Dist. 29
Book II: On the Creation of Things · Distinction 29
DISTINCTIO XXIX.
Cap. I.
Utrum homo ante peccatum eguerit gratia operante et cooperante.
Post haec considerandum est, utrum homo ante peccatum eguerit gratia operante et cooperante. — Ad quod breviter dicimus, quia non cooperante tantum, sed etiam operante gratia indigebat, non quidem secundum omnem operandi modum operantis gratiae; operatur enim liberando et praeparando voluntatem hominis ad bonum. Egebat itaque homo ea non, ut liberaret voluntatem suam, quae peccati serva non fuerat; sed ut praepararet ad volendum efficaciter bonum, quod per se non poterat. Non enim poterat bonum mereri sine gratia, ut Augustinus in Enchiridio1 evidenter tradit: « Illam, inquit, immortalitatem, in qua poterat non mori, natura humana perdidit per liberum arbitrium; hanc vero, in qua non poterit mori, acceptura est per gratiam, quam fuerat, si non peccasset, acceptura per meritum; quamvis sine gratia nec tunc ullum meritum esse potuisset, quia, etsi peccatum in solo erat arbitrio constitutum, non tamen iustitiae habendae vel retinendae sufficiebat liberum arbitrium, nisi divinum praeberetur adiutorium ». — Ecce his verbis satis ostenditur, quod ante peccatum homo indigebat gratia operante et cooperante. Non enim habebat quo pedem movere posset sine gratiae operantis et cooperantis auxilio, habuit tamen quo poterat stare.
Cap. II.
Si homo ante lapsum virtutes habuerit.
« Praeterea quaeri solet, utrum homo ante lapsum virtutem habuerit. — Quibusdam videtur, quod non habuerit, id ita probare conantibus: iustitiam, inquiunt,
non habuit, quia praeceptum Dei contempsit, nec prudentiam, quia sibi non providit, nec temperantiam, quia aliena appetiit, nec fortitudinem, quia pravae suggestioni cessit. — Quibus respondentes dicimus, eum quidem non tunc habuisse has virtutes, quando peccavit, sed ante, et tunc amisisse. Quod multis Sanctorum testimoniis comprobatur. Ait enim Augustinus in quadam Homilia2: « Adam, perdita caritate, malus inventus est ». Item: « Princeps vitiorum, dum vidit Adam, de limo terrae ad imaginem Dei factum, pudicitia armatum, temperantia compositum, caritate splendidum, primos parentes illis donis ac tantis bonis exspoliavit pariterque peremit ». De hoc eodem Ambrosius ad Sabinum3 ait: « Quando Adam solus erat, non est praevaricatus, quia eius mens Deo adhaerebat ». Super Psalmum quoque dicit, quod « homo ante peccatum beatissimus auram carpebat aetheream ». Sed quomodo sine virtute beatissimus erat? Augustinus quoque super Genesim4 dicit, Adam ante peccatum « spiritali mente praeditum fuisse ». Non est ergo dubitandum, hominem ante peccatum virtutibus fulsisse, sed illis per peccatum exspoliatum fuisse.
Cap. III.
De eiectione hominis de paradiso.
In illius quoque peccati poenam eiectus est de paradiso in istum miseriarum locum, sicut in Genesi5 legitur: Nunc ergo, ne forte mittat manum suam et sumat de ligno vitae et comedat et vivat in aeternum; emisit eum Deus de paradiso voluptatis. — His verbis insinuari videtur, quod nunquam moreretur, si postea de illo sumsisset ligno.
Cap. IV.
Quomodo intelligendum sit illud: Ne sumat de ligno vitae et vivat in aeternum.
Sed quia per peccatum iam mortuum corpus6 habebat, illa verba ex tali intellectu accipi possunt. Deus, modo irati loquens, de homine superbo ait: Videte, ne forte mittat manum suam etc. id est, cavete, vos Angeli, ne comedat de ligno vitae, quo indignus est; de quo, si perstitisset, comederet et viveret in aeternum, sed modo propter inobedientiam indignus est comedere. Et sicut verbo dixit, ita opere exhibuit. « Emisit enim eum Deus de paradiso voluptatis in locum sibi congruum, sicut plerumque malus, cum inter bonos vivere coeperit, si in melius mutari noluerit, de bonorum congregatione pellitur, pondere pravae consuetudinis pressus7 ».
Cap. V.
De flammeo gladio ante paradisum posito.
Ne vero ad illud posset accedere, collocavit Deus ante paradisum Cherubim, et flammeum gladium atque versatilem, ad custodiendam viam ligni vitae8. Quod iuxta litteram potest hoc modo accipi, quia per ministerium Angelorum ignea custodia ibi constituta fuit. « Hoc enim per caelestes potestates in paradiso visibili factum esse credendum est, ut per angelicum ministerium ibi esset quaedam ignea custodia; non tamen frustra, sed quia aliquid significat de paradiso spirituali9 ». « Cherubim enim interpretatur plenitudo scientiae, haec est caritas, quia plenitudo legis est dilectio. Gladius autem flammeus poenae temporales sunt, quae versatiles sunt, quoniam tempora volubilia sunt. Illa ergo ad custodiam ligni vitae ideo posita sunt ante paradisum, quia ad vitam non reditur nisi per Cherubim, scilicet plenitudinem scientiae, id est caritatem, et per gladium versatilem, id est tolerantiam passionum temporalium ».
Cap. VI.
An ante peccatum homo comederit de ligno vitae.
Potest autem quaeri, utrum de ligno vitae ante peccatum comederit homo. De hoc Augustinus in libro de Baptismo parvulorum10 sic ait: « Recte profecto intelliguntur primi homines ante malignam diaboli persuasionem abstinuisse a cibo vetito atque usi fuisse concessis11 ». His verbis ostenditur, quod de ligno vitae ante peccatum sumserint: quibus praeceptum erat, ut de omni ligno paradisi comederent, nisi de ligno scientiae boni et mali.
Quare ergo perpetua soliditate et beata immortalitate vestiti non sunt, ut nulla infirmitate vel aetate in deterius mutarentur? Hanc enim virtutem naturaliter illud lignum habuisse dicitur. — Sed forte hoc non conferebat, nisi saepe de illo sumeretur. Potuit ergo fieri, ut de illo sumeret semel, et non saepius; qui per aliquam moram12 in paradiso fuisse intelligitur, cum Scriptura dicat, eum ibi soporatum fuisse, quando costa de latere eius assumta est, et inde formata mulier, et animalia ante eum ducta, quibus nomina imposuit.
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DISTINCTION XXIX.
Cap. I.
Whether man before sin needed operating and cooperating grace.
After these things it must be considered whether man before sin needed operating and cooperating grace. — To which we briefly say that he needed not only cooperating, but also operating grace, not indeed according to every mode of operating of operating grace; for it operates by freeing and by preparing the will of man for the good. Man therefore needed it not in order to free his will, which had not been a slave of sin; but in order to prepare it to will the good efficaciously, which it could not do of itself. For he could not merit the good without grace, as Augustine in the Enchiridion1 evidently hands down: « That immortality, he says, in which he was able not to die, human nature lost through free choice; but this immortality, in which it shall not be able to die, it is to receive through grace, which it would have received, had it not sinned, through merit; although without grace not even then could there have been any merit, because, even though sin was constituted in the choice alone, yet free choice did not suffice for justice to be had or retained, unless divine help were furnished ». — Behold, by these words it is sufficiently shown that before sin man needed operating and cooperating grace. For he did not have that whereby he might move his foot without the help of operating and cooperating grace, yet he had that whereby he was able to stand.
Cap. II.
Whether man before the fall had the virtues.
« Moreover it is wont to be asked whether man before the fall had virtue. — To some it seems that he did not have it, who try to prove it thus: justice, they say,
he did not have, because he despised the precept of God; nor prudence, because he did not provide for himself; nor temperance, because he coveted what belonged to another; nor fortitude, because he yielded to the wicked suggestion. — Answering whom we say that he indeed did not have these virtues then, when he sinned, but before, and then lost them. Which is proved by many testimonies of the Saints. For Augustine says in a certain Homily2: « Adam, charity being lost, was found evil ». Likewise: « The prince of vices, when he saw Adam, made from the slime of the earth to the image of God, armed with chastity, composed with temperance, splendid with charity, despoiled the first parents of those gifts and so great goods and likewise destroyed them ». Concerning this same matter Ambrose to Sabinus3 says: « When Adam was alone, he did not transgress, because his mind clung to God ». Upon the Psalm too he says that « man before sin, most blessed, drank in the ethereal air ». But how was he most blessed without virtue? Augustine also upon Genesis4 says that Adam before sin « was endowed with a spiritual mind ». It is therefore not to be doubted that man before sin shone with virtues, but that he was despoiled of them through sin.
Cap. III.
On the expulsion of man from paradise.
In punishment also of that sin he was cast out of paradise into this place of miseries, as is read in Genesis5: Now therefore, lest perhaps he put forth his hand and take of the tree of life and eat and live forever; God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure. — By these words it seems to be intimated that he would never die, if afterward he had taken of that tree.
Cap. IV.
In what way that saying is to be understood: Lest he take of the tree of life and live forever.
But because through sin he already had a mortal body6, those words can be taken according to such an understanding. God, speaking now as if angry, said of proud man: See, lest perhaps he put forth his hand etc. that is, beware, you Angels, lest he eat of the tree of life, of which he is unworthy; of which, if he had persisted, he would eat and live forever, but now on account of disobedience he is unworthy to eat. And as he said by word, so he showed forth by deed. « For God sent him out of the paradise of pleasure into a place fitting for him, just as for the most part the evil man, when he has begun to live among the good, if he is unwilling to be changed for the better, is driven from the congregation of the good, pressed by the weight of wicked custom7 ».
Cap. V.
On the flaming sword set before paradise.
But that he might not be able to approach it, God placed before paradise Cherubim, and a flaming and turning sword, to guard the way of the tree of life8. Which according to the letter can be taken in this way, that through the ministry of the Angels a fiery guard was set up there. « For this is to be believed to have been done in the visible paradise through the heavenly powers, that through the angelic ministry there might be there a certain fiery guard; yet not in vain, but because it signifies something of the spiritual paradise9 ». « For Cherubim is interpreted fullness of knowledge, which is charity, because the fullness of the law is love. But the flaming sword is the temporal punishments, which are turning, because times are rolling. Those things therefore were set before paradise to guard the tree of life for this reason, because one does not return to life except through Cherubim, namely the fullness of knowledge, that is charity, and through the turning sword, that is the endurance of temporal sufferings ».
Cap. VI.
Whether before sin man ate of the tree of life.
But it can be asked whether before sin man ate of the tree of life. Concerning this Augustine in the book on the Baptism of Little Children10 says thus: « Rightly indeed are the first men understood to have abstained from the forbidden food before the malign persuasion of the devil, and to have used the things granted11 ». By these words it is shown that they ate of the tree of life before sin: to whom it was commanded that they should eat of every tree of paradise, except of the tree of knowledge of good and evil.
Why then were they not clothed with perpetual solidity and blessed immortality, so that they might not be changed for the worse by any infirmity or age? For that tree is said to have had this power naturally. — But perhaps it did not confer this, unless one ate of it often. It could therefore have come about that he ate of it once, and not more often; who is understood to have been for some delay12 in paradise, since Scripture says that he was put to sleep there, when the rib was taken from his side, and from it the woman was formed, and the animals were led before him, to which he gave names.
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- Cap. 106. n. 28. In quo textu pro non poterit mori, quod habent Vat. et ed. 6, in ceteris edd. et in codd. minus bene legitur non poterat mori. In originali August. desunt haec verba, quia in praecedentibus de his locutus est. — Quae sequuntur usque ad finem distinctionis magna ex parte excerpta sunt ex Hugone, Sum. Sent. tr. 3. c. 7.Chapter 106, n. 28. In which text, for non poterit mori [shall not be able to die], which the Vatican edition and edition 6 have, in the other editions and in the codices it is read less well as non poterat mori [was not able to die]. In Augustine's original these words are lacking, because in what precedes he has spoken of these matters. — What follows up to the end of the distinction is for the most part excerpted from Hugh, Summa Sententiarum, tr. 3, c. 7.
- Serm. de Symbolo contra Iudaeos, etc. c. 2. (inter opera August.). Seq. locus ibid. parum superius, in quo codd. et edd., excepta I, male vicit pro vidit, quod secundum originale et Hugonem ponendum est.Sermon on the Creed against the Jews, etc., c. 2 (among the works of Augustine). The following passage is in the same place a little above, in which the codices and editions, except I, wrongly read vicit for vidit, which according to the original and Hugh is to be set down.
- Epist. 49. n. 2. Seq. locus est in Ps. 118. serm. 4. n. 3.Letter 49, n. 2. The following passage is in [the commentary on] Psalm 118, sermon 4, n. 3.
- Libr. XI. c. 42. n. 60; cfr. etiam VI. c. 27. n. 38.Book XI, c. 42, n. 60; cf. also VI, c. 27, n. 38.
- Cap. 3, 22. 23. In Vulgata, quae incipit novam propositionem, additur Et ante emisit. — Hugo hic citat August., super XI. Gen. ad lit. c. 40. n. 34.Chapter 3, 22. 23. In the Vulgate, which begins a new sentence, Et [And] is added before emisit [he sent out]. — Hugh here cites Augustine, on Book XI of Genesis according to the letter, c. 40, n. 34.
- Respicitur Rom. 8, 10. — Verba, quae sequuntur, Deus modo irati loquens, sunt in Glossa Gen. 3, 20.Reference is to Romans 8, 10. — The words which follow, God speaking now as if angry, are in the Gloss on Genesis 3, 20.
- August., II. de Gen. contra Manich. c. 22. n. 34.Augustine, Book II on Genesis against the Manichees, c. 22, n. 34.
- Gen. 3, 24.Genesis 3, 24.
- August., XI. de Gen. ad lit. c. 40. n. 35. Seq. locus est II. de Gen. contra Manich. c. 23. n. 35. 36, in quo respicitur Rom. 13, 10.Augustine, Book XI on Genesis according to the letter, c. 40, n. 35. The following passage is Book II on Genesis against the Manichees, c. 23, n. 35. 36, in which reference is made to Romans 13, 10.
- Scil. II. de Peccatorum meritis et de bapt. parvul. c. 21. n. 35.Namely, Book II on the Merits of Sins and on the Baptism of Little Children, c. 21, n. 35.
- Sola Vat. addit: ac per hoc et ceteris et praecipue ligno vitae.The Vatican edition alone adds: and through this both with the others and especially with the tree of life.
- Cod. Erf. haec annotat: Quia per sex horas, per septem horas dicitur in historiis [Comestoris Historia scholastica c. 24.]. — Infra pro assumta codd. B C sumta.Codex Erfurt notes this: Because "for six hours," "for seven hours" is said in the histories [Comestor's Scholastic History, c. 24]. — Below, for assumta, codices B C read sumta. ---