Bonaventure

DISTINCTIO XXIII.

Cap. I. Si Christus habuerit fidem, spem, ut caritatem.

Cum vero supra perhibitum sit, Christum plenum gratia fuisse, non est supervacuum inquirere, utrum fidem et spem, sicut caritatem, habuerit. Si enim his caruit, non videtur plenitudinem gratiarum habuisse. Ut autem haec quaestio valeat apertius explicari, de his singulis aliqua in medium proferenda sunt; et primum de fide, secundum mensuram cuius praecipit Apostolus unicuique sapere.

Cap. II. Quid sit fides.

«Fides est virtus, qua creduntur quae non videntur»; quod tamen non de omnibus quae non videntur, accipiendum est, sed de his tantum, quae credere, ut ait Augustinus, «ad religionem pertinet»^p466-2. Multa enim sunt, quae si Christianus ignoret, nihil metuendum est, quia non ideo a religione deviat.

Cap. III. Quot modis dicitur fides.

Accipitur autem fides tribus modis, scilicet pro eo quo creditur et est virtus; et pro eo quo^p466-3 creditur et non est virtus; et pro eo quod creditur, quod aliud est ab eo quo creditur. Unde Augustinus^p466-4 inquit: «Aliud sunt ea quae creduntur, aliud fides, qua creduntur; illa enim in rebus sunt, quae vel esse, vel fuisse, vel futurae esse dicuntur; haec autem in animo credentis est, ei tantum conspicua, cuius est». Et tamen nomine fidei censetur utrumque, et illud scilicet quod creditur, et id quo creditur. Id quod creditur

dicitur fides, sicut ibi^p467-1: «Haec est fides catholica, quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit». Fides autem, qua creditur, si cum caritate sit, virtus est, quia «caritas, ut ait Ambrosius^p467-2, mater est omnium virtutum», quae omnes informat, sine qua nulla vera virtus est. Fides ergo operans per dilectionem virtus est, qua non visa creduntur. Haec est fundamentum, quod mutari non potest, ut ait Apostolus, quae posita in fundamento neminem perire sinit. Unde Augustinus^p467-3: «Fundamentum est Christus Iesus, id est Christi fides, scilicet quae per dilectionem operatur, per quam Christus habitat in cordibus, quae neminem perire sinit; alia vero non est fundamentum. Fides enim sine dilectione inanis est, fides cum dilectione Christiani est, alia daemonis est. Nam daemones credunt et contremiscunt». «Sed multum interest, utrum quis credat Christum, vel Christo, vel in Christum. Nam ipsum esse Christum, daemones crediderunt, nec tamen in Christum crediderunt».

Cap. IV. Quid sit credere Deo, vel Deum, vel in Deum.

«Aliud est enim credere in Deum, aliud credere Deo, aliud credere Deum. Credere Deo est credere, vera esse quae loquitur; quod et mali faciunt, et nos credimus homini, sed non in hominem. Credere Deum est credere, quod ipse sit Deus; quod etiam mali faciunt. Credere in Deum est credendo amare, credendo in eum ire, credendo ei adhaerere et eius membris incorporari^p467-4». Per hanc fidem «iustificatur impius, ut deinde ipsa fides incipiat per dilectionem operari». Ea enim sola bona opera dicenda sunt, quae fiunt per dilectionem Dei. Ipsa enim dilectio opus fidei dicitur. Fides igitur, quam daemones et falsi Christiani habent, qualitas mentis est, sed informis, quia sine caritate est. Nam et malos fidem habere, cum tamen caritate careant, Apostolus^p467-5 ostendit dicens: Si habuero omnem fidem, caritatem autem non habuero etc.; quae fides etiam donum Dei dici potest, quia et in malis quaedam Dei dona sunt.

Cap. V. De informi qualitate mentis, quae in malo Christiano est.

Si vero quaeritur, utrum illa informis qualitas, qua malus Christianus universa credit, quae bonus Christianus, accedente caritate, remaneat et fiat virtus, an ipsa eliminetur, et alia qualitas succedat, quae virtus sit; utrumlibet sine periculo dici potest; mihi tamen videtur, quod qualitas illa, quae prius erat, remaneat et accessu caritatis virtus fiat.

Cap. VI. Quomodo dicatur una fides.

Cumque diversis modis dicatur fides, fatendum est tamen, unam esse fidem, ut ait Apostolus^p467-6: Unus Dominus, una fides. Sive enim accipiatur fides pro eo quod creditur, sive pro eo quo creditur, recte dicitur fides una. Si pro eo quod creditur accipiatur, ex hac intelligentia dicitur una fides, quia idem iubemur credere, et unum idemque est, quod creditur a cunctis fidelibus. Unde fides catholica dicitur, id est universalis. Si vero accipitur fides pro eo quo creditur, ea ratione dicitur una esse fides, non quia sit una numero in omnibus, sed genere, id est similitudine. Unde Augustinus^p467-7 libro decimo tertio de Trinitate: «Fides, quam qui habent fideles vocantur, et qui non habent, infideles, communis est omnibus fidelibus, sicut pluribus hominibus facies communis esse dicitur, cum tamen singuli suas habeant. Non enim fides numero est una, sed genere, quae, cum sit in uno, est et in aliis, non ipsa, sed similis, et propter similitudinem magis unam dicimus esse quam multas. Sicut idem volentium dicitur voluntas una, cum tamen cuique sit sua voluntas; et duorum simillimorum dicitur facies una».

Cap. VII. Quod fides est de his quae non videntur, proprie, ipsa tamen videtur ab eo, in quo est.

Notandum quoque est, quod fides proprie de non apparentibus tantum est. Unde Gregorius^p467-8: «Apparentia non habent fidem, sed agnitionem». Idem: «Cum Paulus dicat: Fides est substantia rerum sperandarum, argumentum non apparentium; hoc veraciter dicitur credi, quod non valet videri. Nam credi iam non potest, quod videri potest». «Thomas aliud vidit, et aliud credidit: hominem vidit et Deum confessus est dicens: Deus meus et Dominus meus». De hoc etiam Augustinus^p467-9 ait: «Fidem ipsam videt quisque in corde suo esse, si credit, vel non esse, si non credit; non sicut corpora, quae videmus oculis corporis, et per ipsorum imagines, quas memoria tenemus, etiam ab-

sentia cogitamus; nec sicut ea quae non vidimus, et ex his quae vidimus, cogitatione utcumque formamus et memoriae commendamus; nec sicut hominem, cuius animam, etsi non videmus, ex nostra coniicimus, et ex motibus corporis hominem, sicut videndo didicimus, intuemur etiam cogitando: non sic videtur fides in corde, in quo est, ab eo cuius est, sed eam tenet certissima scientia. Cum igitur ideo credere iubemur, quia id quod credere iubemur, videre non possumus; ipsam tamen fidem, quando est in nobis, videmus in nobis, quia et rerum absentium praesens est fides, et rerum, quae foris sunt, intus est fides, et rerum, quae non videntur, videtur fides; et ipsa temporaliter fit in cordibus hominum, et si ex fidelibus infideles fiunt, perit ab eis». His verbis evidenter traditur, fidem ipsam in corde hominis ab ipso homine videri non corporaliter, non imaginarie, sed intellectualiter; et ipsam tamen absentium et eorum quae non videntur, esse. Ut enim Augustinus^p468-1 alibi ait: «Credimus, ut cognoscamus; non cognoscimus, ut credamus. Quid est enim fides, nisi credere quod non vides? Fides ergo est quod non vides credere; veritas quod credidisti videre». Unde recte fides dicitur argumentum — vel convictio — rerum non apparentium, quia, si fides est, ex eo convincitur et probatur, aliqua esse non apparentia^p468-2, cum fides non sit nisi de non apparentibus.

Cap. VIII. Descriptio fidei.

Ait enim Apostolus: Fides est substantia rerum sperandarum, argumentum — vel convictio — non apparentium, quia per fidem subsistunt in nobis etiam modo speranda et subsistent in futuro per experientiam. Et ipsa est probatio et convictio non apparentium, quia, si quis de his dubitet, per fidem probantur, ut adhuc probatur futura resurrectio, quia ita crediderunt Patriarchae et alii Sancti; vel probatio est et certitudo, quod sint aliqua non apparentia, ut supra dictum est. Proprie autem fides dicitur substantia rerum sperandarum, quia sperandis substat et quia fundamentum est bonorum, quod nemo mutare potest. Si vero quaeritur, an haec descriptio spei conveniat; sane concedi potest utrumlibet. Si autem dicatur convenire, sunt et alia plura, quibus differunt fides et spes^p468-3. Sed non improbe dici potest, soli fidei convenire, non spei; quia fides sola fundamentum dicitur, non quia fides-virtus possit esse sine spe et caritate.

Cap. IX. Quare sola fides dicitur fundamentum.

Unde et recte ea sola dicitur fundamentum omnium virtutum et bonorum operum. Non autem fundamentum est caritatis, quia non ipsa caritatis, sed caritas ipsius virtutis fidei causa est. Caritas enim causa est et mater omnium virtutum, «quae si desit, frustra habentur cetera; si autem adsit, habentur omnia^p468-6». Caritas enim Spiritus sanctus est, ut in superioribus^p468-7 praetaxatum est. Ipsa est ergo causa omnium virtutum, non ipsius aliqua virtutum causa est, quia omnia munera excellit. Unde Augustinus^p468-8: «Respice ad munera Ecclesiae, et universis excellentius caritatis munus cognosces», «quae, ut oleum, non potest premi in imo, sed superexsilit». Non ergo eius causa vel fundamentum fides est. — Gregorius tamen super Ezechielem^p468-9 dicit, «quia, nisi prius fides teneatur, nullatenus ad spiritualem amorem attingitur. Non enim caritas fidem, sed fides caritatem praecedit, quia nemo potest amare quod non crediderit», sicut nec sperare. — Sed hoc accipi potest dictum de fide, quae virtus non est; ipsa enim spem et caritatem frequenter praecedit; vel de actu fidei, qui forte naturaliter actum caritatis praecedit, sicut actum spei; quod verba praemissa diligenter notata innuunt et ea etiam, quae addit dicens: «Nisi ea, inquit, quae audis, credideris, ad amandum ea quae audis, non inflammaberis»; quae tantum de non visis est, ut ante diximus. Unde facit Ioannes Chrysostomus^p468-10: «Fides in anima nostra facit subsistere ea quae non videntur, de quibus proprie fides est; de visis enim non est fides, sed agnitio».

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Cap. I. Whether Christ had faith, hope, as charity.

But since it has been set forth above that Christ was full of grace, it is not superfluous to inquire whether he had faith and hope, as charity. For if he lacked these, he does not seem to have had the fullness of graces. But that this question may be more clearly explained, some things must be brought forward concerning these matters individually; and first concerning faith, according to the measure of which the Apostle commands each one to be wise.

Cap. II. What faith is.

«Faith is a virtue by which the things that are not seen are believed»; which nevertheless is not to be understood of all the things that are not seen, but only of those things which to believe, as Augustine says, «pertains to religion»^p466-2. For there are many things which, if a Christian is ignorant of them, nothing is to be feared, because he does not on that account deviate from religion.

Cap. III. In how many ways faith is spoken of.

Now faith is taken in three ways, namely for that by which one believes and is a virtue; and for that by which^p466-3 one believes and is not a virtue; and for that which is believed, which is other than that by which one believes. Hence Augustine^p466-4 says: «The things which are believed are one thing, the faith by which they are believed another; for those are in things, which are said either to be, or to have been, or to be about to be; but this is in the mind of the believer, conspicuous only to him whose it is». And yet by the name of faith both are reckoned, namely both that which is believed, and that by which one believes. That which is believed

is called faith, as there^p467-1: «This is the catholic faith, which unless each one believe faithfully and firmly, he cannot be saved». But the faith by which one believes, if it be with charity, is a virtue, because «charity, as Ambrose says^p467-2, is the mother of all the virtues», which informs them all, without which there is no true virtue. Faith therefore working through love is a virtue, by which the things not seen are believed. This is the foundation, which cannot be changed, as the Apostle says, which, placed in the foundation, lets no one perish. Hence Augustine^p467-3: «The foundation is Christ Jesus, that is, the faith of Christ, namely that which works through love, by which Christ dwells in hearts, which lets no one perish; but the other is not a foundation. For faith without love is empty, faith with love belongs to the Christian, the other belongs to the demon. For the demons believe and tremble». «But it makes a great difference whether one believes Christ, or believes in Christ. For that he is Christ, the demons believed, yet they did not believe in Christ».

Cap. IV. What it is to believe God, or to believe a God, or to believe in God.

«For it is one thing to believe in God, another to believe God, another to believe a God. To believe God is to believe that the things he speaks are true; which even the wicked do, and we believe a man, but not in a man. To believe a God is to believe that he himself is God; which even the wicked do. To believe in God is by believing to love, by believing to go into him, by believing to cleave to him and to be incorporated into his members^p467-4». By this faith «the impious is justified, so that thereafter the faith itself may begin to work through love». For those alone are to be called good works which are done through the love of God. For love itself is called the work of faith. Therefore faith, which the demons and false Christians have, is a quality of the mind, but unformed, because it is without charity. For that the wicked also have faith, while nevertheless they lack charity, the Apostle^p467-5 shows, saying: If I should have all faith, but have not charity etc.; which faith can also be called a gift of God, because even in the wicked there are certain gifts of God.

Cap. V. On the unformed quality of mind which is in the wicked Christian.

But if it be asked whether that unformed quality, by which the wicked Christian believes all the things which the good Christian believes, with charity coming upon it, remains and becomes a virtue, or whether it is eliminated, and another quality succeeds, which is a virtue; either may be said without danger; to me, however, it seems that that quality which was there before remains and at the accession of charity becomes a virtue.

Cap. VI. How faith is said to be one.

And since faith is spoken of in diverse ways, it must nevertheless be confessed that faith is one, as the Apostle says^p467-6: One Lord, one faith. For whether faith be taken for that which is believed, or for that by which one believes, it is rightly called one faith. If it be taken for that which is believed, from this understanding it is called one faith, because we are commanded to believe the same thing, and it is one and the same which is believed by all the faithful. Hence faith is called catholic, that is, universal. But if faith be taken for that by which one believes, for this reason it is said to be one faith, not because it is one in number in all, but in kind, that is, in likeness. Hence Augustine^p467-7 in the thirteenth book on the Trinity: «The faith which those who have it are called faithful, and those who do not, unfaithful, is common to all the faithful, just as a face is said to be common to many men, although each has his own. For faith is not one in number, but in kind, which, while it is in one, is also in others, not the same, but similar, and because of the likeness we say it to be one rather than many. Just as the will of those willing the same thing is called one, although each has his own will; and the face of two who are most alike is said to be one».

Cap. VII. That faith is properly of those things which are not seen, yet it itself is seen by him in whom it is.

It is also to be noted that faith is properly only of things not apparent. Hence Gregory^p467-8: «Things apparent do not have faith, but recognition». The same: «Since Paul says: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the argument of things not apparent; this is truly said to be believed, which cannot be seen. For now that cannot be believed which can be seen». «Thomas saw one thing, and believed another: he saw a man and confessed God, saying: My Lord and my God». Of this also Augustine^p467-9 says: «Each one sees that faith itself is in his heart, if he believes, or is not, if he does not believe; not as bodies, which we see with the eyes of the body, and through their images, which we hold in memory, we think also of things ab-

sent; nor as the things which we have not seen, and from those which we have seen, we somehow form by thought and commend to memory; nor as a man, whose soul, even if we do not see it, we conjecture from our own, and we behold a man also by thinking, from the motions of the body, as we have learned by seeing: not thus is faith seen in the heart, in which it is, by him whose it is, but a most certain knowledge holds it. Since therefore we are commanded to believe for this reason, that we cannot see what we are commanded to believe; yet we see the faith itself, when it is in us, in us, because faith is present of things absent, and faith is within of things which are without, and faith is seen of things which are not seen; and it itself comes to be temporally in the hearts of men, and if from faithful they become unfaithful, it perishes from them». By these words it is evidently handed down that faith itself is seen in the heart of a man by the man himself, not corporeally, not by imagination, but intellectually; and that it nevertheless is of things absent and of those which are not seen. For as Augustine^p468-1 says elsewhere: «We believe, that we may know; we do not know, that we may believe. For what is faith, if not to believe what you do not see? Faith therefore is to believe what you do not see; truth is to see what you have believed». Hence faith is rightly called the argument — or conviction — of things not apparent, because, if there is faith, from it it is convinced and proved that there are some things not apparent^p468-2, since faith is only of things not apparent.

Cap. VIII. The description of faith.

For the Apostle says: Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the argument — or conviction — of things not apparent, because through faith the things to be hoped for subsist in us even now and will subsist in the future through experience. And it itself is the proof and conviction of things not apparent, because, if anyone doubts about these, they are proved through faith, as the future resurrection is still proved, because the Patriarchs and other Saints so believed; or it is the proof and certitude that there are some things not apparent, as was said above. But faith is properly called the substance of things hoped for, because it underlies the things to be hoped for and because it is the foundation of good things, which no one can change. But if it be asked whether this description fits hope; it can well be granted either way. If, however, it be said to fit, there are also many other things by which faith and hope differ^p468-3. But it can not improperly be said to fit faith alone, not hope; because faith alone is called the foundation, not because faith-as-virtue could be without hope and charity.

Cap. IX. Why faith alone is called the foundation.

Hence it is also rightly called the foundation of all virtues and good works. But it is not the foundation of charity, because it is not the cause of charity, but charity is the cause of the virtue itself of faith. For charity is the cause and mother of all the virtues, «which if it be lacking, the rest are had in vain; but if it be present, all are had^p468-6». For charity is the Holy Spirit, as was indicated above^p468-7. It itself therefore is the cause of all the virtues, nor is any of the virtues the cause of it, because it surpasses all gifts. Hence Augustine^p468-8: «Look to the gifts of the Church, and you will recognize the gift of charity as more excellent than all», «which, like oil, cannot be pressed to the bottom, but leaps up above». Therefore faith is not its cause or foundation. — Gregory, however, on Ezekiel^p468-9 says, «that, unless faith first be held, one in no way attains to spiritual love. For charity does not precede faith, but faith precedes charity, because no one can love what he has not believed», just as neither hope it. — But this can be taken as said of faith which is not a virtue; for it frequently precedes hope and charity; or of the act of faith, which perhaps naturally precedes the act of charity, as it does the act of hope; which the words set down above, diligently noted, suggest, and also those which he adds, saying: «Unless, he says, you believe the things you hear, you will not be inflamed to love the things you hear»; which is only of things not seen, as we said before. Hence John Chrysostom^p468-10 does so: «Faith in our soul makes to subsist the things which are not seen, of which faith properly is; for of things seen there is not faith, but recognition».

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