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Pars 7, Cap. 5

Breviloquium · Pars VII: De statu finalis iudicii

Textus Latinus
p. 286

Capitulum V. De concomitantibus iudicium, sicut est resurrectio corporum.

De resurrectione autem corporum hoc tenendum est, quod omnium corpora hominum in generali resurrectione resurgent, nulla in eis existente distantia quantum ad ordinem temporis, sed magna quantum ad ordinem dignitatis. — Nam mali surgent cum suis deformitatibus et poenalitatibus, miseriis et defectibus, quos habuerunt in statu viae. In bonis autem « natura servabitur, et vitia detrahentur2 », et omnes resurgent integro corpore et plena aetate et debita mensura membrorum; ut sic omnes Sancti occurrant in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. — Surgent autem tam in bonis quam in malis corpora eadem numero, quae prius et ex eisdem partibus constituta, salva totius veritate naturae non solum quantum ad membra principalia et humiditatem radicalem, verum etiam salvis capillis3 et ceteris membris, quae faciunt ad decentiam corporis; ita quod « in quascumque auras vel sinus naturae pulvis humani corporis cedat, ad eam animam redibit, quae ipsum primitus, ut viveret et cresceret, animavit ».

Ratio autem ad intelligentiam praedictorum haec est: quia primum principium, eo ipso quod primum et summum, est universalissimum et sufficientissimum, ac per hoc principium est naturarum, gratiarum et praemiorum, principium etiam potentissimum, clementissimum et iustissimum; et licet secundum quandam appropriationem4 sit potentissimum in constitutione naturarum et clementissimum in collatione gratiarum et iustissimum in retributione stipendiorum; tamen singula sunt in singulis, quia summa potentia, clementia et iustitia nullatenus possunt ab invicem separari. Et ideo in opere retributionis necesse est quod ipsa fiat, secundum quod exigit rectitudo iustitiae et reformatio gratiae et completio naturae. Quoniam ergo iustitia necessario requirit, ut homo, qui meruit vel demeruit non in anima solum nec in corpore solum, sed in anima simul et corpore, puniatur vel praemietur in utroque; reformatio etiam gratiae requirit, ut totum corpus assimiletur Christo capiti, cuius corpus mortuum necessarium fuit resurgere, cum unitum esset inseparabiliter Divinitati; completio vero naturae requirit, ut homo constet simul ex corpore et anima tanquam ex materia et forma, quae mutuum habent appetitum et inclinationem mutuam5: necesse est, resurrectionem esse futuram, exigente hoc constitutione naturae, infusione gratiae et retributione iustitiae, secundum quas tota universitas habet regi. Et ideo ex his tribus omnia clamant hominem resuscitandum, ut omnis tollatur excusatio illis qui contra hanc veritatem fidei obsurdescunt, et merito contra tales universus pugnet orbis terrarum6.

Primo igitur, quoniam resurrectio debet esse secundum exigentiam ordinis divinae iustitiae; et divina iustitia reddit unicuique quod suum est pro loco et tempore; et omnis anima corpori semel7 et ad punctum temporis unita vel habet in eo culpam, vel gratiam: necesse est, quod omnes resurgant. — Et quia distinctus debet esse status retributionis a statu viae, et resurrectio spectat ad statum retributionis; ut non confundatur ordo universi, et ut fides habeat meritum, quae credit quod non videt, et ut certius et clarius appareat aequitas divinae iustitiae, et ut simul fiat consummatio et retributio finalis in Angelis et hominibus: requirit hoc divina iustitia, ut omnes resurgant simul, quantum est de lege communi. Quod dico propter Christum et eius beatissimam matrem, gloriosam Virginem Mariam. — Quia vero malis debetur poena et miseria et bonis gloria; ideo, etsi simul resurgant in tempore, valde tamen dissimiles erunt in conditione. Nam quia malis resurrectio non est ad vitam, sed ad supplicium8; necesse est, quod ipsi cum infirmitatibus, deformitatibus et defectibus suscitentur.

Rursus, quia resurrectio debet esse secundum exigentiam consummationis gratiae; et perfecta gratia facit nos conformes Christo, capiti nostro, in quo nullus fuit defectus membrorum, sed perfecta aetas et statura debita et effigies formosa: opportunum est, quod boni suscitentur in optimis conditionibus; ac per hoc necesse est, quod in eis vitia detrahan- p. 287 tur, et natura servetur. — Opportunum etiam est, ut, si aliquod membrum deerat, suppleatur; si aliqua erat superfluitas, auferatur; si aliqua membrorum deordinatio, corrigatur; si parvulus erat, ad quantitatem aetatis Christi, quam habebat in resurrectione, licet « non in mole1 », divina virtute deducatur; si decrepitus, ad eandem aetatem reducatur; si gigas, si nanus, ad mensuram congruam limitetur; ut sic omnes integri et perfecti occurrant in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi.

Postremo, quia resurrectio debet esse secundum exigentiam perfectionis naturae; et natura spiritus rationalis exigit, quod vivificet corpus proprium, quia « proprius actus in propria materia habet fieri2 »: necesse est, quod idem corpus numero resurgat, alioquin non esset resurrectio vera. Requirit etiam natura animae rationalis et immortalis, quod sicut habet esse perpetuum, sic corpus habeat, cui perpetuo influat vitam; ac per hoc corpus, quod animae unitur, ex ipsa unione ordinationem habet ad incorruptionem perpetuam, ita tamen, quod illud, in quo consistit substantia totius corporis, sicut sunt membra principalia et etiam humiditas radicalis et caro secundum speciem, habeat ordinationem necessariam; alia vero, scilicet caro secundum materiam3 et partes, quae sunt de bene esse corporis, habeant ordinationem de congruo: et ideo primae partes sunt ordinatae ad resurrectionem secundum ordinem necessitatis, aliae vero omnes secundum ordinem congruitatis. Quem quidem ordinem quia Deus impressit naturae; et natura non potest perficere, quia non potest mortuum suscitare; et ipsa divina providentia nihil debuit facere frustra4: necesse est, quod ipsius virtute reparetur corpus idem numero et immortale et ex omnibus partibus constitutum, et salva tota veritate naturae. — Cum autem haec natura non habeat in potestate, sed solum in appetitu, quia nec idem corpus numero destructum reparare potest, cum non possit in totam rei substantiam, nec corpus immortale possit efficere, cum omne per naturam generabile sit corruptibile5, nec dispersa colligere: necesse est, quod resurrectio non seminalibus nec naturalibus causis, sed primordialibus attribuatur, ut fiat secundum cursum mirabilem et supernaturalem et divinae imperium voluntatis.

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English Translation

Chapter V. On the things concomitant with the judgment, of which sort is the resurrection of bodies.

Now concerning the resurrection of bodies this must be held: that the bodies of all men will rise again in the general resurrection, no distance existing among them as regards the order of time, but a great one as regards the order of dignity. — For the evil will rise with their deformities and penalties, miseries and defects, which they had in the state of the way. But in the good « nature will be preserved, and the vices taken away2 », and all will rise with an entire body and full age and the due measure of their members; so that thus all the Saints may meet unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ. — Now there will rise, in the good as in the evil, bodies the same in number as before and constituted out of the same parts, the whole truth of nature being preserved, not only as regards the principal members and the radical moisture, but also with the hair preserved3 and the other members which make for the seemliness of the body; so that « into whatever breezes or recesses of nature the dust of the human body may pass, it will return to that soul which first animated it, that it might live and grow ».

Now the reason for the understanding of the aforesaid is this: since the first principle, by that very fact that it is first and highest, is most universal and most sufficient, and through this is the principle of natures, of graces and of rewards, a principle also most powerful, most clement and most just; and although by a certain appropriation4 it is most powerful in the constituting of natures and most clement in the conferring of graces and most just in the retribution of wages, nevertheless the several belong to the several, because supreme power, clemency and justice can in no way be separated from one another. And therefore in the work of retribution it is necessary that it come about according as the rectitude of justice and the reformation of grace and the completion of nature require. Since therefore justice necessarily requires that man, who merited or demerited not in the soul alone nor in the body alone, but in soul and body together, be punished or rewarded in both; and the reformation also of grace requires that the whole body be made like to Christ our head, whose dead body had necessarily to rise, since it was inseparably united to the Divinity; and the completion indeed of nature requires that man consist at once of body and soul as of matter and form, which have a mutual appetite and a mutual inclination5: it is necessary that the resurrection be to come, this being required by the constitution of nature, the infusion of grace and the retribution of justice, according to which the whole universe has to be governed. And therefore out of these three all things cry out that man is to be raised up, so that every excuse may be taken away from those who are deaf against this truth of faith, and that deservedly against such men the whole world may fight6.

First, therefore, since the resurrection must be according to the requirement of the order of divine justice; and divine justice renders to each what is his own according to place and time; and every soul once7 united to a body and at a point of time either has in it fault or grace: it is necessary that all rise again. — And because the state of retribution must be distinct from the state of the way, and the resurrection regards the state of retribution; so that the order of the universe be not confounded, and that faith may have merit, which believes what it does not see, and that the equity of divine justice may appear more certainly and more clearly, and that the consummation and final retribution in Angels and in men may come about together: divine justice requires this, that all rise together, as far as the common law goes. And I say this on account of Christ and his most blessed mother, the glorious Virgin Mary. — But because punishment and misery are owed to the evil and glory to the good, therefore, even if they rise together in time, yet they will be very unlike in condition. For because for the evil the resurrection is not unto life but unto punishment8, it is necessary that they be raised up with infirmities, deformities and defects.

Again, since the resurrection must be according to the requirement of the consummation of grace; and perfect grace makes us conformed to Christ, our head, in whom there was no defect of members, but a perfect age and due stature and a comely figure: it is fitting that the good be raised up in the best conditions; and through this it is necessary that in them the vices be taken away, p. 287 and nature preserved. — It is fitting also that, if any member was lacking, it be supplied; if there was any superfluity, it be removed; if there was any disorder of the members, it be corrected; if he was a little child, that he be brought by divine power to the quantity of the age of Christ, which he had at his resurrection — though « not in bulk1 »; if decrepit, that he be brought back to the same age; if a giant, if a dwarf, that he be limited to a fitting measure; so that thus all may meet whole and perfect unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ.

Lastly, since the resurrection must be according to the requirement of the perfection of nature; and the nature of the rational spirit requires that it give life to its own body, because « the proper act has to come about in its proper matter2 »: it is necessary that the same body rise again in number, otherwise it would not be a true resurrection. The nature also of the rational and immortal soul requires that, just as it has perpetual being, so it have a body into which it may perpetually pour life; and through this the body, which is united to the soul, has from that very union an ordering toward perpetual incorruption — yet in such wise that that in which the substance of the whole body consists, such as are the principal members and also the radical moisture and the flesh according to species, has a necessary ordering; but the rest, namely the flesh according to matter3 and the parts which are of the well-being of the body, have an ordering of fittingness: and therefore the first parts are ordered to the resurrection according to the order of necessity, but all the others according to the order of fittingness. And since God impressed this order upon nature; and nature cannot bring it to completion, because it cannot raise the dead; and divine providence itself ought to have made nothing in vain4: it is necessary that by his power the body be repaired the same in number and immortal and constituted out of all its parts, and with the whole truth of nature preserved. — But since this nature does not have this in its power, but only in its appetite, because it can neither repair the same body in number once destroyed, since it cannot reach to the whole substance of the thing, nor can it make a body immortal, since everything generable by nature is corruptible5, nor can it gather what is dispersed: it is necessary that the resurrection be attributed not to seminal nor to natural causes, but to primordial ones, so that it come about according to a wondrous and supernatural course and the command of the divine will.

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Apparatus Criticus
  1. 2
    August., XXII. de Civ. Dei, c. 17. — Seq. locus est Eph. 4, 13. — Superius Vat., 1 et 3 cum pluribus codd. pro magna substituunt magis, et cum aliquot codd. bis ordinationem ante temporis et dignitatis pro ordinem.
    Augustine, On the City of God XXII, c. 17. — The following passage is Ephesians 4:13. — Above, the Vatican edition, 1 and 3, with several codices, substitute magis for magna, and with some codices twice read ordinationem before temporis and dignitatis in place of ordinem.
  2. 3
    Luc. 21, 18: Et capillus de capite vestro non peribit. — Seq. sententia est August., Enchirid. c. 88. n. 23. — De hoc cap. vide IV. Sent. d. 43. a. 1. et d. 44. p. I. per totam.
    Luke 21:18: And a hair of your head shall not perish. — The following sentence is Augustine, Enchiridion c. 88, n. 23. — On this chapter see IV Sent. d. 43, a. 1, and d. 44, part I, in its entirety.
  3. 4
    Cfr. supra p. I. c. 6. — Inferius pro stipendiorum I K L O P V praemiorum, D praemiorum vel stipendiorum, et post tamen edd., excepta 2, addunt singillatim.
    Cf. above, part I, c. 6. — Below, for stipendiorum I K L O P V read praemiorum, D praemiorum vel stipendiorum, and after tamen the editions, edition 2 excepted, add singillatim.
  4. 5
    Vide Aristot., I. Phys. text. 81. (c. 9.), et August., XII. de Gen. ad lit. c. 35. n. 68. — Superius pro reformatio etiam edd. reformatio autem, I M reformatio autem gratiae etiam, alii similiter, sed omittentes autem.
    See Aristotle, Physics I, text 81 (c. 9), and Augustine, On Genesis according to the letter XII, c. 35, n. 68. — Above, for reformatio etiam the editions read reformatio autem, I M reformatio autem gratiae etiam, the others similarly, but omitting autem.
  5. 6
    Sap. 5, 21: Et pugnabit cum illo orbis terrarum contra insensatos.
    Wisdom 5:21: And the whole world shall fight with him against the unwise.
  6. 7
    F I K L O U V simul.
    F I K L O U V read simul.
  7. 8
    Ioan. 5, 29: Et procedent qui bona fecerunt in resurrectionem vitae, qui vero mala egerunt, in resurrectionem iudicii.
    John 5:29: And they that have done good things shall come forth unto the resurrection of life; but they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.
  8. 1
    Ut ait August. XXII. de Civ. Dei, c. 14. — Plures codd. et 2 non mole. Inferius verbo limitetur K praefigit reducatur vel.
    As Augustine says, On the City of God XXII, c. 14. — Several codices and edition 2 read non mole. Below, K prefixes reducatur vel to the word limitetur.
  9. 2
    Aristot., II. de Anima, text. 26. (c. 2.). — Inferius post ordinationem pro habet K P et 1 habeat.
    Aristotle, On the Soul II, text 26 (c. 2). — Below, after ordinationem, in place of habet K P and edition 1 read habeat.
  10. 3
    De hac Aristotelica distinctione carnis cfr. tom. II. pag. 734, nota 3. — Superius pro substantia totius corporis I K L U natura totius corporis.
    On this Aristotelian distinction of flesh cf. vol. II, p. 734, note 3. — Above, for substantia totius corporis I K L U read natura totius corporis.
  11. 4
    Cfr. supra pag. 271, nota 8. — Quod idem numero corpus destructum reparari non possit a natura, docet Aristot.; cfr. tom. IV. pag. 888, nota 2. — Inferius voci naturae Vat., 1 et 3 praefigunt humanae.
    Cf. above, p. 271, note 8. — That a body the same in number, once destroyed, cannot be repaired by nature, Aristotle teaches; cf. vol. IV, p. 888, note 2. — Below, the Vatican edition, 1 and 3, prefix humanae to the word naturae.
  12. 5
    Vide supra pag. 227, nota 2. — De causis seminalibus etc. vide II. Sent. d. 18. a. 1. q. 2. in corp., ex qua quaedam supra pag. 216, nota 3. — Post seminalibus P addit rationibus.
    See above, p. 227, note 2. — On the seminal causes etc. see II Sent. d. 18, a. 1, q. 2, in the body, from which certain things [were adduced] above, p. 216, note 3. — After seminalibus P adds rationibus. ---
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