Lectio 2
Lecture 2
Paulus idem in persona et in litteris
Paul the same in person as in letters
10:7 Quae secundum faciem sunt, videte. Si quis confidit sibi Christi se esse, hoc cogitet iterum apud se: quia sicut ipse Christi est, ita et nos. [n. 354]
10:7 See the things that are according to outward appearance. If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him think this again with himself, that as he is Christ’s, so are we also. [n. 354]
10:8 Nam etsi amplius aliquid gloriatus fuero de potestate nostra, quam dedit nobis Dominus in aedificationem, et non in destructionem vestram, non erubescam. [n. 358]
10:8 For if also I should boast somewhat more of our power, which the Lord has given us unto edification and not unto your destruction, I should not be ashamed. [n. 358]
10:9 Ut autem non existimer tamquam terrere vos per epistolas: [n. 360]
10:9 But that I may not be thought as it were to terrify you by epistles, [n. 360]
10:10 quoniam quidem epistolae, inquiunt, graves sunt et fortes: praesentia autem corporis infirma, et sermo contemptibilis:
10:10 (For his epistles indeed, they say, are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible):
10:11 hoc cogitet qui ejusmodi est, quia quales sumus verbo per epistolas absentes, tales et praesentes in facto.
10:11 Let such a one think this, that such as we are in word by epistles when absent, such also we will be in deed when present.
10:12 Non enim audemus inserere, aut comparare nos quibusdam, qui seipsos commendant: sed ipsi in nobis nosmetipsos metientes, et comparantes nosmetipsos nobis. [n. 363]
10:12 For we dare not match or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves: but we measure ourselves by ourselves and compare ourselves with ourselves. [n. 363]
354. Supra excusavit se Apostolus per rationem hic excusat se per facti evidentiam. Et
354. Above, the Apostle excused himself by reason; here he excuses himself by the evidence of the fact.
circa hoc duo facit.
In this regard he does two things.
Primo enim committit auditoribus iudicium suae excusationis;
First, he submits his excuse to his hearers to judge;
secundo prosequitur suam causam, ibi si quis confidit, et cetera.
second, he pursues his cause, at if any man trust.
355. Dicit ergo primo: licet appareat per rationem falsum esse quod imponunt mihi pseudo, tamen si aliqui sint inter vos, qui ratione non vincantur et noluerint rationi acquiescere, saltem videte, id est considerate, ea quae sunt secundum faciem, id est in manifesto apparent de me evidenter. Committit autem eis iudicium causae suae, ad ostendendam securitatem cordis sui. Iob VI, v. 29: respondete, obsecro, absque contradictione.
355. He says, therefore: although reason shows that the charge laid against me by the false apostles is false, nevertheless, if some among you are not convinced by reason and refuse to acquiesce to it, at least see, i.e., consider, the things that are according to outward appearance, i.e., that are evident, concerning me. But he submits the judgment of his cause to them in order to indicate how secure he is in his heart: turn, I pray, let no wrong be done (Job. 6:29).
Sed contra Io. VII, 24: nolite secundum faciem iudicare. Non ergo bene dicitur hic quae secundum faciem sunt videte.
But this is contrary to John: do not judge by appearances (John 7:24). Therefore it is not proper for him to say, that are according to outward appearance.
Respondeo. Dicendum est quod ibi accipitur secundum faciem pro his quae exterius apparent in homine, scilicet pro sola veritatis apparentia, secundum quae non debet homo iudicare, quia aliquando contrarium latet in corde. Unde dicitur Matth. VII, 15: veniunt ad vos in vestimentis ovium, intrinsecus, et cetera. Hic vero accipitur secundum faciem pro ipsa veritate Evangelica et facti evidentia, secundum quam potest fieri iudicium.
I answer that the phrase, according to outward appearance, is taken there for things that appear outwardly in a man, namely, for that which appear to be true, according to which a man should not judge, because sometimes the contrary is present in the heart: beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves (Matt 7:15). But here according to outward appearance is taken for the Gospel’s truth itself and the evidence of the fact according to which judgment can be made.
Glossa aliter exponit, scilicet secundum faciem, id est pseudo videte, id est attendite. Quasi dicat: considerate facta eorum, quia impossibile est quin inter multa bona quae praetendunt, non faciant aliqua ex quibus poteritis cognoscere intentionem ipsorum pravam. Matth. VII, 20: ex fructibus eorum, et cetera.
A Gloss explains it another way, namely, see, i.e., look to, the things that are according to outward appearance, i.e., of the false apostles. As if to say: consider the facts about them, because it is impossible that among the many good things they pretend they not do some things from which you can recognize their wicked intention: thus you will know them by their fruits (Matt 7:20).
356. Consequenter cum dicit si quis autem confidit, etc., prosequitur causam suam. Contingit autem quod aliquis movetur contra aliquem, deceptus auctoritate alicuius qui se magnum facit. Et sic Corinthii commoti erant contra apostolum decepti a pseudo, qui se dicebant maioris auctoritatis quam Paulus, quia venerant a Iudaea, et quia erant primo conversi. Et ideo Apostolus duo facit.
356. Then when he says, if any man trust, he pursues his cause. But it sometimes happens that a person is moved against someone because the former is deceived by the authority of someone who gives himself out as being great. This is the way the Corinthians, deceived by the false apostles who claimed greater authority than Paul, were stirred up against him, because they had come from Judea and were among the first converts. Therefore the Apostle does two things.
Primo evacuat auctoritatem illorum pseudorum;
First, he deflates the authority of those false apostles;
secundo prosequitur causam suam, ibi ut autem non existimer, et cetera.
second, he pursues his cause, at but that I may not be thought.
Circa primum duo facit.
Concerning the first he does two things.
Primo ostendit quod pseudo non sint sibi praeferendi;
First, he shows that the false apostles should not be preferred to himself;
secundo quod ipse est praeferendus eis, ibi nam et si amplius, et cetera.
second, that he should himself be preferred to them, at for if also I should boast (2 Cor 10:8).
357. Dicit ergo: hoc, inquam, secundum faciem videte; quod si quis, de pseudo, confidit se Christi esse, propter aliquod magnum quod fecerit, vel propter aliquod donum spirituale quod a Christo receperit, hoc cogitet apud se, id est consideret diligenter in corde suo quia sicut ipse Christi est, ita et nos. Quasi dicat: quidquid invenitur in eis, totum invenitur in nobis, unde debeamus dici et esse Christi. I Cor. VII, 40: puto quod et ego Spiritum Christi habeam. Rom. c. VIII, 9: si quis Spiritum Christi non habet, hic non est eius.
357. He says, therefore: see this, I say, according to outward appearance, that if any man of the false apostles trusts to himself that his is Christ’s, on account of some great thing he has done or some spiritual gift he has received from Christ, let him think this again with himself, i.e., carefully consider in his heart, that as he is Christ’s, so are we. As if to say: whatever is found in them is also found in us; hence we also should be considered as Christ’s: and I think I have the Spirit of God (1 Cor 7:40); any one who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him (Rom 8:9).
358. Non solum autem nos sumus Christi sicut et ipsi, sed multo plus possumus gloriari quod sumus Christi quam ipsi. Et hoc est quod dicit nam et si amplius aliquid gloriatus fuero de potestate nostra, quam, scilicet potestatem, dedit nobis Dominus. Act. IX, 15: vas electionis est mihi iste. Gal. II, 8: qui operatus est Petro, et cetera.
358. But we are not only Christ’s, as they are, but we can glory more that we are Christ’s than they can. And this is what he says: for if I should boast somewhat more of our power, which the Lord has given us: he is a chosen instrument of mine (Acts 9:15); for he who worked through Peter for the mission to the circumcised worked through me also for the gentiles (Gal 2:8).
Dedit, inquam, mihi potestatem hanc specialem ad convertendum gentes in aedificationem, scilicet Ecclesiae, et non in destructionem, sicut faciunt pseudo, abutentes potestate eis data in contrarium ad quod data est. Nam, licet potestas detur in aedificationem Ecclesiae in fide et caritate, isti tamen quaerunt gloriam suam et non Christi, et ideo destruunt. Et hoc faciebant praedicando observari legalia et faciendo quaestum.
He gave me, I say, this special power to convert the gentiles, unto edification, namely, of the Church, and not unto your destruction, as the false apostles do, who abuse the power given to them by using it for a purpose contrary to that for which it was given. For although the power was given for building up the Church in faith and charity, they seek their own glory and not Christ’s; consequently, they destroy. They did this by preaching that the ceremonies of the law must be observed and by making a profit.
Si ergo amplius glorior de hac potestate quam habeo, et in qua gloriam Christi quaero et non meam, non erubescam, scilicet de huiusmodi commendatione mea, quia non facio ad ostendendum me, sed causa necessitatis, scilicet ut ostendens auctoritatem meam esse magnam, et pseudo nullam, non decipiamini ab eis de caetero.
Therefore, if I glory more in that power which I have in which I seek Christ’s glory, I should not be ashamed, namely, for such commendation of myself, because I do not do it for ostentation, but out of necessity, so that by showing that my authority is great and that of the false apostles null, no man may be deceived by them again.
359. Ubi nota quod, secundum Gregorium, duabus de causis potest aliquis se commendare absque peccato, scilicet quando aliquis provocatur opprobriis et conculcatur; et hoc ut non desperet videns se conculcari, et ut confutet adversarios. Sic Iob commendavit se multum, sicut patet XXVII cap., unde dicit: neque enim reprehendit me cor meum in omni vita mea, et cetera.
359. Note here that according to Gregory there are two cases in which a person may commend himself without sinning, namely, when he is provoked by reproaches and is treated with contempt, and this in order that he not despair, seeing that he is treated with contempt, and be able to refute his adversaries. This is the way Job commended himself, as it is clear where he says: my heart does not reproach me for any of my days (Job 27:6).
Item quando aliquis praedicans veritatem, et alius adversarius veritatis contradicit sibi et impedit manifestationem veritatis, tunc huiusmodi praedicator debet se commendare et ostendere auctoritatem suam, ut confutet illum et ut trahat auditores ad veritatem. Et hoc facit Apostolus in multis locis et hic etiam.
Likewise, when a person is preaching the truth and an adversary of the truth contradicts him and hinders the manifestation of the truth, in that case the preacher should commend himself and show his authority in order to refute him and draw his hearers to the truth. The Apostle does this in many places and also here.
360. Consequenter cum dicit ut autem non existimer, etc., prosequitur causam suam ex facti evidentia. Et
360. Then when he says, but that I may not be thought, he pursues his cause with the evidence of the facts.
circa hoc tria facit.
In regard to this he does three things.
Primo ostendit falsum esse quod sibi imponitur;
First, he shows that the charge laid against him is false;
secundo rationem dicti assignat, ibi non enim audemus, etc.;
second, the reason he says this, at for we dare not;
tertio exponit rationem ipsam, ibi non autem non, et cetera.
third, he explains the reason, at but we will not glory.
361. Circa primum sciendum est, quod, sicut dictum est, imponebatur Apostolo quod in praesentia esset humilis propter timorem, vel propter gratiam et favorem captandum, et in absentia dure scriberet eis. Et ideo dicit Apostolus quod non est ita, sed si bene volunt considerare quae apparent, ita invenient eum facto, qualem habuerunt scripto, et hoc possunt experiri, si volunt.
361. In regard to the first it should be noted that, as has been said, it was charged that the Apostle, when he was present, was humble out of fear or to win their favor; but when he was absent, he wrote harshly to them. But the Apostle says that this is not so, and that if they would carefully weigh the things that appear, they would find him to be in fact as he appears in his epistles; and they can test this, if they wish.
Et hoc est quod dicit ut autem non existimer, a pseudo seu a vobis, tamquam terrere vos, vel timorem vobis incutere, per epistolas nostras quas vobis mittimus, quem quidem timorem non incutiebam vobis in praesentia. Et hoc ideo est quoniam ipsi, scilicet pseudo, inquiunt: epistolae, scilicet Pauli, graves sunt, id est dure et graviter punientes, et fortes, id est absque timore; sed praesentia non talis, imo infirma, id est debilis et humilis, quod respondet ei quod dicit fortes; et sermo, scilicet praedicatio sua, et collocutio, et exhortatio, contemptibilis, quod respondet ei quod dicitur graves.
And that is what he says: but that I may not be thought by the false apostles or by you, as it were, to terrify you, or to make you fearful, by epistles which we sent to you; which fear we would not cause you when we were present. For they, namely, the false apostles, say that his epistles, namely, Paul’s, are weighty, i.e., punishing harshly and severely, and strong, i.e., without fear, but his bodily presence is not such, for it is weak, i.e., feeble and humble, and his speech, namely, his preaching and conversation and exhortation, is contemptible.
362. Sed qui est huiusmodi, id est qui talia dicit de nobis, cogitet, id est sciat certe, quia quales sumus, et cetera. Id est tales erimus praesentes, cum venimus ad vos, quales sumus per epistolas, absentes, si necesse fuerit.
362. But let such a one, i.e., who say such things about me, think this, i.e., know for certain, that such as we are in word by epistles when absent, such also we will be in deed when present, i.e., we will be such when we come to you as we are by epistle when absent, if it is necessary.