Bonaventure — Opera Omnia

Dist. 30, Art. 1, Q. 2

Book IV: On the Sacraments · Distinction 30

Textus Latinus

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Quaestio II. Utrum consensus matrimonialis beatae Mariae Deo fuerit in se placitus et honestus.

Secundo quaeritur, utrum consensus matrimonialis beatae Mariae Deo fuerit in se placitus et honestus. Fuit enim hoc ordine: primo virgo vovit, secundo nupsit et nupsit ipsi Ioseph.

Primo videtur fuisse reprehensibilis in hoc, quod vovit:

1. Quia, sicut dicitur Matthaei undecimo¹, lex et Prophetae usque ad Ioannem: ergo videtur, quod beata Maria in principio erat sub Lege; sed in Lege sterilis erat maledicta, sicut innuitur Deuteronomii septimo: ergo dum vovit, videtur, quod incurrerit maledictionem.

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2. Item, votum castitatis est in consilio; sed consilia primo a Christo sunt promulgata et in praedicatione evangelica²: ergo videtur, quod ante Christi adventum virginitatem vovere ad Virginem non pertinebat.

Item, ulterius non videtur bene fecisse, quod nupsit alii:

3. Primum, propter periculum, quoniam mulier, quae vult virginitatem servare, cum periculo potestatem sui corporis viro tradit, et maxime cohabitando: ergo si beata Virgo voverat, periculo se committebat, quando cum viro cohabitabat.

4. Item, perfectius est carere omni consortio virili sive quantum ad societatem, sive quantum ad copulam, quam aliquo modo viro adhaerere: ergo si decebat, Matrem Domini esse perfectissimam, nullo modo decuit, viro alicui esse nuptam.

Ulterius videtur, quod tali viro non debuit nubere:

5. Quoniam Virgo Maria erat cognata Elisabeth, quae erat uxor sacerdotis Zachariae, sicut dicitur Lucae primo³; sed personae, quae erant de diversis tribubus, non debebant simul contrahere, sicut probatur per illud quod dicitur Numerorum ultimo: ergo cum Ioseph esset de tribu Iuda, ut patet in Matthaeo; videtur, quod male fecit beata Virgo, quod illi nupsit.

6. Item, beata Maria erat ex stirpe regali, ex progenie David, sicut cantat Ecclesia⁴: «Regali ex progenie Maria»; sed Ioseph fuit faber, sicut dicitur Matthaei decimo tertio: ergo si non decet, virgines de regali stirpe fabris desponsari; videtur, quod beata Virgo Maria inconvenienter nupsit.

Conclusio.

Matrimonialis consensus gloriosissimae Virginis fuit Deo placitus; fuit enim conveniens, illam vovere ac postea nubere idque ipsi Ioseph.

Respondeo: Dicendum, quod hoc totum, quod in illo matrimonio gestum est, familiari consilio Spiritus sancti est factum.

Primo namque decuit, Virginem virginitatem vovere triplici ratione. Prima est, ut esset Dei decentissimum habitaculum. Quia enim sapientia candor est lucis aeternae et speculum sine macula, quam nihil inquinatum incurrit⁵; decebat, ut ex Matre incorrupta et re et voluntate firma conciperetur; perfecta autem incorruptio voluntatis in voto consistit virginitatis. — Secunda ratio est, ut esset mulieribus totius virginitatis exemplum. Sicut enim Deus Pater Christum viris proposuit in exemplum, sic eius Matrem in exemplum proposuit mulieribus; et quoniam hoc est maxime imitandum et laudandum, scilicet votum virginitatis, absque dubio in illa esse debuit. — Tertia ratio est, quia debebat in ea esse omnis nobilitatis et sanctitatis privilegium. Absit enim, quod aliqua alia virgo beatam Mariam excellat; immo Altissimus, qui fundavit eam⁶, omnis dignitatis privilegio adornavit, ut, sicut ipse eam prae ceteris adamavit, sic ipsa omnibus esset sanctior et amabilior universis. Unde circumscripta maternitate Dei, adhuc ipsa prae ceteris Sanctis debet amari et laudari; et ideo Spiritus sanctus, qui aliis inspiravit virginitatis votum, ab ea non retinuit celatum⁷.

Non solum autem conveniens fuit, ut voveret, sed etiam ut nuberet, triplici ex causa: primo propter significationem, secundo propter infamiae vitationem, tertio propter divini consilii occultationem. Propter significationem, quia Ecclesia est spiritualis sponsa et virgo et mater, et hoc significari debuit; et nulla alia ad hoc significandum idonea fuit, nisi haec quae simul fuit Virgo et mater⁸: et ideo, ut perfecte significaret, debuit etiam desponsari. — Secunda ratio est propter infamiae vitationem: quia, ut dicit Bernardus⁹, omnes credidissent, quod esset fornicaria; et «non decebat, hoc credi de Matre Dei nec etiam de Christo, quod esset natus ex adulterio; tolerabilius autem fuit ad tempus credi, quod esset natus ex coniugio». Si enim Virgo fuisset infamata et Filius eius, tunc color excusationis Pharisaeis esset relictus, et velamen ipsis mulieribus infamibus. — Tertia ratio est propter consilii divini occultationem, ne adversario notum fieret consilium Dei. Hoc autem occultatum fuit adversario per hunc modum, quia, sicut Bernardus¹⁰ dicit, «non poterat latere diabolum quod scirent homines»; unde per homines scire non potuit, nec per se, quia a Virgine procul repellebatur.

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Decens etiam fuit, ut tali homini nuberet triplici ex causa, scilicet ratione generis, ratione fidelitatis et ratione paupertatis. Ratione generis, quia erat de tribu Iuda et de semine David et propinquus beatae Virginis, et per ipsum descripta est genealogia Christi, quae non debet per feminas describi, sicut Hieronymus super Matthaeum¹¹ dicit. — Secunda ratio est, quia fuit vir castus et iustus, sicut dicit Evangelium; et ut esset Virgini in solatium et in testimonium eunti in Aegyptum, datus est ei a Deo in virum. — Tertia ratio est propter paupertatem, quia Christus, qui super omnia venit confundere superbiam, non voluit vocari filius regis, sed magis filius fabri. In quo ostenditur Christi humilitas et etiam ipsius Virginis gloriosae¹², et confusa est mundanorum superbia. — Ex his patent obiecta.

Ad 1 et 2. Ad illud ergo quod obiicitur primo, quod non debuit vovere, quia hoc spectat ad Evangelium; dicendum, quod Virgo sanctissima non erat sub Lege. Nam quomodo sub Lege erat, quae Legis auctorem genuit? Et rursus, si illi qui spiritu Dei aguntur¹³, non sunt sub Lege, cum haec esset plena Spiritu sancto, non pertinebat ad Legem, sed ad Evangelium, quod ab ipsa infantia in corde ipsius scripserat Dei digitus, ipse scilicet Spiritus sanctus.

Ad 3 et 4. Ad illud quod obiicitur de periculo et imperfectione, dico, quod Virgo certificata fuit vel inspiratione divina, vel revelatione angelica de ipsius sancti Ioseph continentia¹⁴; et ipsa de se certa erat, quae nullum omnino carnis stimulum sentiebat: et ideo sine omni imperfectione et periculo nubere poterat et debebat, quoniam Deus sic inspirabat.

Ad 5 et 6. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod fuit ex genere sacerdotali; dicendum, quod verum est ex parte matris, sed ex tribu David ex parte patris¹⁵; et ideo illi nubere debuit et potuit etiam secundum Legem. Praeterea, puellae de genere sacerdotum sub illa lege non arctabantur, nec etiam illae, ad quas non spectabat hereditas, propter hoc quod lex illa instituta fuit, ne confunderentur hereditates. — Ultimum patet.

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English Translation

Question II. Whether the marital consent of blessed Mary was in itself pleasing and honorable to God.

In the second place inquiry is made whether the marital consent of blessed Mary was in itself pleasing and honorable to God. For it happened in this order: first the virgin made a vow, second she married, and married Joseph himself.

In the first place she seems to have been reprehensible in this, that she made a vow:

1. Because, as is said in Matthew eleven¹, the Law and the Prophets [prophesied] until John: therefore it seems that blessed Mary was at the beginning under the Law; but under the Law the barren woman was accursed, as is intimated in Deuteronomy seven: therefore, in making her vow, she seems to have incurred the curse.

2. Likewise, the vow of chastity belongs to counsel; but the counsels were first promulgated by Christ and in the evangelical preaching²: therefore it seems that, before the coming of Christ, it did not pertain to the Virgin to vow virginity.

Likewise, further, she does not seem to have done well in that she married another:

3. First, on account of danger, since a woman who wishes to preserve her virginity hands over the power of her body to a man at peril, and especially by cohabiting: therefore if the blessed Virgin had made a vow, she was exposing herself to danger when she was cohabiting with a man.

4. Likewise, it is more perfect to lack all male companionship, whether as to society or as to intercourse, than to cleave to a man in any way: therefore if it was fitting for the Mother of the Lord to be most perfect, it was in no way fitting for her to be married to any man.

Further it seems that she ought not to have married such a man as this:

5. Since the Virgin Mary was a kinswoman of Elizabeth, who was the wife of the priest Zachary, as is said in Luke one³; but persons who were of different tribes ought not to intermarry, as is proved by what is said in the last chapter of Numbers: therefore, since Joseph was of the tribe of Judah, as is clear in Matthew, it seems that the blessed Virgin did wrong in marrying him.

6. Likewise, blessed Mary was of royal stock, of the lineage of David, as the Church sings⁴: "Mary, of royal lineage"; but Joseph was a carpenter, as is said in Matthew thirteen: therefore, if it is not fitting for virgins of royal stock to be betrothed to carpenters, it seems that the blessed Virgin Mary married unfittingly.

Conclusion.

The marital consent of the most glorious Virgin was pleasing to God; for it was fitting that she vow, and afterward marry, and this to Joseph himself.

I respond: It must be said that this whole affair, which was transacted in that marriage, was done by the intimate counsel of the Holy Spirit.

For in the first place it was fitting that the Virgin vow virginity, for a threefold reason. The first is, that she might be the most fitting dwelling-place of God. For since wisdom is the brightness of eternal light and a mirror without blemish, on which nothing defiled falls⁵; it was fitting that he be conceived from a Mother incorrupt both in deed and in firm will; but the perfect incorruption of the will consists in the vow of virginity. — The second reason is, that she might be for women an example of complete virginity. For just as God the Father set forth Christ to men as an example, so he set forth his Mother to women as an example; and since this — namely, the vow of virginity — is most to be imitated and praised, it must without doubt have been present in her. — The third reason is, that there had to be in her the privilege of every nobility and holiness. For far be it that any other virgin should surpass blessed Mary; rather the Most High, who founded her⁶, adorned her with the privilege of every dignity, so that, just as he himself loved her above all others, so she herself might be holier and more lovable than all. Whence, apart even from her divine motherhood, she herself ought still to be loved and praised above the rest of the Saints; and therefore the Holy Spirit, who inspired others with the vow of virginity, did not withhold it concealed from her⁷.

But it was fitting not only that she vow, but also that she marry, for a threefold reason: first on account of signification, second on account of the avoidance of infamy, third on account of the concealment of the divine plan. On account of signification: because the Church is a spiritual spouse, both virgin and mother, and this had to be signified; and no other was fit to signify this except she who was at once Virgin and mother⁸: and therefore, that she might signify it perfectly, she also had to be betrothed. — The second reason is on account of the avoidance of infamy: because, as Bernard⁹ says, everyone would have believed that she was a fornicatress; and "it was not fitting that this be believed of the Mother of God, nor even of Christ, that he was born of adultery; but it was more tolerable that for a time it be believed that he was born of a lawful marriage." For if the Virgin and her Son had been defamed, then a pretext of excuse would have been left to the Pharisees, and a veil to infamous women themselves. — The third reason is on account of the concealment of the divine plan, lest the counsel of God become known to the adversary. And this was concealed from the adversary in this way: because, as Bernard¹⁰ says, "the devil could not fail to notice what men knew"; hence he could not know it through men, nor by himself, since he was kept far away from the Virgin.

It was also fitting that she marry such a man for a threefold reason, namely by reason of lineage, by reason of faithfulness, and by reason of poverty. By reason of lineage: because he was of the tribe of Judah and of the seed of David, and a kinsman of the blessed Virgin, and through him the genealogy of Christ is set down, which ought not to be traced through women, as Jerome says on Matthew¹¹. — The second reason is, that he was a chaste and just man, as the Gospel says; and that he might be a comfort to the Virgin and a witness to her when she went into Egypt, he was given to her by God as a husband. — The third reason is on account of poverty: because Christ, who above all things came to confound pride, did not wish to be called the son of a king, but rather the son of a carpenter. In which is shown the humility of Christ, and also that of the glorious Virgin herself¹², and the pride of worldly men is confounded. — From these things the objections are answered.

To 1 and 2. To what is objected first, then — that she ought not to have vowed, since this pertains to the Gospel — it must be said that the most holy Virgin was not under the Law. For how was she under the Law, who bore the author of the Law? And again, if those who are led by the Spirit of God¹³ are not under the Law, since she was full of the Holy Spirit, she did not belong to the Law but to the Gospel, which the finger of God — that is, the Holy Spirit himself — had written in her heart from her very infancy.

To 3 and 4. To what is objected concerning danger and imperfection, I say that the Virgin was assured, either by divine inspiration or by angelic revelation, of the continence of Saint Joseph himself¹⁴; and she herself was certain of herself, since she felt no stirring of the flesh whatsoever: and therefore she could and ought to marry without any imperfection or danger, since God so inspired it.

To 5 and 6. To what is objected — that she was of priestly lineage — it must be said that this is true on the mother's side, but on the father's side she was of the tribe of David¹⁵; and therefore she both ought to have married him, and could do so, even according to the Law. Moreover, girls of priestly lineage were not bound by that law, nor were those to whom no inheritance pertained, on account of this: that that law was instituted so that inheritances might not be confounded. — The last point is evident.

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Apparatus Criticus

1
Vers. 13. — Seq. locus est Deut. 7, 13. seq.
Verse 13. — The following place is Deut. 7:13 and following.
2
Cfr. Matth. 19, 11. seq. et 21.
Cf. Matt. 19:11 and following, and 21.
3
Vers. 5. et 36. — Seq. locus est Num. 36, 6. seqq.; tertius est Matth. 1, 2. seqq. (Zacharias erat de vice Abia, et uxor illius de filiabus Aaron; Luc. 1, 5.).
Verse 5 and 36. — The following place is Num. 36:6 and following; the third is Matt. 1:2 and following (Zachary was of the course of Abia, and his wife of the daughters of Aaron; Luke 1:5).
4
In festo nativitatis B. M. V. (8 Sept.), 3. Antiph. ad Laudes, quae exhibetur etiam apud Gregor. in libro Responsali. — Seq. locus est Matth. 13, 55.
In the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 Sept.), the 3rd Antiphon at Lauds, which is also found in Gregory's Liber Responsalis. — The following place is Matt. 13:55.
5
Sap. 7, 26. et 25: Nihil inquinatum in eam incurrit (pro quam codd. EG in quam, cod. I quia, edd. quod). — Cfr. Ambros., de Institutione virginis, c. 6. n. 44. seq., ubi etiam seq. ratio insinuatur, et Anselm., de Conceptu virgin. et orig. pec. c. 18. — Aliquanto superius pro hoc totum multi codd. et ed. hoc votum.
Wisdom 7:26 and 25: Nothing defiled falls upon her (for quam, codices EG read in quam, codex I quia, the editions quod). — Cf. Ambrose, On the Institution of a Virgin, c. 6, n. 44 and following, where the following reason is also intimated, and Anselm, On the Virgin Conception and Original Sin, c. 18. — Somewhat above, for hoc totum many codices and the edition read hoc votum.
6
Psalm. 86, 5: Et ipse fundavit eam Altissimus. — Inferius pro inspiravit cod. U inspirat.
Psalm 86:5: And the Most High himself founded her. — Below, for inspiravit codex U reads inspirat.
7
Cfr. August., Serm. 213. (alias 119. de Tempore) c. 7. n. 7, et Serm. 4. de Symbolo ad catechumenos, c. 1. n. 1.
Cf. Augustine, Sermon 213 (otherwise 119, On the Season), c. 7, n. 7, and Sermon 4, On the Creed, to Catechumens, c. 1, n. 1.
8
Homil. 2. super Missus est, n. 12. Eandem rationem afferunt Ambros., II. Exposit. in Luc. n. 1; de Institutione virginis, c. 6. n. 42; Hieron., de Perpetua Virginitate B. Mariae etc. n. 4, et I. Comment. in Matth. 1, 18. (ubi etiam tertia ratio ex Ignatio Martyre secundum Origenem, Homil. 6. in Luc., afferatur). — Inferius pro excusationis codd. R T U X bb exsecrationis.
[Bernard,] Homily 2 on Missus est, n. 12. The same reason is given by Ambrose, Exposition on Luke, Book II, n. 1; On the Institution of a Virgin, c. 6, n. 42; Jerome, On the Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary etc., n. 4, and Commentary on Matthew, Book I, on 1:18 (where the third reason, from Ignatius the Martyr according to Origen's Homily 6 on Luke, is also given). — Below, for excusationis codices R T U X bb read exsecrationis.
9
Vers. 6. Non pauci codd. et ed. Quos Deus etc.
Verse 6. Not a few codices and the edition read Quos [instead of quod], "Whom God etc."
10
Loc. cit. n. 13.
[Bernard,] loc. cit., n. 13.
11
Cap. 1, 18. Ibidem, sicut in lib. de Perpetua Virginitate B. Mariae etc. n. 4, affertur etiam secunda ratio, inspicitur Matth. 1, 19: Ioseph autem vir eius, cum esset iustus etc. — Inferius ante ut esset plurimi codd. omittunt et.
[Jerome, Commentary on Matthew,] c. 1, on 1:18. There likewise, as in the book On the Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary etc., n. 4, the second reason is also given, and Matt. 1:19 is regarded: And Joseph her husband, being a just man, etc. — Below, before ut esset, most codices omit et.
12
Bernard., Homil. 1. super Missus est, n. 5: Quae est ista tam venerabilis, ut salutetur ab Angelo; tam humilis, ut desponsata sit fabro?
Bernard, Homily 1 on Missus est, n. 5: "Who is this woman, so venerable that she is greeted by an Angel; so humble that she is betrothed to a carpenter?"
13
Rom. 8, 14: Quicumque enim spiritu Dei aguntur etc.
Rom. 8:14: For whoever are led by the Spirit of God, etc.
14
Cfr. supra d. 28. q. 6.
Cf. above, d. 28, q. 6.
15
Vide Ambros., III. Exposit. in Luc. n. 4. 5. et August., Qq. in Iudic. q. 47; II. de Consensu Evangelist. c. 2; 83 Qq. q. 61. n. 2; XXIII. contra Faust. c. 8; Beda, in Luc. 1, 36. — Pro David cod. U (E primitus) Iuda. — Cfr. Num. 36, 2. seqq. (tribui sacerdotum Levi nulla terrena hereditas assignata fuit). — Vide scholion ad praecedentem quaest.
See Ambrose, Exposition on Luke, Book III, nn. 4–5, and Augustine, Questions on Judges, q. 47; On the Harmony of the Gospels, Book II, c. 2; 83 Questions, q. 61, n. 2; Against Faustus, Book XXIII, c. 8; Bede, on Luke 1:36. — For David codex U (E originally) reads Iuda. — Cf. Num. 36:2 and following (to the tribe of priests, Levi, no earthly inheritance was assigned). — See the scholion attached to the preceding question.