto: « Nunc enim non infert furorem suum nec ulciscitur scelus valde », sed modicum; corripis, inquam, vel per te, vel « per alios, quos Spiritu sancto reples », secundum Glossam; Ioannis decimo sexto: « Arguet mundum de peccato ». Et de quibus peccant, id est de peccatis, quibus peccant; admones, scilicet veniam promittendo, secundum illud Matthaei quarto¹⁰: p. 185 « Poenitentiam agite » etc.; item Isaiae quadragesimo quinto: « Convertimini ad me, et salvi eritis » etc.; Glossa: « Beati, qui audiunt vocem admonentis »; Isaiae trigesimo: « Aures tuae audient verbum post tergum monentis ». Et alloqueris, id est poenam comminando; Isaiae primo¹: « Si audieritis me, bona terrae comedetis; quodsi non audieritis, gladius devorabit vos »; ut, relicta malitia, scilicet peccati, vel infidelitatis; credant in te, Domine, scilicet fide formata; in te, inquam, non te, vel tibi tantum; Isaiae quinquagesimo quinto: « Derelinquat impius viam suam » etc. Contrarius enim est motus poenitentiae motui malitiae, quia, sicut ille est a bono in malum, sic iste a malo in bonum.

Illos enim etc. Hic tangitur aequitas punitionis, et primo ex consideratione ipsius culpae; secundo, ex consideratione poenae: Perdere voluisti.

(Vers. 3.). Illos enim etc. Bene dixi: corripis etc.; quod patet per exemplum. Illos enim antiquos inhabitatores, scilicet Chananaeos et Amorrhaeos et alios huiusmodi, inhabitatores terrae sanctae tuae, id est tuis Sanctis promissae, scilicet Abraham, Genesis decimo quinto²; Isaac, vigesimo sexto; Iacob, vigesimo octavo; quos exhorruisti, in tantum, ut populum tuum eis copulari nolueris aut misceri, secundum illud Deuteronomii septimo: « Non inibis cum eis foedus nec sociabis coniugia nec misereberis earum ».

(Vers. 4. 5.). Quoniam odibilia opera tibi faciebant, scilicet peccata enormia, infra decimo quarto³: « Similiter odio sunt Deo impius et impietas eius »; per medicamina, scilicet veneficorum, et sacrificia iniusta, idolorum, et hoc contra Deum. Erant autem et sacrificia iusta, quae Deo offerebantur, sicut obtulit Noe, Genesis octavo. — Et filiorum suorum necatores, et hoc contra proximum, sine misericordia, id est sine compassione, quia in sacrificiis daemonum immolabant eos cum multa devotione, secundum illud Psalmi⁴: « Et immolaverunt filios suos et filias suas daemoniis ». Contra quod Deuteronomii decimo octavo: « Ne imitari velis abominationes illarum gentium, nec inveniatur apud te qui lustret filium aut filiam, ducens per ignem ». Et comestores viscerum hominum, hoc non legitur factum, sed credendum est potuisse fieri, sicut tempore obsidionis Samariae legitur factum esse, quarti Regum sexto⁵; et Threnorum quarto: « Manus mulierum misericordium coxerunt filios suos »; et devoratores sanguinis⁶, humani, contra illud Genesis nono: « Carnem cum sanguine non comedetis ».

(Vers. 6.). Et auctores, id est effusores sanguinis, parentes, id est, quamvis parentes essent sanguinis effusi, quod gravius est; sanguinis, dico, animarum, id est hominum; partem enim ponit pro toto, et est synecdoche, sicut Exodi primo⁷, ubi dicitur: « Omnes animae, quae ingressae sunt cum Iacob in Aegyptum »; inauxiliatarum; Glossa: « Id est, eorum qui se non poterant defendere, vel quibus nolebant auxiliari », scilicet propriorum infantulorum, quorum sanguinis ipsimet erant generatores et effusores in sacrificio et comestores comedendo de sacrificato. Filiorum, inquam, suorum necatores etc., perdere voluisti, id est expellere, a medio sacramento tuo, id est a terra promissionis sacra; et dicitur terra promissionis sacra vel sacramentum propter rei sacrae, id est terrae viventium⁸, significationem, et propter sacramentorum salutis nostrae in ea completionem, et propter Sacramentorum Ecclesiae in ea institutionem, ut eucharistiae et baptismi, et propter sacrorum hominum futuram in ea inhabitationem, ut Patriarcharum, Prophetarum, Apostolorum, et propter sanguinis Christi in ea effusionem et irrigationem, et propter sacrorum corporum et pulverum in ea resolutionem, scilicet Patrum antiquorum ibidem sepultorum; item propter sacri loci in ea aedificationem, scilicet templi, et propter Sancti Sanctorum nativitatem et conversationem. Per manus parentum nostrorum, illorum scilicet, qui cum Iosue terram promissionis intraverunt⁹.

(Vers. 7.). Ut dignam perciperent, scilicet parentes nostri, peregrinationem, id est terram peregrinationis, puerorum Dei, scilicet Patriarcharum, de quibus ad Hebraeos undecimo¹⁰: « Confitentes, quia peregrini et hospites sunt super terram ». Quae, scilicet terra peregrinationis, est tibi terra carior omnium, scilicet terrarum, id est omnibus terris, scilicet propter salutem humani generis ibi procurandam, secundum illud Psalmi: « Operatus est salutem in medio terrae ».

Secundo ostenditur misericordia exhibita in modo punitionis dupliciter.

Sed et his etc. Hic ostenditur misericordia exhibita in modo punitionis; et illius modi primo removet causam falsam; secundo subdit veram: Cum ergo. — In parte prima primo ostendit, quod ille modus puniendi non fuit ex impotentia; secundo, quod nec ex ignorantia: Sed partibus; tertio, quod nec ex timore: Nec timens; quarto, quod nec ex iniustitia: Nec¹ enim.

(Vers. 8.). Sed et his etc. Quamvis aliqui legant hoc de Patribus introducendis, quorum Dominus hostes prius misericorditer exterruit, nolens eos velut homines mortales exponere subitis bellorum periculis; tamen congruentius videtur exponendum de gentibus Chananaeis a facie eorum eiiciendis. Dicit ergo: Sed et his, quamvis scilicet tam enormiter peccassent, pepercisti, scilicet non statim et simul omnes illos expellendo, tanquam hominibus, carne fragili indutis, et ideo ad peccandum pronioribus. « Sensus enim et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua », Genesis octavo². Hanc rationem allegat ipse Dominus Genesis sexto: « Non permanebit spiritus meus in homine, quia caro est ». Et misisti antecessores exercitus tui vespas, id est genus muscarum valde pungitivarum; Glossa³ dicit: « Timores acerrimos, quibus corda gentium pungebantur ». Hi sunt crabrones, de quibus Deuteronomii septimo: « Crabrones mittet Dominus Deus tuus in eos, donec deleat omnes atque disperdat »; Exodi vigesimo tertio: « Mittam terrorem meum in praecursum tuum »; et post: « Emittens crabrones prius, qui fugabunt Hevaeum » etc. Ut illos, scilicet Chananaeos, paulatim exterminarent, id est extra terminos terrae promissionis ponerent vel fugarent, vel extra terminos vitae praesentis, vel extra terminos terrae viventium; unde Baruch tertio⁴: « Exterminati sunt et ad inferos descenderunt », exclusi scilicet a terra viventium.

(Vers. 9.). Non quia impotens eras in bello subiicere impios iustis, secundum illud Psalmi⁵: « Praecinxisti me virtute ad bellum, et supplantasti insurgentes in me subtus me »; aut bestiis saevis, id est aut per bestias crudeles, secundum illud Ieremiae quinto: « Lupus ad vesperam vastavit eos, et pardus vigilans super civitates eorum »; supra undecimo: « Non enim impossibilis erat omnipotens manus tua » etc. Aut verbo duro, id est per verbum asperum, illos simul exterminare, secundum illud Ieremiae vigesimo tertio⁶: « Nunquid non verba mea quasi ignis et quasi malleus conterens petras »?

(Vers. 10.). Sed partibus etc. Hic ostendit, quod hoc non fecit ex ignorantia, scilicet culpae eorum actualis vel originalis, dicens: Sed partibus etc. Bene dixi, quod non quia impotens etc.; sed partibus, « id est paulatim vel per partes » et successive, iudicans, id est iuste puniens; Deuteronomii septimo⁷: « Consumet nationes has in conspectu tuo paulatim atque per partes, ne forte multiplicentur contra te bestiae terrae »; dabas locum poenitentiae, ut, quibusdam punitis, alii corrigerentur; Iob vigesimo quarto⁸: « Dedit ei Deus locum poenitentiae, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam ». Non ignorans, quia ignorantia in Deum non cadit, sicut nec tenebrae in lucem; unde primae Ioannis primo: « Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae ». Quoniam iniqua⁹ est natio eorum, per culpae malitiam, quia iniquorum patrum iniqui filii; unde supra quarto: « Ex iniquis omnes, qui nascuntur, testes sunt nequitiae illorum »; et naturalis malitia illorum, id est naturali similis per usum pravae consuetudinis. « Consuetudo enim altera natura est¹⁰ »; sicut enim ea quae sunt a natura, difficile vel nunquam exui possunt; sic nec ea quae ex consuetudine; unde Ieremiae decimo tertio: « Si mutare potest Aethiops pellem suam, aut pardus varietates suas; et vos poteritis bene facere, cum didiceritis malum »; Gregorius¹¹: « Difficile surgit quem moles consuetudinis premit ». Et naturalis malitia illorum; Glossa¹²: « Permanens, inveterata », p. 187 scilicet per usum pravae consuetudinis. Et quoniam non poterat mutari cogitatio illorum in perpetuum, scilicet propter obstinationem voluntatis eorum perversae; Glossa: « Indurata propria nequitia »; Threnorum primo: « Dedit me in manum, de qua non potero surgere ».

Sed contra: In libertate arbitrii est peccare et post peccatum poenitere.

Respondeo: Non poterat, id est, vix poterat; vel non poterat per se solum, sed Deo inspirante. Homo enim est « spiritus vadens », scilicet per culpam, « et non rediens¹ », scilicet nisi per gratiam.

(Vers. 11.). Semen enim erat maledictum ab initio, id est in primo parente sui generis, scilicet in Chanaan; Genesis nono²: « Maledictus Chanaan ». Vel secundum Glossam: Ab initio, « id est in praescientia Dei », vel secundum Glossam: Ab initio, quia, « ex quo fuerat, quaedam prava qualitas in ipsis erat maledictione digna ».

Nec timens. Hic excludit a Deo timorem quadruplici ratione: primo per hoc, quod iudicium eius nullus potest discutere; secundo, quia nec ei resistere: Aut quis stabit; tertio, quia nec vindicare: Aut quis in conspectu; quarto, quia nec redarguere: Aut quis tibi.

(Vers. 11.). Dicit ergo: Nec timens aliquem veniam dabas peccatis illorum. Nec timens aliquem, scilicet quasi potentiorem te; Ecclesiastici tertio³: « Magna potentia Dei solius »; Isaiae quinquagesimo primo: Quis tu, ut timeas ab homine mortali »? Item Iob vigesimo secundo: « Nunquid timens arguet te »? quasi dicat: non; immo etiam « columnae caeli contremiscunt et pavent ad nutum eius », Iob vigesimo sexto; quanto magis columnae terrae?

(Vers. 12.). Quis enim dicet tibi, id est, dicere auderet, vel dicere rationabiliter posset: Quid fecisti? scilicet facti tui rationem discutiendo, quasi dicat: nullus; unde ad Romanos nono⁴: « Nunquid dicit figmentum ei qui finxit se: Quid me fecisti sic »? Isaiae quadragesimo quinto: « Nunquid dicet lutum figulo: Quid facis »? Aut quis stabit contra iudicium tuum? scilicet tuae sententiae resistendo; Iob nono: « Deus, cuius irae resistere nemo potest »; et post: « Si aequitas iudicii quaeritur, nemo audet pro me testimonium reddere ». Aut quis in conspectu tuo veniet, id est, comparere audebit, vindex enim iniquorum hominum? id est volens vindicare iniquos, te puniendo, quasi feceris eis iniuriam ipsos condemnando; quasi dicat: nullus, quia Deuteronomii trigesimo secundo⁵: « Mea est ultio » etc.; item ibidem: « Videte, quoniam ego sim solus, et non est qui de manu mea possit eruere ». Aut quis imputabit tibi, scilicet te de culpa redarguendo, quasi dicat: nullus; unde Ioannis octavo⁶: « Quis ex vobis arguet me de peccato »? Quis, inquam, imputabit tibi, si perierint nationes, quas tu fecisti? perierint, per culpam suam, quas tu fecisti, quantum ad eorum naturam; Glossa: « Non est culpa Creatoris, si pereunt, sed naturae vitium »; Iob duodecimo: « Si destruxerit, nemo est, qui aedificet ».

(Vers. 13.). Nec⁷ enim etc. Bene dixi: quis aliquod praedictorum contra tuum iudicium faciet? Nec enim est alius Deus quam tu, secundum illud Isaiae quadragesimo quinto: « Nunquid non ego Dominus, et non est ultra Deus absque me »? Quam tu, inquam, cui cura est de omnibus; supra sexto⁸: « Aequaliter est tibi cura de omnibus ».

Sed contra: Primae ad Corinthios nono⁹: « Nunquid de bobus cura est Deo »?

Dicendum, quod cura providentiae est illi de omnibus, cura disciplinae est de solis rationalibus.

Ut, scilicet per hoc, ostendas, quoniam non iniuste iudicas iudicium, punitionis iniquorum; in Psalmo¹⁰: « Iustus es, Domine, et rectum iudicium tuum ».

(Vers. 14.). Neque rex etc., quasi dicat: ita recte iudicas, quod neque rex, qui bene regit suos et secundum iustitiam, neque tyrannus, qui scilicet male regit et per iniustitiam; in conspectu tuo inquirent de his quos perdidisti; Glossa¹¹: « Utrum iuste perdideris », secundum illud Iob nono: « Quis potest dicere, cur ita facis »?

Cum ergo etc. Hic ostendit causam veram, quare Deus misericordiam exhibuit in modo puniendi praedicto, et hoc primo ostendendo, quod Deus in omnibus exercet iustitiam; secundo, quod nihilominus exhibet misericordiam: Et ob hoc; tertio, quod ad incredulos aliquando ostendit potentiam: Virtutem etc.

(Vers. 15.). Cum ergo sis iustus, scilicet in natura tua, iuste omnia disponis, scilicet in creatura, scilicet « iuste filium puniens¹² » in praesenti, ut p. 188 in futuro parcas ei; ad Hebraeos duodecimo: « Flagellat omnem filium, quem recipit »; Tobiae tertio: « Iustus es, Domine, et omnia iudicia tua iusta sunt »; item in Psalmo: « Iudicia Domini vera, iustificata in semetipsa ». Ipsum quoque, qui non debet puniri, id est per poenam temporalem corrigi, condemnas¹; Glossa: Poena aeterna, parcens ei in praesenti, ut in futuro punias; unde Ezechielis decimo sexto: « Auferetur a me zelus meus, et quiescam nec irascar amplius ». Et exterum aestimas a tua virtute; Glossa²: « Id est alienum et indignum divina pietate ». Virtus enim Dei est pietas, secundum illud Gregorii: « Deus, cui proprium est misereri semper et parcere », ideo in Psalmo: « In virtute tua », id est pietate tua, « iudica me ». Vel sic: et ipsum qui non debet puniri, scilicet in aeternum, condemnas, scilicet secundum reputationem reproborum, quia ipsum in praesenti corripis; et aestimas, id est, aestimare facis alios, talem exterum, esse scilicet, a tua virtute, id est alienum et indignum tua pietate, sicut amici Iob³ aestimabant ipsum indignum tua pietate, quia tam graviter punivisti eum.

(Vers. 16.). Virtus enim tua, id est misericordia. Opus enim iustitiae dicitur esse alienum a Deo, Isaiae vigesimo octavo⁴, sed opus misericordiae proprium ei. Et hoc est, quia nobis miseretur ex bonitate propria, sed iustitiam in nos exercet ex causa nostra, scilicet propter nostram culpam. Virtus, inquam, tua, id est misericordia, iustitiae, scilicet nostrae, id est iustificationis nostrae, est initium, secundum illud Apostoli ad Titum tertio⁵: « Non ex operibus iustitiae, quae fecimus nos, sed secundum suam misericordiam salvos nos fecit »; item ad Romanos tertio: « Iustificati gratis per gratiam ipsius ». Et ob hoc, quod omnium Dominus es, scilicet per potentiam, omnibus te parcere facis, per misericordiam; unde Glossa⁶: « Ut qui praees potentia mitescas natura »; supra undecimo: « Misereris omnium, quia omnia potes ».

(Vers. 17.). Virtutem enim tuam ostendis, id est potentiam in puniendo, tu qui non crederis, scilicet ab errantibus, esse in virtute consummatus, id est perfectus; Iob vigesimo secundo⁷: « Quasi nihil posset facere Omnipotens, aestimabant illum ». Et hos qui te nesciunt, scilicet infideles, in audacia traducis, id est, audacter ad poenam ducis, et hoc merito iniquitatum suarum, supra quarto: « Traducent eos ex adverso iniquitates eorum ».

Tertio ostenditur populi Dei in utroque instructio.

Tu autem dominator etc. Ostensa punitione adversariorum et misericordia iudicis in puniendo, hic ostendit instructionem populi Dei in utroque, et primo tangit exemplum, per quod instruit; secundo, misericordiam, de qua instruit: Docuisti; tertio, modum, quo instruit: Si enim inimicos; quarto, finem, propter quem instruit: Cum ergo nobis.

(Vers. 18.). Tu autem etc. Bene dixi, quod ostendis incorrigibilibus virtutem tuam et potentiam; autem, pro sed; tu dominator virtutis etc.; hoc potest intelligi intransitive, ut sit sensus: tu dominator virtutis, id est virtuosus; vel transitive sic: dominator virtutis, id est Dominus virtutum omnium, scilicet tam angelicarum quam humanarum; in Psalmo⁸: « Dominus virtutum, ipse est rex gloriae ». Cum tranquillitate iudicas, id est sine intellectus vel affectus perturbatione; Iacobi primo: « Apud quem non est transmutatio »; Isaiae quadragesimo secundo: « In veritate educet iudicium, non erit tristis neque turbulentus ». Et cum multa⁹ reverentia, in effectu, id est cum multa moderatione, disponis nos, non sicut ille iudex, « qui nec Deum timebat nec hominem reverebatur », Lucae decimo octavo. Subest enim tibi, cum volueris, posse; ecce, causa tranquillitatis in iudicando et reverentiae in disponendo sive in exsequendo, scilicet quia omnipotens est; in Psalmo¹⁰: « Quaecumque voluit, fecit ».

Sed obiicitur, quod secundum rationem intelligendi potentia antecedit voluntatem, non voluntas potentiam. Deberet ergo dicere: subest tibi velle, cum potueris, non posse, cum volueris.

Dicendum, quod potentia praecedit in essendo, sed voluntas in agendo; unde potest multa, quae non facit, quia non vult¹¹.

p. 189(Vers. 19.). Docuisti enim¹ populum tuum; alii vero non docentur, unde Ecclesiastici vigesimo primo: « Non erudietur qui non est sapiens in bono »; per talia opera, scilicet iustitiae et misericordiae simul. Quoniam oportet esse iustum, quia tu iustus es, et humanum, id est mansuetum, quia homo est animal mansuetum natura; et hoc, quia tu misericors, non solum iustus; unde in Psalmo²: « Misericordiam et iudicium cantabo tibi, Domine »; item: « Misericors et miserator et iustus Dominus ». Et si Dominus, ergo et servus; unde Matthaei decimo octavo: « Nonne oportuit, et te misereri conservi tui, sicut et ego tui misertus sum »? Ecclesiastae septimo: « Noli esse iustus multum », scilicet in tantum, ut misericordiam excludas a tua iustitia; Samaritanus enim sauciato infudit non tantum vinum, sed et oleum simul. Et bonae spei fecisti filios tuos, id est de venia consequenda fideles tuos, qui filii tui sunt; unde Ioannis primo³: « Dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his qui credunt in nomine eius ». Haec est bona spes, de qua in Psalmo: « Sperate in eo, omnis congregatio populi »; item: « In Deo speravit cor meum, et adiutus sum »; primae Petri primo: « Sperate in eam quae vobis offertur gratiam ». Quoniam iudicans, id est puniens peccatores, das locum poenitentiae in peccatis, id est permanentibus in peccatis, scilicet exspectando eos ad poenitentiam; Isaiae trigesimo⁴: « Propterea exspectat Dominus, ut misereatur vestri ». Locus poenitentiae est mundus iste; post egressum enim de hoc mundo non restat poenitentiae locus; propter quod Ecclesiastae undecimo: « Ubicumque ceciderit lignum, sive ad austrum, sive ad aquilonem, ibi erit ». Chrysostomus⁵: « Tunc non erit poenitentiae locus nec satisfaciendi tempus nec restituendi virtus »; ideo Ecclesiastae nono: « Quodcumque facere potest manus tua, instanter operare, quia nec opus nec ratio nec scientia nec sapientia erunt apud inferos, quo tu properas ».

(Vers. 20.). Si enim inimicos servorum tuorum, quoad peccatum in proximum, quibus, inquam, servis dicitur Lucae decimo⁶: « Qui vos audit me audit, et qui vos spernit me spernit »; et debitos morti, quantum ad peccatum in Deum, qui vita est animarum, secundum Augustinum; debitos, inquam, morti, secundum illud ad Romanos primo: « Non solum qui talia agunt digni sunt morte » etc. Cum tanta cruciasti attentione, scilicet non simul, sed per partes et successive puniendo, ut patet in plagis Aegypti; et liberasti⁷, scilicet eos ab istis, scilicet cruciatibus temporalibus, quia, orante Moyse, a singulis cruciatibus liberabantur; simile etiam contigit in Chananaeis. Dans tempus et locum, per quae possent mutari a malitia; tempus, scilicet vitae spatium, et locum, scilicet huius mundi exilium; de tempore Apocalypsis secundo⁸: « Dedi illi tempus, ut poenitentiam ageret »; de loco Iob vigesimo quarto: « Dedit ei Deus locum poenitentiae, et ille abutitur eo in superbiam ».

(Vers. 21.). Cum quanta diligentia iudicasti filios tuos etc., quasi dicat: cum multa diligentia et attentione, secundum quod petebat Psalmista⁹ dicens: « Exsurge et intende iudicio meo, Deus meus et Dominus meus, in causam meam ». In figura huius legitur Genesis tertio, quod Deus, iudicaturus peccatum Adae, deambulabat etc. Filios tuos, scilicet Sanctos, supra quinto: « Ecce, quomodo computati sunt inter filios Dei, et inter Sanctos sors illorum est ». Vel: filios tuos, id est fideles tuos, secundum illud Ioannis primo¹⁰: « Dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri, his qui credunt in nomine eius ». Quorum, scilicet filiorum, parentibus, id est Patriarchis, ut Abraham, Genesis decimo quinto et vigesimo secundo; Isaac, Genesis vigesimo sexto; Iacob, Genesis vigesimo octavo; iuramenta et conventiones dedisti, id est iuratas conventiones. Nota, quod conventio est simplex promissio, iuramentum vero promissio cum attestatione rei sacrae; ad Hebraeos sexto¹¹: « Ut per duas res immobiles, quibus impossibile est mentiri Deum, fortissimum solatium habeamus » etc. Bonarum promissionum, scilicet de terra promissionis et de benedictione seminis.

(Vers. 22.). Cum ergo etc., quasi dicat: ita beneficus es et misericors adversariis; cum ergo nobis disciplinam das, id est poenam emendatoriam, quae p. 190 non est abiicienda, secundum illud Proverbiorum tertio¹: « Disciplinam Domini, fili mi, ne abiicias », quia erudit; unde in Psalmo: « Disciplina tua correxit me in finem » etc. Inimicos nostros, qui scilicet nos oderunt, quamvis diligantur a nobis, secundum quod monet Dominus Matthaei quinto²: « Diligite inimicos vestros »; multipliciter flagellas, scilicet interius et exterius, secundum illud Psalmi: « Multa flagella peccatoris »; Glossa: « Magna distantia est inter iudicium electorum et reproborum; illos enim corripit, ut emendet; hi superbiae et perfidiae poenas luunt ». Ut bonitatem tuam, scilicet in praesenti, cogitemus iudicantes, scilicet alios, quos videmus a te flagellatos; Glossa³: « Felix iudex, qui bonitatem et pietatem sui iudicis semper inspicit », scilicet ut, inspecta pietate Dei iudicantis, discat pietatem habere, cum iudicat alios; in Psalmo: « Quam bonus Israel Deus his qui recto sunt corde »; Nahum primo: « Bonus Dominus et confortans in die tribulationis et sciens sperantes in se ». Et cum de nobis iudicatur, scilicet per immissionem tribulationum praesentium, speremus misericordiam tuam, scilicet in futuro, scilicet vitae aeternae mercedem; Iacobi primo⁴: « Omne gaudium existimate, fratres, cum in varias tentationes incideritis » etc.; ad Romanos quinto: « Gloriamini in tribulationibus, scientes, quod tribulatio patientiam operatur, patientia vero spem » etc.

Quarto, de adversariorum incorrigibilium propter contemptum condemnatione tanguntur sex.

Unde et illis. Hic tangitur condemnatio adversariorum incorrigibilium propter contemptum utriusque, scilicet divinae iustitiae et misericordiae; et primo tangitur flagellum, quo debuerunt corrigi; secundo, convenientia flagelli: Etenim etc.; tertio, incorrigibilitas flagellatorum: Qui autem etc.; quarto, manifestatio incorrigibilitatis: In his enim⁵; quinto, ratio, propter quam corrigi debuerunt: Per haec quae putabant; sexto, exterminatio condemnationis, quia correcti non sunt, ibi: Propter quod etc.

(Vers. 23.). Unde etc., quasi dicat: ita tuis das disciplinam; unde, scilicet per oppositum; et, pro etiam; illis qui in vita sua insensate et iniuste vixerunt, quoad errorem in fide; vel: in vita sua, id est, qua sibi, non Deo vixerunt; et iniuste, quoad errorem in moribus; per haec quae coluerunt, scilicet per animalia bruta; dedisti summa, id est valde magna, tormenta, ut per ranas et muscas et locustas et vespas et huiusmodi⁶. Per haec etc.; scilicet in genere et sine numero vel specie.

(Vers. 24.). Etenim ipsi erraverunt, non modico tempore, sed diutius, quod eorum peccatum aggravat, quia, sicut dicit Gregorius⁷, « tanto peccata sunt deteriora, quanto diutius infelicem animam retinent obligatam ». In via erroris, id est infidelitatis, quae antonomastice dicitur error. De hac via dicitur Proverbiorum decimo sexto: « Est via, quae videtur homini recta, et novissima eius ducunt ad mortem ». Deos aestimantes haec quae in animalibus sunt supervacua, id est animalia artificialiter sculpta, non naturalia. Artificialia autem animalia dicuntur supervacua, quia inutilia; naturalia autem omnia habent aliquam utilitatem, ut dicit Damascenus⁸. Deos aestimantes etc.; ad Romanos primo: « Mutaverunt gloriam incorruptibilis Dei in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis »; item in Psalmo: « Mutaverunt gloriam suam in similitudinem vituli comedentis foenum ». Nota, quod non dicit in vitulum, sed in similitudinem vituli, quod minus est et in peius valet. Insensatorum infantium more viventes, quoad peccata in moribus; primae ad Corinthios decimo quarto⁹: « Nolite pueri effici sensibus »; item primae Petri secundo: « Quasi modo geniti infantes, rationabiles », non insensati. In hoc vero more infantium insensatorum vivebant, quia imagines, ut pueri, faciebant et adorabant, sicut Ismael cum Isaac legitur Genesis vigesimo primo lusisse, eum adorare luteas imagines cogendo, ut dicunt Hebraei p. 191

(Vers. 25.). Propter hoc tanquam pueris insensatis iudicium in derisum dedisti, id est poenam, in qua deridebantur, quia per ranas et muscas et huiusmodi modica animalia et contemptibilia affligebantur, non per maiora et nobilia, ut per leones et ursos, ut patet a septimo Exodi usque ad duodecimum.

(Vers. 26.). Qui autem in ludibriis et increpationibus, id est increpationibus ludibrio plenis, non sunt correcti, scilicet ab infidelitate et perversa conversatione; dignum iudicium Dei experti sunt, scilicet condemnationis et mortis. Ex hoc videtur innuere, quod aliqui inter flagella correcti sunt; unde et aliqui Aegyptiorum cum Israelitis iverunt, ut patet Exodi duodecimo¹; et Gabaonitae confoederati sunt eis, ut patet Iosue nono. In his enim etc., quasi dicat: et merito; in his enim, quae patiebantur, scilicet in flagellis divinis, moleste ferebant², impatienter portando. In quibus enim patientes, id est sustinentes, ita quod patientes dicantur a passione, non a patientia; indignabantur, scilicet murmurando contra Deum; Ecclesiastici trigesimo tertio³: « Praecordia fatui, quasi rota carri ». Per haec quae putabant deos, scilicet bruta animalia; in ipsis, id est per ipsa, cum exterminarentur, id est punirentur; Baruch tertio: « Exterminati sunt et ad inferos descenderunt »; videntes illum, id est Deum, quasi sensibili experimento perpendentes; in se enim videri non potest; primae Ioannis quarto⁴: « Deum nemo vidit unquam ». Quem olim, scilicet in prosperitate, negabant se nosse, secundum illud Exodi quinto: « Nescio Dominum, et Israel non dimittam ». Verum Deum, esse, supple; agnoverunt, credulitate non voluntaria, sed per poenas extorta; talis est fides daemonum; Iacobi secundo⁵: « Daemones credunt » etc.; Isaiae vigesimo sexto: « Domine, in angustia requisierunt te ». « Oculos enim, quos culpa claudit, poena aperit », ut dicit Gregorius. Littera sic construenda: Videntes, scilicet Aegyptii et Chananaei, illum quem olim negabant se nosse, agnoverunt verum Deum, esse, supple; agnoverunt, inquam, per haec quae putabant deos, id est per bruta animalia; et hoc fuit, cum exterminarentur in ipsis. Propter quod, scilicet, quia agnoverunt Deum, non tamen ipsum glorificaverunt, secundum illud ad Romanos primo⁶: « Qui, cum Deum cognovissent, non sicut Deum glorificaverunt » etc.; et finis condemnationis illorum, id est finalis eorum condemnatio, de qua Matthaei vigesimo quinto: « Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum ». Condemnationis initium est in separatione animae a corpore; medium, in cruciatu animae separatae; finis vero, in resurrectione, quando cruciabitur in inferno cum resumto corpore; finis, inquam, condemnationis illorum, qui in praesenti corrigi noluerunt; veniet⁷ etc.; Gregorius: « Quos in praesenti flagella non corrigunt ad futura transmittunt »; super illos, quia de caelo ad eorum oppressionem, ita quod resistere non possint tanquam obruti vel oppressi; in Psalmo: « Pluet super peccatores laqueos, ignis et sulphur » etc.

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Chapter XII.

Secondly, on the punishing of the Canaanites and the Amorrhites.

O how good etc. After he has treated of the benefits shown to the children of Israel in the affliction or punishing of the Egyptians principally, here he treats of the benefits shown to the same in the affliction of the Canaanites and Amorrhites, who inhabited the land of promise, principally.

In the first, first is shown the just punishing of those peoples; secondly, the mercy shown in the manner of punishing: But even those; thirdly, the instruction of the people of God in both: But thou, being master; fourthly, the condemnation of the incorrigible adversaries through both: Wherefore also to them.

First, on the just punishing of these peoples, in two ways.

In the first, first is touched the pious intention of the one punishing; secondly, the equity of the punishing: For those. — Of the pious intention he shows first the cause, secondly the sign: And therefore etc.; thirdly the end: That leaving their malice etc.

(Vers. 1.). O how good etc. It is an exclamation intimating the insufficiency of the speaker to express the goodness of the Creator; for the sense is: O how etc., as if he should say: I am not able to express how much, and this because of the infinity of thy goodness. Good, namely by communicating thy goods; « for the good is diffusive of itself », according to Dionysius⁶; Matthew, the nineteenth: « None is good but God alone »; for God alone communicates his own, every creature what is another's, because it has nothing of its own; whence the first to the Corinthians, the fourth: « What hast thou that thou hast not received »? And sweet, O Lord, is thy spirit in all things, namely by sparing our evils; in the Psalm⁷: « O taste and see that the Lord is sweet »; spirit, I say, thy … in, namely us, all, the Gloss: « Because the love of God is the fount of all good ». In all things, most of all in those in which the mercy of God more appears; in the Psalm: « The Lord is sweet to all ».

(Vers. 2.). And therefore, because good and sweet, them that err, that is, wander outside the way of truth in faith, or in morals, as those of whom Isaias, the fifty-third⁸: « All we like sheep have gone astray »; likewise Lamentations, the fourth: « They have wandered as blind men in the streets »; thou chastisest by little and little, that is, by sending scourges by parts, not all at once, but successively, according to that of Exodus, the twenty-third⁹: « I will not cast them out from thy face in one year », but « by little and little I will drive them out »; Job, the thirty-fifth: « For he doth not now bring on his fury, neither doth he revenge wickedness exceedingly », but a little; thou chastisest, I say, either through thyself, or « through others, whom thou fillest with the Holy Spirit », according to the Gloss; John, the sixteenth: « He will convince the world of sin ». And concerning the things wherein they sin, that is, concerning the sins by which they sin; thou admonishest them, namely by promising pardon, according to that of Matthew, the fourth¹⁰: p. 185 « Do penance » etc.; likewise Isaias, the forty-fifth: « Be converted to me, and you shall be saved » etc.; the Gloss: « Blessed are they who hear the voice of one admonishing »; Isaias, the thirtieth: « Thy ears shall hear the word of one admonishing behind thy back ». And speakest to them, that is, by threatening punishment; Isaias, the first¹: « If you will hearken to me, you shall eat the good things of the land; but if you will not hearken, the sword shall devour you »; that, leaving their malice, namely of sin, or of unbelief; they may believe in thee, O Lord, namely by formed faith; in thee, I say, not thee, or to thee only; Isaias, the fifty-fifth: « Let the impious forsake his way » etc. For the movement of penance is contrary to the movement of malice, because, as that is from good into evil, so this is from evil into good.

For those etc. Here is touched the equity of the punishing, and first from the consideration of the fault itself; secondly, from the consideration of the punishment: It was thy will to destroy.

(Vers. 3.). For those etc. I said well: thou chastisest etc.; which is clear by an example. For those ancient inhabitants, namely the Canaanites and Amorrhites and others of this kind, inhabitants of thy holy land, that is, promised to thy Saints, namely to Abraham, Genesis, the fifteenth²; to Isaac, the twenty-sixth; to Jacob, the twenty-eighth; whom thou didst abhor, so much, that thou wouldst not have thy people coupled or mingled with them, according to that of Deuteronomy, the seventh: « Thou shalt not enter into a league with them, nor join marriages, nor have mercy on them ».

(Vers. 4. 5.). Because they did works hateful to thee, namely enormous sins, below, the fourteenth³: « Likewise hateful to God are the impious and his impiety »; by medicines, namely of sorcerers, and unjust sacrifices, of idols, and this against God. But there were also just sacrifices, which were offered to God, as Noe offered, Genesis, the eighth. — And murderers of their own children, and this against their neighbour, without mercy, that is, without compassion, because they immolated them in sacrifices of demons with much devotion, according to that of the Psalm⁴: « And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils ». Against which Deuteronomy, the eighteenth: « Beware lest thou have a mind to imitate the abominations of those nations, neither let there be found with thee any one that shall expiate his son or daughter, making them to pass through the fire ». And eaters of men's bowels, this is not read to have been done, but it is to be believed that it could have been done, as in the time of the siege of Samaria it is read to have been done, the fourth of Kings, the sixth⁵; and Lamentations, the fourth: « The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children »; and devourers of blood⁶, human, against that of Genesis, the ninth: « Flesh with blood you shall not eat ».

(Vers. 6.). And authors, that is, shedders of blood, parents, that is, although they were parents of the blood shed, which is more grievous; of the blood, I say, of souls, that is, of men; for he puts the part for the whole, and it is synecdoche, as in Exodus, the first⁷, where it is said: « All the souls that went in with Jacob into Egypt »; helpless; the Gloss: « That is, of those who could not defend themselves, or whom they would not help », namely of their own little infants, of whose blood they themselves were the begetters and the shedders in sacrifice and the eaters by eating of what was sacrificed. Murderers, I say, of their own children etc., it was thy will to destroy, that is, to expel, from the midst of thy sacrament, that is, from the sacred land of promise; and the land of promise is called sacred or sacrament on account of its signification of a sacred thing, that is, of the land of the living⁸, and on account of the fulfilment in it of the sacraments of our salvation, and on account of the institution in it of the Sacraments of the Church, as of the eucharist and of baptism, and on account of the future dwelling in it of holy men, as of the Patriarchs, the Prophets, the Apostles, and on account of the shedding and watering in it of the blood of Christ, and on account of the dissolution in it of holy bodies and dusts, namely of the ancient Fathers buried there; likewise on account of the building in it of a sacred place, namely of the temple, and on account of the birth and conversation of the Holy of Holies. By the hands of our parents, namely of those who entered the land of promise with Josue⁹.

(Vers. 7.). That they might receive a worthy, namely our parents, pilgrimage, that is, the land of pilgrimage, of the children of God, namely of the Patriarchs, of whom to the Hebrews, the eleventh¹⁰: « Confessing that they are pilgrims and strangers on the earth ». Which, namely the land of pilgrimage, is to thee the land dearer of all, namely of lands, that is, than all lands, namely on account of the salvation of the human race to be wrought there, according to that of the Psalm: « He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth ».

Secondly is shown the mercy shown in the manner of punishing, in two ways.

But even those etc. Here is shown the mercy shown in the manner of punishing; and of that manner he first removes the false cause; secondly subjoins the true: Since then. — In the first part he shows first that that manner of punishing was not from impotence; secondly, that neither from ignorance: But by parts; thirdly, that neither from fear: Neither fearing; fourthly, that neither from injustice: For neither¹.

(Vers. 8.). But even those etc. Although some read this of the Fathers who were to be brought in, whose enemies the Lord first mercifully terrified, not willing to expose them, as mortal men, to the sudden perils of wars; yet it seems more fittingly to be expounded of the Canaanite nations to be cast out from before their face. He says therefore: But even those, although namely they had sinned so enormously, thou sparedst, namely by not expelling them all at once and together, as men, clothed in frail flesh, and therefore more prone to sinning. « For the sense and thought of the human heart are prone to evil from its youth », Genesis, the eighth². This reason the Lord himself alleges, Genesis, the sixth: « My spirit shall not remain in man, because he is flesh ». And didst send wasps forerunners of thy host, that is, a kind of flies that sting sharply; the Gloss³ says: « Most sharp fears, by which the hearts of the nations were stung ». These are the hornets, of which Deuteronomy, the seventh: « The Lord thy God will send hornets among them, until he destroy and consume all »; Exodus, the twenty-third: « I will send my terror before thee »; and after: « Sending out hornets before, who shall drive away the Hevite » etc. That they might destroy (exterminarent) those, namely the Canaanites, by little and little, that is, might put or drive them outside the bounds (extra terminos) of the land of promise, or outside the bounds of the present life, or outside the bounds of the land of the living; whence Baruch, the third⁴: « They are destroyed and are gone down to hell », shut out namely from the land of the living.

(Vers. 9.). Not that thou wast unable in war to bring the impious under the just, according to that of the Psalm⁵: « Thou hast girded me with strength unto battle, and hast tripped up under me them that rose up against me »; or by cruel beasts, that is, or through fierce beasts, according to that of Jeremias, the fifth: « The wolf in the evening hath laid them waste, and the leopard watching over their cities »; above, the eleventh: « For thy almighty hand was not unable » etc. Or by a hard word, that is, through a harsh word, to destroy them at once, according to that of Jeremias, the twenty-third⁶: « Are not my words as a fire and as a hammer breaking the rocks »?

(Vers. 10.). But by parts etc. Here he shows that he did not do this from ignorance, namely of their actual or original fault, saying: But by parts etc. I said well, that not that thou wast unable etc.; but by parts, « that is, by little and little or by parts » and successively, judging, that is, punishing justly; Deuteronomy, the seventh⁷: « He will consume these nations in thy sight by little and little and by parts, lest perhaps the beasts of the earth be multiplied against thee »; thou gavest place of penance, so that, some being punished, others might be corrected; Job, the twenty-fourth⁸: « God hath given him place of penance, and he abuseth it unto pride ». Not being ignorant, because ignorance does not fall upon God, as neither does darkness upon light; whence the first of John, the first: « God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all ». That their nation is wicked⁹, through the malice of fault, because wicked sons of wicked fathers; whence above, the fourth: « All who are born of the wicked are witnesses of their wickedness »; and their malice natural, that is, like the natural through the use of depraved custom. « For custom is a second nature¹⁰ »; for as those things which are from nature can be put off with difficulty or never, so neither those which are from custom; whence Jeremias, the thirteenth: « If the Ethiopian can change his skin, or the leopard his spots, you also may do well, when you have learned evil »; Gregory¹¹: « He rises with difficulty whom the weight of custom presses down ». And their malice natural; the Gloss¹²: « Abiding, inveterate », p. 187 namely through the use of depraved custom. And that their thought could not be changed for ever, namely on account of the obstinacy of their perverse will; the Gloss: « Hardened by its own wickedness »; Lamentations, the first: « He hath given me into a hand out of which I shall not be able to rise ».

But on the contrary: It is in the freedom of choice to sin and after sin to repent.

I respond: Could not, that is, could hardly; or could not through itself alone, but with God inspiring. For man is « a spirit going », namely through fault, « and not returning¹ », namely except through grace.

(Vers. 11.). For it was a cursed seed from the beginning, that is, in the first parent of their race, namely in Chanaan; Genesis, the ninth²: « Cursed be Chanaan ». Or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, « that is, in the foreknowledge of God »; or according to the Gloss: From the beginning, because, « from the time it had been, a certain depraved quality was in them worthy of cursing ».

Neither fearing. Here he excludes fear from God by a fourfold reason: first by this, that no one can discuss his judgment; secondly, because neither resist him: Or who shall stand; thirdly, because neither avenge: Or who shall come in thy sight; fourthly, because neither rebuke: Or who to thee.

(Vers. 11.). He says therefore: Neither, fearing any one, didst thou give pardon to their sins. Neither fearing any one, namely as more powerful than thee; Ecclesiasticus, the third³: « Great is the power of God alone »; Isaias, the fifty-first: Who art thou, that thou shouldst fear a mortal man »? Likewise Job, the twenty-second: « Shall he, fearing, rebuke thee »? as if he should say: no; nay rather even « the pillars of heaven tremble and dread at his beck », Job, the twenty-sixth; how much more the pillars of the earth?

(Vers. 12.). For who shall say to thee, that is, would dare to say, or could reasonably say: What hast thou done? namely by discussing the reason of thy deed, as if he should say: no one; whence to the Romans, the ninth⁴: « Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it: Why hast thou made me thus »? Isaias, the forty-fifth: « Shall the clay say to the potter: What dost thou »? Or who shall stand against thy judgment? namely by resisting thy sentence; Job, the ninth: « God, whose wrath no man can resist »; and after: « If equity of judgment be sought, no man dare bear witness for me ». Or who shall come in thy sight, that is, will dare to appear, as an avenger of wicked men? that is, willing to avenge the wicked by punishing thee, as though thou hadst done them injury by condemning them; as if he should say: no one, because Deuteronomy, the thirty-second⁵: « Revenge is mine » etc.; likewise in the same place: « See that I alone am, and there is none that can deliver out of my hand ». Or who shall impute to thee, namely by rebuking thee of fault, as if he should say: no one; whence John, the eighth⁶: « Which of you shall convince me of sin »? Who, I say, shall impute to thee, if the nations perish, which thou hast made? perish, through their own fault, which thou hast made, as to their nature; the Gloss: « It is not the fault of the Creator if they perish, but the vice of nature »; Job, the twelfth: « If he pull down, there is no man that can build up ».

(Vers. 13.). For neither⁷ etc. I said well: who will do any of the aforesaid against thy judgment? For neither is there another God but thou, according to that of Isaias, the forty-fifth: « Am not I the Lord, and there is no God else besides me »? But thou, I say, who hast care of all; above, the sixth⁸: « Equally hast thou care of all ».

But on the contrary: The first to the Corinthians, the ninth⁹: « Is there care for oxen with God »?

It must be said that the care of providence is his for all things, the care of discipline is for rational things alone.

That, namely through this, thou mayest shew that thou dost not judge judgment unjustly, the judgment of the punishing of the wicked; in the Psalm¹⁰: « Thou art just, O Lord, and thy judgment is right ».

(Vers. 14.). Neither king etc., as if he should say: thou judgest so rightly, that neither king, who rules his own well and according to justice, nor tyrant, who namely rules badly and through injustice, shall inquire in thy sight about them whom thou hast destroyed; the Gloss¹¹: « Whether thou hast destroyed them justly », according to that of Job, the ninth: « Who can say: Why dost thou so »?

Since then etc. Here he shows the true cause why God showed mercy in the aforesaid manner of punishing, and this first by showing that God exercises justice in all things; secondly, that he nonetheless shows mercy: And because of this; thirdly, that to the unbelieving he sometimes shows power: Thy power etc.

(Vers. 15.). Since then thou art just, namely in thy nature, thou orderest all things justly, namely in the creature, namely « justly punishing the son¹² » in the present, so that p. 188 in the future thou mayest spare him; to the Hebrews, the twelfth: « He scourgeth every son whom he receiveth »; Tobias, the third: « Thou art just, O Lord, and all thy judgments are just »; likewise in the Psalm: « The judgments of the Lord are true, justified in themselves ». Him also who ought not to be punished, that is, to be corrected by temporal punishment, thou condemnest¹; the Gloss: With eternal punishment, sparing him in the present, so that in the future thou mayest punish; whence Ezechiel, the sixteenth: « My jealousy shall be taken away from me, and I will rest and be angry no more ». And thou esteemest it foreign to thy power; the Gloss²: « That is, alien to and unworthy of the divine piety ». For the power of God is piety, according to that saying of Gregory: « O God, whose property is always to have mercy and to spare »; therefore in the Psalm: « In thy power », that is, in thy piety, « judge me ». Or thus: and him who ought not to be punished, namely for ever, thou condemnest, namely according to the reckoning of the reprobate, because thou chastisest him in the present; and thou esteemest, that is, thou makest others esteem, such a one foreign, to be namely, to thy power, that is, alien to and unworthy of thy piety, as the friends of Job³ esteemed him unworthy of thy piety, because thou didst punish him so grievously.

(Vers. 16.). For thy power, that is, mercy. For the work of justice is said to be alien to God, Isaias, the twenty-eighth⁴, but the work of mercy proper to him. And this is because he has mercy on us out of his own goodness, but exercises justice upon us out of a cause of ours, namely on account of our fault. Power, I say, thy, that is, mercy, of justice, namely of ours, that is, of our justification, is the beginning, according to that of the Apostle to Titus, the third⁵: « Not by the works of justice which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us »; likewise to the Romans, the third: « Justified freely by his grace ». And because thou art Lord of all, namely through power, thou makest thyself to spare all, through mercy; whence the Gloss⁶: « That thou who art over all in power mayest grow mild in nature »; above, the eleventh: « Thou hast mercy upon all, because thou canst do all things ».

(Vers. 17.). For thou showest thy power, that is, power in punishing, thou who art not believed, namely by those who err, to be consummate in power, that is, perfect; Job, the twenty-second⁷: « They esteemed the Almighty as though he could do nothing ». And those who know thee not, namely the unbelievers, thou leadest forth in boldness, that is, thou boldly leadest them to punishment, and this by the merit of their iniquities, above, the fourth: « Their iniquities shall lead them forth from the opposite side ».

Thirdly is shown the instruction of the people of God in both.

But thou, being master etc. Having shown the punishing of the adversaries and the mercy of the judge in punishing, here he shows the instruction of the people of God in both, and first touches the example through which he instructs; secondly, the mercy concerning which he instructs: Thou hast taught; thirdly, the manner in which he instructs: For if the enemies; fourthly, the end on account of which he instructs: Therefore, whereas to us.

(Vers. 18.). But thou etc. I said well, that thou showest to the incorrigible thy power and might; but, for yet; thou, master of power etc.; this can be understood intransitively, so that the sense is: thou master of power, that is, powerful; or transitively thus: master of power, that is, Lord of all powers, namely as well angelic as human; in the Psalm⁸: « The Lord of powers, he is the king of glory ». Thou judgest with tranquillity, that is, without disturbance of understanding or of affection; James, the first: « With whom there is no change »; Isaias, the forty-second: « In truth he shall bring forth judgment; he shall not be sad nor troublesome ». And with much⁹ reverence, in effect, that is, with much moderation, thou disposest of us, not as that judge « who neither feared God nor reverenced man », Luke, the eighteenth. For to be able is at hand for thee, when thou wilt; behold the cause of the tranquillity in judging and of the reverence in disposing or in executing, namely because he is omnipotent; in the Psalm¹⁰: « Whatsoever he would, he hath done ».

But it is objected that according to the account of understanding power precedes will, not will power. He ought therefore to say: to will is at hand for thee when thou canst, not to be able when thou wilt.

It must be said that power precedes in being, but will in acting; whence he can do many things which he does not do, because he does not will¹¹.

p. 189(Vers. 19.). For thou hast taught¹ thy people; but others are not taught, whence Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-first: « He will not be taught who is not wise in good »; by such works, namely of justice and of mercy together. That one must be just, because thou art just, and humane, that is, mild, because man is by nature a mild animal; and this, because thou art merciful, not only just; whence in the Psalm²: « Mercy and judgment I will sing to thee, O Lord »; likewise: « The Lord is merciful and compassionate and just ». And if the Lord, then also the servant; whence Matthew, the eighteenth: « Oughtest not thou also to have had mercy on thy fellow servant, even as I had mercy on thee »? Ecclesiastes, the seventh: « Be not over just », namely so much that thou shut out mercy from thy justice; for the Samaritan poured into the wounded man not wine only, but oil also together. And thou hast made thy children to be of good hope, that is, thy faithful, who are thy children, of obtaining pardon; whence John, the first³: « He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name ». This is the good hope of which in the Psalm: « Hope in him, all the congregation of the people »; likewise: « In God hath my heart hoped, and I have been helped »; the first of Peter, the first: « Hope in that grace which is offered you ». Because judging, that is, punishing sinners, thou givest place of penance in sins, that is, to those who remain in sins, namely by waiting for them unto penance; Isaias, the thirtieth⁴: « Therefore the Lord waiteth, that he may have mercy on you ». The place of penance is this world; for after going out from this world there remains no place of penance; on account of which Ecclesiastes, the eleventh: « Wheresoever the tree shall fall, whether to the south or to the north, there it shall be ». Chrysostom⁵: « Then there will be no place of penance, nor time of making satisfaction, nor power of making restitution »; therefore Ecclesiastes, the ninth: « Whatsoever thy hand is able to do, do it earnestly: for neither work nor reason nor knowledge nor wisdom shall be in hell, whither thou art hastening ».

(Vers. 20.). For if the enemies of thy servants, as to sin against the neighbour, the servants, I say, to whom it is said in Luke, the tenth⁶: « He that heareth you heareth me, and he that despiseth you despiseth me »; and those due to death, as to sin against God, who is the life of souls, according to Augustine; due, I say, to death, according to that of the Romans, the first: « Not only they who do such things are worthy of death » etc. Thou didst torment with so great attention, namely not all at once, but by punishing by parts and successively, as is clear in the plagues of Egypt; and didst deliver⁷, namely them from these, namely from temporal torments, because, Moses praying, they were delivered from the several torments; something similar also befell among the Canaanites. Giving time and place, whereby they might be changed from their malice; time, namely the span of life, and place, namely the exile of this world; of the time, the Apocalypse, the second⁸: « I gave her a time that she might do penance »; of the place, Job, the twenty-fourth: « God hath given him place of penance, and he abuseth it unto pride ».

(Vers. 21.). With what diligence hast thou judged thy children etc., as if he should say: with much diligence and attention, according to what the Psalmist⁹ asked, saying: « Arise and attend to my judgment, my God and my Lord, unto my cause ». In figure of this it is read in Genesis, the third, that God, being about to judge the sin of Adam, walked etc. Thy children, namely the Saints, above, the fifth: « Behold how they are numbered among the children of God, and their lot is among the Saints ». Or: thy children, that is, thy faithful, according to that of John, the first¹⁰: « He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name ». To whose, namely the children's, parents, that is, the Patriarchs, as Abraham, Genesis, the fifteenth and the twenty-second; Isaac, Genesis, the twenty-sixth; Jacob, Genesis, the twenty-eighth; thou gavest oaths and covenants, that is, sworn covenants. Note that a covenant is a simple promise, but an oath a promise with the attestation of a sacred thing; to the Hebrews, the sixth¹¹: « That by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have the strongest comfort » etc. Of good promises, namely concerning the land of promise and concerning the blessing of the seed.

(Vers. 22.). Therefore etc., as if he should say: so beneficent art thou and merciful to adversaries; therefore, whereas thou givest us discipline, that is, corrective punishment, which p. 190 is not to be cast away, according to that of Proverbs, the third¹: « The discipline of the Lord, my son, cast not away », because it instructs; whence in the Psalm: « Thy discipline hath corrected me unto the end » etc. Our enemies, who namely hate us, although they are loved by us, according to what the Lord admonishes in Matthew, the fifth²: « Love your enemies »; thou scourgest in many ways, namely inwardly and outwardly, according to that of the Psalm: « Many are the scourges of the sinner »; the Gloss: « Great is the distance between the judgment of the elect and of the reprobate; for those he chastises, that he may amend them; these pay the punishments of pride and of perfidy ». That we may think on thy goodness, namely in the present, when we judge, namely others, whom we see scourged by thee; the Gloss³: « Happy the judge who ever looks upon the goodness and piety of his own judge », namely so that, the piety of God judging being looked upon, he may learn to have piety when he judges others; in the Psalm: « How good is God to Israel, to them that are of a right heart »; Nahum, the first: « The Lord is good and strengthening in the day of tribulation and knowing them that hope in him ». And when we are judged, namely through the sending of present tribulations, we may hope for thy mercy, namely in the future, namely the reward of eternal life; James, the first⁴: « Esteem it all joy, brethren, when you shall fall into divers temptations » etc.; to the Romans, the fifth: « Glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience hope » etc.

Fourthly, on the condemnation of the incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt, six things are touched.

Wherefore also to them. Here is touched the condemnation of the incorrigible adversaries on account of contempt of both, namely of the divine justice and mercy; and first is touched the scourge by which they ought to have been corrected; secondly, the fittingness of the scourge: For verily etc.; thirdly, the incorrigibility of those scourged: But they who etc.; fourthly, the manifestation of the incorrigibility: For in those things⁵; fifthly, the reason on account of which they ought to have been corrected: By those things which they thought; sixthly, the destruction (exterminatio) of the condemnation, because they were not corrected, there: For which cause etc.

(Vers. 23.). Wherefore etc., as if he should say: so thou givest discipline to thine own; wherefore, namely by the opposite; also, for even; to them who in their life have lived senselessly and unjustly, as to error in faith; or: in their life, that is, in which they lived to themselves, not to God; and unjustly, as to error in morals; by the things which they worshipped, namely by brute animals; thou gavest the highest, that is, very great, torments, as through frogs and flies and locusts and wasps and things of this kind⁶. By these etc.; namely in genus, and without number or species.

(Vers. 24.). For verily they went astray, not for a short time, but for a long time, which aggravates their sin, because, as Gregory says⁷, « sins are so much the worse, the longer they hold the unhappy soul bound ». In the way of error, that is, of unbelief, which by antonomasia is called error. Of this way it is said in Proverbs, the sixteenth: « There is a way that seemeth to a man right, and the ends thereof lead to death ». Holding for gods those things which among animals are superfluous, that is, animals sculptured by art, not natural ones. But artificial animals are called superfluous, because useless; but all natural ones have some usefulness, as Damascene says⁸. Holding for gods etc.; to the Romans, the first: « They changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of a corruptible man »; likewise in the Psalm: « They changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass ». Note that he does not say into a calf, but into the likeness of a calf, which is less and counts for worse. Living after the manner of senseless infants, as to sins in morals; the first to the Corinthians, the fourteenth⁹: « Do not become children in sense »; likewise the first of Peter, the second: « As newborn infants, rational », not senseless. But in this manner of senseless infants they lived, because they made and adored images, like children, as Ismael is read in Genesis, the twenty-first, to have played with Isaac, compelling him to adore images of clay, as the Hebrews say p. 191

(Vers. 25.). Therefore thou hast given a judgment, as to senseless children, in mockery, that is, a punishment in which they were mocked, because they were afflicted through frogs and flies and small and contemptible animals of this kind, not through greater and noble ones, as through lions and bears, as is clear from the seventh of Exodus to the twelfth.

(Vers. 26.). But they who by mockeries and reproofs, that is, by reproofs full of mockery, were not corrected, namely from unbelief and perverse conversation; experienced the worthy judgment of God, namely of condemnation and death. From this he seems to intimate that some were corrected amid the scourges; whence also some of the Egyptians went with the Israelites, as is clear in Exodus, the twelfth¹; and the Gabaonites were joined in league with them, as is clear in Josue, the ninth. For in those things etc., as if he should say: and deservedly; for in those things which they suffered, namely in the divine scourges, they took it grievously², bearing it impatiently. For in the things wherein suffering, that is, sustaining, so that patientes are said from passio (suffering), not from patientia (patience); they had indignation, namely by murmuring against God; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-third³: « The inward parts of a fool are as the wheel of a cart ». By those things which they thought gods, namely brute animals; in them, that is, through them, when they were destroyed, that is, were punished; Baruch, the third: « They are destroyed and are gone down to hell »; seeing him, that is, God, weighing him as by a sensible experience; for in himself he cannot be seen; the first of John, the fourth⁴: « No man hath seen God at any time ». Whom of old, namely in prosperity, they denied that they knew, according to that of Exodus, the fifth: « I know not the Lord, and I will not let Israel go ». The true God, to be, supply; they acknowledged, by a credulity not voluntary, but extorted through punishments; such is the faith of demons; James, the second⁵: « The demons believe » etc.; Isaias, the twenty-sixth: « Lord, in distress they have sought after thee ». « For the eyes which fault closes, punishment opens », as Gregory says. The letter is to be construed thus: Seeing, namely the Egyptians and Canaanites, him whom of old they denied that they knew, they acknowledged the true God, to be, supply; they acknowledged, I say, by those things which they thought gods, that is, by brute animals; and this was when they were destroyed in them. For which cause, namely, because they acknowledged God, yet did not glorify him, according to that of the Romans, the first⁶: « Who, when they had known God, have not glorified him as God » etc.; the end also of their condemnation, that is, their final condemnation, of which Matthew, the twenty-fifth: « Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire ». The beginning of condemnation is in the separation of the soul from the body; the middle, in the torment of the separated soul; but the end, in the resurrection, when it will be tormented in hell with the body resumed; the end, I say, of the condemnation of those who would not be corrected in the present; shall come⁷ etc.; Gregory: « Those whom scourges do not correct in the present, they pass on to the things to come »; upon them, because from heaven unto their oppression, so that they cannot resist, as if overwhelmed or oppressed; in the Psalm: « He shall rain snares upon sinners, fire and brimstone » etc.

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