IANUAL
';F THE
1ISTORYDF DOGMAS
D /TET
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Vox, H
A MANUAL OF
THE HISTORY OF DOGMAS
VOLUME II
THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOGMAS DURING
THE MIDDLE AGES AND AFTER,
869-1907
BY
REV. BERNARD J. OTTEN, S. J.
PROFESSOR OF DOGMATIC THEOLOGY AND THE HISTORY OF DOGMAS
IN
ST. LOUIS UNIVERSITY
B. HERDER BOOK CO.
17 SOUTH BROADWAY, ST. Louis, Mo.
AND
68 GREAT RUSSELL ST., LONDON, W. C.
1918
W. E. BLAKE & SON, Limited
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1MPRIMI POTEST
Sti. Ludovici, die 10 Maii, 1918
A. J. Burr owes, S. J.,
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F. G. Holweck,
Censor Librorum.
- 4 1953
IMPRIMATUR
Sti. Ludovici, die 31 Julii, 1918
^Joannes J. Glennon,
Archie pise opus,
Sti. Ludovici.
Copyright, 1918
by
Joseph Gummersbach
All rights reserved
Printed in U. S. A.
FOREWORD
The first volume of this Manual traced the history of dog
matic development from the beginning of the second century
to the end of the ninth; the second follows that development
up to the present time. However, the greater part of these
pages is devoted to the study of mediaeval theology. The au
thor deemed this course proper because the great Scholastics
of the Middle Ages prepared the way for the important work
accomplished by the Council of Trent, and thereby materially
contributed to the full development of a large number of
dogmas. Pbst-Tridentine theology has received rather scant
attention — too scant, perhaps, in view of the intense ac
tivity displayed by its many eminent representatives. But,
considering the purpose of the present work, that was un
avoidable. For the Manual is primarily intended as a text
book, and as such it should not be too bulky. Hence, as it
was impossible to attempt anything like a thorough review of
the theology of both periods — for they cover a thousand
years — it appeared preferable to accord a merely summary
treatment to the less important of the two, and then give to
the other all the attention which its valuable contribution to
the history of dogmas seemed to demand.
Eastertide, 1918.
ffi
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Aside from the works of theologians whose teaching is reviewed
in these pages, the following is a partial list of books consulted in
the composition of the present volume. Those marked * are by non-
Catholic authors. Works specially adapted for supplementary read
ing are referred to in a footnote at the beginning of each chapter.
Bach, J., Die Dogmengeschichte des Mittelalters vom christologischen
Standpunkte, oder die Mittelalterliche Christologie, in drei Thei-
len, Wien, 1874, 1875.
Bachelet, Le, LTmmaculee Conception, Paris, 1903.
Baudrillart, L'Eglise catholique, la Renaissance, le Protestantisme,
6th ed., Paris, 1905.
Bellamy, J., La Theologie Catholique au XIX Siele, Paris, 1904.
Caperan, L., Le Probleme du Salut des Infideles. Essai Historique,
Paris, 1912.
Catholic Encyclopedia, New York, 1907 foil.
Denifle, H., Luther und Luthertum, 3 vols., Mainz, 1904.
Die Entstehung der Universitaeten des Mittelalters bis 1400, 2
vols., Berlin, 1885.
Denifle-Chatelain, Chartularium Univ. Parisiensis. Paris, 1889-91.
Denifle-Ehrle, Archiv fuer Litteratur- und Kirchengeschichte des
Mittelalters, 6 vols., Freiburg im Breisgau, 1885-1892.
Denzinger-Bannwart, Enchiridion Symbolorum, Definitionum et De-
clarationum de Rebus Fidei et Morum, nth ed., Freiburg im
Breisgau, 1911.
Dictionnaire Apologetique de la Foi, Paris, 1911 foil.
Dictionnaire de Theologie Catholique, Paris, 1909 foil.
Doellinger, L, Die Reformation, ihre innere Entwicklung und ihre
Wirkungen, 3 vols., Ratisbon, 1846-48.
* Dorner, A., Grundriss der Dogmengeschichte, Berlin, 1899.
Du Plessis D'Argentre, Collectio judiciorum de novis errorib^is qui
ab initio XII s. usque ad a. 1713 . . . proscripti sunt, Paris, 1755
foil.
Dummermuth, A. M., S. Thomas et doctrina praemotionis physicae,
Paris, 1886.
Ehrhard-Kirsch, Forschungen zur Christlichen Literatur- und Dog
mengeschichte, vols. V-XI, Mainz, Paderborn.
* Fisher, G. P., History of Christian Doctrine, New York, 1911.
Frins, V., Scti. Thomae A. doctrina de cooperatione Dei cum omni
natura creata praesertim libera, Paris, 1893.
v
vi BIBLIOGRAPHY
Funk, F. X., A Manual of Church History, 2 vols. Authorized
Translation from the 5th German Edition by Luigi Cappadelta,
St. Louis, 1910.
* Gairdner, J., Lollardy and the Reformation in England, 4 vols.
London, 1908.
Ghellink, J., Mouvement Theologique du XIIe Siecle, Paris, 1915.
Gietl, R. P., Die Sentenzen Rolands, Freiburg, 1891.
Goetzmann, W., Das Eucharistische Opfer nach der Lehre der ael-
teren Scholastik. Eine dogmengeschichtliche Studie, Freiburg
im Breisgau, 1901.
Grabmann, M., Die Geschichte der Scholastischen Methode, 2 vols.
Freiburg im Breisgau, 1909, 1911.
Granderath, G., Constitutiones dogmaticae s. oecum. Concilii Vati-
cani explicatae, Freiburg, 1892.
Granderath-Kirsch, Geschichte des Vatikanischen Konzils, von seiner
ersten Ankuendigung bis zu seiner Vertagung, nach den authen-
tischen Dokumenten, 6 vols. Freiburg, 1903, 1906.
Grisar, H., Luther, 6 vols. Authorized Translation by E. M. La-
mond, St. Louis, 1913.
* Harnack, A., Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte, vierte neu durchar-
beitete und vermehrte Auflage, 3 vols. Tuebingen, 1909, 1910.
Hefele, C. J., A History of the Councils of the Church, 7 vols. Sec
ond German Edition, 1879 foil. Only the first three volumes
have been translated into English.
Hergenroether, J., Handbuch der allgemeinen Kirchengeschichte, 3
vols. Vierte Auflage, neu bearbeitet von Dr. J. P. Kirsch. Frei
burg, 1902.
Klee, H., Lehrbuch der Dogmengeschichte, 2 vols. Mainz, 1887 foil.
* Loofs, F., Leitfaden zum Studium der Dogmengeschichte. Halle,
1901.
Mansi, J. D., Sacrorum Conciliorum Nova et Amplissima Collectio, 63
vols. Paris, 1854 foil.
McCormick, P. J., History of Education. Washington, D. C., 1915.
Mignon, A., Hugues de Saint- Victor et les origines de la Scolastique,
2 vols. Paris, 1896.
Minges, P., Der Gottesbegriff des Duns Scotus, Wien, 1907.
Die Gnadenlehre des Duns Scotus, Muenster, 1906.
Moehler, A., Symbolism: an Exposition of Doctrinal Differences be
tween Catholics and Protestants. Translated by J. B. Robert
son, New York, 1844.
Pastor, L., History of the Popes from the Close of the Middle Ages,
5 vols. Translated by F. I. Antrobus, London, 1891 foil.
Pesch, C., Theologische Zeitfragen ; Glaube, Dogmen und geschicht-
liche Tatsachen. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1908.
Pourrat, P., Theology of the Sacraments. Authorized Translation
from the Third French Edition. St. Louis, 1910.
Rapin, R, Histoire de Jansenisme. Paris, 1861.
BIBLIOGRAPHY vii
* Rashdall, H., The Universities of Europe in the Middle Ages, 2 vols.
Oxford, 1905.
* Realencyklopaedie fuer Protestantische Theologie und Kirche, 22
vols. Leipzig, 1896-1909.
Renz, F. S., Die Geschichte des M'essopfer-Begriffs, oder der alte
Glaube und die neuen Theorien ueber das Wesen des Unblutigen
Opfers, 2 vols. Freising, 1901.
Riviere, J., The Doctrine of the Atonement, 2 vols. Authorized
Translation by Luigi Cappadelta. St. Louis, 1909.
Salembier, L., The Great Schism of the West. Authorized Transla
tion by M. D., New York, 1907.
Schill, A., Die Constitution Unigenitus. Freiburg, 1876.
* Schaff, P., Creeds of Christendom, 3 vols. New York, 1877.
Schwane, J., Histoire des Dogmes, 6 vols. French Translation from
the Second German Edition by A. Degert and P. Belet. Paris,
1903-4.
Schneemann, G., Controversiarum de divinae gratiae liberique arbi-
trii concordia initia et progressus. Freiburg im Breisgau, 1881.
Swoboda, H., Das Concil von Trient. Wien, 1913
Taylor, H. O., The Mediaeval Mind, 2 vols. London, 1914.
Toner, P. J Dissertatio Historico-Theologica de Lapsu et Peccato
Oiginali. Dublin, 1904.
Turmel, J., Histoire de la Theologie Positive, 2 vols. Paris, 1904-6.
Vacandard, E., Histoire de Saint Bernard, Paris, 1895.
Werner, K.. Der heil. Thomas von Aquino. Ratisbon, 1858.
Joh. Duns Scotus. Wien, 1881
Franz Suarez und die Scholastik der letzten jahrhunderte.
Ratisbon, 1861.
Wetzer und Welte, Kirchenlexikon, 2nd ed. Freiburg im Breisgau,
1882 foil.
Wulf, De, History of Mediaeval Philosophy. Translated by P. Coffey.
London, 1909.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
FOREWORD iii
BIBLIOGRAPHY v
INTRODUCTION
RISE, DEVELOPMENT, AND DECLINE OF SCHOLASTICISM ... I
A — Preparatory Stage 4
B — Golden Age of Scholasticism n
C — Decline of Scholasticism 22
D — Sources of Arguments 24
CHAPTER I
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD: His ESSENCE 29
A — The Existence of God 29
B — God's Essence 36
CHAPTER II
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 49
1. The Divine Intellect — Knowledge 52
2. The Divine Will 60
(a) Omnipotence 61
(b) Freedom of the Divine Will 63
CHAPTER III
PREDESTINATION 66
A — Predestinarian Controversy 66
B — Teaching of the Scholastics 72
CHAPTER IV
THE BLESSED TRINITY 84
1. Existence of the Mystery 84
2. Errors of Some Early Scholastics 85
3. Definition of Person 88
4. Principles of Divine Processions 89
ix
x CONTENTS
PAGE
5. Divine Relations 94
6. Divine Persons 96
CHAPTER V
CREATION OF THE WORLD 100
1. The Creative Act 101
2. Efficient Cause of Creation 105
3. Exemplary Cause of Creation 108
4. Final Cause of Creation 108
5. Creation in Time 109
6. Creation and Conservation in
CHAPTER VI
ANGELOLOGY 113
1. Creation of the Angels 113
2. Elevation of the Angels 114
3. Nature of the Angels 117
4. Knowledge of the Angels 121
5. Volition of the Angels 124
6. Mutual Relation of the Angels 125
7. Ministry of the Angels 127
CHAPTER VII
ANTHROPOLOGY 129
1. Essential Identity of the Rational and Sensitive Soul . . 131
2. Creation of Individual Souls 133
3. Union of Soul and Body 134
CHAPTER VIII
THE STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 142
1. Perfection of the Intellect 148
2. Perfection of the Will 150
3. Perfections of the Body 151
CHAPTER IX
ORIGINAL SIN 155
1. Nature of Original Sin 155
2. Transmission of Original Sin 164
CONTENTS xi
CHAPTER X PAGE
CHRISTOLOGY 171
A — Some Christological Errors 171
B — Christology of the Great Scholastics 175
1. Preliminary Questions 179
2. The Person Assuming Human Nature .... 182
3. The Human Nature Assumed 183
4. Definition of Human Personality 185
5. The Hypostatic Union 188
6. Consectaria of the Union 191
CHAPTER XI
SOTERIOLOGY 196
A — Some Soteriological Errors 196
B — Soteriology of the Scholastics 201
1. Necessity of the Redemption 201
2. The Atonement 203
3. Effects of the Atonement 206
4. The Death of Christ 211
CHAPTER XII
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST: THE PAPACY 214
A — The Church of Christ 214
B — The Papacy 219
1. The Spiritual Supremacy of the Pope .... 220
2. Relation of Church and State 229
CHAPTER XIII
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE: JUSTIFICATION AND MERIT . 234
A — Actual and Sanctifying Grace 234
B — Justification and Merit 246
CHAPTER XIV
INFUSED VIRTUES: THEOLOGICAL AND CARDINAL . . . . . 253
1. Nature of Infused Virtues 253
2. Division of Infused Virtues 255
3. The Virtue of Faith 257
4. The Virtue of Hope 263
5. The Virtue of Charity 267
6. The Cardinal Virtues 270
xii CONTENTS
CHAPTER XV PAGE
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 272
DEFINITION AND EFFICIENCY OF THE SACRAMENTS .... 272
1. Definition of a Sacrament 273
2. The Efficacy of the Sacraments 276
CHAPTER XVI
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 284
SACRAMENTAL GRACE: THE CHARACTER: NEED OF INTENTION:
THE NUMBER SEVEN : INSTITUTION OF THE SACRAMENTS 284
1. Sacramental Grace 284
2. The Sacramental Character 285
3. Need of Intention 290
4. The Number Seven 292
5. Institution of the Sacraments 295
CHAPTER XVII
BAPTISM : CONFIRMATION 298
A — Baptism 298
B — Confirmation 305
CHAPTER XVIII
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 310
THE REAL PRESENCE: TRANSUBSTANTIATION : THE MANNER OF
CHRIST'S PRESENCE: THE ACCIDENTS OF BREAD AND
WINE 310
1. The Real Presence 311
2. Transubstantiation 315
3. The Manner of Christ's Presence 320
4. The Accidents of Bread and Wine 322
CHAPTER XIX
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 327
THE FORM OF THE CONSECRATION : THE MATTER OF CONSECRA
TION : THE CONSECRATING MINISTER : THE EUCHARIST
AS A SACRAMENT: THE EFFECT OF THE SACRAMENT:
THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE 327
1. The Form of Consecration 327
2. The Matter of Consecration 329
CONTENTS xiii
PAGE
3. The Consecrating Minister 330
4. The Eucharist as a. Sacrament 332
5. Effects of the Sacrament 334
6. The Eucharist as a Sacrifice 335
CHAPTER XX
PENANCE 338
PRACTICE OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES: TEACHING OF THE SCHO
LASTICS 338
A — Practice of the Early Middle Ages 338
B — Teaching of the Scholastics 344
1. The Virtue of Penance 344
2. The Sacrament of Penance 349
CHAPTER XXI
INDULGENCES 361
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT: THEOLOGICAL EXPOSITION . . . 361
A — Historical Development 362
1. From the First Century to the Seventh .... 363
2. From the Seventh Century to the Twelfth . . . 364
3. From the Twelfth Century to the Council of Trent . 368
B — Theological Exposition 372
CHAPTER XXII
HOLY ORDERS: EXTREME UNCTION: MATRIMONY .... 380
A — Holy Orders 380
B — Extreme Unction 387
C — Matrimony 393
CHAPTER XXIII
MARIOLOGY 397
SANCTIFICATION BEFORE BIRTH: IMMACULATE CONCEPTION:
DIVINE MOTHERHOOD: VENERATION 397
A — Sanctification before Birth 397
B — The Immaculate Conception 403
C — Divine Motherhood 412
D — Veneration of Mary 415
xiv CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXIV
ESCHATOLOGY 4jg
RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD: GENERAL JUDGMENT: THE PUN
ISHMENT OF HELL: THE JOYS OF HEAVEN . . . .418
1. The Resurrection of the Dead 418
2. The General Judgment 422
3. The Punishment of Hell 426
4. The Joys of Heaven 430
CHAPTER XXV
MEDIEVAL HERESIES: MEDIAEVAL COUNCILS 438
A — Mediaeval Heresies 400
1. Peter de Bruys and the Petrobrusians 439
2. Tanchelm and Eon de Stella 440
3. Amalric of Bene and David of Dinant . . . .441
4. The Cathari or Albigenses 442
5. The Waldensians 443
6. John Wiclif 444
7. John Hus 446
B — Mediaeval Councils 447
1. The Fourth Lateran Council 448
2. The Second Council of Lyons 450
3. The Council of Vienne 452
4. The Council of Constance 454
5. The Council of Florence 456
CHAPTER XXVI
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION : THE COUNCIL OF TRENT . . 458
A — The Protestant Reformation 458
Errors on:
1. Holy Scripture 463
2. Original Sin 464
3. Free Will 464
4. Grace and Justification 464
5. Predestination 465
6. The Sacraments 465
7. The Church 466
8. The Communion of Saints 466
B — The Council of Trent 467
Teaching on :
i. Holy Scripture and Tradition 468
CONTENTS xv
PAGE
2. Original Sin 468
3. Justification 470
4. The Sacraments in General : Baptism and Confirma
tion 472
5. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist .... 473
6. The Sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction . 475
7. The Sacrifice of the Mass 475
8. The Sacrament of Orders 476
9. The Sacrament of Matrimony 476
10. Purgatory: Veneration of Saints and Images: In
dulgences 476
CHAPTER XXVII
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS 478
CHAPTER XXVIII
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 486
1. God's Foreknowledge 487
2. Controversies on Efficacious Grace 492
3. Some Differences of Opinion among Theologians . . . 497
CHAPTER XXIX
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 504
1. Baius and Baianism 504
2. Jansenius and Jansenism 507
3. Paschase Quesnel 510
4. Gallicanism 511
5. Febronianism 514
6. The Synod of Pistoia 516
7. Rationalism 517
CHAPTER XXX
SOME PAPAL DECISIONS: THE VATICAN COUNCIL: MODERNISM 521
A — Some Papal Decisions 521
1. The Immaculate Conception 521
2. The Syllabus of Pius IX 523
B — The Vatican Council 524
C — Modernism 530
CONCLUSION 534
A MANUAL OF THE HISTORY
OF DOGMAS
INTRODUCTION
RISE, DEVELOPMENT, AND DECLINE OF SCHOLASTICISM 1
In the study of doctrinal development during the Middle
Ages, and also in modern times, no account need be taken
of the Eastern Church. For after the schism caused by
Michael Cerularius, patriarch of Constantinople (1053-
1059), the East contributed nothing to the development of
doctrine. Cut off by its own suicidal act from the source of
ecclesiastical life, it became absolutely sterile. Its theology
is to-day where it was left by John Damascene in the eighth
century, except that along some lines it has actually fallen into
error. Hence, while investigating this second period of dog
matic development, the student can give his undivided atten
tion to the theology of the West.
In western lands, moreover, the learned world shifted its
center of intellectual activity from the Latin to the Germanic
nations. After the seventh century it was chiefly the British
Isles, France, Germany, Northern Italy, and Visigothic
Spain, that supplied the men who preserved what was still
left of the old learning and prepared the way for the gradual
development of the new. Venerable Bede, Aldhelm, and Al-
1 Cf r. Grabmann, Geschichte der New ; *Rashdall, Universities of
Scholastischen Methode, I, II ; Europe in the Middle Ages ; De
Ghellink, Le Mouvement Theolo- Wulf, History of Medieval Philoso-
gique du XIIe Siecle ; Denifle and phy; *Taylor, The Medieval Mind;
Ehrle, Archiev fuer Litteratur-nnd Denifle, Die Entstehung der Uni-
Kirchengeschichte des Mittelalters : versitaeten des Mittelalters bis 1400.
De Wulf, Scholasticism Old and
2 INTRODUCTION
cuin in England, Paulinus of Aquileia, Haymo and Rabanus
Maurus of Fulda, Walafried Strabo of Reichenau, Servatus
Lupus of Ferneries, Druthmar, Paschasius Radbertus and
Ratramnus of Corbie, Hincmar of Rheims, Prudentius of
Troyes, and Aeneas of Paris, were some of the writers and
theologians who bridged over the dark chasm that intervened
between the Patristic past and the Scholastic future. None
of them displayed much originality and independence of
thought, but they were all industrious workers and did good
service in preparing the way for the greater men that were to
follow.
During the Patristic period, embracing, roughly speaking,
the first seven centuries of the Christian era, there was not
only a gradual and more or less continuous fixation of dog
mas, but also a constant growth of theological knowledge,
touching nearly every point of revealed truth. Even such
doctrines as were not directly connected with what had been
explicitly defined, or what had been embodied in the various
symbols of faith, were in many instances placed beyond all
reasonable doubt by the consensus of approved teachers and
the universal acceptance of the faithful. The Ecclesia
docens and the Ecclesia discens ever worked hand in hand to
push forward the process of doctrinal development. Conse
quently, aside from defined truths, there was at the close of
the Patristic age a large body of doctrines that were a matter
of common belief, although strictly speaking they did not yet
form a part of the Catholic faith. Many of them received
their full development, and were incorporated into the faith,
during the following centuries.
We shall witness the same harmonious cooperation of these
two agencies during the Scholastic period. In one sense,
however, the Ecclesia discens, precisely as represented by
theologians of recognized authority, stands out with far
greater prominence than at any previous time. Since the be
ginning of the Middle Ages comparatively few great heresies,
attacking fundamental doctrines of the faith, called for con-
ciliar or even for papal definitions of revealed truths; while
the intensely speculative spirit of Scholasticism was ever ac-
RISE OF SCHOLASTICISM 3
tive in deducing new theological conclusions and in bringing
out into clearer light the full contents of revelation. In this,
great assistance was derived from the application of philo
sophical methods to the exposition of Christian doctrine, with
the result that the depositum fidci and the contents of Chris
tianized philosophy were brought into closest contact.
However, it must not be imagined that there was anything
like an abrupt break between the two periods of doctrinal de
velopment just indicated. The transition from the one to the
other was very gradual, extending over a space of fully three
hundred years. Still less was there anything like a doctrinal
change as Patristic theology passed into that of the Scholastic
period. Scholastic theology is the legitimate offspring of Pa
tristic teaching, having essentially the same contents although
it differs somewhat in method and form. Both admit Augus
tine's " Intellige, ut credas," and its converse, " Crede, ut in-
telligas " ; but each in its own way. The representatives of
the Patristic age used reason but emphasized authority, while
their successors of the Scholastic period used authority but
emphasized reason.
SCHOLASTICISM
This term is used to designate both a pedagogical method
and a doctrinal system, and as such it is applied to theology
as well as to philosophy. In the present connection it need
be considered only in reference to theology. Scholastic the
ology is distinguished from Patristic theology on the one hand,
and from positive theology on the other. Its distinctive fea
ture is speculative investigation of the data of revelation,
chiefly by the aid of philosophical methods. In reference to
this particular characteristic the Schoolmen themselves dis
tinguish between theologia speculative, sen scholastica and
theologia positiva. The latter gathers and coordinates the
data of revelation, the former philosophizes about these data
and deduces theological conclusions. However, it was not a
barren speculation that interested the Schoolmen; they were
ever intent on giving to their investigations a practical turn.
4 INTRODUCTION
They speculated much, but primarily to enable the faithful to
lead a fuller Christian life.
Historically the term Scholasticism, as now employed,
probably dates back to the seventh century. By that time it
seems to have become customary to call the head of any Chris
tian institution of learning magister scholae, capiscola, or
scholasticus. Furthermore, as it was then generally incum
bent on the head of the school to teach dialectics, the usage
gradually crept in to designate any branch of studies in which
dialectics were used, whether its subject-matter was philoso
phy or theology, Scholastic studies, that is, studies which came
primarily under the direction of the scholasticus. Hence
Scholastic theology really means, as was stated above, a sys
tem of theological teaching in which the dialectic method pre
vails. It is moreover, though to a limited extent, the union
of philosophy and theology in contents as well as in method.
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
It is customary to distinguish three different stages in the
gradual development and decline of the Scholastic system,
although there are no hard and fast lines of demarcation.
From the tenth to the thirteenth century the system was and
remained more or less in a state of preparation. During the
thirteenth century it reached its full development and great
est perfection. From the beginning of the fourteenth cen
tury up to the end of the fifteenth it fell into a condition of
decline, and finally lost much of its ancient prestige. A brief
outline of this historical aspect of Scholasticism may here be
given, as it will enable us to follow more intelligently the
development of doctrine in its relation to the labors of the
Schoolmen.
A — PREPARATORY STAGE
The early Middle Ages received from the Patristic period
a fairly complete body of formulated doctrines, built up on
the basis of divine authority. The principle enunciated by
Pope Hormisdas, " The first condition of attaining salvation
RISE OF SCHOLASTICISM 5
is to safeguard the rule of right faith and not to deviate
from the teaching of the Fathers " 2 found universal accept
ance. Hence the main effort of the earliest Schoolmen was
to preserve what had been delivered to them by their forbears
in the faith. As Rabanus Maurus expressed it : " It is above
all things necessary to have the right and immaculate faith,
and to know by heart the symbol drawn up by the holy Fathers,
in accordance with the rule laid down by the teaching of the
Apostles." 3
From this dominating tendency of harking back to the Pa
tristic past, both as regarded the contents of the faith and its
outward expression, resulted in course of time the Libri Sen-
tentiarum, in which the teachings of different Fathers were
collated and grouped under certain general heads of doctrine
and more or less extensively commented upon by the author
or compiler. Thus originated the Sentences of William of
Champeaux, of Anselm of Laon, of Robert Pulleyn, the Sic-
et-non of Abelard, and a little later the Summa Sententiarum
of the Lombard. For their material these authors depended
chiefly on the Florilegm, or Catenae, of Patristic excerpts,
compiled in the preceding centuries. The works of Augus
tine, of Pseudo-Denis, of Gregory the Great, and of John
Damascene, were in most instances the direct sources whence
these excerpts had been taken; but through them, and there
fore indirectly, the works of many other Fathers were also
laid under contribution.
Up to the eleventh century Scholastic activities were almost
exclusively directed by traditionalism, but thereafter a new
tendency began to manifest itself. Men were no longer satis
fied with repeating and systematizing traditional teaching, al
though the contents of this teaching were even then univer
sally regarded as sacrosanct. They began to emphasize the
rational side of revealed doctrines, to search for philosophical
proofs, which, though in the very nature of things incapable
of demonstrating the mysteries of Christian revelation, would
at least be helpful towards showing their congruity and rea
sonableness to the inquiring mind. It was from these first
2 Epist. 7, 9. 3 De Ecclesiastica Disciplina, 3.
6 INTRODUCTION
attempts at placing the faith, so far as might be, on a rational
basis that Scholasticism in the strict sense of the term was
born.
ANSELM AND ABELARD
The two men who contributed most to the development of
Scholasticism in its earlier stages, though along different lines
of thought and method, were Anselm of Canterbury (-|-iiO9)
and Abelard of Pallet ( + 1142). Both were true Scholastics
in the sense that they brought reason to bear upon the data of
revelation, but in their methods and viewpoints they stood
worlds apart. They may be regarded as the founders of two
different schools of theological thought, which existed and
worked side by side during the Scholastic period. The one
was inclined to mysticism and found its best representative
in Bonaventure; the other emphasized intellectualism and
reached its highest perfection in Aquinas.
In Anselm's case the following points are decisive in de
termining his position and his influence upon Scholastic specu
lation. i°. He is to all intents and purposes an extreme re
alist. Universals are to him not a mere flatus vocis, nor
mere mental concepts ; they exist ante rem as objective reali
ties, not indeed in the physical order of things, but in the
mind of God.4 Hence in his theological speculations he
does not deal with forms only, but with things. From this
results the elaboration of concepts in conformity with the
reality which they express, the form being subordinated to
the contents. 2°. A close follower of Augustine, he empha
sizes the predominance of the will, both in God's government
of the world and in man's correspondence with God's inten
tions. God's ruling will is supreme in the world, and man's
free will is his noblest faculty. 3°. He admits that reason
has its legitimate field of inquiry in matters theological, never
theless in the study of revealed truths faith should pre
cede reason.5 The " Credo ut intelligam " comes first, and
then the " Intelligo ut credam " 6 4°. Furthermore, this in-
4 Monol. 26-27. 6 Proslog. i.
5 Cur Deus Homo? I, 1-2.
RISE OF SCHOLASTICISM 7
telligere or understanding is not precisely the result of dia
lectic speculation, but rather of contemplation, of intuition.
The mental process consists in experiencing rather than in rea
soning. Hence Anselm is a Christian mystic, not a Christian
rationalist.
In Abelard the entire viewpoint is different. i°. Com
pared to Anselm, he is an anti-realist. Universals do not
exist ante rem, nor merely post rcm, but rather in re. They
have no existence apart from the individual.7 Their univer
sality is conferred by the mind, which forms an abstract con
cept of what is common to the different individuals of the
same species or genus. Hence he may be classed among the
moderate realists, although his views on the subject of uni-
versals are rather undeveloped. 2°. He conceives the object
of theological science to consist in the application of his Sic-et-
non method to tradition and revelation, in as much as dialec
tical reasoning must show that apparently contradictory propo
sitions in the writings of the Fathers and in Holy Scripture
are in real agreement. 3°. He has no desire of doing away
with authority, but he wishes to make it amenable to reason.8
The part of reason, however, is not to demonstrate the truths
of revelation, but rather to show that they are conformable to
the requirements of the human intellect.9 4°. He regards it
as a fundamental principle that the writings of the Fathers
do not compel belief, but leave the reader's freedom of judg
ing for himself intact. Holy Scripture alone is of itself in
fallible.10 Hence the two chief sources of arguments are the
Bible and reason. 5°. Intellectual processes in the domain
of theology do not consist in contemplating and experiencing,
but in analyzing concepts, in distinguishing propositions, and
in deducing conclusions by dialectical methods. He is, there
fore, not a Christian mystic, but a Christian rationalist.
It is thus in the writings of these two men that we find the
sketchy beginnings of the whole Scholastic system. Both en
deavor to combine authority and reason, but each in his own
way. Anselm is wholly intent upon appropriating the con-
7 Sum. Dial. 204. 9 Ibid. 2, 2.
8 Introduct. ad Theol. 2, 3. 10 Sic et Non, Prolog.
8 INTRODUCTION
tents of revelation, and then meditating on them for the pur
pose of showing forth their striking harmony with all the
requirements of the human intellect; yet he is prepared at any
moment to cling to revelation even where reason fails. Abe-
lard criticizes received forms, weighs authorities, distinguishes
what appears identical in meaning, combines what seems con
tradictory in expression, and thus gives full scope to the vast
resources of keen dialectics. Anselm is speculative, Abelard
is critical; Anselm deals exclusively with realities, Abelard
operates chiefly with concepts. Both give reason its due; but
while Anselm's reverence for tradition keeps him always
within the lines of orthodoxy, Abelard' s critical propensity
brings him at times into conflict with the teachings of faith.
Anselm Christianizes Plato and works in the spirit of Augus
tine; Abelard takes over the technique of Aristotle and dis
cusses theological problems from the standpoint of a jurist.
FURTHER DEVELOPMENT
Whilst Anselm's views and methods commended themselves
especially to mystic contemplation, Abelard's mode of pro
cedure was admirably adapted to school purposes. It stimu
lated the speculative trend of the age, and in a short while
found wide acceptance. At the same time, however, violent
attacks were made on its rationalizing tendencies, which were
regarded by many as inseparable from the new system of
thought. Bernard of Clairveaux, William of St. Thierry,
John of Salisbury, Walter of St. Victor, and the brothers
Geroch and Arno of Reichersberg fought strenuously to coun
teract Abelard's influence in the schools. But when Peter
Lombard ( + 1164) issued his Summa Sententiarum, Abe
lard's method, if not his views, gained the day. Peter had
been a disciple of Abelard, but he was more conservative than
his master, and in writing his great work he carefully elim
inated all rationalistic elements, in so far as they tended to
subordinate authority to reason. He did not escape con
demnation on the part of such men as Walter of St. Victor,
RISE OF SCHOLASTICISM 9
but the intellectual world of the day decided in his favor, and
so he became for all times the Magister Sententiarum.
With the Summa Sententiarum of the Lombard the first
period of Scholasticism may be said to have formally opened.
Up to that date matters were still in a state of transition.
Even this great work appears somewhat sketchy as compared
with the Summae that originated in the following century,
but it marked a decided advance along the lines traced out
by Abelard. It soon became the favorite text-book of the
schools, and remained so till the end of the sixteenth century,
when it yielded its place to the Summa of St. Thomas.
Nearly all the great Scholastics wrote commentaries on its
text, of which more than three hundred are still extant. The
following is a brief sketch of its contents and the method of
discussion adopted by the author.
Adhering rather closely to the general outline of systematic
theology as found in the De Doctrina Christiana of St. Au
gustine,11 Peter divided his subject matter into res and signa
— realities and signs.12 The res are subdivided into realities
that are the object of fruition, and realities that are intended
for use. The former are contained in the triune God as the
summa res, the latter comprise the world and all created
things. By signs are understood those religious observances,
ceremonies, and rites, which symbolize something beyond their
own constituent elements. They are of two kinds: Those
which only symbolize that of which they are signs, and those
which actually confer what they symbolize. To the former
class belonged the sacraments of the Old Law, the latter class
is made up of the sacraments of the New Law. This division
is, however, only imperfectly carried through in the body of
the work, especially as regards the signa; hence St. Thomas
points out that the real principle of divisions underlying the
Sentences is God as principium and finis — God as the source
whence all creatures come, and God as the end to which all
creatures must return.13
11 Op. cit. 1,2. 13 In Sent. I, d. 2 : Divisio Textus.
12 Sent. I, d. i, c. 1-2.
io INTRODUCTION
The body of the work is divided into four books. The
first contains the teaching of the Church on the Blessed Trin
ity. The principal points discussed are : The existence of
the mystery (d. 2-34), the generation of the Son (d. 4-91),
the procession of the Holy Spirit (d. 10-18), the equality
and circuminsession of the three divine persons (d. 19-21).
Then follows a discussion on Trinitarian terminology (d.
22-26, 30), personal properties (d. 27-29, 33), and appropria
tions (d. 31-32, 34). The remainder of the first book treats
of the attributes of God in reference to the world : omni
science, omnipresence, providence, predestination (d. 35-41).
omnipotence (d. 42-44), and finally the will of God (45-48).
The second book treats of creation. The first part is de
voted to a discussion of the Church's teaching on the angels
(d. i-n) : their nature and endowments (d. 3-4), probation
and fall (d. 5-7), evil spirits and good angels in their relation
to the world (d. 8, 9-11). Then the creation of the ma
terial world is considered, the hexaemeron (d. 12-15), crea
tion of man (d. 16-20). This is followed by treatises on the
fall of our first parents (d. 21-23), on grace and free will
(d. 24-29), on original sin (d. 30-44).
The third book has for subject-matter the Incarnation, in
fused virtues, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The points
considered in reference to the Incarnation are: The mys
tery and its causes (d. 1-5), the properties of the God-Man
(d. 6— 16), the work of redemption (d. 17-22). The second
part discusses the theological virtues (d. 23-32), the cardinal
virtues (d. 33), the gifts of the Holy Ghost (d. 34-35), the
relation of the virtues (d. 36), and the law of the Old and
New Covenant (d. 37-40).
The fourth book contains the theology of the sacraments
(d. 1-42), and eschatology (d. 43-50).
The exposition runs on freely, without much attention to
the Videtur quod, the Videtur quod non, and the strictly syl
logistic forms of argumentation found in the works of later
Scholastics. However, instead of simply citing a series of
texts for and against a given point of doctrine, as Abelard
had done in his Sic-et-Non, Peter usually interweaves with his
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM n
authorities his own speculations, though not to the same ex
tent as the authors who wrote about a century later.
Among the Lombard's immediate successors must be men
tioned Peter of Poitiers ( + 1205), who left a Summa di
vided into five books : Alanus of Lille, whose Apologia Chris
tiana, De Arte sen Articnlis Fidel, and Regnlae Theologicae
bear witness to his dialectical skill as well as to his theological
learning; William of Auxerre (-(-1230), author of the
Summa Aurea, in four books, in which a strictly logical
method is followed; William of Auvergne ( + 1248), also
called Parisiensis, whose treatises De Fide, De Trinitate, De
Causis, Cur Deus Homo, De Anima, De Sacramentis, form
the greatest achievement in Scholasticism prior to the Sum-
mae of Alexander Halensis and Thomas Aquinas.
Side by side with the Lombard and his disciples worked
the representatives of mysticism, which had found a home in
the Abbey of St. Victor at Paris. The best known writers
of this school, commonly called the Victorines, are Hugh
( + 1141), Richard ( + 1173), and Walter (+c. 1190). To
the " Credo ut intelligam " and the " Intelligo ut credam,"
they added a third principle, " Amo ut intelligam." They all
strongly emphasized the insufficiency of reason for the proper
study of things divine, but it is especially in the works of
Walter that opposition to speculative learning is carried to
great length. For him dialectics are simply " the devil's art."
In a work commonly cited under the title In Quatuor Laby-
rinthos Franciae he denounces Abelard, Peter Lombard,
Peter of Poitiers, and Gilbert de la Porree as heretics because
they had treated with " Scholastic levity " the mysteries of
the Trinity and the Incarnation. However, the opposition of
the Victorines to dialectical reasoning had no effect in check
ing the rapid development of the Scholastic method.
B — THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM
A powerful impulse to the further development of Scholas
ticism was derived from the contact of the West with eastern
learning during the Crusades. For although the East no
12 INTRODUCTION
longer played a part in the development of doctrine, it was
nevertheless the storehouse of earlier Patristic lore. Besides,
it was there that the philosophy of Aristotle had been pre
served from utter oblivion. The first Scholastics were fa
miliar only with the Categories and the De Interpretation —
the Dialeetiea Vetus — of the Stagirite. Then in the first
half of the twelfth century the whole" Organon — the Dia
lectica Nova — was made available for school purposes in
its translation by John of Venice. But it was not until a
century later that all of Aristotle's works, Physics, Meta
physics, and Ethics, became known to the Christian scholars
of the West. And yet it was upon the knowledge of these
works that the progress of Scholasticism largely depended.
Unfortunately, it was an adulterated Aristotelian philoso
phy that was thus introduced into western lands. After the
sixth century, when Justinian banished the Athenian philoso
phers, Aristotelianism had found a home in Syria, and there,
in the course of time, the philosophers of Islam corrupted the
original text to suit their own religious views. Neoplatonic
pantheism, the unity of the active intellect, the denial of per
sonal immortality, the principle that what is true in philoso
phy may be false in theology, were some of the many Ma
hometan errors interwoven with the teaching of the Stagirite.
And it was this corrupted Aristotle that was then introduced
into the schools of Christian Europe.
Hence it was that the Church took at first an antagonistic
stand in reference to Aristotelian philosophy, and more espe
cially to its use in theological speculations. In 1210, a pro
vincial synod of Paris ruled : Nee libri Aristotelis de naturali
philosophic,, nee comnicnta (Averroes) legantur Pansiis pub-
lice vel secreto, et hoc sub poena excommunication-is inhibe-
miis.1* The prohibition was renewed in 1215 by the legate
Robert: Non legantur libri Aristotelis de Metaphysica et de
naturali philosophia, nee Summae de eisdem.15 In 1231,
Pope Gregory IX modified this ruling by adding: Quousque
examinati fuerint et ab onini errorum suspicione purgati.iQ
" Chartul. Univ. Paris. I, 70. 16 Ibid. I, 138.
is Ibid. I, 79.
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM 13
With this proviso, the faculty of arts of the University of
Paris, 1255, placed the writings of Aristotle on the list of
books that must be read by the students. Finally, when
about this time the Dominican William of Moerbeke, at the
request of Thomas Aquinas, translated the wrorks of Aristotle
anew from the original text, all opposition on the part of the
Church was withdrawn. It was then that Aristotle became to
the Scholastics simply the Philosopher.
The second period of Scholasticism is coincident with the
rise and first spread of the mendicant orders whose teaching
members soon became its most distinguished representatives.
There was also a gradual shifting of the centers of Scholas
tic activities. During the first period some of the principal
seats of learning had been Tours, Rheims, Laon, Auxerre,
and Chartres, in France; Fulda and Reichenau in Germany;
Utrecht, Liege, Tournai, and St. Laurent, in the Low Coun
tries. In the second period most of these lost their im
portance, chiefly owing to the rapid growth of the University
of Paris. This latter drew nearly all the most famous teach
ers, and consequently vast numbers of students, to its schools.
Next to Paris, Oxford, Cologne, Naples, and Bologna became
famous during the golden age of Scholasticism.
A word may be said here about the methods of teaching
that became more or less universal after the beginning of the
thirteenth century. There were two principal forms, lectures
and disputations. The lecture usually consisted in a running
commentary on some text which the magister took as a basis
of his instruction. In theology the first text was the Bible,
which was studied from the literal standpoint, little or no
attention being given to the scientific exegesis of the text.
Then came the Sentences of the Lombard, which were an
alyzed, explained, and developed. This was followed by a
thorough study and scientific exposition of the Sacred Scrip
tures. It was usually after having spent some years in work
ing out and delivering this last form of lectures that the
magister would gather together the ripe fruit of his many
studies in a Swnma, or a systematic presentation of the whole
of theology.
i4 INTRODUCTION
The disputations were of two kinds: the disputationes or-
dinariae, which turned about the subject-matter of the lectures,
and formed a part of the ordinary curriculum; and the dispu
tationes generates de quolibet, which usually occurred twice
a year, at Easter and Christmas. In these latter the topics
discussed were exceedingly varied ; masters, students, and any
of the auditors being free to propose questions. To the dif
ficulties thus proposed, either the presiding master, or a bach
elor in theology under his guidance, would then and there
give a detailed solution. Then, on some subsequent day,
the master himself would give his determinatio , that is, sum
up and arrange in their proper order the various questions
and difficulties dealt with, and at the end give definite and
final replies. It was chiefly from these determinations, or
closing exercises of the disputations, that the numerous quod-
lib eta of the Schoolmen originated.17 This accounts for the
many trifling and irrelevant questions discussed in their pages.
The first great master of the second period of Scholasticism,
who may in fact be said to have inaugurated it, was Alexander
of TJales (Halensis), Doctor Irrefragabilis. He was an
Englishman, born at Hales in Northumbria. At first he
taught as a secular priest at the University of Paris, but in
1225 he entered the Franciscan order. Although up to that
time no religious had ever taught at the University, he was
nevertheless allowed to retain his chair and continued teach
ing until his death in 1245. He was as much revered for his
piety as he was respected on account of his learning.
Besides many exegetical writings, Alexander composed a
Sunima Theologica, most probably at the suggestion of Pope
Innocent IV. In depth of thought and sublimity of ideas it
17 The modus procedendi in the mentorum et quaestionum, tertio
theological schools of the time is supponetur tectum solutionum et
thus outlined by Peter of Capua, rationum, ut quod in domo Dei
who wrote in the thirteenth cen- auctoritas quasi certum proponit,
tury : " Modus autem tractandi argumentatio sive quaestio discu-
quaestiones theologicas secundum tiat, solutio sive ratio elucidet et
Magistrum talis est. Primo jaci- clarum reddat." Cfr. Grabmann,
etur fundamentnm auctoritatum, Die Geschichte der Scholastischen
secundo erigentur parietes argu- Methode, II. 532.
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM 15
may almost be compared with the corresponding work of St.
Thomas, but in precision of reasoning and finish of expres
sion it falls short of that masterpiece of the Schools. It was
the first real theological Summa ever written, and, in respect
of voluminousness, also the greatest. Still largely Platonic
in speculation, but at the same time Aristotelian in method,
it forms an easy transition from the theology of the twelfth
to that of the thirteenth century. It is the original type of
what afterwards became known as Franciscan theology.
Like the Sentences of the Lombard, the Summa of Alex
ander is divided into four parts, each of which is subdivided
into quaestiones, these into membra, and the membra into
articuli. The first part contains seventy-four quaestiones,
treating of God, His existence, His attributes, and the Trinity.
The second, comprising one hundred and eighty-nine quaes
tiones, investigates the subject of creation, of angels
and men, and of sin. The third, in eighty-three quaes
tiones, has for its subject-matter the Incarnation, the per
son of Christ, the redemption, and grace. The fourth,
numbering one hundred and fourteen quaestiones, sets forth
the author's teaching on the sacraments. These several divi
sions embrace the whole of theology, both dogmatic and
moral. The treatment, though not quite as formal, is prac
tically the same as that followed later on by St. Thomas, be
ing more or less a development of the Sic-et-non method of
Abelard. Usually the article begins with a Videtur quod
non, followed by a number of Items. Then comes the Sed
contra, in its turn followed by the Resolutio, or Corpus, and
lastly the Ad primum, Ad secundum, etc.
The work of Alexander was continued by St. Bonaventure
(1221-1274), who, though probably not a pupil of trie Doc-
tor Irrefragabilis, was nevertheless thoroughly imbued with
his spirit. Besides his large Commentary on the Sentences
and another one on Holy Scripture, he composed a compendi
ous Summa, entitled Breviloquium Theologicae Veritatis,
which is considered the best presentation of the theology of
those times. His Itinerarium Mentis ad Deum and his many
mystical writings are also held in great repute, while in his
16 INTRODUCTION
Centiloquium he has presented the world with a new and
original Summa Sententiariim. Bonaventure and Alexander
have been officially proclaimed by the Franciscans as the two
great doctors of their order.
Towards the middle of the thirteenth century a powerful
impulse was given to the further development of Franciscan
theology by Robert Grosseteste ( + 1253), chancellor of the
University of Oxford and later on bishop of Lincoln. Though
not a Franciscan himself, he was a devoted friend and influ
ential protector of the order. In his teaching and writings
he usually followed the lead of Alexander of Hales. The
best known of his works are his Commentarius in Mysticam
Theologiam S. Dionysii and his Dicta Theologica. The lat
ter contains discussions on one hundred and forty-seven dif
ferent theological topics. He also wrote a Summa, but it is
extant only in manuscript.
Another light at Oxford was Richard Middleton (Media-
villa), an English Franciscan ( + 1300), who wrote an ex
cellent Commentary on the Sentences, and also a volume of
Quodlibeta. Of all the Franciscan theologians, he approaches
most closely to the method, viewpoint, and perspicuity of St.
Thomas, although he attacked the latter on several points of
doctrine.
Closely allied with the Franciscan school, though not ex
actly a follower of it, was Henry of CVient (Gandavensis),
at first a secular priest and later on a member of the Servite
order ( + 1293). He was a pupil of Albertus Magnus, but
an independent genius and at -times somewhat erratic. Freer
in method and form than St. Thomas, he was almost his
equal in depth of thought and wealth of ideas. The best
known of his works is his folio volume of Quodlibeta, but
his genius appears to better advantage in his Summa; of this,
however, only the first part is complete.
The Dominican school of theology properly begins with
Albertus Magnus (1193-1280). He was, however, more of
a philosopher and scientist than a theologian, and his chief
merit consists in having popularized the philosophy of Aris
totle. In theological knowledge, systematic treatment, and
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM 17
clearness of exposition, he falls short of Alexander of Hales,
and is in the same respects far surpassed by his pupil Thomas
Aquinas. He began his dogmatic writings between 1240 and
1250, with a complete commentary on all the works of the
Pseudo-Areopagite and on the Sentences of Peter Lombard.
In his old age he composed a Summa, of which, however, only
the first and second parts were completed. In this he supple
ments to some extent the Summa of St. Thomas. Earlier in
life he wrote a Summa de Creaturis, which corresponds to
the Summa contra Gentiles of St. Thomas. Besides these
works, he also wrote a commentary on the four Gospels and
nearly all the Prophets, and numerous homiletic and ascetic
treatises.
Scholasticism reached its highest perfection in Thomas
pupil of Albertus Magnus (1225-1274). In ac-
curate knowledge of Scripture and tradition, in depth of
thought, wealth of ideas, clearness of expression, and orderli
ness of treatment he is facile princeps. He ranges over the
whole field of philosophy and theology, apologetics and exe
gesis, and proves himself a master in every subject fee treats.
His principle works are the following:
i°. His Commentum in Quatuor Libros Sententiarum.
This he wrote during his first years of teaching, and on many
points of doctrine advanced in it he later changed his mind.
Yet the clear explanation of the text and the organically ar
ranged exposition of particular doctrines already reveal the
mind of a master.
2°. The Quaestiones Disputatae, a collection of extensive
monographs on the more important topics of theology and
philosophy. There are in all sixty-three quaestiones, divided
into four hundred articuli. In many respects they constitute
his best work and contain the key to a right understanding of
his Summa Theologica. They are all gathered under the gen
eral titles De Potentia, De Malo, De Spiritualibus Creaturis,
De Virtutibus, De Veritate. In reference to their contents
they might perhaps be better divided into the treatises De
Ente et Potentia, De Veritate et Cognitione, De Bono et Ap-
petitu, and thus they would form a complete system of on-
i8 INTRODUCTION
tology, epistemology, and ethics. The treatment is both
philosophical and theological, according to the demands of
the subject-matter. God, the Trinity, creation, the Incarna
tion, free will, grace, virtues, and sin are some of the chief
theological subjects discussed.
3°. Summa contra Gentiles. This is in contents mainly a
philosophical work, written against the errors of the day; but
the topics treated have in one way or another a bearing upon
theology, and some of them are strictly theological. It has
been said that in no other human work is there such a wealth
of ideas compressed into so small a compass. It is divided
into four parts. The first two treat of the essence and exist
ence of God and of creatures ; the third discusses the tendency
of creatures towards God and their union with Him; the
fourth takes in theological subjects in one way or another
connected with this tendency and union, as the Trinity, orig
inal sin, the Incarnation, the sacraments, and the resurrection
of the dead. In this last part the arguments are chiefly drawn
from Holy Scripture. The treatment is not dialectic, as is
that of the Summa Theologica, but thetic. An excellent com
mentary on this monumental work was written towards the
end of the fifteenth century by the Dominican Franciscus of
Ferrara, usually cited as Ferrariensis.
4°. The principal work of St. Thomas, at least for theo
logical purposes, is his Summa Theologica. It was com
posed towards the end of his life, for the purpose, as he states
in the prologue, of putting into the hands of theological stu
dents a compendious presentation of the whole of Christian
theology. However, like most other Swnmae, it was never
completed, death putting an end to his labors whilst he was
engaged on the third part. It ends abruptly in the middle of
the treatise on the sacrament of penance. This Summa is
divided into three parts. The first part corresponds to our
treatises De Deo Uno et Trino and De Deo Creante et Ele
gante; the second, which is subdivided into Prima et Secunda
Secundae, treats of the tendency of rational creatures towards
God, thus roughly corresponding to our treatises De Gratia
and De Virtutibus, but it is at once dogmatic and moral ; the
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM 19
third part has for its subject-matter the Incarnation, the per
son of Christ, and the means of grace, containing therefore
the same matter as our treatises De Verbo Incarnato and De
Sacramentis.
In treatment the Summa Theologica is strictly dialectic.
Each part is divided into quaestiones, and each quaestio into
articuli. The articulus invariably begins with a statement of
the chief difficulties against the doctrine to be proved, em
bodied either in a Videtur quod non or a Videtur quod. Then
comes the argument for the doctrine under discussion, intro
duced by the phrase Sed contra. This is followed by the
corpus, the Dicendum quod, or exposition of the doctrine in
question. Lastly, the difficulties proposed in the beginning
of the articulus are answered in due order, Ad primum, Ad
secundum, etc. As an organic whole, the Summa may be
gathered up in this one phrase: Ex Deo per Christum in
Deum, thus making God the beginning and end of all things.
5°. Besides these various works, St. Thomas began also a
Compendium Theologiae, in which, following the footsteps
of St. Augustine, he intended to explain the contents of reve
lation in reference to the three theological virtues, faith, hope,
and charity; but only the first part is complete. The Ex-
positio Symboli Apostolorum and the Expositio Primae
Decretalis (Caput .Firmiter, IV Lateranensis) are also valu
able productions of his busy pen. To these must be added
his Commentarii in Sacram Scripturam, his Quaestiones
Quodlibetales Duodecim, and some minor works.
While St. Thomas stood thus head and shoulders above his
contemporaries, several of his doctrines, especially that of the
unity of the substantial form in man, aroused violent opposi
tion on the part of his confreres in the order of St. Dominic,
even as other points of doctrine brought him into conflict with
the followers of the Franciscan school. Of his Dominican
opponents the most prominent were Roland of Cremona,
Richard Fitzacre, and Robert Kilwardby. Owing to the in
fluence of the latter, who was archbishop of Canterbury, the
University of Oxford carried its opposition to Thomism so
far as to censure as dangerous the denial of the rationes
20 INTRODUCTION
seminales and the doctrine of the unity of the substantial
form in man. This occurred in 1277, three years after the
saint's death; but the following year the general chapter of
the order put a stop to the opposition in its own ranks, by
decreeing severe penalties against those brethren " qui in
scandalum ordinis detraxerunt scriptis venerabilis Patris
Fratris Thomse de Aquino."
But this authoritative coercion did not affect the Francis
cans, who made common cause with the discontented Domini
cans. Chief among them were William de la Mare, author
of the Correptorium Fratris Thomae; Richard of Middleton,
who was appointed to the Franciscan chair at Paris in 1281 ;
John Peckham, who, after teaching at Paris, was chosen to
succeed Kilwardby in the see of Canterbury; and Peter John
Olivi, who in 1283 was condemned on account of his unortho
dox teaching on religious poverty.18
This opposition, however, was as shortlived as it was vio
lent. The number and influence of the defenders of St.
Thomas grew steadily as time went on. First among these
were Ulrich of Strasburg, a disciple of Albertus Magnus;
Bernard of Hotun, bishop of Dublin; William Mackelfield,
who taught at Oxford; the Augustinian Aegidius Romanus,
Doctor Fundatissimus; Peter of Auvergne, and Godfrey of
Fontaines; all of whom wrote towards the end of the thir
teenth or during the first part of the fourteenth century.
18 The state of mind which gave ris Alexandri et fratris Bonaven-
rise to this opposition on the part turae et consimilium, qui in suis
of the Franciscans appears from tractatibus ab pmni calumnia alieni
the words of Peckham : " Quod sanctis et philosophis innituntur,
philosophorum studia minime rep- vel ilia novella quasi tota contraria,
robamus, quatenus mysteriis theo- quae quidquid docet Augustinus de
logicis famulantur, sed profanas regulis aeternis, de luce incommu-
vocum novitates, quae contra philo- tabili, de potentia animae, de ra-
sophicam veritatem sunt in Sane- tionibus seminalibus inditis materiae
torum injuriam citra viginti annos et consimilibus innumeris, destruit
in altitudines theologicas intro- pro viribus et enervat, pugnas ver-
ductae, abjectis et vilipensis Sane- borum inferens _ toti mundo." It
torum assertionibus evidenter. was the opposition of the old
Quae sit ergo solidior et sanior Platonizing theology to the new
doctrina, vel filiorum Beati Fran- Aristotelian method and world-as-
cisci, sanctae scilicet memoriae f rat- pect.
GOLDEN AGE OF SCHOLASTICISM 21
After that the opposition practically ceased, although outside
the Dominican order the different theological schools con
tinued to defend their own views.
With St. Thomas Scholasticism reached the height of its
development, and in less than a half a century after his death
it began to decline. At the very beginning of this decline,
though still belonging to the golden age of Scholasticism, ap
peared Duns Scotus (1266-1308)1 the Doctor Subtilis. He
was a disciple of William Ware, tne successor of de la Mare
both in his chair of theology and in his opposition to Thom-
ism. That Scotus was an intellectual giant, who boldly tackled
even the most abstruse problems, is universally conceded; but
at the same time he is not rarely accused of having used his
extraordinary talents in tearing down rather than in build
ing up. His was an analytical mind, and as a natural con
sequence he found much to criticize in the works of his prede
cessors and contemporaries. As a general rule, however, his
criticism was objective, resulting from the keenness of his
intellectual perceptions and not from an innate tendency to
find fault. Unlike the great masters who preceded him, he
wrote no commentary on Holy Scripture, and as a result the
positive basis of his teaching is at times lacking in broadness
and in depth. He was a man of intense piety, and also of
most sincere orthodoxy, although he came occasionally very
near the danger line in the logical trend of his reasoning.
The principal work of Scotus is his Commentary on the
Sentences (Opus Oxoniense), written whilst he was teaching
at Oxford. This is completed by the Reportata Parisiensia3
in part compiled from the notes taken down by his pupils at
Paris. He also published a number of Quaestiones Quod-
libetales, and some Opuscula, treating of metaphysical topics.
His reasoning is always clear, but is not as direct as that
found in the works of St. Thomas. Besides, his profuse
critical remarks make the study of his writings somewhat of
a task. Owing perhaps to his critical attitude, he failed to
work out a well-connected theological system, although he
covered practically the whole field of theology. He is the
founder of the Neo-Franciscan or Scotistic school of the-
22 INTRODUCTION
ology, which occupies an honorable position in the theological
world. In substance, however, this school does not differ
very much from that founded by Alexander of Hales and
developed by St. Bonaventure.
C — DECLINE OF SCHOLASTICISM
After the death of Scotus, in 1308, the decline of Scholas
ticism was very rapid. Men wholly devoid of his intellectual
powers, and in many instances sadly lacking in orthodox in
stincts, tried to imitate him in criticizing the theology of the
past, with the inevitable result that they wasted their time and
energy in the discussion of meaningless subtleties, and thus
drew down the contempt of the world upon Scholasticism it
self. It was not a question of the times having outgrown
the system, as is frequently maintained; but of the system
being too big for the times. The strong faith, the profound
sense of the supernatural, and the prayerful intellectuality
of the Middle Ages were on the wane, and deprived of these
the fertile fields of Scholasticism were doomed to be changed
into a barren waste. Empty sounds were made to function as
ideas, very much as made-money is substituted for gold at
times of national distress. An outward show of learning
was maintained, but its substance had vanished.
It was in this condition of intellectual destitution and re
ligious atrophy that nominalism, or terminism, as others pre
fer to call it, began to flourish in the schools. This was a
modified form of the nominalism of ancient Greece, which
had sporadically cropped out in various quarters during the
Middle Ages. In the second .half of the fourteenth century,
and still more so in the fifteenth, it threatened to drive moder
ate realism entirely from the field. Its first influential repre
sentative was William Ockarn ( + 1347), for whom the way
had already been prepared by Durandus of St. Pourgain
( + 1332). Strictly speaking he was a conceptualist rather
than a nominalist, in as much as he defined the universal as
" an intention of the mind," but to all intents and purposes
this is a distinction without a difference. Like a thorough-
DECLINE OF SCHOLASTICISM 23
going nominalist, he maintained that propositions, not things,
are the object of all scientific knowledge, and consequently
also of theology. Scientia quaelibet, sive sit realis sive ra-
tionalis, est tantum de propositionibus tanquam de illis quae
sciuntur, quod solae propositions sciuntur.19 And again:
Omne enim universale est intentio animae, vel aliquod signum
voluntarie instiiutum -tale. . . . Universale non est aliquid
extra animam; et cerium est quod non sit nihil; ergo est ali
quid in anima, . . . non objective tamen, . . . ergo subject
ive et per consequens est qualitas mentis.20
The inevitable result of thus operating with merely sub
jective concepts, and equivalently with empty sounds, soon
showed itself in an unwarranted distrust of the mind's rea
soning powers in the attainment of truth. Such religious
truths as the existence, unity, and infinity of God, the imme
diate creation of the universe by the Deity, the immortality
of the soul, and many others, which the great teachers of the
thirteenth century had proved by arguments drawn from
natural principles, were held to be undemonstrable and there
fore entirely relegated to the sphere of faith. On the other
hand, the role of dialectics was unduly emphasized, and in
course of time developed into mere logic-chopping. Along
with this, new words and terms were constantly introduced,
and before long the language of the schools became a jumble
of outrageous barbarisms.
Ockam's work was continued by men like Gregory of
Rimini, Robert Holcot, John Buridan, and Peter d'Ailly. Of
these it was especially John Buridan who contributed power
fully to the success of terminism. As rector of the Univer
sity of Paris, he wielded a wide influence, and during a quar
ter of a century he defended Ockam's teaching with great
skill and boldness. After his time Ockamism spread very
rapidly. Even Gabriel Biel ( + 1495), a man °f great talent
and sometimes called " the Last of the Scholastics," had noth
ing better to offer his pupils than a Collectorium ex Occamo.
Outside the terminist school there were indeed a few earnest
19 In I Sent. d. 2, q. 4, o. 20 Quod. lib. V, 12, 13.
24 INTRODUCTION
and learned men who strove to preserve the glorious tradi
tions of the thirteenth century, but they were not of sufficient
influence to meet with permanent success.
This condition of things continued till the Council of Trent,
when men like de Vittoria, de Soto, Salmeron, Toletus, and
many others ushered in a second spring of Scholasticism.
The revival was very rapid, and by the end of the sixteenth
century theological learning had reached a state of perfection
that was almost unprecedented. It was the classical age of
Neo-Scholasticism, followed by the age of the " Epigones,"
in both of which the great masters of the thirteen century
seemed to have come back to life. Of this, however, it will
be better to give a brief outline later on in its own proper
place.
D — SOURCES OF ARGUMENTS
The work of the Fathers consisted primarily in proposing
the faith as they found it contained in Holy Scripture and
tradition, while the efforts of the Scholastics were largely di
rected towards placing this faith on a rational basis. Hence
the writings of the Fathers are above all else practical, whereas
those of the Scholastics are chiefly speculative. The latter no
less than the former accepted St. Augustine's " Crede, ut
intelligas," but they placed a greater emphasis upon his " In-
tellige, ut credas." During this period, therefore, our study
of the development of dogmas must to a considerable extent
be occupied with reviewing the arguments by which the great
masters established the various doctrines of the Christian faith.
These arguments were drawn chiefly from three different
sources : natural reason, tradition, and Holy Scripture. Those
drawn from natural reason were used for a threefold purpose:
First, to prove the existence of God and of revelation, or to
establish the praeambula fidei, without a clear apprehension of
which supernatural faith would be impossible; secondly, to
demonstrate those points of faith that could be deduced from
natural principles, as, for instance, the immortality of the soul ;
thirdly, to confirm supernatural truths that had been proved by
arguments taken from revelation. In this latter instance they
SOURCES OF ARGUMENTS 25
were not advanced as conclusive proofs, but simply as rationes
congruentiae , that is, as arguments which were put forward to
show a certain degree of conformity between the revealed
truths in question and the demands of right reason.
Referring to the first purpose which these arguments from
reason were meant to subserve, St. Thomas states : " It is
evident that faith flows from two sources : First, from God,
by reason of an interior enlightenment upon which the assent
of the intellect is made to rest; secondly, from the manner in
which revealed truths are presented to the mind as objects to be
believed. This presentation is related to the knowledge of
faith in a manner similar to that in which sense perceptions
are related to the cognition of first principles." 21 It is not,
strictly speaking, the foundation of faith, but a prerequisite
condition.
Tradition, as a source of theological arguments, was regarded
by the Scholastics under a twofold aspect: First, as identified
with the viiwm magisterium Ecclesiae — the teaching authority
of the Church herself, as exercised in each succeeding age
through her legitimate representatives, that is, either the Pope
alone or the bishops in union with the Pope. Taken in this
sense, tradition was universally held to speak with an infall
ible voice, so that the truths thus borne witness to could not
be rejected without an error in faith. In the second place,
tradition was not rarely understood as synonymous with the
teaching of the Saints or of the Fathers, either as presenting
the views of individual Patristic writers or as embodying what
was more or less commonly held by them as a class. Thus
considered, the authority of tradition was again accepted as
final, provided it could be shown that the consent of the
Fathers regarding a point of faith or morals was practically
unanimous. In other cases it was indeed commonly regarded
with profound respect, but not as necessarily precluding de
viation from the view in question. Thus it sometimes hap
pened that the Scholastics set aside the opinions of individual
Patristic writers, yet in so doing they always proceeded cau
tiously and with evident reluctance.
21 In Boeth. de Trin. op. 63, q. 3, a. i ad 4m.
26 INTRODUCTION
The third source of theological arguments, or Holy Scrip
ture as interpreted by the Church, was looked upon by the
Scholastics as having the very highest authority. And the
reason is that the Sacred Writings were accepted by all of
them as God's word, which was held to carry with it the full
authority of His essential truthfulness. " The author of Holy
Scripture," says St. Thomas, " is God, and the human writer
acts merely as His instrument. For other branches of learn
ing are the fruit of human genius, but what is contained in
Holy Scripture is the result of divine inspiration." 22 And
this teaching of the Angelic Doctor agrees in substance with
the views commonly held in the schools of the Middle Ages.
Nearly all the Scholastics admitted a fourfold sense in the
interpretation of Holy Scripture — the literal, the allegorical,
the moral, and the anagogical; but it was from the literal sense
only that they drew their dogmatic arguments.23
The respective values of the arguments derived from the
three sources mentioned in the preceding paragraphs — natural
reason, tradition, and Holy Scripture — are thus indicated by
St. Thomas : " Sacred doctrine is especially based upon argu
ments from authority, in as much as its principles are obtained
by revelation : . . . but it has also recourse to human reason,
not, indeed, to prove faith (for thereby the merit of faith
would come to an end), but to make clear other things that
are put forward in this doctrine. Since grace does not destroy
nature, but perfects it, natural reason should minister to faith
as the natural bent of the will ministers to charity. . . . Con
sequently, sacred doctrine makes use also of the authority of
philosophers in those questions in which they were able to
know the truth by natural reason. . . . Nevertheless, sacred
doctrine has recourse to these authorities only as extrinsic
and probable arguments; but appositely uses the authority of
the canonical Scriptures as an incontrovertible proof, and the
authority of the Doctors of the Church as one that may prop
erly be used, yet merely as probable. For our faith rests upon
22 Sum. Theol. I, q. i, a. 10; 23 Cf r. Thomas, Quodl. 7, a. 14,
Quodl. 7, a, 16; Proem. Comment. 15; Halens. Sum. I, q. i, m. 4, a. 4;
in Psalmos. Albert. Magn. In Sent. I, d. i, a. 5.
SOURCES OF ARGUMENTS 27
the revelation made to the Apostles and Prophets, who wrote
the canonical books, and not on the revelations (if any such
there are) made to other Doctors." 24
The need there is of supernatural revelation, in order to
bring about the salvation of men, is thus explained by the same
author: "It was necessary for man's salvation that there
should be a knowledge revealed by God, besides philosophical
science built up by human reason. Firstly, indeed, because
man is ordained to God, as to an end that surpasses the grasp
of his reason. . . . But the end must first be known by men
who are to direct their thoughts and actions to its attainment.
Hence it was necessary for the salvation of man that certain
truths, which exceed human reason, should be made known to
him by divine revelation. Moreover, even as regards those
truths about God which human reason could have discovered,
there was need of their being taught by the revelation of God ;
because otherwise they would be known only by a few, and
that after a long time, and with the admixture of many errors :
whereas man's whole salvation, which is in God, depends upon
the knowledge of these truths. Therefore, in order that the
salvation of men might be brought about more fitly and more
surely, it was necessary that they should be taught certain
truths by divine revelation." 25
a* Sum. Theol. I, q. I, a. 8. 25 Ibid. I, q. i, a. i.
CHAPTER I
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD : GOD'S ESSENCE
In tracing up the doctrinal development that took place
during the Middle Ages, it appears advisable to arrange the
various topics of dogmatic interest in the same order that is
commonly observed in modern textbooks of theology. For
thereby is secured that continuity of thought with which mod
ern students are most familiar. This requires, indeed, some
rearrangement of the subject-matter as treated by the School
men, but only to a limited extent; because most modern
authors retain the order of treatment established by the theo
logians of the Middle Ages. Furthermore, it is hardly neces
sary to remark, as the point is sufficiently obvious, that in the
study of mediaeval theology the writings of the most rep
resentative Scholastics call for special consideration, and that
the works of less important writers need be studied in so far
only as they contain points of special interest to the history
of dogmas
A — THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
In all the great Summae, whatever be the date of their com
position, one of the first questions turns about the existence
of God. The old arguments made use of by the Apologists
of the second century, and incidentally also by many of the
later Fathers, were overhauled and scientifically examined.
The arguments from design, from the different degrees of
perfection, from the contingency of all finite beings, and from
the obvious necessity of a Causa Prima, were all investigated
and retained. Besides these, however, others also were ex
cogitated, as may be seen by referring, for instance, to the
Summa of Alexander of Hales.1
1 Op. cit. q. 2, m. 3.
29
30 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
An entirely new argument to prove the existence of God,
commonly called the ontological argument, was devised by St.
Anselm. He derived it from the idea of a being than which
none can be more perfect. This idea, he contended, is found
in the mind of every man who uses his reason, and from its
very presence there we may legitimately infer the objective
existence of such a being. For if it did not actually exist
outside of the thinking mind, we should have a contradiction
in terms. Because, on the one hand, our idea represents the
being in question as perfect in every respect, so that nothing
can be added to its perfection; yet on the other hand, if it
had no existence outside of our minds, it could obviously be
more perfect. Hence the necessary inference seems to be
that it has objective existence. And if so, then God exists:
because a being than which none can be more perfect is the in
finitely perfect God.2
Soon after its appearance the argument was attacked by
Gaunilo, a monk of Marmoutiers. As Anselm in formulating
it had alluded to the fool (insipiens) who, according to the
Psalmist, " hath said in his heart : There is no God," Gaun
ilo entitled his critique, Liber pro Insipiente. His refutation
of Anselm's reasoning is divided into two parts. First he
calls in question the author's assumption that the idea of a
most perfect being is found in the mind of every man who
uses his reason. That is something that can be asserted, but
nevertheless lacks convincing proof.3 Then he points out that
from the mere presence of an idea in the mind one is not en
titled to infer the existence of a corresponding object. Thus
if one has an idea of a most beautiful island, as situated some
where in the broad ocean, is that any reason why the island
should really exist? And so with the idea of a being than
which none can be more perfect.4
Anselm replied to this criticism in a Liber Apologeticus
contra Gaunilonem, in which he first thanks his adversary for
his criticism and then proceeds to defend his own position.
Most of the subsequent Scholastics refer to Anselm's onto-
2 Proslogium, c. 2; cfr. cc. I, 3. 3 Op. cit. c. 2. 4 Ibid. c. 6.
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 31
logical argument, but there is little agreement in their views
concerning its value. Alexander of Hales5 and St. Bona-
venture 6 seem inclined to accept it as conclusive, while St.
Thomas rejects it on the ground that it implies an unwar
ranted transition from the ideal order of things to the real.7
Scotus makes it his own, and endeavors to give it greater
strength.8 Some centuries later it was brought out in a dif
ferent form by Decartes and Leibnitz.
It was chiefly St. Thomas who cast the traditional proofs
for the existence of God in their present form. And in
this, as in many other matters that have a philosophical bear
ing, he drew largely on Aristotle. By way of forestalling
an obvious objection, suggested by the incomprehensibility of
the divine nature, he first points out that in order to prove
God's existence we need not have a perfect knowledge of His
essence. Objectively the two are indeed identical, but their
relation to the human mind is not the same. Hence whilst
God's essence can be known to us here on earth only im
perfectly, the same is not necessarily true of His existence.
For if we cannot strictly demonstrate, by the use of an
essential and convertible middle term, that God exists, \ve
can at least prove it by a reductio ad absurdum, in as much
as the supposition that there is no God necessarily leads to an
absurd conclusion. It is, therefore, a demonstratio quia, not
propter quid.
Having thus cleared the way, he advances five proofs for
the existence of God, which are calculated to satisfy every
reasonable mind. A brief outline of them may be indicated
as follows.
The first proof is taken from motion. It is evident to our
senses that some things are moved, that is, they pass from a
state of potentiality to a state of actuality. Now nothing
can be thus moved, except by something already in the state
of actuality. Thus wood, which is potentially hot, is made
actually hot by its contact with fire, which is actually hot.
5 Sum. Theol. I, q. 3, m. 3. 7 Sum. Theol. I, q. 2, a. 2 ; Contr.
6 In Sent. I, d. 3, q. 2. Gent. I, 3, 9.
8 In Libr. I Sent. d. 2, q. 2.
32 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
And so in every similar instance. This implies either a
processus in infinitum of beings that move and are moved,
or the existence of a being that moves and is not moved —
a Primum M ovens non mobile. The former supposition is
obviously repugnant to reason; hence the latter must be
admitted. But this First Mover, this Primum Movens non
mobile, every one understands to be God.
The second proof is drawn from the nature of efficient
causation, as observed in the world around us. Every ef
ficient cause produces an effect different from itself. There
is no cause that is self -productive, and the very concept of
such a cause implies an evident contradiction. Hence we
must admit either an infinite series of subordinated causes,
each one of which has been produced by a preceding one,
or an unproduced, self -existing First Cause. The former
supposition is evidently absurd. For if in efficient causes it
is possible to go on to infinity, there will be no first efficient
cause, neither will there be an ultimate effect, nor any inter
mediate efficient causes; all of which is plainly false. There
fore it is necessary to put forward a First Efficient Cause,
unproduced and self -existent, to which every one gives the
name of God.
The third proof follows from the contingency of all mun
dane things. Whatever there is in the world is of such a
nature that it can exist or not exist, as is quite obvious from
the observed fact of generation and corruption. Hence fol
lows the possibility that at some time there was nothing in
existence. And this being so, there would be nothing in
existence now, except on the supposition that beyond this
contingent world there is a being the existence of which is
necessary. This necessity of existence, moreover, cannot
come from without, since that would lead to an infinite series
of subordinate causes. Therefore we cannot but postulate
the existence of some being having of itself its own necessity,
and not receiving it from another, but rather causing in others
their necessity. This all men speak of as God.
The fourth proof is based upon the different degrees of
perfection in the various beings of which this world is made
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 33
up. Some are more and some are less good, true, noble,
and the like. But " more " and " less " are predicated of
different things according as they resemble and share in the
perfections of an absolute standard. For what is more com
plete in any genus is the cause of all in that genus. There
fore there must also be something which is to all beings the
cause of their being, goodness, and every other perfection;
and this we call God.
The fifth proof is taken from the governance of the world;
for we see that things which lack intelligence, such as natural
bodies, act for some purpose, which fact is evident from their
acting always, or nearly always, in the same way, so as to
obtain the best results. Hence it is plain that not fortuitously,
but designedly, do they achieve their purpose. Yet what
ever lacks intelligence cannot achieve a purpose unless it be
directed by some being endowed with intelligence and knowl
edge ; as the arrow is shot to its mark by the archer. There
fore some intelligent being exists by whom all natural things
are ordained towards a definite purpose; and this being we
call God.9
Duns Scotus reproduces these various proofs with some
modifications, pointing out as a final conclusion that the exist
ence of the world, both when considered in itself as a whole
and when viewed in the manifold relations of its several parts,
can be satisfactorily explained only by postulating the exist
ence of a being that is at once the efficient and exemplary
first cause, and also the final cause, of all else. And this
threefold cause is God.10
The force of these different arguments was first called
in question by Ockam, and after him by theologians of the
Nominalist school in general. Human reason, Ockam con
tends, is impotent to prove either the existence of God or
His infinite perfection.11 Both of these truths must be ac
cepted from revelation as contained in Holy Scripture and
proposed by the Church.12
9 Sum. Theol. I, q. 2, aa. 2, 3.; " Quodlib. VII, 17-21; II, I.
cfr. Contr. Gent. I, n, 12. 12 Ibid. Ill, I, 3.
10 In Sent. I, d. 2, 10 sqq.
34 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
In this contention the Nominalists placed themselves in
open opposition both to the teaching of Holy Scripture 13 and
to the unanimous consent of the Fathers.14 They, moreover,
prepared the way for the traditionalism and skepticism of
later ages, which received their final condemnation in the
Vatican Council.15
Leaving aside these vagaries of a decadent Scholasticism,
it may be said that with regard to the existence of God, and
the source of our knowledge concerning it, all the great teach
ers of the Scholastic period were in perfect agreement on
the following points:
i°. We can arrive at a certain knowledge of God's exist
ence without any supernatural revelation. As Albertus
Magnus expresses it, " the fact that God exists is not ex
clusively an article of the faith, but is presupposed to
every article." 16 True, God has revealed His own existence,
and in so far we know it from a supernatural source; but
antecedent to this knowledge of faith, we have of it a natural
knowledge, which properly belongs to the pracanibula fidei.11
2°. We acquire this natural knowledge of God indirectly,
that is, from a consideration of the world around us. The
proposition, " God exists," is indeed self-evident quoad se,
in as much as God is His own existence; but it is not self-
evident quoad nos, since we do not have a perfect knowledge
of God's essence.18 Hence the existence of God cannot be
demonstrated a priori, from the very concept of His being;
but it must be proved a posteriori, that is, from the effects
of which He alone can be the cause.19
3°. The immediate intuition of God's essence lies beyond
the unaided powers of all finite nature. Hence even the
writers of the mystic school of theological thought, of w^hich
the Victorines and St. Bonaventure are the best representa
tives, are careful to note that the divine illumination of which
13 Wisdom, 13, 1-9; Rom. I, 18- 17 St. Thorn. Sum. Theol. I, q. 2,
20. a. 2 ad i.
" Cf r. vol. I, pp. 70, 71 ; Ibid. 256 18 St. Thorn. Sum. Theol. I, q. 2,
sqq. a. 2.
15 Sess. Ill, de Revel, can. i. 19 Ibid.
16 Sum. Theol. tr. 3, q. 17.
THE EXISTENCE OF GOD 35
they frequently speak does not terminate at a facial vision
of God. " That refulgence of light," says St. Bonaventure,
" by the aid of which God is seen face to face, does not be
long to nature, but is a gift of divine condescension and
grace." 20 And in another place, when speaking of the
angels, he affirms that the intuitive vision of God is beyond
their natural powers. " And this," he says, " is evident, be
cause such a knowledge of God constitutes the first reward,
in the possession of which the created mind rests as in its
perfect beatitude. But this reward no one can obtain ex
cept by the help of a gratuitous gift of God." 21 Hence,
when some fifty years later, the Beguines and Beghards as
serted that " the soul has no need of being elevated by the
light of glory — lumine gloriae — in respect of the vision and
blessed fruition of God," the Council of Vienne, through the
mouth of Clement V, condemned their teaching as hereti
cal.22
4°. The knowledge of God and His existence is in no true
sense innate. Most of the Scholastics, as also the Fathers
before them, express themselves at times as if our knowledge
of God were inborn. Thus St. Thomas states : " To know
in a general and indefinite way that God exists is implanted
in us by nature, in as much as God is man's beatitude." 23
But thereby they did not mean to assert a real inborn knowl
edge of God. Hence St. Thomas, in his commentary on the
De Trinitate of Boethius, clearly states : " Our knowledge
of God is said to be inborn in as much as through our in
nate principles (of cognition) we can easily arrive at the
knowledge of God's existence." 24 What is inborn is not the
idea of God, but the rational faculty by the right use of
which we can readily discover God in His creatures. And
St. Bonaventure explains: "If any men of authority be
found to say that God can be seen and beheld in the present
life, they are not to be understood as teaching that He is
seen in His essence, but that He is known by some interior
20 Tn Sent. II, d. 3, p. 2, a. 2, q. 2. 23 Sum. Theol. I, q. 2, a. 2 ad i.
21 Ibid. 24 in Boeth. De Trin. q. I, a. 3,
22 Mansi, 25, 4ioA. ad 6.
36 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
effect produced by Him." 25 Later Ontologists appealed to
both of these writers as fathering their peculiar views, but
without just cause.
B — GOD'S ESSENCE
The various arguments made use of to demonstrate the
existence of God, as outlined in the preceding section, point
to Him as the efficient, final, and exemplary cause of the
world. This necessarily implies that He contains in Himself
all the perfections found in finite beings, possible as well as
actual, since in the physical order of things there can be
no perfection in any given effect which is not in some way
precontained in its cause. Hence some Scholastic theolo
gians, among whom is Duns Scotus,26 infer from these same
arguments that God is infinitely perfect; whilst others, as
St. Thomas,27 derive the infinite perfection of God from the
established fact that He is being itself. But on the fact
that God is infinitely perfect, all are agreed; and this fact
immediately gives rise to two questions : First, what is God's
essence? Second, what is the relation of the divine perfec
tions as referred to one another and to the Godhead?
The first question admits of two different answers, ac
cording as we consider God's essence as a physical or a meta
physical entity. Considered as a physical entity, the essence
of every being, and therefore also of God, is simply the sum
total of perfections which constitute the being in question,
aside from its accidents and relations. This is called the
physical essence, about which, as referred to God, there is
no difference of views among theologians. Considered as a
metaphysical entity, the essence of a being is that particular
perfection which is expressed in its essential definition. It
is conceived as the ontological principle from which all es
sential properties or attributes emanate. As applied to God,
and in our human way of considering the matter, it is that
25 In Sent. IT, d. 23, a. 2, q. 3.
26 In Sent. I, d. 2, n. 20, 25, 30; cfr. Quodl. q. 7, n. 31.
27 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 4, a. 2.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 37
divine perfection which is logically not derived from any
other, and from which all others are conceived to flow as
from their primary source. Theologians call it the meta
physical essence of God. It is with this that we are here con
cerned.
Patristic writers usually contented themselves with stating
that "God is being itself — not being in the abstract, but in
its very fullness; nor being in the passive sense, but as the
source and fountainhead of all activity." 28 They did not,
as a rule, enter into the particular aspects of the question
of God's being. Thus St. Chrysostom says : " That God
is without beginning and unbegotten and eternal, I know ; but
the manner of it all I do not know. For neither can it be
shown by arguments, how He is a substance which received
being neither from itself nor from another." 29 They pointed
out with considerable clearness that the divine nature is
necessarily unproduced, that God has the reason for His be
ing within Himself, but beyond that they did not venture.30
Nor did the earliest Scholastics go much deeper into the
subject, as it is here considered. Thus St. Anselm conceives
God as a being than which none can be more perfect;31 and
after pointing out that God does not depend for His being
on any cause outside of Himself, he states that the divine
substance is through itself and of itself, and that God's es
sence is identical with His existence.32 But he does not at
tempt to define what God's essence is. Nor is St. Bernard
much more explicit. He answers the question, Quid est
Dens? What is God? by saying: " Nothing occurs to the
mind that is more to the point than He Who Is. Goodness,
greatness, blessedness, wisdom, are all contained in the one
word, He Is.33 Hugh of St. Victor merely repeats the state
ment of St. Augustine that God does not produce Himself;34
and the same is true of Peter Lombard.35
28 Cf r. vol. I, p. 256 sqq. 31 Proslog. c. 2.
29 Horn. I, de Incompreh. Dei 32 Monol. c. 6.
Natnra, n. 3 ; MG, 48, 704. 33 De Consid. V, c. 6, n. 13.
30Cfr. August. De Trin. I, c. I, 34 Sent. I, tr. i, c. u.
n. i ; ML, 42, 820 ; Jerome, In Eph. 35 Sent. I, d. 3, n. 23 ; d. 5, n. i, 2.
3, 14 ; ML, 26, 489.
38 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Even the later commentators of the Lombard do not treat
the question with that minute attention to details which we
are accustomed to look for in the works of more recent
theologians. They all show that God has the reason for His
being within Himself, that He is infinitely perfect, absolutely
simple, immutable, eternal; but they do not determine
scientifically which of these perfections must be considered
as the metaphysical essence of God. This is, to some ex
tent, also true of St. Thomas, although he leaves us in no
doubt concerning his own views on the matter.
Arguing from the established fact that " God is the first
efficient cause," he concludes that " it is impossible that in
God His existence should differ from His essence." 36
Furthermore, as God is an actus purus, without all potential
ity, " it follows that in Him essence does not differ from
existence. Therefore His essence is His existence." Now
"God is His own essence; if therefore He is not His own
existence, He will not be the First Being — which is absurd.
Therefore God is His own existence, and not merely His own
essence." 3T Moreover, " God's existence includes in itself
life and wisdom," and all other perfection, " because nothing
of the perfection of being can be wanting to Him who is the
Self-subsisting Being." 38
That he regards the perfection of self -subsistence as the
most radical of all, he brings out more clearly when he speaks
of the Divine Names. Putting the question, " whether this
name, He Who Is, is the most proper name of God," he
answers that it must be so considered for three reasons. The
first of these reasons is taken from the signification of the
term. " It does not signify form, but simply existence it
self. Hence since the existence of God is His essence itself,
which can be said of no other, it is clear that among other
names this one specially denominates God, for everything is
denominated by its form." 39 The second reason is derived
from the universality of the term. " By any other name
some mode of substance is determined, whereas this name,
36 Sum. Theol. I, q. 3, a. 4. 38 Ibid, ad 3.
37 Ibid. 39 ibid. q. 13, a. II.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 39
He Who Is, determines no mode of being, but is indeterminate
to all; and therefore it names the infinite ocean of substance
itself." 4U The third is drawn " from its consignification, for
it signifies present existence; and this above all properly ap
plies to God, whose existence does not know past or future." 41
Hence, although St. Thomas, when speaking about the
divine intellect and will, says that they are God's essence,42
and elsewhere makes the general statement that whatever God
has He is,43 it is sufficiently evident from the above citations
that he regards self -subsistence, the esse a se, as that which
ultimately distinguishes God from every other being and
which must be conceived as the ontological principle of all
other divine perfections. Hence, according to St. Thomas,
self-subsistence, or aseity, to use the term now commonly em
ployed in this connection, is the metaphysical essence of God.
Duns Scotus took a different view. He looked upon in
finity as the most perfect and most simple notion we have
of God, " because it is neither an attribute nor a modifica
tion of him of whom it is predicated." 44 It is at once essen
tial, distinctive, and underived.45 No other concept of the
Godhead can be compared to it in this respect — not even that
of aseity.46 This infinity he calls fundamental or radical, in
contradistinction to formal infinity as predicated of every
other divine attribute; " for each of them has its own formal
perfection derived from the infinity of the essence as its root
and foundation."47 Hence this radical infinity — infinitas
radicalis — is that fundamental attribute of the Godhead in
virtue of which God necessarily possesses all other perfec
tions, and in this sense it is conceived by Scotus and his fol
lowers as the metaphysical essence of God.
An entirely different view was taken by Ockam, Biel, and
the Nominalist school generally. As they denied the objec
tive value of universal concepts, they held that all divine
40 Sum. Theol. I, q. 13, a. n. 45 Miscel. q. 5, n. 25.
41 Ibid. 46 Ibid. n. 26, 27.
42 Tbid. q. 14, a. 4; q. 19, a. i. 47 In IV Sent. IV, d. 13, q. I, n.
43 Ibid. q. 3, a. 3. 31 ; cfr. Quodl. q. 5.
*A Ibid. q. 3, a. 3.
44 In IV Sent. I, d. 3, q. 2, n.
17-
40 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
names have the same signification, and consequently that all
attributes of the Godhead equally designate the fullness of
divine being. Hence they made no distinction between the
physical and metaphysical essence of God. They described
God's essence simply as the cumulus omnium perfectionum,
the sum total of all His perfections. From this sum total,
however, they excluded, as was evidently required by the
teaching of the Church, the divine relations and hypostases.
*****
Closely connected with the question of God's essence, as
treated by the Scholastics of the Middle Ages, are the con
siderations of His simplicity, spirituality, unicity, and infinite
perfection. A few words concerning these will here be in
place.
i. Simplicity. — That there can be no real distinction in
the essence of the Godhead, and consequently no physical
composition, was clearly taught by the writers of the Patristic
period. St. Gregory the Great neatly summarized their teach
ing in this one sentence : " Whatever God has, that He is ;
in Him it is not one thing to be and another to have." 48 This
view was taken over by the early Scholastics, St. Anselm,49
Richard of St. Victor,50 Peter Lombard,51 Alanus of Lille,52
and also by St. Bernard.53 At the same time, however, ow
ing to the dissentient teaching of Gilbert of Porree, the matter
became the subject of a theological discussion, which was
finally settled by an ecclesiastical definition.
Gilbert's views on the point in question may be thus sum
marized. In all things one must distinguish between what
is common to the class and proper to the individual. Sub
stance is the highest genus of all corporeal and spiritual be
ings. It is taken in a two- fold sense: as that which is, quod
est subsist ens, and as that by reason of which it is, quo est
subsistens. The latter is identical with nature, and this is
ultimately the substantial form.54
48 Moral. XVI, c. 43 ; PL. 75, 1147. 52 Ars Fidei, I, 8.
49 Monol. c. 16; Proslog. c. 22. 53 De Consid. V, c. 7.
50 De Trin. I, c. 13. 54 Gauf redi Ep. ad Albinum Card.
" Sent. I, d. 8, c. 3.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 41
These two concepts of substances — quod est subsistens
and quo est subsistens — apply also to God. The divine
nature, or deltas, is distinct from the Self-subsisting Being,
or Dens. Nature is the substantial form in God, through
which God is God, even as man is man through his humanity.
Hence such forms of speech as the Godhead is God, wisdom
is God, goodness is God, and also such as God is wisdom,
goodness, truth, are theologically incorrect.
Gilbert was at the time bishop of Poitiers, and exception
was first taken to his views when he expressed them in one
of his sermons. His arch-deacon, Arnaldus " qui non ridet"
pointed out to him that his teaching was untenable. When
that had no effect, appeal was made to Pope Eugene III,
who during the Eastertide of 1146 was staying in Paris. The
Pope submitted the matter to a council, which he convened
at Paris during the following year, and over which he him
self presided. But as Gilbert denied that he had ever taught
the errors laid to his charge, Abbot Gottschalk, a Premon-
stratensian, was appointed to examine his writings and then
report to the council which was shortly to be held at Rheims.55
Gottschalk performed the task assigned to him, but as he
was unable to discuss the matter properly before the as
sembled bishops, that part was entrusted to St. Bernard.
The latter marked four errors as opposed to the common
teaching. They are: i. The divine substance or nature is
not God. 2. The three persons are not one God, one sub
stance. 3. The persons are three by reason of three unities
(unitatibus) , and are different on account of three proper
ties, which are not the same as the persons themselves; but
they are three eternal differences, both in respect of them
selves and of the divine substance. 4. The divine nature did
not become incarnate, nor did it assume the human nature.56
These points were thoroughly discussed at the Council,
which was held in 1148. As the cardinals present were in
favor of Gilbert, it was feared that the Pope would be pre
vailed upon to abstain from giving a decision in the matter.
55 Ibid. 56 Mansi, 21, 712.
42 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
Hence the French prelates chose a committee of four, which
was sent to the Pope with the following confession of faith :
i. We believe that the simple nature of the Godhead is God,
nor can it in any Catholic sense be denied that the divinity
is God and God the divinity. 2. When we speak of the three
persons, Father and Son and Holy Ghost, we confess that
the three persons themselves are one God, one divine sub
stance. 3. We believe that only God the Father and the
Son and the Holy Ghost are eternal and that there is no prop
erty in God which is eternal and not God. 4. We believe
that the Godhead itself, or the divine substance or nature, has
become incarnate, but in the Son.57
When the Pope had read this confession of faith, he an
swered the deputation that the articles contained therein were
in conformity with the teaching of the Catholic Church.
Then he added that although some of the cardinals were in
favor of the person of Gilbert, they nevertheless all rejected
his teaching. Thereupon, in a plenary session of the Council,
Gilbert voluntarily retracted his teaching as formulated in the
four articles, which were then publicly condemned by the
Pope.58
This is the account given by Gaudefredus, Abbot of
Clairveaux, while Otto of Freising states that the Pope con
tended himself with ruling, " ne aliqua ratio in theologia inter
naturam et personam divider et, neve Deus divina essentia
diceretur ex sensu ablativi tantum sed etiam nominativi"™
Nearly seventy years later (1215), the Fourth Lateran
touched this same point when it defined the Blessed Trinity
as " one absolutely simple essence, substance, or nature." 60
The absolute simplicity of God's essence having thus been
defined by the Church, the great theologians of the thirteenth
century, Alexander of Hales,61 St. Bonaventure,62 Albertus
Magnus,63 and St. Thomas,64 set forth in detail how this
57 Mansi, 21, 712. 62 In IV Sent. I, d. 8, p. 2, q. I.
58 Gaufredi, loc. cit. 63 Sum. Theol. I, tr. 4, q. 20, m.
59Gest. Frid. I, 5:*. 1-4.
60 Mansi, 22, 982 sqq 64 Sum. Theol. I, q. 2, a. 3-8.
61 Sum. Theol. I, q. 5, m. I, 2, 3.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 43
simplicity is to be understood. They point out that the very
concept of the divine essence excludes all composition, physi
cal, metaphysical, and logical. As God is an actus purus, rea
sons St. Thomas, there is in the Godhead no composition of
matter and form, of potency and act, of essence and existence,
of nature and personality, of substance and accident, of
genus and species, of general and particular; for all these
kinds of composition presuppose corresponding potencies, and
every potency is necessarily excluded from the Esse Purum.
Hence God is His own essence, and whatever He has, that He
is. And hence also, there can be no strict definition of God.65
Yet this absolute simplicity of God is not such that our
concepts of His perfections, as in some way distinct, are
without objective value. A merely mental distinction, dis-
tinctio ratioms, does not seem sufficient, nor can the distinc
tion which we make between them be based solely on God's
relation to the world of creatures. For God is good, and
wise, and all-powerful, independently of creation. Moreover,
as St. Thomas argues,66 in Holy Scripture God reveals these
different perfections, and surely He does not reveal mere
names. Hence that which corresponds to our concepts is
more than a mere mental relation; it must in some way have
a foundation in God's being. What is this foundation?
St. Thomas reduces it to God's absolute perfection — plena
et omnimoda perfectio — which no single concept of ours can
ever adequately express. He reasons thus : " Those things
which in creatures are diverse, are one in God on account
of His absolute simplicity. Thus therefore it must be said,
that in God is wisdom, goodness and the like, each one of
which is the divine essence itself, and in this way all are one
in re. Then because each one of them is in God after its
truest significance, and because the nature of wisdom is not
the nature of goodness, when formally considered as such,
it follows that they are diverse, not only as viewed by the
reasoning mind, but on the part of the object — ex parte rei.
. . . And thus it is obvious that the plurality of those names
65 Ibid. so Quaest. Disp. c. I, a. 6; cfr. c. 7.
44 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
is not derived from our intellect alone, when it forms diverse
concepts of God, . . . but also from the being of God Him
self, in so far, namely, as there is something in God corre
sponding to all these concepts, that is, His full and absolute
perfection ; whence it comes about that every one of the names
signifying these concepts is truly and properly predicated of
God : not, however, in such a way that any diversity or multi
plicity is, by reason of these attributes, affirmed in the object,
which is God." 67
Hence, according to St. Thomas, that which corresponds to
our different concepts of God's perfections is more than a pure
relation; it is something objective, something virtually distinct
for each particular concept. This virtual distinction, how
ever, reduces ultimately to God's infinite perfection and the
limitation of our finite minds.
Henry of Ghent, a disciple of Albertus Magnus, comes
practically to the same conclusion, though his method of rea
soning it out is different. He admits, however, a threefold
plurality in God — plurality of ideas, plurality of attributes,
and a trinity of persons.68 This peculiar view, at least as re
gards the divine intellect and will, was later on defended by
Dionysius the Carthusian.69
Duns Scotus was not satisfied with these explanations. He
regarded them as placing between the divine attributes a
merely mental distinction, a distinctio rationis ratiocinantis,
derived from God's relation to the created world. After
arguing against them at great length, he states his own view
as follows : " I maintain that between the essential perfec
tions there is not merely a mental distinction, that is, of differ
ent ways of conceiving the same formal object; for such a
distinction there is between the person who has wisdom and
wisdom itself, and obviously a greater distinction between
wisdom and truth : nor is there only a distinction of the formal
objects as they are in the intellect, because, as was shown be
fore, such a distinction is never found in intuitive cognition
unless it is also in the object intuitively known. . . . Hence
67 In Sent. I, d. 2, q. I, a. 2, 3 ; 68 Quodl. 5.
cf r. De Poten. q. 7, a. 6. 69 In Sent. I, d. 2, q. 2.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 45
there is a third distinction, which precedes the intellect in
every way; and it is this, that wisdom is in the object ob
jectively, and goodness is in the object objectively. But
wisdom in the object is formally not goodness in the object.
And this statement is thus proved, because if infinite wisdom
were formally infinite goodness, then wisdom in general would
also formally be goodness in general; for infinity does not
destroy the formal nature of that to which it is added. ..."
" Hence there is a certain formal non-identity of wisdom
and goodness, in so far as their definitions would be dis
tinct, if they could be defined; but a definition does not in
dicate that alone which has its origin from the intellect, but
also the nature of the object (quidditatem rei), and hence
there is objectively no formal identity. I, therefore, under
stand the matter thus : The intellect, combining the ideas of
the proposition, wisdom is not goodness formally considered,
does not by its own act cause the truth of the combination,
but finds the extremes, on account of whose combination its
judgment is true, in the object. . . . Thus I concede that by
way of identity truth is goodness objectively, but formally
truth is not goodness.70
This " third distinction," which Scotus holds to lie mid
way between a real and a purely mental distinction, is usually
called distinctio formalis, because it is based upon certain sup
posed formalitates in the absolutely simple essence of God.
What these formalitates really are, neither Scotus nor his fol
lowers have ever made clear. That they are not distinct
realities is conceded by all, and necessarily so ; for the absolute
simplicity of God, as taught by the Church, requires that what
ever perfection is in the Godhead is God Himself. And yet
if they are not distinct realities, they would seem to be
neither more nor less than the plena et omnimoda perfectio
of which St. Thomas speaks. Hence it is that, although the
distinctio formalis of Scotus has never been condemned, nearly
all subsequent theologians teach the virtual distinction formu
lated by St. Thomas — a mental distinction which is based
70 In IV Sent. I, d. 8, q. 4.
46 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
upon God's infinite perfection, as containing via eminentiae
all the perfection of our distinct concepts.
However, this virtual distinction was rejected by the
Nominalists of the school of Ockam, as sinning by excess.
According to them, all the names and attributes of God are
synonymous per se, and offer no basis for a distinction except
in their relation to the world of creatures. Hence whatever
distinctions we make between God's essence and His attributes,
or between His attributes referred to one another, can in the
very nature of things be only logical, a purely mental distinc
tion without a foundation in God's being. This exaggerated
view of God's simplicity has not been explicitly condemned
by the Church, but it is universally regarded as false and
dangerous to the faith.
2. Spirituality. — This term is usually taken to imply three
distinct concepts : immateriality, superiority to matter, and in
tellectuality. All three concepts are brought out by the
Scholastics in connection with God's essence. Thus St.
Anselm writes : " No nobler essence is known than that of
spirit or body ; and of these the spirit is nobler than the body :
hence it is to be held that the divine essence is a spirit, and
not a body."71 The same view is taken by Hugh of St.
Victor,72 St. Bernard, Alanus of Lille,73 Peter Lombard,74
and all his commentators. The only exception, leaving aside
Scotus Erigena, were some theologians of the pantheistic
school of Chartres, especially Amalry of Bene and David of
Dinant. Of these two St. Thomas relates that the former
held God to be " the formal constituent principle of all things,"
whilst the latter " most absurdly taught that God was primary
matter." 75 The spirituality of God, which was always
treated as a matter of faith by theologians, was first explicitly
defined by the Vatican Council, to offset the vagaries of
modern errors.76
3. Unicity. — The unity of God, as opposed to plurality,
was usually considered by the early Scholastics in connection
71 Monol. c. 27.
72 Didascal. VII, c. 19. " Sum. Theol. I, q. 3, a. 8.
" Theol. Reg. 7. ™ Sess. 3, c. i.
THE ESSENCE OF GOD 47
with the mystery of the Blessed Trinity. They pointed out,
as the Fathers had done before them, that, although the three
divine persons are really distinct, yet there is only one God.
Hence in that connection they took unity in the sense of
unicity. On this point there never was any difference of
opinion ; nor could there be among Catholics, since the unicity
of God had been recognized from the beginning as a funda
mental dogma of the faith.
Some, moreover, like St. Anselm,77 Hugh of St. Victor,78
and Peter Lombard,79 proved this doctrine by philosophical
arguments. Nearly all of them based their reasoning upon
the obvious necessity of one sole First Cause. The same
line of reasoning was followed by St. Thomas in his Com
mentary on the Sentences,80 but in his Summa Theologica he
derives the unicity of God from the attribute of infinity.81
This latter method was also adopted by Duns Scotus.82
4. Infinity. — St. Anselm puts forward the idea of God's
infinity in his ontological argument for the existence of God,
which, as was pointed out above,83 is derived from the con
cept of a being than which none can be more perfect. But
in another place he bases the infinite perfection of God upon
His sovereign goodness, which necessarily implies plenitude
of being.84 St. Thomas takes self -subsistence as the basis of
his argument. He reasons in this way. From a being whose
very essence is self -subsistence all potentiality is necessarily
excluded, hence it " must contain within itself the whole per
fection of being." 85 A being is called infinite because it is
not finite — its perfection is without limit ; and this is neces
sarily implied in self-subsistence. Consequently, " it is clear
that God is infinite and perfect." 8G The same conclusion is
also deduced from the notion of first cause;87 for the very
idea of first cause implies all possible perfections and that
without any limitation in their concept. This latter argument
77 Monol. cc. 3, 4. 82 in Ty Sent. I, d. 10, 13, q. 5.
78Didascal. VII, c. 19; cfr. De 83 P. XX.
Sacr. I, p. 3, c. 12. 84 Monol. c. 15.
79 Sent. I, d. 2; II, d. i. 85 Sum. Theol. I, q. 7.
80 In Sent. II, d. i. 86 Ibid-
81 Sum. Theol. I, q. II, a. 3, 4. 8* Ibid.
48 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
is also used by Scotus,88 who deduces God's infinity directly
from the proofs advanced for His existence. That God is
infinite in every line of perfection, and therefore infinite in the
strict sense of the term, is one of the doctrines explicitly de
fined by the Vatican Council.89
88 Quodl. q. 7, n. 31. 89 Sess. 3, c. i.
CHAPTER II
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD
By the attributes of God are understood essential per
fections of the divine nature, which, in our human way of
thinking, are conceived as emanating from God's metaphysical
essence. Objectively, essence and attributes are indeed
identical in the Godhead, so that it is perfectly true to say,
God is wisdom, God is goodness, God is justice; but, as was
pointed out in the preceding chapter, we necessarily place a
virtual distinction between them, and thus rightly consider
God's indivisible essence under many distinct aspects. These
distinct aspects, based upon the plenitude of divine perfections,
we call attributes.
Bearing in mind God's infinitude and our mental limita
tions, it is obvious from the very nature of the case that these
attributes are exceedingly numerous. All the distinct perfec
tions which we observe in the created world, and others which
might acquire existence in any possible world, must necessarily
be found in the Godhead. Not formally as created perfec
tions, but as self-subsistent actuality, whence all created per
fections are derived.
This immediately gives rise to the question, how are we to
conceive these perfections to exist in the Godhead? Our
concepts of them are derived from the consideration of
creatures; can we predicate them of God as thus derived, or
must they first be rectified in accordance with the require
ments of the divine nature ?
In answering this question, it is customary to divide created
perfections into two classes. In the first class are gathered
together all such as imply no imperfection in their concepts,
and are therefore called simple perfections. In the other
class all those are placed whose concepts do imply certain
49
50 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
imperfections, and these are termed mixed perfections. To
the former belong such as wisdom, justice, and mercy; to the
latter, rationality, animality, and in general all those that are
in some way connected with matter. Simple perfections are
said to be formally in God, in as much as they are predicated
of Him in their own proper sense. Mixed perfections are
attributed to God only eminent er, that is, whatever actuality
they possess is in God, but in a different and higher sense.
In either case, as attributed to God, these perfections must be
conceived as infinite.
A further distinction must be made between these perfec
tions in their relation to the divine essence. Some of them,
as simplicity, unicity, spirituality, and infinitude, are attributes
only in a wider sense of the term; because they belong to
God's essence as such and cannot be conceived as emanating
therefrom. Others are of a transcendental nature, in as much
as their formal concept lies beyond all the categories of being.
They are oneness, truth, and goodness. The former class has
already been considered in connection with the divine es
sence; of the latter nothing further need be said than that
their existence has always been a matter of faith.
Besides these there are the divine attributes strictly so
called, which are conceived by us as superadded to God's es
sence, or as perfections emanating from the divine essence
as their ontological principle. They are usually divided into
negative and positive attributes. The former deny in God
certain imperfections contained in their concepts as derived
from creatures. Thus in regard to time and place God is said
to be eternal, immutable, immense. They are also called in
communicable, as they can in no true sense be communicated
to creatures. The other class comprises all simple perfections,
which may be referred either to God's intellect, will, or power.
They are communicable, in as much as they may be imitated
in created beings.
Of the negative attributes little need be said in the present
connection, since they do not readily lend themselves to
doctrinal development. God's eternity is clearly taught in the
Athanasian Symbol, and was correctly defined by Boethius as
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD» 51
" the whole and simultaneous possession of interminable
life." * It is not merely duration without beginning and with
out end, but also without succession. It is the everlasting and
unchangeable present, excluding from its concept both past
and future. Hence the Scholastics usually derived this divine
attribute from God's immutability.2
The immutability or unchangeableness of God necessarily
follows from the fact that He is an actits purus, pure actuality,
and also from the other fact that He is infinitely perfect.
St. Thomas assigns both of these reasons,3 while Scotus in
sists more upon the latter.4 The early Scholastics observed
a slightly different order of deduction. Thus St. Anselm de
rives God's immutability by way of corollary from the attri
butes of simplicity, eternity, and omnipresence;5 whereas
Hugh of St. Victor 6 and St. Bernard 7 deduce it directly from
the simplicity of the divine essence. Peter Lombard bases his
arguments for its existence exclusively upon Holy Scripture
and the writings of the Fathers.8
God's immensity may be viewed under a twofold aspect:
First, absolutely as it is in itself ; and in this sense it excludes
all spatial relations. By reason of His immensity God is
above all space, as by reason of His eternity He is above all
time. Secondly, immensity may be taken in a relative sense,
as omnipresence, in as much as God is intimately present to
all His creatures, and thus without change and extension fills
all space. Under the former aspect God's immensity was ad
mitted by all Scholastics, while under the latter it was at
various times made a matter of discussion.
Thus Honorius of Autun answered the query, " where does
God dwell?'' by saying: "Although He is everywhere by
His power, still by His substance He is only in the intellectual
heaven," that is, in the place where He is seen face to face
by the blessed.9 A similar view was held by Theodoric of
iDe Cons. Phil. V, 6; ML. 63, 4Tn TV Sent. I, d. 8, q. 5.
858. 5 Monol. c. 25.
2Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. I, q. « De Sacr. I, p. 3. c. 13.
10, a. i ; Scot. Quodl. q. 6, n. 13-15; 7 In Cant. Serm. 80, n. 5.
De Rerum Princ. q. 22, n. 5. 8Sent. I, d. 8, n. 2.
3 Sum. Theol. I, q. g, a. I, 2. 9 Elucid. 3.
52 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Chartres 10 although he is quite frequently accused of having
taught pantheism. Scotus accepted the traditional teaching of
the Church, that God is everywhere present by His essence,
but he denied the force of the argument commonly advanced
to establish this truth.11 The same position was taken by the
Nominalists.12
Others, however, as St. Anselm,13 Hugh of St. Victor,14
Walter de Mortagne,15 Richard of St. Victor,10 and Peter
Lombard,17 not only admitted the doctrine as contained in
the teaching of the Church, but also assigned reasons for their
belief. The statement of the Lombard, quod Dens incommu-
tabiliter semper in se existens, praesentialiter, potentialitcr,
cssentialiter est in omni naturasive essentia sine sui definitione,
et in omni loco sine circumscriptione , et in omni tempore sine
mutabilitate, was more fully developed by nearly all subse
quent Scholastics. St. Thomas thus concludes his reasoning
on the subject: "Therefore, God is in all things by His
power, in as much as all things are subject to His power; He
is in all things by His presence, in as much as all things are
bare and open to His eyes ; He is in all things by His essence,
in as much as He is the cause of existence to all things." 18
And again : " Indeed, by the very fact that He gives exist
ence to everything in every place, He fills every place." 19
Of the positive attributes we can here consider only God's
knowledge, His omnipotence, and the freedom of His will.
The following is a brief summary of the most important
points on the subject as treated by the Scholastics.
i. Divine Knowledge. — As God is self-subsistent being
and the first cause of creatures, it necessarily follows that in
tellect and understanding must be predicated of Him as es
sential attributes. And as He is absolutely simple, it also
follows that He is His own intellect and His own under
standing. On these points there never was any difference of
10 Cfr. d'Achery, Spicil. Ill, p. 15 Cfr. d'Archery, op. cit.
522. 16 De Trin. II, 22.
11 Report. I, d. 37, q. i. 17 Sent. I, d. 37.
12 Cfr. Biel, Collect. I, d. 38. 18 Sum. Theol. I, q. 8, a. 3.
13 De Fide Trin. c. 4. 19 Ibid. a. 2.
" Didasc. VII, c. 19.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 53
opinion, either among the Fathers or the Scholastics. " That
which is knowledge in God," says St. Augustine, " the same is
wisdom, and that which is wisdom, the same is (His) es
sence or substance." 20 Peter Lombard repeats this state
ment in the terse sentence : " God's knowledge, of course,
is His essence." 21
Assuming the fact of divine knowledge as sufficiently ob
vious, most of the Scholastics limited their investigation to
its nature and object. How does God know, and what does
God know ?
In answer to the first question — how does God know ? —
all state, either explicitly or implicitly, that divine cognition
is an absolutely simple act, in which intelligible species, in
tellect, and essence are all identified. St. Thomas puts his
reasoning in this form : " Since God has nothing of poten
tiality, but is pure act, the intellect and its object in Him are
altogether the same; . . . nor does the intelligible species dif
fer from the substance of the divine intellect." 22 And " thus
it follows that in God the intellect, and the object understood,
and the intelligible species, and His understanding act are en
tirely one and the same." 23 In substance this is the view of
all Scholastics, except that Scotus introduces here his dis-
tinctio formalist
Furthermore, the one medium of divine cognition is God's
essence itself, in the sense that no object apart from God
has a determining influence on His intellect. " As existence
follows on form,' writes St. Thomas, " so in like manner to
understand follows on the intelligible idea. In God there is
no form apart from His existence. Hence, as His essence
itself is also His intelligible species, it necessarily follows that
His act of understanding itself must be His essence and His
existence." 25 Scotus puts this same teaching in a slightly
different form, when he says : " Assuming that there is a
passive intellect in God, which needs a form or quasi form
for its operation, this form may be said to be His own es-
20 De Trin. XV, c. 13. 23 jbid. q. 14, a. 4.
21 Sent. I, d. 36, n. I. 2* Report. I, d. 35, q. I.
22 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 2. 25 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 4.
54 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
sence as such, which in its absolute perfection is the medium
of knowing, not only itself, but also everything else that is
in any way knowable." 2U
The object of divine cognition — what God knows — is two
fold: First, His own being, or Himself as one in nature
and three in person; secondly, things apart from Himself,
whether at some time actually existing or merely possible.
Regarding the first, God's knowledge of Himself, there
never was any difference of opinion. St. Thomas only formu
lates the common teaching on this point, when he writes
that in God " the intelligible idea itself is the divine intellect
itself, and thus He understands Himself by Himself." 27
And this understanding of Himself is comprehensive, or as
infinitely perfect as is the divine essence. For " the power of
God's own knowledge is as great as His actual existence;
because from the fact that He is actuality separated from all
matter and potentiality, He is knowable in a corresponding de
gree. It is manifest that He knows Himself as much as He
is knowable; and for that reason He perfectly comprehends
Himself." 28
Things outside God, in the sense that they are not identi
fied with His being, are of two kinds: First, beings which
at some time or other have actual existence ; secondly, beings
which always remain in the state of mere possibility. The
latter are subdivided into three classes: purely possibles; fu-
turibles whose futurition is conditioned by the action of nec
essary causes; and futuribles whose futurition depends on
the self-determination of free agents. Concerning divine
cognition of these various classes of beings, different views
were held by different theologians. Only a brief outline of
the more important of them can here be given.
(a) Regarding the mere fact that God knows all things,
whether actual or possible, there never was any disagree
ment among the Schoolmen ; but, as St. Thomas points out,
according to some " God knows other things (than Himself)
only in general, that is, only as beings." 29 Against these he
26 In Sent. I, d. 35, q. i. 28 ibid. a. 3.
27 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 2. 29 Ibid. a. 6.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 55
argues, that " as God's essence contains all the perfections
contained in the essence of any other being, and far more,
He can know in Himself all of them with proper knowledge."
The same position had already been taken by Peter Lom
bard, who reasons that God's knowledge is necessarily eter
nal, essential, unchangeable, extending itself not only to the
things that are or shall be, but also to such as are possible
indeed yet are never realized.30 St. Bonaventure expresses
his view in similar terms ; for answering the question whether
God's knowledge can be increased or diminished, he says:
" The knowledge of God is unchangeable as is His essence,
and He always knows all things by one and the same act.31
The contrary view he regards as heretical.
(b) All are agreed that God's knowledge of finite beings,
in so far as they are considered in the state of possibility, is
necessarily included in His comprehensive knowledge of His
own essence; whether, as in the view of St. Thomas,32 the
possibles as such are conceived to be by supposition prior to
divine cognition, or, as in the opinion of Scotus,33 they are
held to be formally constituted in the state of possibility by
the act of divine knowledge. This cognition theologians
usually call the knowledge of simple intelligence, to distin
guish it from the knowledge of vision, which has for its ob
ject all finite beings in so far as they are at one time or an
other actually existing.
(c) As no finite beings exist from all eternity, and as God's
knowledge of them is necessarily eternal, they are in one
sense all known to God under the aspect of futurition ; hence
the question arises, \vhat precise relation do future things
bear to God's knowledge? Is God's knowledge of them the
cause of their future existence, or is their future existence the
cause of God's knowledge? Or is there a third way of con
ceiving the matter?
In answering the first question, the Scholastics distinguish
between God's knowledge taken in an exclusive sense, simply
as knowledge, and God's knowledge conceived as directive of
30 Sent. I, d. 39, n. 5. 32 Sum. Theol. I, q. 15, a. 2.
31 In Sent. I, d. 39, i, 4. 33 Report. I, d. 35.
56 MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
the divine will, or as knowledge of approbation. Taken in
the former sense, divine cognition, as all are agreed, is purely
speculative, and as such it cannot be regarded as the cause of
anything; in the latter sense it is practical, and may be de
nominated the cause of things, but only on account of its
connection with the will.34 It is in this sense that St. Thomas
writes : " It is manifest that God causes things by His in
tellect, since His existence is His intelligence; and hence His
knowledge must be the cause of things, in so far as His will
is joined to it Therefore, the knowledge of God as the
cause of things is commonly called the knowledge of appro
bation." 35
In this connection the Scholastics also note that God's
foreknowledge of future events does not interfere with the
free action of secondary causes. What God foreknows will
come to pass, but as determined by the finite causes that bring
it about. Thus God foreknew from all eternity the fall of
Peter, and His foreknowledge of the event was infallible;
hence as the object of God's eternal prevision the fall was
inevitable, yet Peter fell by freely consenting to a temptation
which he then and there might have resisted. And the ulti
mate explanation is that God foreknows all things as they
are in themselves and in their relation to their proximate
causes — the necessary as necessary, and the contingent as
contingent.36
The second question, whether future things are the cause
of God's knowledge, is by all Scholastics answered in the
negative. They usually touch this point in explaining an
apparent difficulty drawn from a text of Origen, namely:
" A thing will not happen because God knows it as future ;
but because it is future, hence it is that it is known by God
before it exists." Peter Lombard37 and Alexander of
Hales38 call future events a causa sine qua non of divine
cognition, in the sense of mere concomitance. The fact of
34Lomb. Sent. I, d. 38, n. 5-; Hal- 36 Halens. op. cit. q. 23, m. 6.
ens. Sum. I, q. 33, m. 2 ; Bonavent. 37 Sent. I, d. 38, 4.
In Sent. I, d. 38, I. 88 Sum. I, q. 23, m. 2.
35 Sum. I, q. 14, a. 8.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 57
its future occurrence is in a manner the reason why an event
is foreknown, but it does not cause God's foreknowledge.
Practically the same explanation is given by St. Bonaven-
ture.39 St. Thomas interprets Origen in this way : " When
we say that God foreknows some things because they are in
the future, this must be understood according to the cause of
consequence; and not according to the cause of existence.
If things are in the future, it follows that God knows them;
but nevertheless the futurity of things is not the cause of
God's knowledge." 40 Scotus agrees with this explanation,
in as much as he holds that things apart from God are ob
jects of divine cognition only terminative.*1
(d) It was stated above that the sole medium of divine
cognition is God's essence; and from what is said in the pre
ceding paragraph it necessarily follows that God's essence is
also its sole primary object. That essence is the archetype
of all that is or can be, and as a species intelligibilis it exhibits
to the divine intellect all that is knowable. In this sense St.
Thomas states : " God sees Himself in Himself, because He
sees Himself by His essence; and He sees other things not in
themselves, but in Himself ; in as much as His essence contains
the similitude of other things besides Himself." 42 And the
same view is expressed by Scotus, when he says that God sees
all things mediant e essentia sua infinita.43 This is, however,
not merely a knowledge of the divine essence as imitable
ad extra, but also of the things themselves. St. Thomas,
after giving a rather lengthy illustration drawn from human
cognition, arrives at this conclusion : " We must say there
fore that God does not only know that things are in Himself ;
but by the fact that they are in Him, He knows them in their
own nature and all the more perfectly, the more perfectly
each one is in Him." 44
Here, however, a distinction is to be made between God's
knowledge of necessary things and of things that are contin
gent. Necessary things are infallibly known by Him either
39 In Sent. I, d. 38, i. 42 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 5.
40 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 8 ad lm. 43 Loc. cit.
41 Report. I, d. 36, q. i, n. 5-7. 44 Sum. Theol. q. 14, a. 6, ad im.
58 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
because they flow from His essence, or because they are deter
mined by a decree of His will; and so a knowledge of them
in their causes is sufficient. But the same does not hold true
of contingent things. For as St. Thomas points out:
" Whoever knows a contingent effect in its cause only, has
merely a conjectural knowledge of it " ; but divine knowledge
is not conjectural — it is infallible. Hence, " God knows all
contingent things not only in their causes, but also as each
one is actually in itself." 45
In this connection the difficult question suggests itself, how
does God know these contingent things in themselves? St.
Thomas answers : " Although contingent things become ac
tual successively, nevertheless God knows contingent things
not successively, as they are in themselves, as we do; but He
knows them all at once; because His knowledge is measured
by eternity, as is also His existence; for eternity existing all
at once comprises all time. Hence all temporal things are
present to God from eternity, not only in such wise that He
has the ideas of all things before Him, as some say; but
because His glance is carried from eternity over all things,
as they are in their presentiality. Consequently, it is mani
fest that contingent things are infallibly known by God, in
as much as they are subject to the divine sight in their presen
tiality ; still they are really future contingent things in relation
to their own proximate causes." 46
Substantially the same answer is given by St. Bonaventure,
who says that all things are present to God, not according to
the truth of their existence, but in reference to perfect cog
nition ; and the reason of this intimate presentiality is that
God's eternity comprises in the indivisible now all succession
of time.47
However, this presentiality by itself does not seem to solve
the difficulty, since it must always be held that the divine es
sence is the primary object of cognition. For how can that
essence represent a future event that flows from a free cause ?
In other words, what is the ultimate reason of the eternal
45 Ibid. a. 13. 4e Ibid. 47 In Sent. I, d. 35, dub. 6.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 59
presentiality of contingent events to the divine intellect? No
explicit answer is given by any of these writers, but they all
seem to fall back upon some kind of divine causality in refer
ence to the events in question. Thus St. Thomas says that
" God knows all things apart from Himself in so far as He
is their cause " ; 48 and St. Bonaventure holds that the divine
will, fully known, is a sufficient reason for His knowledge
of all other things.49 Similar statements are found in the
works of Albertus Magnus 50 and Alexander of Hales.51
Of course, this causality may be conceived as identical with
the divine concursus, necessarily postulated for every finite
action ; but modern writers are not agreed in their interpreta
tion of the old Scholastic teaching on this point.
The position of Scotus in this respect is not altogether
clear. He is not satisfied with the explanation given by St.
Thomas and St. Bonaventure, but postulates for the divine
cognition of future contingent events a decree of futurition.
The divine essence, he maintains, represents all things, in so
far as they are future, in virtue of a determination of the
divine will.52 Some Scotists, like Mastrius,53 interpret this
decree of futurition to be merely concomitant, but others look
upon it as antecedent to the action of the finite cause. And
this, it seems, Scotus really had in mind ; for he says : " It
may be assumed that the divine intellect represents simple
ideas, the combination of which is contingent in its actual ex
istence; or that it represents a combination of ideas, which is
still indifferent with regard to its actuality : and then the will,
selecting one part or combination of ideas for actuation at a
given point of time, makes the event definitely true." 54 God
has indeed a certain knowledge of contingent events ante
cedently to His decree of futurition, but that is only a phase
of His knowledge of purely possible events. Contingent
events are known as future solely in virtue of a determination
48 Cont. Gent. I, c. 49, 65 ; Sum. 52 In Sent. I, d. 39, q. unic. n. 23 ;
Theol. I, q. 14, a. n. d. 41, q. unic. n. 10; Report, d. 40,
49 Op. cit. d. 35, q. 2, a. 2 ad 4m. q. unica.
50 Sum. I, tr. 15, q. 60, m. 4. 53 Disp. Theol. I, d. 3, q. 3, a. 8.
51 Sum. I, q. 23, m. 3, a. 4. 54 In Sent. I, d. 39, n. 23.
60 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
of the divine will, although that determination does not inter
fere with the free action of the finite agent.
This looks very much like the teaching of the later Thom-
ists, yet it is different from it in one very essential point.
Scotus, as appears from the whole trend of his philosophical
teaching, was decidedly opposed to the praenwtio physica
which is inextricably bound up with the decreta voluntatis Dei
of the Thomists. Hence the decree of futurition, as under
stood by Scotus, would seem to be limited to the concursus,
although his words cited above imply more.
The Nominalists, who in regard to many other points de
velop the views of Scotus, regard divine cognition of future
contingent events as an inscrutable mystery. Hence they con
tent themselves with pointing to the infinite perfection of
God's intellect, which in some way must be able to know all
things, whether actual or purely possible.55
Finally, it may be added that although the Scholastics speak
of God's knowledge as extending to all contingent future
events, they do not explicitly consider the question of divine
cognition in reference to conditionally free actions of the
future. Consequently, they divide God's knowledge into
knowledge of vision and knowledge of simple intelligence,
without saying anything about the scientia media which
played such an important part in later theological discussions.
Still, they state or imply all the principles upon which that
knowledge is founded.
2. The Divine Will. — As the divine intellect and cognition,
so are also, according to the teaching of the Scholastics, the
divine will and volition identified with God's essence. Simi
larly, as God's essence is the primary object of divine cogni
tion, so is that same essence also the primary object of divine
volition. Lastly, as God knows things apart from Himself,
so does He also will things apart from Himself. Still, His
knowledge is more extensive than His volition ; for while He
knows evil, He cannot will evil — that is, in the moral order.
The attributes reducible to the divine will, which here call
55 Cfr. Gregory of Rimini, In Sent. I, d. 39, q. 2, a. 2.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 61
for special consideration, are omnipotence and freedom. For
it was chiefly in regard to these that there was some differ
ence of opinion among the early Schoolmen.
(a) Omnipotence. — Like all others of these attributes,
omnipotence is predicated of God in reference to His actions
ad extra. His own interior life does not, properly speaking,
come within the sphere of His power. He exists necessarily,
in the sense that He is self -subsistence; and by His very es
sence He is one in nature and three in person. Hence it is
only in regard to things apart from Himself that His power
can be exerted in the strict sense of the term. And in this
sense His power is co-extensive with His practical knowledge;
so that whatever He knows to be operable by an infinitely per
fect being, the same He has power to execute both in the physi
cal and moral order of things. Now, in the physical order
everything is operable that does not imply a contradiction in
terms ; and in the moral order, everything that is not opposed
to God's sanctity. In respect of all this, therefore, God is
called omnipotent.
God's omnipotence, as thus understood, was first called in
question by Abelard, according to \vhom God can do only
what He at some time or other actually does ; because God
can do only what it becomes Him to do, and whatever it
becomes Him to do He does not fail to do.56 Abelard was
strongly attacked by William of Saint Thierry,57 St. Ber
nard,58 Robert Pulleyn,59 and Hugh of St. Victor.00 His
error was condemned by the Council of Sens, held in 1140.
In his Second Apology he retracted his statements and sub
scribed to the proposition : " I believe that God cannot do
anything that is not in harmony with Himself, but that He
could have done many other things than those which He has
done."
Omnipotence, as is obvious, may be viewed under a two
fold aspect: First, absolutely, as it is in itself, without refer-
56Introd. ad Theol. Ill, c. 5; 58 Ep. 190, 5.
cfr. Theol. Christ. 5. 59 Sent. I, n. 16.
57Disp. adv. Abelard. c. 6; ML. 60 De Sacr. I. p. 2, c. 22; Sent. tr.
180, 266. i, c. 14; Didasc. VII, c. 2.
62 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ence to any decree of the divine will; and so viewed it is
called potentia absoluta. Secondly, relatively, in reference
to certain divine decrees, by which it is restricted in its opera
tion; and in this sense it is termed potentia ordinata or or-
dinaria. By His potentia absoluta God could have decreed
to establish a different order of things from that which He
did establish; but having once decreed to establish this par
ticular order, His potentia ordinata is limited in its operation
by the scope of His decree.
This distinction is taken account of by all the early Scholas
tics, but they do not all make the same application of it in
their reasoning on God's operations ad extra. Thus St.
Thomas emphasizes God's wisdom as a directive norm of His
power,61 while Scotus admits no other norm than the divine na
ture itself.62 In the theological system of St. Thomas, as is
well known, it is the intellect that holds the primacy among
attributes and faculties; whereas in the theology of Scotus
this primacy is assigned to the will. The reasoning of St.
Thomas, that in command and execution intellect and wisdom
must ever be regarded as a directive norm, Scotus tries to
refute by saying: "The divine will, which is the first rule
of all that is operable and of all actions, and the action of the
divine will whence the first rule is derived, constitute the
first rectitude. . . . But whatever does not include a con
tradiction is absolutely not repugnant to the divine will, and
therefore whatever God does or effects is by that very fact
right and just." 63 Hence Scotus places a much greater em
phasis upon the potentia absoluta than does St. Thomas,
though not to such an extent as to make God's actions arbi
trary. For they must always be in harmony with the sanc
tity of the divine nature.
This view of Scotus in reference to the potentia absoluta
was taken over by the Nominalists and carried to its last ex
treme. Not only could the historical facts of God's world-
plan have been different, as all Scholastics admitted, but the
61 Sum. Theol. I, q. 22, a. 3; ibid. 62 In Sent. IV, d. 49; Report. I, d.
q. 19, a. 4. 10; Quodl. q. 16.
63 Report. IV, d. 46, q. 4.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 63
same must be said of what belongs to ethics and morality.
Thus Ockam writes : Odium Dei, furari, adnlterari, . . .
quantum ad esse absolute in illis actibus, . . . etiam mcritorie
possent fieri a viatore, si caderent sub praecepto divino, sicut
nunc de facto eorum opposita cadunt sub praecepto divino?*
This teaching is only one short step removed from the blas
phemous utterance of Calvin, that " God not only foreknew
the fall of the first man and the ruin of his descendants, but
ordained the same by an act of His sovereign will." 65
(b) Freedom of the Divine Will. — The common teaching
of the early Scholastics in reference to the freedom of God's
will is thus formulated by St. Thomas : " The divine will
has a necessary relation to the divine goodness, since that is
its proper object. Hence God wills His own goodness nec
essarily, even as we will our own happiness necessarily." . . .
But " since the goodness of God is perfect and can exist
without other things, in as much as no perfection can accrue
to Him from them, it follows that His willing things apart
from Himself is not absolutely necessary. Yet it can be
necessary by supposition ; for supposing that He wills a thing,
then He is unable not to will it, as His will is not mutable." 66
Hence God's will is not free in reference to its primary ob
ject, which is His own goodness; but it is free in respect of
its secondary object, which includes all creatures in so far as
they are expressions of His goodness in their being and ac
tions.67 This freedom, of course, does not suppose passive
indifference on the part of God; nor does it extend to what
is morally evil, except by way of permission.68
Scotus conceives the freedom of God's will in a somewhat
different way. He distinguishes in God an essential and a
contingent liberty. The former consists in the power of self-
determination and of dominion ; 69 the latter is a volitional
indifference, not in respect of divine volition itself, but with
regard to its objects or effects.70 In view of this distinction
64 In Sent. II, q. 19, Ktt. O. c8 Thomas, op. cit. q. 19, a. 5, 9 ;
65 Instit. Ill, c. 21, n. 7. Bonavent. op. cit. d. 45, a. 3, q. i, 2.
66 Sum. Theol. I. q. 19. a. 3. 69 Report. I, d. 10; Quodl. q. 16.
67Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. II, d. ™ In Sent. I, d. 39, n. 21, 22.
25, p. 2, q. i, 2, 3 ; d. 45, a. 2, q. I.
64 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
he holds that God wills or loves freely, not only His crea
tures, but also His own nature and purely possible entities.
With this difference, however, that His love of Himself pro
ceeds from His essential liberty only, whilst His inefficacious
complacency in purely possible entities, and His efficacious
complacency in His creatures — past, present, and future —
proceed both from His essential and contingent liberty.
God's essential liberty is perfectly compatible with the neces
sity of willing and loving Himself, though this necessity ex
cludes the liberty of contingence or contradiction.71 In some
respects, this view is a development of the teaching of St.
Bonaventure on the freedom of immutability as predicated
of the divine will.72
The will of God in reference to creatures and their actions,
is usually divided by the Scholastics into the will of good
pleasure or complacency and the will of expression — volun-
tas beneplaciti et voluntas signi.73 The former is the divine
will taken in its proper sense; the latter is attributed to God
by way of metaphor and comprises the various outward mani
festations of the divine will. These manifestations are com
monly summed up as prohibition, precept, counsel, operation,
and permission. Thus St. Thomas, after explaining how
these " five expressions of will are rightly assigned to the
divine will," concludes : " Or it may be said that permission
and operation refer to present time, permission being with
respect to evil, operation with regard to good. Whilst as to
future time, prohibition is in respect to evil, precept to good
that is necessary, and counsel to good that is of supereroga
tion.74
God's will of good pleasure or complacency was also dis
tinguished by these writers into antecedent and consequent
— voluntas antecedens et volnntas consequent.76 Antecedent
and consequent, in this connection, is a denomination that is
taken, not from the will itself, but from the different condi-
71Quodl. q. 16; In Sent. Ill, d. I, q. 19, a. u; Albert. Sum. I, tr. 20,
32, n. 2, 5. q-
72 In Sent. I, d. 8, p. I, a. 2, q. I, 2. 74 Sum. I, q. 19, a. 12.
73Halens. Sum. I, q. 36, m. i; 75 Halens. op. cit. I, q. 36;
Thomas, In Sent. I, q. i, a. 4; Sum. Thomas, Sum. I, q. 19, a. 6 ad im.
THE ATTRIBUTES OF GOD 65
tions of the object of divine volition. This distinction was
already frequently made use of by Patristic writers, in their
efforts to uphold and explain the universality of God's sal-
vific will. Thus St. John Damascene writes : " Antece
dently God wills all men to be saved; for, as He is good, He
did not create us for punishment, but that we might share
in His goodness. However, as He is just, He wills that sin
ners be punished. The first will, therefore, is called ante
cedent and of good pleasure, and this proceeds from Him
self; but the second is called consequent and permissive, and
this is conditioned by our own action." 76 The Scholastics
made a similar application of this distinction when treating
the question of predestination and reprobation, as will be set
forth in another chapter.
The nature of God and His attributes, which forms the
subject-matter of this and the preceding chapter, is thus
defined by the Fourth Lateran Council, held in 1215: "We
firmly believe and sincerely confess that there is one sole true
God, eternal, immense and immutable, incomprehensible,
omnipotent and ineffable, . . . one essence, substance, or na
ture, altogether simple." 77
76 De Fide Orth. II, c. 29 : ML. 94, 970.
77 Mansi, 22, 982 ; DB. n. 428.
CHAPTER III
PREDESTINATION
PREDESTINARIAN CONTROVERSY: TEACHING OF THE
SCHOLASTICS
As predestination consists in a divine decree which or
dains the direction of rational creatures to their appointed
end, theologians usually investigate this difficult question in
connection with their treatises on the intellect and will of
God. It is not the most logical order that could be adopted,
for thus the fact of creation and elevation must be presup
posed; but as it will serve our present purpose sufficiently
well, there appears no need of rearranging what has the sanc
tion of long usage. Hence in this chapter we shall give a
brief review of both the historical and theological aspect of
the chief points involved in the question of predestination.
A — PREDESTINARIAN CONTROVERSY
Predestination became a matter of controversy as early as
the fifth century, owing to certain statements of St. Augus
tine which were interpreted as implying that God predestined
some men to eternal punishment by refusing to give them
sufficient grace for the working out of their salvation.1 The
Semi-Pelagians of Southern Gaul took up these statements
and endeavored to show that they were out of harmony with
the accepted universality of God's salvific will. At the same
time a certain Lucidus, a priest of the diocese of Riez, openly
taught that God predestined some men to hell as He predes
tined others to heaven, and that neither the one class nor the
other could do aught to shape their eternal destiny. His
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 379 sqq.
PREDESTINARIAN CONTROVERSY 67
teaching was condemned by the Council of Aries, held in 473.
The teaching of St. Augustine remained meanwhile some
what uncertain, but his friend St. Prosper gave the following
interpretation of it in regard to the reprobate : " Of their
own will they went out; of their own will they fell, and be
cause their fall was foreknown, they were not predestined
(to eternal life) ; they would however be predestined if they
were to return and persevere in holiness. Hence God's pre
destination is for many the cause of perseverance, but for no
one the cause of falling away." 2
The controversy was revived towards the middle of the
ninth century by Gottschalk, the son of a Saxon nobleman.
While still a child he had been received as an oblate in a mon
astery at Fulda, and when arrived at man's estate he was re
fused permission to return to the life of a secular. Some
what later he was transferred to a monastery at Orbais, in the
diocese of Soissons. There, brooding over his uncongenial
life, he sought consolation in the study of St. Augustine's
teaching on predestination. The result of his studies is em
bodied in these three propositions: First, God predestines
some men to eternal damnation in the same way that He pre
destines others to eternal life. Second, God's salvific will
extends only to those who are saved. Third, Christ did not
die for all men, but only for the predestined.
The first of these three points, which implicitly contains the
other two, is clearly set forth in his Chartula Professionis,
drawn up in 848.3 However, in his Confessio Prollrior,
composed in the following year, occurs the sentence : " I
confess that Thou hast foreknown all future things, whether
good or evil, but that Thou hast predestined only what is
good/' 4 Hence he certainly did not hold that God had pre
destined the reprobate to commit sin.
2 Resp. ad Cap. Gall. 12. constitutionem omnes electos suos
3 The profession reads : " Ego incommutabiliter per gratuitam gra-
Gotteschalcus credo et confiteor . . . tiam suam praedestinavit ad vitam
quod gemina est praedestinatio, sive aeternam, similiter omnino omnes
electorum ad requiem, sive repro- reprobos, qui in die judicii damna-
borum ad mortem. Quia sicut buntur propter ipsorum mala
Deus incommutabilis ante mundi merita, idem ipse incoirmutabilis
68 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
Protestants usually contend that Gottschalk's view on
reprobation was solidly based upon the writings of the
Fathers. Thus St. Fulgentius, they point out, uses the ex
pression predestinatio sive praeparatio ad poenam; 5 and St.
Isidore of Seville speaks of a twofold predestination, that is,
a predestination of the elect to eternal life and of the repro
bate to everlasting death.6 Again, St. Augustine, they con
tend, suggests quite definitely that Christ died only for the
elect.7 However, aside from a certain similarity of the terms
employed, the contention has no value. Thus St. Augustine
states very clearly: Pro omnibus passus est Christus, for all
men did Christ suffer.8
In itself, of course, the twofold predestination — gemina
praedestinatio — may be understood in an orthodox sense, in
as much as God not only predestines the elect to eternal life,
but also predestines the reprobate to everlasting death by way
of punishment for their sins. It is not here that the diffi
culty lies. For so long as He gives sufficient grace to all, and
only decrees eternal punishment for those who culpably fail
to cooperate with the grace that is given them, there is noth
ing arbitrary or unjust in His action. Predestination of the
reprobate to the torments of hell becomes unintelligible only
when it is taken independently of their evil deeds; or, as
modern theologians express it, when it is held to be ante
praevisa denier it a. And this appears to have been the view
of Gottschalk. For he says that God predestines the repro
bate in precisely the same way as the elect — similiter om-
nino — ; and the elect, according to him, are predestined ante
praevisa merita.
At all events, this was the interpretation put upon his teach
ing by Hincmar, archbishop of Rheims, under whose presi
dency the Council of Quiercy, held in 853, condemned the
views advanced and defended by Gottschalk. And the same
Deus per justnm judicium swim in- 5 De Verit Praedest. 3, 5, 8;
commutabiliter praedestinavit ad ML. 65, 656.
mortem merito sempiternam " (ML. 6 Sent. 2, 6, i ; ML. 83, 606.
125, 89 sqq.). 7Tn Ps. 64, 2.
4 Ibid. 121, 349 D. 8 Serm. 304, 3.
PREDESTINARIAN CONTROVERSY 69
position was taken by Rabanus Maurus of Mayence,9 Atnala-
rius of Metz,10 and Scotus Erigena.11 Gottschalk himself
was sentenced to lifelong imprisonment in the monastery of
Hautvilliers, where after twenty years of futile efforts to re
gain his liberty he died apparently unrepentant.
Hincmar's views on the subject of predestination, which
were adopted by the Council of Quiercy,12 involve the follow
ing points: Through the sin of Adam the whole human race
was lost, yet God desired all to be saved. Hence (a), in ac
cordance with His foreknowledge, He chose from this mass
of perdition — massa perditionis — those whom through His
grace He predestined to life; while He foreknew that the
rest, whom by the judgment of His justice He left in the same
mass of perdition, would perish forever. Yet He did not
predestine them to perish; but because of His justice He de
creed for them eternal punishment, (b) The freedom of
the will in regard to supernatural actions, which had been lost
through sin, was restored by Christ; consequently, assisted
by grace, we all have the power to do good, but when deserted
by grace, we are capable only of doing evil, (c) God has
the sincere will to save all men. (d) Christ died for all
without exception.13
Meanwhile many other bishops and theologians had been
drawn into the discussion, and not a few of them defended
Gottschalk's thesis on the twofold predestination. The most
eminent among these latter were Ratramnus of Corbie,14
Servatus Lupus of Ferrieres,15 Prudentius of Troyes,16
Remigius of Lyons,17 and Magister Florus.18 It must be
noted, however, that the point at issue had been considerably
modified as compared with the statement of Gottschalk that
God predestined the elect and the reprobate in precisely the
same way. The discussion now turned about the propriety
of terms rather than about the doctrine itself. For both
parties admitted that God decreed eternal punishment for the
9 ML. 112, 1530 sqq. 14 ML. 121, 13 sqq.
10 ML. 121, 1054. 15Ibid. 119, 606 sqq.
11 ML. 122, 347 sqq. 16 Ibid. 115, 971 sqq.
2 Mansi, 14, 920 D sqq. 17 Ibid. 121, 985 sqq.
13 Mansi, 14, 920 D sqq. 18 Ibid. 119, 95 sqq.
70 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
reprobate only in view of their evil deeds; but while Ratram-
nus and his side affirmed that this decree must be called pre
destination, Hincmar and his followers contended that the
term as used in this connection was inappropriate. Hence,
while the one side defended the gemina praedestinatio, the
other rejected it as inadmissible.19 The former appealed,
among others, to the authority of St. Augustine.20
In 855, the party opposed to Hincmar held a synod at
Valence, and severely criticized the decisions given at Quiercy.
These decisions are said to be inept, useless, harmful, and
opposed to the truth. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that
God foreknows the future actions of men, that He foresees
how the good will cooperate with His grace and be saved,
and how the wicked will follow their own evil counsels and
be lost.21 But by this divine foreknowledge, it is pointed out,
the free will of man is in no wise interfered with. Hence,
if the wicked are lost, it is not because they were unable to
lead virtuous lives, but because they freely persevered in evil-
doing.22
With regard to the redemption by Christ, the Synod es-
19 Retramnus sets forth his views reads as follows : " Fidenter fate-
in the following terms : " Sicut mur praedestinationem electorum
enim npvit (Deus) opera singu- ad vitam, et praedestinationem im-
lorum, id est, electorum et repro- piorum ad mortem: in electione
borum, sic quoque nee numerum tamen salvandorum misericordiam
eprum ignorat. Quapropter is qui Dei praecedere meritum bonum: in
singulorum actus intuetur, qui damnatione autem periturorum
finem aspicit universorum, qui novit meritum malum praecedere justum
quid singulis retribuat, jam apud se Dei judicium. Praedestinatione au-
praedestinatum habet, quid ex eis tern Deum tantum statuisse, quae
sit acturus, et qui in fine gloria ipse vel gratuita misericordia vel
regni donentur vel qui poenarum justo judicio facturus erat" (DB.
supplicio feriantur" (De Praedest. 322).
8; Mansi, 121, 13). 22 The Council states its view in
20 Thus Ratramnus: " Hac sen- these terms: " Verum aliquos ad
tentia ostendit venerabilis Augus- malum praedestinatos esse divina
tinus malos propter iniquitatem su- potestate, videlicet ut quasi alms
perbiae damnationi praedestinatos, esse non possint, non solum non
non ad peccatum, quoniam pecca- credimus, sed etiam si sunt, qui
turn, non est a Deo. Neque enim tantum mali _ credere velint, cum
auctor mali est Deus, poenae vero omni detestatione, sicut Arausicana
redditio ex Deo est" (Ibid.). synpdus, illis anathema dicimus "
21 The decision of the Council (Ibid. 322).
PREDESTINARIAN CONTROVERSY 71
tablishes the following three points: First, Christ did not
die for those who were already condemned to eternal punish
ment at the time of His passion. Second, all those who are
at any time baptized and incorporated into the Church, were
truly redeemed and obtained the forgiveness of their sins.
Third, some of these latter may fall away and be eternally
lost, while others are saved by reason of their free cooperation
with the grace of God.23
At the suggestion of Charles the Bald, Hincmar next ex
plained his position in the treatise De Praedestinatione, which
is now lost; and three years later in a similar work entitled,
Posterior Dissertatio de Praedestinatione?* in which he de
fends his view as formulated at the Council of Quiercy.
Thereupon, the matter was again discussed at the National
Synod of Savannierres, but without definite results. Finally
the Synod of Toucy, in 860, commissioned Hincmar to com
pose a synodal letter, which was to be directed to all the
faithful of France, so as to counteract the religious dis
turbances that had been occasioned by the discussions of the
last few years. In this letter the Capitula of Quiercy were
approved, and thus Hincmar's party carried the day. It was
inevitable that, in spite of local opposition, this result should
finally be reached; because Hincmar's view coincided with
the traditional teaching of the Church.
Thereafter the term gemina praedestinatio was set aside,
and in its stead were used praedestinatio and reprobatio as
referred respectively to the elect and the reprobate. Thereby
all confusion of ideas was avoided, and so peace was re
stored to the theological world. Incidentally it may be noted
here, although the matter did not form a part of the discus
sion at the time, that most of the men engaged in the con
troversy regarded predestination to eternal life as absolute,
that is, ante praeinsa merita. In the order of execution merit
must indeed come first; but in the order of divine decrees
election of certain individuals to eternal life takes precedence,
and thereupon follows the bestowal of efficacious graces from
23 Ibid. 321, 324. 2* ML. 125, 55 sqq.
72 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
which merit results through the free cooperation of the hu
man will. Hence the Synod of Valence makes the unquali
fied statement: In electione tamen salvandorum misericor-
diam Dei praecedere meritum bonum. Another statement
of the same Synod, namely, that Christ did not die for all,
was corrected in the sense that God sincerely desired the sal
vation of all men, even after Adam's fall into sin.25
B — TEACHING OF THE SCHOLASTICS
It was in this condition that the Scholastic theologians
found the doctrine of predestination when they began to sys
tematize the theological teaching of preceding ages. They
developed it considerably, but mostly along lines of subor
dinate importance. The solution of the real difficulty con
nected with predestination lay beyond the reach of even their
giant intellects. Nor could it be otherwise; for when all is
said, only God knows why He deigns to save the one and
suffers the other to perish. The following brief outline of
Scholastic teaching on the subject of predestination will suf
fice for our purpose. In presenting this outline we shall fol
low the chronological order, as that will enable us to notice
more readily what development took place.
The first theologian to be considered in this connection is
St. Anselm, who sets forth his views in a work entitled, De
Concordia Praescientiae Dei cum Libero Arbitrio. In the
first part of this treatise he endeavors to show that the eternal
and infallible prevision of God does not interfere with the
actions of man's free will, while in the second part he brings
his conclusions to bear upon predestination. He sums up the
result of his inquiry in regard to this latter point as follows:
" Just as foreknowledge in God, which is not deceived, does
not foreknow anything else than the truth precisely as it will
be in its future existence, flowing either from a necessary or
free cause; so in like manner does predestination, which is
not changed, not predestine anything else than what is con
tained in God's foreknowledge. And as that which is fore-
25 Cf r. Hinkmar, De Praedest. c. 26.
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 73
known, although unchangeable in its eternal prevision, may
nevertheless admit of change in time before it comes to pass;
so it is also with regard to predestination." 2G
This obviously makes the final status of free beings, as
foreknown and fore-ordained by God, dependent upon their
own free actions under the influence of divine grace. Hence,
according to St. Anselm, both predestination and reprobation
follow upon God's prevision of each one's merits or demerits;
so that both are post praevisa merita. In this sense the au
thor uses the term predestination in reference to the repro
bate as well as to the elect; for he says: '* It must be under
stood that there is not only a predestination of the good, but
also of the wicked; just as God is said to cause evil, not that
He really causes it, but He permits it to come to pass. For
He is said to harden a person's heart when He does not soften
it, and to lead some one into temptation when He does not
free him therefrom. It is therefore no impropriety of lan
guage when God in this manner is said to predestine the
wicked, and also their evil deeds, since He does not correct
the one or impede the other. But He is said in a special
sense to foreknow and predestine what is good, because He
effects that it is good; in regard to what is evil, on the other
hand, He is indeed the cause of its physical entity, but not of
its being evil.27
Peter Lombard follows closely in the footsteps of St.
Augustine, and states the problem in this way : " Predes
tination bears reference to all that is connected with salva
tion, and is said of men who are to be saved. For as St.
Augustine says : Predestination signifies the preparation of
grace, which is impossible without foreknowledge on the part of
God. However, foreknowledge is possible without predes
tination. By predestination indeed God foreknew what He
would do at any future time ; but He also foreknew what He
would not do, that is, all the evils that ever come to pass.
He predestined those whom He had chosen; but the others
He reprobated, that is, He foreknew the eternal death of
26 Op. cit. c. 3. 27 Ibid. c. 2.
74 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
sinners." 28 Hence the author seems to regard reprobation as
a simple passing by on the part of God when He chose His
elect.
The effects of predestination have a bearing upon both the
good and the bad; but in a different way, as is thus explained
by the author : " While predestination is the same as the
preparation of grace, that is, a divine election by which God
chose before the foundation of the world whomsoever it
pleased Him to choose; reprobation, on the contrary, must be
understood as a divine foreknowledge of the wickedness of
some, and as a preparation of eternal punishment for their
evil deeds. For just as the effect of predestination is the
grace by which we are justified in the present life, and are
enabled to live virtuously and to persevere in good ; so repro
bation on the part of God, who from all eternity rejected
some by not choosing them, has a twofold effect, one of which
He foreknew and did not prepare, that is, their wickedness ;
the other He foreknew and prepared, namely, their eternal
punishment." 29
Developing the subject still further, the author finally comes
to the conclusion that the predestination of the elect is with
out any merit of theirs, while the reprobation of the wicked
is consequent upon their iniquity as foreknown by God. He
sums up in these terms : " Just as predestination on the part
of God is, properly speaking, God's foreknowledge and His
preparation of divine favors, by reason of which the elect
are most certainly saved; so reprobation on the part of God
is the same as His foreknowledge of the never ending wicked
ness of some, and the consequent preparation of everlasting
punishment. And as the effect of predestination is the be
stowal of grace, so in a manner the effect of eternal reproba
tion seems to consist in the obduration of the sinner. Not
that God effects this obduration by the causing of malice,
but rather by not bestowing His grace; as indeed they are not
worthy to receive it." 30
Alexander of Hales examines the question of predestina-
28 Sent. I, d. 40, n. i. 29 Ibid. n. 4. 30 Ibid. n. 4.
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 75
tion under a threefold aspect. First he inquires what the
name itself imports; next he tries to determine the formal
concept of predestination; lastly he investigates what it is in
itself — secundum rem. The name, he says, imports two
things : priority and destination. By reason of priority, pre
destination is eternal ; under the aspect of destination it is a
divine decree in reference to some good that is to be con
ferred in time. Considered in its formal concept, predestina
tion is in the order of divine knowledge of good pleasure or
approbation — in genere sclent iae beneplaciti sive approba-
tionis. In itself it is the preparation of grace for the pres
ent and of glory for the future.31
Hence, predestination necessarily implies an act of fore
knowledge and an act of the divine will. The relation of
these two acts is thus explained by the author : " Divine
knowledge is the same with regard to all men : the divine will
by itself is also the same in regard to all: but the divine will
in conjunction with foreknowledge is not the same in respect
to all men. However, this is not owing to any difference
that results in the divine foreknowledge from the aforesaid
conjunction ; but it arises from the fact that we are not all in
the same condition as known by God. Hence, predestina
tion does not stand for the will of God alone, but for the will
as guided by foreknowledge of the use which men will make
of His gifts. Consequently, as John Damascene remarks, we
must distinguish two wills in God : one that is antecedent and
another that is consequent. By His antecedent will God wills
all men to be saved; for this will regards the rational crea
ture as capable of salvation : but by His consequent will, which
is guided by His foreknowledge of the use which rational
creatures will make of His gifts, He does not will all men to
be saved, but only the elect. And in this sense the will of
God is said to be rational; for if He willed the final salvation
of one who abused his freedom of choice, He would not be
just." 32
Then examining the question whether a person's merits
si Sum. I, q. 28, m. I, 2, 3. S2 Ibid. q. 28, m. 2.
76 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
are the cause of his predestination, he comes to this conclu
sion : " The terms predestination and reprobation signify
several different things. For in predestination is included not
only foreknowledge, but also grace and glory, which are the
effects of predestination. So too are there three things to
be considered in reprobation: foreknowledge, present wicked
ness, and future punishment. Hence, when we find it stated
in the writings of saints that predestination and reprobation
depend on the merits of the persons in question, we must
make this distinction. If predestination be considered pre
cisely as it is in God, it is not caused by the merits of those
who are predestined; but if it be considered as it is in the
persons themselves, it is the result of their merits. However,
even in this latter case there is a difference between predes
tination and reprobation. For predestination, in so far as
it is in God or signifies the bestowal of grace, is not of merit;
but it is of merit only in so far as the conferring of final glory
comes in question. Now in reprobation the matter is differ
ent: for there we have the act of reprobation itself as it is in
God, the present iniquity of the sinner, and his future punish
ment. The first of these is not caused by the demerits of the
reprobate, since it is identified with God's essence; but the
other two- are caused by these- same demerits." 33
St. Bonaventure repeats this reasoning of his master almost
word for word, and makes it his own.34 Then he proceeds
to show that the fact of predestination and reprobation does
not interfere with the freedom of man's will in regulating
his moral conduct. He sums up in these terms : " The di
vine foreknowledge is of such a kind that God knows from
all eternity what each one of us is able to think and to will,
and together with this He sees in what direction our choice
lies, and what manner of works we perform in the course
of our lives. And because He sees all this together, what we
can accomplish, what we actually choose, and what we do;
hence it is that He cannot be deceived. Consequently, as
33 Ibid. q. 28, m. 3.
34 In Sent. I, d. 40, a. i, q. i ; q. 41, a. I.
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 77
predestination includes divine foreknowledge, it must be in
conformity with our free will." 35
Finally, touching the heart of the mystery, namely, why
God elects one to eternal life and passes by the other, he says :
" Care must be taken lest, while we desire to exalt the will
of God, we rather dishonor it. For if there were no reason
why He chose the one and not the other, except that it so
pleased Him, there surely would be nothing hidden about the
divine judgments; on the contrary, all would be manifest,
since every one can understand that reason. Nor would the
divine judgments be in any way wonderful, but merely arbi
trary. Consequently, it must be held, as St. Augustine points
out, that the eternal decree of predestination and the divine
will are most reasonable, and are based upon the best of rea
sons; and as they are from all eternity, so too is there for
them an eternal reason — not as regards the act itself in
God, but in respect of its term in the creature. . . . And this
may be shown by an example. Thus if it be asked, why does
God wish that it should rain in winter rather than in summer,
the answer is: Because in winter there is a greater abun
dance of watery vapor than there is in summer. In a simi
lar way, if it be asked, why did God wish that Peter should
be saved rather than Judas, we answer : Because Peter gath
ered merits for heaven, but Judas laid up punishment for
hell." 36
Albertus Magnus gives substantially the same exposition
as the preceding two. " By His antecedent will," he says,
" God wills the salvation of all men. . . . But by His conse
quent will, which takes account of our deeds, He wills the
good to be saved and the wicked to be condemned. And this
is the will that reference is made to in the definition of pre
destination ; for it is by this that He wills only the good to be
saved, because they alone are pleasing to Him." 37 And
again : " Tw7o things are to be noted : divine foreknowledge
of those who are to be sa.ved and the will of God predestinat
ing just so many to salvation. This will of God has regard
35 Tbid. d. 40, a. 2, q. i. 37 Sum. I, tr. 16, q. 63, a. 2, I.
36 Ibid. d. 41, a. I, q. 2.
78 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
to our works, because He wills to save as many as make a
good use of His grace, and not more; but if more were to
make a good use of that same grace, then He would also from
all eternity have willed that they should be saved." 38
St. Thomas first shows that it belongs to the providence of
God to direct created beings toward their proper end, and
then points out that predestination is a part of Providence.
He reasons in this way : " The end towards which created
things are disposed by God is twofold: one that exceeds all
proportion and faculty of created nature ; and this end is life
eternal, consisting in the beatific vision, which is above the
nature of every creature. The other end is proportionate to
created nature, and this end created beings can attain accord
ing to their natural powers. To that, however, which a crea
ture cannot attain by the power of its own nature, it must be
directed by some one else; thus an arrow is shot by the archer
towards a mark. Hence, properly speaking, a rational crea
ture, capable of eternal life, is led towards it, as it were, di
rected by God. The reason of that direction pre-exists in
God; as in Him is the plan of the order of all things towards
an end, which we proved above to be Providence. The plan
of something to be done, existing in the mind of the doer, is
a certain pre-existence in him of the thing to be done. Hence
the plan of the above-mentioned direction of a rational crea
ture towards the end of life eternal is called predestination.
For to destine, is to direct or send. Thus it is clear that pre
destination, as regards its object, is a part of Providence." 39
As predestination is a part of Providence, it is, properly
speaking, " not anything in the person predestined : but only
in the person who predestines. ... It is a kind of plan of
the ordering of some persons towards eternal salvation, ex
isting in the divine mind. The execution, however, of this
order is in a passive way in the predestined, but actively in
God." 40 And as it is in God, predestination is from all
eternity, although its effects belong to time.41 Neither grace
nor glory come into the definition of predestination, as some-
38 In Sent. I, d. 40, a. 11. 40 Ibid, a. 2.
39 Sum. Theol. I, q. 23, a. I. 41 Ibid. a. 2 ad 3m.
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 79
thing belonging to its essence; but they are related to it as
effect to cause and object to act.42
To the predestination of the just corresponds the reproba
tion of the wicked. This too is a part of Providence. For
to Providence it belongs to permit certain defects in those
things which are directed towards their end. " Thus, as men
are ordained to eternal life through the providence of God,
it likewise is part of that providence to permit some to fall
away and be lost. This is called reprobation. . . . There
fore, as predestination includes the will to confer grace and
glory; so also reprobation includes the will to permit a per
son to fall into sin, and to impose the punishment of damna
tion of account of that sin." 43 However, " reprobation acts
quite differently in its causality from predestination. This
latter is the cause both of what is expected in the future life
by the predestined — namely, glory — and of what is received
in this life — namely, grace. Reprobation, on the other
hand, is not the cause of what is in the present — namely, sin ;
but it is the cause of abandonment by God. And so too is it
the cause of what is assigned in the future — namely, eternal
punishment. But guilt proceeds from the free will of the
person who is reprobated and deserted by grace." 44
The predestination of some and the reprobation of others
necessarily implies election on the part of God. He chooses
some whom He will save, and passes by others whom He
suffers to be lost. From this, however, it must not be in
ferred that He does not sincerely desire the salvation of all
men. In this connection the author brings in the distinction
between the antecedent and consequent will of God. " God
wills all men to be saved by His antecedent will, which is not
to will absolutely but relatively; but not by His consequent
will, which is to will absolutely." 4{S
St. Thomas considers the relation of merit to predestina
tion under the heading, whether God's foreknowledge of fu
ture merits is the cause of predestination. After rejecting
several obviously false views, he answers with this distinc-
42 Thid. a. 2. ad 4™. 44 Ibid. a. 3 ad 2m.
43 Ibid. a. 3. 45 Ibid. a. 4 et ad 3m.
80 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
tion : " We must say, therefore, that the effect of predes
tination may be considered in a twofold light — in one way,
in particular; and thus there is no reason why one effect of
predestination should not be the reason or cause of another;
a subsequent effect of a previous effect, as regards the final
cause; and the previous of those that follow, as regards the
meritorious cause, which is reduced to the disposition of the
matter; as if we were to say that God preordained to give
glory on account of merit, and that He preordained to give
grace to merit the glory. In another way, the effect of pre
destination may be considered in general. And so considered,
it is impossible that the whole of the effect of predestination
should have any cause as coming from us; because whatso
ever is in man disposing him towards salvation, is all in
cluded under the effect of predestination; even the prepara
tion for grace. For neither does this happen otherwise than
by divine help, according to the Prophet Jeremias : ' Con
vert us, O Lord, to Thee, and we shall be converted/ Yet
predestination has in this way, in regard to its effect, the good
ness of God for its reason; towards which the whole effect of
predestination is ordained as to an end, and from which it
proceeds as from its first moving principle." 46
From this it is quite obvious that according to St. Thomas
predestination in its adequate sense is not caused by the merits
of the predestined. Nor is any other view possible; because
considered adequately, predestination includes all graces, even
the first, and without grace no one can merit. On the other
hand, it is equally obvious that according to St. Thomas predes
tination in an inadequate sense, in so far as it signifies the be
stowal of graces subsequent to the first and of final glory,
may be merited. And this he teaches in many other places,
as for instance in his Commentary on the Sentences, where
he says : " In regard to final glory, predestination is in the
order of distributive justice, and therefore we may say that
God gives glory to this one and not to that one, because the
former merited it and the latter did not; and in like manner
does He will that this one should have glory and the other
*6 Ibid. a. 5,
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 81
should not, because this one was worthy and the other was
not." 47 Many Thomists, however, refer all this exclusively
to the order of execution, while on the other hand they limit
predestination to the order of intention, and thence they con
clude that St. Thomas taught predestination ante praevisa
merita.48
In regard to the reprobate, St. Thomas makes some state
ments from which it has been inferred that he held negative
reprobation. Thus he says : " God wills to manifest His
goodness in men; in respect of those whom He predestines,
by means of His mercy, by. sparing them; and in respect of
others, whom He reprobates, by means of His justice", in
punishing them. This is the reason why God elects some,
and rejects others. . . . Why He chooses some for glory,
and reprobates others, has no reason; except the divine
will." 49 And again : " Although anyone reprobated by
God cannot acquire grace, nevertheless that he falls into this
or that particular sin comes from the use of his free will.
Hence it is rightly imputed to him as guilt." 50
Others, however, contend that all these statements refer to
positive reprobation, which follows upon the prevision of sin.
And this they prove from the author's own teaching. Thus
he states quite clearly : " As far as in Him lies, God is ready
to give grace to all ; for He wills that all should be saved and
come to a knowledge of the truth. And those only are de
prived of grace who put an obstacle in its way; and this is
imputed to them as guilt, just as in the case of a person who
shuts his eyes while the sun is shining and thereby causes
some harm to follow : he is guilty by his own action, although
without the sunlight he cannot see."51 Again: "It must
be held that those conditions by reason of which man fails to
attain his end, and under which God does not will him to be
saved, are of man's own making, and therefore all that fol
lows is imputed to him as a sin." 52
Duns Scotus takes a somewhat different view of predes-
47 Op. cit. T, d. 41, q. I, a. 4 ad 2m. 50 Tbid. a. 3 ad 3m.
48 Cf r. Gotti. T, tr. 6, q. 3. 51 Contra Gent. ITT, c. 159.
49 Sum. Theol. T, q. 23, a. 5 ad 3m. 62 Tn Sent. I, d. 46, q. i, a. I ad Sra.
82 MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
tination. He is above all concerned about safeguarding the
liberty of God to ordain what He pleases. This is entirely
in harmony with the superiority of the will as compared to
the intellect, both in the divine and the created order of things.
Hence he is inclined to favor predestination ante praevisa
merita.53 But he staunchly defends the freedom of the hu
man will in regulating its own choice. He also contends that
sufficient grace is given to all,54 and that no one is cast off by
God except in view of final impenitence.55 After trying to
refute the opinion of Henry of Ghent, which is substantially
the same as that of St. Bona venture noted in a preceding
paragraph, he concludes in these terms : " Therefore, lest
one in his search of these deep matters plunge beyond his
depth, it is better for him to choose that opinion which finds
greater favor with him, making certain, however, that through
it divine liberty suffer no injustice and that God's bounty in
preelecting be given just play. Should one make choice of
any other view (than the one here proposed), he must meet
the difficulties which have been urged against it." 56
In regard to other points more or less intimately connected
with predestination there was hardly any difference of opin
ion among the Scholastics. Thus all are agreed that no one
can be certain of his being among the predestined, unless he
receives a special divine revelation to that effect.57 They are
also agreed that predestination is unchangeable, and that
therefore no one of the predestined can ever be lost.58 How
ever, this does not make prayers and good works useless; be
cause it is only they that can make our salvation certain, as
on account of them salvation is ultimately conferred.59 Ac
cording to the more common opinion the number of the pre
destined is absolutely fixed by God, so that when this number
is actually saved the world will come to an end.60 What this
number is, no one can tell. St. Thomas speaks of it as fol-
53 In Sent. I, d. 41. 5T Cf r. Thomas, In Sent. I, q. 23,
54 Ibid. q. 46, n. 3. a. i ad 4m-
" Ibid. d. 41, n. ii. 58 Sum. Theol. q. 23, a. 6.
56 ibid. 59 Ibid. a. 8.
60 Ibid. a. 7.
SCHOLASTICS ON PREDESTINATION 83
lows: " Concerning the number of all the predestined, some
say that so many men will be saved as angels fell; some,
however, so many as there were angels left; others, in fine,
so many as the number of angels who fell, added to that of
all the angels created by God. It is, however, better to say
that to God alone is known the number for whom is reserved
eternal happiness, as the prayer for the living and dead ex
presses it." 61
61 Loc. cit.
CHAPTER IV
THE BLESSED TRINITY 1
All that is essential in the doctrine of the Blessed Trinity
was already clearly taught in the Patristic age — the unity of
the divine nature, the trinity of persons, the generation of
the Son, the procession of the Holy Spirit, and the nature
of the divine hypostases as relationes subsist entes2 On these
points the East and the West were in full doctrinal agree
ment, although in course of time a difference arose in regard
to the principium quod in the procession of the Holy Spirit.3
When the Scholastics began their great work of doctrinal
synthesis, the Church's teaching on this fundamental mystery
of the Christian faith was almost fully developed, so that
little remained to be done save along the lines of properly co
ordinating the different parts of the doctrines. However,
along with this, there were a number of subordinate points
that admitted of still further development, and these were
investigated and discussed by nearly all the theologians of
the Middle Ages. The following brief review of mediaeval
teaching on the mystery of the Blessed Trinity will be suf
ficient to bring out what is of special interest to the history
of dogmas.
I. Existence of the Mystery. — In order to prove the truth
that in the unity of the Godhead there are three persons, the
Scholastics use two distinct series of arguments, one of which
is drawn from Holy Scripture and tradition, and the other
from the principles of natural reason. The former series
is regarded by them as absolutely conclusive, so that the truth
thus established is held to be of faith; whilst the latter is
1 Cfr. Schwane, Histoire des III ; Hefele, Conciliengeschichte, V.
Dogmes. t. IV, p. I, c. 2: De Reg- 2 Cf r. vol. I, p. 260 sqq.
non, Etudes sur la Trinite, t. II, 8 Ibid. p. 490 sqq.
84
THE BLESSED TRINITY 85
looked upon as having only suasive force, confirming in a
manner by reason what is already known by revelation. The
truth in question is, therefore, by all of them considered as
a mystery in the strict sense of the term — a truth, that is,
whose existence cannot be discovered by unaided reason, and
whose intimate nature cannot be understood even when its
existence is made known by revelation. It is in this sense
that St. Thomas writes : " By natural reason we can know
what belongs to the unity of essence, but not what belongs
to the distinction of persons. Whoever, then, tries to prove
the trinity of persons by natural reason, derogates from the
faith."4 And St. Bonaventure: "The trinity of persons
can in no way be known by reasoning from the creature to
God." 5 Even Abelard, who frequently speaks of this
mystery as if it were a natural truth, explicitly states that
the arguments drawn from reason cannot produce super
natural faith, but can only make the teaching of faith more
acceptable.0
2. Errors of Some Early Scholastics. — The very concept
of the Trinity, according to the teaching of the Church, implies
not only distinction of persons, but also numerical identity
of nature. This last point was denied by Roscelin, canon of
Compiegne, who towards the end of the eleventh century
taught in that city, and also at Besangon and Tours. His
own writings, with the exception of a letter to Abelard,7 have
not been preserved, but his teaching on the point in ques
tion can be gathered from the refutation of it by St. Anselm,8
Abelard,9 John of Salisbury,10 and Otto of Freising.11
Being a Nominalist in philosophy, he logically maintained
that the idea of person can be realized only in an individually
existing nature, distinct from all others of its kind, not only
in personality, but also in substance. Hence he argued:
"If there are in God three persons and only one substance
(una res}, and not three substances, each one separately by
4 Sum. Theol. I, q. 32, a. I. « De Fide Trin. c. i.
5 In Sent. I, d. 3, p. i, q. 4. 9 £p 2i.
6 Introd. ad Theol. II, c. 3. 10 Metalog. II, 17.
7 Opp. Abelard. t. II, ed. Cousin. " De Gest. Fred. I, c. 47.
86 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
itself, even as in the case with three angels or three souls,
yet in such a manner that they are altogether the same by
way of power and will, then the Father and the Holy Spirit
have become incarnate together with the Son." 12 And
again : " Whoso says that the Father is the Son, and that
the Son is the Father, as he necessarily must if he holds
that the three names signify the same substance, he con
founds the persons. For all names of one and the same
individual thing are predicated of one another. . . . The
substance of the Father is nothing else than the Father, and
the substance of the Son is nothing else than the Son, even
as the city of Rome is Rome and the creature of water is
water. Hence as the Father begot the Son, the substance
of the Father begot the substance of the Son. Hence as the
substance of him who begets is one and the substance of him
who is begotten is another one, the one must be different
from the other; . . . and therefore we cannot avoid making
a separation in the substance of the Holy Trinity." 13
This teaching, which is tritheism pure and simple, was
condemned by the Council of Soissons (1093), which had
been convened by Archbishop Raynold of Rheims. Rosce-
lin retracted his error under the pressure of popular indigna
tion, but shortly after he relapsed, as appears from his letter
to Abelard. There he cites a large number of extracts from
the writings of the Fathers, all of which, he contends, show
that Christian antiquity never understood God to be only
one being, numerically one nature subsisting in three per
sons. His error was thoroughly refuted by St. Anselm in
his work De Fide Trinitatis, which was primarily written for
that purpose.
About the same time Abelard fell into error by going to
the other extreme, in as much as he seemed to identify the
three divine persons with the attributes of power, wisdom,
and goodness. In his Introductio ad Theologiam, he states
the problem in this way : Christian faith teaches that there
is only one God — not several gods — one Lord of all, one
12 Cfr. Anselm, De Fide Trin. c. 13 Ep. ad Abelard., op. cit. p. 799,
I. 800.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 87
Creator, one Principle, one Supreme Good. Hence the two
questions: What distinction is there between the three per
sons in the one divine nature? How is the trinity of persons
compatible with the unity of nature?
He answers: The names of the three persons seem to
express the perfection of the Supreme Good. The name of
Father stands for power, that of Son for wisdom, and that
of Holy Ghost for goodness or love. These are three funda
mental concepts of the Divine Being. In their unity and
distinction consists the Trinity. This, however, must not be
so understood that the Father only is power, the Son only
is wisdom, and the Holy Ghost only is goodness; but these
attributes are peculiar to the three persons respectively, and
so are distinctive of the same. The Father is power, be
cause He is the unbegotten and absolute principle; the Son is
wisdom, because He is the Word; the Holy Ghost is love
or goodness, because He is the fountain of divine grace :
yet the Son and the Holy Ghost, though derived from the
Father, are also power.14
Then, to illustrate his teaching by examples, he makes use
of expressions and comparisons which caused him to be ac
cused of Modalism. A piece of brass, he says, upon which
an artist engraves the likeness of the king, is essentially the
same as the image, and the image is essentially the same as
the brass; yet they are distinct in their properties as metal
and image. Something very similar to this we find in the
Trinity. For even as the seal is of the brass and has in
a certain sense its origin therein, so has the Son His being
of the substance of the Father, and in so far is He begotten
of the Father. Then, as regards the Holy Spirit, some ec
clesiastical teachers indeed hold that He is also of the sub
stance of the Father, in as much as He is of one substance
with Him; but this is not strictly true. Because if it were
true, it would follow that He was begotten by the Father
and the Son, whereas He only proceeds from them.15 Since,
then, both the Son and the Holy Spirit are of the Father —
14Tntrod. ad Theol. I, 5-10.
15 Ibid. II, 13, 16; cfr. Theol. Christ. IV.
88 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
the one begotten, the other proceeding — generation differs
from procession in this, that He who is begotten is of the
very substance of the Father, as it is in the nature of wisdom,
that is, of being, that it should be a certain power; whereas
the effect of love is classed as goodness rather than as power.16
The first one in France to oppose Abelard was William of
St. Thierry, who was soon joined by St. Bernard, Hugh of
St. Victor, and others. St. Bernard sums up the errors in
question as follows : " Denique constituit Deum Patrem
plenam esse potentiam, F ilium quamdam potentiam, Spiritum
Sanctum nullam potentiam: atque hoc esse Filium ad Patrem,
quod quamdam potentiam ad potentiam, quod speciem ad
genus, quod materiatum ad materiam, quod hominem ad
animal, quod aereum sigillum ad aes." 17 These errors were
condemned by the Council of Soissons (1121), and again by
the Council of Sens (1141), which at the same time deprived
Abelard of his license to teach.18
3. Definition of Person. — Early in the sixth century,
Boethius had defined person as an individual substance of
a rational nature — Persona est naturae rationalis individua
substantia. Some of the early Scholastics found fault with
this definition as applied to the three persons in the God
head. Thus Richard of St. Victor argued, since the divine
nature is an individual substance, it ought, according to the
Boethian definition, be a person; yet this conclusion runs
counter to the teaching of the Church. Hence to make the
definition applicable to divine persons, it should be modified
in this way: Persona divina est divinae naturae incommuni-
cabilis existentia — a divine person is the incommunicable
existence of the divine nature.19 Alexander of Hales views
the matter in practically the same light; hence he gives the
following defintion : Persona est existentia incommunicabilis
intellectualis naturae vel existens per se solum secundum
quemdam modum existendi™ The same definition is later
16Introd. ad Theol. II, Martene, 18 Mansi, 21, 568; Hefele, V, 476.
1085. 19De Trin. IV, c. 22; cfr. c. 21.
17 Tract, de Error. Abelard. c. i, 20 Sum. I, q. 56, m. 4.
2.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 89
on given by Scotus, who points out that incommunicability,
taken as the ratio formalis of personality, implies not merely
a negation of actual and aptitudinal communication, but a
positive repugnance to the same; and therefore the concept
of personality is not negative, but positive.21
However, the greater number of Scholastics accepted the
Boethian definition, but in their application of it to the three
divine persons they explained the two terms substantia and
individua. The former term, they say, is taken in a general
sense, prescinding from first and second, or singular and
universal; whilst the other is added to restrict this general
signification and at the same time to convey the idea of in
communicability.22
This more common view is thus expressed by St. Thomas:
" In the opinion of some, the term substance in the definition
of person stands for first substance, which is the hypostasis;
nor is the term individual superfluously added, for as much
as by the name of hypostasis or first substance the idea of
universality and of part is excluded. For we do not say that
man in general is an hypostasis ; nor the hand, since it is only
a part. But where individual is added, the idea of as-
sumptibility is excluded from person; for the human nature
in Christ is not a person, since it is assumed by a greater,
that is, by the Word of God. It is, however, better to say
that substance is here taken in a general sense, as divided into
first and second, and when individual is added, it is restricted
to first substance." 23
4. Principles of Divine Processions. — According to the
unanimous teaching of Patristic writers, the Son is begotten
of the substance of the Father, and the Holy Spirit proceeds
of the substance of the Father and the Son. In view of this
teaching, Peter Lombard opens his treatise on the Trinity
with the question, " Whether the Father begot the divine es
sence, or whether the divine essence begot the Son, or whether
21 In Sent. I, d. 23, n. 4 ; ibid. Ill, Thorn. Sum. Theol. I, q. 29, a. i ad
d. i, q. i, n. 10. 2m; Albert. Magn. Sum. p. i, tr. 10,
22 Halens. Sum. p. i, q. 56, m. 3; q. 44, m. 2.
Bonavent. In Sent I, d. 25, a. i, q. 2; 23 Sum. Theol. loc. cit.
90 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
the essence begot the essence, or whether the essence neither
begot nor was begotten.24 His answer is : " In full agree
ment with Catholic writers on this subject, we say that the
Father did not beget the divine essence, nor did the divine
essence beget the Son, nor did the divine essence beget the
divine essence," 25 but the Father begot the Son, and the
Father and the Son breathed forth the Holy Spirit.
This teaching was attacked by some of Peter's contem
poraries, and among others by Abbot Joachim de Floris. He
contended that thus there was a fourth term introduced into
the Trinity, which would necessarily result in a quaternity.
The contention was settled by the Fourth Lateran Council,
held in 1215. The Council sustained the Lombard, whom it
mentioned by name, and defined that the essence " is neither
begetting, nor begotten, nor proceeding; but it is the Father
who begets, the Son who is begotten, and the Holy Spirit who
proceeds." 26
Taking this definition as their starting point, all subsequent
Scholastics held that the principium quod — that which begets
or breathes — is not the divine essence as such, but as it is
found in the persons concerned, or rather the persons them
selves to whom the productive actions are attributed. But
there remained the further question about the principium
quo — the power by which the persons are constituted pro
ductive principles. Is this something absolute or relative?
Peter Lombard had already pointed out that it could not
be anything purely absolute, but must in some way include
a relation — posse generare dicit quid, sed secundum re-
spectum ad aliquid. Others, among them William of
Auxerre and Durandus of Saint Pourgain, considered it to
be something purely relative. In his Summa, St. Bona-
venture pronounces this last view as more probable,27 but in
his Prologus ad II Sent, he declares himself in favor of the
Lombard. This latter position is also taken by Albertus
Magnus, who holds that the potentia generatwa is something
intermediate between what is essential and what is per-
24 Sent. I, d. 5. 26Mansi, 22, 982; DB. 431.
25 Ibid. 27 D. 7, a. unic. q. I.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 91
sonal.28 St. Thomas expresses the same view, when, after
a somewhat lengthy disquisition on the point, he concludes:
" And therefore the power of begetting signifies the divine
nature directly, but the relation indirectly." 29 Finally,
Scotus thinks that the different views on this subject may be
brought into agreement, and that the chief difference con
sists in the terms employed.30
A further question is, what is the principium quo of the
two divine processions in itself, and how does it differ in the
generation of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit?
Leaving aside the peculiar view of Richard of St. Victor, who
looked upon divine love as the common source of the Son
and the Holy Spirit, the unanimous answer of the Scholastics
to this question is that the Son is begotten by way of nature
or intellect, and that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the
divine will. On this they are all agreed, but in their explana
tion of this answer there is manifest a considerable differ
ence of views. Thus Alexander of Hales makes the act
of the notional intellect merely concomitant to the fecundity
of the divine nature. Hence he says : Cum ergo dicitur, in-
telligendo general, vel intelligere est speciem generare, in-
telligitur per concomitantiam.31 Very much the same view
is taken by St. Bonaventure.32 St. Thomas, on the other
hand, places a special emphasis on the divine intellect.
" Procession," he says, " always supposes action, and as
there is a procession ad extra corresponding to the act tend
ing to external matter, so there must be a procession ad intra
corresponding to the act remaining within the agent. This
applies most conspicuously to the intellect, the action of
which remains in the intelligent agent. Whenever we
understand, by the very fact of understanding there proceeds
something within us, which is a conception of the object
understood, a conception issuing from our intellectual power
and proceeding from our knowledge of that object. This
conception is signified by the spoken word, and it is called
28 In Sent. I, d. 7, a. 2. 31 Sum. q. 42, m. 2.
29 Sum. Theol. I, q. 41, a. 5. ™ jn Sent. I, d. 6, a. unic.
30 Report, d. 7, q. i.
92
MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
the word of the heart signified by the word of the voice." 33
In this manner the Son " proceeds by way of intelligible ac
tion, which is a vital operation." 34
Scotus adopts the terminology of St. Bonaventure, stating
that the divine processions are via naturae and via volunta-
tis.35 In opposition to St. Thomas, he denies that the act
of simple cognition, even in so far as it connotes paternity,
constitutes the generation of the Son. That generation, he
contends, is logically posterior to cognition and proceeds from
the memoria fecunda, that is, from the intelligence already
in possession of its essential object.36 Furthermore, whilst
St. Thomas holds that the Son proceeds from the intellect
in so far as it is expressive of all that is knowable,37 Scotus
restricts the generative action of the intellect to its cognition
of the divine essence and attributes, including probably also
a quasi abstract cognition of the persons.38
There is a similar difference of views with regard to the
procession of the Holy Spirit. All are agreed that the Holy
Ghost proceeds by way of the will, and that this is a proces
sion of love. St. Thomas describes it as follows : " We
must consider each procession similarly. For as when a
thing is understood by any one, there results in the intelligent
agent a conception of the object understood, which concep
tion we call word; so when any one loves an object, a cer
tain impression results, so to speak, of the thing loved in
the affection of the lover. And by reason of this the object
loved is said to be in the lover, as also the thing understood
is in the one who understands; so that when any one under
stands and loves himself he is in himself, not only by real
identity, but also as the object understood is in the one who
understands, and the thing loved is in the lover." 39
Scotus admits this reasoning in so far as it affirms that
the Holy Spirit proceeds from an act of love, but he divides
that love into two formally distinct acts. The first follows
33 Sum. Theol. I, q. 27, a. i. 37 Sum. Theol. I, q. 34, a. 3; cfr.
34 Ibid. a. 2. Cont. Gent. IV, c. 13.
35 In Sent. I, d. 2, q. 7, n. 18-33. 38 In Sent. I, d. 10 ; Report. I, d,
36 In Sent. I, d. 2, q. 7, n. 2-16. 6, q. 2; In Sent. II, d. i, q. I, a. 2.
89 Sum. Theol. I, q. 37, a. i.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 93
upon God's essential cognition and precedes both the gener
ation of the Son and the procession of the Holy Spirit. The
second corresponds to the memoria fecunda in the generation
of the Word, and constitutes the active spiration which is
common to the Father and the Son.40 Moreover, God's love
of Himself is both free and necessary. It is free in so far
as it comes within the scope of God's power and dominion,
and it is necessary in as much as its object is infinite.41
That the Holy Spirit proceeds both from the Father and
the Son was conceded by all to be an article of faith, as it
had been authoritatively inserted in the Creed at the begin
ning of the eleventh century.42 On account, however, of the
opposition of the Greeks, both St. Anselm and St. Thomas
wrote special treatises in support of the doctrine. Moreover
all were agreed that the Father and the Son constitute only
one principle of spiration, yet so that there are said to be two
persons of whom the act of spiration is predicated.43 St.
Thomas puts his explanation in this form: " If we consider
the spirative power, the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father
and the Son as they are one in the power of spiration, which
in a certain way signifies the nature with the property. . . .
Nor is there any reason against one property being in two
subjects that possess one common nature. But if we con
sider the subjects — supposita — of the spiration, then we
may say that the Holy Ghost proceeds from the Father
and the Son as distinct; for He proceeds from them as the
unitive love of both." 44
The teaching here set forth was thus defined by the Coun
cil of Lyons, held in 1274: "We profess that the Holy
Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son, not
as from two principles, but as from one principle, not by
two spirations, but by one spiration. . . . But because some,
through ignorance of the aforesaid irrefragable teaching, have
40 Report. I, d. 6, q. n. unic. q. I, 2; Albert. Magn. In
41 In Sent. I. d. 2, q. 7 ; Report. I, Sent. d. n, a. 3, 4, 5 ; Henr. Gand.
d. 10, q. 3; Quodl. I, 16. Sum. a. 54, q. 6; Thorn. In Sent. d.
42Cfr. vol. I, p. 497. n, q. i, a. 2; Scot. In Sent. d. 12,
43Cfr. Halens. Sum. p. I, q. 70, q. i.
m. 3; Bonavent. In Sent. d. n, a. 44 Sum. Theol. I, q. 36, a. 4 ad im.
94 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
fallen into various errors, we, wishing to close the way to
these errors, with the approval of the sacred Council, con
demn and reprobate those who presume to deny that the Holy
Spirit proceeds eternally from the Father and the Son; and
also those who temerariously assert that the Holy Spirit pro
ceeds from the Father and the Son as from two principles,
and not as from one." 45 A similar definition was given by
the Council of Florence in I439,46 both definitions being oc
casioned by the attempted reunion of the Greek Church with
the Holy See.
5. Divine Relations. — As there are processions in God, it
necessarily follows that there are also divine relations. For,
says St. Thomas, " when something proceeds from a prin
ciple of the same nature, then both the one proceeding and
the source of procession agree in the same order; and then
they have real relations to each other." 47 Now as there are
two processions in the Godhead, each involving a principle
and a term, there must be four relations, two of origination
and two of procession. The former two are paternity and
spiration, the later filiation and procession.48 These relations
are, on the one hand, really identified with the divine essence ;
yet, on the other hand, as relations they are really distinct
from one another.49 Their real identity with the divine es
sence was affirmed by the Council of Rheims against Gilbert
de la Porree, who held that they were merely assistant or
externally affixed to the nature of the Godhead; while their
real distinction from one another is necessarily implied in
the distinction of the persons. However in regard to both
points there was some difference of views among the
Scholastics, as there is among theologians to-day.
The first point is thus explained by St. Thomas : " It is
manifest that relation really existing in God is really the same
as His essence; and only differs in its mode of intelligibility,
in as much as it imports regard to its opposite which is not
expressed in the name of essence."50 Hence he holds a
45 Mansi, 24, 8iB ; DB, 460. 48 Ibid. a. 4.
46 Mansi, 31, 76sE ; DB, 691. 49 Ibid. a. 3.
47 Sum. Theol. I, q. 28, a. I. 50 Ibid. a. 2.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 95
virtual distinction, which is based upon the different modes
of intelligibility as proper to the essence and the relations. St.
Bonaventure conceives the matter in very much the same way,
but he contends that the distinction is more than merely vir
tual. He calls it a distinction of attribution, in as much as
the concept of relation adds to the concept of essence a re
gard to something else.51 Scotus introduces here his formal
distinction — distinctio formalis ex natura rei,52 which, ac
cording to some, is only a logical development of the distinctio
attributionis of St. Bonaventure. The Nominalists, on the
other hand, rejected all virtual distinction, contending that
essence and relations, as also all absolute perfections in the
Godhead, are distinguished only mentally — distinctione ra-
tionis ratiocinantis. This view, which St. Bonaventure and
Alexander of Hales attribute also to Praepositivus, Chancellor
of the Paris University early in the thirteenth century, was
rejected by all the other Scholastics. And, in fact, it cannot
be admitted without destroying the foundation of the real
distinction of the divine persons.
The second point at issue, that the relations are really
distinct from one another, was held by all Scholastics out
side the Nominalist School. It is precisely the relations that
constitute the distinction between the divine persons. For
according to the fundamental law of the Trinity, first
definitely formulated by St. Anselm 53 and later formally
approved by the Council of Florence, in the Godhead all per
fections are identical save where there is relative opposition
— in divinis omnia sunt nnum ubi non obinat relationis op-
positio.^ The reason for the distinction is thus given by
St. Thomas : " The idea of relation necessarily means re
gard of one to another, according as one is relatively op
posed to another. So as in God there is real relation, there
must also be real opposition ; but the very nature of relative
opposition includes distinction. Hence there must be real
distinction in God; not, indeed, according to that which is
51 Tn Sent. d. 26, a. unic. q. I. 53 Monol. c. 2.
52 In Sent. d. 2, q. 7, n. 41 ; 5* Decret. pro Jacob. ; Mansi, 31,
Quodl. 5. 17350 ; DB, 703.
96 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
absolute — that is the essence, wherein there is supreme unity
and simplicity — but according to that which is relative." 55
6. Divine Persons. — That the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit are in a true sense divine persons, was accepted
by the Scholastics as clearly contained in the teaching of the
Church. This point had been firmly established by the great
Fathers of the fourth century, and, in fact, had always been
a matter of faith. Furthermore, that the divine persons are
not something absolute but relative, was also admitted with
out controversy. In keeping with the teaching of St.
Augustine, it was generally assumed that the persons in the
Godhead are subsisting relations — relationes subsistentes.
Hence St. Thomas \vrites : " Relation in God is not as an
accident in a subject, but is the divine essence itself; and
so it is subsistent, for the divine essence subsists. There
fore, as the Godhead is God, so the divine paternity is God the
Father, who is a divine person. Therefore a divine person sig
nifies a relation as subsisting. And this is to signify relation
by way of substance, and such a relation is a hypostasis subsist
ing in the divine nature, although in truth that which sub
sists in the divine nature is the divine nature itself." 56
However, as the divine relations may be viewed either in
their origin or in themselves, the question arose, under what
aspect are they constitutive and distinctive of the per
sons? Are the persons constituted and distinguished from
one another solely by their origin, or by the relations them
selves, or by the two together? On this point the Scholastics
entertained different views.
Praepositivus and others, whose view appears acceptable to
the Lombard, held the divine persons to be distinguished by
their origin only, so that the relations must be regarded as
mere manifestations of the distinction already presupposed.
St. Bonaventure also approves of this view, although he
modifies it somewhat before he makes it his own. The per
sons are distinguished, he says, by their origin inchoative, and
by the relations formaliter; or, which comes to the same, they
55 Sum. Theol. I, q. 28, a. 3. 56 Ibid. q. 29, a. 4.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 97
are distinguished by each separately, but only in so far as the
one includes the other.57
St. Thomas rejects the opinion of Praepositivus and his
followers " for two reasons : Firstly, because, in order that
two things may be understood as distinct, their distinction
must be conceived as resulting from something intrinsic to
both; as in created things it results from their matter and
form. But origin of a thing does not designate anything in
trinsic; it means the way from something or to something.
. . . Secondly, because the distinction of the divine persons
is not to be so understood as if what is common to them all
is divided, because the common essence remains undivided;
but the distinguishing principles themselves must constitute
the things which are distinct. Now the relations or the prop
erties distinguish or constitute the hypostases or persons, in
as much as they are themselves the subsisting persons; as
paternity is the Father, and filiation is the Son, because in
God the abstract and the concrete do not differ. But it is
against the nature of origin that it should constitute hyposta-
sis or person. For origin taken in an active sense signifies
proceeding from a subsisting person, so that it presupposes
the latter; while in a passive sense origin, as nativity, signi
fies the way to a subsisting person, and as not yet constitut
ing the person.'' 58 Hence he concludes : " It is therefore
better to say that the persons or hypostases are distinguished
by relations rather than by origin." 59
Scotus also rejects the opinion of Praepositivus, and holds
with St. Thomas that the divine persons are constituted and
distinguished by the relations.60 However, as he regards in-
communicability, in which he places the formal reason of
personality, as something absolute, he holds that in so far
even the absolute properties may be considered as constitut
ing the divine persons.61
The fact that there are only three persons in the Godhead
is, of course, an article of faith; for therein consists the
57 In Sent. d. 26, a. unic. q. 3. 60 In Sent. I, d. 26; Report. I, d.
58 Sum. Theol. I, q. 40, a. 2. 2, q. 7.
69 Ibid. ei in Sent. I, d. 26, n. 23-40.
98 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
mystery of the Blessed Trinity. But the Scholastics went
beyond the mere fact and inquired into the reasons why there
can be only three divine persons. Almost without excep
tion, they find the explanation in the processions themselves.
Only two processions are possible in the Godhead, because
there are only two immanent actions in God from which
divine processions can be derived — that of the intellect and
will.62 From these two processions there can result only
three really distinct and subsisting relations, because real dis
tinction between divine relations supposes relative opposition.
This opposition is found between paternity and filiation, and
between active and passive spiration. But active spiration
is common to the Father and the Son, and hence, although it
is a relation, it is not a personal property and therefore does
not constitute a person. Consequently, there can be only
three really distinct and subsisting relations — paternity,
filiation, and procession ; and these are respectively the Father,
the Son, and the Holy Spirit.63 Furthermore, as the acts
of God's intellect and will are infinite, each procession
necessarily exhausts the fecundity of its own principle, both
proximate and remote.64
From the nature of the divine processions it necessarily
follows that the three divine persons are at once really dis
tinct, consubstantial, and intimately present to one another.
This threefold consequence is usually expressed by the term
circumincessio ; or as modern usage seems to prefer, by the
term circuminsessio. " In the divine order," says St. Bona-
venture, " there is a perfect circumincession. And the mean
ing of circumincession is this, that one is in the other and
conversely. Properly speaking and in its perfection, this
can have place only in God; because circumincession implies
both distinction and unity. And because in God alone is
found the most perfect unity together with distinction — so
that the distinction is without confusion and the unity with-
62 Thorn. Sum. Theol. I, q. 30, a. 63 Tbid.
2; Scot. Report. I. d. 2, q. 7: Quodl. 64 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. I, q.
q. 2; Albert. Magn. In Sent. I, d. 41, a. 6: Scotus, Report. I, d. 2, q.
10, a. 12; Halens. Sum. I, q. 45, 7; Quodl. q. 2.
m. 7.
THE BLESSED TRINITY 99
out distinction — hence it is that in God alone perfect cir-
cumincession can be found. The reason of this is obvious;
because the formal concept of circumincession implies identity
of essence and real distinction of persons." 65
St. Thomas uses somewhat different terms, but comes to
substantially the same result. Answering the question,
whether the Son is in the Father and conversely, he says:
" There are three points of consideration as regards the Father
and the Son : the essence, the relation, and the origin ; and
according to each the Son and the Father are in each other.
The Father is in the Son by His essence, forasmuch as the
Father is His own essence, and communicates His essence to
the Son not by any change on His part. Hence it follows
that as the Father's essence is in the Son, the Father Him
self is in the Son; likewise, since the Son is His own es
sence, it follows that He Himself is in the Father in whom
is His essence. ... It is also manifest as regards the re
lations, each of two relative opposites is in the concept of
the other. Regarding origin also, it is clear that the proces
sion of the intelligible word is not outside the intellect, in
as much as it remains in the utterer of the word. What also
is uttered by the word is therein contained. And the same
applies to the Holy Ghost." 66
65 Tn Sent. I, d. 19, p. i, a. unic. q. 4.
66 Sum. Theol. I, a. 42, a. 5.
CHAPTER V
CREATION OF THE WORLD
The Church's teaching on the origin of the world, like that
on the mystery of the Blessed Trinity, was bequeathed to the
Scholastics of the Middle Ages in an almost fully developed
state. The absence of a material cause, the unity of the ef
ficient cause, and the transcendence of the final cause of crea
tion were as fully understood and as clearly demonstrated by
the theologians of the Patristic period as by their successors
during the golden age of Scholasticism. Much work still
remained to be done by way of synthesis and proper evalua
tion of the various subordinate parts of the doctrine, but the
doctrine itself stood in no need of further elucidation.1
Still on the very threshold of Scholasticism the doctrine
of creation was attacked by a man who was perhaps the most
original thinker of his time. This was John Scotus Erigena,
" vir per omnia sanctus, qui potuit err are, haereticus esse
nolitit." Most probably a native of Ireland, he was towards
the middle of the ninth century called to the court of Charles
the Bald, where, besides being placed at the head of the
palace school, he was asked by his royal patron to translate
the works of Pseudo-Dionysius and of Maximus Confessor.
Having accomplished this, he composed several original
works, the most important of which is his treatise De Dim-
sione Naturae. It is practically a reconstruction of Neo-
Platonism, with little more than a mere veneering of Christian
teaching. His views touching the origin of the world, as
there expressed, are plainly pantheistic. God, he says, is the
essence of all things, because He alone has existence in the
true sense of the term. The being of all things is the su-
pereminent being of the Godhead.2 Hence when we hear it
1 Cf r. vol. I, p. 284 sqq. 2 Op. cit. c. 3.
100
CREATION OF THE WORLD 101
said that God made all things out of nothing, we must not
understand this in any other sense than that God is in all
things, that is, He subsists as the essence of all things." 3
Some have tried to interpret these and many similar expres
sions in an orthodox sense, but the whole trend of the book
militates against such an interpretation.4
However this teaching of Erigena found no followers in
the schools, except in that of Chartres, and there only in
directly and to a very limited extent. It is true, many of the
Scholastics, and among them St. Thomas himself, speak of
creation as a processio vel emanatio creaturarwn a Deo; they
say that the universe proceeded from God even as a river
flows from its source, as a shadow is cast by the substance,
as an image is reflected in a mirror : but at the same time they
are careful to insist that God can in no sense be regarded
as the material cause of creatures, and that no reality passes
from the Creator into the created object. Even St. Anselm,
whose realism in philosophy might easily have led him into
error on this point, is a staunch defender of creation in the
strict sense of the term. He holds, indeed, that creatures
had a certain preexistence in the mind and power of God,
but only in so far as the Creator is the exemplary and efficient
cause of all that exists. Before their creation all finite beings
were simply nothing in the order of their own reality — non
erant quod mine suntf nee erat ex quo fierent.5
The principal points to be considered in the Church's teach
ing on the origin of the world are the following: The crea
tive act, the efficient cause, the exemplary cause, the final
cause, creation in time, creation and conservation.
i. The Creative Act. — The two definitions of creation
given by St. Thomas — creation is the production of being
as being, and, creation is the production of the whole sub
stance of a thing, with nothing presupposed6 — were, with
some slight verbal modifications, defended by all Scholastics.7
Op. cit. c. 72. 5 Monol^c. 8, 9 ; cfr. c. 3, 4.
"fr.
4 Cfr. W. Turner, The Irish 6 Sum. Theol. I, q. 44, a. 2 ; Ibid.
Theological Quarterly, October, q. 65, a. 3.
1910, p. 391-401. 7 Cfr. Halens. Sum. p. II, q. 6, m.
102 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
The two definitions are essentially the same, and both empha
size the most fundamental concept of creation — the produc
tion of something from nothing, or of being from not-being.
This constitutes the specific difference between the creative
act and all other modes of production. In creation there is
no transition from one mode of real being to another; there
is simply an inception of the reality itself in obedience to the
command of an omnipotent will. As St. Bonaventure words
it : " The world was called into being, not only in its entirety,
but in respect of its intrinsic principles, which are not from
something else, but from nothing." 8
St. Thomas, comparing creation to other modes of pro
ductions, describes it in this way : " We must consider not
only the emanation of a particular being from a particular
agent, but also the emanation of all being from the universal
cause, which is God. Now what proceeds by particular
emanation, is not presupposed to that emanation; as when
a man is generated, he was not before, but man is made from
not-man, and white from not-white. Hence if the emanation
of the whole universal being from the first principle be con
sidered, it is impossible that any being should be presupposed
before this emanation. For nothing is the same as no being.
Therefore as the generation of a man is from the not-being
which is not-man, so creation, which is the emanation of all
being, is from the not-being which is nothing^' 9
The creative act has for its proximate principles the divine
intellect and will, the one as directive and the other as execu
tive principle. The ultimate principle is the divine nature,
with which the act itself is identified. On this all Scholastics
are agreed, though with some slight shades of difference in
their views respecting the function of the intellect. But on
two other points there was considerable difference of opinion,
namely, whether the creative act should be called immanent,
or transient, or a mere relation ; and, whether the dependence
i, 2; Scotus, In Sent. II, d. I, q. 2; 8Loc. cit.
Bonavent. In Sent. II, d. I, p. I, a. 9 Sum. Theol. I, q. 45, a. i.
i, q. I.
CREATION OF THE WORLD 103
of the creature on the Creator must be conceived as some
thing superadded to its being.
In answer to the first question, all state that the creative
act is not transient in the sense that there is any change or
imperfection in the Creator. Hence some call the act simply
immanent; while others prefer to regard it as formally im
manent and virtually transient, because whilst the action it
self remains entirely in God, its term is placed ad extra.™
St. Thomas words his explanation somewhat differently,
although his view does not seem to differ materially from the
second one here given. " Creation," he says, " places some
thing in the being created according to relation only; be
cause what is created is not made by motion or by change.
For what is made by motion or by change is made from some
thing preexisting. And this happens, indeed, in the particu
lar productions of some beings, but cannot happen in the
production of all beings by the universal cause of all beings,
which is God. Hence God by creation produces things with
out motion. Now when motion is removed from action and
passion, only relation remains. . . . Hence creation in the
creature is only a certain relation to the Creator as to the
principle of its being." ll
There was a similar difference of views with regard to the
second question. Some there were who regarded the relation
of the creature to the Creator as something really distinct from
the created essence. This view is also taken by St. Thomas,
who says that it is a relative accident superadded. to the sub
stance of the creature.12 St. Bonaventure holds that it is really
identical with the essence, but formally distinct from it as a
relation.13 Scotus, after a lengthy discussion of the point,
comes to the same conclusion, holding that this is an instance
where his distinctio formalis ex natura rei finds its proper
application.14
10Cfr. Bonavent. loc. cit. a. 3, q. 12In Sent. II, q. i, a. 2 ad 4m;
2; Albert. Magn. Sum. I, tr. 13, q. De Potent, q. 3, a. 3 ad 3m.
53, m. 2. is In Sent. II, d. I, p. i, a. 3, q. 2.
1 Sum. Theol. I, q. 45, a. 3. 14 In Sent. II, d. i, q. 2; Report.
II, d. i, q. 5, 6.
104 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
As creation is thus not a processus physicus, but simply an
act of the divine will ad extra, God was free to create or not
to create, to create this world or any other world, according
to His own good pleasure. This was denied by Abelard, who
contended that God was necessitated by His own goodness
and perfection, not only to create, but to create the best pos
sible world.15
This teaching of Abelard was immediately attacked by
William of Saint Thierry, St. Bernard, and Hugh of St.
Victor, and together with his many other errors was con
demned by the Council of Sens. Alexander of Hales, dis
cussing the matter of freedom in reference to the creative
act, points out that God cannot be dependent on anything out
side Himself, and therefore it follows that He was free in
creating the world and in giving it what perfection He
pleased; but having once decreed to call the world into being,
the manner of accomplishing His work was most perfect.16
Albertus Magnus distinguishes betwen the order of the uni
verse as a whole and the perfection of individual creatures:
in the former sense the world is most perfect, but not in the
latter.17
The view of St. Thomas on this matter may be summed
up as follows: In the first place, we must distinguish be
tween the idea of the world in the mind of God and its
realization in the order of things. The former has a neces
sary existence, since it is identified with God's essence; but
the latter depends on God's free determination, since He is
sovereignly independent of all that can have existence outside
Himself. Then, as God creates by an act of His free will,
He can communicate His goodness and perfections in what
ever degree He chooses, and consequently create a world more
15 He put his teaching in this facere quidquam nisi opportunism
form : " Necessario itaque Deus non potest, immo nisi optimum, id
mundum esse voluit ac fecit, nee est, tarn bonum quantumcumque
otiosus extitit, qui eum, priusquam convenit, quod suo alto reservatur
fecit, facere non potuit, quia prius- consilio" (Theol. Christ. V; cfr.
quam fecit, fieri eum non oportuit. Introd. ad Theol. Ill, c. 5).
Si enim prius fecisset, utique et 16 Sum. II, q. 21, m. 3, a. I, 2.
prius eum fieri oportuisset, quia 17 Sum. I, tr. 19, q. 77, m. 3, a. I.
CREATION OF THE WORLD 105
or less perfect according to His own good pleasure. More
over, a world that could in no sense be more perfect, a mundus
absolute optimus, would be a contradiction in terms.18
This careful analysis of the creative act, under all its dif
ferent aspects, was at the time of great importance. For
although the Neo- Platonic pantheism of Scotus Erigena had
been condemned by the Church,19 there was danger of a
similar error finding its way into the schools through the Ara
bian philosophers, especially Avicenna ( + 1036) and Aver-
roes ( + 1198), who were held in great esteem during the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries. It was especially through a
corrupted text of Aristotle that they propagated their panthe
istic views. Postulating the existence of eternal matter, they
at the same time explained the origin of the world by a series
of emanations from the Supreme Intelligence, thus completely
setting aside the idea of creation as contained in the teaching
of the Church.20 St. Thomas wrote special treatises to re
fute Aver roes, but for all that he spoke of him with great
respect and used his Grand Commentary on Aristotle as his
model.
2. Efficient Cause of Creation. — That God is the author of
all things, visible and invisible, is a truth that was defined
by the First General Council. It was, moreover, fully ex
plained and proved by many of the Fathers, especially St.
Augustine, in their struggles against Manichaeism. In the
early Middle Ages it was again denied by the Cathari, an
heretical sect which under various names gained a strong
foothold in France and Italy. In regard to creation they
revived the Manichaean teaching that there are two First
Principles, one being the author of what is good in the world,
and the other of what is evil. They were condemned by
several local synods, and finally by the Third and Fourth
Lateran Councils. The latter thus defines Catholic teaching
on the point in question : " We believe that there is one sole
true God, . . . three persons indeed, but one essence, sub-
18 Sum. Theol. I, q. 14, a. 8; q. 19 Mansi, 22, 1211.
19, a. 4; q. 46, a. 6; q. 104, a. 3; 20 Cfr. Albert. Magn. In Sent. II,
QQ. DD/3, a. 15. d. I.
io6 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
stance, or nature altogether simple, . . . one principle of all
things, creator of all things visible and invisible, spiritual and
corporeal, who by His omnipotent power, simultaneously with
the beginning of time, created a twofold nature, spiritual and
corporeal, namely, the nature of the angels and that of ma
terial things, and then human nature, which partakes of both,
in that it consists of soul and body. For the devil and other
demons were indeed good in their nature as created by God,
but they made themselves bad by their own conduct; man
sinned at the suggestion of the devil." 21
The position of the Scholastics in this matter is clearly
revealed by the following characterization of the Manichaean
error by St. Bonaventure : " Every system of philosophy
condemns the fundamental principle of this error — that
there are two First Principles of things. For this being ad
mitted, the order of the universe is destroyed and the power
of God is limited; . . . and thence it follows that God is not
God, and that there is nothing good." 22 In addition to this
they pointed out that whatever is good in creatures comes
from God, and what is bad results either from the limitation
of finite natures or from the abuse of a created free will.23
As creation proceeds ad extra, the principium quod of the
creative action is the whole Trinity, but so that there is only
one Creator. St. Thomas explains this as follows: "To
create is, properly speaking, to cause or produce the being
of things. And as every agent produces its like, the prin
ciple of action can be considered from the effect of the ac
tion; for it must be fire that generates fire. And therefore
to create belongs to God according to His being, that is, His
essence, which is common to the three persons. Hence to
create is not proper to any one person, but is common to the
whole Trinity. . . . Nevertheless the divine persons, accord
ing to the nature of their procession, have a causality respect
ing the creation of things. For . . . God is the cause of
things by His intellect and His will, just as a craftsman is the
cause of things by his craft. Now the craftsman works
21Mansi, 22, 982; DB. 428. 23 Cfr. St. Thorn. Sum. Theol. I,
22 In Sent. II, d. I, p. i, a. 2, q. I. q. 49.
CREATION OF THE WORLD 107
through the word conceived in his mind, and through the love
of his will regarding some object. Hence also God the
Father made the creature through His Word, which is the
Son; and through His love, which is the Holy Ghost. And
so the processions of the persons are the rationes of the pro
ductions of creatures in as much as they include the essential
attributes, knowledge and will." 24
What St. Thomas here says about the part of the persons
in the creative act because of the processions, is denied by
Scotus, who regards the essential attributes of intellect and
will as the proximate principle of the creative act, in so far
as they are common to the three persons. Hence the mode
of all production ad extra is independent of the processions.25
In connection with their speculations on the efficient cause
of creation, the Scholastics considered the subordinate ques
tion, whether God can make use of instrumental causes in
the creation of things. All admitted that creative power is
exclusively proper to God, and also that God did not employ
instrumental causes in creating the world; but in regard to
the possibility of it opinions were divided. Thus an affirma
tive answer was given by Peter Lombard and some others ; 26
whilst Durandus contended that the impossibility of a creature
acting as the instrumental cause of creation cannot be
demonstrated by any conclusive argument, so long as there
is question only of some particular effect.27 The more
common view, however, subscribed to by Alexander of
Hales,28 St. Bonaventure,29 St. Thomas,30 and Scotus,31
denies that creative power can in any sense be communicated
to creatures. The principal reason of this denial is based
upon the nature both of instrumental causality and of the
creative act. St. Thomas, refuting the opinion of the Lom
bard, puts his view in this way : " The secondary instru
mental cause does not participate in the action of the superior
cause, except as much as by something proper to itself it acts
24 Ibid. q. 45, a. 6. 28 Sum. p. 2, q. 9, m. 7, 8.
25 In Sent. II, d. I, q. I, n. 19-23. 29 In Sent. II, d. I, p. I, a. 2, q. 2.
26 Sent. IV, d. 5, n. 3. so Sum. Theol. I, q. 45, a. 5.
27 In Sent. II, d. I, q. 4. si jn sent. IV, d. I, q. I, n. 28.
io8 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
dispositively to the effect of the principal agent. . . . Now
the proper effect of God creating is what is presupposed to
all other effects, and that is absolute being. Hence nothing
else can act dispositively and instrumentally to this effect,
since creation is not from anything presupposed, which can
be disposed by the action of the instrumental agent. So
therefore it is impossible for any creature to create, either by
its own power, or instrumentally, that is, ministerially." 32
3. Exemplary Cause of Creation. — That God is the
exemplary cause of all things created is the common teach
ing of the Scholastics. They usually treat the subject in
connection with the question of divine ideas. " As the world
was not made by chance," says St. Thomas, " but by God
acting by His intellect, . . . there must exist in the divine
mind that form to the likeness of which the world was
made." 33 This form or idea is, of course, identical with the
divine essence, but as it is in the divine mind it exhibits the
various modes in which that essence may be imitated in
creatures. St. Thomas explains this by saying : " The
divine essence is not called an idea in so far as it is that es
sence, but only in so far as it is the likeness or type of this
or that created thing. Hence ideas are said to be many,
in as much as many types are understood by the self -same
essence." 34 The substance of this explanation is admitted
by all Scholastics, but there is among them a considerable
difference of opinion concerning points of minor import
ance.35
4. The Final Cause of Creation. — The final cause of a
thing, taking the term in the strict sense, is that which the
agent intends to attain and by which he is moved to act. In
this sense there can be no final cause of creation, as God can
be moved to act neither by His own goodness nor by any
good apart from Himself. But taking cause in a wider sense,
32 Sum. Theol. I, q. 45, a. 5. tr. 13, q. 55, m. 2, a. 4 ; Bonavent.
33 Ibid. q. 15, a. i. In Sent. I, d. 35, a. unic. q. i ; Sco-
34 Ibid. a. 2 ad Tm. tus, In Sent. I, q. unic. ; Durand.
35 Cfr. Halens. Sum. p. i, q. 23, Sent. I, d. 36, q. 3.
m. 4, a. i ; Albert. Magn. Sum. p. i,
CREATION OF THE WORLD 109
as a sufficient reason for an end freely willed, the term is
applicable to God in respect of His creative work. Not only
did He ordain the attainment of His own extrinsic glory as
the end to which all creation is directed, but He had a suffi
cient reason for willing this end. With the exception of
Durandus,36 all Scholastics are at one on the question so
understood. And as such a sufficient reason they assign
God's own goodness or glory — not to be acquired or in
creased, but to be manifested. As St. Thomas words it:
" Every agent acts for an end; . . . but it does not belong
to the First Agent, who is agent only, to act for the acquisi
tion of some end; He intends only to communicate His per
fection, which is His goodness; . . . Therefore the divine
goodness is the end of all things." 3T
Subordinated to this primary end, and materially identi
fied with God's extrinsic glory, is the utility and happiness
of rational creatures. In this sense St. Bonaventure writes:
" The principal end of things created is God's glory or good
ness, rather than the utility of creatures. . . . Therefore on
account of His own glory did He create — not, indeed, that
He might augment His glory, but that He might manifest and
communicate it; and in this manifestation and participation
consists the highest good of His creatures, namely, their glori
fication and beatitude." 38 Six hundred years later the doc
trine thus set forth was defined in almost identical terms by
the Vatican Council.39
5. Creation in Time. — Whether the world existed from all
eternity, or was created in time, was during the Middle Ages
a very live question; because the disciples of Avicenna and
Averroes, who followed in this the teaching of pagan philoso
phers, stood strongly for the eternity of the world, at least in
its material substratum. The Scholastics, with the exception
of Abelard, were agreed on two points : First, that the cre
ated world is not necessarily from all eternity; secondly, that
this world was de facto created in time. The first conclusion
they derived from the freedom of the creative act, which is by
36 Sent. TT, q. 2, a. I. 38 In Sent. II, d. i, p. 2, a. 2, q. I.
37 Sum. Theol. q. 44, a. 4. 39 Cap. i, can. 5 ; DB, 1783, 1805.
no MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
its very nature independent of time as well as of material
causes. The second they proved directly from revelation, al
though the majority held that the same conclusion could also
be derived from the principles of reason, as brought to bear
upon the world in its concrete reality.
But there was a third question involved, namely, the pos
sibility of eternal creation. On this point a sharp controversy
was carried on for many years. Alexander of Hales,40 St.
Bona venture,41 Albertus Magnus,42 Henry of Ghent,43 Rich
ard of Middleton,44 and the vast majority of Scholastics de
nied absolutely that eternal creation was possible; whilst St.
Thomas,45 Scotus,46 Durandus,47 Biel,48 and many Nominal
ists held that the impossibility of eternal creation could not be
demonstrated with any degree of certainty. Most of these
latter, however, limited their discussion to beings that are not
subject to motion or change. St. Thomas is usually inter
preted as holding the possibility of eternal creation in regard to
changeable beings as well.
The arguments commonly adduced to show the impossibility
of eternal creation are of two kinds. First, the very nature
of finite beings is such that they cannot be from all eternity.
For their very finiteness involves succession, and whatever in
volves succession is temporal in its beginning.49 Secondly,
creation is a prodnctio ex nihilo, so that being necessarily fol
lows upon not-being, and therefore creatures cannot be co
extensive in duration with the Creator.50
St. Thomas examines these arguments very carefully, and
then points out how they fail to prove the contention of the
Murmur antes. The first argument, he says, would be con
clusive in regard to changeable things, if it were evident that
an infinite number is repugnant to reason; but as this is not
40 Sum. p. i, q. 12, m. 8; p. 2, q. 46 Report, d. I, q. 4; In Sent. II,
14, m. i, a. i ; q. g, m. g. q. 3.
41 In Sent. II, d. i, p. i, a. 2, q. 2. 47 In Sent. IT, d. i, q. 4, a. i.
42 Quodl. i, q. 7, 48 In Sent. II, d. i, q. 3.
43 Sum. p. 2, tr. i, q. 4, m. 2, a. 5. 49 Cfr. Albert. Magn. Sum. tr. I,
44 In Sent. II, d. i, q. 3, a. 4. q. i, a. 3.
45Cont Gent. II, c. 18, c. 31-38; 50 Cf r. Middl. In Sent. II, d. 2, a.
Sum. Theol. I, q. 46, a. i, 2. 3, i, 4.
CREATION OF THE WORLD in
evident, the argument has no force. The other contention,
that in creation being follows upon not-being, rests upon the
false supposition that this order of succession necessarily im
plies on the part of not-being priority of duration. This sup
position is false, because priority of nature is quite sufficient
to establish the required order of succession. Hence both
arguments are inconclusive.51
With this reasoning Scotus was in full agreement, and in
some ways even went beyond it, in as much as he held that rea
son cannot prove that the present world, with all its various
changes, was created in time.52 Subsequently most Thomists
followed the teaching of St. Thomas on this point, but the
greater number of theologians and philosophers preferred the
view of Albertus Magnus and St. Bonaventure. The fact of
creation in time or with time was defined by the Fourth
Lateran, and more recently by the Vatican Council.53
6. Creation and Conservation. — There was also some dif
ference of views on the nature of God's conservative action as
distinguished from His productive act. All, indeed, admitted
the fact and necessity of conservation; but whilst some re
garded the conservative action of God as a mere continuation
of His creative activity, others made a real distinction between
the two. The matter is thus explained by St. Thomas : " As,
then, it is impossible that the production of a thing should
continue., when the action of the agent producing it ceases;
so is it impossible that the being of the thing should continue,
when the action of the agent ceases: for that action is not
only the cause of the production of the thing, but of its being
itself." 54 . . . " However, the conservation of things by God
is not by way of a new action, but is a continuation of the
action by which He gave existence to things ; for that action
is without motion and time, even as the conservation of light
in the air is effected by a continued activity exercised by the
sun.55
B1 Opusc. 22. 5* Sum. Theol. I, q. 104, a. I.
52Oxon. II, d. i, q. 3. 55Ibid. a. I ad 4m.
53 DB, 428, 1783.
H2 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Alexander of Hales,56 St. Bonaventure,57 Albertus Mag
nus,58 and Scotus59 took practically the same view ; but Henry
of Ghent,60 Durandus,61 Richard of Middleton,62 and others
argued that if conservation and creation were not different
actions in so far as they terminate at creatures, created beings
would always be in a state of being produced, which is against
common sense. As an ultimate reason for this conclusion they
assign the fact that in created beings essence and existence are
identified in re, and only ratione distinct.
56 Sum. p. 2, q. n, m. 3, 4. 60 Quodl. 10, q. 7; Quodl. I, q. 9.
" In Sent. IT, d. 47, a. i, q. 2. 61 In Sent. II, d. i, q. 2.
58 Sum. IT, tr. 4, q. 3, m. 3, a. 2. 62 In Sent. II, d. i, a. 2, q. 1-4.
59 In Sent. II, d. 2, q. I, n. 3 sqq.
CHAPTER VI
ANGELOLOGY
In their teaching on the angels, the Scholastics . developed
to a considerable extent what had been handed down to them
in the writings of the Fathers. Yet, with the exception of a
few points, all this development remained more or less a
matter of speculation. Nothing has been defined in regard
to the angels that was not already of faith before the end of
the Patristic age. Their existence, their creation by God, the
spirituality of their nature, the fact that some fell into sin and
were lost, whilst others remained faithful and were saved;
and the further fact th'at the fallen angels are bent upon bring
ing about man's ruin, whereas the good angels are appointed
by Providence to be his faithful guardians — these points con
stitute the sum-total of the explicit teaching of the Church
in reference to this part of God's creation. And all of these
truths, except the spirituality of the angelic nature as now
understood, were universally believed in the earliest ages of
the Church. The Scholastics took these same truths as the
starting points of their speculations and deduced from them
conclusions of varying degrees of certitude. Some of the
more important, together with the reasoning that led up to
them, may here be briefly stated.
i. Creation of the Angels. — That the angels were created
by God is usually touched upon only in connection with the
question of creation in general. No special treatise was de
voted by the Scholastics to this subject. Some, however, gave
considerable space to the consideration of the subordinate ques
tion, at what particular time the angels were created. Noth
ing very definite had been established with regard to this point
113
H4 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
by Patristic writers.1 Nor did the Scholastics come to any
general agreement, except that the angels were not created
from all eternity. And this was defined by the Fourth Lat-
eran, chiefly to counteract the growing influence of Averroism
in Christian schools. St. Thomas states this point of doctrine
as follows : " God alone, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is
from eternity. Catholic faith holds this without doubt, and
everything to the contrary must be rejected as heretical. For
God so produced creatures that He produced them from noth
ing; that is, after there had been nothing." 2
The more common opinion among the Scholastics was
that the angels were created at the same time as the material
universe. This view was based partly upon authority and
partly upon reason. The authority specially appealed to was
the statement oi Holy Writ, that God " created all things
together/' 3 which expression was incorporated in the defini
tion of the Fourth Lateran Council. However, neither Holy
Scripture nor the Council seem to use the expression in refer
ence to time. The principal argument from reason is thus
stated by St. Thomas, in his answer to the question whether
the angels were created before the corporeal world : " There
is a twofold opinion on this point to be found in the writings
of the Fathers. The more probable one holds that the angels
were created at the same time as corporeal creatures. For
the angels are part of the universe ; they do not constitute a
universe of themselves; but both they and corporeal natures
unite in constituting one universe. This stands in evidence
from the relationship of creature to creature; because the
mutual relationship of creatures makes up the good of the
universe. But no part is perfect if separate from the whole.
Consequently, it is improbable that God, whose works are
perfect, . . . should have created the angelic creature before
other creatures. At the same time the contrary is not to be
deemed erroneous; especially on account of the opinion of
Gregory Nazianzen." 4
2. Elevation of the Angels. — The only two points on which
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 293 sqq. 3 Eccli. 18, i.
2 Sum. Theol. I, q. 61, a. 2. 4 Sum. Theol. I, q. 61, a. 3.
ANGELOLOGY 115
all the Scholastics were agreed, as regards the elevation of
the angels, are these: First, that they were all created for
eternal happiness ; secondly, that they had at least sufficient
actual graces to merit heaven. On everything else widely
different opinions were entertained. However, leaving aside
the peculiar view of a few of the earlier Scholastics, all these
opinions turn about the question whether the angels received
sanctifying grace at the moment of their creation or some time
later, after they had disposed themselves for its reception.
The two different views held at the time are thus indicated
by St. Thomas in his Commentary on the Sentences: " On
this point there are two opinions : Some there are who say
that the angels were not created in the state of grace, but of
natural perfection only, and this opinion is the more common.
Others, however, say that the angels were created in the state
of grace. Which of these two views is the truer one, cannot
be shown by any conclusive reason." 5 However he adds
that the second view, according to which the angels were
created in the state of grace, pleases him more, though without
prejudice to the other.
The first opinion, that the angels were created in the state
of natural perfection only, was defended by Peter Lombard,6
Alexander of Hales,7 Henry of Ghent,8 St. Bonaventure,9
Richard of Middleton,10 and not a few others. The principal
advocates of the other view, besides St. Thomas,11 were Al-
bertus Magnus,12 Durandus,13 and Dionysius the Carthusian.14
Scotus considered both opinions as probable.15
Those who held that the angels were created in the state
of merely natural perfection, rested their view chiefly on two
principles: First; that rational creatures must dispose them
selves, under the influence of God's special assistance, for the
5 II, d. 4. q. unic. a. 3. 12 In Sent. II, d. 3, a. 12 ; Sum. p.
e Sent. II, d. 4. 2> tr- 4, q. 18, m. I.
7 Sum. p. 2, q. 19, m. 2. 3 In Sent. II, d. 4, q. 2.
8 Quodl. 8, q. 10. 4 In Sent. II, d. 4, q. 2.
9 In Sent. II, d. 4, a. i. q. 2. 15 In Sent. II et Report, d. 4, q.
10 Sent. II, d. 4, a. 2, q. 2. unica.
11 In Sent. loc. cit. ; Sum. Theol.
I, q. 62, a. 3.
n6 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
reception of sanctifying grace; secondly, that in the very act
of being created such a disposition is impossible on the part
of the creature. For the disposition must be positive, and for
that there is need of free election, which necessarily presup
poses actual existence. Hence at least one moment must
elapse after the creative act, before sanctifying grace can be
infused according to God's ordinary law of sanctification.
St. Thomas and his followers grant the first contention, but
they point out that free election on the part of the creature
may be simultaneous with creation. No priority of time is
required in this matter, but only of nature; so that, at the very
moment of its creation, the free will, supported by actual grace,
turned deliberately to God as its supernatural end. The posi
tive reasons for this second view are thus stated by St.
Thomas : " Although there are conflicting opinions on the
point, some holding that the angels were created only in a
natural state, while others maintain that they were created
in grace ; it seems more probable, however, and more in keep
ing with the sayings of the Saints, that they were created in
sanctifying grace. For we see that all things which, in the
process of time, were produced by the work of Divine Prov
idence, the creature operating under the direction of God,
were produced in the first fashioning of things according to
seedling forms, as Augustine says, such as trees, and animals,
and the rest. Now it is evident that sanctifying grace bears
the same relation to beatitude as the seedlike form in nature
does to the natural effect; hence in the First Epistle of John
(3, 9) grace is called the seed of God. As, then, in Augus
tine's opinion it is contended that the seedlike forms of all
natural effects were implanted in the creature when corporeally
created, so straightway from the beginning the angels were
created in grace." 16
On the further question, whether the fallen angels as well
as those who remained faithful received sanctifying grace,
there was likewise a difference of opinion, though not to the
same extent as on the preceding point. All those who held
16 Sum. Theol. I, q. 62, a. 3.
ANGELOLOGY 117
that the angels were created in the state or grace, gave an
affirmative answer. Those, however, who favored the other
opinion generally taught that Lucifer and his followers fell
into sin before they had disposed themselves for the reception
of sanctifying grace, and consequently never received that
gift of God intended for all. This latter view has been set
aside by most subsequent theologians.
3. Nature of the Angels. — Both the Fathers and the Scho
lastics are at one in teaching that the angels are spirits en
dowed with intellect and free will. However the term
" spirit " was not by all of them taken in the same sense in
which it is understood in this connection to-day. Not a few
Fathers taught that the angels had bodies, which were com
posed of some kind of ethereal substance, ordinarily invisible
to human eyes.17 This view was taken over by many of the
earlier Scholastics, whose teaching on the angels was little
more than a restatement of what they found in Patristic writ
ings. Rupert of Deutz,18 St. Bernard,19 and Peter Lombard 20
are quite definite on this point. Robert Pulleyn 21 and Hugh
of St. Victor,22 on the other hand, contended that the angels
must be regarded as pure spirits.
During the first part of the thirteenth century this latter
view became more common, possibly owing to the position
taken by the Fourth Lateran Council. The doctrine was not
directly defined, but as the Council divided all creatures into
three classes — spiritual beings, beings composed of spirit and
matter, and purely material beings — its mind on the point in
question was made sufficiently clear. However the Franciscan
school, represented by Alexander of Hales,23 St. Bona-
venture,24 and Scotus 25 still continued to ascribe bodies to
the angels, but in a somewhat different sense. Their position
is most clearly explained by Scotus, who brought the theory
to its last stage of development.
17 Cfr. vol. T, p. 293 sqq. 21 Sent. IT, c. 2.
18 De Victoria Verbi, I, c. 28 ; 22 De Sacram. c. 7.
ML, 169, 1262. 23 Sum. p. 2, q. 20, m. 2; q. 61,
19 Serrn. 5 in Cant. n. 2 ; ML, 182, m. i.
790- 2* In Sent. II, d. 3, p. I, q. i et 2.
20 Sent. II, d. 8. 25 De Rerum Principiis, q. 7, 8.
n8 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
According to Scotus all created beings — angels, human
souls, and material substances — are composed of potency
and act. This potency, which he calls a potentia passiva, is
material in its nature. It is of three kinds, designated re
spectively as materia primo prima, secitndo prima, tertio prima.
The materia primo prinia is absolutely indeterminate, and is
in a condition to be ultimately the foundation or subject of
any form whatever. In material substances it receives the
forma corporeitatis, and together with this constitutes the
materia secundo prima. When still further determined by a
specific form, either spiritual or material, the result is the
materia tertio prima, which exists in the natural order of
things as a complete substance, and is not further determinable
except by accidental forms.20
Now it is the materia primo prima that enters into the com
position of angels and of human souls. As it is thus not com
pleted by the forma corporeitatis, neither angels nor human
souls are corporeal ; they are spirits, but at the same time they
are composed of matter and form. Hence according to
Scotus, and the same is true in respect of the others mentioned
above, God alone is a pure spirit. All other beings are in one
\vay or another fashioned out of matter by the hand of God.27
The more common view, however, which had as its chief
advocates Albertus Magnus,28 St. Thomas,29 Henry of
Ghent,30 Durandus,31 yEgidius Romanus,32 and Dionysius the
Carthusian,33 was entirely in favor of the spirituality of the
angels in the strict sense of the term. All these writers re-
26 De Rerum Principiis, q. 7, a. I, narium dirigens et f prmans a prin-
2t 3. cipio est manus Dei" (Ibid. q. 7»
'"'Thus all creation is closely a. 4, n. 30).
bound together by the materia 2f Sum. tr. I, q. 3, m. 3, a. 2 ; q.
primo prima, as he himself de- incid. 4.
scribes it in the following passage : 20 In Sent. II, d. 3, q. I. a. I J
" Mundus est arbor quaedam pul- Sum. Theol. q. 50, a. 2 ; q. 75, a. 5 ;
cherrima, cujus radix et semina- Cont. Gent. II, c. 50; De Spiritual.
Hum est materia prima, folia Great, a. I ; De Substant. Separat.
fluentia sunt accidentia: frondes et c. 5-8.
rami sunt creata corruptibilia ; flos 30 Quodl. 4, q. ID.
rationales anima ; f ructus naturae x In Sent. II, d. 3, q. I.
consimilis et perfections natura 2 In Sent. d. 3, p. I, q. I, a. I.
angelica. Unicus autem hoc semi- 33 In Sent. II, d. 3, q. I.
ANGELOLOGY 119
garded materia prima as a constitutive principle that is es
sentially limited to bodily substances. They did not admit
the distinction between materia primo prima and materia
secundo prima, and consequently destroyed the foundation
upon which the Scotist reasoning was based. Their principle
was : Materia et forma dividunt substantiam materialem —
material substances, and material substances only, are com
posed of matter and form.
St. Thomas, after giving an exposition of the opinion held
by the Arabian philosopher Avicebron, which is essentially the
same as that of Scotus, refutes it in this way: " One glance
is enough to show that there cannot be one matter of spiritual
and of corporeal things. For it is not possible that a spiritual
and a corporeal form should be received into the same part
of matter, otherwise one and the same thing would be cor
poreal and spiritual. ... It is, further, impossible for an in
tellectual substance to have any kind of matter. For the
operation belonging to anything is according to the mode of
its substance. Now to understand is an altogether immaterial
operation, as appears from its object, whence any act receives
its species or nature. For a thing is understood according
to its degree of immateriality; because forms that exist in
matter are individual forms which the intellect cannot ap
prehend as such. Hence it must be that every intellectual
substance is altogether immaterial." 34 " In material things
there is one thing which determines to a special grade, and
that is the form ; and another thing which is determined, and
this is the matter; . . . whereas in immaterial things there is
no separate determinator and thing determined; each thing
by its own self holds a determinate grade of being." 35
However, " although there is no composition of matter and
form in an angel, yet there is act and potentiality." For
" there still remains the relation of the form to its very ex
istence, as of potentiality to act. And such a kind of com
position is understood to be in the angels; and this is what
some say, that an angel is composed of that whereby he is
34 Sum. Theol. T, q. 50, a. 2. 35 Ibid. a. 2 ad im.
120 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
and that which is, or existence and essence, as Boethius says.
For essence is the form itself subsisting; and existence is that
whereby the substance is, as the running is that whereby the
runner runs. But in God existence and essence are not dif
ferent. . . . Hence God alone is pure act." 3G
The discussion about the spirituality of the angels led to
another inquiry, namely, what is the relation of the angels to
place ? As they have no bodies, at least not in the strict sense
of the term, can they be said to be in a place? To this ques
tion all Scholastics gave an affirmative answer, and St. Thomas
considered the contrary opinion as heretical.37 However, this
local presence is not circumscriptive, as is that of bodies; it
is a definitive presence, which is indeed limited to a certain
portion of space, but without correspondence of parts to parts.
The whole substance is in the whole place, and the whole is in
every part thereof. This presence, moreover, the Scholastics
derive, not from the exigencies of the angelic substance itself,
but rather from the free ordination of the Creator. As the
angelic substance is without extension, it is of its own nature
outside the category of space. Hence its relation to place
must ultimately come from the will of God.38
On these several points there was hardly any difference of
views among the Scholastics ; but on the further question, in
what precisely does this relation to place consist, opinions dif
fered. St. Thomas, with many others, held that it must be
reduced to an application of the angelic power. Comparing
the local presence of angels to that of bodies, he says: "A
body is said to be in a place in such a way that it is applied
to it according to the contact of dimensive quantity; but there
is no such quantity in the angels, for theirs is a virtual one.
Consequently an angel is said to be in a corporeal place by
application of the angelic power in any manner whatever to
any place. Accordingly there is no need for saying that an
angel can be deemed commensurate with a place, or that he
occupies a space in the continuous; for this is proper to a
36 Ibid. a. 2 ad 3™. d. 37, a. 26 ; Scot. Tn Sent. IT, d. 2,
37 In Sent. I, d. 37, q. 3, a. I. q. 6; Bonavent. In Sent. II, p. 2, a.
38 Cfr. Albert. Magn. In Sent. I, 2, q. i.
ANGELOLOGY 121
located body which is endowed with dimensive quantity. In
similar fashion it is not necessary on this account for the angel
to be contained by a place; because an incorporeal substance
virtually contains the thing with which it comes into contact,
and is not contained by it ; for the soul is in the body as con
taining it, not as contained by it. In the same way an angel
is said to be in a place which is corporeal, not as the thing
contained, but as somehow containing it." 39
Scotus, on the other hand, favored the opinion defended
by Richard of Middleton, that the formal reason of this pres
ence in a particular place is neither the angelic substance nor
its operation, but a sort of local simultaneity (simitltas), even
as the formal reason of the application of a body to a place
is its circumscription.40 This view also had a considerable
number of advocates, but none of them give a clear exposition
of what the simultas really is in itself.
4. Knowledge of the Angels. — With the exception of
Durandus, William of Auxerre. and some Nominalists, the
Scholastics were agreed that the angels know things apart
from their own being by means of species or intellectual repre
sentations, and not directly by way of their own essence. As
regards the origin of these species there was some difference
of opinion. All admitted that the angels received infused
knowledge of things at the moment of their creation, and that
this knowledge consisted in the intelligible species of the things
known. But whilst many held with St. Thomas that the
angels are incapable of acquiring new intelligible species
through their own intellectual activity, St. Bonaventure,
Scotus, and others contended that the acquisition of such new
species on the part of the angels must necessarily be admitted.
The ultimate reason of this difference of views is based upon
the difference of concepts in regard to the angelic nature,
about which something was said in the preceding number.
Presupposing that difference of concepts, the two views of
angelic cognition may here be briefly stated.41
39 Sum. Theol. I, q. 52, a. i. 2, 3; Bonavent. In Sent. II, d. 3, p.
40 In Sent. I, d. 37, a. 2, q. i. 2, a. 2, q. i ; Scotns, In Sent. II, d.
41 Cfr. Halens. Sum. p. 2, q. 24, m. 30, q. 10, 11 ; d. 9, q. 2; Thorn. In
122 MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
As St. Thomas holds that the angels are pure spirits,
as was explained above, he establishes an absolute difference
between angelic and human cognition. All human cognition
is ultimately derived from sense perception, and the proper
object of the human intellect is the essence of material things,
considered in its universality and necessary predicates. Hence
in man there is an active and a passive intellect. The active
intellect abstracts the intelligible idea from the sensible repre
sentation of material things as contained in the phantasm,
while the passive intellect receives the idea thus abstracted and
expresses it immanently in the form of knowledge. On the
other hand, the proper object of the angelic intelligence is
wholly immaterial, being necessarily in the same order with
the nature of the angelic substance. Hence in the angels there
is no active intellect, nor can they abstract any intelligible
species from the material world. But neither is there in them
a passive intellect, in the sense that they are sometimes under
standing only in potentiality the things which they naturally
apprehend. Their knowledge is always actual, in virtue of
the intelligible species of things which they received from God
together with their intellectual nature ; and it is the more uni
versal in proportion as the perfection of their being is more
exalted.42
In accord with these fundamental principles, St. Thomas
outlines the contents of angelic cognition as follows: The
angels have actual knowledge of their own being and, in the
natural order, also of God, by means of their essence, without
needing any intelligible species. They know each other by
the help of intelligible species infused by God at the moment
of creation. In the same way they also know human souls
and material objects, both in their individual existence and in
their universal concepts. But they have no natural knowledge
of future free actions, nor of the secrets of hearts, nor of the
mysteries of grace. Their knowledge is not discursive, but
intuitive. They apprehend in one glance all the principles and
Sent. II, q. 3, a. i, 2, 3; Sum. Theol. 42 Sum. Theol. I, q. 54-56; Cont.
If Q- 55> S6; Albert. Magn. In Sent. Gent. I, c. 95-100; De Verit. q. 8,
d. 3, q. 5, 6. a. 8, 9.
ANGELOLOGY 123
particular applications of universal propositions. However
their knowledge of things is not simultaneous, in the sense that
they actually know all things at once or by one idea. They
know objects successively, by actuating any intelligible species
they choose. In regard to the proper objects of their natural
knowledge they cannot fall into error; but whilst they were
in via they could err in reference to truths belonging to the
supernatural order. This possibility of error, of course, still
obtains in the case of the fallen angels.43
From this exposition of angelic cognition as given by
St. Thomas, that of Scotus and his school differs considerably.
Scotus also holds that there is a specific difference between
angels and human souls, but not in that absolute sense insisted
on by St. Thomas. His materia primo prima runs through
the whole of God's creation. This brings the angelic and the
human natures much closer to each other. He admits with
St. Thomas the infusion of intelligible species, by reason of
which angels have a much greater and higher natural knowl
edge than is attainable by man ; but with regard to every other
point he takes opposite views. According to him, the proper
object of the human intellect is being itself, without connota
tion of particular or universal,44 and this is also the proper
object of the angelic intelligence. As there is a passive and
an active intellect in man, so is there in angels. Hence they
can abstract intelligible ideas from particular things; not by
means of phantasms, but simply by making these things the
object of their intelligence.45 Moreover, angelic cognition is
not necessarily intuitive ; it may also be discursive. Nor is it
limited to things present and past, and to future events that
proceed from necessary causes ; but it extends to all free acts
of the present, to the secrets of hearts, and to all past and
present mysteries of grace.46 The knowledge of the fallen
angels, however, is less extensive; not on account of any
natural incapacity, but because in regard to some things, as
43 Sum. Theol. I, q. 54-58 ; Cont. 4B In Sent. II, d. 9, q. 2, n. 439,
Gent. I, c. 95. 130.
44 In Sent. TIL d. 14, q. 7; IV, 4* In Sent. II, d. I, q. 5, n. 3;
d- 45, q. 3; Quodl. q. 13, n. 9; In Ibid. d. 9, q. 2, n. 27.
Metaphys. VII, q. 15, 22.
124 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
the secrets of hearts, God withholds His concur sus from such
cognition.47
5. Volition of the Angels. — As angels are intellectual beings
created by God for the attainment of eternal happiness as a
reward of their merit, it necessarily follows that they are en
dowed with free will. About this there never was any dif
ference of opinion among the Scholastics. Views began to
differ only when the nature of angelic volition came up for
consideration. And in regard to this the same two schools
of thought were opposed to one another as on the subject of
angelic knowledge. In fact, one difference is necessarily con
nected with the other, and both harken back to a different con
ception of the angelic nature, as was indicated above. It will
be sufficient here to indicate a few of the more important
points.
St. Thomas and his school conceive the will as a natural
tendency towards good, which finds expression in love. In
human beings this tendency is of a higher and lower order, in
keeping with man's composite nature; but in angels only the
higher spiritual tendency is found, and this has for its object
the universal good.48 There exists in angels both a natural
love and a love of choice. The former has for its proper ob
ject their own happiness as their last end, which they will and
love by a necessity of their nature; the latter is directed to
wards the means by which their last end is attained, and in
regard to them they enjoy freedom of election.49 They can
not turn away from their last end in the natural order, but
they can turn away from their supernatural last end. Hence,
whilst they were still on probation, they could sin by seeking
their own good in opposition to the order established by God.50
As they apprehend by one glance both their last end and the
means thereto, any sin committed by them was necessarily
opposed to their last end, and therefore mortal.51 Their first
choice, whether for good or for evil, determined their fate
for all eternity; because their will attached itself to the object
47 In Sent. IV, d. 10, q. 8, ad 3m- 50 Ibid- a- i ad 3m ; De Malo, q.
48 Sum. Theol. I, q. 60. 16, a. 5-
49 Ibid. a. i, 2, 3. 51 Ibid, ad 4m; Sum. Theol. I. II,
q. 89, a. 4.
ANGELOLOGY 125
of their choice with full knowledge, uninfluenced by passion,
very much the same way as the intellect attaches itself to evi
dent first principles in the order of truth. Hence those who
fell were thereby confirmed in evil, and irrevocably lost ; while
those who remained faithful were by that one act forever
established in good, and forthwith admitted to eternal beati
tude. In their present state, the good angels love God neces
sarily, and the bad angels hate God necessarily ; hence in neither
case is there further room for merit or demerit.52
The view of Scotus is opposed to this in nearly every par
ticular. He holds that there is in the angels both a higher and
a lower tendency towards good, as there is in human beings.53
Moreover their will enjoys freedom of choice with regard to
every object, and their free will must direct their natural
inclination in its tendency towards good.54 Their eternal con
dition was not irrevocably decided by one act. The fallen
angels committed many sins, of which they might have re
pented whilst still in via.55 They retained their free will even
after they had been condemned to eternal punishment; but
their inveterate malice prevents them from doing any good.56
Conversion is indeed impossible for them, not because they
haven't the exercise of their free will, but because God has
decreed that there should be no conversion after the final sen
tence was passed; hence He now withholds His grace.57 A
similar condition obtains in the case of the good angels. Al
though they are in possession of their last end, nevertheless
they still remain free. There is, however, no longer room for
merit or demerit in either case, because the time of probation
is past.58
6. Mutual Relation of the Angels. — Following the teaching
of the Pseudo-Areopagite, the Scholastics commonly held that
the nine choirs of angels, which are mentioned in Holy Scrip
ture, constitute a celestial hierarchy, corresponding to the ec-
52 Ibid. I, q. 62, a. 8; q. 63, a. 2; 55In Sent. II, d. 6, q. 2, n. 16.
De Malo, q. 16, a. 5 ; Sum. Theol. 56 Ibid. n. 24.
I, q. 62, a. 8 ; q. 60, a. 5 ad 5m. 57 In Sent. II, d. 6.
53 In Sent. Ill, d. 35. 58 Ibid. d. 7, q. unic. n. 28.
54 In Sent. II, d. 6, q. 2, n. 8, 9;
Report. II, d. 6, q. 2, n. 9.
126 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
clesiastical hierarchy on earth. There are three divisions,
each comprising three choirs. To the highest division belong
the Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones; to the second, the
Dominations, Virtues, and Powers; to the third, the Princi
palities, Archangels, and Angels. The principle underlying
this division is variously assigned by the different authors.
The more common opinion points to the relation of the angels
to God in respect of their ministry and to the imparting of
knowledge by the higher to the lower orders. However all
this is more or less a matter of speculation; the only certain
point is that there is a division into choirs, although even this
has not been defined.59
In connection with this grouping of the angelic host into
certain divisions, the Scholastics also speculated about the
specific difference of the angels. St. Thomas, assigning quan
tified matter — materia signata — as the principle of indi-
viduation, consequently held that each angel constitutes a dis
tinct species, whereas Scotus and others contended that the
principle of individuation must be either the concrete nature
itself or a perfection formally distinct from nature, and hence
in either case several individual angels may belong to the
same species.60
There was a similar difference of opinion about illumination
and locution. All were agreed that one angel can communi
cate with another, and therefore impart knowledge and reveal
his own mind after the manner of speech; but they differed
considerably in their explanation of the admitted fact. Illumi
nation, in the sense of instruction, was commonly restricted
to the higher orders in respect to the lower; while locution
was held to be common to all. It was particularly this latter
which they found difficult to explain. St. Thomas makes
locution exclusively a matter of the will. The mere fact that
one angel wishes to communicate with another arouses the
intellectual attention of the angel so addressed, no matter in
«» Cf r St. Thomas, Sum. Theol. 60 Sum. Theol. I, q. 50, a. 3 ; In
I, q. 108, 106, 107; Scotus, In Sent. Sent. II, d. 3, q. 7.
II, d. 9, q. 2 ; Report, d. 9, q. 2.
ANGELOLOGY 127
what part of space he may happen to be.61 St. Bonaventure
agrees with this in so far as locution depends on the will of
the speaker, but thinks that distance must be taken into con
sideration.62 Others require, over and above a simple act of
the will, some kind of spiritual sign, capable of attracting the
attention of the one spoken to.63 Scotus holds that angels
can read one another's mind independently of any act of the
will ; but for locution, in the proper sense of the word, it is
required that the speaker produce in the mind of the one ad
dressed a concept of the matter he wishes to communicate.
And this the angels can do in the same way as they produce a
concept in their own mind.04
7. Ministry of the Angels. — That the good angels are the
ministers of God in the government of the world is a matter
of faith, and was accepted as such by the Scholastics. It is
also a matter of faith that some angels are deputed by God to
be the guardians of men, for the purpose of protecting and
assisting them in the attainment of their last end. Neither of
these truths has been defined by the Church, but both are
clearly contained in Holy Scripture and tradition. That
each and every person has his own special guardian angel is
not of faith, but the doctrine was commonly held by the
Scholastics.65 St. Thomas states this common teaching as
follows: "In this life man is on his way to heaven, along
which way he is threatened by many dangers, both interior and
exterior. . . . And thus in the same manner as guards are
given to a wayfarer who must travel along dangerous roads,
so to each human being, whilst still on the way, a guardian
angel is assigned; but when the end of the journey is reached,
he will no longer have a guardian angel ; instead, if in heaven,
he will have an angel reigning with him in glory, or, if in hell,
a demon inflicting punishment." 66
61 Sum. Theol. I, q. 107, a. I ; In 65 Cfr. Halens. Sum. p. 2, q. 41,
Sent. II, q. 2, a. 3. m. 4, a. i, 3; Bonavent. In Sent. II,
62 In Sent. II, d. 10, a. 3, q. 2. d. n, a. I, q. I ; Scotus, In Sent. II,
63 Cfr. Richard of Middleton, In d. n, q. unica; Thomas, In Sent.
Sent. II, d. 9, a. 2, q. I. II, d. n, q. I.
«*In Sent. II, d. 9, q. 2, n. 27; 6« Sum. Theol. I, q. 113, a. 4,
Ibid. n. 15, 28, 24.
128 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
As guardian angels are the ministers of Divine Providence
in behalf of their wards, -they assist those entrusted to their
care in various ways. They are indeed incapable of acting
in opposition to the laws of nature, and therefore unable to
work miracles, nevertheless they have the power of acting
upon both body and soul. By an application of their natural
activities to bodies, they can move them locally, cause alter
ations in their composition, and thus use them for the produc
tion of effects that lie beyond the power of man. They can
also act upon the imagination, and thereby indirectly enlighten
the mind and fortify the will. Besides, God permitting, they
may on occasions assume bodies and so appear in visible
forms, without, however, informing these bodies after the
manner of human souls.67
A similar influence upon human affairs can also be exerted
by evil spirits, who are always intent upon bringing about
man's ruin. By their action upon the senses they can suggest
temptations, obscure man's spiritual vision, and thus incline
his will to evil. On rare occasions God permits them even
to take possession of men's bodies, and cause the unfortunate
victims of their malice to act as if they were bereft of reason.
When their power thus exercised extends to the whole bodily
organism, it is called possession; when only to a part, it is
termed obsession. However in neither case do the evil spirits
have direct power over man's will; hence although they can
cause him to utter blasphemous and indecent expressions,
and to perform actions that are materially sinful, they can
never force him to sin. He is still the object of a wise and
loving Providence; and although his body be given over to
Satan, his soul ever remains in the hands of God.68
67 Ibid. q. in, a. 1-4; Scotus, In 68 Halens. Sum. p. 2, q. 100, m. I,
Sent. II, d. n, q. unica; Report. II, 2; Bonavent. In Sent. II, d. 8, p. 2,
d. n, q. i; Halens. Sum. p. 2, q. 41, a. unic. q. 1-4; Thorn. In Sent. II,
m. 4; Albert Magn. In Sent. d. u, d. 8, a. unic. q. 5; Albert. Magn.
a. 6. Sum. p. 2, tr. 7, q. 29.
CHAPTER VII
ANTHROPOLOGY
In their dissertations on the creation of man, the Scholastics
were agreed on the following three points: First, man was
made to the image and likeness of God; second, the soul of
the first man owed its origin to a creative act; third, man's
body was the immediate result of a divine operation. These
points are all contained in Holy Scripture, and the Scholas
tics, following the example of the Fathers, accepted them ac
cording to the obvious meaning of the sacred text.
In reference to the first point, that man is the image of God,
they distinguish between image and trace — imago et vesti
gium. The latter is found in all creatures, in as much as they
are the effects of a divine causality; for every effect is as
similated to its cause. But the concept of image implies over
and above mere similarity an express intention in the agent
to make the effect a formal representation of his own nature
and personal being. This is called a specific likeness. Now
this specific likeness to God can be realized only in rational
beings — angels and men. God made them of express pur
pose like unto Himself in that He gave them being, life, and
the power of understanding.1
Moreover, man is not only the image of the divine nature,
but also of God as He exists in three persons — of the Blessed
Trinity. St. Thomas explains this as follows : " Some ef
fects represent only the causality of the cause, but not its form ;
as smoke represents fire. Such a representation is called a
trace ; for a trace shows that some one has passed by but not
who it is. Other effects represent the cause as regards the
similitude of its form, as fire generated represents fire gen-
1 Sum. Theol. I, q. 93, a. 2.
129
130 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
crating; and a statue of Mercury represents Mercury; and
this is called the representation of image. Now the proces
sions of the divine persons are referred to the acts of intellect
and will, as was said above. For the Son proceeds as the
word of the intellect; and the Holy Ghost proceeds as the love
of the will. Therefore in rational creatures, possessing intel
lect and will, there is found the representation of the Trinity
by way of image, in as much as there is found in them the
word conceived, and the love proceeding." 2
Scotus words this somewhat differently, though he comes to
practically the same result. Man is the image of the Trinity,
he says, not only in so far as he has an intellect and will, but
also because the first man, at the first instant of his existence,
elicited an act of understanding and love ; and so in the fecun
dity of his nature, through his intellect and will, he represented
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three, the
memory — memoria fecunda — the intellect, and the will, are
consubstantial on the part of the soul, yet they are distinct in
their acts.3
The creation of the first soul is necessarily implied in the
creation of all things by God, and about this there was no
difference of views among the Scholastics. The production
of the human body by a special divine operation was also com
monly accepted. Some of the Franciscan school still harked
back to the rationes seminales made rather much of by St.
Augustine, but even they attributed the formation of the body
of Adam to the immediate operation of God.4 St. Thomas
explains the statement of St. Augustine, that the body of the
first man was produced according to its causales rationes in
the work of the six days, in this way: " That which is said
to exist in creatures according to their causal reasons may be
understood in two ways. One way in respect of active and
passive potency, so that there is not merely an objective pos
sibility of something being produced from preexisting matter,
but that there also preexists a creature which can produce
2 Ibid. q. 65, a. 7. 18, a. I, q. 3, Scholion — Quaracchi
8 In Sent. I, d. 3, Q- 9- Ed-
4Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. II, d.
ANTHROPOLOGY 131
this something. Another way in respect of passive potency
only, so that this something can be produced from preexisting
matter by God alone ; and in this way does St. Augustine say
that the body of man preexisted in the works already pro
duced according to its causal reasons." 5
His own reasons for the production of the first human body
by God Himself he states in this way: "The formation of
the human body could not be effected by any created power,
but only by the immediate intervention of God. . . . For as
God alone by His omnipotent power can create matter, He
alone can produce a form in matter without the help of any
preceding material form. And hence it is that the angels
cannot so change bodies as to fit them for any particular form,
except in so far as the form already preexists by way of
seed. Consequently, since there was not as yet a human body,
in virtue of whose generative power a similar body might be
formed, it was necessary that the first human body should
be formed immediately by God." 6 However " it may well be
that the angels performed some ministerial function in the
formation of the body of the first man, as they will also do in
the final resurrection, by gathering together the dust." 7
Closely connected with the question of man's origin is that
of his essential constitution. For clearness' sake, the subject
may here be divided into these three points: First, the es
sential identity of the rational and sensitive soul in man ; sec
ondly, the origin of individual souls; thirdly, the union of soul
and body.
i. Essential Identity of the Rational and Sensitive Soul. —
This question, about which there had been some difference of
views in Patristic times, was to all intents and purposes closed
by the Eight General Council, held in 869. For in its eleventh
canon, the Council declares that both the Old and the New
Testament, and also the Fathers of the Church, teach that man
has only one " rational and intellectual soul " ; and then it
condemns those who foolishly maintain that " he has two
souls." It anathematizes not only the authors and propagators
5 Sum. Theol. I, q. 91, a. 2 ad 4m. 7 Ibid. a. 2 ad im.
6 Ibid. a. 2.
132 MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
of " this impiety," but also all others who entertain similar
views.8
Whether this declaration of the Council was directly in
tended as a definition of the essential identity of the rational
and sensitive principle in man, or merely of the oneness of
the rational soul, is not altogether clear. Some theologians
think that we have here nothing more than a condemnation
of Manichaean dualism; while others are of opinion that the
absolute oneness of the human soul was defined, but that there
are no proofs to establish the fact as a certainty. Aside from
this, however, the doctrine itself is sufficiently certain from an
earlier definition of the Church, which was directed against
the Origenists and Apollinarians. In it Christ as man is de
clared to be consubstantial with us, being composed of a ra
tional soul and a body.9 Hence the rational soul is evidently
assumed to be the only vital principle in man.
And this was accepted by the Scholastics as the teaching of
the Church. Several of them defended the doctrine against
the error of Averroes, according to which all men have numeri
cally the same rational soul, so that only the sensitive soul is
multiplied in individuals. Under a somewhat different form,
this teaching of Averroes was condemned by the Fifth Lateran
Council, which sat from 1512 to I5I7.10
Although the intellectual soul is thus the sensitive and
vegetative principle, it is nevertheless incorruptible. St.
Thomas gives three reasons for this. First, the soul is a pure
spirit, in the sense that it is not composed of matter and form.
It is, therefore, a subsisting form; and as a form cannot be
separated from itself, it is impossible that the soul should be
subject to corruption. Secondly, although some hold that the
soul is in a manner composed of matter and form, yet even
so it must be incorruptible. For corruption can only result
from contrary elements, and from the intellectual soul as such
contrary elements are necessarily excluded. This is manifest
from its highest operation, which is altogether spiritual.
Thirdly, as the intellect apprehends being under an absolute
8 Mansi, 15, 4036, 4320 ; DB, 338. 10 Mansi, 32, 842A; DB, 738.
9 Mansi, 9, S33A.
ANTHROPOLOGY 133
form, the soul naturally desires to exist forever; and as this
natural desire cannot be of anything unattainable, its very
presence indicates that the soul is an incorruptible sub
stance.11
2. Creation of Individual Souls. — In Patristic times, the
question of the creation of individual souls was regarded as
still open for discussion, although the weight of authority was
in favor of Creatianism.12 But when the Scholastics began
to write their Sitmmae and Commentaries, all discussion of the
matter had come to an end. This was owing, in part at least,
to the position taken by the Church, as indicated by the symbol
which Leo IX, in 1050, presented to Bishop Peter of Antioch
for subscription. It contains this confession of faith con
cerning the point in question : " I believe and profess that
the soul is not a part of God, but is created out of nothing,
and that, without baptism, it is in original sin." 13 As the
soul " in original sin " is said to be created, the Pope evidently
refers, not to the soul of Adam, but to individual souls.
Hence, although a few of the earlier Scholastics still re
garded Creatianism as only more probable, the general con
sensus was that the creation of individual souls could not be
called in question. Thus Peter Lombard states quite defi
nitely : " The Church teaches that souls are created at their
infusion into the body." 14 St. Thomas is still more emphatic ;
for he says : " It is heretical to say that the intellectual soul
is transmitted by way of generation." 15 Others do not give
the same theological note to the doctrine of creation as here
set forth, but they entertain no doubt regarding its truth.
St. Thomas thus indicates the various opinions that had
been held on the subject at different times: " Regarding this
question various opinions were expressed in times past. Some
held that the soul of the child is propagated by the soul of the
parent, just as the body is propagated by the body. Others
said that all souls are created apart ; but maintained that they
were all created together in the beginning, and afterwards
« Sum. Theol. I, q. 75, a. 6. 14 Sent. II, d. 18, n. 8.
12Cfr vol I, p. 299 sqq. 15 Sum. Theol. I, q. 118, a. 2.
13 Mansi, 19, 6626 ; DB, 348.
134 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
were united to procreated bodies, either by their own free
volition, or, as others would have it, by the command and
action of God. Others, again, declared that the soul at the
moment of its creation is infused into the body. Though for
a time these several views were upheld, and though it was
doubtful which came nearest the truth, . . . nevertheless the
Church subsequently condemned the first two, and approved
the third." 16
3. Union of Soul and Body. — On this point there was con
siderable discussion, and also some difference of opinion,
among the Scholastics. All agreed, however, in rejecting
Plato's theory of a merely mechanical union per modum
motoris. And to this they were necessarily led by their teach
ing on the oneness of the vital principle in man. For not only
man's thoughts and volitions, but also his sensations are im
manent actions, and consequently there must be an intrinsic
union between soul and body. It is indeed true that intel
lectual activity is intrinsically independent of the bodily or
ganism; but that is owing to the fact that the soul is a sub-
sistent form, which in being and activity transcends the limita
tions of material substances. By reason of its sensitive powers
the soul constitutes with the body one principle of action ; and
by reason of its spiritual faculties it forms a principle of
action by itself, except in so far as it needs the presence of
phantasms for its spiritual operations. The one does not in
terfere with the other.17
As the intrinsic union of the soul with the body requires
that the material element be specifically determinable, all Scho
lastics admitted some kind of materia prima; but there was no
agreement in regard to its nature. Alexander of Hales, St.
Bonaventure, Scotus, and the whole Franciscan school held
that both soul and body are composed of potency and act, or
of matter and form; while Albertus Magnus, St. Thomas,
and very many others denied the composition of both soul
and body. This point has already been touched upon in the
preceding chapter, where a short explanation is given of the
16 D« Potentia, q. 3, a. 9.
17 Cfr. St. Thorn. Sum. Theol. q. 76, a. I.
ANTHROPOLOGY 135
Scotistic view on the nature of the angels. The same princi
ples there set forth are applied by the Franciscan school to the
two constitutive elements of human nature. Hence a few ex
tracts from their writing will here suffice to give us a fair
understanding of their teaching on the subject now under con
sideration.
Alexander of Hales, speaking of the human soul, thus states
his view regarding its nature : " It must be held that the hu
man soul is composed of matter and form ; but it can in nowise
be said that it has matter and form in the same sense as bodies
have. . . . For corporeal matter is the foundation of magni
tude; not so spiritual matter. . . . Still nothing can be the
agent and the receiver of one and the same thing in itself.
Hence as to act is proper to the form and to receive is proper
to matter, it follows that the human soul, which performs both
functions, is composed of matter and form.18 . . . Besides,
it seems very probable that all corporeal substances, as regards
their matter, were produced in the six days of creation ; hence
for the same reason the soul also, as it is not entirely simple,
was then produced as regards its matter: but that matter can
only be spiritual, and therefore the soul was then produced as
regards its spiritual matter." 19
Then, referring to the union of soul and body, he says:
" It must be noted that there is a first form whose function it
is to perfect matter; as, for instance, elementary forms; and
in their case the form directly perfects the whole matter and
its every part. . . . But the soul has something over and
above its own matter, which cannot be said of the first form ;
hence the soul does not actuate the matter of the body, but
the natural body itself already complete in respect of its natural
form : and this form is called the corporeal form — forma
corporalis." 20
St. Bonaventure followed the teaching of his master, and
expresses it in almost identical terms. The soul, he says, is
a something that acts and is acted upon, that moves and is
moved, and therefore there is in it a material principle from
18 Sum. II, q. 61, m. I. 20 Ibid. q. 63, m. 3.
19 Sum. II, q. 60, m, 2, a. I.
136 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
which it has its existence, and a formal principle from which
it has its being. However, that material substratum is outside
the category of extension, and above all tendency to privation
and corruption; and therefore it is called spiritual matter.21
In regard to the union of the soul with the body he states :
" Although the rational soul is composed of matter and form,
nevertheless it has a tendency to perfect corporeal nature;
similarly as the organic body, composed of matter and form,
has a tendency to receive the soul." 22
Henry of Ghent defended the same doctrine, and advanced
a number of theological arguments in support of his view.
Thus he pointed out, that, if the forma corporeitatis be ad
mitted, it is much easier to explain the identity of Christ's
body during the triduum mortis, to defend Mary's title of
Mother of God, and to give a reasonable exposition of other
facts belonging to the faith.23
Scotus, as w:as explained in the preceding chapter, divides
the material elements of things into materia primo prima, ma-
teria secundo prima, and materia tertio prima. The first is
pure potency devoid of all forms, and as such it is the sub
stratum of all created beings. The second is actuated by a
substantial form, the forma corporeitatis, which determines
it quantitatively and makes it a fit substratum for specific
organic and inorganic beings. The third is the complete sub
stance, specifically determined by an ultimate substantial form.
This is not subject to further determination, except by way of
accidental forms.24
It is, therefore, the materia secundo prima which constitutes
the body of which the rational soul is the substantial form. It
has already been placed in the order of bodies by the forma
corporeitatis, but it becomes a human body by being still fur
ther determined by the spiritual soul. So determined, it con
stitutes together with the soul the compositum humanum,
which is truly an unum per se. The soul does not communi
cate to this body being simply, but specific being; and in so
far only can it be called the substantial form of the body.
21 In Sent. II, d. 17, a. I, q. 2. 23 Quodl. 4, q. 13.
22 Ibid. q. 2 ad 6m. 24 De Rerum Princ. q. 8, a. 3.
ANTHROPOLOGY 137
Over against this somewhat theoretical exposition, which
is still advocated by many, stands the more direct and simple
explanation of Albertus Magnus and St. Thomas. Both of
them follow closely the teaching of the Stagirite, but neither
of them simply transcribes his thoughts. The views of Al
bertus on the matter now under consideration may be reduced
to the following points, i. The soul is essentially simple, and
therefore not composed of a really distinct act and potency.25
2. The rational soul is immediately united to the body as its
substantial form.26 3. The soul gives to the body its spe
cific, numerical, and substantial unity.27 4. The soul is the
actus corporis in the sense that it communicates to the materia
prima the esse corporis as well as the esse vii'um et sensi-
ti-rnm.28
St. Thomas takes this teaching of his master and develops
it in his own inimitable way. " To seek the nature of the
soul," he says, " we must premise that the soul is defined as
the first principle of life in those things which live: for we call
living things animate (souled) ; and not-living things inani
mate (soulless)."29 Now, "it must necessarily be admitted
that the principle of intellectual operation, which we call the
soul, is a principle both incorporeal and subsistent." . . . For
it " has an operation of its own apart from the body. But
only a self-subsisting thing can have an operation of its own;
for nothing can operate but what is actual."30 Moreover,
" the intellectual soul itself is an absolute form, and not some
thing composed of matter and form. For if the intellectual
soul were composed of matter and form, the forms of things
would be received into it as individuals, and so it would know
only the individual ; just as it happens with the sensitive powers
which receive forms in a corporeal organ. ... It follows,
therefore, that the intellectual soul, and every intellectual sub
stance which has knowledge of forms absolutely, is exempt
from composition of matter and form." 31
25 Sum. II, tr. 12, q. 2, m. 2. 29 Sum. Theol. I, q. 75, a. I.
26 Ibid. q. 72, m. 2. 30 Ibid. a. 2.
27 De Great. TT, tr. i, q. 4, a. 5. 31 Ibid. a. 5.
28 De Horn. tr. i, q. 7, a. i.
I38 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Again, "it is well to remark that if anyone holds that the
sonl is composed of matter and form, it would follow that in
no way could the soul be the form of the body. For since
the form is an act, and matter is only a potentiality, that which
is composed of matter and form cannot be the form of another
by virtue of itself as a whole. But if it is a form by virtue of
some part of itself, then that part which is the form we call
the soul, and that of which it is the form we call the primary
animate." 32 Yet " we must assert that the intellect, which
is the principle of intellectual operation, is the form of the
human body. For that whereby primarily anything acts is a
form of the thing to which the act is to be attributed. . . .
But the soul is the primary principle of our nourishment, feel
ing, and local movement; and likewise the primary principle
whereby we understand. Therefore this principle by which
we primarily understand, whether it be called the intellect or
the intellectual soul, is the form of the body." 33
This excludes, first of all, Plato's idea of a merely extrinsic
union per modum motoris. " For that which is moved is
neither generated by the application of the moving power, nor
does it corrupt by the withdrawal of that power ; because there
is no dependence in respect of being, but only in respect of
movement. If, therefore, the soul be united to the body only
in the function of mover, it follows that in the union of soul
and body there is no generation, nor in their separation is there
corruption ; and thus death, which consists in the separation of
soul and body, does not mean a corruption of the animal
nature ; which is obviously false." 34
Hence the union of soul and body is necessarily intrinsic;
and this follows obviously from the nature of the compositum
that is formed by their union. " For to be and to act is not
predicated of the form alone, nor of the matter alone, but of
the composite resultant : to be and to act is attributed to both
in common, in so far as the one discharges the functions of
form and the other that of matter. For we say that a man
is healthy in respect of his body and health, and that he is
82 Ibid. q. 76, a. i. 34 Cont. Gent. II, 57-
as Ibid.
ANTHROPOLOGY 139
wise in respect of his soul and wisdom; in which predication
wisdom is taken as the form of him who is wise, and health
as the form of him who is healthy. But to live and to feel
is attributed to soul and body; for we are said to live and to
feel by reason of our soul and our body, but so that the soul
is the formal principle of life and sensation. Therefore the
soul is the form of the body," and this by intrinsic union.35
From this intrinsic union of soul and body it necessarily fol
lows that " it is impossible for another substantial form be
sides the soul to be found in man " . . . For " the substantial
form gives simple existence; therefore by its coming a thing is
said to be generated simply ; and by its removal to be corrupted
simply." . . . But, "if besides the intellectual soul there pre
existed in matter another substantial form by which the sub
ject of the soul were made an actual being, it would follow that
the soul does not give existence simply ; and consequently that
it is not the substantial form : and so at the advent of the soul
there would not be simple generation, nor at its removal simple
corruption; all of which is clearly false. Whence we must
conclude, that there is no other substantial form in man be
sides the intellectual soul ; and that, as the soul virtually con
tains the sensitive and nutritive souls, so does it virtually con
tain all inferior forms, and itself alone does whatever the im
perfect forms do in other things." 36
A little later, Peter John Olivi, a Franciscan and opponent
of St. Thomas, explained the union of soul and body in a
manner that induced the Council of Vienne to define at least
one part of the teaching set forth in the preceding paragraphs,
namely, that the rational soul is of itself and essentially the
true form of the body — per se et essentialiter vera forma cor-
porls. Whether the Council meant also to define the essential
identity of the rational and sensitive soul, is not quite clear;
although many theologians interpret the definition in this
sense.
The principal difficulty experienced in determining the full
meaning of the definition given by the Council arises from the
ss ibid. 36 Sum. Theol. I, q. 76, a. 4.
140 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
uncertainty about the exact import of Olivi's teaching. There
are no Acts of the Council, and Olivi's own works have per
ished. However some years ago a copy of his Quodlibeta was
found, and from them some idea may be obtained as regards
the general trend of his thoughts on the point in question.
Speaking of the union of soul and body, he says : " Their un
ion is intimate, but not immediate; because by the mediation
of the sensitive soul they are inclined to one another, and so
they are united. . . . But how this union can be understood
and be consubstantial in such a way as not to be formal,
may easily be gathered from this, that the sensitive soul is
united with the intellectual soul in a common spiritual matter ;
or, so to speak, in one subject of the rational soul." 37
This can hardly mean anything else than that the rational
and sensitive soul in man are really distinct ; and so Olivi's
teaching was understood by Scotus, who was practically his
contemporary. He does not mention Olivi by name, but he
cites his words and then points out that they imply a real dis
tinction between the rational, sensitive, and vegetative prin
ciples in man.38 Most modern theologians give the same in
terpretation.
Against this teaching, whatever way it was then understood,
the Council of Vienne, convened in 1311, issued the following
definition : " Whosoever shall hereafter pertinaciously pre
sume to assert, defend, or teach, that the rational or intellec
tual soul is not per se and essentially the form of the human
body, shall be considered a heretic." 39 This definition
clearly lays down three points, i. That the rational soul is
in a true sense the substantial form of the body. It is not an
accidental or mere assistant form. 2. It is the form of the
body per se; that is, of itself, and not through the instrumen
tality of the sensitive or vegetative soul. 3. It is the form
of the body essentially, or by reason of its essence ; not merely,
therefore, through some accidental influence it may be said to
exercise on the body. In more recent years the definition was
37 Cf r. Palmieri, De Deo Creante, 38 De Rerum Princ. q. 9, a. 2, s. I.
p. 772 sqq; Zigliara, De Mente Con- 39 Mansi, 25, 4ioE; DB, 481.
cilii Viennensis, p. 115 sqq.
ANTHROPOLOGY 141
interpreted by Pius IX in the sense that there is only one prin
ciple of life in man, and that this is the rational soul, " from
which the body also receives movement and life and every
sense." And this teaching, he declares, " is in such wise con
nected with the dogma of the Church, that it is its only legiti
mate and true interpretation, and consequently cannot be de
nied without an error in faith." 40
It must be noted, however, that the Council did not touch
the further question, whether the rational soul, as the form
of the body, is united to the materia prima in the Thomistic
or Scotistic sense of that term. It did not condemn the teach
ing of Scotus and his Franciscan brethren on the forma cor-
porcitatis. In the definition the rational soul is said to be
the forma corporis, not the forma matcriae primae. It re
mains for theologians to determine what is meant by corpus
in this connection.
40 Ep. " Dolore hand mediocri," ad Episc. Wratislaviensem, 30 Apr.
1860; DB, 1655, note i.
CHAPTER VIII
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE
In reference to the primitive condition of our first parents,
the early Scholastics did little more than restate the teaching
of the Fathers. Thus St. Anselm followed closely the lines
of thought marked out by St. Augustine, and hardly any
where reached beyond the results already achieved by that
profound thinker. Both regarded original justice primarily
as a supernatural rectitude of the will, which manifested itself
in a fixed tendency towards God as the object of eternal bless
edness. This rectitude, however, they conceived to be based
upon a gratuitous intrinsic gift, which by its own nature and
by the will of the Giver permanently inhered in the soul, yet
could be preserved only by the free subjection of the creature
to the Creator. It was the gratia justitiae, or sanctifying
grace, whereby human nature was elevated to a condition of
divine sonship.1
Furthermore, along with this rectitude of the supernaturally
elevated will, Adam received, according to both authors, cer
tain prerogatives that perfected his lower nature, and made
his existence on earth a life of singular blessedness. Among
these prerogatives were especially freedom from inordinate
concupiscence, immunity from bodily infirmities, and immor
tality of the body. And all these gifts were bestowed upon
Adam, not only as a personal possession, but as a sacred
heirloom of the whole race, which it was his duty to transmit
intact to his posterity. This transmission, however, as also
his own permanent possession of these prerogatives, was made
dependent on Adam's fidelity to his Creator.2
Practically the same view was taken by Hugh of St. Victor,
1 De Cone. Grat. et Lib. Arbit. 13. 2 De Cone. Virg. 2.
142
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 143
except that he entertained some doubt as to whether Adam
had infused charity before the fall, although he held that the
moral virtues were certainly connected with the other gifts re
ceived by our first parents.3 By way of knowledge, more
over, Adam was gifted with an intuition of divine things, a
power of contemplation which held a middle place between
faith and the beatific vision. By this intuition Hugh seems
to have understood that enlightened knowledge of God and
divine things which the mystic school in general looked upon
as the special privilege of perfect souls.4
Peter Lombard restated and somewhat developed the same
doctrine. With Hugh of St. Victor, he held that Adam en
joyed the privilege of contemplating God in a very special
manner ; by a vision, not indeed so perfect as that of the blessed
in heaven, but neither so imperfect as that which is granted
to us here on earth.5 When speaking of the graces that were
bestowed upon Adam, he follows St. Augustine's exposition
step by step. Adam was made right, and by the grace of his
state he could live without sin, although he needed another
grace in order to merit eternal life.6
Great progess along these lines was made by Alexander of
Hales, who considered the state of original justice under all
its different aspects. Accepting the teaching of his predeces
sors as regards the fact of original justice, he inquired more
deeply into its inmost nature. Our first parents, he notes,
were free from inordinate concupiscence,7 immune from bod
ily sufferings and death,8 and endowed with a high degree of
the knowledge of God.9 It was in these prerogatives that
original justice properly consisted. But along with them,
though not as forming an essential part of original justice,
our first parents also received the gratia gratum faciens, or
sanctifying grace, which must be considered as a gratuitous
gift of God, exceeding all natural exigencies and capacities of
human nature. In order to preserve this grace, there was
3 De Sacr. VI, c. 17. 7 Sum. II, q. 87, m. I.
4 Ibid. c. 14. 8 Ibid. q. 88, m. 1-4.
5 Sent. II, d. 23, n. 4. 9 Ibid. q. 92, m. 1-4.
6 Ibid. d. 24, n. i.
144 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
placed at their disposal the gratia gratis data, which, besides
the virtues proper to their state, included also a special help
of God, enabling them to persevere in good and to merit eter
nal life.10
Sanctifying grace the author speaks of as a sublimatio
creaturae rationales — an elevation of the rational creature
above its own nature. Referring to the complacency which
the Creator takes in the creatures of His hands, he says that
this complacency is of three degrees. First, all creatures are
acceptable to God in as much as by their nature they are all
good ; secondly, rational creatures are more acceptable to God,
precisely in so far as they are rational; thirdly, rational
creatures are in a very special and most proper sense accept
able to God because they are consecrated to Him, so that they
are His temple, His children, and united to Him as His spouses.
" And this sublimation of the rational creature," he continues,
" is a supra naturale complementum — a perfection that is
above the nature of the recipient; and therefore neither the
aforesaid consecration, nor the adoption, nor the assumption,
is effected through the instrumentality of anything that be
longs to nature, but by means of a gift that is superadded to
nature, which consecrates the soul, makes it into a temple, as
similates it to God, to the end that it may be His son or daugh
ter — links or unites it to God through conformity of the
will, so that it may be His spouse." n
This sanctifying grace was possessed by our first parents in
the state of original justice, but not from the very beginning.
It was not communicated to them at the moment of their crea
tion, but only some time before their fall into sin. On this
point, the author says, there were two contrary opinions in
his day. His own words are : " Some hold that the first man
was created in the state of sanctifying grace. And the reason
which moves them to hold this view is God's perfect liberality
and man's sufficient disposition. Others hold that he was
created only in his natural state, not in the state of sanctifying
grace ; and this opinion is to be adopted rather than the other,
10 Ibid. q. 91, m. i, 2. " Ibid. q. 91, m. I, a. 2 ad im.
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 145
because it is more in conformity with reason, is supported by
the weight of authority, and manifests more clearly the di
vine excellence." 12 God could indeed have adorned human
nature with sanctifying grace at the moment of its creation;
but it was more in harmony with His general way of acting in
the supernatural order, that He should require some kind of
positive disposition produced by man's free cooperation with
actual grace.13
For the necessity of grace, both actual and habitual, Alex
ander assigns these two reasons: First, human nature, be
cause of its animal proclivities, does not readily and expedi-
tiously tend toward God as its last end, even in the natural
order; secondly, as man was destined for a supernatural end,
he had need of supernatural means. " He could, indeed, reach
out to the things that were within the order of nature; but he
could do nothing towards attaining the end that was above
nature." 14 For that he needed a bonum ultra terminos na
turae sive supra omnem naturam — a help that was strictly
supernatural.15
Along with sanctifying grace, Adam received also the in
fused virtues of faith, hope, and charity, as without them it
would have been impossible for him to merit heaven. The
knowledge of God is twofold : natural and supernatural. The
former we gather from God's creatures around us, and by
it we apprehend God as the highest natural good; the latter
comes to us by way of revelation, and leads us to some under
standing of the inner life of God. And so is there a twofold
love of God : one that is natural, in as much as it flows from
our natural knowledge of God; and another that is super
natural, and this has its source in the supernatural knowledge
of faith.16 Unlike the Lombard and Scotus, Alexander
places a real distinction between chanty and sanctifying grace.
St. Bonaventure follows rather closely the lines of thought
traced out by his master. Like him, he understands by the
justitia originalis the gift of integrity, in virtue of which hu-
12 Ibid. q. 90, m. I, a. I. 15 Ibid. m. 2, a. 3.
is ibid. 16 Ibid. q. 92, m. i, 2.
14 Sum. II, q. 91, m. 3, a. 2.
146 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
man nature was, in all its faculties and powers, properly dis
posed in itself and in reference to God as its last end. This
gift consisted principally in the prerogatives of bodily im
mortality and of freedom from concupiscence.17 They were
not strictly supernatural, since there is an aptitude for them in
nature; but they were nevertheless a largess of grace — quan
tum ad aptitudinem fuit (immortalitas) a natura, quantum ad
complcmentum fuit a gratia.™ Together with these preroga
tives, Adam possessed a special knowledge of God, which was
more perfect than the knowledge derived from creatures and
less perfect than the knowledge of vision. The author calls
it scientia apparitionis et contemplationis. Owing to the per
fection of his state, Adam did not have the knowledge of
faith.19
In his explanation of the gratia gratum faciens which was
conferred upon our first parents, St. Bonaventure uses the
identical terms employed by Alexander. Through it the soul
is consecrated as a temple of the Godhead, is adopted as God's
own child, and is received by Him as His spouse. Thus the
soul is intrinsically sanctified, is made like unto God, and en
dowed with a most surpassing spiritual beauty. In itself this
sanctifying grace is a supra naturale complcmentum omnis
creaturac — a gratuitous gift that is in no sense due to any
created nature.20 Without it man is neither acceptable to God
in the supernatural order, nor can he merit eternal life. How
ever, this gift was not bestowed at the moment of creation, but
only after our first parents had disposed themselves for its
reception by faithful cooperation with God's helping grace.21
Albertus Magnus also distinguished between the justitia
originalis and the gratia gratum faciens, understanding by the
former a preternatural order and harmony of all the faculties
and powers of human nature, and by the latter an elevating
principle whereby Adam became capable of supernatural
merit.22 The gift of integrity or original justice was con-
17 In Sent. II, d. 19, a. 3, q. I, 2. 20 Ibid. d. 29. q. I ; cfr. d. 26, a.
18 Ibid. q. I. unic. q. I.
19 Ibid. q. 23, a. 2, q. I, 3. 21 Ibid. d. 29, q. 2.
22 Sum. II, tr. 14, q. 85.
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 147
f erred at the moment of creation, and if Adam had remained
faithful it would have been bestowed upon all his descendants ;
but sanctifying grace was not given until Adam had disposed
himself for its reception.23 However, he received it before
the fall, and thus was placed in a condition in which he could
have remained faithful to God and merited eternal life.24
Sanctifying grace is a universal habit or quality, which inheres
both in the soul and all its faculties; although in the latter
it inheres rather by reason of the accompanying virtues.25
These virtues are intimately connected with sanctifying grace,
as are also the gifts of the Holy Spirit.26
St. Thomas developed this teaching of his predecessors in
his own clear way, and on some points departed from their
views. Speaking of original justice and sanctifying grace, he
says : " It must be noted that in relation to the first man there
is question of a twofold justice: The one is original justice,
which bears reference to the due subordination of the body
to the soul, and of the lower powers to the higher, and of the
higher powers to God. In the primitive state, this justice
was by the divine goodness conferred upon human nature it
self; and therefore, if Adam had remained faithful, he would
have transmitted it to his descendants. There is also another
gratuitous justice, which is the principle of supernatural merit;
and in regard to this there is a twofold opinion." 27
This " twofold opinion " refers both to the time when sanc
tifying grace was bestowed on Adam and to its transmission
to his posterity. He states the .two views in this way : " Some
say that the first man was created only in the state of perfect
nature, and not in the state of grace. The reason assigned
for this view is, that for the reception of such a grace there
was need of a personal preparation on the part of the recipient.
As a necessary consequence, in this opinion the grace thus
conferred was a personal gift to the soul, and therefore would
in no sense have been transmitted, except in so far as there
would have been an aptitude in all to receive it. But others
23 Tbid. q. 90, m. I. 26 Ibid. tr. 14, q. 90, m. 4, 5.
24 Ibid. m. 3. 27 In Sent. II, d. 20, q. 2, a. 3.
25 Ibid. tr. 16, q. 98, m. 4.
148 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
say that man was created in the state of grace, and according
to this view the gift of grace was conferred on human nature
itself : hence grace would have been transmitted together with
nature." 28 This latter view St. Thomas definitely adopted
in his Sitmma Theologica, where he says : " But since the root
of original justice, which conferred righteousness on the first
man when he was made, consists in the supernatural subjection
of reason to God, which subjection results from sanctifying
grace, ... we must conclude that if children were born in
original justice, they would also have been born in grace." 29
Hence St. Thomas established a much closer connection be
tween sanctifying grace and the preternatural gifts of original
justice than any of his predecessors had attempted. Alex
ander of Hales and Albertus Magnus considered these gifts
as standing by themselves; and the same view was taken by
St. Bonaventure : while St. Thomas makes them rest upon
sanctifying grace as their supernatural foundation. Hence
he gives this reason for holding that Adam received sanctify
ing grace at the moment of creation : " The very rectitude of
the primitive state, wherewith man was endowed by God,
seems to require that, as others say, he was created in grace.
. . . For this rectitude consisted in his reason being subject
to God, the lower powers to reason, and the body to the soul :
and the first subjection was the cause of both the second and
the third." . . . For " if the loss of grace dissolved the obe
dience of the flesh to the soul, we may gather that the inferior
powers were subject to the soul through grace existing
therein." 30
The following is a brief outline of the teaching of St.
Thomas on the various perfections with which Adam was en
dowed in the state of original justice. He studies successively
the perfections of the intellect, of the will, and of the body.
i. Perfections of the Intellect. — " The first man did not see
God through His essence if we consider the ordinary state of
that life ; unless, perhaps, it be said that he saw God in a vision,
when God cast a deep sleep upon Adam. . . . Nevertheless he
28 Ibid. q. I, a. I. 30 Sum. Theol. I, q. 95, a. I.
29 Op. cit. I, q. 100, a. I ad 2m.
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 149
knew God with a more perfect knowledge than we do. Thus
in a sense his knowledge was midway between our knowledge
in the present state and the knowledge we shall have in heaven,
when we see God through His essence." And the reason for
this higher knowledge must be sought in the fact that " the
first man was not impeded by exterior things from a clear and
steady contemplation of the intelligible effects which he per
ceived by the radiation of the first truth, whether by a natural
or by a gratuitous knowledge." 31
Adam's knowledge was intended not only for his own per
sonal ends, but also for the instruction and government of
others ; hence he " was established by God in such a manner
as to have knowledge of all those things for which man has a
natural aptitude. And such are whatever are virtually con
tained in the first self-evident principles, that is, whatever
truths man is naturally able to know. Moreover, in order to
direct his own life and that of others, man needs not only
those things which can be naturally known, but also things
surpassing natural knowledge; because the life of man is di
rected to a supernatural end: just as it is necessary for us to
know the truths of faith in order to direct our own lives.
Wherefore the first man was endowed with such a knowledge
of these supernatural truths as was necessary for the direction
of human life in that state. But those things which cannot
be known by merely human effort, and which are not neces
sary for the direction of human life, were not known by the
first man; such as the thoughts of men, future contingent
events, and some individual facts." 32 However, " as long as
the state of innocence continued, it was impossible for the
human intellect to assent to falsehood as if it were truth,"
even as regarded things to which man's knowledge did not
extend; for such possibility of deception would not have been
befitting the integrity and rectitude of the primitive state.33
Hence, " although the wroman was deceived before she sinned
in deed, still it was not till she had already sinned by interior
pride." 34
31 Ibid. q. 94, a. I. 33 Ibid. a. 4.
32 Ibid. a. 3. 34 Ibid. a. 4 ad im.
150 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
2. Perfections of the Will — As the lower powers were
subject to the higher, and the higher powers were subject to
God, the will of the first man, so long as he continued in the
state of innocence, was never disturbed or weakened by the
influence of passions. In their actual tendency towards their
proper object, they existed only as consequent upon the judg
ment of reason. And even in this sense there were no pas
sions save those only that " are ordered to what is good " ;
" such as joy and love, desire and hope that casteth not
down."35 Hence the will could always exercise its full
power in the pursuit of virtue.
The perfection of the primitive state required also that the
first man should in a certain sense possess all the virtues. For
" the virtues are nothing but those perfections whereby reason
is directed to God, and the inferior powers are regulated ac
cording to the dictate of reason." Here, however, a distinc
tion is to be made as regards habit and act. Some of these
virtues involve no imperfection in their nature, such as faith,
hope, charity, and justice ; and they existed " in the primitive
state absolutely, both in habit and in act. But other virtues
are of such a nature as to imply imperfection either in their
act, or on the part of the matter. If such imperfection be
consistent with the perfection of the primitive state, the vir
tues necessarily existed in that state ; as faith which is of things
not seen, and hope which is of things not yet possessed. For
the perfection of that state did not extend to the vision of the
divine essence, and the possession of God with the enjoyment
of final beatitude. . . . But any virtue which implies imper
fection incompatible with the perfection of the primitive state,
could exist in that state as a habit, but not as to the act ; for in
stance penance, which is sorrow for sins committed ; and
mercy, which is sorrow for another's misery ; because sorrow,
guilt, and misery are incompatible with the perfection of the
primitive state." 36
As man in the state of innocence had a free will, and also
the assistance of God's grace, he could perform meritorious
35 Sum. Theol. I, q. 95, a. 2. 36 Ibid. a. 3.
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 151
actions. In one sense these actions were more meritorious
than corresponding actions in the state of reparation, and in
another sense they were less so. For merit as regards degree
may be gauged either by the grace and charity of the agent,
or by the proportionate difficulty of the action. " We con
clude therefore that in the state of innocence man's works
were more meritorious than after sin was committed, if the
degree of merit on the part of grace be considered; which
would have been more copious as meeting with no obstacle
in human nature: and in like manner, if we consider the ab
solute degree of action; because, as man could attain to greater
virtue, he would perform greater actions. But if we consider
the proportionate degree, a greater reason for merit exists
after sin, on account of man's weakness; for a small deed is
more beyond the capacity of one who works with difficulty
than a great deed is beyond that of one who performs it
easily/' 37
3. Perfections of the Body. — The chief perfections of
man's body in the primitive state were immortality and im
passibility. The former was a posse non mori — the per
petual preservation from death of a mortal nature. Man did
not possess the natural incorruptibility of the angels, nor the
incorruptibility of glory enjoyed by the blessed in heaven;
but an incorruptibility of a lower order gratuitously conferred
on him by his Creator. " For man's body was indissoluble
not by reason of any intrinsic vigor of immortality, but by
reason of a supernatural force given by God to the soul,
whereby it was enabled to preserve the body from corruption
so long as it remained itself subject to God. This entirely
agrees with reason; for since the rational soul surpasses the
capacity of corporeal matter, ... it was most properly en
dowed at the beginning with the power of preserving the body
in a manner surpassing the capacity of corporeal matter." 3S
Impassibility is divided by St. Thomas into two kinds, ac
cording to the nature of the passion or suffering it excludes
from its subject. " For passion may be taken in two senses.
37 Ibid. a. 4. 38 Sum. Theol. I, q. 97, a. I.
152 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
First, in its proper sense, and thus a thing is said to suffer
when changed from its natural disposition. For passion is
the effect of action; and in nature contraries act on, or suffer
from, one another, accordingly as one thing changes another
from its natural disposition. Secondly, passion can be taken
in a general sense for any kind of change, even if belonging
to the perfecting process of nature. Thus to understand and
to feel are said in a sense to be passive. In this second sense,
man was passible in the state of innocence, and was passive
both in soul and body. In the first sense man was impassible,
both in soul and body, as he was likewise immortal; for he
could curb his passion, as he could avoid death, so long as he
refrained from sin." 39
Scotus agreed with this teaching of St. Thomas in its main
outlines, but departed from it on some minor points. He
held that Adam was created in the state of original justice,
and this state was not merely a condition of natural rectitude,
but was the result of preternatural prerogatives gratuitously
bestowed on human nature by the Creator. It consisted in a
perfect tranquillity of the soul and all its powers, so that man's
inferior nature did not tend to go contrary to the dictate of
reason; or if of itself it was inclined so to do, it could easily
be regulated and reduced to order, without causing any diffi
culty to his higher nature, or any sadness to his lower na
ture.40
The proximate cause of the condition of perfect tranquillity
was a complexus habituum — so many particular gratuitous
gifts, which resided in the will and the other faculties. Thus
the will was so disposed by an inherent power, that it could
withdraw itself with pleasure from any object craved by the
lower appetite.41 These permanent dispositions of the facul
ties must, however, not be confounded with the infused vir
tues ; nor with habitual grace. They were special virtues, en
tirely proper to the state of innocence. Hence the state of
original justice as such was independent of sanctifying grace.
In fact, however, sanctifying grace was an integral part of
89 Ibid. a. 2. 40 In Sent. II, d. 29, n. 2, 4.
STATE OF ORIGINAL JUSTICE 153
that state as ordained by God.41 Whether Adam was created
in sanctifying grace, is not clearly stated by Scotus. Some
interpret his teaching in this sense, although he is usually
cited as an authority for the contrary view.42
In explaining man's bodily immortality in the primitive
state, Scotus rejects the teaching of St. Thomas, that its proxi
mate cause was an intrinsic power of the soul over matter,
communicated to it by God. According to him, Adam always
retained the potentia ad mori, but by a special intervention of
Providence that potentia could not be reduced to act, so long
as the state of innocence continued. Hence in his own being
Adam was simply mortal; but whilst he remained faithful,
God warded off all danger to his life, and before the time of
natural dissolution approached, He would have taken him up
to heaven.43
Finally, all these prerogatives of original justice were in
tended for the entire human race, although their transmission
was made dependent on Adam's fidelity. Each human being
was to have received them at the moment of birth, not as an
inheritance from Adam, but as a free gift of God. However,
all would have been subjected to a probation, with the same
chances of failure that proved the undoing of the first man.44
Comparing now the teaching of the most representative
Scholastics, as outlined in the preceding paragraphs, we may
put down the following points as common to all.
1. Man's primitive condition was a state of righteousness,
which resulted from certain gifts of God not due to human
nature.
2. These gifts affected both soul and body, and all man's
faculties. They included enlightenment of the intellect by
infused knowledge, steadfastness of the will under the in
fluence of grace, a perfect harmony between man's higher
and lower nature through immunity from concupiscence, im
mortality of the body, and a corresponding freedom from
suffering.
41 Ibid. n. 5 ; I, d. 32, n. 19. 43 In Sent. II, d. 19.
42 Cf r. In Sent. II, d. 29, q. unic. 44 Ibid, d, 20, q. I.
n. 7; Report, q. 2.
154 MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
3. Over and above these preternatural gifts, the first man
received sanctifying grace, which is strictly supernatural.
Through it he became an adopted son of God, with the right
and title to an eternal inheritance. By it he was also placed
in a position to perform meritorious actions, to persevere in
his happy state, and finally to claim heaven as his reward.
With sanctifying grace were connected all those virtues that
were not repugnant to the state of innocence, and also a right
to necessary actual graces.
4. In one sense all these gifts and graces were bestowed
upon Adam as personal favors, in as much as he could enjoy
and use them for his own advantage ; but in another sense they
were the property of the whole human race, since by the in
tention of the Giver Adam was to transmit them, with the
one exception of infused knowledge, to all his descendants.
Their bestowal upon Adam was absolute, yet their continuance
in his own case and their transmission to his posterity was
conditioned by his own fidelity.
These four points, leaving aside all explanations as regards
details, constitute the common teaching of the Schoolmen.
They had been taken over by the Scholastics from the works
of the Fathers, and somewhat later, at the Council of Trent,
they received the solemn approval of the Church.45
^Sess. 5, Decretum de Pecc. Original!; Mansi, 33, 27 A sqq.; DB. 787
sqq.
CHAPTER IX
ORIGINAL SIN
The existence of original sin had been defined against the
Pelagians of the fifth century,1 and no subsequent theologian
called it in question. Nor was there among the Schoolmen
any serious doubt in regard to its being a sin in the strict
sense of the term. Abelard, indeed, held that nothing was
transmitted by Adam to his posterity except the reatus poenae
— a mere liability to punishment ; but his view was condemned
by the Council of Sens, in 1141, and also by Pope Innocent
II.2 There was, however, among the Scholastics no agree
ment about the precise nature of this sin, nor about the manner
of its transmission. The following outline will be sufficient
to indicate the historical development of the doctrine in ques
tion.
i. The Nature of Original Sin. — St. Augustine had de
fined original sin as a reatus concupiscentiae — the guilt of
concupiscence, without making it altogether clear in what ob
jective reality or condition this guilt must be conceived to
consist. This guilt, moreover, he held to be transmitted
through concupiscence, which accompanies the act of procrea
tion.3 His teaching was restated in practically the same terms
by Pope Gregory I, and thenceforth it was universally accepted
and defended by Western theologians until the end of the
eleventh century.
The first one to break with this traditional teaching, and
to place the nature of original sin in a somewha4: clearer light,
was St. Anselm. He subjected the whole question of original
sin to a thorough examination in his treatise De Conceptu
Virginali et Peccato Originali, in connection with the sinless
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 358. 3 Cfr. vol. I, p. 364 sqq.
2 Mansi, 21, 568C; DB. 376.
155
I56 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
conception of the Savior. Setting aside the teaching of St.
Augustine, without, however, mentioning his name, he thus
proposes his own view : " By original sin, then, I understand
nothing else than the sin that is in the child as soon as it has
a rational soul. . . . And this sin, which I call original, I
cannot understand in these children in any other sense than
that it is a privation of original justice, brought about by the
disobedience of Adam. Through this privation all are chil
dren of wrath, because the deliberate casting off of justice
rendered guilty the nature which God had made in Adam." 4
This view of the matter places the essence of original sin
in the privation of original justice, in so far as that justice had
been conferred by God as a prerogative of human nature itself.
Original justice, however, is here not taken as designating
sanctifying grace, but as standing for the preternatural pre
rogatives which formally constituted the state of innocence.5
Hence the author defines justice, in this connection, as a recti
tude of the will preserved for its own sake — rectitudo vol-
untatis propter se servata. In this rectitude Adam was
created, and God willed that it should be the prerogative of
Adam's posterity. Hence the privation of it is against the
will of God, and constitutes in every one of Adam's descend
ants a sin in the strict sense of the term. " In Adam the per
son made human nature sinful, because when Adam sinned,
man sinned. ... In children it is human nature that makes
the person sinful/' because that nature is against the will of
God deprived of original justice.6 " In this manner the per
son despoiled human nature of justice in Adam ; and thus
despoiled, human nature causes all persons, whom it begets of
itself, to be sinful and unjust." 7
Hence St. Anselm's formal concept of original sin differs
considerably from that of St. Augustine, but it also differs
considerably from that of present day theologians. He made
a great advance over his predecessors by placing the essence
of original sin in the privation of justice, but he retarded, and
to some extent rendered futile, his own advance, by failing to
4 Op. cit. c. 27. 6 Ibid. c. 23.
6C. 3, 5, 7, 19- 7Ibid.
ORIGINAL SIN 157
make this justice chiefly consist in sanctifying grace. Hence
he experienced the same difficulty, as did St. Augustine before
him, in explaining the blotting out of original sin by baptism.
He states the difficulty in this way : " I said that the inability
of possessing justice does not excuse the injustice of children.
Hence some one will perhaps ask: If sin, that is injustice,
is in the child before baptism, and the child's inability of pos
sessing justice, as you say, is no excuse, and yet in baptism
no sin is remitted except that which existed before, then, since
the child after baptism, so long as it is a child, is without
justice, nor can be understood to preserve justice, how is it
not still unjust, although it has been baptized? " 8
This is a fair statement of the difficulty, which was neces
sarily involved in his theory on the nature of original sin. If
original sin is a privation of some perfection that God willed
to be in human nature, then it can be removed only by supply
ing that perfection. Yet baptism does not restore original
justice, hence it would seem that baptism does not remove
original sin.
St. Anselm's answer is this : " I answer this question by
saying that the sins which existed before baptism was received,
are entirely blotted out by baptism. Hence the original in
ability of possessing justice is not imputed as a sin to those
who are baptized, as it was imputed to them before. Just
as the inability of not possessing justice did not excuse its
absence before baptism, because this absence was real guilt;
so it does altogether excuse the same after baptism, because
it remains without any guilt. Hence it is that the justice
which was demanded of children before baptism, without ad
mitting any excuse on their part, is not exacted of them after
baptism as'something which they owed/' 9 This answer, as is
obvious, really explains nothing. It makes the blotting out
of original sin consist in a mere non-imputation of guilt.
Anselm's teaching on original sin was taken but little notice
of by the theologians of the twelfth century. Only two of
them, Odo of Cambrai (+1113) and Honorius of Autun
8 Ibid. c. 29. 9 Ibid.
158 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
(1150), adopted his views. All the other more notable writ
ers of that period, such as Robert Pulleyn,10 Hugh of St. Vic
tor,11 Peter Lombard,12 and Pope Innocent III,13 followed the
lead of St. Augustine. They all regarded original sin as a
reatus vel vitium concupiscentiae, which is propagated per
libidinem, in some mysterious way stains the semen, and then
in a still more mysterious way infects the soul at its union
with the body. Thus the Lombard writes : " What, then, is
original sin? It is the touch-wood of sin, namely, concupis
cence or the concupiscible power, which is called the law of
the members, or the languor of nature, or the tyrant which is
in our members, or the law of the flesh." 14 It is not the act
of concupiscence, but the habit — a radical vice that inclines
to evil. " And that this vice exists as a corruption in the flesh
before its union with the soul is proved by the effect produced
in the soul upon its infusion into the body; for it is stained
by the corruption of the flesh — just as it is known that there
was impurity in the vessel, when the wine which is poured
into it becomes sour." 15
A slight change was introduced into this teaching by Alex
ander of Hales, who sought to combine the views of St.
Anselm and St. Augustine. With this object in view, he
writes : " Original sin is guilt which consists in the privation
of a justice that is due, or a certain deformity by which the
soul itself is deformed. Concupiscence is the punishment of
sin, . . . original sin is the privation or absence of a justice
that is due." 16 " This definition," he says, " is formal, drawn
from the efficient cause ; while the other definition usually given
— original sin is a vice resulting from the corruption of the
semen in man — is material or taken from the material cause.17
Here appears for the first time the famous distinction between
the formal and material element of original sin, which finally
enabled the Scholastics to get away from the view of St.
10 Sent VI, i. 14 Sent. II, d. 30, c. 7.
11 De Sacr. I, p. 7, c. 28; Sent. 15 Ibid. d. 31, c. 6.
Ill, IT. 16 Sum. II, q. 106, m. 2, n. I, 3.
12 Sent. II, d. 30, c. 7; d. 31, c. 6. 17 Ibid.
13 In VII Ps. Poenit. 4; ML, 218,
1058.
ORIGINAL SIN 159
Augustine, without placing themselves in open contradiction
with his theory.
The distinction thus introduced was taken up by St. Bona-
venture, who tried to explain the nature of original sin by
comparing it to actual sin. " As actual sin," he says, " does
not consist exclusively in privation, since it is not only an
aversion but also a conversion, ... so the same must in its
own way be held in regard to original sin. . . . Thus original
sin is said to be in a person, not only because he is deprived of
original justice, but also because he has a certain inclination
to evil and is under the power of concupiscence. . . . Hence
when it is asked, what is original sin? it is perfectly correct
to answer that it is concupiscence; and it is also perfectly cor
rect to answer that it is the privation of original justice: for
the one answer is contained in the other; although the one
emphasizes the inclination to evil that is in original sin, and
the other that of privation. . . . Hence it must be conceded
that original sin is concupiscence, not any concupiscence what
ever, but the concupiscence that includes the privation of
original justice." 18
It must be noted, however, that St. Bonaventure, like St.
Anselm, the Lombard, and Alexander of Hales before him,
understands by original justice merely the aggregate of pre
ternatural gifts proper to the state of innocence, without in
cluding sanctifying grace. Hence his difficulty in explaining
the blotting out of original sin by baptism. In regard to this
he writes : " Hence it is that, as the Master says, in baptism
original sin passes away as to its guilt, but remains as regards
its reality — transit reatu et remanet actu; because although
concupiscence remains, yet it does not remain in so far as it
implies guilt and a liability to punishment. . . . When, there
fore, original sin is blotted out, it is not blotted out in such a
way that it does not at all exist, but only in such wise that
it is not a sin. . . . Nor must it be imagined " that original
justice itself is restored, but rather that a certain compensa
tion is made by way of conferring sanctifying grace." 19
18 In Sent. II, d. 30, a. 2, q. i. 19 In Sent. II, d. 32, a. I, q. I.
160 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Albertus Magnus made a similar attempt to reconcile the
two opposite views, although his dissertation on the nature of
original sin is almost entirely taken up with its material ele
ment. He defines original sin as " a proneness to evil which
includes the privation of a justice that is due." 20 And of
concupiscence, as found in the members of the body, he says:
" This concupiscence is in the body as a punishment only, for
the reason that the body is not a rational substance and there
fore not susceptible of guilt. And hence when concupiscence
infects a subject that is susceptible of guilt, the latter is im
mediately present together with the former. Thus it is that
the soul becomes infected, and is made subject both to guilt and
punishment." 21
As will have been noted, all the writers thus far mentioned,
with the sole exception of St. Anselm, conceived original sin
to consist in some kind of physical stain, which is first in the
body and then in some inexplicable way transmitted to the soul.
That this was a fundamentally wrong concept is sufficiently
obvious; for the soul, as a spiritual substance, cannot be de
filed by a bodily stain. Concupiscence is indeed also in the
soul, but it is there independently of the body. Hence it was
necessary to eliminate this theory of defilement by contact,
before real progress could be made in the rational exposition
of the nature of original sin. And this elimination was ef
fected by St. Thomas, who subjected the whole question of
original sin to a very thorough investigation. The following
is a brief summary of his views on the nature of original sin.
He first rejects the view of his predecessors, that original
sin is connected with a physical stain in the body, whereby the
soul is contaminated. All such explanations, he says, are ne
cessarily insufficient, since the stain in question, whatever may
be said about its transmission to the soul, lacks the formal
element of sin, which is obviously a deordination in the moral
order.22 Next he gives a general definition of original sin,
pointing out that it must in some way be a habitus, in as much
as it is a certain inordinate disposition, resulting from the
20 In Sent. II, 30, 3. 22 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 81, a. I.
21 Ibid. a. I.
ORIGINAL SIN 161
dissolution of that harmony in which original justice consisted.
In this sense, original sin is called a languor of nature.23 It
is not an infused habit; nor one that is personally acquired,
except on the part of our first parent: but it is inborn in us
because of our vitiated origin.24
After this general description of original sin, he proceeds
to an investigation of its intrinsic constituents. He accepts
the definition given by St. Augustine — C oncupiscentia est
reatits peccati originalis, but he explains it in his own way.
" The species of a thing," he says, " is taken from its form.
Now, as was said above, the species of original sin is derived
from its cause ; hence it follows that, what is formal in original
sin, must be derived from the cause whence this sin originated.
But of opposites there are opposite causes; and therefore it
must be noted that the cause of original sin is bound up with
the cause of original justice, but by way of opposition. Now
the orderly condition of original justice had its source in this,
that the will of man was subject to God. And the whole sub
jection was first and chiefly brought about by the will, whose
function it is to direct all other powers to their proper end.
Hence, because of the turning away of the will from God,
there followed a corresponding insubordination in all the other
powers of the soul. Thus, therefore, the privation of original
justice, through which the will was subject to God, is the
formal element in original sin; and every other kind of in-
ordination of the powers of the soul belongs to the material
element. But the inordination of the other powers of the
soul consists chiefly in this, that they tend inordinately to
wards the attainment of what is passing and changeable ; and
therefore this inordination may well be called concupiscence.
And thus original sin, considered in its material element, is
concupiscence; but considered in its formal element, it is the
privation of original justice." 25
Now the material element of original sin, which is here said
to be concupiscence, may be considered in one of two ways:
either as something consequent upon the formal element, or
23 Ibid. q. 82, a. I. 25 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 82, a. 3.
24 Ibid. a. i ad 3m.
162 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
as a constituent part of original sin itself. In what sense the
term is used by St. Thomas is not altogether clear. His mod
ern followers usually hold that he took it in the former sense,
and the text cited above may well be adduced in support of
that interpretation. For it was " because of the turning away
of the will from God that there followed a corresponding in
subordination in all the other powers of the soul " ; and " this
insubordination may well be called concupiscence." But in
not a few other texts he speaks of concupiscence as if it were
a constituent part of original sin. Thus, for instance, he
says : " Just as in artificial things . . . the matter is pre
dicated of the whole, so that one may say, the knife is iron;
even in such wise is concupiscence said to be original sin.'* 26
Again : " Ignorance and the inclination to evil are the ma
terial element in original sin, just as the turning to a change
able good is the material element in actual sin." 27 And still
more explicitly : " Concupiscence in the newly born is the
cause of original sin by way of matter, which is of the essence
of a thing." 2S Hence all his followers before the Council of
Trent, among them Capreolus, Ferrariensis, and Cajetanus,
interpreted him as having taken the material element in the
strict sense of the term, or as a constituent part of original
sin.
There is also some difficulty in connection with the formal
element, in so far as it is at first sight not clear what exact
meaning St. Thomas attached to the term " original justice,"
as used in this connection. All his predecessors had taken it
in an exclusive sense, as distinct from sanctifying grace; and
he himself, in those places where he explicitly treats of the
nature of original sin, seems to prescind from sanctifying
grace altogether. However this difficulty is more apparent
than real. For according to him, sanctifying grace is the root
and foundation of original justice, so that all other super
natural gifts in the state of innocence depended for their con
tinuance upon the presence of sanctifying grace in the soul.
Hence he says quite explicitly : " The root of original justice,
26 Tn Sent. II, 30, q. I, a. 3. 28 Ibid. q. 4, a. 2.
27 De Malo. q. 3, a. 7.
ORIGINAL SIN 163
in whose rectitude man was made, consists in a supernatural
subjection of his reason to God, and this is brought about by
sanctifying grace."29 And again: "Hence if the loss of
grace dissolved the obedience of the flesh to the soul, we may
gather that the inferior powers were subjected to the soul
through grace existing therein/' 30 Consequently, he must
have held that the formal element of original sin consisted
ultimately in the privation of sanctifying grace, although he
does not state this explicitly in his exposition of the nature of
original sin. At all events, he laid down the principles which
were adopted by the Council of Trent, and which enabled later
theologians to work out a consistent theory on this difficult
matter.
Still further progress was made by Scotus, who likewise
adopted St. Anselm's view as his own. Rejecting the opinion
of those who held that original sin consisted in concupiscence,
he says : " In regard to this matter there is another way,
which was followed by Anselm in the whole first book of his
work De Conceptu Virginali, where he treats the subject of
original sin. ... I say, therefore, that original sin, which is
the privation of original justice, is nothing else than the priva
tion of a justice that is due. And if it be objected that some
saints seem to say that original sin is concupiscence, my answer
is this: Concupiscence in the sensitive appetite cannot in
itself be sin; and concupiscence in the will is a merely material
element of sin." 31 And this material element can only be
taken as such in a wider sense of the term, as simply an in
ordinate disposition of the will resulting from original sin.
The material element in the strict sense is the obligation man
is under to possess justice — debitum habendi justitiam.
Hence " in the constitution of original sin two elements con
cur: The privation of justice as its formal element, and^the
obligation of possessing justice as its material element; just
as in the constitution of other privations, there is a concur
rence of the privation itself and of the aptitude for the op
posite perfection." 32
29 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 100, a. I. 81 In Sent. II, d. 32, n. 7.
30 Ibid. q. 95, a. I. 32 Ibid. n. 15, 7.
164 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
Thus Scotus definitely eliminated concupiscence as a con
stituent element of original sin, and this was a decided step
forward. But his teaching on the nature of the privation in
which original sin formally consists is less satisfactory. In
stead of adopting the view of St. Thomas, he returned to that
of St. Anselm. Although he admitted, as was shown in the
preceding chapter, that in its adequate sense original justice
included sanctifying grace, yet in connection with original sin
he took it inadequately, as exclusive of the gratia gratum
faciens. This appears especially in his exposition of the ef
fect of baptism, where he says : " I say that in baptism the
obligation of possessing original justice is taken away, and is
commuted into an obligation of having an equivalent gift,
namely, sanctifying grace. And this second obligation there
after always remains, nor does the first ever return; and he
who is without the second gift, thus due to him, sins more
grievously than he who is without the first ; but he is not now
a sinner because of original sin, for the obligation of possessing
that justice does not return." 33
2. The Transmission of Original Sin. — In reference to the
transmission of original sin, the followers of St. Augustine
assumed the principle that it is not generation but actual con
cupiscence which transmits original sin — non generatio sed
libido transmittit peccatum originate. This libido was sup
posed to stain the semen in the act of procreation, and that
stain would in some way defile the soul on its union with the
body. This view was defended by Hugh of St. Victor, Rob
ert Pulleyn, Peter Lombard, Henry of Ghent, and Pope In
nocent III. The last named writes: " Therefore of the de
filed and corrupt seed a corrupt and defiled body also is
conceived, and when the soul is finally infused into this, it
likewise becomes corrupt and defiled. . . . Just as a liquid
is corrupted when it is poured into an unclean vessel." 34 It
was at best a very unsatisfactory theory, and its abandonment
was only a question of time.
St. Anselm, consistently with his view on the nature of
ss Ibid. n. 16. 34 In VII Ps. Poenit. 4; ML, 218,
1058.
ORIGINAL SIN 165
original sin, offered a better explanation. Setting aside the
libido as a cause of transmission, he had recourse to the con
nection which exists between the person of Adam and human
nature on the one hand, and human nature and the persons of
Adam's descendants on the other. The person of Adam de
spoiled human nature, and that despoiled human nature made
all his descendants sinners. Generation was thus conceived
as a conditio sine qua non of transmission, a bond that links
Adam and all his descendants together in the common misery
of sin. In the last instance, of course, it was the will of God
that ordained the law of transmission; but in this matter the
will of God is the final explanation of every other law that
one may try to establish.35 God so ordained that Adam
should transmit the prerogatives of original justice to all his
descendants by way of generation, and hence when he had
despoiled himself of these gifts, he transmitted a despoiled
nature by the same way.36 And this despoiled nature, be
cause of its spoliation, is infected with original sin.
Alexander of Hales cites the definition given by St. Anselm,
that original sin is the privation of a justice which by the will
of God was due to human nature, and in connection with that
gives this exposition of the way in which original sin is trans
mitted : " The reason underlying the transmission of original
sin seems to be this: The prohibition was put upon Adam
in as far as he contained the whole human nature in himself,
since all others were to descend from him by way of genera
tion. And thus the prohibition extended not to him alone,
but also to those others who were seminally contained in
him." 37 Hence Adam was the head of the whole race, not
only in the physical but also in the moral order. His dis
obedience, therefore, was not merely a personal act; it was the
disobedience of the entire human race as seminally contained
in him. Just as the obedience of Christ, the moral head of
mankind in the order of redemption, was the obedience of
all.38
Thus the ultimate reason for the transmission of original
35 Op. cit. c. 23; cfr. c. 29. 37Sum. II, ioe, m. 3.
36 Ibid. c. 10. 88 Ibid.
166 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
sin is the divine decree which constituted Adam the moral head
of his descendants. But the means or the instrumental cause
of the transmission is the act of procreation. This the author
explains in his answer to the question, whether original sin is
transmitted through the flesh. He says : " As original sin
involves both guilt and punishment, it is transmitted in a dif
ferent way in regard to each of the two. In so far as it
involves punishment it results from the defilement which is
in the flesh; for as soon as the soul is infused into the defiled
flesh, so soon is itself defiled; just as wine becomes corrupt
through the impure condition of the vessel into which it is
poured. But in so far as it involves guilt, it proceeds from
the privation of that justice which should have been in the
nature thus generated." 39
Practically the same position was taken by St. Bonaventure,
who took special pains to explain the connection between the
defilement of the flesh and the resultant guilt in the soul. " In
order to understand," he says, " how from the defilement of
the flesh there can arise a culpable corruption in the soul, these
three points must be presupposed as evidently true: First,
that the defilement of the flesh can cause the body to rise in
rebellion against the spirit; secondly, that the soul united to
the body either lifts it up or is dragged down by it, on account
of the intimate union that exists between the two; thirdly, that
the soul by its own power cannot rule the rebellious flesh,
unless it be assisted by divine grace. From these three pre
suppositions it necessarily follows, that if the soul be united
to a body thus defiled, it is dragged down by it and is through
concupiscence inclined to evil. But being inclined to evil is
nothing else than being in a state of perversion; and perver
sion in a rational substance, which is capable of possessing
justice, is nothing else than injustice and guilt. From this,
therefore, it is clear that the defilement which is in the flesh
can bring it about that the soul, united to it, is sinful. And
because this defilement is derived from the first parent, from
whom all his descendants have their origin according to the
as Sum. II, q. 105, m. 4.
ORIGINAL SIN 167
law of propagation, hence it is that by way of the flesh original
sin is transmitted to all." 40
The most serious drawback of this teaching is the undue
emphasis it places upon concupiscence in the transmission of
original sin. Concupiscence in the parent defiles the flesh in
the child, and the flesh thus defiled in its turn through con
cupiscence defiles the soul. The whole process of transmission
is thus- limited to the physical order. Excepting St. Anselm,
all these theologians commit themselves to the same untenable
view. And to some extent, this is also true of St. Thomas,
especially in his earlier works. Thus in his Commentary on
the Sentences he says : " The soul is not infected by the in
fection of the body, in the sense that the body acts upon the
soul; but by way of the intimate presence of the one to the
other." 41 For the rest he gives the following very clear ex
position of the law of transmission.
" The guilt of original sin comes from this, that the gift
which was gratuitously conferred on Adam, namely, original
justice, was not conferred on him personally, but in so far as
he had such a nature ; so that all those in whom the same nature
should exist as derived from him, should be entitled to the
same gift; and hence original justice should have been propa
gated together with the flesh. Hence it was in the power of
nature always to preserve original justice in itself ; and there
fore the want of it, considered in reference to that nature,
constitutes guilt in all those who derive their nature from the
person who sinned. Now as this want of justice, together
with the nature itself, is through the origin of the flesh de
rived by way of generation, hence the person is said to have
infected nature. But because in these other persons original
sin is present *as derived from the first person who generated,
it does not have the formality of guilt from themselves, since
they do not incur this sin by their own personal will, but it
has this formality only in so far as they receive the nature to
gether with, the guilt. Hence it is, in the second place, that
the person is said to infect the nature." 42
40 In Sent. II, d. 31, a. 2, q. i. 41 In Sent II, d. 30, q. I, a. 2 ad
« In Sent. II, d. 31, q. i, a. i. 5m; cfr. De Malo, IV, 6 ad i6m.
i68 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
In his Summa Theologica he places a much stronger em
phasis upon the solidarity of human nature as the proximate
reason of the transmission of original sin by way of genera
tion. After eliminating altogether the physical transmission
of guilt, he continues: " Hence we must proceed along an
other wa,y, which comes to this, that all men, who are born
of Adam, can be considered as one man, in so far as they
have a common nature which they received from their first
parent; on the same principle as in the civil order all men
belonging to the same community are considered as one body,
and the whole community as one man. . . . Thus, therefore,
many human beings have descended from Adam as so many
members of one body. But the act of any one bodily member,
as for instance the hand, is not voluntary by the will of the
hand itself, but by the will of the soul, which imparts motion
to the member; and hence homicide, committed by the hand,
is not imputed to the hand as a sin, if the hand be considered
in itself as distinct from the body; but the homicide is imputed
to it in so far as the hand is a part of man which is moved
by the first motive principle of man. . . . And just as actual
sin, which is committed by some member, is not the sin of
that member, except in so far as that member is a part of the
man himself, on account of which connection it is called a
human sin ; so is original sin not the sin of the person, except
in so far as that person received his nature from the first par
ent : hence it is called the sin of nature." 43
He further emphasizes the fact that only those contract
original sin who descend from Adam by way of the active
principle of generation — per virtutem activam in yeneratione.
This is what is understood by being seminally contained in
Adam. " But if any one were formed from human flesh by
divine power, it is manifest that in such a case the active
principle of generation was not derived from Adam ; and hence
that person would not contract original sin." 44
Scotus viewed the law of transmission in a somewhat differ
ent light. The inclusion of human nature as a whole in
43 Op. cit. I. II, q. 81, a. I. 44 Ibid. a. 4.
ORIGINAL SIN 169
Adam, emphasized both by St. Anselm and St. Thomas, ac
cording to him does not explain anything. " For this numeri
cal nature which is in the child was not in Adam, although
there was in him a nature of the same species. Therefore
that particular nature was not endowed with original justice;
and therefore it cannot be held responsible for its loss." 45
His own explanation is this : " When the gift (of original
justice) was made to the will of Adam, it was made in such
a way, that by the same act of giving, so far as it came in
question, it was made likewise to every single will of all his
descendants, with the proviso that no obstacle should be put
in the way of its being actually received by them/' 46
He rejects very definitely the teaching of St. Bonaventure,
Alexander of Hales, and others in regard to the part played by
concupiscence in the transmission of original sin. He accepted
and used the expression, anima contrahit mediant e came, but
he explained it in his own way. Thus he writes : " It is said
that the soul contracts original sin by way of the flesh, but
this is not to be understood as if the flesh, through a certain
quality caused in it, were the cause of original sin ; but in this
other sense, that from the flesh conceived under the influence
of concupiscence there is formed an organic body, into which
the soul is infused and thereby constitutes a person, which
person is the child of Adam; and for this reason said person
is under obligation of possessing original justice, which was
given to Adam himself for all his descendants, and yet is de
prived of it. I say, then, that original sin does not result
from the action of the flesh upon the soul. . . . From the
flesh nothing else results in the child than the relation of
being by nature the son of Adam ; and upon this relation is
consequent the obligation that was imposed by the divine
law." i7
Thus the teaching of the Scholastics on the subject of origi
nal sin ran through its successive stages of development. One
by one its inconsistent elements were eliminated, divergent
views were drawn more closely together, obscure concepts
45 In Sent II, d. 32, n. 9. 47 In Sent. II, d. 32, n. 4-11.
*e Ibid. d. 33, n. 18.
170 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
were clarified, the various details were duly coordinated, and
so there finally resulted a theory that satisfied the demands
of reason and was in perfect harmony with the data of revela
tion. All the essential parts of the doctrine thus retained in
its ultimate development — the nature of original sin as a
privation of justice, its presence in every one as his own
proper sin, its voluntariness as derived from the will of the
first parent, its transmission by way of generation, Adam's
moral headship of the race — all these were incorporated by
the Council of Trent in its decree on the nature and propaga
tion of original sin.48 Some minor points still remained in
volved in obscurity, as for instance the vulneratio humanae
naturae in naturalibus, but all that is essential was clearly
set forth and firmly established for all times.
*8 Sess. V, Mansi, 33, 27 A sqq. ; DB, 787 sqq.
CHAPTER X
CHRISTOLOGY
SOME CHRISTOLOGICAL ERRORS : CHRISTOLOGY OF THE
SCHOLASTICS
There is no doctrine of our holy faith that was so thor
oughly investigated during Patristic times as that of the In
carnation. And for this fact two reasons may be assigned.
First, the doctrine is so fundamental that with it Christianity
must either stand or fall. Secondly, no other doctrine was
so fiercely and so constantly attacked by men of heretical
tendencies, who called in question now one now another truth
connected with this central mystery of Christian belief. As
a consequence, when the Patristic age came to a close, Christ-
ology had been fully developed, and at the same time there
seemed to be no room left for new heresies to spring up along
the lines of Christological teaching. Nor did really new here
sies arise in this matter during all the centuries that followed,
but some old errors were revived and presented in a new form.
One or two of them may be briefly noted, before we proceed
to review the Christology of the Scholastics.
A — SOME CHRISTOLOGICAL ERRORS
Spanish Adoptionism, which was really a recrudescence of
the Nestorian heresy,1 was condemned by the Council of
Frank ford in 794. However, in one form or another, traces
of it continued to appear for hundreds of years after its formal
condemnation. Thus Roscelin contended that, as nature and
person are identical, one must necessarily admit a human per
son in Christ, since it is of faith that He has a human nature.
1 Cf r. vol. I, p. 498 sqq.
171
172 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
His error, which is Nestorianism pure and simple, was corn-
batted by St. Anselm, in his treatise De Fide Trinitatis.2
" The Word made flesh," St. Anselm argues, " assumed an
other nature, not another person. For when the term man is
used, it signifies the nature which is common to all men ; but
when we denominate in the concrete this or that man by the
name of Jesus, we designate the person, having together with
nature an aggregate of properties by which man, taken in a
general sense, becomes an individual and is distinguished from
other individuals.''3 And Christ is only one such individual;
hence He is only one person.
However, it was principally by Abelard and his school that
Adoptionism was revived. This revival seems to have been
the outcome of a wrong conception of the hypostatic union,
through which the humanity of Christ was assumed into the
unity of person. According to Abelard, the hypostatic union
is neither intrinsic nor substantial. A truly substantial union,
he contends, would lead to an identification of the humanity
with the Godhead of the Word, and thus introduce a created
and finite person into the Trinity. Hence such expressions
as God is man, this man is God, must always be taken in an
improper or figurative sense.4 The connection between sub
ject and predicate in these propositions is purely accidental; it
does not imply a communication of properties in any true
meaning of the term.
It was this misconception of the nature of the hypostatic
union that gave rise to the doctrinal error known in history as
Christological Nihilism. Its teaching is summed up in the
phrase, Christus in quantum homo non est aliquid — Christ
as man is not anything. It was not meant as a denial of the
reality of Christ's body or soul, but of the substantial union
between His human nature and the person of the Word, by
reason of which the one can in the concrete be predicated of
the other. The Word took a real body and a real soul, but
did not assume them into the unity of person. They are
2 Op cit c 6 4 Introcl. ad Theol. Ill ; ML. 178,
3 ibid II0/; cfr- Bach» Dogmengeschichte,
II, p. 391-395-
CHRISTOLOGICAL ERRORS 173
realities, but not a substantial reality of the Word Incarnate.
They are in the Word, but not one with the Word. The Son
of God clothed Himself with the humanity as with a garment,
that He might appear to men; He used the humanity as an
instrument, that He might perform human actions. Hence
the expression, Deus factus est homo, can only mean, Deus
accepit hominem; and the corresponding expression, Deus est
homo, merely stand for, Deus est habens hominem.5
Furthermore, the better to uphold this peculiar view of the
hypostatic union, not a few of its defenders denied that
Christ's human soul and body were united so as to form a
complete human substance. For the result of such a union
would necessarily be an individual substance of rational na
ture, and therefore a person. But in Christ there is no human
person, and consequently there can be no complete human
substance. The two constituent elements of such a substance
are there, but in a state of separation. Hence the Word In
carnate is in no sense a new reality; He is only the recipient
of a new modus — habitu inventus ut homo®
Logically this view of the humanity of Christ excludes all
filiation, so that Christ as man is neither the Son of God by
nature nor by adoption; and not a few theologians of the
school of Abelard drew that inference. If the humanity was
not even a complete rational substance, adoption in the true
sense of the word was obviously out of the question. For
adoption means the free assumption of an extraneous person
to the right of inheritance; but where there is no complete
rational substance, there is no person.7
Although this Christological error was most widespread in
France, owing to the many disciples and admirers of Abelard,
it found followers also in other countries of Europe. Abbot
Gerhoh of Reichersberg, who was one of its most formidable
opponents, relates that when he visited Rome under Honorius
II (1124-1130), he met there a certain Luitolf who openly
taught that Christ as man was the adopted son of the Father ;
5 Epitome, c. 27; ML, 178, 1737; 6 Cf r. John of Cornwall, Eulo-
cfr. Bach, op. cit. II, 3QI-395- gium; ML, 199, 1047.
7 Cf r. Sum. Sent. ; ML, 176, 76.
174 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
and also a canon of the Lateran by the name of Adam, who
held that Christ was partly God and partly man.8 In Ger
many similar views were defended by Folmar, Abbot of
Triefenstein near Wuerzburg, who went even so far as to
assert that Jesus Christ was neither the Son of God nor equal
to God, and that it would be unlawful to accord Him divine
honors. It was against Folmar that Gerhoh wrote his treatise
De Gloria et Honore Filii Hominis, in which he goes to the
other extreme of teaching that the divine attributes had been
communicated to the humanity of Christ, not only by way of
predication, but in reality and in being, that is, in a Eutychian
sense.9
These Adoptionist errors, propagated by the disciples of
Abelard, were discussed at the Council of Tours in 1163, and
again at the Council of Sens in 1164; but without definite
results. A few years later, however, Pope Alexander III,
condemned them in three successive letters, in the last of which,
addressed to William of Champeaux, then archbishop of
Rheims, he says : " Since Christ is perfect God and perfect
man, it is strange that some should go so far in their temerity
as to assert that Christ as man is not anything (non sit
aliquid). In order that such an abuse may not creep into the
Church of God, we, by these Apostolic Letters, command Your
Fraternity to interdict under anathema, by Our Authority, the
presumptuous assertion that Christ is not anything; because
as He is true God, so is He also true man, subsisting in a
rational soul and human flesh." 10
This condemnation put an end to all theological discussion
on the controverted point, and the last traces of Adoptionism
gradually disappeared. Later Scholastics qualified the state
ment, Christus in quantum homo non est aliquid, simply as
heretical; u and a fortiori that as man He is not the natural
Son of God. However in the fourteenth century another
form of Adoptionism made its appearance, which seems to
8Ep. ad Coll. Card.; ML, 193, 10 Mansi, 21, io8iC; DB, 393.
576. ai Cfr; Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
9 ML, 184, 1174; cfr. Fez, The- q. 2, a. 6.
saur. Anecdot. ML, 193, 478.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 175
have been originated by Durandus. He admitted that, in
virtue of the eternal generation of the Word, Christ as man
was the natural Son of the Father; but he thought that over
and above this, in view of the rights conferred on the humanity
of Christ by the hypostatic union, He might also be called the
adopted son of God.12 Similar views were held by Gabriel
Biel and other Nominalists. Although never condemned by
the Church, these peculiar opinions are generally regarded as
untenable.
B — CHRISTOLOGY OF THE GREAT SCHOLASTICS
Nearly all the most eminent writers of the golden age of
Scholasticism built their systems of theological thought upon
the foundation laid by Peter Lombard, in his famous Sen-
tentiantm Libri Quatuur. In regard to Christology, however,
this foundation was in many respects unsatisfactory. It was
wanting both in depth of thought and in systematic arrange
ment of the subject-matter. In fact, what he has on the
subject is little more than a faint echo of Patristic teaching,
supplemented by not a few rather doubtful opinions that were
current in his day. Still, on account of the great authority
which he enjoyed in the schools, it will be helpful to give in
this connection a brief summary of his Christological teach
ing, as contained in the third book of his Sentences.
Although any one of the three divine persons might have
become incarnate, nevertheless it was more befitting to the
Son than to the Father or the Holy Spirit; because as in the
Godhead He is the Son of God, so was it becoming that in the
humanity to be assumed He should become son of man.13
The Incarnation is the work of the whole Trinity, but it is
rightly attributed to the Holy Spirit ; because He is the charity
and the gift of the Father and the Son, and it was through
the ineffable charity of God that the Word became man.14
The Son assumed the entire human nature, body and soul, for
the reason that the entire nature had been corrupted by sin.
"In Sent III, d. 4, q. I. 14 Ibid. d. 4.
13 Op. cit. d. i.
176 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
However He assumed an individual nature, not human na
ture in general.15 Both soul and body were united to the God
head, but the body mediant e anima.1Q
He took real flesh of the Virgin, who had been purified
from all stain before His conception. He was conceived and
born without sin, and although a descendant of Adam, he was
free from all concupiscence.17 He took upon Himself not
sin, but the punishment of sin.18
In Peter's time it was a much mooted question, whether the
nature of the Word or the person had become incarnate. His
answer is : " The person of the Son assumed human nature,
and the divine nature was united to the human nature in the
Son. . . . For although it is said that the Son alone took the
form of a servant, nevertheless by this the divine nature is not
excluded, but only the persons of the Father and the Holy
Spirit." 10 However it is not proper to say that the divine
nature became flesh, because this would seem to do away with
the distinction of the two natures.20 Nor can it be said that
the Word assumed a human person; because, although soul
arid body were united so as to form a human nature, that na
ture had no personality of its own: they were united in their
assumption by the Word.21 As the human soul, which is in
deed an individual substance of rational nature, is not a per
son when united to the body, though it is a person when sepa
rated from it by death ; so is the human nature of Christ not a
human person in its union with the Word.22
In connection with the foregoing question, he considers the
meaning of the expressions, God became man, God is man.
He first states the three different views then current. He
words them as follows : ' There are some who say that in the
very incarnation of the Word an individual man was formed,
consisting of a rational soul and human flesh, as every other
true man, and that this man began to be God — not indeed the
divine nature, but the person of the Word ; and that God began
15 Ibid. d. 2. 19 Ibid. d. 5.
16 Ibid. n. 2. 20 Ibid. n. 3.
" Ibid. d. 3. 21 Ibid. n. 4, 5.
!8 Ibid. 22 Ibid. n. 5.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 177
to be that man. . . . And there are others who in part agree
with the aforesaid, but who besides contend that the man,
who is thus said to be God, consists not only of a rational soul
and a body, but of the human and the divine nature, that is, of
three substances, the divinity, the body, and the soul ; and this
Jesus Christ they hold to be only one person, but so that be
fore the Incarnation the person was simple, while in the In
carnation the same person became composite, being made up
of the divinity and the humanity. . . . And others there are
who not only deny that in the incarnation of the Word there
took place a composition of the natures in respect of the person,
but also that there was formed an individual man or any
other substance, composed of soul and body. These two,
soul and body, were united to the person or nature of the Word
in such a way that from the two or the three no nature or per
son resulted; but rather in such wise that the Word of God
was clothed with the soul and the body as with a garment,
so that He might in a becoming manner appear to mortal
eyes." 23
In his critical review of these three opinions, he brings for
ward objections against the first and the second without giving
a definite and final answer. If the first be admitted, he says,
then God is now a substance which was not always God, and
a substance is God without being divine. If the second be ac
cepted, then God and man are each a part of the person of
the Son, and before the Incarnation that person was not com
plete, but was completed and perfected in the union. Against
the third opinion he urges no objections, and in so far he
seems to make it his own.24 However, he concludes by asking
the reader to give the matter still further study, and mean
while to hold firmly that God assumed human nature in such a
way that man was not changed into God, nor God into man.25
Next he examines the question, whether it can be said that
the divine nature, which became incarnate, was born of the
Virgin. He answers in the negative, and assigns as a reason
for his answer that the divine nature was not born of the
23 Ibid. d. 6. 25 Ibid. n. 14.
24 Ibid. d. 7.
178 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Father. It was only the person of the Word that was gen
erated by the Father, and this alone can properly be said
to have been born of Mary.26 However Christ has two nativi
ties, the one eternal according to His Godhead and the other
temporal according to His manhood ; and in this sense He was
twice born.27
^ In regard to the worship that is due to the humanity of
Christ, he simply states the two opposite views that were held
at the time. Some thought that Christ as man should only be
venerated as are the saints of God, but in a higher degree;
while others maintained that even as man He must be wor
shiped with divine honors. The author does not decide the
question, but he seems to be in favor of the latter view.28
Although Christ as man is not a human person, He is never
theless a rational substance composed of body and soul ; and
therefore the statement, Christus in quantum homo non est
aliquid, is false.29 According to His human nature He was
predestined to be the Son of God, not by nature but by grace.30
Yet, although the Son of God only by grace, He is not an
adopted son ; because He never was a person extraneous to the
Godhead. His divine sonship, in so far as He is man, is
based upon the grace of union.31 Nor can He be called a
creature, except in a figurative way. His human nature is
indeed a created substance, but He to whom that nature is
united is the Creator Himself.32 Neither is it proper to say
that He had a beginning, for it was only His humanity that be
gan to exist in time.33 That humanity could have been pro
duced by a creative act, but it was more becoming that it should
have its origin by generation from the race of Adam, of which
Christ was to be the Redeemer.34
In consequence of the hypostatic union, the soul of Christ
received from the first moment of its existence grace and
knowledge without measure.35 Although it is said in Holy
26 Ibid. d. 8. si ibid. n. 4.
27 Ibid. n. 2. 32 ibid. d. ii.
28 Ibid. d. 9. as Tbid> d. I2.
29 Ibid. d. 10. 34 ibid. n. 2.
so Ibid. n. 3. 35 ibid. d. 13.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 179
Scripture that the child Jesus increased in wisdom and grace,
yet this cannot be understood in the sense that He did not al
ready possess the plenitude of both, it only means that He
manifested His wisdom and grace more fully as He advanced
in years.36 His human will was free, but because of its union
with the Word it was confirmed in grace and made impec
cable.37 His human intellect was endowed with infused
knowledge, so that Christ as man knew all that He knew as
God, but not in the same excellent and perfect way.38 How
ever as man He could not do all that He could do as God, be
cause human nature is incapable of receiving unlimited
power.39 Moreover His human nature was passible both in
soul and body, and therefore as man He was subject to all the
infirmities of a passible nature, in so far as these infirmities
did not involve sin and were not unbecoming to the dignity of
the God-Man.40
Upon this foundation, laid by the Magister Sententiarum,
most of the Scholastics based their system of Christological
thought. However, they added much of their own, and at the
same time sought to develop what the Sentences contained only
in germ. In the following survey it will be best to gather
the views of the most prominent Schoolmen under certain
headings, so that one may see at a glance what was more or
less common to all and what was peculiar to each.
I. Preliminary Questions. — Nearly all the great Scholastics
consider by way of introduction a number of questions whose
solution is intended to prepare the way for a thorough study
of the mystery itself. These questions deal chiefly with the
possibility, the fitness, and the final cause of the Incarnation.
A few remarks in reference to each will be sufficient to indicate
the general trend of thought which they involve.
The possibility of the Incarnation is, of course, implied in
the accomplished fact as set forth by the teaching of the
Church; and in so far it was presupposed by the Scholastics.
But they made it a subject of special inquiry for the purpose
36 Ibid. n. 2-5. 39 Ibid. n. 2, 3.
37 Ibid. d. 12, n. 3, 4. 40 Ibid. d. 15.
a» Ibid. d. 14.
i8o MEDLEY AL THEOLOGY
of forestalling objections and making the mystery acceptable
to reason. Hence they point out that the Incarnation is but
one of the many ways in which God may communicate His
goodness to His creatures.41 As it is not a change of God
into the creature, nor of the creature into God, but only an ex
tension of the divine personality to human nature, it lies en
tirely within the sphere of omnipotence. For since one divine
nature subsists in three persons, there appears no reason why
it should be impossible for two natures to subsist in one per
son.42 And as the person of the Son was from all eternity an
hypostasis in respect of the divine nature, why could not the
same in time become also the hypostasis of a human nature? 43
For neither is its terminating power in itself limited, nor is
human nature incommunicable to a higher personality.44 All
this can indeed not be demonstrated by positive arguments,
because there is question of a mystery; but it can at least be
shown not to imply an evident contradiction.45
The fitness of the Incarnation all these writers prove by
pointing to the striking manifestation of God's various attri
butes in this mystery — of His power which brought together
the highest and the lowest into so intimate a union; of His
mercy which had so tender a compassion on man's weakness
and misery; of His wisdom which found so excellent a way of
repairing the ravages of sin; of His justice which demanded
from human nature the full payment of the debt it had in
curred; of His goodness which communicated His own being
in the highest possible measure to the creature He had made.46
And it was especially befitting that the person of the Son
should become incarnate, although the Father and the Holy
Spirit might also have assumed human nature.47 The reasons
41 Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, q. i, loc. cit., et Cont. Gent. IV, c. 39,
a. i. 40; Scotus, loc. cit, et Report. Ill,
42 Id. In Sent. Ill, d. I, q. i, a. i. d. i, q. i.
43 Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. i, a. 46 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 2} Thom-
I, q. i. as, In Sent. Ill, d. i, q. I, a. 2;
44 Scotus, In Sent. Ill, d. I, q. I, Bonavent. Ibid. a. 2, q. i ; Albert.
n. i. Magn. Ibid. a. I.
45 Cf r. Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 2, m. 47 Halens. loc. cit. m. 5 ; Thomas,
I, 2; Albert. Magn. In Sent. Ill, d. Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 3, a. 5 ; Bona-
I, a. I ; Bonavent. loc. cit. ; Thomas, vent. In Sent. Ill, d. I, a. I, q. 4.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 181
for this special fitness are thus given by St. Thomas: Man
was created through the Word; therefore it was becoming that
after the fall he should be restored by the Word. Man was
predestined to become the son of God by adoption ; therefore
it was fitting that he should possess this dignity through Him
who is Son of God by nature. Man strayed from God by
an inordinate thirst for knowledge; therefore it was proper
that he should be led back to God by the eternal Wisdom.48
The final cause of the Incarnation, as of anything else, is
the end to be attained. This is ultimately the manifestation
of God's glory. On this point all the Scholastics were neces
sarily agreed, as it was evidently contained in the teaching of
the Church. Their discussions turned about the proximate
final cause, or the chief reason why God decreed to manifest
His glory through the Incarnation. In trying to solve this
question, they generally spoke with great reserve. St. Thomas
says that it is a matter which He alone knows who was born
and offered up for our redemption because He willed it.49
However He ventures the opinion that the redemption must
be regarded as the chief motive of the Incarnation. For
" since everywhere in Holy Scripture the sin of the first man is
assigned as the reason of the Incarnation, it is more in accord
ance with this to say that the \vork of the Incarnation was or
dained by God as a remedy for sin ; so that, had sin not existed,
the Incarnation would not have been. However, the power of
God is not limited to this; hence even if sin had not existed,
God could nevertheless have become incarnate." 50
The same view is taken by St. Bonaventure, who says that
" the principal reason of the Incarnation seems to have been
the redemption of mankind, although with this principal mo
tive there were connected many other reasons of fitness.51
Alexander of Hales gives no definite solution, but simply
states: "It may be said without prejudice to truth, that, if
human nature had not fallen into sin, the Incarnation would
still have been befitting.52 Albertus Magnus solves the ques
ts Sum. Theol. TIT, q. 3, a. 8. 51 In Sent. Ill, d. i, a. 2, q. 2.
49 In Sent. Ill, d. I, q. I, a. 3. 62 Sum. Ill, q. 2, m. 13.
50 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. I, a. 3.
1 82 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
tion in the same way as St. Thomas,53 while Richard of Mid-
dleton gives arguments for both sides, without coming to a de
cision on the point at issue.54 Scotus, on the other hand, holds
that the redemption of mankind can be considered only as a
secondary motive of the Incarnation ; while the primary motive
was the manifestation of God's glory in this mystery of divine
love. Hence, although he does not positively assert that the
Word would have become incarnate even if human nature had
not fallen into sin, nevertheless the general import of his teach
ing points to that conclusion.55 And in this view he has al
ways had many followers, even outside the Franciscan school
of theology.
2. The Person Assuming Human Nature. — When speaking
of the assumption of human nature by the Word, nearly
all Scholastics consider these three questions: Whether to
assume is proper to a divine person ? Whether the divine na
ture can assume? Whether one person can assume without
the others? In connection with these questions they also
speculate about other points, such as the incarnation of the
three divine persons in the same human nature, and in differ
ent natures; the assumption of irrational creatures, and other
matters of a similar import : but all this may here be passed by,
as it has little or no dogmatic value. It will be sufficient to
make a few observations in reference to the first three ques
tions mentioned above.
The term, " to assume," as Richard of Middleton explains,
may be taken in three different meanings. In the first it sig
nifies simply to take and unite; in the second, to take and
unite to oneself ; in the third, to take and unite to one's per
son.56 In accordance with this threefold meaning of the term,
the Scholastics teach that in the first sense the assumption
is common to all three persons, because the Trinity united hu
man nature with the person of the Son; in the second sense
the assumption belongs to the divine nature, in as much as it
caused the human nature to be together with itself in the same
53 In Sent. Ill, d. 20, a. 4. 55 Ibid. d. 7, q. 3 ; Report, ibid. q.
54 Ibid. a. 2, q. 4. 4~6.
56 In Sent. d. 5, a. i, q. I.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 183
person ; in the third sense the assumption is proper to the per
son of the Son, since it is to His person alone that the human
nature is united.57
St. Thomas formulates this common teaching as follows:
" The act of assumption proceeds from the divine power,
which is common to the three persons, but the term of the as
sumption is a person. . . . Hence, what has to do with action
in the assumption is common to the three persons; but what
pertains to the nature of the term belongs to one person in such
a manner as not to belong to another; for the three persons
caused the human nature to be united to the person of the
Son."58 Again: "To be the principle of the assumption
belongs to the divine nature itself, because the assumption took
place by its power; however to be the term of the assumption
does not belong to the divine nature in itself, but by reason
of the person in whom it is considered to be. Hence a person
is primarily and more properly said to assume, but it may be
said secondarily that the nature assumed a nature to its person.
And after the same manner the nature is said to be incarnate,
not that it changed to flesh, but that it assumed the nature of
flesh." 59
3. The Human Nature Assumed by the Person of the Word.
— It is a matter of faith that Christ has a true and complete
human nature, composed of body and soul, each one of which
has its own proper faculties and senses. In accordance with
this teaching of faith, the Scholastics point out that the Word
assumed human nature not in the abstract, but in the con
crete ; 60 not as multiplied in many, but as individualized in
one.61 Abstract human nature, representing the species,
could not be thus assumed ; for, as St. Thomas argues, " this
assumption is terminated in a person, and it is contrary to the
nature of a common form to be thus individualized in a
57 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 5, m. I, 2, 59 Ibid. a. 2.
3; Thomas, In Sent. Ill, d. 5, q. 2, 60 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 4; Bona-
a. i, 2; Bonavent. Ibid. a. i, q. 1-3; vent. In Sent. Ill, d. 5, a. 2, q. i;
Albert. Magn. Ibid. a. i, 3, 4, 6; Albert. Magn. Ibid. a. 5.
Scotus, Ibid, i, i. 61 Bonavent. Ibid. d. 2, a. I, q. 3;
58 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 3, a. 4. Thomas, Ibid. q. i, a. 2.
184 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
person." 62 Nor would it have been befitting " for human
nature to be assumed by the Word in all its supposita. First,
because the multitude of supposita of human nature, which are
natural to it, would have been taken away. . . . Secondly, be
cause this would have been derogatory to the dignity of the
incarnate Son of God, as He is the First-born of many breth
ren. Thirdly, because it is fitting that as one divine supposi-
tum is incarnate, so He should assume one human nature, so
that on both sides unity might be found." G3
Thus the Word assumed all the essential parts of human
nature. He assumed a real body, made up of flesh and blood ;
for that belongs to the essence of man, and it would not have
been becoming Him to have anything fictitious in His work ;
besides this is the teaching of Holy Scripture.04 And He
assumed a rational soul, through which the body received its
specific being. This appears both from the Sacred Writings
and from the purpose and truth of the Incarnation.65 More
over soul and body were substantially united, so as to form
a complete and individual human nature.60 However the body
was assumed mediante anima, in the sense that it was made
assumable by its relation to the rational soul, and that the
soul, on account of its higher dignity, occupies a middle place
between it and God ; but not in the sense that the soul is the
formal bond of union.67
However, although the Word thus assumed a complete and
individual human nature, He did not assume a human person.
This is evident for three reasons: First, if the human per
son existed before its assumption, the Word would not have
been conceived by Mary; secondly, if only in its assumption,
it would have been consumed rather than assumed; thirdly, if
it continued to exist after the assumption, there would be two
62 Sum. q. 4, a. 4. In Sent. Ill, d. 2, a. I, q. I ; y£gid.
63 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 4, a. 5- Rom- Ibid- Q- r> a- I-
64Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 4, m. 4; 66 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
Bonavent In Sent. Ill, d. 2, a. 2, q. q. 2, a. 4, 6.
i; Thomas, Ibid. q. I, a. 3; Albert. 67 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 4, m. 5;
Magn. Ibid. a. i, q. i ; Scotus, Ibid. Albert. Magn. In Sent. Ill, d. 2, a.
q. 2, 3. 9, 10; Bonavent. Ibid. a. 3, q. i;
65 Cfr. Ibid., et Rich. Middleton, Thomas, III, q. 6, a. i; Scotus, In
Sent. Ibid. q. 2, n. 5.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 185
persons in Christ, which it is heretical to say.68 Hence, while
complete in every other respect, the human nature as assumed
by the Word was without its own proper personality.
4. Definition of Human Personality. — Nearly all Scholas
tics accepted the Boethian definition of person, so that they
regarded a human person as an individual substance of a ra
tional nature. It is true, Richard of St. Victor, Alexander
of Hales, and Duns Scotus, as was pointed out in the chapter
on the Blessed Trinity, modified this definition somewhat ; but
that modification did not introduce any substantial change.
They all insist that a substance, in order to be properly denom
inated as a person, must be separated from others of its kind
by a threefold distinction — of singularity, incommunicability,
and dignity. A substance is said to be singular when it is un
divided in itself, and divided from every other substance. It
is incommunicable, when it has no natural aptitude to become
in any sense a part of another being. These two distinctions
constitute the substance in question a suppositum. When to
these is added the distinction of dignity, which consists in
rationality or intellectuality, there results a person. Here it
must be noted, however, that in every rational subject the sup
positum and the person are identical. Hence a human person
is a rational suppositum.09
On these points the Scholastics were agreed, except that a
few of them placed a distinction between the suppositum and
the person in the same subject.70 But in regard to the further
question, what is it precisely that distinguishes the person from
the rational nature, or what does personality add to rational
nature so as to make it a person, their agreement was not so
perfect. The question is in itself purely philosophical, and
as such they did not give to it any special consideration ; but
they incidentally indicate their views regarding it when speak
ing of the hypostatic union. Although even in that connec
tion hardly any of them state explicitly in what the formal rea
son of personality consists.
68 Cfr. Bonavent. loc. cit. d. 5, a. 69 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
2, q. 2. q. 2, a. 3.
70 Ibid.
1 86 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Thus Alexander of Hales, after explaining the threefold dis
tinction noted above, goes on to say that if a rational nature
is created so as to exist by itself, it is a person; but if at the
moment of creation it is united to another personality, it is
not a person, although it is a complete rational nature.71
Hence he seems to imply that the formal reason of personality,
presupposing a complete rational nature, is nothing else than
the fact of independent existence. The same view is taken
by St. Bonaventure, who says that the human nature of Christ
is not a person, simply because it is united to the person of the
Word.72 Scotus is somewhat more explicit. He holds that
personality is the ultimate complement whereby a rational na
ture, complete in itself, is made actually incommunicable; but
this complement adds nothing to the complete nature except
the double negation of actual and aptitudinal communication.
" That negation of dependence . . . actual and aptitudinal,
constitutes the formal reason of personality." 73 Henry of
Ghent, though not quite so explicit, gives a similar explana
tion.74 Hence although the concept of personality is funda
mentally positive, in as much as person is the same as a sepa
rately existing complete rational nature ; still formally consid
ered it is negative, since it implies no physical reality distinct
from the complete nature itself.
St. Thomas looks at the matter in a somewhat different
light, but according to many of his interpreters comes to prac
tically the same result. ik Person," he says, " has a different
meaning from nature. For nature . . . designates the spe
cific essence which is signified by the definition. And if noth
ing was found to be added to what belongs to the notion of the
species, there would be no need to distinguish the nature from
the suppositum of the nature, which is the individual sub
sisting in this nature. . . . Now in certain subsisting things
we happen to find what does not belong to the notion of the
species, namely, accidents and individuating principles, which
appear chiefly in such as are composed of matter and form.
Hence in such as these the nature and the suppositum really
71 Sum. ITT, q. 4, m. 6. 73 In Sent. Ill, d. I, q. I, n. 9.
72 In Sent. d. 5, a. 2, q. 2. 74 Quodl. 5, q. 8.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 187
differ, not indeed as if they were wholly separate, but because
in the suppositum is included the nature, and certain other
things outside the species are added. . . . And what is said
of a suppositum is to be applied to a person in rational or in
tellectual creatures; for a person is nothing else than an in
dividual substance of rational nature, according to Boeth-
ius." 75
From this exposition many have inferred that St. Thomas
regarded personality as something positive, really distinct
from the complete nature — either a modus r calls or the actus
existendl. But that such was not his mind appears from his
solution of such difficulties as were drawn from the ac
knowledged fact that Christ's human nature is a complete ra
tional substance. Thus when the objectors urged that Christ's
human nature answers the Boethian definition of person, he
replied : " We must bear in mind that not every individual in
the genus of substance, even in rational nature, is a person, but
that alone which exists by itself, and not that which exists in
some more perfect thing. . . . Therefore, although this hu
man nature is a kind of individual in the genus substance, it
has not its own personality, because it does not exist separately,
but in something more perfect, namely, in the person of the
Word." 76 And to the statement, that the Word assumed
whatever perfection He had sown in our nature, and therefore
human personality, he replied : " Its proper personality is not
wanting to the nature assumed through the loss of anything
pertaining to the perfection of human nature, but through the
addition of something which is above human nature, namely,
the union with a divine person." 77 Hence whatever physical
perfection is found in human nature existing by itself apart,
is also found in the human nature assumed by the Word ; and
the only reason why it is not a human person is the fact that it
does not exist apart. And this the author expressly states in
answer to another difficulty, when he says: " If the two na
tures together with their properties were separated, there
3
75 Sum. Theol. TIT, q. 2, a. 2. 77 Ibid. q. 4, a. 2 ad 2m.
76 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 2, a. 2 ad
T»
1 88 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
would be on both sides that totality which is required by the
notion of person; but while they are united there is only one
totality, and therefore only one person." T8
In the light of these and similar texts, the other statements
of St. Thomas, that person and nature are really distinct,
that person adds something to nature, evidently bear reference
only to specific nature, or to nature in the abstract ; not to na
ture in the concrete. Hence, if according to his teaching, as
some of his followers contend, the formal notion of personality
is something positive in itself, it is at most a modus, not posi
tively, but only negatively distinct from the complete nature.
And this was also the teaching of Albertus Magnus. " Were
Christ," he says, " to lay aside His humanity, that which was so
laid aside would be an individual substance of rational nature,
and therefore a person. And if some one were to ask, what
conferred upon it the personality which it did not have before,
the answer would be that it was the singularity which it did
not have before, or the incommunicability, as others say; for
properly speaking it is singularity that causes rational nature
to be a person. And if it were asked still further, what gave
it singularity, one would have to answer that it was division
which gave it per acrid ens. For although per se division re
moves something, still per accidcns it causes that which is
divided to be one and separate from the other, and that is sin
gularity." 7y
On the other hand, Durandus and the Nominalists went still
farther than Scotus in their identification of nature and person.
According to them the distinction between the two is merely a
matter of concept; it is in no sense real.80 This, however, ill
accords with the oneness of person in Christ, and hence their
view is commonly rejected as untenable.
5. The Hypostatic Union. — When the Scholastics began
their speculations regarding the mystery of the Incarnation,
two fundamental points in reference to the union itself had
been clearly defined : First, that the union resulted in oneness
78 In Sent. Ill, d. 5, q. I, a. 3 ad 80Durand. Ibid. q. 2; Biel, Ibid.
3m. d. 5, q. unica.
79 ibid. d. 5, a. 12.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 189
of person; secondly, that in spite of this oneness of person,
the two natures with all their properties remained really dis
tinct in the union.81 Hence it is the common teaching of the
Scholastics that the union between the divinity and the hu
manity of Christ is hypostatic or personal. The human nature
is united to the divine nature, but in the person of the Son.82
This hypostatic union they, first of all, try to illustrate by
various examples found in nature; but they are careful to
point out that all these examples fall short of a real explana
tion. The one most commonly used is that of grafting. The
inserted shoot becomes in a manner one suppositum with the
tree upon which it is engrafted, yet the natures of the two re
main really distinct ; they do not form a new or third nature.83
A similar example is found in the union of soul and body,
which had already been employed in the Athanasian Symbol.
It is true, soul and body form not only one person, but also one
nature; still in that nature the one constituent element is not
changed into the other, and in so far the example illustrates the
hypostatic union. St. Thomas thought it was the best example
that could be found in created things.84
In the next place they inquire whether anything intervenes
between the two extremes of the union, or between the person
of the Word and the human nature. On this point they re
strict their inquiries to the question of grace; that is, whether
habitual grace can in any sense be considered as a medium in
which the union took place. With the exception of Alexander
of Hales, they all answer the question in the negative.85
Alexander taught that grace must be considered as a necessary
disposition of the human nature, in order that it might fittingly
be assumed by the Word. Hence he called it the grace of
union.86 The others also admitted that the human nature of
81 Cfr. vol. I, p. 396 sqq. ; 404 sqq. . 84 QQ. DD. de Unione Verbi,
82Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 4; Bona- a. I.
vent. In Sent. Ill, d. 5, a. i ; Thorn- 85 Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 2, a.
as, ibid. q. 2; Scottis, ibid. q. I. 3, q. 2; Middleton, ibid. a. 2, q. 3;
83 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 7, m. I, Dionys. Carth., ibid. q. 5: Scotus,
a. i; Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 6, ibid. q. 2, 3; ^Egid. Rom., ibid. q. 2,
a. 2, q. i; Thomas, ibid. d. i, q. I, a. 3.
a. i. 86 Sum. Ill, q. 7, m. 2, a. I.
190 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
Christ was adorned with sanctifying grace, but held that it was
consequent upon the union in ordine naturae, if not in point
of time.
The common teaching on the point in question was thus
formulated by St. Thomas: " In Christ there was the grace
of union and habitual grace. Therefore grace cannot be taken
to be the means of the assumption of the human nature,
whether we speak of the grace of union or of habitual grace.
For the grace of union is the personal being that is given gratis
to the human nature in the person of the Word, and it is the
term of the assumption. While the habitual grace pertaining
to the spiritual holiness of the man is an effect following the,
union. . . . But if by grace we understand the will of God
doing or bestowing something gratis, the union was effected
by grace, not as a means, but as the efficient cause." 87
Considered in itself, the hypostatic union consists in the
relation which resulted from the act of assumption, and in so
far it is something created. " The union of which we are
speaking," says St. Thomas, " is a relation which we consider
between the divine and the human nature, in as much as they
came together in one person of the Son of God. Now . . .
every relation which we consider between God and the crea
ture is really in the creature, by whose change the relation is
brought into being ; whereas it is not really in God, but only in
our way of thinking, since it does not arise from any change
in God. And hence we must say that the union of which we
are speaking is not really in God, except only in our way of
thinking ; but in human nature, which is a creature, it is really.
Therefore we must say it is something created." 88
Although the hypostatic union thus formally consists in a
created relation, it is nevertheless the most intimate of all un
ions, except that of the nature and persons in the Blessed Trin
ity. In respect of the distance of the terms brought together,
of the power that united them, of the term in which the union
resulted, of the indissoluble perpetuity of its duration — " in
respect of all these conditions," says St. Bonaventure, " there
87 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 6, a. 6. 88 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 2, a. 7.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 191
is no other union that is at all similar to it; because it exceeds
all nature and all ordinary graces; for it is the indissoluble
union of the divine and human nature in one person brought
about by the power of God." 89 St. Thomas derives the inti
mate nature of the union chiefly from its term; " for the unity
of the divine person, in which the two natures are united, is
the greatest." 90 And as this unity " is greater than the unity
of person and nature in us, hence also the union of the Incar
nation is greater than the union of soul and body in our na
ture."91
It is because of this intimate union that Christ is strictly
one — one person, one suppositum, one being, although the na
tures remain distinct and retain their own properties.92 In
itself the person or hypostasis of Christ is altogether simple;
yet as one subsisting being in two natures, He is in so far said
to be a composite person.93 Hence one nature may in the
concrete be predicated of the other, so that in view of the un
ion it is perfectly correct to say, God is man, man is God.94
One may also say, God became man; but its converse, man
became God, would be an error in predication.95 And as the
two natures may thus be predicated of one another, so also
may the attributes of the natures when taken in the concrete.
Hence it is perfectly orthodox to state that the immortal is
mortal, the passible is impassible. The justifying reason of
these and similar predications is the oneness of person ; because
it is always the person that forms the proper subject of predi
cation in the concrete.96
6. Conscctaria of the Union. — As the human nature is
united to the Godhead in a personal union, it necessarily shares
in such properties of God the Son as are communicable to a
creature. The first of these is divine sonship. Not only
Christ as God, but also Christ as man is the natural Son of God.
Nor can He in any sense be called God's adopted son. Some
89 In Sent III, d. 6, a. 2, q. 2. 93 Loc. cit.
»° Ibid. a. 9. 9* Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
91 Ibid. a. 9 ad 3m. q. 16, a. I, 2.
92Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 6, m. 2; »5 Ibid, a. 4, 5.
Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 6, a. i; 96 Ibid.
Thomas, ibid. a. 2 ; Scotus, ibid. q. 2.
192 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
of the earlier Scholastics fell into error on this point, as was
indicated in the first section of this chapter; but their success
ors were at one in defending Christ's natural sonship. Filia
tion, they insisted, is a personal property ; and as there is only
one person in Christ, so can there be only one filiation.97
Scotus, indeed, called in question the principle that filiation is
exclusively a personal property ; but he accepted the doctrine of
one sonship in Christ from the teaching of the Church.98
Since Christ as man is thus the natural Son of God, it neces
sarily follows that He must be adored with the adoration of
latria, which has for its formal object God's uncreated ex
cellence. On this point there was no dissension after the time
of the Lombard. But it was a moot-question whether the
humanity might at the same time be venerated with the cult
of dulia, which is due to created beings on account of their su
pernatural excellence. St. Bonaventure and others regard the
question as purely theoretical and then solve it in the affirm
ative ; " while St. Thomas considers it as practical, and also
gives an affirmative answer. Thus he writes : " Adoration
is due to the subsisting hypostasis : yet the reason for honoring
may be something non-subsistent on account of which the
person, in whom it is, is honored. And so the adoration of
Christ's humanity may be understood in two ways. First, so
that the humanity is the thing adored: and thus to adore the
flesh of Christ is nothing else than to adore the incarnate
Word of God, just as to revere a king's robe is nothing else
than to revere a robed king. And in this sense the adoration
of Christ's humanity is the adoration of latria. Secondly, the
adoration of Christ's humanity may be taken as given by reason
of its being perfected with every gift of grace. And in this
sense the adoration of Christ's humanity is the adoration not
of latria but of dulia. So that one and the same person of
Christ is adored with latria on account of His divinity, and
with dulia on account of His perfect humanity." 10°
. Sum. Ill, q. 10; Bona- 98 In Sent. IIT, d. 10, q. unica.
vent. In Sent. Ill, d. 8, a. 2; Albert. " Ibid. d. 9, a. i, q. i.
Magn. ibid. a. 2 ; Thomas, Sum. 10° Sum. Theol. q. 25, a. i, 2.
Theol. Ill, q. 35, a. 5.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 193
Strictly consequent upon the hypostatic union are certain
created perfections, which are found in the faculties of Christ's
human soul — in his will and intellect. These were treated by
the Scholastics under the headings of grace and knowledge.
Only a few of the more important points can here be indicated.
In the matter of grace, aside from the grace of union and
substantial sanctity, they held that Christ as man was endowed
with habitual grace, and also with gratuitous graces, or gratia
gratis data. The former was in Him the same as in other
just men, only He possessed it in an incomparably higher de
gree. Though finite in itself, it did not admit of an increase
as possessed by Him.lul With it were connected all the virtues
and gifts, excepting such as in their formal concept conflicted
with the perfection of the state of personal union. To this
latter class belong faith and hope, when taken in their full
significance; because Christ's human soul enjoyed from the
first moment of its existence the beatific vision.102 He also
possessed all the gratuitous graces that may be communicated
to human nature, and that in the highest possible degree.103
And all these graces and gifts were proper to Him both as an
individual man and as the head of the Church.104 Under the
latter aspect they are called the gratia capitis.
Although in Christ as man there was thus the fullness of all
graces, nevertheless His human will remained free ; not in re
gard to final beatitude of which His soul was already in pos
session, but in reference to the choice of good actions which
He performed during His life on earth.105 At the same time,
however, it was so determined to good that the very pos
sibility of sinning was excluded. For this impeccability three
reasons are assigned — the fullness of grace, the beatific vi
sion, and the hypostatic union.106 Scotus, however, did not
101Halens. Sum. TIT, q. 8, m. 3; 105 Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol.
Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 13, a. I ; III, q. 18, a. 4.
Albert. Magn. ibid. a. r ; Scotus, 106 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 5, m. 2,
ibid. d. 18, q. 3. a. 2 ; Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 12,
102 Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 7. a. 2; Albert. Magn. ibid. a. 4-6;
103 Ibid. a. 7, 8; Bonavent. In Thomas, ibid. q. 2, a. i; Scotus,
Sent. Ill, d. 13, a. 2. ibid. q. unica.
104 Ibid.
194 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
admit that the hypostatic union necessarily excluded the pos
sibility of sin.107 In this he was followed by Durandus, who
held that if the humanity had been assumed without being per
fected by grace, Christ could have sinned and even lost his
soul.108
In the human intellect of Christ the Scholastics recognized a
threefold knowledge — scientia bcata, infusa, acquisita. The
first is the intuitive vision of God, which Christ's human soul
enjoyed from the first moment of its existence; the second was
produced in the intellect by a special divine operation, also at
the first moment of His earthly life; the third was acquired by
a natural use of His faculties during His sojourn on earth. By
the knowledge of beatific vision " the soul of Christ knows in
the Word all things existing in whatever time, and the thoughts
of men," but not all those possibles that " are in the divine
power alone." 109 By the infused knowledge " the soul of
Christ knew: First, whatever can be known by the force of
man's active intellect, as, for example, whatever pertains to
human sciences; secondly, all things made known to man by
divine revelation, whether they belong to the gift of wisdom or
the gift of prophecy, or any other gift of the Holy Ghost;
. . . Yet He did not know the essence of God by this knowl
edge, but by that of vision alone." 110
Coexisting with these perfections of intellect and will, there
were in the soul and body of Christ " those defects which flow
from the common sin of the whole nature, yet are not repug
nant to the perfection of knowledge and grace." lu Hence
He experienced hunger, thirst, pain, and the agony of death.
All these defects or infirmities were proper to the nature as
sumed by the Word ; for that nature was passible and did not
as yet enjoy all the effects of the beatific vision.112
In this brief outline are contained the chief points discussed
by the Scholastics in their Christological teaching. Compre
hensive and thorough as that teaching was, it did nevertheless
107 Loc. cit. 110Ibid. q. II, a. I.
i°6 Ibid. q. 2. in Ibid. q. 14.
"a Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, *12 Ibid,
q. 10, a. 2.
SCHOLASTIC CHRISTOLOGY 195
not add very much to the development of dogmas connected
with the mystery of the Incarnation. And the reason is that
nearly all of them had received their full development during
Patristic times.113 When the Scholastics began their specula
tions, the oneness of person in Christ, the duality of natures,
faculties, and operations, His natural sonship as God and as
man, and His title to divine worship, had all been defined as so
many dogmas of the faith; and to these nothing really new
was added by later definitions. But the studies of the School
men did excellent service in making these various dogmas, and
many important points of doctrine connected with them, more
accessible to reason.
113 Cf r. vol. I, p. 308 sqq. ; p. 387 sqq. ; p. 498 sqq.
CHAPTER XI
SOTERIOLOGY
SOME SOTERIOLOGICAL ERRORS : SOTERIOLOGY OF THE
SCHOLASTICS
The teaching of the Fathers on the redemption of the world
not only emphasized the fact that Christ was sent by God as
the Savior of our fallen race, but also set forth with con
siderable attention to details the nature of the redemptive work.
They regarded the incarnation of God's own Son as a deifica
tion of our vitiated nature, and in His sufferings and death
they recognized a superabundant satisfaction for all the sins
of the world. He was to them the second Adam, who by His
perfect obedience undid the harm that had been wrought by the
disobedience of the first Adam. He overcame Satan, con
quered death, opened up the sources of divine grace, and in all
things acted as mediator between sinful men and their offended
God.1 This teaching was taken over in its entirety by the
Scholastics; and, excepting a few minor points, was without
further development incorporated in their theological system.
A — SOME SOTERIOLOGICAL ERRORS
In a previous chapter it was pointed out that Abelard and
his school fell into a very serious error regarding original sin.
They looked upon it not as a moral stain implying guilt, but
as a mere liability to punishment. Human nature, according
to them, was not intrinsically vitiated, and therefore stood in
no need of restoration. Nothing was required but a remission
of the punishment which rested heavily upon the race on ac
count of the sin committed by the common ancestor. And
for this the Son of God need not have become man.2
Such a view of original sin necessarily led to a misappre-
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 316 sqq. 2 In Epist. ad. Rom. c. 5.
IQ6
SOTERIOLOGICAL ERRORS 197
hension of the redemptive work of the Savior. It was the
example of right living that mankind needed, not the healing
touch of a divine physician. And this formed the burden of
Abelard's soteriological teaching, as appears from many parts
of his works. Thus he writes : " It seems to us that in this
we are justified and reconciled to God, in the blood of Christ,
that, through a singular grace conferred on us, the Son took
our nature, and persevered in instructing us by word and ex
ample even till death, drawing us so closely to Him by the
bonds of love, that, inflamed by the thought of so great a
benefit of divine grace, we might in our charity not be afraid
to bear all for His sake. . . . Hence our redemption is that
exceeding great love of Christ which He showed forth in His
sufferings; for thereby we were not only set free from the
servitude of sin, but also acquired the true liberty of the chil
dren of God; so that now we do all things, not through fear
but through love." 3
The enlightenment that comes to us from Christ's instruc
tions, the encouragement afforded by His heroic example, the
graces obtained for us by His prayer — these, according to
Abelard, constitute the work of redemption. " When God
caused His Son to become man, He made Him subject to the
law which was common to all men. Hence it was necessary
that He should love His neighbor as Himself, and infuse into
us the grace of His charity, both by instructing us and by
praying for us." 4
These vagaries of Abelard were at once strongly attacked
by William of Saint Thierry and by St. Bernard. William
went to the root of the error by pointing out that original sin
is in the true sense of the term a vitiation of human nature,
and that the nature so vitiated needed more than example and
instruction to raise it from its moral degradation. It was the
death of the God-Man that wrought the redemption.5 Christ's
death was a vicarious satisfaction for sin. He was in truth
the second Adam, by whom spiritual life was restored to the
fallen race.6
3 Loc. cit. ; cfr. Theol. Christ. I, 4. 5 ^Enigma Fidei, p. in.
4Loc. cit. 6 Ibid. p. 123.
198 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
St. Bernard's refutation follows the same line of thought.
" The original fault," he says, " was in truth a grievous sin,
which infected not only the person of Adam but the entire
race." 7 God thought it proper that the redemption should
be wrought by the outpouring of blood. " Why, you ask,
should He effect by the outpouring of blood what He could
have effected by instruction ? Ask Him. For me it is enough
that so it was decreed." 8 Yet it was not death as such, but
rather the obedient will that was efficacious : " Not death, but
the ready will of Him who died was acceptable; and so by
that death He overcame death, effected our salvation, and
restored us to innocence." 9 Christ accepted His sufferings
and death freely; but we had urgent need of them for our
redemption. " For human perversity can indeed kill, but it
has no power to restore life. . . . He alone could in such wise
lay down His life, who by His own power rose from the
dead." 10
Another erroneous conception of the redemption is usually
ascribed to St. Anselm; not in regard to the nature of the
redemptive work in itself, but in reference to its necessity. He
develops his theory of the redemption in the treatise which he
entitled, Cur Deus Homo? The following outline will suffice
to make clear his views on the subject.
His fundamental thought on the point in question is this:
Every reasonable creature is bound to obey God ; " this is the
sole and entire honor which we owe our Maker.11 Whoso
ever does not give to God this honor which is His due, takes
away from Him what is His own, and thereby dishonors
Him." 12 Now the human race by committing sin disobeyed
God, and therefore deprived Him of the honor to which He
had a right ; it took away from God what was His own. Con
sequently, " so long as man does not restore what he snatched
away, he remains guilty. Nor is it sufficient to restore that
only which was thus unjustly taken from God; but, on account
of the affront implied in that unjust action, even more than
7 In IV Hebd. Sanct. n. 7. 10 In IV Hebd. Sanct. n. 3.
8De Error. Abelard. c. 5. "Op. cit. I, u.
» Ibid. 12 Ibid.
SOTERIOLOGICAL ERRORS 199
was taken away must be given by way of restoration." 13
This, then, was the position of the fallen race. Might its
disobedience have been forgiven, without demanding satisfac
tion ? No : " because all God's ways are well ordered ; and
right order demands that sin not satisfied for be punished.
For it is by punishment that God subjects the recalcitrant
sinner to Himself." 14 Hence " it is necessary that every sin
be followed either by satisfaction or by punishment." 15 But
the punishment and consequent loss of all mankind would
interfere with the purpose which God had in view when He
created man ; " for He intended that human nature, which He
created free from sin, should fill up the number of the angels
who had fallen away." 16 Besides " it was not becoming that
what God had proposed concerning man should be entirely
frustrated." 17
Hence satisfaction was necessary. But man could not make
due satisfaction : First, because he already owed God every
thing; secondly, even if he did not, he could never make satis
faction in proportion to the gravity of the sin Committed.18
If you doubt this, " you have not considered what the weight
of sin is." 19 Due satisfaction for sin is " something far
greater than every conceivable thing besides God." 20 Hence
God's goodness must complete the work which it began in
the act of creation.21 And because no one can give due satis
faction except God, and no one must give it except man, hence
it was necessary that it should be given by a God-Man.22
This is the answer to the question, Cur Deus homo? God be
came man that He might in His human nature render satisfac
tion for the sins of men.
Through Christ a way was opened for the sinful race to
effect its reconciliation with God. He was in a position to
make atonement for all the sins of the world, and to do so
through His human nature. For although as man He owed
13 ibid. 18 Ibid. I, 20.
"Ibid. I, 12; I, 15. 19Ibjd. I 21.
15 Ibid I, 15. 20 Ibid. II, 6.
is Ibid. I, 16. 21 Ibid. II, 5-
" Ibid. I, 4. 22 Ibid- n> 6-
200 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
God obedience, yet He was under no obligation to suffer and
to die as He did. He accepted death freely, and by His
ready obedience fulfilled all justice.23 Hence one can truly
say : " Ilium tale quid sponte dedisse Deo ad honorem illius,
cm quidquid, quod Deus non est, comparari non potest, et
quod pro omnibus omnium hominum debitis recompensare
potest." 24 God alone can be compared to what He gave, and
therefore it was an adequate compensation for the sins of
men.
Such a gift, coming from Christ, necessarily called for a
reward ; " but as Christ did not stand in need of anything. He
graciously allowed His followers, to whom by dying He gave
an example of dying for justice's sake, to become sharers in
His merit; so that what they owed for their sins might be
canceled, and what was wanting to them on account of their
sins might be given to them," namely, the grace of God.
" Nothing more reasonable, nothing sweeter, nothing more
desirable, could the world ever conceive." 25 In this the mercy
of God, so to speak, exhausted itself. " So great do we find
this mercy, so perfectly in accord with the demands of justice,
that neither a greater nor one more just can be conceived." 2G
This, then, is Anselm's theory: Redemption through the
incarnate Son of God was necessary ; because it was unbecom
ing that God should either forgive man's sins without re
quiring satisfaction, or that He should allow all mankind to
perish forever; and, on the other hand, man was altogether
incapable of rendering due satisfaction : therefore the redemp
tion must be brought about by the expiatory death of the God-
Man. It must, however, be borne in mind that the author
bases his reasoning exclusively on natural principles, without
reference to revelation. Hence Boso, his interlocutor, says
very much to the point : (( Sic probas Deum fieri hominem ex
necessitate, ut etiam, si removeantur pauca, quae de nostris
libris posuisti (ut quod de tribus personis Dei et de Adam
tetigisti), non solum Judaeis} sed etiam paganis sola ratione
satisfacias." 27
23 Ibid. I, 9 ; II, 19. 25 Ibid. II, 20. 27 Ibid. II, 23.
2* Ibid. II, 19. 26 Ibid. II, 21.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 201
B — SOTERIOLOGY OF THE SCHOLASTICS
In their soteriological discussions the Scholastics enter into
so many details and side issues that it is impossible even to
mention them in a compendious work like the present. Nor
is such an enumeration at all necessary ; for many of the points
discussed are mere speculations, and are not likely to develop
at any future time into dogmas of the faith. In the following
outline, therefore, only such questions will be briefly touched
upon as are more or less essential to a full understanding of
the redemptive work of Christ as set forth by the Schoolmen.
I. Necessity of the Redemption. — It is sometimes said that
St. Anselm had no followers among the Scholastics in his
theory on the necessity of the redemption. This statement is
true in so far as his theory is interpreted as implying necessity
in the strict sense of the term, and on the part of God. But
not a few of the Scholastics gave a different interpretation of
it. Thus St. Bonaventure says that it must be understood in
quantum est ex parte nostra, praesupposita dispositione divina,
'qua nos sic, et non olio modo, liberare decrevit.28 And the
same interpretation is given by St. Thomas : Anselmus loqui
tur quantum est ex parte nostra, supposita Dei ordinatione.^
If this interpretation be correct, which does however not ap
pear very probable, it must be said that St. Anselm had nearly
all the most representative Scholastics on his side. For, with
the exception of Scotus and a few others, they are all agreed
that man was entirely unable to make due reparation for his
sins, and that therefore in the present order of P'rovidence
redemption by the God-Man was necessary. They usually
bring out the following points.
Due satisfaction for sin must imply a twofold reparation :
First, of God's personal honor which was outraged by sin ;
secondly, of the loss sustained by God in the corruption of the
human race. Now whatever may be said about the possibility
of a creature, assisted by grace, repairing the loss caused by
sin; no creature whatever, even the holiest, could possibly
28 In Sent. Ill, d. 20, a. unic., q. 6 ad 2m.
29 Ibid. a. 4 ad 2™.
202 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
repair the injury done to God's honor. That injury is meas
ured by God's infinite dignity, and in this sense the evil of
sin is infinite ; whereas the moral value of any satisfaction that
might be rendered by a creature is necessarily finite. Hence
in the supposition that God demanded adequate satisfaction
from human nature, there was no other means of redemption
besides the incarnation of God's own Son.30
However with this more common teaching of the most rep
resentative Scholastics, Scotus, Durandus, and the Nominalists
generally, do not agree. They deny the very foundation upon
which it is made to rest, namely, that sin is in any real sense
an infinite moral evil. It is true, God's offended majesty is
infinite, but that infinity, they say, has only an extrinsic rela
tion to sin. Hence they hold that human nature endowed with
the fullness of grace, but without being hypostatically united to
the Godhead, might have made adequate reparation for all
sins and thus have redeemed mankind. It is true, God would
have been under no obligation to accept this satisfaction, but
neither was He under obligation to accept the satisfaction
rendered by Christ.31
On the other hand, all are at one in holding that God might
have been satisfied with an inadequate reparation, such as it
was in the power of man to make. The common teaching on
the point is thus set forth by St. Thomas. " Satisfaction may
be said to be sufficient in two ways: First, perfectly, in as
much as it is condign, being adequate to make good the fault
committed, and in this way the satisfaction of a mere man can
not be sufficient for sin, both because the whole of human na
ture has been corrupted by sin, whereas the goodness of any
person or persons could not make up adequately for the harm
done to the whole of the nature; and also because sin com
mitted against God has a kind of infinity from the infinity of
the divine majesty; for the greater the person we offend, the
more grievous the offence. Hence for condign satisfaction it
30Halens. Sum. Ill, q. I, m. 6; 7', Thomas, ibid. a. 2; Sum. Theol.
Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 20, a. Ill, q. I, a. 2.
unic., q. 3 ; Albert. Magn. ibid. a. 6, 31 In Sent. d. 20, q. unic. n. 3
sqq. ; IJurandus, ibid. q. 2.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 203
was necessary that the act of the one satisfying should have an
infinite efficiency, as being of God and man. Secondly, man's
satisfaction may be termed sufficient imperfectly, that is, in the
acceptation of him who is content with it, even though it is
not condign, and in this way the satisfaction of a mere man is
sufficient." 32 Scotus, however, as was pointed out in the
preceding paragraph, held that this " imperfectly sufficient
satisfaction " might have been accepted by God as condign.
Furthermore, all are agreed that God might have freed
mankind from sin without requiring any satisfaction what
ever; for the manner of forgiveness rests with the person who
is offended by sin. "If He had willed to free man from sin
without any satisfaction," argues St. Thomas, " He would not
have acted against justice. For a judge, while preserving
justice, cannot pardon faults without penalty, if the faults
have been committed against another. . . . But God has no one
higher than Himself, for He is the sovereign and common
good of the whole universe. Consequently, if He forgive sin,
which has the formality of fault in that it is committed against
Himself, He wrongs no one: just as any one else, overlooking
a personal trespass, without satisfaction, acts mercifully and
not unjustly." 33 However such forgiveness, they all hold,
would have been less in accord both with God's perfections
and the needs of man.33
2. The Atonement. — It is the common teaching of the
Scholastics that Christ merited during the whole time of His
earthly existence, from His conception till His death; and in
that sense every action of His life contributed to the atonement
for man's sins.34 However, they ascribe the atonement in a
special sense to His passion and death, as it was through them
that God wished to effect the full redemption of the world.
In themselves neither sufferings nor death would have been
necessary to render God condign satisfaction ; but there were
special reasons of congruity why He wished the redemption
32 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. I, a. 2 ad Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 18, a. i;
2m. Albert. Magn. ibid. a. 6; Thomas,
33 Ibid. q. 46, a. 2 ad 3m. ibid. a. 3 ; Scotus, ibid. q. unica.
34Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 16, m. 2;
204 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
to be accomplished in this way. " That man should be de
livered by Christ's passion," writes St. Thomas, " was in keep
ing with both His mercy and His justice. With His justice,
because by His passion Christ made satisfaction for the sin
of the human race ; and so man was set free by Christ's justice :
and with His mercy, because since man of himself could not
satisfy for the sin of all human nature. . . . God gave him
His Son to satisfy for him/' 35
Then there were special reasons on the part of man, besides
deliverance from sin. Those commonly given by the various
writers are thus summarized by St. Thomas : " In the first
place, man knows thereby how much God loves him, and so
is stirred up to love Him in return, and herein lies the perfec
tion of human salvation. . . . Secondly, because thereby He
set us an example of obedience, humility, constancy, justice,
and the other virtues displayed in the passion, which are
requisite for man's salvation. . . . Thirdly, because Christ by
His passion not only delivered man from sin, but also merited
justifying grace for him and the glory of bliss. . . . Fourthly,
because man is all the more bound to refrain from sin, when
he bears in mind that he has been redeemed by Christ's blood.
. . . Fifthly, because it redounded to man's greater dignity,
that as man was overcome and deceived by the devil, so also
it should be a man that should overthrow the devil : and as man
deserved death, so a man by dying should vanquish death." 36
The moral value of Christ's sufferings and death are thus
indicated by St. Bonaventure, in answer to an objection that
the Savior's passion was not sufficient to blot out all sins :
" This one passion of Christ was not only sufficient to satisfy
for the sin of Adam, but also for the vast number of all
other sins. Hence the death of Christ was of avail also for
His slayers, if they were willing to be converted ; for the merit
of the suffering Christ was infinitely greater than the sin of
Judas who betrayed Him, than the sin of the Jews who in
stigated the Gentiles to crucify Him; because the goodness of
Christ far exceeded their malice." 37
35 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 46, a. I. 37 In Sent. Ill, d. 20, a. unic., q.
36 Ibid. a. 3. 5 ad 6™.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 205
In another place the same author states that the merit of
Christ is of infinite moral value, and this arises from the fact
that " His soul is united to a divine person, on account of
which union not only man but God Himself is said to die;
whence it follows that His merit is infinite, not by reason of
created grace, but because of the infinite dignity of His per
son." 38 St. Thomas expresses this view in almost identical
terms, when he says : " The dignity of Christ's flesh is not
to be estimated solely from the nature of flesh, but also from
the person assuming it — in as much as it was God's flesh, the
result of which was that it was of infinite worth." 39
It was, however, not exclusively from the dignity of Christ's
person that the satisfactory worth of His sufferings and death
was derived. Other elements also contributed thereto, as is
thus stated by St. Thomas : " He properly atones for an of
fence who offers something which the offended one loves
equally, or even more than he detested the offence. But by
suffering out of love and obedience, Christ gave more than was
required to compensate for the offence of the whole human
race. First of all, because of the exceeding charity with which
He suffered; secondly, on account of the dignity of His life
which He laid down in atonement, for it was the life of one
who was God and man ; thirdly, on account of the extent of
the passion and the greatness of the grief endured. . . . And
therefore Christ's passion was not only a sufficient but a super
abundant atonement for the sins of the human race." 40
Hence in estimating the moral value of the satisfaction
rendered by Christ, two distinct sources must be considered.
The first is the physical goodness of the action, as derived from
its productive principle, its circumstances, and its object. The
second is the same goodness as elevated in the moral order by
the dignity of the person of whom the action is predicated.
Under the first aspect, the satisfaction of Christ has a finite
moral value ; because its productive principle — Christ's human
nature — its circumstances, and its object are all finite. Un-
38 Ibid. d. 13, a. i, q. 3. 40 Ibid, a. 2.
39 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 48, a. 2 ad
3m.
206 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
der the second aspect its moral value is infinite; because the
person of the Word, as its elevating principle, is of infinite
dignity. Nor is this infinite moral value, as derived from the
person of the Word, something merely extrinsic to Christ's
human actions; because in virtue of the hypostatic union, the
dignity of the person is communicated to the human nature
in such wise that its actions are in a true sense the actions of
God. Hence it is perfectly correct to say that the satisfaction
of Christ is intrinsically of infinite moral value.41
On this last point, however, different views were entertained
by some of the Scholastics. Thus Scotus maintained that the
satisfaction of Christ, and His merit in general, must be con
sidered simply as finite. He states his view in these precise
terms: "I say that the merit of Christ was finite: because
it essentially depended on a finite principle, and therefore,
even considering all its circumstances, its relation to the person
of the Word, its connection with the end to be obtained, it was
simply finite; for all these relations were finite."42 Still he
admits that in its relation to the person of the Word it may
be termed extrinsically infinite; because on account of this
relation it was of such a nature that it might be accepted by
God as of infinite value. This was also the view taken by the
Nominalists, who laid down the general principle : " Meritum
quodcumque tantum et pro tantis potest acceptari passive,
quantum et pro quantis vult tota Trinitas active."43
3. Effects of the Atonement. — From what has been said in
the preceding paragraphs, it is clear that the Scholastics looked
upon the satisfaction rendered by Christ as a compensation
offered to God's offended majesty for the dishonor and loss
caused by man's sins. This concept, though occurring quite
often in the writings of the Fathers, was first fully developed
by St. Anselm, as was pointed out at the beginning of this
chapter. The later Scholastics adopted it as developed by him,
and made it the central idea of their soteriological system.
Hence, according to them, the first effect of Christ's redemp
tive work is the reconciliation of the sinful world with God.
41 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, 42 In Sent. Ill, d. 19, n. 7.
q. 46, a. 4, 12. 43 Cfr. Biel, ibid, note 3.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 207
Christ placated God by restoring that which sin had unjustly
taken away. This is the proper effect of the redemption taken
in the sense of atonement or satisfaction. It directly termi
nates in God, and has only an indirect bearing upon the re
deemed world.
However this placation of God must not be understood in
the sense that God was at enmity with the world, but rather
that the world was at enmity with God. God loved the world
even when buried in sin, and hence He sent His own Son to
pay the price of redemption demanded by His justice; but
without the payment of that price He would not grant the
graces that were necessary for the world's salvation. Hence
whilst the redemption is in one sense a compensation made to
God, it is in another sense a source of merit both for the Re
deemer Himself and for all those who were redeemed by Him.
It is more particularly under this second aspect that the Scho
lastics consider the effects of the redemption in detail. In
this connection they inquire what the Savior merited for Him
self, and what for those whom He had come to save.
That all the requisite conditions for merit were found in
Christ's actions, is thus briefly pointed out by St. Thomas:
" For merit three things are required : A person who can
merit, a meritorious action, and a reward. . . . Now all three
of these are found in the case of Christ. For although in one
sense He was in termino, namely, in regard to those operations
of His soul by reason of which He enjoyed the beatific vision;
nevertheless there was still something wanting to Him in re
spect of glory, namely, in so far as He was passible both in
soul and body and was subject to bodily death: and therefore
in this respect He was a viator, in the state of acquiring some
thing further. In like manner all His actions were meritori
ous by reason of charity; and again, He had dominion over
His actions on account of the liberty of His will; and there
fore He merited by every one of His actions." 44 Lastly, the
third condition, that there was a reward in store for Him, is
necessarily implied in the preceding two; since the merit of
4* In Sent III, q. 18, a. 2.
208 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
His actions was in proportion to any reward that God could
bestow.45
The common teaching of the Scholastics regarding the ob
ject of Christ's merit for Himself is thus formulated by the
same author : " Since all perfection and greatness must be
attributed to Christ, consequently He must have by merit what
others have by merit; unless it be of such a nature that its
want would detract from His dignity and perfection more than
would accrue to Him by merit. Hence He merited neither
grace nor knowledge nor the beatitude of His soul, nor the
Godhead, because, since merit regards what is not yet pos
sessed, it would be necessary that Christ should have been
without these at some time; and to be without them would
have diminished Christ's dignity more than His merit would
have increased it. But the glory of the body, and the like,
are less than the dignity of meriting, which pertains to the
virtue of charity. Hence we must say that Christ had by
merit the glory of His body and whatever pertained to His
outward excellence, as His ascension, veneration, and the
rest." 46
In regard to the first point, however, William of Auxerre
and a few others maintained that Christ also merited for Him
self life eternal, although His soul was in possession of the
beatific vision from the moment of His conception.47 This
view was regarded by Albertus Magnus as probable.48 The
second point was admitted by all, except that Scotus held that
Christ merited the glory of His body only indirectly. Accord
ing to him the direct object of Christ's merit in this respect was
the cessation of the miracle by which the glorification of the
body was withheld during the Savior's earthly life.49 St.
Thomas and others look upon this withholding of glory from
Christ's body as a special dispensation, " in order that He
might procure His bodily glory with greater honor, when He
had merited it by His passion." 50
45 Ibid. ; cfr. a. 3, 4. 48 In Sent. Ill, d. 18, a. 4.
46 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 19, a. 3. 49 Ibid. q. I, n. 15.
47 Sum. Aurea, III, tr. i, c. 7. 50 Sum. Theol. q. 19, a. 3 ad 3m.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 209
The object of Christ's merit in our regard includes all the
graces and favors that come to us in the supernatural order of
our existence. The Scholastics usually gather them under
these heads: Deliverance from sin, from the power of the
devil, from the debt of punishment; reconciliation with God;
opening of the gates of heaven.51 However the various bene
fits here enumerated are not the immediate results of Christ's
redemptive work ; they can be realized in individual souls only
by a faithful use of the spiritual graces merited by Christ.
Hence the first effect of the redemption in our regard consists
in the grace of God, freely offered to us as a means of work
ing out our eternal salvation.
By deliverance from sin the Scholastics understand forgive
ness of all sins, original and personal, obtained by an applica
tion of the merits of Christ through the ordinary channels of
grace. " The passion of Christ," writes St. Thomas, " is the
proper cause of the forgiveness of sins in three ways. First
of all, by way of exciting our charity, because ... it is by
charity that we procure the pardon of our sins. . . . Secondly,
Christ's passion causes forgiveness of sins by way of redemp
tion. For since He is our head, ... He delivered us as His
members from our sins, as by the price of His passion. . . .
Thirdly, by way of efficiency, in as much as Christ's flesh,
wherein He endured the passion, is the instrument of the God
head, so that His sufferings and actions operate with divine
power for expelling sin."52 Or as St. Bonaventure puts it:
ff Justificatio nostra attribuitur passioni Chrisli per modum
meriti intervenientis, exempli provocantis et exemplaris diri-
gentis." 53
Deliverance from the power of the devil is effected in three
ways: First, " in as much as the passion is the cause of the
forgiveness of sins " ; secondly, " in as much as it reconciled
us with God " ; thirdly, " in as much as in Christ's passion he
exceeded the limit of power assigned him by God, by conspir-
Sum. Ill, q. 17, 18; 52 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 49, a. i.
Bonavent. In Sent. d. 19, a. i ; Sco- 53 In Sent. Ill, d. 19, a. I, q. I.
tus, ibid. q. unic. ; .Albert. Magn.
ibid. a. i.
210 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
ing to bring about Christ's death, who, being sinless, did not
deserve to die." 54
We were delivered from the debt of punishment both di
rectly and indirectly. Directly, " in as much as Christ's pas
sion was sufficient and superabundant satisfaction for the sins
of the whole human race; but when sufficient satisfaction has
been paid, then the debt of penalty is abolished. Indirectly,
in so far as Christ's passion is the cause of the forgiveness of
sin, upon which the debt of punishment rests." 55
There are also two ways in which we may be said to have
been reconciled to God. First, because Christ's passion " takes
away sin by which men became God's enemies." Secondly,
because " it is a most acceptable sacrifice to God. Now it is
the proper effect of sacrifice to appease God; just as man like
wise overlooks an offence committed against him on account
of some pleasing act of homage shown him." 56
Lastly, by Christ's passion the gates of heaven were opened,
in the sense that by the forgiveness of sin, obtained through
the merits of the Savior, the obstacle to the intuitive vision
of God was removed. For this obstacle was the twofold sin
which prevented men from entering into the kingdom of
heaven — original sin and personal sin. " Now by Christ's
passion we have been delivered not only from the common
sin of the whole human race, both as to its guilt and as to its
debt of penalty, for which he paid the penalty on our behalf;
but, furthermore, from the personal sins of individuals, who
share in His passion by faith and charity and the sacraments
of faith. Consequently, the gates of heaven's kingdom are
thrown open to us through Christ's passion." 57
From the foregoing exposition of the redemptive work of
the Savior, which was accomplished by His human nature as
united to the person of the Word, it necessarily follows that
Christ is mediator between God and men. For, as St. Bona-
54 Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 49, 56 Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, q.
a. 2. 49, a. 4.
55 Ibid. a. 2; cfr. Halens. Sum. 57 Ibid. a. 4; cfr. Bonavent. In
III, q. 17, m. 4; Bonavent. In Sent. Sent. Ill, d. 18, a. 2, q. 3.
Ill, d. 19, a. i, q. 4; Scotus, ibid. d.
14, q. i.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 211
venture says, a mediator is a link that unites two extremes and
exercises the function of reconciliation.58 Christ is both God
and man, and thus unites in Himself the offended Godhead
and human nature gone astray from its Maker. As man He
physically performs the actions which are required to pay the
debt; as God He communicates to these actions an infinite
moral value, so that the payment may be adequate. Thus as
God-Man He brings about the reconciliation of man with God.
Hence the mediatorship of Christ is not based upon His hu
man nature alone, nor upon His Godhead alone ; but upon the
two united in the one person of the Word.59 However, to be
mediator properly belongs to Him as man, and not as God;
for as God He does not differ from the Father and the Holy
Ghost either in nature or in power of dominion, while as man
He differs from God in nature and from men in dignity of
both grace and glory.60
Furthermore, to be a mediator between God and men is
proper to the office of priesthood ; therefore Christ is not only
our mediator but also our eternal high priest.61 And as He
offered Himself as a sacrifice for our salvation, He is at the
same time a victim immolated in our behalf — a victim for
sin, a peace-offering, a perfect holocaust.62 His priesthood,
moreover, He communicates to others in such wise that He
" is the fountain-head of the entire priesthood : for the priest
of the Old Law was a figure of Him; while the priest of the
New Law works in His person." 63
4. The Death of Christ. — For the fitness of the death of
Christ St. Thomas gives these five reasons: "First of all
that He might satisfy for the whole human race, which was
sentenced to die on account of sin. . . . Secondly, that He
might show the reality of the flesh assumed. . . . Thirdly,
that by dying He might deliver us from the fear of death. . . .
Fourthly, that by dying in the body to the likeness of sin —
that is, to its penalty — He might set us the example of dy-
58 Ibid. d. 19, a. 2, q. 2. 61 Ibid. q. 22, a. I.
59 ibid. 62 Ibid. a. 2.
60 Ibid, cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. 63 Ibid. q. 22, a. I.
Ill, q. 26, a. 2.
212 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ing to sin spiritually. . . . Fifthly, that by rising from the
dead, and manifesting His power whereby He overthrew death,
He might instil into us the hope of also rising again." 64
In His death, Christ's soul and body were separated from
one another, but both remained united to the divinity.65
Hence, on the one hand, Christ truly died, and in consequence
He was no longer man in the strict sense of the term; and,
on the other hand, the hypostatic union continued uninter
rupted. With regard to the first point, however, Peter Lom
bard and a few others held that Christ's soul, whilst separated
from the body, was truly a person.66 The second point, which
was admitted by all, is thus explained by St. Bonaventure:
" Speaking of the union in its active and passive sense, it is
to be held that the body and soul were united to the Word by
one union; but speaking of the same union as a relation, it
must be said that before death there was one union actually
and several potentially, while after death there were actually
several unions." 6T
After death Christ's soul, united to His divinity, descended
into hell, by which place the Scholastics understand the Limbus
Patrum, where the souls of the just were detained till the
opening of heaven's gates.68 This descent was real, and nearly
all are agreed that Christ admitted the holy souls immediately
to the beatific vision. Durandus, however, maintained that
Christ's descent into hell was only virtual, it being nothing
more than an exercise of His power in that place of waiting.69
The same view had been held by Abelard, whose teaching on
that point was condemned by the Council of Sens. The doc
trine of the real descent was confirmed by the Fourth Lateran,
when it declared against the Albigenses : Descendit in aninia
et resurrexit in carne™ Some held, furthermore, that Christ
also appeared to the poor souls in purgatory, and freed them
64 Ibid. q. 50, a. I. 68 Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 22,
65 Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 19; Thorn- a. unic. q. 4; Thomas, ibid. q. 2;
as, In Sent. d. 21, q. i ; Bonavent. Albert. Magn. ibid. a. 4.
ibid. a. i, 2; Scotus, ibid. q. unica. 69 Ibid. q. 4.
66 Sent. Ill, c. 2. 70 Mansi, 22, 982 ; DB. 429.
67 In Sent. Ill, d. 21, a. i, q. 3.
SCHOLASTIC SOTERIOLOGY 213
from their sufferings; but this view was commonly regarded
as improbable.71
These are the chief points in the soteriological teaching of
the Scholastics. Most of them are directly or indirectly a
matter of faith, and taught as such by the Church. Thus the
Fourth Lateran restated the article of the Creed, that Christ
" suffered and died on the wood of the cross for the salvation
of the human race, and descended into hell." 72 Pope Clement
VI, in 1343, declared that, because of the hypostatic union, the
merits of Christ are an " infinite treasure." 73 The Council
of Trent defined that Christ is the meritorious cause of our
justification; and declared that He merited justification for
us by His most holy passion on the wood of the cross^ that we
are justified by the merits of the one Mediator, and that all
those are anathema who say that men are justified without the
justice of Christ, by which He merited our justification.74
Moreover all these points, as was indicated at the beginning of
the present chapter, were already clearly contained in the
teaching of the Fathers; and in so far there was little or no
development in the doctrine of the redemption as presented
by the Scholastics.
71 Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, 73 DB. 550.
q. 52, a. 8. 74 Decretum de Justificatione, DB.
72 Loc. cit. 799 sqq.
CHAPTER XII
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST : THE PAPACY
St. Augustine, in his contentions with the Donatists, had
frequent occasion to set forth and also to develop the tradi
tional teaching on the Church — on her constitution, her
powers, and distinguishing marks. Hence, at the time of his
death, Latin ecclesiology presented a fairly complete system
of theological thought, which needed only a few finishing
touches to bring it to its final stage of development.1 This
system was taken over by the Scholastics of the Middle
Ages, and then was handed down by them, practically in
the same condition in which they had received it, to their suc
cessors who came after the Council of Trent. A few points,
indeed, were somewhat further developed, but that was owing
to incidental causes rather than to the systematic labor of
theologians. Most of the Scholastics touched the subject only
in connection with other matters, and even then merely in a
passing way. However, the following summary of what may
be gathered from their writings will be of some help to the
student in determining the general trend of dogmatic develop
ment along these lines.
A — THE CHURCH OF CHRIST
Some interesting remarks on the Church and her relation
to the State are made by Hugh of St. Victor, who touches the
subject in his treatise De Sacramentis. According to him, the
Church is the assemblage of all the faithful, forming together
one body, of which Christ is the head and the Holy Spirit the
1 Cf r. vol. I, p. 323 sqq.
214
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 215
vivifying principle.2 The unity of this body is conserved by
faith under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.3
The Church and the State are the two powers instituted
by God for the right government of the people. Each of them
is entitled to make its own laws, and to enforce their observ
ance by means proportionate -to the end to be attained. Both
are monarchical in constitution, and therefore the supreme
power resides in one individual, who communicates it in vary
ing degrees to many others for the good of all. Compared
to the State, the Church is the higher power ; because she must
lead men to their eternal salvation, while the State provides
for their temporal welfare. The State has the king as its
head ; but the head of the Church is the Pope.4
As both powers are immediately from God, and as the
spiritual power is the higher of the two, the Pope can be judged
only by God Himself. On the other hand, the temporal power,
in so far as it is vested in a particular person, may be con
stituted and judged by the spiritual. However, the spiritual
power cannot proceed arbitrarily in this matter, but must be
guided by the true interest of the people.5
As there are thus two powers constituted by God, so are
there also two classes of people, each with its own well defined
rights and duties. The first of these two classes comprises
all the clerics, who are consecrated or deputed to the service
of God ; the second is made up of laics, to whatever state in
life they may belong. The two together form the walls of
the Church; both were prefigured in the Old Testament, the
clerics by the tribe of Levi, and the laics by the other eleven
tribes.6 *
Peter Lombard has a few scattered remarks on the Church
in his commentaries on the* Epistles of St. Paul, but practically
2 He says : " Caput enim est itu vivificata, et unita fide una et
Christus ; membrum Christianus. sanctificata. . . . Quid est ergo Ec-
Caput unum, membra multa : et clesia nisi multitude fidelium, uni-
constat unum corpus ex capite et versitas Christianorum ? " (Ibid. c.
membris, et in uno corpore Spiritus 2).
unus" (Op. cit. c. i). 4 Ibid. c. 4.
3 His words are: " Ecclesia 5 Ibid. c. 4.
sancta corpus est Christi uno spir- 6 Ibid. c. 3.
216 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
omits the subject in his four books of the Sentences. As this
work later on became the textbook of the schools, it was most
likely owing to his example that subsequent theologians barely
touched the various doctrines concerning the Church.
Alexander of Hales devotes a few articles of his Summa
to a consideration of the Church, but has nothing of value.
According to him, the Church of Christ began with Abel,
whose faith in the future Redeemer was manifested through
his sacrifice. He also prefigured the sanctity of the Church in
his exemplary life, and was the first to suffer martyrdom for
the sake and the name of Christ. Of this Church, which
formed then as now Christ's mystical body, Christ was even
then the chief and the head. The fact that the Church is the
mystical body of Christ, and also His spouse, necessarily im
plies that she is indefectible. Her power may wax or wane
according to the varying conditions and circumstances of time
and place, but she shall never be vanquished by evil or cease to
exist till the end of time. Furthermore, this indefectibility is
assured to her by Christ's own promise, as recorded in the
Gospel : " Lo, I am with you all days, even to the consumma
tion of the world." 7
A somewhat lengthier exposition is found in the Summa
written by Moneta of Cremona (+ 1250), against theCathari
and the Waldensian heretics. He proves the Apostolic origin
of the Church of Rome, her freedom from error, the unin
terrupted succession of her bishops, her legislative power, her
right to own temporal possessions for the attainment of her
God-appointed end, and other points of a kindred nature.8
However, he does not contribute anything of special value to
the further development of ecclesiological teaching.
St. Thomas has some very valuable points on the Church,
but he too treats the matter only in passing. He specially
emphasizes the importance of unity, both among the members
themselves and between the members and the head. That
unity is essential in as much as the Church is an individual
organism, an organized community, the kingdom of God,
i Sum. IV, q. 2, m. 4. 8 Op. cit. L. V.
THE CHURCH OF CHRIST 217
whose members must hold fast to the truth as an object of
faith, and must ever live together in the spirit of love and
peace.9 The visible Church on earth is a copy of the invisible
Church in heaven, and has for its chief and head the visible
representative of the invisible Christ, even as the blessed have
for their head the glorified God-Man Himself.10
Protestants not rarely blame the Scholastics for having un
duly emphasized the external and visible element of the Church,
almost to the entire neglect of the interior spirit which escapes
the eyes of man. But this accusation is based upon an entire
misunderstanding of their viewpoint. The very fact that they
regarded the Church as a living organism, vivified by the Holy
Spirit, sufficiently shows that they looked upon the interior
and spiritual element as the fountainhead of all true ecclesiasti
cal life. Nor did they fail to point this out when occasion
offered. Thus, for instance, St. Thomas states quite defi
nitely: "The beauty and perfection of the Church consists
chiefly in what is interior, and to the same also belong all her
outward actions, in as much as they proceed from the interior
spirit, and are directed towards the preservation of the beauty
that is from within." 10a What the soul is to the body, that
the spiritual gifts and endowments, together with the Holy
Spirit Himself, are to the Church.
The truth is that the Scholastics, in this matter as in all
others, followed the golden mean in the expression of their
views. They maintained, indeed, that the Church was intended
by her divine Founder to be a visible institution — visible in
her regimen, in her sacraments, in her cult ; but they also taught
that to this visible institution must ever correspond a spiritual
reality perfectly known to God alone. In this sense they ad
mitted even an invisible Church, made up of all those who are
actually united to God in faith and love and in the fervent
practice of perfect virtue. Yet, on the other hand, in main
taining this, they were far removed from the later Protestant
idea of the invisibility of the Church of Christ; and also from
the unreasonable contention of Wiclif and Hus that the Church
• Cont. Gent. IV, 76. 10aln Sent. IV, d. 15, q. 3, a. I.
10 Ibid.
218 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
of Christ consists only of the predestined. For, as St. Thomas
points out, the invisible Church is nothing else than a perfect
realization of the visible Church in its individual members, and
is essentially dependent on it for all its perfection.11
In their relation to the faithful, the Apostles and their suc
cessors must be regarded as the vicars of Christ. They must
foster the life of the Church in her members by preaching the
faith and by administering the sacraments. St. Thomas
speaks of them as follows : " It is to be held that the Apostles
and their successors are the vicars of God, in so far as the
government of the Church, the preaching of the faith, and
the administration of the sacraments come in question. Hence,
as it is not lawful for them to found another church, neither is
it lawful for them to preach another faith, or to institute other
sacraments ; but through the sacraments that flowed from the
side of Christ, as He was hanging on the cross, is the Church
said to have been established and built up." 12
la virtue of her divine institution, the Church has full ad
ministrative powers over all the treasures of grace which
Christ intended to communicate through external rites. She
has not, it is true, the power of absolute authority in this
matter — potestas anctoritatis, for that belongs to God alone ;
nor does she have the power of excellence — potestas excel-
lentiae, since that is proper to Christ the author of our redemp
tion; but she has a ministerial power — potestas ministerii,
communicated by the Founder of the Church to the Apostles
and their successors, and exercised under the direction of the
Pope as the supreme pastor of all the faithful. This com
prises the power of orders and the power of jurisdiction. The
former has for its chief object the true or Eucharistic body of
Christ, and as such is shared in equal degree by priests, bishops,
and the Pope. The latter is exercised over the mystical body
of Christ, or the faithful as constituting the Church, and is
possessed, in all its fullness only by the Pope, in a limited de
gree by bishops, and with still greater limitations by priests.
It finds application both in the internal and external forum,
11 Ibid. d. 19, q. I. *2 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 64, a. 2.
THE PAPACY 219
according as it is used in the administration of the sacraments
or in the enactment of laws and whatever is connected there
with by way of enforcement or dispensation.13
The power of jurisdiction, as already stated, resides primar
ily in the Sovereign Pontiff, and it is conferred on him not by
sacramental consecration, but in virtue of his election to the
primatial dignity. Upon other prelates it is conferred by way
of declaration on the part of their superiors.14 Jurisdiction
in foro intcrno, for the absolution of penitents, can be given
to all priests; but jurisdiction in foro externo, that is, for the
purpose of governing, making laws, judging, and punishing,
belongs to the bishops under the authority of the Pope, and
to such as have been legitimately delegated by him.15
This brief outline contains the gist of the ecclesiological
teaching of St. Thomas, and comprises practically all that is
found in the writings of his predecessors and contemporaries.
The matter was somewhat further developed in the Summa de
Ecclesia of Torquemada, who, as cardinal of the Roman
Church, took part in the Council of Constance, and also in that
of Basle and Florence. But the work was not published until
the middle of the sixteenth century.
B — THE PAPACY
At the beginning of the Middle Ages, that is, from the
ninth century forward, the Papacy was for some time in a
deplorable condition. Unworthy Popes, like Benedict IX,
brought disgrace upon the See of Peter and were a cause of
scandal to the Christian world. However, towards the middle
of the eleventh century a reform movement began, which re
sulted in the election of a succession of Sovereign Pontiffs
who proved themselves in every way worthy of their high sta
tion. The first of these was the saintly Leo IX, who defended
the prerogatives of the Roman See against Michael Cerularius,
the chief author of the Greek schism. He displayed great
zeal in laboring for the reformation of morals and the cor-
13 In Sent. IV, d. 7, q. 3, a. I ; d. 14 Ibid. d. 24, q. 3, a. 2.
13, q. i, a. i. 15 Ibid. d. 19, q. I, a. 3.
220 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
rection of abuses both among the clergy and laity. His im
mediate successors, Victor II and Nicholas II, continued the
work which he had so well begun. But it was especially
Gregory VII (1073-1085) who restored to the Papacy all its
ancient splendor, although he died in exile for justice' sake.
The full result of his labors became apparent only under In
nocent III (1198-1216), who was " the living embodiment
of Papal power at its apogee." With occasional slight yield-
ings, this position was maintained till the death of Boniface
VIII (1303), when a new decline set in that was consider
ably accelerated by the secularizing influence of the Renais
sance.
From this brief sketch it will be seen that the golden age
of Scholasticism coincided with the period when Papal power
was at its highest. And to this coincidence the theological
writings of the time bear no uncertain testimony. The su
preme power of the Pope, not only in matters ecclesiastical,
but to a considerable extent also in secular affairs of world
wide interest, stands out most prominently. It is not referred
to as something that needs to be proved, but as a universally
acknowledged fact, which may be used as a source of argu
ments for the confirmation of other doctrines. Or if oc
casionally a proof is introduced, it is only by way of assigning
the reason for a fact that is accepted by all. In the following
summary we shall first present an outline of what was held
by the Scholastics in regard to the spiritual supremacy of the
Pope, and then add a few remarks in reference to the relation
of Church and State as commonly understood and accepted
in those times.
i. Spiritual Supremacy of the Pope. — The position of the
Church during Patristic times, in regard to the supremacy of
the Pope, appears most clearly from the formula subscribed to
by the Eighth General Council, held in 869. It reads as fol
lows: "It is impossible to set aside the ordination of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who said : ' Thou art Peter, and upon this
rock I will build my Church.' The truth of these words has
been abundantly proved by subsequent events, because by the
Apostolic See the Catholic religion has always been preserved
THE PAPACY 221
immaculate, and sound doctrine has ever been taught. There
fore, not wishing in any way to be separated from its faith
and teaching, and following in all things the example of the
Fathers, and particularly the ordinations of the Pontiffs of
the Apostolic See, we anathematize all heresies." 16
This testimony of the Eastern Church, all the more valuable
because it was given at a time when the schism was already
in preparation, also voiced the firm belief of the West. Only
a few years before the Eighth General Council was held,
Rabanus Maurus bore witness to that belief in these terms:
" We see that the authority of the Roman Pontiff extends
itself to all the churches of Christ, so that all bishops acknowl
edge him as their head, and that all ecclesiastical transactions
are subject to his judgment; hence according to his decision,
what has been established remains in force, what has been
done amiss is corrected, what needs to be enacted is approved.
. . . The decrees of the Roman Pontiffs are sent to all the
churches, both in the East and the West, and they are received
and observed by the faithful as having the force of ecclesias
tical laws." 17
The Popes themselves also took the same view of their posi
tion in the Church of Christ. Thus Leo IX stated the su
premacy of the Roman See in no uncertain terms, when, on
the occasion of the Greek schism, he wrote to Michael Cer-
ularius: " Is it not true that by the See of the Prince of the
Apostles, namely by the Roman Church, both through the same
Peter and through his successors, the lying inventions of all
heretics have been laid bare and condemned ? " And farther
on : " Just as a hinge, remaining itself immovable, opens and
shuts the door, so P'eter and his successors exercise judiciary
authority over the whole Church, and their firm position no
one must attempt to shake ; because the Supreme See is judged
by no one — quia Summa Sedes a nemine judicatur" 18
This is the teaching faithfully echoed by the Scholastics in
their more or less casual remarks on the subject, as suggested
16 Mansi, 8, 351. 18 Ep. 55, ad Michaelem Cerula-
17Cont. Grace, n, 4; cfr. ML. rium et Leonem Acridanum, c. 7 et
121, 343. 32; cfr. Mansi, 19, 638 B sqq.
222 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
by other matters that claimed their attention at the moment.
Thus Alexander, while speaking of the priest's power to ab
solve from sin, points out how the use of this and other powers
is subject to the authority of the Pope. " It is to be held,"
he says, " that this subordination was intended for the good of
the Church. For God willed that certain persons in authority
should have power over many others; and over these, others
in smaller number should have authority; and so on until we
arrive at one, namely the Pope, who is subject immediately
to the Lord, according to the saying of Ecclesiastes : ' He
that is high hath another higher.' . . . And besides, there is
a king who commandeth the whole earth, namely the Pope,
who calls himself the servant of the servants of God; so that,
just as the Church triumphant is one, so also the Church mil
itant, and the body of the Church triumphant together with
that of the Church militant is united in one under the Supreme
Head." 19
Albertus Magnus regards the supremacy of the Pope in all
things ecclesiastical as the very foundation of that unity which
is an essential mark of the Church. It was for the preserva
tion of this unity that Christ committed the keys to one in
dividual, " so that in him might be found the plenitude of
power, and that from him all others should derive their au
thority in keeping with the charge committed to their care." 20
Hence the Pope is bishop of bishops as well as of the faith
ful in general, and he exercises immediate jurisdiction over all
without exception. Albertus expresses his views in these
terms : " A superior has either limited powers or he has the
plenitude of power; this latter is the prerogative of the Pope,
who is the ordinary of every one of the faithful. . . . Hence
as the ordinary of all, he has power over his subjects inde
pendently of their consent ; because he holds the place of God
on earth." 21
Furthermore, as head of the Church, the Pope is infallible
in deciding questions of faith. For speaking of the common
19 Sum. IV, q. 79, m. 6, a. 3. 21 Sum. Theol. II, tr. 24, q. 141,
20 De Sacrific. Missae, tr. 8, c. 6, m. 3.
n. 9.
THE PAPACY 223
usage of reserving to the Pope the granting of plenary indul
gences, the author says : " It is in no way to be admitted that
the head of the Church could lead anyone into error, when
there is question of matters that the whole Church receives
and approves. Yet it is known to all that he preaches, and
causes to be preached by others, that indulgences are valid be
fore God." 22 Here it must be noted that the phrase, " what
the whole Church receives and approves — quae tota Ecclesia
recipit et approbat," is not intended to make the Pope's infal
libility dependent on the approbation of his teaching by the
universal Church; but, as is clear from the author's own ex
planation, it is meant simply to indicate a prerequisite condi
tion of infallibility, namely, that the Pope must speak as the
supreme teacher of the whole Church. The same condition
was also put down by the Vatican Council.23
St. Thomas reasons about the supreme power of the Pope
in this way : " As the Church is a living organism, essentially
one and visible, she must have one head living visibly among
men; her oneness, moreover, demands that this head have su
preme authority in matters of faith, so that he may decide
questions and solve difficulties connected therewith. Then, as
the Church is expected to be governed in a perfect manner, hers
must be a monarchical constitution ; finally, as she is an image
of the Church triumphant in heaven, of which Christ is the
head, the one who holds the supreme power must be the repre
sentative of Christ here on earth." 24
What appears thus so reasonable from the very nature of
the Church, is, furthermore, also clearly taught in Holy Scrip
ture. Christ, argues the author, is indeed the invisible head
of the Church, as He is also the author of grace ; yet, as in the
administration of the sacraments He wished to be represented
by a visible minister, so too in the government of the Church
did He wish to be represented by a visible head. Hence He
appointed Peter to the office of chief pastor, and in Peter all
his successors. It was to signify the prerogative of Peter that
He gave the keys to him, and that He confirmed him in the
22 In Sent. IV, d. 20, a. 17. 2* Cont. Gent. IV, 76; In Sent. IV,
23 DB. 1839. d. 24, q. 3.
224 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
faith. Consequently, as the Sovereign Pontiff is the successor
of Peter, he has by divine right full jurisdiction over the whole
Church, and holds the place of Christ in regard to pastors and
flock alike.25
This supreme jurisdiction of the Pope extends itself to ev
erything that concerns the welfare of the Church — the admin
istration of the sacraments, legislative enactments, matters of
discipline and dispensations. In consequence, he has power
over all that is merely accidental in the administration of the
sacraments ; he can depute simple priests to give confirmation
and confer minor orders; he can restrict their power of ab
solving from sin, reserve certain cases to himself, and grant
indulgences.26 'He can also for a reasonable cause abrogate
Apostolic enactments — agere contra Apostolum?7 and has
power to dispense from vows and oaths.28
In regard to the faithful, this supreme jurisdiction is imme
diate, so that he can act as their bishop and their parish priest
by a direct exercise of his power. That this is really the case
is quite obvious ; for bishops and priests derive their jurisdic
tion from him ; hence if in particular cases he wishes to exercise
that jurisdiction personally, there is nothing to prevent him
from so doing.29
As sovereign lawgiver, the Pope does not fall under the
penal laws which he enacts; consequently these laws are for
him merely directive norms.30 Nevertheless, like any one else,
he is subject to fraternal correction; and when he publicly
endangers the faith, this correction too may be administered
in public.31
Speaking of the value of indulgences before God, St.
Thomas touches incidentally the question of the Church's infal
libility in matters of faith, and points out that it is ultimately a
prerogative of the Sovereign Pontiff as supreme teacher of
the whole Church. He says : " The universal Church cannot
25 Ibid. q. 3, a. 2 ad im. 29 In Sent. IV, d. 24, q. 3, a. 2 ;
26 Ibid. d. 7, q. 3, a. 3 ; d. 20, q. I, d. 17, a. 3 ad 3m quint, quaest.
a. 4; Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 72, a. 12. 30 Ibid. d. 19, q. 2, a. 2.
27 In Sent. IV, d. 20, q. i, a. 4. 31 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 33, a. 4
28 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 88, a. 12; ad 2m.
q. 89, a. 9.
THE PAPACY 225
fall into error: because He who in all things was heard for
His reverence said to Peter, upon whose confession the Church
was founded : ' I have asked for thee, that thy faith may not
fail.' But the universal Church approves indulgences: there
fore indulgences are of value before God." 32
It is because of this infallibility that opposition to the teach
ing of the Church causes a person to be regarded as a heretic.
And this is also borne witness to by the practice of all past ages.
For we find that " after anything pertaining to the faith had
been decided by the authority of the universal Church, and
some one opposed that decision, he incurred forthwith the
stigma of heresy. Now this authority resides chiefly in the
Sovereign Pontiff." 33 Again : " It belongs to the Sovereign
Pontiff to determine those things that are of faith, so that
they may be firmly believed by all." 34
St. Thomas also considers the Pope's relation to general
councils. He sets forth his view in the following terms:
"Just as a subsequent council has the power of interpreting
a symbol drawn up by a preceding council, and of adding
thereto by way of explanation, as appears from what has been
said; so in like manner can the Roman Pontiff do the same by
his own authority. Furthermore, it is only by his authority
that a council can be convened, and it belongs to him to con
firm the decisions of the council. Finally, it is lawful to
appeal from the council to him. All this is evident from
what was done at the Council of Chalcedon. Nor is it even
necessary to convene a general council for matters of this kind,
as in times of war it would be impossible to do so." 35 Hence,
according to the teaching of St. Thomas, not only is the Pope's
authority above that of a general council, but it is also from
him as head of the universal Church that general councils
derive their infallibility in deciding questions of faith.
The infallible teaching authority of the universal Church,
and consequently of the Pope, has for its proper object all
revealed truths that must be believed by the followers of Christ.
32 In Sent. IV, d. 20, q. I, a. 3. 34 Ibid. q. I, a. 10.
33 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 11, a. 2 35 QQ. DD. De Potentia Dei, q.
ad 3m. 10, a. 4.
226 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
" This," St. Thomas argues, " follows from the ways of Divine
Providence, which directs the Church by the Holy Spirit, so
that she may not fall into error ; and the same was also prom
ised by Christ, when he said that the Holy Spirit would come
and teach all truth in matters necessary for salvation. Hence
it is plainly impossible that the judgment of the universal
Church should err in those things that pertain to the faith ; and
as it belongs to the Pope to decide questions of faith, his de
cisions have greater weight than the views of all men what
ever, no matter how well versed in Holy Scripture they may
be/' 36
That the Pope enjoys the same infallibility in regard to ques
tions and facts connected with faith, is, according to St.
Thomas, a matter of pious belief. To this category belongs
the canonization of saints. Having pointed out that the Pope
may err in other cases where his decision depends on the truth
of human testimony, he proceeds : " The canonization of
saints holds a middle place in regard to inerrancy. However,
as the honor which we pay the saints is in a way a profession
of faith, in as much as we believe that they have attained to
glory, it is to be piously believed that in this matter also the
judgment of the Church is not subject to error." 37
Hence, as appears from the foregoing citations, the teach
ing of St. Thomas on the supremacy of the Pope may be
summed up in these points: i. The Pope is the primate of
all bishops. 2. He has preeminence over the whole Church.
3. In the Church he has plenitude of power. 4. He has the
same power that Christ gave to Peter. 5. The final decision
in matters of faith rests with him. 6. Submission to the Pope
in things spiritual is required of all. — As a mere glance suf
fices to show, this teaching is in all essentials identical with the
doctrine defined by the Vatican Council just six hundred years
later.
St. Bonaventure advances substantially the same views.
Like St. Thomas, he points out that the supremacy of the Pope
is necessary for the well-being of the Church, and especially for
ae Quodl. 9, c. 16. 37 Ibid.
THE PAPACY 227
the maintaining of unity.38 Hence it was that Christ ap
pointed Peter as the prince of the Apostles and chief of the
whole world, and provided also that this plenitude of power
should be possessed by Peter's successors, the canonically
elected bishops of Rome.39
The power thus conferred on the head of the Church is
threefold: " First, the Sovereign Pontiff alone has the whole
plenitude of authority which Christ gave to His Church; sec
ondly, he can exercise this authority in any and all particular
churches in the same way as he does at Rome; thirdly, from
him all authority and jurisdiction possessed by other digni
taries throughout the whole Church are derived, just as in
heaven all glory of the saints flows from the one fountain of
infinite goodness, which is Christ Jesus." 40 It is true, bishops
have by divine right full power in their own dioceses, in as
much as Christ instituted the episcopal office and dignity; but
this power they enjoy only so long as they are in communion
with the Pope, and at the same time the Pope has immediate
jurisdiction over the faithful in every diocese.41
St. Bonaventure explains the infallible teaching authority of
the Church in the same way as does St. Thomas, as will appear
with sufficient clearness from one or two citations. Thus,
speaking of religious poverty, he says : " If at the time of the
legal priesthood it was morally wrong to contravene the judg
ment of the high priest, and was punished with death; how
much more is not this the case under the dispensation of re
vealed truth and grace, when it is known that the plenitude of
power has been entrusted to the vicar of Christ. Hence this
evil is in no way to be tolerated, that in matters of faith and
morals any one should teach what is contrary to his decisions ;
approving what he has reprobated, building up again what he
has torn down, defending what he has condemned." 42
He also points out that the infallibility of the Pope extends
to the approbation of religious orders and their rules. " It is
38 In Expos. Regnl. c. 9. 41 Ibid.
39 In Sent. IV, d. 25, a. i, q. I. 42 Apol. Paupert. c. I.
40 Opnsc. : Quare Fratres Mi-
nores praedicent.
228 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
manifest," he argues, " that the sixth rule of St. Francis was
approved and confirmed by Pope Honorius. But if he fell
into error in giving this approbation, he has led the whole
Church into error; for it is well known that the universal
Church, throughout the world, receives such religious orders
as are approved by the Pope; and therefore the whole Church
was deceived and led into error by her divinely constituted
head."43 Of course, the conclusion is inadmissible; there
fore also the premise from which it follows, namely, that the
Pope fell into error when he approved the aforesaid rule.
Duns Scotus is equally emphatic in his statements regarding
the universal jurisdiction and infallible teaching authority of
the Pope. To the Sovereign Pontiff alone, he says, does it
belong to fulminate a sentence of major excommunication,
which entirely cuts off the delinquent from the Church.44
The infallible teaching authority of the Pope is identified with
that of the universal Church, and dogmatic decrees of the
Sovereign Pontiffs have the same force as those of general
councils. All decisions regarding doubtful points in Holy
Scripture and tradition are reserved to the Pope, in the sense
that his decision alone is binding. — These various points Sco
tus brings out repeatedly in his teaching on the sacraments.
What has been said in the foregoing paragraphs represents
in substance the common teaching of the Scholastics on the
rights and prerogatives of the Holy See in the sphere of re
ligion. On only one point was there some difference of opin
ion, namely, whether the jurisdiction of bishops is derived im
mediately from Christ or mediately, that is, through the Pope.
This latter view was defended by Alexander of Hales, St.
Bonaventure, St. Thomas, and nearly all representative Schol
astics; while the former was held by Henry of Ghent and a
few others.45 But even with regard to this point, all admit
that no bishop can exercise his jurisdiction without 'the consent
of the Pope. Hence the view of some later Nominalists,
which prevailed at the Council of Constance ( 1431-1434), that
the jurisdiction of a general council is above that of the Pope,
43 De Paupert. Christi, a. 2. 45 Quodl. 9, q. 22.
44 Report. IV, d. 19, q. I.
THE PAPACY 229
was directly opposed to the teaching of mediaeval theologians.
The chief points set forth in this section, namely, the
primacy of the Roman See, the universal jurisdiction of the
Pope, his right to decide questions of faith and morals, and his
position of supreme judge to whom appeal may be made by
any one of the faithful throughout the world, were all em
bodied in the profession of faith exacted from Michael Pal-
aeologus by the Second Council of Lyons, held in I274.46 It
is true, the Council did not directly define the Pope's infallibil
ity in matters of faith and morals; but it indicated its mind
quite clearly on the subject, when it stated: " As he, before
all others, is bound to defend the faith, so in like manner does
it belong to him, when questions of faith arise, to decide them
according to his own judgment." 47
2. Relation of Church and State. — That during the Middle
Ages the State was regarded as subject to the Church in all
spiritual matters need not be pointed out ; for that follows nec
essarily from the universally accepted idea of the supremacy
of the Pope, as set forth in the preceding section. As head
of the Church, the Pope was believed to have full jurisdiction
in all things spiritual, not only over individuals, but also over
every form and kind of society made up of Christians, and
therefore over the Christian commonwealth. Hence the point
now at issue regards solely the relation of Church and State in
temporal matters.
Protestants quite commonly accuse the Popes of the Middle
Ages of having dominated, or tried to dominate, over tem
poral sovereigns to such an extent that no king or emperor
enjoyed untrammeled freedom in carrying on the government
committed to his charge. To all intents and purposes, as they
see it, the Popes aimed at nothing less than to establish them
selves as feudal overlords of the whole Christian world. They
not only exacted the payment of tribute from many countries
which they regarded as papal fiefs, but without their good will
no king or emperor ever felt quite safe on his throne. By the
terrible weapon of excommunication any sovereign could be
*8 Mansi, 24, 70 A sqq. 4T Ibid. ; cf r. DB. 466.
230 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
brought to his knees, as was Henry IV of Germany when
forced to implore the mercy of Gregory VII at Canossa.48
In confirmation of these and similar statements, Protestant
writers not only adduce certain facts of history, such as the
case of Henry IV just referred to, but also cite the teaching
of Popes and theologians to the same effect. As regards the
teaching of the Popes, it is especially the Dictatus Papae,
sometimes ascribed to Gregory VII, and the Bull, Unam sane-
tarn, of Boniface VIII, that are made to do service.
That these charges are grossly exaggerated need hardly be
pointed out; still there is sufficient truth in them to make
them plausible. The fact of the matter is this: The Chris
tians of the Middle Ages knew from bitter experience that in
certain contingencies they had no protection against the tyr
anny and arbitrary violence of wicked rulers, except such as
might be afforded them by the Sovereign Pontiff. Hence in
most cases they were more than willing to acknowledge him as
their overlord, in so far as he used his spiritual power to check
the excesses of their kings or emperors. Again, rulers of
smaller countries, who had always more or less reason to dread
attacks from their more powerful neighbors, not rarely con
sidered it a privilege to enfeoff their domains to the Holy See,
so that for the payment of the nominal tribute they might en
joy its powerful protection. Consequently, if in this sense the
Popes were to some extent feudal lords, the position was not of
their own seeking; it was thrust upon them by the condition of
the times or the devotion of the people.
Nor did they claim the power and privilege of appointing
or dethroning temporal rulers ; but they did claim the right to
cut them off from ecclesiastical communion, if against the
laws of the land they misused their authority to the destruc
tion of the Christian commonwealth and obstinately refused
to be corrected by gentler means. But this only shows that
they considered the high and the low to be on an equal footing
in the Church of God. If either of them chose to lead a life
unworthy of the Christian name, he must be satisfied to be ex-
48 Cf r. Hinschius-Sehling, Real-encyklpaedie f uer Protestantische Theo-
logie und Kirche, 14, 663.
THE PAPACY 231
eluded from the benefits of the Christian Church. It is true,
such an excommunication, if persistently disregarded, might
in the case of princes lead to the loss of their throne, because
it was usually understood to release subjects from their oath
of allegiance; but on the part of the Popes this was no more
than an acknowledgment of the people's natural right to de
fend themselves against an unjust aggressor. No doubt, this
power of excommunication might be abused, and perhaps
sometimes was abused ; but so is every other power under the
sun.
Beyond what is conceded in the two preceding paragraphs,
neither Popes nor theologians made any claims in regard to
the subjection of the temporal power to the spiritual. Even
if the Dictatus Papae were certainly the " sayings " of Greg
ory VII, which they most probably are not ; or if they faithfully
reflected the attitude of the mediaeval mind on this matter,
which in regard to most of the " sayings " may be conceded ;
even then, nothing could be proved from them beyond what
has been admitted. In fact, only two of them have any bear
ing on this matter at all. They read as follows : i. Quod illi
liceat imperatores deponere — That it is lawful for him (the
Pope) to depose emperors. 2. Quod a fidelitate iniquorum
subjectos potest absolvere — That he (the Pope) can absolve
the subjects of wicked (princes) from their oath of alle
giance.49 If these " sayings " be taken in the sense explained
above, both may be admitted to be genuine expressions of the
mediaeval mind on the matter in question; on the other hand,
if they be interpreted to imply the claim of arbitrary power by
the Pope, there is not a shred of evidence to support the inter
pretation.
The same is true of the Bull, Unam sanctam, of Boniface
VIII. In it occurs the sentence: Porro subesse Romano
Pontifici omni humanae creaturae declaramus, dicimus, defini-
mus et pronuntiamus omnino esse de necessitate salutis —
Furthermore, We declare, say, define and pronounce that it
is necessary, by way of salvation, for every human being to be
49 Ep. 55 ; Mansi, 20, 168.
232 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
under (the power of) the Roman Pontiff. — As it stands, this
looks rather sweeping, but it need not mean that the Pope
claimed direct power over the temporal affairs of princes. In
fact, when Louis the Fair of France interpreted it in this sense,
Boniface declared without hesitation: " It is now forty years
since We began to be versed in the law, and We know that
there are two powers established by God: who, then, ought or
can believe that such fatuity, such foolishness, ever entered
Our head? " 50
The teaching of theologians on this subject is neatly sum
marized by Hugh of St. Victor, who was practically a con
temporary of Gregory VII. He says : " The Church and
the State are the two powers instituted by God for the right
government of the people. Each of them is entitled to make
its own laws, and to enforce their observance by means in
keeping with the end to be attained. . . . Compared to the
State, the Church is the higher power; because she must lead
men to their eternal salvation, while the State provides for
their temporal welfare. ... As both powers are immediately
from God, and as the spiritual power is the higher of the two,
the Pope can be judged only by God Himself. On the other
hand, the temporal power, in so far as it is vested in a particular
person, may be constituted and judged by the spiritual. How
ever, the spiritual power cannot proceed arbitrarily in this mat
ter, but must be guided by the true interest of the people." 51
In regard to the deposition of princes by the Pope, St.
Thomas reasons as follows: " When a Christian prince falls
away from the faith, he may be punished by a judicial sen
tence; and the proper punishment in such a case would be to
deprive him of the power to rule over Christian subjects; for
if he continues to rule over them, there is imminent danger of
his turning them also away from the faith. Hence, as soon as
the sentence of excommunication has been pronounced against
an apostate prince, his subjects are by that very fact freed
from his dominion and released from their oath of alle
giance." 52
50 Cfr. DB. 468, note. 52 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 12, a. 2.
« De Sacr. c. 4.
THE PAPACY 233
As is obvious, this power of excommunication can not be
used against sovereigns who have never been baptized. And
hence St. Thomas remarks: "Infidelity in itself is not in
compatible with the right to rule ; because that right was intro
duced by the law of nations, which is a human law — jus hu<-
manum." 53 No, it is not infidelity as such that justifies the
Pope to proceed against any sovereign; but the infidelity of
one who had a right to the crown only because he was sup
posed to be a Christian.
53 Ibid. q. 12, a. 2.
CHAPTER XIII
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE : JUSTIFICATION AND
MERIT
Patristic teaching on the subject of divine grace was mostly
concerned with its supernatural character and its absolute
necessity for the attainment of eternal life. What was its
precise nature, what its various divisions, what its mode of op
eration, were questions that received only a passing attention
as occasion demanded.1 It is chiefly on these points that
Scholastic speculation supplements the teaching of the Fathers
as regards the question of grace. The following is a brief
summary of what was thus accomplished by the most repre
sentative of the Schoolmen.
A — ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE
A fair outline of Scholastic teaching on the subject of grace
is presented by Peter Lombard, whose brief statements were
afterwards developed by his commentators. On some points,
however, as will be noted in the proper place, his views were set
aside as untenable.
Referring to the teaching of St. Augustine, whom he fol
lows rather closely, he first points out the need we all have of
a special divine help in order to work out our salvation. " The
will of man," he says, " when left to its natural resources, has
not the power either to will efficaciously what is supernaturally
good, or to accomplish it. For this it needs the grace of God,
by which it is liberated and assisted. It is liberated in this
sense, that stirred up by grace it really wills ; and it is assisted
in the sense that it successfully accomplishes the work to be
done." 2
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 369 sqq. 2 Sent. II, d. 25, n. 16.
234
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 235
This grace of God, which is given for the performance of
supernaturally good works, may be considered in itself or in
its relation to the action of the will. In the first case it is
called operating grace — gratia operans; for the reason that
it exerts an influence on our intellect and will, and disposes
these faculties for the eliciting of salutary acts. In the second
it is termed cooperating grace — gratia cooperans; because it
concurs with the actions of our faculties as prepared by its
supernatural influence.3 Hence the operating grace of God is
in us without our own doing; it anticipates the salutary action
of our will and makes it possible, and hence it is also called
preventing or prevenient grace. It is purely a gift of God's
gratuitous mercy.4 However, strictly speaking, this is true
only of the first grace that is given us, which is the gift of
faith ; for if we cooperate with that, we can merit the bestowal
of other graces and thus with God's help work out our salva
tion.5 Hence we are bidden to pray for the further help of
God; so that what He has begun in us, He may also accom
plish.6
Entitatively considered, preventing and helping grace —
gratia operans et cooperans — are the same. They are one
and the same gratuitous gift of God, but bear a different rela
tion to the activity of the will in respect of supernatural ac
tions. Preventing grace calls forth that activity by soliciting
the will to act and making it capable of so doing; while co
operating grace acts together with the will in exerting its ac
tivity for the attainment of a supernatural end. Consequently,
grace and free will constitute one principle of action, which is
at the same time supernatural and free — supernatural, because
of grace; free, because of the free cooperation of the will.7
When it comes to the heart of the question, namely, what
actual grace really is in itself, the author is not very definite.
In the first place, he points out that it cannot be a movement of
3 The author's own words are: ne frustra velit" (Ibid. d. 26, n. i).
" Haec est gratia operans et coop- Ibid. n. I, 2.
erans. Operans enim gratia praep- ; Ibid. n. 3, 4, 5.
arat hominis voluntatem ut velit 6 Ibid. n. 5.
bonum; gratia cooperans adjuvat 7 Ibid. d. 26, n. 9; ibid. n. 3.
236 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
the faculties — motus vel affectus mentis — in so far as that
might be said to have its origin from the faculties themselves;
for if it were, grace would not be the gift of God. Next he
considers the opinion of some who hold that grace is a super
natural quality or form of the soul — bonam mentis qiialitatem
sive formam, quae animam informat. And this, he thinks,
is about all that can be said concerning so abstruse a matter.
Hence he concludes by stating: Et ilia gratia virtus non in-
congrue nominatur, quia voluntatem hominis infirmam sanat et
adjuvat.8
Finally, although grace is necessary for salutary actions,
nevertheless, even after the fall, man's free will retains the
power of performing naturally good works. Thus, if a Jew
or a bad Christian were to give an alms to a poor man, with
the intention of relieving the sufferings of a fellow human be
ing, his action would be praiseworthy; but, unless moved
thereto by the grace of God, it would have no bearing upon
eternal life.9
The question of sanctifying grace is touched only inciden
tally by the Lombard, and what he does say about it is very
unsatisfactory. As will be pointed out in the following chap
ter, he identified the virtue of charity with sanctifying grace,
and then both with the Holy Spirit. Not indeed in the sense
that the Holy Spirit might be said to inhere in the soul as an
intrinsic form, but rather that He must be conceived to dwell
therein as the efficient and exemplary cause of the soul's super
natural life." 10 The special indwelling of the Holy Spirit in
the souls of the just is, of course, admitted by all theologians;
but the Lombard's inference that this same indwelling is iden
tical with sanctifying grace finds no defenders, and was unani
mously rejected by his own commentators.
Alexander of Hales begins his treatise on grace with a very
complete division of the various supernatural gifts in one way
or another designated by that term. He proceeds as follows :
" Grace therefore, according to the common acceptation of the
term, is either an uncreated gift, or a concreated gift, or a
8 Ibid. d. 27, n. 1-3. 10 Cfr. Sent. I, d. 17, n. 1-6.
9 Ibid. d. 41, 3.
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 237
snperadded gift. Again, there is a grace that makes us pleas
ing to God, and a grace that is the first supernatural power in
the soul, and a grace that is the first effect of grace after the
fall, and a grace that signifies certain spiritual prerogatives,
and a grace that is a sign of grace, and a grace that is the
reward that follows upon grace.11
These various graces he divides into two distinct classes:
the first contains the gratia gratum faciens or sanctifying grace ;
and the other, the gratia gratis data. By this latter term he
designates, not only the charismata, as we do to-day, but also
all actual graces and infused virtues. This use of the term
was quite common in the schools up to the time of St. Thomas.
In his division of actual graces he follows the Lombard, who,
it may be noted in passing, had taken his terminology and
principle of division from St. Augustine. " The free will of
man," he says, " may be considered in reference to grace in
two different ways: as the subject that receives grace and as
the faculty that is moved to act." As received into the will,
grace is called operating or preventing grace ; as acting with the
will, it is termed cooperating grace. Then he continues : " In
the reception of grace, that is, when grace prepares the will, the
action of grace is first; thereupon follows the consent of the
free will, or its cooperation in yielding its consent to the move
ment of grace ; and for this reason grace is called operating or
prevenient. But the free will is said to cooperate with grace
when it performs the good action through grace; because the
action proceeds from the power of the free will as assisted by
grace : and therefore the free will itself is said to act, while
grace contributes its help to it as the cooperating principle." 12
The two act together, yet the entire effect is attributable to
each.13
11 Sum. Ill, q. 61, m. I. in ceteris comitetur ; ad hoc utique
12 Sum. Ill, q. 61, m. 3, a. 2 ad 2m. praeveniens, ut sibi deinceps co-
13 In this exposition he closely operetur. Ita tamen, quod a sola
follows St. Bernard, who, in his gratia coeptum est, pariter ab
treatise De Gratia et Libero Ar- utroque perficiatur; ut mixtim, non
bitrio, puts the matter very clearly singillatim ; simul, non vicissim, per
in these terms : " Sic autem ista singulos profectus operentur. Non
cum libero arbitrio operatur, ut partim gratia, partim liberum ar-
tantum ilium in primo praeveniat, bitrium, sed totum singula opera
238 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Like the Lombard, Alexander holds that preventing and co
operating grace are entitatively the same, and he gives this
reason : " Because both are related to the will as its moving
cause." 14 Preventing grace is in the will both as a super
natural disposition and as an impulse to action, and when the
will yields to this impulse, the same grace acts together with
the will and is then properly termed cooperating grace.15 It
may be noted here, that the author does not restrict the term,
preventing grace, to the first indeliberate acts of the faculties
that result, so to speak, from the divine touch ; but extends it
to the whole process by which the faculties are elevated and
prepared for salutary action. Hence, in this connection, he
does not use the two terms, praeveniens and operans, as
synonymous.16
The gratia gratum faciens, or sanctifying grace, is some
thing objective and permanent in the soul. He speaks of it
as follows. " It must be held that the grace by which one be
comes pleasing to God, necessarily places something super
natural in the person, which is the reason of his being thus
pleasing to God. And this particular something is the same
as that by which a person becomes deiform or is made like unto
God; and hence a person is said to be pleasing to God when
he is like unto Him." 17
Furthermore, this grace is both increate and created. For
he continues : " It must be maintained that in the just there is
a created grace and an increate grace. The increate grace is
the Holy Spirit : and the Holy Spirit is called grace in as much
as He is a gift; and He is termed a gift in as much as He is
love: for by way of appropriation the Holy Spirit is said to
individuo peragunt Totum quidem sum ; sed praeveniens dicitur in
hoc, et totum ilia; sed ut totum in quantum semper praesto est ut
illo, sic totum ex illo " (Op. cit. c. causa bonae voluntatis, etsi in ef-
14). fectu non causet; operans vero
14Loc. cit. a. i. efficit bonam voluntatem. Unde
is ibid. gratia praeveniens et operans di-
16 He explains the terms as fol- cuntur causa bonae voluntatis, sed
lows : " Eadem est gratia operans praeveniens dicit causam secundum
et praeveniens, sed differenter ; habitum, operans vero dicit causam
quia utraque comparatur respectu secundum actum" (Ibid. m. 3, a. 2).
liberi arbitrii ut causa movens ip- l7 Ibid, m. 2, a. I.
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 239
be love. . . . Since therefore the Holy Spirit is love, . . .
hence it is that when He is given to us, He transforms us into
a special divine likeness, so that our soul itself is made like
unto God. But besides this increate grace, we must also hold
that there is a created grace, which is a certain divine likeness
and supernatural disposition on the part of the rational soul,
and by reason of this the soul is pleasing to God and is made
like unto Him. Hence there is in the soul a transforming
form, and this is increate grace; and there is in like manner
also a transformed form, which remains permanently in the
soul as the effect of the aforesaid transformation, and this is
created grace." 18
The question whether sanctifying grace, as distinct from the
Holy Spirit, is an accident or a substance, he answers with a
distinction : " It is to be held that created grace has a twofold
relation to the soul : First as regards the essence of the soul,
or its nature; secondly, as regards the perfection of the soul in
the supernatural order. In its first relation, I say that grace
is an accident ; because it is superadded to the soul when already
complete in its essential perfection. In its second relation,
grace is a substantial disposition ; nevertheless it is not a sub
stance." 19 Hence sanctifying grace is a supernatural quality,
which permanently inheres in the soul and is the foundation
of all other divine gifts. It is in this sense that the author
favors the opinion of those who hold that the relation of
sanctifying grace to the infused virtues is the same as that of
the soul to its faculties.20
St. Bonaventure does little more than reproduce the teaching
of Alexander, and hence there is no need of examining his
18 Ibid. m. 2, a. 2. lutem propriam, vel aedificationem
19 Ibid. m. 2, a. 3. alterius. ... Ad differentiam gra-
20 Ibid. m. 2, a. 4. Besides the tiae gratum facientis, quae non est
citations in the text, the following sicut dispositio ad salutem, quasi
may also be noted : " Gratia du- distans, sed est dispositio salutis,
plex est, scil. gratum faciens et quia habens illam dignus est salute
gratis data, et haec non est gratum aeterna; immo gratia gratum fa-
faciens, sed tamen disponens. . . . ciens est ipsa salus, ad quam dis-
Gratia gratis data proprie dicitur ponit gratia gratis data" (Loc. cit.
donum infusum rationali naturae m. 6, a. 3 ad im; ibid. q. 63, m. 2, 3).
sine meritis, . . . disponens ad sa-
240 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
views in detail. He gives the same division of grace into
gratia gratum faciens et gratis data, and uses the latter term
to designate all divine gifts distinct from sanctifying grace.
He refutes Peter Lombard who denied that sanctifying grace
must be considered as a permanent created gift, really distinct
from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The opinion of those,
he says, who maintain that sanctifying grace is a created gift,
a permanent supernatural accident of the soul, is safer and
more reasonable. It is safer, because it is commonly held in
the schools — Doctores enim Parisienses communiter hoc sen-
tiunt et senserunt ab antiquis diebus. It is more reasonable,
because it is unintelligible how supernatural effects, such as we
observe in the just, should be produced by the soul without an
inherent supernatural form.21
Sanctifying grace purifies the soul, elevates it to the super
natural state, makes it like unto God, and is the principle of all
supernatural merit.22 It is not merely a superficial ornament
of the soul, but penetrates its very being and faculties, vivify
ing all the infused virtues, and making their actions meritorious
for heaven. In regard to this last effect he compares sancti
fying grace to material light, which brings out all the beautiful
colors inherent in the objects of sense.23
Unlike Alexander, who considered the increase of sanctify
ing grace to consist in an intensification of its power and in the
conferring of a more perfect likeness to God,24 St. Bonaventure
explains it by an addition of new degrees, which result in a
quantitative augmentation of sanctifying grace. Moreover
the increase of grace is not merited de condigno, nor de con-
gruo, but by a sort of intermediate merit.25 This last kind
of merit was not generally admitted in the schools.
Albertus Magnus gives substantially the same exposition as
21 In Sent. II, d. 26, a. tmic. q. 2. ciente informis est sicut color sine
22 Breviloq. V, 3, 4. lumine ; sed ea adveniente, ex qua
23 His own words are : " Quern- tota anima in se et in suis potentiis
admodum enim color qualitas est decoratur, formari et vivificari di-
corporis terminati, quae a praesen- cuntur virtutum actus et effici Deo
tia luminis influxi venustatur et accepti " (In Sent. II, d. 27, a. i, q.
completur, ut possit moyere visum, 2; cfr. ibid. d. 26, q. 2).
sic virtus, quae est habilitatio po- 24 Sum. q. 69, m. 2.
tentiae, absque gratia gratum fa- 25 In Sent. II, d. 27, a. 2, q. 2.
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 241
Alexander and St. Bonaventure. In regard to sanctifying
grace he points out that its relation to the infused virtues re
sembles that which exists between the soul and its faculties,
and that therefore it has only a mediate influence upon salu
tary acts. " It is evident," he says, " that sanctifying grace is
primarily not a perfection of the potencies, but of the essence
of the soul, and through this only does it exercise its influence
upon these same potencies." 2Q
St. Thomas, in keeping with his customary mode of pro
cedure, draws largely on the known facts of nature, when he
comes to consider the various questions connected with the sub
ject of grace. In the order of nature God is the first cause : as
creator, He produces all secondary causes; as preserver, He
sustains them in being ; as ruler, He directs them to their proper
end. He concurs with all their activities in such a way, that
the effects depend on Him as well as on these secondary causes
themselves. And the same is also true in the supernatural
order. Grace is the result of His goodness and mercy; He
infuses it into the soul or its faculties, and through it He
moves man to the practice of virtue and the final attainment of
Life eternal.
The activity of grace is exercised in a two-fold manner.
First, it serves as a remedy against the moral weakness caused
by sin, and in so far it is of a medicinal nature. Secondly, it
confers a mode of action that lies beyond the reach of man's
natural powers in any state, and as such it is a principle of
supernatural merit. Taken in the first sense, grace belongs
properly to the state of fallen nature; in the second, it is a
necessary complement of the powers of every rational creature
destined for a supernatural end.27
In his classification of grace, St. Thomas uses the same
terms as Alexander of Hales, St. Bonaventure, and Albertus
Magnus; but he attaches to them a different sense. Thus by
the term gratia gratum faciens he designates all supernatural
helps and gifts conferred for the recipient's own sanctification,
comprising both habitual and actual graces. On the other
26 In Sent. II, d. 27, a. i, q. I ; Sum. II, tr. 16, q. 101.
27 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 109, a. 2.'
242 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
hand, the term gratia gratis data he restricts to such gratuitous
gifts or charismata as are intended for the good of others
rather than for that of the recipient. He puts his division in
these terms : " According to this, there are two kinds of
grace: one, namely, through which the recipient himself is
united to God, and this is called a grace that makes one pleasing
to the Giver — gratia gratum faciens; another, again, through
which one person assists others, for the purpose of leading
them back to God; and a gift of this kind is termed a grace
gratuitously bestowed — gratia gratis data." 28 In another
sense, however, both kinds of grace are gratuitous gifts, ex
cluding not only all natural merit, but also rising above the
exigencies of human nature.29
Again, the gratia gratum faciens is also of two kinds : habit
ual and actual. " For the right ordering of his life," he says,
" man needs a two-fold help of God : one by way of a perma
nent gift, through which corrupted human nature is healed, and
when healed is elevated, for the purpose of performing ac
tions that are meritorious of life eternal, and -that exceed the
powers of unaided nature. In another way man needs the
help of grace in order that he may be moved by God to per
form actions that are necessary for the attainment of salva
tion." 30 This latter help is called actual grace.
Actual grace is a movement of the faculties produced by
God; habitual grace is a supernatural quality infused into the
soul. He describes both in these terms : " It was said above
that man is gratuitously assisted by God in two ways: one
way, in as much as man's soul is moved by God to know some
thing, or to will, or to act; and when assisted in this way, the
gratuitous effect produced in man is not a quality, but a cer
tain movement of the soul; for the act of him that moves is
movement in hini who is moved. In another way, man is as
sisted by the gratuitous will of God in the sense that a perma
nent gift is infused by God into his soul. And this gift is in
fused into the soul because it would be unbecoming that God
should be less generous to creatures destined for a supernatural
28 Ibid. q. in, a. i. 3°Ibid. a. g.
29 Ibid. a. i ad 2m.
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 243
end than to those destined merely for a natural end. For to
these latter He not only imparts the requisite movements in
respect of their natural actions, but He also endows them with
permanent forms, and certain powers, which are so many prin
ciples of action in accordance with the movements which He
imparts. In this way the movements produced in them by God
are connatural to these creatures, and render easy the exer
cise of their powers, according to the saying of Wisdom : * He
disposed all things sweetly.' With far greater reason, there
fore, does He infuse certain forms, or supernatural qualities,
into those creatures that He directs towards the attainment of
a supernatural and eternal good, so that in accordance with
them they may be moved by Him to the acquisition of the
aforesaid eternal good both sweetly and promptly. And in
this sense, grace is a certain quality." 31
This quality, in which habitual grace consists, is distinct
from the infused virtues. And the reason is that the infused
virtues presuppose a permanent elevation of the soul to the
supernatural order, just as the acquired virtues presuppose the
soul's essence. Hence sanctifying grace is related to the in
fused virtues very much the same way as nature is related to
its potencies.32
As a logical consequence, sanctifying grace has for its im
mediate subject of inhesion, not the faculties, as is the case
with infused virtues, but the substance of the soul itself. " It
follows therefore," he argues, " that as habitual grace is prior
to the virtues, it has for its subject something that is prior to
the potencies of the soul ; and this is the soul's substance. For
just as man by reason of his intellectual faculty participates in
divine cognition through the virtue of faith, and by reason
of his volitional faculty participates in divine love through
the virtue of charity; so does he by reason of the substance
of his soul participate according to a certain similitude in the
31 Ibid. q. no, a. 2. ita etiam ipsum lumen gratiae, quod
32 He sums up his argument in est participatio divinae naturae, est
these terms : " Sicut igitur lumen aliquid praeter virtntes infusas,
naturale rationis est aliquid praeter quae a lumine illo derivantur, et ad
virtutes acquisitas, quae dicuntur in illud lumen ordinantur " (Ibid. a.
ordine ad ipsum lumen naturale; 3).
244 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
divine nature through a spiritual regeneration and supernatural
elevation." 33
Both actual and habitual grace are divided into operating
and cooperating grace. He explains the division in this way :-
" Considered in either sense, grace is properly divided into
operating and cooperating grace. For the operating or pro
ducing of an effect is not attributed to the thing moved but to
the mover thereof; hence in the production of that effect in
respect of which our mind is moved and not moving, but God
alone is moving, the operation is attributed to God ; and in this
sense the movement is termed operating grace : but in the pro
duction of that effect in regard to which our mind is both mov
ing and moved, the operation is attributed not only to God, but
also to the soul; and in this sense the movement is called co
operating grace." 34 However, habitual grace does not act
effectively, but formally: " just as whiteness is said to make
the surface of a body white." 35 Operating and cooperating
graces are entitatively the same, but they are distinguished in
their relation to the effect produced.36
As operating or preventing grace stands exclusively for the
operation of God in the soul, it is obvious that in relation to
this grace there can be no question of freely accepting or re
jecting it. Precisely because it is preventing or prevenient
grace, hence it comes to us without our own deliberate concur
rence — est in nobis sine nobis. But the question is, how does
it affect the will? Does it leave the will free to make it co
operative, so that the efficacy of connection, as it is called,
comes from the free will prepared by grace? Or does it con
tain that same efficacy in itself, so that in its presence the will is
not free to withhold its cooperation? How does St. Thomas
answer this very fundamental question?
In one sense it may be said that he did not answer it at all,
in as much as he never proposed the question in that particular
form. But in another sense he answered it very fully, in so
far, namely, as he laid down principles from which it neces
sarily follows that in his view the efficacy of connection comes
a. 4. 35 Ibid. a. 2 ad im.
34 Ibid q. in, a. 2. 3e Ibid. a. 2 ad 4m.
ACTUAL AND SANCTIFYING GRACE 245
from man's free will. Thus, for instance, he says that God
" acts upon man's free will in such a way as to impart to it
the power of acting, and to bring it about that the will acts to
gether with Him; without, however, interfering with the free
determination of the will in respect of the action to be per
formed and the end to be attained. Hence the will retains the
dominion over its own action." 37 And again : " Man's will
would not be free unless it belonged to him to determine the
course of his own actions, and to choose by his own proper
judgment either the one or the other." 38 Statements of this
kind are met with over and over again in the writings of St.
Thomas, and there-fore the only possible inference is that he
held the efficacy of connection to come from man's free will
and not from grace. Nor is this inference at all weakened by
the fact that in many other texts he ascribes the consent of the
will to the action of grace ; for they need mean no more than
that grace prepares the will to give its free consent when it
still may withhold the same. Hence the contention of later
Thomists, that the Angelic Doctor taught anything like their
praemotio physica, is absolutely without foundation in fact.
Duns Scotus proposes practically the same doctrine as re
gards actual grace, and is quite definite in asserting the freedom
of the human will as moved by God. That freedom is not
merely a matter of terms, but it implies the power of freely
choosing either the one or the other of two opposite actions at
the very instant when the choice is made.39 Grace and free
will act together in producing the same effect, and that effect
may be impeded by the withdrawal of either of the two
causes.40 Hence the efficacy of connection is derived imme
diately from the free will, and mediately from grace; in as
much, that is, as grace prepares the will to give its free con
sent.41
On the other hand, the teaching of Scotus on sanctifying
grace is, to say the least, peculiar. In the first place, he identi
fies sanctifying grace with the theological virtue of charity.
" In Sent. II, d. 25, q. i, a. I ad 39 Ibid. I, d. 39, n. 16.
3m 40 ibid. II, d. 37, n. 14.
ss Ibid. d. 28, q. i, a. I. 41 Ibid.
246 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
" The Holy Ghost," he says, " does not move the will to the
meritorious love of God by a habit distinct from charity, nor
does He by a habit distinct from charity dwell in the soul ; and
this habit is grace, and grace itself is charity." 42 Thus sanc
tifying grace and charity are essentially the same; nevertheless
as referred to God they are distinct, but only distinctions
formali.43
Next he holds that sanctifying grace has for its immediate
subject of inhesion, not the substance of the soul, but the will;
for the will is the immediate subject of charity, and charity is
the same as grace. Furthermore, although the will through
charity participates in divine love, and the intellect through
faith participates in divine knowledge; yet the soul through
sanctifying grace is not made a partaker of the divine nature.
The reason he assigns for this is twofold : First, because the
divine nature so far transcends all created beings that it can
not be represented in them by a proper image of itself, such as
participation implies ; secondly, this participation would neces
sitate the inhesion of sanctifying grace in the substance of
the soul ; and this is against the well known fact that the loss
of grace manifests itself first in the loss of love, which is in
the will.44
In this reasoning the author obviously loses sight of two
facts pointed out by St. Thomas: First, that the participa
tion of the divine nature through sanctifying grace is only
analogous, consisting as it does in a certain accidental likeness
to God; secondly, that the infused virtues do not flow physi
cally from sanctifying grace, and consequently there is no
necessary connection between the loss of grace and of the
virtues. Charity is indeed lost together with grace, but that
is because of its essential opposition to every mortal sin.
B — JUSTIFICATION AND MERIT
According to the common teaching of the Scholastics, jus
tification is effected through the infusion of sanctifying grace
42 In Sent. II, d. 27, n. 35. 44 Ibid. d. 26, n. i.
« Ibid.
JUSTIFICATION AND MERIT 247
into the soul by God. In its final term it is an instantaneous
change, which offers four distinct points for consideration.
Alexander of Hales describes it in the following manner :
"In justification there are two terms: the term whence and
the term whither — a malo ad bonum. Hence on the part of
God there is something required in regard to the term whence,
and also in regard to the term whither : in like manner there is
something required on our part in regard to each. . . . Now
on the part of God there is required, in respect of the term
whither, the infusion of sanctifying grace ; and in respect of the
term whence, the forgiveness of sin. On our part, in refer
ence to the term whither, is required the turning of our free
will to God through faith ; and in reference to the term whence,
contrition or the detestation of sin." 45
This exposition, as is obvious, presupposes that the person
to be justified has attained to the use of reason; for in infants
justification is entirely the work of God, and as such comprises
only the infusion of grace and the remission of original sin.
The matter is treated in the same way by St. Bonaventure,46
and also by St. Thomas.47 In fact, as regards the four points
themselves, enumerated by Alexander, there is no difference
of opinion among the Scholastics. All admit that without true
conversion of heart on the part of man, and the infusion of
grace together with forgiveness of sin on the part of God, there
can be no justification of the adult sinner. A mere imputa
tion of the justice of Christ, such as was excogitated by the six
teenth-century Reformers, is never referred to by them as
even thinkable. But there is not the same agreement among
them when the above-mentioned four points are considered in
their relation to one another. In the order of time they are
simultaneous, but in the order of nature priority of one to
the others must be admitted. Which of them has the prece
dence? It is on this that opinions differ. A few words must
suffice to indicate the nature of the contention.
St. Thomas answers the question of priority in this way:
" It is to be held that the aforesaid four points, which are re-
45 Sum. IV, q. 17, m. 4, a. 6 ad 4m. 47 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 113, a. 6.
46 In Sent. IV, d. 17, p. i, a. 2, q. I.
248 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
quired for the justification of the sinner, are indeed simultan
eous in time — because justification is not successive ; but in the
order of nature one comes before the other. And in this
order, first of all occurs the infusion of grace; next comes the
turning of the free will to God ; then the free will turns against
sin ; and in the fourth place is granted the remission of guilt." 48
This order, he argues, must be observed because in the matter
of justification God takes the initiative, and He acts through
the infusion of grace. It must be noted, however, that in this
explanation he considers justification under its formal aspect.
Hence in another place he says that the ultimate disposition re
quired for justification, or the act of contrition, proceeds from
sanctifying grace then and there infused into the soul; quia
secundum ordinem causae formalis, efficients et finalis infusio
gratiae natura prior est. On the other hand, if justification be
considered with reference to the material cause — secundum
ordinem causae materialis — the forgiveness of sin precedes
the infusion of grace, and is in its turn preceded by the turning
of the will to God and away from sin ; because this is required
by way of disposition on the part of the soul, which is related
to grace as matter to its form.49 Hence, in the view of St.
Thomas, sanctifying grace is the formal reason of the expul
sion of sin from the soul.
Alexander of Hales and St. Bonaventure conceive the mat
ter somewhat differently. According to them, the production
of grace in the soul is indeed prior to the expulsion of sin; but
the expulsion of sin, in its turn, is prior to the information and
sanctification of the soul by grace. In a similar manner, the
act of contrition on the part of the subject precedes the infusion
of grace and the expulsion of sin, but only as attrition ; the mo
ment that grace is infused, it becomes contrition in the strict
sense of the term, and then sin is expelled by grace.50 Hence
in their view also, sanctifying grace expels sin formally from
the soul. The whole process of justification is beautifully de
scribed by St. Bonaventure in his Breviloquium.^
48Tbid. q. 113, a. 8. 50 Loc. cit.
49 In Sent. IV, d. 17, q. I, a. 4; 51 Op. cit. V, 3.
De Verit. q. 28, a. 8.
JUSTIFICATION AND MERIT 249
Duns Scotus regards justification in an altogether different
light. He conceives it to consist in two divine operations :
the forgiveness of sin and the interior renovation of the soul
through sanctifying grace. The two are simultaneous in time,
but in the order of nature the forgiveness of sin precedes the
infusion of grace.52 Hence grace does not expel sin formally
from the soul, but only by way of moral exigency, in as much
as its presence in the will is a cogent reason why God should
forgive sin. It is, therefore, absolutely possible that mortal sin
and sanctifying grace should be in the soul at one and the same
time.53 Conversely, of course, mortal sin does not formally
expel sanctifying grace, but only by way of demerit.54 This
peculiar view of Scotus on justification is based upon an equally
peculiar view on the nature of habitual sin, that is, of sin as it
exists in the soul after the sinful act has ceased. Such a sin,
according to him, does not consist in the privation of sanctify
ing grace, nor in anything positive in the soul ; but simply in a
liability to punishment — nihil aliud nisi ista relatio rationis,
scilicet ordinatio ad poenam.55
Closely connected with the question of justification is that
of merit. For, in the first place, although justification in its
ultimate term is an instantaneous operation, nevertheless the
whole process consists of many acts of the will elicited under
the influence of actual grace; and in regard to these acts the
question immediately arises whether they have any meritorious
value. In the next place, justification is not intended for its
own sake, but is meant as a preparation for the attainment
of eternal life; hence the same question of merit recurs in re
gard to actions performed after justification. Hence the fol
lowing few points in the teaching of the Scholastics on the
subject of merit may be added to what has been said on the
question of justification and grace. "
The first point that deserves consideration in this connec
tion is the possibility of merit. For merit, as St. Thomas
52 In Sent. I, d. 17, q. 2 ; Report. Mastrins, Scotus Academicus, IX,
IV, d. 16, q. 2, n. 23. tr. 3, d. 3, q. 2, 3.
53 Report. IV, d. 16, q. 2; cfr. 5* In Sent. IV, d. I, q. 6.
55 Ibid. d. 16, q. 2.
250 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
observes, is in the order of justice; and as God cannot be under
obligation of justice in regard to His own creatures, it would
seem that merit on the part of man is impossible. He solves
the difficulty by distinguishing between justice according to
absolute equality and justice according to a certain proportion.
The former can indeed have no place between man and God,
but the latter may; in so far, namely, as man does what in
him lies to comply with the demands of God in using the
powers given him for the attainment of a certain end. Hence,
in this connection, merit presupposes a divine ordination in
virtue of which certain actions are entitled by way of reward
to an equivalent of their moral value in the eyes of God.56
In regard to the conditions put down for merit, presupposing
the divine ordination just mentioned, there is no disagreement.
All postulate the status viae, freedom of choice, and the as
sistance of divine grace. Thus St. Thomas, after pointing
out the necessity of grace, says very briefly: Quia creatura
rationales seipsam movet ad agendum per liberum arbitrium;
unde sita actio habet rationem meriti.51 And Scotus defines
meritorious actions in these terms : Actus potentiae liberae et
secundum inclinationem gratiae elicitus, acceptus a Deo ut
praemiabilis beatitudine.58 Furthermore, when there is an
equality of proportion between the meritorious action and the
reward, merit is said to be condign — de condigno; when that
equality is wanting, but still there is a certain fitness that the
action should receive some remuneration, merit is termed con
gruous — de congruo. Both kinds of merit are admitted by
the Scholastics.
The object of merit varies with the conditions of the person
who performs the meritorious action. In the first place, if
he is in the state of mortal sin, he is incapable of meriting de
condigno; because no one is entitled to a reward who is not
united to God through sanctifying grace.59 Secondly, if he
is in the state of grace, he can merit de condigno both an in
crease of sanctifying grace and life eternal. In regard to the
56 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 114, a. I. 59 Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. I.
57 Ibid. II, q. 114, a. 5.
58 In Sent. I, d. 17, q. 3, n. 25.
JUSTIFICATION AND MERIT 251
second point, namely, that life eternal can be merited de con-
digno, there never was any difference of opinion among the
Scholastics; they all admitted that heaven was promised not
only as an inheritance but also as a reward. On the other
hand, with regard to the increase of sanctifying grace opinions
were divided. Thus, for instance, St. Bonaventure contends
that although such an increase may be merited, still the merit
in question can only be de congruo. And the reason is that
there is a want of proportion between the lower degree of
grace, which is the foundation of merit, and the higher degree
which is conferred as a reward. But at the same time it is
fitting that the good works of the just should be rewarded by
an increase of grace, and hence there is room for merit de
congruo™
St. Thomas solves this difficulty by distinguishing between
the quantity of grace and its power of meriting. " The in
crease of grace," he argues, " is not above the meriting power
of the grace already existing in the soul, although it exceeds
that same grace in quantity. And this may be illustrated by
an example taken from the growth of a tree ; for although the
tree exceeds the seed in quantity, nevertheless it was evidently
not beyond the power of the seed to produce it." 61 And in
keeping with this solution he makes the general statement,
that the object of merit comprises everything for which grace
is given ; and grace is given not only for the actual attainment
of eternal life, but also for the growth in sanctity as implied
in a proper preparation for that life. And in this sense the
increase of sanctifying grace falls under merit de condigno?2
The object of merit in a wider sense of the term, or of merit
de congruo, may comprise even the spiritual good of others.
Thus a just man by his prayers and good works may merit the
conversion of sinners, or an increase of perfection for those
who are already in the state of grace. Of course, what is
merited in this case is not sanctifying grace itself, but the
bestowal of actual graces that lead to the end intended.
60 In Sent. II, d. 27, a. 2, q. 2. 62 Ibid. a. 8.
61 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 114, a. 8
ad 2m.
252 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
Hence, although no one can merit the first grace for himself,
he may merit it for others. St. Thomas argues the point in
this way : " Because a just man fulfills the will of God, hence
it is fitting that God also, in consideration of their mutual
friendship, should have regard to his will in reference to the
conversion of others." 63
The chief points contained in the present chapter, especially
those referring to actual grace and justification, were incorpo
rated by the Council of Trent in its dogmatic decree on the
justification of sinners.64 Further particulars regarding the
definition of the points in question will be given in another
chapter.
ea Ibid. a. 6. 64 Cf r. DB. 793 sqq.
CHAPTER XIV
INFUSED VIRTUES: THEOLOGICAL AND CARDINAL
Most of the Scholastics treat the subject of infused virtues
in connection with Christology. Peter Lombard introduces
it in these terms : " As we have shown above that Christ was
full of grace, it will not be out of place here to inquire whether,
besides charity, He had also faith and hope. For if He was
without these, it seems that He did not have the plenitude of
grace. Now, in order to make this matter clear, we must con
sider each of these two virtues by itself." l Then he gives
a brief dissertation on faith and hope, and points out in what
sense they were found in Christ. After this he presents an
outline of his views on the four cardinal virtues, justice, forti
tude, prudence, and temperance,2 to which he adds a some
what fuller exposition of the seven gifts of the Holy
Ghost.3
This arrangement and disposition of the subject-matter was
retained by his commentators, but they expanded his brief
statements into numerous and lengthy articles. However, in
so doing they did not indulge in profitless speculations ; on the
contrary, they contributed very much to the development of a
doctrine which had only been touched upon in a general way
by Patristic writers. The following points may be put down
as constituting the more important results of their laborious
investigations.
i. Nature of Infused Virtues. — Alexander of Hales terms
the infused virtues gratiae gratis datae, to distinguish them
from the gratia gratum faciens or sanctifying grace;4
while Peter Lombard and most of his commentators speak of
them as gratuitous habits — habitus gratuiti. They agree
1 Sent. Ill, d. 23, n. I. 3 Ibid. d. 34.
2 Ibid. d. 33. 4 Sum. Ill, q. 63.
253
254 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
with acquired habits in this, that they are permanent disposi
tions of their proper subject in the order of operation. But
they are distinguished from them in their origin, in their
sphere of activity, and in their relation to the end for the
attainment of which they are intended. Acquired habits are
the result of a repeated and systematic exercise of man's
natural faculties; of themselves they operate exclusively in
the natural order, and tend towards the more ready attain
ment of a natural end. As a consequence, they may be either
good or bad, according as they incline the will to what is
morally good or morally evil. Infused habits, on the other
hand, are a free gift of God, and as such they are produced
in their subject without any operation on its part; their pur
pose is not to facilitate but to make possible the connatural
production of supernatural acts, and their tendency is always
towards a supernatural end. Hence they are necessarily good,
and have no part in the doing of evil.5 It is because of
this that they are called virtues ; because a virtue is defined as
" a habit that perfects a human potency in respect of good
acts." 6
As these gratuitous habits have thus an essential relation to
activity, their proper subject is not the substance of the soul,
but the faculties through which the soul exerts its own activity
as a rational being.7 Hence they reside in the intellect and
will, and are ad modum potentiae. St. Thomas, however,
holds that they may also reside in the sensitive potencies
" sed secundum quod sunt rationales per participationem, ut
obedientes rationi.8 Scotus says that they immediately per
fect the soul.9
Although the infused habits, or virtues, are really distinct
from one another, yet they are all connected among them
selves, and with sanctifying grace. On this general statement
all Scholastics are agreed, but they are at variance in regard
5 Cf r. Thomas, In Sent. Ill, d. Thomas, loc. cit. q. 2, a. 3 ; Albert.
23, q. i, a. 1-5; Bonavent ibid. a. Magn. In Sent. Ill, q. 23, a. 6;
i ; Halens. Sum. Ill, q. 68, m. 3. Bonavent. Ibid. a. I, q. 2.
6 Thomas, In Sent. Ill, d. 23, q. i, 8 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 50, a. 3.
a. 4. 9 In Sent. Ill, d. 34, n. 6.
7 Halens. loc. cit. m. 3, 8;
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 255
to some particular aspects of the point in question. The
Lombard and a few others seem to hold that grace and the in
fused virtues are essentially the same, but their position in
reference to this matter is not very clear.10 St. Bonaventure
expresses his view in these terms : " Because of its perfec
tion, by reason of its dignity and eminence, grace confers on
man all the habits that constitute the integrity of justice in
relation to the various acts and objects, conditions and oppor
tunities, which are found in statu viae!' u However this
" conferring " does not imply efficient causality on the part
of grace; it denotes only a certain concomitant exigency, in
view of which God produces the virtues in the soul.12 In
this sense they have their origin in grace, and in so far grace
may be regarded as their source.13 They have each their own
proper form which bears a relation to specifically different acts,
and hence they are essentially and formally distinct.14
St. Thomas teaches practically the same. " Just as the po
tencies," he says, " which are certain principles of action, flow
from the essence of the soul ; so also do the virtues flow from
grace into the potencies of the soul, which are thereby moved
to their own proper acts." 15 And again : " Grace is reduced
to the first species of qualities; however it is not the same as
virtue, but is by way of habitude, which is presupposed to
the infused virtues as their principle and root." 16
Alexander of Hales develops these points at considerable
length, while the others touch, upon them more or less inci
dentally. He points out the distinction between sanctifying
grace and the infused virtues; their relation to one another
and to salutary acts; their connection with the gifts of the
Holy Spirit, and their distinction from the same. On all
these questions his teaching is essentially the same as that set
forth in the preceding paragraphs.17
2. Division of Infused Virtues. — Infused virtues, writes
10 Sent d. 26, n. 4. 16 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. no, a. 4
11 In Sent. Ill, d. 34, p. I, a. 2, ad im.
q. 3. 16 Ibid. a. 3 ad 3m.
12 Ibid. II, d. 27, a. I, q. 2 ad lm. 17 Sum. Ill, q. 62-64.
13 Ibid. Ill, d. 34, p. i, a. I, q. 2.
14 Ibid. d. 33, a. unic. q. 2.
256 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Alexander of Hales, are classed according as they are in finem
or ad finem. To the former class belong the three theological
virtues of faith, hope, and charity; to the latter, the four
cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, fortitude, and temper
ance.18 This is the same division as that given by the Lom
bard, and was adopted by most of the Schoolmen. By some,
however, it was rejected as unduly multiplying the number of
infused virtues. Thus Scotus denies that any solid reason
can be assigned for holding that moral virtues are infused by
God; because the acquired virtues under the influence of
faith and charity are quite sufficient to regulate man's moral
conduct.19 The same position was taken by Henry of Ghent,20
Durandus,21 and most of the Nominalists.
The necessity and nature of the theological virtues is thus
indicated by St. Thomas : " Man is perfected by virtue in
respect of the acts that place him in due relation to beatitude.
. . . Now man's beatitude or happiness is twofold : One
that is in proportion to human nature, and to which man can
attain by the proper use of his natural principles of action;
another that exceeds man's nature, and which he can reach
only through divine power by way of a certain participation
of the divinity. . . . And because this beatitude exceeds the
capacity of human nature, hence man's natural principles of
action . . . are not sufficient to place him in due relation to
it; and therefore it is necessary that other principles be di
vinely bestowed on him, by which he is so disposed in respect
of supernatural beatitude, as he is disposed by natural prin
ciples of action in regard to his connatural end, though not
without the assistance of divine grace. Now these principles
are called theological virtues ; both because they have God for
their object, in as much as by them we are placed in the proper
relation to God; and because they are infused into us by God
alone; and also because their existence is known to us only
by divine revelation as contained in Holy Scripture." 22
These theological virtues are really distinct from intellec
ts Ibid. q. 68. 21 In Sent. Ill, d. 33, q. 6.
i» In Sent. Ill, d. 36, n. 28. 22 Sum. Theol. I. II, 62, a. I.
20Quodl. 6, q. 12.
THE IN-FUSED VIRTUES 257
tual and moral virtues. Because " habits are distinguished
according to the formal difference of their objects ; but the
object of the theological virtues is God Himself, the ultimate
end of things, in so far as He exceeds the cognition of our
reason; while the object of intellectual and moral virtues is
something that can be comprehended by human reason : there
fore the theological virtues are specifically distinct from in
tellectual and moral virtues." 23
There are only three theological virtues — faith, hope, and
charity. This follows from their very nature, since they are
in us as so many permanent dispositions towards God as our
last end. For in every one who strives to attain an end, two
prerequisites must be found before he can act — knowledge
of the end and an intention of attaining the end. But in order
to have such an intention, two further prerequisites are neces
sary : First, the possibility of attaining the end, for no one
is moved to strive for what is impossible ; secondly, the good
ness of the end, because no one intends except what is good.
Therefore faith is required in order to make the end known;
hope is necessary to give confidence of attaining the end;
charity is needed to incline the agent to the end as his own
good. And besides these nothing else is requisite by way of
placing man in a proper relation to the attainment of his last
end, which is God.24
However, as these theological virtues have God for their
object, there must be other infused virtues whose object con
sists in the things that lead us to God; and these are the in
fused moral virtues. They bear the same relation to the theo
logical virtues as the acquired intellectual and moral virtues
bear to our natural principles of action.23 They are in the
same general order of operation as the acquired moral virtues,
but they are specifically distinct from them ; because their for
mal object is different, in as much as they regulate man's
activity according to the supernatural norm of rectitude.26
3. The Virtue of Faith. — Faith, says St. Bonaventure, is
not only a virtue, but it is the pilot or helmsman of all virtues;
23 Ibid. a. 2. 25 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 63, a. 3.
24 In Sent. Ill, d. 33, q. I, a. 5. 26 Ibid. a. 4.
258 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
because without faith there is no knowledge of God as our
supernatural end, and without such knowledge no infused vir
tue could exert its activity along its own proper line of opera
tion.27 It is a virtue that captivates the intellect in the obedi
ence of Christ and clings to the First Truth on account of
Itself and above all things.28 In regard to it, authority takes
the place of reason; not any authority whatever, but the Su
preme Authority, God Himself, who is infallible in His testi
mony to the truth.29
Most of the Scholastics evolve the definition of faith given
by St. Paul — Now faith is the substance of things to be hoped
for, the evidence of things that appear not.30 " This designa
tion of faith," writes St. Thomas, " is a most complete defini
tion; not that it is put in the accustomed form of a definition,
but in it all those things are touched upon which are required
for a definition of faith." 31 Here we have the material ob
ject of faith in the things that appear not; the act of faith in
the evidence of the same things; and the end of faith in the
substance of things to be hoped for.32 Or as St. Bonaventure
puts it: " The habit of a virtue must be designated with re
spect to two things — its end and its object. The end of faith
consists in eternal beatitude, which we hope to attain, and
therefore in the things to be hoped for; the object of faith con
sists in the truth that is not seen, and therefore in the things
that appear not" 33
In connection with this definition of faith given by the
Apostle, St. Thomas defines the virtue of faith as a " habit
of the mind, by reason of which eternal life has its inception
in us, in as much as it causes the intellect to give its assent to
things that are not seen." 34 In substance this definition is
admitted by the other representative Scholastics, although they
use somewhat different terms. In the first place, they are all
agreed that faith, whether it is considered in one and the same
individual or in several, is specifically one virtue; because a
27 In Sent. Ill, d. 23, a. I, q. I. 31 De Verit. q. 14, a. 2.
28 Ibid. 32 Ibid.
29 Ibid, ad 3m. 33 In Sent. Ill, d. 23, a. I, q. 5.
3°Hebr. 11, i. 3*Loc. cit.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 259
virtue is specified by its principal act, and the principal act in
its turn is specified by its proper object, and the proper object
of faith is one — the First Truth.35 Furthermore, all are at
one in assigning the intellect as the subject of the virtue of
faith ; but there is some difference of opinion among them as
to whether faith is properly in the speculative or practical in
tellect. The latter view is taken by Albertus Magnus,36
Richard of Middleton,37 and a few others. St. Thomas holds
that the virtue of faith " is in the speculative intellect, although
it is there as the remote occasion of operation ; hence opera
tion is not attributed to it except as under the influence of
charity. However it must be noted that it is not in the specu
lative intellect absolutely, but in so far as the latter is subject
to the dictate of the will." 38 The matter is viewed in prac
tically the same light by St. Bonaventure ;39 while Alexander
of Hales holds that if faith be considered materially it must
be said to be in the speculative intellect, but if taken formally
it is in the practical intellect.40
The object of faith is twofold — material and formal.
The former consists in the truths that must be believed; the
latter, in the reason upon which this belief is made to rest.
The Scholastic teaching on both points may be given in a few
words.
In the first place, all admit that the material object of faith
comprises in a general way all the truths revealed by God, in
the sense that belief in them can be made to rest upon the
infallible authority of God's word.41 In so far there is full
agreement of views; but this agreement ceases when the ques
tion is asked, whether truths that are clearly apprehended by
man's natural reason may at the same time be an object of
faith. On this there are the following two sets of opinions.
35 Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 23, 39 In Sent. Ill, d. 23, a. i, q. i.
a. i, q. 3; Albert. Magn. ibid. a. 12; 40 Sum. Ill, q. 68, m. 3.
Middleton, ibid. a. 4, q. 3 ; Halens. 41 Halens. loc. cit. m. 7, a. 6 ;
Sum. Ill, q. 68, m. 4. Bonavent. loc. cit. q. 2; Thomas,
36 Loc. cit. a. 6. Sum. Theol. Ill, q. i, a. i; Scotus,
37 Loc. cit. a. 6, q. 2. In Sent. Ill, d. 23, n. 6.
88 De Verit. q. 14, a. 4; In Sent.
Ill, d. 23, q. 2, a. 3.
26o MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
The question is answered negatively by St. Thomas, who
expresses his view in these terms : " A thing may be credible
in two ways : First, simply, in the sense that it exceeds the
capacity of all men whilst they are in statu mac — such as the
truth of the Trinity, and others of the same kind. Concern
ing these it is impossible that any man should have natural
knowledge; hence, everyone of the faithful gives his assent
to them because of the testimony of God, to whom they are
ever present and known. Secondly, a thing may be credible
not simply, but only in respect of some particular person;
for the' reason that it does not exceed the capacity of all men,
but of some only ; such as the truths that can be known by
demonstration. Of this kind are the truths that God is one
and incorporeal, and others of the same nature. In regard
to them there is no reason why they should not be known to
some by way of demonstration, and believed by others who
for one reason or another do not perceive the force of the
demonstration : but it is impossible that they should be both
known and believed by the same person." 42 The position
thus taken by St. Thomas was endorsed by Scotus,43 and is
defended by many modern theologians, although the ma
jority reject it as untenable. On the other hand, St. Bona-
venture,44 Alexander of Hales,45 Albertus Magnus,46 Richard
of Middleton,47 and Durandus,48 took the opposite view. St.
Bonaventure argues the* point in this way : " The reason
why such knowledge is compatible with faith in regard to
the same object, so that the one cognition does not expel the
other, is this, because knowledge which results from the light
of reason, although it affords some certainty and evidence in
reference to divine things, does nevertheless not make that
certainty and evidence quite clear so long as we are on the way
to God. For although we may be able to show by conclusive
reasons that God exists and that God is one, still we are not
able to see the divine essence itself, nor the unity of God, nor
42 De Verit. q. 14, a. 9. 46 In Sent. Ill, d. 15, a. 9.
43 In Sent. Ill, d. 23, n. 17. 47 Ibid. d. 24, q. 5.
44 Ibid. a. 2, q. 3. 48 Ibid. q. i.
45 Loc. cit. m. 7, a. 3.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 261
how that unity does not exclude the plurality of persons, un
less we are purified by the justice of faith. . . . Hence, as was
pointed out above, just as faith is compatible with external
vision, because something remains hidden about the person of
Christ: so must it also be understood in regard to the habit
of faith and this manner of knowing, namely, that they are
compatible with each other in the same person and in respect
of the same material object." 49
The truths to be believed are in the present order of Provi
dence unchangeable, so that the material object of faith admits
neither of increase nor diminution. However men's knowl
edge of what is contained in the material object of faith grows
with the lapse of time; "because what at one time was be
lieved only implicitly, as involved in some article of the faith,
was later on explained and thereupon became an object of ex
plicit belief/' 50 In this sense, therefore, faith may also be
said to grow objectively; not by addition to the truths revealed,
but by a clearer exposition of them as occasioned by the cir
cumstances of time.51
The formal object of faith, as was stated above, is the
reason upon which supernatural faith is based. This reason,
according to the common teaching of the Scholastics, is the
Supreme Truth bearing witness to Its truthfulness and au
thority in the revelation made to men. Thus St. Bonaventure,
answering the objection that to believe without reason is
worthy of blame, says : " This is very true in cases where
authority does not supply the place of reason. But where
authority does supply the place of reason it is not blameworthy
but commendable. Thus it is in faith ; for although no reason
presents itself to the intellect on account of which it ought to
give its assent to the truth, nevertheless there is present to it
the authority of the Supreme Truth which exerts its suasion
on the heart ; and we know that the Supreme Truth cannot lie,
and therefore it is impious not to believe Its testimony." 52
49 In Sent. Ill, d. 24, a. 2, q. 3. ibid. a. 5, q. I ; Scotus, Report. Ill,
50 Ibid. d. 25, a. 2, q. i. d. 25, q. I ; In Sent. IV, d. II, q. 3,
51 Albert. Magn. ibid. q. I ; n, 5.
Thomas, ibid. q. 2, a. 2; Middleton, 52 In Sent. Ill, d. 23, a. I, q. I.
262 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Or as Scotus puts it very briefly: "Fides infusa assentit
alicui revelato, quia credit Deo, vel veracitati Dei asserentis
illud." 53 And St. Thomas : " Ratio assentit alicui ex hoc
quod est a Deo dictum/' 54
However the intellect does not give its assent precisely as
compelled by the evidence of the revealed truth; faith is a free
act and depends partly on the bidding of the will as moved by
divine grace. " Faith," says St. Thomas, " is not in the in
tellect except in so far as commanded by the will, . . . Hence
although the act of the will can be said to be accidental to the
intellect, yet it is essential to faith." 53 On the other hand,
the act of the mind is not a blind assent; the light of faith
itself makes it reasonable.56 The intellect is elevated and en
lightened by the First Truth, and so disposed, it is inclined by
the will, also elevated by divine grace, to yield its assent to the
truth proposed.57
The certainty of faith, therefore, is not in proportion to the
light of evidence, but to the weight of God's authority. St.
Thomas presents this aspect of faith as follows : " Certainty
imports two things : First, firmness of the assent given, and
in this respect faith is more certain than all cognition and
knowledge; because the First Truth, which causes the assent
of faith, is a more powerful cause than the light of reason
which causes the assent in natural cognition. Secondly, cer
tainty imports also the evidence of that to which assent is
given, and in this respect there is no certainty in faith." 58
St. Bonaventure puts the same teaching in a somewhat dif
ferent form. Speaking about the action of grace in the mat
ter of faith, he says : " Since man must give credence to the
truth, and greater credence to the greater truth, and the great
est credence to the greatest truth; and since the truth of the
First Principle is infinitely greater than all created truth, and
infinitely more luminous than all the light of his intellect, it
necessarily follows that his intellect, in order to show itself
53 Ibid. d. 23. 57 Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 23,
64 De Verit. q. 14, a. 2. a. I, q. i ad 3m.
55 Ibid. a. 3 ad iom. B8 De Verit. q. 14, a. I ad 7m.
56 Ibid. corp.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 263
properly disposed in the matter of belief, must give greater
faith to the first Truth than to itself, and thus yield itself to
the obedience of Christ, so that he not only believes those
things that appear to be in conformity with reason, but also
those that are above reason and in opposition to the experi
ence of the senses. If he refuses to do this, he fails to show
the proper reverence that is due to the Supreme Truth, pre
ferring as he does the judgment of his natural reason to the
dictate of the Eternal Light." 59
Hence the certainty of faith consists in only one thing — in
the firmness with which the mind clings to the First Truth.60
From this it naturally follows that faith does not necessarily
exclude from the mind involuntary doubts in regard to the
truths that are believed, although its certainty is of a higher
order than that which can be found in any natural knowledge ;
because in faith " the intellect is not in the quiescent state that
results from the evidence of vision." 61
4. The Virtue of Hope. — Hope is defined by the Lombard
as " a virtue by which spiritual and eternal things are hoped
for, that is, are looked forward to with confidence." 62 " This
expectation," comments St. Bonaventure, " consists in a cer
tain reaching out to the* good things of eternity, which arises
from the confidence with which the soul, in all the abandon of
its strength, leans upon God Himself." 63 Almost the same
terms are used by St. Thomas, when he says that " hope im
plies a certain reaching out of the appetite to what is good." 64
All are agreed that hope is a theological virtue, and nearly
all that it is really distinct from faith and charity.65 Its real
distinction from the other two theological virtues was called
in question by a few obscure writers, whose view, Scotus says,
" is opposed to the authority of the saints as based upon the
59 Breviloq. V, 7. 64 Sum. Theol. I. II, q. 40, a. 2.
6°Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d. 23, 65 Albert. Magn. In Sent. Ill, d.
a. i, q. 3. 26, a. 2; Bonavent. ibid. a. I, q. 2,
61 Thomas, ibid. q. 2, a. 2, sol. 3 3 ; Thomas, ibid. q. 2, a. 3 ; Middle-
ad 2m. ton, ibid. a. 3, q. 3; Durandus, ibid.
62 Sent. Ill, d. 26, c. I. q. 2.
63 In Sent. Ill, d. 26, a. I, q. 3
ad 4m.
264 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
teaching of St. Paul." 6G The reason why hope is to be con
sidered as a theological virtue is thus given by St. Bonaven-
ture : " Hope must undoubtedly be classed as a theological
virtue; and the reason for this assertion is taken both from
the object and the subject of hope. From the object, because,
just as faith in the act of believing gives its assent to God as
dictating what is true, so does hope rely upon Him as promis
ing what is great. Hence just as the object of faith, which
acts by way of motive, is something uncreated, which is God,
and for that reason faith is counted among the theological vir
tues; so the same must be said and understood in regard to
hope. From the subject also a similar reason may be taken;
because as the superior part of the soul must be perfected by
the theological virtues, and as hope is one of the virtues that
perfects this part of the soul, it follows necessarily that hope
is a theological virtue." 67 St. Thomas puts this very briefly,
when he says : " Hope has God for its object, and therefore
it is a theological virtue." 68 And it is distinct from faith
and charity, because while faith simply gives knowledge of
man's last end, and charity embraces it as the highest good,
hope tends to it as attainable.69
The material object of hope, according to the Scholastics,
is God Himself to be possessed in eternal beatitude. " The
good we must properly and chiefly hope for from God," says
St. Thomas, " is infinite and in proportion to God's assistance ;
and this is life eternal, consisting in the fruition of God Him
self." 70 And St. Bonaventure: "Whatever hope expects,
it expects not only from God but also in God, so that possess
ing God it may possess all that is good." 71 Hence the ma
terial object of hope does not consist in formal beatitude,
which is something created, and finite, but in beatitude taken
objectively, which is God Himself as the object of blessed frui
tion. The only one of the Scholastics who held a different
view on this point was Durandus, in as much as he made for
mal beatitude, or the fruition of God apart from God Him-
66 Ibid. q. unic. n. 2 ; cf r. n. 10. 69 Ibid. q. 2, a. 3.
67 In Sent. Ill, d. 26, a. I, q. 3. 70 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 17, a. 2.
c8 Ibid. q. 2, a. 2. 71 In Sent. Ill, d. 26, a. I, q. 2.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 265
self, the immediate object of the virtue of hope.72 Scotus is
sometimes cited as holding that objective and formal beati
tude together constitute the material object of hope, but he
states quite distinctly and definitely that hope tends to a good
which is infinite and eternal, and this is God Himself.73
However, as is quite obvious, since no one can hope to pos
sess God except by the help of divine grace, the material ob
ject of hope must also include the means that are necessary for
salvation. Hence these means constitute the secondary object
of hope. In this sense Scotus writes : " We expect an in
finite good from God, who liberally communicates Himself to
us in view of the graces previously conferred." 74 In the
same sense also St. Thomas writes : " Hope looks chiefly
to eternal beatitude, and in reference to it all other things are
asked of God " 75 And this is the common teaching of the
Schoolmen.
The formal object of hope, if taken in a general sense, is
the possession of God regarded under the aspect of possibility.
However, as the possession of God is difficult of attainment,
the formal object of hope is commonly designated as sum-mum
bonum in quantum summum arduum — it is the Supreme
Good as possible of attainment indeed, but not without great
difficulty. This is the explanation given by St. Thomas, who
says: "Hope implies a motion of the appetite towards a
good that is commensurate with the strength of him that
hopes : for it neither regards a good that is unattainable, nor
a good that is esteemed as nothing; but such a good only as
can be attained, yet the attainment of which is difficult. For
this reason it is termed a bonum arduum." 76 Others use
practically the same terms, though some of them attach a
slightly different meaning to the term arduum.77
From the fact that hope has the attainment of good for
its object, it necessarily follows that it is a virtue which re
sides in the will. On this point all Scholastics are agreed.
72 Ibid. q. 2. 76 In Sent. Ill, q. 26, a. 2.
73 Ibid. d. 26, n. ii. 77Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. Ill, d.
74 Loc. cit. 26, a. 2, q. 4.
75 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 17, a. 2
ad 2m.
266 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
But there is no strict agreement as regards the number of
potencies that must be distinguished in the will. Some few
hold that the irascible part of the will constitutes a distinct
potency, and is therefore really distinct from the concupiscible
part. Others identify the irascible and concupiscible parts
so completely as to make them absolutely one potency of the
rational soul.78 Others, again, distinguish the two, but main
tain that the irascible part, as referred to the rational soul,
must be taken in an improper sense. The concupiscible and
the irascible parts constitute really one potency, which is the
rational will; but they imply different tendencies of the will
towards its object. This is the more common view, and is
defended by St. Thomas,79 St. Bonaventure,80 Scotus,81 and
many others.
However, notwithstanding this diversity of views in regard
to the potencies of the will, there is found a general agree
ment among the Scholastics in reference to the proper sub
ject of hope. They all maintain that the virtue of hope re
sides primarily in the irascible part of the will. The summnm
arduuni, which they regard as the formal object of hope, in
one way or another implies difficulties that must be overcome ;
and it is to the irascible part of the will that the overcoming
of difficulties properly belongs. However, as hope also looks
forward to the fruition of the summnm bonum, in so far it
may be said to reside secondarily in the concupiscible part of
the will.82
Although the act of hope is essentially an act of the will,
since the virtue resides in the will as its proper subject, never
theless the more representative Scholastics hold that hope has
a certainty of its own, distinct from that of faith. " It is,
however, a difficult thing," says St. Bonaventure, " to define
in what this certainty consists." 83 St Thomas puts his ex
planation in this form : " The certainty of faith and hope
differ in four respects : First in this, that the certainty of
faith is in the intellect, whereas the certainty of hope is in
78 Cfr. Henry of Ghent, Quodl. I, 81 Ibid. d. 34, n. 13.
q. 13. 82Loc. cit.
7» In Sent. Ill, d. 26, q. 2, a. 3. 83 In Sent. Ill, d. 26, a. I, q. 5.
80 Ibid. d. 26, a. 2, q. 5.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 267
the affections; secondly, because the certainty of faith can
never fail, while the certainty of hope may fail per accidens;
thirdly, because the certainty of faith is de complexo, whereas
the certainty of hope is de incomplexo, which is the object of
the appetite; fourthly, because the certainty of faith is opposed
to doubt, while the certainty of hope is opposed to diffidence
or hesitation." 84 This certainty of hope comes ultimately
from God.
5. The Virtue of Chanty. — All Scholastics are at one in
holding that charity is a theological virtue, but there is no
agreement regarding its distinction from sanctifying grace.
Scotus,85 Durandus,86 Henry of Ghent,87 and nearly all
the Nominalists follow the view taken by the Lom
bard, that charity and sanctifying grace are essentially the
same, although there is between them a distinctio rationis.
" The same habitus" says Scotus, " which is grace is also
charity." 88 And again : " By the same habitus by rea
son of which the Holy Spirit dwells in our soul, the will is
inclined to its own meritorious acts." 89 Henry of Ghent
is even more explicit, when he says : " Grace and charity do
not really differ ; nay, that which in the essence itself is grace,
in so far as it is considered absolutely or by way of essence,
the very same is there also charity, in so far as it is considered
under the aspect of potency." 90
On the other hand, St. Thomas,91 Albertus Magnus,92
yEgidius Romanus,93 and some others maintain that charity
and sanctifying grace are really distinct. Their relation to
one another is somewhat like that of potency and essence, if
the terms be taken in a wider sense. St. Thomas points out
that in the natural order of things there are three requisites
for the attainment of any given end : A nature that is in
proportion to the end proposed; an appetitive inclination to
wards its attainment; and an actual tendency in its direction.
84 Ibid. q. 2, a. 4 ad 5m. 90 Quodl. 4, q. 10.
85 In Sent. II, d. 27, q. unic. 91 In Sent. II, d. 26, a. 4 ; Sum.
86 Ibid. d. 26, q. i. Theol. I. II, q. no, a. 3.
87 Quodl. 4, q. 10. 92 In Sent. II, d. 26, a. n.
88 In Sent. II, d. 27, n. 35. 93 Ibid. q. 2, a. I.
89 Ibid. I, d. 17, q. 3.
268 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
By analogy, then, it follows that similar requisites must be
found in the supernatural order, so that man may be enabled
to attain the end that lies beyond the reach of his natural
powers. This being premised, the author continues : " Hence
it is necessary that something be bestowed upon man by reason
of which he is not only enabled to strive for the end, or has
an inclination thereto, but his nature itself is elevated to a
certain degree of dignity, so that it be in proportion to the
supernatural end ; and for this purpose grace is bestowed ; but
for the purpose of inclining the will to the same end, charity
is given; while for the performance of actions by which the
end is actually attained, other virtues are infused. And there
fore just as in the natural order of things nature is distinct
from its inclination to the end and from its operation, so like
wise in the supernatural order is grace distinct from charity
and other virtues." 94
Between these two opposite views there is a third, advo
cated among others by St. Bona venture 95 and Alexander of
Hales.96 According to this, there is not merely a distinctio
rationis between charity and sanctifying grace, but neither is
there between them a distinctio realis. They are distinguished
not per essentiam, but only comparatione and secundum esse.
St. Bonaventure illustrates his distinction as follows : " Just
as the productive principle in man, because of its great perfec
tion in giving natural life, not only causes life in actu prinio
but also in actu secundo, which consists in operation ; so like
wise does the principle of reparation give life to the spirit in
the supernatural order, both as regards the life itself and the
operation that follows." 9T Hence in the supernatural order,
sanctifying grace is the remote principle of action; just as
nature is the remote principle of action in the natural order :
hence grace compared to charity, even as light compared to
color, " is not different in essence, but only by way of com
parison and in its mode of existence." 98
The proper subject of the virtue of charity is simply the
94 De Verit. q. 27, a. 2. 97 Breviloq. V, c. 4.
95 In Sent. II, d. 27, a. I, q. 2. 98 In Sent. II, d. 27, q. 2.
96 Sum. II, q. 61, m. 2, a. 4.
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 269
rational will itself, though a few of the Scholastics assigned
as its subject the concupiscible part of the will. Concerning
these latter St. Thomas says : " Some say that chanty re
sides in the concupiscible part, but this cannot be; because the
concupiscible part belongs to the sensitive appetite. And if it
be said that the concupiscible part is human, this is not true
except because of its being under the direction of reason;
unless perhaps they intend to call, by way of equivocation, the
will itself an irascible and concupiscible potency." " And
this some of them did intend, as for, instance, St. Bonaven-
ture, who, on the one hand, held that the virtues of hope and
charity reside in the rational will, and yet, on the other hand,
assigned as their respective subjects the irascible and con
cupiscible part of the will.100
The material object of charity is in a way twofold : primary
and secondary. The primary object is God Himself, the
Supreme Good, to be possessed in eternal beatitude. The sec
ondary object comprises all rational creatures in so far as they
are capable of possessing God.101 Hence the fallen angels
and lost souls are not properly included in the secondary ob
ject of the virtue of charity.102
The formal object of charity is God as the absolute and
supreme good, to be loved for His own sake. " Faith and
hope," says St. Thomas, " do indeed reach out to God, but
only in so far as from him comes the knowledge of what is
true and the possession of what is good; whereas charity em
braces God Himself for the purpose of resting in Him, and
not that thence any advantage may accrue to us."103 Hence
charity is first and foremost a love of benevolence, because
it intends the good of the beloved; but as the possession of
God constitutes our eternal beatitude, it in so far also includes
the love of concupiscence.104
Although the virtrue of charity, like that of faith and of
99 In Sent. Ill, d. 27, q. 2, a. 3. 102 Cfr. Thomas, In Sent. Ill, d.
100 Ibid. a. i, q. i ; d. 26, a. 2, q. 5. 28, q. 2, a. 5 ; Bonavent. ibid. a. unic.
101 Cfr. Bonavent. ibid. d. 27, a. 2, q. 2.
q. 4; Thomas, Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 103 Sum. Theol. II. II, q. 23, a. 6.
23, a. 5 ; q. 25, a. i ; Albert. Magn. 104 Id. In Sent. Ill, d. 29, q. i, a.
In Sent. Ill, d. 27, a. 7. 4; Bonavent. ibid. d. 27, a. 2, q. 2.
270 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
hope, is really distinct from sanctifying grace; yet unlike them,
it does not remain when grace is lost. This difference is
owing to the different opposition of the three theological vir
tues to mortal sin. Thus faith is opposed only to the sin of
infidelity, either partial or total; hope, to the sin of presump
tion and despair; but charity is opposed to all mortal sins.
Hence, while faith and hope may exist in a soul that is de
prived of grace, charity cannot.105 Finally, while faith and
hope cease on the threshold of heaven, in the sense that they
issue respectively into vision and possession; charity remains
formally as it is, only it blossoms into greater perfection.
This, however, does not necessarily imply that whatever per
fection there is in the virtues of faith and hope is lost; but
only that all imperfection has been removed from their corre
sponding acts.106
6. The Cardinal Virtues. — " The general purpose of vir
tue," says St. Bonaventure, " is twofold : First, that they
may give a right direction to the powers of the soul by coun
teracting man's natural obliquity of inclination; secondly, that
they may strengthen these same powers against the difficulties
that must be overcome." 107 Now man has a threefold rela
tion — to God, to himself, and to the neighbor. The right
ordering of his relation to God is affected by the three theo
logical virtues; but as they do not touch his relation to him
self and the neighbor, other supernatural virtues must be in
fused for this purpose. These are the moral virtues : justice,
fortitude, prudence, and temperance. The last three regulate
man's conduct in respect to himself, while the first orders his
relations with his neighbor. Each one of these four has
other moral virtues connected with it, and therefore they are
called principal or cardinal virtues. They have their own
proper object, and are distinct from corresponding acquired
habits.108 Scotus, however, as was pointed out above, does
not admit the existence of infused moral virtues.109
id. q. 4; Albert Magn. ibid. «8 Cf r. Thomas, QQ. DD., De
a. 3. Virt. Cardinal. ; Bonavent. In Sent.
106 Loc. cit. d. 31, a. 3, q. i; III, d. 33; Dionys. Garth, ibid. q.
Thomas, ibid. q. 2, a. I. unica.
. q. 2,
III, d.
107 In Sent III, d. 33, q. I. 109 The relation of all these vir-
THE INFUSED VIRTUES 271
The principal points in this teaching of the Scholastics on
the infused virtues have been embodied by the Council of
Trent in its decree on justification, and by the Council of the
Vatican in its definitions of matters pertaining to faith, as
will be pointed out in a later chapter. It must be noted, how
ever, that the declarations of these two councils bear almost
exclusively on the existence and nature of the theological vir
tues; the moral virtues are referred to only in passing, with
out even any direct affirmation of their existence. Hence
the view taken by Scotus and his followers is free from all
ecclesiastical censure, but it is rejected by most modern theo
logians. The Council of Vienne, held in 1311-1312, left the
question still open, whether sanctifying grace and the virtues
are infused in the baptism of children; 110 but the Council of
Trent decided it in the affirmative, by defining in a general
way that justification is obtained in baptism, and that in jus
tification the virtues of faith, hope, and chanty are infused
together with sanctifying grace.111
tues to sanctifying grace, and their specialis et propria. Haec autem
connection with one another, is thus septem virtutes, licet sint distinctae
beautifully described by St. Bona- et proprias excellentias habentes,
venture : " De ramificatione igitur sunt tamen connexae et aequales ad
gratiae in habitus virtutum haec invicem in eodem ; et licet sint gra-
tenenda sunt, quod una sit gratia tuitae per gratiam informatae, pos-
gratificans animam, septem tamem sunt tamen fieri informes per cul-
sunt virtutes gratuitae, quibus regi- pam, sola caritate excepta, et iterum
tur vita humana : tres quidem the- ref ormari per poenitentiam ad-
ologicae, scilicet fides, spes^et cari- veniente gratia, quae est habituum
tas : quatuor cardinales, scilicet pru- virtualium origo, finis et forma "
dentia, temperantia, fortitude et (Breviloq. V, c. 4).
justitia, quae uno modo est virtus 110 Cf r. BD. 583.
communis et generalis, alio modo in Cf r. Ibid. 800.
CHAPTER XV
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL
DEFINITION AND EFFICACY OF THE SACRAMENTS
St. Augustine, when speaking of baptism, states that a sac
rament consists of two things : a material or sensible element
and the word — accedit verbum ad elementum et fit sacramen-
tum.1 By the word he most likely understood, not only the
prayer used in the consecration of the material element, but
also the sacramental form. The combination of the word and
the element he designated on various occasions as a visible
word, a sacred sign, the sign of a sacred thing, a sign of grace,
or simply as a sacrament. In his usage of them, all these
terms stand for the outward sacramental rite. Then, with this
outward rite he connected an inward effect, a res sacra or
gratia, which he usually called the power of the sacrament —
virtus sacramenti. The production of this inward effect he
attributed to the Holy Spirit, as operating in and through the
sacramental rite.2
These fundamental concepts, considerably clarified though
not all first introduced by St. Augustine, were looked upon as
a sacred heirloom by most subsequent theologians. Up to the
twelfth century, and even till somewhat later, sacramental
theology did not pass beyond that stage of development to
which it had been advanced by the labors of Augustine in his
contention with the Donatists. Then his studies of the sac
ramental system were taken up again with renewed ardor, and
for nearly three hundred years continued to be a subject of
special interest to the greatest of the Schoolmen. What he
had barely touched upon they subjected to a searching inquiry,
with the result that they rounded out and completed the sys-
1 Ad Catech. 3. 2 Cfr. vol. I, p. 347 sqq.
232
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 273
tem in all its parts. The contents of the present and the fol
lowing chapter will give us some idea of the fruitfulness of
their labors.
i. Definition of a Sacrament. — During the ninth and tenth
centuries, St. Augustine's definition of a sacrament as a sacred
sign had been, to a great extent, replaced by that of St. Isidore
of Seville, according to which a sacrament is a sacred secret
or a mystery. But with the advent of Scholasticism the
Augustinian definition came again into favor. Abelard ex
panded it somewhat, without, however, introducing any sub
stantial modification. " A sacrament," he says, " is a visible
sign of the invisible grace of God." 3 This definition, as is
obvious, may be applied to any sacred ceremony, and for
that reason it was soon found to be of little practical value to
the scientific study of the sacraments.
About the same time, Hugh of St. Victor defined a sacra
ment as " a corporeal or material element, which in its out
ward application is perceptible by the senses, by its similitude
represents some invisible spiritual grace, by reason of its insti
tution signifies that grace, and because of its sanctification con
tains the same."4 This is a rather cumbersome definition;
and, moreover, it is applicable only to those sacraments that
are partly made up of a "corporeal or material element," which
is not the case with penance, orders, and matrimony. Be
sides, when the author says that a sacrament " contains " grace,
he seems to hold that grace is stored up in the sanctified ele
ment as in a vessel ; and this he actually asserts a little further
on.5
A better definition is found in the Summa Sententiamm,
which in the past was commonly ascribed to Hugh of St. Vic
tor but is now considered by many to be the work of some
unknown twelfth-century writer. Discussing the Augustinian
definition, he says : " A sacrament is a visible form of the
invisible grace conferred in it, which grace the sacrament itself
confers. For a sacrament is not merely a sign of a sacred
thing, but also exerts efficiency in its respect. And this is the
3 Introd. ad Theol. I, 2. 5 Ibid. c. 4.
4 De Sacram. I, p. 9, c. 2.
274 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
difference between a sign and a sacrament: in order to be a
sign nothing is required except that it signifies the thing of
which it is a sign, without in any way bestowing the same;
but a sacrament furthermore also bestows that of which it is a
sign or expression." 6
This marks an immense advance over the definition given by
Hugh. It places an essential distinction between sacramental
rites and all other sacred ceremonies, by attributing to the
former an efficacy in the production of grace which is denied
to the latter. Practically the same definition is found in the
Sentences of Magister Bandini. He puts it in this form:
:< That is properly said to be a sacrament which signifies grace
in such a way as also to confer it And by this the difference
between the old and the new sacraments is clearly manifested:
for they only promised and signified, whereas these signify
and give grace." 7
Almost the same terms are used by Peter Lombard in the
definition which in one form or another recurs in the works
of all his commentators. After briefly explaining the various
kinds of signs and their purport, he states that a sacrament is
not a natural but a conventional sign, but of such a kind that it
bears the likeness of the thing signified; and then he proceeds:
" For that is properly said to be a sacrament which is in such
a manner a sign of the grace of God and a form of invisible
grace, that it bears its image and is its cause. It was not
therefore merely to signify grace that the sacraments were
instituted, but also to confer sanctification." 8 It is this that
distinguishes the sacraments of the Old and the New Law :
the former " only promised and signified, the latter give sal
vation." 9 Hence every sacrament is indeed a sign, but not
every sign is a sacrament.10
Later Scholastics frequently shortened the definition given
by the Lombard, but they all kept its essential elements. Thus
St. Thomas states briefly : " A sacrament is a sign of a sacred
thing in so far as it sanctifies men." ll It is its objective con-
6 Op. cit. tr. 4, c. i. 9Ibid.
7 Op. cit. IV, d. i. "{bid.
8 Sent IV, d. i, c. 4. X1 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 60, a. 2.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 275
nection with grace that differentiates a sacrament from all
other sacred rites and ceremonies. This, therefore, is the
specific difference that restricts the generic term, " sacred
sign " or " sign of a sacred thing," in its signification, and
limits it to a particular class of sacred signs, which finally
came to be exclusively designated as sacraments.
While the Scholastics thus gradually succeeded in working
out a satisfactory definition, they also investigated the nature
and composition of the external rite or sign. They soon recog
nized that the " element " and the " word," spoken of by St.
Augustine, are not only found in every sacrament, but bear a
very definite relation to one another in the constitution of the
" sacred sign." The element is always more or less indefinite
in its signification, and this indefiniteness is taken away by the
words used in its application. Thus water, which is the " ele
ment " in baptism, may be employed either for cooling or
cleansing purposes; but when the "word," I baptize or wash
thee, is added, the purpose of the ceremony is definitely deter
mined. And so proportionately in all other sacramental rites,
even in those which do not consist of a corporeal element and
formal words. The analogy between this observed fact and
the constitution of bodies, as explained by the Scholastics, was
too striking to remain long unnoticed. Hence early in the
thirteenth century, William of Auxerre originated the theory
of matter and form as applied to the sacramental sign.12
Alexander of Hales adopted the terms in his exposition of
the sacramental rite,13 and after him St. Thomas permanently
introduced them into the theological language»of the School
men. What formerly went by the general name of thing, was
thenceforth spoken of as matter; and what till then had been
designated as words, was thereafter simply called form.14
This theory was still further developed by Duns Scotus, who
distinguished two kinds of matter : remote and proximate.
The remote matter, according to his distinction, is the indefi
nite element in itself ; as, for instance, the water used in bap
tism or the chrism employed in confirmation. While the prox-
12 Cfr. Schanz, Die Lehre von den 13 Sum. IV, q. 5, m. 3, a. i.
heiligen Sacramenten, p. 103. 14 Sum. Theol. IV, q. 60, a. 6, 7, 8.
276 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
imate matter is the application of the indefinite element or
remote matter to the recipient of the sacrament; as ablution
and chrismation in baptism and confirmation respectively.15
All this, as is obvious, introduced no real change in sacra
mental theology, but it was helpful towards clarifying ideas.
Scotus, it may here be noted, made some reservation in apply
ing the tLsory of matter and form to the sacrament of penance,
in so far as he did not consider the acts of the penitent con
stituent parts of the sacrament.
2. The Efficacy of the Sacraments. — St. Augustin, in his
contention with the Donatists, had already clearly pointed out
that the Christian sacraments produce their effects indepen
dently of the moral disposition of the minister; and had also
made it clear that the sanctification of the subject is objec
tively connected with the sacramental rite. It was this teach
ing, called to mind at a time when violent discussions were car
ried on regarding the validity of sacraments conferred by
excommunicated ministers, that introduced the phrase opus
opera-turn into sacramental theology. It was at first used to
distinguish the sacramental rite, as objectively posited, from
the action of the minister considered subjectively, although
later on it became customary to apply the same distinction also
to the actions of the recipient. Its earliest use is thus indi
cated by Peter of Poitiers, who died in 1205 : Baptizatio dici-
tur actio illius qua baptizat, quae est aliud opus quam baptis-
mus, quia est opus operans, sed baptismus est opus operatum,
ut ita liceat loqui.1® A few years later Pope Innocent III used
the term in a similar connection. Speaking of the administra
tion of the sacraments by an unworthy minister, he says :
Quamvis igitur opus operans aliquando sit immundum, semper
tamen opus operatum est mundum.17
After thetniddle of the thirteenth century, the two terms,
ex opere operato and ex opere operantis, were also quite gen
erally used to indicate the difference between the Christian
sacraments and the Mosaic rites. As already pointed out
15 In Sent. IV, d. 7, q. I ; cfr. ibid. 17 Cf r. Pourrat, Theology of the
d. 3, q. 3. Sacraments, p. 163.
" Sent. V, c. 6.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 277
in a preceding paragraph, the difference between the two was
held to consist chiefly in their connection with grace. It is
true, some of the Scholastics, among whom was Peter Lom
bard,18 went so far as to assert that the sacraments of the
Old Law were of no spiritual benefit whatever, even to those
who used them piously; but the majority of mediaeval theo
logians regarded them in some way as means of grace, al
though not in the same sense as the Christian sacraments. Ac
cording to Hugh of St. Victor and a few others, their connec
tion with grace was objective but indirect, in the sense that
they foreshadowed the sacraments of the New Law, and by
this foreshadowing caused grace in the recipient.19 St.
Thomas, on the other hand, and indeed the greater number
of the Scholastics, denied them all objective efficacy and held
that they sanctified the recipient because of the faith and
charity with which he received them. Hence their efficacy
was entirely ex op ere operantis, whereas that of the Christian
sacraments is ex opere operate.
From this use of the term, ex opere operate, it is sufficiently
clear that the Scholastics ascribed some kind of causality to
the sacraments of the New Law. And this appears also from
the definition of the sacraments as signs that sanctify, signs
that signify and cause grace. But what kind of causality did
they have in mind? In precisely what sense must the Chris
tian sacraments be considered as causes of grace? On this
point there was»no agreement, even at the time of St. Thomas ;
for he says : " All are forced to admit that the sacraments of
the New Law are in some manner causes of grace; for this is
the express teaching of authority. But different men regard
that causality in a different way."20 These different views
held by different theologians during the Middle Ages, are
usually reduced to three distinct systems of sacramental caus
ality. The following is a brief outline of them, as gathered
from the works of the most representative Scholastics.
The first is the system of occasional causality, which was
most ably defended by St. Bonaventure and Duns Scotus. The
18 Sent. IV, d. I, c. 4. 20 In Sent. IV, d. I, a. 4.
19 Sum. Sent. tr. 4, c. I, 2.
278 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
former speaks of it in these terms : " There is also the opinion
of other great men, who say that, in the sense of quality or
absolute property, there is no causality in the sacraments, nor
any power productive of grace, either by way of efficiency or
disposition; but that grace is produced by reason of a certain
divine assistance. For they say that the divine power, which
is the cause of grace, is present in the sacrament, and that the
faith and devotion of the recipient act by way of disposition
for the reception of grace. And this they explain by an ex
ample: At the word of Eliseus, Naaman, washing himself,
was cleansed of his leprosy; in this case the divine power ef
fected the cure, and the devotion and obedience of Naaman
acted by way of disposition, but there was no causality either in
the word of Eliseus or in the water of the Jordan. Now, if the
Lord had so decreed that at the word of Eliseus, not only
Naaman himself, but also all others coming for this purpose
to the Jordan should be cured, and then by a kind of covenant
had promised His perpetual assistance, that water would be
said to cure and heal leprosy, and also to be the cause of such
cures and to have the power of healing. And so, they say,
it is in the case of the sacraments ; so that, at the uttering of the
word, the divine power is present in the water and thus in
fuses grace and regenerates the recipient, while he submits
himself by a profession of faith and by obedience. In this
sense, they hold, the sacraments are said to have power, to be
causes, to produce effects, on account of the divine power
which is present." 21
Then, after explaining more in detail how all these terms,
power, efficiency, causality, are taken in a wider sense — ex-
tenso nomine — when applied to the sacraments, and how
grace is produced entirely in virtue of a divine ordination that
became effective at the time when the sacraments were insti
tuted, he concludes by saying : " To this position the piety of
faith is not opposed, and reason gives its approval." 22 In
another place he assigns as his reason for adopting this view
the fact that the efficiency of the sacraments, taken in the
21 In Sent IV, d. i, p. i, a. unic. 22 ibid.
q. 4.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 279
strict sense of the term, in regard either to the production of
grace or of a disposition thereto, is unintelligible.23
Scotus explains his position in practically the same terms.
The sacraments, he says, are not the cause of grace by reason
of any intrinsic form or property; but they may be said to
produce grace by a kind of concomitance, in as much as, in
consequence of the order established by God, they induce a
natural condition in the subject on account of which God
causes grace in the soul. Hence their efficacy in relation to
grace is not raised above the natural order, and even this dis
positive efficacy is the result of a divine agreement, or com
pact, as the author calls it, by which God bound Himself to
impart His grace to all those who receive the sacraments with
the proper disposition. A sacrament, therefore, is merely the
occasion on which God recalls His promise, and then on ac
count of His promise produces grace in the soul.24 This occa
sional causality of the sacraments, as it is usually called, was
also defended by Durandus,25 Ockam 26 and the Nominalists
generally.
Another explanation of the efficacy of the sacraments was
outlined by Alexander of Hales, and afterwards further de
veloped by St. Thomas. Like Peter Lombard, Alexander dis
tinguished two effects produced in the reception of the sacra
ments — the sacramentum et res and the res tantum. By the
former he understood the sacramental character, or, when there
was question of sacraments that do not imprint a character,
a spiritual ornament produced in the soul ; by the latter he
designated the grace conferred in the administration of the
sacraments. The character or the ornament of the soul, as
the case might be, he conceived to be efficiently produced by
the sacraments, w7ith a view to dispose the soul for the recep
tion of grace; 27 while grace itself, thus called for by the dis-
23 In Sent. Ill, d. 40, dub. 3. ando dico, nihil asserendo, quod
24 In Sent. IV, d. I, q. 4, 5 ; Re- sacramenta sunt causae alicujus ef-
port. IV, d. i, q. 4, n. 8. fectus in anima, non dico solum dis-
25 In Sent. IV, q. 4. ponendp, sed efficiendo ; efficiunt
26 Ibid. IV, q. I, 6. enim simpliciter characterizando et
27 His own words are : " Sine ornando. Unde dico, quod singula
praejudicio melioris sententiae opin- sacramenta aliquo modo ornant
280 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
position effected in the soul through the sacramental rite, must
be caused directly and exclusively by God.28 Hence the sac
raments act directly only as dispositive causes of grace. Thus
their causality is indeed saved, but it has only an indirect bear
ing on the production of the grace which they are said to
confer.
This view was adopted by St. Thomas, at least in his earlier
works ; for in his* Commentary on the Sentences he says :
" Others there are who maintain that in the reception of the
sacraments two things are effected in the soul; one is the
sac? -amentum et res, as the character, or an ornament of the
soul in the case of sacraments that do not imprint a character;
the other is the res tantum, as grace. In respect of the first
effect the sacraments are in some way efficient causes; but
in respect of the second they are dispositive causes, inducing
such a disposition as necessitates the infusion of grace, unless
there be an impediment on the part of the recipient. And this
view seems more in conformity with the teachings of theolo
gians and the sayings of the saints." 29
However, as there appears to be an insuperable difficulty in
the supposition that a physical and material rite produces a
supernatural and spiritual effect, whether that effect be
sanctifying grace or merely a disposition thereto, St. Thomas
found himself under the necessity of introducing here the
distinction between principal and instrumental causes. The
principal cause of the sacramental character or ornament of
the soul, as well as of sanctifying grace, is God, whose caus
ality alone bears a due proportion to the effect produced; but
the instrumental causes of this same effect are the sacraments,
in so far as they are subservient to God's power and inten
tions. Thus he says : " In so far as they are the instruments
of the divine mercy which justifies man, they produce instru-
animam, vel imprimendo charac- ceptibile, efficiendo aptiorem ad
terem, vel alio modo signando " gratiae stisceptionem et faciunt,
(Sum. IV, q. 5, m. 3, a. 5 ad im). quod gratia efficax sit" (Ibid. a. 5
28 " Solus Deus operatur gratiam ad 2m).
et animae infundit ; sed sacramenta 29 In Sent. IV, d. I, q. i, a. 4.
Novae Legis disponunt ipsum sus-
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 281
mentally in the soul some effect that bears a direct propor
tion to the sacraments, such as the character or something of
that kind. But to the ultimate effect, which is grace, they do
not attain even instrumentally, except by way of disposition
strictly as such. Hence what the sacraments directly produce
is a disposition that necessitates, so far as it comes in question,
the infusion of grace." 30
Then, in order to show the possibility of this instrumental
causality as predicated of the sacraments, he enters into a
rather minute discussion on the difference between the action
of principal and instrumental causes. '* The power of acting,"
he says, " is always in proportion to the agent. Therefore
it is necessary to suppose one kind of power in the principal
agent, and another in the instrumental agent. The principal
agent acts always according to the exigencies of his own
form, and therefore his active power is some form or quality
that is complete in the order of nature. But the instrument
acts only as moved by another, and hence it must have power
in proportion to this movement. Now movement is not a
complete entity, but is the way to it, holding a middle place
between pure potency and complete actuality. . . . Hence, as
the sacraments are instrumental agents, their spiritual power
is not a complete entity, but is incomplete." 31 And again :
" In a corporeal thing there cannot be a spiritual power that is
complete in itself; but it can be there by way of intention, just
as art is said to exist in the instruments employed by the
artist." 32
This view of St. Thomas was adopted by many of his fol
lowers, and up to the sixteenth century it was commonly de
fended as his genuine and exclusive teaching. Then, how
ever, owing to the sharp criticism of Cardinal Cajetan,33 it
was by many set aside in favor of another view, which St.
Thomas apparently defended in his Summa Theologica.
Whether he really did change his mind is even now a matter
of dispute, but all indications are that he did. For in the
30 Ibid. 32 Ibid. a. 4 ad 4™.
31 Ibid. 33 In sum. Ill, q. 62.
282 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
Summa, which is the last work he wrote, he puts aside the
distinction between the sacramentum et res and the res tanlum,
and states without any modification whatever that the sacra
ments are the instrumental causes of grace. Furthermore, he
answers the objection that grace, being a participation of the
divine nature, can be produced only by God without the con
currence of a created instrument, by explaining how the effect
is assimilated not to the instrumental but to the principal cause,
and that consequently the nature of grace does not make im
possible the instrumental causality of the sacraments.34 Some
writers, like Cardinal Billot, maintain that this teaching of
the Summa should be interpreted by what St. Thomas holds
in his Commentaries on the Sentences; but modern Thomists
generally contend that the Angelic Doctor changed his mind
with advancing years.
According to this latter interpretation, then, St. Thomas
finally decided in favor of the system that advocates the
physical perfective causality of the sacraments, in the sense
that the sacraments are physical instrumental causes, not
merely of a disposition to grace, but of grace itself. By vir
tue of a divine power, in some way transiently communicated
to them, they exercise an immediate physical influence on the
production of grace in the soul. However, that the sacra
ments, according to the teaching of St. Thomas, are physical
instrumental causes is not conceded by all those of his gen
uine followers who admit that he finally abandoned the idea
of dispositive causality. In various places, they point out,
there occur expressions which indicate that he was rather in
favor of causality in the moral or intentional order. Thus
he says that the sacraments are causes by way of significa
tion,35 that their causative virtue is present after the manner
of intention — per modum intentionis,39 and that in baptism
the water produces its spiritual effect in the soul in so far as
it is recognized by the intellect as a sign of supernatural cleans
ing.37 Expressions of this kind occur quite frequently in
his writings, and their import seems to be that the causality of
34 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 62, a. 1,4. 36 In Sent. IV, d. i, a. 4 ad 4m.
35 QQ. DD., q. 27, a. 4 ad i8». 37 QQ. DD., q. 27, a. 4 ad 2m.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 283
the sacraments belongs to the moral or intentional rather than
to the physical order. At all events, it is not likely that a
unanimous verdict on the teachings of St. Thomas in regard
to sacramental causality will ever be reached.
CHAPTER XVI
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL
SACRAMENTAL GRACE: THE CHARACTER: NEED OF IN
TENTION: THE NUMBER SEVEN: INSTITUTION OF
THE SACRAMENTS
Since all the sacraments have the same essential definition,
it necessarily follows that they have certain properties in com
mon. The more important of them will be briefly outlined in
the present chapter.
i. Sacramental Grace. — St. Bonaventure cites three differ
ent views on the nature of the grace conferred by the sacra
ments, each one of which had its defenders among the Scho
lastics. Those who held the first view maintained that sac
ramental grace did not differ intrinsically from ordinary
sanctifying grace, the term sacramental being applied to it
simply for the purpose of indicating its origin. Others, who
defended the second view, contended for an essential difference
between the two kinds of grace. Ordinary sanctifying grace,
according to them, has for its object the performance of good
works, whereas sacramental grace is primarily intended to re
pair the ravages of sin. Hence there may be two different
kinds of sanctifying grace in the soul. St. Bonaventure him
self took a middle stand, holding on the one hand that all
sanctifying grace is essentially the same, and on the other that
sacramental grace connotes different effects because of the
purpose for which it is given.1
The position of St. Thomas in this matter is not quite
clear. In his Commentary on the Sentences he says that
the grace conferred by the sacraments is distinct from the
grace of virtues and gifts, or from ordinary sanctifying grace;
1 In Sent. IV, p. i, a. unic., q. 6.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 285
and also that sanctifying grace is of one kind in so far as it is
in the essence of the soul, and of another kind in so far as it
perfects the potencies.2 On the other hand, in the Summa
he seems to hold that sanctifying grace is essentially the same
whatever be its origin, and that the grace derived from the
sacraments merely connotes different helps intended for the
attainment of the end proper to each sacrament.3 Prac
tically the same indefinite position had been taken by Alexander
of Hales.4 However, the opinion defended by St. Bonaven-
tnre finally gained the day.
According to the common teaching of the Scholastics, sac
ramental grace is ordinarily conferred at the time when the
sacraments are received ; however, if there be an obstacle in the
recipient, which on the one hand does not invalidate the sac
rament and on the other impedes its effect, the bestowal of
grace is deferred until the obstacle has been removed. This
deferred bestowal of grace is now known as the reviviscence
of the sacraments. The doctrine of reviviscence is clearly
taught by St. Thomas in respect of the three sacraments that
imprint a character.5 Scotus refers to it only when speaking
of baptism, and then he says that as soon as the obstacle is
removed by proper penance, baptismal grace is conferred in
virtue of the baptism already received.6
2. The Sacramental Character. — The doctrine of the sac
ramental character, and also of the consequent initerability of
the sacraments by which it is imprinted, was brought to prac
tically its full development by St. Augustine. His teaching
on this point was accepted by the whole Western Church,
and remained a directive norm till about the end of the seventh
century. But from that time on, at least so far as appearances
go, little attention seems to have been paid to the doctrine
of the sacramental character. Owing to the disorder caused
by schism, moral corruption, and the encroachment of the
civil authority upon the rights of the Church, theological
learning was at a low ebb, and in places practices sprang up
2 Op. cit. IV, d. i, q. I, a. 5. 5 In Sent. IV, d. 4, a. 2.
3 Op. cit. Ill, q. 62, a. 2. 6 Ibid. IV, q. 5, n. 2, 3.
* Sum. IV, q. 5, m. 4, a. 2.
286 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
that were directly opposed to the teaching of Christian an
tiquity. Among these abuses was that of reordaining persons
upon whom orders had been conferred by simoniac or deposed
bishops, or of declaring their orders null and void. In the
contentions that thereupon ensued, little or no reference was
ever made to the fact that an indelible character imprinted by
the sacrament of orders would make such reordinations sac
rilegious. And hence the logical inference seems to be that
the doctrine of the sacramental character had more or less
fallen into oblivion.7
However, the correctness of this inference is not clearly es
tablished. Even to what extent the practice of reordination
was carried is historically uncertain. Saltet appears to take
an extreme view when he states : "In the struggle of the
Church against simoniacs and intruders, until the twelfth cen
tury, the chief instrument of warfare, sometimes of the enemies
of the Church, sometimes too, nay most often, of the best
sons of the Church and of several Popes, was simply to declare
void and to repeat ordinations that were certainly valid." 8
At all events, during the twelfth century the doctrine of the
character was thoroughly familiar to theological writers.
This appears clearly from the manner in which Innocent III
answered the question, whether those who had been baptized
whilst asleep, or whilst out of their mind, had received the
sacramental character. Neither the question nor the answer
admits of any doubt regarding the doctrine that in baptism a
character is impressed on the soul. The only point on which
the questioners were in doubt touched the validity of baptism
under the given conditions. And this doubt the Pope solved
by saying that, if the persons in question had previously in
tended to be baptized, the sacrament so administered was
valid.9 Hence the contention of some Protestant writers, that
Innocent III introduced the doctrine of the sacramental char
acter, only shows that either they have not read or else must
have misinterpreted his answer to the proposed question. And
7 Cf r. Morin, De sacris Eccl. 8 Bulletin de litt. eccl. 1901, p. 229,
ordinal. Ill, exerc. 5, c. 5. 230.
9 DB. 441.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 287
the same must be said with regard to some fourteenth-century
theologians, among whom were Scotus and Durandus. The
former admitted the existence of the sacramental character
only because it was taught by the Church in his day,10 while
the latter based his acceptance of the doctrine on the prevail
ing opinion of the schools.11
In the early part of the thirteenth century, the Scholastics
began to inquire into the nature of the character, as imprinted
on the soul by baptism, confirmation, and orders. On this
point there was quite a diversity of opinion. Thus William
of Paris thought that the sacramental character must be re
garded as a certain kind of sanctity, somewhat like that which
results from the consecration of churches, altars, and litur
gical vessels.12 In maintaining this view, he had no fol
lowers except Durandus, who, about a century later, described
the sacramental character in these terms : Character non est
aliqua natura absoluta, sed est sola relatio rationis, per quam
ex institutione vel pactione divina deputatur aliquis ad sacras
actiones.13
Peter Lombard barely refers to the sacramental character,
but Alexander of Hales gives a full exposition of the doctrine.
According to him, the character imprinted by the sacraments
is an objective and absolute reality that adheres to the soul.
It belongs to the first species of qualities, which is termed
habitus. Its primary purpose is to dispose the soul for the
reception of grace, and to mark it as belonging to the flock of
Christ. Each of the three characters is the foundation of a
peculiar relation to the Savior. That of baptism makes the
recipient like unto Him as Head of the Church; that of con
firmation produces a somewhat similar likeness to Him as
King of the sacred hosts; while that of orders assimilates the
newly ordained to Him as Sovereign Priest. Its proximate
subject is not the substance of the soul, but the potencies, and
through them it inheres in the soul itself. It is especially at
tributed to the intellect, as that faculty is more expressive of
the divine image in man. By divine ordination it is indeli-
10 In Sent. IV, d. 6, q. 9, n. 14. 12 De Sacrament, c. 3.
11 Ibid. d. 4, q. I. 13 In Sent. IV, d. 4, q. I.
288 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ble, and therefore will remain in the soul for all eternity.14
St. Bonaventure gives the same exposition, both as regards
the nature and purpose of the sacramental character and its
proximate subject. He explicitly refutes five different views
on the nature of the sacramental character, which were held
in his day. The first regarded the character as a mere con
secration of the soul; the second, as a potency; the third, as
a passible quality; the fourth, as a form or figure; the fifth,
as some unclassified infused quality. After giving the reason
for rejecting these views, he establishes his own, holding with
Alexander that the sacramental character is an indelible
habitus, which, residing proximately in the faculties, disposes
the soul for the reception of sanctifying grace.15
Albertus Magnus takes practically the same position, except
that he favors the opinion which makes the intellect the prox
imate subject of the sacramental character.16 St. Thomas,
on the other hand, looked at the matter in quite a different
light. In the first place, he set aside the opinion, rather com
mon in his day, that the character is a habitus; and the reason
he gives for this is that no virtuous habit, such as the character
would have to be if it were a habitus, can be used indifferently
for good or evil, as is the case with the sacramental character.
Then, as the character is permanent and indelible, it can evi
dently not be a passio, which is a merely transient modifica
tion ; hence he concludes that it is a potential
This conclusion, moreover, he reasons out by a consider
ation of the end for which the sacraments were instituted.
Their purpose is not only to serve as a remedy against sin, as
was commonly held at the time, but furthermore to perfect the
soul in those things which pertain to the service of God ac
cording to the Christian manner of life. Hence some sacra
ments imprint a character, in order to fit man for this serv
ice.18 Now, divine service consists either in receiving some
thing sacred for oneself or in giving it to others; and for
both purposes a certain power is required, passive in one case
i* Sum. IV, q. 8, m. 8, a. I. 16 Ibid. d. 6, a. 3, 4.
15 In Sent. IV, d. 6, p. i, a. unic. " Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 63, a. 2.
q. i, 2. 18 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 63, a. I.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 289
and active in the other. Consequently, the sacramental char
acter imparts a certain spiritual power, whose direct object
is the service or worship of God. Still, this power, and there
fore the character itself, is, properly speaking, not in any genus
or species, but is reducible to the second species of quality, and
in this sense it is a potential
Considered in relation to its primary purpose, the sacra
mental character is a participation in the eternal priesthood of
Christ, whence the Christian manner of worship is derived.
Hence every one of the faithful, by the very fact of his bap
tism, is clothed with a priesthood like that of the eternal
High Priest. This likeness is perfected in confirmation, and
brought to its highest perfection in the sacrament of orders.20
On the other hand, the sacramental character may also be con
sidered as a configuration or resemblance of the soul to the
Blessed Trinity, but only through Christ, who is the bright
ness of God's glory and the figure of His substance.21
Finally, as the sacramental character is a potentia, and is
primarily imprinted for the purpose of fitting the recipient for
rendering God due service, either by receiving the sacraments
himself or by administering them to others, its proximate sub
ject is not the substance of the soul but its faculties.22 And
as, moreover, the reception and administration of the sacra
ments is in a certain manner a profession of faith, the charac
ter is properly said to reside in the intellect.23
For a time this teaching of St. Thomas gained many fol
lowers, but later theologians, with the exception of the
Thomists, quite generally set it aside as being more or less
arbitrary. For whatever be said about the baptismal and
sacerdotal character in this respect, it seems quite obvious that
the character bestowed in confirmation does not confer any
power, either active or passive, which is not already possessed
in virtue of baptism. And this is admitted by St. Thomas
himself. Hence, outside the Thomistic school, it has become
the common teaching of theologians that the character is simply
19 Ibid. a. 2. 22 Ibid. a. 4.
20 Ibid. a. 3. 2a Ibid. a. 4, ad 3m.
21 Ibid.
290 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
a supernatural quality which places the soul in a special rela
tion to Christ, and in view of its sacramental origin entitles
man to those abundant helps to salvation which the sacraments
were intended to confer.24
A word may here be added in reference to the rather
peculiar position of Duns Scotus. After rejecting the argu
ments of St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas, which were ad
vanced by these authors for the express purpose of proving
that the sacramental character must be regarded as an abso
lute quality, he states his own view in the following terms:
" Notwithstanding these reasons, which do not conclude, it
may be said that the character is only some kind of extrinsic
relation of the soul itself, caused directly by God in the recep
tion of the sacraments that are initerable ; for putting the mat
ter in this way, all that is commonly said about the character
is perfectly safe." 25 This extrinsic relation is supposed to be
real, and has the will for its proximate term.26 Hence the
view of Scotus regarding the sacramental character is different
from that of Durandus, but its drawbacks are hardly less se
rious; for it is impossible to conceive a real relation of this
kind without some absolute quality as its foundation in the
soul. For this reason modern followers of Scotus usually in
terpret his teaching on the sacramental character as postulat
ing such an absolute quality; yet, to all appearances, he him
self did not consider it necessary.
3. Need of Intention. — That neither sanctity nor faith is
required for the valid administration of the sacraments is the
common teaching of the Scholastics.27 But not the same
unanimity is found in their statements regarding the need of
intention. Thus Rolandus held that baptism would be valid
even if the minister had no intention whatever, provided he
administered the sacramental rite according to the prescription
of the Church.28 Hugh of St. Victor, on the other hand, re
garded this view as absurd.29 So did the author of the
2*Cfr. Pesch, Praelect. Dogm. 27 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
VI, n. 189 sq. q. 64, a. 5, 9.
25 In Sent. IV, d. 6, q. 10, n. 2, 13. 28 Sent. Gietl, p. 206.
2« In Sent. IV, d. 6, q. n. 29 De Sacr. II, 6, 13.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 291
Summa Sententiarum?® and Peter Lombard.31 But Robert
Pulleyn, at the beginning of the thirteenth century, tried to
refute the arguments of Hugh, and stated in very explicit
terms : " Baptism is valid when the rite is outwardly per
formed in its entirety, whatever be the inward intention of him
who baptizes or of him who is baptized." 32
A little later Alexander of Hales formulated a rule in regard
to baptism which was generally adopted by later Scholastics,
and applied to other sacraments as well. He expresses it in
this way. " Whenever anyone uses the proper words and
has the intention of doing what the Church does, although he
understands not what that may be — that is, he intends to
do what the Church has been accustomed to do — that bap
tism is valid." 33 Yet, even he admitted that the want of in
tention on the part of the minister might be supplied by Christ,
at least in the case of those sacraments that are necessary for
salvation.34 Some also interpret a passage in the works of St.
Thomas as upholding this view, but others understand it in a
different sense.35 Innocent IV is frequently cited in favor of
the opinion that there is no need of an interior intention; but
without just reason. He treats the question of the validity of
baptism in his commentary on the third book of Decretals,
which he wrote before his elevation to the pontifical chair; and
although he maintains that the minister need not " bear in
mind to do what the Church does," or " may even have the
contrary in mind," still in this contention he refers merely to
the minister's understanding of the end intended, not to the
fact of an interior intention as such. Hence his further
statement : " The baptism is valid, provided he intends to
baptize." 36
At all events, the general teaching of the thirteenth-century
and later Scholastics is that an interior or mental intention is
required on the part of the minister for the valid administra
tion of the sacraments. The principle underlying this teach-
30 Sent. IV, d. 6, 5. 34 Loc. cit.
31 Op. cit. tr. 6, 9. S5 In Sent. IV, d. 6, q. i, a. 2.
52 Sent. V, c. 16. 36 Tit. 42, c. 2 ; cf r. Pesch, Prae-
33 Sum. IV, q. 8, m. 3, a. I. lect. Dogm. VI, p. 120.
292 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ing is thus stated by St. Thomas : " When a rite is of such
a nature that it may indifferently signify many things, it must
be determined in its signification by something else. Now,
the sacramental rites are of this kind; thus ablution in bap
tism may have for its end either bodily cleanness, or bodily
health, or mere enjoyment, or many other things of a similar
kind; and therefore it is necessary that it be determined
by the intention of the minister to signify one of them, that is,
to signify the sacramental effect." 37 And that he under
stands this intention to be interior or mental, the author
indicates in his answer to an objection drawn from the dis
tractions that may occur during the performance of the sacra
mental rite; for he says: " If, while making ready to baptize,
the priest intends to do in baptism what the Church does,'
then, even if during the rite his thoughts wander to something
else, the sacrament is valid in virtue of the intention which he
actually had before he began to baptize." 38 This teaching
had already been embodied in the profession of faith which
Innocent III required of converts from the Waldensian error.39
A similar intention was also required in the recipient of the
sacraments. Hence the same Pope decided that those who
approach baptism induced by fear of punishment, and those
who are baptized while unconscious or asleep, do not receive
the sacrament unless they have an actual or habitual intention
to that effect.40
4. The Number Seven. — Before the number of the sacra
ments could be determined, there was need of an exact defini
tion which marked off the sacramental rites from all other
sacred ceremonies. Such a definition was worked out in the
twelfth century, and it was at that time that seven religious
rites began to be exclusively designated as sacraments. All of
them had been known to Patristic writers, and the Church had
used them from the beginning of her existence; but so long as
there was no strict definition of a sacrament, the term was
applied indiscriminately to all rites and ceremonies that had a
religious character. Hence, what the Scholastics achieved
37 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 64, a. 8. 39 DB. 424.
38 Ibid. a. 8 ad 3°>. 40 Ibid. 411.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 293
was not the invention of sacramental rites, but their proper
classification by means of an exact definition. It was this
classification that the unknown author of the Summa Sen-
tentiarum had in mind when he wrote : " A sacrament is not
merely a sign of a sacred thing, but it also exerts efficacy in
its respect. And this is the difference between a sign and a
sacrament : in order to be a sign nothing is required except
that it signifies the thing of which it is a sign, without in any
way bestowing the same; but a sacrament furthermore also
bestows that of which it is a sign or expression." 41
The work of classification itself proceeded slowly, even after
the principle upon which it was to rest had been clearly enun
ciated. This was partly owing to the want of proper terms
for sacred rites that were not productive of grace. It was not
until Alexander of Hales coined the term sacramental that the
name sacrament could be used in an exclusive sense. Hence
the earliest attempts at classification distinguished between
sacramenta majora and minora, that is, between sacred rites
that were held to be of great importance because of their in
timate connection with salvation, and others that were con
sidered of less importance. That distinction is already found
in the works of Abelard,42 of Hugh of St. Victor,43 and
Alger of Liege,44 all of whom wrote in the first half of the
twelfth century. They, however, enumerate only five sacra
ments among the majora: Eucharist, baptism, confirmation,
matrimony, and extreme unction; or as Alger gives them:
Eucharist, baptism, chrisma (confirmation), confession, and
orders.45
At the same time, or perhaps a little later, the author of
the Summa Sententiarum speaks about " all the sacraments/'
and then treats of baptism, confirmation, the Eucharist, pen
ance, anointing of the sick, and matrimony; thus leaving out
the sacrament of orders; but to that he refers in connection
with the keys which are given at the consecration of the
priest.46 Meanwhile in Abelard's own school penance and
41 Op. cit. tr. 4, c. i. 44 De Misericord, et Just. I, 62-70.
42 Epit. Theol. Christ. 28. 45 Loc. cit. ML, 180, 884.
43 De Sacr. I, 9, II, 9, i. 46 Op. cit. tr. 5-7.
294 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
orders, which he himself had passed by, were also counted
with the other five. Thus Rolandus 47 and Omnebene 48
speak first in a general way of the sacramentum Incarnationis,
and then of baptism, confirmation, the sacrament of the body
and blood of Christ, penance, the conferring of the keys, and
matrimony. At the same time, however, all these authors
still apply the name sacrament also to other religious rites;
and so too did the Third Lateran, 1179, and a synod of Lon
don held in I237.49 It was Peter Lombard who first enu
merated the seven sacraments in their present order, and
designated them exclusively as sacraments ; 50 but it took some
little time before his terminology was universally accepted.
From the foregoing brief statements it appears sufficiently
clear that the classification of seven religious rites as sacra
ments did not result from the individual speculation of the
Lombard, as is frequently maintained by Protestant writers.
He merely gave the finishing touch to a development that had
been going on for generations. Nay, it seems that even in
dependently of his speculations the same classification re
sulted spontaneously from the traditional teaching of the
Church. For in a sermon which was written down at the very
latest towards the middle of the twelfth century, we find this
striking passage : " As I am about to depart from you, I de
liver to you what was delivered unto us by the Lord, a pledge
of the holy faith between you and God, namely, the seven
sacraments of the Church, as the seven sanctifying gifts of
the Holy Spirit. . . . For your sake I deem it proper to enu
merate them once more, and to point out which they are —
baptism, confirmation, the anointing of the sick, the Eucharist,
the reconciliation of sinners, matrimony, and orders. . . .
Wherefore retain them with all honor and reverence, love and
revere them; teach them to your children, so that they may
know them by heart and diligently guard them for all future
generations." 51
After the twelfth century theologians no longer inquired
47 Cf r. Gietl, 157 sqq. BO Sent. IV, d. 2, I.
48Cfr. Denifle, ALKG, I, 467. « Cf r. Bolland. I, Jul. 396;
49 Mansi, 22, 221 ; 23, 448. Monum. Germ. Hist. Script. 20, 732.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 295
into the number of the sacraments, but they displayed con
siderable ingenuity in thinking out reasons why there should
be seven. They were convinced that Christ had given seven
sacraments to His Church, neither more nor less; but why
seven? In answer to this question they advanced a great
variety of divergent views. Thus Albertus Magnus thought
that the sacraments were instituted as so many remedies
against the seven capital sins.52 St. Bonaventure coordinated
them with the three theological and the four cardinal virtues.53
St. Thomas pointed out the evident correspondence that is
found between man's natural and supernatural life, and thence
derived reasons of congruity as to why there should be five
sacraments to provide for man's spiritual needs in so far as
he is an individual human being, and two others to be of help
to him in his relation to society.54 It must be noted, however,
that as all these authors presuppose the existence of seven
sacraments, the various reasons advanced by them are not in
tended to prove anything else than the fitness of the divine
institution.
5. Institution of the Sacraments. — The traditional teaching
of the Church in regard to the institution of the sacraments
was thus formulated by a fourth- or fifth-century writer, to
whom the treatise De Sacramentis is attributed : " The au
thor of the sacraments? Who is he, if not the Lord Jesus?
The sacraments have come down from heaven." 55 This tra
ditional view, in so far as it merely asserts that the sacra
ments were in some way instituted by Christ, was universally
adopted by the Scholastics. But on the further question,
whether Christ instituted the sacraments immediately, in per
son, or through the agency of others, there was no absolute
agreement. Thus Hugh of St. Victor and Peter Lombard
held that extreme unction was instituted by the Apostles ; 56
and the same was taught by Alexander of Hales 57 and St.
Bonaventure.58 The latter expressed a similar view with re-
52 In Sent. IV, d. 2, a. I. 56 Hugh, De Sacr. II, 15, n;
53 Breviloq. VI, 3. Lomb. Sent. IV, d. 23, c. 3.
54 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 65, a. I. 57 Sum. IV, q. 9, m. I, 2.
55 Op. cit. ML, 16, 439. 58 In Sent. IV, d. 23, a. I, q. 2.
296 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
gard to confirmation,59 while the former attributed the insti
tution of that sacrament to the Council of Meaux, held in
845. Before that time, he contended, the Holy Ghost had
been imparted to the faithful without the medium of any
sacramental rite.60
St. Bonaventure, however, seems to have changed his mind
towards the end of his life. For in his Breviloquiwn he says :
" Christ instituted the aforesaid sacraments in different ways.
Some of them he instituted by confirming, approving, and per
fecting what already existed, as matrimony and penance ; some
others, by insinuating and initiating them, as confirmation and
extreme unction; others again, by initiating, consummating,
and receiving them Himself, as the sacrament of baptism, the
Eucharist, and orders. These three He instituted fully, and
He was also the first to receive them." 61 Even Alexander
states in one place that all the sacraments were instituted
either by Christ Himself or by the Apostles, in virtue of His
authority.62
AJbertus Magnus,63 St. Thomas,64 and Duns Scotus65
attribute the institution of all the sacraments immediately to
Christ, so that the Apostles simply used and promulgated what
Christ had established. St. Thomas, while speaking of ex
treme unction, expresses his view in these terms : " In re
gard to this sacrament there are two opinions. Some there
are who say that Christ did not institute extreme unction and
confirmation in person, but commissioned the Apostles to in
stitute them; because these two, on account of the fullness of
grace which is conferred in them, could not be instituted be
fore the final sending of the Holy Spirit. . . . Others say
that Christ instituted all the sacraments in person; but that
He personally promulgated only those which present greater
difficulty in the way of belief, while He left it to the Apostles
to promulgate the others, such as extreme unction and con
firmation. And this opinion appears all the more probable
59 Ibid. d. 7, a. i, q. I. e3 In Sent. IV, d. 7, a. 1-3 .
60Loc. cit. m. i. 64Ibid. q. I, a. 1-3.
61 Op. cit. VI, c. 4. 65 Ibid. d. 2, q. i.
62 Op. cit. q. 5, m. 2, a. I.
THE SACRAMENTS IN GENERAL 297
as the sacraments belong to what is fundamental in the New
Law, and therefore their institution pertains to the Lawgiver
Himself." 66 And where he speaks of the sacraments in gen
eral, he simply states that they were instituted by God potestate
auctoritatis, and by Christ potestate excellentiae?'1
After the time of St. Thomas the immediate institution of
the sacraments by Christ was universally taught in the schools,
and not until the seventeenth century was the mediate institu
tion of some of the sacraments again defended by theologians.
Then, however, the question was proposed in a different form,
namely, whether Christ determined the sacramental rite in
gcnere only or also in specie. Thus put, the question is still
waiting for a solution.
The principal points contained in the foregoing two chap
ters, which set forth the teaching of the Scholastics on the
sacraments in general, were embodied by the Council of Trent
in its various definitions of doctrines then under discussion.
The septenary number of the sacraments, their institution by
Christ, their efficacy ex op ere operato, the conferring of grace,
the impression of a character by baptism, confirmation, and
orders; the difference between the sacraments of the Old and
New Law, the need of an intention on the part of the minis
ter, the validity of the sacraments conferred by ministers in
the state of mortal sin — all these points were clearly defined
and proposed for the acceptance of the faithful.68 It is true,
not all of the doctrines thus defined had been brought to their
full development by the labor of the Scholastics; but in no
other field of theological inquiry did the Schoolmen achieve
more satisfactory results than in sacramental theology.
66 Sum. Theol. Suppl. 29, a. 3. 68 DB, 844-856.
67 Ibid. Ill, q. 64, a. 2, 3.
CHAPTER XVII
BAPTISM: CONFIRMATION
After considering the points that are common to all the
sacraments, or at least to several of them, the Scholastics
proceed to investigate each sacrament in particular. They
inquire into the time and circumstances of its institution, its
nature, effects, and the manner of its administration. In this
study they are, as a general rule, rather diffuse, considering
not only dogmatic questions, but also such as have an ex
clusively moral bearing. Hence in the following chapters it
will be impossible to do more than give the barest outline of
their teaching, setting forth only such points as are of more
particular interest and importance in the history of dogmatic
development.
A — BAPTISM
Peter Lombard describes baptism in these terms : " Bap
tism is called a dipping in — intinctio — , that is, an external
washing of the body done while pronouncing a prescribed
formula. For, if the washing be not accompanied by the
pronouncing of the words, no sacrament is had, but when the
washing in the water is accompanied by the pronouncing of
the words, it becomes a sacrament ; the water itself does not,
indeed, become a sacrament, but the washing in the water." l
Hence the sacrament of baptism consists of two parts: a
bodily ablution with water and a prescribed form of words.
The bodily ablution was considered by the Scholastics both
under an active and a passive aspect. Under its active aspect
they understood by it the action of the minister in so far as he
applies the baptismal \vater to the subject and pronounces the
1 Sent. IV, d. 3, c. I.
298
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 299
prescribed form. Under its passive aspect they considered the
ablution precisely as received by the subject. From this dis
tinction arose the question, under which of these two aspects
does the ablution properly constitute the sacrament of bap
tism? Some answered this question by saying that the sac
rament is properly in the person who is regenerated by it, and
therefore it is the ablution in its passive sense that constitutes
the sacrament.2 Others made a distinction between the sac
rament as a sign of grace and a cause of regeneration. In
the former sense the sacrament was said to consist in the
ablution as applied by the minister; in the latter, as received
by the subject.3 Others, again, argued that the sacrament is
primarily an efficacious sign of grace, and therefore it is the
ablution taken in an active sense that properly constitutes its
essence.4
In connection with this discussion a distinction was made
between the remote and proximate matter of baptism, and
thereby different definitions were more or less reconciled.
The remote matter is the water itself that is to be used in the
sacramental rite; and it was with this before his mind that
Hugh of St. Victor said : " Baptism is the water that is sanc
tified for the blotting out of sin." 5 The proximate matter is
the application of the baptismal water to the subject, or the
bodily ablution taken in an active sense ; and referring to this
the Lombard defined baptism as a bodily ablution under a
prescribed form of words.6
Again, in the same connection a distinction was made be
tween the sacrament only, the sacrament and the thing, and
the thing only — sacramentum tantum, sacramentum et res,
res tantum. The first is the sacramental rite in itself, the
second is the character, the third is sacramental grace. In
reference to this St. Bonaventure states : " Baptism is some
times denominated a sacrament from the sacramentum et res,
which is the character ; hence the Damascene writes : * Bap-
2Cfr. William of Auxerre, Sum. * Cf r. Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill,
IV, tr. 3, c. 2. q. 66, a. i.
3 Cf r. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. B De Sacr. Ill, p. 6, c. 2.
3, p. i, a. i, q. 2. 6Loc. cit.
300 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
tism is the principle of spiritual life, a seal and safeguard
and an illumination of the mind.' " 7 And thus the various
definitions are substantially the same, only they refer to dif
ferent aspects of baptism.
Regarding the form of baptism, all the Scholastics were
agreed that in their day the invocation of the Blessed Trinity
was of obligation. The majority also held that the Trini
tarian form was necessary for the validity of the sacrament.
However, Hugh of St. Victor 8 and Peter Lombard 9 were
of opinion that baptism administered in the name of Jesus
might still be considered valid. On the other hand, they all
held that baptism in the name of Jesus, without an explicit
invocation of the Blessed Trinity, had been both valid and
licit in the first ages of the Church. To this conclusion they
argued from what they found in the Acts of the Apostles,10
from a statement of St. Ambrose,11 and from a decision given
by Pope Nicholas I.12 They pointed out, however, that the
primitive usage rested upon a special dispensation from the
general law of baptism under the explicit invocation of the
Blessed Trinity. And the reason for this dispensation they
found in the fact that in the beginning the name of Jesus was
still unknown, or where known it was generally despised ; and
therefore, in order to cause this name to become known and
honored, it was ordained that for some time it alone should
be used in the administration of the baptismal rite.13
That according to the ordinary law of baptism an explicit
invocation of the Blessed Trinity is essential, is thus taught
by St. Thomas, with whom St. Bonaventure and others are
in full agreement. " The sacraments," he says, " have their
efficacy from the institution of Christ. And therefore if any
of those things be omitted which Christ instituted in regard
to any one of the sacraments, it is without efficacy; except
when the omission occurs in virtue of a dispensation granted
7 In Sent IV, d. 3, p. I, a. i q. I. 12 Ad Bulgaros, DB. 335.
8 De Sacr. II, p. 6, c. 2. 13 Thomas, Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 66,
9 Sent. IV, d. 3, c. 4. a. 6 ad im ; Bonavent. In Sent. loc.
10 Op. cit. 2, 38; 8, 16; 10, .8. cit. a. 2, i, 2 ad 3m.
11 De Spirit. Sanct. c. 3.
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 301
by Him who connected His own power with the sacramental
rite. Now Christ ordained that the sacrament of baptism
should be conferred under the invocation of the Trinity; and
therefore if anything be wanting to the full invocation of the
Trinity, the integrity of baptism is thereby destroyed. Nor
is this conclusion invalidated by the fact that in the name of
one person that of another is understood (thus in the name of
the Father the Son is understood), or that he who names one
person only can have the right faith concerning the three:
because just as sensible matter is required for the sacrament,
so likewise is there required a sensible form. Hence a mere
understanding of the doctrine or interior faith in the Trinity
does not suffice for the validity of the sacrament, unless the
Trinity be also mentioned in words that can be perceived by
the senses." 14
Besides the three holy names, the form of baptism must also
express the act of baptizing. The reason for this is thus given
by St. Bonaventure : " As stated by Alexander, the word ex
pressing the act of baptizing is essential to the form. And the
reason for it is the institution of the sacrament itself. Fur
thermore, the reason why the sacrament was thus instituted
is this, because in administering the sacrament there is need
of an intention; then, too, this sacrament is necessary for sal
vation and is conferred on some one distinct from the minister.
Hence to avoid the danger of not having the proper inten
tion, it is necessary that this intention be expressed by a proper
word in the form." 15
St. Thomas gives a different reason. " Baptism," he says,
" is consecrated by its form. . . . Therefore it is necessary
that in the form of baptism the cause of baptism be expressed.
Now the cause is twofold : the one is the principal cause, from
which baptism has its power, and this is the Blessed Trinity;
the other is the instrumental cause, namely, the minister, who
confers the exterior sacrament. Hence it is necessary that in
the form of baptism mention be made of both. Nowr the
ministerial cause is mentioned by saying : I baptise thee ; and
i* Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 66, a. 6. 15 In Sent. IV, d. 3, p. i, a. 2, q. I.
.302 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
the principal cause, by saying : In the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost." 16
The manner of baptizing was still in a state of transition,
from immersion to affusion. Peter Lombard mentions im
mersion only, but later writers refer to both as being in use
simultaneously in different churches. St. Bonaventure states
that although baptism by affusion is customary in some places,
the Roman Church still baptizes by immersion.17 Albertus
Magnus considers baptism by immersion more praiseworthy,18
and St. Thomas speaks of baptism by affusion as being more
or less exceptional.19 However the general rule laid down
was, that the custom of the place where baptism was admin
istered should be observed.
In regard to the effect produced by baptism it was cus
tomary to make a threefold distinction. In the first place, all
hold that baptism imprints an indelible character on the soul,
and this effect is produced by every valid baptism.20 Secondly,
all are agreed that in a properly disposed subject sin and the
punishment due to sin are entirely blotted out.21 Thirdly,
they are also agreed that when adults are baptized, and are
properly disposed, they receive sanctifying grace together with
the infused virtues and the gifts of the Holy Spirit.22 The
amount of grace, however, in the case of adults, varies accord
ing to the different dispositions with which the sacrament is
received. The person who is better disposed receives more
grace, and the one who is less well disposed receives less
grace.23
When there is question of the baptism of infants, all teach
that a character is imprinted on the soul and that original sin
and its punishment are blotted out; but there is some differ
ence of opinion in regard to infusion of grace and the accom
panying virtues. St. Thomas speaks of this diversity of
16 Loc. cit. a. 5 ; Sent. d. 3, c. 7. 21 Cf r. Thomas, In Sent. IV, d.
17 In Sent. d. 3, p. 2, a. 2, q. I. 4, q. 2.
18 Ibid. a. 5. 22 Bonavent. op. cit. d. 4, p. I, a.
19 Op. cit. q. 66, a. 7. i, q. 3.
20 Cfr. Bonavent. Op. cit. d. 6, p. 23 Ibid. ; Thomas, Sum. Theol.
I, a. unic. q. 4; Thomas, op. cit. q. Ill, q. 69, a. 8.
69, a. 8.
THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM 303
opinion as follows : " Some of the older teachers held that
in the baptism of children grace and the virtues were not
infused, but that the character of Christ was imprinted on
their souls, in virtue of which, when arrived at the age of
reason, they received grace and the virtues. But this appears
to be false for two reasons : First, because children, the same
as adults, are in baptism made members of Christ; and hence
it is necessary that they receive from the Head an influx of
grace and virtue. Secondly, because according to this, chil
dren dying after baptism would not attain eternal life, as it is
said that the grace of God is life everlasting; and thus it would
be of no benefit to them to have been baptized. The cause
of the error lay in this, that they did not know how to dis
tinguish between the virtues and their acts ; and hence seeing
that children are incapable of eliciting acts of virtue, they
thought that after baptism they in no way had the virtues
themselves." 24
The question had already been referred to by Innocent III
in 1 20 1, but was left undecided.25 Clement V took the matter
up again at the Council of Vienne, held in 1311, and gave his
decision in these terms : " The second opinion, which holds
that in baptism sanctifying grace and the virtues are con
ferred on children as well as on adults, is more in harmony
and concord with the sayings of the saints and the teaching
of modern theologians; and therefore, with the approval of
this holy Council, we have thought proper to give it 'the prefer
ence." 20 This view was adopted as certain by the Council of
Trent.27
In the case of adults, the principal effect of baptism, that is,
the infusion of grace and the blotting out of sin, may also be
obtained by the baptism of desire, which consists in an act of
perfect contrition and the intention of receiving the sacrament
at an opportune time. " God," says St. Bonaventure, " obliges
no one to do the impossible, . . . and therefore it must be
admitted that the baptism of desire without the baptism of
water is sufficient, provided the person in question has the
24 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 69, a. 7. 26 Mansi, 25, 410; DB. 483.
25 DB. 410. 27 DB> goo.
304 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
will to receive the baptism of water, but is prevented from do
ing so before he dies." 28 Or as St. Thomas words it :
" Although the effect depends on the First Cause, nevertheless
the Cause exceeds the effect and is not dependent thereon.
And for that reason one may obtain the effect of the sacrament
aside from the baptism of water, namely through the suffer
ings of Christ, in so far as one becomes conformable to Him
in suffering for His sake. . . . And for the same reason one
may also obtain the effect of baptism through the power of the
Holy Spirit, not only without the baptism of water but also
without the baptism of blood; namely, in so far as anyone's
heart is moved by the Holy Ghost to believe and to love God,
and to do penance for his sins; hence it is also called the
baptism of penance." 29
What St. Thomas here says about the baptism of blood, that
it justifies before God without the baptism of water, is the
common teaching of the Scholastics, and was taught by the
Church from the beginning. Still they generally point out
that per se it frees from venial sins only ; because mortal sins,
if there be any, must be blotted out by charity, without which
even martyrdom " would be of no avail unto salvation." 30
There is no complete agreement among the Scholastics in
regard to the time when baptism was instituted. " Concern
ing the institution of baptism, as regards the time," says the
Lombard, " there are various opinions. Some say that bap
tism was instituted when Christ said to Nicodemus: Unless
a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot
enter into the kingdom of heaven. Others hold that the in
stitution of baptism took place when He said to the Apostles :
Go, teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.31 Alexander of
Hales 32 and Albertus Magnus 33 make a distinction between
formal and material institution. Baptism, they say, was
formally instituted after Christ's resurrection, when He sent
28 In Sent. IV. d. 4, p. 2, a. I, q. I. 31 Sent. d. 3, n. 5.
29 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 66, a. n. 32 Sum. IV, q. 8, m. 2, a. 3.
30 In Sent. IV, d. 4, p. 2, a. 2, q. 33 In Sent. d. 3, a. 8.
i ; Cfr. Thomas, II. II, q. 124, a. 2
ad 2m.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 305
His Apostles to baptize all nations ; it was materially instituted
when Christ Himself was baptized by John. However, ac
cording to the more common view, held by St. Bonaventure,34
St. Thomas,35 and Duns Scotus,36 the sacrament was insti
tuted before Christ's sufferings and death, and probably at
the time of His own baptism.
The obligation of receiving baptism did not come into force
until after the death of Christ, as is admitted even by those who
hold that the sacrament was instituted before He suffered;
but on the further question, how soon after His death that
obligation arose, there is no agreement. St. Thomas 37 and
Albertus Magnus 38 consider it probable that it began immedi
ately, so that after Christ had died for the sins of the world,
baptism became forthwith the ordinary means of justification
for all men. On the other hand, Alexander of Hales,39 St.
Bonaventure,40 Richard of Middleton,41 and Scotus42 hold
that the obligation to receive baptism did not begin until the
law had been sufficiently promulgated ; which promulgation
took place gradually, up to the fall of Jerusalem.
B — CONFIRMATION
In regard to confirmation comparatively little is said by the
Scholastics. The Lombard puts all he has to say on the sub
ject in two short paragraphs. The form, he says, is known
to all ; the sacrament can be administered only by a bishop ;
it must be received by all Christians ; it confers the Holy Spirit,
and for that reason it is of a higher dignity than baptism; it
cannot be repeated.43 These few points were taken by his
commentators and made the headings of so many distinct ques
tions or articles, to which were usually added a few subordi
nate considerations by way of clearer and fuller exposition.
Although in olden times confirmation was intimately con
nected with baptism, yet most Scholastics simply assume that
34 Ibid. p. 2, a. I, q. I. 39 Qp. cit q. 8, m. 2, a. 3.
35 Ibid. q. i, a. 3. *o Loc. cit. a. 3, q. I.
36 Ibid. q. 4, n. 2. *i Ibid. a. 5.
37 Ibid. q. i, a. 5. 42 Ibid, q. 4.
ss Ibid. a. 6. 43 Sent. d. 7, n. 2.
306 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
it is a distinct sacrament. St. Thomas, however, thinks it
proper to give a proof to that effect. He proposes it in these
terms : " The sacraments of the New Law were instituted
for the production of special effects in the order of grace.
Hence, wherever a special effect of grace is produced, there
we must admit a distinct sacrament. . . . Now it is manifest
that in man's bodily life a certain perfection is acquired when
he arrives at mature age, and in consequence is capable of
performing perfect actions ; . . . and hence it is that besides
generation, from which he receives bodily life, there is also
the movement to augmentation, by which he is brought to a
perfect state. And so man receives spiritual life through bap
tism, which is a spiritual regeneration; but in confirmation he
attains to a certain maturity in the spiritual life. . . . And
therefore it is manifest that confirmation is a special sacra
ment." 44
The external rite of confirmation, according to all the
Scholastics, comprises the anointing of the forehead with con
secrated chrism and the verbal form : Consigno te signo cru-
cis, et confirmo te chrismate salutis, in nomine Patris, et Filii,
et Spiritus Sancti.^ The previous consecration or blessing
of the chrism by a bishop is regarded as essential, so that
without it the sacrament would not be valid. The reason
usually assigned for the necessity of this consecration is that
Christ Himself did not consecrate the matter of this sacra
ment by His own use. For He did not receive confirmation,
and so He did not impart a blessing to its material element.
Yet, on the other hand, only consecrated material elements
can be used in the administration of the sacraments; hence,
as the bishop cannot consecrate chrism by simply using it, he
must do so by a previous blessing.46
Furthermore, according to Alexander of Hales and St. Bona-
venture, as was pointed out in the preceding chapter, Christ
did not designate the matter and form of confirmation,
although the efficacy of the sacrament must in the last in
stance be attributed to Him. Hence these authors regard
44 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 72, a. I. 46 Cfr. ibid. a. 3 ; Bonavent. In
45 Ibid. a. 4. Sent. IV, d. 7, a. i, q. 2.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 307
the sacramental rite of confirmation as having a purely ecclesi
astical origin, and consequently as needing a special consecra
tion, so far as its material element conies in question, before
it may be used to confer the Holy Spirit. St. Thomas and
others set aside this aspect of the question. They hold that
Christ not only instituted the sacrament of confirmation in
the sense that He is the author of the grace conferred thereby,
but that He also designated the very matter and form that
were used in after ages. Hence, according to them, the
Apostles usually administered confirmation not by a mere im
position of hands and a suitable prayer, but by the use of
chrism and a corresponding form.47 Thus the historical
difficulty arising from an apparent change of matter and form,
which exercised the ingenuity of later theologians, had prac
tically no existence for these writers.
The ordinary minister of confirmation is the bishop, and
the bishop only, although the Pope, in the plenitude of his
power, may at times depute a simple priest to administer the
sacrament.48 St. Bonaventure assigns two reasons why it is
that bishops alone can confirm in virtue of their ordinary
power. The first is that it was so in the beginning; for then
confirmation was reserved to the Apostles, and it is only the
bishops who are properly speaking their successors. The
second consists in the fact that the bishops are the highest
prelates in the Church, and it is their office to provide such
things as are necessary for the defense of their flock.49 The
same reasons are also given by St. Thomas.50 But as St.
Bonaventure remarks, many others might be assigned, as this
is a matter of fitness rather than of necessity.51
The effect of confirmation is twofold: it confers sanctify
ing grace and imprints a sacramental character. Concerning
the former St. Bonaventure remarks : " Theologians agree in
this, that confirmation confers sanctifying grace. But it must
be noted that grace is termed sanctifying in two ways : First,
when it makes one pleasing to God who before was not pleas-
47 Loc. cit. a. 2. 49 Loc cit.
48 Ibid. a. ii ; Bonavent. op. cit. d. 50Loc. cit.
7, a. i, q. 3. 51 Loc. cit.
3o8 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
ing to Him; and such is the grace of baptism and of penance.
Secondly, when it makes one who is already pleasing to God
more pleasing to Him ; and such is the grace of confirmation,
which augments and confirms the grace already present in the
soul." 52 St Thomas infers the bestowal of sanctifying grace
in confirmation from the fact that the Holy Spirit is given —
missio sen datio Spiritus Sancti non est nisi cum gratia gratum
faciente.63 And this grace is not given for the blotting out of
sin, as is that of baptism ; but for the increase and greater sta
bility of justice.54 Hence confirmation is a sacrament of the
living, and consequently it must always be received in the state
of grace. However, if any one receives confirmation in the
state of mortal sin, of which he is not conscious and for which
he is not perfectly contrite, grace is nevertheless given him by
the sacrament, provided he is sincere in receiving it under these
conditions.55
Connected with sanctifying grace, as bestowed in confirma
tion, are certain special helps which enable the recipient to
profess his faith boldly under difficult circumstances. Hence
the phrase commonly used by the Scholastics in this connec
tion : Spiritus Sanctus datur ad robur. It is to indicate both
the strength thus imparted and the obligation assumed that the
recipient is anointed on the forehead.56
Confirmation, like baptism, imprints an indelible character
on the soul; and this follows from the very end and purpose
of the sacrament. For in confirmation the Christian becomes
a soldier of Christ, and as such he must have his badge of spe
cial allegiance and service. In virtue of this character, says
Scotus, man is permanently enrolled in the spiritual militia of
Christ, for the purpose of defending the grace merited for him
by the Saviour of the world.57 Or as St. Thomas puts it:
11 In baptism man receives the power of working out his salva
tion in so far as he lives an individual life ; but in confirmation
he receives power to carry on a spiritual warfare against the
52 In Sent. IV, d. 7, a. 2, q. i. 55 Ibid, ad 2m.
53 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 72, a. 7. ®6 Ibid. a. 9.
54 Ibid, ad im. 57 In Sent. IV, d. 7, q. i, n. 4.
THE SACRAMENT OF CONFIRMATION 309
enemies of the faith. . . . And hence it is manifest that the
sacrament of confirmation imprints a character." 58
Although confirmation is not strictly necessary for salva
tion, as all Scholastics are agreed, nevertheless, unless they
have a valid excuse, the faithful are under obligation to receive
the sacrament. " It is the law of the Church," argues St.
Bonaventure, " that all must receive this sacrament, so that
they may be brave in the battle of life: and therefore if any
one, to whom place and time and opportunity are not wanting,
contemptuously neglects to receive confirmation, he exposes
himself to danger." 59 And again: " The grace of confirma
tion is not such that one absolutely cannot be saved without
it; but it is such that without it one is not prepared to battle
for salvation." 60 St. Thomas derives the necessity of con
firmation chiefly from the fact that God intends all men to
reach spiritual perfection, for which it is necessary that they
be assisted by the grace of confirmation, as thereby they grow
in holiness and are firmly established in justice.61
Nearly all the chief points contained in the foregoing sum
mary of Scholastic teaching on baptism and confirmation were
later on embodied in the Decretum pro Armenis, which Pope
Eugenius IV issued while the Council of Florence was in
session, 1438-1445. That document can indeed not be said
to contain new definitions of the faith, yet it offers at least an
authoritative declaration of the accepted teaching of the
Church.62 Furthermore, what touches the nature of the two
sacraments, their matter and form, their institution by Christ,
and their principal effects, was defined by the Council of
Trent.63
58 Loc. cit. a. 5'. 61 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 72, a. 8.
59 Op. cit. d. 7, a. 3, q. 2. 62 DB. 695 sqq.
60 Ibid, ad 3m. 63 DB. 844 sqq.
CHAPTER XVIII
THE HOLY EUCHARIST
THE REAL PRESENCE: TRANSUBSTANTIATION: THE
MANNER OF CHRIST'S PRESENCE: THE ACCI
DENTS OF BREAD AND WINE
The Eucharist was from the beginning the central point of
Christian faith and worship. Christ had indeed ascended into
heaven, yet He had not thereby deprived the earth of His per
sonal presence. He was no longer visible to the bodily eyes
of His followers, but He continued to be discernible by the
eyes of faith in His mysterious presence under the Eucharistic
veil. There the faithful still felt the enduring love of His
human heart; there they still recognized the shrouded majesty
of His incarnate Godhead. Christ risen from the dead dieth
no more: true indeed, but Christ risen from the dead is for
ever an immolated victim on the altar of sacrifice. Around
that altar gathered the martyrs of old ; around the same altar
gathered the believers of all succeeding ages. Without Christ
there is no Christianity; without the Eucharist there is no
Christian worship.
All this was from the very first so clearly and thoroughly
realized that during the seven centuries of Patristic theology,
which were for the most part centuries of great religious
strife, no one ever thought of calling in question the Church's
teaching on the sacrament of Christ's love. The Church used
the Savior's own words in the celebration of the Sacred
Mysteries — this is my body, this is the chalice of my blood —
and these words were understood by all His followers in their
literal sense. That sums up the faith of the Patristic age in
regard to the Blessed Eucharist.1
1 Cf r. vol. I, p. 352 sqq. ; 472 sq.
310
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 311
And this simple faith was taken over by the Scholastics of
the Middle Ages. They accepted the teaching of the Fathers
on this point practically without comment, and incorporated it
in their general system of theology. Most of them treat the
subject with considerable attention to detail, but even in so
doing they contribute little by way of doctrinal development.
If we except the nature of the Eucharistic change, which they
set forth with remarkable clearness, there is hardly any aspect
of the Blessed Sacrament that received a more definite treat
ment in the works of the Scholastics than in those of the
Fathers. And the reason is that the doctrine was almost fully
developed before the Apostles laid down their lives for the
faith which they had delivered to their successors in the teach
ing office of the Church.
In their work of systematizing the teaching of the Fathers
on this matter, the Scholastics say very little about the sacri
ficial aspect of the Eucharist. But that need not appear
strange; for they speak of this mystery of our holy religion
almost exclusively in connection with the other sacraments,
and so it was more or less natural that its sacramental aspect
should chiefly engross their attention. It is for the same rea
son that they discuss the Eucharist as a sacrament before they
consider the doctrine of the Real Presence. In their day it
was perfectly safe to assume Christ's presence on the altar as
something that was admitted by all, and from that assumption
to proceed without delay to an exposition of the sacrament.
At the present time his could hardly be done, and therefore in
the following resume the teaching of the Scholastics on the
Real Presence is put in the first place. It must be noted, how
ever, that this inversion of their order of treatment introduces
no change whatever in the exposition of their doctrine.
I. The Real Presence. — It is quite commonly assumed by
Protestant writers that the ninth-century Eucharistic contro
versy, carried on principally by Radbertus and Ratramnus,
both of Corbie in Picardie, was concerned with the real pres
ence of Christ's body and blood in the Holy Eucharist. But
this assumption is altogether false. The one point at issue
was, whether Christ's Eucharistic body and blood, which both
3i2 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
contestants held to be real, must be conceived as subject to the
laws of space in the same way as was His historic body whilst
tarrying here on earth. While Radbertus gave an affirmative
answer, and in this sense contended that Christ's Eucharistic
body is the same as that which was born of the Virgin Mary,
Ratramnus answered the question in the negative, and in con
sequence maintained that in respect of its relation to space the
historic body of Christ is not present in the Eucharist. The
issue appears at times confused, owing to the inappropriate
terms that were employed in the controversy; but at no time
was the reality and truth of Christ's presence called in ques
tion.2
It was nearly two hundred years after the death of Rad
bertus and Ratramnus that the real presence of Christ's body
and blood in the Holy Eucharist was attacked, and then the
attack was made in the interest of dialectics. It was Beren-
garius of Tours ( + 1088) who first tried to set aside the tradi
tional teaching of the Church, and contended for a merely
virtual presence. In discussing the mystery of the Eucharist,
he put forward the principle : Maxime plane cordis est ad
dialecticam conjugere, quia conjugere ad earn ad rationem est
conjugere? He belonged to the school of Fulbert of Chartres
( + 1028), and through him was connected with Gerbert, after
wards Pope Sylvester III. Besides a few letters and some
fragments from an early controversial work, his treatise De
Sacra Coena adversus Lanfrancum and the A eta Concilii Ro-
mani in Causa Berengarii are the only two of his works that
have come down to us.
His error in regard to the Eucharist appeared first in a letter
to Lanfranc, written in 1050. He professed to follow the
teaching of Ratramnus, but wholly misinterpreted the views of
that author. Ratramnus had designated Christ's sacramental
body as a figure of His historic body, intending thereby merely
to indicate that its presence in space was not the same as that
which is proper to His body in heaven ; whereas Berengarius
2 Cf r. Bach, Dogmengeschichte 3 De Sacra Coena, ed. Vischer,
des Mittelalters, I, p. 166 sqq. ; 192 101.
sqq.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 313
took the term " figure " in its literal sense, and thence argued
to a purely symbolic or virtual presence in the Eucharist. At
Easter of the same year he was condemned by a synod then
held in Rome, and a few months later by another synod which
convened at Vercelli. However, he continued to defend his
view, until in 1059 Nicholas II forced him to recant. On that
occasion he accepted the following formula, presented to him
by Cardinal Humbert: Panem et vinum, quae in altari
ponuntur, post consecrationem non soliim sacr amentum, scd
etiam verum corpus et sanguinem Domini nostri Jesii Christi
cssc (confiteor) et sensualiter } non solum sacramento, sed in
veritate manibus sacerdotum tractari, frangi, et fidelium denti-
bus attend
Although Berengarius attacked the formula which he had
been induced to sign, still for about ten years after the Council
he abstained from open controversy, and even enjoyed the
protection of Hildebrand, afterwards Pope Gregory VII. But
in 1069 he returned to his former position and published a
controversial treatise against Nicholas II and Cardinal Hum
bert, which is no longer extant. He was answered by Hugh,
bishop of Langres,5 Lanfranc, archbishop of Canterbury,0
Guitmund, a pupil of Lanfranc,7 and others. In answer to
Lanfranc, Berengarius wrote his still extant work De Sacra
Coena, which was published towards the end of the year 1076.
For some time no measures were taken against him, but at a
synod held in Rome during the Eastertide of 1079, Gregory
VII required him to confess : Panem et vinum, quae ponuntur
in altari, per mysterium sacrae orationis et verba nostri Re-
dcmptoris substantialiter converti in veram et propriam et vivi-
ficatricem carnem et sanguinem Jesu Christi* On his return
to France, he repudiated his profession of belief in the Real
Presence and returned to his old error. However, a year later
he made a final retractation, and eight years later died in peace
with the Church.
4 Lanfranc. De Corpore et San- 6 Op. cit.
guine Domini, 2. 7 Libri Tres de Corporis et San-
5 Tractatus de Corpore et San- quinis Christi Veritate.
guine Domini. 8 Mansi, 19, 762 E.
314 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
As appears from the formulas which were presented to him
for subscription, Berengarius not only denied the conversion
of the Eucharistic elements into the body and blood of Christ,
but also defended a purely intellectual or spiritual presence.
And the same may be inferred from various statements found
in his works.9 Protestant writers usually contend that he
simply restated the teaching of St. Augustine, which had fallen
into oblivion; but that contention rests entirely upon a misin
terpretation of St. Augustine's doctrine.10
These discussions contributed considerably towards the
clearing up of certain hazy concepts, which are met with in
not a few writers of the period. Thus, to rectify a rather com
mon misconception in reference to persons who communicate
in the state of mortal sin, Lanfranc pointed out that they truly
receive the body and blood of Christ, but only to their spiritual
detriment.11 Guitmund showed that at the consecration the
bread and wine are converted in such a way that the whole
Christ is in the entire species and also in each single part
thereof.12 He further called attention to the fact that the
changes to which the accidents of bread and wine are subject
do not affect the body and blood of Christ present under the
consecrated species.13 St. Anselm explained the doctrine of
concomitance, showing that the whole Christ is received under
each separate species, whether it be that of bread or of wine.14
While Gregory VII, in the formula presented for subscription
to Berengarius, indicated that the Eucharistic conversion is ef
fected by the words which our Savior used in the institution
of the Holy Eucharist.15
The thirteenth-century Scholastics touch these discussions
only incidentally, while affirming the Real Presence as based
upon the faith of the Church and the words of our Savior.
Thus St. Thomas, after citing a number of texts from the
writings of the Fathers and from Holy Scripture, concludes
his article on the Real Presence with this brief statement:
9 Ep. ad Adelman, fragm. 3. 13 Op. cit. III.
10 Cf r. vol. I, p. 352. 14 Epp. IV, 107 ; ML. 159, 255.
11 Op. cit. 20. 15 Loc. cit.
12 Op. cit. I ; ML. 149, 1434 B.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 315
" Some, not bearing in mind what is here said, held that the
body and blood of Christ are not present in this sacrament ex
cept figuratively — in signo — , which opinion must be re
jected as heretical, because it is opposed to the words of Christ.
Hence, also Berengarius, who was the first author of this
error, was compelled to retract his erroneous teaching and to
confess the truth." 16 And St. Bonaventure briefly remarks:
" As the Master says in passing, it was the opinion of some,
and a most wicked error it was, that Christ is present on the
altar only in signo, and that to eat His body means simply to
eat the sign of His body. . . . But this is the worst of errors
and opposed to the piety of faith." 17
2. Transubstantiation. — From their brief references to the
Real Presence the Scholastics pass on to the question of Eu-
charistic conversion or transubstantiation. This, again, they
treat not as something new, but as a doctrine that was clearly
contained in the teaching of the Church. Still there were some
different views on the matter, four of which are thus indi
cated by the Lombard: i. Substantia panis fit corpus Christi
. . . sicut farina fit panis. 2. Illud quod erat panis . . .
post consecrationem est corpus. 3. Ubi erat panis, nunc est
corpus Christi . . . substantia panis in nihilum redigitur.
4. Substantia panis remanet et ibidem corpus Christi est.ls
The first and the fourth of these views he rejects as absolutely
inadmissible, and then argues from the promise of the Savior,
as contained in the sixth chapter of St. John, that in the con
secration the bread is changed into the identical body which
Christ has in heaven. However, he does not enter into any
speculations as regards the intimate nature of this change,
but contents himself with the statement that after the conse
cration nothing remains of the bread and wine except their
accidents.19
St. Bonaventure mentions some other views, which, he says,
had come into vogue since the time of the Lombard. Some
hold that as the accidents of bread and wine remain, the matter
16 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 75, a. I. 18 Sent. IV, d. u, c. 3, 4.
17 In Sent. IV, d. 10, p. i, a. unic. 19 Op. cit. d. n, c. 4.
q. i.
316 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
of their substance must also remain, although the form is
changed. Others, on the contrary, seeing that the accidents
have an operation of their own, contend that the substantial
forms of bread and wine remain, and that the matter alone is
changed. He rejects both of these views as utterly untenable,
and then continues : " It is the common teaching of theologi
ans that the whole substance is converted into the whole body
and blood of Christ — totum transit in totum — _, and that for
a necessary and useful reason the accidents alone remain. And
therefore, setting aside the first opinion which denies the con
version of the matter, and also the second which denies the
conversion of the form, we hold as more Catholic that the
whole bread is converted into the whole body of Christ, and
this conversion is most aptly called transubstantiation." 20
The discussion of St. Thomas proceeds along the same lines.
He first rejects the opinion of those who hold that the sub
stance of bread and wine remain on the altar together with the
body of Christ. If the bread and wine remain, he reasons,
then the truth of the sacrament is destroyed. For there is no
sacrament unless the body and blood of Christ be really pres
ent, and yet they can become present only by way of con
version.21 Then he refutes the view of those who assert that
the substantial form of the elements remains. If this were
true, he says, the bread would not be changed into the whole
body of Christ, but into its matter only ; and then the form of
the sacrament, This is my body, would be false.22 In the con
secration, he argues, " the whole substance of the bread is
converted into the whole substance of the body of Christ, and
the whole substance of the wine is converted into the whole
substance of the blood of Christ. Hence this conversion is
not formal but substantial; nor is it contained in any species
of natural changes, but is denominated by its own proper term
of transubstantiation." 23
The technical term " transubstantiation,'' which is used by
all the later Scholastics to designate the Eucharistic conversion,
20 In Sent. IV, d. 11, p. I, a. unic. 22 Ibid. a. 6.
q. 3. 23 Ibid. a. 4.
21 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 75, a. 2.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 317
is of uncertain origin. As far as can now be determined, it
occurs for the first time in a sermon formerly attributed to
Hildebert of Lavardin, archbishop of Tours ( + 1133), but
now usually ascribed to Peter Comestor, who died after
i I7O.24 It occurs also in the Tract atus de Sacramento Altaris,
which was written either by Stephen I or Stephen II of Autun.
The former died in 1 139, and the latter in 1 189. Shortly after
the middle of the twelfth century the term seems to have been
in common use in the schools, as it is found again and again
in theological treatises belonging to that period.25 Likely
enough it originated in the discussions with Berengarius, but
there is no documentary evidence to prove that it did.
Most of the Scholastics proved the doctrine of transubstan-
tiation from the words of institution, pointing out that these
words would not be true except on the supposition that the
whole substance of the bread and wine are changed into the
body and blood of Christ. Duns Scotus, however, did not con
sider this argument conclusive, if used independently of the
traditional teaching of the Church. His final conclusion is :
"It is therefore to be held that the substance of the bread
ceases to be there in virtue of a conversion, and that its ceasing
to be is a conversion into the body of Christ. And this I hold
principally on account of the authority of the Church, which
cannot fall into error regarding those truths that belong to the
faith." 2G This was also the position taken by the Nominal
ists. Thus Ockam,27 D'Ailly,28 Gabriel,29 and others of the
same school, personally favored the impanation theory, namely,
that the substance of the bread and wine remain on the altar
together with the body and blood of Christ; but on account
of the clear teaching of the Church they professed their be
lief in transubstantiation.
24 The passage in which it is used 25 Cfr. Dictionnaire de Theologie
reads as follows : " Cum profero Catholique, t. 5, col. 1290 sqq.
verba canonis et verbum transsub- 2G Report. IV, d. n, q. 3, n. 13.
stantiationis, et os meum plenum 27 In Sent. IV, q. 6 D.
est contradictione et amaritudine et 28 In Sent. IV, q. 6 E.
dolo, quamvis eum honorem labiis, 29 Exposit. Can. Missae, lect. 41
tamen spuo in faciem Salvatoris " J; cfr. In Sent. IV, II, q. I, a. I,
(Serm. 93; ML, 21, 776). note i.
3i8 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
It is, then, in virtue of the consecration that Christ is really
and personally present on the altar, because thereby the sub
stance of bread and wine are changed into His body and blood ;
but in what precise manner does the conversion thus effected
bring about Christ's personal presence? All Scholastics are
agreed that the Eucharistic conversion does not effect a local
change in Christ. And this is quite obvious : for although He
becomes truly present on the altar, yet He ever remains un
changed in heaven. But aside from this one point, which is
a matter of faith, there is no agreement among mediaeval the
ologians in reference to the proposed question. A few re
marks about the two principal views entertained by them must
here suffice.
In the first place, Alexander of Hales,30 St. Bonaventure,31
and St. Thomas 32 maintain that the reason of Christ's pres
ence on the altar lies in the fact that the Eucharistic conversion
is a productive action, in the sense that it is equivalent to the
production of an already existing term or reality. They do
not actually use the term production in this connection, but
that is obviously what they have in mind. Thus St. Bonaven
ture compares the conversion of the bread and wine to the
act of creation and to other productive changes, although, as
he remarks, in some particulars it differs from each and all.33
St. Thomas explains that the body of Christ becomes present
through the conversion of the substance of the bread into
itself; 34 and, again, that the entity of the one is changed into
30 Sum. IV, q. 10, m. 7, a. 3 ad 6m. sed prius existens ; ideo est dissimi-
31 In Sent. IV, d. u, p. I, a. unic. lis generation! et similis augmento.
q. 2. Quia vero corpus Christi ex hoc
32 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 75, a. 4. non crescit, sed in pluribus locis
33 His words are : " Dicendum, existit ; ideo dissimilis augmento et
quod haec est mutatio singularis, similis loci mutationi. Quia vero
quae nullum simile plenum habet ; in alip loco existit et a proprio non
assimilatur tamen in aliquo. Quia recedit, sed aliquid in ipsum tran-
enim in hac mutatione nihil com- sit ; ideo omni motui et mutationi
mune manet ; assimilatur creationi. dissimilis est et est prorsus mutatio
Quia vero principium initiale non singularis" (Loc. cit.).
est nihil, sed aliquid ; ideo dissimi- 34 Answering the question wheth-
lis est creationi et similis genera- er the bread is converted into the
tioni. Quia vero terminum finalem body of Christ, the author says :
non habet aliquid de novo f acturn, " Cum in hoc sacramento sit verum
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 319
the entity of the other.35 True, the reproduction of an al
ready existing reality is something that baffles all human un
derstanding, but so does everything else that is attempted by
way of explanation in reference to the question under discus
sion. In this matter one feels inclined to rest satisfied with
the saying of Pope Innocent III : Ego nescio quomodo
Christus accedit; sed et quomodo recedit, ignoro. Novit ille
qui nihil ignorat.3Q
Duns Scotus brings forward many arguments against the
view taken by St. Thomas and St. Bonaventure, and then at
tempts an explanation of his own. Transubstantiation, he
holds, is not the formal reason of Christ's sacramental pres
ence; that presence can be explained only by postulating such
a change in the body of Christ that in virtue of it there results
a new relation to place, yet without any local change properly
so called.37 As interpreted by his commentators, he distin
guishes between passive and active transubstantiation. By the
former he understands the substance which ceases to be and
that which succeeds it, together with their mutual relations of
terminus a quo and terminus ad quern; by the latter he desig
nates the conversive action of the agent, which is in itself
neither productive nor adductive, but simply expresses the
order and relation of change. But concomitantly this action
may be either productive or adductive, according as a new term
is produced or merely a new presence of an already existing
term. Similarly the term of transubstantiation is twofold.
The one formal, namely, the substance of the body of Christ
corpus Christi, nee incipit ibi esse teriam sed virtute agentis infiniti
de novo per motum locale-n, cum (quod habet actionem in totum ens)
etiam nee corpus Christi sit ibi potest talis conversio fieri, quia utri-
sicut in loco, ut ex dictis patet, que formae et utrique materiae est
necesse est dicere quod incipiat ibi communis natura entis ; et id quod
esse per conversionem substantiae est entitatis in una potest auctor en-
panis in ipsum" (Loc. cit.). tis convertere in id quod est entitatis
35 To the objection, " non potest in altera, sublato eo per quod ab ilia
esse quod haec materia panis fiat distinguebatur " (Loc. cit. ad 3m).
haec materia qua individuatur cor- 36 De Sacro Altaris Mysterio, 4,
pus Christi," he replies by saying : 16.
" Ad tertium dicendum, quod virtute 37 In Sent. IV, d. 10, q. I, n. 5
agentis finiti non potest forma in sqq. ; q. 3.
formam mutari, nee materia in ma-
320 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
already existing; the other concomitant, namely, the new re
lation to place of that same body. In the former there is no
production, as the same, body of Christ which is in heaven is
also on the altar ; in the latter there is a new presence, by rea
son of which Christ's body is really and truly in the Holy
Eucharist. Hence, Christ is present on the altar not by way
of reproduction, but by way of simple adduction.38
Apparently this is a much more rational explanation than
that offered by St. Thomas; yet the difficulties involved in it
are hardly less formidable. For if this new presence is some
thing real, a real ubi intrinsecum, there is a real though acci
dental change in the body of Christ, which theologians are
unwilling to admit ; if it is not something real, a mere ubi
extrinsecum, how can it be adductive in respect of the body
of Christ? And so in either case, there seems to be no way
out of the difficulty, and one feels again inclined to say:
Novit ille qui nihil ignorat.
3. The Manner of Christ's Presence. — In regard to the
manner of Christ's presence on the altar, the Scholastics first
of all teach that He is whole and entire under the species of
bread, and whole and entire under the species of wine. In
virtue of the consecrated words, they point out, only the body
of Christ is under the species of bread, and only the blood
under the species of wine ; but by reason of a natural and real
concomitance, the whole Christ is under each separate species.
" Because the bread has a likeness only to the body," says St.
Bonaventure, " therefore it was ordained to be converted only
into the body; and the sanctifying word, namely: This is my
body, signifies that it is converted into the body ; neither into
the divinity, nor into the soul, nor into the blood, is anything
of the bread 'Converted. Neither, however, is the body in the
sacrament without them; for although they are not there on
account of the conversion, still they are there because of their
inseparable connection or indivisible conjunction. For the
blood is there by reason of its commingling, the soul by reason
of its conjunction, the divinity by reason of its union." 39
38 Cf r. Rada, Controvers. p. 4, 39 In Sent. IV, d. n, p. i, a. unic.
controv. 6. q. 4-
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 321
St. Thomas gives the same explanation, and then adds:
" The blood of Christ is now no longer separated from the
body, as it was at the time of His suffering and death; hence
if the Eucharist had then been celebrated, under the species
of bread would have been the body without the blood, and
under the species of wine would have been the blood without
the body, just as body and blood were then separated in
reality." 40
As the whole Christ is present in the Eucharist, it follows
that His body and blood are there with their own proper
quantity; and this is the common teaching of the Scholastics,
against Durandus 41 and a few Nominalists. However the
secondary effects of quantity, such as actual extension and
impenetrability, are impeded; and hence the quantity of the
body and blood of Christ is present after the manner of sub
stance — ad modwn substantial. Consequently Christ is in the
Eucharist totus sub toto et totus sub qualibet parte.42 In this
sense, therefore, He is definitely present; yet, on the other
hand, as His presence is not limited to the space occupied by the
consecrated species, it is not properly speaking definitive but
sacramental.
St. Bonaventure, citing Pope Innocent III, gives this ex
position of Christ's presence in the Eucharist : " As Inno
cent words it, ' just as the Son of God has a threefold pres
ence according to His divinity, in as much as He is in all things
by His essence, in the just by His grace, in Christ through
the hypostatic union; so the body of Christ is locally in
heaven, personally in the Word, sacramentally on the altar/
According to this third manner of presence, he says, Christ
is in many places ; because there are many consecrated species
under which He is contained. Hence properly speaking, as
an individual He is in only one place, in which He is con
tained; but because many (substances of bread and wine) are
converted into Him, and they are in different places, conse
quently He Himself is in different places after that manner
40 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 76, a. 2. 42 Thomas, loc. cit. a. 4.
41 In Sent. IV, d. 10, q. 2.
322 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
of presence according to which they are converted into Him,
and thus He is in the sacrament." 43
The objection that Christ must be in the Eucharist either
definitively or circumscriptively, is thus answered by St.
Thomas : " I reply that the body of Christ is not present
definitively in this sacrament; because in that case it would
not be anywhere else except on the altar where the sacrament
is consecrated, whereas it is in its proper form in heaven,
and under the sacramental species on many altars. In like
manner it is also plain that the body of Christ is not circum
scriptively present in this sacrament; because it is not there
after a manner commensurate with its own proper quantity,
as was said in the body of this article. The fact that the
body of Christ is limited in its sacramental presence to the
consecrated species, and is not in any other place on the altar,
is no indication that it is present either definitively or circum
scriptively, but results from the fact that there only did it
begin to be in virtue of the consecration and conversion of
the bread and wine." 44
Because the whole Christ is thus sacramentally present under
the entire species, hence it follows that He is present in the
same way under each part independently of actual division.
On this point there seems to have been some differences of
opinion among the Scholastics, which is thus referred to by
St. Thomas: " It is manifest that the whole Christ is present
under each part of the species of bread, even while the host
remains entire, and not only when it is broken, as some say.
They argue from the example of an image in a mirror, which
is only one so long as the mirror remains whole; but when
it is broken, the image is multiplied according to the number
of parts. Now in this there is no parity ; because the multipli
cation of images results from the different reflections as caused
by the different parts of the mirror; whereas in the Eucharist
there is only one consecration by reason of which the body
of Christ is present in the sacrament." 45
4. The Accidents of Bread and Wine. — According to the
43 Loc. cit. d. 10, a. unic. q. 3. 45 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 76, a. 3.
44 Loc. cit. a. 5 ad im.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 323
common teaching of the Scholastics, as was pointed out above,
the substance of bread and wine ceases to be by being con
verted into the body and blood of Christ. On the other hand,
the accidents of bread and wine, as all admit, remain un
changed. Hence the question arises, how do they exist?
They can obviously not inhere in the body of Christ, as that
in its sacramental presence is without extension. Nor can
they naturally exist without inhering in some subject, as their
very essence implies an exigency to inhere. Consequently,
their separate existence must be based on some special inter
vention of God's wisdom and power.
On this point all the Scholastics are agreed, but they do
not all take the same view of the nature of God's special inter
vention. " Some there are," says St. Thomas, " who hold
that the accidents inhere in the circumambient air as their sub
ject. But this cannot be; first, because the air cannot re
ceive accidents of this kind; secondly, the accidents are not
in the same place as the air, and even expel the air when moved
about; thirdly, accidents cannot pass from one subject to the
other and remain numerically the same; fourthly, the air has
its own proper accidents and it cannot have others along with
these. Nor can it be said that this is effected miraculously in
virtue of the consecration; because the words of consecration
do not signify this, and they effect only what they signify." 46
Then he continues : " It remains therefore that the acci
dents in this sacrament are without a subject of inhesion, and
this indeed can be brought about by divine power. For since
the effect has a greater dependence on the first cause than on
the second, God, who is the first cause of substance and acci
dent, can by His divine power conserve the accident in being,
after withdrawing the substance through which it was con
served as through its proper cause ; and this He can do in the
same way in which He also produces other effects of natural
causes independently of these same causes, as when He formed
a human body in the womb of the Virgin without the con
currence of a male agent." 47
4«Ibid. q. 77, a. i. 4Hbid.
324 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
St. Bonaventure uses almost the same terms, when he says :
" It is to be held that the accidents can, by way of miracle,
exist without a subject or substance. For since they differ
essentially from their subject of inhesion, there is no re
pugnance in their being separated from it by divine power." 48
Then rejecting the same opinion referred to by St. Thomas,
he states : " It is the common teaching of theologians that the
Eucharistic accidents exist without a subject." 49 With this
common teaching Scotus is in full agreement; but he points
out that as absolute accidents have their own proper essence,
they must also have their own proper existence, and so divine
power can, without any contradiction, cause them to exist out
side the subject in which they naturally inhere.50
With the exception of Durandus and some Nominalists, who
deny all distinction between quantity and quantified substance,
the Scholastics are at one in holding that the Eucharistic ac
cidents inhere proximately in the quantity of bread and wine,
and that this is sustained in being by the power of God.
Hence when they are said to exist without a subject of in
hesion, it is the remote subject, or the substance, that is re
ferred to.51 However, even with this, the question still re
mains, how does God sustain them in being? Does He
miraculously provide some permanent mode, which takes in
their regard the place of substance? Or are they sustained in
being by His direct efficient intervention?
St. Thomas seems to favor the former of these two pos
sible suppositions. For replying to a difficulty bearing on that
point, he says : ;< \Vhile inhering in the substance of bread
and wine, these accidents, like all others of a similar kind,
did not have their own proper existence; but it was through
them that their subjects were of such or such a kind, just as
snow is white by reason of its whiteness: but after the con
secration these same accidents, which remain, have existence,
and hence they are then composed of existence and that which
exists, as it was said in the first part in respect of the angels ;
48 In Sent. IV, d. 12, p. i, a. I, 50 Report. IV, d. 12, q. i, n. 3-9.
q. i. 51 Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d.
49 Ibid. q. 3. II, p. i, q. 2.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 325
and together with this there is in them the composition of
quantitative parts." 51a This seems to imply that the new
esse is some kind of permanent mode, by reason of which
the accidents exist apart from their proper subject. And the
same reasoning he repeats a little farther on in regard to
quantity, the proximate subject of these accidents.52
Scotus, on the other hand, rejects this permanent mode,
and holds that the accidents are sustained in being by the direct
efficient influence of divine power. Together with the quantity
of bread and wine, all the absolute qualities naturally inherent
therein constitute a physical complexus, and to this God's
sustaining power is efficiently applied.53 St. Bonaventure
seems to favor the same view, although he does not express
himself clearly on the point.54
While thus existing in a state of separation from their
proper subject, the accidents are capable of producing all their
natural effects, both physical and chemical. They act and are
acted upon in the same way as if the substance of bread and
wine were present. It is by reason of them that the sacra
mental body and blood of Christ can be moved from place
to place; 55 it is they that are touched and broken and divided,
not the body and blood of Christ ; 56 it is they that cor
rupt under the influence of external agents, and thereby cause
Christ's sacramental presence to cease; 5T it is they that nourish
the flesh, while Christ's body and blood refresh the spirit.58
In regard to this last point there was considerable discus
sion among the Scholastics. " Some hold," says St. Bona
venture, " that the Eucharistic accidents do not nourish the
body in any way ; but this is against the testimony of our senses.
Others maintain that, when the Real Presence ceases, the ac
cidents already in a state of corruption are converted into
51a Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 77, a. I ad 9, a. 1,2; Scotus, In Sent. IV, d. 12,
4m. q- 4-
52 Ibid. a. 2, ad im. 57 Cfr. Halens. op. cit. m. 7, a. I ;
53 In Sent. IV, d. 12, q. I. Albert Magn. In Sent. IV, d. 12,
54 Ibid. p. i, a. i. a. 16.
55 Cfr. Thomas, Theol. Sum. Ill, 5S Cfr. Henry of Ghent, Quodl. 8,
q. 76, a. 3 ; ibid. q. 77, a. 3. q. 36 ; Albert. Magn. op. cit. d. 13, a.
50 Cfr. Halens. Sum. IV, q. 10, m. 9, 10.
326 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
the same substance into which bread and wine would have
been converted if they had been present, and thus they nourish
the body. This opinion is sufficiently probable. Others,
again, contend that the accidents are not converted into sub
stance, but that the substances of bread and wine return, when,
owing to the corruption of the accidents, the sacramental
presence ceases. This is the explanation given by Innocent
III, and I consider it probable and safe, especially on account
of his great authority." 59
St. Thomas refers to these different explanations in his
Commentary on the Sentences,60 without definitely stating his
own view; but in the Summa he says: " It seems preferable
to hold that in the consecration the accident of quantity be
comes the primary subject of all subsequent forms, and as
this is proper to matter, quantity thereby becomes capable of
discharging all the functions of matter in its natural condi
tion." 61 Scotus rejects all these explanations and holds that
God directly supplies the substance which ought to be there
in the natural process of decomposition to which the accidents
are subjected.62
There was a similar discussion in regard to the breaking
of Christ's body — f radio corporis Christi. In the formula
of Cardinal Humbert, which Berengarius was ordered to sub
scribe, it is said in reference to the body of Christ, non solum
sacramento, sed in veritate manibus sacerdotum tractari,
franqi, et fidelium dentibus atteri. Some took this in a literal
sense, but the common interpretation of the Scholastics was
that all these expressions can be directly applied only to the
consecrated species. " The body of Christ," argues St. Bona-
venture, " is truly taken into the stomach, and there it remains
so long as the consecrated species are incorrupt; but it is not
masticated, nor is it broken." 63
59 In Sent. IV, d. 12, p. I, a. 2, 61 Op. cit. q. 77, a. 5.
q. i. 62 In Sent. IV, d. 12, q. 7.
60 Op. cit. d. 12, q. i, a. 2. 63 Loc. cit. a. 3, q. i.
CHAPTER XIX
THE HOLY EUCHARIST
THE FORM OF CONSECRATION: THE MATTER OF CONSE
CRATION: THE CONSECRATING MINISTER: THE EUCHA
RIST AS A SACRAMENT : THE EFFECTS OF THE SAC
RAMENT: THE EUCHARIST AS A SACRIFICE
As Christ becomes present on the altar in virtue of the con-
secratory action of the priest, the Scholastics enter into con
siderable detail regarding the consecration of the bread and
wine. They investigate both its formal and material element,
and in the same connection study the sacramental and sacrifi
cial aspect of the Eucharist. The following is a brief sum
mary of what they accomplished along these lines.
i. The Form of Consecration. — There is a general agree
ment among the Scholastics that the form of consecration
consists of the words of institution, exclusive of the epiclesis
or invocation of the Holy Spirit. For the consecration of the
bread they assign the four words, Hoc est corpus meum; and
for the consecration of the wine they designate the corre
sponding form, Hie est calix sanguinis mei. In regard to this
latter, however, St. Thomas seems to hold that the words which
follow it in the Roman missal — nom et aeterni Testamenti,
mysterium fidei, qui pro vobis et pro multis effundetur in re-
missionem peccatorum — are also necessary ; *• but whether he
considers them as belonging to the substance of the form,
so that without them there would be no consecration, is not
quite certain.
There was some difference of opinion in regard to the
manner of reciting these words. In the first place, Innocent
1 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 78, a. 3.
327
328 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
III 2 and Prsepositivus 3 seem to have held that they should
be spoken by way of recitation only, in as much as the con
secrating priest simply states the historic fact that Christ
spoke them " the day before He suffered." This view is re
jected by St. Thomas,4 St. Bonaventure,5 Scotus,6 and the
Scholastics generally, who hold that the words of consecration
must be spoken both in a recitative and assertive way. The
priest uses them not only as having once been spoken by
Christ, but also to indicate the effect which they here and
now produce. The two forms are not merely speculative
propositions; they are practical, effecting what they signify.
In the second place, there was considerable discussion in
reference to the truth of these propositions. What meaning
must be attached to the pronouns hoc and hie, as they are
spoken at the beginning of the two forms? What the priest
holds in his hands at the moment when he utters them is simply
bread, or the chalice containing wine ; while at the completion
of the forms the bread has been changed into the body of
Christ, and the wine has been changed into the blood of
Christ. What, therefore, do these pronouns indicate if they
are used by way of assertion?
St. Thomas, after adverting to the fact that the forms are
practical propositions, and that transubstantiation is effected
instantaneously when the last syllable is pronounced, maintains
that the pronouns hoc and hie indicate in an indeterminate
way what is common to the terminus a quo and the terminus
ad quern. Hence, in the consecration of the bread, the sense
of the proposition is: That which is contained under these
species is my body; and in the consecration of the chalice the
corresponding proposition signifies : That which is contained
under these species is my blood.7
2 De Sacro Altaris Mysterio, ate, . . . neque iterum demonstrat
c. 17. terminum a quo determinate. Re-
3 Sum. p. 4. linquitur ergo quod demonstret hoc
4 In Sent. IV, d. 8, q. 2, a. I. quod est commune utrique termino
5 Ibid. p. 2, a. i, q. i. indeterminate. . . . Communia sunt
6 Ibid. d. 8, q. 2, n. 12 sq. accidentia sensibilia. . . . Unde sen-
7 " Sic ergo hoc pronomen hoc sus est: 'Hoc contentum sub his
neque demonstrat terminum ad speciebus est corpus meum ' " (Loc.
quern transubstantiationis determin- cit).
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 329
St. Bonaventure regards this explanation as probable, but
does not consider it quite satisfactory. The chief objection
to it, he says, is that the pronoun thus really points out, not
the body of Christ, but the substance of bread in so far as it
is perceptible by reason of its accidents. To escape this diffi
culty, he holds that the pronoun in the form of consecration
appeals partly to the senses and partly to the intellect. In so
far as it appeals to the senses it points out the substance that
is to be converted; in so far as it appeals to the intellect it
designates the body or blood of Christ which are the terms of
this conversion, and of which the bread and wine are sensible
signs.8 With some slight modifications the same view is also
defended by Alexander of Hales 9 and Richard of Middle-
ton,10 while Scotus is in favor of the explanation given by
St. Thomas.11
In regard to the causality of the forms of consecration there
existed the same difference of opinion as in reference to sacra
mental causality in general, concerning which an explanation
has been given in a previous chapter. While some ascribed
an instrumental efficacy to the words, others considered them
merely as a conditio sine qua non of the effect produced by the
omnipotence of God.12
2. The Matter of Consecration. — The proper matter for
consecration, according to the common teaching of the
Scholastics, is wheaten bread and wine of the grape — panis
triticeus et wnwn dc vite. To this conclusion they reason
from the fact that Christ consecrated bread and wine, and
that, in the common acceptation of the terms, bread is sup
posed to be made of wheaten flour and wine to be pressed
from the grape. St. Thomas, after referring to some
antiquated heretical views, says : " All these and similar
errors are excluded by the fact that Christ instituted this
sacrament under the species of bread and wine." 13 And then
to the question, whether bread must be made of wheat flour,
he replies : " The kind of bread to be used is determined by
8 In Sent. IV, d. 8, p. 2, a. i, q. I. " Ibid. q. 2, a. i.
9 Sum. IV, q. 10, m. 4, a. 2. 12 Op. cit. d. 10, p. 2, a. I, q. 3.
10 In Sent. IV, d. 8, a. 3, q. i. 13 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 74, a. i.
330 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
the more common meaning attached to the term as employed
by men. Now people more commonly use wheaten bread;
for other kinds of bread seem to be mere substitutes for it." 14
In a similar manner he reasons about the wine.15
The bread, moreover, should be unfermented; but this is
not necessary for the validity of the sacrament. St. Thomas
states the accepted views of theologians on this point as fol
lows : " It is necessary indeed that the bread should be
wheaten ; for otherwise the sacrament would be invalid. But
it is not necessary for the validity of the sacrament that the
bread should be either unfermented or fermented. ... It is,
however, proper that each one should observe the rite of the
church in which he celebrates."16 Nor is it necessary for the
validity of the sacrament that a small quantity of water should
be mixed with the wine, although it is enjoined under grave
obligation. By the water thus added is typified the people
of God, who share in the sacrament; and thereby is also re
called the flowing of water from the side of Christ as He hung
upon the cross.17
3. The Consecrating Minister. — That the priest alone has
power to consecrate the Eucharist is assumed by all Scholastics
as a matter that admits of no discussion. " Only priests can
consecrate," says St. Bonaventure, " and if any one else at
tempts it, he accomplishes nothing. This is the teaching of
our faith, which we have received from the Apostles." 18 But
on the further question, whether all priests can consecrate,
there is found among them some difference of opinion. Thus
Hugh of St. Victor,19 Peter Lombard,20 and the author of
the Sum-ma Sententiarum,21 hold that excommunicated priests
are deprived of the power of consecrating. Peter Lombard
assigns this reason for his view : Illi vero, qui excommunicati
stint, vel de haeresi manifest e notati, non videntur hoc sacra-
mentum posse conficere, licet sacerdotes sint; quia nemo dicit in
ipsa consecratione offero, sed offerimus, quasi ex persona, Ec-
14 Ibid. a. 3. 18 In Sent. IV, d. 13, a. I, q. 2.
15 Ibid. a. 5. 19 In Ep. S. Pauli, q. 102.
16 Ibid. a. 4. 20 Sent. d. 13, c. i.
17 Ibid. a. 7. 21 Op. cit. tr. 6, c. 9.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 331
cleslae. Et ideo, cum alia sacramenta extra Ecclesiam possint
celcbrari, de hoc non videtur.22
Later Scholastics, on the other hand, unanimously reject
this reasoning and hold that the power of consecrating, which
is received in ordination to the priesthood, cannot be lost.
St. Thomas answers the difficulty, noted above, in this way:
" In the prayers of the Mass the priest speaks indeed in the
person of the Church, to the unity of which he belongs, but
in the consecration he speaks in the person of Christ, whose
place he holds through the power of ordination. And there
fore when an excommunicated priest celebrates Mass, he truly
consecrates by changing bread and wine into the body and
blood of Christ; because he has not lost the power received
in his ordination. But because he is separated from the unity
of the Church, hence his prayers have no efficacy." 23 Then,
speaking of priests who have been degraded from their priestly
rank, he says : " The power of consecrating the Eucharist
pertains to the sacerdotal character. Now the character, be
cause conferred by a certain consecration, is indelible. . . .
Hence it is manifest that the power of consecrating is not lost
through degradation." 24
In this connection the Scholastics also consider the question,
whether a Mass celebrated by a good priest is of greater value
than a Mass celebrated by a bad priest. The answer had al
ready been given by Innocent III, who embodied this clause
in the profession of faith required of the Waldensians : In
quo (sacrificio] nihil a bono ma jus, vel a malo minus perfici
credimus saccrdote, quia non in merito consecrantis, sed in
verbo efUcitur Creatoris et in virtute Spiritits Sancti.24& The
common teaching of the Scholastics on the point in question
is thus formulated by St. Bonaventure : " Speaking of the
Mass, we must first of all consider what is its substantial
value, namely, the consecration of the body and blood of
Christ, and this is the same in all cases; because one and the
same thing is in this regard effected by all priests. Next
22 Loc. cit. 24 Ibid. a. 8.
23 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 82, a. 7, ad 24&DB. 424.
332 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
there are in the Mass certain accidentals, such as petitions,
prayers, impetrations, and fervor; in respect of these the Mass
of a good priest is of greater value, because they lead to greater
devotion in those who assist. And if any one would rather
hear Mass when celebrated by a more devout priest, I believe
that he does well; provided, however, that he at the same
time believes that there is no difference as regards the sub
stantial value. Otherwise he would fall into a dangerous
error." 25
4. The Eucharist as a Sacrament. — According to the
teaching of the Scholastics, the Holy Eucharist is a sacrament
in the true sense of the term, but at the same time it is in
some respects different from all other sacraments. The com
mon view is thus presented by St. Thomas : " A religious rite
is called a sacrament from the fact that it contains something
sacred. Now a thing may be sacred in one of two ways :
absolutely or relatively. And this is the difference between
the Eucharist and other sacraments that are partly made up
of sensible matter: the Eucharist contains something that is
absolutely sacred, namely, the very body of Christ; whereas
baptism, for instance, contains something that is sacred only
in relation to something else, namely, the power of sanctify
ing: and the same is to be said in regard to confirmation
and other similar sacraments. Hence the sacrament of the
Eucharist is completed in the very consecration of the matter,
while other sacraments are completed only in their application
to the one who is to be sanctified. And from this also an
other difference arises : for in the sacrament of the Eucharist
that which is the res et sacramentum is found in the matter it
self; and that which is the res tantum is in the recipient,
namely, the grace which is conferred : in baptism, on the other
hand, both are in the recipient; namely, the character, which
is the res et sacramentum, and the grace of justification, which
is the res tantum. And it is the same in the case of the other
sacraments." 26
Hence the sacrament of the Eucharist does not consist pre-
25 In Sent. IV, d. 13, a. 2, q. i. 26 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 73, a. i.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 333
cisely in the words or action of transubstantiation, as St.
Thomas was inclined to hold when he wrote his Commentary
on the Sentences; but it is essentially constituted by the con
secrated species of bread and wine, in so far as they connote
and contain the body and blood of Christ. The species, which
naturally indicate bodily sustenance, in virtue of the consecra
tion signify the presence of spiritual sustenance — the body
and blood of Christ — and this in its turn signifies the grace
to be conferred in the reception of the sacrament. Substan
tially the same explanation is given by Alexander of Hales,27
Albertus Magnus,28 St. Bonaventure,29 and Scotus.30
Although the Eucharist consists of two distinct species,
that of bread and wine, it is nevertheless only one sacrament.
This is the teaching of the most representative Scholastics,
such as Alexander of Hales,31 St. Bonaventure,32 Duns
Scotus,33 and St. Thomas.34 The reason given by them is,
that the two species together represent one spiritual refection.
" A thing is said to be one," argues St. Thomas, " not only
because it is indivisible, or continuous, but also because it is
perfect — as one house and one man. Now a thing is one in
the order of perfection by reason of all those integrating parts
that are necessary for the attainment of its end. Thus man
is integrally made up of all the members that are required
for the operation of his soul, and a house of all those parts
that are necessary to fit it for a habitation. And in like
manner this sacrament is said to be one ; because it is intended
for a spiritual refection, which is conformable to bodily re
fection in that it consists of food and drink." 35
On the other hand, from the fact that the two species con
stitute but one sacrament, it does not follow that the Eucharist
must be received by all under both species. During the thir
teenth century the practice of the Church in regard to lay
communion was in a state of transition. In some places the
27 Sum. IV, q. 10, m. 3, a. 3. 32 Loc. cit. q. 2.
28 In Sent. IV, d. 8, a. 12. 33 Loc. cit. q. i, n. 4.
29 Ibid. p. 2, a. 2, q. I. 34 Ibid, q.- I, a. i.
30 Ibid. q. i. 35 Sum. Theol. q. 77, a. 2.
31 Loc. cit. a. I.
334 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
laity still received under both species, and in others only under
the species of bread. St. Thomas, who gives the common
teaching on the point in question, presents the matter in these
terms : " Regarding the use of the sacrament two points may
be considered : one in reference to the sacrament itself, and one
in reference to those who receive it. As regards the sacra
ment itself, it is indeed becoming that both be received, that
is, the body and the blood, because the perfection of the
sacrament consists of both; and therefore, as it belongs to the
priest to consecrate and complete the sacrament, he must in
no way receive the body of Christ without also receiving His
blood.
" But on the part of those who receive it, there is required
the greatest reverence and caution, lest something should hap
pen that would desecrate so great a mystery. This is especially
the case with regard to the receiving of the blood, which, if
taken without proper caution, might easily be spilled. And
because in the ever increasing multitude of Christians there
are old people and young, and children, many of whom have
not the necessary discretion, nor take the proper precautions,
in receiving this sacrament, hence it has been very wisely
ordained in some churches that the laity do not receive
communion under the species of wine, but the priest
only." 36
5. Effects of the Sacrament. — " This sacrament produces
no effect," says St. Bonaventure, " except in him who receives
it worthily; and he alone receives it worthily who prepares
himself for its reception as he ought."37 Then to the ques
tion, whether it has any efficacy in the sinner, he replies :
" We do not wish to put limits to the generosity of God, who
may and perhaps sometimes does grant the remission of all
sins in this sacrament ; but it must be said that in accordance
with the common law and general reason for its institution,
this sacrament is intended as food for those who are in the
body of Christ, and all such have charity; therefore it exerts
its efficacy only in the just. And its effect in the just is libera-
36 Ibid. q. 80, a. 12. 37 In Sent. IV, d. 12, p. 2, a. I,
q. i.
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 335
tion from venial faults and preservation from mortal sin." 38
A little farther on he shows how this general effect is attained
by a most intimate union with Christ.39
St. Thomas considers the matter somewhat more in detail.
This sacrament produces grace, because it contains the author
of grace; it represents the sufferings of the Savior; it is
given as spiritual food; it is the sign of union with the God-
Man.40 Mortal sin is an impediment to its reception, because
food is not for the dead.41 However, if a person receives in
good faith, not being conscious of the fact that he is in mortal
sin, and at the same time is sorry for whatever sins he may
have committed, he receives forgiveness through the sacra
ment.42
6. The Eucharist as a Sacrifice. — Alexander of Hales,43 St.
Thomas,44 and some other Scholastics give a detailed and
minute description of the Mass, but none of them examine
into the intimate nature of the Eucharistic sacrifice. Their
remarks about it are incidental, and hardly ever touch the
points that caused so much discussion in later centuries. The
following statements of St. Thomas contain practically all
that can be gathered from their writings.
" This sacrament," he says, " is both a sacrifice and a sacra
ment. It is a sacrifice in so far as it is offered to God; it is
a sacrament in so far as it is received by men. Hence it has
the effects of a sacrament in him who receives it; and the ef
fects of a sacrifice in him who offers it up, or also in those
for whom it is offered." 45
In another connection he gives this descriptive definition of
a sacrifice in the proper sense of the term : Sacrificia proprie
dicuntur, quando circa res Deo oblatas aliquid fit; sicut quod
animalia occidebantur, et comburebantur: quod panis frangi-
tur, et comeditur, et benedicitur; et hoc ipsum nomen sonat,
nam sacrificium dicitur ex hoc, quod homo facit aliquid
sacrum: oblatio autem direct e dicitur, cum Deo aliquid offer-
38 Ibid. q. 2. 42Ibid.
39 Ibid. q. 3. 43Sum. IV, q. 10, II.
*° Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 79, a. I. 44 Op. cit. q. 83.
41 Ibid. a. 3. 45 Op. cit. q. 79, a. 5.
336 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
tur, etiamsi nihil circa ipsum fiat; sicut dicuntur denarii of-
ferri, vel panes in altar i, circa quos nihil fit: unde omne sacri-
ficium est oblatio, sed non convertitur.4Q
Applying this to the Eucharistic rite, he says that it may
be considered as an immolation of Christ as He becomes
present under the sacramental species. And this for two rea
sons: First, because the rite is representative of the suffer
ings and death of Christ on the cross, when He was truly im
molated for the sins of the world. Secondly, because through
the Eucharist we are allowed to share in the effects of Christ's
true immolation.47 Again: "The celebration of this sacra
ment is a certain representative image of the passion of Christ;
and therefore it is said to be an immolation of Christ Him
self." 48 Hence too, the Christian altar represents the cross,
whereon Christ was immolated.49
Furthermore, this representation of Christ's immolation on
the cross is verified in the consecration itself, and therefore it
is not lawful to consecrate the body without the blood.50 This
rite is a sacrifice precisely in so far as it represents the passion
of Christ, in which He offered Himself to God as a victim for
sin.51 In the Eucharistic sacrifice as well as in the sacrifice of
the cross, Christ Himself is both priest and victim ; the officiat
ing priest is merely His ministerial representative, acting in
His name and person.52 Hence, although the Eucharist is
celebrated in many different places, and by many different
priests, it is nevertheless only one sacrifice — a renewal and
representation of the one sacrifice offered up on the cross.53
With this teaching of St. Thomas Duns Scotus agrees in
so far as he also holds that the sacrifice of the Mass is an
objective representation of the sacrifice of the cross,54 that
therein Christ is both victim and priest,55 and that the of
ficiating priest acts in His name and person; but he differs
from it when he places the essence of this sacrifice, not in the
46 II. II, q. 85, a. 3 ad 3m. 51 Ibid. q. 79, a. 7.
47 Sum. Theol. q. 83, a. I. 52 Ibid. q. 83, a. I ad 3m.
jtQ T1 ' J R<J TU: J
48 Ibid. 53 Ibid.
49 Ibid. a. i ad im. 54 Quodl. q. 20, n. 22.
" Ibid. q. 80, a. 12 ad 3™. B5 Ibid. n. 22, 2.
50
THE HOLY EUCHARIST 337
consecration itself, but in the oblation that follows.56 He also
points out that, although the value of the Eucharistic sacrifice
is in itself infinite, nevertheless as offered by the Church it is
finite in its application to the faithful.57
Of the several points touched in these two chapters, some
have been defined by the Church, others represent the common
teaching of theologians, while still others are little more than
theological speculations. To the first class, with which we
are here more directly concerned, belongs the Real Presence,
transubstantiation, the existence of the accidents of bread and
wine independently of their natural subject of inhesion, the
form and matter of consecration, the power of every priest
to consecrate, the freedom from mortal sin as a necessary dis
position for a worthy reception, the increase of sanctifying
grace in the worthy recipient, and the fact that the Holy
Eucharist is both a sacrament and a sacrifice. It must be
noted, however, that nearly all these definitions were occa
sioned by the cavils of heretics, and that they simply formulate
in a clear and definite way what had always been held to be an
object of faith.
56 In Sent. IV, d. 13, q. 2. 57 Quodl. 20, n. 22.
CHAPTER XX
PENANCE
PRACTICE OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES : TEACHING OF
THE SCHOLASTICS
In a certain sense, penance is to the fallen Christian what
baptism is to the unregenerated heathen — a plank of safety
out of the shipwreck. And as such has it always been re
garded in the Church of Christ. In fact, the comparison was
already a commonplace in the third century. And so, too,
was all that is essential in the doctrine and administration of
penance. On the other hand, in the matter of accidental de
tails many changes were introduced in the course of time.
Some of these appear at first sight so striking that not a few
thoughtless critics have been led to deny the continuity of the
penitential rite itself. Such a denial is, of course, without
warrant; for while in the course of many centuries the ex
ternal form of penance has undergone various changes, the
essentials of both doctrine and practice have always remained
the same. The following remarks on the penitential practices
of the early Middle Ages will make this sufficiently clear.
A — PRACTICE OF THE EARLY MIDDLE AGES
During Patristic times, penance as administered by the
Church was of two kinds : private and public. In private pen
ance both the confession of sins and the rite of reconciliation
were secret; in public penance sacramental confession was also
secret, but the works of satisfaction enjoined and the final
reconciliation were public. Moreover, under ordinary circum
stances, reconciliation was not granted until due satisfaction
had been made. It was chiefly in regard to public penance
338
EARLY PRACTICE OF PENANCE 339
that changes were gradually introduced. These changes were
determined partly by altered social conditions and partly by
the varying attitude of the faithful in regard to public pen-
ance. And rightly so : for as public penance was in great part
merely a matter of discipline, it was quite proper that the
Church should accommodate her regulations in this respect to
the needs of the times and the greater good of those whom
she desired to benefit. Hence we find that in some countries
public penance was never in force. This was the case in
England, and probably also in Ireland. In regard to the
former country the Poenitentlale Theodori explicitly states:
Reconciliatio ideo in hac provincla publice statuta non est, qnia
et publica poenitentia non est.1
It was principally since the seventh century that public pen
ance began to be discontinued in the various countries in
which it had been in vogue during Patristic times. Thus
in France, during the disorders of the Merovingian period,
it fell into almost complete desuetude. And this state of
things continued even after public order had been restored,
as is evident from a statement of the Synod of Chalons, held
in 813. The statement reads as follows: Poenitentiam agere
jiLvta antiquam canonum institutionem in plerisque locis ab
usu recessit.2 The same Synod, however, passed this decree :
Si quis publice pec cat, publice mulct etur poenitentia et
secundum ordinem canonum pro merito suo excomniunicetur
et reconcilietur? During the next two centuries this legisla
tion was regarded as the general norm of procedure — public
penance was to be imposed upon public sinners, at least in
cases where the sin had caused considerable scandal. At the
same time, however, excommunication was not inflicted ex
cept when the sinner refused to do penance. Similar condi
tions obtained also in other countries.
A further mitigation was introduced in regard to the time
of reconciliation. For many centuries reconciliation was
ordinarily granted only after the penance enjoined had been
duly performed. Practically the only exceptions to this rule
1 Op. cit. 13, 4; cfr. Hadden and 2 Mansi, 14, 98.
Stubbs, Councils, III, 187. 3 Ibid.
340 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
were those in favor of the dying. To them immediate recon
ciliation was granted even if they had put off doing penance,
although in that case its effectiveness was not rarely called in
question. Thus, in the sixth century, St. Csesarius of Aries
stated in reference to such persons: "If any one, when in
danger of death, asks to be admitted to penance, and, the
favor having been granted, he departs this life after being thus
reconciled, I confess, we do not deny him what he asks, but
at the same time we do not presume that he has died well." 4
With reference to the dying in general, Rabanus Maurus, to
wards the middle of the ninth century, gives this direction
to his clergy : " In regard to those who are at the point of
death, account must be taken of their sincere conversion rather
than of the time still left them for doing penance." 5 And
even before this, immediate reconciliation was already ex
tended to those in health ; for the Statuta Bonifatii contain this
general direction : " Let every priest see to it that penitents be
reconciled immediately after their confession." 6 However,
as appears from the Libri Poenitentiales, this did not apply to
cases of great public scandal. By the beginning of the
eleventh century immediate reconciliation had become the
general rule, even in the case of public sinners; and there
after public penance practically disappeared.
During all these centuries, private penance, including
sacramental confession, was much insisted upon. Confession
was considered to make even the most grievous sins venial,
that is, easily forgiven. Thus Alcuin states : " Believe me,
whatever sin you may have committed becomes venial, if you
are not ashamed to confess it and to do penance. . . . The
Lord is waiting for the sacrifice of your confession, so that
He may show you the sweetness of His mercy ; for He wishes
all men to be saved and desires no one to perish." 7 And
again : " God desires our confession, so that He may have
a just reason for granting pardon." 8 In the sacred tribunal
of penance the priest is at once intercessor, advocate, and
4 ML. 67, 1082 C. 7 De Confess. Pecc. 2 ; ML. 101,
5 Poenit. 14; ML. no, 483. 622.
6 Mansi, 12, 386. 8 Ibid. 622 A.
EARLY PRACTICE OF PENANCE 341
physician. He reconciles the sinner to God, and, in virtue of
the authority conferred upon him by the Church, loosens the
bonds of sin.9 The form of absolution was still deprecatory,
and the declarative form did not come into common use until
about I200.10 Even then some Scholastics still disputed the
lawfulness of its use.11 However, the final acceptation of
this form shows that it had always been the common per
suasion that the priest really absolved from sin, even if he
granted absolution in the form of a prayer.
How the sacrament of penance was regarded in the early
Middle Ages appears most clearly from the Pseudo-Augustin-
ian treatise De Vera et Falsa Poenitentia. This work was
probably composed at the beginning of the eleventh century,
although Gratian, about 1140, regarded it as a genuine work
of St. Augustine. The points of most interest in the present
connection are the following:
1. The proper object or matter of the sacrament of penance
are mortal sins : Sunt quaedam peccata venialia, quae oratione
Dominica cotidie solznintur, . . . alia vcro, quae sunt ad
mortem, non sic, sed per fructum poenitentiae solvuntur12
Agenda est poenitentia, ut deleantur criminal
2. However venial sins may also be confessed; and when
they are frequently committed, confession is very advisable:
Ista assidua et quodam modo necessaria assidua laventur con-
fessione, assidua restaurentur confessione; 14 est enim
poenitentia assidue peccantibus assidue necessaria.15
3. The confession of sins by catechumens is not necessary:
Poenitentia baptizandis non est necessaria.16
4. The life of a Christian is necessarily a penitential life:
Quantum sit appetenda gratia poenitentiae . . ., omnis
bonorum vita conatur ostendere; 17 fides fundamentum est
poenitentiae.18
5. This penance may be repeated as often as seems good ; 19
9Ep. 112; ML. TOO, 337, sqq. 14 Ibid. 8, 21; 1120.
10Regino, De Ecclesiast. Discipl. 15 Ibid. 8. 20; 1119.
I, 300; ML. 132, 252. 16Ibid. 8, 19; 1119.
"Moriniis, 8, 9, 23: p. 537 sq. 17 Ibid. I, i; 1113.
12 Op. cit. 4, 10 : ML, 1116. 18 Ibid. 2, 3; 1113.
13 Ibid. 8, 22; 1 121. 19Ibid. 3, 5-15.
342 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
but if public penance must be done, that may be performed
only once.20
6. Normally all men are at one time or another guilty of
mortal sin; hence, referring to John 8, 7-9, the author says:
Nullus erat sine peccato. In quo intelligitur omnes crimine
fuisse re os, nam veniale semper remittebatur per cerimonias;
si quod igitur peccatum in eis erat, criminate erat.21
7. True penance consists first of all in a contrite confession
of the sins committed : Quern igitur poenitet . . . rcpresentet
vitam suam Deo per sacerdotem, praeveniat judicium Dei per
confessionem. . . . Ex miser ic or dia enim hoc praecepit
Dominus, lit neminem poeniterct in occulto. . . . Fit enim
per confessionem veniale, quod criminale erat in operatione22
8. If no priest be at hand, and there is danger of death, it
is advisable to confess even to a layman: Tanta itaque vis
confessionis est, ut si deest sacerdos, confiteatur proximo;
. . . fit dignus venia ex dcsiderio sacerdotis23
9. The priest acts as the messenger of God — nuntius
Dei;24 he exercises the power of a judge — in potestate
judicis;25 he is vested with judicial power — judiciaria
potestas.2Q
10. For secret sins private penance suffices, but for public
sins public penance is proper : Si peccatum occultum est,
sumciat referre in notitiam sacerdotis. . . . Docemur publice
peccantibus non proprium, sed ecclesiae sufficere meritum; . . .
qui enim mnltos offendit peccando, placare multos oportet
satisfaciendo27
11. In order to satisfy completely for one's sins, one must
be assiduous in performing works of penance : Qui perfectam
vult consequi gratiam remissionis, fructificet in poenitentia.28
12. True penance shows itself in mortification, sorrow of
heart, and alms-giving: Abstineat a multis licitis, . . .
semper off erat Deo mentis et cordis contritionem, deinde et
20 Ibid. IT, 26. 25Ibid. 15, 30; 1125.
21 Ibid. 20, 36; 1129. 26 Ibid. 20, 36; 1129.
22 Ibid. 10, 25; 1122. 27Ibid. ii, 26; 1123.
23 Ibid. 28Ibid. 15, 31; "26-
2* Ibid.
EARLY PRACTICE OF PENANCE 343
quod potest de possessione, ut semper puniat se ulciscendo,
quod commisit peccando; poenitere enim est poenam tenere.™
13. Those who neglect to do penance here on earth shall be
punished in purgatory : Prius purgandus est igne purgationis,
qui in aliud saeculum distulit fructum. conversionis30
14. If any one dies without repenting of his sins, he is con
demned to the pains of hell : Qui autem impoenitens moritur,
omnino moritur et aeternaliter cruciatur31
The same general outlines of early mediaeval teaching on
penance might also be drawn up from the sermons of St. Peter
Damian, who died in 1072. Of those who contritely confess
their sins he says: In fide Ecclesiae credat sibi peccata di-
mitti.32 It is only after the oris confessio, sacramental con
fession, that works of penance are in place.83 If sufficient
satisfaction for sins is not rendered here on earth, the penitent
must submit to the pains of purgatory: Cum in purgatoriis
ignibus perficiendum sit, quidquid hie minus jeceris, quia
dignos poenitentiae fructus quaerit Altissimus34 He calls pen
ance the sacrament of confession — sacramentum confcs-
sionis35 It is the ordinary means of sanctification for saint
and sinner alike : Via communis ad Deum} fons tarn justis
quani peccatoribus patens3**
From the foregoing summary it ought to be sufficiently clear
that private sacramental penance did not grow out of monastic
practices, as is so frequently contended by Protestant writers
on the subject. It was in vogue all over the Christian world,
and the obligation of submitting to it was insisted upon by the
secular clergy as well as by the monks. Nor were the clergy
themselves exempt from this obligation, although they usually
were exempt from the obligation of submitting to public pen-
nance. Much less can it be held, as many Protestants do hold,
that the obligation of sacramental confession had its origin in
the legislation of the Fourth Lateran Council, convened in
1215 under Innocent III. All that the Council did was to
29 Tbid. TO. 25 ; 1 122. 33 Ibid. 832 D ; 833 A.
30 Ibid. 1 8, 34; 1128. a* Ibid. 831 A.
31 Ibid. 35 Serm. 69 ; ML, 901 A.
32 Serm. 58; ML, 144, 832 D. 36 Ibid. 901 A.
344 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
prescribe certain limits, beyond which the faithful must not
neglect to confess their sins.37 The obligation itself had ex
isted from the beginning of the Church, but it was only when
the faithful had become careless in this respect that the Church
found it necessary to enforce it by a general law. Moreover
local synods had passed similar laws centuries before, but the
Fourth Lateran legislated for the whole Church.
B — TEACHING OF THE SCHOLASTICS
Most of the Scholastics consider penance under two dis
tinct heads : penance as a virtue and penance as a sacrament.
But they do not all follow the same order of treatment. Some
discuss first the virtue of penance and then pass over to its
sacramental aspect ; while others first explain what belongs to
the sacrament and thereupon treat of the virtue in connection
with the effects and acts of penance. The former arrangement
seems the more logical, and will be followed in this brief re
view of their teaching.
I. The Virtue of Penance. — The question whether penance
must be regarded as a virtue is variously answered by the
Scholastics. St. Bonaventure enumerates four different views
on this point, each one of which had its defenders among the
Schoolmen. " Some there are," he says, " who hold that
penance is not a virtue, but an act of virtue; not of one virtue
in particular, but of all together — they all concur in the pro
duction of that act. Just as the chords of the lyre give out
one musical note when touched in accord with the rules of the
musician's art, so do the virtues produce this one act under
the direction of prudence. . . . Others say that penance is a
habitus, not of virtue but of grace; nor does it refer only to
the substance of grace, but also to its act. As the grace of
baptism is called innocence, so is the grace of justification
called penance. ... A third opinion admits that penance is a
virtue, but only in the wider sense of the term. For virtue
in the proper sense directs the agent towards good, while
penance recalls him from evil. . . . The last view is that pen-
37 DB. 437-
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 345
ance is a habit of virtue — habitus virtutis — and of virtue in
its proper acceptation, not merely in a general sense. And
this, I believe, is the more probable view." 38
This " more probable view " was held by nearly all the most
representative Scholastics,39 Albertus Magnus being the only
one of note who considered penance as a virtue in the wider
sense of the term.40 Then the further question arose whether
penance must be regarded as a special virtue distinct from all
others. In respect to this there was again some difference of
views, in as much as a few identified penance with justice,
while all the others held it to be a special virtue. Thus St.
Thomas argues : " Habits are distinguished according to the
specific difference of their acts; hence where there are specif
ically different praiseworthy acts, there it must be admitted
that they are elicited by a special virtue. Now it is manifest
that in penance there is found a specifically different
praiseworthy act, namely, to bring about the destruction
of past sin in so far as it is an offence against God,
which does not belong to any other virtue. Hence it
necessarily follows that penance is a special virtue."41 St.
Bonaventure words his reasoning somewhat differently, but
comes to the same conclusion. " Penance," he says, " is a
special virtue, because it has a bearing upon evil as committed
against God, whereby man has made himself deserving of pun
ishment." 42
However, although penance is thus a special virtue, it is
nevertheless reducible to the cardinal virtue of justice, of which
it is a part. On this point nearly all were agreed, only a few
contending that penance must be reduced to charity. The
more common view is thus set forth by St. Thomas : " Pen
ance is a special virtue not only for the reason that it causes
grief for sins committed, because for that purpose charity
would suffice; but rather for the reason that the penitent
38 In Sent IV, d. 14, p. I, a. i, 40 Ibid. a. 3.
q. i. 41 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 85, a. 2.
39Cfr. Halens. Sum. IV, q. 12, m. 42 In Sent. IV, d. 14, p. i, a. I.
I, a. i ; Thomas, in Sent. IV, d. 14, q. 2.
q. i, a. i ; Scotus, ibid. q. 2 ; Mid-
dleton, ibid. a. i, q. i.
346 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
grieves for sins committed in so far as they are an offence
against God, and at the same time resolves to make
amends. Now to make amends for an offence com
mitted against some one does not consist merely in a cessa
tion of the offence; but furthermore requires that a certain
compensation be made to the person offended, just as sin de
mands punishment. . . . But compensation and punishment
belong to the matter of justice, because there is a commutative
aspect in both. Hence, it is manifest that penance, in so far as
it is a special virtue, is a part of justice." 43 However, as it is
the virtue of an inferior in respect of his superior, it is not
commutative justice in the strict sense of the term; because
that has no place except between equals.44
Again, as penance is a part of the virtue of justice, its proper
subject is the will. Hence, too, repentance is an act of the
will, although it usually also manifests itself in the affections.45
Its proper act consists in the detestation of sin and the firm
purpose of amendment, so that thereby due compensation may
be made to God for the offence that resulted from past sins.46
Penance as a virtue is infused by God. This is the common
teaching of the Scholastics against Scotus.47 Considered as
an act, penance arises from a variety of motives. The whole
process of repentance is thus described by St. Bonaventure:
" First it is necessary to know God's goodness and justice, to
which every sin is an offence and as such calls for punishment
— and one must be conscious of having done something that is
displeasing to God's goodness; this is the consciousness of
guilt, and thence results the apprehension of punishment as
inflicted by divine justice. It is also necessary to know God's
mercy, by reason of which He is prepared to grant forgiveness
to everyone who sincerely repents of his sins. From the first
knowledge arises fear; from the second hope of forgiveness:
then from the two together springs the desire and the deter
mination of returning to God, of becoming reconciled to Him,
43 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 85, a. 3. 46 Ibid.
44 ibid. 47 Cf r. supra, " Infused Virtues,"
45 Ibid. a. 4 ; Bonavent. In Sent.
IV, d. 14, p. i, a. 2, q. i.
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 347
and of rendering Him due satisfaction by sorrow of heart and
other penitential works. If a person thus starts out to do
what in him lies, he is disposed for justification." 48
This is substantially the common teaching of the Scholastics,
though not by all of them expressed in the same terms. St.
Thomas, for instance, puts it this way: " Of penance we can
speak in two ways : one way in as much as it is a habitus and
as such it is immediately infused by God, we only contributing
thereto by way of disposition; another way in as much as it
is an act, in which we cooperate with God through penance.
Of these acts the first principle is God's operation in so far as
He converts the heart, according to Lament, ult., 21 : ' Con
vert us, O Lord, to Thee, and we shall be converted/ The
second is an act of faith; the third is an act of servile fear,
by which one is drawn away from sin through the fear of
punishment; the fourth is an act of hope, by which one in
expectation of forgiveness resolves upon amending one's life;
the fifth is an act of charity, by which one detests sin as it is
in itself and not merely for fear of punishment; the sixth is
an act of filial fear, by which one through reverence for God
freely offers to make amends. And thus it is clear that the
act of penance proceeds from servile fear as the first movement
of the affections ordained to this end; but from filial fear as
its immediate and proper principle." 49
If a person is truly repentant and prepared to comply with
all the conditions laid down by God for justification, he in
fallibly obtains the grace of God, no matter what sins he may
have committed.50 In connection with this they usually in
quire into the measure of sanctifying grace that one receives in
thus rising from grievous personal falls. By mortal sin sanc
tifying grace is lost, by penance it is recovered; but in what
measure is it recovered as compared to the grace possessed be
fore sin was committed? Obviously, three suppositions are
48 In Sent. IV, d. 14, p. I, a. 2, " Concedendum igitur, quod omnis
q. 2. agens poenitentiam super culpam
49 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 85, a. 5- secnndum assignationem praedic-
50 The common teaching of the tam, quantumcmnque peccaverit, in-
Scholastics on this point is thus venit gratiam " (In Sent. IV, d. 14,
formulated by St. Bonaventure: p. 2, a. 2, q. i).
348 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
possible. First, that penance places man in the same position
where he was before he sinned ; so that he has the same amount
of sanctifying grace and the same merits for heaven. Sec
ondly, that penance restores the full amount of grace and all
the merits possessed before sin was committed, and adds
thereto whatever is due to the supernatural acts of penance it
self; whence it would follow that the sinner after his con
version possesses a higher degree of grace and more merits
for heaven than he did before he sinned. Thirdly, that pen
ance does not restore the grace and merits lost through sin,
and that therefore the penitent after his conversion has only
that degree of grace and those merits which correspond to the
supernatural acts involved in the process of his repentance.
Different answers are given to the question by different
Scholastics. Some hold that penance restores the same grace
that was lost by sin ; others say that penance restores the grace
that was lost and besides adds thereto in proportion to the
fervor of repentance; others, finally, maintain that the grace
conferred by penance is simply in proportion to the disposition
of the penitent, and that all lost merits are merely the cause
of accidental glory in heaven. This last seems to be the view
of St. Thomas, for he says : " The penitent who rises from
his sins in a lower degree of charity, will indeed obtain an
essential reward in proportion to the degree of charity which
he is found to possess ; nevertheless he will have greater joy on
account of the good works which he did in his first charity,
over and above that which results from the works he per
formed after his conversion ; and this belongs to his accidental
reward." 51 The same is also held by Alexander of Hales 52
and Richard of Middleton.53 In this view, therefore, the
merits lost by sin do not revive through penance.
On the other hand, St. Bonaventure 54 and Duns Scotus 55
are in favor of a full restoration of all previous merits. The
former says : " It is the common opinion of theologians that
51 In Sent. Ill, d. 31, a. 4, quaes- 53 In Sent. Ill, d. 31, a. i, q. 2.
tinnc. i, 2, 3; Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 89, 54 In Sent. IV, d. 14, p. 2, a. 2,
a. 5 ad 3m. q. 3-
52 Sum. IV, q. 12, m. 4, a. 5'. 55 Ibid. d. 22, q. unic. n. 8, 9, 10.
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 349
works which were at first meritorious, because they were
performed in the state of grace and therefore deserving of an
eternal reward, become dead through sin — because as long as
there is guilt they are on account of the person's sinful condi
tion no longer deserving of reward — but when grace returns
and makes the penitent worthy of life eternal, these same
works also deserve a reward, and are therefore restored and
vivified." 56 Scotus points out that if these meritorious works
are not restored at the moment of conversion, on account of
the penitent's imperfect disposition, then they are restored
later on when his disposition is more perfect ; or at all events
at the moment of death.57
2. The Sacrament of Penance. — " The perfection of pen
ance," argues Peter Lombard, " consists of three things : sor
row, confession, satisfaction — compunctio cordis, confessio
oris, satisfactio opens!' 58 These three are essential on the
part of the penitent, and when to them is added the absolution
of the priest, there results the sacrament of penance. True,
actual satisfaction is not a constituent part of the sacrament,
but by way of satisfaction the penitent must at least have the
sincere will to perform the penance enjoined by the confessor.
In this sense, satisfaction as well as sorrow and confession is
an indispensable requisite for a valid absolution. Moreover,
sorrow for sins must necessarily include a firm purpose of
amendment; for without such a purpose, either expressed or
implied, it would not be true sorrow. Hence the sacrament
of penance comprises five distinct parts: sorrow for sins, a
purpose of amendment, confession, satisfaction, and absolu
tion. The first four of these must obviously be supplied by
the penitent, and the last just as obviously by the priest who
receives the confession.
So far all are agreed; but if it be asked whether all these
parts enter the constitution of the sacrament, so that they in
some way belong to its essence, there is some diversity of
opinion. Scotus and his followers contend that the acts of the
penitent are indeed necessary conditions for a valid absolu-
56 Loc. cit. 58 Sent. IV, d. 16, c. i.
57 Loc. cit.
350 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
tion, but deny that they enter the constitution of the sacrament.
Scotus himself gives this definition of the sacrament of pen
ance: Absolutio hominis poenitentis, facta certis verbis, cum
debita intentione prolatis, a sacerdote jurisdictioncm habente,
ex institutione divina efficaciter significantibus absolutionem
animae a peecato.5Q According to his view, it is the absolu
tion alone that constitutes the sacramental sign. And this he
expressly states, when he says in another place: Hoc sacra-
mentum non habet nisi unum signum ut verba prolata, habet
tantum formam et non proprie materiam*0 Or again:
Poenitentia, sacramentum, nihil aliud est quam forma andibilis
vcrborum prolatorum super poenitentem a sacerdote?'*- Hence
he says in regard to the acts of the penitent : Sunt quaedam
dispositiones congruae praeambula convenientia ad suscep-
tionem congruam poenitentiae sacramenti.62 Sorrow for sins,
a purpose of amendment, confession, and satisfaction are all
necessary; but only as requisites for absolution, not as parts
of the sacrament. Substantially the same explanation is given
by Durandus.63
However, the greater number of the Scholastics took a dif
ferent view of the point in question. The matter is most
clearly set forth by St. Thomas, who begins his treatise on
penance with a brief consideration of the sacramental rite.
He first points out that penance is a true sacrament of the New
Law, since the acts of the penitent and the absolution of the
priest together constitute a sacred sign which was instituted
for the sanctification of men.63a Then to the objection that
there is no corporeal element in penance as there is in baptism,
he replies : " By the term corporeal things, taken in a w7ider
sense, are also understood exterior actions which can be per
ceived by the senses, and in this sacrament they take the place
of water in baptism or of chrism in confirmation. But it must
be noted that in those sacraments which confer a more excel
lent grace, a grace which surpasses the reach of all human
acts, some corporeal matter is used by way of exterior appli-
59 Tn Sent. TV, d. 14, q. 4, n. 2. fi2 In Sent. TV. d. 16, q. i, n. 13.
«° Report. IV, d. 16, q. 6, n. 6. 6S Ibid. d. 16. q. T.
61 Ibid. n. 12. 63a Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 84, a. i.
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 351
cation; thus in baptism, which confers a full remission of sins,
both as to guilt and punishment; and in confirmation, which
gives the fullness of the Holy Spirit; and in extreme unction,
which bestows perfect spiritual health, flowing from the power
of Christ as from a certain extrinsic principle. Hence, if in
such sacraments there occur any human acts, they do not be
long to the essence of the sacramental rites, but are merely
requisite dispositions for the proper reception of those sacra
ments. Whereas in those sacraments which produce effects
corresponding to human acts, these sensible human acts them
selves constitute the matter of the same sacraments, as hap
pens in penance and matrimony." 64
From the fact that the acts of the penitent constitute the mat
ter of the sacramental rite, it necessarily follows that in this
sacrament the minister does not apply the matter to the re
cipient. These acts are inspired by God, are then presented
by the penitent in the tribunal of penance, and thereupon re
ceive their sacramental character from the absolution of the
priest.65 In a certain sense, the sins confessed by the penitent
may be considered as the remote matter of the sacrament of
penance; for it is upon them that the acts of the penitent, as
the proximate matter of the sacrament, are made to bear.66
And these sins comprise all personal sinful acts, venial and
mortal, although it was chiefly for the forgiveness of mortal
sin that the sacrament of penance was instituted.67
The form of the sacrament of penance consists in the words,
Ego te absok'o; all that precedes these words by way of prayer
is simply intended to obtain the grace of a proper disposition
for the penitent. This form is taken from the promise which
our Savior made to Peter, when He said : Quodcumque sol-
veris super t err am, etc.G8 It was then that He determined
what should be required on the part of the minister, although
He did not indicate its efficacy and the origin of its power
until after His resurrection.69
As regards the power of the keys, which the priest uses in
«4 Sum. Theol. ITT, q. 86, a. I. 67 Ibid. a. I ad 3m.
fi5 Ibid. a. i ad 2™. °8 Ibid. a. 3.
66 Ibid. a. 2. 69 Ibid. q. 84, a. 7.
352 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
sacramental absolution, there is no perfect agreement among
the Scholastics. In this matter two things must be distin
guished : guilt and punishment. According to some, the priest
in giving absolution simply declares that the guilt, or sin itself,
has been taken away by God, and then remits part of the pun
ishment due to sin. This is the view taken by Peter Lom
bard,70 Richard of St. Victor71 and probably also by St. Bona-
venture. The latter holds that the power of the keys extends
itself to the forgiveness of sin by way of prayer, but not by
way of imparting pardon for sin.72 Prayer, he says, obtains
grace; but absolution presupposes it.73 In accordance with
this view, he interprets the words of our Lord, whose sins you
shall -forgive, etc., as having been spoken merely quantum ad
ostensionem, vel quantum ad poenam.74
However, by far the greater number of Scholastics under
stood the power of the keys in a different sense. Thus St.
Thomas, refuting the view of the Lombard, according to whom
the words, ego te absolvo, signify, ego te absolutum ostendo,
states very clearly : " It must be said that the interpretation
of I absolve thee, as / declare thee to have been absolved, is
indeed partly true, but not altogether. For the sacraments of
the New Law not only signify, but also effect what they sig
nify. Hence, just as the priest when he baptizes some one
declares by his words and actions that the recipient is interi
orly cleansed, not only significatively but effectively; so like
wise when he says I absolve thee, does he declare the penitent
to be absolved, not merely significatively but effectively. Nor
does he say this in any uncertain way; for just as the other
70 Sent. d. 18, n. 4, 5. hinc est quod potestas clavium,
71 De Potest. Hgandi et solvendi. proprie loquendo, non se extendat
72 " Si ergo quaeratur, utrum po- supra culpam " (In Sent. IV, d. 18,
testas clavium se extendat ad p. i, a. 2, q. i).
delendam culpam, dicendum, quod 73 " Deprecatio gratiam impetrat,
bene potest se extendere per modum sed absolutio praesupponit. Nun-
deprecantis et impetrantis : et illud quam enim sacerdos absolveret
significatnm est in benedictione quemquam, de quo non praesumerat,
sacerdotum, Numero sexto ; sed quod esset absolutus a Deo "
per modum impertientis non. (Ibid.).
Quoniam ergo potestas sonat per 74 Ibid. q. I, ad lm.
modum activi et impertientis ex se;
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 353
sacraments of the New Law have of themselves an infallible
effect because of the passion of Christ, although that effect can
be impeded on the part of the recipient; so it is also in the case
of this sacrament. . . . Consequently, a better interpretation
is this : / absolve thee, that is, / impart to thee the sacrament
of absolution." 75
True, the action of the priest in giving absolution is only
ministerial, but so it is in the administration of all other sacra
ments. Hence the objection that God alone can forgive sins,
St. Thomas answers by saying : " It is to be held that God
alone can absolve from sin by His own authority, and thus
remit sin ; nevertheless priests do both by reason of their minis
terial office, and that in as much as the words of the priest in
this sacrament operate as the instrument of divine power, just
as in the other sacraments. For it is the divine power that
operates interiorly in the case of all sacramental signs, whether
they are things or words, as was said above. Hence, our Lord
mentioned both, the absolving from sin and the remission of
sins ; for in Matthew He says, whatever you shall loosen upon
earth, etc., and in John, whose sins you shall forgive, they are
forgiven them. Nevertheless, the priest says, / absolve thee,
rather than, / remit thy sins, because this is more in accord
with the words used by our Lord when He conferred the
power of the keys by which priests absolve. However, since
it is only as God's minister that the priest absolves, it is fitting
that something expressive of God's authority be added, namely,
that he say : / absolve thee in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Ghost, or, by the power of the pas
sion of Christ, or, by the authority of God. . . . Still, since
this is not determined by the words of Christ, as it is in bap
tism, the addition is left to the judgment of the priest." 76
The sacrament of penance is necessary for salvation, but
not in the same sense as baptism. The latter is necessary for
all alike, whereas the former is necessary only for those who
after baptism have fallen into mortal sin.77 Nor is it even
for them absolutely necessary, but only on the supposition that
75 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 84, a. 3 ad 76 ibid. q. 84, a. 3.
5^. 77 ibid. a. 5.
354 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
they have an opportunity of receiving it; for where there is a
good will and true sorrow, and a sincere desire to confess,
God is always able and willing to forgive sins without the
sacrament.78
The effect of the sacrament of penance, presupposing the
good disposition of the penitent, consists in the remission of
all sins truly repented of, and in the canceling of the eternal
punishment due to sin.79 Temporal punishment may also be
canceled, but that depends on the degree of cooperation on the
part of the penitent.80
For the worthy reception of the sacrament of penance, as
was remarked above, three things are required on the part of
the penitent : true sorrow for sins, including a firm purpose of
amendment; confession of all mortal sins, in so far as he can
call them to mind by diligent examination of conscience; and
the will to render due satisfaction according to the judgment
of the confessor. In regard to these requisites there is sub
stantial agreement among the Scholastics, and a few remarks
will suffice to indicate the trend of their teaching.
In the matter of sorrow for sins, or contrition, they distin
guish between perfect and imperfect contrition; or also be
tween contrition and attrition. However, they do not always
take this distinction in precisely the same sense as do modern
theologians. Both agree in attributing to perfect contrition
the power of blotting out sin, and for that reason they call it
perfect ; while they regard imperfect contrition as being merely
a disposition thereto, and in so far they consider it imperfect.
But besides this, the Scholastics frequently use the two terms
in reference to the presence or absence of sanctifying grace in
the soul of the penitent. Thus taking one and the same act
of sorrow, so long as the penitent is without sanctifying grace,
they call it imperfect contrition or attrition ; and the moment
he receives sanctifying grace, they term it simply attrition. In
this sense St. Thomas says : Omnis dolor de peccato in
habente gratiam est contritio?* And in the same sense St.
Bonaventure states : In contritione gratiae est contritio ad
78 Ibid. q. 86, a. 2. 80 Tbid. a. 4 ad 2m.
™ Ibid. a. i, 4. si De Verit. q. 28, a. 8.
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 355
generandum vas novum et solidum per humorem gratiae et
lacrymarum ; et ideo recte dicitur contritio, non attritio, quia
partiwm tritarum est unio.82
The perfection or imperfection of contrition depends ulti
mately on the motives by which sorrow for sin is inspired.
Thus perfect contrition is conceived to flow from the con
sideration of sin precisely as it is an offense against God, who
is infinitely good and deserving of all our love; while imper
fect contrition is held to proceed from a less perfect motive,
such as the intrinsic deformity of sin, the loss of eternal happi
ness, or even the fear of positive punishment. In reference to
this St. Thomas says that the act of penance, which leads to
the forgiveness of sin, takes its rise from servile fear, but has
filial fear as its immediate and proximate principle.83
The question, what kind of contrition, perfect or imperfect,
is required for a worthy reception of the sacrament of pen
ance, is variously answered by the Scholastics, in keeping with
the different views they entertain in respect to the power of the
keys. In the first place, those who hold that the confessor
merely declares the penitent to be absolved from his sins by
God, consequently maintain that ordinarily perfect contrition
is required. Thus St. Bonaventure compares penance in this
respect to the reception of the Eucharist. In both cases, he
says, the recipient must have at least probable reasons for be
lieving that he has perfect charity, in order to be properly dis
posed for a worthy reception of the sacraments.84
On the other hand, those who hold that the priest really ab
solves from the guilt of sin, although only as the instrument
82 In Sent. IV, d. 16, p. I, a. I, tern sufEcientem secundum verita-
q. i. tern, sed sufficit secundum proba-
83 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 85, a. 5. bilitatem. Haec autem dispositio
84 He proposes his view in these attritio est, quae frequenter ob con-
terms : " Sicut dictum est, quod fessionem superadjunctam et abso-
non tenemur ad Eucharistian acce- lutionem sacerdotis formatur per
dere cum caritate secundum veri- gratiam, ut fiat contritio" (Ibid. d.
tatem, sed sufficit, quod secundum 17, p. 2, a. 2, q. 3). Hence it is
probabilitatem; sic dico, quod ad only by way of exception that at-
sacramentum poenitentiae non est trition suffices for a worthy recep-
necesse, quod accedat habens cari- tion of the sacrament of penance,
tatem vel dispositionem ad carita-
356 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
of God, contend that attrition is always sufficient for a worthy
reception of the sacrament of penance; provided, of course,
that it flows from some supernatural motive. Hence, when
St. Thomas defines contrition in so far as it is necessary for
sacramental absolution, he derives its origin from only two
motives : fear and hope. Fear, he says, is the principal motive,
and with this is associated hope of forgiveness; for without
hope, fear would degenerate into despair.85 He adduces five
different definitions of contrition as found in the works of the
Fathers, and in not one of them is there question of perfect
charity. As an example take the definition he quotes from St.
Isidore of Seville : Contritio est compunctio et humilitas
mentis cum lacrimis, veniens de recordatione peccati et timore
judicii. Or that cited from St. Gregory the Great: Contri
tio est humilitas spiritus, annihilans peccatum inter spem et
timorem. Both are identical with our definition of attrition.
And these definitions St. Thomas makes his own.86
This more common view is also defended by Duns Scotus.
He defines contrition in a general way as a detestation of past
sins — displicentia de peccato commisso87 which includes or
has connected with it a firm purpose of amendment — propo-
situm cavendi de caetero88 Without such an act of contrition
there is no forgiveness ; because as sin turns man away from
his last end, so must contrition turn him back to that same
end.89 When distinguishing between perfect and imperfect
contrition, he uses the terminology rather common at the time,
according to which contrition was denominated perfect from
the presence of sanctifying grace in the soul, whereas it was
called imperfect in so far as it preceded the advent of sancti
fying grace.90 In reference to this use of terms, he distin
guishes two kinds of attrition: one that merits justification
de congruo without the actual reception of the sacrament, and
another that justifies only when the sacrament is actually re
ceived.91 In substance, this latter kind of attrition is identical
85 Sum. Theol. Ill, Suppl. q. I, 89 Ibid. n. 18.
a. i. 90 Ibid. n. 14, 15.
ss Ibid. 91 In reference to this second kind
87 In Sent. IV, d. 14, q. 2. of attrition he says : " Ita ut parum
88 Ibid. q. 4, n. 9. attritus, attritione quae non habet
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 357
with that required by St. Thomas, as explained in the preceding
paragraph.
In regard to the second requisite on the part of the penitent,
namely, confession, there is practically no disagreement among
the Scholastics. The common teaching is thus set forth by
St. Thomas : " There is a twofold obligation to confess our
sins. The first arises from the divine law which made con
fession a medicine for sin ; and by this law not all are bound,
but those only who commit mortal sin after baptism. The
second obligation results from an ecclesiastical law, enacted in
a general council under Innocent III, and by this all are bound.
The purpose of the law is to bring all to a realization of their
sin fulness, since we all have sinned and need the grace of God ;
a further purpose is to prepare the faithful for a proper re
ception of the Eucharist; and finally, to enable pastors to know
their subjects, and so to discover the wolves that may lie hid
den among the flock." 92
Here it must be noted that St. Thomas extends the obliga
tion of confession even to those who are guilty of only venial
sins, because of the law passed by the Fourth Lateran in regard
to yearly confession. This was the more common interpreta
tion of that law during the Middle Ages. Hence, St. Bona-
venture says in regard to venial sins: Venialia igitur non
tenetur quis confiteri propter vinculum peccati, sed hoc solum
est propter obligationem praecepti, quae obligat unumquemque
ad confitendum. Et ideo, si non habeat nisi vcnialia, tenetur
ilia confiteri; unde si haberet mortalia, quae confiteretur, non
teneretur ad venialia?* However, St. Thomas admits the
other interpretation as probable, even from the wording of the
law, which says that all sins must be confessed ; for no one can
call to mind all his venial sins. Hence, he concludes, if a per
son has no mortal sins to confess, he complies with the law by
rationem meriti ad remissionem pec- facto Dei assistentis sacramento
cati, . . . recipiat effectum sacra- suo " (Ibid. n. 14).
menti, scilicet gratiam poeniten- >2 Suppl. q. 6, a. 3.
tialem, non quidem ex merito, quia 93 In Sent. IV, d. 17, p. 2, a. 2,
dispositio interior non erat suffi- q. I.
ciens per modum meriti, sed ex
358 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
presenting himself to his pastor and informing him of his im
munity from mortal sin.94
All mortal sins must be confessed in specie; or as St. Bona-
venture words the common teaching of that time: Omnis
peccati mortalis differentiam necesse est confiteri, sive sit
latens, sive manifestum, sive sit cordis, sive sit oris.®5 In re
gard to the circumstances that accompany mortal sin, a dis
tinction is made by the Scholastics between those that simply
aggravate the guilt and those that change the species or kind
of the sin committed. According to some, both kinds of cir
cumstances must be confessed, while others hold that there is
no obligation to confess merely aggravating circumstances.
This latter seems to be the more common view among the
Scholastics, and is expressed by St. Thomas in these terms :
" To confess all circumstances is impossible, yet there are some
which it is necessary to confess : but in this matter there is a
difference of opinion. Some hold that all circumstances which
add notably to the gravity of sin must be confessed, if they
occur to the mind of the penitent. Others contend that it is
not necessary to confess the circumstances of sins committed,
except when they are such as to change one sin into another;
and this is the more probable opinion : but it must be added,
that even then confession of the circumstances is necessary
only when the second sin is also mortal. And the reason of
this is, that there is no obligation of confessing venial sins, but
such only as are mortal." 96
Sacramental confession can be made only to priests who
have jurisdiction over the penitent; for they alone can absolve
from sin. But merely as an act of virtue, one may confess
his sins to any one, lay or cleric, from whom it is reasonable to
expect advice or the help of prayer. And in case of necessity
this is very advisable, although the obligation of afterwards
confessing to a priest still remains.97
On the part of the priest, confession induces the obligation
94 Suppl. q. 6, a. 3. 97 Cfr. Bonavent. op. cit. d. 17, p.
95 In Sent. IV, d. 17, p. 3, a. 2, 3, a. i, q. I, 2; Thomas, Suppl. q. 8,
q. 2. a. 2-6.
96 Ibid. d. 16, q. 3, a. 2, quaesti-
unc. 5.
SCHOLASTICS ON PENANCE 359
of the sigillum or seal of secrecy.98 This extends itself di
rectly only to the sins that have been confessed, but indirectly
also to other things, the revelation of which would be to the
detriment of the penitent or bring odium upon the sacrament."
The last requisite on the part of the penitent is satisfaction.
The purpose of satisfaction is partly to satisfy the justice of
God for the debt of temporal punishment that may still be
due after the guilt of sin has been blotted out, and partly to be
of spiritual benefit to the penitent himself. Under this latter
aspect it is intended both as a medicine against past sins and
as a preservative against future falls.100 The general con
cept of satisfaction, as found in the works of the Scholastics,
is thus presented by Duns Scotus : Operatic laboriosa vel
poenalis voluntarie assumpta ad punienditm peccatum commis-
sum a se et hoc ad placandam divinam offensam.™1 However,
the two terms, poenalis and voluntarie, are taken in a rather
wide sense, as it is commonly admitted that any good work
and inevitable afflictions may serve the purpose of satisfac
tion.102
The different kinds of satisfactory works are commonly re
duced to these three : alms-giving, fasting, and prayer. St.
Thomas shows their appropriateness in this way : " Satisfac
tion ought to be such that through it we deprive ourselves of
something for the honor of God. Now we have only three
kinds of goods, namely, goods of the soul, goods of the body,
and goods of fortune, that is, external goods. We deprive
ourselves of the goods of fortune by alms-giving, and of the
goods of the body by fasting; yet of the goods of the soul
we ought not to deprive ourselves of anything in regard to their
essence, so that they are thereby diminished, for it is through
them that we are acceptable to God; but in this way, that we
submit them entirely to God; and this we do through
prayer." 103
In connection with the sacrament of penance, the Scholastics
98Cfr. Thomas, op. cit. q. n, a. 101 In Scni. IV, d. 15, q. I, n. n.
1-5. 102 Cfr. Thomas, op. cit. q. 15, a.
9» Ibid. i, 2.
100 Ibid. q. 12, a. 3. 103 Ibid. a. 3.
360 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
also treat of ecclesiastical censures, as the inflicting of them
implies the power of the keys in foro externo. The subject
does not properly belong to the history of dogmas, except in
so far as the power of the Church to inflict censures comes
in question. And on this point there was no difference of
opinion in the Middle Ages.104
104 Cfr. Thomas, op. cit q. 21, 22.
CHAPTER XXI
INDULGENCES
HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT: THEOLOGICAL EXPOSITION
It was the common teaching of the Scholastics, as it had
been of the Fathers before them, that the remission of sin
does not necessarily include the remission of all punishment
due to sin. In this matter they distinguished between eternal
and temporal punishment. Eternal punishment as such, they
said, does not remain when the guilt of mortal sin is blotted
out : it is either commuted into temporal punishment, as some
contended; or it is simply canceled, as others taught. But
of the temporal punishment, either resulting from commuta
tion or due for other reasons, a part usually remains, which
must be expiated by works of penance. It is the removal of
this punishment, which remains after sin itself has been re
mitted, that forms the end and object of indulgences. Hence
an indulgence essentially consists in the remission of temporal
punishment due to sin, after the guilt of sin has been for
given, either through an act of contrition or the sacrament
of penance.
As will be pointed out farther on in this chapter, the re
mission of temporal punishment, as gained by means of an
indulgence, is not directly due to the works of penance a per
son may perform; nor, on the other hand, is it purely the
effect of absolution pronounced by competent ecclesiastical
authority. It is effected by an authoritative substitution of the
satisfactory merit of Christ or His saints, made dependent
for its efficacy on the fulfillment of certain conditions. When
there is question of indulgences for the living, these condi
tions must be complied with by the beneficiary himself; when
indulgences are applicable to the dead, there is required a
361
362 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
vicarious fulfillment of the conditions laid down. These
conditions always consist in the performance of some work
of piety, either by way of prayer, penance or alms-deed. In
regard to indulgences as thus understood, two points come
up for consideration: the historical development of the doc
trine, and its theological exposition. Both may be briefly out
lined as follows.
A — HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
Most Protestant writers, when referring to indulgences, date
both doctrine and practice from the early Middle Ages. In
Patristic times, they say, indulgences were unknown. It was
only when the faithful had lost their fervor, and could no
longer be induced to perform the severe penances imposed for
certain sins, that recourse was had to the expedient of re
demptions and commutations; and from these, towards the
middle of the twelfth century, developed that ill-begotten
progeny of sloth and covetousness which found a place in later
Catholic theology under the name of indulgence. In their
view, consequently, an indulgence is a purely human inven
tion ; an invention, moreover, that is evil in root and branch.1
Passing by for the present the moral aspect of the doctrine
in question, we shall in this section trace its origin and de
velopment, in so far as that is possible, by making a critical
use of the historic data at our disposal. And for this pur
pose we shall divide the centuries to be considered into several
periods of time, so that it may appear at a glance what develop
ment or change there was as the one passed into the other.
The division commonly adopted, and the one that seems most
reasonable, is the following. First period : from the first cen
tury to the seventh. Second period : from the seventh century
to the twelfth. Third period : from the twelfth century to the
Council of Trent, in the sixteenth. After that the question
is of no further historical interest, because the doctrine had
reached its full development.
1 Cfr. *Lea, A History of Auric- AMasses am Ausgange des Mittel-
nlar Confession and Indulgences, alters.
vol. Ill; *Brieger, Das Wesen des
HISTORY OF INDULGENCES 363
i. From the First Century to the Seventh. — This period, as
will be noted, embraces practically the whole Patristic age.
During all these centuries, we are told, indulgences were un
known. In one sense this statement is true; in another it is
false. Indulgences were unknown as general ecclesiastical
grants in favor of all who cared to comply with certain fixed
conditions for obtaining the remission of temporal punish
ment due to sin ; but they were quite well known as particular
grants in favor of individuals who for one reason or another
appeared deserving of leniency in the matter of penance. By
the beginning of the third century it was a well established
custom to remit part of the imposed canonical penance at the
instance of those who had suffered for the faith. In these
cases it was the bishop who granted the remission, but in con
sideration of the intercession and sufferings of some particular
member of the Church. And the remission thus granted was
believed to be valid before God, so that the temporal punish
ment due to sin was canceled. To this belief St. Cyprian,
among many others, bears witness. " Those," he says, " who
have received the benefit of a martyr's intercession, are there
by enabled to satisfy the justice of God." 2
Now, if we look only to what is essential in the matter
of indulgences, namely, the authoritative substitution of the
satisfactory merit of Christ or His saints, we have here an
indulgence in the strict sense of the term. It was the satis
factory merit of the martyr, substituted by the authority of
the bishop for the canonical penance still to be performed, that
was believed to satisfy the justice of God and thereby cancel
the temporal punishment due to sin. Whether that belief was
well founded has for the present nothing to do with the case.
The only point at issue now is the historical fact that indul
gences were known and granted in the primitive Church. And
from what has been said, that point appears to be beyond
reasonable doubt.
Nor is this the only form of indulgence we meet with in the
early centuries. More than one council acknowledged the
2 Ep. 18 (H 2, 523 sq.) ; cfr. Tertul. Ad Martyr, c. i ; ML, i, 621.
364 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
right of bishops to shorten the time of canonical penance for
any reasonable cause, and thereby show mercy to well disposed
penitents.3 Yet any one who is familiar with the spirit that
guided the primitive Church in her dealing with penitents, or
with her valuation of things temporal and eternal, must under
stand that this " mercy " was not supposed to consist in a
mere relaxation of canonical penance as such; but in a remis
sion of punishment before God. Neither councils nor bishops
considered it a " mercy " to be spared suffering in this world
and to be made liable to it in the world to come. On the
contrary, the chief reason why such severe penances were en
joined was the well founded hope of thereby saving penitents
from the necessity of enduring much greater sufferings after
death. And hence dispensation from these penances, without
a corresponding remission of punishment, would have been
the very opposite of " mercy."
In this sense, therefore, it is historically certain that in
dulgences were as well known in the early ages of the Church
as they are to-day. Perhaps they were not as freely granted
as they are now, but that is not to the point. The doctrine that
the Church has power to grant indulgences was firmly estab
lished in Patristic times. It was not invented by theological
speculation during the Middle Ages, but it is an heirloom of
Apostolic preaching faithfully transmitted by the primitive
Church.4
2. From the Seventh Century to the Twelfth. — During this
second period indulgences appear mostly in the form of com
mutations and redemptions. And in so far the statement of
Protestant writers, as noted above, is true to facts. Penances
as then imposed were almost as severe as those that had been
in use during the early centuries of the Church. In fact,
when there was question of public penance, they were sub
stantially the same. They went by the name of canonical
penance, because they were in conformity with the canons or
rules established in past ages. Yet under the changed con-
3 Cf r. Cone. Ancyr. can. 2, 5 ; 4 Cfr. Hef ele, Conciliengeschich-
Conc. Nicaen. can. 12; Cone. Arelat. te, I, 226, 415.
I, can. 12.
HISTORY OF INDULGENCES 365
ditions of society, and partly also because there was a lack
of fervor on the part of penitents, it was not always feasible
to exact the rigorous performance of penances thus imposed.
Hence, when in individual cases there appeared sufficient rea
son for so doing, these penances were commuted or changed
into others of a less burdensome nature or of shorter dura
tion. Sometimes the penance thus substituted consisted in
prayers to be recited or some good work to be performed;
at other times in the payment of a certain sum of money to
be used for a religious or charitable purpose. In the first
case we have what is technically called a commutation; in the
second, what is technically known as a redemption.
This practice seems to have originated in Ireland, where
it existed as early as the seventh century. Thus the Canones
HibernenseSj dating from about that time, recognize the estab
lished custom of changing long fasts and other severe penances
into the singing of psalms or good works more in keeping
with the strength of the penitent.5 A little later the same
practice appears among the Franks. In some places the cus
tom crept in of allowing the penitent to hire a person who
would perform the imposed penance in his stead. Thus the
Poenitentiale Cummcani contains the following direction :
" If a penitent does not know the psalms or is unable to fast,
let him choose some pious person who is willing to per
form the penance enjoined, and for this let him pay an equiva
lent either in money or labor." 6 However, this was generally
looked upon as an abuse, and hence in the Poenitentiale Merse-
burgense we read: "If any one has received payment for
fasting, in case he did it through ignorance, let him fast so
long for himself as he promised the other, and let him give
to the poor what he received for his promise. Furthermore,
whosoever thus takes the sins of another upon himself, is not
a true Christian." 7
Commutations to the payment of money for some charitable
purpose came into vogue about the same time. Thus in the
5 Op. cit. II ; cf r. Wasserschleben, 6 Op. cit. Prolog. ; cfr. Wasser-
p. 139. schleben, p. 463.
7 Op. cit. 44-
366 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
Pseudo-Beda, a Poenitentiale that dates from the beginning
of the eighth century we read: " If perhaps some one is not
able to fast, let him pay a redemption if able to do so. If
he be rich, let him pay twenty solidi instead of fasting for
seven weeks. But if he has not sufficient means, let him
give ten solidi ; and if he is very poor, let him give three. . .
At the same time, let each one well understand for what pur
pose he must make his contribution; whether it is to be given
for the redemption of captives, or for the sanctuary, or for
the poor of Christ." 8 That this practice was open to abuse
is quite obvious, and hence it was at times strongly opposed
by theologians. In fact, the Council of Chalons, held in 813,
stigmatized some of these penitential manuals as utterly un
trustworthy, " filled with errors concocted by unknown
authors — quorum sunt certi errores et incerti auctores." 9
On the other hand, it had the support of men of undoubted
learning and approved sanctity. Thus St. Peter Damian,
about the middle of the eleventh century, laid down the prin
ciple that relaxation of penance might be conceded in propor
tion to the alms given by the penitent. He says : Cum a
poenitentibus terras accipimus, juxta mensuram muneris eis
de quantitate poenitentiae relaxamus™ And a provincial
council held in 895 gives the following rule to be adhered to
in the reconciliation of those who have committed murder.
The penance to be imposed on such a person is to last for
seven years. During all this time he remains excluded from
divine service; but already during the first year of his pen
ance, if on a journey or sick, he can be dispensed from fast
ing on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. However, in
stead of fasting he must give each day one-twelfth of a solidus
by way of alms. During the second and third year he is, on
the days mentioned, entitled to a redemption without further
condition. Finally, from the fourth to the seventh year in
cluded, he is obliged to keep every year three lents of forty
days each; but at other times he is dispensed from fasting
8 Op. cit. c. 41. 10 Ep. 12, ML, 144, 323 C.
9 Cone. cit. can. 38 ; Mansi, 14,
XOI.
HISTORY OF INDULGENCES 367
on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, while on Mondays
and Wednesdays he is entitled to a redemption.11
When this remission of penance by way of commutation
and redemption became general, indulgences as at present
understood had come into existence. For the substituted work
was understood to be effective in removing the punishment still
due to sin, and therefore it was not merely a relaxation of
canonical penance. At the same time there was no longer
question of particular grants to individual penitents, as had
been the case in Patristic times and also in the seventh and
eighth centuries; but certain conditions were put down on the
fulfillment of which penitents, otherwise disposed, gained
either a partial or a full remission of whatever temporal
punishment might still remain after they had duly confessed
their sins. In this we have not only the essential requisites
of an indulgence as understood to-day, but also its outward
form.
At what precise time this last development took place is
not certain. The ruling of Tribur, referred to in a preceding
paragraph, indicates the transition. It is general, but only in
regard to one class of penitents. About a century later the de
velopment seems to have been accomplished. For in an old
document, bearing the signature of Archbishop Pontius of
Aries (995-1030) and of his successor Raimbaldus, we meet
with an indulgence in its modern form. It is granted to all
those who visit the monastery of Mons Major and there con
tribute an alms for the erection of a church. The grant reads
as follows: "If a penitent comes to the aforesaid church,
on the day of its dedication or once a year, and there holds
vigil and gives an alms to promote the building of the Church
of Holy Mary, which is now in course of construction, . . .
let him be absolved from a third part of the penance imposed
on him for the greater sins; and this remission is to be reck
oned from the very day on which he holds his vigil to the same
day the next year. . . . Then, in the case of those who have
confessed less grievous sins and received penance for the
11 Cone. Tribur. c. 56-58; Mansi, 18, 157.
368 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
same, if they come to the dedication, . . . we absolve them
from one half of the penance received." 12
A few years later indulgences of this kind began to multiply.
They were usually granted by bishops for the building of
churches or monasteries, or for the promotion of similar pious
works. They were all partial indulgences, and the alms was
supposed to bear some proportion to the means of the giver —
tale sit, quatenus possunt.13 However, a plenary indulgence
was granted by Pope Alexander II, in 1063, to all Christians
who would take up arms against the Saracens in Spain. The
grant reads : " We release them from their penance and con
cede them the remission of their sins — Pocnitentiam eis
levamus et rcmissionem peccatorum fadmus." 14 In 1095
Urban II granted similar indulgences to the Crusaders ; 15 and
a century later, Innocent III extended the privilege of gaining
these indulgences to all those who in any way contributed to
the recovery of the Holy Land.16
3. From the Twelfth Century to the Council of Trent. —
During the twelfth century the practice of granting indul
gences increased very rapidly. But this was owing almost en
tirely to the action of individual bishops; for the Holy See,
as even Protestant writers admit, constantly exercised a re
straining influence in this matter.17 The reason for the stand
thus taken by the Sovereign Pontiffs was the fear that by an
undue multiplication of indulgences the Church's penitential
discipline would be relaxed. This is clearly stated by the
Fourth Lateran Council, held under Innocent III. The
practice, it says, is to be restricted, " because by the granting
of indiscreet and superfluous indulgences . . . the keys of the
Church are brought into contempt and sacramental satisfac
tion loses its force." 18 And in accordance with this, the
Council enacted the following law : " When a church is dedi
cated, the indulgence granted must not exceed one year,
12 D'Archery, Spicilegium, VI, em peccatorum, will be explained
427 sq. farther on.
13 Ibid. 428. 15 Mansi, 20, 816 E.
14 Cf r. Loof s, Dogmengeschichte. lf5 Mansi. 22, 1067 D.
p. 494. The expression, remission- 17 Cf-r. Brieger, Realencyk. 9, 79.
18 Mansi, 22, 1050.
HISTORY OF INDULGENCES 369
whether one bishop be present at the dedication or several;
and the indulgence granted on the anniversary of the dedica
tion must not exceed forty days of the penance that had been
enjoined." 19 Besides, forty days is to be the limit for all
indulgences that may be granted by a bishop on other special
occasions.20
The first Jubilee was published by Boniface VIII in 1300.
It was a plenary indulgence which could be gained by all those
who visited Rome in the course of that year, and during fifteen
days performed their devotions in the Basilicas of the Apostles.
The Jubilee itself was termed " the year of full remission and
of the reconciliation of the human race — annus plenariae re-
missionis et reconciliationis humani generis" This indulgence
was at first intended to be repeated only once every hundred
years, but Clement VI reduced the term to fifty years, Urban
VI to thirty-three, and Paul II to twenty-five years. Since
the fifteenth century the Jubilee indulgence may be gained
even without a visit to Rome, but usually a year after it has
been proclaimed in Rome itself.
In this connection a word must be said about the expression,
" a plenary indulgence of punishment and guilt " — indulgentia
plena a poena et culpa — which occurs in some Papal docu
ments. The phrase, as it stands, is ambiguous, and it has
proved a stumbling block to both Catholics and Protestants.
Some of the former, when brought face to face with it refused
to believe that it was authentic. This position was taken by
Maronis, a Scholastic who wrote at the beginning of the four
teenth century. " Such an indulgence," he says, " never was
granted by the Holy See, nor ought it to be taught as legiti
mate." 21 He had many followers, and among them Cardinal
Cusa, who held that the expression was simply an interpolation
introduced by some irresponsible indulgence preacher. Prot
estants, on the other hand, eagerly seized upon it as an irre
futable piece of evidence that the Popes were carrying on a
most shameless traffic in pardons for sins.22
Although there is perhaps no direct proof for the genuine-
19 Ibid. can. 62. 21 In IV Sent. d. 19, q. 3.
20 Loc. cit. 22 cfr. Brieger, RE, 9, 84 sqq.
370 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ness of the phrase as it stands, still its equivalents occur
again and again, and that in connections which exclude all
suspicion of interpolation. Thus in the Bull of Martin V,
Inter cunctas, is found the expression, " indulgences for the
forgiveness of sin" — indulgent ias in remissionem pecca-
torum.23 It is true, the meaning is clear enough from the con
text: because one of the conditions required for the gaining
of such indulgences, as is there stated, consists in contrite con
fession; but the ambiguous expression is certainly genuine.
And so it is admitted to be in other Bulls, even where the
meaning is not so clear. However, it was never used in the
sense ascribed to it by Protestant writers, namely, that the
indulgence itself was supposed to effect the forgiveness of
sin. And this is now commonly admitted by those who have
studied the documents in question at first hand.24
A very clear explanation of this whole matter is given
by John of Palts, who preached the Jubilee under Alexander
VI. He was a fellow religious of Luther, and his exposition
is accepted as correct even by Brieger, a most rabid and bigoted
Protestant writer on the question of indulgences. " Properly
speaking," writes Palts, " in virtue of an indulgence no one
is ever absolved from punishment and guilt, but from punish
ment only. However, it is commonly said that during the
Jubilee one is absolved from both — a poena et culpa. And
that saying is true, because a Jubilee is more than a mere in
dulgence ; it includes authority to confess and absolve and to
gether with this the power to remit punishment by way of
indulgence. In this way it includes the sacrament of penance
and together with it an indulgence properly so called. For
the clearer understanding of the aforesaid, it must be noted
that the term indulgence may be taken in one of two ways.
In one way, in so far as it properly signifies the mere remis
sion of punishment, and in this sense it does not imply the
remission of guilt; and in another way, in as much as in a
wider sense it stands for the Jubilee, or for the letter in
cluding the Jubilee, and then it extends itself to the remission
23 Mansi, 27, 1211 B; DB, 676. 24 Cfr. Brieger, loc. cit.
HISTORY OF INDULGENCES 371
of sin. And the reason is that usually when the Pope grants
a Jubilee, he does not concede a simple indulgence, but also
the faculty of confessing and absolving from all sins. And
in this way the guilt is taken away by the sacrament of penance,
which there intervenes ; while the punishment is canceled by
the indulgence, which is there granted." 25
That indulgences may also be applied to the dead, simply
by way of help, without the exercise of ecclesiastical jurisdic
tion in the strict sense of the term, seems to have been com
monly held by mediaeval theologians. But, as far as can now
be ascertained, the first authoritative reference to this matter
occurred only in the fifteenth century. Then Pope Sixtus IV
granted an indulgence that could be applied to the souls in
purgatory. On that occasion he used the expression " by way
of help " — per modum suffragii — which seems to have caused
a great deal of discussion as to its precise meaning. Hence
a few years later, in 1477, ne published a Bull in which the
term was explained. He says that he makes use of the
treasure of the Church, which consists of the merits of Christ
and the saints, and this is of benefit to the poor souls if ap
plied to them by those who fulfill the conditions on which
the indulgence is granted. Per modum suffragii, therefore,
means that the indulgence is offered as a help ; it is not a can
celing of the temporal punishment by an act of jurisdic
tion.26
This may be said to complete the development of the doc
trine on indulgences. And if we now gather together what
has been brought out more or less clearly in the preceding
paragraphs, we come to the following result, i. In the early
centuries the substance of the doctrine was well known, but
it was presented under a different form. An indulgence then
consisted in a relaxation of canonical penance, which was
believed to be valid before God, and in that sense to remit
temporal punishment due to sin. This relaxation was always
a matter of individual concession. 2. From the seventh cen
tury forward, simple relaxation gave place to commutation
25 Quoted by Brieger, op. cit. 88. 26 Ibid. 92.
372 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
and redemption. This transition implied no change of prin
ciple, but only a variation of form. The difference between
the severer penance first imposed and the lighter into which
it was changed, corresponded to the relaxation of earlier times.
Here, too, the application was to individuals. 3. During the
first half of the eleventh century there was a further transi
tion from individual to general concessions, so that any peni
tent might shorten his penance by the fulfillment of certain
fixed conditions. In this transition the modern form of in
dulgences first appeared.
As regards indulgences under this new form, these further
points may be noted, i. Like the commutations and re
demptions, the earliest indulgences of this kind were episcopal,
and were granted to those who visited a certain church, either
on the day of its dedication or at some other fixed time, and
there made an offering for some pious purpose. 2. Originally
they were all partial indulgences, one-half, or one-third, or one-
fourth of the imposed penance being remitted. 3. During
the eleventh century there was as yet no technical term for
these indulgences. 4. Up to the twelfth century they affected
ecclesiastical life very little; but after that they seem to have
seriously interfered with the spirit of penance, so that the
Popes found it advisable to restrict the power of the bishops
in the matter of granting indulgences. 5. Plenary indulgences
were usually granted by the Pope, and as a general rule but
sparingly. 6. It was never taught by those in authority that
an indulgence, in the proper sense of the term, was equivalent
to a remission of sin.
B — THEOLOGICAL EXPOSITION
Indulgences had practically no place in theology until the
first half of the thirteenth century. Theologians accepted the
fact of commutations and redemptions as explained in the pre
ceding section, but seldom stopped'to speculate concerning their
precise nature. Even Peter Lombard passes them by with the
vague remark that the prayers and alms of friends may be
THEOLOGY OF INDULGENCES 373
accepted as a vicarious penance in the case of the dying.27
The first one to attempt anything like a theological exposition
of indulgences was Alexander of Hales.28 He was followed
by St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas. The former of these
two copied him almost word for word, while the latter took
the substance of his teaching and presented it in his own way.
Even later Scholastics added little of their own, so that our
present theology of indulgences is little more than the teach
ing of Alexander arrayed in a modern garb.
The first question which he proposes to himself is, whether
indulgences or relaxations really remit temporal punishment
due to sin. He answers that there are two opinions concern
ing this matter. The first holds that indulgences are simply a
relaxation of the penance imposed by the Church, and that
therefore they are valid only in her forum and not in the forum
of God — in foro Ecclesiae, non in foro Dei. This view he
rejects as altogether untenable. And the reason is that the
universal Church has always taught the contrary; yet the uni
versal Church cannot fall into error concerning matters of this
kind. Nor is there any doubt as regards the teaching of the
Church ; because when the Apostle said, " what I have par
doned that Christ also hath pardoned," he referred also to
the remission of punishment by way of indulgence; and the
power of the Sovereign Pontiff is not less than that of the
Apostle. Moreover, as bishops share in the power of the
Church, it must be admitted that relaxations granted by them
are also valid before God.29
Then, in the body of the article, he explains how indulgences
may be granted without in any way failing to satisfy the de
mands of divine justice. Because, aside from the personal
satisfaction of the penitent, there is the satisfactory merit of
Christ and of the Church; and this is offered to God when a
relaxation of penance is conceded. 29a Hence the penitent
really satisfies for his sins, but he does so by drawing on the
treasury of the Church.30
27 Sent. IV, d. 20, c. 4. 29a LOC< cjt
28 Sum. IV, q. 83. 30 Ibid. a. I ad 4m.
29 Ibid. m. i, a. i ad i™.
374 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
In connection with the foregoing, the author inquires
whether one person can satisfy divine justice in place of an
other. He answers with a distinction. Sometimes, he says,
penance is imposed by way of medicine; and then, of course,
the penitent is bound to perform it in person. At other times
it is enjoined as a compensation for the injury done to God
by sin; and in that case it may be performed by some one
else. For the Church is the mystical body of Christ, in which
the members are all intimately united and mutually helpful the
one to the other. However, this vicarious satisfaction is not
a matter of individual choice ; it is of value only when approved
by lawful superiors. Moreover, in authorizing it, superiors
must have due regard to the disposition of the penitent and the
amount of penance that is to be imposed upon his substitute.
On the part of the penitent there must be real need of this
substitution; and then as regards the amount of penance, it
must be borne in mind that vicarious penance is less efficacious
than that performed by the penitent in person, and therefore
it ought to be more severe in order to give the same satisfac
tion to divine justice.31
Touching the question of authority in the matter of grant
ing indulgences, he teaches that it belongs exclusively to
bishops and the Pope; so that neither priests nor prelates of
the lower grades, such as priors and abbots, have any juris
diction in this respect. And the reason is that indulgences
are nothing else than an application of the supererogatory
satisfaction of Christ and His saints. This satisfaction con
stitutes the spiritual treasury of the Church, which can only
be at the disposal of those through whom the Church is
espoused to Christ. It is through the Pope and the bishops
that children are begotten unto Christ the Redeemer, and hence
it is their exclusive right to dispose of the Church's spiritual
treasures in favor of these same, children.32 Furthermore, the
plenitude of this right and power is found only in the
Sovereign Pontiff; because to him is entrusted the welfare of
the whole Church, and therefore all others in a position of
31 Ibid. a. 2. 32 Ibid. m. 3.
THEOLOGY OF INDULGENCES 375
authority depend for the exercise of their jurisdiction on his
will and direction.33
The conditions on which the gaining of indulgences is made
to depend, although they may be of various kinds, ought in
some way to be connected with sacrifices in the material order.
For, first of all, this follows from the usage established in the
Church ; in as much as indulgences are commonly granted on
the condition that alms be given, pilgrimages be made, and
visits be paid to churches and shrines. In the next place, in
dulgences are a relaxation of the penance that should be per
formed after the guilt of the sin has been forgiven ; but this
penance is always some exterior work, such as fasting, morti
fication, and so forth; consequently the conditions on which
indulgences are granted should also be something exterior, or
some sacrifice in the material order. Of this kind are alms
for the building and beautifying of churches, taking part in
the deliverance of the Holy Land, fasting, bodily austerities,
and pilgrimages.34
Furthermore, other conditions are required, both on the
part of the person who wishes to gain an indulgence and on
the part of him who grants it. The former must be in the
state of grace, believe in the efficacy of indulgences, and per
form the prescribed works in a spirit of devotion. The latter
must have a sufficient reason for disposing of the satisfactory
merits that are in the spiritual treasury of the Church. Such
a justifying reason is found, for instance, in the need there
is of promoting works of piety. But in all cases there must
be due proportion between the value of the indulgence granted
and the difficulty of the conditions enjoined.35 Finally, if
there be a sufficiently grave reason, the Pope may grant a
plenary indulgence, which cancels all temporal punishment due
to sin.36
Indulgences may also be applied to the souls in purgatory,
because the Sovereign Pontiff has the right to dispose of the
spiritual treasure of the Church in favor of all who need
it and who are in a condition to benefit by his liberality.
ss Tbid. ad 2». 35 Thid. m. 5.
s* Ibid. m. 4. 36 ibid. m. 6>
376 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Now when the poor souls departed this life, they were in
communion with the Church, and they still are her children
although suffering in another world. Hence they are in a con
dition to be helped by her in their present need. However,
as they are no longer under the Pope's jurisdiction, he can
not grant them an indulgence by way of a judiciary sentence;
but only by way of help and impetration — per modum suf-
fragii et impetrationis.31 It must be noted, therefore, that in
regard to this one point alone — the manner of application —
does an indulgence for the dead differ from that for the
living.
St. Bona venture, as noted above, made the teaching of
Alexander his own. He insists very strongly that indulgences
are valid before God, because if they were not, the Church's
action in granting them would not be merciful but cruel, and
she would make herself guilty of deceiving those whom she
was commissioned by Christ to guide in the way of truth.38
When speaking of indulgences for the dead, he is inclined to
favor the opinion of those who hold that in granting them
the Pope uses his judiciary power.39 In this view he differed
from his master.
Albertus Magnus adds nothing to the exposition given by
Alexander. He calls attention to the following two definitions
of indulgences given by contemporary theologians : Magistri
definiunt relaxationem sic: Est satisfactionis majoris in
minor em competens et discreta commutatio. Alii sic: Re-
laxatio est poenae temporalis debitae promissa diminution
This latter, he holds, is the more proper of the two; and so
did many before his time, although the matter had been but
little discussed in a speculative way.
St. Thomas puts the teaching of Alexander in a somewhat
different form, but agrees with it on nearly every point. In
his first article he shows that indulgences are not merely a
relaxation of canonical penance, but are valid for the re
mission of temporal punishment due to sin. And this remis-
37 Ibid. m. 5. 39 ibid. q. 5, concl. 4.
38 In Sent. IV, d. 20, p. 2, a. unic. 40 In Sent. IV, d. 20, a. 16.
q. 2.
THEOLOGY OF INDULGENCES 377
sion holds good for the dead as well as for the living. After
calling attention to the fact that an indulgence can be gained
only when the guilt of sin has been remitted, either by an
act of contrition or in the sacrament of penance, he points
out the reason why indulgences are effective in remitting
temporal punishment. The chief reason, he says, is the unity
of the mystical body of Christ, many members of which have
gathered more satisfactory merits than they need for them
selves, and to that body also belong the merits of Christ.
Now, as one person may satisfy for another, it stands to rea
son that those who have need thereof may be benefited by
this supererogatory merit. However, as neither the saints nor
Christ made over their satisfactory merits to individual per
sons, but left them as a spiritual treasure to the Church, it is
only the head of the Church who can dispose of them by
reason of the authority received from Christ to this effect.
This is in perfect accord with the practice of every other society
of men. Community goods are distributed to individuals by
the head of the community. Hence, just as one would obtain
the remission of punishment if some one else were to satisfy
the justice of God in his place, so does he obtain the same
remission if the satisfaction of some one else is distributed
to him by one who has authority to that effect.41
Hence an indulgence, even in case of the living, is not a
simple act of absolution from the liability to punishment;
but it is an authoritative substitution of one satisfaction for
another. By a judiciary sentence, the penitent receives a
designated amount of the spiritual treasure of the Church, and
therewith he pays to that extent his indebtedness to God.42
In itself every indulgence is of such value as is determined
by the person who has authority to grant it, and in this sense
it is independent of the disposition of the recipient. But, on
the other hand, unless the recipient is united to Christ by
charity, he does not fulfill the conditions required for the
gaining of an indulgence; hence in so far the efficacy of the
indulgence depends on his disposition. St. Thomas sums up
41 Suppl. q. 25, a. I. 42 Ibid. a. I ad im et 2m.
378 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
this point as follows : " It must he held that the value of
indulgences is that which is stated in their promulgation, pro
vided, of course, the one who grants them has due authority
and the one who receives them is endued with charity and the
object of their granting is some pious cause, which embraces
God's honor and the neighbor's advantage." 43
The authority to grant indulgences resides in those who are
entrusted with the government of the Church, that is, the
bishops and the Pope. However, the Pope alone can make
use of this authority as may seem good to him ; while the
power of the bishops in the matter of indulgences is limited
by his ordinations.44 The pietas causae is sufficiently verified
if the end ultimately intended is of a spiritual nature; hence
anything temporal may be included among the conditions on
which an indulgence is granted, provided it be directed to a
spiritual end.45 If the conditions are not complied with, the
indulgence is not gained; even if the want of compliance was
the result of an oversight or of inability.46
Duns Scotus gives a similar exposition of the doctrine on
indulgences. His teaching is neatly summed up in the follow
ing definition : " An indulgence is the remission of the
temporal punishment due to the actual sins of the repentant
and left standing after sacramental absolution, a remission
granted for reasonable cause by ecclesiastical prelates out of
the Church's treasury, that is, the merits of Christ and the
saints.47
Nearly all the chief points brought out in the foregoing
paragraphs were embodied by Clement VI in the Jubilee Bull
of 1343. After explaining the meaning of the spiritual
treasury of the Church, he proceeds: " (Christ), indeed,
founded this treasury that it might be dispensed to the faith
ful unto their salvation through the offices of St. Peter, the
key-bearer of heaven, and of his successors, Christ's vicars
upon earth, always for proper and reasonable cause, now for
the complete and now for the partial remission of the tem-
43 Tbid. a. 2. 46 Ibid. q. 27, a. 3-
44 Ibid. q. 26, a. 1-3. 47 Quaest. Miscellan. q. 4, n. 4.
45 Ibid. q. 25, a. 3.
THEOLOGY OF INDULGENCES 379
poral punishment due to sins — a treasury to be devoted
mercifully in general as well as for particular occasion, as
under God they deem expedient, to those who are truly con
trite of heart and have confessed their sins." 48
« Cf r. DB. 550-552.
CHAPTER XXII
HOLY ORDERS: EXTREME UNCTION: MATRIMONY
Concerning the last three sacraments of the New Law only
a few remarks need be made in the present connection. Holy
orders and extreme unction are treated rather briefly by the
Scholastics themselves, and although a great deal is said by
them about matrimony, still that is mostly in regard to im
pediments, with which we are not directly concerned in the
history of dogmas. Hence the following brief outline of
Scholastic teaching on the three sacraments now under con
sideration will suffice for our purpose.
A — HOLY ORDERS
A neat summary of what is to be held in regard to holy
orders is thus given by St. Bonaventure in his Breviloquium:
lk This, in brief, is the doctrine to be held concerning the sacra
ment of orders, that it is a sealing (or sign) by which spiritual
power is imparted to the one ordained. Orders, though but
one of the seven sacraments, comprises nevertheless seven
grades. The first is that of door-keeper, the second that of
lector, the third that of exorcist, the fourth that of acolyte,
the fifth that of subdeacon, the sixth that of deacon, the seventh
that of priest. Preparatory to these, on the one hand, the
clerical tonsure is given and also the office of psalmist; on the
other hand, they find their complement in the added grades of
episcopacy, patriarchate, and papacy. By persons enjoying
these latter dignities orders are conferred, and they must be
dispensed with due attention to the external sacramental signs,
both as regards the matter and the form, and the proper
380
THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS 381
solemnity should be observed as to time, place, office, and
person." 1
The first part of this extract contains the definition of holy
orders as commonly given by the Scholastics, and is taken from
the Sentences of the Lombard? Order, as a sacrament, is a
certain seal or sign, by which spiritual power is imparted to
him who is ordained. As St. Thomas explains it. " The term
signaculum is here not meant to designate the interior
character, but signifies the external rite, which is at once a
sign and the cause of interior power; and thus it is under
stood in the given definition. However, if it were taken for
the sacramental character, it would not imply any impropriety
of speech. For the division of a sacrament into those three
— sacramentum tantum, res et sacr amentum, res tantum —
is not, properly speaking, a division into integral parts. Be
cause that which is the res tantum is not of the essence of a
sacrament, and that which is the sacramentum tantum passes
away, while that which is the sacramentum et res is said to re
main. Hence it follows that the interior character itself is
essentially and principally the very sacrament of orders." 3
That the rite of ordination is a true sacrament, at least when
there is question of the major orders, is directly inferred from
the fact that it is an external sign instituted for the sanctifica-
tion of the recipient. " In the reception of orders," says St.
Thomas, " there is a certain consecration imparted to man by
means of visible signs, and hence it is obvious that order is
a sacrament." 4 And that the rite confers sanctifying grace
he proves from the fact that the spiritual power is conferred
by it, which necessarily implies the grace requisite for its
proper use. " Hence just as in baptism, through which man
becomes capable of receiving the other sacraments, sanctifying
grace is conferred, so likewise in the sacrament of orders, by
which man is ordained for the dispensation of other sacra
ments." 5
The sacrament of orders is one, but there are several sacra-
1 Op. cit. VI, c. 12. 4 Suppl. q. 34, a. 3.
2 Sent. IV, d. 24, c. TO. 5 Ibid. q. 35, a. I.
3 Suppl. q. 34, a. 2 ad im.
382 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
mental rites of ordination, in each one of which the definition
of a sacrament is verified.6 The matter is thus explained by
St. Thomas, and substantially the same explanation is also
given by most other Scholastics. " The division of orders,"
he says, " is not that of an integral into its parts, nor that of
a universal, but that of a potestative whole; and the nature
of it is this, that the whole according to its complete perfec
tion is in one, and that in others there is a certain participa
tion of the same. And so it is here: the whole plenitude of
this sacrament is in one order, namely, in the priesthood; but
in the others there is a certain participation of the same order.
. . . And for this reason all the orders are one sacrament." 7
Or as St. Bonaventure puts it: " All grades of the orders to
gether constitute one sacrament, nevertheless to each grade the
term order is applied." 8
Scotus, however, looks at the matter in a somewhat differ
ent light.9 He holds that the term order, as designating one
of the seven sacraments, is taken in a generic sense ; and that
consequently the different grades are so many specifically dis
tinct sacraments.10
The generic unity of these specifically different sacraments
is derived from the common end for which they were all
instituted, namely, the worthy celebration of the Eucharistic
rite.11
The Scholastics distinguish seven different orders, which are
divided into two groups and are respectively designated as
sacred and non-sacred ; or major and minor, as they are known
to-day. Various reasons are assigned by them why the
number of orders should be neither more nor less than seven.
6 Ibid. Cfr. DB. 958. with the consecration of the Holy
7Suppl. q. 37, a. I ad 2m. Eucharist (Report. IV, d. 24, n. 8).
8 In Sent. IV, d. 24, p. i, a. 2, q. 4. 10 Then he adds : " Sacramentum
9 He first gives this general defi- ordinis est unum genere, habens
nition of orders : " Ordo est gra- sub se plures species, . . . quae
dus eminens in hierarchia ecclesi- sunt diversae rationis et alterius
astica, disponens ad congrue exse- speciei, non tantum ejusdem ration -
quendum aliquem actum excellen- is et speciei, et diversae numero "
tern in Ecclesia." And by the (In Sent. IV, d. 24, n. 13).
" actum excellentem " he under- " Ibid. n. 14.
stands any act intimately connected
THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS 383
St. Bonaventure enumerates and rejects three different views,
and then proposes his own. The priest, he says, in whom
the sacrament of orders is found in all its fullness, has two
different spiritual powers : one over Christ's true body in the
Holy Eucharist, and another over Christ's mystical body as
composed of the faithful. In the exercise of each of these
powers he needs assistants. In the consecration of Christ's
true body he is assisted by the deacon and the subdeacon, who
provide the matter for the consecration. Hence the orders of
these two as well as that of the priest, because of their close
connection with the Holy Eucharist, are termed sacred orders.
Then in the exercise of his power over the mystical body of
Christ, the priest is assisted by the ostiarius, who admits the
faithful to the place of worship; by the lector, who reads to
them the sacred text; by the exorcist, who gives them aid
against the inroads of the devil; by the acolytes, who edify the
faithful by their good example as typified by the burning
candles which they carry. All this is likewise referred to the
Holy Eucharist, but only distantly, and hence the orders in
question are called non-sacred.12 The exposition given by St.
Thomas differs somewhat in regard to the minor orders, but
is based upon the same fundamental idea that the division of
orders was made in reference to the Holy Eucharist.13
In this connection the question arises, whether all seven
orders are to be regarded as sacraments, in the sense explained
in a preceding paragraph. The Scholastics usually put the
question in this form : Does each one of the seven orders
imprint a sacramental character? In this they seem to take
for granted that all are sacraments, so that the only question
open for discussion is, whether in each ordination a character
is imprinted. And nearly all of them give an affirmative
answer, holding that this is to be considered as the more
probable view. Durandus, however, contends that the priest
hood alone is a true sacrament; all other orders must be con
sidered as sacramentals.14
St. Thomas presents the more common view in these terms :
12 In Sent. IV, d. 24, p. 2, a. 2, 13 Suppl. q. 37, a. 2.
q 4. 14 In Sent. IV, d. 24, q. I, n. 9.
384 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
" Some there are who say that in the priesthood alone is a
sacramental character imprinted; but this is not true, because
no one except a deacon can licitly discharge the duties con
nected with that office, and thus it is quite manifest that he
has a spiritual power in regard to the dispensation of the sacra
ments which others do not have. And for this reason others
say that all the sacred orders imprint a character, but not so
the minor orders. Yet this again is not to the point ; because
every order places the recipient above the laity in some grade
of power respecting the dispensation of the sacraments.
Hence, as the character is a sign whereby the recipient is dis
tinguished from others, it follows that in all the orders a
character is imprinted. And a further sign of this is the
fact that these orders always remain, and are never repeated.
This is the third opinion, which is more common." 15
Of course, as all true sacraments of the New Law have
been instituted by Christ, it follows from this " third opinion "
that the minor orders were also instituted by Him. And so
these authors commonly maintain. There is indeed the
historical difficulty that the minor orders do not seem to have
been in existence before the third century; but that is ex
plained by saying that they were all contained in the diaconate.
" In the primitive Church," says St. Thomas, " all the minor
offices were entrusted to the deacons, because of the scarcity
of ministers. . . . Nevertheless the aforesaid powers were all
contained in the one power of the deacon. But later on divine
worship developed more fully, and then the Church explicitly
gave to different ministers the powers that were implicitly con
tained in one order." 16
In this connection the question is also asked, whether the
episcopate must be considered as a distinct order, and con
sequently as a true sacrament. Modern theologians answer
the question in the affirmative, but in this they depart from
the more common view of the Scholastics. With the excep
tion of William of Auxerre,17 Scotus,18 and Durandus,19
15 Suppl. q. 35, a. 2. 18 In Sent. IV, d. 24, q. unic. n. 5.
16 Suppl. q. 37, a. 2 ad 2m. 19 Ibid. q. 6, n. 8.
17 Sum. p. 5, tr. 8, q. I.
THE SACRAMENT OF ORDERS 385
practically all of them agree with St. Bonaventure, when he
says : " The episcopate in so far as it implies the priesthood,
is properly called an order; but as distinct from the priest
hood, it signifies only a certain dignity or office connected
with it, and is not properly an order, nor is a sacramental
character imprinted by it, nor a new power given, but by it the
power of the priesthood is amplified." 20 St. Thomas holds
that the episcopate is a distinct order in respect of certain
hierarchical powers over the mystical body of Christ, but not in
respect of Christ's real body in reference to which orders con
stitute a true sacrament.21
Like all other sacraments of the New Law, that of holy or
ders is made up of matter and form. On this general fact all
Scholastics are agreed ; but there is a considerable difference of
opinion as to what part of the ordination rite constitutes the
sacrament of orders, and consequently as to precisely what
part is the matter and what part is the form of the sacrament.
Up to the ninth century, both the priesthood and the diaconate
were conferred by the imposition of hands and an accompany
ing prayer, to which rite was later added the presentation of
the chalice and paten.22 Hence the early Scholastics, such as
Hugh of St. Victor,23 Peter Lombard,24 and Innocent III,25
commonly state that the power of orders is conferred by the
imposition of hands and the prayer that accompanies it; while
the fact of this power having been conferred is. more distinctly
expressed by the presentation of the chalice and paten. The
same is taught by St. Bonaventure,26 and as regards the di
aconate also by Durandus.27 These theologians, therefore,
would regard the imposition of hands as the matter of the sac
rament of orders, when conferred on the priest and the deacon,
and the accompanying prayer as the form.
But towards the middle of the thirteenth century theological
opinion in this respect began to undergo a change. The im
position of hands was indeed still regarded as being an in-
20 Ibid. p. 2, a. 2, q. 3. 2* Sent. IV, d. 24, c. 9.
21 Suppl. q. 40, a. 5. 25 De Sacro Altaris Myst. I, c. 9;
22Cfr. Amalarius, De Eccl. Offic. ML. 217, 779.
II, c. 12 ; ML. 105, 1086. ae Op. cit. d. 24, p. 2, a. I, q. 4.
23 De Sacr. II, p. 3, c. 12. 27 Ibid. q. 3, n. 6.
386 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
tegral part of the rite of ordination ; but equal, if not greater,
importance was attached to the tradition of the instruments —
traditio instrument orum. Hence, St. Thomas, although a con
temporary of St. Bonaventure and on most other points agree
ing with him in doctrine, refers only to the traditio instrumen-
torum when he explains the rite of ordination in respect to the
different orders. After touching upon the relation of the
sacrament of orders to the Holy Eucharist, he says in regard
to the ordination of priests: Et ideo cum ordinantur, accipi-
unt calicem cum vino, et patenam cum pane, accipientes potes-
tatem conficiendi corpus et sanguinem Christi. And then with
reference to the deacon and subdeacon: Et ideo accipiunt
calicem de manu episcopi, sed vacuum, cum ordinantur.28
This traditio instrument orum he regards as the matter of the
sacrament of orders, while he considers the accompanying
words, Accipe or Accipite, etc., as the form.29 By this rite
alone is the character imprinted.30
This became practically the common view of the later
Scholastics, and was embodied in the Decretum pro Armenis,
issued by Pope Eugenius IV.31 As to the doctrinal value of
that decree, and also in regard to the intention of the Pope in
issuing it, the opinion of theologians is divided ; but they com
monly agree that it was not intended as a definition in the strict
sense of the term. The matter is too intricate to be dealt with
here, nor is a discussion of it necessary for our purpose.
The valid reception of holy orders presupposes the baptismal
character in the recipient,32 but not necessarily that of con
firmation; although it is unlawful to confer the sacrament on
one who has not been confirmed.33 Only a member of the
male sex can be validly ordained.34 For the licit reception of
holy orders a certain definite age and adequate mental and
moral fitness are required ; but. excepting the episcopate, ordi
nations are valid even if conferred upon one who has not yet
reached the age of discretion.35
28 Suppl. q. 37, a. 2. 32 Thomas, op. cit. q. 35, a. 3.
29 Ibid. q. 34, a. 4. 33 ibid. a. 4.
80 Ibid. q. 37, a. 5. 3* Ibid. q. 39, a. I.
81 DB. 701. 35 ibid. a. 2-5.
EXTREME UNCTION 387
The administration of the sacrament of orders belongs to
the bishop ; he alone has power to ordain priests and deacons,
although simple priests may be delegated to confer minor or
ders.36 The power to ordain is not lost either by heresy,
simony, or any other crime.37 Concerning this last point there
was considerable discussion during the early Middle Ages, as
was pointed out in a previous chapter ; but during the twelfth
century the matter was definitely settled by the decision of
several councils.38
B — EXTREME UNCTION
All Scholastics definitely teach that extreme unction is a
true sacrament of the New Law, but some call in question its
immediate institution by Christ. Thus Hugh of St. Victor,39
Peter Lombard,40 Alexander of Hales,41 and St. Bonaven-
ture,41a expressly teach that extreme unction was instituted by
the Holy Spirit through the Apostles. St. Thomas refutes the
arguments advanced by these authors, and then states the more
common view as follows : " For this reason others say that
all the sacraments were instituted by Christ Himself ; but some
of them, because they presented greater difficulty to the belief
of His followers, He also promulgated; while others, such as
extreme unction and confirmation, He reserved for the Apostles
to promulgate. And this view is all the more probable, be
cause the sacraments belong to the very foundation of the law,
and for that reason their institution pertains to the lawgiver ;
and again because it is from their institution that they have
their efficacy, and this can only come from a divine source.42
The sacramental rite, according to all, consists in the anoint
ing of the bodily senses with oil and the accompanying prayer
said by the priest. Hence oil is the matter of the sacrament,
and the prayer of the priest is its form. By oil, in this con-
36Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. 39De Sacr. II, p. 15, c. 2.
25, a. I, q. i ; Thomas, op. cit. q. 38, 40 Sent. IV, d. 23, c. 2.
a. i. 41 Sum. IV, q. g, m. I, 2.
37 Ibid. q. 2, 3. ; ibid. q. 38, a. 2. 41a In Sent. d. 23, a. i, q. 2.
38Mansi, 20, 1209; 19, 509. 42 Suppl. q. 39, a. 3.
388 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
nection, they understand olive oil; for, says St. Thomas, that
is the proper meaning of the term.43
Thus far all are agreed; but on two further points there is
among them a difference of opinion. First, what is the effect
of the consecration of the oil by the bishop? Secondly, is the
form of this sacrament deprecatory or indicative?
In regard to the first point St. Bonaventure says : " There
are some who hold that the oil itself is the matter of this sacra
ment, and that by the episcopal consecration of the oil the
sacrament is constituted; then the anointing that follows is
simply the use or dispensation of the sacrament. But this is
contrary to the very name of the sacrament, and also to the
common view of theologians. Hence, it is better to say that,
just as in baptism, the matter of the sacrament is water, and in
confirmation it is chrism, so in extreme unction it is oil conse
crated by the bishop." 44 St. Thomas refers to the same dif
ference of opinion, and gives the same solution as St. Bona
venture.45 Moreover the consecration of the oil by a bishop
is necessary for the validity of the sacrament.46
There is a similar but more pronounced difference of opinion
in regard to the form. In the various liturgical books of the
time, and in others of a later date, there is found a vast variety
of forms, some of them deprecatory and others indicative.47
Hence, as St. Bonaventure states, some theologians went even
so far as to say that no definite form was required in extreme
unction.48 However, this view is rejected by nearly all
Scholastics of any note. Yet there is no agreement among
them as to what the proper form ought to be. Thus St.
Thomas contends that the form must be deprecatory, and for
this view he assigns the following reasons. First, because the
deprecatory form is evidently indicated by the words of St.
James ; secondly, because it is the form used by the Church of
Rome; thirdly, the nature of the sacrament itself requires it,
since it is administered to the dying who are thereby recom-
43 Ibid. a. 4. 47 Cf r. J. Kern, Tractatus de Ex-
44 In Sent. d. 23, a. i, q. 3. trema Unctione, c. 3.
45 Suppl. q. 29, a. 5. 48 Loc. cit. q. 4.
46 Ibid. a. 6.
EXTREME UNCTION 389
mended to the mercy of God.49 The same view is also taken
by St. Bonaventure, who reasons about the matter in a similar
way.50
Albertus Magnus, on the other hand, while admitting that
the deprecatory form is valid, argues that the indicative form
ought to be used. For he says, speaking of the Church in
Germany, " in this part of the world all the most ancient
liturgical books have the indicative form, and conclude the rite
by a prayer. And these are the words written in those most
ancient books, which, because of their great antiquity, I can
heardly read : Ungo hos oculos oleo sanctificato in nomine,
etc.; to which is added : Per istam sanctissimam unctionem et
suam piissimam, etc.51 This appears really to be a mixed
form, but the author takes the first part only as the form
proper. Richard of Middleton 52 and some others took a simi
lar stand.
The subject of extreme unction is any person who has come
to the age of discretion and is in danger of death from sick
ness. This sacrament, says St. Thomas, is a spiritual medi
cine, and as bodily medicine is not administered to those who
are in health, neither must this spiritual medicine.53 Further
more, it is the last remedy against the ills of the soul that
the Church has at her disposal, and therefore it ought not to
be given to any one who is suffering from a slight ailment, but
to those only who are about to depart this life. Hence, it is
properly called the sacrament of the dying.54 However, it
ought not be deferred till the last moment, but should be ad
ministered when it is reasonably supposed that the sickness
may prove fatal.55
As extreme unction does not imprint a character, it may be
repeated on given conditions. Precisely what these condi
tions are is not so clear from the writings of the Scholastics.
Before the twelfth century it seems to have been more or less
customary, at least in many places, to repeat extreme unction
49 Op. cit. q. 29, a. 8. 53 Op. cit. q. 32, a. I.
50 Loc. cit. 54 Suppl. q. 32, a. 2.
51 Ibid. a. 4. B5 Ibid. a. 2 ad im.
52 Ibid. a. I, q. 4.
390 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
in the same sickness and even in the same danger of death,
if it so happened that the sick person appeared to be in need
of special spiritual help.56 Then a discussion arose concern
ing this practice, and thereafter most theologians decided that
extreme unction ought not to be administered more than once
in the same danger of death. Not a few, however, made an
exception in favor of those who were grievously sick for more
than a year.57 In keeping with this, many Manuals for the use
of priests in those times have this rule in regard to the repeti
tion of extreme unction: Potest iterari, sed non pro eadem
infirmitate, nisi ultra annum protrahatur.58
St. Thomas decides the question as follows : " In regard
to the administration of this sacrament, one must not only
consider the fact of sickness, but also the gravity of the sick
ness in question : for it ought not to be given except to those
sick persons who, according to human judgment, seem to be
nearing death. Now certain sicknesses are not of long dura
tion; hence, if in these the sacrament be then administered
when the patient seems to be in danger of death, it is reason
able to assume that he does not recover from that dangerous
condition except by a cure of the illness itself, and thus he
should not be anointed again. But if he suffers a relapse, that
must be considered another sickness, and then he can again be
anointed. Other forms of sickness, however, are of long dura
tion, such as hectic fever, dropsy, and the like : in such cases
extreme unction should not be given except when there ap
pears to be danger of death ; and when the patient recovers
from that particular danger, the same sickness remaining, and
then is again reduced to a similar condition, he can again be
anointed; because it is a new state of sickness, although the
sickness itself remains the same." 59
St. Bonaventure looks at this matter in a somewhat different
56 Cfr. Kern, op. cit. p. 331 sqq. annum protrahatur, ita quod in uno
67 Thus Hugh of Strasbnrg, a anno propter eandem infirmitatem
pupil of Albertus Magnus, writes: nemo bis inungatur " (Opera B. Al-
" Si saepe infirmatur quis ad mor- berti, t. 34, p. 232).
tern saepe potest inungi ; sed in una 58 Cfr. Launoi, opp. t. I, p. 553.
infirmitate non debet quis bis in- 59 Suppl. q. 33, a. 2.
ungi, nisi eadem infirmitas ultra
EXTREME UNCTION 391
light. According to him, the proper effect of extreme unction
is the remission of venial sins, and as one may commit venial
sins after having been anointed, it is obvious that the ad
ministration of the sacrament may be repeated. Still in the
practical application of this fundamental idea, he comes to
practically the same conclusion as St. Thomas. " When there
is question of a protracted illness," he says, " some hold that
extreme unction may be repeated after a year has elapsed ; but
that position is altogether absurd — as if the administration
of the sacraments were to be regulated by the movements of
the stars. It is therefore better to say that no sick person
should be anointed except when he is presumably approaching
his end; and this will be in such a state of his sickness that
nature cannot long bear up under it, and so he will either
overcome it or be overcome by it. If therefore he recovers
somewhat and continues to live, although he is not really cured,
still he is cured of an extremely dangerous condition; and
hence, if his condition again becomes worse, he can and should
receive the sacrament of extreme unction again, because he
may again have fallen into venial sin." 60
There is found among the Scholastics a similar diversity of
opinion in regard to the principal effect of extreme unction,
as distinct from sanctifying grace which is either conferred or
augmented by every sacrament. St. Bonaventure, as stated in
the preceding paragraph, holds that it is the remission of venial
sins in so far as they would be an obstacle to the soul's imme
diate entrance into heaven. During life, he says, it is very
difficult to avoid venial sins, and they may almost be regarded
as an incurable evil; but when death draws nigh that evil can
be cured in respect of its consequences, and so the merciful
God has provided extreme unction as a means to take away
the guilt of venial sins, and also part of the punishment due
to them. " Hence," he continues, " this sacrament was prin
cipally instituted for the healing and alleviating of man's spir
itual infirmity, that is, of venial sin; and secondarily also for
eo In Sent. IV, d. 23, a. 2, q. 3 ad 3™.
392 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
the cure and alleviation of his bodily infirmity, by way of
strengthening the soul which rules the body." 61
He calls this the common view of theologians, and he de
fends it against the opinion of those who held that extreme
unction was directly intended as a remedy against the conse
quences and remains of sin, both personal and original, and
indirectly against the ills of the body as resulting from sin.62
Substantially the same view as that of Bonaventure is taken
by Alexander of Hales,63 Richard of Middleton,64 Duns Sco-
tus,65 Durandus,66 and many others. However, it can hardly
be termed the " common " view of the Scholastics, as not a few
of them, among whom are Albertus Magnus67 and St.
Thomas,68 defended the opinion rejected by St. Bonaventure.
Pointing out that extreme unction was instituted by our
Savior as a spiritual medicine, St. Thomas draws this con
clusion : " The purpose of medicine is to expel sickness.
Hence this sacrament was chiefly instituted to cure the sickness
of sin. . . . Consequently it is intended as a remedy against
those defects by reason of which man is spiritually infirm, in
the sense that he does not have perfect vigor as regards the
acts of grace during life or of glory after death. Now these
defects are nothing else than a certain debility and ineptitude
left in us as a consequence of actual or original sin ; and against
this debility man is strengthened through the sacrament of
extreme unction." 69
Hence, all the Scholastics are agreed that the sacrament of
extreme unction is in one way or another a remedy against
sin or its consequences; and as sin usually enters the soul
through the senses of the body, it follows naturally that these
senses should be anointed in the administration of the sacra
ment. And this appears to have been the common teaching
of theologians during the Middle Ages. " The soul," says St.
Bonaventure, " rules and guides the body by reason of a three
fold power: that of sensation, procreation, and locomotion;
61 Ibid. a. I, q. I. 66 Ibid. q. i.
62 Ibid. 67 Ibid. a. i, 14.
63 Sum. IV, q. 5, m. 7, a. 2. 68 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 65, a. I.
64 In Sent. IV, d. 23, a. i, q. 3. 69 Suppl. q. 30, a. I, 2.
65 Ibid. q. unic.
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY 393
hence the organs of these powers should be anointed. And
as there are five organs of sensation, namely, the mouth, the
eyes, the nostrils, the ears, and the hands, and as the loins are
for the purpose of generation, and the feet for the purpose of
locomotion, it is these seven parts that are anointed." 70
However, although there are thus seven distinct anointings,
each with its own form, there is only one sacrament of ex
treme unction. For as all the members which are anointed
constitute one nature, and it is for this one nature that the
remedy is provided, the different anointings constitute one
sacramental rite.71 Or as St. Thomas puts it: "Although
the sacramental actions in this case are many, nevertheless they
are all united in one perfect action — the unction of all the
external senses, which are the source of man's internal ills." 72
C — MATRIMONY
" A sacrament," reasons St. Thomas when speaking of
matrimony, " provides for man, by means of some sensible
sign, a remedy of divine grace against sin; and as this is veri
fied in the case of matrimony, the matrimonial rite must be
numbered among the sacraments." 73 The conclusion is ac
cepted by all Scholastics, although Peter Lombard74 and
Durandus 75 are sometimes adduced as denying that the sacra
ment of matrimony produces grace. And most probably even
these two are accused unjustly, as both of them teach that
matrimony provides a remedy against concupiscence, which
remedy must finally be reduced to the grace of God.76 How
ever, some early canonists seem to have taken the position just
mentioned, and it is probably to them that St. Bonaventure
refers when he says : " Some there were who said that this
sacrament does not confer any grace; and to the objection that
all the sacraments of the New Law give grace, they replied by
saying that this must be understood of the sacraments insti-
™ Tn Sent. d. 23, a. 2, q. 3. 7* Sent. IV, d. 2.
71 Tbid. q. 3 ad 3m. 75 Tn Sent. V, d. 26. q. 3, n. 12.
72 Suppl. q. 29, a. 2 ad 2m. ™ Cfr. Pesch, Praelect. VII, p.
73 Ibid. q. 42, a. I. 316, 317.
394 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
tuted in the New Law." 77 This answer implies the view, also
held by some others, that matrimony, even as a sacrament, was
already instituted in paradise.
That matrimony is a true sacrament according to the teach
ing of the Church, is thus stated by Scotus: Communiter
tenet Ecclesia sacr amentum matrimonii esse septimum inter
ecclesiastic a sacramenta, et de sacramentis Ecclesiae non est
aliter sentiendum quam sentit Ecclesia Romana78 And he de
fines the sacrament of matrimony as follows : Signum sensi-
bile, ex institutione divina significant efficaciter gratiam con-
ferri contrahentibus ad conjunctionem eorum in contractu per-
petuo observandam79 This definition embodies the common
teaching of the Scholastics, although most of them define
matrimony in reference to the union between man and woman.
Thus Peter Lombard writes: Sunt igitur nuptiae vel matri-
moninm viri mulierisque conjunctio maritalis inter legitimas
personas, individuam vitam retinens80 This union or con
junctio, as St. Thomas points out, consists primarily in a con
tract which unites two individuals in reference to the procrea
tion and education of their offspring, and to common domestic
life; then, consequent upon this, but not constituting the es
sence thereof, is the union of bodies and of souls between the
contracting parties.81 Consequently, matrimony is essentially
complete without the act of procreation.82
Hence the external sign of the sacrament consists in the
marital consent of man and woman, in so far as that consent
signifies the union of Christ with His Church. " Since matri
mony is a sacrament," argues the Lombard, " it is both a
sacred sign and the sign of a sacred thing, namely, of the
union of Christ with His Church, according to the teaching
of the Apostle." 83 Thus the natural contract, which from
the beginning of the human race constituted matrimony as an
officium naturae, was elevated by Christ to the dignity of a
sacrament. Viewed under its material aspect, therefore,
77 Op. cit. d. 26, a 2. q. 2. 81 Snppl. q. 44. a. I.
78 Tn Sent. TV, d. 26. n. 13. »2 Ibid. q. 42. a. 4.
79 Report. IV, d. 26, n. 20. 83 Sent. d. 26, c. 6.
80 Sent. d. 37, c. 2.
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY 395
Christian marriage is the same as that of pre-Christian times ;
only its formal aspect, or sacramental significance, is dif
ferent.84
From this it follows that the ministers of the sacrament are
the contracting parties themselves, and they are also the proxi
mate efficient cause of the marital bond which results from the
sacramental contract. However the remote efficient cause of
that bond is God, who instituted the sacrament as the source
of an indissoluble union between man and woman, and there
fore its perpetuity depends on His will. As a consequence,
when matrimony has been consummated by the bodily union
of husband and wife, it is dissoluble only by the death of one
of the parties; but so long as it has not yet been thus con
summated, it may be dissolved by one of the contracting
parties entering religion and taking the solemn vow of chas
tity. The former of these two conclusions follows from the
very nature of Christian marriage,85 and the latter is known
from the teaching of the Church.86
The matter and form of this sacrament consist of the words
or actions of the contracting parties by which their mutual
consent is expressed. " Just as in the case of penance," argues
St. Thomas, " the sacrament of matrimony is perfected by the
acts of the persons to whom the sacrament is applied. And
therefore, as in penance there is no other matter than that
which consists in the acts of the penitent, which themselves
hold the place of matter, so it is also in matrimony." 87 And
again : " The words by which the matrimonial consent is ex
pressed are the form of this sacrament ; while the blessing of
the priest is merely a sacramental, and in no wise the sacra
mental form." 88 However, not any kind of consent given
with a view to marriage constitutes a matrimonial contract or
a sacramental rite. It must first of all have a bearing upon
marriage as here and now contracted: if it is merely given in
reference to a future marriage, it results simply in an engage-
84 Cfr. Thomas, Suppl. q. 42, a. 2: 86 Ibid, q. 61, a. 1-3; Bonavent.
ibid. q. 45, a. i ; Bonavent. In Sent. loc. cit. q. 2.
IV. d. 26, a. 2. q. i. S7 Siippl. q. 42. a. I ad 2m.
85 Cfr. Ibid. d. 27, a. 3, q. I ; 88 Ibid. a. i ad im.
Thomas, Suppl. q. 62, a. 1-5.
396 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
ment of the parties concerned.89 Secondly, it must be the
consent of persons who are in every way free and competent
to enter a matrimonial contract. Nor is it sufficient that the
persons in question be naturally competent, but they must also
be free from all impediments that have been established by the
positive law, either divine or ecclesiastical.90
Finally, although all the Scholastics speak of matrimony
with due respect, and look upon it as a holy state, nevertheless
they are unanimous in placing perpetual virginity on a higher
level of Christian perfection. This conclusion they derive both
from the example of Christ, the teaching of St. Paul, and from
the nature of the two states in respect to the service of God.
Matrimony is good, but perpetual virginity freely vowed to
God is better.91
89 Ibid. q. 43, a. I. 91 Cfr. Thomas, Sum. Theol. II.
90 Cfr. Thomas, Suppl. q. 50, a. II, q. 152, a. 4, 5 ; Bonavent. op. cit.
unions; Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. d. 39, a. 2 ; Aliddleton, ibid. a. 4, q. 2.
36-42; Scotus, Ibid. d. 34-42.
CHAPTER XXIII
MARIOLOGY
SANCTIFICATION BEFORE BIRTH: IMMACULATE CONCEP
TION: DIVINE MOTHERHOOD: VENERATION
With the exception of a few subordinate points, dogmatic
Mariology was fully developed during Patristic times. Mary
was universally honored as the Virgin Mother of God, free
from all stain of sin, full of grace, the holiest of God's crea
tures, conformable to her divine Son in His untold sufferings
and the dissolution of death, but also sharing with Him the
glory of His resurrection by being herself raised from the
dead and assumed into heaven. All this was a matter of
Catholic belief before the Scholastics began to systematize the
teaching of the Fathers.1 Hence there was little room for
development in the Mariological teaching of the Church, ex
cept by way of setting forth certain details which had been
only lightly touched upon by Patristic writers. And to this
the Scholastics chiefly devoted themselves in their studies of
the many privileges and prerogatives of the Mother of God.
A — SANCTIFICATION BEFORE BIRTH
" That the Blessed Virgin was sanctified in her mother's
womb," writes St. Bonaventure, " is a matter which the
Church holds to admit of no doubt. And this appears from
the fact that the whole Church celebrates the feast of her
nativity, which she would certainly not do if Mary had not
been sanctified before her birth." 2 And then, to show the rea
sonableness of this teaching, he argues from the principle laid
down by St. Bernard, who says : " That which we read to
1 Cfr. vol. I, p. 441 sqq. 2 In Sent. Ill, p. I, a. I, q. 3.
397
398 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
have been conferred on others, cannot be held to have been
denied to the Virgin." Holy Scripture bears witness that the
Prophet Jeremias and John the Baptist were thus privileged,
and how much more should not this same privilege have been
granted to the Virgin, who exceeded them both in purity and
perfection of virginity? They indeed were distinguished for
their virginity, but in her to perfect virginity was joined
miraculous fecundity. They were sanctified in the womb be
cause they were sent to announce the Holy of Holies, how
much more, then, was it not becoming that she should be thus
sanctified who was to bear God in her womb ? 3
This reasoning of the Seraphic Doctor summarizes the argu
ments that were commonly advanced by the Scholastics to
prove the point in question. It is ultimately her divine mother
hood to which Mary owes all her privileges, and as this is a
dignity that exceeds all others ever granted to any creature,
her privileges are in consequence the very highest that God
can bestow. In this sense St. Thomas argues, when he says :
" It is reasonable to believe that she, who brought forth the
Only Begotten of the Father full of grace and truth, received
greater privileges of grace than all others." 4
This sanctification in the womb was so perfect, that in view
of it the Blessed Virgin was preserved from all personal. sin.
On this point all Scholastics are agreed. St. Thomas outlines
the common reasoning as follows : " God so prepares and
endows those whom He chooses for some particular office,
that they are capable of fulfilling it. ... Now the Blessed
Virgin was chosen by God to be His Mother. Therefore there
can be no doubt that God, by His grace, made her worthy of
that office. . . . But she would not have been worthy to be
the Mother of God, if she had ever sinned. First, because the
honor of the parents reflects on the child, . . . and conse
quently, on the other hand, the Mother's shame would have
reflected on her Son. Secondly, because of the singular af
finity between her and Christ, who took flesh from her : . . .
Thirdly, because of the singular manner in which the Son of
s Ibid. 4 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 27, a. I.
SANCTIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN 399
God, who is divine wisdom, dwelt in her, not only in her soul
but in her womb. . . . We must therefore confess simply that
the Blessed Virgin committed no actual sin, neither mortal
nor venial ; so that what is written is fulfilled : Thou art all
fair, 0 my love, and there is not a spot in thee!' 6
To these reasons for belief in Mary's sinlessness, which
are all taken from her relation to her divine Son, St. Bona-
venture adds another which is based upon her relation to the
fallen race and her triumph over the devil. " It was also be
coming," he argues, " that the Blessed Virgin, through whom
our disgrace was to be taken away, should conquer the devil
so completely that she did not yield to him in the slightest
degree. Hence, it is to her that St. Bernard and St. Augus
tine apply the verse in Genesis: 'She shall crush thy head/
If then the suggestion of evil is the head of the devil, no
suggestion of this kind ever found entrance into the mind of
the Virgin, so that she was preserved from both mortal and
venial sin. . . . Consequently, as the Blessed Virgin is the
advocate of sinners, the glory and crown of the just, the
spouse of God, the bridal bed of the whole Trinity, and in a
most special manner the couch whereon the Son reposes, it was
but right that, by a special grace of God, in her sin should have
no place." ti
In connection with Mary's preservation from all personal
sin, the Scholastics discuss the question whether also the in
clination to sin — the fomes peccati — was extinguished in her
sanctification. On that point there is no agreement in their
views. All indeed admit that Mary's natural inclinations were
fully subject to reason assisted by grace, but there is a differ
ence of opinion as to what this subjection really implied. In
regard to the point in question, the Schoolmen usually distin
guished a twofold sanctification of the Blessed Virgin : the first
took place before her birth, as already indicated; the second
was effected at the moment when she conceived her divine Son.
This latter was regarded as a complement of the former, in
the sense that it increased sanctifying grace in her soul and
5 Ibid. a. 4. 6 In Sent. Ill, p. I, a. 2, q. i.
400 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
thereby rooted her more firmly in her opposition to sin. In
accordance with this distinction, the following three views were
formed in regard to the extinction of the fames peccati.
Some there were, as St. Bonaventure testifies,7 who denied
the extinction of the fomes altogether, but held that it was put
to sleep or fettered in the first sanctification, so that thereafter
the natural appetite never rose in rebellion against the dictate
of reason. Then, in the second sanctification, this condition
of inactivity on the part of the natural appetite was intensified
by an increase of grace ; but the fomes still continued to exist.
Others admitted the extinction of the fomes, but in this
respect made a distinction between person and nature. This
was the view taken by Alexander of Hales. In the first sancti
fication, he says, the fomes was extinguished as regarded the
person of the Blessed Virgin, but in the second as regarded
her nature. In the first she was purified in such a way that
she never fell into sin ; in the second, so as to bring forth her
child without sin. In the first sanctification the fomes was
extinguished in so far as it would have made her prone to
evil; in the second, furthermore, in so far as it would have
been an obstacle to good.8 This view St. Bonaventure terms
unintelligible.9
Others, finally, held that in the first sanctification the fomes
was fettered, and in the second it was extinguished. This is
the view taken by St. Thomas,10 St. Bonaventure,11 Albertns
Magnus,12 Richard of Middleton,13 ^Egidius Romanus,14 and
Durandus.15 St. Thomas puts it in this way: " In order to
understand the question at issue, it must be observed that the
fomes is nothing else than a certain inordinate, but habitual,
concupiscence of the sensitive appetite; for actual concu
piscence is a sinful motion. Now sensual concupiscence is
said to be inordinate, in so far as it rebels against reason; and
this it does by inclining to evil, or hindering from good. Con
sequently it is essential to the fomes to incline to evil, or
7 In Sent. Ill, d. 3, p. I, a. 2, q. 2. 12 In Sent. Ill, d. 3, a. 6.
8 Sum. Ill, q. 9, m. 2, a. 5. 13 Ibid. a. I, q. 4.
9 Loc. cit. 14 Ibid. q. I, a. 4.
10 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 27, a. 3. 15 Ibid. q. 3.
11 Loc. cit.
SANCTIFICATION OF THE VIRGIN 401
hinder from good. Wherefore to say that the fomes was in
the Blessed Virgin without an inclination to evil, is to combine
two contradictory statements.
" In like manner it seems to imply a contradiction to say that
the fomes remained as to the corruption of nature, but not
as to personal corruption. For, according to Augustine, it is
lust that transmits original sin to the offspring. Now lust
implies inordinate concupiscence, not entirely subject to rea
son : and therefore, if the fomes were entirely taken away as
to personal corruption, it could not remain as to the corrup
tion of nature.
" It remains, therefore, for us to say, either that the fomes
was entirely taken away from her by her first sanctification
or that it was fettered. Now that the fomes was entirely
taken away, might be understood in this sense, that, by the
abundance of grace bestowed on the Blessed Virgin, such a
disposition of the soul's powers was granted to her, that the
lower powers were never moved without the command of
reason ; just as we have stated above to have been the case with
Christ, who certainly did not have the fomes of sin; as also
was the case with Adam, before he sinned, by reason of orig
inal justice : so that in this respect the grace of sanctification in
the Virgin had the force of the primitive gift of righteousness.
And although this appears to be part of the dignity of the
Virgin Mother, yet it is somewhat derogatory to the dignity
of Christ, without whose power no one had been freed from
the first sentence of condemnation. . . . Consequently, just as
before the immortality of the flesh of Christ rising again, none
obtained immortality of the flesh, so it seems unfitting to say
that before Christ appeared in sinless flesh, His Virgin
Mother's or anyone else's flesh should be without the fomes
which is called the law of the flesh or of the members.
1 Therefore it seems better to say that by the sanctification in
the womb, the Virgin was not freed from the fomes in its es
sence, but that it remained fettered: not indeed by an act of
her reason, as in holy men, since she had not the use of reason
from the first moment of her existence in her mother's womb,
for this was the singular privilege of Christ : but by way of the
402 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
abundant grace bestowed on her in her sanctification, and still
more perfectly by Divine Providence preserving her sensitive
soul, in a singular manner, from any inordinate movement.
Afterwards, however, at the conception of Christ's flesh, in
which for the first time immunity from sin was to be con
spicuous, it is to be believed that entire freedom from the
fames redounded from the Child to the Mother." 16
This view was commonly held by the more representative
Scholastics up to the time of Scotus. He, however, was not
satisfied with it; but instead defended the opinion, rejected by
St. Thomas, that the fomes was entirely extinguished by the
Virgin's first sanctification.17 This has since become the com
mon teaching of theologians, and is certainly more in keeping
with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception.
Along with the extinction of the fomes, the Scholastics also
defend Mary's confirmation in grace. This they usually con
nect with the second sanctification; although even before that
sanctification took place, Divine Providence preserved her from
all personal sin. Hence, in a certain sense, Mary was impec
cable. However, her impeccability differed both from that
of Christ and of the blessed in heaven. Mary was a pure
creature and still on her way to the state of final blessedness ;
hence she was rendered impeccable exclusively through the
abundance of grace which she received. St. Thomas explains
it in this way : " The power of sinning may be taken away
in one of two ways : First, by the union of the free will with
its last end, which so entirely fills it that no defect remains;
and this is brought about by the vision of God in glory ; hence,
in no person who is still on the way to heaven is the power of
sinning taken away in such a manner. . . . Secondly, the
power of sinning may be removed by the infusion of such an
abundance of grace that thereby all defects are expelled : and
so it was removed in the case of the Blessed Virgin when she
conceived the Son of God. All power of sinning was taken
away, although the Virgin herself still remained in statu
16 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 27, a. 3. 17 In Sent. II, d. 29, n. 4 ; d. 32,
n. 4; III, d. 3.
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 403
viae" 18 Or as St. Bonaventure briefly puts it : " Not only
was sanctifying grace given to the Virgin in her second sanc-
tification, but also the grace whereby she was confirmed in
good; and this was granted to her because she was so closely
united to her Son that He could in no way permit her to be
separated from Himself." 19
B — THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION
Nearly all Patristic writers laid down principles from which
belief in the Immaculate Conception flows as a natural conse
quence ; although there is hardly one among them who taught
the doctrine so explicitly that his words do not admit of a
different explanation.20 The fact, too, that from the middle
of the eighth century forward the feast of the Conception of
the Virgin Mary was observed in ever widening circles, with
at least the tacit acquiescence of the Church, is a sign that
Christian consciousness was fast awaking to the truth of this
doctrine. The impulse came from the East, but it found a
ready response among the faithful in western lands.
It was in this stage of its development that the doctrine of
the Immaculate Conception was subjected to a thorough study
by the Scholastics, and, strange to say, it was by nearly all of
them set aside as not sufficiently in harmony with the Church's
teaching on the universality of original sin and of the redemp
tion. St. Anselm, St. Bernard, Peter Lombard, Alexander
of Hales, Bonaventure, Albertus Magnus, and St. Thomas,
though tenderly devout to God's holy Mother and ever ready
to defend her many privileges and prerogatives, nevertheless
taught quite definitely that she was conceived in sin as all the
rest of mankind. Christ alone, they held, was immune from
the original stain. — In this we seem to have a striking proof
of the fact that sometimes the sensus fidelium is a safer guide
in matters of faith, not yet clearly defined, than the prevailing
views of theologians.
18 In Sent III, d. 3, q. I. a. 2. 20 Cf r. vol. I, p. 443 sqq.
« In Sent III, d. 3, p. i, a. 2, q. 3.
404 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
However, by way of explanation of the strange phenome
non just referred to, it must be noted that at the time there
stood some serious difficulties in the way of a theological ex
position and acceptance of the doctrine in question. First of
all, most of the theologians of the day, as was shown in a
previous chapter, had only an imperfect understanding of the
nature and transmission of original sin. Secondly, a way had
to be found of reconciling the doctrine of the universality of
the redemption with the exemption from all sin of one who
had descended from the fallen Adam. Thirdly, the biological
fact of conception itself was not well understood, it being the
common teaching at the time that the spiritual soul was not
infused into the body of the child until the organism had suf
ficiently developed. In consequence, many interpreted the Im
maculate Conception to mean either that the act of procreation
was without sin on the part of the parents, or that the body
of the child was preserved from contracting the original stain.
Hence the strange question found in the works of nearly all
Scholastics : " Whether the Blessed Virgin was purified from
original sin before animation? " As is obvious, in such a con
fused state of things there is much to excuse the erroneous
teaching to which even the greatest thinkers of the golden age
of Scholasticism committed themselves.
With this premised, we may first give a brief resume of the
arguments usually advanced against the doctrine of the Im
maculate Conception, and then indicate those that were urged
in its favor.
Among the first who came out clearly against the Immacu
late Conception, as then understood, was St. Bernard. His
presentation of the question brings out strikingly the con
fusion of ideas referred to above. Protesting against the
contemplated introduction of the feast in the church of Lyons,
he asks: " Whence therefore comes the sanctity of the con
ception ? Is she said to have been prevented by sanctification,
so that she was holy when conceived, and for this reason her
conception itself was holy, just as she is said to have been
sanctified in the womb, and in consequence was holy in her
birth? But she could not be holy before she existed; for in
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 405
truth she had no existence before she was conceived. Or was
there perhaps in the marital embrace of her parents sanctity
communicated to the conception, so that she was at the same
time sanctified and conceived ? But how could there be sanc
tity without the sanctifying Spirit, or how could there be an
association of the Holy Spirit with sin? Or surely, how was
there no sin, where concupiscence was not absent? Unless
perhaps some one would say that she was conceived of the
Holy Ghost and not of man. But such a thing is hitherto un
heard of."
From this it will be seen that the writer makes all manner
of suppositions, except the right one — that her soul might
have been sanctified by the infusion of sanctifying grace when
united to the body. And in keeping with his false supposi
tions, he draws his false conclusion: " If therefore she could
in no way be sanctified before her conception, because she did
not yet exist; and neither in her conception on acount of the
sin that was there ; it remains that we must believe her to have
been sanctified after her conception when already existing in
the womb, and that in consequence the exclusion of sin caused
her birth to be holy, but not her conception." 21
St. Anselm, whose concept of original sin was substantially
the same as that of modern theologians, and who stated so
clearly that under God nothing could be conceived to be more
pure than the Virgin Mother,22 nevertheless fell into the same
error concerning the Immaculate Conception. Thus when
Boso, his interlocutor in the Cur Dens Homo, makes the state
ment that the Virgin was conceived in original sin, because
she too had sinned in Adam, he answers : " We ought not to
think it strange if we cannot see the reason why the wisdom of
God so disposed matters, but we must admit with due rever
ence that in His hidden ways there is something we do not
understand." 23
Alexander of Hales, at the very beginning of his inquiry,
enunciates the principle that whatever grace could be con
ferred upon the Blessed Virgin, was conferred upon her; but
21 Ep. 174, n. 7. 23 Op. cit. II, c. 16.
22 De Concept. Virgin, c. 18.
4o6 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
among these possible graces he does not find that of the Im
maculate Conception. He points out that she could not be
purified before her conception, nor in her conception, nor be
fore the infusion of her soul; but only after she had been con
ceived, as other saints had also been purified, and therefore
her birth was holy.24
St. Bonaventure, in some respects, comes nearer to the point,
but in the end he also decides against the doctrine. Putting
the question whether the soul of the Blessed Virgin was sanc
tified before contracting original sin, he answers : " Some
there are who say that in the soul of the glorious Virgin the
grace of sanctification prevented the stain of original sin.
And they assign this reason : It was becoming that the soul
of the glorious Virgin should be sanctified in a more excellent
manner than the souls of all other saints, not only as regards
the abundance of sanctity, but also in respect of the accelera
tion of time ; and therefore at the very instant of creation grace
was given her, and in the same instant her soul was infused
into the body." 25
In this there is obviously no misunderstanding of the true
doctrine; but though the doctrine is thus rightly understood,
the author does not see his way towards making it his own.
For he continues : " But the position of others is this, that
the sanctification of the Virgin followed the contraction of
original sin; and for this reason, that no one was free from
the guilt of original sin save only the Son of the Virgin. For
as the Apostle says in the third chapter of his Epistle to the
Romans: All have sinned and need the glory of God.
. . . And this manner of speaking is more common and more
reasonable and more safe. More common, I say, because
nearly all hold that the Blessed Virgin was infected with
original sin. . . . More reasonable, because nature precedes
grace, either in the order of time or in the order of nature;
and hence St. Augustine says that one must first be born be
fore one can be reborn. . . . Hence, it is necessary to hold
that the infection of original sin preceded sanctification. More
24 Sum. Ill, q. 9, m. 2. 25 In Sent. Ill, d. 3, p. I, a. I, q. 2.
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 407
safe, because it is more in harmony with the piety of faith
and the authority of the saints." 26
Albertus Magnus summarizes his view on the subject in
these terms : "It must be held that the Blessed Virgin was
sanctified in the womb before her birth ; but what precise day
or hour this was accomplished, no man can know, except by
way of revelation : unless one wants to hold that it took place
shortly after animation." 27
The same position is taken by St. Thomas, although since
the end of the fourteenth century ever so many attempts have
been made to show that he did not oppose the doctrine as
rightly understood. He treats the subject in many different
places, but the following extracts will suffice to indicate his
mind on the point in question.
In his Snmma Theologica he first gives several reasons why
the Blessed Virgin could not have been sanctified before ani
mation, and then gives this general argument : " And thus,
in whatever manner the Blessed Virgin would have been sanc
tified before animation, she could never have incurred the
stain of original sin: and thus she would not have needed re
demption and salvation which is by Christ, of whom it is
written : He shall save His people from their sins. But this
is unfitting, through implying that Christ is not the Saviour
o-f all men, as He is called. It remains, therefore, that the
Blessed Virgin was sanctified after animation." 28 Then to
the objection that " the purity of the Blessed Virgin would
have been greater if she had never been stained by the con
tagion of original sin," he replies : " If the soul of the Blessed
Virgin had never incurred the stain of original sin, this would
be derogatory to the dignity of Christ, by reason of His being
the universal Saviour of all. Consequently after Christ, who,
as the universal Saviour of all, needed not to be saved, the
purity of the Blessed Virgin holds the highest place. For
Christ did not contract original sin in any way whatever, but
was holy in His very conception, according to Luke i, 35:
The Holy which shall be born of thce, shall be called the Son
20 Ibid. 28 Op. cit. Ill, q. 27, a. 2.
27 Ibid. a. 5 ; a. 3, 4.
4o8 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
of God. But the blessed Virgin did indeed contract original
sin, but was cleansed therefrom before her birth from the
womb." 29
Then the further objection, that " no feast is celebrated ex
cept of some saint, and that some keep the feast of the Con
ception of the Blessed Virgin," he answers by saying: " Al
though the Church of Rome does not celebrate the Conception
of the Blessed Virgin, yet it tolerates the custom of certain
churches which do keep that feast; wherefore this is not to be
entirely reprobated. Nevertheless the celebration of this feast
does not give us to understand that she was holy in her con
ception. But since it is not known when she was sanctified,
the feast of her Sanctification, rather than the feast of her
Conception, is kept on the day of her conception." 30
He proposes the same doctrine in his Commentaries on the
Sentences, where he says: " The sanctification of the Blessed
Virgin could not fittingly precede the infusion of her soul,
because then she was not capable of sanctification; but neither
could it take place at the very instant when her soul was in
fused into her body, so that through grace she was preserved
from incurring original sin. For of all the human race Christ
alone has this singular privilege that He does not need redemp
tion, because He is our Head ; but all others must be redeemed
by Him. Now this could not be, if another soul were found
that had never been infected with the original stain ; and there
fore this was not conceded even to the Blessed Virgin, nor to
any one else besides Christ." 31
The same reasoning recurs, almost word for word, in his
Commentary on the Epistle to the Romans?* in his Quodli-
beta33 in his Expositio Salutationis Angelicae,3* and in his
Compendium Theologicum35 Hence, any effort to make St.
Thomas an advocate of the doctrine of the Immaculate Con
ception, or to show that he was not opposed to the doctrine as
understood at the present time, is at best misdirected. His
29 Ibid, ad 2m. 32 Op. cit. in V, 12.
30 Ibid, ad 3™. 33 Op. cit. 6, a. 7.
31 In Sent. Ill, d. 3, q. i, a. I, sol. 34 Op. cit. i.
i ad im. 35Op. cit. c. 224 (al. 232).
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 409
arguments are not urged against a misinterpretation of the
doctrine, but against the doctrine itself. This does not de
tract from his fame as a theologian, or as a devout client of
the Mother of God; but only shows that even in theology
there is such a thing as development.
However, although the most representative Scholastics prior
to the fourteenth century were thus resolutely opposed to the
doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, there were never want
ing others, though of lesser fame, who with equal resolution
defended Mary's prerogative by every means in their power.
Among these was Vincent of Beauvais, a Dominican and con
temporary of St. Thomas, who, referring to the feast of the
Conception, says very definitely: "But now, because she is
venerated by the authority of the whole Church, it is evident
that she was preserved in every way from original sin, and by
her was not only taken away the malediction of mother Eve,
but all were filled with blessing. The Virgin was subject to no
fault when she was born, nor did she contract original sin
before she was sanctified in the womb." 36
The doctrine was also defended by Eadmer, disciple and
biographer of St. Anselm. He uses practically the same argu
ment that was some two hundred years later employed by
Scotus — potuit, decuit, -fecit. "Could not God," he asks,
" grant to the human body of which He prepared for Himself
a temple, in which He dwelt corporeally, and of which He as
sumed human nature into the unity of person, that, although
conceived amid the thorns of sin, it should nevertheless be al
together preserved from the sting of these thorns? He evi
dently could. If, then, He willed, He did. And indeed,
whatever in the order of dignity He willed in regard to any
one apart from His own person, that, O Most Blessed of
women, He surely willed in regard to thee. . . . Out of the
sinful mass, therefore, He could preserve a human nature free
from all stain of sin, and from it unite a human nature to His
own person, so that He was a true man and yet in no way de
tract from the holiness of His divinity." 37
36 Laudes V. Mariae, c. 5, 6. 37 De Conceptione Sanctae Ma-
riae, n. 8.
4io MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Besides these two, there were many others who defended
the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, as is quite evident
from the statement of St. Bonaventure referred to in a previ
ous paragraph. However, it was reserved for Duns Scotus
to turn the tide of theological opinion completely in its favor.
This he did chiefly by removing the principal difficulty urged
against it, namely, that such a privilege conferred on a pure
creature would be derogatory to the dignity of Christ as the
universal Savior; and secondarily also by clarifying the con
cept of original sin.
Assuming the principle upon which the adversaries of the
Immaculate Conception built their arguments, namely, that
Christ is the redeemer and mediator of all, he makes it the
foundation of his own arguments for the doctrine. " The
most perfect mediator," he argues, " has a most perfect way
of mediating for any person in whose behalf he mediates.
But Christ is the most perfect mediator. Therefore Christ
had the most perfect way possible of mediating in behalf of
any creature or person in respect of whom He was the medi
ator. But in respect of no person had He a more excellent
way than in respect of Mary ; therefore, etc. But this would
not have been the case unless He merited for her preservation
from original sin. And this I prove in three ways: First,
in reference to God to whom He reconciled her; secondly, in
reference to the evil from which He freed her; thirdly, in
reference to the obligation under which He was in regard to
the person whom He reconciled." 38
Then, after completing the argument, he answers the ob
jection that Mary was subject to the punishment consequent
upon original sin, and therefore to original sin itself. His an
swer is : "A mediator can reconcile a person in such a man
ner that all useless punishment is taken away, while afflictions
that are useful remain. Original guilt would not have been
useful to Mary; but temporal pains were useful to her, be
cause by bearing them she merited ; therefore, etc." 39
Finally he sums up the whole question in this way ; " God
38 In Sent. Ill, q. I, n. 4 sqq. 89 Ibid. n. 8.
THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION 411
could bring it about that she never contracted original sin;
He could also have brought it about that she should have been
in the state of original sin for only one instant ; He could also
have brought it about that she should have been infected with
original sin for some time, and in the last instant of that time
have been purified therefrom. . . . Which of these three pos
sible ways He actually did choose, God knows. If it does not
contravene the authority of the Church and of Holy Scripture,
it seems probable that what is more excellent must be attributed
to Mary." 40 Hence, he does not wish to decide the question
on his own authority, but he makes it quite clear what he
thinks of the doctrine under discussion.
The position taken by Scotus in favor of the Immaculate
Conception proved decisive. His own order took up the de
fense without delay, in which it was soon joined by the Bene
dictines, the Cistersians, the Carmelites, and the Augustinians.
The Dominicans alone held back, owing to the authority of St.
Thomas, whom they all interpreted as being against the doc
trine. At the same time the University of Paris censured a
thesis which John de Montesa, a Dominican, had presented for
his doctorate, and in which he stated : Beatam Mariam Vir-
ginem et Dei Genitricem non contraxisse peccatum originate
est e.vprcssc contra fid cm; and later on exacted from all candi
dates for the doctorate a promise under oath that they would
defend the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. In 1439,
the Council of Basle, after it had become schismatical, de
clared that the doctrine was conformable to faith and reason,
and prohibited all further arguing against it. Still the con
tention on the part of the Dominicans was continued, until
Sixtus IV, in 1483, issued the Constitution Grave nimis, in
which he reprobated all opposition to what had meanwhile
become the accepted teaching of the Church. Thereafter it
was regarded as a matter of reproach to speak against the
Immaculate Conception, and finally, in 1854, the doctrine was
defined by Pius IX, in the Bull Incffabilis Deus.41
40 Ibid. n. 9. 41 DB. 1641.
4i2 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
C — DIVINE MOTHERHOOD
Mary's right to the title, Mother of God, was proclaimed
by Christian antiquity and solemnly defined by the Council of
Ephesus.42 The reason for the title is thus stated by St.
Thomas : " Every word that signifies a nature in the concrete
can stand for any hypostasis of that nature. Now, since the
union of the Incarnation took place in the hypostasis, as was
above stated, it is manifest that this word God can stand for
the hypostasis having a human and a divine nature. There
fore whatever belongs to the divine and to the human nature
can be attributed to that person: both when a word signifying
the divine nature is employed to stand for it, and when a word
is used signifying the human nature. Now, conception and
birth are attributed to the person and hypostasis in respect of
that nature in which it is conceived and born. Since, there
fore, the human nature was taken by the divine person in the
very beginning of the conception, as stated above, it follows
that it can be truly said that God was conceived and born of
the Virgin. Now, from this is a woman called a man's mother,
that she conceived him and gave birth to him. Therefore
the Blessed Virgin is truly called the Mother of God. For the
only way in which it could be denied that the Blessed Virgin is
the Mother of God would be one of these two : either that the
humanity was first subject to conception and birth, before
this man was the Son of God, as Photinus said ; or that the
humanity was not assumed into unity of the hypostasis or
person of the Word of God, as Nestorius maintained. But
both of these opinions are erroneous. Therefore it is heret
ical to deny that the Blessed Virgin is the Mother of God." 42a
This is the common teaching of the Scholastics as regards
the fact of Mary's divine motherhood; but there is some dif
ference in their views in reference to her cooperation in the
conception of her Son. St. Bonaventure puts the state of the
question this way : " Since Mary is the Mother of Christ and
truly conceived Him, it must be held without all doubt that
42 Cfr. vol. I, p. 396 sqq. 42* Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 35, a. 4.
DIVINE MOTHERHOOD 413
she truly cooperated with the Holy Spirit in the conception
of her Son, and this is commonly and generally held by teach
ers of theology. But regarding the manner of cooperating
different men have different views. Some prefer to say that
the Virgin Mary cooperated only by supplying the material
principle. But others hold that she cooperated in the educ
tion of the ultimate form and in the preparation of the mat
ter, although not in the whole process. And others, finally,
hold a view that is intermediate between these two." 43
Then, after refuting the first and second opinion, he gives
his own in these terms : " Because the first opinion claims too
little and the second too much, hence their untenableness di
rects us in the way to the truth. And for this reason it seems
preferable to hold the intermediate view, namely, that power
was divinely communicated to the Blessed Virgin, by which she
supplied the matter for the conception — the matter, I say,
not only in so far as it had the nature of matter or passive
potency, but also in the sense that it was disposed and suitable
for the production of the child. However, as the operation
of this power was necessarily successive, and as the body of
Christ could not fittingly be produced by successive operation,
hence it was that the Holy Spirit by His infinite power brought
the matter to its ultimate perfection. . . . Hence the whole
substance of Christ's body was taken from His Mother; and
therefore if we wish to think and speak logically, we must
say that the Virgin was the Mother of Christ in a truer sense
than any other mother is the mother of her own child." 44
St. Thomas also refers to the three different opinions men
tioned above, and after a brief discussion of them adopts the
first, namely, that Mary was simply passive in the conception
of her Son. And he takes this view, because in generation,
according to Aristotle, all activity is on the part of the father.
Hence he says : " Since, therefore, the Blessed Virgin was
not Christ's father, but His mother, it follows that it was not
given to her to exercise an active power in His conception.
. . . We must therefore say that in Christ's conception itself
43 In Sent. Ill, d. 4, a. 3, q. i. 4* Ibid.
414 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
she did not cooperate actively, but merely supplied the matter
thereof. Nevertheless, before the conception she cooperated
actively in the preparation of the matter, so that it should be
apt for the conception." 45 Hence " this conception had three
privileges — that it was without original sin ; that it was not
of man only, but of God and man ; that it was a virginal con
ception. And all three were effected by the Holy Ghost." 46
In keeping with this difference of views, the Scholastics also
differ in answering the further question, whether the concep
tion of Christ was natural or miraculous. St. Bonaventure
answers that under one aspect it was natural and under an
other it was miraculous. It was natural in so far as the Vir
gin had the natural power to prepare the matter for the con
ception ; it was miraculous in so far as the Virgin had received
the supernatural power to cooperate in the conception itself.47
St. Thomas agrees that the conception was both natural and
miraculous, but as he denies that the Virgin actively cooperated
in the conception, he gives a different reason. He says:
" Besides the union of two natures in one person, which was
effected in the conception of Christ, and which is the miracle
of all miracles, there was also this other miracle that the
Virgin, remaining a virgin, conceived the God-Man. For in
order that a conception may be said to be natural, it is neces
sary that it be affected by the agent in a natural manner, and
by means of matter that is naturally apt for the conception.
. . . Now the matter supplied by the Virgin was the same as
that from which the body of man may be formed naturally;
but the power forming the body was divine. Hence it must
be said that the conception of Christ was simply miraculous,
but natural in some respect." 48
In the divine motherhood thus understood, the Scholastics
recognized the source of all the graces and privileges bestowed
on Mary. St. Thomas formulates the common teaching in
this way : " In every genus, the nearer a thing is to the prin
ciple, the greater also is the part which it has in that principle ;
whence Dionysius says that angels, being nearer to God, have
45 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 32, a. 4. 47 In Sent. Ill, d. 4, a. 3, q. 2.
46 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 32, a. 4. 48 Ibid. q. 2, a. 2.
VENERATION OF THE VIRGIN 415
a greater share than men in the effects of the divine good
ness. Now Christ is the principle of grace, authoritatively
as to His Godhead, instrumentally as to His humanity : whence
it is written : Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. But the
Blessed Virgin Mary was nearest to Christ in His humanity :
because He received his human nature from her. Therefore
it was due to her to receive a greater fullness of grace than
others." 49 Hence, too, " there is no doubt that the Blessed
Virgin received in a high degree both the gift of wisdom and
the grace of miracles and even of prophecy, just as Christ
had them. But she did not so receive them as to put them
and suchlike graces to every use, as did Christ: but accord
ing as it befitted her condition of life." 50
D — VENERATION OF MARY
The principle that underlies all true devotion to the Blessed
Mother of God is thus neatly expressed by St. Bonaventure:
" Whatever terms are used to set forth the Christian faith,
they must be far removed from error and expressive of devo
tion ; and this in a most special manner when they refer to the
Virgin Mary. For by conceiving and bringing forth the Truth
Itself, she has exterminated all heresy throughout the whole
world, and also merited reconciliation for the entire race ; and
therefore devotion to her ought to burn with great intensity
in the hearts of all Christians." 51
And this is the common view of all the Schoolmen, nearly
every one of whom manifested a tender devotion to the Mother
of God. As Mother of the Redeemer, she was regarded as
the cause of the world's salvation — a thought that had been
expressed over and over again in the earliest ages of Christian
ity. Furthermore, as the recipient of the most extraordinary
graces, among which shone in a special manner her virginal
purity, she was endowed in her own person with an attractive
ness that led all hearts captive, and bound them to herself in
the most ardent love and tender devotion. Hence the many
49 Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 27, a. 5. 51 In Sent. Ill, d. 4, a. 3, q. 3.
50 Ibid. a. 5 ad 3m.
416 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
panegyrics that were preached in her honor by the most learned
men of the day, the numerous treatises composed to set forth
her virtues, the multiplication of feasts and pious practices
in every part of the Christian world. Those were the ages
of faith, and faith gathers her children instinctively around
the throne of God's own sweet Mother.
Yet all this devotion did not blind the Scholastics, nor the
faithful in general, to the limitations that must necessarily be
placed upon the veneration to which Mary can justly lay claim.
" Although the honor which is paid her," argues Alexander
of Hales, " is in some way referred to Him who became in
carnate in her womb, nevertheless from this it does not fol
low that she may be honored with divine worship. Still the
honor that is her just due has a special excellence of its own.
Although paid to a pure creature, yet it is not shared in by
any other saint. It is in a manner a disposition to divine
worship, but not divine worship itself. When I worship the
Mother of God because of her sublime dignity, I do not wor
ship her as the creative cause of my being, and therefore I
do not pay her divine honor ; but because I worship her as the
Mother of God, I honor her as the Mother of the Creator,
and this on account of the Creator Himself. Hence the foun
dation of her honor is the honor of the Creator; but the honor
itself is that which is due to a creature." 52
St. Bonaventure uses almost the same terms. " The most
Blessed Virgin Mary/' he says, " is a pure creature, and there
fore she does not rise to the height of divine honor and wor
ship. But because she has the most excellent name, so that
nothing more excellent can be bestowed on any mere creature,
hence it is that she is not merely entitled to the ordinary
honor of dulia, but to the singular honor of hyperdulia. And
that most excellent name is this, Virgin Mother of God,
which in truth is of such exalted dignity, that not only the way
farers on earth but also the blessed in heaven, not only men
but the angels also, reverence her by paying her the tribute
of special honor. For by the fact that she is the Mother of
52 Sum. q. 30, m. 3, a. 2 ad 2m.
VENERATION OF THE VIRGIN 417
God, she is raised above all other creatures, and hence it is be
coming that she be honored and venerated more than all.
And this honor it has become customary among teachers to
call hyperdulia." 53
Thus also St. Thomas reasons. " Since latria is due to God
alone," he says, " it is not due to a creature so far as we
venerate a creature for its own sake. . . . Since, therefore,
the Blessed Virgin is a mere rational creature, the worship
of latria is not due to her, but only that of dulia; but in a
higher degree than to other creatures, in as much as she is
the Mother of God. For this reason we say that not any
kind of dulia is due to her, but hyperdulia."64 And again:
" The honor due to the king's mother is not equal to the honor
which is due to the king: but is somewhat like it, by reason of
a certain excellence on her part." 55
53 In Sent. Ill, d. 9, a. i, q. 3. 55 Ibid. a. 5 ad im.
" Sum. Theol. Ill, q. 25, a. 5.
CHAPTER XXIV
ESCHATOLOGY
In their treatment of eschatological subjects the Scholastics
are very diffuse. They indulge in lengthy speculations on
points for the establishing of which neither reason nor revela
tion furnishes sufficient data. In these speculations we need
not follow them, as it would be little to the purpose in a work
that is concerned only with doctrines whose development is
likely to issue into definite results along the lines of faith.
Hence the following brief remarks on the four principal es
chatological topics, the resurrection of the dead, the general
judgment, the eternal blessedness of the elect, and the everlast
ing sufferings of the reprobate, must here suffice.
i. The Resurrection of the Dead. — The fact of the resur
rection is treated by all Scholastics as an article of Christian
belief, which from the earliest times found a place in the
Creed. However they adduce various arguments to prove
that the teaching of faith is acceptable to reason. Thus they
point to the resurrection of Christ as the exemplar and prom
ise of our resurrection. He is our Head, we are His mem
bers ; and as the Head rose from the dead, so is it also fitting
that the members should rise again.1 They also argue that
the fitness of a full eternal recompense, either by way of
reward or punishment, makes the resurrection of the dead
appear most probable even from the standpoint of reason.
It was the whole man who practiced virtue or indulged in
vice; and therefore it should also be the whole man who
reaps the everlasting recompense of his mortal deeds.2
1 Cf r. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. 2 Cf r. Thomas, op. cit. a. 1-3 ;
43, a. i, q. i; Thomas, Suppl. q. 75, Bonavent. loc. cit. q. I.
a. i, 2; Scotus, In Sent. IV, d. 43,
q. i, n. ii.
418
ESCHATOLOGY 419
However the act of resuscitating the dead is supernatural,
and implies the exercise of divine power.3 St. Thomas holds
that Christ as God-Man is both the efficient and exemplary
cause of the resurrection of the dead, and that His sacred
humanity acts in reference to the effect as the instrument of
the Godhead.4 Furthermore, as they all explain, in the resur
rection there are three things to be considered: First, the
gathering together of the material that constituted man's
body during life ; secondly, the disposing of that material for
its union with the soul ; thirdly, the actual reunion of soul and
body. Of these three, only the last is strictly supernatural
and as such must be effected by divine power.3 " In regard
to the other two," says St. Thomas, " God will make use of
the ministry of the angels. But as the soul was immediately
created by God, so shall it also, without the intervention of
the angels, be again united to its body by the immediate action
of God. And the same must be held with regard to the
glorification of the body: God will glorify the body imme
diately, without the ministry of the angels; the same way as
He immediately glorifies the soul." 6
The resurrection will take place in one instant of time, at
the moment when the angels have gathered the dust and dis
posed the body for its second union with the soul.7 The
resurrection will be universal, not only in the sense that all
the dead shall rise again, but also that all must die before the
second advent of the Lord.8 Those who are already risen
from the dead and are now with body and soul in heaven,
as our Blessed Savior and His Holy Mother, will of course
neither die nor rise a second time ; but Henoch, Elias, and the
saints that rose from their tomb on the occasion of our
Savior's death, must probably be counted among those who
shall rise on the last day.9
All shall rise numerically the same human beings as they
3 Ibid. q. 5 ; Albert Magn. ibid. a. 7 Ibid. q. 77, a. 4 ; Scotus, Report.
4. 5 ; Scotus, ibid. q. 5, n. 7. IV, d. 63, q. 5, n. 4-9.
4 Op. cit. q. 76, a. i, 2. 8 Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d.
5 Cfr. Bonavent. loc. cit.; Middle- 63, a. i, q. 2; Thomas, ibid. q. unica,
ton, ibid. a. 3, q. 3. a. i ; Scotus, ibid. q. I, n. n.
6 Loc. cit. a. 3. 9 Ibid.
420 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
were before death. The common teaching of the Scholastics
on this point is formulated by St. Thomas as follows : " The
necessity of admitting the resurrection arises from this, that
man may attain his last end for which he was created. For
this end he cannot attain during the present life, nor while
his soul is separated from the body; and if he could in no
way attain it, he would have been created in vain. And be
cause numerically the same being that was made for a certain
end must attain thereto, lest it appear to have been made in
vain; hence it is that numerically the same man must rise
again. And this is the case only when numerically the same
soul is united to numerically the same body; for unless identi
cally the same man were restored, it would not be a resurrec
tion in the proper sense of the term. Hence to say that
numerically the same man shall not rise again, is heretical,
and derogates from the truth of Holy Scripture, which teaches
the resurrection of the dead." 10
In the philosophical system of St. Thomas this numerical
identity is easily understood; for as according to it the im
mortal soul is the only substantial form, nothing further is
required than that this soul should again be united to the
same materia prima that was in the body during life. And
this is all that St. Thomas postulates in his teaching on the
subject.11 But in the system of Scotus there appears a much
greater difficulty as regards the numerical identity of the
body. For according to him, man's body does not result
from the union of the spiritual soul with prime matter; but
it is constituted as a body by the forma corporeitatis, and this
form is lost in the dissolution of the elements of man's body
after death. Hence in the resurrection a new form must be
educed, and consequently the body thus constituted is not
numerically the same. He meets the difficulty by stating that
the reproduction of numerically the same form is not im
possible to God's omnipotence, and in this way there will be
identity of body as well as of soul.12
There is also found in the writings of the Scholastics some
10 Suppl. q. 79, a. 2. 12 Loc. cit. q. 3, n. 1-20.
11 Ibid. a. 2 ad 3m.
ESCHATOLOGY 421
difference of opinion in regard to the material elements that
shall again be united to the soul in the resurrection. If the
nourishment taken during life is converted into man's bodily
substance, it is obviously impossible that the whole amount
of substance, thus formed in the course of many years, should
be made use of to constitute the risen body. Hence some
hold, as Thomas points out,13 that the human body consists,
properly speaking, only of that portion of his bodily sub
stance which each individual derived from his parents by way
of generation, and consequently this alone will be taken up
again by the soul on the last day. However, this view was
commonly rejected as philosophically untenable, and most of
the Scholastics hold that so much of each one's " true bodily
substance " will be taken up again in the resurrection as
suffices for a perfect body in the state of maturity.14 In the
case of infants God will supply additional matter, so that they
too may rise in a state of perfect development.15
As the body is ultimately the handiwork of God, it will
after the resurrection be possessed of all the perfections due
to its nature ; 16 and this, according to the more common
opinion, will be the case even with the bodies of the repro
bate.17 The difference of the reprobate and the elect, as
regards their respective bodies, arises solely from the different
spiritual condition of their souls. Hence in the case of the
former, the body remains grossly material, and although im
mortal, in the sense that it cannot die, it is susceptible of the
same kinds of sufferings as it was during its earthly exist
ence ; 18 whereas in the case of the latter, the body after its
own manner shares in the glory of the soul, and is thereby
spiritualized and made independent of the laws of space and
time by which it was bound down in the days of its sojourn
on earth.19 In regard to the glorified body, the Scholastics
13 In Sent. II, d. 30, a. i. 17 Ibid. q. 86, a. I ; Bonavent. In
14 Cf r. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d, Sent. IV, d. 44, p. I, a. 3, q. 2.
64, a. 2, q. i, 2; Thomas, ibid. q. I, 18 Ibid. a. 2, 3.
a. 2; Scotus, ibid. q. i, n. 15. 19 Ibid. q. 82-85; Scotus, In Sent.
15 Ibid. IV, d. 49, q. 13-16.
16Cfr. Thomas, Suppl. q. 81, a.
1,2.
422 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
restate and explain philosophically the teaching of St. Paul 20
and of St. Augustine,21 without adding anything really new
in the line of dogmatic development.
2. The General Judgment. — Immediately upon the resur
rection of the dead follows the general judgment, which will
mark the end of time for the race of man. In itself it is a
puhlic ratification of the sentence already passed at the mo
ment of each one's death. Various reasons are adduced by
the Scholastics for the fitness of such a general and public
judgment. St. Thomas speaks of it as a detailed representa
tion of the world's history, a mere glance at which will reveal
to every one the justice, wisdom, and goodness of God in all
His ways ; and at the same time it is intended as a separation
of the good and the bad, who shall then be known for what
they really were during their life on earth.22 It also serves
the purpose of giving due honor to the Savior of mankind,
whom so many despised or ignored when they should have
given Him their undivided service.23 Lastly, it will be a
public justification of God's faithful servants so often mis
judged by enemies and friends, and a public condemnation
of that hypocritical holiness of life which sought only its own
glorification.24
Hence there will be a general revelation of each one's deeds,
both good and bad. On this point there is no difference of
opinion, save only in regard to the sins of the elect that have
been blotted out by sincere repentance. Thus Peter Lombard
holds that these sins shall not be made known, as the evil
done by them has been repaired; 25 but this view is commonly
rejected as untenable. For, as St. Thomas argues, " from
this it would follow that the penance done for these sins
would not become known either, at least not perfectly; and
that would detract much from the glory of the saints and
from the praise due to God for having so mercifully freed
them from their sins.26 Furthermore, this revelation of their
20 I Cor. 15. 24Id. In Sent. loc. cit.
21 De Civit. Dei, 22, 9. 25 Sent. IV, d. 45.
22 In Sent. IV, d. 48, q. I, a. I. 26 Suppl. q. 87, a. 2.
23 Cfr. Thomas, Suppl. q. 90, a. 2.
ESCHATOLOGY 423
sins will not be a cause of shame to the saints, as is quite
obvious from the case of Mary Magdalene whose sins are
publicly recited in the church.27
This revelation of each one's conscience, both to himself
and to all others, is spoken of by the Scholastics as the reading
of the book of life — libri vitae. It consists in an instanta
neous cognition of all that was recorded by each one's con
science during life; and the efficient cause of this cognition is
a special enlightenment of the intellect on the part of God.28
There is some difference of opinion in regard to the reprobate,
as to the manner in which they shall be enabled to read the
book of life. Unlike the elect, they do not behold the es
sence of God, and therefore they do not seem to have an
adequate means of instantaneous cognition ; hence St. Thomas
concludes: Singula consider abunt, sed non in instanti, sed
in tempore brevissimo.29
As the reading of the book of life, so likewise the passing
of the judicial sentence will most probably consist in an
intellectual enlightenment, whereby each individual is made
to understand his eternal condition as here and now irrevo
cably fixed. " In regard to this question," says St. Thomas,
" nothing can be defined with certainty ; nevertheless it is held
to be more probable that the whole judgment, both as regards
the examination, the accusation of the wicked, the commenda
tion of the good, and the sentence passed upon each, is simply
a mental process. For if the deeds of each one were to be
recited by word of mouth, an immeasurable length of time
would be required. . . . Hence it is probable that what is said
in Matthew, c. 25, must be interpreted, not as a verbal, but as
a mental process." 30
The judgment will be general in the sense that all rational
creatures of God will be present, and that each one shall re
ceive a recompense according to his works. However most
of the Scholastics take the term judgment in three different
27 Ibid. a. 2 ad 3™. 29 Ibid. a. 3.
28 Cf r. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. 30 Ibid. q. 88, a. 2.
43, a. 2; Thomas, Suppl. q. 87, a.
1-3-
424 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
senses, and in accordance with this distinction they make the
judgment either general or limit it to certain classes. In the
first sense it is merely a public manifestation of each one's
spiritual condition and of the recompense that is his due ; and
so considered the judgment will be general in the full sense
of the term. In the second sense it implies an examination
of those to be judged and the passing of a sentence on the
part of the judge; and under this aspect the judgment will
not be general. " For some are judged and perish, others are
not judged and perish ; some are judged and reign, others are
not judged and reign." 31 In the third sense judgment means
simply condemnation, and refers only to the wicked whose
state is already fixed. These are of two classes: the evil
spirits who were judged by God immediately after their fall,
and infidels whose obstinate blindness here on earth was the
beginning of their final judgment.32 Later theologians, how
ever, usually reject this distinction, and hold that the judgment
applies in the same sense to all who had the use of reason
during life.
According to the common teaching of the Scholastics, the
judgment will be presided over by Christ, the Redeemer of
the world. " To judge," argues St. Thomas, " implies do
minion in him who pronounces judgment. Hence Christ will
be the judge in as much as He has dominion over men, in
respect of whom it is chiefly that the final judgment will take
place. Now, He is our Lord not only by reason of creation,
. . . but also by reason of the redemption, which He wrought
in His human nature. . . . And because through the redemp
tion He restored not only mankind, but all creation, in as much
as by reason of man's restoration all creatures were placed
in an ameliorated condition; . . . hence it is that Christ
through His passion merited to have dominion, not only over
men, but over all creatures, and consequently to act as their
judge." 33 However, He will judge ex virtute divinitatis.34
31 Cf r. Lombard, Sent. d. 47, c. 3. 33 Suppl. q. QO, a. I.
32 Cfr. Bonavent. In Sent. IV, d. 34 Ibid. a. I ad 2m.
47, a. i, q. 3; Thomas, op. cit. q. 89,
a. 5-8.
ESCHATOLOGY 425
With Christ others will be associated in the judgment ; not,
however, as judges in the strict sense of the term. The com
mon teaching of the Scholastics on this point is thus set forth
by St. Bonaventure: " One is said to be a judge in a cause
for one or other of two reasons: either because it pertains
to him to pronounce judgment, or because he takes part in
such pronouncement, in as much as some judges cooperate
with and in some measure give counsel to the chief judge.
He, therefore, who pronounces judgment is the chief judge;
and such is Christ alone, as is clear from Matthew xxv,
wherein is described the procedure of the judgment. Those,
however, who cooperate, also partake of the title and dignity
of judge; and such are those saintly men who have added to
the works prescribed by the commandments the supereroga
tory perfection of the counsels. Now, such are chiefly the
Apostles, as leaders, and their close followers. Their par
ticipation, however, will not be unto the giving of counsel,
because the Lord hath no need of counsel ; but it will be the
honor of being near the judge, and, according to the word
of the Lord, we can call this the honor of sitting in judgment
with Him/' 35 And the same honor will also be granted to
the good angels.36
Christ will appear in His glorified humanity to the elect
and the reprobate alike, but His divinity will be seen only
by the elect. However, even the reprobate shall know with
the utmost certainty that He is truly God, and they shall be
forced to acknowledge this to their greater shame.37 St.
Thomas,38 St. Bonaventure,39 and nearly all Scholastic theo
logians hold that the facial vision of God on the part of the
reprobate is impossible ; whereas Scotus contends that it could
be effected by God's absolute power.40 Practically all Scho
lastics are of opinion that the judgment will take place in
the early morning hours, at the time when Christ rose from
the dead.41 They also regard it as likely that Christ will ap-
35 In Sent. IV, d. 47, a. I, q. I. 38 Loc. cit.
36 Ibid. q. 2. 39Loc. cit. q. 2.
" Tbid. d. 48, a. i? q. 2, 3 ; Thorn- 40 In Sent. IV, d. 48, q. I, n. i-io.
as, loc. cit. a. 3 ; Halens. Sum. Ill, 41 Cfr. Thomas, Suppl. q. 47, a. 3.
q. 25, m. 4.
426 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
pear on Mount Olivet, and that those who are to be judged
shall be gathered around Him in that neighborhood.42
Immediately after the last judgment there will be a uni
versal conflagration in which all the works of man shall be
destroyed. Animal and plant life shall then cease to exist,
and the material elements shall all be renovated by a purifying
flame, so that there results a new heaven and a new earth.
Furthermore, according to St. Thomas, the terrestrial globe
shall then be endowed with a peculiar brightness like that of
the heavenly bodies, all movement shall come to an end, and
thenceforth there shall be an everlasting calm.43
3. The Punishment of Hell. — St. Bona venture mentions
and refutes two antiquated heresies in regard to the eternity
of hell, and then states the accepted teaching of the Church
in these terms: "Therefore the third position is reasonable
and in accordance with the teaching of faith, namely, that the
punishment of the wicked is eternal ; and this Holy Scripture
manifestly declares, faith confirms, and right reason ap
proves." 44 Then, as the teaching of Holy Scripture and of
faith is quite obvious, he develops the argument from reason
as follows. " First, by way of antithesis it is eminently fit
ting that as the virtuous receive an eternal reward, so the
wicked should be condemned to everlasting punishment.
Secondly, this is not only fitting, but also necessary ; because
justice requires that each one be recompensed according to
his works. Now the wicked have sinned against an eternal
and infinite good, and for that reason they deserve an eternal
punishment. Furthermore, they are immovably fixed in their
perversity, and therefore their guilt is everlasting; hence, as
guilt and punishment must be in proportion, it follows that
their punishment should be eternal." 45 The same argument
had already been indicated by St. Augustine40 and St. Ber
nard,47 and was still further, developed by St. Thomas.48
When speaking about the punishment of hell, the Scholas-
42Tbid. q. 48, a. 4 4fl De Civit. Dei, 21, n.
43 Ibid. q. 91, a. 2. 47 He Gratia et Lib. Arbitr. c. 9,
44 In Sent. IV, d. 44, p. 2, a. I, n. 28.
q. T. 48 Stippl. q. 99, a. I.
45 Ibid.
ESCHATOLOGY 427
tics say practically nothing in regard to the pain of loss.
They presuppose that this is most intense, as it is measured
by the happiness that would have been theirs had they been
faithful in the service of God.49 But presupposing this, they
treat at great length of the positive pain, or the pain of sense,
inflicted on the reprobate. The following points may be
briefly noted.
As the pain of loss corresponds to the sinner's turning away
from God, so the pain of sense corresponds to his inordinate
turning to creatures. He made them, to all intents and pur
poses, his last end; and now they are converted by divine
justice into instruments of the most exquisite torture.50
Hence the pain of sense, argues St. Bonaventure, is caused
by the four elements that constitute the material world — air,
earth, fire, and water.51 Or as St. Thomas puts it: "Ac
cording to St. Basil, in the last purification of the world there
will be a separation of the elements, and whatever is pure and
of a refined nature will remain in the higher regions for the
glory of the blessed; but whatever is vile and filthy shall be
cast into hell for the punishment of the damned: so that, as
to the blessed every material creature shall be a source of
joy, so in like manner to the damned all creatures shall be a
cause of torment." 52
It is the common teaching of the Scholastics that hell is a
subterranean place, most probably situated at the center of
the earth. " Its arrangement/' says St. Thomas, " is such as
corresponds to the extreme misery of those detained therein.
Hence there is both light and darkness, but in such a way as
to intensify the torments of the lost. In itself the seeing of
things is a source of delight, . . . but under certain conditions
it becomes a cause of suffering, namely, when we see things
that are hurtful or repugnant to us. And therefore the dis
position of light and darkness in hell must be such that nothing
is seen distinctly, but that those things which can afflict the
heart are perceived as wrapt in a certain shadowy gloom.
49 Cfr. Thomas, op. cit. q. 98, a. 9. 51 In Sent. IV, d. 44, p. 2, a. 2,
50 Ibid. q. 97, a. i. q. 2.
52 Op. cit. q. 47, a. I.
428 MEDLEVAL THEOLOGY
Hence, properly speaking, it is a place of darkness. Never
theless, by divine disposition there is just sufficient light to
make those things visible which can torture the soul : and this
follows from the very position of the place; because in the
center of the earth, where hell is said to be situated, there can
be no fire except such as is dim and dull and smoky." B3
The principal agent used by God in causing the pain of
sense is material fire. This is the teaching of Peter Lom
bard 54 Alexander of Hales,55 Albertus Magnus,56 St.
Thomas,57 St. Bonaventure,58 Duns Scotus,59 and all repre
sentative Scholastics. " Whatever may be said about the fire
that tortures souls while separated from their bodies/* argues
St. Thomas, " the fire by which the bodies of the reprobate are
tormented after the resurrection must be corporeal; because
the body cannot be afflicted except by corporeal agents of
pain." 60 Furthermore, the fire of hell is specifically the same
as the fire that we use here on earth, although in some myste
rious way it burns without consuming or being consumed.61
The material nature of this fire was defended by the Scho
lastics against Avicenna and other Arabian philosophers who
denied the resurrection of the body, and consequently con
tended that the term fire, when used in connection with the
punishment of hell, must be taken in a metaphorical sense.
Again, it is also the common teaching of the Scholastics
that this same material fire afflicts the evil spirits and human
souls while in the state of separation from their bodies. But
when they try to explain how this is possible, they severally
advance somewhat different views. Thus Albertus Magnus
practically contents himself with stating the fact as contained
in Holy Scripture, and then affirming that God in His wisdom
and power must have ways and means of afflicting spirits
through the agency of matter.62 St. Bonaventure admits that
material fire as such cannot affect spiritual substances directly,
53 Suppl. q. 97, a. 4. 58 Breviloq. VII, c. 6.
54 Sent. IV, d. 44, c. 6. 59 Report, d. 44, q. 3, n. 19.
55 Sum. II, q. 116, m. 4. 60 Suppl. q. 97, a. 4.
56 In Sent. IV, d. 44, a. 37. 61 Ibid. a. 6.
57 Ibid. a. 4. 62 Loc. cit.
ESCHATOLOGY 429
but it may do so in an indirect way; for divine justice may
use it for the purpose of producing in the intellect and will a
condition of fearsome apprehension and loathing repugnance,
which results in unbearable mental and physical torture. Both
evil spirits and disembodied souls may be shut up within the
fire as in a prison, and thus be made to experience all the
horrors that one naturally associates with earthly dungeons.
Moreover, human souls always retain their sensitive faculties,
by reason of which they can in some way be brought under the
influence of material agents.03
St. Thomas examines three different views on this sub
ject, and then rejects them as inadmissible. The first of these
holds that spirits are terrified at the mere sight of fire; the
second maintains that fire is apprehended by them as hurtful,
and from this apprehension results an agony of dread and
sadness; the third contends that spirits are physically afflicted
by God Himself, who acts in the fire. After setting aside
these explanations as insufficient, he gives his own in these
terms: "It is necessary, therefore, to gather all these dif
ferent ways together into one, so that it may become intel
ligible how a spirit can suffer from material fire. Let us say,
then, that it is in accordance with the nature of fire for spirits
to be united to it by way of location, just as any other thing
localized is in a place ; but over and above, in so far as the fire
in question is an instrument of divine justice, it has also the
power of holding these spirits bound to itself; and in this the
fire is truly hurtful to the spirit, in as much as the soul, seeing
that the fire is thus the cause of its involuntary detention, is
tormented by the fire." 64
Substantially the same explanation is given by Duns Scotus.
In the first place, he says, the lost spirits are detained in one
place by the fire ; then they apprehend this detention ; from
this arises a repugnance to being thus detained; next this
repugnance is vividly realized ; finally, from the realization
of their imprisoned condition, thus always before their minds,
there results an intense agony of suffering and despair.65
63 In Sent. IV, d. 44, a. 3, q. 2. °5 Report. IV, d. 44, q. 2, n. 9;
64 Suppl. q. 70, a. 3. cfr. In Sent. ibid. n. II.
430 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGY
Morally the reprobate are in a state of unalterable perver
sion: they cling to their past sins, although they at the same
time shrink from them as the cause of their torture;66 they
hate God, not as He is in Himself, but in so far as they ex
perience the rigor of His justice;67 they likewise hate all
created beings, but more especially the blessed in heaven,
whose happiness fills them with a most intense envy.68 Still,
with all this, they do not sin ; because their very condition of
obduracy in evil is a punishment for their past misdeeds.69
4. The Joys of Heaven. — Heaven is a place where the elect
see God face to face, as He is in Himself; and from this in
tuitive vision of the triune God results a state of ecstatic joy
and unspeakable happiness. On this point, considered as a
mere fact, there never was a difference of opinion among the
Scholastics. Furthermore, nearly all of them are agreed that
the elect are placed in full possession of their essential happi
ness as soon as they have satisfied the justice of God for their
past sins. Early in the fourteenth century, Pope John XXII,
while still a simple theologian, advanced it as his private opin
ion that the intuitive vision of God's essence might be de
layed even in the case of souls already perfectly pure in the
sight of God; but his view met with strong opposition, as
being out of harmony with the teaching of the Church.70
Almost half a century before that unguarded statement was
made, St. Thomas had stigmatized the opinion it expressed
as heretical.71 And in 1336, Benedict XII thus defined the
traditional teaching: Homines pios plcne purgatos vel justos
ex hac vita decedentes statim consequi beatitudinem et visione
Dei beatifica perfrui . . . definimus.721
Most Scholastics divide beatitude into objective and formal.
By the former they understand God Himself, who as the Su
preme Good perfectly satisfies every rational tendency of the
elect. By the latter they designate that operation of the soul
«6Cfr. Thomas, op. cit. q. 98, a. 70 Cfr. Chartular Universit. Pa-
i, 2. ris. t. II, n. 970-987.
67 Ibid. a. 5. 71 Suppl. q. 69, a. 2.
68 Ibid. a. 7, 9. 72 Mansi, 25, 986 D.
ea Ibid. a. 6.
ESCHATOLOGY 431
or spirit by which God is possessed as the source of ecstatic
fruition. In regard to objective beatitude there is no room
for discussion, as apart from God there is no object the pos
session of which can be the source of perfect blessedness.
Besides, on this point the teaching of Holy Scripture is so
clear that it excludes all further development of doctrine.
But matters look quite different when the question of formal
beatitude comes up for consideration. For although it is a
matter of faith that the blessed see God face to face, or as
Benedict XII, defined it, visione intuitiva et etiam faciali,
nulla mediant e creatura in rationc visi se habentc, nevertheless
both the act of this vision itself and its relation to the essence
of beatitude have always been a subject of discussion among
theologians. Only a few passing remarks can here be made
about the points in question.
As the intuitive vision of God is an act of the intellect, it
must obviously be explained in terms of human knowledge.
Now in human knowledge, according to the common teaching
of the Scholastics, four things come up for consideration : the
intellect, the object, the impressed species — species impressa,
and the expressed species — species expressa. Of itself the
intellect does not represent one object rather than another;
and therefore, in order to represent a particular object, it must
first be determined or modified by a likeness derived from
that same object. This modification is called the species im-
pressa, which is a virtual representation of the object in ques
tion. Thus modified, the intellect produces the species ex-
prcssa, or the act of knowing, which is a vital and formal
representation of the object as known.
Applying this exposition of the genesis of human knowl
edge to the beatific vision, the Scholastics studied the question
in reference to the following three points : First, does the
beatific vision postulate a species impressaf Secondly, does
it postulate a species expressaf Thirdly, in whatever way the
first two points be decided, must the intellect be supernaturally
strengthened by the light of glory — lumen gloriae — in or
der to see God face to face?
Some of the older Scholastics, whom St. Bonaventure takes
432 MEDIEVAL THEOLOGYi
occasion to refute,73 identified the beatific vision with God's
own eternal and uncreated knowledge, in a similar way as they
identified sanctifying grace with the Holy Spirit. Somewhat
like this is the opinion defended by Henry of Ghent, who
distinguishes in the blessed a created and an uncreated beati
tude. The former, he says, consists in acts of the intellect
and will, which as such, even in this connection, do not imply
proper knowledge of God; whereas the latter is an immediate
communication of God, or of objective beatitude, to the soul
by way of circuminsession — per circuminscssionem zfel illap-
sum. It is in this that beatitude properly consists, and in
so far it is not a perfection of the faculties, but of the soul's
substance.74
St. Bonaventure defines formal beatitude as influentia Dei
in animam, quae est ipsa deiformitas et satietas.15 In his ex
planation of this definition he states that beatitude consists
of two parts: the deification of the soul and its faculties which
is a habit or quality, and the corresponding acts of the intel
lect and will. Hence it is neither a mere act, nor a mere
habit, but a combination of the two ; and thus it may be com
pared to a natural habit of knowledge which is always in act,
or by which man always actually contemplates the object
known.76
In none of these explanations is there a definite attempt
made to analyze the act of knowledge in so far as it proceeds
from the intellect. And hence the explanations themselves
are vague and unsatisfactory. In this respect the exposition
of St. Thomas is much more explicit. After setting aside the
opinion of some Arabian philosophers as to the nature of
human knowledge, he proceeds : " Since in all cognition
there is need of some form by which the object is known or
seen, the form by which the intellect is perfected, in order to
have a cognitive vision of separated substances, is not the
quiddity which the intellect abstracts from composite things,
as is maintained by the first opinion; nor is it an impression of
73 In Sent. TIT, d. 14, a. I, q. I. 75 In Sent. IV, d. 49, p. I, a. uni-
74 Quodl. 13, q. 12. cus, q. I.
76 Ibid. q. i ad 5m.
ESCHATOLOGY 433
the separated substance remaining in our intellect, as is held
by the second; but it is the separated substance itself which is
united to our intellect as a form, so that this substance itself
is both the object which is known and the form by which it
is known.
" But whatever may be said in regard to other separated
substances, this is undoubtedly the explanation to be accepted
in regard to the intuitive vision of God ; because by whatever
other form our intellect be perfected, it necessarily remains
incapable of seeing God's essence. However the explanation
just given must not be understood in the sense that the divine
essence is properly the form of our intellect, or that from its
union with our intellect results a something that is strictly
one, as is the case when matter and form are united in the
natural order of things; but in this other sense, that the re
lation of the divine essence to our intellect is proportionately
the same as that of form to matter. . . . And that this suf
fices to make our intellect capable of seeing the divine essence
by means of that same essence, may be shown as follows. . . .
In the matter of knowledge, it is necessary to consider the
intellect itself as matter, and the intelligible species as its
form; hence the intellect in the act of knowing is composed
of the two. Consequently, given a self-subsistent being, which
is pure intelligibility, that being can of itself act as the form
by which the intellect knows. For since it is pure form,
without any admixture of matter, there is nothing to prevent
it from discharging the functions of form in regard to the
intellect; and thus become in a manner part of the composite,
which is the intellect in act. Because a thing is intelligible in
so far as it is in act. . . . Hence it follows that the divine
essence, since it is pure actuality, can be the form by which
the intellect knows ; and this is the beatific vision." 77
In this exposition, as is quite obvious, both the species im-
pressa and the species expressa, as taken in the strict meaning
of the respective terms, are eliminated from the intuitive
vision of God. Their place is taken by the divine essence,
77 Suppl. q. 92, a. i.
434 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
which unites itself immediately to the intellect, and through
this immediate union is seen face to face. The explanation
agrees perfectly with the definition of Benedict XII, issued
some sixty years later. It reads as follows: Definimus:
quod sccundum communcm Dei ordinationem animae sanc
torum omnium . . . vident divinam essentiam visione intui-
tiva et ctiam faciali, nulla mediant c crcatura in ratione objecti
visi se habcnte, sed divina esseniia immediate se nude, dare
et apcrte eis ostendcnte, quodque sic videntes eadem divina
essentia perfrunntur.18
It is true, neither St. Thomas nor Pope Benedict suppose
the intellect to be merely passive in the beatific vision ; on the
contrary, they imply that the vision itself is an intellectual act;
but what they wish to exclude is the species as a created repre
sentation of the Godhead ; for that representation would al
ways be analogous, and as such it could not be nor lead to a
proper knowledge of God. Substantially the same position is
taken by Duns Scotus.79 Hence, if the term species e.rpressa
be understood in a wider sense, as simply designating an act
of knowledge, it may evidently be employed without prejudice
to the faith.
For this intuitive vision of God, in so far as it is a cognitive
act, the intellect must be disposed and strengthened by the
light of glory, which in some way corresponds to the light of
faith here on earth. The fact is generally admitted by the
Scholastics, but most of them are rather vague when they
attempt to explain the nature of this light. St. Thomas puts
his exposition this way : " Everything that is elevated to
what exceeds its nature, must be prepared by some disposition
above its nature; as, for example, if air is to receive the form
of fire, it must be prepared by some disposition for such a
form. Now when any created intellect sees the essence of
God, the essence of God itself becomes the intelligible form
of the intellect. Hence it is necessary that some supernatural
disposition should be added to the intellect in order that it
may be elevated to such a great and sublime height. Since
78 DB. 530. 79 In Sent. IV, d. 49, q. 3, n. 6.
ESCHATOLOGY 435
the natural power of the created intellect does not avail to
enable it to see the essence of God, as was shown in the
preceding article, it is necessary that the power of understand
ing should be aided by divine grace. This increase of the
intellectual powers is called the illumination of the intellect,
as we also call the intelligible object itself by the name of
light or illumination." 80
Again : " This light is required to see the divine essence,
not as a similitude in which God is seen, but as a perfec
tion of the intellect, strengthening it to see God. There
fore it may be said that this light is not to be described as a
medium in which God is seen, but by which He is seen; and
such a medium does not take away the immediate vision of
God." 81 Furthermore, this light can in no wise be natural
to any creature, but only to the divine nature; and therefore
by it the rational creature is made deiform.82
At the time when St. Thomas wrote, no decision on this
matter had yet been given by the Church ; and hence a few
later Scholastics, especially Duranclus,83 controverted his view,
and argued that the mere fact of the divine essence being
intimately present to the human intellect eliminates the neces
sity of the light of glory as a previous disposition. However,
the Council of Vienne (1311-1312) decided against this teach
ing by rejecting a thesis in which it was stated, quod anima
non indigct luminc gloriac, ipsam elevante, ad Deum videndum
et eo beate fruendum*4
There was greater divergence of views among the Scho
lastics as regards the essence of beatitude. All were agreed
that the blessedness of the elect must comprise at least three
acts: an act of intuitive vision, an act of love, and an act of
fruition or joy. The first of these is an act of the intellect,
while the other two proceed from the will. In regard to them
the question arose, and is still under discussion, what is their
precise relation to the essence of beatitude? Are all three of
them constitutive, so that if one be eliminated beatitude itself
80 Sum. Theol. I, q. 12, a. 5. 83 In Sent. IV, d. 49, q. 2, n. 24.
siTbid. a. 5 ad i">. 84 DB. 475.
82 Ibid. a. 5 ad 3™.
436 MEDIAEVAL THEOLOGY
is destroyed? Or is only one of them essential, or at most
two? And if so, which of them? Setting aside merely ac
cidental and minor differences, the views of the Scholastics
on this point may be reduced to the following1 three. First :
Beatitude consists essentially in the intuitive vision of God,
and from this flow the complementary acts of love and frui
tion. Second : The essence of beatitude comprises both the
intuitive vision of God and an act of love, but in such a way
that the intuitive vision is merely inchoative and receives its
essential complement from the act of love. Third : Beatitude
consists essentially in an act of love, to which the intuitive
vision is presupposed as a necessary condition, and from
which fruition flows as a connatural consequence.
The first of these three views is put forward by St. Thomas.
Admitting that beatitude is the proper object of the will, since
it is the possession of the Supreme Good, he holds that the
act of the will does nevertheless not constitute the essence of
beatitude. For, he argues, " that act is man's last end, taken
subjectively, by reason of which he is placed in such a relation
to God that the will rests perfectly satisfied in Him. But
only the vision of God by the intellect is such an act ; because
by that only is there established a certain contact of God with
the faculties — since everything that is known is in him who
knows in so far as it is known; just as also bodily contact
with something agreeable to the senses induces a quieting of
the affections. And therefore man's last end consists in an
act of the intellect; and thus beatitude, which is man's last
end, is in the intellect as its proper subject. However, that
which belongs to the will, namely, its resting in the end ob
tained, which may be termed delectation, is the formal com
plement of the essence of beatitude, as supervening upon the
intuitive vision in which the substance of beatitude consists;
so that thus there is attributed to the will both the first rela
tion to the end, in as much as it desires its attainment, and
also the last, in so far as it rests in the end already attained." 85
The second opinion is defended by Richard of Middle-
as In Sent. IV, d. 49, q. i, a. i, sol. 2.
ESCHATOLOGY 437
ton,86 and also by St. Bonaventure.87 Both of them teach
that by way of genesis beatitude is first in the intellect, in as
much as it has its inception in the intuitive vision of God; but
it receives its essential perfection in the will, which is united
to God in the act of love and possesses Him as the object of
blessed fruition.
The third view is that of Scotus. He admits that both the
intellect and will possess God as their immediate object; and
also that by way of genesis beatitude is first in the intellect,
in as much as without the intuitive vision there could be no
immediate union of the will with the divine essence. But the
essence of beatitude consists in only one operation — that of
the will.88 The will is man's noblest faculty, just as charity
is the highest of virtues.89 It is right, therefore, and obvious
too, that the full and complete and perfect possession of man's
end is an act of unitive love ; not of a love of concupiscence,
but of benevolence, which finds its perfect expression in this
utterance : " The infinite goodness of God is to me an ob
ject of complacency, and by accepting Him and delighting in
Him, I simply desire Him to possess all the goodness He does
possess." 90
After setting forth their views on the essential blessedness
of the elect, the Scholastics usually enter into rather lengthy
discussions of a number of subordinate points, more or less
intimately connected with the state of eternal beatitude. The
chief of these are the dotes, or spiritual dowry of the blessed;
the aureolae, or special crowns corresponding to certain states
in life and the perfect practice of certain virtues; the acci
dental happiness that arises from various created sources ; the
perpetuity of that blissful state; the impeccability of the elect;
their social relations, and kindred subjects. But these discus
sions need not be reviewed in the present connection ; because,
with the exception of a few points, the subjects discussed are
likely to remain a matter of speculation until we shall have
attained the blessed vision of God.
8« Ibid. a. i, q. 6. 88 In Sent. IV, d. 49, q. 3, n. 6, 5 ;
87 Thid. T, d. i, a. 2, q. unica ; II, q. 4, n. 6, 5.
d. 38, a. i, q. 2; Breviloq. VII, c. 7. 89 Ibid. q. 4, n. 13-18.
90 Ibid. q. 5, n. 4.
CHAPTER XXV
MEDIEVAL HERESIES: MEDIAEVAL COUNCILS 1
It was stated in the introduction to this volume that the
development of dogmas during the Middle Ages was little
influenced by the aberration of heretics and consequent de
cisions of councils. That this statement is perfectly correct
must be evident from what has been said in the preceding
chapters. Such heresies as did arise were either slight modi
fications of errors condemned centuries before, or they were
simply momentary disturbances caused by individual fanati
cism or indiscreet zeal for the purity of ecclesiastical life.
With one or two exceptions, they did not spring from intel
lectual difficulties regarding any particular doctrine, as had
been the case with all the great heresies of the fourth, fifth,
and sixth centuries. Hence they led to little or no theological
discussion, and consequently they did not affect the normal
development of doctrine. It was owing to the ephemeral
nature of these heresies that the numerous ecumenical coun
cils held during the Middle Ages treated them only in passing.
It was usually not for the purpose of giving dogmatic de
cisions that these councils were convoked, but rather for the
sake of bringing about ecclesiastical reforms, or settling diffi
culties between the Church and the State. And this being the
case, the following brief outline of mediaeval heresies and
councils will suffice for the proper understanding of the various
questions that have thus far been treated in the present vol
ume.
1 Cfr. Hefele, Conciliengeschich- tory, I ; Doellinger, Beitraege zur
te. V; Marion, Histoire de 1'Eglise, Sektengeschichte des Mittelalters.
II; Funk, Manual of Church His-
438
MEDIAEVAL HERESIES 439
A — MEDIAEVAL HERESIES
In regard to the errors of Gottschalk, Berengarius, Roscelin,
Abelard, and Gilbert de la Porree, nothing need be said on the
present occasion, as a summary of them has been given in
the preceding chapters.2 It need only be added that their
false views did not find favor with men of wide influence, and
as a result they soon disappeared from the theological world.
Some of them were indeed revived by later heretics, but of
that it will be more convenient to say something in its own
proper place. Hence at present we may devote our atten
tion to such heretical vagaries and tendencies as have thus
far either not been taken note of at all or else only in a
passing way.
I. Peter de Bruvs and the Petrobrnsians. — Concerning the
person and life of Peter de Bruys little is known. Practically
our only source of information is a letter of Peter the Venera
ble, abbot of Cluny,3 and a brief statement of Abelard in his
Introductio ad Thcologiam* According to these authorities,
he was a priest who had disgraced himself and in consequence
was chased from his church by his own parishioners.5 After
that he traveled for about twenty years through Southern
France and the neighboring countries, causing great disturb
ance by his fierce invectives against the Church and some of
her doctrines. He was burnt to death at St. Giles in 1137,
the enraged people having cast him into the fire which he him
self had made of broken crucifixes.6 His work was continued
by the Cluniac monk Henry of Lausanne, who was condemned
by the Council of Rheims in 1148.
From the statements of Peter the Venerable and Abelard,
the teaching of these sectaries may be reduced to the following
points :
(a) The baptism of children is invalid, because they are
2Cfr. cc. 1-4, 17. 4Op. cit. IT. c. 4.
3 Epistola sive Tractatus adver- c Cfr. ML, 189, 790.
sus Petrobrusianos Hereticos, ML, 6 ML, 189, 723 A.
189, 719-850.
440 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
unable to make an act of faith; hence all those who have re
ceived the sacrament in childhood, must be rebaptized.
(b) God may be adored and worshiped anywhere, and
therefore it is unlawful to build churches; those that have been
built already should be torn down and destroyed.
(c) No veneration must be paid to crucifixes, because they
are instruments of punishment; hence wherever a crucifix is
found, it should be broken to pieces and cast into the fire.
(d) Christ changed bread and wine into His body and blood
only once, and He did not give the same power to His priests ;
hence He is not really and personally present in the Eucharist.
(e) Prayers, alms-deeds, and other pious works for the de
parted are useless. Church music, singing, and ecclesiastical
ceremonies generally should be abolished. God simply laughs
at them : He is pleased only with the worship of the heart.
For the time being, Peter and Henry had many followers
and several synods were rjeld to counteract their influence,
but after their death the sect to which Peter had given his
name slowly disappeared.
2. Tanchelm and Eon de Stella. — Tanchelm was an escaped
monk, who gathered around him a large following with which
he traveled from place to place in the Low Countries. He
claimed to be the equal of Jesus Christ and to have received
as his special mission the reformation of ecclesiastical and re
ligious life. At the same time, however, his conduct was
shockingly immoral, and so was that of his immediate follow
ers. As he violently denounced the authority of the Church
and all priestly ministrations, he caused widespread disturb
ance wherever he went. Finally, in 1115, he was slain by a
cleric. Much of the harm wrought by him was repaired by
the zeal and prudence of St. Norbert.
Some twenty years later, a similar disturbance was caused
by Eon de Stella, a Breton nobleman. He gave himself out
as the Son of God, the Judge of the living and dead. His
extraordinary claim he tried to establish by an appeal to the
liturgical text: " Per eum (Eon) qui ventures est judicare
vh'os ct mortnos et sacculum per igncm. He fiercely inveighed
against all worldly possessions on the part of the Church,
MEDIEVAL HERESIES 441
and also preached a kind of communism which secured him vast
numbers of adherents. He was condemned by the Council
of Rheims in 1148, and some years later died in prison.
About the same time, considerable agitation along these lines
was carried on by Arnold of Brescia, who violently declaimed
against the Church's possession of landed property, and also
against the temporal power of the Pope. According to Otto
of Freising, " he held that no cleric having property, no bishop
holding fiefs, no monk who was not truly poor, could hope
for salvation." 7 He was condemned by the Second Lateran
Council, in 1139, but continued his propaganda for some time
longer in France and Switzerland. In 1155 he was executed
by Barbarossa, on account of his connection with the revolu
tion which had broken out at Rome.
3. Amalric of Bene and David of Dinant. — Towards the
end of the twelfth century, the Moorish commentaries on
Aristotle gave rise to various false views among the professors
of the University of Paris. Some held that what is true in
philosophy may be false in theology, that authority alone can
not give full certainty, and that the Christian religion, like all
others, contains both truth and falsehood. Others taught
pantheistic doctrines, identifying the creature with the
Creator. To this latter class belonged Amalric of Bene and
David of Dinant. Amalric held that all Christians are mem
bers of Christ, in the sense that by way of identification they
are all other Christs ; while David maintained that God is
primary matter, from which all other beings are derived by
some kind of pantheistic evolution. The teaching of Amalric
was condemned by the University of Paris in 1206, and also
by Pope Innocent III, to whom he had appealed for an authori
tative decision. Some years later, 1209 or 1210, a synod
held at Paris renewed this condemnation and also ordered the
writings of David to be committed to the flames.
However, the error of Amalric spread rapidly, both among
the clergy and laity. In a few years after his death, which oc
curred in 1207, numerous adherents in France, Italy, Ger-
?Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. V, 861, 881.
•442 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
many, and Switzerland proclaimed him as their prophet. They
were known by various names, Amalricians, Brethren of the
Free Spirit, or more generally, Beghards and Beguines. They
held a threefold incarnation of God: of the Father in Abra
ham, of the Son in Christ, and of the Holy Ghost in each
Christian. Because of this incarnation, each individual
Christian is God in as true a sense as was Christ Himself.
In their preaching they severely criticized the Church and the
priesthood, and at the same time they claimed for themselves
absolute freedom to indulge their sensual appetites. Their
errors were repeatedly condemned by provincial synods, but it
was only by the active intervention of the Inquisition that the
sect was finally rooted out.
4. The Cathari or Albigcnscs. — These heretics are usually
considered as the lineal descendants of the fourth-century
Manichaeans, for whose conversion St. Augustine had labored
with singular success. Since his time they had practically dis
appeared from the West, but in the seventh and eighth cen
turies they sprang up anew in the Eastern Empire, where they
went by the name of Paulicians. Two centuries later they ap
peared under the name of Bogomiles among the Bulgarians,
and thence made their way into Western Europe. In Italy
they called themselves Patarini, while in the South of France
they adopted the name of Cathari. In this latter country their
stronghold was the city of Albi, and hence the French branch
of the sectaries came to be known as the Albigenses.
Doctrinally these heretics belonged to two different schools.
The Cathari of France were for the most, part strict Mani
chaeans, who believed in the existence of two eternal prin
ciples, each of which \vas regarded as the creator of a different
world. The Patarini of Italy, on the other hand, held the evil
principle to be simply a fallen angel, whom they called Satan
and identified with the God of the Old Testament. Aside
from this fundamental difference in their belief, both parties
were agreed on most other points of doctrine. They believed
in the migration of souls, and as a consequence forbade the
killing of animals. Their worship consisted chiefly in the
recital of the Lord's- prayer, and all ecclesiastical ceremonies,
MEDIAEVAL HERESIES 443
the sacraments, veneration of the saints, and the like, were re
jected by them. Churches they regarded as useless, and there
fore destroyed them wherever they could. They were opposed
to all civil government; held oaths, capital punishment, and
wars to be unlawful; disapproved of marriage, abstained from
flesh-meat, and observed long fasts. However, these austeri
ties were practiced only by the Perfect, who had received
the consolamentum or spiritual baptism. The rank and file
were allowed to indulge their sensual appetite to the fullest ex
tent. For them it was sufficient to promise that they would
receive the consolamentum at the hour of death.
As these sectaries caused great civil disorder as well as
religious, and were moreover protected by powerful nobles,
Pope Innocent III found it necessary to organize a crusade
against them, and so come to the assistance of the persecuted
Catholics. The conflict lasted for twenty long years, and led
to much bloodshed on both sides. In the beginning milder
measures had been used, and the prayers and preaching of St.
Dominic had met with considerable success; but the awful
ravages committed by the heretics made the use of force against
them inevitable. Their power was at last broken, but only
when the fair countryside had been changed to a desert.
Even then many persevered in their error, and it was only the
constant vigilance and severe measures of the Inquisition that
finally succeeded in extirpating the sect completely.8
5. The Waldensians. — This sect, like so many others in
the Middle Ages, sprang from the misdirected zeal of a well
intentioned man. Its founder was a certain Waldes, a wealthy
broker of Lyons in France. After reading the story of St.
Alexius, he made up his mind to follow that holy man's
example. Hence, about 1177, he disposed of his wealth, and
became a poor preacher of penance. His object was to re
store the simplicity of life which had distinguished the early
Christians. In a short time he gathered around him numerous
companions, and these he sent out to preach the gospel of
poverty wherever they could get a hearing. Although ex-
8 Cfr. Funk, op. cit. I, 350 ; Hefele, op. cit. V, 827 sqq.
444 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
pelled from Lyons, they were at first left unmolested by
ecclesiastical authority. However, in 1184, Pope Lucius III
excommunicated them together with other heretics. In this ex
communication they are referred to as the Humiliati or Poor
Men of Lyons.
Unlike the early Christians, whom they professed to imitate,
these sectaries not only relinquished their possessions, but also
avoided all manual labor, and therefore depended for their
livelihood upon alms. But as their number increased very
rapidly, this mode of existence became too precarious, and so
they divided into two classes — the Perfect and the Believers.
While the former complied strictly with the demands of abso
lute poverty, the latter were allowed to own worldly posses
sions. The Perfect bound themselves by the vows of poverty,
chastity, and obedience, and thus in a manner constituted a
religious association. At the same time, they were doctrinally
unsound. They not only denied the lawfulness of oaths, of
military service, and of the death penalty for criminals; but
also rejected the doctrine of purgatory, of intercession for the
dead, and of indulgences. Moreover the Italian branch main
tained that the value of the sacraments depended on the per
sonal sanctity of the minister, a view that had been condemned
by the Church centuries before.
Under Innocent III serious efforts were made to reclaim
these deluded men, and large numbers returned to the Church,
but others persevered in their error. They were no longer
satisfied with claiming Waldes as their founder, but contended
that they were a remnant of the primitive Christians who had
remained faithful to Apostolic traditions when, through the
misdirected liberality of Constantine, the Church had fallen
a victim to the seduction of wealth and power. In the six
teenth century most of them threw in their lot with the Re
formers, and through these Waldensians many Protestants
later on tried to establish their claim to Apostolic succession.9
6. 'John Wiclif. — Like many a self-constituted reformer
before him and since, Wiclif started out with the laudable in-
9 Cf r. Hefele, op. cit V, 726 sqq.
MEDIEVAL HERESIES 445
tention of counteracting certain tendencies that threatened the
purity of ecclesiastical life. Many of the clergy in his day
were more intent upon the accumulation of wealth than upon
the saving of souls. Against these he preached the poverty of
Christ and the Apostles. Then, to destroy the evil at its root
as he conceived it, he began to attack the Church's right to
possess property, and advocated a state-supported clergy. He
was especially violent in his denunciation of religious orders,
many of which possessed vast estates and great wealth. From
these polemics against abuses, real or imaginary, he by de
grees passed over to attacks on monasticism as an institution
and finally on the Papacy itself. To such lengths, however,
he did not go until after the outbreak of the Western Schism
in 1378. From that time forward till his death in 1384, he
fell into many doctrinal errors ; and these he spread all through
England by means of wandering preachers, historically known
as Lollards, that is, sowers of tares.
The teaching of Wiclif was condemned by two synods held
in London, the one in May and the other in November of
1382. At the first two lists of propositions drawn from the
writings of Wiclif were examined and condemned. The most
important of the condemned errors are the following: (a)
The substance of bread and wine remain after the consecra
tion, (b) The accidents of bread and wine do not exist with
out a subject, (c) In the Holy Eucharist Christ is not really
and truly present in the same sense that He is in heaven, (d)
A priest or a bishop who is in the state of mortal sin cannot
consecrate, baptize, or administer any other sacrament, (e)
If a person is truly sorry for his sins, he has no need of con
fession, (f) When the Pope leads a wicked life, he loses all
his power except such as he received from the Emperor, (g)
For clerics to own temporal possessions is against the teaching
of Holy Scriptures, (h) It is a sin to found religious orders,
whether they own property or not. (i) Whoever belongs to
a religious order is by that very fact excluded from the com
munion of saints.10
10 Cf r. Hefele, op. cit. VI, p. 954 sqq.
446 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
After the second of these synods, Wiclif retired to his vicar
age at Lutterworth, where he spent his remaining days in writ
ing his chief work, entitled Trialogus. In this he develops his
erroneous views on predestination, the Church, and the Holy
Eucharist. God predestines men to eternal life irrespective
of their merit, the Church is made up only of the predestined,
and the substance of bread and wine remain in the Holy
Eucharist together with the body and blood of Christ. Forty-
five propositions, taken partly from this book and partly from
his other writings, were condemned by the Council of Con
stance and by Pope Martin V.11
7. John Hus. — Owing to the severe measures taken both by
the ecclesiastical and secular authorities, Wiclifism practically
disappeared from England soon after its author's death. But
it found a home on the continent, and especially in Bohemia,
where it was ardently defended by John Hus. He was at the
time professor at the University of Prague, and an eloquent
preacher. He took over the entire teaching of Wiclif, except
his error on the Holy Eucharist. In opposition to that he firmly
maintained the doctrine of transubstantiation as taught by the
Church. In 1403, the University of Prague condemned a
number of Wiclif ite theses, but this had little effect upon Hus
and his fellow admirers of the English heretic. Then, in
1411, he himself was excommunicated, and every community
that presumed to harbor him was threatened with an interdict.
He, however, continued to preach as before, and in his justifi
cation appealed from the Pope to a general council. He had a
staunch supporter in his friend, Jerome of Prague.
On the 5th of November, 1414, the Council of Constance,
convened for the purpose of terminating the schism, held its
first session. Hus had secured a " safe conduct " from Em
peror Sigismund, and came to the Council without any mis
givings as to the favorable issue of the case against him. He
seems to have been firmly convinced that he was perfectly
orthodox in his teaching. However, after a preliminary
examination, he was imprisoned in a Dominican monastery,
11 Mansi, 27, 1207 sqq.
MEDLEVAL COUNCILS 447
where he remained from the 6th of December till Palm Sun
day. A formal charge of heresy was brought against him in
a general congregation of cardinals and bishops on the 5th of
June, and was thereafter discussed in four different sessions of
the Council. These discussions led to the formulation of thirty
propositions, which Hus was called upon to retract.12 As he
constantly refused to do so, on the plea that he had never
taught heretical doctrines and that he could not retract the
truth without offending God, he was degraded from his priestly
rank and handed over to the secular arm. The Emperor
ordered him to be burned at the stake, and this sentence was
carried out on the 6th of July, 1415. Although his friend,
Jerome of Prague, met the same fate eleven months later,
it was not until after twenty years of civil war that the Husite
troubles in Bohemia were finally settled.13
Protestant writers frequently state that Wiclif and Hus
were Prere formers, who began the work that Luther was
destined to perfect in the sixteenth century. But as Loofs 14
and other Protestant dogmatic historians point out, all these
so-called Prereformers rejected every fundamental principle
upon which Protestantism is based. They went astray on
particular doctrines, but clung tenaciously to the Catholic con
cept of salvation through the ministerial intervention of the
Church instituted by Christ. Neither the right of private
judgment in the interpretation of Scripture, nor the doctrine
of justification through faith alone, formed either an essential
or an integral part of any heresy before the sixteenth century.
Yet the two together make up the very essence of Protestant
ism.
B — MEDLEVAL COUNCILS
What was said in the preceding section in regard to mediaeval
heresies, may here be applied to mediaeval councils — they
contributed very little to the development of dogma. Exclu-
12 Ibid. 1209 sqq. 14 Dogmengeschichte, 635-658.
"Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. VII, 66-
240.
448 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
sive of the Council of Trent, which forms in a manner the
dividing line between mediaeval and modern times, ten ecumen
ical councils were held during the Middle Ages, and of these
only five dealt to any considerable extent with doctrinal matter.
They are the following: The Fourth Lateran (1215); the
Second of Lyons (1274); the Council of Vienne (1311-
1312) ; the Council of Constance (1414-1418), and the Coun
cil of Florence (1438-1445). And even these five were not
qonvened for the purpose of giving dogmatic decisions; their
primary object was either the promotion of the crusades, the
settling of difficulties between Church and State, the reforma
tion of discipline, the union of the East and West, or the
termination of schisms. Furthermore, as will be shown in the
following paragraphs, such dogmatic decisions as were given
amounted to little more than restatements of what was already
a matter of faith.
I. The Fourth Lateran Council. — In his letter of convoca
tion, addressed to the bishops of Christendom, Pope Innocent
III stated the purpose of the Council in these terms : " Two
things I have especially at heart: The recovery of the Holy
Land and the reformation of the whole Church." The attain
ment of this twofold object, therefore, was to constitute the
chief topic of discussion and legislation. In accordance with
the Pope's wishes, on November n, 1215, four hundred and
twelve bishops, some eight hundred abbots and priors, besides
numerous substitutes of absent prelates, gathered in the Lateran
Basilica to begin the work outlined for them by the Sovereign
Pontiff. Only three sessions were held, in which seventy
capitula were drawn up, containing definitions against heretics,
a decree in reference to the next crusade, and disciplinary
canons.15 It is only of the first that a brief summary need be
given in the present connection.
The chief heretics in question were the Cathari and Walden-
sians, of whom a short account has been given in the preced
ing section. In opposition to them, the Council drew up a
creed which contained the Church's teaching on the various
15 Cf r. Hefele, op. cit. V, 872 sqq. ; Mansi, 22, 982 sqq.
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS 449
points of doctrine either denied or distorted by the sectaries.
The first part sets forth what is to be held in regard to the
Blessed Trinity, and then specially emphasizes the fact that
this triune God is the one sole principle of all created beings.
All things whatsoever, material and spiritual, angels, men, and
demons, were created by God; and as created by Him, they
were all good; but some of them became evil through a per
verse use of their free will.
The second part states the doctrine of the Incarnation, the
properties of Christ's human nature, the work of the redemp
tion, the Savior's death, resurrection and ascension into
heaven. Then brief reference is made to the resurrection of
the dead, the last judgment, and the eternity of heaven and
hell.
The third part deals with the Church and the sacraments,
which points were especially attacked by the Cathari. Particu
lar mention is made of the Holy Sacrifice, in which Christ is
both the sacrificing priest and the immolated victim. The
bread and wine are " transubstantiated " into His body and
blood, and this transubstantiation cannot be effected except by
a duly ordained priest. In regard to baptism it is stated that
the Trinitarian formula must be used, and that it is valid no
matter by whom conferred. If any one falls into sin after
baptism, he can always obtain forgiveness by means of true
penance. Finally, the attainment of eternal life is possible,
not only for those who observe virginal chastity, but also for
all others who live in the married state.
In the second capitulum the teaching of Abbot Joachim on
the Blessed Trinity is condemned. As was pointed out in
another chapter,16 Joachim contended against the Lombard
that Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, are not one essence, one
nature, or a quaedam sunmia res. The Council further defines
that the Father is the principium quod as regards the genera
tion of the Son, and that the Father and Son together are
principium quod in respect to the procession of the Holy
Spirit. This is followed by a rejection of the pantheistic
16 Cfr. c. 4.
450 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
views of Amalric of Bene, as noted in the preceding section
of this chapter. It is from this Council that the Inquisition
dates its origin.
2. The Second Council of Lyons. — When Michael Palaeolo-
gus, in 1261, wrested Constantinople from its Latin Emperor
Baldwin II, ecclesiastical union between East and West was
again dissolved. It was principally to restore this union that
Gregory X determined to convene a general council at which
both the Greek and Latin Church should be represented, al
though ecclesiastical reform and recovery of the Holy Land
were also to be considered. The Greek Emperor favored the
plans of the Sovereign Pontiff, perhaps not so much from a
desire of promoting the union as through hope of thereby ob
taining much needed help against the dethroned Baldwin. At
a synod held in Constantinople he succeeded in prevailing on the
Greek bishops to subscribe to the following three points, which
he considered essential to the union : Acknowledgment of the
papal primacy, the right of appeal to Rome, and mentioning
of the Pope's name in the liturgy. As regarded the Filioque
clause of the Symbol, the bishops admitted that its dogmatic
content could not be called in question, but its addition to the
Symbol was against the ruling of the Council of Ephesus, and
therefore was not to be tolerated.
On his part, the Pope sent a symbol of faith to the Emperor,
in which, besides a general outline of Catholic teaching, were
contained the various points of doctrine till then objected to by
the schismatics. It stated the procession of the Holy Spirit
from the Father and the Son, the unlawfulness of rebaptizing
those who had already been baptized, the existence of purga
tory and the efficacy of suffrages for the dead, the immediate
reception into heaven of the departed who have fully satisfied
for their sins, the septenary number of the sacraments, the
validity of consecration whether fermented or unfermented
bread is used, the lawfulness of second, third, or fourth mar
riages, and the indissolubility of the marriage bond during the
lifetime of the contracting parties. Then followed a clear
statement of the privileges of the Roman Church, the Pope's
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS 451
universal jurisdiction, and his competency to decide questions
of faith.17
In his answer to the Pope, Emperor Michael declared him
self ready to accept the symbol as a sincere expression of his
own belief, and wished to submit to the authority of the
Sovereign Pontiff. However, he asked as a favor that the
Greek Church might be permitted to retain its own Creed,
without the addition of the Filioque clause ; and also its ecclesi
astical rites, such as they had been before the schism. Finally,
he added, the legates had been instructed to repeat and explain
his personal declaration at the Council.18 A similar declara
tion was made by the archbishops of the Eastern Church,
promising to accept the proposed union, and to yield the Pope
that reverence and obedience which had been customary before
the schism.19
The Council opened on May 7, 1274, in the Cathedral of
St. John. There were present about five hundred bishops, and
over a thousand inferior prelates. St. Thomas was to have
taken part in the Council as a theologian, but died on his way
thither, at the early age of forty-nine. St. Bonaventure, on
the other hand, was present at the first four sessions, and ren
dered such valuable services that the success of the Council was
largely due to his efforts. But before the sixth and last session
of the Council, he also died. It was early Sunday morning,
July 15, and on the same day he was buried in the church of
his religious brethren, the Minorites of Lyons. It is sometimes
stated that he presided at the Council, but this is obviously a
mistake, since the Pope himself was present at all the public
sessions.
The Greek representatives did not arrive at Lyons until
June 24. They took* part in the Council for the first time on
July 6, when the fourth session was held. On that occasion
they abjured the schism, and declared that they and those
whom they represented returned freely to the obedience of the
Roman Church, accepting in all its parts the symbol of faith
17 Mansi, 24, 70 A sqq. 19 Ibid. 74.
18 Ibid. 67.
452 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
that had been submitted to their consideration before the
Council.20 Thus the schism was healed, but only for a time.
After the death of Emperor Michael, in 1282, the enemies of
the union, of whom there were not a few both among the
bishops and priests, brought his successor, Andronikus, over
to their side and thereby the schism was renewed.
The Council closed with the sixth session, which was held on
July 1 6. The work of the Council was summed up in thirty-
one canons, nearly all of which deal with matters of discipline
and reform. At the close of the last session, the Pope de
clared that two objects for which the Council had been con
vened had been attained — the union of Christendom and the
taking of effective measures for the recovery of the Holy
Land ; but the third, the reformation of morals, was still in a
very unsatisfactory condition. Then, with a prayer and his
blessing, he dissolved the Council.
3. The Council of Vienne. — The Council held its first ses
sion on October 16, 1311, in the Cathedral of Vienne in France.
In his opening address, Pope Clement V assigned the following
three objects for the attainment of which the Council had been
convened, i. the settlement of the question whether the
Knights Templar should be suppressed ; 2. the procuring of
assistance for the Holy Land; 3. the reformation of morals
and of the clergy. The number of bishops present is uncer
tain. From some sources it appears that there were as many
as three hundred, while according to others there were, only
one hundred and fourteen. The Pope himself presided.21
The suppression of the Knights Templar had been de
manded by Philip the Fair of France. His ostensible reason
was that the order had fallen away from its original purpose,
and was utterly corrupt both as regarded morals and faith.
He brought forward many witnesses to prove his point, but his
motives were justly suspected ; and historically the true state of
things is even now far from being clearly understood. At all
events, Pope Clement, with the concurrence of the Council,
suppressed the order -and assigned its temporalities to the
20 Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. VI, 141. 21 Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. VI, 515 sqq.
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS 453
Knights of St. John. He took every possible measure to be
just to all concerned, but the story of the suppression does not
make pleasant or edifying reading.
The doctrinal decisions of the Council were occasioned by
certain accusations brought against Peter John Olivi, and by
the errors of the Beghards and Beguines. John Olivi was a
learned and pious Franciscan, who put forward somewhat
extreme and partly untenable views on religious poverty. This
brought upon him the enmity of some of his own brethren, who
in consequence accused him also of other doctrinal errors.
The matter was first examined into by a commission appointed
by the Superior General of the Franciscans, with the result
that thirty-four propositions taken from Olivi's writings were
censured as rash and dangerous. Olivi defended himself, and
denied the authority of the commission to decide in matters
of doctrine. Then the discussion was taken up by the Council,
but only three of the thirty- four propositions were selected
for further investigation. They are the following: i, that
Christ was still living when the soldier pierced His side with a
spear; 2, that the rational soul is not of itself — per se — the
form of the body; 3, that children do not receive sanctifying
grace and the infused virtues in baptism. The first two were
condemned, but the third was declared to be less probable than
the contrary view.22
Against the Beghards and Beguines two canons were drawn
up, the first of which condemns their manner of life, while the
second points out and censures their errors. These are in sub
stance as follows: i. It is possible to acquire so high a
degree of perfection here on earth as to become impeccable,
and altogether incapable of further increase in sanctity. 2.
Those who have, acquired this degree of perfection are no
longer bound to fast or pray, and can freely indulge the incli
nations of the body. 3. Such persons are not subject to any
authority, not even to that of the Church. 4. They enjoy
here on earth the same happiness as the blessed in heaven. 5.
Rational nature is of itself capable of enjoying the beatific
22 Mansi, 25, 410 E sq.
454 MEDLEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
vision, and needs not the light of glory in order to see God.
6. To practice virtue is a matter that belongs exclusively to
the imperfect. 7. To kiss a woman is a mortal sin, because
nature does not incline thereto ; but to satisfy the lusts of the
flesh is not a sin, because that is according to nature. 8. It
is an imperfection to reverence the body of Christ when it is
elevated during Mass, because this interferes with the perfec
tion of contemplation.23
4. The Council of Constance. — The primary purpose of this
Council was to terminate the Western Schism. That schism
had grown out of the contested election of Urban VI, who suc
ceeded Gregory XI on April 8, 1378. As far as can now be
determined, the election was valid. For although there was
during the conclave a great popular outcry for an Italian Pope,
still the freedom of the cardinals was not interfered with ; and
when the election was over, all of them spontaneously offered
their homage to the new Pontiff. It was not until several
weeks after the coronation, when Urban had already proved
himself a stern master, that some of the disappointed cardinals
began to feel that they had been unduly influenced in their
choice by fear of the people. When it became evident that
Urban was bent upon carrying out his strict views, the majority
of the Sacred College repudiated his election as invalid, and on
September 20 chose Robert of Geneva as the new Pope. He
took the name of Clement VII.
Although the greater part of Christendom remained faith
ful to Urban, nevertheless France and a few other countries
recognized Clement as the lawful successor of St. Peter, and
thus the schism was started. When Urban died in 1389, he
was succeeded by Boniface IX ; and when Clement died in 1394,
he received a successor in the person of Benedict XIII. Thus
Rome and Avignon divided the Christian world into two
obediences. Boniface was to all appearances the true Pope,
and so was Gregory XII who succeeded him in 1406; but many
learned and holy men yielded obedience to Benedict. Matters
became even worse when the Council of Pisa, in 1409, at-
23 Ibid. 410 A.
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS 455
tempted to depose the two rivals and in their place elected Alex
ander V. As neither Gregory nor Benedict recognized the
authority of the Council, the result was a third claimant of the
Papal crown ; and although Alexander died within a year after
his election, his place was taken by John XXIII.
It was whilst ecclesiastical affairs were in this state of utter
confusion that the Council of Constance was convened. The
initiative was taken by the cardinals of all three obediences,
wrhose plans for a reunion of Christendom were strongly sup
ported by Emperor Sigismund. Of the three Popes. John
alone had been induced to give a reluctant consent to the calling
of a general council, while Gregory and Benedict steadfastly re
fused to countenance any movement in that direction. Hence
if Gregory was the true Pope, as is practically certain that he
was, the Council was simply an illegitimate gathering of pre
lates, who had no authority to legislate for the whole Church.
It was only when after the resignation of Gregory, and the
deposition of Benedict and John as doubtful Popes, Martin V
was validly elected, that the Council became legitimate. By
that time forty-two sessions had already been held, and several
doctrinal decisions had been given, all of which were neces
sarily without force until approved by the new Pope.24 The
election of Pope Martin took place on November 8, 1417, just
three years after the opening of the Council.
The doctrinal decisions above referred to bore chiefly on the
errors of Wiclif and Hus, and they were embodied in the con
demnation of these same errors by the Pope, as contained in the
Bulls Inter cunctas and In eminentis, published February 22,
14 1 8.25 Hence there can be no doubt as regards their validity.
Considerable discussion was subsequently caused in regard
to the proposition that a general council has its authority im
mediately from God, and that it is superior to the Pope. This
view was adopted and promulgated in the fourth and fifth ses
sions, but at the time the Council was still illegitimate, and
therefore incapable of defining matters of faith. Further-
24 Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. VII, 66 25 Mansi, 27, 1207 E sqq.
sqq. ; Salembier, The Great Schism
of the West, 275 sqq.
456 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
more, subsequent Roman Pontiffs always repudiated the doc
trine as unorthodox; and Martin V, at the close of the Coun
cil, approved only in a general way what had been enacted by
conciliar procedure in matters of faith — in materia fidei con-
ciliariter statuta. It is, moreover, quite probable that the
Council merely intended its declaration to meet a special diffi
culty, and therefore to have only temporary force.26
5. The Council of Florence. — One of the means chosen by
the Council of Constance to bring about a reformation of
morals, and also to counteract the ever increasing heretical
tendencies of the times, was the frequent convening of general
councils. It was determined that the next one should be
called after five years, the one after that seven years later, and
thereafter one should be held every ten years. This legislation
had been agreed upon before the election of the new Pope, and
it was obviously inspired by a distrust of the Papacy, which in
its turn had been engendered by the sad experience of the forty
years of schism before the Council. Although Pope Martin
had bound himself by no personal pledge in this matter, he
called a council at Pavia in 1423, which, owing to an epidemic,
was shortly after transferred to Sienna. It accomplished
practically nothing, and was dissolved in the spring of 1424.
The next council was convened at Basle, but before it met
Martin V had passed away. He was succeeded by Eugenius
IV. The Council held its first session in 1431, under the
presidency of Cardinal Cesarini. But as nothing was accom
plished, the Pope resolved to transfer it to an Italian city.
This occasioned a restatement of the claim advanced at Con
stance, that general councils are superior to the Pope. Matters
were allowed to drag on till 1437, when the Pope dissolved the
Council. Its refractory members, however, continued to hold
sessions, and in 1439 even elected an anti-Pope who took the
name of Felix V. Meanwhile the Greeks had again applied
for reunion, and to facilitate negotiations for this purpose, the
Pope convened a council at Ferrara in 1438. After much use
less discussion, which only showed the unwillingness of the
28 Cf r. Funk, Kirchengeschichtliche Abhandlungen, I, 489 sqq. ; Salem-
bier, op. cit. 306.
MEDIEVAL COUNCILS 457
Greeks to yield a whole-hearted submission to the Holy See, the
Council was transferred to Florence.
There the same discussion was taken up again, with the re
sult that finally an agreement was reached which apparently
satisfied both parties. The Greeks admitted, as their fore
fathers had done at the Second Council of Lyons, that the
Latin teaching on the procession of the Holy Spirit from the
Father and the Son was perfectly orthodox. An understand
ing was also reached on the four other points that had formed
a matter of controversy — purgatory, the commencement of
the beatific vision as soon as souls are purified from their sins,
the use of unleavened bread in the Eucharist, and the primacy
of the Roman Church. After this the union was once more
established, and the Pope embodied the five points referred
to in the Bull Laetantur coeli, which was published with the
concurrence of the Council, July 6, 1439. However, the union
was destined to be almost as shortlived as that which had
been established at Lyons, nearly two hundred years before.
It appears that the Greeks were animated by political motives
rather than by the desire of being in communion with the Holy
See. Hence, when the Turks, in 1453, took Constantinople,
the schism was renewed.27
After the departure of the Greek representatives, the Council
also received the submission of the Armenians and the Jacob
ites, on each of which occasions a doctrinal decree was issued,
setting forth many points of teaching in regard to which con
formity was required.28 The Council was dissolved in 1445,
after it had been transferred from Florence to the Lateran
at Rome.
27Cfr. Hefele, op. cit. VII, 426 28 cfr. DB. 695 sqq.; 703 sqq.
sqq.
CHAPTER XXVI
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION : THE COUNCIL OF
TRENT *
Centuries before Luther was born, the reformation of the
Church in her head and members had been earnestly desired
and repeatedly attempted by Popes and councils. Side by side
with the strong faith and genuine piety of the Middle Ages,
there was a widespread corruption of morals and a correspond
ing laxity of discipline. There was urgent need of a reforma
tion, and this need was universally felt ; but it was to be a ref
ormation of practice, not of belief. The faith of the Church
had ever been preserved in its pristine purity, and at the time
of Luther's revolt her teaching was orthodox in every respect.
Unfortunately, it was precisely her faith and her teaching that
were finally made the chief objects of attack, and consequently
what was at first heralded as a reformation of her morals
ended in a revolt against her authority. The genesis cf this
revolt and the checks opposed to it by the Church form the
subject matter of the present chapter.
A — THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION
That at the beginning of the sixteenth century there was a
combination of circumstances which favored a religious up
heaval, or a breaking away from ecclesiastical authority, is to
day conceded by all impartial students of church history. In
the first place, respect for the authority of the Pope had been
considerably weakened during the forty years of the Western
1 Cfr. Grisar, Luther, especially Christendom ; Schwane, Histoire
vol. I; Denifle, Luther und Luther- des Dogmes, VI; Hefele, Concili-
tum ; Moehler, Symbolism ; *Gaird- engeschichte, VIII, IX ; Swoboda,
ner "Lollardy and the Reformation Das Concil von Trient.
in England; *Schaff, Creeds of
458
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 459
Schism. The Papacy, which till then, in spite of the short
comings of individual Popes, had been universally regarded
with the greatest reverence, lost much of its ancient prestige
through the divided obedience of the Christian world. The
unseemly spectacle of rival claimants anathematizing one an
other and clinging desperately to the entirely human ambi
tion of occupying the first place, did not a little towards shak
ing men's confidence in the divine shepherding of Christ's
vicar on earth. Hence the growing tendency, first manifested
at the Council of Constance, to subordinate the Pope's
authority to that of a general council. The Pope was still re
garded as the vicar of Christ; but, in the opinion of not a few,
he was a vicar who needed watching and from whose decisions
one might appeal to a higher court.
Another factor that prepared men's minds for the sixteenth-
century revolt is found in the decay of Scholasticism, and in
the consequent low ebb of theological learning. This condition
was not universal, but it was widespread. The idle specula
tions and senseless quibblings of the Nominalists had replaced
the comprehensive and deep studies of St. Thomas and St.
Bonaventure. Ockam, Gregory of Rimini, and Gabriel Biel
were regarded by many as the highest authorities in the
theological world ; and they were at best unsafe guides. They
discredited the ability of human reason to discern the truth
even in its own legitimate sphere of mental activity, and in
consequence they clung blindly to the teaching of the Church.
As a result, when that authority was impugned, at least so
far as it resided in the Pope, there was practically nothing
left but recourse to the Scriptures read and interpreted by the
individual under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Thus the
way was opened for the introduction of the fundamental prin
ciples of Protestantism, the right of private judgment in
matters of faith.
As a third factor in bringing about a religious cataclysm,
although of somewhat subordinate importance, we may assign
the paganizing tendency of the Renaissance. The revival of
classical learning brought with it a love of pagan ideals, and
these ideals were all too often made the standard of moral
460 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
conduct. They corrupted both mind and heart, and sapped the
very foundation of Christianity. And what made the effect
all the more terrible and far-reaching, even if it did not directly
touch the masses, was the fact that many of those who fell
victims to the new paganism belonged to the ranks of the
clergy. In the past not a few priests and bishops had given
scandal by their loose morality; but even they, as a general
rule, had preserved the faith ; whereas now, where Humanism
had done its work, even faith was lost, and with the loss of
faith all respect for ecclesiastical authority was at an end.
This explains the numerous defections of the clergy when the
religious revolt was started. It was not only immorality that
drove them into the camps of the innovators, although that
too had much to do with it; but also the fact that they had
already suffered shipwreck in the faith as taught by the
Church.
With the ground thus prepared, there was nothing strange
about the success that attended Luther's preaching of revolt
against ecclesiastical authority. Whatever may have been his
personal motives at the beginning of his career as a reformer,
it was not a reformation of morals that constituted his life
work, nor a purifying of the faith from human accrescences,
as he tried to plead in his own justification ; it was neither more
nor less than an attempt to substitute a new religion for the
Christianity that had been preached by the Apostles and handed
. down by the Church. And for such a substitution the ground
had been prepared by the various agencies briefly indicated in
the preceding paragraphs.
There is no need, in this place, of studying the psychological
processes by which Luther was led to the adoption of his two
fundamental principles; the right of private judgment in
matters of faith and justification by faith alone. That belongs
rather to his personal history, and has been admirably done
by Hartmann Grisar in his monumental work referred to at
the beginning of the present chapter. It suffices to state that
these two principles formed the doctrinal basis of the whole
movement, and were adopted by all other so-called reformers,
no matter how much they might differ from Luther's views
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 461
in regard to other points of doctrine. It must be added, how
ever, that the first principle — the right of private judgment
— was admitted only to a limited extent. Each particular
leader claimed its unlimited use for himself, but at the same
time he denied it to all others. Hence the constant wrangling
among the representatives of the reform movement, and the
bitter invectives they hurled at each other in their doctrinal
disputes. On the other hand, the second principle — justifica
tion by faith alone — was admitted by all.
The root of this principle is found in the superficial and
inaccurate views on justification defended by the Nominalists.
While they admitted the teaching of the Church that man is
justified by the infusion of sanctifying grace, and that good
works performed in the state of grace are meritorious of a
supernatural reward, they held that all this was simply the
result of a positive ordination on the part of God. In it
self, according to their teaching, grace as understood by the
Church is superfluous for salvation. For everything depends
on God's will, and it is only by reason of His acceptation that
any action is deserving of a supernatural reward.
It was in this school of theological thought that Luther
himself had received his training, and he pushed its principles
to their last conclusion. Only through the merits of Christ
is justification possible, and that only in so far as God accepts
them as our own. This He will do if we place our full con
fidence in Him, and thus appropriate by faith what belongs
to Christ. No interior change is thereby wrought in us, save
only as regards the attitude of our will towards God. Hence
neither the sacraments nor good works have any direct con
nection with justification ; it is faith alone, in the sense of trust
and confidence, that justifies us in the sight of God.
This view on justification had been worked out by Luther,
at least in all its essentials, as early as 1516; but it was not
until 1520 that he openly stated the final conclusion of his
system in the words : " A Christian who believes cannot, even
if he should so wish, lose his soul by any sin however great;
since no sin, except unbelief, can damn him." Meanwhile, in
his ninety-five theses affixed to the door of the university
462 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
church of Wittenberg, he had taken his public stand against
the Church's teaching on indulgences. Ostensibly he aimed
his attack merely at abuses connected with the preaching of
indulgences, but in reality it was the doctrine itself that he
had in view. Hence the statement made by him in course of
the controversy that ensued : " Let us hold to this, that an
indulgence is not what the Pope declares it; and if an angel
from heaven says otherwise, he is not to be believed." And
by way of argument he urged the claim advanced by St. Paul :
" I have from God all I teach ; " but unlike St. Paul, he had
no way of establishing his claim.
When Leo X, who then occupied the pontifical chair, was
informed of the threatening situation in Germany, he offered
Luther the alternative of retracting, or of presenting himself
for trial at Rome. However, through the intervention of
Luther's friend and protector, the elector of Saxony, Cardinal
Cajetan was sent to Germany with full power to decide the
case. Luther was dissatisfied with the decision given, and ap
pealed " from Leo ill informed to Leo better informed; " and
a few days later, realizing the hopelessness of his case, he
appealed to a future general council. Leo fully understood
the gravity of the situation, but was anxious to avoid extreme
measures; hence, when he published the Bull on indulgences,
wherein he set forth the Catholic doctrine, he made no mention
of Luther's name.
The following year, 1519, a doctrinal discussion was ar
ranged to be held at Leipzig, between Eck, a professor of
Ingolstadt, and Carlstadt, Luther's former teacher. Luther
himself was also present, and in the course of the dispute
denied that the primacy was of divine institution and that
general councils were infallible. This he followed up with
the publication of three pamphlets. The first of these was
an appeal " To the Christian Nobles of the German Nation,"
which was intended to stir up the princes against the Church.
The second was entitled, " On the Babylonian Captivity," and
in it he rejected the Sacrifice of the Mass and all the sacra
ments except baptism and the Eucharist. The third contained
a summary of his own teaching under the title, " Of Christian
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 463
Liberty." This latter he sent to the Pope, together with a
flattering personal letter.
Leo's answer was the Bull Exsurge Domine, which con
demned Luther's teaching and demanded a retraction within
sixty days, threatening excommunication in case he failed to
retract. When Luther received this bull, he publicly com
mitted it to the flames at Wittenberg, with the words : " As
thou hast troubled the saints of the Lord, so may the everlast
ing fire trouble and consume thee." Then he published the
pamphlet entitled, " Against the Bull of Antichrist," in which
he calls the Pope " a damned obstinate heretic." Summoned
to appear before the imperial diet held at Worms in 1521, he
was given another opportunity to retract; but, backed up by
the revolutionary freebooters under Franz von Sickingen and
Ulrich von Hutten, he refused. Then the ban of the empire
was placed upon him, but he found safety in the Wartburg.
Thus the die was cast, and the religious revolution which
was destined to drag away vast numbers from the Church of
Christ had become an accomplished fact. Of the further de
velopment of that revolution only this much need be said in the
present connection, that Luther's claim to a divine mission
was advanced by many others, with the result that reformer
was pitted against reformer, and thus the non-Catholic religious
world became a veritable chaos. What one affirmed, the other
denied ; and soon there were almost as many opinions in the
revolutionary camps as there were heads. Out of this chaos,
however, three great Protestant bodies emerged, the Lutheran,
the Calvinist, and the Anglican, which, together with a number
of smaller sects, in course of time claimed the greater part of
Northern Europe as their own. The chief points of their
heretical teaching may be briefly outlined as follows.
I. Holy Scripture. — The only source of divine revelation
is the written word of God as contained in the Bible. The
Bible, moreover, does not include the deutero-canonical books,
that is, those books whose divine origin and inspiration were
at first called in question by some, but which were finally rec
ognized by the whole Church as sacred, canonical, and in
spired. However, later Protestants usually include in their
464 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
canon the deutero-canonical books of the New Testament.
Furthermore, the Bible is to be interpreted, not according to
the authority of the Church, but according to the private judg
ment of each individual believer, assisted by the direct inward
illumination of the Holy Spirit.
2. Original Sin. — Our first parents were constituted in the
state of original justice, which consisted of certain high and
noble gifts wherewrith the souls of Adam and Eve were en
dowed; but these gifts were natural and essential to perfect
human nature. Hence by the fall, in which original justice
was lost, human nature was essentially corrupted and the soul
was deprived of perfections that belonged to its natural
integrity. In consequence, original sin is an essential corrup
tion of our nature, and as irremovable as that nature itself.
Some of the Reformers defined it as " the very substance of
fallen man," but the majority agreed with Calvin that it is
" the hereditary depravity and corruption of our nature, which
first made us worthy of God's wrath, and also produces in us
works which Scripture calls works of the flesh." 2
3. Free Will. — Luther asserted that man never had a free
will, w^hereas Calvin maintained that free will was lost by the
fall. Moreover, according to both, the fall was due to an
irresistible necessity and divine predestination. As man has
no free will, there is no room for merit; and so-called good
works have no relation to man's eternal salvation. Nay, in
so far as they are the works of man, they are positively sin
ful — they are venial sins in the case of believers, and mortal
sins in the case of unbelievers. Moreover, the observance of
the divine precepts, even by the just, is an impossibility.
4. Grace and justification. — As man's nature is essentially
corrupt, grace and justification do not consist in an interior
supernatural quality, but are simply the pardon of sin and the
imputation of the merits of Christ. Both are obtained by a
firm confidence in the goodness and mercy of God, result
ing in an absolute conviction and positive assurance that all
sins have been forgiven. According to Luther, justification
2 Instit. I, 2, c. i, n. 8.
THE PROTESTANT REFORMATION 465
is so completely the work of God that man is entirely passive ;
whereas Calvin admitted the active cooperation of man, but
only under an irresistible and invincible divine impulse.
5. Predestination. — As justification is entirely the work
of God, without free cooperation on the part of man, it neces
sarily implies the doctrine of absolute and unqualified pre
destination. And this doctrine was at first commonly admitted
by the Reformers; but it was afterwards abandoned by all ex
cept Calvin. The latter made it a fundamental doctrine of his
theological system. He defines it as follows : " We call
predestination the eternal decree of God, by which He deter
mined what He willed to be done with every man. For all
are not created in a like condition, but to some is preordained
eternal life, to others eternal damnation. Hence according as
each one is created for one or the other end, we say that he is
predestined to life or to death." 3 Yet God is not unjust or
cruel in regard to the reprobate ; for " those whom He de
votes to damnation are by a just and blameless but incompre
hensible judgment shut off from all access to life."4 Hence
they can have no real faith, nor are they ever justified, nor did
Christ die for their salvation.5
6. The Sacraments. — From their erroneous concept of
justification, the Reformers were logically led to the rejection
of the sacraments as means or causes of grace. Hence they
considered them only as pledges of the divine promises for
the remission of sins, and means of confirming man's faith
in this remission. Moreover, of the seven sacraments ad
mitted by the Church, they retained only two : Baptism and
the Lord's Supper. Furthermore, according to Calvin, the
efficacy of these two sacraments is restricted to the elect. In
regard to the Eucharist all were agreed that the doctrine of
transubstantiation must be rejected. The Real Presence was
also denied by all except Luther, who favored the theory of
impanation ; but even according to him, Christ is not really
present in the Eucharist except at the moment of communion.
The laity as well as the officiating minister must receive com-
3 Op. cit. I, 3, c. 2, n. 5. 5 Ibid.
* Ibid. n. 7.
466 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
munion under both kinds. The Eucharist is not a sacrifice,
and therefore the Mass as a sacrificial rite must be abolished.
7. The Church. — As the Reformers rejected all the sacra
ments except baptism and the Eucharist, there is no Christian
priesthood as understood by Catholics. On the other hand,
every Christian is both priest and teacher; and it is only for
the sake of order and greater efficiency that ministers are ap
pointed, by the congregation. Hence the Church is not an
hierarchical institution, but is simply an association of equals
who acknowledge Christ as their head. Moreover, the real
Church of Christ is invisible, or at least was so for centuries
until the rise of Protestantism. The Pope, like any other
minister, simply holds a place of honor; he has no jurisdiction
over the faithful.
8. The Communion of Saints. — As justification is obtained
by faith alone, there is no bond of prayer and helpfulness
uniting all the children of God into one body. Hence neither
must we pray for the dead nor invoke the saints. There is no
other mediator besides Christ, and through Him each in
dividual believer has direct access to God. Furthermore, as
faith justifies man perfectly in the sight of God, there can be
no purgatory, nor is there room for indulgences ; all this must
be swept away as so much popish invention.6
From this brief summary it will be seen that Protestant
ism differs from all preceding heresies. In the centuries that
went before, heretics had denied one or other doctrine of the
Church, but, with the sole exception of Arius, left the Christian
religion as such untouched. The Reformers, on the other
hand, brought about a fundamental change in that religion.
Practically very little was retained of the Church's teaching
aside from her doctrine on God, the Blessed Trinity, and the
divinity of Christ. And in course of time, even in regard to
these, errors sprang up that tended to sweep away the last
vestige of Christianity. Nor was this merely an accidental
outcome of the revolutionary movement initiated by Luther;
it was the logical result of his rejection of ecclesiastical
authority in matters of faith and morals.
6 Cfr. Moehler, op. cit.
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 467
B — THE COUNCIL OF TRENT
Throughout their contention with Rome, Luther and his fol
lowers appealed from the Pope to a general council ; but when
after many difficulties and delays the council finally met, they
refused to attend. Their excuse was, though not expressed in
these precise terms, that they would not be allowed to act as
judges of the faith. It was with them no longer a question
of arriving at the truth on the points under discussion, but
solely of how they might most effectively impose their views
on the rest of Christendom. Hence if their own cause was
judged in their absence, it was entirely their own fault.
The Council was convened by Paul III, and opened at Trent
on December 13, 1545. After the eighth session, 1547, it was
transferred to Bologna, where it was prorogued in 1549. In
1551, Pope Julius III transferred it back to Trent, but it was
suspended the following year. Again reassembled at Trent
in 1561, it concluded its sessions there in 1563 and was dis
solved. The final decrees were signed by 252 members, where
as at the first session only 40 bishops had been present.
Protestant writers usually contend that the Council met for
the sole purpose of counteracting the movement set on foot
by the Reformers; but this contention is not based on facts as
known to history. Its purpose was not only to condemn error,
but also to define the truth. Hence not only its canons, but
its capitula also contain definitions of doctrine. There was
at the time need of a definite exposition of Catholic teaching,
and that exposition was given in clear and explicit terms.
Besides, the Council was also called to effect a thorough ref
ormation of discipline and morals, which object was alto
gether independent of the disturbance caused by Luther and
his associates. Hence the work of defining the faith and re
forming discipline proceeded side by side from the beginning
of the Council to the end. On the other hand, most of the
definitions of the Council were occasioned by the errors of the
day; but the contents of these definitions are simply a clear
statement of Catholic teaching irrespective of all errors. They
are the witness of the Holy Spirit to the cause of truth.
468 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
The various dogmatic and disciplinary decrees were passed
in the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, i3th, i4th, 2ist, 22nd, 23rd, 24th,
and 25th sessions. With regard to matters of faith, which
alone need be considered in the present connection, the par
ticular doctrine in question is usually first stated in a positive
form and embodied in a capitulum or chapter, and then the
contrary errors are condemned in the canons that follow. A
brief summary of the Council's teaching is here subjoined.
1. Holy Scripture and Tradition (sess. 4). — The Council
first lays down the principle that the Catholic faith is contained
both " in written books and in the unwritten traditions which
were received by the Apostles from the lips of Jesus Christ
Himself, or were transmitted, after a manner of speaking,
from hand to hand by the* Apostles themselves from the dicta
tion of the Holy Ghost, and have come down to us." Next
the Canon of Scripture is promulgated. It contains all the
deutero-canonical books rejected by the Reformers, and is
identical with that of Pope Damasus published at the end of
the fourth century. Then the Council declares that it " re
ceives and venerates with like sentiments of piety and rever
ence all the books of the Old and New Testaments, for the
one God is the author of both ; and also the traditions relating
to faith and morals, as having been dictated either orally by
Christ, or by the Holy Ghost, and preserved by an unbroken
succession in the Catholic Church. Furthermore, all are
anathematized who refuse to receive, as sacred and canonical,
these books in their entirety and with all their parts, as they
have been wont to be read in the Catholic Church and are found
in the old Latin Vulgate edition." Lastly, it is stated that it
is the exclusive right and duty of the Church to pass judgment
on the true sense and interpretation of the Sacred Writings.
2. Original Sin (sess. 5). — Leaving undecided the dispute
between the Thomists and Scotists, as to whether Adam was
created in the state of grace or elevated thereto subsequent to
his creation, the Council puts its teaching on original sin in the
form of anathematisms, which state the Catholic doctrine and
at the same time condemn the contrary errors. However,
no clear definition of original sin itself is given, although
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 469
all the elements of such a definition are stated. The follow
ing are the most important points contained in the decree.
(a) "If any one does not confess that the first man, Adam,
when he had transgressed the commandment of God in para
dise, immediately lost the holiness and justice wherein he had
been constituted; and that he incurred, through the offense of
that prevarication, the wrath and indignation of God, and con
sequently death, with which God had previously threatened
him, and, together with death, captivity under his power who
thenceforth had the empire of death, that is to say, the devil,
and that the entire Adam, through that offense of prevarica
tion, was changed, in body and soul, for the worse; let him
be anathema."
(b) "If any one asserts, that the prevarication of Adam
injured himself alone, and not his posterity; and that the holi
ness and justice, received from God, which he lost, he lost
for himself alone, and not for us also; or that he, being de
filed by the sin of disobedience, has only transferred death,
and pains of the body, into the whole human race, but
not sin also, which is the death of the soul; let him be ana
thema."
(c) " If any one asserts, that the sin of Adam — which in
its origin is one, and being transfused into all by propagation,
not by imitation, is in each one as his own — is taken away
either by the power of human nature, or by any other remedy
than the merit of one mediator, our Lord Jesus Christ, who
hath reconciled us to God in his own blood, made unto us
justice, sanctification, and redemption; or if he denies that the
said merit of J&sus Christ is applied, both to adults and to in
fants, by the sacrament of baptism rightly administered in the
form of the Church; let him be anathema."
(d) "If any one denies that infants, newly born from their
mothers' wombs, even though they be sprung from baptized
parents, are to be baptized ; or says that they are baptized in
deed for the remission of sins, but that they derive nothing
of original sin from Adam, which has need of being expiated
by the laver of regeneration for the obtaining of life everlast
ing — whence it follows as a consequence, that in them the
470 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
form of baptism, for the remission of sins, is understood to be
not true, but false — ; let him be anathema."
(e) "If any one denies, that, by the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, which is conferred in baptism, the guilt of original
sin is remitted; or even asserts that the whole of that which
has the true and proper nature of sin is not taken away; but
says that it is only canceled, or not imputed; let him be
anathema. For in those who are born again, there is nothing
that God hates ; ... so that there is nothing whatever to re
tard their entrance into heaven. But this holy Synod con
fesses and holds that in those who are baptized there remains
concupiscence, or an incentive to sin; which while it is left as
an occasion of struggle, cannot injure those who consent not,
but resist manfully by the grace of Jesus Christ; yea, he who
shall have striven lawfully shall be crowned. This con
cupiscence, which the Apostle sometimes calls sin, the holy
Synod declares that the Catholic Church has never understood
to be called sin, as being truly and properly sin in those born
again, but because it is of sin, and inclines to sin. And if any
one holds the contrary, let him be anathema."
(f) "The same holy Synod doth nevertheless declare, that
it is not its intention to include in this decree, where original
sin is treated of, the blessed and immaculate Virgin Mary, the
Mother of God; but that the constitutions of Pope Sixtus IV,
of happy memory, are to be observed, under the penalties con
tained in the said constitutions, which it renews." 1
3. Justification (sess. 6). — As the Protestant error on justi
fication was most fundamental, the Council discussed this point
in all its details. Justification is described as " the transfer
ence of man from the state in which he is born as the son of
the first Adam, to the state of grace and adoption of the sons
of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Saviour."
This transference is effected by means of the sacrament of
baptism, received in deed or at least in desire.8
In the case of adults, the first motion towards justification
is the work of God, who by His grace calls and moves the
7 Cf r. DB. 787 sqq. 8 Ibid. 796.
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 471
sinner to repentance; but man must freely cooperate with the
grace that is given. Then God continues the work, in as much
as He offers His grace, which enables the sinner to elicit acts
of faith, holy fear, and hope ; and also to begin to love God as
the fount of all justice, to be sorry for his sins, and to re
solve to be baptized and to begin a new life, having the firm
purpose to observe all the commandments of God.9
After this preparation, justification itself takes place. It
does not consist in the imputation of the merits of Christ, nor
merely in the remission of sins, but in an inward sanctification
and renewal through the reception of the gifts of habitual grace
and the virtues of faith, hope, and charity. These gifts are
infused into the soul by God through the merits of Christ and
the instrumentality of the sacrament of baptism. They are
permanent gifts, in the sense that they inhere in the soul until
destroyed by sin. Faith alone does not justify, but it is the
indispensable beginning, basis, and root of justification. If
not accompanied by hope and charity, it is profitless and dead.
It is, moreover, not identical with confidence in God's good
ness or the assurance that our sins have been forgiven through
the merits of Christ. Furthermore, we cannot know with the
certainty of faith that we are in the state of grace ; for we
never have the absolute assurance that we complied in every
respect with the conditions upon which our justification was
made to depend.10
Once justified, man is capable of performing meritorious
works, which lead to an increase of sanctifying grace and give
him a title to an eternal reward. With God's help he is able
to observe the divine precepts, and to this he is strictly obliged
under pain of sin. By an abuse of his free will, he can re
fuse to cooperate with the grace of God, and thus again fall
away from the state of justification. Moreover, without a
special privilege, such as was granted to the Blessed Virgin,
he cannot throughout his life avoid all venial sins. But, on
the other hand, it is heretical to say that every good work of
the just is in itself sinful, though not imputed to him unto
9 Ibid. 797, 798; cfr. 813, 814, 818, 10 Ibid. 799, 802, 819, 824.
819.
472 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
damnation. And it is an error to hold that good works are
vitiated by the hope of an eternal reward; or that the sorrow
for sins which springs from the motive of fear is not good and
praiseworthy.11
Even the just have no certain knowledge of their predestina
tion to eternal life, or of their final perseverance, unless this
has been specially revealed to them by God. No one can
persevere without God's special help; but he must have con
fidence in the divine assistance, which he can always obtain
by prayer. The grace of justification is given, not to the elect
only, but to others also; nor has God predestined any one to
damnation.12
Justification may be lost, not only by the sin of infidelity,
but by any other grievous sin. It can be recovered in the
sacrament of penance, which was instituted as a remedy against
sins committed after baptism. The worthy reception of this
sacrament requires sorrow for sins, a purpose of amendment,
absolution, and the will to render satisfaction for the temporal
punishment which often remains due to sins after the guilt
and eternal punishment have been remitted. Sanctifying
grace is lost by every mortal sin ; but faith is lost only by the
sin of heresy or infidelity. Those who have faith without
charity are yet to be regarded as Christians.13
4. The Sacraments in General: Baptism and Confirmation
(sess. 7). — As a means by which the grace of justification is
first bestowed, then increased, and also restored after having
been lost by sin, our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the seven
sacraments of the New Law ; and these sacraments differ from
those of the Old Law, not only in their external rites and
ceremonies, but also in their efficacy. This efficacy is derived
from their institution, in as much as Christ meant them to be
practical signs or instrumental causes of grace. Hence they
do not merely excite the faith or devotion of the recipient,
but in a true sense confer the grace which God himself pro
duces in the soul. Moreover, their efficacy is independent of
the faith and merit of the minister; grace is conferred ex opere
11 Ibid. 803, 804, 818, 828-830. 13 Ibid. 807, 808, 837-840.
" Ibid. 805, 806, 825-827, 832.
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 473
operato, through the merits of Christ. However, in the re
cipient certain dispositions are required in order to fit him for
the reception of grace.14
Some sacraments are necessary means of grace for all;
others only for certain classes of persons. However, even
the former are not all of equal necessity; nor are all the sacra
ments of equal dignity. For their proper administration a
duly appointed minister is required, on whose part nothing
more is necessary, by way of validity, than the use of the
essential rite instituted by Christ, with the intention of at
least doing what the Church does.15 Three sacraments,
baptism, confirmation, and orders, imprint a character or
indelible spiritual seal on the soul; hence they cannot be re
peated.16
Baptism is necessary for salvation. The matter required
for its validity is natural water. Christian baptism is es
sentially different from that of John the Baptist. It can be
validly administered by heretics. Infants also must be bap
tized ; nor may their baptism be repeated when they have
reached the age of reason. They are truly enrolled among
the faithful, and they are not at liberty later on to repudiate
the obligations of their baptismal vows.17
Confirmation is not a mere empty ceremony that originated
in the catechetical examinations to which Christian youths
were of old subjected. It is a true sacrament in the strict sense
of the term. A bishop only is its ordinary minister.18
5. The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist (sess. 13). — "In
the first place, the holy Synod teaches, and openly and simply
professes, that in the august sacrament of the Holy Eucharist,
after the consecration of the bread and wine, our Lord Jesus
Christ, true God and man, is truly, really, and substantially
contained under the species of these sensible things." The
sacrament was instituted by the Savior when He was about
to depart out of this world to the Father, that He might leave
us a memorial of His passion, a sovereign remedy and pro-
" Ibid. 844-856. 1T Ibid. 857-370.
15 Ibid. 846, 853, 854. 18 Ibid. 871-873.
16 Ibid. 852.
474 MEDIAEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
tection against sin, and a most efficacious means of grace.
It is the spiritual food and life of the soul, the symbol and
bond of unity and charity, and a pledge of eternal glory.19
" The most Holy Eucharist has indeed this in common with
the rest of the sacraments, that it is a symbol of a sacred thing,
and is a visible form of an invisible grace; but there is found
in the Eucharist this excellent and peculiar thing, that the
other sacraments have then first the power of sanctifying when
one uses them, whereas in the Eucharist, before being used,
there is present the Author of sanctity Himself. . . . And this
faith has ever been in the Church of God, that, immediately
after the consecration, the veritable body of our Lord, and
His veritable blood, together with His soul and divinity, are
under the species of bread and wine; but the body indeed
under the species of bread, and the blood under the species of
wine, by the force of the words; but the body under the
species of wine, and the blood under the species of bread,
and the soul under both, by the force of that natural connec
tion and concomitancy whereby the parts of Christ our Lord,
who hath now risen from the dead, to die no more, are united
together; and the divinity, furthermore, on account of the
admirable hypostatical union thereof with His body and
soul." 20
" And because Christ, our Redeemer, declared that which
He offered under the species of bread to be truly His own
body, therefore has it ever been the firm belief in the Church
of God, and this holy Synod doth now declare it anew, that
by the consecration of the bread and of the wine, a conversion
is made of the whole substance of the bread into the body of
Christ our Lord, and of the wrhole substance of the wine into
His blood; which conversion is by the holy Catholic Church
suitably and properly called Transubstantiation." 21
Hence divine worship is due to the Blessed Sacrament, and
it should be reserved both for the adoration of the faithful and
for the communion of the sick. The proper disposition for
its reception presupposes the state of grace; and if one is in
19 Ibid. 874, 875, 21 Ibid. 877.
20 Ibid. 876,
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 475
mortal sin, he must first have recourse to the sacrament of
penance. Where the proper dispositions are found, it is the
urgent desire of the Council that the Holy Eucharist be
frequently received by the faithful.22
6. The Sacraments of Penance and Extreme Unction
(sess. 14). — The sacrament of penance was instituted by
Christ for the remission of sins committed after baptism, as
appears from His own words : " Receive ye the Holy Ghost :
whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them : and
whose sins you shall retain, they are retained." Sacramental
absolution is a judicial act, and can be imparted only by a min
ister who has the priestly character. The fact that the absolv
ing priest is in the state of mortal sin does not invalidate his
absolution ; but the want of jurisdiction does. On the part of
the penitent are required, (a) supernatural sorrow; (b) con
fession, as complete as reasonably possible, of unconfessed
mortal sins; (c) satisfaction for the temporal punishment that
usually still remains to be expiated.23
Extreme unction was instituted by Christ and promulgated
by St. James. It removes from the soul the remaining ef
fects of forgiven sins, and gives a special grace to those in
danger of death by sickness. If necessary, it even forgives
sins; and as a secondary effect, restores health of body when
God judges it expedient. The matter of this sacrament is
olive oil blessed by a bishop; its form consists in the prayers
used in the application of the matter to the various senses by
a priest.24
7. The Sacrifice of the Mass (sess. 22). — The Holy
Eucharist was instituted by Christ not only as a sacrament, but
also as a true sacrifice, which must be offered to God con
tinually in His Church by the Apostles and their successors in
the priesthood. As a sacrifice it is the image of the great
sacrifice of the cross, with which it is identical both in victim
and in priest, differing only in the manner of offering.
Through it are applied the merits of Christ's passion and
death, both to the living and to the souls departed. Hence
22 Ibid. 878, 879, 880. 24 Ibid. 907-910.
23 ibid. 894^906.
476 MEDIEVAL HERESIES AND COUNCILS
it does not detract from the efficacy or the universality of the
sacrifice of the cross.25
8. The Sacrament of Orders (sess. 23). — A true sacrifice
presupposes a true priesthood. The Christian priesthood was
instituted by Christ at the Last Supper, and its principal power
and office is to consecrate and offer in sacrifice the true body
and blood of Christ. The hierarchy, consisting of bishops,
priests, and ministers, is divinely instituted. Bishops are
superior to priests, and have the power to confirm and ordain.
Orders are divided into major and minor; those below the
priesthood are, as it were, preparatory to that dignity. The
sacrament of orders imprints an indelible character; hence
once a priest, always a priest.26
9. The Sacrament of Matrimony '(sess. 24). — Christian
marriage is a true sacrament, and as such it is subject to the
jurisdiction of the Church. When consummated, it is abso
lutely indissoluble except by death ; and a second marriage dur
ing the life of the first partner is by divine law null and void.
The Church has the power to constitute impediments render
ing marriage invalid.27
10. Purgatory: Veneration of Saints and Images: Indul
gences (sess. 25). — The decree on purgatory affirms the exist
ence of a place of purgation and the utility of prayers and
other suffrages for the dead. It rules that all the more diffi
cult and subtle questions, which do not contribute to edifica
tion, should be avoided by preachers in their sermons to the
faithful.28 In the same session, the veneration of the saints,
of their relics, and of images, was declared lawful and benefi
cial.29 Lastly, it was defined that Christ gave His Church
the power to grant indulgences, that their use is salutary for
the faithful, and the custom of granting them is to be con
tinued in the Church.30
To the foregoing summary of Catholic teaching, as con
tained in the chapters and canons of the Council of Trent, may
be added the doctrine on the Blessed Trinity, on the Incarna-
25 Ibid. 939, 940, 948-956. 28 Ibid. 983.
26 Ibid. 957-968. 29 Ibid. 984-<>88.
27 Ibid. 969-982. 30 Ibid. 989-
THE COUNCIL OF TRENT 477
tion, the divine motherhood of Mary, and her perpetual vir
ginity, as reaffirmed against the Socinians in the Constitution
of Paul IV, Cum quorundam, August 7, I555-31 Also the
declaration of the primacy of the Roman Church and of the
Sovereign Pontiff as successor of St. Peter, which was em
bodied in the Tridentine profession of faith.32 The teach
ing of the Council was somewhat later adapted for the use
of parish priests in their instructions to the people, in the
Roman Catechism, which was then published by order of
Pius V. Thus a strong barrier was opposed to the revolution
ary movement of the sixteenth-century Reformers, and the
faith preached by the Apostles was once more set forth with
that clear defmiteness which is always the prerogative of truth.
31 Ibid. 993. 32 Ibid. 999.
CHAPTER XXVII
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS
The Council of Trent not only opposed a strong barrier
to the revolutionary movement of the sixteenth-century Re
formers, but it also laid the foundation of activities which
in a short while produced splendid results along every line
of ecclesiastical life. A succession of able and deeply reli
gious Popes, a large number of earnest and profoundly learned
theologians, a vast multitude of holy religious and many great
saints, an inexhaustible supply of zealous preachers and self-
sacrificing missionaries — all these worked together in bring
ing about a thorough reform of morals both among the clergy
and laity and also in carrying the glad tidings of the Gospel
to the uttermost ends of the earth. It was a marvelous re
vival of Catholic life, and a most convincing proof of the in-
defectibility of the Church as a divine institution for the salva
tion of the world. The evil seed sown by the Reformers in
deed still bore its evil fruit, and sometimes even in Catholic
circles; but the vigorous spirit of revived Catholicism ever de
vised effective remedies, and thus within the Church herself
comparatively little harm resulted.
Most of these varied activities, however, supplied matter
for church history rather than for the history of dogmas.
True, during the latter part of the sixteenth century, and dur
ing nearly the whole of the seventeenth, there was displayed
in many countries an intense theological interest, and much
useful work was accomplished; but it was mostly by way of
commenting on mediaeval teaching in the light of the decisions
given at Trent. On the other hand, while there was no want
1 Cfr. Schwane, V, 24 sqq. ; K. derte ; *Loof s, Leitf aden zum Stu-
Werner, Franz Stiarez und die dium der Dogmengeschichte ; Hef-
Scholastik der letzten Jahrhun- ele, The Life of Cardinal Ximenes.
478
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS 479
of profound theological speculation, few of the topics dealt
with were of a nature that promised definite and universally
accepted results. They rather constituted so many school
differences, and are apt to remain such for ages to come. Fi
nally, though there was frequent occasion for authoritative pro
nouncements on the errors of the day, these pronouncements
were for the most part little more than practical applications
of dogmatic decisions given by previous councils. There are
indeed exceptions to this, as will be pointed out below; but
these exceptions are not as numerous as one might at first be
led to believe when taking up the study of the documents in
question. Hence, in a compendious work like the present, it
seems advisable merely to summarize the more important
points of post-Tridentine theology, without entering into any
detail as regards the dogmatic developments which are still in
course of formation. The following outline, therefore, must
suffice for our present purpose.
In regard to the revival of theological studies after the
Council of Trent, two points are especially deserving of notice.
The first is the change of textbook employed in the schools;
and the second is the shifting of the center of theological
activities from France to Spain. This latter point is of interest
chiefly because it marked the breaking away from the Nominal-
istic tendencies which since the middle of the fourteenth cen
tury had begun to dominate the University of Paris. The
former, on the other hand, effected a general improvement in
theological studies, both by providing a broader and more
solid basis upon which to build, and by promoting clearness of
thought and precision of reasoning. Up to the middle of
the sixteenth century, the Sententiarum Libri Quatuor of the
Lombard had been almost universally used as a text of
Scholastic prelections ; but thereafter this honor was accorded
to the Summa Theologica of St. Thomas, except in the schools
of the Scotists, where the-time-honored custom of commenting
on the Sentences was retained.
This new theology, which was already in process of forma
tion when the Council of Trent began its work, is usually
designated as Neo-Scholasticism. Its first distinguished rep-
480 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
resentative was Francis de Vittoria. He was born in 1488,
and taught theology, first for some years at Valladolid, and
then, from 1526 to 1544, at Salamanca. Being a member of
the Dominican order, he took St. Thomas as his guide; and
as not only his own younger brethren, but also many other
religious and even seculars attended his lectures, he secured a
large circle of admirers for the Angel of the Schools. Nor
were his lectures merely a running commentary on the text of
the Summa, but he adapted its principles and solutions to the
needs of his own time. And even more than St. Thomas had
done before him, he emphasized the positive aspect of theology,
making an exensive use of Holy Scripture and the writings
of the Fathers. Thus he replaced the idle speculations of de
cadent Scholasticism by a theological system that was at
once thorough and comprehensive. In consequence he is
justly regarded as the founder of Neo-Scholasticism, which is
little else than the Scholasticism of the thirteenth century
brought up to date and developed along positive lines.
Among the many distinguished disciples of Vittoria, Domini-
cus de Soto, Bartholomew Carranza, and Melchior Cano are
deserving of special mention. All three were sent as theo
logians to the Council of Trent, and also ranked high as
lecturers on theology, at Valladolid, Alcala, and Salamanca.
Cano, however, considerably tarnished his fame by his unrea
sonable opposition to the Society of Jesus, whose growing
success in the schools seems to have inspired him with envy.
On the other hand, he gained immortal renown by his famous
work De Locis Theologicis, which inaugurated a new era in
the treatment of fundamental theology. Lucid in style and
thorough in treatment, it is justly regarded as a model treatise
on theological method. The author enumerates ten loci, or
sources of theological arguments, each of which he treats in
a separate book. These sources are, Holy Scripture, oral
tradition, the Catholic Church, the councils, the Fathers, the
Roman Church, the Scholastic theologians, natural reason as
manifested in science, philosophy, and history. To these is
added a final book that treats of the use and application of the
loci in theological polemics.
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS 481
The work thus begun by the Dominicans at Salamanca was
ably continued by members of the same order during the second
half of the sixteenth century. Thus Bartholomew de Medina,
utilizing the writings of his predecessors in the theological
chair, published two volumes of commentaries on the Summa
of St. Thomas ; and also a volume on moral theology, in
which he defends the principles of probabilism. Towards the
end of the century, Dominicus Bafiez developed his doctrine
of physical predetermination in reference to the action of ef
ficacious grace, and thus became the founder of Neo-Thomism.
His opposition to Molina's teaching on the scientia media was
not only strong but violent, and largely on account of it he
gave a decidedly forced interpretation of St. Thomas' doctrine
on the foreknowledge of God. On both points he had numer
ous followers in his own order, as will be noted in the follow
ing chapter.
Besides the Dominicans, many other religious orders were
established at Salamanca. Among them were the Augustin-
ians, the Hieronymites, the Norbertines, and the Discalceated
Carmelites. The last named published a large commentary
on the Summa of St. Thomas, usually cited as Salmanticenses.
The first edition, in nine folio volumes, appeared in 1631, under
the title: Collegii Salmanticensis fratrum disc alee at onim B.
M. de Monte Carmeto primitives observantiae Civrsus
theologicus, Summam theologicam D. Thomae Doctoris
Angelici complectens, juxta miram ejusdem Angelici Praecep-
toris doctrinam et omnino consone ad earn, quam Complutense
Collegium ejusdem ordinis in suo artium cursu tradit. The
last clause of this title refers to a work on the philosophy of
Aristotle and St. Thomas, in five volumes folio, which had
been published in 1624 at Alcala. The dogmatic standpoint
of the Salmanticenses is strictly Thomistic, and to some extent
also reveals the anti- Jesuit bias of Banez and his followers.
The Scotist school of theology had also a number of dis
tinguished representatives during the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries. Among them may be mentioned Gregory Ruiz,
John Ovando, John of the Incarnation, Hugh Cavelli, and
John Poncius. The last two were Irish Franciscans, but
482 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
taught theology at the Ara Coeli in Rome. Their contem
porary and brother in religion, Luke Wadding, published the
works of Scotus in twenty-six folio volumes, together with
a running commentary. The first volume appeared at Lyons
in 1657. Unlike most other theologians of that time, the
Scotists continued to use the Sentences of the Lombard as the
text of their prelections, and to write commentaries on them
as had been done by the Scholastics of the Middle Ages.
Thus Mastrius, who died in 1673, wrote the Disputationes
Theologicae in 4 Libris Sententiarum, which were published
two years after his death. A few years later appeared the
Scotus Academicus by Frassen, and the Summa Theologiae
Scotisticae by Dupasquier. The latter work is regarded as the
best presentation of the theology of Scotus. On the other
hand, Bartholomew de Barberiis, Gaudentius of Brixen, and
not a few others adhered closely to the teaching of St. Bona-
venture.
By the side of the older religious orders, nearly all of which
were intensely active in the fields of theology, the Society
of Jesus took a distinguished position almost from its incep
tion. Approved by Paul III in 1540, two of its first members,
Salmeron and Laynez, were sent as the Pope's theologians to
the Council of Trent, where both of them gave proof of their
profound learning no less than of their religious fervor.
However, it was with Toletus, later created cardinal, that
Jesuit theology first made its way into the schools. He had
received his theological training at Salamanca, and in 1559
was appointed to teach theology at the Roman College. He
taught with great success, and wrote a valuable commentary
on the Summa of St. Thomas. After his elevation to the
cardinalate, he was succeeded in his chair of theology by
Gregory de Valentia, who had previously taught at Dillingen.
As this latter also had studied under the Dominicans at Sala
manca, the theology of St. Thomas was naturally adopted by
the Society as its own. This was entirely in accord with the
wishes of St. Ignatius, who always had a great admiration
for the Angel of the Schools.
While Toletus and de Valentia were establishing the theo-
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS 483
logical reputation of the Society at Rome, Peter Fonseca and
Louis Molina met with similar success at Evora in Portugal.
The latter is best known as the author of a work on the scientia
media, of which something will be said in the following
chapter; but he proved his profound theological learning along
other lines as well. Besides a commentary on the first part of
the Summa and several historical treatises, he wrote a monu
mental work under the title, De Justitia et Jure, which secured
for him an international reputation. From Evora, where he
had taught dogmatic theology for twenty years, he was trans
ferred to Madrid and appointed to the chair of moral
theology. There he died in 1600, at the age of sixty-five.
About the same time two other Spanish Jesuits were mak
ing a name for themselves as distinguished lecturers and
writers on theology. They were Gabriel Vasquez and
Francis Suarez. Vasquez taught dogmatic theology for
twenty-nine years, first at Alcala and then at the Jesuit col
lege in Rome. He was both original and profound, and is
sometimes called the Augustine of Spain. He wrote a large
commentary of the Summa of St. Thomas, which has always
been held in great esteem. Suarez, usually styled Doctor
Eximius, lectured on philosophy at Avila and Segovia, and
on theology at Valladolid, Rome, Alcala, Salamanca, and
finally at the new university of Coimbra. In the latter place
he taught from 1597 until his death in 1617. His fame as a
professor of theology was so great that pupils flocked to
Coimbra from far and near. He wrote voluminously both on
philosophy and theology. His commentary on the Summa
alone comprises twenty volumes.
In the first half of the seventeenth century, three other
Jesuit theologians acquired great distinction, namely, Ruiz
de Montoya, Martinez Ripalda, and John, de Lugo, created
cardinal by Urban VIII. De Montoya taught theology at
Cordova and Seville, and published a work of remarkable
depth of thought and closeness of reasoning on the omnis
cience and scientia media of God. He also wrote commen
taries on parts of the Summa. Ripalda, professor of theology
at Salamanca, is considered by many as one of the greatest
484 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
theologians after the Council of Trent. His most celebrated
work is entitled De Ente Supernaturall. In an appendix to
this work he gives a thorough refutation of the errors of
Baius. His treatise on redemption and grace made such an
impression that he was called the Cyril of modern times. De
Lugo lectured on theology at the Roman College from 1621
to 1641, when he was raised to the cardinalate. He won
great renown as a moral theologian; but his dogmatic treat
ises on the Incarnation, the Holy Eucharist, and the sacra
ment of penance are also highly esteemed.
Most of the theological activity referred to in the preceding
paragraphs was caried on in Spain, and nearly all the men
concerned in it were of Spanish origin and training. How
ever, other countries were also active in the same field,
although not to the same extent. Thus Italy maintained
theological schools of considerable importance at Padua,
Naples, Pavia, and Pisa; while the colleges of the different
religious orders in Rome were usually kept up to a high
standard of efficiency. Many of the ablest professors were
indeed drawn from other countries, principally Spain; but
Italy supplied also some eminent men of her own, as, for in
stance, the Jesuits Bellarmine, Viva, and Zaccaria; the Fran-
ciscian de Rubeis, and Cardinal Gotti.
France also contributed a considerable number of able
theologians, although the University of Paris had lost much
of its ancient fame. Special mention may be made of the
Jesuit Petavius, the author of a famous work on positive
theology; the Oratorian Thomassin, who wrote a similar
work; the Franciscan Frassen; the Dominican Rene Billuart,
and the Sarbonne professors Gonet, Dupasquier, Habert, and
Tournely. In Germany and Belgium a high degree of excel
lence was reached by Becanus, Lessius, and the authors of the
Theologia Wirceburgensis.
Thus from the Council of Trent till well into the eighteenth
century, theological studies were nearly everywhere in a flour
ishing condition. Besides, much excellent work was also done
in canon law, exegesis, and church history. Then for a cen-
NEO-SCHOLASTIC THEOLOGIANS 485
tury or more there was a constant decline, until some fifty
years ago the study of theology and kindred branches of learn
ing was taken up again with renewed interest and considerable
success.
CHAPTER XXVIII
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 1
As the Council of Trent had been convened for the purpose
of extirpating heresy, and not with a view to decide controver
sies that happened to be carried on between Catholic theologi
ans, it was but natural that the different theological schools
should continue to defend their own particular views on points
which had been in no way defined. Hence in regard to mere
school differences, practically no change was brought about
by the Council. In a few instances, indeed, particular opin
ions became untenable on account of their bearing upon defined
doctrines ; but that was by way of exception. Generally speak
ing, the Dominicans, the Franciscans, the Augustinians, the
Scotists, and to some extent even the Nominalists, retained
all that was peculiar to their own particular schools of theolog
ical thought. Besides, in the course of a few years after the
Council, new differences arose; and these differences, in some
instances, caused divisions between theologians of one and the
same school. Again, differences were occasioned by the rise
of new religious orders, as in the case of the Jesuits; even if
they professed to follow the same guide as some older order.
To discuss all these various and divergent opinions would be
to no purpose in the present work, although a few of the more
striking of them may be profitably noted. The following are
perhaps the most important. They are so many later devel
opments of mediaeval teaching.
1 Cf r. Schwane, VI, 57 sqq. ; K. non, Banez et Molina, Histoire,
Werner, Franz Suarez und die Doctrine, Critique metaphysique ;
Scholastik der letzten Jahrhun- Schneemann, Controversiarum de
derte; De la Serviere, Theologie de divinae gratiae liberique arbitrii
Bellarmin; Kleutgen, Die Theolo- concordia initia et progressus ;
gie der Vorzeit; Tunnel, Histoire *Loofs, Leitfaden der Dogmenge-
de la Theologie Positive ; Reg- schichte.
486
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 487
i. God's Foreknowledge of the Conditionally Free Acts of
the Future. — The fact of God's foreknowledge, even in regard
to the conditionally free acts of the future, was unanimously
taught by the Scholastics of the Middle Ages. On the other
hand, hardly any attempt was made by them to determine
more closely the particulars of this knowledge. Like St.
Thomas, most of the Scholastics contented themselves with
saying that God knows all future events, necessary or free,
absolute or conditional, by reason of their eternal presential-
ity ; yet in such wise that His own essence is the ultimate me
dium of cognition. As regards necessary events, or those
free actions whose futurity is absolute, there is no great diffi
culty ; for they presuppose in God at least a decree of concur
rence with the finite agent, by reason of which they may be said
to be present in the divine essence, and therefore knowable in
the same. But there appears to be an insuperable difficulty
in regard to future events that are conditioned by the free de
termination of the finite agent. For God's decree of concur
rence presupposes definite knowledge of the absolute futurity
of the event in question; and whence does God derive that
knowledge so long as the event is regarded as conditioned?
This view of the matter was not professedly investigated by
the older Scholastics.
After the Council of Trent the solution of the difficulty
became urgent for two reasons. First, because Socinus and
other innovators denied that the conditionally free acts of the
future were definitely known by God. Secondly, because
God's foreknowledge of these acts is intimately connected with
the freedom of man's will under the action of grace, which
freedom was denied by the Reformers and defined by the
Council. Hence a \vay had to be found of reconciling two
apparently irreconcilable doctrines. It was not a mere pen
chant for speculation that introduced the difficult subject of
God's foreknowledge into the field of theological discussion,
but rather the urgent need of finding a reasonable solution of
difficulties that were brought against the faith.
It was with this object in view that Molina worked out his
theory of the scicntia media, which in the scheme of divine
488 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
knowledge holds a middle place between the scientia simplicis
intelligentiae and the scientia visionis, till then commonly ac
cepted as constituting a complete division of cognition on the
part of God. The idea itself of the scientia media was not
new; for aside from the many Patristic texts which imply it
more or less clearly, it had already been formulated by Fon-
seca, Molina's professor, who called it scientia mixta. How
ever, to Molina belongs the credit of having placed his pro
fessor's theory on a firm basis, and winning a place for it in
the theological world.
As is quite obvious, all objects of divine cognition may be
conceived to belong to one of these three classes: the purely
possible, the actually existing, and possible events whose future
occurrence is conditioned by the self-determination of a free
agent. The first class comprises the objects of the scientia
simplicis intelligentiae, the second those of the scientia visionis,
and the third those of the scientia media. Hence the scientia
media envisages its object as possible in itself and as actually
existing on the supposition that certain conditions are fulfilled,
and in so far it is intermediate between the other two kinds of
divine knowledge. It is from this intermediate position that
it takes its name — scientia media.
An example of this kind of divine knowledge is found in
Christ's declaration that Tyre and Sidon would have done
penance in sackcloth and ashes, if they had witnessed the signs
and miracles that were wrought in Corozain and Bethsaida.
The conversion of these two cities was in itself purely possi
ble; it would have become an actual occurrence had the afore
said signs and miracles been wrought in presence of the
inhabitants ; and although they were not so wrought, and con
sequently the conversion did not take place, yet Christ knew
its conditioned occurrence with absolute certainty. Hence in
regard to the mere fact of such a knowledge there can be no
doubt. It is only when the medium of cognition is considered
that difficulties occur, and that views of theologians begin to
differ. ^
Molina, in common with all other theologians, held that the
ultimate medium of cognition is the divine essence, in so far
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 489
as therein all objective truth is reflected. The fact that Tyre
and Sidon, in the example given, would have been converted,
was objectively true from all eternity, and as such it was like
any other truth represented in the divine essence as a medium
of cognition. This representation is independent of any de
cree of the divine will in regard to the occurrence in question;
it is simply due to the perfection of God's essence as the mir
ror of all truth. Furthermore, God's knowledge, though de
termined by His own essence as the medium in quo, terminates
at the object itself; and as His intellect is infinitely perfect,
" He knows the most secret inclinations and penetrates the
most hidden recesses of man's heart, and is thus enabled to
foresee with mathematical certainty the free resolves latent in
man's will." In this sense God may be said to know the con
ditionally free acts of the future even in their proximate
causes. However, the certainty of this knowledge is in the
last instance not derived from the object, which in itself is
contingent ; but from His own infinite perfection.
This represents the substance of Molina's theory as worked
out by himself, and in the main also as it was adopted and
defended by Suarez, Vasquez, Lessius, Becanus, and those who
took part in the controversy w7ith the Thomists. However, it
was somewhat further developed by the introduction of two
concepts which Molina had set aside as unnecessary. The
first is derived from God's eternity. As St. Thomas teaches,
God's eternal existence necessarily implies His co-existence
with all His creatures, and this raises Him above and beyond
all divisions of time. Hence the free self-determination of
the will, even if it still lies in the future, is intimately present
to His eternal essence. And therefore, looking at the matter
from His point of view, He does not foresee but simply sees
the future. Consequently, He knows future events as He
knows those of the present; because to Him there is neither
past nor future, but only the unchangeable now of eternal
duration.
The second concept is taken from the obvious need and
universally admitted fact of God's cooperation with the actions
of His creatures. As no finite being can act except in so far
490 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
as God sustains its activity and concurs with the same, every
future action presupposes on His part the will to concur, and
this will constitutes the medium of cognition. In regard to
absolutely future actions, the will to concur is absolute ; while
in regard to conditionally future actions it is hypothetical ; and
this hypothetical will of concurrence is the medium in which
God knows all future occurrences that are conditioned by the
self-determination of a free agent. However, it must be
borne in mind that the divine concurrence does not induce but
merely presupposes the hypothetical self-determination of the
agent's will; and therefore God's infallible knowledge of this
self-determination belongs properly to the scientia media.
This theory of divine foreknowledge, as first formulated
by Fonseca and Molina and then perfected by successive gen
erations of Jesuit theologians, was fiercely attacked by the
Dominicans, who denounced it as an unwarranted innovation.
They, too, recognized the necessity of giving a more detailed
explanation of the matter than could be found in the works
of St. Thomas, but in trying to work out that explanation they
proceeded along lines directly opposed to those followed by
the Jesuits. God's knowledge, according to them, is of two
kinds only: the knowledge of simple intelligence, and the
knowledge of vision. The former has the purely possible for
its object, while the latter extends to all other events and oc
currences, even the conditionally free acts of the future. The
reason why the knowledge of vision is so comprehensive lies
in the fact that God knows things in so far as He is their
cause, either as regards their absolute or their conditional ex
istence. Even the self-determination of man's free will,
although free, is possible only under the physical premotion
of God's concurrence; hence in the divine decree of that concur
rence the self-determination of the will is contained as an
object of eternal vision. Hence there is neither need nor room
for the scientia media of Molina.
This system, though to some extent based upon thoughts
that are found in the writings of St. Thomas, received its first
real development from Michael Bafiez, a Spanish Dominican
and author of Neo-Thomism. It was later on completed
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 491
by Alvarez, Gonet, Gotti, Billuart, and others, who excogitated
the theory of hypothetical decrees of the divine will. Hence
Thomism no less than Molinism is the finished product of
many minds, but in substance it has always remained what it
was in the beginning — an explanation of divine foreknowl
edge by means of predetermining decrees.
A word of explanation may here be added in reference to
the hypothetical decrees of the divine will. They are con
ceived as subjectively absolute and objectively conditioned.
On the part of God there is a real decision concerning the
occurrence of some future event, hence the decree is subjec
tively absolute; but the objective effectiveness of this decision
is made dependent on the occurrence of something else, and
therefore the decree is objectively conditioned. This some
thing else is a condition the fulfillment of which is either en
tirely in the power of God, or partly also in the power of a
created will. Hence there are two kinds of hypothetical de
crees. Of the one kind the following is an example: "I
decree that the inhabitants of Tyre and Sidon will do penance,
if I send them the Messias " ; of the other this is an instance :
" I will -that all men be saved, if they will cooperate with my
grace." Still, precisely as mediums of divine cognition, both
kinds are really the same; because even where the fulfillment
of the condition is partly in the power of a created will, the
decree of God's will predetermines the self-determination of
the created free agent. Hence God knows what choice the
free agent will make, because He Himself is the cause of
that choice, though without interfering with the agent's free
dom.
That Thomism thus offers a much clearer explanation of
God's foreknowledge than can ever be attempted by Molinism,
or by any other theory of divine cognition, is quite obvious.
For as God Himself is said to predetermine the self-determina
tion of the free agent, He knows conditionally free actions
of the future in the same way as He knows future necessary
actions, and in regard to these latter no one has ever found
any difficulty. But the system has two very serious draw
backs. First, it necessitates an infinite number of hypothetical
492 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
decrees, which seem more than unacceptable; secondly, to an
unbiased person it appears impossible that these predetermin
ing decrees should leave man's freedom untouched. It is
especially on account of this latter difficulty that the system
has found but little favor outside the Thomistic school.
2. Controversies on Efficacious Grace. — The relation of
grace and man's free will is thus indicated by the Council of
Trent, in its decree on justification: "The Synod further
more declares, that, in adults, the beginning of justification is
to be derived from the preventing grace of God, through Jesus
Christ, that is to say, from His vocation, whereby, without any
merits existing on their part, they are called; that so they,
who by sins were alienated from God, may be disposed by His
quickening and assisting grace to convert themselves to their
own justification, by freely assenting to and cooperating with
the aforesaid grace; in such a way that, while God touches
the heart of man by the illumination of the Holy Ghost, man
is not himself utterly without doing anything, while he receives
that inspiration, forasmuch as he is also able to reject it; yet
he is not able, by his own free will, without the grace of God,
to move himself unto justice in His sight."
Hence in their discussions on grace and free will, all Catho
lic theologians regard two points as incontrovertible: First,
that the influence of grace is necessary for every salutary act;
secondly, that the human will remains free under the influence
of grace. They, furthermore, also admit that there is a dif
ference between merely sufficient grace and efficacious grace;
but they are very much divided in their views when they come
to assign the reason for this difference. In their efforts to
demonstrate the mutual relations between grace and free will,
which form the foundation of the difference between sufficient
and efficacious grace, post-Tridentine theologians evolved two
pairs of closely related systems, one of which takes grace for
its starting point and the other the free will of man. To the
former belong Thomism and Augustinianism ; and to the lat
ter, Molinism and Congruism. To these may be added a fifth
system, known as Syncretism, which is eclectic and occupies
a middle place between Thomism and Molinism. A few re-
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 493
marks in regard to each of the different systems will suffice
for our present purpose.
(a) Thomism. — According to Bafiez and his followers,
every act of contingent causes is produced by an application
of their potentiality to the act under the physical premotion
of the First Cause. By an influence that precedes all acts of
the creature, not in the order of time but in the order of cau
sality, God moves every finite cause to its proper acts — the
necessary to necessary acts, and the free to free acts. This is
true both in the natural and the supernatural order of things.
Hence the efficacy of grace is due to the intrinsic nature of
the grace bestowed, and is in no way dependent on the attitude
of man's free will in its regard. Consequently, efficacious,
grace is intrinsically and of its very nature different from suf
ficient grace. It has of itself an infallible connection with the
free correspondence of man's will, so that it not only gives
the power to act but causes the act itself. On the other hand,
sufficient grace does not cause man to act, but merely gives
him the power of acting. Nor is this power in itself sufficient
for the intended act, but it must be supplemented by another
grace which is intrinsically efficacious. The grace is called
sufficient in the sense that it prepares the way for the supple
mentary grace, which would infallibly be given if the resist
ance of man's free will to the first grace did not place an ob
stacle in its way.
The objections to this system are obvious. For how does
the will remain really free, if it cannot refuse to act under the
premotion of efficacious grace? To say that it could refuse
to act in sensu dn^y0, though not in sensu composite, appears
to be little more than a quibble. Again, how can sufficient
grace, as explained in this system, with any propriety be called
sufficient? For as the will cannot act except under the influ
ence of physical premotion, it can obviously not do anything
else than resist whenever this physical premotion is wanting, as
it is wanting in sufficient grace. Lastly, the system of physical
premotion seems to make God the originator of sinful acts.
For when God premoves man to the entity of the sinful act
and at the same time withholds the opposite premotion of effi-
494 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
cacious grace, it is hard to see how man can possibly avoid sin.
(b) Augustinianism. — As the name indicates, this system
is professedly founded on the teaching of St. Augustine. In
its elements it dates back to the Middle Ages, but it was fully
developed only after the Council of Trent. This development
is largely the work of Berti, Bellelli, Bertieri, Habert, and
other seventeenth- and eighteenth-century theologians. Ac
cording to the advocates of this system, grace is intrinsically
and of its very nature efficacious or merely sufficient, as the
case may be; but efficacious grace does not physically prede
termine the will. Its efficacy implies a merely moral prede
termination, which results from, the victorious delight — de-
lectatio coelestis victrix — produced by its action upon the free
agent. On the other hand, merely sufficient grace produces
a delight which is too weak to overcome the contrary motions
of concupiscence. Hence the two kinds of grace are intrin
sically and essentially different ; but this difference arises ulti
mately from their respective relations to the perversity of
fallen nature.
At first sight, this system has much in common with Jan
senism, in regard to which something will be said in the follow
ing chapter. However, it can point to one very essential differ
ence, which secures it against all suspicion of heresy. While
Jansenism makes efficacious grace irresistible, Augustinianism
does not. According to it, the will invariably and infallibly
follows the stronger influence of grace or of concupiscence ; but
it does so without coercion or intrinsic necessity.
(c) Molinism. — It was chiefly to safeguard the freedom
of the human will under the influence of efficacious grace that
Molina worked out his theory of the scientia media. Hence
he entitled his work on the subject, Concordia Liberi Arbitrii
cum Gratiae Donis, Divina Praescientia, Providentia, Prae-
destinatione et Reprobatione. The views on the efficacy of
grace defended in this book are directly opposed to the Thorn-
ism of Banez, and they started a controversy between the Jesu
its and the Dominicans that was terminated only by an order
of Paul V, after the matter had been discussed for nine years
before the Congregatio de Auxiliis, first convened by Clement
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 495
VIII in 1598. No decision was given for or against either of
the two contending parties, but each was forbidden to censure
the teaching of the other.
According to the teaching of Molina, there is no intrinsic
and essential difference between efficacious and sufficient grace.
Both have of their very nature the eflicacia virtutis, in as much
as they impart to man's free will the proximate power and
aptitude to elicit a supernatural act. Hence the difference be
tween them in reference to the act in question, or the eflicacia
connexionis, comes ab cxtrinsico, from the attitude freely as
sumed by the will. If the will gives its consent, the grace
becomes efficacious; if the will withholds its consent, the same
grace remains merely sufficient. However, in giving its con
sent, the will acts not merely as a natural power ; for it is al
ready prepared and placed in the supernatural order of activ
ity by the presence in it of prevenient grace, and consequently
the act that follows is the joint product of grace and free will.
Yet in one sense this joint product is to be ascribed to grace
rather than to free will; for it is not the will which by its
free consent determines the power of grace, but it is grace
which gives free will the power to act and cooperates with its
action. Hence there is absolutely no similarity between Mo-
linism and Semi-Pelagianism, as most Protestant writers as
sert.
While the freedom of the human will under the influence of
efficacious grace is thus preserved intact, the sovereign domin
ion of God in the distribution of efficacious graces is placed in
safety by the intervention of the scientia media. For by rea
son of it God foreknows infallibly what particular graces will
in any given instance secure the free consent of the human
will, and what particular graces will not; and in accordance
with this foreknowledge He can decree to bestow whatever
graces answer the purpose of His own wise dispositions in the
economy of salvation. Thus infallibility of divine cognition
is secured, to which, when there is question of efficacious
graces, corresponds in the absolute order of things the infalli
bility of connection between grace and the subsequent act.
(d) Congruism. — When some of Molina's followers
496 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
pushed his principles to extremes by overemphasizing the
power of free will, a reaction set in which led to the assertion
of an intrinsic difference between efficacious and sufficient
grace. This difference, however, was conceived to lie in the
moral and not in the physical nature of grace. Efficacious
grace, it was pointed out by Suarez, Vasquez, Lessius, Bellar-
mine, and others of the Society of Jesus, is a special gift of
God and as such it has a higher moral value than merely
sufficient grace. This higher moral value consists principally
in the fact that the grace conferred is specially suited to the
circumstances of the case, so that its congruity is a powerful
factor in soliciting the consent of the will. Hence efficacious
grace is called congruous grace — gratia congrua — whereas
merely sufficient grace is termed incongruous grace — gratia
incongrua. This view was strongly endorsed by Claudius
Acquaviva, and by subsequent Generals of the Society. It
must be noted, however, that the idea of congruous grace was
already contained in the system as originated by Molina, only
it was not emphasized by him to the same extent as it was by
later theologians.
(e) Syncretism. — As the name indicates, this system re
sulted from the combination of elements taken from other
systems then in vogue. However, the elements in question are
really nothing else than Thomism on the one hand and Mo-
linism on the other. The distinctive trait of Syncretism con
sists in the acceptance of two kinds of efficacious grace: one
kind that is intrinsically and of its very nature efficacious, and
another that derives its efficacy from the free consent of the
will. The latter kind is given by God for the performance of
less difficult good works, such as the resisting of slight tempta
tions, devout prayer, and the like; then, if man accepts these
graces and freely cooperates with them, God will give him an
intrinsically predetermining grace for the performance of good
works that are more difficult. Thus the freedom of the will
is kept intact, the necessity of prayer is emphasized, and God's
sovereign dominion in the matter of grace is vindicated.
The system was originated in the seventeenth century by
Ysambertus, and later on developed by Duplessis, Habert,
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 497
Tournely, and others. It was endorsed by St. Alphonsus Lig-
uori, and has not a few advocates among modern theologians.
Yet there is little in it to make it acceptable. It has to solve all
the difficulties that confront Thomism and Molinism, and offers
no principle of so doing which is not contained in the one or
the other of the two systems.
3. Some Differences of Opinion Among Theologians. —
These differences are so numerous that it is practically impossi
ble to give even the briefest outline of them in a compendious
work like the present. Nor is there any need of it. Many of
them are mere continuations of differences that arose among
theologians in the Middle Ages, and as such have already been
indicated in earlier chapters. Others have so little theological
interest that an exposition of them would be out of place in a
history of dogmas. Hence the following few points will suffice
for our purpose.
(a) The Hypostatic Union. — The great theologians of the
Middle Ages defended the fact of the hypostatic union, but did
not evolve any very definite theory as to its ultimate explana
tion. This was attempted by their successors after the Coun
cil of Trent. All these theories are based upon different philo
sophical concepts of personality. Thus many Thomists hold
that personality results ultimately from actual existence, be
tween which and essence they place a real distinction. Hence,
according to them, the hypostatic union consists in the fact
that the personal existence of the Word supplies the actual
existence of Christ's human nature. This view is taken,*
among others, by Cajetan, Gonet, Billuart, and more recently
by Terrien and Cardinal Billot.
Not a few Jesuits, among them Suarez, Vasquez, De Lugo,
and Ariaga, place personality in a physical mode, really dis
tinct from existing human nature. And this mode, they con
tend, was impeded in the union, its place being taken by the
personality of the Word. Some of them, like Suarez, further
more postulate a modus unionis, in which the union formally
consists. Others of the Society, as Molina, Petavius, Ti-
phanus, Cardinal Franzelin, Christian Pesch, and also many
Scotists, place personality in a real mode which they hold to
498 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
be only negatively distinct from complete and actual existing
human nature. Most of them, moreover, reject the Suarezian
modus unionis and contend that the union formally consists in
the extension of the hypostatic functions of the Word to the
humanity in Christ.
The Scotists as a school adhere to the view taken by Duns
Scotus, that personality consists in a real but negative perfec
tion. This perfection is identical with the complete and inde
pendently existing nature, in so far as it excludes both actual
and aptitudinal communication of the nature to another sup-
positum. Hence as this perfection is impeded by the acces
sion of the Word to the human nature of Christ, the person
ality of the Word must take its place. In its last analysis, this
view seems to be really the same as the preceding. — Many
other theories have been excogitated, but these four suffice to
indicate the general drift of theological thought on the sub
ject under consideration.
(b) The Redemption. — Omitting minor variations in the
soteriological teaching of post-Tridentine theologians, it is
necessary only to mention in this connection that the view of
Scotus on the primary motive of the Incarnation and on the
adequacy of Christ's satisfaction has still its many defenders,
even outside the Scotists' school of theology. And this is
especially true in regard to the first point, although the weight
of theological opinion is still in favor of considering the re
demption of the world as the primary motive of the Incarna
tion. The necessity of the Incarnation, for the purpose of
rendering God condign satisfaction for the sins of mankind,
continued during all this time to be generally defended, but
was insisted on with special emphasis by the Salmanticenses.
This satisfaction is, according to all, in the order of justice, but
many theologians deny that it is ad rigorem fustitiae.
(c) Sanctifying Grace. — Although the Council of Trent
defined that the created gift of sanctifying grace inhering in
the soul must be considered as the sole formal cause of justifi
cation, yet it did not indicate all the various functions of that
formal cause, and consequently there arose numerous discus
sions concerning them in the centuries that followed. Does
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 499
sanctifying grace expel mortal sin physically from the soul as
is held by most theologians, or only morally as is maintained
by the Scotists? Is the participation of the divine nature
merely in the moral- juridical order as the Scotists contend, or
is it physical, though only analogous, as the greaternumber of
other theologians maintain? Again, is sanctifying grace as
a physical entity really distinct from charity, according to the
more common opinion, or is it essentially identical with that
virtue, as was taught not only by the followers. of Scotus, but
also by Lessius, Bellarmine, and many others?" These and
many similar questions remain still unsolved in the theology
of sanctifying grace.
(d) Predestination and Reprobation. — These two points
were and still are discussed chiefly between the Molinists and
Thomists, the question being whether God predestines post or
ante praevisa merita. The Molinists contend for the former
view, and the Thomists for the latter.
According to the Molinists, the order of divine decrees in
regard to predestination is as follows: (a) Antecedently,
even presupposing the existence of original sin, God truly and
sincerely wills the salvation of all men, and in accordance with
this will prepares for them means of salvation that are at
least remotely sufficient, (b) By reason of a special predilec
tion, for some He destines graces which He foreknows by the
scientia media will prove efficacious, (c) By the knowledge of
vision He foresees that these same persons will perform meri
torious actions and die in the state of grace; and thus, after
foreseeing their merits, He predestines them to eternal glory.
In a similar way He foresees that others will die in the state
of mortal sin; and these, in view of their demerits, He con
demns to the punishment of hell.
In the Thomists' view the divine decrees are arranged in this
order: (a) Antecedently, even presupposing original sin,
God truly and sincerely intends eternal blessedness for all
rational creatures, and with this intention He prepares for
them sufficient graces, (b) When He foresees in His decrees
of sufficient grace that no one makes a good use of the grace
thus offered, He chooses some from amongst them whom He
500 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
decrees absolutely and efficaciously to save, (c) For these He
prepares efficacious graces, through which they will infallibly
work out their salvation, (d) Foreseeing in these same de
crees that the elect will perform good works, He decrees fur
thermore in the order of execution to confer eternal life upon
them as a reward, (e) As He foresees that all others, not
belonging to the elect, will die in mortal sin, He condemns
them to eternal punishment. — The Congruists arrange the
divine decrees in a similar order, but they derive God's fore
knowledge from the scientia media.
Comparing the two systems, one cannot help noticing that in
regard to reprobation the Molinists have a decided advantage
over the Thomists. For in their system of grace reprobation
follows from the free choice of the reprobate themselves,
whereas in the system of the Thomists it is ultimately due to
the absence of a praemotio physica without which the free will
of man cannot act. Hence the advocates of this system are
forced to hold negative reprobation, in the sense that the
reprobate had really no chance of saving their souls. The in
ference is, of course, denied; but it appears too obvious to
admit of denial.
(e) Sacramental Theology. — The chief theological differ
ences in regard to the sacraments bear upon sacramental causal
ity, the composition of the sacramental sign, the immediate
institution by Christ, and the nature of the sacramental char
acter. The following few remarks will suffice to indicate the
differences in question.
Sacramental causality is explained in many different ways,
but all these ways may be classified in four systems. The first
of these is usually called the system of dispositive causality,
which holds that the sacraments are the instrumental causes,
not directly of grace, but of a disposition thereto. In bap
tism, confirmation, and orders, this disposition is identified
with the sacramental character, while in the remaining sacra
ments it is said to be a corresponding ornament of the soul —
ornatus animae. This view was defended by St. Thomas in
his commentary of the Sentences, and by the Thomists gen
erally up to the time of Cajetan (+ 1510). Since his day
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 501
most Thomists are in favor of the second system, which is that
of perfective physical causality. It differs from the foregoing
in this, that the sacraments are said to be the direct instrumen
tal causes of grace. According to its modern advocates, the
system is in accord with the teaching of St. Thomas as con
tained in the Summa Theologica. However, Cardinal Billot
and others still contend for dispositive causality, but under a
different name. They call it intentional causality. The sys
tem of perfective physical causality is also defended by many
Jesuit theologians, as Suarez, Bellarmine, Gregory de Valen-
tia, and Sylvester Maurus.
The third system advocates what is usually termed occa
sional causality. The name is taken from the fact that the
sacraments are regarded as occasional conditions on which
the bestowal of grace has been made dependent by the divine
will. The power of God is said to operate in the sacramental
rite, but in such a way that the rite itself does not instrumen-
tally contribute to the conferring of grace. Hence the sac
raments are not really causes of the grace bestowed. This
view of sacramental causality is usually attributed to St. Bona-
venture, Scotus, and many of their early followers. Modern
Scotists for the most part subscribe, though with some reserva
tions, to the fourth system, which is known in the schools by
the name of moral causality. In this system the sacraments
are considered to be only mediate causes of grace. Their
causality is conceived to consist in the fact that they are
morally the actions of Christ, and as such have the inherent
power of infallibly moving God to bestow grace upon the
worthy recipient. The system is defended by the greater num
ber of Jesuit theologians, and also by some of the older
Thomists. The term, moral causality, as here used seems to
have been introduced by Melchoir Cano.
In regard to the second point mentioned above, the compo
sition of the sacramental sign, it need only be stated that there
is a difference of opinion among theologians as to whether all
the sacraments are intrinsically and essentially made up of
things and words, or matter and form. Many agree with Sco
tus that penance does not include matter as an essential part,
502 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
and also that the Eucharist as a sacrament does not include
words by way of form. In regard to the sacrament of orders
there is quite a variety of opinions as to what parts of the rite
of ordination constitute the sacramental sign. Not only is it
a disputed question whether the traditio instrument orum forms
an essential part, but also what particular imposition of hands
is to be regarded as essential. At least four different views
are held by theologians of note.
The immediate institution of the sacraments by Christ
seems to be implied in several statements made by the Council
of Trent, and hence it is commonly admitted by theologians.
But when there is question of the exact meaning of the term,
opinions begin to differ. Some hold that Christ designated all
the sacramental rites in specie, as He did that of baptism and
the Eucharist ; while others contend that in regard to five sac
raments He indicated only in a general way what external signs
should be used. This latter view is rapidly gaining ground,
as it lends itself more readily to the solution of historical diffi
culties. If not pushed too far, it seems to be perfectly safe.
On the nature of the sacramental character there are two
different views, each one of which is defended by a large num
ber of theologians. Most Thomists consider the character to
be a physical potency, which has regard to the due administra
tion or reception of the sacraments. This view was also taken
by St. Thomas. Outside the Thomistic school of theology the
sacramental character is quite generally held to be a habitus,
a spiritual quality which consecrates the soul and assimilates
it to Jesus Christ. It must be noted, however, that the funda
mental ideas contained in these two views are accepted by indi
vidual theologians with various modifications, so that there is
quite a variety of opinions on the matter. Besides, during the
seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the view of Durandus,
that the character is nothing but a relation, came again into
vogue. This, however, is generally regarded as out of har
mony with the teaching of the Council of Trent.
(f) The Eucharistic Sacrifice. — That the Mass is in the
strict sense of the term a sacrificial rite, and that both victim
and priest are the same as in the sacrifice of the cross, is a
SCHOOL DIFFERENCES 503
matter of faith and taught as such by all theologians. But in
what particular part of the Mass the sacrifice consists, and
what is the formal reason of the Eucharistic sacrifice, are ques
tions in regard to which theological opinions are very much at
variance. Some answer the first question by saying that the
essence of the sacrifice consists in the oblation that follows the
consecration, others contend that it is found in the communion
of the celebrating priest, others hold that both consecration
and communion are essential parts, while very many maintain
that the consecration alone constitutes the essence of the sac
rifice. At the present time this last view is the more common,
and is usually regarded as certain.
There is a similar variety of opinions as regards the formal
reason of the sacrifice. What is it that makes the Eucharistic
rite a true sacrifice ? Suarez and others answer that it is the
destruction of the bread and wine and the positing in place
thereof of the body and blood of Christ as peculiarly pleasing
to God. Others hold with Lessius that the Mass is a sacrifice
because the words of consecration tend to bring about the
actual separation of Christ's body and blood, and the realiza
tion of this tendency is impeded only by the present impassible
state of the Savior. De Lugo, whose view is accepted by
many modern theologians, sees the specific reason of the Eu
charistic sacrifice in the fact that Christ is placed illocally
under the species of bread and wine, and is thus deprived of
the connatural functions of His humanity, becoming present
in the condition of food and drink. Again, very many hold
with Cardinal Billot, that by reason of the separate consecra
tion of bread and wine Christ is mystically immolated in specie
sacramenti as He was once really immolated in His natural
body. Beside these views there are many others, but they
contribute little towards clearing up the mystery.
Some of the remaining theological differences, which are
almost innumerable, will be briefly touched upon in the follow
ing chapter. Enough has been said to make the reader keenly
conscious of two facts : First, that since the Council of Trent
there has been displayed an intense activity in the theological
world; secondly, that without the guidance of an infallible
Church, religious belief can find no security anywhere.
CHAPTER XXIX
HERETICAL TENDENCIES
Although the Council of Trent, besides defining many
points of doctrine, also afforded much help to theological in
quirers by embodying in the chapters of its various sessions
timely expositions of truths still open for discussion, yet it
only partially succeeded in suppressing such heretical tenden
cies as were not directly affected by its condemnation of Prot
estant errors. Men's minds were restless, and not a few of
those who still remained faithful to the Church allowed the
critical attitude of the sixteenth-century innovators to influ
ence their views and judgments. Hence the repeated appear
ance of theological opinions that called for censure on the part
of the Church; hence, too, the tenacity with which writers
clung to their views after judgment had been given against
them by the teaching authority which they themselves acknowl
edged as competent to decide matters of faith. The following
few points will suffice to illustrate the tendencies in question.
i. Baius and Baianism. — Michael Baius and his friend
John Hessels were both connected with the University of Lou-
vain, and they first broached their untenable views during the
absence of Chancellor Tapper, who had been sent as theologian
to the Council of Trent. On his return, in 1552, he took
immediate steps to counteract the evil influence of the two
innovators. Through the intervention of Cardinal Granvelle,
archbishop of Mechlin, Baius and Hessels were induced to dis
continue the spreading of opinions that could apparently not
be sustained. They remained quiet till Tapper's death, in
1559, but after that they began the discussion anew. Though
ably opposed by the Jesuits and Franciscans, they carried on
an active propaganda and gained many adherents. Then the
504
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 505
Franciscans brought the matter before the Sarbonne of Paris,
with the result that eighteen propositions taken from the writ
ings of Baius and Hessels were severely censured. As this did
not end the dispute, Pope Pius IV imposed silence on both par
ties. A few years later, Baius and his friend were sent to the
Council of Trent as theologians of the king of Spain.
It was in 1566, two years after the closing of the Council,
and the very year of Hessel's death, that Baius gathered to
gether the various tracts he and his friend had issued from
time to time, and published them under the title Opuscula
Omnia. Shortly after their appearance, complaint was lodged
with the Pope that they contained many unsound doctrines.
In consequence of this, Pius V, on October i, 1567, issued the
Bull Ex omnibus aMictionibus, which condemned seventy-nine
propositions defended by Baius, but did not mention the au
thor's name. The Bull closes with the sentence : Quas qui-
dem sententias . . . quamquam nonnullae aliquo pacto susti-
neri possent * in rigore et proprio verborum sensu ab asserto-
ribus intent o ** haereticas erroneas suspectas . . . damna-
mus. As the document was without punctuation, a contro
versy immediately arose about the comma Planum, that is,
whether a comma should be placed at * or at **, the meaning
of the sentence being obviously quite different according as the
one or the other position were chosen. The discussion
dragged on for a number of years, and it was not until Greg
ory XIII, in 1579, by the Bull Provisionis nostrae, confirmed
the preceding condemnation that Baius finally submitted.
The errors of Baius have a bearing upon the threefold state
of man: The state of innocence, of fallen nature, and of re
deemed nature. The following is a brief outline of them as
contained in his writings.
(a) The state of innocence, in which our first parents were
placed, was not supernatural in the strict sense of the term.
For the various gifts from which that state resulted were due
to human nature, at least in the sense that without them man
could not be saved. Destination to heaven, the inherent power
of meriting, freedom from concupiscence, immunity from ig
norance, preservation from suffering and death, are all nor-
506 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
mal requirements of human nature, and therefore they can
not strictly* be called gratuitous gifts of grace.
(b) Fallen nature was not only deprived of sanctifying
grace and the various gifts connected with the state of inno
cence, but was vitiated by a positive evil quality, which con
sists in concupiscence ; and this concupiscence, as transmitted
by the laws of heredity, constitutes original sin. Concu
piscence is a sin irrespective of its relation to. the will ; hence,
aside from the redemption, human nature is incapable of doing
good; its actions are necessarily sinful. Furthermore, moral
responsibility does not require that the agent enjoy freedom
from internal determinism, but only from external coercion.
Hence, in the state of fallen nature, man's will is not really
free.
(c) In the state of redeemed nature, the gifts of primitive
innocence are restored ; and as they are no longer due to man
because of the fall, they must now be regarded as gifts of
grace. However, they are supernatural only in a relative
sense, that is, as referred to man's present unworthiness.
Grace does not elevate human nature to a strictly supernatural
state; its office and purpose is to keep concupiscence under
control, and thus enable man to fulfill the law and perform
moral actions. Hence in justification there is no interior reno
vation, but only a canceling of liability to punishment.1
These views of Baius are evidently irreconcilable with the
teaching of the Church as formulated by the Council of Trent.
For in its decree on original sin, the Council quite clearly as
sumes that the gift of primitive justice was supernatural, and
that original sin consists, not in a positive deterioration of
human nature, but in the forfeiture of purely gratuitous privi
leges. Then, in the decree on justification, it describes the
process by which man is transferred from the state of sin to
that of justice as an interior renovation of the soul by means
of inherent grace.2 Consequently, the condemnation of Bai-
anism by Pius V, though an ex cathedra pronouncement, does
little more than apply the principles laid down at Trent.
1 Cfr. Schwane, VI, 239 sqq. ; DB. 2 Cfr. DB. 787 sqq. ; 793 sqq.
IOOI sqq.
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 507
2. Jansenius and Jansenism. — Cornelius Jansen was born in
1585, near Leerdam, Holland. He received his early educa
tion at Utrecht, and then studied philosophy and theology at
Louvain. During his theological studies he came under the
influence of Jacques Janson, who was deeply imbued with the
errors of Baius. It was most likely owing to this influence
that Jansenius later on revived Baianism in a somewhat modi
fied form. Whilst studying at Louvain, he formed a close
friendship with Jean du Verger de Hauranne, through whose
recommendation he was afterwards appointed director of the
episcopal college at Bayonne, in France. There the two
friends devoted about twelve years to a close study of the
Fathers, especially of St. Augustine. Then Jansenius re
turned to Louvain, where he was appointed president of the
new college de Sainte-Pulcherie. He received the degree of
Doctor of Theology in 1619, and then taught exegesis with
great renown. In 1636 he was consecrated bishop of Ypres,
where he died two years later in sentiments of great piety.
He is the author of many works, mostly on Holy Scripture,
all of which were published after his death. With the excep
tion of one, they are all perfectly orthodox in doctrine. This
one exception is a work in three volumes, usually cited under
the title Augustinus. It purports to be a faithful exposition of
the teaching of St. Augustine against the Pelagians and Semi-
Pelagians. Hence the full title is : Cornelii Jansenii, Episcopi
Yprensis, Augustinus, seu doctrina S. Augustini de hunianae
naturae sanitate, aegritudine, medicina, adversus Pelagianos
et Massilienses. In making provisions for its publication, the
author is said to have declared : " If the Holy See wishes any
change, I am an obedient son, and I submit to that Church in
which I have lived to my dying hour. This is my last wish."
Hence, although the work contains grave errors against the
faith, it would not be fair to accuse Jansenius of formal heresy.
The errors of Jansenius are fundamentally the same as
those of Baius. He, too, looks upon the primitive state of our
first parents as devoid of strictly supernatural gifts, in as much
as the beatific vision is the necessary end of human nature.
Consequently, when man by his fall into sin forfeited the
5o8 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
spiritual endowments that fitted him for the attainment of his
end, he was deprived of what belonged to his natural integrity.
The result of this privation is the utter corruption of our
nature, which shows itself chiefly in the powerlessness of our
will. In fact, our will is purely passive, and is irresistibly
moved to good or evil according as the attraction of grace or
concupiscence is stronger. Thus the will always acts under
the pressure of internal necessity; but this necessity is con
ceived to be compatible with freedom, and therefore we are
morally responsible for our actions.
This, according to Jansenius, represents the genuine teach
ing of St. Augustine, whose writings against the Pelagians he
claimed to have read thirty times. The book was received
with great applause in the Netherlands, and also found many
admirers in France, where the ground had been prepared by the
author's friend, Verger de Hauranne. At the same time it
was severely attacked by Jesuit theologians, with the resu4t
that Urban VIII forbade its circulation. It found an ardent
defender in the person of the Sarbonnist Antoine Arnanld,
whose hatred of the Jesuits injected a great deal of unneces
sary bitterness into the discussion. In 1649, at the instance of
the Syndic Cornet, the Sarbonne took up the matter, and the
result was that eighty-eight bishops demanded the condemna
tion of five theses taken from the Augustinus. They wrote
in this sense to the Sovereign Pontiff, Innocent X, but as
eleven other bishops asked for further investigation, a commis
sion of five cardinals and thirteen consultors was appointed
for that purpose. The examination lasted two years, and
although some members of the commission were in favor of
Jansenius, the five propositions were solemnly condemned in
the Bull Cum occasione, May 31, 1653.
The condemned propositions read as follows : —
(a) Some of God's commandments are impossible to just
men who wish and strive to keep them, considering the powers
they actually have ; the grace by which these precepts may be
come possible is also wanting to them.
(b) In the state of fallen nature no one ever resists interior
grace.
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 509
(c) In order to merit or demerit, in the state of fallen
nature, we must be free from all external constraint, but not
from interior necessity.
(d) The Semi-Pelagians admitted the necessity of interior
preventing grace for all acts, even for the beginning of faith ;
but they fell into heresy in pretending that this grace is such
that man may either follow or resist it.
(f) It is Semi-Pelagian -to say that Christ died or shed His
blood for all men.3
The first four of these propositions are absolutely condemned
as heretical; while the fifth is condemned as heretical when
taken in the sense that Christ died only for the predestined.
The condemnation was accepted by the Jansenists in so far
as the doctrine contained in the five propositions came in ques
tion, but they denied that these propositions represented the
genuine teaching of Jansenius. Innocent X, in 1656, rejected
the distinction thus made between the question of right and
fact, and so did Alexander VII a year later. In the Bull Ad
sanctam Beati Petri sedem, of October 16, he confirmed the
condemnation pronounced by his predecessor in these terms:
" We declare and define that the five propositions have been
drawn from the book of Jansenius entitled Augustinus, and
that they have been condemned in the sense of the same Jan
senius, and we once more condemn them as such." However,
in spite of this clear condemnation, the conflict continued.
Not only Arnauld, Pascal, and the religious of Port Royal, but
several bishops also refused to subscribe the formula enjoined
by the Constitution Regiminis Apostolici, of February 15,
1664. The more moderate of the French Jansenists then took
the position that a respectful silence was all that could be
required by the Holy See. This view was finally condemned
by Clement XI, who on July 16, 1705, issued the Bull Vineam
Domini Sabaoth. After that the opposition in France broke
down, and Port Royal, the center of the rebellion, was de
stroyed.4
Meanwhile the followers of Jansenius in the Netherlands
3 Cfr. DB. 1092 sqq. Paquier, Jansenisme, etude doctrin-
4 Cfr. Schwane, VI, 383 sqq. ; al d'apres les sources, Paris, 1909.
510 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
prepared the way for a schism. In 1702, the Vicar Apostolic
Peter Kodde had been suspended on suspicion of Jansenis>tic
leanings, and when a successor was nominated, the States-
General and a number of the clergy protested. The conflict
lasted till 1723, when the Jansenist chapter of Utrecht elected
Cornelius Steenoven archbishop of that see. Some years later
two suffragan bishoprics were established, one at Haarlem and
the other at Deventer. As Rome refused to recognize these
appointments, the schism became permanent. However, even
to-day, the Jansenist party in Holland counts only a few thou
sand adherents.5
3. Paschase Quesnel. — Quesnel was at first a member of
the French Oratory, but was expelled from that congregation
for his Jansenistic opinions in 1684. He published several
editions of the New Testament, with comments and moral re
flections. The last edition, in four large volumes, appeared
in 1693, under the title: The New Testament in French with
Moral Reflections on Each Verse. It had the approbation of
Noailles, bishop of Chalons, and was very favorably received.
However, as the " reflexions " reproduced the teaching of
Jansenius and Baius on grace and the salvific will of God, sev
eral bishops forbade the reading of the book. Noailles, who
had meanwhile been created cardinal and made archbishop of
Paris, found himself under the necessity of withdrawing his
approbation, but for a time hesitated' to do so. Then appeal
was made to Clement XI, who, after a- careful examination of
the book, issued the Bull Unigenitus, in which 101 propositions
were condemned.6
As several of the condemned propositions, when taken apart
from the context, seemed to have an orthodox sense, Noailles
and eight other bishops applied to Rome for explanations be
fore accepting the Bull. Thereupon a lengthy discussion en
sued, in course of which a number of bishops, and hundreds
of clerics and religious appealed from the Pope to a general
council. However, the Pope remained firm, and in the Bull
Pastoralis officii, of 1718, excommunicated the appellants.
5 Cfr. Hergenrother, VI, 359 sqq. 6 Cfr. DB. 1351 sqq.
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 511
But they refused to submit, and it was not until Cardinal
Noailles, in 1728, finally accepted the Bull Unigenitus, that the
conflict gradually came to an end.
4. Gallicanism. — The essence of Gallicanism may be said
to consist in a tendency to restrain and limit the Pope's author
ity in the Church in favor of the rights of bishops and of the
temporal ruler. This tendency manifested itself in France
for the first time at the beginning of the fourteenth century,
during the conflict between Philip the Fair and Boniface VIII.
In virtue of certain privileges, which he claimed had been
granted to Charlemagne and his successors, the king main
tained that he had the right to dispose of vacant ecclesias
tical benefices. When Boniface refused to allow this claim,
he, with the consent of the nobility and a large number of the
clergy, appealed from the Pope to a future general council,
implying thereby the superiority of the council to the Pope.
Similar ideas were introduced into the schools by William
Ockam, John of Jandun, and Marsilius of Padua, professors
in the University of Paris. Although condemned by John
XXII, and also by the University authorities, they persisted
and found many defenders. At the time when the Council of
Constance opened, Gallicanism had already struck deep root
in the minds of the French people and clergy, and the action
of the Council in a manner legitimatized the principles in
volved. It must be noted, however, that the proceedings of
the Council in this matter were irregular and without proper
authority.
Gallicanism is of two kinds: Parliamentary and Episcopal.
The former involves the tendency to augment the right of the
State to the prejudi.ee of those of the Church. The latter
involves a similar tendency to augment the ecclesiastical au
thority of the bishops to the prejudice of those of the Pope.
Both claim to be a defense of the so-called Liberties of the
Gallican Church.
The most important of the Liberties defended by Parlia
mentary Gallicanism are the following : The kings of France
have the right to assemble councils in their dominions, and to
make laws and regulations touching ecclesiastical matters.
512 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
The Pope's legates cannot be sent into France, or exercise their
powers within that kingdom, except at the king's request or
with his consent. Bishops, even when commanded by the
Pope, cannot go out of the kingdom without the consent of
the king. The royal officers cannot be excommunicated for
any act performed in the discharge of their official duties.
The Pope cannot authorize the alienation of any ecclesiastical
landed estate, or the diminishing of any foundations. The
Pope's Bulls and Letters may not be executed without the Pa-
reatis of the king or his officers. He cannot issue dispensa
tions to the prejudice of the laudable customs and statutes of
cathedral churches. It is lawful to appeal from him to a
future council, or to have recourse to the " appeal as from an
abuse " against acts of the ecclesiastical power. — Altogether,
as drawn up by the Jurisconsults Guy Coquille and Pierre
Pithou, there were eighty-three of these " Liberties," and they
practically did away with the Pope's authority in France.
Episcopal Gallicanism, which had found expression at Con
stance and Basle, grew constantly in force till the beginning of
the sixteenth century, when through the exertions of the
League against the Huguenots there was a brief reaction. It
was revived after the assassination of Henry IV in 1610, and
through the activity of Edmond Richer, syndic of the Sar-
bonne, again rapidly gained in strength. In 1663, the Sar-
bonne openly declared that it did not recognize the Pope's
superiority to a general council, nor his infallibility apart from
the consent of the Church. Matters came to a crisis some
twenty years later, when Pope Innocent XI resisted the pre
tensions of Louis XIV in reference to the regalia. In the
General Assembly of 1682, at which were present thirty-six
prelates and thirty-four deputies of the second order, four arti
cles were adopted in which Episcopal Gallicanism found its
official expression. The first, however, deals only with tem
poral matters. They were drafted by Bossuet, bishop of
Meaux. In substance they read as follows : —
(a) St. Peter and the Popes, his successors, and the Church
itself have received dominion from God only over things spirit
ual and such as concern salvation, and not over things tern-
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 513
poral and civil. Hence kings and sovereigns are not by God's
command subject to any ecclesiastical dominion in things tem
poral; they cannot be deposed, whether directly or indirectly,
by the authority of the rulers of the Church ; their subjects
cannot be dispensed from that submission and obedience which
they owe to their sovereign, nor can they be absolved from the
oath of allegiance.
(b) The plenitude of authority in things spiritual, which
belongs to the Holy See and the successors of St. Peter, in no
wise affects the permanence and immovable strength of the
decrees of the Council of Constance drawn up in the fourth
and fifth sessions, approved by the Holy See, confirmed by the
practice of the whole Church and the Roman Pontiff, and ob
served in all ages by the Gallican Church. That Church does
not countenance the opinion of those who cast a slur on those
decrees, or who lessen their force by saying that their author
ity is not well established, that they are not approved, or that
they apply only to the period of the schism.
(c) The exercise of the Apostolic authority must also be
regulated in accordance with the canons drawn up under the
guidance of the Spirit of God, and consecrated by the respect
of the whole world. The rules, customs, and constitutions re
ceived within the kingdom and the Gallican Church must have
their force and their effect, and the usages of our fathers
must remain inviolable, since the dignity of the Apostolic See
itself demands that the laws and customs established with the
consent of that august see and of the Churches be constantly
maintained.
(d) Although the Pope has the chief authority in questions
of faith, and his decrees apply to all the Churches, and to each
Church in particular, yet his judgment is not irreformable, at
least pending the consent of the Church.7
A few days later, Louis ordered the registration of the arti
cles in all the schools and faculties of theology, and no one
could be admitted to a degree without having defended the
articles in one of his theses. Furthermore, it was strictly for-
7 Cf r. DB. 1322 sqq.
514 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
bidden to attack them in writing. Pope Innocent XI took a
firm stand against the action of the General Assembly, and so
did his successor Alexander VIII. The latter, in the Consti
tution Inter multiplices, of August 4, 1690, issued a strong
condemnation of the four articles, and refused to confirm any
bishop elected in accordance with the provisions contained
therein. Under his successor, Innocent XII, some kind of
an understanding was reached, and thereafter Gallicanism
began to decline. It was, however, not entirely eradicated
until after the Vatican Council.8
5. Febronianism. — In concept and purpose, Febronianism is
a politico-ecclesiastical system founded on a denial of the mon
archical constitution of the Church. Its author was Johann
Nikolaus von Hontheim, auxiliary bishop of Trier, who wrote
under the pseudonym Justinus Febronius. He had studied at
Louvain under the canonist van Espen, through whose influ
ence he became deeply imbued with Gallican principles. How
ever, in the development of these principles, he went far be
yond the traditional Gallicanism which his master had intro
duced into the Low Countries. In working out his system,
he seems to have been guided by the thought of facilitating the
reconciliation of Protestant bodies with the Church. At least
to this thought he gives expression in the title under which
he published his work, which reads: Justini Febronii Juris
consulti de Statu Ecclesiae et legitima potestate Romani Pontif-
icis singularis ad reuniendos dissidentes in religione christianos
compositus. The work appeared first in 1763, and in a short
time ran through several editions. Its contents may be briefly
summarized as follows : —
The power of the keys was entrusted by Christ to the Church
as a body, but in such a way that it should be exercised through
her prelates. Hence the power is possessed by the Church, and
the prelates have only the use of it in so far as she communi
cates it to them for her own purposes. The first place among
her prelates is held by the Pope, but even he is subordinated
to the Church as a whole. The Roman Primacy does not
s Ibid. 1326.
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 515
rest on the authority of Christ, but on that of Peter and the
Church, and therefore the Church has power to attach the
primatial dignity to any other church, as may be expedient
under given circumstances. As head of the Church, it is in
cumbent on the Pope to watch over her welfare, to promul
gate laws in her name, and to enforce the observance of the
canons; yet he has no real power of jurisdiction. He merely
uses the jurisdiction that belongs to the Church as a whole.
Now, in course of time, especially through the influence of
the False Decretals of Pseudo-Isidore, the See of Rome has
acquired a far-reaching authority, to which it has no right;
of this it must be deprived, so as to bring back the condition
of things that obtained during the first eight centuries. Ac
cordingly, such questions as were in olden times left to the
decision of provincial synods and of metropolitans, but are now
reserved to the Holy See, must no longer be submitted to the
judgment of the Pope. Hence the election and confirmation
of bishops, their transfer and removal, the establishment of
new sees, the condemnation of heresies, and similar matters of
local interest, lie outside the scope of the primatial power.
So, too, does the granting of benefices, and the exemption of
religious orders.
Furthermore, as the Pope is not infallible, he cannot, on
his own authority, give any decisions on matters of faith that
are of universal obligation. Nor can he in matters of disci
pline legislate for the whole Church, and laws once properly
promulgated he cannot alter. He is subordinate to a general
council, and hence the right of appeal from his authority to a
future general council must be admitted. He has neither the
exclusive right to summon a general council nor to preside at
its sessions. Moreover, the decrees of general councils do not
need the ratification of the Pope. On the other hand, such
decrees are not binding until they have been accepted by the
whole Church.
Lastly, although the Pope is to a certain extent entrusted
with the care of the whole Church, yet in the exercise of his
power in that regard he is not wholly independent of the
State. Catholic sovereigns ought to take a reasonable interest
516 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
in the welfare of the Church in their dominions, and for this
purpose, according to the need there may be of it, they should
avail themselves of the Regium Placet as regards the publica
tion of papal decrees. In like manner they should refuse obe
dience to the Pope, if the interests of the national Church re
quire it. Subjects, moreover, must have the right to appeal to
the secular authority by way of the Apellatio ab abusu®
As is quite evident from this brief summary, the real object
aimed at by Febronius was nothing less than the establishment
of national Churches that were to be practically independent
of the Pope, and more or less subject to the State. His sys
tem is a combination of Gallicanism and Csesarism, and as
such it is the very antithesis of the Church Catholic. It was
reduced to practice by Joseph II of Austria, with the result
that in his dominions the Church was almost ruined. The
book was formally condemned by Clement XIII, in 1764, but
it continued to be widely read and was translated into German,
French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Pius VI, in 1778, induced
the author to retract his views ; but it is very doubtful whether
the retractation was sincere, as he continued to write in de
fense of his position. At all events, the pernicious effects of
his work were not checked, and many Catholic sovereigns
eagerly accepted his ideas in order to promote their own inter
ests at the expense of the Church.
6. The Synod of Pistoia. — The politico-ecclesiastical sys
tem of Febronius, tried on a grand scale in Austria by Em
peror Joseph II, was also introduced into Italy by Joseph's
brother, Grand Duke Leopold of Tuscany. The reform
measures to be enacted were outlined in two instructions sent
to the bishops in Leopold's dominion, and it was made incum
bent upon the prelates to convene synods at which doctrinal,
disciplinary, and liturgical matters were to be discussed and
regulated. The bishops, however, proved intractable, the only
one who entirely fell in with Leopold's designs being Scipio
de' Ricci, bishop of Pistoia and Prato. He convoked a synod
on July 31, 1786, having invited thereto many canonists and
9 Cf r. Schwane, VI, 529 sqq. ; DB. 1500 sqq.
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 517
theologians who were noted for their Gallican and Jansenistic
tendencies. The synod was attended by 246 members, who
for the most part were strongly in sympathy with de' Ricci's
designs. Many of them had been irregularly intruded from
other dioceses, while those of Ricci's priests who were known
for their orthodoxy had not been invited.
As might have been expected under the circumstances, Leo
pold's ideas were fully carried out. The four Gallican articles
were adopted, the Pope was declared to be merely the minis
terial head of the Church, episcopal powers and rights were
said to be derived immediately from Christ, and parish priests,
when acting in conjunction with the bishop, were held to be
judges of the faith. Regarding questions of strictly doctrinal
import, such as the primitive condition of man, the nature
and action of grace, the administration of the sacraments, the
sacrifice of the Mass, indulgences, the veneration of images,
and the practice of the Sacred Heart devotion, strongly Jan
senistic views prevailed. The Synod closed on September 28,
and in February of the following year its proceedings were
published with the royal imprimatur. After a careful exam
ination of the Pistoian enactments by a commission of car
dinals and bishops, Pius VI condemned eighty-five proposi
tions, in the Bull Auctorem fidei of August 28, 1794. Mean
while, on the accession of Leopold to the imperial throne, de'
Ricci had been compelled to resign his see. With his retire
ment and the papal condemnation of the Synod, Jansenistic
influence in Italy came to an end.10
7. Rationalism. — From the middle of the eighteenth cen-
turn forward there was a decided turning away of men's
minds from the supernatural, with the result that many, espe
cially among the upper classes of society, gave up all belief in
revealed religion. Naturalism, deism, and rationalism were
substituted for the teaching of Christianity, and intellectual
Europe seemed to be drifting back into paganism. This con
dition of things obtained mostly among non-Catholics, but
traces of it were found also in Catholic circles. And in not
10Cfr. DB. 1501 sqq.
5i8 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
a few instances, well intentioned men only aggravated the
evil by their misdirected efforts to counteract it. The most
distinguished of these men were Hermes, Guenther, Bonnety,
and Bautain. Both philosophical and theological learning
were at a low ebb, Scholasticism had again fallen into disre
pute, and in their endeavor to strike out into new directions
they went considerably astray.
Hermes, for ten years processor of dogmatic theology at
Bonn, was strongly influenced by the teaching of Kant and
Fichte, although he professedly opposed their systems of
thought. At the same time he followed Descartes in making
" methodical doubt " the starting point of all certitude. In
fact, he goes even a step farther and asserts that one must
positively doubt everything until reason finds something that
admits of no doubt. And this holds true in theology as well
as in philosophy. Hence faith no less than science rests upon
the demonstrations of reason. In this, however, he distin
guishes between practical and theoretical reason. The former
accepts revelation because it is compelled to do so by man's
moral needs; while the latter yields only to the evidence of a
demonstrated truth.
The author developed his system in two works, entitled re
spectively, Introduction to Philosophy, and, Introduction to
Theology, and then applied it in his Dogmatik. He had many
followers, and, protected by the Prussian government and his
own archbishop, he was left unmolested during his life time;
but some years after his death a commission was appointed by
the Pope to investigate the charge of unorthodoxy lodged
against him a-t Rome. The commission found the charge only
too true, and in consequence Gregory XVI, in a Brief of Sep
tember 26, 1835, condemned the theological teaching of
Hermes as " false, rash, captious, leading to skepticism and
indifferentism, erroneous, scandalous, harmful to Catholic
schools, subversive of divine faith, savoring of heresy and
already condemned by the Church." The chief errors of
Hermes designated by the papal Brief bear on the nature and
rule of faith ; on Holy Scripture and tradition, revelation, and
the teaching office of the Church; the motives of credibility,
HERETICAL TENDENCIES 519
the proofs of the existence of God, and the doctrines concern
ing the nature of the holiness, justice, and freedom of God,
and His ultimate purpose in His works ad extra; on the neces
sity of grace and its bestowal; on the reward and punishment
of men; on the primitive state of our first parents; on original
sin and on the powers of man in the fallen state.11
Similar lines of thought were followed by Anton Guenther,
a private ecclesiastic residing at Vienna, who from 1818 until
the condemnation of his works in 1857, displayed a ceaseless
literary activity. His constant aim was to refute the panthe
ism of modern philosophy, and to demonstrate from the stand
point of natural reason the truth of positive Christianity.
The better to- accomplish this, he departed from the beaten path
of Scholasticism and endeavored to construct an entirely new
system of Christian philosophy. Unfortunately, he allowed
himself to be unduly influenced by the methods of Hegel and
Schelling, whose philosophy he tried to refute. His views,
however, were widely adopted by Catholic scholars in Ger
many, although their unsoundness was clearly pointed out by
men of recognized ability and learning.
In 1852, the Congregation of the Index began an official
investigation of Guenther's writings, and five years later
placed them on the list of forbidden books. This condemna
tion was approved by Pius IX, who, on June 15, 1857, ad
dressed a Brief to Cardinal von Geissel, archbishop of Co
logne, in which he pointed out some of the more serious of
Guenther's errors. Aside from the fundamental rationalism
which vitiates the author's philosophy, these errors bear espe
cially on the Trinity, the person of Christ, the nature of man,
creation, and particularly on the relation of faith to knowl
edge. Guenther himself submitted to the judgment passed on
his works, and discontinued writing; but some of his follow
ers kept up an active propaganda for his views until after the
Vatican Council.12
An altogether opposite tendency, by way of reaction against
rationalism, manifested itself in France, where Bautain and
11 Cfr. DB. 1618 sqq. 12 Cfr. DB. 1655 sqq.
520 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
Bonnety labored for the establishment of traditionalism.
They built on the philosophical concepts of Bonald and F. de
Lamennais, according to which human reason is of itself radi
cally unable to know with certainty the fundamental truths of
the metaphysical, moral, and religious order. Hence all
knowledge must ultimately be traced back to revelation, and
only by the transmission of revealed truths is the human mind
put into the possession of such first principles as it needs for
its proper operation. The system was condemned by Rome
in so far as the authors were required to subscribe a number
of theses in which the priority of reason to faith, the demon-
strability of the existence of God, of the spirituality of the
soul, of human liberty, and the harmony between faith and
reason were asserted.13
Besides the tendencies thus briefly outlined, there were many
others, in all the various fields of intellectual activity, that ran
more or less counter to received views and approved teaching.
Some of them, like the quietistic vagaries of Michael de Moli-
nos,14 were almost entirely confined to the order of Christian
morality; others, like the ontological speculations of Gioberti
and Rosmini,15 bore primarily upon philosophical questions.
Indirectly, indeed, they also touched Christian dogma, but they
never exerted a far-reaching influence in that direction.
13 Cf r. DB. 1622 sqq. ; 1649 sqq. 15 Cf r. DB. 1659 sqq.
14Cfr. DB. 1221 sqq.
CHAPTER XXX
SOME PAPAL DECISIONS: THE VATICAN COUNCIL:
MODERNISM
Although the infallibility of the Pope had not yet been
defined, in practice it was accepted by the whole Church. It is
true, the Gallicans made it dependent on the assent of the
episcopate, but they were only a small faction and had little
influence outside of France. Hence papal decisions in mat
ters of faith were generally regarded as final, provided it was
sufficiently clear that the Pope intended to speak in his capacity
of chief shepherd of the faithful. In the lapse of centuries,
many such decisions issued from the Holy See, as is quite evi
dent from what has been said in the preceding chapter. Most
of them have been referred to in the course of the book, but a
few deserve special notice in this place.
A — SOME PAPAL DECISIONS 1
i. The Immaculate Conception. — The most important of
these decisions regard the doctrine of the Immaculate Concep
tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The question had been in
dispute for centuries, although after the Council of Trent there
were but few theologians who did not consider it rash to im
pugn the doctrine. The very fact that the Council took occa
sion to declare that it was in no wise its intention to include
the Blessed Virgin among those who had incurred the guilt of
original sin, and that it renewed " the constitutions of Pope
Sixtus IV," 2 was generally considered as a clear indication
that the Church regarded the question to be no longer open
for discussion. The constitutions of .Sixtus IV referred to by
the Council are two in number. One was issued on February
28, 1476, and in it the Pope adopted the feast for the entire
1 Cf r. Bachelet. Tmmac. Concept. : 2 Cfr. DB. 792.
Reiner, Der Syllabus.
521
522 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
Latin Church, at the same time granting an indulgence to all
who would assist at the divine offices of the solemnity.3 The
other appeared on September 4, 1483, and was intended to end
the dispute between the opponents of the doctrine and those
who were in favor of it. Therein also excommunication was
pronounced against either of the disputants whoi charged their
adversaries with heresy.4
After the Council of Trent, the doctrine was denied, among
others, by Baius, who explicitly asserted that " no one but
Christ was without original sin, and that therefore the Blessed
Virgin had died because of the sin contracted in Adam, and
had endured afflictions in this life, like the rest of the just, as
a punishment of actual and original sin." 5 This proposition
was condemned by Pius V, as already noted in the preceding
chapter. The same Pontiff, moreover, issued a Constitution
in which he forbade all public discussion of the subject, and
also inserted a new office of the Immaculate Conception in the
liturgical books.6 On December 8, 1661, Alexander VII pro
mulgated the Constitution Solicitude omnium Ecclesiarum, in
which he defined the true sense of the term conceptio, and for
bade all further discussion in any way opposed to the common
and pious sentiment of the Church. He declared it to be the
object of the feast that Mary was preserved immune from orig
inal sin in the first moment of the creation of her soul and its
infusion into the body.7
From that time forward the definition of the doctrine was
only a question of time. Hence when Pius IX, soon after
his elevation to the pontifical chair, directed the bishops of the
whole world to send in a report both as to their own views
and the belief of the faithful, there was not a dissentient voice
as regarded the truth of the doctrine. Furthermore, only four
bishops considered the definition inopportune. In conse
quence, on December 8, 1854, the Pope issued the Bull Ineffa-
bilis, in which the truth of Mary's Immaculate Conception was
defined as having been revealed by God.8
3 Cf r. Ibid. 734, 735. 6 Cfr. Bullar. Mar. 72 sqq.
4 Ibid. 735. 7Cfr. DB. iioo.
5 Ibid. 1073. 8Cfr. DB. 1641.
SOME PAPAL DECISIONS 523
2. The Syllabus of Pius IX.— On December 8, 1864, a docu
ment was sent to all Catholic bishops under the title : " A Syl
labus containing the most important errors of our time, which
have been condemned by our Holy Father Pius IX in Allocu
tions, at Consistories, in Encyclicals, and other Apostolic Let
ters." The document was accompanied by a letter of Cardinal
Antonelli, Secretary of State, explaining the purpose of the
Syllabus. As there was danger, the letter stated, that the
various papal documents, in which modern errors had been
condemned, might not reach each and every bishop of the
Catholic world, a syllabus of these same errors had been
drawn up for the proper instruction of all ordinaries, so that
thereby they might be enabled to apply necessary remedies.
At the same time, the Bull Quanta cura, which contains an ex
position and explicit condemnation of the more fundamental
modern errors, was also published.
The Syllabus had been in preparation for about twelve
years, and three different commissions had successively labored
at its composition. Its contents are divided into eighty theses,
the wording of which is taken from the official declarations
of the Pope. To each thesis a reference is attached, indicat
ing the particular papal document from which it was taken.
It is only by referring to the documents in question that the
full meaning and theological value of the subjects treated can
be determined. The eighty theses are grouped in ten para
graphs, the respective headings of which are: Pantheism, Nat
uralism, Absolute Rationalism (1-7); Moderate Rationalism
(8-14) ; Indifferentism and false Religious Tolerance (15-18) ;
Socialism, Communism, Secret Societies, Bible Societies, Lib
eral Clerical Associations, Errors regarding the Church and
its Rights (19-38) ; Errors on the State and its Relation to
the Church (39-55) ; Errors on Natural and Christian Ethics
(56-64) ; Errors on Christian Marriage (65-74) ; Errors on
the Temporal Power of the Pope (75, 76) ; Errors in Connec
tion with Modern Liberalism ( 77-80 ).9
9Cfr. Ibid. 1700-1780.
524 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
The publication of the Syllabus caused a most violent out
cry among non-Catholics, who regarded it as a formal rejec
tion of modern culture and an open declaration of war against
the rights of the State. On the other hand, Catholics viewed
it with great satisfaction, as it clearly defined the position of
the Church in regard to matters of the gravest practical im
portance. Its binding force was universally and gladly ad
mitted, although lively discussions ensued in regard to its exact
theological value. In fact the discussion is still going on,
nor is it likely to be ever set completely at rest. While many
theologians contend that the Syllabus is an ex-cathedra pro
nouncement, and therefore final and irreformable, others seri
ously question this, although they admit that it commands not
only exterior submission but also interior assent. Further
more, all are agreed that many propositions contained in the
Syllabus have been condemned by final and irreformable deci
sions in the various documents from which they were taken.
It is, therefore, to these documents that one must have re
course in order to determine the theological censure attached
to any given proposition.
B — THE VATICAN COUNCIL 10
On December 6, 1864, therefore two days before the publi
cation of the Syllabus, Pope Pius IX, at a meeting of the Con
gregation of Rites, announced his intention of convening a
general council. He then requested the cardinals to express
their opinion in writing, both as to the opportuneness of carry
ing out his intention and the subjects that were to be discussed.
As, with one exception, the reports of the cardinals favored
the holding of a council, a commission was appointed to dis
cuss preliminary questions and make all necessary prepara
tions. At its suggestion, a number of bishops of both rites
were also requested to send in their views under pledge of
silence. Then many of the ablest theologians and canonists
10 Cfr. Granderath und Kirch, ginues stir les constitutions du con-
Geschichte des vaticanischen Kon- cile Vatican ; Gibbons, A Retrospect
zils; Granderath, Constitutiones of Fifty Years, vol. I.
dogmaticae; Vacant, Etudes theolo-
THE VATICAN COUNCIL 525
were summoned from the various countries to cooperate in
the work of preparing the subjects to be debated in the Coun
cil.
The first public announcement of the contemplated Council
was made at a Consistory held on June 26, 1867. As it was
the centennial celebration of the Apostles SS. Peter and Paul,
there were nearly five hundred bishops present in Rome, and
in an address, dated July i, they communicated their joyous
agreement to the Sovereign Pontiff. The Bull of Convoca
tion was issued on June 29, 1868, and it appointed December
8, 1869, as the date on which the Council was to open. A
special Brief, Arcano divinae providentiae, was issued on Sep
tember 8, 1868, to invite the non-Uniate Orientals; while an
other Brief, Jam vos omnes, of September 13, notified the va
rious Protestant sects of the approaching Council, and ex
horted them to reflect on the possibility of returning to the
true faith.
By way of preparation, five special committees, each pre
sided over by a cardinal, had been appointed to prepare the
schemata that were to be laid before the Council. Their re
spective work bore on dogma, Church discipline, religious or
ders, Oriental Churches and missions, and ecclesiastico-political
questions. When the Council opened, the following drafts
were ready for discussion: (a) three drafts on dogmatic sub
jects, namely, on Catholic doctrine in opposition to the errors
of rationalism, on the Church of Christ, and on Christian mar
riage, (b) twenty-eight drafts treating of Church discipline,
in respect to bishops, episcopal sees, the different grades of the
lower clergy, seminaries, the arrangement of philosophical and
theological studies, marriage, Christian morals, etc. (c)
eighteen drafts of decrees on religious orders, (d) two
drafts in reference to Oriental Rites and missions. Besides
the matter thus officially prepared, many petitions had been re
ceived from various bishops, asking for the discussion of cer
tain subjects in which they were specially interested. Among
these were nine petitions, signed by nearly two hundred bish
ops, that requested the definition of the bodily assumption of
the Blessed Virgin.
526 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
On December 2, 1869, a preliminary session was held in the
Sistine Chapel, at which the officials of the Council were
announced and the conciliar procedure was outlined. The
formal opening took place six days later, December 8, in the
northern right transept of St. Peter's. Between that date and
September i , when the Council was prorogued, four public ses
sions and eighty-nine general congregations were held. The
voting in the congregations was by placet, placet juxta modum,
non placet. In the public sessions it was by placet or non
placet, according as the vote cast was affirmative or negative.
The decrees promulgated by the Pope were to bear the title :
Pius Episcopus, senms seruorum Dei: sacro approbante Con-
cilio ad perpctuam rei memoriam. Altogether 774 prelates
took part in the Council, out of a total of 1050 who were en
titled to attend.
Owing to the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian war, and the
subsequent occupation of Rome by the Piedmontese, only a
small part of the contemplated work was accomplished by the
Council. Two Constitutions were promulgated, both rather
brief, but of great importance. The first is the dogmatic
Constitution on the Catholic faith, which defends the funda
mental principles of Christianity against the errors of modern
rationalism, materialism, and atheism. The second is the
dogmatic Constitution on the Church of Christ, or, as it is
more frequently styled, on the Roman Pontiff. This latter
contains the definition of papal infallibility, for which petitions
had been sent in by a large number of bishops. Both Constitu
tions are divided into preambles, chapters, and canons.
The contents of the first Constitution may be thus sum
marized : In the first chapter is set forth the doctrine of the
existence of a personal God, who for the manifestation of His
perfections freely created all things out of nothing, foresees
all things, even the future free actions of rational creatures,
and through His providence leads all things to their appointed
end. In the second chapter the knowability of God is main
tained, both in regard to natural reason and supernatural reve
lation. The necessity and existence of revelation is pointed
out, and the two sources of revealed knowledge, Holy Scrip-
THE VATICAN COUNCIL 527
ture and tradition, are defended. The doctrine here set forth
is a restatement of the teaching of Trent The third chapter
treats of supernatural faith, its reasonableness, supernatural
character, and necessity ; the possibility and actuality of mira
cles as a confirmation of divine revelation, and the founding
of the Catholic Church by Jesus Christ as the guardian and
herald of revealed truth.
The fourth chapter is of special importance in these modern
times, pointing out as it does the connection between faith and
reason. The mysteries of faith are indeed above reason, but
not contrary to it. On the other hand, any assertion that con
tradicts the teaching of faith is by that very fact to be regarded
as false. Faith and true learning are never in opposition to
one another, but each supports the other in many ways. How
ever, faith is not like a philosophical system subject to intrin
sic development ; it is a sacred deposit entrusted to the Church
for safeguarding and infallible interpretation. Hence the in
terpretation of dogmas given by the Church holds good for all
times, and no deviation from it under pretense of more pro
found investigation can ever be lawful. — The Constitution
closes with eighteen canons, in which heresies opposed to its
teaching are condemned.
The second Constitution has the following contents: In
the preamble it is pointed out how the Roman Primacy, so
essential to the unity, strength, and stability of the Church,
has always been an object of fierce attacks by the enemies of
the Church of Christ. It is for this reason that the doctrine
of its origin, permanency, and nature must be clearly set forth.
Hence the first chapter establishes the fact that the primacy
was given to Peter, not merely of honor but of jurisdiction.
This is followed by a canon, in which anathema is pronounced
upon those who teach the contrary doctrine. The second
chapter, pointing out that Peter established his see at Rome,
declares that his successors in that see hold the primacy in
virtue of its institution by Christ. To this, again, a canon is
attached in which the contrary doctrine is condemned.
The third and fourth chapters deal more directly with the
nature of the primacy, and the powers involved therein.
528 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
After restating and confirming the definition of the Council of
Florence, the third chapter explains that the primacy of the
Roman Pontiff implies not merely precedence of honor, but a
regularly constituted authority over all other Churches, and a
true, direct, episcopal power of jurisdiction, which the clergy
and faithful of every rite and rank are bound to obey. How
ever, the jurisdiction of the Pope does not interfere with the
jurisdiction of individual bishops in their own dioceses, but
rather strengthens and defends the same. In virtue of his pri-
matial power, the Pope has the right of direct and free rela
tions with the clergy and laity of the entire Church, and his
decrees are in no wise subject to the placet of the secular
power. The Pope is the supreme judge of all the faithful,
and may be appealed to in all matters that come up for adju
dication. And from his decisions there is no appeal, even to
a general council. Then follows the condemnation of all con
trary teaching, appended in form of a canon.
In the fourth chapter is contained the definition of papal in
fallibility. First the historical proofs of the doctrine are
briefly summarized, both as derived from the Sixth, Four
teenth, and Seventeenth General Councils, and as contained in
the undisputed use of the prerogative by the Roman Pontiffs,
and the constant appeal made to them in matters of faith.
Thereupon the definition is given in the following terms:
" Faithfully adhering, therefore, to the tradition inherited
from the beginning of the Christian faith, we, with the appro
bation of the sacred Council, for the glory of God our Saviour,
for the exaltation of the Catholic religion, and the salvation of
Christian peoples, teach and define, as a divinely revealed
dogma, that the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra,
that is, when he, in the exercise of his office as shepherd and
teacher of all Christians, by virtue of his supreme Apostolic
authority, decides that a doctrine concerning faith and morals
is to be held by the entire Church, possesses, in consequence of
the divine aid promised him in St. Peter, that infallibility with
which the Divine Saviour wished to have His Church endowed
for the definition of doctrines concerning faith and morals;
and that such definitions of the Roman Pontiff are of them-
THE VATICAN COUNCIL 529
selves, and not in consequence of the Church's consent, irre-
formable." In the canon that follows, anathema is pro
nounced upon such as presume to contradict the definition thus
given.11
Although the Council accomplished only part of the work
it had set out to do, nevertheless in these two Constitutions
most important results were achieved. This is especially true
of the second, which finally settled a question that had from
time to time disturbed men's minds for nearly four hundred
years. After the definition of the Pope's primacy of jurisdic
tion and infallible teaching authority, as contained in the Con
stitution on the Church of Christ, anything like Gallicanism
and Febronianism is simply impossible. Furthermore, a most
effective means has thereby been provided to meet the peculiar
difficulties of modern times, which often necessitate the inter
vention of a teaching authority whose supremacy is universally
acknowledged as contained in the sacred deposit of faith.
Hence, although a small minority of the assembled bishops
regarded the definition of papal infallibility as inopportune,
subsequent events have made it quite clear that nothing more
opportune could have been attempted.
Much of the work that had been prepared for the Council,
and which had to be left undone on account of the political
disturbances that arose, was subsequently more or less fully
accomplished by the prudent zeal of the Sovereign Pontiffs.
The great encyclicals of Leo XIII and the many reform meas
ures of Pius X may be regarded as carrying out what the
Vatican Council had been expected to do. Hence, even if
there should never be an opportunity of reassembling the
Council, its object may still be fully attained with the passing
of years. On the other hand, the evil results which some
apprehended and predicted, by way of schism and increased
hostility of the sects, proved to be negligible quantities. A
few secessions from the Church there were, which gave rise
to the Old Catholic party in Germany and Switzerland, but
they were mostly of men whose Catholicity amounted to little
1JCfr. DB. 1781-1840.
530 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
more than the name. Nor did the increased hostility of Prot
estants interfere seriously with the various activities of the
Church. For some years Catholicity was fiercely assailed
from the pulpit, on the platform, and in the press ; but most of
that hostility has disappeared with the passing of time.
C — MODERNISM 12
Pius X, in his Encyclical Pascendi, of September 8, 1907,
designates Modernism as a synthesis of all heresies. And this
designation is perfectly just, in as much as the tendencies usu
ally indicated by the term are subversive of the very founda
tion upon which Christianity is built. Hence Loisv, its high
priest and apostle, states quite frankly : " All Catholic the
ology, even in its fundamental principles, the general philoso
phy of religion, divine law, and the laws that govern our
knowledge of God, come up for judgment before this new
court of assize." 13 As an intellectual tendency, Modernism is
traceable to the agnostic philosophy of the eighteenth century,
first manifesting itself in a false liberalism, then in crude
rationalism, and finally in theological anarchism. This last
phase became prominent at the beginning of the present cen
tury.
As a theological movement, Modernism made its first in
roads into France and Italy. In the latter country it spread
so rapidly that as early as 1905 it was recognized as an immi
nent danger to religion. Hence several bishops uttered grave
warnings against it in their pastoral letters. About the same
time it attracted attention in France, where Abbe Loisy, for
many years professor at the Catholic Institute of Paris, had
done much to inoculate the younger generations of the clergy
with its virus. It had also distinguished representatives in
other countries, but in none of them did it find so many and
such devoted followers as in Italy and France.
The first thorough synthesis of Modernism was given in
12 Cfr. Pesch, Theologische Zeit- ernismo ; Heiner, Der neue Sylla-
fragen, 4th series ; Rickaby, The bus Pius X.
Modernist; Vermeersch. De Mod- 13 Simples reflexions, p. 24.
MODERNISM 531
the Encyclical Pascendi, and although some Modernistic
writers found in it matter for criticism, it was generally ad
mitted that the statements contained in that papal document
were substantially correct. The doctrinal decisions touching
the tenets of Modernism had already appeared in the Decree
Lamentabili sane exitu, which was issued by the Holy Office
on July 3, 1907. This Decree was ratified by Pius X on the
following day, and ordered to be published. On November
1 8, of the same year, the Pope published a Motu Proprio, in
which he prohibited the defense of the condemned propositions
under the penalty of excommunication, reserved to himself.
The Decree Lamentabili is usually called the Syllabus of
Pius X, on account of its similarity to the Syllabus of Pius IX,
issued in 1864. Its contents are mainly taken from the writ
ings of Loisy, and the condemned propositions are substan
tially as follows.14
(a) The Church's interpretation of Holy Scripture, and
also her dogmatic decisions, are subject to the judgment of
scientific scrutiny and do not demand interior assent; nor has
the law of the Index any binding force (1-8).
(b) " Excessive simplicity or ignorance is shown by those
who believe that God is really the author of Holy Scripture "
(9)-
(c) Taking the term in the Catholic sense, God neither
inspired the sacred writers nor guarded them from all error;
the Gospels in particular are not books worthy of historic
belief, as their authors have consciously, though piously, falsi
fied facts (10-19).
(d) Revelation is nothing else than the consciousness ac
quired by man of his relation to God, and did not close with
the Apostles (20, 21).
(e) " The dogmas, which the Church proposes as revealed,
are not truths fallen from heaven, but an interpretation of re
ligious facts, acquired by the human mind through the labori
ous process of thought " (22).
(f) One and the same fact can be historically false and
14 Cfr. DB. 2001-2065.
532 POST-TRIDENTINE THEOLOGY
dogmatically true; faith is based upon a number of probabili
ties ; dogmatic definitions have only a passing practical value ;
they are not norms of belief but of conduct (23-26).
(g) The divinity of Christ is a dogma which Christian
consciousness deduced from its idea of the Messiah; the real
historical Christ is inferior to the Christ idealized by faith;
Christ's knowledge was circumscribed, and He even fell into
error ; His resurrection is not an historical event ; his vicarious
death is a Pauline invention (27-38).
(h) The sacraments were not instituted by Christ, but they
originated with the Apostles and their successors, who, influ
enced by the circumstances of their time, interpreted Christ's
mind in that sense (39-51).
(i) The thought of founding a Church was never enter
tained by Christ ; the Church is a purely human society, sub
ject to all the changes of time; Peter was unaware of any
primatial rights vested in himself; the Church is inimical to
scientific progress (52-57).
(k) " Truth is as changeable as man himself, because it is
evolved with him, in him, and by him "(58).
(1) There are no immutable Christian dogmas, because
they have developed and must develop with the progress of
the centuries (59-63).
(m) " Scientific progress demands a reform of the Chris
tian dogmatic conception of God, creation, revelation, the per
son of the Word Incarnate, and the redemption " (64).
(n) " The Catholicism of to-day is irreconcilable with gen
uine scientific knowledge, unless it be transformed into a
Christianity without dogmas, that is, into a broad and liberal
Protestantism" (65).
The sixty-five propositions of the Syllabus, summing up the
teaching of Modernism, are all condemned, but without a defi
nite censure attached to each. That many of them are openly
heretical is admitted by all theologians, while with regard to
some others the matter is not clear. Nor have theologians
thus far been able to pronounce definitely what precise dog
matic value should be attached to the Syllabus. Not a few
contend that the Decree of the Holy Office is infallible and
MODERNISM 533
irreformable on account of its confirmation by the Pope, as
the sanction of excommunication seems to evidence; others,
however, maintain that this inference is not valid, since, in
spite of the papal confirmation and sanction, it remains simply
the doctrinal decision of a Roman Congregation, and as such
it need not be absolutely immune from error. But all are
agreed that it binds in conscience, and that no Catholic is at
liberty to defend any of the condemned propositions.
It may be added that this authoritative condemnation
sounded the death-knell of Modernism within the ranks of
Catholics. Those who had been deceived by the specious ar
guments advanced by the propagators of the system, without
being aware of its real nature, turned away from it in horror;
while others, who had suffered shipwreck in their faith, sev
ered their connection with the Church. Furthermore, as all
candidates for higher orders, newly appointed confessors,
preachers, parish priests, canons, the beneficed clergy, the offi
cials of the Roman congregations or tribunals, superiors and
professors in religious institutions, are obliged to take an oath
which binds them to reject and oppose Modernism, a remedy
has been applied to the evil that appears to make its revival
impossible.
CONCLUSION
By the end of the ninth century, as was stated at the close
of the first volume of the present work, the Church's teaching
on God, the Trinity, the Incarnation, original sin, grace, some
of the sacraments, the veneration of saints, and eschatology,
was more or less fully developed. Yet that there was still
room for further development, and partly even with regard
to these doctrines, is sufficiently clear from the contents of
this second volume. The following points may be noted by
way of general summary.
In reference to God, the Fourth Lateran Council found it
expedient to bring out more definitely the Church's teaching
on the divine attributes, and also on the mystery of the Blessed
Trinity — the unity of the divine nature, the distinction of
persons, and the principles of the immanent processions in the
Godhead.
The same Council defined that the three divine persons act
as one principle in their operations ad extra, and that there is
only one Creator, from whom all finite beings, material, spir
itual, and composite, have their origin. This had been the
common belief of Christians from primitive times, but it had
never been defined by the Church. The same doctrine was
restated by the Vatican Council, which also defined that God
created the world freely and for His own greater glory.
No particular aspect of either Christology or soteriology
was made the object of a special definition; yet there was prog
ress along both lines of theological inquiry, occasioned chiefly
by the aberrations of Abelard and the sixteenth-century inno
vators. The condemnation of Christological Nihilism by
Alexander III directed the attention of theologians to the real
nature of the hypostatic union ; while the Church's opposition
534
CONCLUSION 535
to Protestantism, Baianism, and Jansenism brought out more
clearly the meaning and extent of the redemption.
Man's primitive state, his fall, the existence and transmis
sion of original sin, and to some extent its nature also, were
discussed and defined by the Council of Trent. In connection
with these truths, the same Council defined the nature of justi
fication, man's freedom under the action of grace, the necessity
of grace for salutary works, and the uncertainty of final per
severance. These definitions were restated and in some meas
ure amplified by the papal decisions against Baius and Jan-
senius.
The most striking development took place in the doctrine
on the sacraments, which was almost entirely due to the work
of the thirteenth-century Scholastics. Nearly all of their con
clusions were sustained by the Council of Trent, which also
defined the number of the sacraments, their institution by
Christ, their objective connection writh grace, certain condi
tions for their valid administration, and the existence of a
sacramental character. The same Council also restated previ
ous definitions regarding the Real Presence and the nature of
the Holy Sacrifice.
In the teaching on the Church it was particularly the au
thoritative position of the Roman Pontiff that was brought
out more clearly with the lapse of time. His universal juris
diction was definitely stated by the Second Council of Lyons,
reaffirmed by that of Florence, and, together with his official
infallibility, formally defined by the Council of the Vatican.
In this latter Council the visibility of the Church, her position
in the economy of salvation, and the four notes by which she
may be recognized as the Church of Christ, were also set forth
and affirmed.
The teaching of the Church on indulgences came into promi
nence only since the beginning of the tenth century, and then
developed steadily till it was defined by the Council of Trent.
On the other hand, the Council's definition of the doctrine on
purgatory was merely a restatement of what had been for cen
turies a matter of faith. The same is true of its teaching on
the veneration of saints and of images. Mariology was con-
536 CONCLUSION
siderably developed during the Middle Ages, but, aside from
the Immaculate Conception, no point of doctrine in regard to
Mary's prerogatives has been defined since the Council of
Ephesus.
Eschatology did not advance beyond the development it
had received by the end of the Patristic age, although the
Fourth Lateran found it necessary to define Catholic teaching
on the resurrection and eternal retribution. The nature of
the beatific vision was definitely stated by Benedict XII in the
Constitution Benedictiis Dei, in which he also defined the
Church's teaching on the resurrection, the general judgment,
and the immediate bestowal of reward or infliction of punish
ment according to each one's deserts.
The sources of faith, Holy Scripture and tradition, were
made the object of a formal definition by the Council of Trent,
and the same definition was restated by the Council of the
Vatican. The same two Councils reaffirmed the traditional
teaching on the canon of Holy Scripture, declared the Church
to be the sole authorized interpreter of the Sacred Writings,
and explained the meaning of inspiration in the sense that God
Himself is to be accepted as the author of the Bible. Finally,
as the truths of both reason and revelation have their source
in the same God, the Vatican Council declared that there can
be no real opposition between natural and supernatural truths.
Thus, as there had been considerable development of doc
trine in the Patristic age, so was there in later centuries ; and
so will there be in the centuries to come. Very much is still
to be accomplished — especially in the teaching on God's
knowledge, on predestination, on the nature of grace, on the
causality of the sacraments, and on many other subjects —
before dogmatic development is complete. But in the very
nature of things, complete dogmatic development is not to be
looked for here on earth, where we see only " through a glass
in a dark manner." That perfection of knowledge shall not
be ours until we see " face to face," and " know even as we
are known " ; and then faith will have merged into vision.
INDEX
Abelard : position in the schools,
7; compared to St. Anselm, 7,
8; his teaching on divine omnipo
tence, 61 ; the Blessed Trinity,
85^87; condemned by the Council
of Soissons, 88; his error on cre
ation, 104; on the freedom of
the creative act, 109; his Adpp-
tionism, 172, 173; soteriological
errors, 197; Christ's descent into
hell, 212; definition of a sacra
ment, 273 ; number of the sacra
ments, 293.
Adoptionism : Spanish, 171 ; Abe-
lard's, 172, 173 ; of Durandus, 175.
Alanus of Lille: works of, 11; his
teaching on the simplicity of
God, 40; on the spirituality of
God, 46.
Albertus Magnus : his works, 16,
17 ; his teaching on the existence
of God, 34; on divine knowledge,
59; predestination, 77, 78; princi
ples of divine processions, 90;
on the perfection of the world,
104; eternal creation, no; con
servation, 112; elevation of the
angels, 115; their spirituality,
118; the composition of the hu
man soul, 134, 135 ; its simplicity,
134. 13.7; original justice, 146,
147; original sin, 160; human per
sonality, 188; merit of Christ,
208; supremacy of the Pope, 222,
223 ; actual and sanctifying grace,
240, 241; subject of faith, 259;
material object of faith, 260; vir
tue of charity, 267; sacramental
character, 288; institution of the
sacraments, 296; baptismal rite,
302; institution of baptism, 304;
Holy Eucharist, 333 ; virtue of
penance, 345 ; indulgences, 376 ;
form of extreme unction, 389;
extinction of the fame's peccati
in Mary, 400; the Immaculate
Conception, 407; the punishment
of hell, 428.
Albigenses: heretics, 442; their
teaching, 442, 443.
Alcuin: his teaching on penance,
340, 341.
Alexander II, Pope: grants a plen
ary indulgence, 368.
Alexander III, Pope : condemns
Christological Nihilism, 174 ; in
tention in the administration of
the sacraments, 290; number of
the sacraments, 294.
Alexander VII, Pope: defends the
Immaculate Conception, 522.
Alexander VIII, Pope: condemns
Gallicanism, 514.
Alexander of Hales: his works, 14;
position in the schools, 14, 15 ;
contents of the Summa, 15 ; his
teaching on the existence of God,
29; on divine knowledge, 56, 59;
on predestination, 74, 75 ; defini
tion of person, 88; principles of
divine processions, 91 ; the per
fection of the world, 104; in
strumental cause of creation, 107';
eternal creation, no; conserva
tion, 112; spirituality of the
angels, 117; original justice, 143-
145; nature of original sin, 158;
transmission, 165, 166; final cause
of the Incarnation, 181 ; human
personality, 185, 186; the grace
of union, 189, 190: ecclesiology,
216; jurisdiction of bishops, 228;
actual and sanctifying grace, 238,
239; justification, 247, 248; in
fused virtues, 253-255 ; classifica
tion of virtues, 256; subject of
faith, 259; material object, 260;
charity, 268 : causality of the sac
raments, 279, 280; sacramental
character, 287 ; necessity of inten-
537
538
INDEX
tion, 291 ; sacramentals, 293 ;
institution of the sacraments,
295, 296; of baptism, 304; of con
firmation, 306 ; transubstantiation,
318; the form of consecration,
329 ; the Eucharist as a sacra
ment, 333 ; as a sacrifice, 335 ; vir
tue of penance, 348; sacrament
of penance, effects, 348; indul
gences, 373-376; extreme unction,
institution, 387; effects, 392; ex
tinction of the fomes peccati in
Mary, 400; Immaculate Concep
tion, 405, 408; veneration of the
Virgin, 416; punishment of hell,
428.
Alger of Liege: number of the
sacraments, 293.
Amalric of Bene: on the simplicity
of God, 46; his pantheistic views,
441, 442.
Angelology: in Patristic writings,
113; creation of the angels, 113,
114; elevation, 114-117; the an
gelic nature, 117^-121; knowledge,
121-124; volition, 124, 125; mu
tual relation, 125-127; ministry,
127, 128.
Anselm of Canterbury: position in
the schools, 6, 7; compared to
Abelard, 7, 8; his ontological ar
gument, 30; his teaching on the
essence of God, 37; simplicity,
40; spirituality, 46; unicity, 47;
infinity, 47; immutability, 51; im
mensity, 52; on predestination,
72, 73 ; refutes the Trinitarian
errors of Roscelin, 86; on divine
relations, 95; original justice, 142;
nature of original sin, 155-157;
transmission, 164, 165 ; refutes the
Christological errors of Roscelin,
172; his soteriology, 198-200; Im
maculate Conception, 405.
Anthropology: man the image of
God, 129, 130; production of the
first human body, 130, 131 ; crea
tion of individual souls, 133,
134; identity of the rational and
sensitive soul, 131-133; decision
of the Council of Vienne, 140.
Aristotle: his works in the schools,
12; opposition of the Church to,
12, 13; his authority, 13.
Aries, Council of: condemns the
predestinarian teaching of Luci-
dus, 67.
Arnold of Brescia: his agitation
against the temporal power of
the Pope, 441.
Athanasian Symbol : on the eternity
of God, 50; the hypostatic union,
189.
Augustine of Hippo: his authority
in the schools, 5, 24; his teaching
on God's essence, 37 ; knowledge,
53; predestination, 66, 67, 68; di
vine persons, 96; original justice,
142; original sin, 155; on grace,
234; the sacraments, 272, 273.
Augustinianism : origin of, 494 ;
theory of efficacious grace, 494.
Averroes: his errors on creation,
105 ; on the human soul, 132 ; the
eternity of the world, 109.
Avicenna : his false teaching on
creation, 105; on the eternity of
the world, 109.
Baius, Michael: his position at
Louvain, 504, 505 ; his condemned
propositions, 505, 506.
Banez, Dominicus : author of Neo-
Thomism, 481 ; opposes Molina,
489; his teaching on God's fore
knowledge, 490; on efficacious
grace, 493, 494.
Baptism : definition of, 298, 299 ;
matter, 299; form, 300-302; ef
fects, 302 303; institution, 304,
305 ; baptism of desire and of
blood, 303, 304.
Barberiis, Bartholomew de : post-
Tridentine follower of St. Bona-
venture, 482.
Basle, Council of: convened by
Martin V, 456; defends the Im
maculate Conception, 411.
Becanus : Jesuit theologian, 484 ; his
teaching on the scientia media,
489.
Bede, Venerable: his relation to
Scholasticism, i, 2.
Beghards : mediaeval heretics, 442 ;
INDEX
539
their error on the beatific vision,
35 ; their teaching condemned by
the Council of Vienne, 453.
Bellarmine, Cardinal: Jesuit theo
logian, 483.
Benedict XII, Pope: defines the
nature of the beatific vision, 430,
43i, 434-
Berengarius : his error on the Eu
charist, 312-314.
Bernard of Clairveaux : opposed
to Abelard's influence in the
schools, 8; his teaching on God's
essence, 37 ; simplicity, 40, 41 ;
spirituality, 46; immutability, 51;
omnipotence, 61 ; refutes the
Trinitarian error of Abelard, 88;
on divine relations, 95; opposes
Abelard's teaching on creation,
104; on the redemption, 189; his
teaching on the spirituality of
the angels, 117; sanctification of
the Virgin, 397, 398; Immaculate
Conception, 404; on the punish
ment of hell, 426.
Bernard of Hotun: defends the
teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Billuart, Rene : Sarbonne profes
sor, 484; his teaching on God's
foreknowledge, 491 ; the hyposta-
tic union, 497.
Boethius : his definition of eternity,
50 ; defines person, 88.
Bonaventure: his writings, 15, 16;
his teaching on the immediate
knowledge of God, 34, 35; divine
knowledge, 58; freedom of God,
64 ; predestination, 76, 77 ; the
Trinity, 85 ; principles of divine
processions, 90, 91 ; divine per
sons, 96; circuminsession, 98;
the creative act, 102, 103 ; refutes
the Manichaean error, 106; in
strumental cause of creation, 107;
final cause, 109 ; eternal creation,
no; conservation, 112; elevation
of the angels, 115; their spiritual
ity, 117; knowledge, 121; locu
tion, 127; composition of the
human soul, 134, 135, 136; orig
inal justice, 145, 146; nature of
original sin, 159; transmission,
166, 167; final cause of the In
carnation, 181 ; assumption of
human nature, 184, 185; human
personality, 185, 186; the hypo-
static union, 190; adoration of
Christ's humanity, 192; the sote-
riology of St. Anselm, 201 ; the
moral value of Christ's death,
204, 205 ; Christ's merit, 207 ; the
soul of Christ after death, 212;
supremacy of the Pope, 226, 227;
infallibility, 227, 228; jurisdiction
of bishops, 228; actual and sanc
tifying grace, 239, 240; justifica
tion, 247, 248; merit, 251; in
fused virtues and sanctifying
grace, 255; definition of faith,
257, 258; subject of faith, 259;
material object, 260, 261 ; formal
object, 261, 262; certainty of
faith, 262, 263 ; virtue of hope,
263, 264; material object, 264;
subject, 266; virtue of charity,
270; causality of the sacraments,
277, 278; sacramental grace, 284;
character, 288 ; the number seven,
295; institution, 295, 296; defini
tion of baptism, 299 ; form, 301 ;
baptismal rite, 302; institution of
baptism, 305; of confirmation,
306; minister, 307; effects, 307,
308; the heresy of Berengarius,
315; transubstantiation, 315, 316,
318; manner of Christ's presence,
320, 321 ; the accidents, 324, 325,
326 ; the form of consecration,
328; the minister, 330, 331; ef
fects, 334, 335 ; the virtue of pen
ance, 344, 345 ; effects of penance,
348, 349; value of the absolution,
352; contrition, 355; indulgences,
376; holy orders, 380; one sacra
ment, 382, 383 ; the episcopate,
385; rite of ordination, 385; ex
treme unction, 387 ; the matter,
388; form, 388; subject, 391; ef
fects, 391, 392; anointings, 392,
393; matrimony, 393; sanctifica
tion of the Virgin, 397; her sin-
lessness, 399; the extinction of
the fames peccati, 400; confirmed
in grace, 403; Immaculate Con-
540
INDEX
ception, 405, 406; divine mother
hood, 412, 413; conception of
Christ, 414; veneration of the
Virgin, 415, 416; resurrection of
the dead, 420; general judgment,
423, 425; punishment of hell, 426,
428; nature of beatific vision, 431,
432; essence, 437; Second Coun
cil of Lyons, 451.
Boniface VIII, Pope: his attitude
towards the secular power, 220,
231, 232; the first Jubilee, 369;
conflict with Philip the Fair, 511.
Brethren of the Free Spirit: medi
aeval heretics, 442.
Buridan, John: his relation to
Nominalism, 23.
Cajetan, Cardinal: his teaching on
sacramental causality, 281 ; the
hypostatic union, 497; sent as le
gate to Germany, 462.
Calvin : his teaching on God's abso
lute power, 63 ; on original sin,
464; free will, 464; the sacra
ments, 265; predestination, 265.
Cano, Melchior : Neo-Scholastic
theologian, 480; opposed to the
Jesuits, 480 ; his work De Locis
Theologicis, 480.
Carranza, Bartholomew: Neo-Scho
lastic theologian, 480.
Cathari : mediaeval heretics, 442 ;
their teaching, 442, 443 ; con
demned by the Third Lateran
Council, 105.
Cavelli, Hugh: Scotist theologian,
481.
Chalons, Synod of : its teaching on
penance, 339.
Charity: virtue of, 267; distin
guished from sanctifying grace,
267, 268; subject of, 268, 269;
material object, 269; formal ob
ject, 269.
Charles the Bald: his relation with
Hincmar of Rheims, 71 ; with
Scotus Erigena, 100.
Christology : in Patristic writings,
171; some errors on, 171, 172;
teaching of the Scholastics _ on,
175-195 ; preliminary questions,
179-182; the person assuming,
182-185; human personality, 165-
188; hypostatic union, 188-191;
consectaria, 191-194; post-Tri-
dentine Christology, 497, 498.
Chrysostom, John: his teaching on
the essence of God, 36.
Clement VI, Pope: regulates the
Jubilee, 369; explains the spirit
ual treasury of the Church, 378,
379-
Clement VII, Pope: elected in op
position to Urban VI, 454.
Confirmation: distinct from bap
tism, 305, 306 ; matter and form
of, 306; institution, 307; effects,
307, 308; necessity of, 309.
Comestor, Peter: on transubstan-
tiation, 317.
Congruism: origin of, 495, 496; on
efficacious grace, 496.
Constance, Council of: convoca
tion, 455 ; its views on papal su
premacy, 455, 228; doctrinal de
cisions, 455, 456; in part approved
by Martin V, 456.
Councils, mediaeval : general char
acter, 447, 448 : Fourth Lateran,
448-450; Second of Lyons, 450-
452; of Vienne, 452-454; of Con
stance, 454-456; of Florence, 456,
457; of Trent, 4^7-477-
Creation : in Patristic writings,
100; error of Scotus Erigena,
101 ; the creative act, 101-105 ;
efficient cause of creation, 105-
108; exemplary cause, 108; final
cause, 108, 109; creation in time,
109-111; creation and conserva
tion, III, 112.
Cyprian of Carthage : on relaxation
of penance, 363.
D'Ailly, Cardinal : his teaching on
the Real Presence, 317.
David of Dinant: his pantheistic
teaching, 441 ; on the simplicity
of God, 461.
De la Mare, William: opposed to
the teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Dictatus Papae : on the power of
the Papacy over the State, 231.
INDEX
54i
Dionysius the Carthusian: his
teaching on the simplicity of
God, 44; the elevation of the an
gels, 115; their spirituality, 118.
Duns Scotus: his position in the
schools, 21 ; his writings, 21, 22;
his teaching on the existence of
God, 33; God's infinite perfec
tion, 36; essence, 39; simplicity,
44; the distinctio formalis,44, 45;
unicity of God, 47; infinity, 48;
immutability, 51 ; knowledge, 57,
59, 60 ; omnipotence, 62 ; freedom
of the divine will, 63, 64; predes
tination, 81, 82; definition of per
son, 89; principles of divine pro
cessions, 91, 92, 93; relations, 95;
divine persons, 97; the creative
act, 103; efficient cause of crea
tion, 107; instrumental cause,
107; eternal creation, no; con
servation, 112; elevation of the
angels, 115; their spirituality,
117, 118; relation to place, 121;
knowledge, 123; volition, 125;
locution, 127 ; man the image of
God, 130 ; composition of the
human soul, 134, 136; orignal
justice, 152, 153; nature of or
iginal sin, 163, 164; transmission,
168, 169; final cause of the In
carnation, 182; human personal
ity, 185, 186; impeccability of
Christ, 193, 194; adequacy of the
satisfaction, 202 ; the moral value
of the Savior's death, 206;
Christ's merit, 208; infallibility
of the Pope, 228; actual and
sanctifying grace, 245, 246; jus
tification, 249; subject of infused
virtues, 254, 271 ; material object
of faith, 260; formal, 262; ma
terial object of hope, 265; sub
ject of hope, 266; virtue of char
ity, 267 ; matter and form of the
sacraments, 275, 276; causality,
sacramental, 279; character, 287,
290; institution of the sacra
ments, 296 ; of baptism, 305 ; bap
tism of desire, 303, 304; effects of
confirmation, 308; transubstanti-
ation, 319, 320; Eucharistic acci
dents, 325 ; form of consecration,
328; the Eucharist as a sacra
ment, 333 ; as a sacrifice, 336 ;
effects of penance, 348, 349; pen
ance as a sacrament, 349, 350;
contrition, 356, 357; satisfaction,
359; indulgences, 378; holy or
ders, 382 ; effects of extreme unc
tion, 392; sacrament of matri
mony, 394; Immaculate Concep
tion, 410, 411; resurrection of the
dead, 420; punishment of hell,
428, 429, 430; essence of the bea
tific vision, 437.
Dupasquier : Sarbonne professor,
484.
Durandus of Saint-Pourc.ain : his
relation to Nominalism, 22, 23 ;
his teaching on the principles of
divine processions, 90; the in
strumental cause of creation,
107; final cause, 109; eternal cre
ation, no; conservation, 112; ele
vation of the angels, 115; their
spirituality, 118; human person
ality, 188; adequacy of the satis
faction, 202; Christ's descent into
hell, 212; the moral virtues, 256;
material object of faith, 260; ma
terial object of hope, 264; virtue
of charity, 267; sacramental
character, 287; Eucharistic acci
dents, 324 ; holy orders, 383 ; rite
of ordination, 385 ; effects of ex
treme unction, 392; extinction of
the fomes peccati in Mary, 400.
Eadmer: defends the Immaculate
Conception, 409.
Ecclesiology : general subject, 214-
219; in the writings of the Fath
ers, 214; of the Scholastics, 214-
219; Church and State, 215, 216;
constitution of the Church, 216,
217.
Eighth General Council: on the
oneness of the rational soul, 131 ;
the primacy of Rome, 220, 221.
Eon de Stella: mediaeval heretic,
440, 441-
Eschatology: resurrection of the
dead, 418-422; general judgment,
542
INDEX
422-426; punishment of hell,
426-430; joys of heaven, 430-437.
Eucharist: in Patristic writings,
310; the error of Berengarius,
312-314; the Real Presence, 311-
315; transubstantiation, 315-320;
manner of Christ's presence, 320-
322 ; accidents of bread and wine,
322-326; form of consecration,
327, 329; matter of consecration,
329-332; the sacrament, 332-334;
effects of, 334, 335; the sacrifice,
335-337; the teaching of Trent
473-475; after Trent, 502, 503.
Eugenius III, Pope: defines the
simplicity of God, 41, 42.
Eugenius IV, Pope: on the rite of
ordination, 386; transfers the
Council of Basle to Florence,
456; then to the Lateran at
Rome, 457; his doctrinal decrees
to the Greeks, Armenians, and
Jacobites, 457.
Extreme Unction: sacrament of,
387 ; institution, 387 ; matter of,
387, 388; form, 388, 389; subject,
389, 39o; effects, 391-398.
Faith: virtue of, 257-259; subject,
259; material object, 259-261;
formal object, 261, 262; the act of
faith, 262, 263.
Febronius, Justinus : his heretical
teaching on the Church, 514-516.
Florence, Council of : its teaching
on divine processions, 94; rela
tions, 95 ; effects the union of the
East and West, 456, 457.
Folmar of Trief enstein : his Chris-
tological error, 174.
Fonseca, Peter : Jesuit theologian,
483 ; his relation to the theory of
the scientia media, 488.
Frassen : Franciscan theologian,
484.
Fulgentius of Ruspe : his teaching
on predestination, 68.
Gabriel Biel : his relation to Nom
inalism, 23 ; his teaching on eter
nal creation, no; Adoptionism,
175; the Real Presence, 317.
Gallicanism: origin of, 511; parlia
mentary, 511, 512; episcopal, 512;
its views on " Gallican Liberties,"
5U, SH-
Gaudentius of Brixen : post-Tri-
dentine follower of St. Bonaven-
ture, 482.
Gaunilo of Marmoutiers : refutes
St. Anselm's ontological argu
ment, 30.
Gerhoh of Reichersberg : opposes
Abelard's influence in the schools,
8; refutes Christological Nihil
ism, 173; his Christological er
rors, 174.
Gilbert de la Porree: his teaching
on the simplicity of God, 40, 41 ;
condemned by the Council of
Rheims, 94; his Trinitarian er
ror, 94.
Giles of Rome (Aegidius Ro-
manus) : defends the teaching of
St. Thomas, 20; his view on the
spirituality of the angels, 118;
the virtue of charity, 267 ; the ex
tinction of the fames peccati in
Mary, 400.
God : existence of, 29-36 ; knowable
by natural reason, 31, 34; no im
mediate knowledge of God's ex
istence, 35; the essence of God,
36-40; simplicity, 40-46; spiritu
ality, 46; unicity, 46, 47; infinity,
47, 48; attributes, 49-65; general
concept of, 49; negative attri
butes, 50, 52; eternity, 50; immu
tability, 51; immensity, 51, 52;
God's knowledge, 52-^60; divine
will, 60; omnipotence, 61-63;
freedom, 63-65 ; foreknowledge,
52-60, 487-493.
Gonet: his teaching on the fore
knowledge of God, 401 ; the hy-
postatic union, 497.
Gotti, Cardinal : post-Tridentine
theologian, 484; on God's fore
knowledge, 491.
Gottschalk: his error on predesti
nation, 67-69.
Grace: in Patristic writings, 234;
nature of grace, 234-246; Tho-
mistic view, 493, 494; the teach-
INDEX
543
ing of Molinism, 494, 495 ; Augus-
tinianism, 494; Congruism, 495,
496 ; Syncretism, 496, 497 ; of the
Council of Trent, 470-472; post-
Tridentine theologians, 498, 499.
Greek Schism: completed by Mich
ael Cerularius, I ; temporarily
ended by the Second Council of
Lyons, 452; by the Council of
Florence, 457.
Gregory the Great, Pope: his au
thority in the schools, 5; his
teaching on the simplicity of God,
40; on original sin, 155.
Gregory VII, Pope: defends the
rights of the Church, 220; re
puted author of the Dictatus Pa-
pae, 230, 231 ; his treatment of
Henry IV of Germany, 230; of
Berengarius, 313, 314.
Gregory XII, Pope: resigns at the
instance of the Council of Con
stance, 455-
Gregory of Rimini: his relation to
Nominalism, 23.
Guenther, Anton : his teaching con
demned, 519.
Guitmund, Bishop: refutes the er
ror of Berengarius on the Real
Presence, 313, 314.
Habert : post-Tridentine theolo
gian, 484.
Hauranne, Verger de: friend and
co-worker of Jansenius, 508.
Henry of Ghent: his writings, 16;
his teaching on the simplicity of
God, 44; on eternal creation, no;
conservation, 112; elevation of
the angels, 115; their spirituality,
118; transmission of original sin,
164; on the jurisdiction of bish
ops, 228; the moral virtues, 256;
the virtue of charity, 267.
Heresies : mediaeval, 438, 439 ; of
Peter de Bruys, 437-440; Tan-
chelm and Eon de Stella, 440,
441 ; Amalric of Bene and David
Dinant, 441, 442; the Cathari or
Albigenses, 442, 443; the Wal-
densians, 443, 444; of John Wi-
clif , 444-446 ; John Hus, 446, 447 ;
of the Protestant Reformers, 458-
466; after the Council of Trent,
504; of Baius, 504, 505; Jan
senius, 507-510; Quesnel, 510,
511; Gallicanism, 511-514; Febro-
nianism, 514-516; of the Synod
of Pistoia, 516, 517; rationalism,
517-519; traditionalism, 519, 520;
modernism, 53Q-533-.
Hermes : his rationalistic teaching,
5i8, 519.
Hessels : friend and co-worker of
Baius, 505.
Hincmar of RJheims : his relation
to Scholasticism, 2; teaching on
predestination, 68-71.
Honorius of Autun : on the immen
sity of God, 51 ; the nature of or
iginal sin, 157.
Hope: virtue of, 263, 264; subject
of, 265, 266; material object, 264,
265; formal object, 265, 266; the
act of hope, 266, 267.
Hugh of St. Victor: mystic theo
logian, ii ; teaching on God's es
sence, 37; spirituality, 46; unic-
ity, 47; immutability, 51; im
mensity, 52 ; omnipotence, 61 ; re
futes Abelard's error on the Trin
ity, 88; and on creation, 104; his
view on the spirituality of the
angels, 117; original justice, 142,
143; original sin, 158; its trans
mission, 164; ecclesiology, 214,
215; Church and State, 232; defi
nition of a sacrament, 273 ; sacra
ments of the Old Law, 277; need
of intention, 290; number of sac
raments, 293 ; institution, 295 defi
nition of baptism, 299; form, 300;
minister of the Eucharist, 330;
rite of ordination, 385; institu
tion of Extreme unction, 387.
Humbert, Cardinal: his formula in
reference to the Real Presence
presented to Berengarius, 313.
Hus, John : mediaeval heretic, 446 ;
adopts the errors of Wiclif, 446;
condemned by the Council of
Constance, 447.
Immaculate Conception: in Patris-
544
INDEX
tic times, 403 ; during the Middle
Ages, 403-41 1 ; as view by the
Council of Trent, 470; in the fol
lowing centuries, 521, 522 ; the doc
trine defined by Pius IX, 521-523.
Indulgences : historical develop
ment, 361-372; from the ist cen
tury to the 7th, 363, 364; from
the 7th to the i2th, 364-368; from
the I2th to the Council of Trent,
368-372 ; theological exposition,
372-379.
Infallibility, papal: in the writings
of the Scholastics, 224-227; Sec
ond Council of Lyons, 451 ; the
Council of Florence, 457; defined
by the Vatican Council, 528, 529.
Innocent II, Pope, condemns Abe-
lard's error on original sin, 155.
Innocent III, Pope: his teaching
on the nature of original sin,
158; its transmission, 164; on the
efficacy of the sacraments, 276;
the sacramental character, 286;
need of intention, 292; infusion
of virtues in the baptism of chil
dren, 303 ; transubstantiation,
319; form of consecration, 328;
the consecrating minister, 331 ;
indulgences, 368; rite of ordina
tion, 385 ; organizes a crusade
against the Albigenses, 443.
Innocent IV, Pope : on me need of
intention in the administration of
the sacraments, 291.
Innocent XI, Pope : opposes Galli-
canism, 514.
Innocent XII, Pope: settles the
disturbance caused by the Galli-
cans, 514.
Isidore of Seville : on predestina
tion, 68 ; his definition of a sac
rament, 273.
Jansenius, Cornelius: his early ca
reer, 507; his Augustinus, 508;
condemned propositions, 508, 509;
the Jansenist party, 509, 510.
Jerome of Prague: mediaeval here
tic and follower of John Hus,
447; condemned by the Council
of Constance, 447.
Joachim de Fldris: opposes the
Trinitarian teaching of the Lom
bard, 90.
John Damascene: his authority in
the schools, 5; teaching on the
divine will, 65; his definition of
baptism, 299, 300.
John de Montesa: censured for his
attitude towards the Immaculate
Conception, 411.
John of Salisbury: opposed to
Abelard's influence in the schools,
8; records the errors of Rosce-
lin, 85.
John XXII, Pope: his view on the
delay of the beatific vision, 430.
Justification : nature of, 246-249 ;
teaching of the Reformers, 464,
465; the Council of Trent, 470-
472.
Lanfranc of Canterbury: his con
troversy with Berengarius on the
Eucharist, 313, 314.
Lateran, Third Council of: con
demns the Cathari or Albigenses,
105.
Lateran, Fourth Council of: de
fines the simplicity of God, 42;
.God's attributes, 65; defends the
Trinitarian teaching of the Lom
bard, 90 ; defines the doctrine of
creation, 105, 106; creation of the
world in time, in, 114; spiritual
ity of the angels, 117; Christ's
descent into hell, 212, 214; on
penance, 343, 344; indulgences,
368; condemns the Cathari and
Waldensians, 448, 449; its dog
matic teaching on the Trinity,
creation, Incarnation, the Church,
and the sacraments, 449, 450.
Lateran, Fifth Council of : its teach
ing on the human soul, 132.
Laynez: Jesuit theologian, 482.
Leo IX, Pope: on the creation of
individual souls, 133 ; defends the
primacy of Rome, 219, 221.
Lessius: Jesuit theologian, 484; on
the scientia media, 489; the sac
rifice of the Mass, 503.
INDEX
545
Lucidus: his teaching on predes
tination, 66.
Lugo, Cardinal: Jesuit theologian,
484; his writings, 484; teaching
on the hypostatic union, 497; the
sacrifice of the Mass, 503.
Luther, Martin : religious reformer,
460; his Nominalistic training,
461; views of justification, 461,
462; attitude towards the preach
ing of indulgences, 462 ; his first
revolt, 462; the dispute at Leip
zig, 462, 463.
Lyons, Second Council of : its
teaching on the Trinity, 93, 94;
the primacy of Rome, 229 ; effects
union with the Greeks, 451, 452;
teaching on baptism, the matter
of consecration, purgatory, mar
riage, procession of the Holy
Spirit, supremacy of the Pope,
451, 452.
Mackelfield, William: defends the
teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Magister Bandini : his definition of
a sacrament, 274.
Magister Florus: his teaching on
predestination, 69.
Mariology: in the writings of the
Fathers, 397; Scholastic teaching
on her sanctification before birth,
397-403 ; the Immaculate Concep
tion, 403-411 ; divine motherhood,
412-415; veneration of Mary,
415-417.
Maronis, Scholastic : his explana
tion of indulgences a culpa et
poena, 369.
Martin V, Pope: elected at the
Council of Constance, 455 ; con
demns the teaching of Wiclif and
Hus, 455; convenes the Council
of Basle, 456.
Mastrius: Scotist theologian, 482;
his commentary on the Sentences
of the Lombard, 482.
Matrimony: sacrament of, 393,
394; the external rite, 394, 395;
ministers, 395; matter and form,
395. 396; impediments, 396; in-
dissolubility, 395.
Medina, Bartholomew de : his com
mentary on the Summa of St.
Thomas, 481.
Merit : nature and conditions of,
249, 252.
Michael Paleologus: acknowledges
papal supremacy, 229; accepts
symbol of faith presented by the
Pope, 451; sends legates to the
Second Council of Lyons, 451;
promotes the union, 452.
Modernism : origin and nature of,
530 ; condemned propositions,
530-533; counteracted, 533.
Molina, Louis: Jesuit theologian,
483; his writings, 483; theory of
the scientia media, 487-489;
teaching on efficacious grace, 494,
495; the hypostatic union, 497.
Molinism: origin of, 487; God's
foreknowledge, 487-489 ; effica
cious grace, 494, 495; predesti
nation, 499.
Moneta of Cremona : writes a
Summa on the Church, 216.
Montoya, Ruiz: Jesuit theologian,
483.
Mystic school of theology : its chief
representatives, n.
Nihilism, Christological : meaning
of, 172, 173, condemned by Alex
ander III, 174.
Nominalism: origin of, 22; influ
ence in the schools, 23 ; its teach
ing on the existence of God, 33,
34 ; on God's essence, 39, 40 ; sim
plicity, 46; divine knowledge, 60;
omnipotence, 62, 63; divine rela
tions, 95; eternal creation, no;
Adoptionism, 175 ; human per
sonality, 188; adequacy of the
satisfaction, 202; authority of the
Pope, 228; the moral virtues,
256; the virtue of charity, 267;
the Real Presence, 317; Eucha-
ristic accidents, 324.
Ockam, William : his relation to
Nominalism, 22 ; teaching on the
omnipotence of God, 63 ; the Real
546
INDEX
Presence, 317; promotes Galli-
canism, 511.
Odo of Cambrai: on the nature of
original sin, 157.
Olivi, Peter John: opponent of St.
Thomas, 20 ; his teaching on the
composition of the human soul,
139, 140 ; condemned by the
Council of Vienne, 140.
Omnebene: on the number of the
sacraments* 294.
Ontologism: teaching of Gioberti
and Rosmini, 520.
Orders, Holy: Scholastic teaching
on, 380-386; number of, 380-383;
the sacrament of, 381, 382; char
acter, 383, 384; matter and form,
385, 386; the ordaining minister,
387 ; the teaching of Trent, 476.
Original Justice : views of the
Fathers and early Scholastics,
142, 143 ; of the later Scholastics,
143-147; of St. Thomas, 147-152;
of Scotus, 152, 153 ; points in
common, 153, 154; the teaching
of Trent, 154.
Original Sin: its nature, 155-164;
transmission, 164-170; decisions
of Trent, 164, 468-470.
Otto of Freising : on the Council of
Rheims, 42 ; on the errors of
Roscelin, 85.
Ovando, John : Scotist theologian,
Palts, John: explains indulgences
a culpa et poena, 370, 371.
Papacy, the: Scholastic teaching
on, 219-233; spiritual supremacy,
220-229; relation to the State,
229-233 ; infallibility of the Pope,
225-228.
Paul II, Pope: regulates the Jubi
lee, 369.
Paulinus of Aquileia: his relation
to Scholasticism, 2.
Peckham, John: opposed to the
teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Penance : general treatise of, 338-
360: views of the Fathers, 338;
practice of the early Middle
Ages, 338-344; the virtue of pen
ance, 344-349; the sacrament,
349-;36o.
Petavius : Jesuit theologian, 484 ;
his teaching on the hypostatic
union, 497.
Peter of Auvergne : defends the
teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Peter de Bruys: mediaeval heretic,
439; his teaching, 439, 440.
Peter Damian : on penance, 343 ; on
the relaxation of penance, 366.
Peter Lombard: his relation to
Abelard, 8; his Summa Sententi-
arum, 9; contents of, 9-11 ; teach
ing on God's essence, 37 ; spirit
uality, 46; unicity, 47; immensity,
52; knowledge, 53; on predesti
nation, 73, 74; divine processions,
90; divine persons, 96; instru
mental cause of creation, 107 ; el
evation of the angels, 115; their
spirituality, 117; creation of indi
vidual souls, 133; original jus
tice, 143; nature of original sin,
158; transmission, 164; Christol-
ogy,. I7S-I79; adoration of
Christ's humanity, 192; ecclesiol-
ogy, 215, 216; on actual and sanc
tifying grace, 234-237; infused
virtues, 253, 255; definition of a
sacrament, 274; sacramental effi
cacy, 277 ; character, 287 ; need of
intention, 291 ; number of the sac
raments, 294; institution, 295;
definition of baptism, 298, 299;
form, 299 ; confirmation, 305 ;
transubstantiation, 315 ; conse
crating minister, 330, 331; pen
ance, 349; meaning of the absolu
tion, 352 ; holy orders, 381 ; rite
of ordination, 385; institution of
extreme unction, 387; matri
mony, 394, 395.
Peter of Poitiers: writings of, n;
his teaching on the efficacy of the
sacraments, 276.
Pisa, Synod of : elects Alexander
V to end the schism, 454, 455.
Pistoia, Synod of : its convocation,
516; its teaching condemned, 517.
Pins V, Pope : condemns Baianism,
506 ; defends the Immaculate
Conception, 522.
INDEX
547
Pius VI, Pope: condemns the
Synod of Pistoia, 517.
Pius IX, Pope : on the rational soul
as the form of the body, 141 ;
Syllabus of, 523, 524 ; convenes
and approves the Vatican Coun
cil, 524-529; defines the Immac
ulate Conception, 521-523.
Pius X, Pope : condemns modern
ism, 531; Syllabus of, 531, 532.
Poncius, John: Scotist theologian,
481, 482.
Pontius, archbishop of Aries :
grants an indulgence in modern
form, 367.
Praepositivus : his teaching on di
vine relations, 95; on divine per
sons, 96; the form of consecra
tion, 328.
Predestination : controversy on, 66-
72; teaching of the Scholastics,
72; in the teaching of the Thpm-
ists, 499, 500; of the Molinists,
499-
Praemotio Physica : in reference to
God's foreknowledge, 490-492 ; to
efficacious grace, 493, 494.
Prudentius of Troyes : on predes
tination, 69.
Pseudo-Areopagite : his authority
in the schools, 5 ; on the mutual
relation of the angels, 125, 126.
Pseudo-Augustine: on penance in
the Middle Ages, 341-343.
Quesnel, Paschase: his Jansenistic
teaching, 510; condemned by Cle
ment XI, 510, 511.
Quiercy, Council of: its teaching
on predestination, 68, 69.
Rabanus Maurus : his relation to
Scholasticism, 2; teaching on
predestination, 69; on the pri
macy of Rome, 221 ; on penance,
340.
Radbertus, Paschasius : his rela
tion to Scholasticism, 2 ; takes
part in the Encharistic contro
versy with Ratramnus, 311, 312.
Rationalism: in the writings of
Hermes, 517, 518; of Guenther,
519; condemned in the Syllabus
of Pius IX, 523; by the Vatican
Council, 526.
Ratramnus of Corbie: his relation
to Scholasticism, 2; teaching on
predestination, 69; the Real Pres
ence, 311, 312.
Redemption, the : see " soteriol-
r, °fgy"
Reformation, the Protestant: gen
eral outline, 458-466; conditions
favoring a religious revolt; evil
effects of the Western Schism,
458, 459; decay of Scholasticism,
459; influence of the Renaissance,
459, 460; Teaching of the Re
formers; on Holy Scripture, 463,
464; original sin, 464; free will,
464; grace and justification, 464,
465 ; the sacraments, 465, 466 ; the
Church, 466.
Remegius of Lyons: his teaching
on predestination, 69.
Reprobation : see " predestination."
Rheims, Council of : condemns the
error of Gilbert de la Porree on
the Trinity, 94.
Richard Fitzacre: opposed to the
teaching of St. Thomas, 19.
Richard of Middleton : his writ
ings, 16; opposed to the teach
ing of St. Thomas, 20; his view
on eternal creation, no; conser
vation, 112; elevation of the an
gels, 115; their relation to place,
121 ; final cause of the Incarna
tion, 182; the hypostatic union,
182, 183; the material object of
faith, 260; the law of baptism,
205; form of consecration, 329;
effects of penance, 348; form of
extreme unction, 389; effects of
extreme unction, 392; extinction
of the fames peccati in Mary,
400; essence of the beatific vision,
436.
Richard of St. yictor: his teaching
on the simplicity of God, 40; im
mensity, 52; definition of person,
88; principles of divine proces
sions, 91 ; meaning of sacramen
tal absolution, 352.
548
INDEX
Ripalda, Martinez : Jesuit theolo
gian, 483; his writings, 483, 484.
Robert Grosseteste: supporter of
the Franciscan school of theology,
16; his writings, 16.
Robert Hplcot: his relation to
Nominalism, 23.
Robert Pulleyn : opposes Abelard's
teaching on the omnipotence of
God, 61 ; his view on the spirit
uality of the angels, 117; on or
iginal sin, 158; its transmission,
164; need of intention in the ad
ministration of the sacraments,
291.
Roland of Cremona: opposes the
teaching of St. Thomas, 19.
Roscelin: his heretical teaching on
the Trinity, 85, 86; condemned
by the Council of Soissons, 86;
his Christological error, 171, 172.
Rubeis, de: Franciscan theologian,
484.
Rupert of Deutz : his teaching on
the spirituality of the angels, 117.
Sacraments, the: in general, 272-
297; definition of, 273-276; effi
cacy of, 276-283; sacramental
grace, 284-290; need of inten
tion, 200-292; the number seven,
292-295; institution of the sacra
ments, 295-297; sacramental the
ology after the Council of Trent,
500, 501 ; the teaching of Trent,
472-476.
Salamanca, university of, 480, 481.
Salmanticenses : commentary on
the Summa of St. Thomas, pub
lished by the Carmelites at Sala
manca, 481 ; its dogmatic stand
point, 481.
Salmeron: Jesuit theologian, 482.
Saltet : on reordinations in the Mid
dle Ages, 286.
Savonnierres, Synod of: its teach
ing on predestination, 71.
Scholasticism: meaning of, 3, 4;
rise of, 4; preparatory stage,
5-8; further development, 8~ii;
golden age of, 11-22; decline, 22-
24; centers of Scholastic activi
ties, 13; the Scholastic method,
13, 14; sources of arguments, 24-
26.
School Differences after the Coun
cil of Trent: reasons for, 486; on
God's foreknowledge, 487-492 ;
efficacious grace, 492-497 ; the
hypostatic union, 497, 498; the
redemption, 498; sanctifying
grace, 498, 499; predestination,
499; sacramental theology, 500-
502; the Eucharistic sacrifice,
^ 502, 503.
Scientia Media: in the Middle
Ages, 60; after the Council of
Trent, 487-490.
Scotus Erigena: his pantheistic
views, loo.
Sens, Council of: condemns the er
rors of Abelard, 61, 104, 155, 174,
188, 212.
Servatus Lupus: his relation to
Scholasticism, 2 ; teaching on pre
destination, 69.
Sixtus IV, Pope: explains the ex
pression, per modum suffragii,
371 ; defend the Immaculate Con
ception, 411.
Socinus, Reformer: his error on
God's foreknowledge, 487.
Soissons, Council of: condemns
the Trinitarian error of Rosce
lin, 86 ; and of Abelard, 88.
Soteriology: in the writings of the
Fathers, 196; some errors, 196-
200; soteriology of the Scholas
tics, 201-214; necessity of the re
demption, 201-203 ; the atone
ment, 203-206; effects of the
atonement, 206-21 1 ; the death of
Christ, 211-213; soteriological
teaching after the Council of
Trent, 498, 499.
Soto, Dominicus de: Neo-Scholas-
tic theologian, 480.
Statuta Bonifatii: on penance in
the Middle Ages, 340.
Suarez, Francis: Jesuit theologian,
483; his writings, 483; teaching
on the scientia media, 489 ; the
hypostatic union, 497.
INDEX
549
Syllabus, the : of Pius IX, 523, 524 ;
of Pius X, 531-534-
Syncretism: origin of, 496; on effi
cacious grace, 497.
Tanchelm: mediaeval heretic, 440.
Theodoric of Chartres : on the im
mensity of God, 51, 52.
Thomas Aquinas: his writings, 17-
19; opposition to his teaching,
19-21 ; his teaching on natural
reason in theology, 25 ; on tradi
tion, 25; Holy Scripture, 26; the
necessity of revelation, 26, 27 ;
the existence of God, 31-33; the
immediate knowledge of God,
35; God's infinite perfection, 36;
God's essence, 38, 39; simplicity,
42-44 ; unicity, 47 ; infinity, 47 ;
immutability, 51; immensity, 52;
knowledge, 53, 54, 57~59; omnip
otence, 62; freedom of the divine
will, 63, 64; predestination, 78-
81 ; number of the elect, 82, 83 ;
the Trinity, 85 ; definition of per
son, 89; principles of divine pro
cessions, 91-93; divine relations,
94, 95 J divine persons, 96, 97 ; cir-
cuminsession, 99; definition of
creation, 101 ; the creative act,
101, 103; the the perfection of the
universe, 104, 105; efficient cause
of creation, 106; instrumental
cause, 107, 108; exemplary cause,
108; eternal creation, no, in;
conservation, 112; creation of the
angels, 114; their elevation, 115,
116; spirituality, 118-120; relation
to place, 120, 121 ; knowledge, 121-
123; volition, 124, 125; locution,
126; ministry, 127; man the
image of God, 129, 130; the ra-
tiones seminales, 130; formation
of the first human body, 131 ;
identity of the vegetative and
sensitive soul in man, 132, 133;
creation of individual souls, 133;
simplicity of the human soul, 134,
137-139; original justice, 147-
152; nature of original sin, 160-
163; transmission, 167, 168; fit
ness of the Incarnation, 180;
final cause, 181; assumption of
human nature, 183, 184; human
personality, 186-188; the hypos-
tatic union, 189-191 ; adoration of
Christ's humanity, 192 ; the sote-
riology of St. Anselm, 201 ; ade
quacy of the satisfaction, 202,
203 ; the atonement, 203, 204 ;
moral value of Christ's death,
205; Christ's merit, 207-210; the
mediator, 211; the death of
Christ, 211, 212; ecclesiology,
216-219; supremacy of the Pope,
223; infallibility, 224-226; juris
diction of bishops, 228; the Pope
and the secular power, 232; ac
tual and sanctifying grace, 240-
245; justification, 247, 248; merit,
249-251 ; subject of infused vir
tues, 254; distinction between in
fused virtues and sanctifying
grace, 255; necessity and nature
of theological virtues, 256, 257;
definition of faith, 258; material
object of faith, 260; formal ob
ject, 262; virtue of hope, 263,
264; material object, 264, 265;
formal object, 265; virtue of
charity, 267, 269; formal object,
269, 270; definition of a sacra
ment, 274; matter and form of
the sacraments, 275; sacraments
of the Old and New Law, 277;
causality, 280-283 ; sacramental
grace, 284, 285; character, 288-
291 ; institution, 296, 297 ; the
number seven, 295; form, 300,
301 ; baptismal rite, 302 ; effects
of baptism, 303; institution, 305;
confirmation, 306; institution of,
307; minister, 307; effects, 308,
309; the Real Presence, 314;
transubstantiatipn, 316, 318;
manner of Christ's presence, 321,
322; the accidents, 323-325; form
of consecration, 328; matter,
329, 330; consecrating minister,
331 ; the Eucharist as a sacra
ment, 332-335 ; as a sacrifice, 335,
336; the virtue of penance, 345-
348; effects, 348; the sacrament,
350, 35i; the form, 351, 352;
550
INDEX
meaning of sacramental absolu
tion, 352, 354; contrition, 354-
356; confession, 357, 358; satis
faction, 359; indulgences, 376-
378; holy orders, 381; one sacra
ment, 382-384; the episcopate,
385; rite of ordination, 386; ex
treme unction, 387; matter, 388;
consecration of, 388; form, 388,
389; subject, 389; reiteration,
390 ; anointings, 393 ; effects, 392 ;
matrimony, 393, 394; matter and
form, 395, 396; indissolubility,
395; sanctification of the Virgin,
398; sinlessness of Mary, 398,
399; Mary confirmed in grace,
402 ; extinction of the fomes pec-
cati, 400-402; Immaculate Con
ception, 407-409; divine mother
hood, 412, 414; conception of
Christ, 413, 414; veneration of
the Virgin, 416; resurrection of
the dead, 419-422; general judg
ment, 422-424; renovation of the
visible universe, 426; the punish
ment of hell, 427-429; the beatific
vision, 430; its nature, 432-435 \
essence, 436; he is summoned as
theologian to the Second Council
of Lyons, 451; after the Council
of Trent, his Summa becomes
the textbook of the schools, 479.
Thomism : origin of, 481 ; its teach
ing on God's foreknowledge, 490-
492 ; on efficacious grace, 493,
494; on predestination, 499, 500.
Toletus, Cardinal: Jesuit theolo
gian, 482 ; his commentary on the
Summa of St. Thomas, 482.
Toucv, Synod of : convened to set
tle the predestinarian contro
versy, 71.
Tournely : post-Tridentine theolo
gian, 484.
Traditionalism: a reaction against
the nineteenth-century rational
ism, 519, 520.
Transubstantiation : denied by Ber-
engarius, 313, 314; origin of the
term, 316, 317; in the writings
of the Scholastics, 314-316; na
ture of, 316-320; proofs of, 317;
the teaching of Trent, 473-475.
Trent, Council of: convocation,
467; its teaching on Holy Scrip
ture and tradition, 468; original
sin, 170, 468-47^; justification,
470-472; sacraments in general,
472, 473; baptism, 473; confirma
tion, 473; Holy Eucharist, 473-
475 ; penance, 475 ; sacrifice of the
Mass, 475, 476; holy orders, 476;
matrimony, 476; extreme unction,
4755 purgatory, 476; veneration
of saints and images, 476; indul
gences, 476; Immaculate Concep
tion, 470.
Tribur, Synod of : on commutation
of penance, 366, 367.
Trinity, the Blessed: in Patristic
theology, 84; errors of some
early Scholastics, 85-88; defini
tion of person, 88, 89; principles
of divine processions, 89-94; di
vine relations, 94-96; divine per
sons, 96-98; circuminsession, 98,
99.
Ulrich of Strasburg: defends the
teaching of St. Thomas, 20.
Urban II, Pope: grants the earliest
known plenary indulgence, 368.
Urban VI, Pope: his election, 454;
his subsequent rejection by some
of the cardinals and the resulting
schism, 454; regulates the Jubi
lee, 369.
Valence, Council of: on predesti
nation, 70; on the salvific will, 72.
Valentia, Gregory de: Jesuit theo
logian, 482.
Vasquez, Gabriel : Jesuit theologian,
483; his writings, 483; his teach
ings on the scientia media, 489;
the hypostatic union, 497.
Vatican Council: preparation for
524-526; defines the simplicity of
God, 45; infinity, 48; issues a
constitution on the Catholic faith,
527, 528; and on the Church of
Christ, 527, 528; definition of pa-
INDEX
551
pal infallibility, 529; its work
continued by Leo XIII and Pius
X, 529-
Vienne, Council of: its teaching on
the beatific vision, 35; defines
that the rational soul is the form
of the body, 140; its teaching on
the moral virtues, 271 ; infusion
of virtues in the baptism of
children, 303 ; suppresses the
Knights Templar, 452; con
demns the Beghards and Be-
guines, 452, 453; censures the
teaching of Olivi, 453, 454.
Vincent of Beauvais : defends the
Immaculate Conception, 409.
Virtues, infused : na'ture of, 253 ;
subject of, 254; theological, 255-
270; cardinal, 270, 271; the virtue
of faith, 257-263; of hope, 263-
267; of charity, 267-270.
Vittoria, Francis de: author of
Neo-Scholasticism, 479, 480.
Viva: Jesuit theologian, 484.
Wadding, Luke : edits the works of
Duns Scotus, 482.
Waldensians : mediaeval heretics,
443; their teaching, 444.
Walter de Mortagne: his teaching
on God's immensity, 52.
Walter of St. Victor: opposed to
Abelard's influence in the schools,
8; cultivates mystic theology, n;
his opposition to the Lombard,
II.
Western Schism : origin of, 454,
455 ; brought to an end by the
Council of Constance, 455.
Wiclif, John: his efforts at reform,
445, 446; his teaching, 445, 446;
condemned by the Synod of Lon
don, 445; and by the Council of
Constance, 455.
William of Auxerre : writings of,
ii ; his teaching on the princi
ples of divine processions, 40;
on Christ's merit, 208; on the
matter and form of the sacra
ments, 275.
William of St. Thierry: opposed to
Abelard's influence in the schools,
8; his teaching on divine omnip
otence, 61 ; refutes Abelard's er
ror on the Trinity, 88; and on
creation, 104; his view on the
creation of the angels, 114; their
elevation, 114, 115; refutes Abe
lard's soteriological errors, 197.
r~
OTTEN, B.J. BQT
History of dogmas. 36
.08
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