Bonaventure — Opera Omnia

Dist. 17, Part 1, Art. 1, Q. 3

Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 17

Textus Latinus

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Quaestio III. Utrum ad iustificationem necessaria sit contritio.

Tertio quaeritur, utrum ad iustificationem necessaria sit contritio. Et quod sic, videtur.

1. Super illud Psalmi¹: Sacrificium Deo spiritus contribulatus; Glossa: «Spiritus contribulatus et contritus est sacrificium, in quo peccata solvuntur».

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2. Item, super illud Psalmi²: Iustitia ante eum ambulabit; Glossa Augustini: «Prima hominis iustitia est, ut puniat se malum et faciat se bonum; haec est via Deo, ut veniat ad eum».

3. Item, ratione videtur: quia impossibile est peccatorem iustificari, quin sequatur poena satisfactoria; sed possibile est, ipsum statim mori, et nulla erit poena satisfactoria nisi voluntarie inchoata in vita, sicut dicit Augustinus³: ergo necesse est, quod in ipso actu iustificationis sit motus poenalis. Sed hic non est nisi contritio; ergo etc.

4. Item, sicut culpa voluntate est introducta, sic etiam conservatur per ipsam: ergo si liberum arbitrium, ex quo semel consensit, semper habetur pro consentiente, nisi dissentiat; necesse est dissentire; sed dissensus eius ante adventum gratiae nihil potest⁴: ergo oportet, quod dissentiat cum gratia.

5. Item, aliquid plus requiritur in iustificatione eius qui post fidem peccavit, ultra motum fidei⁵; sed hoc non est nisi contritio: ergo etc.

Sed contra: 1. Ecclesiastici primo⁶: Timor Domini expellit peccatum: ergo potest fieri secundum hoc iustificatio sive peccati expulsio motu timoris: non ergo necesse est, quod contritionis.

2. Item, super illud Lucae septimo⁷: Dimittuntur ei peccata multa etc.; Glossa: «Ardor caritatis peccatorum rubiginem in ea consumsit»: ergo non oportet, quod sit dolor.

3. Item, ratione videtur: quia duae sunt partes⁸ iustitiae, scilicet facere bonum et declinare a malo; sed prima est maior: ergo multo magis se disponit homo ad gratiam faciendo bonum quam vitando malum: ergo magis appetitu boni quam detestatione mali.

4. Item, cum quis iustificatus est, potest moveri motu omnis virtutis: cum ergo motus omnis virtutis sit gratiae cognatus, motus cuiuslibet virtutis informis disponit ad gratiam: non ergo necessaria est contritio.

5. Item, possibile est, aliquem a Deo averti, nihil de ipso cogitando: ergo similiter possibile est, aliquem a peccato recedere, nihil cogitando de peccato: ergo absque contritione.

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Conclusio. Ad iustificationem impii est necessaria contritio, ut voluntas concordet gratiae ut advenienti et ut peccatum expellenti.

Respondeo: Ad hoc dicunt aliqui, quod iustificatio tripliciter dicitur. Uno modo dicitur iustificatio ad iustitiam praeparatio; et huic necessaria est attritio vel dolor. Alio modo iustitiae infusio; et huic necessaria est infusio gratiae et expulsio culpae. Tertio modo iustificatio est in iustitia exercitatio; et huic necessaria sunt duo a gratia et duo ab anima, scilicet motus liberi arbitrii et contritio. Et dicunt, verbum Augustini^8a de ista iustificatione intelligi: Qui creavit te etc.

Sed certe, si ad hoc, quod gratia infundatur, necesse est, quod homo se praeparet consentiendo gratiae et detestando peccatum; necesse est, in ipsa gratiae infusione ista quatuor esse, scilicet gratiae infusionem et liberi arbitrii motum, et contritionem et peccati expulsionem. Deus enim expellit culpam infundendo gratiam; sed non infundit nisi ei qui concordat, et necesse est concordare gratiae advenienti et peccatum expellenti. Gratiae ut⁹ advenienti concordat per motum liberi arbitrii, gratiae ut peccatum expellenti, per motum contritionis. Unde duo sunt ibi a Deo, scilicet gratiae infusio et peccati expulsio; et duo a nobis his duobus modis consona. — Et haec quatuor tanguntur in illo versiculo Psalmi¹⁰: Commovisti terram et conturbasti eam; sana contritiones eius, quia commota est. Gratia enim adveniens in animam commovet rationem, secundum quod est pars liberi arbitrii, et conturbat voluntatem per contritionem, et postmodum sanat per peccati expulsionem. Et ratio huius redditur, quia praecessit duplex commotio, per quam anima ipsa se gratiae iustificanti conformavit; et ideo subiungit: quia commota est. — Concedendae igitur sunt rationes ad hanc partem inductae.

Ad illud vero quod obiicitur in contrarium, quod motu timoris et amoris contingit iustificari; dicendum, quod in peccato tria sunt, scilicet actio mala et ipsa interior macula et sequela.

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Actio mala expellitur timore, macula dolore, sequela caritatis ardore. Unde timor est in iustificatione, ut dicitur praeparatio ad iustitiam, dolor ut infusio iustitiae, caritatis ardor in consummatione¹¹.

Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod melius est facere bonum etc.; dicendum, quod revera melius est, sed tamen non est ita consonum gratiae delenti culpam, ut detestatio peccati; et quia contritio propter consonantiam est necessaria: ideo etc.

Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod quilibet motus virtutis est cognatus gratiae; dicendum, quod verum est; tamen ordo est in actibus virtutum. Nunquam enim amat quis, nisi moveatur motu fidei¹²; sic dico, quod motus virtutis poenitentiae in iustificatione post motum fidei est motus primus necessario, et ideo simul est cum ipsa gratiae infusione.

Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod potest quis averti a Deo, nihil cogitando; dicendum, quod non valet, tum quia recessus a Deo est inordinatus, sed regressus ordinatus — exemplum est de eo qui cadit de scala — tum quia plura exiguntur ad bonum quam ad malum¹³.

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English Translation

Question III. Whether for justification contrition is necessary.

Thirdly it is asked, whether for justification contrition is necessary. And that it is so, it seems.

1. Upon that text of the Psalm¹: A sacrifice to God is a troubled spirit; the Gloss: «A troubled and contrite spirit is the sacrifice in which sins are loosed».

2. Likewise, upon that text of the Psalm²: Justice shall walk before him; the Gloss of Augustine: «The first justice of a man is that he should punish himself as evil and make himself good; this is the way to God, that He may come to him».

3. Likewise, it seems by reason: for it is impossible that a sinner be justified without a satisfactory penalty following; but it is possible for him to die at once, and there will be no satisfactory penalty unless voluntarily begun in this life, as Augustine says³: therefore it is necessary that in the very act of justification there be a penal motion. But this is nothing other than contrition; therefore etc.

4. Likewise, just as fault was introduced by the will, so too it is preserved by it: therefore if free choice, from the moment it once consented, is always held as consenting, unless it dissents; it is necessary to dissent; but its dissent before the coming of grace avails nothing⁴: therefore it behooves that it dissent together with grace.

5. Likewise, something more is required in the justification of one who has sinned after [receiving] faith, beyond the motion of faith⁵; but this is nothing other than contrition: therefore etc.

On the contrary: 1. Ecclesiasticus the first⁶: The fear of the Lord driveth out sin: therefore according to this, justification or the expulsion of sin can come about by a motion of fear: it is not therefore necessary that [it come about by a motion] of contrition.

2. Likewise, upon that text of Luke the seventh⁷: Many sins are forgiven her etc.; the Gloss: «The ardor of charity consumed in her the rust of sins»: therefore it is not necessary that there be sorrow.

3. Likewise, it seems by reason: for there are two parts⁸ of justice, namely to do good and to turn away from evil; but the first is the greater: therefore much more does a man dispose himself to grace by doing good than by avoiding evil: therefore more by the appetite for good than by the detestation of evil.

4. Likewise, when one has been justified, he can be moved by a motion of every virtue: since therefore the motion of every virtue is akin to grace, the motion of any unformed virtue disposes to grace: it is not therefore necessary [that there be] contrition.

5. Likewise, it is possible for someone to be turned away from God while thinking nothing of Him: therefore likewise it is possible for someone to withdraw from sin while thinking nothing of the sin: therefore without contrition.

Conclusion. For the justification of the impious, contrition is necessary, that the will may accord with grace both as coming and as expelling sin.

I respond: To this some say that justification is spoken of in three ways. In one way justification is called the preparation for justice; and for this attrition or sorrow is necessary. In another way [it is] the infusion of justice; and for this the infusion of grace and the expulsion of fault are necessary. In a third way justification is the exercise in justice; and for this two things from grace and two from the soul are necessary, namely the motion of free choice and contrition. And they say that the saying of Augustine^8a is to be understood of this [last] justification: He who created thee etc.

But certainly, if for this — that grace be infused — it is necessary that a man prepare himself by consenting to grace and detesting sin; it is necessary that in the very infusion of grace these four be present, namely the infusion of grace and the motion of free choice, and contrition and the expulsion of sin. For God expels fault by infusing grace; but He does not infuse it except in the one who accords [with it], and it is necessary to accord with grace as coming and as expelling sin. With grace as⁹ coming one accords by the motion of free choice; with grace as expelling sin, by the motion of contrition. Hence there are two things there from God, namely the infusion of grace and the expulsion of sin; and two from us consonant with these two modes. — And these four are touched upon in that little verse of the Psalm¹⁰: Thou hast moved the earth and hast troubled it; heal thou the breaches thereof, for it has been moved. For grace, coming into the soul, moves reason, according as it is a part of free choice, and troubles the will through contrition, and afterward heals through the expulsion of sin. And the reason for this is given, because a twofold disturbance preceded, through which the soul itself conformed itself to the justifying grace; and therefore it adds: for it has been moved. — Therefore the reasons brought forward for this side are to be granted.

But to that which is objected on the contrary, that it happens that one is justified by a motion of fear and of love; it must be said that in sin there are three things, namely the evil action and the interior stain itself and the consequence.

The evil action is expelled by fear, the stain by sorrow, the consequence by the ardor of charity. Hence fear is in justification, as it is called the preparation for justice, sorrow as the infusion of justice, the ardor of charity in the consummation¹¹.

To that which is objected, that it is better to do good etc.; it must be said that in truth it is better, but nevertheless it is not so consonant with grace as it blots out fault as the detestation of sin [is]; and because contrition is necessary on account of [this] consonance: therefore etc.

To that which is objected, that any motion of virtue is akin to grace; it must be said that this is true; yet there is an order in the acts of the virtues. For one never loves unless he be moved by a motion of faith¹²; thus I say that the motion of the virtue of penitence in justification, after the motion of faith, is necessarily the first motion, and therefore it is simultaneous with the very infusion of grace.

To that which is objected, that one can be turned away from God while thinking nothing; it must be said that it does not hold, both because the departure from God is disordered, but the return is ordered — the example is of one who falls from a ladder — and because more is required for good than for evil¹³.

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Apparatus Criticus

1
Psalm. 50, 19. — Glossam exhibet Petr. Lombard., quae est secundum Cassiod. in hunc loc.
Psalm 50:19. — Peter Lombard supplies the Gloss, which is according to Cassiodorus on this passage.
2
Psalm. 84, 14. — August. Enarrat. in Ps. 84. n. 16: «Ipsa est prima hominis iustitia, ut punias te malum, et faciat te Deus bonum. Quia ergo ipsa est prima hominis iustitia, ipsa fit via Deo, ut veniat ad te Deus: ibi illi fac viam in confessione peccatorum». S. Bonav. Glossam exhibet, ut habetur apud Petr. Lombard.
Psalm 84:14. — Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, on Ps. 84, n. 16: «This itself is the first justice of a man, that thou punish thyself as evil, and that God make thee good. Since therefore this is the first justice of a man, it itself becomes the way for God, that God may come to thee: there make a way for Him in the confession of sins». St. Bonaventure supplies the Gloss, as it is found in Peter Lombard.
3
Cfr. Serm. 22. (alias 109. de Tempore) c. 3. n. 3; Serm. 351. (alias ult. inter Homil. 50) c. 4. n. 9. et c. 5. n. 12; XXI. de Civ. Dei, c. 24. n. 4; de Fide ad Petrum (inter opera August.), c. 3. n. 38. seqq., et de Vera et falsa Poenitentia, c. 17. n. 33. seq. Vide etiam Hug. a S. Vict., II. de Sacram. p. XIV. c. 3.
Cf. Sermon 22 (otherwise 109, de Tempore) c. 3, n. 3; Sermon 351 (otherwise the last among the 50 Homiliae) c. 4, n. 9, and c. 5, n. 12; City of God XXI, c. 24, n. 4; On Faith, to Peter (among the works of Augustine), c. 3, n. 38 ff., and On True and False Penitence, c. 17, n. 33 f. See also Hugh of St. Victor, On the Sacraments II, p. XIV, c. 3.
4
Respectu iustificationis, quae est gratuita et supernaturalis. — In principio arg. pro voluntate plurimi codd. incongrue voluntarie.
With respect to justification, which is gratuitous and supernatural. — At the beginning of the argument, for voluntate (by the will) very many codices incongruously [read] voluntarie (voluntarily).
5
Qui, ut dictum est quaest. praeced., est primus motus consentiens gratiae.
Which, as was said in the preceding question, is the first motion consenting to grace.
6
Vers. 27. — In fine arg. pro quod cod. U motus.
Verse 27. — At the end of the argument, for quod codex U [reads] motus.
7
Vers. 47: Remittuntur ei etc. — Glossa, quae est secundum Gregor. (II. Homil. in Evang. homil. 33. n. 4.), ordinaria est apud Strabum et Lyranum.
Verse 47: Are forgiven her etc. — The Gloss, which is according to Gregory (Homilies on the Gospels II, homily 33, n. 4), is the Ordinaria in Strabo and Lyra.
8
Scilicet integrales. Cfr. tom. III. pag. 728, nota 2. — De minori vide supra pag. 357, nota 8.
Namely integral [parts]. Cf. tom. III, p. 728, note 2. — On the minor [premise] see above, p. 357, note 8.
8a
Cfr. supra pag. 327, nota 2. — Superius post duo a gratia cod. aa subiungit: quae immediate sunt dicta, scilicet infusio gratiae et expulsio culpae.
Cf. above, p. 327, note 2. — Above, after two things from grace, codex aa adds: which have just been mentioned, namely the infusion of grace and the expulsion of fault.
9
Ita codd. GHY, cod. bb sicut, in aliis et edd. sic, cod. Z ut advenienti, sic concordat.
Thus codices GHY; codex bb [reads] sicut; in others and in the editions, sic; codex Z, ut advenienti, sic concordat (as coming, so it accords).
10
Psalm. 59, 2. Cfr. August. et Cassiodor., in hunc loc.; Gregor., 1. Homil. in Ezech. homil. 10. n. 28.
Psalm 59:2. Cf. Augustine and Cassiodorus on this passage; Gregory, Homilies on Ezekiel I, homily 10, n. 28.
11
Cfr. supra d. 14. p. I. a. 2. q. 2. seq. et d. 16. p. I. a. 1. q. 1. — Edd. consummationem. Superius post Unde timor Vat. addit scilicet servilis.
Cf. above d. 14, p. I, a. 2, q. 2 f. and d. 16, p. I, a. 1, q. 1. — The editions [read] consummationem. Above, after Unde timor (Hence fear), the Vatican edition adds scilicet servilis (namely servile).
12
Ut ostensum est III. Sent. d. 23. a. 1. q. 1. in corp. et d. 27. a. 2. q. 1. — Infra edd. primo necessarius.
As was shown in III Sent. d. 23, a. 1, q. 1, in the body, and d. 27, a. 2, q. 1. — Below, the editions [read] primo necessarius (first, necessary).
13
Cfr. supra pag. 19, nota 7. — Vide scholion ad 1. huius articuli quaest.
Cf. above, p. 19, note 7. — See the scholion on the first question of this article. ---