Dist. 9
Book III: On the Incarnation of the Word · Distinction 9
DISTINCTIO IX.
Cap. Unicum. De adoratione exhibenda humanitati Christi.
Praeterea investigari oportet, utrum caro Christi et anima una eademque cum Verbo debeant adoratione adorari, illa scilicet, quae latria dicitur. Si enim animae vel carni Christi1 exhibetur latria, quae intelligitur servitus sive cultus soli Creatori debitus; cum anima Christi vel caro creatura tantum sit, creaturae exhibetur quod soli Creatori debetur; quod facienti in idololatriam deputatur. (Opinio 1.) — Ideo quibusdam videtur, non illa adoratione, quae latria est, carnem Christi vel animam esse adorandam, sed illa quae dulia est, cuius duas species vel modos esse dicunt. Est enim cuiusdam modi dulia, quae creaturae cuilibet exhiberi potest; et est quaedam soli humanitati Christi2 exhibenda, non alii creaturae; quia Christi humanitas super omnem creaturam est veneranda et diligenda, non tamen adeo, ut cultus divinitati debitus ei exhibeatur, (Dubium 1.) qui cultus in dilectione et sacrificii exhibitione atque reverentia consistit, qui Latine dicitur pietas, Graece autem theosebia, id est Dei cultus, vel eusebia, id est bonus cultus.
(Opinio 2. et vera.) Aliis autem placet, Christi humanitatem una adoratione cum Verbo esse adorandam, non propter se, sed propter illum cuius est scabellum, cui est unita. Neque ipsa humanitas sola vel nuda, sed cum Verbo, cui est unita; nec propter se, sed propter illum3 est adoranda. Nec qui hoc facit idololatriae reus iudicari potest, quia nec soli creaturae nec propter ipsam, sed Creatori cum humanitate et in humanitate sua servit.
(Damascenus.) De hoc Ioannes Damascenus4 ita ait: «Duae sunt naturae Christi, ratione et modo differentes, unitae vero secundum hypostasim. Unus igitur Christus est Deus perfectus et homo perfectus, (Dubium 2.) quem adoramus cum Patre et Spiritu una adoratione cum incontaminata eius carne, non inadorabilem carnem dicentes — adoratur enim in una Verbi hypostasi, quae hypostasis generata est — non creaturae venerationem praebentes. Non enim ut nudam carnem adoramus, sed ut unitam deitati, in unam hypostasim Dei Verbi duabus reductis naturis. Timeo carbonem tangere propter ligno copulatum ignem. Adoro Christi, Dei mei, simul utramque naturam5 propter carni unitam deitatem. Non enim quartam appono personam in Trinitate, sed unam personam confiteor Verbi et carnis eius». (Confirmatur per Augustinum.) — His verbis insinuari videtur, Christi humanitatem una adoratione cum Verbo esse adorandam. — De hoc etiam Augustinus6 ex sermone Domini, ubi dicit: Non turbetur cor vestrum, ita dicit: «Dicunt haeretici, Filium non natura esse Deum, sed creatum. Quibus respondendum est, quia, si Filius non est Deus natura, sed creatura, nec colendus est omnino nec ut Deus adorandus, dicente Apostolo: Coluerunt et servierunt potius creaturae quam Creatori. (Replicant illi.) — Sed illi ad hoc replicabunt et dicent: Quid est, quod carnem eius, quam creaturam esse non negas, simul cum divinitate adoras et ei non minus quam divinitati deservis? (Dubium 3.) — Ego dominicam carnem, immo perfectam in Christo humanitatem, ideo adoro, quod a divinitate suscepta et deitati unita est; ut non alium et alium, sed unum eundemque Deum et hominem Dei Filium esse confitear. Denique si hominem separaveris a Deo, illi nunquam credo nec servio, velut si quis purpuram vel diadema regale iacens inveniat, nunquid ea conabitur adorare? Cum vero ea7 rex fuerit indutus, periculum mortis incurrit, si ea cum rege adorare quis contempserit. Ita etiam in Christo Domino humanitatem non solam vel nudam, sed divinitati unitam, scilicet unum Filium, Deum verum et hominem verum, si quis adorare contempserit, aeternaliter morietur». — Idem super Psalmum nonagesimum octavum8, ubi dicitur: Adorate scabellum pedum eius, quoniam sanctum est: «Sciendum est, quia in Christo terra est, id est caro, quae sine impietate adoratur. Suscepit enim de terra terram, quia caro de terra est, et de carne Mariae carnem accepit. Haec sine impietate a Verbo Dei assumta adoratur a nobis, quia carnem eius nemo manducat, nisi prius adoret; sed qui adorat non terram intuetur, illum potius, cuius scabellum est, propter quem adorat». — His auctoritatibus praemissae investigationis absolutio explicatur.
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DISTINCTION IX.
Single Chapter. On the adoration to be shown to the humanity of Christ.
Furthermore it must be investigated whether the flesh of Christ and his soul ought to be adored, together and as one with the Word, with that adoration, namely, which is called latria. For if to the soul or flesh of Christ1 latria be shown — which is understood as the service or worship owed to the Creator alone — since the soul of Christ or his flesh is creature only, there is shown to a creature what is owed to the Creator alone; which is reckoned to the doer as idolatry. (Opinion 1.) — Therefore it seems to some that the flesh of Christ or his soul is to be adored not with that adoration which is latria, but with that which is dulia, of which they say there are two species or modes. For there is dulia of a certain mode, which can be shown to any creature whatever; and there is a certain [dulia] to be shown to the humanity of Christ2 alone, and to no other creature; because the humanity of Christ is to be venerated and loved above every creature, yet not so far that the worship owed to the divinity be shown to it, (Doubt 1.) which worship consists in love and in the offering of sacrifice and in reverence, which in Latin is called pietas, but in Greek theosebia, that is, the worship of God, or eusebia, that is, good worship.
(Opinion 2, and the true one.) But to others it is pleasing that the humanity of Christ is to be adored with one adoration together with the Word, not on its own account, but on account of him whose footstool it is, to whom it is united. Nor is the humanity itself, alone or bare, but together with the Word, to whom it is united; nor on its own account, but on account of him3, is it to be adored. Nor can he who does this be judged guilty of idolatry, because he serves neither the creature alone nor on account of it, but the Creator together with the humanity and in his humanity.
(Damascene.) Concerning this John Damascene4 thus says: «There are two natures of Christ, differing in account and mode, but united according to hypostasis. One Christ therefore is perfect God and perfect man, (Doubt 2.) whom we adore together with the Father and the Spirit with one adoration, together with his undefiled flesh, not declaring his flesh unadorable — for it is adored in the one hypostasis of the Word, which hypostasis was begotten — not offering veneration to a creature. For we do not adore the flesh as bare, but as united to the deity, the two natures being reduced into the one hypostasis of God the Word. I fear to touch the coal on account of the fire joined to the wood. I adore both natures5 of Christ, my God, together, on account of the deity united to the flesh. For I do not set up a fourth person in the Trinity, but I confess one person of the Word and of his flesh». (It is confirmed by Augustine.) — By these words it seems to be intimated that the humanity of Christ is to be adored with one adoration together with the Word. — Concerning this also Augustine6, from the discourse of the Lord, where he says: Let not your heart be troubled, thus says: «The heretics say that the Son is God not by nature, but created. To whom it must be answered, that, if the Son is not God by nature, but a creature, he is in no way to be worshipped, nor to be adored as God, the Apostle saying: They worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator. (They reply.) — But they will reply to this and say: How is it that you adore his flesh, which you do not deny to be a creature, together with the divinity, and serve it no less than the divinity? (Doubt 3.) — I adore the Lord's flesh, nay rather the perfect humanity in Christ, for this reason, that it has been assumed by the divinity and united to the deity; so that I may confess not one and another, but one and the same God and man, the Son of God. Finally, if you separate the man from God, I never believe in him nor serve him, just as, if someone should find purple or a royal diadem lying about, will he try to adore it? But when the king7 has been clothed with it, he incurs the peril of death who scorns to adore it together with the king. So also in Christ the Lord, if anyone scorns to adore the humanity — not alone or bare, but united to the divinity, namely one Son, true God and true man — he will die eternally». — The same, on the ninety-eighth Psalm8, where it is said: Adore the footstool of his feet, for it is holy: «It must be known that in Christ there is earth, that is, flesh, which is adored without impiety. For he took up earth from earth, because the flesh is from earth, and from the flesh of Mary he received flesh. This, assumed by the Word of God, is adored by us without impiety, because no one eats his flesh unless he first adore it; but he who adores does not look upon the earth, but rather upon him whose footstool it is, on account of whom he adores». — By these authorities the resolution of the foregoing investigation is set forth.
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- Cod. E cum plerisque edd. omittit Christi. — De his quae sequuntur cfr. Petr. Lomb. super Ps. 98, 0.Codex E with most editions omits Christi. — On what follows cf. Peter Lombard on Ps. 98, 0.
- Codd. et edd. 1, 8 omittunt Christi.The codices and editions 1 and 8 omit Christi.
- Edd. pleraeque addunt cui est unita, refragantibus codd. et edd. 1, 8; quod additamentum videtur esse glossa ideo adiuncta, quia pronomen illum grammatice quidem non convenit cum voce Verbum, sed tamen secundum sensum.Most editions add to whom it is united, against the codices and editions 1 and 8; which addition seems to be a gloss appended for this reason, that the pronoun him does not indeed grammatically agree with the word Word, but yet does according to the sense.
- Libr. III. de Fide orthod. c. 8.Book III On the Orthodox Faith, c. 8.
- Codd. A B D E utraque pro utramque naturam.Codices A B D E read both in place of both natures.
- Serm. 246. n. 5. (in appendice, alias 58. de verbis Dom.). Scripturae loci sunt Ioan. 14, 1; Rom. 1, 25.Sermon 246, n. 5 (in the appendix, otherwise 58, On the Words of the Lord). The Scripture passages are John 14:1; Rom. 1:25.
- Vat. sola eis, quae mutatio non requiritur, cum indutus etiam cum accusativo rei Graeco more construatur.The Vatican edition reads sola eis [for itself with them], which change is not required, since clothed is also construed with the accusative of the thing in the Greek manner.
- Vers. 5.; August. Enarrat. tr. n. 9., ubi edd., post intuetur iterum ponunt sed, refragantibus codd. et ed. 1.Verse 5; Augustine, Enarration, treatise n. 9, where the editions, after looks upon, again place but, against the codices and edition 1. ---