Bonaventure

Capitulum XIV.

Secundo agitur de detestatione idolorum quadrupliciter.

Iterum alius navigare etc. Postquam multiplices idololatrantium errores descripsit, hic tangit idolorum detestationem, et primo, ex inutilitate ipsorum idolorum; secundo, ex offensa Creatoris: Similiter autem odio sunt; tertio, ex novitate et modo adinventionis: Non⁵ enim erant etc.; quarto, ex effectu humanae corruptionis: Et non suffecerat errasse.

Primo detestatur idola ob inutilitatem ipsorum.

Inutilitatem autem idolorum ostendit in parte prima exemplo navigantium in mari, a quibus invocata subvenire eis non possunt. Hanc autem impotentiam ostendit esse detestandam, primo ex fragilitate idoli non valentis; secundo, ex Dei potentia etiam sine nave salvantis: Tua autem etc.; tertio, ex utilitate ipsius navis: Sed ut non essent; quarto, exemplo arcae Noe genus humanum conservantis: Sed et ab initio.

(Vers. 1.). Dicit ergo: Iterum alius etc., quasi dicat: non solum inutiliter petunt homines ab idolis adiutorium in terra, sed iterum, in aqua, quia alius, scilicet homo, navigare cogitans, scilicet proposito, et per feros fluctus, id est periculosos; unde in Psalmo⁶: « Mirabiles elationes maris »; item Ecclesiastici quadragesimo tertio: « Qui navigant mare enarrent pericula eius ». Iter facere incipiens, scilicet propositi exsecutione, ligno portante se, fragilius lignum invocat; invocat, scilicet in auxilium, lignum, scilicet idolum, fragilius ligno portante se, id est navi.

(Vers. 2.). Illud enim, scilicet lignum idoli, cupiditas acquirendi excogitavit; unde ad Ephesios quinto⁷ dicitur « avaritia idolorum servitus ». Et artifex sapientia fabricavit sua; sua, inquit, quasi dicat: non divina, « sed terrena, animali, diabolica », Iacobi tertio; Isaiae quadragesimo quinto: « Abierunt in confusionem fabricatores errorum »; et Iob decimo tertio: « Ostendens vos fabricatores mendacii »; Glossa: « Cum maior sit qui fecit, quam quod fit, facturam suam adorare insanire est ».

(Vers. 3.). Tua autem, Pater, quasi dicat: ita invocant illi idolum in regimine itineris; autem, pro sed; tua, Pater, creatione; Isaiae sexagesimo quarto⁸: « Et nunc, Domine, pater noster es tu, nos vero lutum » etc.; item provisione; unde Matthaei sexto: « Pater noster etc., panem nostrum » etc. Gubernas, omnia scilicet, providentia, quae, secundum Damascenum⁹, « est cura Dei ad res »; de qua Iudith nono: « Iudicia tua in tua providentia posuisti ».

Ex dictis patet, quod in mundo nihil agitur a casu et fortuna, quia, sicut dicit Plato¹⁰, « nihil est, cuius ortum non praecesserit legitima causa ». Mundum vero administrari providentia, probat Tullius in Rhetorica sic: « Melius administrantur quae fiunt a providentia, quam quae a casu; sed mundus optime administratur: ergo » etc.

Quoniam etc., quasi dicat: hoc patet, quod omnia providentia gubernas; quoniam dedisti, scilicet filiis Israel, in¹¹ mari viam, educendo eos de p. 197 Aegypto per medium sicci maris, ut patet Exodi decimo quarto; et inter fluctus, scilicet fluminis Iordanis, semitam firmissimam, Iosue tertio. De utroque vero dicitur in Psalmo: « In mari via tua, et semitae tuae in aquis multis »; Glossa: « Israelitas per mare rubrum sicco vestigio traduxit divina potentia et Iordanis aquas divisit ».

(Vers. 4.). Ostendens, scilicet per hoc, quoniam potens es ex omnibus, scilicet periculis et casibus, sanare¹, vel melius secundum aliam litteram, salvare, etiam si sine rate, id est navi, quis adeat mare; Isaiae quadragesimo tertio: « Cum transieris per aquas, tecum ero, et flumina non operient te »; unde « Petrum ambulantem in fluctibus, ne mergeretur, erexit », ut patet Matthaei decimo quarto; « Paulum tertio naufragantem de profundo pelagi liberavit », ut patet secundae ad Corinthios undecimo.

(Vers. 5.). Sed ut non essent vacua, immo necessaria usui humano, opera sapientiae tuae, id est per tuam sapientiam adinventa; in Psalmo²: « Omnia in sapientia fecisti ». Propter hoc etiam exiguo ligno, scilicet modicae navi, credunt homines animas suas, id est vitam suam corporalem; et transeuntes mare, in quo tamen sunt innumerabilia pericula, per ratem liberati sunt; Glossa: « Creator dedit creaturae suae scientiam, qua sibi in praesenti consuleret et eius voluntati deserviret ».

Allegorice exiguum lignum potest dici crux Christi propter eius abiectionem et vilitatem; primae ad Corinthios primo³: « Praedicamus Christum crucifixum, Iudaeis quidem scandalum, gentibus vero stultitiam ». Huic credunt homines animas suas, scilicet in Christum crucifixum credendo et creditum adorando. Et sic transeuntes mare, huius mundi, scilicet crucis virtute et imitatione, per ratem liberantur et perveniunt ad portum salutis aeternae. Unde Damascenus⁴: « Crux est dormientium resurrectio, infirmorum baculus, pastorum virga, convertentium auxilium, proficientium perfectio, animae salus et corporis, omnium malorum aversio, omnium bonorum doctrix, peccati destructio, arbor resurrectionis, lignum vitae aeternae ». In his autem verbis: Exiguo etc., primo innuitur crucis humilitas, cum dicitur: Exiguo ligno; secundo, eius veneratio et dignitas, cum dicitur: Credunt homines animas suas, homines scilicet rationales, ut beatus Andreas⁵ dicens: « Suscipe me ab hominibus »; tertio, necessitas, cum dicitur: Et transeuntes mare, scilicet huius mundi, de quo in Psalmo: « Hoc mare magnum » etc.; quarto, eius virtus et utilitas, cum dicitur: Per ratem liberati sunt; primae ad Corinthios primo: « Praedicamus Christum » etc.; item: « Verbum crucis pereuntibus etc., nobis autem » etc.

Sed et ab initio. Hic utilitas arcae Noe primo ostenditur; secundo ipsa laudatur, ibi: Benedictum enim est lignum etc.; tertio idolum et eius artifex vituperatur: Per manus autem etc.

(Vers. 6.). Sed et ab initio etc., quasi dicat: non tantum liberat a periculo maris, sed etiam a diluvio, et hoc est quod dicit: Sed et ab initio, scilicet in principio secundae aetatis, scilicet tempore Noe, Genesis sexto⁶. Cum perirent, scilicet in diluvio, superbi gigantes, de quibus habetur Genesis sexto; spes orbis terrarum, scilicet futuri; Glossa: « Seminarium generis humani », scilicet octo personae, de quibus dicitur primae Petri tertio: « In qua paucae animae salvae factae sunt per aquam »; ad ratem confugiens, « id est arcam » ad modum ratis factam, quia maior fuit longitudo latitudine, Genesis sexto⁷; remisit saeculo, scilicet futuro post diluvium, semen nativitatis, scilicet tam hominum quam animalium, ut patet Genesis sexto. Quae, scilicet arca, manu tua; Glossa: « Potentia, vel Filio », secundum illud Psalmi: « Emitte manum tuam de alto » etc.; erat gubernata, quia nullum gubernatorem habuit nisi Deum vel Angelum eius, cum omnes homines extra existentes essent mortui, existentes intra essent clausi.

(Vers. 7.). Benedictum enim est lignum, scilicet arcae Noe, per quod fit iustitia, scilicet liberationis iustorum, malis submersis, quod fuit iustum. De hoc ligno supra decimo⁸: « Cum aqua deleret terram, sanavit iterum sapientia, per contemptibile lignum iustum gubernans ».

Hoc autem lignum allegorice potest dici lignum crucis, de quo dicitur primae Petri secundo⁹: p. 198 « Peccata nostra pertulit in corpore suo super lignum ». Per illud lignum facta est iustitia, quia « unicuique redditum est quod suum erat ». Nam per illud lignum destructum est peccatum, secundum illud quod cantat Ecclesia¹: « Mors mortua tunc est, quando in ligno mortua vita fuit »; Osee decimo tertio: « O mors, ero mors tua » etc. Item, per ipsum est diabolus victus, secundum illud Gregorii: « Qui per lignum vincebat per lignum quoque vinceretur ». Item, per ipsum est homo reconciliatus; ad Colossenses secundo²: « Delens chirographum decreti, quod erat contrarium nobis, affigens illud cruci »; item ad Colossenses primo: « Pacificans per sanguinem crucis ». Item, infernus spoliatus; ad Colossenses secundo: « Spolians principatus et potestates » etc. Item, caelum apertum; unde latroni dictum est: « Hodie mecum eris in paradiso », Lucae vigesimo tertio³; Isaiae vigesimo secundo: « Dabo clavem domus David ». Item, Christus exaltatus; unde ad Philippenses secundo: « Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum » etc. Haec fuit virga Assueri in signum clementiae homini ostensa vel porrecta, Esther decimo quinto.

(Vers. 8.). Et bene dixi, benedictum esse lignum, secundum quod fit iustitia; autem, pro sed; idolum, quod fit per manus, scilicet artificum, maledictum est, et ipsum, scilicet idolum, et qui fecit illud, scilicet artifex.

Sed idolum, cum sit res inanimata, quomodo maledicitur? Quia ista maledictio aut intelligitur ratione culpae, quae in idolum non cadit, aut ratione poenae, quae ratione culpae infligi habet.

Dicendum, quod in idolo est considerare duo, scilicet spiritum praesidentem et figuram ligni. Ipse malignus spiritus maledictus est maledictione culpae et poenae; sed lignum, maledictione detestationis et infamiae, quasi cuiusdam poenae, non quia sit subiectum culpae, ratione cuius habet infligi poena, sed quia materia vel occasio culpae. Unde Glossa⁴: « Diabolus enim inde punietur, quod sibi honorem divinum usurpat; et homo, qui pro Creatore creaturam honorat ».

Quia ille quidem operatus est, scilicet idolum, unde merito maledictus est; Isaiae quadragesimo quarto⁵: « Ecce, omnes participes eius confundentur ». Illud autem, scilicet idolum, cum esset fragile, quia de fragili materia; deus cognominatus est, scilicet sola nuncupatione, non rei veritate; propter quod merito maledicitur.

Secundo detestatur idola propter offensam Creatoris.

Similiter autem etc. Hic tangit secundam causam detestationis idolorum, sumtam ex parte offensae Creatoris; et primo tangit signum offensae, scilicet idolum, et idololatrantis poenam; secundo, poenae irremissibilitatem: Propter hoc etc.; tertio, causam a parte idoli: Quoniam creaturae; quarto, causam a parte idololatrantis: Initium enim etc.

(Vers. 9.). Bene dixi, quod utrumque maledictum etc.; autem, pro quia; similiter odio sunt Deo impius, scilicet idololatra, quia abnegat pietatem divini cultus, et impietas eius, id est materia impietatis eius, scilicet idolum, id est daemon praesidens idolo; Ecclesiastici duodecimo⁶: « Altissimus habet odio peccatores ». Et notandum, quod odium Dei non notat vel sonat affectum in ipso, sed effectum in eo quem odit.

(Vers. 10.). Etenim quod factum est, scilicet idolum, cum illo qui fecit, id est cum artifice idololatra, tormenta patietur.

De idololatra planum est; sed de idolo, quomodo verum esse potest, scilicet quod tormentum patiatur, cum sit res inanimata?

Dicendum, quod de idolo loquitur ratione maligni spiritus in eo praesidentis, non ex parte figurae vel materiae ipsius idoli.

Sed contra: Idololatra non facit spiritum malignum praesidentem.

Dicendum, quod licet non faciat ipsum in se, facit tamen, quod in idolo praesideat; sicut Deum dicimur exaltare et magnificare, non in se, sed in nobis; in Psalmo⁷: « Magnificate Dominum mecum » etc. Utrumque ergo punietur; Ecclesiastici decimo quarto: « Omne opus corruptibile in fine deficiet, et qui operatur illud ibit cum illo »; et vigesimo septimo: « Conteretur cum delinquente delictum ».

(Vers. 11.). Propter hoc, scilicet quia Deo sunt odio, et, id est etiam, in idolis nationum, id est in daemonibus praesidentibus in idolis gentilium, de quibus in Psalmo⁸: « Omnes dii gentium daemonia » etc.; non erit respectus, scilicet clementiae; quod est contra Origenem, qui dixit, Christum pro daemonibus in aëre in fine passurum, et sic eos fore salvandos; contra quod dicitur hic et in Ecclesiastici trigesimo nono⁹: « Sunt spiritus, qui ad vindictam creati sunt, et in furore suo confirmaverunt tormenta sua ». Quoniam etc.; et merito, quoniam p. 199 creaturae Dei, id est a Deo factae, sicut aurum et argentum; unde Osee secundo¹: « Argentum et aurum multiplicavi eis » etc.; factae sunt in odium, scilicet irascibilis, ut Deum scilicet odiant homines, sicut daemones, de quibus in Psalmo: « Superbia eorum qui te oderunt, ascendit semper ». Et in tentationem animae² hominum, id est concupiscibilis, ut scilicet subderent se homines quibuscumque potestatibus libere secundum voluntatem vel suggestionem deorum suorum. Et in muscipulam, id est deceptionem rationalis, et dicitur muscipula instrumentum, quo mures capiuntur: pedibus, scilicet interioribus id est animae, non exterioribus, scilicet corporis; insipientium, id est infidelium; Iob decimo octavo³: « Abscondita est in terra pedica eius »; item Ieremiae quinto: « Inventi sunt in populo meo viri impii insidiantes quasi aucupes, laqueos ponentes et pedicas ad capiendos viros ».

(Vers. 12.). Initium enim etc. Bene dixi, quod creaturae Dei etc.; initium enim fornicationis, scilicet spiritualis, quae est recedendo a Deo, est etc.; unde Glossa⁴: « Pessimum genus fornicationis est, quo anima recedit a Deo et fornicatur cum idolis »; unde Ieremiae tertio: « Moechata est cum ligno et lapide ». Tales perduntur sive destruuntur a Deo, secundum illud Psalmi: « Perdidisti omnes, qui fornicantur abs te ». Initium enim, inquam, fornicationis, praedictae, est exquisitio idolorum.

Sed contra: Ecclesiastici decimo⁵: « Initium omnis peccati superbia ».

Respondeo: Non loquitur hic de fornicatione, quae est per quemcumque recessum a Deo, sicut est in quolibet peccato mortali, sed de illa qua recedit a Deo perfecto recessu, scilicet usque ad subversionem fidei, quae est fundamentum totius spiritualis aedificii; ad Hebraeos undecimo⁶: « Fides est sperandarum substantia rerum » etc.; item primae ad Corinthios tertio: « Fundamentum aliud nemo potest ponere » etc.

Et adinventio illorum corruptio vitae est, scilicet quoad mores; ad Romanos primo⁷: « Propter quod tradidit illos Deus in desideria cordis sui, in immunditiam »; in Psalmo: « Da illis secundum opera eorum et secundum nequitiam adinventionum ipsorum ».

Tertio detestatur idola propter novitatem et modum inventionis.

Non⁸ enim erant. Hic tangitur tertia ratio detestationis illorum idolorum, scilicet ex novitate et modo suae adinventionis. Huius adinventionis et culturae tangit plures causas: primo, hominum curiosam otiositatem; secundo, parentum ad filios defunctos affectionem: Acerbo enim; tertio, tyrannorum timorem: Deinde etc.; quarto, principum reverentiam et honorem: Hos quos; quinto, artificum diligentiam et sollicitudinem: Provexit autem etc.; sexto ponit causarum principalium recapitulationem: Et haec fuit vitae.

(Vers. 13.). Bene dixi: Exquisitio idolorum et adinventio etc.; non enim erant a principio, scilicet idola, quod patet, quia non sunt Creator; unde Ieremiae decimo⁹: « Dii, qui caelum et terram non fecerunt, pereant de terra »; nec etiam creatura, quia omnis creatura a Deo est, sed idola non sunt a Deo, sed sunt hominum fictio; propter quod dicitur primae ad Corinthios octavo: « Idolum nihil est in mundo », scilicet quantum ad esse divinum, quod illi creditur esse ab idololatris. Neque erunt in perpetuum, immo destruentur, conversis hominibus ad cultum unius Dei; Isaiae decimo nono¹⁰: « Ascendet Dominus super nubem levem et ingredietur Aegyptum, et commovebuntur simulacra Aegypti a facie eius ».

(Vers. 14.). Supervacuitas enim, id est otiositas, hominum haec¹¹ adinvenit etc.; Ecclesiastici trigesimo tertio: « Multam malitiam docuit otiositas », scilicet otiosos, qui laborare nolebant ad quaerendum unum verum Deum et digne colendum; in orbem terrarum, in caelo enim nullus error talis unquam fuit. Et ideo, scilicet quia non semper fuerunt, brevis illorum finis inventus est, scilicet apud sapientes. Cito enim deserti sunt a filiis Israel tempore Moysi et a populo christiano tempore Christi vel novae legis; Ieremiae decimo¹²: « Confusus est omnis artifex in sculptili; vana sunt opera et risu digna, in tempore visitationis suae peribunt ».

(Vers. 15.). Acerbo enim luctu dolens pater, scilicet de morte filii, sicut David doluit de morte Absalom, secundi Regum decimo octavo¹³, vel de p. 200 morte pueri, quem primo habuit de Bethsabee, secundi Regum duodecimo, cito sibi rapti filii, id est violentia mortis praerepti; fecit imaginem; Glossa: « Homines defunctorum amicorum simulacra sibi finxerunt, quorum contemplatione aliquod habuerunt solatium ». Et illum qui tunc, scilicet de recenti, quasi homo mortuus fuerat, cuius proprietas est esse mortalem, secundum illud secundi Regum decimo quarto¹: « Omnes morimur » etc.; nunc, id est paulo post, quod est inexcusabilius, tanquam Deum colere coepit; Glossa: « Progressique longius, per amorem defunctorum memoriam colere coeperunt ». Et constituit inter servos suos, sibi timore obedientes, non ratione; sacra, scilicet thurificationes et laudes, et sacrificia, scilicet animalium immolationes. Primus autem — ut dicit Isidorus super illud Lucae undecimo²: « In Beelzebub, principe daemoniorum » etc. — Ninus, rex Assyriorum, Beli patris sui mortui fecit imaginem, quam tanta veneratione honoravit, ut etiam reis ad ipsam confugientibus parceret; propter quod homines imperiti statuam Beli ut Deum colere coeperunt et statuas multiplicare. Quorum quidam illud idolum vocabant Bel, quidam Baal, quidam Baalim, quidam Beelzebub.

(Vers. 16.). Deinde interveniente tempore, id est mora temporis, convalescente iniqua consuetudine, quae potius exstirpanda est quam tenenda, quia diuturnitas temporis non diminuit peccatum, sed potius auget; hic error, scilicet colendi idola, tanquam lex, sub praecepto scilicet, custoditus est; Ieremiae decimo³: « Leges populorum vanae sunt »; item Isaiae decimo: « Vae, qui condunt leges iniquas »! Et tyrannorum imperio, id est malorum principum, colebantur figmenta; unde Antiochus compellebat Iudaeos ad cultum gentium, primi Machabaeorum primo; et Nabuchodonosor cogebat statuam suam adorare, Danielis tertio.

(Vers. 17.). Hos⁴ quos in palam homines honorare non poterant, id est in praesentia eorum, propter hoc, scilicet, quod longe essent, e longinquo, scilicet loco, figura eorum allata, scilicet in pictura, evidentem imaginem, scilicet sculptam imaginem, dico, regis, quem honorare volebant, fecerunt, scilicet tribuentes divinum honorem hominibus. Cicero⁵: « Suscepit autem vita hominum consuetudoque communis, ut beneficiis excellentes viros in caelum fama et voluntate attollerent ». Ut illum, scilicet regem, qui aberat, id est, absens erat, tamen vivens, tanquam praesentem colerent sua sollicitudine. Glossa⁶: « Propter hominum stultitiam et pravitatem, qui agrestem vitam sine ullo rectore vivebant, ipsum regem totamque gentem summis laudibus extulerunt, ita ut etiam deos appellarent vel pro insigni virtute, vel pro beneficiis, vel pro adulatione ». Hos quos etc. Littera sic est construenda: Homines fecerunt evidentem imaginem, quam honorare volebant, allata de longinquo figura illorum; hos quos in palam, id est praesentialiter, honorare non poterant, propter hoc, supple, quod longe essent; fecerunt, inquam, ut illum, qui aberat etc.

(Vers. 18.). Provexit autem ad horum, scilicet idolorum, culturam, et, id est etiam, hos qui ignorabant, id est ignorantes et rudes, eximia, id est maxima, artificis diligentia; artificis, inquam, diligenter et curiose idolum fabricantis et illud decorantis, secundum illud Ieremiae decimo⁷: « Argento et auro decoravit illud »; item Isaiae quadragesimo quarto: « Fecit imaginem viri quasi speciosum hominem habitantem in domo ».

(Vers. 19.). Ille enim, artifex, volens placere illi qui se assumsit, id est, conduxit, scilicet ad faciendum idolum; haec est mala placentia, de qua in Psalmo⁸: « Deus dissipavit ossa eorum qui hominibus placent »; item ad Galatas primo: « Si hominibus placerem, Christi servus non essem ». Elaboravit arte sua, ut similitudinem, id est imaginem, in melius figuraret, id est meliori modo, quo posset; Isaiae quadragesimo quarto⁹: « Faber ferrarius lima operatus est »; Baruch sexto: « Sicut virgini amanti ornamenta, ita accepto auro fabricati sunt ».

(Vers. 20.). Multitudo autem hominum, scilicet stultorum; Ecclesiastae primo¹⁰: « Stultorum infinitus est numerus »; abducta, scilicet a veritate, per speciem operis, id est pulcritudinem; Proverbiorum ultimo: « Fallax gratia, et vana est pulcritudo »; Danielis decimo tertio: « Species decepit te »; eum qui ante tempus, supple: modicum, tanquam homo honoratus fuerat, scilicet honore duliae; nunc Deum aestimaverunt, honorantes eum honore latriae.

p. 201(Vers. 21.). Et haec fuit vitae humanae deceptio, id est causa deceptionis, causa, inquam, duplex, quasi duplex porta mortis, scilicet amor et timor, secundum Glossam super illud Psalmi¹: « Incensa igni et suffossa » etc. Quoniam autem affectui, scilicet proprio in honoratione amicorum, aut regibus, in veneratione potentum; Glossa²: « Sic per populos et regiones », scilicet prae adulatione, vel prae timore, « varia sacra suscepta sunt, dum homines grati esse in suos principes cupiunt »; deservientes, id est devote servientes, homines, contra illud primae ad Corinthios septimo³: « Nolite effici servi hominum ». Incommunicabile nomen; Glossa: « Dei omnipotentis », quia scilicet forma, a qua impositum est nomen illud Deus, incommunicabilis est creaturis, communicabilis tamen est personis divinis; lapidibus et lignis imposuerunt, contra illud praeceptum, Exodi vigesimo⁴: « Non assumes nomen Dei tui in vanum ».

Sed contra: Exodi septimo⁵: « Ecce, constitui te deum Pharaonis »; item in Psalmo⁶: « Ego dixi: dii estis » etc.: ergo nomen Dei est communicabile creaturis.

Dicendum, quod Deus tripliciter dicitur: natura, adoptione, nuncupatione. Primo modo est incommunicabile; secundo et tertio modo non⁷.

Sed contra: Quia Christo homini communicatum est nomen divinum; unde ad Philippenses secundo⁸: « Dedit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen ».

Sed dicendum, quod non est communicatum non habenti prius, sed aliter quam prius, quia hoc nomen personae convenit, non naturae, scilicet humanae, sed tamen habenti naturam humanam.

Ad illud quod obiicitur: Dedit illi nomen etc.; dicendum, quod datio ibi accipitur pro manifestatione. Vel: dedit illi in natura humana, qui prius habebat in divina⁹.

Quarto detestatur idola ob effectum humanae corruptionis duplicem.

Et non suffecerat. Hic tangitur ultima causa detestationis idolorum, sumta ab effectu humanae corruptionis; et primo tangitur in idololatris excaecatio mentis; secundo, corruptio operis: Aut enim filios; tertio, rationabilitas excaecationis et corruptionis: Et omnia; quarto, causa utriusque: Infandorum enim.

(Vers. 22.). Dicit ergo: Et non suffecerat errasse eos; Glossa¹⁰: « Cum falsa religione omnibus vitiis se subdiderunt »; errasse, inquam, scilicet circa Dei scientiam, id est fidem; supra decimo tertio: « Vani sunt omnes homines, in quibus non subest scientia Dei ». Sed et in magno viventes inscientiae, id est infidelitatis, bello, per quam scilicet infidelitatem adversus Deum bellant; unde Iob vigesimo quarto¹¹: « Ipsi fuerunt rebelles lumini ». Tot, scilicet quoad numerum, et tam magna, quantum ad intensionem, vel quantum ad durationis quantitatem; mala, quantum ad deformitatem; tot, inquam, et tam magna mala, in quibus scilicet vivunt, pacem appellant, secundum illud Iob trigesimo¹²: « Et esse sub sentibus delicias computabant »; Ieremiae sexto: « Dicentes: pax, pax; et non erat pax »; Glossa: « Sub regno diaboli diversis vitiis subiecti veram pacem habere non poterant ».

Aut enim etc. Hic enumerat mala, quibus opere sunt corrupti: primo, malum specialiter commissum in Deum; secundo, specialiter commissum in se et in proximum: Neque vitam.

(Vers. 23.). Dicit ergo: Aut enim filios suos sacrificantes, secundum illud Psalmi¹³: « Et immolaverunt filios suos et filias suas daemoniis »; Ezechielis decimo sexto: « Nunquid parva est fornicatio tua? Immolasti filios meos et dedisti, illos consecrans eis », quia, sicut dicit Glossa, « in sacris Saturni propter odium Iovis sine respectu pietatis suos parvulos immolabant ». Aut obscura sacrificia facientes, obscura, id est nocturna, sicut fiebat, secundum Glossam¹⁴, « in sacris Isidis Aegyptiae et Cereris, quae sacra ardentium taedarum iactatione celebrabantur ». Aut insaniae plenas vigilias habentes, in sacris enim Bacchi et Cybeles, matris deorum, « ad exemplum deorum, qui in festivitate satiati noctem totam lusibus ducebant, ipsi ludebant », ut ait p. 202 Glossa¹. Contra hoc dicitur in Psalmo: « Beatus vir, cuius est nomen Domini spes eius, et non respexit in vanitates et insanias falsas ».

(Vers. 24.). Neque vitam, scilicet propriam, mundam, quia « tradidit illos Deus in immunditiam », ad Romanos primo²; neque nuptias mundas iam custodiunt, contra quod ad Hebraeos decimo tertio: « Honorabile connubium, et torus immaculatus »; iam custodiunt etc.; « quia, sicut dicit Glossa, per libidinem et immunditiam diis suis placere putabant », et quanto quis sceleratior erat, tanto magis deo suo placere putabat. Sed et³ alius alium occidit per invidiam, scilicet in persona sua, ut Cain Abel, Genesis quarto; et Iudaei Christum, Matthaei vigesimo septimo. Aut adulterans contristat, scilicet in persona sibi coniuncta; contristat dicit, quia magna causa tristitiae est violatio tori coniugalis; unde et secundum leges civiles data est viro licentia occidendi adulterum et adulteram in ipso actu adulterii inventos⁴.

Et omnia, scilicet vitia, commixta sunt; unde Osee quarto⁵: « Maledictum et mendacium et homicidium et furtum et adulterium inundaverunt ».

Sanguis. Hic tangit primo quaedam peccata spiritualia; secundo, quaedam carnalia: Animarum etc. — In prima primo quaedam mala operis; secundo, quaedam mala cordis: Corruptio; tertio, quaedam mala locutionis: Et periurium. — Mala operis tangit quatuor, scilicet vulnerationem, cum dicit: Sanguis; occisionem, cum dicit: Homicidium; furtum, cum dicit: Furtum; fraudem, cum dicit: Et fictio.

(Vers. 25.). Bene dixi: Et omnia commixta sunt, scilicet, sanguis, mutua vulneratione; unde Isaiae primo⁶: « Manus vestrae plenae sanguine sunt »; item Osee quarto: « Sanguis sanguinem tetigit ». Homicidium; unde Michaeae septimo: « Vir fratrem suum venatur ad mortem ». Furtum, Isaiae primo: « Principes tui infideles, socii furum »; in Psalmo: « Si videbas furem, currebas cum eo ». Et fictio, id est dolus; « Dolus enim est, cum aliud agitur, et aliud praetenditur, vel simulatur⁷ ».

Corruptio. Hic tangit peccata cordis, scilicet concupiscibilis potentiae; in Psalmo⁸: « Corrupti sunt et abominabiles facti sunt » etc. Et infidelitas, scilicet rationalis; unde Ieremiae septimo: « Periit fides et ablata est de ore eorum ». Turbatio, scilicet potentiae irascibilis; unde Isaiae quinquagesimo septimo: « Non est pax impiis, dicit Dominus ». Haec sunt tria mala cordis.

Deinde tangit tria mala locutionis dicens: Et periurium, scilicet vel assertorium, sicut est in falsis attestationibus, vel promissorium, ut in falsis promissionibus, contra quod dicitur Levitici decimo nono⁹: « Non periurabis ». Tumultus, scilicet in contentionibus et discordiis; unde Isaiae tertio: « Tumultuabitur puer contra senem ».

(Vers. 26.). Et bonorum Dei immemoratio¹⁰, id est ingratitudo, quia non laudant Deum de beneficiis suis; unde Lucae decimo septimo: « Non est inventus qui rediret et daret gloriam Deo » etc.; in Psalmo: « Oblivioni datus sum tanquam mortuus a corde ». Haec sunt tria mala locutionis: primum in Deum et proximum; secundum in proximum; tertium in Deum, scilicet omittendo.

Animarum inquinatio etc. Hic tangit peccata carnalia, primo, peccata libidinis interioris; secundo, commixtionis innaturalis, ibi: Nativitatis etc.; tertio, bigamiae: Nuptiarum etc.; quarto, adulterii: Inordinatio etc.; quinto, fornicationis: Et impudicitiae etc. — Dicit ergo: Animarum inquinatio, scilicet per internam libidinem; unde Matthaei quinto¹¹: « Iam moechatus est in corde suo »; Ieremiae quarto: « Lava a malitia cor tuum, Ierusalem » etc.; ad Titum primo: « Coinquinatae sunt illorum et mens et conscientia ». Nativitatis immutatio, id est naturae sive usus naturalis; ad Romanos primo: « Feminae eorum immutaverunt naturalem usum » etc. Nuptiarum inconstantia, scilicet uxores pro voluntate accipiendo et repudiando, cum tamen deberent esse « duo in carne una », Genesis secundo¹²; item Matthaei decimo nono: « Quod Deus coniunxit homo non separet ». Inordinatio moechiae, id est adulterii, contra ordinem matrimonii, contra quod Exodi vigesimo: « Non moechaberis ». Et impudicitiae, id est fornicationis, contra quod ad Romanos decimo tertio: « Non in cubilibus et impudicitiis ».

p. 203Infandorum etc. Hic ostenditur, quod idololatria est causa huius corruptionis; et primo ostendit, quomodo idololatria est causa omnium malorum in idololatris; secundo, propter quid, quoniam propter spem impunitatis: Dum enim confidunt etc.; tertio ostendit, quod hoc ipsum est eis causa punitionis: Utraque etc.; quarto ostendit, quae sit illa punitio, scilicet casus et praecipitatio in alia peccata: Non enim etc.

(Vers. 27.). Infandorum etc. Ita dixi¹, quod tot et tanta mala faciunt idololatrae; infandorum enim idolorum, id est nefandorum, id est nominatione indignorum, secundum illud Psalmi: « Nec memor ero nominum eorum per labia mea ». Infandorum, inquam, idolorum cultura omnis mali causa est, scilicet per intellectus excaecationem et voluntatis subversionem; et initium, scilicet per operis inchoationem; et finis, per eiusdem completionem, sicut fides et cultus Dei causa est omnis boni, ut probat Apostolus ad Hebraeos undecimo², ubi ait: « Fides est sperandarum substantia rerum ».

Sed contra: Ecclesiastici decimo³: « Initium omnis peccati superbia »; item primae ad Timotheum sexto⁴: « Radix omnium malorum cupiditas »: male ergo dicitur hic, quod omnium malorum initium est infidelitas.

Dicendum, quod non est inconveniens, plura esse initia malorum secundum diversos respectus — sicut unius rei sunt quatuor causae, scilicet efficiens, materialis etc., et tamen unica in uno genere — quia ex parte rationalis infidelitas, ex parte concupiscibilis cupiditas, ex parte irascibilis superbia⁵.

(Vers. 28.). Aut enim, dum laetantur, insaniunt; Glossa⁶: « In festis et ludis », et hoc quantum ad malum in affectione; insaniunt, dicit, quia laetitia irrationalis insania est, sicut risus phreneticorum; Osee nono: « Insania in domo Dei eius ». Aut certe vaticinantur falsa, scilicet falsa prophetando, et hoc quantum ad malum cogitationis; tertii Regum ultimo⁷: « Ero spiritus mendax in ore omnium prophetarum ». Aut vivunt iniuste, et hoc quantum ad malum conversationis; Ecclesiastae septimo: « Impius multo tempore vivit in malitia ». Aut periurant, vel peierant⁸, et hoc quantum ad peccatum locutionis; cito, id est de facili, propter malam suam consuetudinem; propter quod Ecclesiastici vigesimo tertio: « Iurationi non assuescat os tuum, multi enim casus in illa ».

(Vers. 29.). Dum enim confidunt in idolis, quae sine anima sunt, quoad vitam; male iurantes, scilicet ex parte rei, per quam iurant, quia per idolum, et ex parte rei, pro qua iurant, quia falsum, contra illud Ieremiae quarto⁹: « Iurabis: Vivit Dominus, in veritate et in iudicio et in iustitia ». Noceri se non sperant, id est non timent.

Sed quomodo non timent, cum esse veros deos credant?

Dicendum, quod licet ipsos ut deos colant, non tamen eis inesse omnipotentiam putant; vel non credunt, quod peccata hominum puniant. Et revera eis non possunt nocere, propter quod Ieremiae decimo¹⁰: « Nolite timere ea », scilicet idola, « quia nec male nec bene possunt facere »; sed tamen a Deo punientur pro peccato periurii.

(Vers. 30.). Unde sequitur: Utraque ergo illis evenient, scilicet malum culpae, quia male iurare permittuntur; et malum poenae, quia propter hoc punientur; evenient, inquam, digne, scilicet pro meritis; Apocalypsis ultimo¹¹: « Qui in sordibus est sordescat adhuc ». Quoniam male senserunt de Deo attendentes idolis, id est divinum cultum idolis tribuendo, dum iurant per idolum. Et iniuste iuraverunt in idolo¹², contemnentes iustitiam, scilicet illicitum, vel falsum iurando, et ita dupliciter errant vel peccant, scilicet, quia iurant per quod non debent, et quia iurant id quod non debent; Exodi vigesimo tertio¹³: « Per nomen externorum deorum non iurabitis ».

(Vers. 31.). Non enim, quasi dicat: et vere peccant sic iurando; non enim iurantium, scilicet sic, est virtus¹⁴, id est opus virtuosum vel meritorium; sed peccantium poena, id est peccatum ipsum, quod etiam est poena praecedentium peccatorum et culpa in se. Perambulat semper, scilicet de malo in peius, in iustorum, id est iustarum rerum, scilicet mandatorum Dei, praevaricationem; Gregorius¹⁵: « Peccatum enim, quod per poenitentiam non diluitur, suo pondere mox ad aliud trahit »; nam Psalmus: « Fiat via illorum tenebrae et lubricum » etc.

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Chapter XIV.

Secondly is treated the detestation of idols, in four ways.

Again, another designing to sail etc. After he has described the manifold errors of those practising idolatry, here he touches the detestation of idols, and first, from the uselessness of the idols themselves; secondly, from the offence of the Creator: But alike hateful are; thirdly, from the novelty and manner of their invention: For neither were they⁵ etc.; fourthly, from the effect of human corruption: And it was not enough for them to err.

First he detests idols for their uselessness.

The uselessness of the idols he shows in the first part by the example of those sailing on the sea, whom, when called upon, they cannot succour. And this impotence he shows to be detestable, first from the frailty of the idol, which is of no avail; secondly, from the power of God, who saves even without a ship: But thy etc.; thirdly, from the usefulness of the ship itself: But that they might not be; fourthly, by the example of Noe's ark, which preserved the human race: But from the beginning also.

(Vers. 1.). He says therefore: Again, another etc., as if to say: not only do men uselessly ask help of idols on land, but again, on the water, because another, namely a man, designing to sail, namely in purpose, and through the raging waves, that is, perilous ones; whence in the Psalm⁶: « Wonderful are the surges of the sea »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the forty-third: « Let them that sail on the sea tell the dangers thereof ». Beginning to make his voyage, namely in the execution of his purpose, calleth upon a wood more frail than the wood that carrieth him; calleth upon, namely for help, a wood, namely the idol, more frail than the wood that carrieth him, that is, the ship.

(Vers. 2.). For this, namely the wood of the idol, the desire of gain devised; whence to the Ephesians, the fifth⁷, it is said: « covetousness, which is a serving of idols ». And the workman built it by his wisdom; his, he says, as if to say: not the divine, « but earthly, sensual, devilish », James, the third; Isaias, the forty-fifth: « The forgers of errors are gone together into confusion »; and Job, the thirteenth: « Shewing you to be forgers of lies »; the Gloss: « Since he who made is greater than that which is made, to adore his own handiwork is madness ».

(Vers. 3.). But thy, Father, as if to say: thus do they call upon the idol in the direction of the journey; but (autem), for sed; thy, Father, by creation; Isaias, the sixty-fourth⁸: « And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay » etc.; likewise by provision; whence Matthew, the sixth: « Our Father etc., our bread » etc. Governest, namely all things, by providence, which, according to Damascene⁹, « is God's care for things »; of which Judith, the ninth: « Thy judgments thou hast laid in thy providence ».

From what has been said it is clear that in the world nothing is done by chance and fortune, because, as Plato says¹⁰, « there is nothing whose rise a lawful cause has not preceded ». But that the world is administered by providence, Tully proves in the Rhetoric thus: « Those things are better administered which are done by providence than those which are done by chance; but the world is administered in the best way: therefore » etc.

For etc., as if to say: this is clear, that thou governest all things by providence; for thou hast given, namely to the children of Israel, a way in¹¹ the sea, leading them out of p. 197 Egypt through the midst of the dry sea, as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth; and among the waves, namely of the river Jordan, a most sure path, Josue, the third. And of both it is said in the Psalm: « Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters »; the Gloss: « The divine power led the Israelites across the Red Sea with dry foot and divided the waters of the Jordan ».

(Vers. 4.). Shewing, namely by this, that thou art able out of all things, namely perils and mishaps, to heal¹, or better according to another reading, to save, yea though without a raft, that is, a ship, a man went to sea; Isaias, the forty-third: « When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover thee »; whence « he raised up Peter walking on the waves, lest he should sink », as is clear from Matthew, the fourteenth; « he delivered Paul, thrice shipwrecked, from the depth of the sea », as is clear from the second to the Corinthians, the eleventh.

(Vers. 5.). But that the works of thy wisdom might not be empty, nay, necessary to human use, that is, things devised through thy wisdom; in the Psalm²: « Thou hast made all things in wisdom ». Therefore men also trust their souls even to a little wood, namely to a small ship, that is, their bodily life; and passing over the sea, in which yet there are innumerable perils, are delivered by a raft; the Gloss: « The Creator gave his creature knowledge, by which it might take counsel for itself in the present and be devoted to his will ».

Allegorically the little wood can be called the cross of Christ, on account of its abjection and vileness; the first to the Corinthians, the first³: « We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness ». To this men trust their souls, namely by believing in Christ crucified and by adoring him in whom they believe. And so passing over the sea, of this world, namely by the power and imitation of the cross, they are delivered by a raft and come to the haven of eternal salvation. Whence Damascene⁴: « The cross is the resurrection of the sleeping, the staff of the weak, the rod of the shepherds, the help of those turning back, the perfection of those advancing, the salvation of soul and body, the averting of all evils, the teacher of all good things, the destruction of sin, the tree of resurrection, the wood of eternal life ». And in these words: To a little etc., first is intimated the humility of the cross, when it is said: To a little wood; secondly, its veneration and dignity, when it is said: Men trust their souls, namely rational men, as blessed Andrew⁵ saying: « Receive me from men »; thirdly, its necessity, when it is said: And passing over the sea, namely of this world, of which in the Psalm: « So is this great sea » etc.; fourthly, its power and usefulness, when it is said: Are delivered by a raft; the first to the Corinthians, the first: « We preach Christ » etc.; likewise: « The word of the cross, to them that perish etc., but to us » etc.

But from the beginning also. Here the usefulness of Noe's ark is first shown; secondly, it is praised, there: For blessed is the wood etc.; thirdly, the idol and its maker are reproved: But by hands etc.

(Vers. 6.). But from the beginning also etc., as if to say: not only does he deliver from the peril of the sea, but also from the flood, and this is what he says: But from the beginning also, namely at the beginning of the second age, namely in the time of Noe, Genesis, the sixth⁶. When the proud giants perished, namely in the flood, of whom it is had in Genesis, the sixth; the hope of the world, namely of the world to come; the Gloss: « The seed-bed of the human race », namely the eight persons, of whom it is said in the first of Peter, the third: « In which a few souls were saved by water »; fleeing to a raft, « that is, the ark », made after the manner of a raft, because its length was greater than its breadth, Genesis, the sixth⁷; left to the world, namely to come after the flood, seed of generation, namely as well of men as of animals, as is clear from Genesis, the sixth. Which, namely the ark, by thy hand; the Gloss: « By power, or by the Son », according to that of the Psalm: « Put forth thy hand from on high » etc.; was governed, because it had no steersman save God or his Angel, since all men existing outside were dead, and those existing within were shut in.

(Vers. 7.). For blessed is the wood, namely of Noe's ark, by which justice cometh, namely of the deliverance of the just, the wicked being drowned, which was just. Of this wood above, the tenth⁸: « When water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it again, governing the just man by a contemptible wood ».

But this wood can allegorically be called the wood of the cross, of which it is said in the first of Peter, the second⁹: p. 198 « Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree ». Through that wood justice was done, because « to each was rendered what was his ». For through that wood sin was destroyed, according to that which the Church sings¹: « Death then died, when on the wood Life died »; Osee, the thirteenth: « O death, I will be thy death » etc. Likewise, through it the devil was vanquished, according to that of Gregory: « That he who conquered by the wood should also by the wood be conquered ». Likewise, through it man was reconciled; to the Colossians, the second²: « Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, fastening it to the cross »; likewise to the Colossians, the first: « Making peace through the blood of the cross ». Likewise, hell was despoiled; to the Colossians, the second: « Despoiling the principalities and powers » etc. Likewise, heaven was opened; whence it was said to the thief: « This day thou shalt be with me in paradise », Luke, the twenty-third³; Isaias, the twenty-second: « I will give the key of the house of David ». Likewise, Christ was exalted; whence to the Philippians, the second: « For which cause God also hath exalted him » etc. This was the rod of Assuerus, shown or held out to man in sign of clemency, Esther, the fifteenth.

(Vers. 8.). And well have I said that the wood is blessed, according as justice cometh by it; but (autem), for sed; the idol that is made by hands, namely of craftsmen, is cursed, as well it, namely the idol, as he that made it, namely the craftsman.

But the idol, since it is an inanimate thing, how is it cursed? Because this curse is understood either by reason of fault, which does not fall upon an idol, or by reason of punishment, which has to be inflicted by reason of fault.

It must be said that in the idol two things are to be considered, namely the presiding spirit and the shape of the wood. The malign spirit itself is cursed with the curse of fault and of punishment; but the wood, with the curse of detestation and infamy, as of a kind of punishment, not because it is the subject of fault, by reason of which punishment has to be inflicted, but because it is the matter or occasion of fault. Whence the Gloss⁴: « For the devil will be punished for this, that he usurps to himself the divine honour; and man, who honours the creature in place of the Creator ».

Because he indeed made it, namely the idol, whence he is deservedly cursed; Isaias, the forty-fourth⁵: « Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded ». And it, namely the idol, because being frail, since it is of frail matter, is called a god, namely by mere naming, not in the truth of the thing; on account of which it is deservedly cursed.

Secondly he detests idols on account of the offence of the Creator.

But alike etc. Here he touches the second cause of the detestation of idols, taken on the part of the offence of the Creator; and first he touches the sign of the offence, namely the idol, and the punishment of the one practising idolatry; secondly, the irremissibility of the punishment: Therefore etc.; thirdly, the cause on the part of the idol: Because the creatures; fourthly, the cause on the part of the one practising idolatry: For the beginning etc.

(Vers. 9.). Well have I said that both are cursed etc.; but (autem), for quia; alike hateful to God are the impious, namely the idolater, because he denies the piety of divine worship, and his impiety, that is, the matter of his impiety, namely the idol, that is, the demon presiding over the idol; Ecclesiasticus, the twelfth⁶: « The Most High hateth sinners ». And it is to be noted that God's hatred does not denote or signify an affection in him, but an effect in him whom he hates.

(Vers. 10.). For that which is made, namely the idol, together with him that made it, that is, with the craftsman who is an idolater, shall suffer torments.

Of the idolater it is plain; but of the idol, how can it be true, namely that it suffers torment, since it is an inanimate thing?

It must be said that he speaks of the idol by reason of the malign spirit presiding in it, not on the part of the shape or the matter of the idol itself.

But on the contrary: The idolater does not make the malign presiding spirit.

It must be said that although he does not make it in itself, yet he makes it to preside in the idol; as we are said to exalt and magnify God, not in himself, but in ourselves; in the Psalm⁷: « O magnify the Lord with me » etc. Both therefore will be punished; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « Every work that is corruptible shall fail in the end, and the worker thereof shall go with it »; and the twenty-seventh: « The offence shall be destroyed with the offender ».

(Vers. 11.). Therefore, namely because they are hateful to God, even (et), that is, also, to the idols of the nations, that is, to the demons presiding in the idols of the Gentiles, of whom in the Psalm⁸: « All the gods of the Gentiles are devils » etc.; there shall be no respect, namely of clemency; which is against Origen, who said that Christ would suffer at the end for the demons in the air, and thus that they would be saved; against which it is said here and in Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-ninth⁹: « There are spirits that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they have fastened on their torments ». Because etc.; and deservedly, because p. 199 the creatures of God, that is, things made by God, such as gold and silver; whence Osee, the second¹: « I multiplied unto them silver and gold » etc.; are turned to hatred, namely of the irascible, namely that men should hate God, as the demons do, of whom in the Psalm: « The pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually ». And a temptation to the souls² of men, that is, of the concupiscible, namely that men should freely subject themselves to whatever powers according to the will or suggestion of their gods. And a mousetrap (muscipulam), that is, a deception of the rational, and a mousetrap is the name for the instrument with which mice are caught: to the feet, namely the interior ones, that is, of the soul, not the exterior ones, namely of the body; of the unwise, that is, of unbelievers; Job, the eighteenth³: « The gin for him is hidden in the earth »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « Among my people are found impious men that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men ».

(Vers. 12.). For the beginning etc. Well have I said that the creatures of God etc.; for the beginning of fornication, namely spiritual, which is by withdrawing from God, is etc.; whence the Gloss⁴: « The worst kind of fornication is that by which the soul withdraws from God and commits fornication with idols »; whence Jeremias, the third: « She hath committed adultery with stone and with wood ». Such are lost or destroyed by God, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast destroyed all them that are disloyal to thee ». For the beginning, I say, of fornication, the aforesaid, is the devising of idols.

But on the contrary: Ecclesiasticus, the tenth⁵: « Pride is the beginning of all sin ».

I respond: He does not speak here of the fornication which is by any withdrawal whatever from God, as there is in any mortal sin whatever, but of that by which one withdraws from God by a perfect withdrawal, namely as far as the overthrow of faith, which is the foundation of the whole spiritual building; to the Hebrews, the eleventh⁶: « Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for » etc.; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the third: « Other foundation no man can lay » etc.

And the invention of them is the corruption of life, namely as to morals; to the Romans, the first⁷: « Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness »; in the Psalm: « Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions ».

Thirdly he detests idols on account of the novelty and manner of their invention.

For neither⁸ were they. Here is touched the third reason for the detestation of those idols, namely from the novelty and manner of their invention. Of this invention and worship he touches several causes: first, the curious idleness of men; secondly, the affection of parents toward their dead children: For with bitter; thirdly, the fear of tyrants: Then etc.; fourthly, the reverence and honour of princes: Those whom; fifthly, the diligence and solicitude of craftsmen: But… set forward etc.; sixthly he sets down a recapitulation of the principal causes: And this was… of life.

(Vers. 13.). Well have I said: The devising of idols and the invention etc.; for they were not from the beginning, namely the idols, which is clear, because they are not the Creator; whence Jeremias, the tenth⁹: « Let the gods that have not made heaven and earth, perish from the earth »; nor yet a creature, because every creature is from God, but idols are not from God, but are a fiction of men; on account of which it is said in the first to the Corinthians, the eighth: « An idol is nothing in the world », namely as to the divine being which is believed by idolaters to be in it. Neither shall they be for ever, nay, they shall be destroyed, men being converted to the worship of the one God; Isaias, the nineteenth¹⁰: « The Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the images of Egypt shall be moved at his presence ».

(Vers. 14.). For the superfluity (Supervacuitas), that is, the idleness, of men devised these things¹¹ etc.; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-third: « Idleness hath taught much evil », namely the idle, who would not labour to seek the one true God and worship him worthily; into the world, for in heaven there was never any such error. And therefore, namely because they have not always been, a short end of them has been found, namely among the wise. For they were soon forsaken by the children of Israel in the time of Moses and by the Christian people in the time of Christ or of the new law; Jeremias, the tenth¹²: « Every artist is confounded in his graven thing; their works are vain and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish ».

(Vers. 15.). For a father, grieving with bitter mourning, namely over the death of a son, as David grieved over the death of Absalom, the second of Kings, the eighteenth¹³, or over p. 200 the death of the child whom he first had of Bethsabee, the second of Kings, the twelfth, of his son quickly taken from him, that is, snatched away beforehand by the violence of death; made an image; the Gloss: « Men fashioned for themselves images of their dead friends, in the contemplation of which they had some solace ». And him who then, namely freshly, had died as a man, whose property is to be mortal, according to that of the second of Kings, the fourteenth¹: « We all die » etc.; now, that is, a little after, which is more inexcusable, he began to worship as a God; the Gloss: « And going further, through love of the dead they began to worship their memory ». And appointed among his servants, who obeyed him from fear, not from reason; rites, namely incensings and praises, and sacrifices, namely immolations of animals. Now the first — as Isidore says upon that of Luke, the eleventh²: « By Beelzebub, the prince of devils » etc. — was Ninus, king of the Assyrians, who made an image of his dead father Belus, which he honoured with so great veneration that he spared even the guilty who fled to it; on account of which unskilled men began to worship the statue of Belus as God and to multiply statues. Some of whom called that idol Bel, some Baal, some Baalim, some Beelzebub.

(Vers. 16.). Then, time intervening, that is, by delay of time, wicked custom growing strong, which is rather to be rooted out than held to, because length of time does not diminish sin, but rather increases it; this error, namely of worshipping idols, was kept as a law, namely under precept; Jeremias, the tenth³: « The laws of the people are vain »; likewise Isaias, the tenth: « Woe to them that make wicked laws »! And by the command of tyrants, that is, of evil princes, figments were worshipped; whence Antiochus compelled the Jews to the worship of the Gentiles, the first of Machabees, the first; and Nabuchodonosor compelled them to adore his statue, Daniel, the third.

(Vers. 17.). Those⁴ whom men could not honour openly, that is, in their presence, on this account, namely, that they were far off, from afar, namely in place, their figure being brought, namely in a picture, an express image, namely a sculptured image, I say, of the king, whom they had a mind to honour, they made, namely giving divine honour to men. Cicero⁵: « But the life and common custom of men have taken it up, that men excelling in benefits they should raise to heaven by fame and by will ». That him, namely the king, who was away, that is, was absent, yet living, they might worship as present by their solicitude. The Gloss⁶: « On account of the folly and depravity of men, who lived a rustic life without any ruler, they extolled the king himself and the whole race with the highest praises, so that they even called them gods, whether for outstanding virtue, or for benefits, or out of flattery ». Those whom etc. The letter is to be construed thus: Men made an express image, which they wished to honour, their figure being brought from afar; those whom openly, that is, in their presence, they could not honour, on this account, supply, that they were far off; they made it, I say, that him who was away etc.

(Vers. 18.). But… set forward to the worship of these, namely of the idols, even (et), that is, also, those who were ignorant, that is, the ignorant and unlettered, the singular, that is, the greatest, diligence of the craftsman; of the craftsman, I say, who fabricates the idol diligently and curiously and decorates it, according to that of Jeremias, the tenth⁷: « He hath decked it with silver and gold »; likewise Isaias, the forty-fourth: « He hath made the image of a man as it were a comely man dwelling in a house ».

(Vers. 19.). For he, the craftsman, being willing to please him that took him up (assumsit), that is, hired him, namely to make the idol; this is an evil pleasing, of which in the Psalm⁸: « God hath scattered the bones of them that please men »; likewise to the Galatians, the first: « If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ ». He laboured by his art, that the likeness, that is, the image, he might fashion for the better, that is, in the best manner he could; Isaias, the forty-fourth⁹: « The smith hath wrought with his file »; Baruch, the sixth: « As if it were for a maiden that loveth to go gay, so taking gold they have made them ».

(Vers. 20.). But the multitude of men, namely of fools; Ecclesiastes, the first¹⁰: « The number of fools is infinite »; carried away, namely from the truth, by the comeliness (speciem) of the work, that is, its beauty; Proverbs, the last: « Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain »; Daniel, the thirteenth: « Comeliness hath deceived thee »; him that before the time, supply: a little, had been honoured as a man, namely with the honour of dulia; now they have esteemed a God, honouring him with the honour of latria.

p. 201(Vers. 21.). And this was the deception of human life, that is, the cause of deception, a cause, I say, twofold, as it were a twofold gate of death, namely love and fear, according to the Gloss upon that of the Psalm¹: « Things set on fire and dug down » etc. For to affection, namely their own, in the honouring of friends, or to kings, in the veneration of the powerful; the Gloss²: « Thus through peoples and regions », namely out of flattery, or out of fear, « various rites were taken up, while men desire to be pleasing toward their princes »; serving, that is, devotedly serving, men, against that of the first to the Corinthians, the seventh³: « Be not made the bondslaves of men ». The incommunicable name; the Gloss: « Of God almighty », because namely the form from which that name God is imposed is incommunicable to creatures, yet is communicable to the divine persons; they gave to stones and wood, against that precept, Exodus, the twentieth⁴: « Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ».

But on the contrary: Exodus, the seventh⁵: « Behold, I have appointed thee the God of Pharao »; likewise in the Psalm⁶: « I have said: You are gods » etc.: therefore the name God is communicable to creatures.

It must be said that God is said in three ways: by nature, by adoption, by naming. In the first way it is incommunicable; in the second and third way not⁷.

But on the contrary: Because the divine name was communicated to Christ as man; whence to the Philippians, the second⁸: « He hath given him a name which is above every name ».

But it must be said that it was not communicated to one not having it before, but otherwise than before, because this name belongs to the person, not to the nature, namely the human, but yet to one having human nature.

To that which is objected: He hath given him a name etc.; it must be said that giving is taken there for manifestation. Or: he gave him in human nature what he had before in the divine⁹.

Fourthly he detests idols for the effect of human corruption, twofold.

And it was not enough. Here is touched the last cause of the detestation of idols, taken from the effect of human corruption; and first is touched in the idolaters the blinding of the mind; secondly, the corruption of work: For either their children; thirdly, the reasonableness of the blinding and of the corruption: And all things; fourthly, the cause of both: For of the abominable.

(Vers. 22.). He says therefore: And it was not enough for them to err; the Gloss¹⁰: « Since with a false religion they subjected themselves to all vices »; to err, I say, namely about the knowledge of God, that is, faith; above, the thirteenth: « All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God ». But whereas they lived in a great war of ignorance, that is, of unbelief, war, by which namely unbelief they war against God; whence Job, the twenty-fourth¹¹: « They have been rebellious to the light »^tr.. So many, namely as to number, and so great, as to intensity, or as to quantity of duration; evils, as to deformity; so many, I say, and so great evils, in which namely they live, they call peace, according to that of Job, the thirtieth¹²: « And they counted it delightful to be under the briers »; Jeremias, the sixth: « Saying: Peace, peace; and there was no peace »; the Gloss: « Subject under the reign of the devil to divers vices, they could not have true peace ».

For either etc. Here he enumerates the evils by which they were corrupted in work: first, the evil committed specially against God; secondly, that committed specially against themselves and against their neighbour: Neither life.

(Vers. 23.). He says therefore: For either sacrificing their own children, according to that of the Psalm¹³: « And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils »; Ezechiel, the sixteenth: « Is thy fornication small? Thou hast sacrificed my children and given them up, consecrating them to them », because, as the Gloss says, « in the rites of Saturn, out of hatred of Jupiter, without regard for piety they sacrificed their little ones ». Or making dark sacrifices, dark, that is, nocturnal, as was done, according to the Gloss¹⁴, « in the rites of Isis of Egypt and of Ceres, which rites were celebrated with the tossing of burning torches ». Or keeping watches full of madness, for in the rites of Bacchus and Cybele, mother of the gods, « after the example of the gods, who, sated at the festival, spent the whole night in games, they themselves played », as says p. 202 the Gloss¹. Against this it is said in the Psalm: « Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord, and who hath not had regard to vanities and lying follies ».

(Vers. 24.). Neither life, namely their own, clean (mundam), because « God gave them up unto uncleanness », to the Romans, the first²; nor marriage clean do they now keep, against that of the Hebrews, the thirteenth: « Marriage honourable, and the bed undefiled »; do they now keep etc.; « because, as the Gloss says, they thought to please their gods through lust and uncleanness », and the more criminal one was, the more he thought to please his god. But also³ one killeth another through envy, namely in his own person, as Cain Abel, Genesis, the fourth; and the Jews Christ, Matthew, the twenty-seventh. Or by adultery saddeneth him, namely in the person joined to him; saddeneth he says, because a great cause of sadness is the violation of the conjugal bed; whence also according to the civil laws licence is given to the husband of killing the adulterer and the adulteress found in the very act of adultery⁴.

And all things, namely vices, are mingled together; whence Osee, the fourth⁵: « Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed ».

Blood. Here he touches first certain spiritual sins; secondly, certain carnal ones: Of souls etc. — In the first, first certain evils of work; secondly, certain evils of the heart: Corruption; thirdly, certain evils of speech: And perjury. — Of the evils of work he touches four, namely wounding, when he says: Blood; slaying, when he says: Murder; theft, when he says: Theft; fraud, when he says: And feigning.

(Vers. 25.). Well have I said: And all things are mingled together, namely, blood, by mutual wounding; whence Isaias, the first⁶: « Your hands are full of blood »; likewise Osee, the fourth: « Blood hath touched blood ». Murder; whence Micheas, the seventh: « Every one hunteth his brother to death ». Theft, Isaias, the first: « Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves »; in the Psalm: « If thou didst see a thief, thou didst run with him ». And feigning, that is, guile; « For guile is when one thing is done, and another is pretended, or feigned⁷ ».

Corruption. Here he touches sins of the heart, namely of the concupiscible power; in the Psalm⁸: « They are corrupt, and are become abominable » etc. And unfaithfulness, namely of the rational; whence Jeremias, the seventh: « Faith is lost, and is taken away out of their mouth ». Disquiet, namely of the irascible power; whence Isaias, the fifty-seventh: « There is no peace to the impious, saith the Lord ». These are the three evils of the heart.

Then he touches three evils of speech, saying: And perjury, namely either assertory, as it is in false attestations, or promissory, as in false promises, against that which is said in Leviticus, the nineteenth⁹: « Thou shalt not swear falsely ». Tumult, namely in contentions and discords; whence Isaias, the third: « The child shall make a tumult against the ancient ».

(Vers. 26.). And forgetfulness of the good things of God¹⁰, that is, ingratitude, because they do not praise God for his benefits; whence Luke, the seventeenth: « There is no one found to return and give glory to God » etc.; in the Psalm: « I am forgotten as one dead from the heart ». These are the three evils of speech: the first against God and neighbour; the second against neighbour; the third against God, namely by omitting.

Defiling of souls etc. Here he touches carnal sins, first, sins of interior lust; secondly, of unnatural intercourse, there: Of nature (Nativitatis) etc.; thirdly, of bigamy: Of marriages etc.; fourthly, of adultery: Disorder etc.; fifthly, of fornication: And of impurity etc. — He says therefore: Defiling of souls, namely through inward lust; whence Matthew, the fifth¹¹: « Hath already committed adultery in his heart »; Jeremias, the fourth: « Wash thy heart from malice, O Jerusalem » etc.; to Titus, the first: « Both their mind and their conscience are defiled ». Changing of nature (Nativitatis immutatio), that is, of nature or of natural use; to the Romans, the first: « Their women have changed the natural use » etc. Inconstancy of marriages, namely by taking and repudiating wives at will, when yet they ought to be « two in one flesh », Genesis, the second¹²; likewise Matthew, the nineteenth: « What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder ». Disorder of adultery (moechiae), that is, of adultery (adulterii), against the order of matrimony, against which Exodus, the twentieth: « Thou shalt not commit adultery ». And of impurity (impudicitiae), that is, of fornication, against which to the Romans, the thirteenth: « Not in chambering and impurities ».

p. 203Of the abominable etc. Here it is shown that idolatry is the cause of this corruption; and first he shows how idolatry is the cause of all evils in the idolaters; secondly, on account of what, namely on account of the hope of impunity: For whilst they trust etc.; thirdly he shows that this very thing is for them the cause of punishing: Both etc.; fourthly he shows what that punishing is, namely the fall and the casting headlong into other sins: For not etc.

(Vers. 27.). Of the abominable etc. So I have said¹ that the idolaters do so many and so great evils; for of the abominable idols, that is, the unspeakable, that is, unworthy of being named, according to that of the Psalm: « Nor will I be mindful of their names by my lips ». Of the abominable, I say, idols the worship is the cause of all evil, namely by the blinding of the understanding and the overthrow of the will; and the beginning, namely by the inception of the work; and the end, by its completion, as faith and the worship of God is the cause of all good, as the Apostle proves to the Hebrews, the eleventh², where he says: « Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for ».

But on the contrary: Ecclesiasticus, the tenth³: « Pride is the beginning of all sin »; likewise the first to Timothy, the sixth⁴: « The desire of money is the root of all evils »: it is wrongly said here, therefore, that the beginning of all evils is unbelief.

It must be said that it is not unfitting that there be several beginnings of evils according to diverse respects — as of one thing there are four causes, namely efficient, material etc., and yet one only in one genus — because on the part of the rational there is unbelief, on the part of the concupiscible cupidity, on the part of the irascible pride⁵.

(Vers. 28.). For either, whilst they are merry, they are mad; the Gloss⁶: « In feasts and games », and this as to the evil in affection; they are mad, he says, because irrational gladness is madness, like the laughter of the frenzied; Osee, the ninth: « Madness in the house of his God ». Or surely they prophesy false things, namely by prophesying falsely, and this as to the evil of thought; the third of Kings, the last⁷: « I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets ». Or they live unjustly, and this as to the evil of conduct; Ecclesiastes, the seventh: « The impious man liveth a long time in his malice ». Or they forswear themselves (periurant), or perjure (peierant)⁸, and this as to the sin of speech; easily, that is, readily, on account of their evil custom; on account of which Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third: « Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing, for in it there are many falls ».

(Vers. 29.). For whilst they trust in idols, which are without soul, as to life; swearing amiss, namely on the part of the thing by which they swear, because by an idol, and on the part of the thing for which they swear, because a falsehood, against that of Jeremias, the fourth⁹: « Thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgment, and in justice ». They do not hope to be hurt, that is, they do not fear.

But how do they not fear, since they believe them to be true gods?

It must be said that although they worship them as gods, yet they do not think omnipotence to be in them; or they do not believe that they punish the sins of men. And in truth they cannot hurt them, on account of which Jeremias, the tenth¹⁰: « Be not afraid of them », namely the idols, « for they can neither do evil nor good »; but yet they will be punished by God for the sin of perjury.

(Vers. 30.). Whence there follows: Both therefore shall befall them, namely the evil of fault, because they are permitted to swear amiss; and the evil of punishment, because on account of this they will be punished; shall befall, I say, worthily, namely according to their merits; the Apocalypse, the last¹¹: « He that is filthy, let him be filthy still ». Because they have thought ill of God, giving heed to idols, that is, by attributing divine worship to idols, while they swear by an idol. And have sworn unjustly by an idol¹², despising justice, namely by swearing an illicit or a false thing, and so they err or sin doubly, namely, because they swear by that which they ought not, and because they swear that which they ought not; Exodus, the twenty-third¹³: « By the name of strange gods you shall not swear ».

(Vers. 31.). For not, as if to say: and truly they sin by swearing thus; for not of them that swear, namely thus, is it virtue¹⁴, that is, a virtuous or meritorious work; but the punishment of them that sin, that is, the sin itself, which is also a punishment of preceding sins and a fault in itself. Walketh always, namely from bad to worse, in the transgression of the just, that is, of just things, namely of the commandments of God; Gregory¹⁵: « For sin which is not washed away by penance, by its own weight soon drags to another »; for the Psalm: « Let their way become dark and slippery » etc.

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