Bonaventure

Capitulum II.

Secundo, de iustitia hominis ad proximum agitur dupliciter.

Dixerunt enim etc. Supra egit de iustitia hominis ad Deum; hic principaliter de iustitia hominis ad proximum; et primo, ab iniustorum similitudine retrahendo, scilicet capitulo isto; secundo, ad iustorum similitudinem provocando, scilicet tertio capitulo.

Primo retrahit ab iniustorum similitudine notando tria.

In prima parte primo a parte iniustorum proponit iniuste vivendi causam motivam; secundo describit vitam iniustam, ibi: Venite ergo etc.; tertio vero ostendit, eam non esse imitandam, ibi: Haec cogitaverunt etc.

In prima tangitur triplex causa motiva: prima ex parte status; secunda ex parte naturae: Quia ex nihilo nati sumus; tertia ex parte nominis sive famae: Et nomen nostrum oblivionem etc. — Ex parte status triplex: primo, quoad statum mundi, ibi: Exiguum et cum taedio etc.; secundo, quoad statum paradisi: Non est refrigerium etc.; tertio, quoad statum inferni: Et non est qui agnitus sit reversus ab inferis.

(Vers. 1.). Dixerunt enim impii, cogitantes apud se non recte etc. Bene dixi⁴, quod « impii manibus et verbis accersierunt » iniustitiam et mortem. Nam dixerunt impii, id est carentes pietate in Deum et proximum; Glossa: « Vox est perditorum, qui tanquam bruta animalia quae praesentia sunt amant et futura despiciunt nec post hanc vitam requiem aeternam sperant ». Apud se, quia « aperte non audent », secundum illud Psalmi: « Dixit insipiens in corde suo: Non est Deus »; si enim aperte dicerent, poenam incurrere timerent. Non recte cogitantes, immo male. Exiguum est etc., propter brevitatem, secundum illud Iob decimo quarto⁵: « Breves dies hominis sunt ». Et cum taedio, propter poenalitatem; Iob decimo quarto: « Homo natus de muliere, brevi vivens tempore, repletur multis miseriis ». Tempus vitae nostrae; Glossa⁶: « Praesentis », qua scilicet vivunt sibi, non Deo; ideo addit: nostrae, contra quod secundae ad Corinthios quinto: « Qui vivunt iam non sibi vivant, sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est et resurrexit ». Et non est refrigerium in fine hominis; Glossa⁷: « Id est quies post mortem ». Hoc tamen est falsum, quia dicitur in Psalmo in persona Sanctorum: « Transivimus per ignem et aquam, et eduxisti nos in refrigerium »; item Ieremiae sexto: « Interrogate de semitis antiquis, quae sit via bona, et ambulate in ea; et invenietis refrigerium animabus vestris »; item Apocalypsis decimo quarto: « Beati mortui, qui in Domino moriuntur etc., ut requiescant a laboribus suis ». — Et non est qui agnitus sit reversus ab inferis. Per hoc intendunt excludere, infernum esse; sed eadem ratione possunt dicere, mortem non esse, quia nullus mortuus revertitur ad vitam. Unde ratio eorum non valet, quia a privatione ad habitum non est regressus secundum naturam⁸; et ideo de inferno inferiori nullus revertitur secundum legem communem; unde Iob septimo: « Qui descenderit ad inferos non ascendet ». Aliqui tamen leguntur reversi p. 119 privilegio gratiae, ut iuvenis, quem resuscitavit Ioannes Evangelista, et Traianus, quem Gregorius¹. De inferno vero superiori reversus est Christus et multi alii per ipsum vel per eius discipulos suscitati.

Quia ex nihilo nati sumus etc. Hic ponitur causa motiva ex parte naturae; et primo, ex consideratione humanae originis; secundo, ex consideratione compositionis, ibi: Quoniam fumus; tertio, ex consideratione resolutionis: Qua exstincta.

(Vers. 2.). Bene dixi, quod non erit refrigerium nec supplicium, quia nec subiectum susceptibile talium; quia ex nihilo nati sumus, origine immediata quantum ad animam et mediata quantum ad corpus; unde secundi Machabaeorum septimo²: « Intelligas, quia ex nihilo fecit illa Deus et hominum genus ». — Et post hoc, id est post hanc vitam, erimus, tanquam non fuerimus, quasi dicat: in nihilum revertemur, secundum illud Damasceni³: « Omne, quod a versione incepit, versioni subiectum est »; item Augustinus: « Naturale est, quod ex nihilo est in nihilum posse resolvi »; quod intelligendum est de possibilitate primae aptitudinis, non necessitatis; quia manu Creatoris tenentur, ne in nihilum cadant, sicut dicit Gregorius. — Quoniam fumus, scilicet quantum ad spiritum vitalem corporeum intrinsecum; fumus enim est vapor igneus, et spiritus vitalis est corpus subtile igneum; et flatus⁴, id est ventus, quoad spiritum exteriorem corporeum, qui spiratur; Iacobi quarto: « Quae est vita vestra? Vapor est ad modicum parens »; Iob septimo: « Ventus est vita mea »; Psalmus: « Defecerunt sicut fumus dies mei ». — In naribus nostris, hoc dicit specialiter, a parte totum corpus dans intelligere, propter facilem exitum, quasi esset in naribus; item, propter manifestationem, quia ibi inspirando et respirando magis manifestatur. Et sermo scintillae ad commovendum cor nostrum, « id est, anima scintillae comparabilis », ut dicit Glossa⁵; unde secundi Regum decimo quarto: « Quaerunt exstinguere scintillam meam ». Anima autem sermo dicitur secundum reputationem infidelium, quia secundum eos nihil est in re, sed tantum secundum nomen vel sermonem; scintillae autem comparatur, quia secundum aliquos philosophos anima dicta fuit esse igneae naturae. Vel melius: potest dici anima sermo ab effectu, quia scilicet habet vim sermocinandi; scintillae autem comparatur propter naturae subtilitatem et propter motus agilitatem; unde infra tertio⁶: « Et tanquam scintillae in arundineto discurrent »; item, propter durationis brevitatem, secundum infideles; unde Glossa: « Scintillae comparabilis, quae statim fit nihil ». Ad commovendum cor nostrum, « id est vivificandum vel vegetandum », secundum Glossam; respiratio est in naribus nostris, id est in corporibus nostris, ita prompta ad exeundum de corpore, sicut flatus de nare.

Sequitur: Quia exstinctus etc. Bene dixi, quod anima comparatur scintillae, quia cito exstinguitur, quia corpus nostrum erit cinis exstinctus, scilicet post animae exstinctionem, quae secundum infideles in morte exstinguitur. Sed verior littera est: Qua exstincta etc. Hic tangit causam motivam ex consideratione resolutionis, et primo, ex consideratione resolutionis quantum ad corpus; secundo, quantum ad spiritum, ibi: Et spiritus diffundetur; tertio, quantum ad vitam: Et transibit vita nostra etc.

(Vers. 3.). Dicit ergo: Qua, scilicet anima, exstincta, secundum eos, cinis erit corpus nostrum; Ecclesiastici decimo septimo⁷: « Omnes homines terra et cinis »; item Genesis decimo octavo: « Loquar ad p. 120 Dominum meum, cum sim pulvis et cinis »? Per consumtionem enim humidi naturalis a calore consumitur corpus et in cinerem vertitur; et spiritus, corporeus vitalis, diffundetur, scilicet redeundo in sua principia componentia; tanquam aër mollis, id est faciliter et invisibiliter; mollis autem dicitur aër, quia non resistit tactui. Vel: spiritus, incorporeus, id est anima, diffundetur, id est evanescet et dissolvetur, secundum eos, iuxta illud Psalmi¹: « Spiritus pertransibit in illo et non subsistet » etc. Et transibit vita nostra, id est, per annihilationem suorum principiorum totaliter desinet. Et sicut vestigium nubis, quod non apparet post nubis resolutionem; Iob trigesimo: « Velut nubes pertransiit salus mea », scilicet temporalis; item capitulo septimo: « Sicut consumitur nubes et pertransit, sic qui descendit ad inferos non ascendet ». Et sicut nebula dissolvetur, quae scilicet est reliquia nubis; nubes enim ex vapore grossiori et depressiori consistit, nebula vero ex rariori. Quae, scilicet nebula, fugata est a radiis solis, calore continentis aëris adunante et fugante partes frigidi vaporis; et a calore illius aggravata, eodem calore frigus nubis ad interiora fugante et sic per accidens partes illius materiae condensante et sic aggravante et in aquam postea resolvente; Iob trigesimo septimo²: « Subito aër cogetur in nubes, et ventus transiens fugabit eas ».

Et nomen nostrum etc. Hic ostenditur causa motiva ex parte famae vel nominis; primo tangitur famae abolitio; secundo, abolitionis ratio, ibi: Umbrae enim transitus.

(Vers. 4.). Dicit ergo: Et nomen, quasi dicat: non tantum essentia vel substantia nostra transibit in nihilum, sed et nomen nostrum, id est fama quoad personam, oblivionem accipiet per tempus, id est temporis diuturnitatem; Proverbiorum decimo³: « Nomen impiorum putrescet ». Et nemo habebit memoriam operum nostrorum, quoad vitam; Iob decimo octavo: « Memoria eius pereat de terra »; item in Psalmo: « Periit memoria eorum cum sonitu »; et econtra: « In memoria aeterna erit iustus ».

Sed obiicitur, quod opera multorum reproborum, scilicet Cain, Pharaonis, Neronis etc., adhuc memorantur.

Dicendum, quod verbum istud est verbum reproborum; et ideo non est inconveniens dicere, illud esse falsum. Vel dicendum, quod non memorantur memoria laudabili vel eis utili; de hac autem loquitur hic.

Sed obiicitur, quod multorum reproborum facta celebria et laudabilia memorantur.

Ad hoc dicendum, quod ipsorum non fuerunt, sed Dei in ipsis, secundum illud Isaiae vigesimo sexto⁴: « Omnia opera nostra operatus es in nobis, Domine ».

(Vers. 5.). Ad memorandum autem duo requiruntur, scilicet fortis impressio et frequens reiteratio, et utrumque excludit, cum subdit: Umbrae enim etc.; umbrae transitus, propter transeundi velocitatem; primi Paralipomenon vigesimo nono⁵: « Dies nostri quasi umbra super terram, et nulla est mora »; umbrae, inquam, transitus est tempus nostrum, id est, quod ad voluntatem nostram faciendam, non Dei, expendimus; sed Dominus quandoque sibi accipiet ipsum tempus; Psalmus⁶: « Cum accepero tempus, ego iustitias iudicabo ». Et non est reversio finis nostri, propter redeundi impossibilitatem; Iob decimo: « Antequam vadam et non revertar » etc. Quoniam consignata est, scilicet reversio nostra, id est sub sigillo clausa; Glossa: « Consignata, quasi non apparens, quia non est ». Et nemo revertitur ad vitam, scilicet secundum communem legem; Psalmus⁷: « Sepulcra eorum domus eorum in aeternum », scilicet secundum opinionem ipsorum, sed secundum veritatem omnes quandoque resurgent per virtutem divinam; unde primae ad Corinthios decimo quinto: « Omnes quidem resurgemus » etc.

Notandum autem, quod vita et status impiorum dicitur esse fumus propter rationalis obcaecationem, infra eodem capitulo⁸: « Excaecavit eos malitia eorum »; item ad Romanos primo: « Obscuratum est insipiens cor eorum ». Assimilatur flatui propter inquietam irascibilis perturbationem, Isaiae quinquagesimo septimo: « Impii quasi mare fervens »; scintillae, propter concupiscibilis inflammationem, Ecclesiastici vigesimo tertio: « Anima calida quasi ignis ardens non exstinguetur »; aëri, propter intentionis vacuitatem; cineri, propter operum infructuositatem, infra tertio: « Opera eorum inutilia »; nubi densiori, propter gratiae oppositionem; nebulae leviori, propter mentis elevationem sive elationem; umbrae, propter exteriorem simulationem.

Venite ergo etc. Hic describit vitam iniustam⁹; et primo tangitur iniustorum concordia et mutua cohortatio ad propriae vitae dissolutionem; secundo, iustorum oppressio, ibi: Opprimamus etc.

Primo ergo cohortantur se ad vacandum dissolutioni, primo, celeriter, secundo, abundanter, ibi: Vino pretioso etc.; tertio, evidenter, ibi: p. 121 Coronemus; quarto, communiter vel universaliter, ibi: Nemo nostrum; quinto, hilariter, ibi: Ubique relinquamus.

(Vers. 6.). Venite ergo, quasi dicant: ex quo praesens vita transit, et futuram non speramus; venite ergo etc. Venite, dicunt, quia inquit Seneca¹, quod « nullius rei possessio iucunda est sine socio »; et ideo mutuo se hortantur. Hoc enim est invitatorium in matutinis diaboli. Notandum enim, quod sicut Ecclesia iustorum secundum diversa festa diversa habet invitatoria et Venite; sic et synagoga peccantium. Unum est vanitatis; Genesis undecimo²: « Venite, et faciamus nobis civitatem et turrim ». Aliud, iniquitatis; Genesis trigesimo septimo: « Venite, et occidamus eum et mittamus in cisternam veterem ». Tertium, avaritiae et cupiditatis; Proverbiorum primo: « Veni nobiscum » etc. Quartum, voluptatis, de quo hic, scilicet: Venite, et fruamur bonis, quae sunt etc. His respondet illud Matthaei vigesimo quinto³: « Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem » etc. Fruamur, inquam, amando affectu, nihil ultra desiderando; « frui enim est alicui rei amore inhaerere propter se »; bonis, quae sunt, id est bonis praesentibus, et utamur, delectando in effectu; Augustinus: « Uti est assumere aliquid in facultatem voluntatis »; Augustinus: « Totum malum hominis est frui utendis et uti fruendis ». Utamur, inquam, creatura, scilicet contempto Creatore; aliter namque non esset peccatum uti creatura. Tanquam in iuventute, id est, quamdiu sumus iuvenes; quia sensus iuvenum magis percipit delectationem quam senum; unde secundi Regum decimo nono⁴: « Octogenarius sum hodie, nunquid vigent sensus mei » etc.; ideo Ecclesiastae undecimo: « Laetare, iuvenis, in adolescentia tua ». Celeriter; Glossa: « Ne nos et illa ante transeamus, quam ea fruamur », secundum illud Isaiae vigesimo secundo: « Comedamus et bibamus; cras enim moriemur ».

(Vers. 7. 8. 9.). Vino pretioso, interius quoad gustum, excitando calorem ab interiori; et unguentis, exterius quoad tactum, excitando calorem ab exteriori; impleamus nos, per usum superfluum et immoderatum; Amos sexto⁵: « Bibentes in phialis vinum et optimo unguento delibuti » etc. Et non praetereat nos flos temporis, id est amoenitas quoad aspectum; Ieremiae quadragesimo octavo: « Date florem Moab » etc. Tales non curant de fructu autumni caelestis, sed tantum de flore veris praesentis. — Coronemus nos rosis, antequam marcescant; Isaiae quadragesimo⁶: « Cecidit flos »; et capitulo vigesimo octavo: « Vae flori decidenti »! Coronemus nos rosis, ad delectandum quoad odoratum; sed « vae coronae superbiae, ebriis Ephraim »! Isaiae vigesimo octavo. Nullum pratum sit, quod non pertranseat luxuria nostra, id est nullus locus amoenus; hoc dicit quantum ad universalitatem loci; Ieremiae secundo: « In omni colle sublimi et sub omni ligno frondoso tu prosternebaris, meretrix ». Nemo nostrum, hoc dicitur quantum ad universalitatem personarum. Talis erat Sodoma, in qua nec decem iusti poterant inveniri, ut patet Genesis decimo octavo⁷. — Nemo, inquam, nostrum exsors sit luxuriae nostrae, id est sine sorte, hoc est expers vel immunis. Ubique relinquamus signa laetitiae nostrae; hoc dicitur quantum ad universalitatem in facto; Ezechielis decimo sexto: « Ad omne caput viae aedificasti signum prostitutionis tuae ». Quoniam haec, scilicet talis vita dissoluta, est pars nostra, scilicet ex parte animae; et haec est sors nostra, scilicet ex parte corporis. Vel: idem sunt in re pars et sors, sed differunt ratione, quia pars nominatur ex parte accipientis, sors ex parte dantis; Isaiae quinquagesimo septimo⁸: « In partibus torrentis pars tua, haec est sors tua ». Econtra dicit vir iustus: « Dominus pars hereditatis meae »; item: « Deus cordis mei, et pars mea Deus in aeternum ».

Opprimamus pauperem iustum etc. Hic describit vitam iniustam quantum ad bonorum oppressionem, primo, quia opprimunt sine reverentia personae; secundo, quia sine timore iustitiae, ibi: Sit autem fortitudo etc.

(Vers. 10. 11.). Opprimamus; Glossa⁹: « Vox perditorum est »; pauperem iustum, quemcumque scilicet; Iob vigesimo quarto: « Oppresserunt pariter mansuetos terrae ». Et non parcamus viduae; Psalmus: « Viduam et advenam interfecerunt » etc.; nec veterani revereamur canos multi temporis, id est quemcumque senem; Baruch quarto: « Non sunt reveriti senem ». — Sit autem fortitudo nostra lex iniustitiae, id est, totum reputemus licitum, quidquid possumus facere; Habacuc primo¹⁰: « Factum est iudicium et contradictio potentior ». Vel: iustitiae; unde interlinearis: « Quasi fortitudinem pro iustitia habeamus », id est, quod non poterimus facere per p. 122 iustitiam faciamus per violentiam. Quod enim infirmum est etc., quasi dicat: non opprimamus tantummodo pauperes et debiles, ut viduas et senes, sed quoscumque poterimus; quod enim infirmum est, scilicet in se, ut vidua, pauper et senex; inutile invenitur, scilicet aliis; unde de talibus parum, vel nihil est curandum. Non sic Dominus sentiebat, qui « infirma mundi elegit, ut confundat fortia, et ignobilia mundi et contemptibilia¹ » etc. Non sic Paulus, qui dicebat, quod « virtus in infirmitate perficitur », secundae ad Corinthios duodecimo.

Allegorice exponitur hoc de haereticis, qui non parcunt pauperi iusto, id est populo christiano; nec viduae, id est Ecclesiae; nec veteranis, id est Apostolis et Prophetis².

Specialiter describitur persecutio Christi, primo quoad causam triplicem.

Circumveniamus ergo iustum etc. Hic specialiter describit Christi persecutionem, et primo tangit causam; secundo finem, ibi: Videamus ergo, si sermones etc.; tertio modum, ibi: Contumelia et tormento etc. — Causam, propter quam Iudaei persecuti sunt Christum, tangit tripliciter: primo, ex parte suarum operationum; secundo, ex parte suarum cogitationum, ibi: Factus est nobis; tertio, ex parte suarum locutionum, ibi: Tanquam nugaces.

In prima parte ex parte operum tangit triplicem causam, quarum prima est operum Iudaeorum detestatio; secunda, transgressionum illarum improperatio et diffamatio, ibi: Et improperat nobis³ etc.; tertia, Christi commendatio, ibi: Promittit se etc.

(Vers. 12.). Circumveniamus ergo etc. Quia dixi: Fortitudo nostra sit lex iniustitiae, et hoc non possumus, nisi iustum circumveniamus; circumveniamus ergo iustum etc., ut scilicet fortitudinis nostrae legem libere exercere possimus. Circumveniamus, inquam, per fraudulentiam, iustum, id est Christum, qui per antonomasiam iustus appellatur; Ieremiae vigesimo tertio⁴: « Hoc est nomen, quod vocabunt eum: Dominus iustus noster »; « quia peccatum » actuale « non fecit », primae Petri secundo; nec originale contraxit in conceptione; unde Ieremiae vigesimo tertio: « Suscitabo David germen iustum », id est Christum in germine, id est in conceptione; Isaiae quadragesimo quinto: « Iustitia oriatur simul » etc. Vel: Circumveniamus etc., potest esse vox quorumlibet malorum contra quemlibet iustum, contra quod monet Apostolus primae ad Thessalonicenses quarto⁵: « Ne quis circumveniat in negotio fratrem suum »; sicut nec ipse fecerat; unde secundae ad Corinthios septimo: Nos « neminem laesimus », scilicet facto; « neminem corrupimus », scilicet exemplo pravo; « neminem circumvenimus », scilicet verbo. Quoniam inutilis est nobis; Glossa⁶: « Cum tamen utilitatem eius in omnibus viderent », secundum illud Actuum decimo: « Qui pertransiit benefaciendo et sanando omnes oppressos a diabolo ». Sed inutilem sibi reputabant in temporalibus; unde Ioannis undecimo: « Venient Romani et tollent locum nostrum et gentem ». Et contrarius est operibus nostris, scilicet sicut bonum est contrarium malo, secundum illud Ecclesiastici trigesimo tertio⁷: « Contra malum stat bonum, et contra virum iustum peccator ». Et improperat nobis peccata Legis, id est, quia peccamus, transgrediendo Legem; unde Ioannis septimo: « Nonne Moyses dedit vobis Legem, et nemo ex vobis facit Legem »? Et diffamat in nos, id est contra nos, vel in nos retorquendo, peccata disciplinae nostrae, id est dicendo, quod peccamus, traditiones nostras docendo, vel tenendo, vel teneri faciendo; unde Matthaei decimo quinto: « Quare transgredimini mandatum Dei propter traditiones vestras »?

(Vers. 13.). Promittit, se scientiam Dei habere; Glossa⁸: « Id est omnia scire tanquam Deus », et hoc quantum ad essentiam. Et Filium Dei se nominat, « id est Deo consubstantialem et coaeternum », quoad personam; Ioannis quinto: « Patrem suum dicebat Deum, aequalem se faciens Deo ». Sic quilibet iustus scientiam Dei habet in intellectu, filius Dei est per gratiam in affectu; unde in Psalmo: « Ego dixi: Dii estis », scilicet scientes bonum et malum, « et filii Excelsi omnes ».

Factus est nobis in traductionem. Hic ponitur causa movens ex parte cogitationum, et primo tangitur cogitationum Iudaeorum per Christum manifestatio; secundo, manifestationis effectus, non ex parte Christi causatus, sed ex parte Iudaeorum, scilicet invidia eorum, ibi: Gravis est etc.

(Vers. 14.). Factus est nobis in traductionem, id est in propalationem, cogitationum nostrarum; Glossa⁹: « Cogitationes nostras traducit in lucem », id est, extra ducit in notitiam; unde Matthaei nono: « Ut quid cogitatis mala in cordibus p. 123 vestris »? Sic accipitur traducere Matthaei primo, scilicet pro manifestare, ubi dicitur: « Noluit eam traducere ».

(Vers. 15.). Gravis est etiam nobis ad videndum, scilicet propter manifestationem peccatorum ipsorum; Augustinus¹: « Oculis aegris odiosa est lux »; Ioannis tertio: « Qui male agit odit lucem ». Hoc autem, quod ipsum videre non poterant, signum erat invidiae; unde primi Regum decimo octavo: « Non rectis oculis Saul aspiciebat David », scilicet quia invidebat ei. Quoniam dissimilis est aliis vita illius, scilicet vita tota exterior seu conversatio.

Contra: ad Hebraeos secundo²: « Debuit per omnia fratribus similari ».

Dicendum, quod Apostolus loquitur de similitudine passibilis naturae; hic de similitudine culpae.

Notandum autem, quod dissimilis fuit vita vel conversatio eius aliis et quantum ad initium, quia sine peccato conceptus et natus; Isaiae sexto³: « Semen sanctum erit id quod steterit in ea », id est in Maria; Matthaei primo: « Quod in ea natum est de Spiritu sancto est ». Et quantum ad medium, quia sine peccato conversatus; primae Petri secundo: « Peccatum non fecit, nec inventus est dolus » etc. Et quoad terminum, quia mortuus est sine mortis debito; Psalmus: « Quae non rapui, tunc exsolvebam ».

Et immutatae sunt viae illius; Glossa⁴: « Dissimiles factae sunt », scilicet facta et disciplina eius; Isaiae quinquagesimo quinto: « Non enim cogitationes meae cogitationes vestrae, neque viae meae viae vestrae, dicit Dominus ».

Tanquam nugaces etc. Hic tangitur causa movens ex parte locutionum, et primo ponitur ipsorum reprobatio; secundo, aliorum approbatio, ibi: Et praefert novissima etc.; tertio, sui commendatio, ibi: Et gloriatur, patrem se habere Deum.

(Vers. 16.). Tanquam igitur nugaces aestimati sumus ab illo, id est inania facientes et dicentes; Sophoniae tertio⁵: « Nugas, qui a lege recesserant, congregabo ». Et abstinet se a viis nostris; Glossa: « Id est actionibus et traditionibus nostris »; tanquam ab immunditiis, et quidem iuste, quia vere immunditiae erant; unde Ezechielis trigesimo sexto: « Iuxta immunditiam menstruatae facta est via eorum coram me ». Et praefert novissima iustorum, id est finem, et merito quidem, quia « mors peccatorum pessima⁶ », sed mors iustorum pretiosa, secundum illud Psalmi: « Pretiosa in conspectu Domini mors Sanctorum eius »; ideo Numerorum vigesimo tertio dicebat Balaam: « Moriatur anima mea morte iustorum, et fiant novissima mea horum similia ». Vel secundum Glossam⁷: Praefert novissima iustorum, « id est vitam aeternam voluptati ». Et gloriatur, patrem se habere Deum; Ioannis octavo: « Est Pater meus, qui glorificat me ».

Secundo, persecutio Christi describitur quoad finem.

Videamus ergo, si sermones etc. Hic in persona Iudaeorum primo tangit finem persecutionis Christi, qui erat, quod de Christo veritatem scire volebant; secundo subditur, qualiter hoc scire poterant, ibi: Si enim est verus Filius Dei etc.

(Vers. 17. 18.). Videamus etc., quasi dicant: ex quo ita gloriatur, videamus, quasi a remotis, de morte eius tractando; Ioannis undecimo⁸: « Collegerunt Pontifices et Pharisaei concilium » adversus Iesum. Videamus, inquam, si sermones illius veri sint, scilicet, quod sit vere Filius Dei. Hoc vidit et cognovit ille centurio, qui, videns eum clamando exspirare et motum terrae aliaque signa, ait Matthaei vigesimo septimo⁹: « Vere Filius Dei erat iste ». Et tentemus, de prope, eum scilicet crucifigendo et morti exponendo; quae ventura sunt illi, scilicet si poterit se liberare; Matthaei vigesimo septimo: « Alios salvos fecit, se ipsum non potest salvum facere ». Et sciemus, vel: ut sciamus, quae erunt novissima illius, scilicet si resurget. Et hoc sciemus eius sepulcrum custodiendo; unde Matthaei vigesimo septimo: « Domine, recordati sumus, quod seductor ille dixit adhuc vivens: Post tres dies resurgam ». — Si enim verus est Filius Dei, ut praedixit, non per gratiam adoptionis, ut nos, sed per naturalem proprietatem aeternae generationis; suscipiet illum, scilicet in gloria; Isaiae quadragesimo secundo¹⁰: « Ecce, servus meus, suscipiam eum ». Et liberabit eum, scilicet a poena; et hoc est quod sequitur: De manibus contrariorum, id est crucifixorum, qui ei erant contrarii. Utrumque fecit ei Deus; ipsum enim liberavit a poena, secundum illud Psalmi¹¹: « Liberator meus de inimicis meis iracundis », scilicet ipsa die passionis, postquam temporalem mortem sustinuit; et ipsum suscitavit, sed non statim, at tertia die, secundum illud Sophoniae tertio: « Exspecta me in p. 124 die resurrectionis meae »; et ipsum cum gloria suscepit in die ascensionis; unde in Psalmo: « Cum gloria suscepisti me ».

Tertio, persecutio Christi describitur quoad specialem modum oppressionis.

Contumelia et tormento interrogemus etc. Hic tangit specialem modum oppressionis, et primo, quantum ad ipsa disponentia ad mortem; secundo, quantum ad ipsam mortem: Morte turpissima etc.

(Vers. 19. 20.). Dicit ergo: Contumelia, scilicet verborum; et tormento, scilicet verberum; ad Hebraeos undecimo¹: « Sancti ludibria et verbera experti »; interrogemus eum, id est, examinemus. Sic factum est, ut patet Matthaei vigesimo septimo et Ioannis decimo nono, quia illusus est verbis contumeliosis et caesus flagellis et tandem affixus clavis in patibulo crucis. Ut sciamus reverentiam eius, id est humilitatem, qua Deum reveretur; ad Hebraeos quinto: « Exauditus est pro sua reverentia ». Et probemus patientiam eius, scilicet per tormenta; id est, si vere humilis et patiens est. Et vere sic, quia « cum malediceretur, non maledicebat, cum pateretur, non comminabatur », primae Petri secundo²; Gregorius: « Qualis unusquisque apud se lateat, contumelia illata probat ». — Morte turpissima; Glossa³: « Id est morte crucis, quae usque ad passionem Christi poena fuit reorum, nunc autem est victoriae trophaeum et gloria Ecclesiae »; Augustinus: « Crux de poenis latronum transiit ad frontes imperatorum ». Et quia turpissima erat mors crucis, ideo ad ostendendum utilitatem mortis Christi dicit Apostolus ad Philippenses secundo: « Humiliavit semetipsum etc., mortem autem crucis ».

Fuit autem mors Christi turpissima ratione loci, quia extra civitatem in loco Calvariae, id est loco, ubi proiiciebantur capita decollatorum, Matthaei vigesimo septimo⁴. Ratione temporis, quia die solemni et hora maiori, scilicet « hora sexta », Ioannis decimo nono. Ratione instrumenti, quia in ligno crucis; primae Petri secundo: « Peccata nostra pertulit in corpore suo super lignum ». Ratione consortii, quia inter latrones, Lucae vigesimo tertio. Ratione opprobrii, quia multa opprobria pendenti illata sunt, ut patet Matthaei vigesimo septimo.

Condemnemus eum. Notandum, quod ipsum condemnavit Pilatus auctoritate; Iudaei, persuasione. Erit enim ei respectus ex sermonibus illius, id est cognitio veritatis sermonum illius; Glossa⁵: « Videbimus, si post mortem valeat resuscitare carnem; dixit enim: Solvite templum hoc, et in triduo reaedificabo illud », Ioannis secundo.

Haec cogitaverunt et erraverunt. Hic ostendit⁶, talium vitam esse fugiendam tanquam erroneam; et primo tangit causam erroris eorum meritoriam; secundo, erroris materiam: Et nescierunt etc.; tertio, erroris auctorem: Invidia autem diaboli etc.

(Vers. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.). Haec, scilicet praedicta, cogitaverunt, scilicet impii et perfecerunt; et erraverunt; unde infra quinto⁷: « Ergo erravimus a via veritatis, et iustitiae lumen non luxit nobis »; item Proverbiorum decimo quarto: « Errant qui operantur malum ». Excaecavit enim eos, scilicet oculum eorum interiorem, malitia eorum; unde in oratione Ieremiae: « Vae nobis, quia peccavimus; propterea obtenebrati sunt oculi nostri »; item secundae ad Corinthios quarto: « Deus huius saeculi excaecavit mentes infidelium ». — Et nescierunt sacramenta Dei, id est sacra et secreta consilia et dispositiones de passione et resurrectione Christi; ad Ephesios tertio⁸: « Notum mihi factum est sacramentum, quod aliis generationibus non est agnitum ». Neque mercedem speraverunt iustitiae; Glossa: « Id est mortis Christi », scilicet exaltationem eius per mortem, de qua ad Philippenses secundo: « Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum ». Nec iudicaverunt; Glossa: « Id est, intellexerunt », honorem animarum sanctarum, id est salutem sanctarum animarum per mortem Christi et resurrectionem obtinendam; unde Glossa⁹: « Non intellexerunt, quia mors Christi honor est et salus animarum »; Psalmus: « Nimis honorati sunt » etc.; item primae Petri secundo: « Vobis igitur honor credentibus » etc. — Et bene dixi: Honorem, quia Deus creavit hominem inexterminabilem, id est potentem non mori, ex parte corporis; et ad imaginem, scilicet ex parte animae; Genesis primo¹⁰: « Faciamus hominem ad imaginem et p. 125 similitudinem nostram »; ad imaginem, scilicet in naturalibus; similitudinis suae, scilicet in gratuitis; vel: ad imaginem, in potentia cognitiva; ad similitudinem, in potentia affectiva; imago enim est principium cognoscendi, similitudo ratio diligendi; « omne » enim « animal diligit sibi simile », Ecclesiastici decimo tertio¹; fecit illum. — Invidia autem diaboli, qui scilicet invidit felicitati primorum parentum, mors introivit in orbem terrarum.

Contra: ad Romanos quinto²: « Per unum hominem peccatum intravit, et per peccatum mors ».

Dicendum, quod intravit per diabolum suggerentem et per hominem consentientem.

Imitantur autem illum, scilicet diabolum, invidendo iustis, qui sunt ex parte illius, scilicet impii, qui sunt de parte diaboli. « Ipse enim est caput omnium iniquorum », ut dicit Gregorius³.

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Chapter II.

Secondly, the justice of man towards his neighbour is treated in two ways.

For they have said etc. Above he treated of the justice of man towards God; here principally of the justice of man towards his neighbour; and first, by drawing back from the likeness of the unjust, namely in this chapter; secondly, by provoking to the likeness of the just, namely in the third chapter.

First he draws back from the likeness of the unjust, noting three things.

In the first part, first, on the side of the unjust, he sets out the moving cause of living unjustly; secondly, he describes the unjust life, there: Come therefore etc.; but thirdly he shows that it is not to be imitated, there: These things they thought etc.

In the first, a threefold moving cause is touched on: the first on the side of state; the second on the side of nature: For we are born of nothing; the third on the side of name or fame: And our name forgetfulness etc. — On the side of state, threefold: first, as to the state of the world, there: Short and with tediousness etc.; secondly, as to the state of paradise: There is no refreshment etc.; thirdly, as to the state of hell: And there is none who has been known to have returned from hell.

(V. 1.). For the impious have said, reasoning with themselves, not rightly etc. Well did I say⁴ that « the impious with their hands and words have called » injustice and death. For the impious have said, that is, those lacking piety towards God and their neighbour; the Gloss: « It is the voice of the lost, who like brute animals love the things that are present and despise those to come, nor hope for eternal rest after this life ». With themselves, because « they dare not openly », according to that of the Psalm: « The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God »; for if they were to say it openly, they would fear to incur punishment. Reasoning not rightly, nay, badly. Short is etc., on account of brevity, according to that of Job, the fourteenth⁵: « The days of man are short ». And with tediousness, on account of penalty; Job, the fourteenth: « Man born of a woman, living for a short time, is filled with many miseries ». The time of our life; the Gloss⁶: « Present », namely the life in which they live to themselves, not to God; therefore he adds: our, against which is the second to the Corinthians, the fifth: « That they also who live may not now live to themselves, but unto him who died for them and rose again ». And there is no refreshment in the end of a man; the Gloss⁷: « That is, rest after death ». This, however, is false, because it is said in the Psalm in the person of the Saints: « We have passed through fire and water, and thou hast brought us out into a refreshment »; likewise Jeremias, the sixth: « Ask for the old paths, which is the good way, and walk ye in it; and you shall find refreshment for your souls »; likewise the Apocalypse, the fourteenth: « Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord etc., that they may rest from their labours ». — And there is none who has been known to have returned from hell. By this they intend to exclude that there is a hell; but by the same reasoning they can say that there is no death, because no dead man returns to life. Hence their reasoning is not valid, because from privation to habit there is no return according to nature⁸; and therefore from the lower hell no one returns according to the common law; whence Job, the seventh: « He that shall go down to hell shall not come up ». Some, however, are read to have returned p. 119 by the privilege of grace, as the young man whom John the Evangelist raised, and Trajan, whom Gregory did¹. But from the upper hell Christ returned, and many others were raised through him or through his disciples.

For we are born of nothing etc. Here is set down the moving cause on the side of nature; and first, from the consideration of human origin; secondly, from the consideration of composition, there: For the breath is smoke; thirdly, from the consideration of resolution: Which being extinguished.

(V. 2.). Well did I say that there will be neither refreshment nor penalty, because there is not even a subject capable of such things; for we are born of nothing, by an origin immediate as to the soul and mediate as to the body; whence the second of Machabees, the seventh²: « Understand that God made them out of nothing, and mankind also ». — And after this, that is, after this life, we shall be as if we had not been, as if he said: we shall return into nothing, according to that of Damascene³: « Everything that began from change is subject to change »; likewise Augustine: « It is natural that what is from nothing can be resolved into nothing »; which is to be understood of the possibility of first aptitude, not of necessity; because they are held by the hand of the Creator, lest they fall into nothing, as Gregory says. — For the breath is smoke, namely as to the vital spirit, corporeal and intrinsic; for smoke is a fiery vapour, and the vital spirit is a subtle fiery body; and a blast⁴, that is, wind, as to the exterior corporeal spirit, which is breathed; James, the fourth: « What is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while »; Job, the seventh: « My life is wind »; the Psalm: « My days have vanished like smoke ». — In our nostrils, this he says specially, giving the whole body to be understood by a part, on account of easy exit, as though it were in the nostrils; likewise, on account of manifestation, because there, in breathing in and breathing out, it is more manifest. And speech of a spark to move our heart, « that is, the soul, comparable to a spark », as the Gloss says⁵; whence the second of Kings, the fourteenth: « They seek to quench my spark ». Now the soul is called speech according to the reckoning of unbelievers, because according to them it is nothing in reality, but only according to name or speech; but it is compared to a spark, because according to some philosophers the soul was said to be of a fiery nature. Or better: the soul can be called speech from its effect, namely because it has the power of discoursing; but it is compared to a spark on account of the subtlety of its nature and on account of the agility of its motion; whence below, the third⁶: « And they shall run to and fro like sparks among the reeds »; likewise, on account of the brevity of its duration, according to the unbelievers; whence the Gloss: « Comparable to a spark, which at once becomes nothing ». To move our heart, « that is, to quicken or to vegetate », according to the Gloss; breathing is in our nostrils, that is, in our bodies, as ready to go out of the body as a blast from the nose.

There follows: Because, extinguished etc. Well did I say that the soul is compared to a spark, because it is quickly extinguished, because our body will be extinguished ashes, namely after the extinction of the soul, which according to the unbelievers is extinguished in death. But the truer reading is: Which being extinguished etc. Here he touches on the moving cause from the consideration of resolution, and first, from the consideration of resolution as to the body; secondly, as to the spirit, there: And the spirit shall be poured abroad; thirdly, as to life: And our life shall pass away etc.

(V. 3.). He says therefore: Which, namely the soul, being extinguished, according to them, our body shall be ashes; Ecclesiasticus, the seventeenth⁷: « All men are earth and ashes »; likewise Genesis, the eighteenth: « I will speak to p. 120 my Lord, whereas I am dust and ashes »? For through the consuming of the natural moisture by heat the body is consumed and turned into ashes; and the spirit, corporeal and vital, shall be poured abroad, namely by returning into its own composing principles; as soft air, that is, easily and invisibly; but the air is called soft because it does not resist touch. Or: the spirit, incorporeal, that is, the soul, shall be poured abroad, that is, shall vanish and be dissolved, according to them, after that of the Psalm¹: « The spirit shall pass in him, and shall not be » etc. And our life shall pass away, that is, through the annihilation of its principles it shall wholly cease. And as the trace of a cloud, which does not appear after the resolution of the cloud; Job, the thirtieth: « My prosperity hath passed away like a cloud », namely the temporal; likewise in the seventh chapter: « As a cloud is consumed and passeth away, so he that shall go down to hell shall not come up ». And as a mist it shall be dissolved, which, namely, is the remnant of a cloud; for a cloud consists of a grosser and lower vapour, but a mist of a rarer one. Which, namely the mist, is driven away by the rays of the sun, the heat of the containing air uniting and driving away the parts of the cold vapour; and weighed down by its heat, the same heat driving the cold of the cloud to the inner parts and so accidentally condensing the parts of that matter, and so weighing it down and afterwards resolving it into water; Job, the thirty-seventh²: « Suddenly the air will be gathered into clouds, and a wind passing will drive them away ».

And our name etc. Here is shown the moving cause on the side of fame or name; first the abolition of fame is touched on; secondly, the reason for the abolition, there: For the passing of a shadow.

(V. 4.). He says therefore: And our name, as if he said: not only shall our essence or substance pass into nothing, but our name also, that is, fame as to the person, shall receive forgetfulness in time, that is, the long lapse of time; Proverbs, the tenth³: « The name of the impious shall rot ». And no man shall have remembrance of our works, as to life; Job, the eighteenth: « Let the memory of him perish from the earth »; likewise in the Psalm: « Their memory hath perished with a noise »; and on the contrary: « The just shall be in everlasting remembrance ».

But it is objected that the works of many reprobates, namely of Cain, of Pharao, of Nero etc., are still remembered.

It must be said that this word is the word of the reprobate; and therefore it is not unfitting to say that it is false. Or it must be said that they are not remembered with a praiseworthy remembrance, or one useful to them; and of this he speaks here.

But it is objected that the famous and praiseworthy deeds of many reprobates are remembered.

To this it must be said that they were not theirs, but God's in them, according to that of Isaias, the twenty-sixth⁴: « Thou hast wrought all our works for us, O Lord ».

(V. 5.). Now for remembering two things are required, namely a strong impression and frequent repetition, and he excludes both when he adds: For the shadow etc.; the passing of a shadow, on account of the speed of passing; the first of Paralipomenon, the twenty-ninth⁵: « Our days upon earth are as a shadow, and there is no stay »; the passing, I say, of a shadow is our time, that is, that which we spend on doing our own will, not God's; but the Lord will at some time take that very time to himself; the Psalm⁶: « When I shall take a time, I will judge justices ». And there is no going back of our end, on account of the impossibility of returning; Job, the tenth: « Before I go, and return no more » etc. For it is sealed, namely our return, that is, closed under seal; the Gloss: « Sealed, as it were not appearing, because it is not ». And no man returns to life, namely according to the common law; the Psalm⁷: « Their sepulchres shall be their houses for ever », namely according to their opinion; but according to the truth all shall at some time rise again by the divine power; whence the first to the Corinthians, the fifteenth: « We shall all indeed rise again » etc.

Now it is to be noted that the life and state of the impious is said to be smoke on account of the blinding of the rational, below, in the same chapter⁸: « Their malice blinded them »; likewise to the Romans, the first: « Their foolish heart was darkened ». It is likened to a blast on account of the restless disturbance of the irascible, Isaias, the fifty-seventh: « The impious are like the raging sea »; to a spark, on account of the inflaming of the concupiscible, Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third: « A hot soul is a burning fire, it will never be quenched »; to air, on account of the emptiness of intention; to ashes, on account of the fruitlessness of works, below, the third: « Their works are unprofitable »; to a denser cloud, on account of opposition to grace; to a lighter mist, on account of the elevation or elation of mind; to a shadow, on account of outward pretence.

Come therefore etc. Here he describes the unjust life⁹; and first is touched on the concord of the unjust and their mutual exhortation to the dissolution of their own life; secondly, the oppression of the just, there: Let us oppress etc.

First, then, they exhort one another to be free for dissolution^tr., first, speedily, secondly, abundantly, there: With precious wine etc.; thirdly, openly, there: p. 121 Let us crown ourselves; fourthly, in common or universally, there: Let none of us; fifthly, merrily, there: Let us everywhere leave.

(V. 6.). Come therefore, as if they said: since the present life passes, and we do not hope for a future one; come therefore etc. Come, they say, because, says Seneca¹, « the possession of no thing is pleasant without a companion »; and therefore they exhort one another. For this is the invitatory at the matins of the devil. For it is to be noted that, as the Church of the just has different invitatories and Venite for different feasts, so too the synagogue of sinners. One is of vanity; Genesis, the eleventh²: « Come, and let us make ourselves a city and a tower ». Another, of iniquity; Genesis, the thirty-seventh: « Come, and let us kill him and cast him into some old pit ». The third, of avarice and cupidity; Proverbs, the first: « Come with us » etc. The fourth, of pleasure, of which here, namely: Come, and let us enjoy the good things that are etc. To these answers that of Matthew, the twenty-fifth³: « Depart from me, you cursed, into fire » etc. Let us enjoy, I say, by loving affection, desiring nothing further; « for to enjoy is to cling to some thing with love for its own sake »; the good things that are, that is, present goods, and let us use, by delighting in effect; Augustine: « To use is to take something into the faculty of the will »; Augustine: « The whole evil of man is to enjoy the things to be used and to use the things to be enjoyed ». Let us use, I say, the creature, namely with the Creator despised; for otherwise it would not be a sin to use the creature. As in youth, that is, as long as we are young; because the sense of the young perceives delight more than that of the old; whence the second of Kings, the nineteenth⁴: « I am this day fourscore years old, are my senses quick » etc.; therefore Ecclesiastes, the eleventh: « Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth ». Speedily; the Gloss: « Lest we and those things pass away before we enjoy them », according to that of Isaias, the twenty-second: « Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die ».

(V. 7. 8. 9.). With precious wine, inwardly, as to taste, stirring up heat from within; and with ointments, outwardly, as to touch, stirring up heat from without; let us fill ourselves, by superfluous and immoderate use; Amos, the sixth⁵: « That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the best ointments » etc. And let not the flower of the time pass us by, that is, pleasantness as to sight; Jeremias, the forty-eighth: « Give the flower of Moab » etc. Such men do not care for the fruit of the heavenly autumn, but only for the flower of the present spring. — Let us crown ourselves with roses, before they wither; Isaias, the fortieth⁶: « The flower is fallen »; and in the twenty-eighth chapter: « Woe to the fading flower »! Let us crown ourselves with roses, for delight as to smell; but « woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim »! Isaias, the twenty-eighth. Let there be no meadow which our riot does not pass through, that is, no pleasant place; this he says as to universality of place; Jeremias, the second: « On every high hill and under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself, O harlot ». None of us, this is said as to universality of persons. Such was Sodom, in which not even ten just men could be found, as is plain in Genesis, the eighteenth⁷. — Let none, I say, of us be without his share in our riot, that is, without a lot, that is, without part or exempt. Let us everywhere leave tokens of our joy; this is said as to universality in deed; Ezechiel, the sixteenth: « At every head of the way thou hast set up a sign of thy prostitution ». For this, namely such a dissolute life, is our portion, namely on the side of the soul; and this is our lot, namely on the side of the body. Or: portion and lot are the same in reality, but differ in account, because a portion is named from the side of the one receiving, a lot from the side of the one giving; Isaias, the fifty-seventh⁸: « In the parts of the torrent is thy portion, this is thy lot ». On the contrary the just man says: « The Lord is the portion of my inheritance »; likewise: « God of my heart, and God is my portion for ever ».

Let us oppress the poor just man etc. Here he describes the unjust life as to the oppression of the good, first, because they oppress without reverence for the person; secondly, because without fear of justice, there: But let our strength etc.

(V. 10. 11.). Let us oppress; the Gloss⁹: « It is the voice of the lost »; the poor just man, namely anyone at all; Job, the twenty-fourth: « They have oppressed together the meek of the earth ». And let us not spare the widow; the Psalm: « They have slain the widow and the stranger » etc.; nor honour the grey hairs of the aged of much time, that is, any old man whatever; Baruch, the fourth: « They have not reverenced the ancient ». — But let our strength be the law of injustice, that is, let us reckon lawful whatever we are able to do; Habacuc, the first¹⁰: « Judgment is given, and opposition is more powerful ». Or: of justice; whence the interlinear one: « As though we were to hold strength for justice », that is, what we shall not be able to do through p. 122 justice we may do through violence. For that which is feeble etc., as if he said: let us not oppress only the poor and weak, as widows and old men, but whomsoever we can; for that which is feeble, namely in itself, as a widow, a poor man and an old man, is found unprofitable, namely to others; whence of such men little or nothing is to be cared for. Not so did the Lord think, who « chose the weak things of the world, that he may confound the strong, and the base things of the world and the things that are contemptible¹ » etc. Not so Paul, who said that « power is made perfect in infirmity », the second to the Corinthians, the twelfth.

Allegorically this is expounded of heretics, who do not spare the poor just man, that is, the Christian people; nor the widow, that is, the Church; nor the aged, that is, the Apostles and Prophets².

The persecution of Christ is specially described, first as to its threefold cause.

Let us therefore circumvent the just man etc. Here he specially describes the persecution of Christ, and first touches on the cause; secondly the end, there: Let us see then if his words etc.; thirdly the manner, there: With contumely and torment etc. — The cause on account of which the Jews persecuted Christ he touches on in three ways: first, on the side of their operations; secondly, on the side of their thoughts, there: He is become to us; thirdly, on the side of their speech, there: As triflers.

In the first part, on the side of works, he touches on a threefold cause, of which the first is the detestation of the works of the Jews; the second, the upbraiding and defaming of their transgressions, there: And he upbraids us³ etc.; the third, the commendation of Christ, there: He promises himself etc.

(V. 12.). Let us therefore circumvent etc. Since I said: Let our strength be the law of injustice, and this we cannot do unless we circumvent the just man; let us therefore circumvent the just man etc., namely that we may freely exercise the law of our strength. Let us circumvent, I say, through fraudulence, the just man, that is, Christ, who by antonomasia is called the Just; Jeremias, the twenty-third⁴: « This is the name that they shall call him: The Lord our just one »; « because he did no sin », actual sin, the first of Peter, the second; nor did he contract original sin in his conception; whence Jeremias, the twenty-third: « I will raise up to David a just branch », that is, Christ in the branch, that is, in his conception; Isaias, the forty-fifth: « Let justice spring up together » etc. Or: Let us circumvent etc. can be the voice of any wicked men whatever against any just man whatever, against which the Apostle warns, the first to the Thessalonians, the fourth⁵: « That no man circumvent his brother in business »; just as he himself had not done; whence the second to the Corinthians, the seventh: We « have injured no man », namely by deed; « we have corrupted no man », namely by depraved example; « we have circumvented no man », namely by word. Because he is unprofitable to us; the Gloss⁶: « Although they saw his usefulness in all things », according to that of Acts, the tenth: « Who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed by the devil ». But they reckoned him unprofitable to themselves in temporal things; whence John, the eleventh: « The Romans will come and take away our place and nation ». And he is contrary to our works, namely as good is contrary to evil, according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-third⁷: « Against evil stands good, and against the just man the sinner ». And he upbraids us with the sins of the Law, that is, that we sin by transgressing the Law; whence John, the seventh: « Did not Moses give you the Law, and yet none of you keepeth the Law »? And he defames against us, that is, against us, or by turning back upon us, the sins of our discipline, that is, by saying that we sin in teaching our traditions, or holding them, or making them be held; whence Matthew, the fifteenth: « Why do you transgress the commandment of God for your tradition »?

(V. 13.). He promises that he has the knowledge of God; the Gloss⁸: « That is, that he knows all things as God », and this as to essence. And he names himself the Son of God, « that is, consubstantial and coeternal with God », as to person; John, the fifth: « He said God was his Father, making himself equal to God ». So every just man has the knowledge of God in the understanding, and is a son of God through grace in the affection; whence in the Psalm: « I have said: You are gods », namely knowing good and evil, « and all of you the sons of the Most High ».

He is become to us an exposure. Here is set down the moving cause on the side of thoughts, and first is touched on the manifestation of the thoughts of the Jews through Christ; secondly, the effect of the manifestation, caused not on the side of Christ but on the side of the Jews, namely their envy, there: He is grievous etc.

(V. 14.). He is become to us an exposure, that is, a publishing abroad, of our thoughts; the Gloss⁹: « He brings our thoughts out into the light », that is, he leads them out into knowledge; whence Matthew, the ninth: « Why do you think evil in your hearts p. 123 »? So is to expose taken in Matthew, the first, namely for to manifest, where it is said: « He was not willing to expose her ».

(V. 15.). He is grievous unto us even to behold, namely on account of the manifestation of their sins; Augustine¹: « To sick eyes light is hateful »; John, the third: « He that doth evil hateth the light ». And this, that they could not bear to see him, was a sign of envy; whence the first of Kings, the eighteenth: « Saul did not look on David with a right eye », namely because he envied him. For his life is unlike to others, namely the whole outward life or conversation.

On the contrary: to the Hebrews, the second²: « It behoved him in all things to be made like unto his brethren ».

It must be said that the Apostle speaks of likeness of passible nature; here, of likeness of guilt.

Now it is to be noted that his life or conversation was unlike to others both as to its beginning, because conceived and born without sin; Isaias, the sixth³: « That which shall stand therein shall be a holy seed », that is, in Mary; Matthew, the first: « That which is born in her is of the Holy Spirit ». And as to its middle, because he lived without sin; the first of Peter, the second: « Who did no sin, neither was guile found » etc. And as to its end, because he died without the debt of death; the Psalm: « Then did I pay that which I took not away ».

And his ways are changed; the Gloss⁴: « They have been made unlike », namely his deeds and discipline; Isaias, the fifty-fifth: « For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord ».

As triflers etc. Here is touched on the moving cause on the side of speech, and first is set down their own reprobation; secondly, the approbation of others, there: And he prefers the latter end etc.; thirdly, his commendation of himself, there: And he glories that he has God for his father.

(V. 16.). As therefore triflers we are esteemed by him, that is, doing and saying empty things; Sophonias, the third⁵: « The triflers that were departed from the law, I will gather together ». And he abstains from our ways; the Gloss: « That is, from our actions and traditions »; as from uncleannesses, and justly indeed, because they truly were uncleannesses; whence Ezechiel, the thirty-sixth: « Their way was before me like the uncleanness of a menstruous woman ». And he prefers the latter end of the just, that is, the end, and deservedly indeed, because « the death of sinners is very evil⁶ », but the death of the just is precious, according to that of the Psalm: « Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his Saints »; therefore Balaam said in Numbers, the twenty-third: « Let my soul die the death of the just, and my last end be like to them ». Or according to the Gloss⁷: He prefers the latter end of the just, « that is, eternal life to pleasure ». And he glories that he has God for his father; John, the eighth: « It is my Father that glorifieth me ».

Secondly, the persecution of Christ is described as to its end.

Let us see then if his words etc. Here, in the person of the Jews, he first touches on the end of the persecution of Christ, which was that they wished to know the truth about Christ; secondly it is added how they could know this, there: For if he be the true Son of God etc.

(V. 17. 18.). Let us see etc., as if they said: since he so glories, let us see, as it were from afar, by treating of his death; John, the eleventh⁸: « The chief priests and the Pharisees gathered a council » against Jesus. Let us see, I say, if his words be true, namely that he is truly the Son of God. This the centurion saw and knew, who, seeing him expire with a cry, and the earthquake and the other signs, said, Matthew, the twenty-seventh⁹: « Indeed this was the Son of God ». And let us try, from near at hand, namely by crucifying him and exposing him to death, what things shall happen to him, namely whether he can free himself; Matthew, the twenty-seventh: « He saved others; himself he cannot save ». And we shall know, or: that we may know, what shall be his last end, namely whether he will rise again. And this we shall know by guarding his sepulchre; whence Matthew, the twenty-seventh: « Sir, we have remembered that that seducer said while he was yet alive: After three days I will rise again ». — For if he be the true Son of God, as he foretold, not by the grace of adoption, as we are, but by the natural property of eternal generation, he will take him up, namely in glory; Isaias, the forty-second¹⁰: « Behold my servant, I will uphold him ». And he will deliver him, namely from punishment; and this is what follows: From the hands of his adversaries, that is, of those who crucified him, who were adversaries to him. Both of these God did for him; for he delivered him from punishment, according to that of the Psalm¹¹: « My deliverer from my enraged enemies », namely on the very day of the passion, after he had undergone temporal death; and he raised him up, but not at once, rather on the third day, according to that of Sophonias, the third: « Wait for me in the p. 124 day of my resurrection »; and he took him up with glory on the day of the ascension; whence in the Psalm: « With glory thou hast received me ».

Thirdly, the persecution of Christ is described as to the special manner of the oppression.

Let us examine him with contumely and torment etc. Here he touches on the special manner of the oppression, and first as to the very things disposing to death; secondly, as to death itself: With a most shameful death etc.

(V. 19. 20.). He says therefore: With contumely, namely of words; and torment, namely of stripes; to the Hebrews, the eleventh¹: « The Saints had trial of mockeries and stripes »; let us examine him, that is, let us test him. So was it done, as is plain in Matthew, the twenty-seventh, and John, the nineteenth, because he was mocked with contumelious words and beaten with scourges and at last fastened with nails on the gibbet of the cross. That we may know his reverence, that is, the humility with which he reveres God; to the Hebrews, the fifth: « He was heard for his reverence ». And try his patience, namely through torments; that is, whether he is truly humble and patient. And truly so, because « when he was reviled, he did not revile; when he suffered, he threatened not », the first of Peter, the second²; Gregory: « Contumely inflicted proves what sort each one is hidden within himself ». — With a most shameful death; the Gloss³: « That is, with the death of the cross, which up to the passion of Christ was the punishment of the guilty, but now is the trophy of victory and the glory of the Church »; Augustine: « The cross has passed from the punishments of robbers to the foreheads of emperors ». And because the death of the cross was most shameful, therefore, to show the usefulness of the death of Christ, the Apostle says to the Philippians, the second: « He humbled himself etc., even to the death of the cross ».

Now the death of Christ was most shameful by reason of place, because outside the city in the place of Calvary, that is, the place where the heads of the beheaded were cast, Matthew, the twenty-seventh⁴. By reason of time, because on a solemn day and at a greater hour, namely « the sixth hour », John, the nineteenth. By reason of instrument, because on the wood of the cross; the first of Peter, the second: « He bore our sins in his body upon the tree ». By reason of company, because among robbers, Luke, the twenty-third. By reason of reproach, because many reproaches were heaped upon him as he hung, as is plain in Matthew, the twenty-seventh.

Let us condemn him. It is to be noted that Pilate condemned him by authority; the Jews, by persuasion. For there shall be respect had unto him from his words, that is, knowledge of the truth of his words; the Gloss⁵: « We shall see whether after death he can raise up the flesh; for he said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will rebuild it », John, the second.

These things they thought, and they erred. Here he shows⁶ that the life of such men is to be fled as erroneous; and first he touches on the meritorious cause of their error; secondly, the matter of the error: And they knew not etc.; thirdly, the author of the error: But by the envy of the devil etc.

(V. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25.). These things, namely the aforesaid, they thought, namely the impious, and carried out; and they erred; whence below, the fifth⁷: « Therefore we have erred from the way of truth, and the lumen^tr. of justice hath not shone unto us »; likewise Proverbs, the fourteenth: « They err that work evil ». For their malice blinded them, namely their inner eye; whence in the prayer of Jeremias: « Woe to us, because we have sinned; therefore our eyes are become dim »; likewise the second to the Corinthians, the fourth: « The god of this world hath blinded the minds of unbelievers ». — And they knew not the mysteries of God, that is, the sacred and secret counsels and dispositions concerning the passion and resurrection of Christ; to the Ephesians, the third⁸: « The mystery has been made known to me, which in other generations was not known ». Nor did they hope for the wages of justice; the Gloss: « That is, of the death of Christ », namely his exaltation through death, of which, to the Philippians, the second: « For which cause God also hath exalted him ». Nor did they judge; the Gloss: « That is, they understood », the honour of holy souls, that is, the salvation of holy souls to be obtained through the death and resurrection of Christ; whence the Gloss⁹: « They did not understand that the death of Christ is the honour and salvation of souls »; the Psalm: « Exceedingly honoured are » etc.; likewise the first of Peter, the second: « To you therefore that believe, he is honour » etc. — And well did I say: Honour, because God created man inexterminable, that is, able not to die, on the side of the body; and to the image, namely on the side of the soul; Genesis, the first¹⁰: « Let us make man to our image and p. 125 likeness »; to the image, namely in natural things; of his own likeness, namely in gratuitous things; or: to the image, in the cognitive power; to the likeness, in the affective power; for an image is the principle of knowing, a likeness the ground of loving; for « every » « beast loveth its like », Ecclesiasticus, the thirteenth¹; he made him. — But by the envy of the devil, who namely envied the happiness of our first parents, death came into the world.

On the contrary: to the Romans, the fifth²: « By one man sin entered, and by sin death ».

It must be said that it entered through the devil suggesting and through man consenting.

But they imitate him, namely the devil, by envying the just, who are of his side, namely the impious, who are of the devil's party. « For he is the head of all the wicked », as Gregory says³.

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