Bonaventure

DISTINCTIO XXV.

Cap. I. De fide antiquorum.

Praedictis adiiciendum est de sufficientia fidei ad salutem. Illis^p531-1 qui praecesserunt adventum Christi, et qui sequuntur, videtur profecisse fides secundum temporis processum, sicut profecit cognitio. Fides quippe magna dicitur cognitione et articulorum quantitate, vel constantia et devotione. Est autem quaedam fidei mensura, sine qua nunquam potuit esse salus. Unde Apostolus^p531-2: Oportet, accedentem ad Deum credere, quia est, et quod remunerator est sperantium in se. Sed quaeritur, utrum hoc credere ante adventum, vel ante Legem ad salutem suffecerit. Nam tempore gratiae constat certissime hoc non sufficere; oportet enim universa credi, quae in Symbolo continentur. Sed nec ante adventum nec ante Legem videtur hoc suffecisse, quia sine fide Mediatoris nullum hominem, vel ante, vel post fuisse salvum, Sanctorum auctoritates contestantur. Unde Augustinus ad Optatum^p531-3: «Illa fides sana est, qua credimus, nullum hominem, sive maioris sive parvulae aetatis, liberari a contagione mortis et obligatione peccati, quod prima nativitate contraxit, nisi per unum mediatorem Dei et hominum, Iesum Christum; cuius hominis eiusdemque Dei saluberrima fide etiam illi iusti salvi facti sunt, qui, priusquam veniret in carnem, crediderunt in carnem venturum. Eadem enim fides est et nostra et illorum». «Proinde, cum omnes iusti, sive ante incarnationem sive post, nec vixerint nec vivant nisi ex fide incarnationis Christi; profecto quod scriptum est, non esse aliud nomen sub caelo, in quo oporteat salvari nos, ex illo tempore valet ad salvandum genus humanum, ex quo in Adam vitiatum est».

Idem^p532-1: «Nemo liberatur a damnatione, quae facta est per Adam, nisi per fidem Iesu Christi». Idem: «Eadem fides Mediatoris, quae nos salvat, salvos iustos faciebat antiquos, pusillos cum magnis, quia, sicut credimus, Christum in carne venisse, ita illi venturum; et sicut nos mortuum, ita illi moriturum; et sicut nos resurrexisse, ita illi resurrecturum; et nos et illi, ad iudicium vivorum et mortuorum venturum». Gregorius super Ezechielem^p532-2: «Et qui praeibant et qui sequebantur clamabant dicentes: Hosanna filio David etc., quia omnes electi, qui in Iudaea esse potuerunt, sive qui nunc in Ecclesia sunt, in Mediatorem Dei et hominum crediderunt et credunt». — His aliisque pluribus testimoniis perspicue docetur, nulli unquam salutem esse factam nisi per fidem Mediatoris. Oportet ergo, accedentem ad Deum credere quae supra dixit Apostolus, sed non sufficit.

Cap. II. De fide simplicium.

Quid ergo dicetur de illis simplicibus, quibus non erat revelatum mysterium incarnationis, qui pie credebant quod eis traditum fuit? — Dici potest, nullum fuisse iustum vel salvum, cui non esset facta revelatio vel distincta, vel velata, vel in aperto, vel in mysterio: distincta, ut Abrahae vel Moysi^p532-3 aliisque maioribus, qui distinctionem articulorum fidei habebant; velata, ut simplicibus, quibus revelatum erat, ea esse credenda, quae credebant illi maiores et docebant, sed eorum distinctionem apertam non habebant. Sicut et in Ecclesia aliqui minus capaces sunt, qui articulos Symboli distinguere et assignare non valent, omnia tamen credunt, quae in Symbolo continentur; credunt enim quae ignorant, habentes fidem velatam in mysterio: ita et tunc minus capaces ex revelatione sibi facta maioribus credendo inhaerebant, quibus fidem suam quasi committebant. Unde Iob^p532-4: Boves arabant, et asinae pascebantur iuxta eos. Simplices et minores sunt asinae pascentes iuxta boves, quia, humilitate maioribus adhaerendo, in mysterio credebant quae et illi in mysterio docebant, qualis forte fuit vidua Sareptana.

Cap. III. Quae ante adventum credere sufficiebat.

Sed quaeritur, cum sine fide Mediatoris antiquis non fuerit salus, sicut nec modernis, utrum oportuerit illos credere omnia illa de Mediatore, quae nunc credimus. — Quibusdam videtur, quod suffecerit illis quatuor tantum credere, scilicet nativitatem, mortem, resurrectionem et adventum ad iudicium; quod ex praemissis verbis Augustini colligunt, ubi ista quatuor posuit. — Aliis autem videtur, habita fide Trinitatis, id de mysterio incarnationis fidei suffecisse, ut Dei Filius crederetur nasciturus de homine et iudicaturus; qui de Ioanne Baptista documentum huius rei assumunt, qui de morte Christi et descensu ad inferos in Evangelio dubitasse videtur, secundum expositionem Gregorii^p532-5, quando interrogavit per discipulos: «Tu es, qui venturus es, an alium exspectamus? quasi: Es tu per te ipsum descensurus ad infernum, an alium ad haec sacramenta missurus es»? — Quidam tamen dicunt, eum non dubitasse de ignorantia, sed de pietate, id est, dubitare se ostendisse, non quia ignoraverit, sed pietatis affectu compassum esse Christo et eius humilitatem admirando insinuasse.

Cap. IV. De fide Cornelii.

Solet etiam quaeri de Cornelio, utrum fidem incarnationis habuerit, cum dictum est ei per Angelum^p532-6: Acceptae sunt eleemosynae tuae, et exauditae sunt orationes tuae. Si enim fidem incarnationis non habebat; tunc ergo sine fide incarnationis erat ei iustitia, quia de illo scriptum est, quod iustus erat et timens Deum. Si vero fidem incarnationis habebat; ad quid ergo missus est ad eum Petrus? — Sane dici potest, eum, sicut fidem Trinitatis^p532-7, ita et incarnationis habuisse Dei revelatione, sed incarnatum iam esse Dei Filium, ignorasse; et ideo missus est ad eum Petrus, ut iam natum Dei Filium ei annuntiaret et Sacramentum regenerationis ei conferret. Habebat igitur fidem incarnationis, sed an facta, an futura esset, non noverat; et ita per fidem venit ad opera, et per opera amplius solidatus est in fide. «Per fidem enim, ut ait Gregorius^p532-8, venitur ad opera». Cornelius etiam per fidem venit ad opera; Deum enim unum credebat, sed Filium eius nesciebat incarnatum; per fidem placuerunt Deo opera eius: Sine fide enim impossibile est placere Deo. Augustinus^p532-9 vero dicit, «Cornelio dictum esse per Angelum: Acceptae sunt eleemosynae tuae et orationes tuae, antequam in Christum crederet; nec tamen sine aliqua fide donabat et orabat. Nam quomodo invocabat in quem non credebat? sed si posset sine fide Christi esse salus, non ad eum mitteretur architectus Ecclesiae, Petrus». — Attende, quod ait, sine fide Christi non posse esse salutem, et tamen Cornelium exaudi-

tum, antequam crederet in Christum; quod ita potest intelligi, scilicet antequam sciret Christum incarnatum, in quem credebat in mysterio.

Cap. V. De aequalitate fidei, spei, caritatis et operis.

Illud etiam non est praetermittendum, quod fides, spes, caritas et operatio secundum aliquid aequalia sunt in praesenti. Unde Gregorius^p533-1: «Fidem, spem, caritatem atque operationem, dum in hac vita vivimus, aequales sibi esse apud nos invenimus, quia quantum credimus, tantum amamus; et quantum amamus, tantum de spe praesumimus. Quisque enim fidelis tantum credit, quantum sperat et amat; et tantum operatur, quantum credit et amat et sperat». «Sed tamen maior fide et spe caritas dicitur, quia, cum ad Dei speciem pervenitur, spes et fides transit, sed caritas permanet», et quia «caritas mater est omnium virtutum»; quae non ideo post fidem et spem ponitur, quod ex eis oriatur, sed quia post illa remanebit aucta; caritas enim numquam excidit^p533-2. Praemissa autem aequalitas proprie secundum interiorum actuum intentionem consideranda est. — Huic vero, quod hic et superius dictum est, scilicet quod caritas non est ex fide, spe, sed e converso, videtur obviare quod ait Apostolus^p533-3: Finis praecepti est caritas de corde puro et conscientia bona et fide non ficta; quod exponens Augustinus, cor accipit pro intellectu, et conscientiam pro spe. «Qualis, inquit, caritas est finis praecepti, procedens de corde puro, id est de puro intellectu, ut nihil nisi Deus diligatur; et conscientia, id est de spe bona, et fide non ficta, id est non simulata». — Non igitur caritas fidem vel spem, sed fides et spes caritatem praecedere videntur. Hoc ergo ea ratione traditum intellige, non quod fides et spes causa, vel tempore caritatem, omnium bonorum matrem, praecedant; sed quia caritas sine illis in aliquo esse non potest, sed illa sine caritate possunt esse, quamvis non sit pia fides vel spes sine caritate. Ideo igitur ex fide et spe procedere dicitur caritas, quia nulli provenit sine istis.

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Cap. I. On the faith of the ancients.

To the foregoing it must be added concerning the sufficiency of faith for salvation. For those^p531-1 who preceded the coming of Christ, and those who follow, faith seems to have advanced according to the process of time, just as knowledge advanced. For faith is called great by reason of knowledge and the quantity of the articles, or by constancy and devotion. There is, however, a certain measure of faith, without which there could never be salvation. Hence the Apostle^p531-2: He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him. But it is asked whether to believe this before the coming, or before the Law, sufficed for salvation. For in the time of grace it is most certainly established that this does not suffice; for all the things which are contained in the Creed must be believed. But neither before the coming nor before the Law does this seem to have sufficed, because the authorities of the Saints testify that no man, either before or after, was saved without faith in the Mediator. Hence Augustine to Optatus^p531-3: «That faith is sound by which we believe that no man, whether of greater or of tender age, is freed from the contagion of death and the obligation of sin, which he contracted by his first nativity, except through the one mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ; by the most salutary faith of whom, the same man and God, even those just men were saved who, before he came in the flesh, believed that he would come in the flesh. For their faith is the same as ours». «Accordingly, since all the just, whether before the incarnation or after, neither have lived nor live except by faith in the incarnation of Christ; assuredly that which is written, that there is no other name under heaven, in which we must be saved, avails to save the human race from that time in which it was vitiated in Adam».

The same^p532-1: «No one is freed from the damnation which was made through Adam, except through faith in Jesus Christ». The same: «The same faith in the Mediator, which saves us, made the ancients just and saved, the little ones together with the great, because, as we believe that Christ has come in the flesh, so they believed that he would come; and as we believe him dead, so they believed that he would die; and as we believe him risen, so they believed that he would rise; and both we and they believed that he would come to the judgment of the living and the dead». Gregory on Ezekiel^p532-2: «Both those who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: Hosanna to the son of David etc., because all the elect who could be in Judea, or who are now in the Church, have believed and do believe in the Mediator of God and men». — By these and many other testimonies it is plainly taught that salvation was never granted to anyone except through faith in the Mediator. Therefore it is necessary that he who comes to God should believe the things which the Apostle said above, but it does not suffice.

Cap. II. On the faith of the simple.

What then shall be said of those simple ones, to whom the mystery of the incarnation was not revealed, who piously believed what was handed down to them? — It can be said that there was no just or saved person to whom a revelation was not made, whether distinct, or veiled, or open, or in mystery: distinct, as to Abraham or Moses^p532-3 and the other elders, who had a distinction of the articles of faith; veiled, as to the simple, to whom it had been revealed that those things were to be believed which those elders believed and taught, but they did not have an open distinction of them. Just as in the Church also some are less capable, who are not able to distinguish and assign the articles of the Creed, yet believe all the things which are contained in the Creed; for they believe the things they do not know, having a veiled faith in mystery: so also then the less capable, by the revelation made to the elders, adhered by believing, to whom they as it were committed their faith. Hence Job^p532-4: The oxen were plowing, and the asses feeding beside them. The simple and lesser are the asses feeding beside the oxen, because, by humility adhering to the elders, they believed in mystery what those also taught in mystery, such as perhaps was the widow of Sarepta.

Cap. III. What it sufficed to believe before the coming.

But it is asked, since for the ancients there was no salvation without faith in the Mediator, just as neither for the moderns, whether it behooved them to believe all those things concerning the Mediator which we now believe. — To some it seems that it sufficed for them to believe only four things, namely the nativity, the death, the resurrection, and the coming to judgment; which they gather from the foregoing words of Augustine, where he set down those four. — But to others it seems that, faith in the Trinity being had, this concerning the mystery of the incarnation sufficed for faith, namely that the Son of God should be believed to be about to be born of a man and to judge; and they take a proof of this matter from John the Baptist, who seems in the Gospel to have doubted concerning the death of Christ and his descent to hell, according to the exposition of Gregory^p532-5, when he asked through his disciples: «Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another? as if to say: Art thou about to descend by thyself to hell, or to send another to these sacraments»? — Yet some say that he did not doubt out of ignorance, but out of piety, that is, that he showed himself to doubt, not because he was ignorant, but that by an affection of piety he had compassion on Christ and, admiring his humility, made it known.

Cap. IV. On the faith of Cornelius.

It is also wont to be asked concerning Cornelius, whether he had faith in the incarnation, since it was said to him through the Angel^p532-6: Thy alms are accepted, and thy prayers are heard. For if he did not have faith in the incarnation; then therefore his justice was without faith in the incarnation, since it is written of him that he was just and fearing God. But if he did have faith in the incarnation; for what then was Peter sent to him? — It can rightly be said that he, as he had faith in the Trinity^p532-7, so also had faith in the incarnation by a revelation of God, but that the Son of God was already incarnate he did not know; and therefore Peter was sent to him, that he might announce to him that the Son of God was already born and confer on him the Sacrament of regeneration. He had therefore faith in the incarnation, but whether it had been done or was to be done, he did not know; and thus through faith he came to works, and through works he was the more strengthened in faith. «For through faith, as Gregory says^p532-8, one comes to works». Cornelius also through faith came to works; for he believed God to be one, but he did not know his Son to be incarnate; through faith his works pleased God: For without faith it is impossible to please God. But Augustine^p532-9 says, «that it was said to Cornelius through the Angel: Thy alms are accepted and thy prayers, before he believed in Christ; nor yet did he give and pray without some faith. For how did he call upon him in whom he did not believe? but if salvation could be without faith in Christ, the architect of the Church, Peter, would not have been sent to him». — Notice that he says that there cannot be salvation without faith in Christ, and yet that Cornelius was heard,

before he believed in Christ; which can be so understood, namely before he knew Christ to be incarnate, in whom he believed in mystery.

Cap. V. On the equality of faith, hope, charity, and work.

This also must not be passed over, that faith, hope, charity, and operation are in some respect equal in the present life. Hence Gregory^p533-1: «Faith, hope, charity, and operation, while we live in this life, we find to be equal among us, because as much as we believe, so much we love; and as much as we love, so much we presume from hope. For each faithful one believes as much as he hopes and loves; and operates as much as he believes and loves and hopes». «Yet charity is called greater than faith and hope, because, when one comes to the vision of God, hope and faith pass away, but charity remains», and because «charity is the mother of all virtues»; which is not for that reason placed after faith and hope, as though it arose from them, but because after them it will remain increased; for charity never falls away^p533-2. But the aforesaid equality is properly to be considered according to the intention of the interior acts. — But to this, which has been said here and above, namely that charity is not from faith and hope, but the reverse, that seems to be opposed which the Apostle says^p533-3: The end of the commandment is charity from a pure heart and a good conscience and an unfeigned faith; which Augustine, expounding, takes heart for the intellect, and conscience for hope. «Such, he says, is charity, the end of the commandment, proceeding from a pure heart, that is, from a pure intellect, so that nothing but God be loved; and conscience, that is, from good hope, and an unfeigned faith, that is, not simulated». — Therefore charity does not seem to precede faith or hope, but faith and hope to precede charity. Understand, then, that this is handed down for this reason, not because faith and hope precede charity, the mother of all good things, in cause or in time; but because charity cannot exist in anyone without them, while they can exist without charity, although there is not a pious faith or hope without charity. Therefore charity is said to proceed from faith and hope, because it comes to no one without them.

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