← Back to Distinction 15

Dist. 15, Part 2, Art. 2, Q. 2

Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 15

Textus Latinus
p. 372

Quaestio II. Utrum ieiunio contingat satisfacere.

Secundo quaeritur, utrum ieiunio contingat satisfacere. Et quod sic, videtur: quia, si « satisfacere est causas peccatorum excidere » et « Deo honorem per poenam reddere »1; cum in ieiunio carnis incentiva excidantur, et homo se ipsum puniat, patet etc.

Contra:

1. Ioel secundo2: Scindite corda vestra et non vestimenta vestra: ergo non facit vim Deus in afflictione carnis, sed mentis.

2. Item, primae ad Timotheum quarto3: Corporalis exercitatio ad modicum utilis est; sed satisfactio multum: ergo etc.

3. Item, cum satisfacere sit causas excidere peccatorum, illud punire est satisfacere, quod est causa peccati: sed hoc est cor, non os vel caro, Matthaei decimo quinto4: Nihil quod intrat in os coinquinat hominem, sed de corde exeunt etc.

4. Item, iudex iustus puniendo non animadvertit in instrumentum, sed in auctorem sceleris — unde non punitur gladius, sed homicida — ergo cum caro non sit nisi sicut instrumentum motum, patet5 etc.

5. Item, caro est inimicus nostri spiritus, ad Galatas quinto6: Haec sibi invicem adversantur; sed dicitur Matthaei quinto: Diligite inimicos vestros, benefacite etc.

6. Item, quod commune est apud omnes est naturale; sed dicitur ad Ephesios quinto7: Nemo unquam carnem suam odio habuit: ergo naturale est carnem fovere: ergo affligere est contra naturam. Sed poenitentia est regressio ab eo quod est praeter naturam: ergo ieiunium non est ad satisfaciendum in poenitentia.

7. Item, qui carnem affligit amittit vitam et accelerat mortem, quia est in eo maior consumtio et minor restauratio; sed qui accelerat mortem est homicida, ita etiam, quod, si longo tempore, non refert. Unde Hieronymus8: « Non refert, utrum parvo tempore vel magno te interimas »: ergo qui ieiunat est homicida.

8. Item, omne opus discretum et virtuosum consistit in medio9; sed ieiunium non consistit in medio, immo declinat ad indigentiam: ergo nec poenitentiae est nec virtutis.

Conclusio.

Ieiunium est opus satisfactorium.

Respondeo: Dicendum, quod ieiunium est opus satisfactorium, secundum quod ipse Dominus di- p. 373 cit Matthaei decimo septimo10: Hoc genus daemoniorum non eiicitur nisi in oratione et ieiunio. Hoc est, inquam, satisfactorium liberando a poena, cum sit poenale; et Deo est placitum, quia corporis et spiritus est reordinativum: ut corpus spiritui non repugnet contumaciter, Proverbiorum vigesimo nono: Qui delicate a pueritia nutrit servum suum, sentiet illum contumacem; ut spiritui subiiciatur totaliter, primae ad Corinthios nono: Castigo corpus meum et in servitutem redigo etc.; ut non crucietur aeternaliter, Ecclesiastici vigesimo: Est qui multa redimit modico pretio, et Ezechielis quarto: Diem pro anno dedi tibi; ut glorificetur aeternaliter, secundae ad Corinthios quarto: Id quod est in praesenti momentaneum et leve tribulationis nostrae etc.

Ad argumenta:

Ad 1. Ad illud ergo quod obiicitur in contrarium, quod non placet Deo etc.; dicendum, quod Deo non placet afflictio carnis sive eius maceratio secundum se, sed in quantum in ea punitur spiritus — quia « dolor non est carnis, sed animae in carne », ut dicit Augustinus11 — et in quantum talis poena procedit a poena doloris spiritualis, vel non, sicut hypocrita, exterius tantum puniat; et contra hoc est illud Ioelis, quia non dolebant animo, sed signo.

Ad 2. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod ad modicum valet; dicendum, quod hoc est, vel quia uni soli vel ad modicum comparatione pietatis.

Ad 3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod caro non est causa; dicendum, quod etsi non sit causa, est tamen occasio; occasiones autem sunt praecidendae.

Ad 4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod est instrumentum; dicendum, quod duplex est instrumentum, scilicet separatum, et hoc non est puniendum; et coniunctum, quale est caro, et hoc sic, quia, hoc punito, punitur spiritus.

Ad 5. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod fovendus est inimicus; dicendum, quod caro fovenda est et servanda, sed inimicitia carnis non est fovenda, immo ad concordiam spiritus revocanda; et quia hoc fit per ieiunium et flagella, ideo est punienda. — Et per hoc patet, quod naturale est carnem diligere et fovere, sed carnis lasciviam fovere est corruptionis et vitii.

Ad 7. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod diminuit vitam; dicendum, quod diminuere vitam vel accelerare mortem, aut est ex intentione, aut praeter. Si ex intentione, peccatum est; et sic intelligit Hieronymus. Aut praeter intentionem, et tunc aut dando operam rei licitae, aut non dando licitae, vel utili, sed supervacaneae, vel malae. Primo modo non est peccatum, sed secundo — tamen dicunt aliqui, quod abstinentia non accelerat mortem; sed tamen non credo, immo gravis poenitentia bene accelerat.

Ad 8. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod non est medium in ieiunio; dicendum, quod immo; sed hoc non est medium sobrietatis, sed medium iustitiae; quia ieiunio punit quis suam carnem; sed in hac punitione servandum est ita medium, ut nec nimis lente puniat, ita quod vitia carnis vivant, nec ita acerbe, ut natura deficiat. Unde Bernardus12: « Oportet carnem reprimere, non exstinguere ». Nec istud impedit, quin sit medium, quia ad extremum declinat. Nam in patientia medium est fere omnia sustinere, in continentia etiam semper abstinere.

---

English Translation

Question II. Whether one can make satisfaction by fasting.

Secondly it is asked whether one can make satisfaction by fasting. And that one can, seems [the case]: because, if « to make satisfaction is to cut away the causes of sins » and « to render honor to God by punishment »1; since in fasting the incentives of the flesh are cut away, and a person punishes himself, it is clear, etc.

On the contrary:

1. Joel chapter two2: Rend your hearts and not your garments: therefore God does not lay weight upon the affliction of the flesh, but of the mind.

2. Likewise, First Timothy chapter four3: Bodily exercise is profitable to little; but satisfaction much: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, since to make satisfaction is to cut away the causes of sins, then to punish that which is the cause of sin is to make satisfaction: but this is the heart, not the mouth or the flesh, Matthew chapter fifteen4: Not that which enters into the mouth defiles a man, but from the heart proceed etc.

4. Likewise, a just judge in punishing does not look to the instrument, but to the author of the crime — whence the sword is not punished, but the murderer — therefore since the flesh is nothing but as a moved instrument, it is clear5 etc.

5. Likewise, the flesh is the enemy of our spirit, Galatians chapter five6: These are contrary to one another; but it is said in Matthew chapter five: Love your enemies, do good etc.

6. Likewise, what is common among all is natural; but it is said in Ephesians chapter five7: No one ever hated his own flesh: therefore it is natural to cherish the flesh: therefore to afflict it is against nature. But penance is a return from that which is beside nature: therefore fasting is not for making satisfaction in penance.

7. Likewise, whoever afflicts the flesh loses life and hastens death, because in him there is a greater consumption and a lesser restoration; but whoever hastens death is a homicide, and so too, that, if [done] over a long time, it makes no difference. Whence Jerome8: « It makes no difference whether you destroy yourself over a little time or a great »: therefore whoever fasts is a homicide.

8. Likewise, every discreet and virtuous work consists in a mean9; but fasting does not consist in a mean, indeed it inclines toward want: therefore it belongs neither to penance nor to virtue.

Conclusion.

Fasting is a satisfactory work.

I respond: It must be said that fasting is a satisfactory work, according as the Lord himself says, Matthew chapter seventeen10: This kind of demons is not cast out except by prayer and fasting. This, I say, is satisfactory in freeing from punishment, since it is penal; and it is pleasing to God, because it reorders both body and spirit: that the body may not resist the spirit obstinately, Proverbs chapter twenty-nine: He who from childhood nourishes his servant delicately, shall afterward find him stubborn; that it may be wholly subjected to the spirit, First Corinthians chapter nine: I chastise my body and bring it into subjection etc.; that it may not be tormented eternally, Ecclesiasticus chapter twenty: There is who redeems much for a small price, and Ezekiel chapter four: A day for a year I have given you; that it may be glorified eternally, Second Corinthians chapter four: That which is at present momentary and light of our tribulation etc.

To the arguments:

To 1. To that, then, which is objected to the contrary, that it does not please God etc.; it must be said that the affliction of the flesh or its mortification does not please God in itself, but insofar as in it the spirit is punished — because « pain is not of the flesh, but of the soul in the flesh », as Augustine says11 — and insofar as such punishment proceeds from the punishment of spiritual sorrow, or not, [where] like the hypocrite he punishes outwardly only; and against this is that saying of Joel, that they did not grieve in mind, but in sign.

To 2. To that which is objected, that it avails to little; it must be said that this is so, either because [it avails] to one alone or to little by comparison with piety.

To 3. To that which is objected, that the flesh is not the cause; it must be said that even if it is not the cause, it is nevertheless the occasion; and occasions are to be cut off.

To 4. To that which is objected, that it is an instrument; it must be said that an instrument is twofold, namely separate, and this is not to be punished; and conjoined, such as the flesh is, and this thus [is to be punished], because, when this is punished, the spirit is punished.

To 5. To that which is objected, that the enemy is to be cherished; it must be said that the flesh is to be cherished and preserved, but the enmity of the flesh is not to be cherished, indeed it is to be recalled to the concord of the spirit; and because this is done through fasting and scourges, therefore it is to be punished. — And by this it is clear that it is natural to love and cherish the flesh, but to cherish the wantonness of the flesh is [a matter] of corruption and of vice.

To 7. To that which is objected, that it diminishes life; it must be said that to diminish life or to hasten death is either from intention, or beside [it]. If from intention, it is a sin; and thus Jerome understands [it]. Or beside intention, and then either in giving attention to a licit thing, or in not giving [attention] to a licit or useful [thing], but to a superfluous, or an evil one. In the first way it is not a sin, but in the second — yet some say that abstinence does not hasten death; but nevertheless I do not believe [this], indeed grave penance does well hasten [it].

To 8. To that which is objected, that there is no mean in fasting; it must be said that indeed [there is]; but this is not the mean of sobriety, but the mean of justice; because by fasting one punishes his own flesh; but in this punishment such a mean is to be kept, that he neither punish too slackly, so that the vices of the flesh live, nor so harshly, that nature fail. Whence Bernard12: « It behooves [us] to repress the flesh, not to extinguish it ». Nor does this prevent its being a mean, because it inclines toward the extreme. For in patience the mean is to bear well-nigh all things, in continence also always to abstain.

---

Apparatus Criticus
  1. 1
    Prima definitio est Augustini (cfr. supra a. I. q. I.), posterior secundum Anselmum (cfr. ibid. q. 2. fundam. I.). — De excisione incentivorum carnis cfr. Gregor., XXX. Moral. c. 18. n. 63. — Plures codd., superius omisso si, mox post cum addunt ergo.
    The first definition is Augustine's (cf. above, a. I, q. I), the later one according to Anselm (cf. ibid., q. 2, foundation I). — On the cutting away of the incentives of the flesh cf. Gregory, Morals book XXX, c. 18, n. 63. — Several codices, the earlier si being omitted, shortly after cum add ergo.
  2. 2
    Vers. 13.
    Verse 13.
  3. 3
    Vers. 8.
    Verse 8.
  4. 4
    Vers. 11. et 19: De corde enim exeunt cogitationes malae etc. — Edd. cum nonnullis codd. sed quae de corde exeunt: ergo.
    Verses 11 and 19: « For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts » etc. — The editions, with some codices, [read] but the things which proceed from the heart: therefore.
  5. 5
    Ambros., 1. de Poenitentia, c. 14. n. 73: Vides ergo, quia animus noster culpae est auctor? Itaque innocens caro.
    Ambrose, On Penance book I, c. 14, n. 73: « You see then, that our mind is the author of the fault? And so the flesh [is] innocent. »
  6. 6
    Vers. 17. Pro invicem non pauci codd. et edd. ad invicem. — Seq. textus est Matth. 5. 44. — In fine arg. cod. K (I a secunda manu) addit: ergo non debemus eam punire, sed potius confovere.
    Verse 17. For invicem (one another) not a few codices and editions [read] ad invicem. — The following text is Matthew 5:44. — At the end of the argument codex K (in a second hand) adds: therefore we ought not to punish it, but rather to cherish it.
  7. 7
    Vers. 29. — De maiori vide supra pag. 14, nota 3.
    Verse 29. — On the major [premise] see above, p. 14, note 3.
  8. 8
    Sum. II. II. q. 147. a. I. ad 2. S. Thom. ait: Ut Hieronymus dicit Non differt, utrum magno vel parvo tempore te interimas, quia de rapina holocaustum offert [Isai. 61, 8.] qui vel ciborum nimia egestate, vel manducandi, vel somni penuria immoderate corpus affligit. Ratio primae propos. addita habetur in C. Non mediocriter (24.), de Consecr. dist. 5. et Hieronymo attribuitur. Cfr. ipsius Epist. 107. (alias 7.) n. 10, 125. (alias 4.) n. 7. et 130. (alias 8.) n. 11.
    Summa II–II, q. 147, a. I, ad 2, St. Thomas says: « As Jerome says, It makes no difference whether you destroy yourself over a great or a little time, because he offers a holocaust of rapine [Isaiah 61:8] who afflicts his body immoderately by excessive lack of food, or by want of eating, or of sleep. » The reason of the first proposition added is found in canon Non mediocriter (24), de Consecratione dist. 5, and is attributed to Jerome. Cf. his Epistles 107 (alias 7) n. 10, 125 (alias 4) n. 7, and 130 (alias 8) n. 11.
  9. 9
    Secundum Aristot., II. Ethic. c. 6.
    According to Aristotle, Ethics book II, c. 6.
  10. 10
    Vers. 20, ubi Vulgata nisi per orationem et ieiunium. Cfr. Marc. 9, 28. — De seq. propos. vide supra a. I. q. 3. seq. — Vers. 21: Vulgata: Qui... servum suum postea sentiet eum contumacem. — Seq. textus est I. Cor. 9, 27; tertius Eccli. 20, 12; quartus Ezech. 4, 6: Diem pro anno, diem, inquam, pro anno dedi tibi. — Quintus II. Cor. 4, 17.
    Verse 20, where the Vulgate [reads] except by prayer and fasting. Cf. Mark 9:28. — On the following proposition see above, a. I, q. 3 and following. — Verse 21: Vulgate: He who... [nourishes] his servant, shall afterward find him stubborn. — The following text is 1 Corinthians 9:27; the third Ecclesiasticus 20:12; the fourth Ezekiel 4:6: A day for a year, a day, I say, for a year I have given you. — The fifth 2 Corinthians 4:17.
  11. 11
    Libr. XIV. de Civ. Dei, c. 15. n. 2: Dolores porro, qui dicuntur carnis, animae sunt in carne et ex carne. Quid enim caro per se ipsam sine anima vel dolet, vel concupiscit? Cfr. tom. III. pag. 346, nota 7. — Superius post dicendum codd. brevius quod non afflictio carnis etc.
    On the City of God book XIV, c. 15, n. 2: « Moreover the pains which are called of the flesh, are of the soul in the flesh and from the flesh. For what does the flesh of itself, without the soul, either feel pain at, or desire? » Cf. vol. III, p. 346, note 7. — Above, after dicendum, the codices more briefly [read] that not the affliction of the flesh etc.
  12. 12
    Epist. ad Fratres de Monte Dei (inter opera Bernardi), lib. I. c. 11. n. 32: Modus in omnibus habendus est; affligendum aliquando corpus est, sed non conterendum etc. Cfr. Serm. 3. in Circumcisione Domini, n. 11. et Serm. 40. de Diversis, n. 7. Verba ipsa magis respondent Gregor., XX. Moral. c. 41. n. 78: Per abstinentiam quippe carnis vitia sunt exstinguenda non caro. Cfr. ibid. XXX. c. 18. n. 63; I. Homil. in Ezech. homil. 7. n. 10. et 11; homil. 7. n. 19. — Pro vivant cod. bb virescant.
    Letter to the Brethren of Mont Dieu (among the works of Bernard), book I, c. 11, n. 32: « A measure is to be kept in all things; the body is sometimes to be afflicted, but not crushed » etc. Cf. Sermon 3 on the Circumcision of the Lord, n. 11, and Sermon 40 on Sundry Matters, n. 7. The words themselves correspond rather to Gregory, Morals book XX, c. 41, n. 78: « For by abstinence the vices of the flesh are to be extinguished, not the flesh. » Cf. ibid. book XXX, c. 18, n. 63; Homilies on Ezekiel, homily 7, n. 10 and 11; homily 7, n. 19. — For vivant (live) codex bb [reads] virescant (flourish). ---
Cited by

2 places in the Opera Omnia citethis question. Derived from Quaracchi’s own apparatus, never tagged by hand.

Whether contrition is an instantaneous or a successive motion
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 16
supra d. 15. p. II. a. 2. q. 2.
Whether suffrages profit more the one who merited more, or the one for whom they are specially made
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 45
supra pag. 372, nota 8
← Dist. 15, Part 2, Art. 2, Q. 1Dist. 15, Part 2, Art. 2, Q. 3→