Pars 4, Cap. 4
Breviloquium · Pars IV: De incarnatione Verbi
Capitulum IV. De incarnatione quantum ad plenitudinem temporum.
De tempore vero incarnationis hoc tenendum est, quod licet Deus a principio potuerit incarnari, noluit tamen nisi in fine saeculorum, praecedente lege naturae et lege figurae, post Patriarchas et Prophetas, quibus et per quos fuit incarnatio repromissa. — Post quos incarnari dignatus est tanquam in fine temporum et plenitudine, iuxta quod dicit Apostolus3: At ubi venit plenitudo temporis, misit Deus Filium suum, factum ex muliere, factum sub Lege, ut eos qui sub Lege erant, redimeret.
Ratio autem ad intelligentiam praedictorum haec est: quia incarnatio est opus primi principii reparantis, iuxta quod decet et convenit secundum libertatem arbitrii, secundum sublimitatem remedii et secundum integritatem universi; nam sapientissimus Artifex in agendo omnia haec attendit. — Quoniam ergo libertas arbitrii hoc requirit, ut ad nihil trahatur invita; sic debuit Deus genus humanum reparare, ut salutem inveniret qui vellet quaerere Salvatorem, qui vero nollet Salvatorem quaerere nec salutem per consequens inveniret. Nullus autem quaerit medicum, nisi recognoscat morbum4; nullus quaerit doctorem, nisi recognoscat se ignorantem; nullus quaerit adiutorem, nisi recognoscat se impotentem. Quia igitur homo in principio sui lapsus adhuc superbiebat de scientia et virtute; ideo praemisit Deus tempus legis naturae, in quo convinceretur de ignorantia; et post, cognita ignorantia, sed permanente superbia de virtute, qua dicebant: non deest qui faciat, sed deest qui iubeat; addidit legem praeceptis moralibus erudientem et caeremonialibus aggravantem; ut habita scientia, et cognita impotentia, confugeret homo ad divinam misericordiam et gratiam postulandam, quae data est nobis in adventu Christi. Ideo post legem naturae et Scripturae subsequi debuit incarnatio Verbi5.
Rursus, quoniam sublimitas remedii requirit, ut credatur fide firmissima et ametur caritate ardentissima tanquam mysterium secretissimum et saluberrimum; ideo congruentissimum fuit, ut ante Christi adventum praeirent multa testimonia Prophetarum, tam explicita in verbis quam implicita in figuris, ut multis et firmis testimoniis quod erat secretum fieret certum et indubitabile ad credendum; praeirent etiam multiplicia promissa et ardentissima desideria, ut promissum beneficium exspectaretur, exspectatum differretur, dilatum amplius desideraretur, et diu desideratum ferventius amaretur et gratiosius susciperetur et sollicitius servaretur6.
Postremo, quoniam integritas et perfectio universi requirit, ut universa sint ordinata quantum ad loca et tempora; et hoc opus incarnationis erat perfectissimum inter omnia opera divina; et processus debet esse ab imperfecto ad perfectum, et non e converso7: hinc est, quod opus illud debuit fieri in fine temporum, ut, sicut primus homo, qui erat totius mundi sensibilis ornamentum, ultimo fuerat conditus, scilicet sexto die, ad totius mundi completionem: sic secundus homo, totius mundi reparati complementum, in quo primum principium coniungitur cum ultimo, scilicet « Deus cum limo1 », fieret in fine temporum, hoc est in sexta aetate, quae est aetas apta ad exercitium sapientiae et ad enervationem concupiscentiae et ad transitum a statu turbinis ad quietem; quae omnia competunt sextae aetati decursus mundi propter incarnationem Filii Dei.
Quoniam ergo adventus Christi fuit in tempore legis gratiae et in exhibitione misericordiae repromissae et in principio aetatis sextae; et haec omnia dicunt plenitudinem; quia lex gratiae implet legem Scripturae, et solutio promissi implet promissionem, et sexta aetas ratione perfectionis senarii2 sonat in plenitudinem: hinc est, quod in adventu Filii Dei dicitur esse plenitudo temporum, non propter hoc, quod in eius adventu tempus finiatur, sed quia temporalia mysteria impleantur. Sicut autem Christus non debuit venire in principio temporis, quia adventus eius nimis fuisset festinus; sic nec debuit3 differre usque in finem ultimum, quia tunc nimium esset tardus. Decebat enim salvatorem inter tempus morbi et tempus iudicii in medio introducere tempus remedii. Decebat mediatorem quaedam suorum membrorum praecedere, quaedam sequi. Decebat ductorem perfectum tunc se ostendere, cum esset opportunitas currendi ad bravium; et hoc est in fine temporum et citra terminum et in approximatione ad finale iudicium; ut, per timorem iudicii stimulati et per spem praemii attracti et per perfectionem exempli animati, vigorose et perfecte sequamur ducem de virtute in virtutem, usque quo perveniamus ad bravium felicitatis aeternae4.
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Chapter IV. On the incarnation as regards the fullness of times.
Concerning the time of the incarnation this is to be held: that although God could have become incarnate from the beginning, he nevertheless willed it only at the end of the ages, the law of nature and the law of figure going before, after the Patriarchs and the Prophets, to whom and through whom the incarnation was promised. — After them he deigned to become incarnate as at the end of the times and in their fullness, according to what the Apostle says3: But when the fullness of time came, God sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law.
Now the reason for the understanding of the foresaid is this: since the incarnation is a work of the first principle repairing, according to what befits and accords with the freedom of choice, with the sublimity of the remedy and with the integrity of the universe; for the most wise Artificer attends to all these things in acting. — Since therefore freedom of choice requires this, that it be drawn to nothing unwilling; so God had to repair the human race in such a way that he should find salvation who was willing to seek the Savior, whereas he who was unwilling to seek the Savior would consequently not find salvation either. But no one seeks a physician unless he recognizes his disease4; no one seeks a teacher unless he recognizes himself ignorant; no one seeks a helper unless he recognizes himself powerless. Because therefore man, at the beginning of his fall, was still proud about knowledge and power; therefore God sent before the time of the law of nature, in which he might be convicted of ignorance; and afterward, his ignorance being known but the pride about power remaining, by which they were saying: there is no lack of one to do it, but there is a lack of one to command it; he added the law instructing by moral precepts and burdening by ceremonial ones; so that, knowledge being had and powerlessness being known, man might flee for refuge to the divine mercy and to the asking of grace, which has been given to us in the coming of Christ. Therefore after the law of nature and of Scripture the incarnation of the Word had to follow5.
Again, since the sublimity of the remedy requires that it be believed with a most firm faith and be loved with a most ardent charity, as a mystery most secret and most salutary; therefore it was most fitting that before Christ's coming there should go before many testimonies of the Prophets, as much explicit in words as implicit in figures, so that by many and firm testimonies what was secret should become certain and indubitable for believing; there should also go before manifold promises and most ardent desires, so that the promised benefit might be awaited, the awaited deferred, the deferred more amply desired, and the long desired more fervently loved and more graciously received and more solicitously kept6.
Lastly, since the integrity and perfection of the universe requires that all things be ordered as regards places and times; and this work of the incarnation was the most perfect among all the divine works; and the process ought to be from the imperfect to the perfect, and not the other way round7: hence it is that that work had to be done at the end of the times, so that, as the first man, who was the ornament of the whole sensible world, had been founded last, namely on the sixth day, for the completion of the whole world: so the second man, the complement of the whole repaired world, in whom the first principle is joined with the last, namely « God with clay1 », should come to be at the end of the times, that is in the sixth age, which is the age apt for the exercise of wisdom and for the enervating of concupiscence and for the passage from the state of the whirlwind to rest; all of which things befit the sixth age of the world's course on account of the incarnation of the Son of God.
Since therefore the coming of Christ was in the time of the law of grace and in the showing forth of the promised mercy and in the beginning of the sixth age; and all these things bespeak fullness; because the law of grace fulfills the law of Scripture, and the paying of what was promised fulfills the promise, and the sixth age, by reason of the perfection of the senary2, sounds of fullness: hence it is that in the coming of the Son of God there is said to be a fullness of times, not on this account, that in his coming time is ended, but because the temporal mysteries are fulfilled. But just as Christ ought not to have come at the beginning of time, because his coming would have been too hasty; so neither ought he3 to have deferred it to the last end, because then he would have been too tardy. For it befitted the savior to introduce in the middle, between the time of disease and the time of judgment, the time of remedy. It befitted the mediator that some of his members should go before, some follow. It befitted the perfect leader to show himself at the time when there was opportunity of running for the prize; and this is at the end of the times and short of the term and in the approach to the final judgment; so that, goaded by the fear of judgment and drawn by the hope of the reward and animated by the perfection of the example, we might vigorously and perfectly follow our leader from virtue to virtue, until we come to the prize of eternal happiness4.
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- 3Gal. 4, 4. seq. — Vide de hoc cap. III. Sent. d. 1. a. 2. q. 4. et dub. 1. — Superius pro a principio [2 cum aliquot codd. a primo principio] Vat., 1 et 3 in principio, et pro saeculorum B temporum.Galatians 4, 4 ff. — On this chapter see III Sent., d. 1, a. 2, q. 4 and dub. 1. — Above, for a principio [edition 2, with several codices, a primo principio] the Vatican edition and 1 and 3 have in principio, and for saeculorum B has temporum.
- 4Pro morbum 1 se aegrotantem.For morbum, edition 1 has se aegrotantem.
- 5Secundum Hug. a S. Vict.; cfr. IV. Sent. d. 1. p. I. q. 5. fundam. 1. — Superius pro dicebant non pauci codd. et 2 dicebat (homo), et pro non deest… sed deest A G M N T non deesse… sed deesse.According to Hugh of St. Victor; cf. IV Sent., d. 1, p. I, q. 5, fundam. 1. — Above, for dicebant not a few codices and edition 2 have dicebat (homo), and for non deest… sed deest A G M N T have non deesse… sed deesse.
- 6Vat., 1 et 3 et amatum gratiosius susciperetur et susceptum sollicitius servaretur.The Vatican edition and 1 and 3 read et amatum gratiosius susciperetur et susceptum sollicitius servaretur.
- 7Cfr. tom. II. pag. 330, nota 5. in fine.Cf. tom. II, p. 330, note 5, at the end.
- 1Secundum Bernard., Serm. 3. in Vigilia Nativit. Domini, n. 8. — Superius respicitur I. Cor. 15, 47: Primus homo de terra, terrenus; secundus homo de caelo, caelestis. — De sexta aetate cfr. supra Prolog. § 2. — Inferius pro turbinis F G H N P tribulationis, O laboris, 1 de labore a statu turbinis.According to Bernard, Serm. 3 on the Vigil of the Nativity of the Lord, n. 8. — Above, 1 Corinthians 15, 47 is looked back to: The first man was of the earth, earthy; the second man from heaven, heavenly. — On the sixth age cf. above, Prologue § 2. — Further below, for turbinis F G H N P have tribulationis, O laboris, edition 1 de labore a statu turbinis.
- 2Vide I. Sent. d. 2. q. 4. scholion. — Superius pro misericordiae D F H N gratiae.See I Sent., d. 2, q. 4, the scholion. — Above, for misericordiae D F H N have gratiae.
- 3In codd. et 2 omittitur debuit. Inferius fide plurimorum codd. et 2 supplevimus in medio, pro quo B F ut in medio; G N legunt ut in medio introduceret; 1, post salvatorem addito venire, legit: ut in medio introduceretur.In the codices and in edition 2 debuit is omitted. Further below, on the faith of very many codices and of edition 2 we have supplied in medio, for which B F have ut in medio; G N read ut in medio introduceret; edition 1, having added venire after salvatorem, reads: ut in medio introduceretur.
- 4Psalm. 83, 8. — Phil. 3, 14: Ad destinatum persequor ad bravium supernae vocationis Dei in Christo Iesu. — Pro usque quo E quousque. Superius pro citra non pauci codd. et 2 inter.Psalm 83, 8. — Philippians 3, 14: I press on toward the goal, to the prize of the heavenly calling of God in Christ Jesus. — For usque quo E has quousque. Above, for citra not a few codices and edition 2 have inter. ---