Dist. 27, Art. 1, Q. 2
Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 27
Quaestio II. Quid sit matrimonium nomine.
Secundo quaeritur, quid sit nomine. Et quod matrimonium debeat hoc vinculum appellari, ostenditur:
1. Primo per iura canonica et civilia, quae sic appellant, et Magister sic appellat in littera1, et multiplex ad hoc adduci potest auctoritas. Unde Augustinus, contra Faustum libro decimo nono: «Matrimonium ob hoc dictum est, quod non ob aliud debeat femina nubere nisi ad hoc, ut mater fiat».
2. Item, ratione videtur: quia in aliis Sacramentis denominatio fit a materia vel a materiali principio, sicut patet, quia baptismus lavacrum dicitur ab aqua lavante magis quam a verbo; sed in hac coniunctione maris et feminae femina est per modum materiae: ergo videtur, quod per illam debeat denominatio fieri.
3. Item, quando relatio vel comparatio est inter extrema aliqua, si recte denominatur, ab eo debet denominari, in quo maior est dependentia; sed mulier magis indiget coniungi viro quam e converso: ergo talis coniunctio potius debet denominari a muliere quam a viro.
4. Item, relatio aequiparantiae potissime ei appropriatur, in quo est consummatio illius, sicut aequalitas et similitudo appropriatur Filio, pro eo quod dat praeintelligere principium a quo, Patri autem unitas appropriatur2: ergo si vir primo creatus est unicus, et post mulier facta, ut ei coniungeretur ut adiutorium, et hoc per matrimonium: ergo hoc vinculum debet appellari matrimonium.
Contra: 1. In omnibus denominatio debet fieri a digniori; sed in coniunctione carnali sive matrimoniali dignius extremum est vir quam mulier, quoniam caput mulieris est vir3: ergo etc.
2. Item, quaero, secundum quod genus causae sit ista denominatio. Si secundum genus causae finalis; sed mulier propter virum facta est, non vir propter mulierem4: ergo potius debet denominari a patre. — Si secundum genus causae efficientis; sed efficiens est activum principium, et principium activum in coniunctione maris et feminae est vir: ergo potius debet denominari a viro. — Si secundum causam materialem; sed non vir ex muliere, sed mulier de costa viri5. — Si secundum causam formalem; cum magis teneat rationem formae vir, sicut dicit Philosophus6, quod «materia appetit formam, sicut mulier appetit virum»: videtur, quod a viro debeat denominari.
3. Item, coniunctio maris et feminae est relatio aequiparantiae; sed respicit talis relatio utrumque extremum aequaliter, et talis relatio non magis denominatur ab uno quam ab altero: ergo non magis a patre quam a matre.
4. Item, denominatio rei non7 debet fieri ab eo quod accidit et abesse potest; sed vinculo tali sive Sacramento frequenter deest proles, ergo et maternitas: ergo cum falso talis mulier dicatur mater, falso tale vinculum dicitur matrimonium.
Conclusio.
Matrimonium habet quatuor etymologias, inter quas potissima est matris munium.
Respondeo: Dicendum, quod aliqui voluerunt dicere, quod istud vinculum sive coniunctio nec denominatur a patre nec a matre; sed cum sit vinculum unum, denominatur ab utroque, in quantum uniuntur; et quoniam pater et mater sive vir et mulier uniuntur, ut sint una materia prolis; ideo hoc Sacramentum matrimonium appellatur, non a matre, sed a materia et monos, quod est unum; inde matrimonium quasi una materia. — Sed licet istud videatur probabiliter dici, tamen est p. 678contra Isidorum, in nono libro Etymologiarum8, dicit, quod «matrimonium dicitur a matre; unde matrona dicitur quae iam nupsit, et est dicta matrona quasi mater nati». Unde, sicut ibidem colligitur, hoc Sacramentum appellatur coniugium, appellatur et nuptiae, appellatur et matrimonium. Et hanc triplicem denominationem habet secundum triplicem comparationem sive considerationem. Potest enim considerari secundum id quod est; et sic dicitur coniugium, quasi commune iugum, quia mutuum est vinculum et mutua potestas; et hoc dicit Isidorus in nono Etymologiarum9. Aut secundum signum, in quo apparet; et sic dicitur nuptiae, quasi a nubibus, quia nubentes operiri solebant, et eorum capita velabantur; unde est nomen translatum. Aut secundum fructum, ad quem perducit; et quoniam perducit ad bonum prolis, ideo matrimonium appellatur. Magis autem bonum prolis per matris nomen datur intelligi, quia mulier propter procreationem liberorum facta est; unde facta est in adiutorium viri; et quia in procreatione prolis magis incumbit sibi labor10.
Unde nota, quod matrimonium quatuor habet etymologias secundum nomen matris: uno enim modo dicitur matrimonium, quasi matris nomos11, id est lex; quia, ut dicit Augustinus contra Faustum, «ad hoc debet femina nubere» etc. — Secundo modo, quia matrem monet, ut servet foedus contra luxuriam; contra quod dicitur Proverbiorum secundo12: Reliquit ducem pubertatis, et pacti Dei etc. — Tertio modo, quia matrem munit ac defendit tum per virum, tum per prolem, quia mulier indiget defensore, Isaiae primo13: Defendite viduam. — Quarto, matrimonium dicitur matris munium, id est matris officium, pro eo quod prolis enutritio et acquisitio maxime spectat ad mulierem in concipiendo, in portando, in pariendo, in nutriendo, in compatiendo; unde sicut possessio dicitur patrimonium, quia paterna sollicitudine acquiritur, sic prolis acquisitio matrimonium est; et haec est potissima inter omnes etymologias.
Ad 1 et 2. Ad illud ergo quod obiicitur, quod a digniori debet fieri denominatio; dicendum, quod denominatio est a fructu ventris, et ita a digniori. Sed14 non fit denominatio a muliere, secundum quod mulier, sed secundum quod mater; et per hoc patet sequens, a quo genere causae sumitur, quia a causa finali, a qua maxime debent Sacramenta denominari.
Ad 3. Ad illud quod obiicitur de relatione aequiparantiae, dicendum, quod vinculum illud in se consideratum aequaliter respicit utrumque extremum, sed relatum ad effectum, non; et hic fit denominatio per comparationem ad effectum.
Ad 4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod non semper habent prolem; dicendum, quod non fit denominatio ab eventu, sed ab intentione, propter quam principaliter institutum fuit Sacramentum; et ideo non est ibi falsitas nec vanitas15.
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Question II. What marriage is according to its name.
Secondly it is asked what it is by name. And that this bond ought to be called matrimony is shown:
1. First, through the canon and civil laws, which so name it, and the Master so names it in the text1, and manifold authority can be brought to bear on this. Hence Augustine, Against Faustus, book nineteen: «Matrimony was so called for this reason, that a woman ought not to marry for any other reason than this, that she may become a mother».
2. Likewise, it seems so by reason: because in the other Sacraments the denomination is made from the matter or from the material principle, as is evident, since baptism is called a washing from the water that washes rather than from the word; but in this joining of male and female the woman is by way of matter: therefore it seems that the denomination ought to be made through her.
3. Likewise, when a relation or comparison is between certain extremes, if it is rightly denominated, it ought to be denominated from that in which there is the greater dependence; but the woman needs more to be joined to the man than the reverse: therefore such a joining ought rather to be denominated from the woman than from the man.
4. Likewise, the relation of equiparance is most of all appropriated to that in which there is the consummation of it, just as equality and likeness are appropriated to the Son, on account of the fact that He gives us to understand beforehand the principle from which [He proceeds], while unity is appropriated to the Father2: therefore, if the man was first created as the only one, and afterward the woman was made, that she might be joined to him as a helper, and this through matrimony: therefore this bond ought to be called matrimony.
On the contrary: 1. In all things the denomination ought to be made from the worthier; but in the carnal or matrimonial joining the worthier extreme is the man rather than the woman, since the head of the woman is the man3: therefore etc.
2. Likewise, I ask, according to which genus of cause this denomination is. If according to the genus of the final cause; but the woman was made for the sake of the man, not the man for the sake of the woman4: therefore it ought rather to be denominated from the father. — If according to the genus of the efficient cause; but the efficient is the active principle, and the active principle in the joining of male and female is the man: therefore it ought rather to be denominated from the man. — If according to the material cause; but the man is not from the woman, but the woman from the rib of the man5. — If according to the formal cause; since the man rather holds the character of form, as the Philosopher says6, that «matter desires form, as the woman desires the man»: it seems that it ought to be denominated from the man.
3. Likewise, the joining of male and female is a relation of equiparance; but such a relation regards each extreme equally, and such a relation is not denominated more from one than from the other: therefore not more from the father than from the mother.
4. Likewise, the denomination of a thing ought not7 to be made from that which is accidental and can be absent; but from such a bond or Sacrament offspring is frequently absent, and therefore also motherhood: therefore, since it would be falsely that such a woman be called mother, falsely is such a bond called matrimony.
Conclusion.
Matrimony has four etymologies, among which the chief is the mother's office (matris munium).
I respond: It must be said that some wished to say that this bond or joining is denominated neither from the father nor from the mother; but since it is one bond, it is denominated from both, insofar as they are united; and since father and mother, or man and woman, are united, that they may be one matter of the offspring; therefore this Sacrament is called matrimonium, not from mater (mother), but from materia (matter) and monos, which is one; whence matrimonium [is] as it were una materia (one matter). — But although this may seem to be said with probability, nevertheless it is p. 678contrary to Isidore, in the ninth book of the Etymologies8, [who] says that «matrimony is called from the mother; whence she who has now married is called a matron, and a matron is so called as it were the mother of one born (mater nati)». Hence, as is gathered from the same place, this Sacrament is called coniugium (wedlock), and is called nuptiae (nuptials), and is called matrimonium. And it has this threefold denomination according to a threefold comparison or consideration. For it can be considered according to what it is; and thus it is called coniugium, as it were commune iugum (a common yoke), because the bond is mutual and the power is mutual; and this Isidore says in the ninth book of the Etymologies9. Or according to the sign, in which it appears; and thus it is called nuptiae, as it were from clouds (nubes), because those marrying were accustomed to be veiled, and their heads were covered; whence the name is transferred. Or according to the fruit to which it leads; and since it leads to the good of offspring, it is therefore called matrimonium. But the good of offspring is given to be understood rather through the name of the mother, because the woman was made for the procreation of children; whence she was made into a helper of the man; and because in the procreation of offspring the labor falls more upon her10.
Whence note that matrimony has four etymologies according to the name of the mother: for in one way it is called matrimonium, as it were matris nomos11, that is, the mother's law; because, as Augustine says Against Faustus, «for this a woman ought to marry» etc. — In a second way, because it admonishes the mother (matrem monet) to keep the covenant against lust; against which it is said in Proverbs, chapter two12: She has forsaken the guide of her youth, and the covenant of her God etc. — In a third way, because it protects the mother (matrem munit) and defends her both through the husband and through the offspring, since the woman needs a defender, Isaiah, chapter one13: Defend the widow. — Fourthly, matrimony is called matris munium, that is, the mother's office, for the reason that the nurture and acquisition of offspring pertains most of all to the woman — in conceiving, in carrying, in bearing, in nursing, in suffering-with; whence, just as a possession is called patrimonium because it is acquired by paternal care, so the acquisition of offspring is matrimonium; and this is the chief among all the etymologies.
To 1 and 2. To that, therefore, which is objected, that the denomination ought to be made from the worthier; it must be said that the denomination is made from the fruit of the womb, and thus from the worthier. But14 the denomination is not made from the woman as woman, but as mother; and through this the following [point] is evident, [namely] from which genus of cause it is taken, since [it is taken] from the final cause, from which the Sacraments ought most of all to be denominated.
To 3. To that which is objected concerning the relation of equiparance, it must be said that that bond, considered in itself, regards each extreme equally, but as referred to the effect, [it does] not; and here the denomination is made through comparison to the effect.
To 4. To that which is objected, that they do not always have offspring; it must be said that the denomination is not made from the outcome, but from the intention for the sake of which the Sacrament was principally instituted; and therefore there is neither falsity nor vanity in it15.
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- 1Hic c. 2. seqq. — Verba August., XIX. contra Faustum, c. 26, sunt: Matrimonium quippe ex hoc appellatum est, quod etc.Here, c. 2 and following. — The words of Augustine, Against Faustus XIX, c. 26, are: Matrimony indeed was named from this, that etc.
- 2Vide I. Sent. d. 31. p. II. a. 2. q. 3. (de relatione aequiparantiae cfr. supra pag. 492, nota 2.). — Inferius respicitur Gen. 2, 18: Non est bonum, esse hominem solum; faciamus ei adiutorium simile sibi. — Post sicut plurimi codd. addunt quia. Paulo inferius pro ut adiutorium cod. bb ad adiutorium, edd. in adiutorium.See I Sent., d. 31, p. II, a. 2, q. 3 (on the relation of equiparance cf. above, p. 492, note 2). — Below is regarded Gen. 2:18: It is not good for man to be alone; let us make him a helper like unto himself. — After just as very many codices add because. A little below, for as a helper codex bb [reads] for a helper, the editions into a helper.
- 3Eph. 5, 23. Cfr. I. Cor. 11, 3. — De maiori vide supra pag. 470, nota 7.Eph. 5:23. Cf. 1 Cor. 11:3. — On the major [premise] see above, p. 470, note 7.
- 4Epist. I. Cor. 11, 9: Etenim non est creatus vir propter mulierem, sed mulier propter virum.Epistle, 1 Cor. 11:9: For the man was not created for the woman, but the woman for the man.
- 5Epist. I. Cor. 11, 8: Non enim vir ex muliere est, sed mulier ex viro. Cfr. Gen. 2, 21. seqq.Epistle, 1 Cor. 11:8: For the man is not from the woman, but the woman from the man. Cf. Gen. 2:21 and following.
- 6Libr. I. Phys. text. 81. (c. 9.).Physics, Book I, text 81 (c. 9).
- 7Vat. cum uno alterove cod. perperam omittit non. Inferius pro proles cod. G prolis generatio.The Vatican [edition], with one or another codex, wrongly omits not. Below, for offspring codex G [reads] the generation of offspring.
- 8Cap. 7. n. 13. — Superius pro quasi una Vat. quasi unius.Chapter 7, n. 13. — Above, for as it were one [matter] the Vatican [edition reads] as it were of one.
- 9Cap. 7. n. 9. et 20. Ibid. n. 10. datur etiam seq. etymologia vocis nuptiae. Cfr. C. Nec illud (8.), C. 30. q. 5.Chapter 7, nn. 9 and 20. In the same place, n. 10, is given also the following etymology of the word nuptiae. Cf. the canon Nec illud (8), Causa 30, q. 5.
- 10In C. Ex litteris tuis (2.), X. de Conversione infidelium (lib. III. tit. 33.), dicitur, «quod [infans] magis materno indiget solatio quam paterno, sibique [matri] ante partum onerosus, dolorosus in partu, post partum laboriosus fuisse noscatur, ac ex hoc legitima coniunctio maris et feminae magis matrimonium quam patrimonium nuncupetur».In the canon Ex litteris tuis (2), X, On the Conversion of Unbelievers (Book III, tit. 33), it is said, «that [the infant] needs the mother's comfort more than the father's, and to her [the mother] he is known to have been burdensome before birth, painful in birth, laborious after birth, and from this the lawful joining of male and female is called matrimony rather than patrimony».
- 11Codd. et edd. perperam monos (μόνος), quod Latine idem est ac solus sive, ut superius dicitur, unus, dum nomos (νόμος) idem est ac lex.The codices and editions wrongly [read] monos (μόνος), which in Latin is the same as alone or, as is said above, one, whereas nomos (νόμος) is the same as law.
- 12Vers. 17. seq.: Et relinquit ducem pubertatis suae et pacti etc. — Pro monet plures codd. movet.Verse 17 and following: And she forsakes the guide of her youth and the covenant etc. — For admonishes several codices [read] moves.
- 13Vers. 17. — Superius pro munit ac defendit, quod habet cod. L, cod. ll munit et defendit, cod. bb (E a secunda manu) munit, id est defendit, alii codd. vel cum edd. in vita defendit, vel in vitam (cod. F unicam) defendit. S. Thom., hic q. 1. a. 1. quaestiunc. 2: Vel dicitur matrimonium quasi matrem muniens, quia iam habet, quod defendatur et muniatur, scil. virum. Vel dicitur matrimonium quasi matrem monens etc.Verse 17. — Above, for protects and defends, which codex L has, codex ll [reads] protects and defends, codex bb (E, by a second hand) protects, that is, defends, other codices, or with the editions, defends unto life, or defends into life (codex F the only one). St. Thomas, here q. 1, a. 1, quaestiuncula 2: Or matrimony is so called as it were protecting the mother, because she now has that whereby she may be defended and protected, namely the husband. Or matrimony is so called as it were admonishing the mother etc.
- 14Pro Sed Vat. Unde.For But the Vatican [edition reads] Whence.
- 15Vide scholion ad praecedentem quaest.See the scholion to the preceding question. ---