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FOREWORD
The "Breviloquium" and "The Journey of the Mind to God" (cf. Vol. I of this series) are generally recognized as St. Bonaventure's masterpieces. They contain the essence of that system of supernatural teaching which the Seraphic Doctor develops fully in his "Commentaries on the Four Books of Sentences," and to which he alludes constantly in "The Triple Way" (cf. Vol. I).
When these four works are compared in method and content, the following differences appear:
The "Commentaries" ("Commentaria in quatuor libros sententiarum magistri Petri Lombardi"), by far the longest, constitutes over half of the "Opera omnia." It is a SYSTEMATICAL SUMMA of medieval theological knowledge presented as an exposition and enlargement of the works of an earlier master, Peter Lombard. The form is rather technical than literary, and follows an elaborate pattern of divisions and subdivisions closely related to that of the "Summae" of Thomas Aquinas. The main divisions are:
The Unity and Trinity of God
The Creation and Fall of Angels and Men
The Incarnation of the Word and the Restoration of Mankind
The Doctrine of Signs or Sacraments
The "Breviloquium," next in length, consists of a prologue and seven parts, also covering the whole field of theology, but in a summarized form. It is a DEDUCTIVE TREATISE, one particular aspect of the Godhead being established at the beginning of each chapter as a premise from which conclusions are drawn by logical analysis. But though the method may seem artificial the exposition often rises to poetical and lyrical heights that make the "Breviloquium" rather a sustained canticle of praise than a manual of theology.
"The Journey of the Mind to God" ("Itinerarium mentis in Deum") is a subjectively geared EXPOSITION OF THE DIFFERENT WAYS OF SEEING GOD. It comprises an important prologue, and seven chapters dealing respectively with:
God Seen through, and in, His Traces
God Seen through, and in, His Image
God Seen through, and in, His Being
Mystical Ravishment
"The Triple Way, or Love Enkindled" ("De triplici via, seu incendium amoris"), the shortest of the four, leads to the same subjective conclusion as "The Journey": mystical union with God. But the division here is based on the STAGES OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS, meditation, prayer, and contemplation being applied in succession to each of the three ways, purgative, illuminative, and perfective (unitive).
The "Breviloquium," then, has none of the inherent disadvantages of a summa. The latter is intended, not for continuous reading, but for consultation and reference, and in contrast the "Breviloquium" reads with ease, being neither overlong nor incomplete. As an exposition of all that is vital and significant in the Christian faith, it admits to comparison few books of its scope, if any at all. As a systematic approach to the love of God, alike practical and mystical, it stands alone.
Bonaventure's thought, in all its dense and logical structure, is yet vast and free. Although he frequently insists on the nothingness of man in relation to the transcendent Creator, time and again he emphasizes the power and the glory of man, master of the material universe and heir to the eternal kingdom. His analytical system is used, not to diminish the objects of his study or merely to reduce them to digestible parts, but, on the contrary, to demonstrate their complex magnitude, and, in the case of the Godhead, its immensity beyond comprehension. To realize how lofty Bonaventure's view of man actually is, we need seek no further than the opening pages of the "Breviloquium":
"This manner of development (of the Holy Scriptures) was called for by man's capacity of understanding: for the human intellect was made to grasp great things and many things in a grand and manifold way, like some noble mirror made to reflect the whole complex of the created world, not only naturally, but also supernaturally; so that the development of Scripture may be thought of as answering all that man's capacity demands." (Prologue, 3)
Great mystical writers have appeared before Bonaventure; others have followed him. Augustine, Anselm, Bernard of Clairvaux and the Victorines whom he so often quotes; the Flemish school with John Ruysbroeck who immediately followed him; the great Italian and Spanish schools led by Catherine of Siena and Teresa of Avila some time later; and, in our times, the little Thérèse of Lisieux - all may have penetrated with as deep an insight into the marvels of personal union with God. But the particular glory of Bonaventure is to have reconciled the vision of the mystic with the logic of the theologian, and to have shown that, in matters theological, reason supplemented by infused mystical knowledge is superior to reason alone.
Bonaventure has been praised by some, and viewed with suspicion by others, for his Platonism and Augustinism. Much has been written, at times with hitter ink, on the respective merits of the various schools of religious thought, and some of the judgments passed on Bonaventure's philosophy are part of this abundant controversy. There may have been on occasion in this battle of wits a partisan spirit which aimed, with the best of intentions, at exalting a particular champion of truth by stressing the points on which he differs, or is held to differ, from his opponent. But whenever saints do not see eye to eye in their philosophies, it might he more profitable for us to return to deeper study instead of pitting one holy man against another.
There are two roads to truth: the simply rational which proceeds by way of abstraction from sense experience, and the mystical which proceeds by way of intuition or inner apprehension. The first is the natural way, the second, the supernatural. If Bonaventure seems to accept both as natural, it is all to his praise; it is a sign of so deep an immersion in the supernatural that this way, special as it is, appeared to him as being open to all.
Platonism and Augustinism are admittedly defective as theories of natural knowledge. But when Bonaventure makes use of their principles, he does so, not as a philosopher, hut as a mystical theologian dealing with matters of that inspired wisdom which, in fact, is infused. Thus, he conveniently and properly applies to this truly infused wisdom Platonic and Augustinian notions originally, and erroneously, intended to explain natural knowledge.
Bonaventure is interested, not in the distinction between theology and philosophy, hut in the love of God, revealed in the Scriptures, accessible through reason, hut also communicated directly to loving souls through the channels of mystical grace.
J. de V.
SCRIPTURAL QUOTATIONS
In quoting the Scriptures, the general procedure has been to cite the sacred texts in the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine version, for all books which have reached translation at the time of publication of this volume. They are: the New Testament, the Pentateuch, the books of Josue, Judges and Ruth, the Sapiential books (Job to Sirach-Ecclesiasticus), and the Prophetic books (Isaia to Malachia). All other books are cited in the Challoner-Douay translation.
Note also that the Challoner text is used, instead of the Confraternity text, in special cases where it serves Bonaventure's meaning more completely. These special instances show an asterisk after the Scriptural references.
NON-SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
The non-Scriptural references, indicated by small roman numerals, are given at the end of the book, pp. 315ff.
BASIC TEXT
The present translation is based on the Quaracchi Edition of the "Opera Omnia" of St. Bonaventure, by authorization of the Most Reverend Augustine Sépinski, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor.
CONTENTS
Synopsis
Prologue
Part I - On the Trinity of God
Part II - On Creation
Part III - On the Corruption of Sin
Part IV - On the Incarnation of the Word
Part V - On the Grace of the Holy Spirit
Part VI - On the Sacramental Remedy
Part VII - On the Final Judgment
Non-Scriptural References
SYNOPSIS
Since the division of the "Breviloquium" into chapters does not always follow the pattern of reasoning, a synopsis of the whole work is given hereunder.
PROLOGUE
1. INVOCATION: Eph. 3:14-19 (§1)
2. APPLICATION:
The origin of Scriptures (§2)
The development of Scriptures (§3)
The end of Scriptures (§§4-6)
3. ANALYSIS OF SCRIPTURES:
(1) The breadth of Scriptures
(2) The length of Scriptures
(3) The height of Scriptures
(4) The depth of Scriptures
(5) The methods of Scriptures
(6) Interpretation of Scriptures
GENERAL DIVISION OF THEOLOGY INTO SEVEN PARTS (ch. 1)
I. ON THE TRINITY OF GOD
1. UNITY OF SUBSTANCE AND NATURE RECONCILED WITH PLURALITY OF PERSONS
A. The three Persons (ch. 2)
B. The right understanding of this faith (ch. 3)
C. The Catholic expression of this faith (ch. 4)
2. UNITY OF SUBSTANCE AND NATURE RECONCILED WITH PLURALITY OF MANIFESTATIONS (ch. 5)
3. UNITY OF SUBSTANCE AND NATURE RECONCILED WITH PLURALITY OF APPROPRIATIONS
A. Four series of appropriations (ch. 6)
B. Development of fourth series
a. Omnipotence (ch. 7)
b. Omniscience (ch. 8)
c. Benevolence (ch. 9)
II. ON CREATION
1. GENERAL CONDITIONS OF CREATION (ch. 1)
2. DISTINCT LEVELS OF CREATION
A. Physical nature
a. Production (ch. 2)
b. Essence (ch. 3)
с Action (ch. 4)
d. Description in Holy Scriptures (ch. 5)
B. Heavenly spirits
a. Production (ch. 6)
b. Apostasy of the demons (ch. 7)
с Confirmation of the good angels (ch. 8)
С The human composite
a. Production of the soul (ch. 9)
b. Production of the body (ch. 10)
с Production of the whole composite (ch. 11)
D. Completion and ordering of the world after creation (ch. 12)
III. ON THE CORRUPTION OF SIN
1. SIN IN GENERAL (ch. 1)
2. ORIGINAL SIN
A. Temptation (ch. 2)
B. Fall (ch. 3)
C. Punishment (ch. 4)
D. Corruptive effect (ch. 5)
E. Transmission (ch. 6)
F. Cure (ch. 7)
3. ACTUAL SIN
A. Origin (ch. 8)
B. Subdivision
a. Capital sin (ch. 9)
b. Penal sin (ch. 10)
с Final sin (ch. 11)
IV. ON THE INCARNATION OF THE WORD
INTRODUCTION: On the reason why the Incarnation of the Word was necessary and fitting (ch. 1)
1. ON THE INCARNATION AS REGARDS THE UNION OF NATURES
A. What was done (ch. 2)
B. How it was done (ch. 3)
C. When it was done (ch. 4)
2. ON THE INCARNATION AS REGARDS THE FULLNESS OF GRACE
A. In the gifts of Christ's will (ch. 5)
B. In the wisdom of Christ's intellect (ch. 6)
C. In the merits of Christ's actions (ch. 7)
3. ON THE INCARNATION AS REGARDS THE SUFFERING OF CHRIST
A. Condition of the Sufferer (ch. 8)
B. Nature of the suffering (ch. 9)
C. Issue of the passion of Christ (ch. 10)
V. ON THE GRACE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
1. GRACE AS A GIFT OF GOD (ch. 1)
2. GRACE IN RELATION TO FREE WILL
A. A condition of meritorious acts (ch. 2)
B. A remedy for sin (ch. 3)
3. GRACE IN RELATION TO THE HABITS OF THE VIRTUES
A. As regards the virtues as such (ch. 4)
B. As regards the gifts (ch. 5)
C. As regards the beatitudes, fruits, and spiritual senses (ch. 6)
4. GRACE IN RELATION TO THE ACQUIRING OF MERITS
A. As regards faith (ch. 7)
B. As regards love (ch. 8)
C. As regards obedience (ch. 9)
D. As regards petition (ch. 10)
VI. ON THE SACRAMENTAL REMEDY
1. ORIGIN OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 1)
2. HISTORY OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 2)
3. DIVISION OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 3)
4. INSTITUTION OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 4)
5. DISPENSATION OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 5)
6. REPETITION OF THE SACRAMENTS (ch. 6)
7. NATURE AND INTEGRITY OF THE SACRAMENTS
A. Baptism (ch. 7)
B. Confirmation (ch. 8)
C. Holy Eucharist (ch. 9)
D. Penance (ch. 10)
E. Extreme Unction (ch. 11)
F. Orders (ch. 12)
G. Matrimony (ch. 13)
VII. ON THE FINAL JUDGMENT
1.THE JUDGMENT IN GENERAL (ch. 1)
2.THE ANTECEDENTS TO THE JUDGMENT
A. The pains of purgatory (ch. 2)
B. The suffrages of the Church (ch. 3)
3. THE CONCOMITANTS TO THE JUDGMENT
A. The conflagration of fires (ch. 4)
B. The resurrection of bodies (ch. 5)
4. THE CONSEQUENTS TO THE JUDGMENT
A. The pains of hell (ch. 6)
B. The glory of paradise (ch. 7)
ST. BONAVENTURE: THE BREVILOQUIUM
PROLOGUE
FOR THIS REASON 1 bend my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth receives its name, that He may grant you from His glorious riches to he strengthened with power through His Spirit unto the progress of the inner man; and to have Christ dwelling through faith in your hearts: so that, being rooted and grounded in love, you may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know Christ's love which surpasses knowledge, in order that you may be filled unto all the fullness of God.1
In these words, the origin, development, and end of Holy Scripture, which is called theology,2 are exposed by the great teacher of nations and preacher of truth, filled with the Holy Spirit as a vessel of election and sanctity. He tells us by implication that Scripture originated under the influence of the Holy Trinity; that its development was proportioned to man's capacity; and that its end or fruit consists in the superabundance of overflowing happiness.
2. For the Scriptures ORIGINATED, not in human research, but in divine revelation coming from the Father of Lights3 - from whom all fatherhood in heaven and on earth receives its name;4 from whom, through His Son Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit flows into our souls. By this Spirit, who apportions His gifts and allots to everyone according as He will5, faith is given; and through faith, we have Christ dwelling6 in our hearts. It is from such knowledge of Jesus Christ, first of all, that the firmness of our understanding of Scripture comes.7 Hence, no one can penetrate its meaning unless he has first had infused into him faith in Jesus Christ as the lamp, the door, and also the foundation of the entire Scriptures; for while we are . . . exiled from the Lord8, faith is, as regards every supernatural illumination, the foundation that supports us, the lamp that guides us, and the door that leads us in. It is by faith, moreover, that the wisdom given us by God must be measured, lest anyone be more wise than it behoveth to he wise.9 Instead, we should be wise unto sobriety and according as God hath divided to everyone the measure of faith.
So, through the instrumentality of this faith, we are given the knowledge of Scripture in the measure of the blessed Trinity's outpouring, as the apostle clearly intimates in the first part of the passage with which we began.
3. Again, in its DEVELOPMENT, Holy Scripture - unlike the other fields of knowledge - has not been circumscribed by the rules of reasoning, defining, and dividing; or by being restricted to only part of the universe.i Rather, it unfolds, by supernatural inspiration, for the sake of providing man the wayfarer with as much knowledge as he needs to save his soul. Using, therefore, a language sometimes literal and sometimes figurative, it sums up, as it were, the content of the entire universe, and so covers the BREADTH; it describes the whole course of history, thereby comprehending the LENGTH; it displays the glory of those finally to be saved, thus showing the HEIGHT; it recounts the misery of the reprobate, and thus reveals the DEPTH, not only of the universe, but also of God's judgment.
And in thus describing the breadth, length, height, and depth of the entire universe, in so far as this knowledge serves the purpose of salvation, Holy Scripture itself develops, as will be shown later,10 according to the same fourfold pattern. This manner of development was called for by man's capacity of understanding: for the human intellect was made to grasp great things and many things in a grand and manifold way, like some noble mirror made to reflect the whole complex of the created world, not only naturally, but also supernaturally; so that the development of Scripture may be thought of as answering all that man's capacity demands.
4. Finally, the END or FRUIT of Holy Scripture is not something restricted, but the fullness of eternal happiness. These Writings which contain the words of everlasting life11 were written, not only that we might believe in, but also that we might possess, that everlasting life, in which we shall see, and love, and be fulfilled of all we desire. Then we shall really know that love which surpasses knowledge12, and thus be filled unto all the fullness of God13. This is the fullness to which the divine Scriptures would lead us, as is truly said in the words of the apostle quoted above. Such, then, must be our goal and our intent in studying and in teaching the Scriptures, and also in hearing them.
5. And that we may attain this fruit and end rightly, by the straight road of Scripture itself, we must begin at the beginning. That is, we must reach out in a spirit of pure faith to the Father of Lights, and kneeling in our hearts, ask Him to give us, through His Son and in the Holy Spirit, the true knowledge of Jesus Christ, and together with knowledge, love for Him. By knowing and loving Christ, by being confirmed in faith and rooted. . . in love, we can know the breadth, length, height, and depth of Scripture, and, through such knowledge, attain unto the all-surpassing Knowledge and measureless Love which is the Blessed Trinity. To this do the saints' desires tend; this is the final state, replete with all that is true and good.
6. Once our desires and intentions have been fixed upon this end of the Scriptures, once we have both believed in their Source and invoked Him, it remains for us to explore their unfolding as regards their breadth, length, height, and depth, following the path and the order of the apostle's text.
The BREADTH of the Scriptures refers to the number of their parts; the LENGTH, to their account of the times and periods; the HEIGHT, to their description of the orderly levels of hierarchies; and the DEPTH, to their abundant allegorical senses and interpretations.14
(1) ON THE BREADTH OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
1. If, then, we wish to consider the BREADTH of Holy Scripture, the first thing we discover is that it is divided, of necessity, into two Testaments: the Old and the New. We also find that the Old Testament is composed of a large number of books, legal, historical, sapiential, and prophetical. There are five books in the first group, ten in the second, five in the third, and six in the fourth: a total of twenty-six books.15 The New Testament has corresponding books, also divided in the same fourfold manner. The Gospels correspond to the legal books: the Acts of the Apostles, to the historical; the Epistles, particularly those of St. Paul, to the sapiential; the Apocalypse, to the prophetical. Thus, there is a wondrous concordance between the Old Testament and the New, not only in their content, but also in their fourfold division. This is what was prefigured and cf. signified by the vision of Ezechiel, who saw the wheels of the four faces, each wheel being, as it were, within another. For the Old Testament is contained in the New, and vice versa. Likewise, the face of a lion fits the legal books and the Gospels because of their outstanding authority, the face of an ox fits the historical because of their examples of moral strength,16 the face of a man fits the sapiential because of their keen wisdom, and the face of an eagle fits the prophetical because of their penetrating vision.17
2. The proper division of Scripture, therefore, is not into theoretical and practical branches, in the manner of philosophy,ii but into Old and New Testaments; since Scripture is essentially based on knowledge stemming from faith, which is the motive power and foundation of morals, justice, and all right living, there cannot be in Scripture any dissociation between knowledge pertaining to faith and that pertaining to morals. Philosophy, on the other hand, is concerned, not only with moral truths, but also with truth as the object of the purely speculative intellect.
Thus, since Holy Scripture is a science drawing the soul away from evil and impelling it toward good, and this by appealing to both fear and love, it is divided into two Testaments which, "to put it shortly, differ as fear differs from love."iii
3. Now, there are four ways of prompting someone toward good and drawing him away from evil: namely, by the laws of a Majesty supremely powerful; by the teachings of a Truth supremely wise; by the examples and benefits of a Goodness supremely pure; and finally, by a combination of these three ways. That is why there are four kinds of Scriptural books in both Old and New Testaments; they correspond to these four elements. The legal books compel by the commands of an all-powerful Majesty; the historical, by the examples of an all-perfect Goodness; the sapiential, by the teachings of an all-provident Truth; while the prophetical derive their moving force from a combination of the foregoing, as their content clearly shows. These [prophetical] books are thus in a way a recalling of the whole body of moral and doctrinal precepts.
4. Holy Scripture, then, is like an immense river: the farther it flows, the greater it grows by the addition of many waters. Scripture first consisted only of the legal books. Later, the waters of wisdom of the historical books were added to it: then followed the teachings of Solomon most wise; then, those of the holy prophets; and at last the Gospel teachings, spoken by the lips of Christ incarnate, set down in writing by the evangelists, related by the holy apostles. And when there were added the revelations which the Spirit, descending upon them, taught us through their means, the apostles, thus instructed in all the truth18 by the Spirit, according to God's promise, could teach the Church of Christ the whole truth of salvation, and, by completing Holy Scripture, extend the knowledge of truth.
(2) ON THE LENGTH OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
In Holy Scripture we find also LENGTH, for Scripture describes all times and periods from the beginning of the world until the day of judgment. It considers the world's course in three phases: under the law of nature, the written law, and the law of grace; and within these phases, distinguishes seven specific periods: the first from Adam19 to Noe, the second from Noe to Abraham, the third from Abraham to David, the fourth from David to the Babylonian exile, the fifth from the exile to Christ, the sixth from Christ to the end of the world; while the seventh, running concurrently with the sixth,20 begins with the placing of Christ in the tomb, and shall last until the universal resurrection.iv Thus, Scripture traverses the greatest conceivable length, since it begins to unfold with the beginning of the world and of time, in the first chapter of Genesis, and continues until the end of the world and of time, in the closing chapters of the Apocalypse.
2. The full span of time, proceeding under its three laws- the innate (of nature), the imposed (written), and the infused (of grace) - rightly passes through seven ages and comes to a close at the end of the sixth; for thus the course of the world reflects the sequence of its creation, the course of the large world corresponding to that of the small- to the life of man, for whose sake the world was made.v
The world's first age or period, when the material universe was formed, the demons fell, and the angels were confirmed in good, fittingly parallels the First Day of creation, when light was made and set apart from darkness. The second age, when the wicked perished in the Flood and the good were saved in the Ark, parallels the Second Day, when the firmament was established, separating the waters. The third age, when Abraham was called and the Synagogue began to be, that it might be fruitful and bring forth offspring for the worship of God, parallels the Third Day, when land appeared and brought forth vegetation. The fourth age, called the age of kingship and priesthood because it was then that King David developed the service of God, corresponds to the Fourth Day, when the heavenly lights and the stars were formed. The fifth age, when the exiles lived and suffered in the midst of several foreign nations, corresponds to the Fifth Day, when the fishes of the waters were created.21 The sixth age, when Christ was born in the form of man who, in turn, is the true image of God, corresponds to the Sixth Day, when the first man was brought to life. The seventh age, which is, for souls, eternal rest, corresponds to the Seventh Day, when God rested from all His work of creation.22
3. These seven ages are thus distinguished on the basis of the signal events that ushered them in, whereby they correspond to the days of the world's creation.
The first age is also called infancy, for the Flood deleted all memory of it, as time completely erases the memory of early life.vi The second is called childhood, for then occurred the separation of tongues; correspondingly, in childhood we begin to speak. The third is called adolescence, for then Abraham was summoned to receive circumcision and the promise of offspring; as, in adolescence, the procreative power begins to be active. The fourth is called manhood, for at that time the Synagogue flourished under the kings; similarly, manhood is the age of greater might. The fifth is called decline, for during the exile the Jewish priesthood weakened; as in man's declining years, strength and appearance deteriorate. The sixth is called old age, for the world's sixth age ends with the day of judgment, but is enlightened with the wisdom of Christ's teachings; as man's old age is linked to death, but enlightened with the bright light of understanding.23
4. And so the whole course of the universe is shown by the Scriptures to run in a most orderly fashion from beginning to end, like a beautifully composed poem in which every mind may discover, through the succession of events, the diversity, multiplicity, and justice, the order, rectitude, and beauty, of the countless divine decrees that proceed from God's wisdom ruling the universe.vii But as no one can appreciate the beauty of a poem unless his vision embraces it as a whole, so no one can see the beauty of the orderly governance of creation unless he has an integral view of it. And since no man lives long enough to observe the whole with his bodily eyes, nor can anyone by his own ability foresee the future, the Holy Spirit has given us the book of the Scriptures, whose length corresponds to the whole duration of God's governing action in the universe.
(3) ON THE HEIGHT OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
1. HEIGHT, also, is found in the Scriptures as they unfold. It is seen in the description of the hierarchies and of their ordered ranks: the ecclesiastical, the angelical, and the divine; or, in other terms, the subcelestial, the celestial, and the supercelestial. The first are described plainly, the second somewhat more indirectly, and the third in an even more mysterious way. So Scriptures are high, higher, or most high accordingly as they describe the ecclesiastical, the angelical, or the divine hierarchies. Thus we can say with the prophet: Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; too lofty for me to attain24.
2. And this indeed is true. While things have an objective existence, they exist also in the soul, by [innate or] acquired knowledge, or by grace, or by glory; and they exist in Eternal Art.25 Now, philosophy is concerned with things as they exist in their nature, or again, as they exist in the soul by innate or empirical knowledge; but theology, being a science both based on faith and revealed by the Holy Spirit, is concerned with grace and glory and Eternal Wisdom. It uses philosophical knowledge as its servant, borrowing from the natural order what it needs to make a mirror for the representation of things divine; erecting, as it were, a ladder, whose foot rests upon the earth but whose top reaches heaven.26 And all this is done through the one Hierarch, Jesus Christ, who is Hierarch not only in the hierarchy of the Church by reason of the human nature He assumed, but also in the angelical hierarchy, and again, as the Second Person sharing the supercelestial hierarchy of the most blessed Trinity. Through Him, the grace of unction runs down from the supreme Head, God, not only upon the beard, but even to the skirt of His garment:27 not only upon the heavenly Jerusalem, but even to the Church Militant.
3. There is indeed great beauty in the fabric of the world; but there is much greater beauty in the Church, for it is adorned with the splendor of the holy charismatic gifts; and greater beauty still in the heavenly Jerusalem; and the greatest beauty of all in the supreme and most blessed Trinity.
Not only, then, do the Scriptures have a MOST LOFTY subject, which procures delight and raises on high the vision of the mind; they are also MOST BEAUTIFUL, delighting our intellect in a certain special way; and as they deepen this delight more and more, they prepare our souls for the heavenly vision of God's exalted marvels.
(4) ON THE DEPTH OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
1. Finally, there is depth in the Scriptures, deriving from their several figurative meanings. Many Scriptural passages have, besides the direct sense, three other significations: the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical. Allegory consists in this: that one thing signifies another thing which is in the realm of faith; moral teaching, or tropology, in this: that from something done, we learn another thing that we must do; anagogy, or lifting up, in this: that we are given to know what to desire, that is, the eternal happiness of the elect.
2. It is entirely logical for Scripture to have a threefold sense in addition to the literal: such amplitude consorts with its content, its hearer or disciple, its origin, and its end.
It consorts with its CONTENT, for Scriptural teaching is concerned with God, with Christ, with the works of salvation, and with the things of faith. - God is the Being covered by the Scriptures; Christ is the Power; the works of salvation are the action; and the things of faith are the sum of all three aspects. - Now, God is triune: one in essence and trine in the Persons; hence, Scripture, proceeding from Him, has a threefold [figurative] sense beneath one and the same literal text. Again, Christ being the one Word, all things are said to have been made through Him, and all things shine within Him, so that His wisdom is both manifold and one.28 Next, the works of salvation, though many, are all fundamentally related to the one sacrifice of Christ. Finally, the light given forth by the things of faith as such varies with the state of the believer.29
Scripture, then, answering to all these circumstances, gives us a number of meanings from a single text.
3. Scripture's manifold meaning consorts with its HEARER. None but the humble, pure, faithful, and attentive can hear it properly.viii As a deterrent to pride, a mysterious and profound signification is hidden under the shell of its obvious meaning. The very depth that lies beneath the humble word reproves the proud, casts out the unclean, drives away the insincere, and awakens the slothful to search the mysteries.ix The Scriptural teaching is addressed, not to one kind of hearer, but to every kind, and all who would be saved must know something of it. Thus Scripture has a manifold sense, that it may appeal to each separate mind, meeting each at its own level while remaining superior to all, and illuminating and setting afire with its countless shafts every mind that searches it with care.
4. Scripture's manifold sense is proper to the SOURCE whence it comes: God, through Christ and the Holy Spirit speaking by the mouth of the prophets and of the others who committed its doctrine to writing.30 - Now, God speaks not with words alone, but also with deeds, for with Him saying is doing and doing is saying; moreover, all creatures are the effects of God's action, and, as such, point to their Cause. Therefore, in Scripture, which is received from God, both words and deeds are meaningful. - Again, Christ the Teacher, lowly as He was in the flesh, remained lofty in His divinity. It was fitting, therefore, that He and His teachings should be humble in word and profound in meaning: even as the Infant Christ was wrapped in swaddling clothes, so God's wisdom is wrapped in humble images. - Finally, there was variety in the manner whereby the Holy Spirit brought enlightenment and revelation to the hearts of the prophets. As no mind is able to hide from Him, and as He was sent to teach all the truth, it was fitting that His doctrine should harbor several meanings within a single utterance.31
5. Scripture's manifold sense also accords with its END. It was given to guide man's thoughts and actions so that he might arrive at his true goal; and since all the rest of creation was designed to serve him in his ascent toward his heavenly home, Scripture takes on the very diversity of created things, to teach us through them that wisdom which leads to eternal life. But we cannot be led to eternal life unless our intellect knows what truths to accept, and our will chooses the good that is to be done, and our heart yearns to see God, and to love Him, and to enjoy Him. So the Scriptures, given by the Holy Spirit, take up the book of creation, and adapt it to the final end by a threefold method: by tropology, they teach us how to act as men; by allegory, show us what to believe with faith; by anagogy, reveal to us what to desire for our eternal delight. Only when we are cleansed by virtuous deeds, enlightened by luminous faith, and perfected by most ardent love shall we finally receive the crown of everlasting happiness.
(5) ON HOW HOLY SCRIPTURE PROCEEDS
1. The many types of wisdom found throughout the breadth, length, height, and depth of Holy Scripture proceed in one general way: that of authority. Within it are included the ways of narration, commandment, prohibition, exhortation, instruction, commination, promise, supplication, and praise. All these, however, are dependent upon the one principle of authority, and properly so.
1. The purpose of Scriptural doctrine is that we become virtuousx and attain salvation. This is effected, not by mere speculation, but by a disposition of the will. Hence the divine Scriptures had to be presented in whatever way would dispose us best. Now, our affections are moved more strongly by examples than by mere argumentation, by promised rewards than by reasoning, by devotion than by dogma. That is why the Scriptures were not to proceed by way of definition, analysis, and synthesis in order to prove the properties of some subject matter, as do the other sciences;xi they were to make use of their own modes, adapting themselves to the different mental states that make souls respond differently. For instance, were a man to remain unmoved by a command or a prohibition, he might perhaps be moved by a concrete example; were this to fail, he might be moved by the favors shown him; were this again to fail, he might be moved by wise admonitions, trustworthy promises, or terrifying threats, and thus be stirred, if not in one way then in another, to devotion and praise of God; thereby obtaining the grace that would guide him in the practice of virtue.
3. Now, the narrative modes32 cannot proceed to certitude by way of rational argumentation, since particular facts cannot be formally proved.xii Therefore, lest Scripture appear doubtful and lose some of its moving power, God has given it, in place of the evidence of demonstration through reasoning, the certitude of authority; a certitude so absolute as to surpass any attainable by the keenest human mind. And because the authority of one who is liable to deceive or to be deceived is not absolute, and there is none who can neither be deceived nor deceive but God and the Holy Spirit, therefore Scripture, to be perfectly authoritative, as it must be, was handed down, not through human research, but through divine revelation.
4. No passage of Scripture, then, should be regarded as valueless, rejected as false, or repudiated as evil, for its all-perfect Author, the Holy Spirit, could inspire nothing untrue, trivial, or degraded. That is why heaven and earth will pass away,33 but the words of Scripture will not pass away34 until they are fulfilled. For, in the Saviour's words, "till heaven and earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall be lost from the Law till all things have been accomplished. Therefore whoever does away with any Scriptural doctrine, and so teaches men, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever carries them out and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
(6) ON EXPLAINING HOLY SCRIPTURE
1. Scripture, having its own way of proceeding, should be interpreted and explained by a method that exactly corresponds. Since its one wording may cover different meanings, the task of the expositor is to bring hidden things to light;35 that is, once a meaning has been brought forth, to make it clear through another, more direct Scriptural passage. If, for instance, we were to expound this text from the Psalms, Take hold of arms and shield: and rise up to help me36, and we wished to explain what God's weapons are, we would say that they are His truth and good will, and that this can be proved from more explicit biblical texts. For it is written elsewhere: Thou hast crowned us, as with a shield of Thy good will;37 and, His truth shall compass thee with a shield38.
No one will find this an easy task unless, by constant reading, he has fixed in his memory the text of the Bible to the very letter; not otherwise shall he ever have the ability to interpret Scripture. As a man who neglects to study the rudiments of language could never understand the exact meaning of words or the rules of composition, so also the man who disregards the literal text of the Scriptures shall never rise to the understanding of their spiritual content.
2. The expositor should realize, however, that he is not to seek allegories everywhere, or give a mystical interpretation to everything. In this regard, it should be noted that Holy Scripture is divided into four parts. The first deals in a literal way with the forms of being in the world, through which it points to our individual restoration, as appears in the accounts of the world's creation. The second covers the deeds and wanderings of the people of Israel, through which it points to the restoration of the whole human race. The third plainly denotes and expresses those matters of faith and morals which pertain to our salvation. The fourth announces the mystery of this salvation, now plainly, now in words enigmatic and obscure. Hence, these different parts of Scripture should not have applied to them a uniform method of interpretation.
3. In blessed Augustine's book "On Christian Doctrine,"xiii there are three rules by which the Scriptural exegete should be guided.
The first is this: When the Scriptural words directly signify finite matters that are specific facts of human history, they mean primarily what they say, but in the second place they symbolize the mysteries of our restoration. Whereas when the words directly signify matters of faith or charity, there is no need to seek a symbolical meaning as well.
The second rule is this: When the Scriptural words directly signify finite matters pertaining to the people of Israel, the expositor should search in other parts of Scripture for a possible symbolical meaning attaching to these things, and then bring out this interpretation by words which plainly express a truth of faith or a principle of moral behavior. For instance, if a flock of ewes39 are said to be big with twins, he should show that in this passage the ewes signify men, and the twins, mutual love.
The third rule is this: When the Scriptural words have a meaning both literal and spiritual, the commentator must know whether to accept them in the historical or in the spiritual sense, in the event they cannot be accepted in both senses. If they can be accepted in both senses, they must be offered in both. But if a choice has to be made, they must be taken in the spiritual sense alone. For instance, such passages as state that the law of Sabbath is perpetual, the [Mosaic] priesthood eternal, the possession of the earth unending, or the pact of circumcision never to be broken, should be understood in no other way than in their spiritual sense.
4. And, bearing on this: If a man is to make his way securely40 in the forest of the Scripture, cutting through it and opening it out, it is necessary that he first have acquired a knowledge of Scriptural truth in its explicit statements. That is, he should note how Scripture describes the origin, course, and final fate of the two groups, like armies in confrontation: the good who humble themselves in this world but will be exalted forever in the next, and the wicked who exalt themselves in this world but will be cast down forever in the next.
Scripture, then, deals with the whole universe, the high and the low, the first and the last, and all things in between. It is, in a sense, an intelligible cross41 in which the whole organism of the universe is described and made to be seen in the light of the mind. If we are to understand this cross, we must know God, the Principle of beings; we must know how these beings were created, how they fell, how they were redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ, reformed through grace, and healed through the sacraments; and, finally, how they are to be rewarded with eternal pain or eternal glory. 5. These truths are so widely diffused throughout the works of saints and doctors that they could not all be read or heard by Scriptural students even in a long time. Beginners in the study of theology, in fact, often dread the Scripture itself, feeling it to be as confusing, orderless, and uncharted as some impenetrable forest. That is why my companions have asked me, from my own little knowledge, to write a brief summary of true theology. Yielding to their wishes, I have agreed to compose what may be called a "Breviloquium," in which, though the whole subject is not covered, the more important points are touched upon. Some explanatory notes have been added as they suggested themselves in the course of writing.
6. The theme of theology is, indeed, God and the first Principle. Rather, being the highest knowledge and the highest teaching, it resolves everything in God as the first and supreme Principle. That is why, in giving the reasons for everything contained in this little work or treatise, I have attempted to derive each reason from the first Principle, in order to demonstrate that the truth of Holy Scripture is from God, of God, according to God, and for God as an end.42 It will be seen, then, that this science has true unity and is well organized, and that it is not improperly called theology.
If anything here is found to be imperfect, obscure, superfluous, or inaccurate, let it be imputed to pressing business, insufficient time, and my own inadequate knowledge; if anything is found to be good, let the honor and glory be rendered to God alone.43
In order to make sure that the development is lucid, I have taken care to give in advance the titles of the different chapters, so that the subject matter would be more clearly understood and more easily remembered. There are in this work seven parts, containing in all seventy-two chapters.
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