Bonaventure

Quaestio II. Utrum in damnatis erunt tenebrae spirituales quoad actum cognoscendi.

On the footnote numbering. Quaracchi restarts its footnote numbering on every printed page. The labels below are therefore page-qualified: this quaestio carries notes 8–9 of page 1041 (notes 1–7 of that page belong to the preceding quaestio, Article II q. 1) and notes 1–13 of page 1042. The same markers stand at the same places in the Latin and in the English.

Secundo quaeritur, utrum erunt ibi tenebrae spirituales quantum ad actum cognoscendi. Et quod sic, videtur:

1. Quia caeco, ubicumque est, est tenebra; sed mali et damnati sunt excaecati per malitiam, Sapientiae secundo⁸: Excaecavit eos malitia eorum: ergo si ibi crescit malitia, ergo et caecitas.

2. Item, Augustinus dicit super Psalmum sextum⁹: « Ibi tenebrae exteriores erunt, quia penitus extra Deum erunt. Quid enim est extra Deum esse, nisi in summa caecitate esse »? Ergo erunt in summa caecitate; et si hoc, nulla ergo erit ibi illuminatio spiritualis.

3. Item, sicut intellectiva nata est illuminari ad verum, ita affectiva inflammari ad bonum; sed affectiva omnino privatur calore sive amore boni: ergo cognitiva lumine veri¹.

4. Item, sicut affectiva delectatur in bonitate, sic cognitiva in veritate; sed a reprobis auferetur omnis delectatio: ergo omnis illuminatio et cognitio veritatis pari ratione².

Contra:

1. Reprobi habent multorum cognitionem naturalem; sed nec poena nec culpa debet bona naturae destruere omnino: ergo aliqua in eis cognitio remanebit³.

2. Item, damnati habent remorsum conscientiae et vermem⁴; sed conscientia non remordet nisi de peccatis, quae cognovit: ergo etc.

3. Item, videtur, quod amplius sit in damnatis de luce quam in viatoribus, etiam se ipsis; quod patet, quia multi interficiunt Martyres, arbitrantes, se bene facere, multi credunt impune peccare; sed tunc certi erunt, se fuisse deceptos⁵: ergo lumen cognitionis eis accrescet; et si hoc, ergo videtur, quod Deus det novas illuminationes damnatis.

4. Item, videtur, quod saltem a parte speculationis tantum lumen sit in eis, quantum nunc: quia, si privatio luminis est per meritum peccati; sed meritum et demeritum est in potentia practica vel motiva, non in potentia speculativa⁶: ergo etc.

Conclusio

Damnatis aliqua quidem manifesta sunt, sed ad cumulum dolorum; nihil autem lucis ipsi habent ad dirigendum et delectandum.

Respondeo: Dicendum, quod sicut est triplex actus lucis corporalis, scilicet manifestare, dirigere et delectare; sic et in luce spirituali. Si loquamur quantum ad primum actum; sic dico, quod non omnino extra lucem erunt, quia aliqua erunt eis manifesta, sed illa solum, quae faciunt ad cumulum poenae, alia non; et ideo ista lux est ad manifestandum tenebras et ducens in tenebrositatem, non consistens in lumine⁷. — Si loquamur quantum ad secundum actum, qui est dirigere; sic dico, quod omnino erunt extra lucem, quia non poterunt dirigi. Erunt enim extra omnem viam et tempus et locum bene agendi, sicut dicitur Ecclesiastis nono⁸: Quia nec opus nec ratio nec scientia est apud inferos. — Si quantum ad tertium, qui est delectare; sic dico similiter, quod erunt extra lucem omnino, quia nihil cognoscent actu, in quo delectentur. Erunt enim omnino absorpti a magnitudine poenarum, ita ut non liceat eis cogitare aliqua delectabilia⁹.

Ad argumenta pro parte affirmativa:

Ad 1, 2. Quod ergo dicuntur omnino excaecati et extra Deum esse; hoc intelligitur quantum ad directionem et delectationem.

Ad 3, 4. Ad illud vero quod obiicitur, quod nullam habent cognitionem, quia nec affectus eorum habet boni amorem; dicendum, quod sicut non habebunt amorem boni honesti, sed commodi; sic nec cogitabunt de bono honesto, sed tantum commodo¹⁰. — Vel dicendum, quod non est simile, quia plus corrumpitur per peccatum affectus quam intellectus.

Ad argumenta pro parte negativa:

Ad 1, 2. Ad illud quod obiicitur in contrarium, quod habent cognitionem naturalem et cognitionem peccatorum; dicendum, quod cognitio naturalis¹¹ non abolebitur; sed tamen nulla in eis cognitio exibit in actum, quae ad ipsorum non faciat cruciatum vel per se, vel per accidens.

Ad 3. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod ampliorem habebunt illuminationem; dicendum, quod aliqua peccata cognoscent, quae modo non cognoscunt, non per novi luminis donationem, sed per poenae afflictionem, quia, ut dicit Gregorius¹², « poena aperit oculos, quos culpa claudit ».

Ad 4. Ad illud quod obiicitur, quod secundum intellectum speculativum non est demeritum; dicendum, quod voluntas demeretur sibi et omnibus potentiis animae et membris corporis; ideo non tantum punitur in se ipsa, sed etiam in omnibus potentiis et membris, licet ipsa puniatur principalius¹³. Et sic patet illud.

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Article II. Question II. Whether in the damned there will be spiritual darknesses as to the act of knowing.

Secondly it is asked whether there will be there spiritual darknesses as regards the act of knowing. And that there will be, seems [to follow]:

1. Because for a blind man, wherever he is, there is darkness; but the wicked and the damned have been blinded by malice, Wisdom, chapter two⁸: Their own malice blinded them: therefore, if malice grows there, then blindness too.

2. Likewise, Augustine says on the sixth Psalm⁹: "There the exterior darknesses will be, because they will be utterly outside God. For what is it to be outside God, save to be in the highest blindness?" Therefore they will be in the highest blindness; and if so, then there will be no spiritual illumination there.

3. Likewise, just as the intellective [power] is born to be illumined toward the true, so the affective to be enkindled toward the good; but the affective is wholly deprived of the warmth or love of the good: therefore the cognitive [is wholly deprived] of the light of the true¹.

4. Likewise, just as the affective is delighted in goodness, so the cognitive in truth; but from the reprobate every delight will be taken away: therefore, by parity of reasoning, every illumination and knowledge of truth [will be taken away]².

On the contrary:

1. The reprobate have a natural knowledge of many things; but neither punishment nor fault ought wholly to destroy the goods of nature: therefore some knowledge will remain in them³.

2. Likewise, the damned have remorse of conscience and the worm⁴; but conscience does not gnaw except concerning sins which it has known: therefore etc.

3. Likewise, it seems that there is more of light in the damned than in wayfarers, even than in themselves [as they were]; which is plain, because many kill the Martyrs, thinking that they do well, and many believe that they sin with impunity; but then they will be certain that they had been deceived⁵: therefore the light of knowledge will increase for them; and if so, then it seems that God gives new illuminations to the damned.

4. Likewise, it seems that at least on the side of speculation there is as much light in them as now: because, if the privation of light is through the merit of sin; but merit and demerit are in the practical or motive power, not in the speculative power⁶: therefore etc.

Conclusion

To the damned some things indeed are made manifest, but unto the heaping up of their sorrows; yet they have nothing of light for directing and for delighting.

I respond: It must be said that, just as there is a threefold act of bodily light, namely to make manifest, to direct and to delight; so also in spiritual light. If we speak as regards the first act; thus I say that they will not be wholly outside light, because some things will be manifest to them, but only those which make for the heaping up of punishment, others not; and therefore that light is for making manifest the darknesses and is one leading into darkness, not consisting in light⁷. — If we speak as regards the second act, which is to direct; thus I say that they will be wholly outside light, because they will not be able to be directed. For they will be outside every way and time and place of acting well, as is said in Ecclesiastes, chapter nine⁸: Because there is neither work, nor reason, nor knowledge among the dead. — If [we speak] as regards the third, which is to delight; thus I say likewise that they will be outside light altogether, because they will know nothing in act in which they might be delighted. For they will be wholly absorbed by the magnitude of their punishments, so that it will not be permitted them to think of any delightful things⁹.

To the arguments for the affirmative side:

To 1, 2. That they are therefore said to be wholly blinded and to be outside God; this is understood as regards direction and delight.

To 3, 4. But to that which is objected, that they have no knowledge, because neither does their affection have the love of the good; it must be said that, just as they will not have the love of the honorable good, but of the advantageous; so neither will they think about the honorable good, but only about the advantageous¹⁰. — Or it must be said that the case is not similar, because the affection is more corrupted by sin than the intellect.

To the arguments for the negative side:

To 1, 2. To that which is objected to the contrary, that they have natural knowledge and knowledge of their sins; it must be said that natural knowledge¹¹ will not be abolished; but nevertheless no knowledge in them will issue into act which does not make for their torment either per se or per accidens.

To 3. To that which is objected, that they will have a fuller illumination; it must be said that they will know some sins which they now do not know, not through the bestowal of a new light, but through the affliction of punishment, because, as Gregory says¹², "punishment opens the eyes which fault closes."

To 4. To that which is objected, that as regards the speculative intellect there is no demerit; it must be said that the will earns demerit for itself and for all the powers of the soul and the members of the body; therefore it is punished not only in itself, but also in all the powers and members, although it is itself punished more principally¹³. And thus that is plain.

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