Lectio 6
Lecture 6
Gloria in infirmitate
Glory in infirmity
11:27 In labore et aerumna, in vigiliis multis, in fame et siti, in jejuniis multis, in frigore et nuditate, [n. 429]
11:27 In labor and painfulness, in many watchings, in hunger and thirst, in many fastings, in cold and nakedness: [n. 429]
11:28 praeter illa quae extrinsecus sunt, instantia mea quotidiana, sollicitudo omnium ecclesiarum. [n. 432]
11:28 Besides those things which are without: my daily pressures, the anxiety for all the churches. [n. 432]
11:29 Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror?
11:29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?
11:30 Si gloriari oportet, quae infirmitatis meae sunt, gloriabor. [n. 435]
11:30 If I must glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity. [n. 435]
11:31 Deus et Pater Domini nostri Jesu Christi, qui est benedictus in saecula, scit quod non mentior. [n. 437]
11:31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. [n. 437]
11:32 Damasci praepositus gentis Aretae regis custodiebat civitatem Damascenorum ut me comprehenderet: [n. 438]
11:32 At Damascus, the governor of the nation under Aretas the king, guarded the city of the Damascenes, to apprehend me. [n. 438]
11:33 et per fenestram in sporta dimissus sum per murum, et sic effugi manus ejus.
11:33 And I was let down by the wall, through a window, in a basket: and so escaped his hands.
429. Hic consequenter enumerat mala sponte assumpta, quae sustinentur in domibus. Et enumerat tria mala opposita tribus bonis, quae sunt necessaria ad vitam domesticam. Primum bonum est requies somni, secundum est sustentatio cibi, tertium est fomentum vestis.
429. Here he lists the evils voluntarily assumed, namely, those endured in homes, and he lists three evils opposed to the three goods which are necessary for domestic life. The first good is restful sleep; the second is sustenance from food; the third is the warmth of clothing.
Requiei ergo somni, opponit laborem et vigilias. Quantum ad laborem dicit in labore, scilicet manuum. Act. XX, 34: ad ea quae mihi opus erant, et cetera. Et ideo dicit supra VI, v. 5: in laboribus, quia, ad litteram, ut dictum est supra, manu sua victum quaerebat. Et II Thess. III, 8: nocte et die laborantes, et cetera. Quantum ad laboris defectum dicit aerumna, quae est defectus et languor consequens ex labore, vel ex morbo naturali. Ps. c. XXXI, 4: conversus sum in aerumna, et cetera. Quantum vero ad vigilias dicit in vigiliis multis, vel in vacando praedicationibus de nocte, vel operi manuali. Act. XX, 7 dicitur quod protraxit sermonem usque ad mediam noctem.
To restful sleep he opposes labor and watchings, in regard to which he says, in labor, i.e., manual labor. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities, and to those who were with me (Acts 20:34), because he literally made his living with his own hands: with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not burden any of you (2 Thess 3:8). As to the weakness resulting from labor he says, and painfulness, which is a weakness and tiredness that follows upon labor or from a natural sickness: my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer (Ps 32:4). But in regard to watchings he says, in many watchings, because he devoted himself either to preaching at night or to manual labor. In Acts it says that he prolonged his sermon until midnight (Acts 20:7).
430. Sustentationi vero cibi opponit duplicem subtractionem cibi, unam quae est ex necessitate; unde dicit in fame et siti, quia scilicet, ad litteram, deficiebat sibi aliquando cibus et potus. I Cor. IV, 11: usque in hanc horam, et cetera. Aliam quae est ex voluntate, unde dicit in ieiuniis multis, scilicet voluntarie assumptis, et propter exemplum bonum et propter macerationem carnis. I Cor. IX, 27: castigo corpus meum, et cetera.
430. To sustenance from food he opposes two forms of being denied food. One is due to necessity; hence he says, in hunger and thirst, namely, because he was unable frequently to obtain food and drink: to the present hour we hunger and thirst (1 Cor 4:11); the other is voluntary; hence he says, in many fastings, i.e., voluntarily undertaken both for the good example and to tame the flesh: I pommel my body and subdue it (1 Cor 9:27).
Sed contra, Matth. VI, 33: haec omnia adiicientur vobis, scilicet temporalia. Quare ergo in fame et siti?
But this seems to be out of harmony with Matthew: but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well (Matt 6:33). Why then in hunger and thirst?
Respondeo. Dicendum est quod quando expedit, adiiciuntur nobis, scilicet temporalia, et propter utilitatem nostram, sed aliquando expedit carere eis.
I answer that when it is expedient and for our benefit, they are added, i.e., temporal things; but sometimes it is expedient to lack them.
431. Fomento vero vestis opponit duo, unum ex parte naturae, unde dicit in frigore, aliud ex parte inopiae, unde dicit et nuditate, scilicet ostensus sum, scilicet minister Christi. I Cor. IV, 11: nudi et instabiles, etc. supra VI, 4: in necessitatibus, etc.
431. To the warmth of clothing he opposes two things: one on the part of nature; hence he says, in cold; the other on the part of poverty, hence he says, and nakedness. I am proved a minister of Christ: we are ill-clad and buffeted and homeless (1 Cor 4:11); in tribulation, in necessities, in distresses (2 Cor 6:4).
432. Consequenter cum dicit praeter illa, etc., enumerat mala assumpta interiora, quae causantur ex sollicitudine cordis pro pseudo.
432. Then when he says, besides those things which are without, he lists the internal evils he assumed, namely, those caused by anxiety of heart because of the activities of the false apostles.
Bonus autem praelatus dupliciter affligitur pro subditis. Et primo sollicitudine conservationis subditorum, secundo pro defectu ipsorum. Et istam duplicem afflictionem passus est Apostolus. Primam cum dicit praeter illa, quae extrinsecus, etc., quasi dicat: praeter omnia quae exterius patior et passus sum, angit me gravius interior afflictio, scilicet sollicitudo subditorum. Et ideo dicit instantia omnium ecclesiarum magna est et multum gravat, quia multum sollicitat. Lc. X, 41: Martha, Martha, sollicita es, et turbaris erga plurima, et cetera. Rom. XII, 8: qui praeest in sollicitudine.
Now a good prelate is concerned about two things affecting his subjects, namely, their safety and the defection. And the Apostle suffered affliction in regard to both; the first, when he says, and, besides those things which are without: my daily pressures, the anxiety for all the churches. As if to say: in addition to what I suffer and have suffered from outside, the internal affliction is more oppressive, that is, solicitude for his subjects. Hence, he says, the daily pressures for all the churches are great and lie heavily upon him, because he was very solicitous. Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things (Luke 10:41); he that rules, with solicitude (Rom 12:8).
433. Secundam afflictionem passus est pro defectu subditorum, et hoc dupliciter, scilicet pro defectu spiritualium; unde dicit quis infirmatur, scilicet in fide et bono, et ego non infirmor? In corde dolens de eo, sicut de me. I Cor. IX, 22: factus sum infirmis infirmus, et cetera. Ier. IX, 1: quis dabit capiti meo aquam, et cetera. Item pro defectu corporalium; unde dicit quis scandalizatur, malo poenae, id est quis patitur tribulationes, et ego non uror? Igne compassionis. Iste est ignis, quem Dominus venit mittere in terram, Lc. XII, 49.
433. The second affliction he suffered concerned the failings of his subjects, and this he does in two ways, namely for spiritual failings; hence he says, who is weak, namely, in faith and in goodness, and I am not weak? In heart, grieving over them as though over myself? To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak (1 Cor 9:22); O that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! (Jer 9:1). And for bodily failings; hence he says, who is scandalized with the evil of punishment, i.e., who suffers afflictions, and I am not on fire with the fire of compassion? This is the fire which the Lord came to cast upon the earth (Luke 12:49).
434. Et attende, quod congrue utitur hoc verbo uror, quia compassio procedit ex amore Dei et proximi, qui est ignis consumens, dum movet ad sublevandas miserias proximorum, et purgat ex affectu compassionis, et per quem nobis peccata relaxantur: caritas autem illius compassionis operit multitudinem peccatorum.
434. And notice that he fittingly uses the word, on fire, because compassion proceeds from the love of God and neighbor, which is a consuming fire, because it moves one to alleviate the misfortunes of one’s neighbor, and it cleanses the soul with the compassion it engenders, and by it our sins are loosed, while the charity of that compassion covers a multitude of sins.
Vel, aliter, aliquando enim labitur homo in peccatum ex seipso, et tunc infirmatur; aliquando autem ex malo exemplo aliorum, et tunc scandalizatur. Lc. XVII, 1 et Matth. c. XVIII, 7: vae homini illi per quem scandalum venit, et cetera.
Or, taking it another way, a person sometimes falls into sin of himself, and then he is weakened; sometimes by the example of others, and then he is scandalized: woe to the man by whom the temptation comes! (Matt 18:7).
435. Deinde cum dicit si gloriari oportet, etc., confirmat quaedam dictorum superius. Vel dic quod supra loquitur quantum ad mala, quae pertulit commendabiliter, hic autem quantum ad mala, quae vitavit prudenter. Sed quia vitare pericula, quae surgunt propter fidem, videtur pertinere ad infirmitatem, ideo
435. Then when he says, if I must glory, he confirms some of the statements made above. Or say that above he speaks about the evils he commendably suffered; but here about the evils he prudently avoided. But because the avoidance of evils that arise against the faith seems to imply weakness, therefore,
primo praemittit, quod in illis, quae infirmitatis sunt, vult gloriari;
first, he states that he wishes to glory in those that imply weakness;
secundo proponit iuramentum ad confirmationem dicendorum, ibi Deus et Pater, etc.;
second, he proposes an oath to confirm his statements, at God and Father;
tertio ostendit modum vitandi, ibi Damasci, et cetera.
third, he shows how he avoided some evils, at at Damascus.
436. Proponit ergo primo de quibus gloriatur, si debet gloriari, dicens si, pro quia, oportet gloriari, quae sunt infirmitatis meae gloriabor; quasi dicat: alii gloriantur in genere et in aliis mundanis rebus. Phil. c. III, 19: gloria in confusione, et cetera. Et ego etiam coactus gloriatus sum in eis. Tamen si gloriari oportet, gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis. Infra XII, 9: libenter gloriabor in infirmitatibus meis, et cetera.
436. First, therefore, he suggests that the things in which one should glory, if he must glory, saying: if, i.e., because, I must glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity. As if to say: others may glory in their race and other worldly things: they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things (Phil 3:19), and I when compelled gloried in them. Yet if I must glory, I will glory in my weakness: gladly therefore will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me (2 Cor 12:9).
437. Secundo subdit, quod non mentitur invocans testimonium divinum per modum iuramenti, ut credatur sibi, dicens Deus et Pater, et cetera. Ubi tria ponit: unum per quod inducit ad amorem, unde dicit, Deus, Ier. X, 7: quis non timebit te, et cetera. Aliud per quod excitavit ad amorem, unde dicit: Pater, Iac. I, 17: omne datum optimum, etc.; Mal. I, 6: si ego pater, ubi est amor meus? Vel, secundum aliam litteram, honor meus. Tertium per quod movet ad reverentiam et laudem; unde dicit qui est benedictus Deus in saecula, supra I, 3: benedictus Deus et Pater, et cetera.
437. Second, he states that he is not lying and is calling on God to witness after the manner of an oath, so that they will believe his, saying, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for ever, knows that I do not lie. Here he lays down three things. One by which to induce fear; hence he says, God: who would not fear you, O King of the nations? (Jer 10:7); one by which he excites love, when he says, Father: every good endowment and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights (Jas 1:17); if then I am a father, where is my love?, or according to another version, my honor? (Mal 1:5); third, to inspire reverence and praise, who is blessed forever: blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Cor 1:3).
Iste ergo tam reverendus, tam diligendus, tam timendus scit, quod non mentior, scilicet in his quae dixi et dicturus sum. Supra c. I, 18: non enim est apud nos est, et non, et cetera.
He, therefore, so revered, so worthy of love, so worthy of fear, knows that I do not lie, namely, in what I have said and will say: our speech which was to you was not, it is, and it is not (2 Cor 1:17).
438. Consequenter cum dicit Damasci praepositus, etc., ostendit quanta mala vitavit, et hoc in quodam particulari periculo.
438. Then when he says, at Damascus, he shows the evils he avoided, and this in a certain particular danger.
Ubi sciendum est, quod Apostolus primo coepit praedicare Christum in Damasco, ubi dum pergeret Christianos capere, prostratus est et ad fidem conversus. Et ideo Iudaei ad praepositum illius civitatis, qui erat ibi pro Aretha rege, confugerunt, ut Paulum caperent et occiderent. Et ideo ille faciebat custodiri nocte et die portas civitatis, ut dicitur Act. IX, v. 24. Christiani autem, qui erant ibi, volentes servare Paulum, eum submiserunt in sporta per murum, et sic evasit.
Here it should be noted that the Apostle first began to preach Christ in Damascus, where he was thrown to the ground and converted to the faith, as he was on his way to arrest Christians. Therefore, the Jews appealed to the governor of that city, who was representing Aretas the king, to arrest Paul and put him to death. So the governor ordered the city-gates to be watched day and night (Acts 9:24). But the Christians who were there, desiring to save Paul, lowered him by the wall in a basket, and thus he escaped.
Hunc ergo modum evadendi tangit Apostolus, dicens: vere non mentior de hoc quod dico etiam modo, nam Damasci praepositus, qui sub Aretha rege, genti Damascenorum praeerat, custodiri faciebat, inductus a Iudaeis, civitatem Damascenorum, ad hoc scilicet ut me comprehenderet, et comprehensum assignaret Iudaeis, ne amplius praedicarem; sed ego per fenestram submissus sum per murum, et sic effugi manus eius, scilicet praepositi. Et hoc fuit de mandato Domini dicentis Matth. X, 23: si vos persecuti fuerint, et cetera. Sic Michol David deposuit per fenestram, ne caperetur a Saule, I Reg. c. XIX, 2. Sic Rahab exploratores demisit cum fune per fenestram, Ios. II, 15.
This form of escape the Apostle touches on, when he says: truly I am not lying about what I am telling you now: for at Damascus, the governor under King Aretas, i.e., the governor who ruled at Damascus under King Aretas, was induced by the Jews to guard the city of the Damascenes, to apprehend me, so that I would be delivered to the Jews and prevented from preaching. But I was let down by the wall, through a window, in a basket: and so escaped his hands, namely, the governor’s. This was done in keeping with the Lord’s command: when they persecute you in one town, flee to the next (Matt 10:23). In this way too did Michel let David down through a window to escape from Saul (1 Sam 19:12), and Rahab let the spies down with a cord out of a window (Jos 2:15).
439. Sed hic obiicitur contra Apostolum, primo, quia videtur quod non fuerit sufficienter confisus in Domino, sed fugit.
439. But some object against the Apostle’s conduct: first, because he seems to have lacked confidence in the Lord and fled.
Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod quamdiu adest humanum auxilium, homo non debet confugere ad auxilium divinum, quia hoc esset tentare Deum, sed debet illo uti auxilio quantum potest. Apostolo autem nondum deerat humanum auxilium.
I answer that as long as human help is available, a man should not run for divine help, because this would be tempting God; but he should use human help as much as he can. But the Apostle was not yet lacking human help.
Secundo obiicitur, quia Io. X, 12 dicitur: mercenarius autem et qui non est pastor, videt lupum venientem, et fugit. Unde videtur quod non fuerit bonus pastor.
The second objection is based on John: he who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees (John 10:12). Hence, it seems that Paul was not a good shepherd.
Respondeo. Dicendum est, quod aliquando quaeritur persona praelati tantum, aliquando cum praelato totus populus. Quando ergo quaeritur praelatus solus, tunc debet committere curam alteri, et absentare se. Et sic fecit hic Paulus. Et ideo dicit Glossa quod licet fugeret, tamen fuit ei cura de ovibus, Bono Pastori in caelo sedenti eas commendando, et utilitati eorum se, per fugam, praeservando. Quando vero quaeritur totus grex, tunc debet praeponere utilitatem et salutem gregis saluti corporis sui.
I answer that sometimes the person of the prelate alone is sought, and sometimes the prelate along with all the people. When the prelate alone is sought, then he should entrust his duties to another and absent himself. This is what Paul did. Hence, a Gloss says that although he fled, he still took care of his people by commending them to the Good Shepherd seated in heaven and saving himself for their benefit by flight. But when the entire flock is sought, then he should prefer the benefit and safety of the flock to his own bodily safety.
Nota autem, quod est quaedam fuga humilitatis, quando quis fugit honores, sicut Christus fugit Io. VI, 15, cum vidisset quod vellent eum eligere in regem. Sic Saul cum electus fuit in regem, abscondit se domi, I Reg. X, 22. Quaedam vero fuga est cautelae, quando scilicet fugit pericula, ut praeservetur ad maiora. Sic Helias fugit propter Iezabel, III Reg. XIX, 3; et sic Apostolus hic fugit manus praepositi.
But note that there is a flight inspired by humility, when a person flees honors, as Christ fled when they sought to make him king (John 6:15). In the same way Saul, when chosen, concealed himself at home (1 Sam 10:22). Another is inspired by caution, namely, when a person flees dangers in order to be saved for greater ones. This is the way Elijah fled from Jezebel (1 Kgs 19:3), and the way the Apostle fled from the hands of the governor.
Caput 12
Chapter 12