Dist. 4, Art. 3, Q. 3
Book III: On the Incarnation of the Word · Distinction 4
Quaestio III. Utrum beata Virgo sit Dei genitrix appellanda.
Tertio quaeritur, utrum Virgo Maria sit Dei genitrix appellanda. Et quod sic, ostenditur.
(Fundamenta.) 1. Damascenus tertio libro, capitulo duodecimo1: «Theotocon, id est Dei genitricem, principaliter et vere sanctam Mariam praedicamus Virginem».
2. Item: «Iuste et vere theothocon, id est Dei genitricem, nominamus; hoc enim nomen universum mysterium incarnationis constituit2».
3. Item, hoc ipsum videtur ratione, quia quidquid dicitur de illo homine, dicitur de Filio Dei propter communicationem idiomatum3; sed Iesus fuit filius beatae Mariae: ergo Deus fuit filius beatae Mariae: ergo a relativis beata Maria est mater Dei.
4. Item, sic se habet Filius Dei ad Virginem Matrem, sicut se habet Filius hominis ad Deum Patrem4; sed Iesus est Filius Dei Patris: ergo Deus est Mariae Filius: ergo Virgo Maria est recte Dei genitrix appellanda.
Sed contra: (Ad oppositum.) 1. Damascenus tertio libro, capitulo duodecimo5: «Christotocon, id est Christi genitricem, non dicimus Virginem»: ergo si Christus Deus est, videtur, quod non debeamus eam dicere Dei genitricem.
2. Item, secundum hoc Virgo Maria est mater, secundum quod est consubstantialis proli; sed non est consubstantialis proli secundum divinam naturam, sed secundum humanam: ergo cum Deus nominet Christum secundum divinam naturam, non videtur, quod sit Dei genitrix appellanda6.
3. Item, propter assumtionem humanae naturae a Filio Deus Pater non dicitur esse hominum genitor: ergo nec e converso Dei genitrix dicenda est Virgo.
4. Item, iuxta hoc quaeritur, quare magis Damascenus vult, quod dicatur Dei genitrix quam Christi genitrix. Si enim in Christo intelligitur divinitas et humanitas, immo intelligitur tota Trinitas, secundum Ambrosium7, in nomine Christi; non videtur, quod ulla fiat veritatis aut virginalis dignitatis imminutio.
Conclusio.
Gloriosa Virgo appellanda est non tam Christotocos, quam mater et genitrix Dei iuste et veraciter et devote, ut exstinguatur error Nestorii.
(Notabile principium.) Respondeo: Dicendum, quod verba fidem christianam exprimentia debent esse ab errore longinqua et devotioni approximantia, maxime illa, in quibus est sermo de Virgine Maria. Ipsa enim cunctas haereses interemit in universo mundo8, Veritatem ex se ipsa concipiendo et pariendo; ipsa etiam reconciliationem toti generi humano promeruit: et ideo erga eam ardere debet omnis Christianorum devotio. — Et propterea, quia beata Virgo illum concepit, qui non tantum dicendus est Christus propter unionem, sed
etiam Deus verus propter aeternam generationem; (Conclusio.) Dei genitrix debet dici, ut ex ipso vocabulo honoretur, et impietatis error exstinguatur, qui dixit, (Probatur ex Damasceno.) Mariam concepisse purum hominem. — Ad cuius erroris fomentum Nestorius, ut narrat Damascenus9, verus doctor, voluit eam Christi genitricem, non Dei genitricem appellare, quasi purum hominem genuisset. Et ideo Damascenus, verus doctor et Virginis amator, docet nos vocabulum hoc10 effugere, non quia falsum, sed quia haereticus sub illo volebat occultare venenum. Unde Damascenus tertio libro, capitulo duodecimo: «Christotocon, id est Christi genitricem, non dicimus Virginem; quoniam in destructionem Theotocos, id est Dei genitricis, vocis nequam et inquinatus Nestorius cum patre eius diabolo invenit». — Concedendae sunt igitur rationes ostendentes, quod beata Virgo est Dei genitrix appellanda iuste et veraciter et devote.
Ad argumenta pro parte affirmativa: (Solutio oppositorum.) Ad 1. Ad illud ergo quod obiicitur de Damasceno, iam patet responsio: non enim negat, eam esse Christi genitricem, eo quod sit falsum, sed quia haereticus sub illo verbo abscondebat venenum.
Ad 2. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod non est ei consubstantialis; dicendum, quod mater Dei dicitur non propter hoc, quod ipsa genuerit eum secundum divinam naturam, sed propter idiomatum communicationem et mysterii incarnationis expressionem et ipsius Virginis honorificationem. Unde ratio illa non valet: non est mater Dei secundum divinam naturam: ergo non est mater Dei; immo est ibi consequens11, sicut si ita argueretur: hoc non praedicatur de illo per se: ergo non praedicatur de illo aliquo genere praedicandi.
Ad 3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod Deus non dicitur genitor hominis; dicendum, quod potest dici; non tamen consuevimus ita uti illo vocabulo, quia illa appellatio non sic facit ad expressionem piae fidei, sicut illa qua appellamus Virginem matrem Dei.
Ad 4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quare non dicitur Christotocos; dicendum, quod nomen Christi magis communicatur creaturis quam nomen Dei. Unde et David dicitur christus Domini et alii reges Israel12; et ideo verbum illud magis erat propinquum errori. Nunc autem, quia ille error exstirpatus est, communiter eam vocamus et matrem Christi et matrem Dei, cum imploramus, oculos misericordiae suae ad nos converti13.
I. Nestorius, prave sentiens de hypostatica unione, sibi constans etiam B. Virgini gloriosum titulum genitricis Dei denegavit, ut in corp. quaestionis dictum est. Ipsi opposuit S. Cyrillus Alexandrinus 12 anathematismos, a Concilio Ephesino (an. 431) et etiam a Conciliis oecumenicis IV. et V. approbatos, quorum primus est: «Si quis non confitetur, Deum esse veraciter Emmanuel, et propterea Dei genitricem (Θεοτόκον) sanctam Virginem; peperit enim secundum carnem carnem factum Dei Verbum, secundum quod scriptum est: Verbum caro factum est, a. s.»14.
II. Alex. Hal. rem tangit S. p. III. q. 8. m. I. — Scot., III. Sent. d. 2. q. 3. d. 4. q. 1. — S. Thom., hic q. 2. a. 2; S. III. q. 35. a. 4. — B. Albert., hic a. 5. — Petr. a Tar. hic q. 2. a. 1. — Richard. a Med., hic q. 2. q. 1. 2. — Aegid. R., hic q. 2. a. 1. 2. — Durand., hic q. 2. — Dionys. Carth., hic q. 2.
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Question III. Whether the blessed Virgin is to be called the Mother of God.
Thirdly it is asked whether the Virgin Mary is to be called the Mother of God [genitrix Dei]. And that she is, it is shown:
(The grounds.) 1. Damascene, in the third book, chapter twelve1: "We chiefly and truly proclaim the holy Virgin Mary Theotokos, that is, Mother of God."
2. Likewise: "Justly and truly we name her theotokos, that is, Mother of God; for this name constitutes the whole mystery of the incarnation2."
3. Likewise, this same thing is evident by reason, because whatever is said of that man is said of the Son of God on account of the communication of idioms3; but Jesus was the son of the blessed Mary: therefore God was the son of the blessed Mary: therefore by relative terms the blessed Mary is the mother of God.
4. Likewise, the Son of God stands to the Virgin Mother as the Son of man stands to God the Father4; but Jesus is the Son of God the Father: therefore God is the Son of Mary: therefore the Virgin Mary is rightly to be called the Mother of God.
On the contrary: (To the contrary view.) 1. Damascene, in the third book, chapter twelve5: "We do not call the Virgin Christotokos, that is, Mother of Christ": therefore if Christ is God, it seems that we ought not to call her the Mother of God.
2. Likewise, according to this the Virgin Mary is a mother insofar as she is consubstantial with the offspring; but she is not consubstantial with the offspring according to the divine nature, but according to the human; therefore, since God names Christ according to the divine nature, it does not seem that she is to be called the Mother of God6.
3. Likewise, on account of the assumption of human nature by the Son, God the Father is not said to be the begetter of men: therefore neither conversely is the Virgin to be called the Mother of God.
4. Likewise, in connection with this it is asked why Damascene prefers that she be called Mother of God rather than Mother of Christ. For if in "Christ" the divinity and the humanity are understood — indeed the whole Trinity is understood, according to Ambrose7, in the name of Christ — it does not seem that any diminution of truth or of virginal dignity comes about.
Conclusion.
The glorious Virgin is to be called not so much Christotokos as Mother and Begetter of God [genitrix Dei], justly and truly and devoutly, so that the error of Nestorius may be extinguished.
(A notable principle.) I respond: It must be said that words expressing the Christian faith ought to be far removed from error and approaching to devotion — most of all those in which there is speech concerning the Virgin Mary. For she destroyed all heresies in the whole world8, by conceiving and bringing forth the Truth from her very self; she also merited reconciliation for the whole human race: and therefore the whole devotion of Christians ought to burn toward her. — And therefore, because the blessed Virgin conceived him who is to be called not only Christ on account of the union, but
(Conclusion.) also true God on account of the eternal generation, she ought to be called the Mother of God, that he may be honored from this very word, and that the error of impiety may be extinguished — (Proved from Damascene.) the error which said that Mary conceived a mere man. — For the fostering of which error Nestorius, as Damascene, the true doctor, narrates9, wished to call her Mother of Christ, not Mother of God, as though she had begotten a mere man. And therefore Damascene, the true doctor and lover of the Virgin, teaches us to shun this word10, not because it is false, but because the heretic wished to conceal poison under it. Hence Damascene, in the third book, chapter twelve: "We do not call the Virgin Christotokos, that is, Mother of Christ; since for the destruction of Theotokos, that is, of the Mother of God, the wicked and defiled Nestorius, together with his father the devil, invented the term." — The reasons, therefore, are to be granted which show that the blessed Virgin is to be called the Mother of God, justly and truly and devoutly.
To the arguments for the affirmative side: (Solution of the opposing arguments.) To 1. To that, then, which is objected from Damascene, the response is already evident: for he does not deny that she is the Mother of Christ on the ground that it is false, but because the heretic was hiding poison under that word.
To 2. To that which is objected, that she is not consubstantial with him; it must be said that she is called the Mother of God not because she begot him according to the divine nature, but on account of the communication of idioms and the expression of the mystery of the incarnation and the honoring of the Virgin herself. Hence that argument is invalid: "she is not the mother of God according to the divine nature: therefore she is not the mother of God"; rather, there is here a fallacy of the consequent11, as if one were to argue thus: "this is not predicated of that thing per se: therefore it is not predicated of it in any manner of predication."
To 3. To that which is objected, that God is not called the begetter of man; it must be said that he can be so called; nevertheless we are not accustomed so to use that word, because that appellation does not so serve for the expression of pious faith as does that by which we call the Virgin the mother of God.
To 4. To that which is objected, why she is not called Christotokos; it must be said that the name of Christ is more communicated to creatures than the name of God. Hence David too is called the anointed of the Lord, and the other kings of Israel12; and therefore that word was nearer to the error. But now, because that error has been rooted out, we commonly call her both mother of Christ and mother of God, when we implore her to turn the eyes of her mercy toward us13.
I. Nestorius, thinking perversely concerning the hypostatic union, consistent with himself, also denied to the Blessed Virgin the glorious title of Mother of God, as was stated in the body of the question. Against him St. Cyril of Alexandria set 12 anathematisms, approved by the Council of Ephesus (year 431) and also by the Fourth and Fifth ecumenical Councils, the first of which is: "If anyone does not confess that Emmanuel is truly God, and on that account the holy Virgin the Mother of God (Θεοτόκον) — for she bore according to the flesh the Word of God made flesh, according to what is written: The Word was made flesh, etc."14.
II. Alexander of Hales touches on the matter in the Summa p. III, q. 8, m. I. — Scotus, III Sentences d. 2, q. 3; d. 4, q. 1. — St. Thomas, here q. 2, a. 2; Summa III, q. 35, a. 4. — Blessed Albert, here a. 5. — Peter of Tarentaise, here q. 2, a. 1. — Richard of Mediavilla, here q. 2, q. 1–2. — Giles of Rome, here q. 2, a. 1–2. — Durandus, here q. 2. — Dionysius the Carthusian, here q. 2.
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- De Fide orthod.On the Orthodox Faith.
- Damasc. loc. cit. — Pro constituit (συνίστησι) Vat. ostendit (ed. operum Damasc. a Migne parata astruit).Damascene, in the place cited. — For constituit ("constitutes," συνίστησι) the Vatican edition reads ostendit ("shows"); the edition of Damascene's works prepared by Migne reads astruit ("establishes").
- Cfr. supra pag. 14, nota 3. — De modo argumentandi a relativis cfr. tom. II. pag. 813, nota 1.Cf. above, page 14, note 3. — On the manner of arguing from relative terms cf. tome II, page 813, note 1.
- Talis enim, ut August. inquit I. de Trin. c. 13. n. 28, erat illa susceptio, quae Deum hominem faceret, et hominem Deum.For such, as Augustine says in On the Trinity I, c. 13, n. 28, was that assumption, which would make God man, and man God.
- De Fide orthod.On the Orthodox Faith.
- Nestorius, ut apud Cyrill. Alex., I. contra Nestor. c. 3. legimus, sic argumentabat: Ut igitur mulier corpus parit, sed Deus animam tribuit, neque ideo dicetur animae genitrix, quia peperit animatum, sed potius hominis genitrix; sic quoque B. Virgo, inquit, etsi peperit hominem, simul cum illo pertranseunte Dei Verbo (nam hac est voce usus), non ideo est Dei genitrix. — Edd. addunt sed Christi genitrix. In principio arg. pro secundum hoc cod. X secundum Bernardum.Nestorius, as we read in Cyril of Alexandria, Against Nestorius I, c. 3, argued thus: "As, therefore, a woman bears the body, but God bestows the soul, and yet she will not on that account be called the begetter of the soul, because she bore an ensouled being, but rather the begetter of the man; so too the Blessed Virgin," he says, "although she bore a man, while the Word of God passed through together with him" (for he used this expression), "is not on that account the Mother of God." — The editions add sed Christi genitrix ("but the Mother of Christ"). At the beginning of the argument, in place of secundum hoc ("according to this"), codex X reads secundum Bernardum ("according to Bernard").
- Libr. I. de Spir. S. c. 3. n. 44: Si Christum dicas, et Deum Patrem, a quo unctus est Filius; et ipsum qui unctus est Filium, et Spiritum sanctum, quo unctus est, designasti etc. Cfr. etiam III. c. 7. n. 44. — In fine arg. pro imminutio Vat. immutatio; edd. 1, 2 fiat veritati aut virginali dignitati iniuria.Book I, On the Holy Spirit c. 3, n. 44: "If you say 'Christ,' you have designated both God the Father, by whom the Son is anointed; and the Son himself who is anointed; and the Holy Spirit by whom he is anointed," etc. Cf. also III, c. 7, n. 44. — At the end of the argument, in place of imminutio ("diminution") the Vatican edition reads immutatio ("alteration"); editions 1 and 2 read fiat veritati aut virginali dignitati iniuria ("any wrong be done to truth or to virginal dignity").
- Ita in I. antiph. III. Noct. offic. parv. B. M. V. — Et Bernard., Serm. in Dominica infra Oct. assumt. B. M. V. n. 4. sic eloquitur: Nimirum ipsa est quondam a Deo promissa mulier, serpentis antiqui caput virtutis pede contritura, cuius plane calcaneo in multis versutiis insidiatus est (Gen. 3, 15.), sed sine causa. Sola enim contrivit universam haereticam pravitatem...So in the first antiphon of the third Nocturn of the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary. — And Bernard, Sermon on the Sunday within the Octave of the Assumption of the B.V.M. n. 4, speaks thus: "She, surely, is the woman once promised by God, who would crush with the foot of her power the head of the ancient serpent, at whose heel he with many wiles laid snares (Gen. 3:15), but in vain. For she alone crushed the whole heretical depravity..."
- Damasc., III. de Fide orthod. c. 12. — Pro obiicitur codd. K Z quaeritur.Damascene, On the Orthodox Faith III, c. 12. — For obiicitur ("is objected") codices K Z read quaeritur ("is asked").
- Cod. K tale, cod. bb (a secunda manu) illud, alii codd. omittunt hoc.Codex K reads tale ("such"); codex bb (by a second hand) illud ("that"); the other codices omit hoc ("this").
- Cfr. de hac fallacia Aristot., I. Elench. c. 4. (c. 5.). — Pro immo est ibi consequens edd. ibi est enim consequens. Paulo superius ante ipsius Virginis cod. Z inserit specialem. Paulo inferius pro hoc codd. A G H L N T V aa hic.On this fallacy cf. Aristotle, Sophistical Refutations I, c. 4 (c. 5). — For immo est ibi consequens ("rather there is here a fallacy of the consequent") the editions read ibi est enim consequens ("for there is here a consequent"). A little above, before ipsius Virginis, codex Z inserts specialem ("special"). A little below, in place of hoc codices A G H L N T V aa read hic.
- Cfr. I. Reg. 24, 7. seqq. et II. Reg. 19, 21. Cfr. etiam I. Reg. 12, 3. seqq.Cf. 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 24:7 ff. and 2 Kings (2 Samuel) 19:21. Cf. also 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 12:3 ff.
- Respicitur antiph. Salve Regina.The antiphon Salve Regina is alluded to.
- Cyrill. Alex., Epist. 17. ad Nestor., anathem. 1.Cyril of Alexandria, Letter 17 to Nestorius, anathematism 1. ---