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Prologus, §3

Breviloquium · Prologus

Textus Latinus
p. 204

§ 3. De sublimitate sacrae Scripturae.

Habet nihilominus sacra Scriptura in suo processu sublimitatem, quae consistit in descriptione hierarchiarum gradatim ordinatarum, quae sunt hierarchia ecclesiastica, angelica et divina, seu subcaelestis, caelestis et supercaelestis8; ita quod primam describit patenter, secundam aliquantulum magis occulte et tertiam adhuc magis occulte. Ex descriptione ecclesiasticae hierarchiae est alta; ex descriptione angelicae altior; ex descriptione divinae altissima, ita ut possimus dicere illud Prophetae9:

p. 205

Mirabilis facta est scientia tua ex me; confortata est, et non potero ad eam.

Et hoc quidem satis recte. Nam cum res habeant esse in materia, habeant esse in anima per notitiam acquisitam, habeant etiam esse in ea per gratiam, habeant esse in ea per gloriam et habeant esse in arte aeterna; philosophia quidem agit de rebus, ut sunt in natura1, seu in anima secundum notitiam naturaliter insitam, vel etiam acquisitam; sed theologia, tanquam scientia supra fidem fundata et per Spiritum sanctum revelata, agit et de eis quae spectant ad gratiam et gloriam et etiam ad Sapientiam aeternam. Unde ipsa, substernens sibi philosophicam cognitionem et assumens de naturis rerum, quantum sibi opus est ad fabricandum speculum, per quod fiat repraesentatio divinorum; quasi scalam erigit, quae in sui infimo tangit terram, sed in suo cacumine tangit caelum2; et hoc totum per illum unum hierarcham, Iesum Christum, qui non tantum ratione naturae humanae assumtae est hierarcha in ecclesiastica hierarchia, verum etiam in angelica et media persona in illa supercaelesti hierarchia beatissimae Trinitatis; ita quod per ipsum a summo capite Deo descendit unctionis gratia non solum in barbam, verum etiam in oram vestimenti3, quia non tantum in Ierusalem supernam, verum etiam usque in Ecclesiam militantem.

Est enim pulcritudo magna in machina mundana, sed longe maior in Ecclesia pulcritudine sanctorum charismatum adornata, maxima autem in Ierusalem superna, supermaxima autem in illa Trinitate summa et beatissima. Ideo ipsa Scriptura non tantum habet altissimam materiam, per quam delectat et per quam in altum levat intelligentiam mentis, verum etiam ipsa est venustissima et miro quodam modo intellectum nostrum delectat4, et sic magis ac magis delectando assuefacit ad divinorum spectaculorum contuitus et anagogias.

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English Translation

§ 3. On the sublimity of sacred Scripture.

Sacred Scripture has nonetheless in its progress a sublimity, which consists in the description of the hierarchies graded in order — namely the ecclesiastical, angelic, and divine hierarchy, or the sub-celestial, celestial, and super-celestial8 — such that it describes the first openly, the second somewhat more hiddenly, and the third more hiddenly still. From the description of the ecclesiastical hierarchy it is high; from the description of the angelic, higher; from the description of the divine, highest — so that we may say that word of the Prophet9:

Thy knowledge is become wonderful to me; it is high, and I cannot reach to it.

And this indeed quite rightly. For since things have being in matter, have being in the soul through acquired knowledge, have being in it also through grace, have being in it through glory, and have being in the eternal art; philosophy indeed treats of things as they are in nature1, or in the soul according to knowledge naturally implanted or also acquired; but theology, as a science founded upon faith and revealed through the Holy Spirit, treats also of those things which pertain to grace and glory and even to eternal Wisdom. Hence theology, laying philosophical cognition under itself as a base and taking from the natures of things as much as it needs for fashioning a mirror through which a representation of divine things may come about, erects as it were a ladder which at its lowest point touches earth, but at its summit touches heaven2; and all this through that one hierarch, Jesus Christ, who is hierarch not only by reason of the assumed human nature in the ecclesiastical hierarchy, but also in the angelic, and is the middle person in that super-celestial hierarchy of the most blessed Trinity — so that through him, from the highest head, God, the grace of anointing comes down not only upon the beard, but also upon the hem of the garment3, because it comes not only into the heavenly Jerusalem, but even into the Church militant.

For there is great beauty in the machine of the world, but far greater in the Church adorned with the beauty of the holy charisms; greatest, however, in the Jerusalem above; and beyond-greatest in that highest and most blessed Trinity. Therefore Scripture itself has not only the highest matter, through which it delights and through which it lifts the mind's understanding on high, but is itself also most lovely and in a certain wondrous way delights our intellect4; and thus by delighting more and more it accustoms us to the contemplations and anagogies of divine spectacles.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. 8
    Vide II. Sent. d. 9. Praenotata. — Superius post hierarchiarum K addit trium.
    See Book II of the Sentences, d. 9, the Prefatory Notes. — Above, after hierarchiarum K adds trium.
  2. 9
    Psalm. 138, 6. — De diverso esse rerum cfr. I. Sent. d. 36. a. 2. q. 2. in corp. et II. Sent. d. 3. p. II. a. 2. q. 1. fundam. 6, ubi in nota adiecta loci August. hac de re allegantur. — Inferius post in materia [M in natura] Vat. et 1, 3 addunt vel natura (infra p. II. c. 12, additur propria), quae subinde ter post habeant subiungunt etiam.
    Psalm 138:6. — On the diverse being of things cf. Book I of the Sentences, d. 36, a. 2, q. 2, in the body, and Book II of the Sentences, d. 3, p. II, a. 2, q. 1, fundamentum 6, where in an appended note the passages of Augustine on this matter are cited. — Below, after in materia [M in natura] the Vatican edition and 1, 3 add vel natura (below, p. II, c. 12, propria is added), and thereupon they three times add etiam after habeant.
  3. 1
    E in materia vel natura.
    E has in materia vel natura.
  4. 2
    Gen. 28, 12: Viditque [Iacob] in somnis scalam stantem super terram et cacumen illius tangens caelum. — Superius pro substernens 2 cum pluribus codd. subiiciens, et post divinorum T addit operum. Inferius pro illum unum O illum verum.
    Genesis 28:12: And [Jacob] saw in his sleep a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven. — Above, for substernens edition 2, together with very many codices, has subiiciens; and after divinorum T adds operum. Below, for illum unum O has illum verum.
  5. 3
    Psalm. 132, 2. Cum Vulgata A post barbam addit Aaron, et eius post vestimenti. — De influentia Christi in homines et Angelos vide III. Sent. d. 13. a. 2. q. 1-3. — Infra pro supermaxima autem L O suprema vero.
    Psalm 132:2. With the Vulgate, A adds Aaron after barbam, and eius after vestimenti. — On the influence of Christ upon men and Angels see Book III of the Sentences, d. 13, a. 2, qq. 1–3. — Below, for supermaxima autem L O have suprema vero.
  6. 4
    August., Enarrat. in Ps. 32. enarrat. 3. n. 25: Spectemus pulcra et a Pulcro spectemur. Spectemus nos mente ea quae dicuntur in sensibus divinarum Scripturarum, et gaudeamus tali spectaculo.
    Augustine, Expositions on the Psalms, on Psalm 32, exposition 3, n. 25: Let us behold beautiful things and be beheld by the Beautiful. Let us behold with the mind those things which are said in the senses of the divine Scriptures, and let us rejoice in such a spectacle. ---
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