249. Sequitur irascimini, et cetera. Ubi prohibet peccatum, corrumpens irascibilem.
249. Next, at be angry: and do not sin, he forbids sins destructive of the order in the irascible emotions.
Circa quod tria facit.
Concerning this he makes three points:
Primo ponit monitionem;
first, he gives a warning;
secundo eam exponit, ibi sol non occidat, etc.;
second, he explains what he means, at do not let the sun go down;
tertio rationem reddit, ibi nolite locum, et cetera.
third, he gives the reason for his concern, at give no place.
250. Monitionem autem ponit, cum dicit irascimini, et cetera. Quod potest exponi dupliciter, quia duplex est species irae, quaedam bona, quaedam mala. Mala quidem quando inordinate tendit in vindictam, scilicet contra iustitiam; bona vero quando in vindictam debitam, quando scilicet quis irascitur quando oportet, cum quibus, et quantum oportet. Et de utraque potest exponi.
250. He gives his warning when he says be angry: and do not sin. This is susceptible of two interpretations; for there are two types of anger, a good one and an evil one. Anger is evil when, contrary to justice, it strives inordinately for revenge. It is good when it seeks a just vindication, namely, when the person is vexed at the time, with whom, and to the degree that, he should be. The above warning is applicable to both.
Si de mala, sic est sensus: non praecipit, sed permittit; quasi dicat: si sic est, quod motus irae insurgat, quod humanum est, nolite peccare, id est nolite perducere ad effectum per consensum. I Cor. X, 13: tentatio vos non apprehendat nisi humana. Quia certe, qui aliter irascitur fratri suo, reus erit iudicio, ut dicitur Matth. V, 22. De hac ira monebat Ioseph fratres suos Gen. XLV, 24: ne irascimini in via.
If it concerns evil anger, the sense is that he does not command it but permits it. As though he said: should it happen that anger wells up within you—which is human—do not sin. You must not be led on to act upon it. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human (1 Cor 10:13). For, without doubt, whoever is angered against his brother in any other way shall be in danger of the judgment (Matt 5:22). Joseph counseled his brothers against such anger: be not angry on the way (Gen 45:24).
Si autem exponatur de bona, sic tenetur non solum permissive, ut primo, sed imperative, irascimini, scilicet contra peccata vestra, quoniam duplex est vindicta, quam homo appetit. Una de seipso peccante, et sic poenitentia est quaedam vindicta, quam homo facit et capit de seipso. Et haec est bona ira, et de hac dicitur imperative irascimini, scilicet contra peccata vestra, et nolite peccare, scilicet de caetero, nec talia committere, contra quae iterum oporteat irasci.
If it is interpreted concerning righteous anger it is not simply permitted, like the first, but imperative. Be angry against your sins, for man desires a twofold vindication. One regarding himself when he sins, so that penance becomes a certain type of vindication which man inflicts and receives in himself. Such a wrath is good, and with respect to it the imperative is used: be angry against your sins, and do not sin any more, nor commit those types of sin by which you would again have to be angered.
Modo credunt aliqui quod homo secure possit sibi ipsi irasci propter peccata sua, sed non proximo suo propter sua; sed non est ita: sicut enim contra seipsum quis irascitur propter peccata propria, ita proximo suo propter sua; ergo irascimini contra vitia aliena, et hoc cum zelo. Num. XXV, 11: Phinees avertit iram meam a filiis Israel, quia zelo meo commotus est contra eos. Sic Helias III Reg. XIX, 10: zelo zelatus sum pro Domino Deo exercituum, quia dereliquerunt pactum Domini filii Israel, et cetera. Et nolite peccare praeveniendo rationem, sed potius sequendo. Iac. I, 19: sit autem omnis homo velox ad audiendum, tardus autem ad loquendum, et tardus ad iram, et cetera.
Now, some are doubtless of the opinion that a man can be mad at himself for his own sins safely, but that this does not hold true concerning his neighbors and their sins. This is false; a man can be mad at himself for his own sins, and at his fellow man because of his sins. Therefore, zealously be angry at other people’s offenses. Phinees has turned away my wrath from the children of Israel because he was moved with my zeal against them (Num 25:11). And Elias said: with zeal have I been zealous for the Lord God of Hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken your covenant (1 Kgs 19:10). By following the dictates of reason, rather than acting before them, you do not sin. Let every man be swift to hear, but slow to speak, and slow to anger (Jas 1:19).
251. Sequitur sol non occidat, et cetera. Ubi exponit quod dixerat, et, secundum tres praedictas expositiones, potest tripliciter exponi, quia si de mala ira, tunc sic: sol, etc., id est: non persistatis in ira concepta sed ante solis occasum deponatis, quia licet permittatur motus, propter fragilitatem, non permittitur mora.
251. In do not let the sun go down upon your anger he explains what he had said, and the explanation can be interpreted according to the three above expositions. If it concerns evil anger, then he would be saying: do not persist in anger, but cast it off before sunset; for although the first impulses of temper are excusable, due to human frailty, it is illicit to dwell on them.
Si de bona, et hoc contra peccata propria, tunc sic: sol, id est Christus, Mal. IV, 2: orietur vobis timentibus nomen meum sol iustitiae, etc., non occidat super iracundiam vestram, id est super peccata vestra, pro quibus iterum oporteat vos irasci, et vosmetipsos punire.
In reference to good anger, as it is directed against one’s personal sins, the sun is Christ. Unto you that fear my name the sun of justice shall arise (Mal 4:2). Do not let the sun go down upon your anger, that is, on your sins, on account of which you must be angered again and punish yourselves.
Si contra peccata aliena, sic accipitur sol, scilicet rationis. Eccle. XII, 1: memento Creatoris tui in diebus iuventutis tuae, antequam veniat tempus afflictionis, et appropinquent anni, de quibus dicas: non mihi placent, antequam tenebrescat sol, et cetera. Sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram, id est non obtenebretur dictamen rationis. Iob V, 2: virum stultum interficit iracundia.
When the sins of others are in question the sun refers to reason. Remember your Creator in the days of your youth, before the time of affliction come, and the years draw nigh of which you shall say: they please me not; before the sun . . . is darkened (Eccl 12:1). Do not let the sun go down upon your anger, that is, the dictates of reason must not be clouded over. Anger indeed kills the foolish (Job 5:2).
252. Sequitur nolite locum dare diabolo, ubi assignat rationem monitionis. Diabolus enim habet locum in nobis per peccatum, vel per consensum. Io. XIII, 2: cum diabolus iam misisset in cor, ut traderet eum Iudas, et cetera. Et sequitur ibid., quod post buccellam introivit in eum Satanas.
252. The reason for the warning is indicated in do not give place to the devil. The devil gains entrance to us either through sin or consent to it. The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him (John 13:2), after which it says: after the morsel, Satan entered into him (John 13:27).
Nunc autem huiusmodi passiones multum inclinant ad consensum et maxime quando pervertunt iudicium rationis, et hoc specialiter facit ira, quae consistit in accensione sanguinis, quae quidem ratione velocitatis sui motus praecedit iudicium rationis. Et quia, sic nobis perturbatis, diabolus incipit locum habere in nobis, ideo dicit nolite locum dare diabolo, quasi dicat: non perseveretis in ira, quia per hoc datis locum diabolo, quia totus diabolus iracundus est. Ps. XVII, 48: liberator meus de inimicis meis iracundis. Intrat autem hominem cum furore et ira. Apoc. XII, 12: descendit diabolus ad vos, habens iram magnam. Hoc autem non potest facere saltem in anima, quamdiu homo iustus est. Haec autem iustitia per iram amittitur, quia ira viri iustitiam Dei non operatur, ut dicitur Iac. I, 20. Si ergo non vultis locum dare diabolo, saltem in anima, sol non occidat super iracundiam vestram. Eccle. XI, 10: aufer iram a corde tuo.
Passions of this kind easily induce one’s consent, especially when they have biased the judgment of reason. Anger particularly does this since it involves the rapid raising of blood, the speed of whose movement precedes any rational judgment. When we are excited like this, the devil wins a foothold within us; thus he says do not give place to the devil. You ought not to persist, he seems to say, in your ill temper, for you will only invite the demon who is himself continually angered. God is my deliverer from my infuriated enemies (Ps 18:48). The devil enters into man with rage and fury: the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath (Rev 12:12). He cannot accomplish this, at least not in the soul of a just man. But this justice is forfeited through anger: for the anger of man does not work the justice of God (Jas 1:20). If you do not want to give Satan a place, at least not in your soul, do not let the sun go down upon your anger. Remove anger from your heart (Eccl 11:10).
Lectio 9
Lecture 9
Furtum et Sermo
Theft and speech
4:28 Qui furabatur, jam non furetur: magis autem laboret, operando manibus suis, quod bonum est, ut habeat unde tribuat necessitatem patienti. [n. 254]
4:28 He that stole, let him now steal no more: but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have something to give to him who suffers need. [n. 254]
4:29 Omnis sermo malus ex ore vestro non procedat: sed si quis bonus ad aedificationem fidei ut det gratiam audientibus. [n. 258]
4:29 Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth: but that which is good, to the edification of faith: that it may administer grace to the hearers. [n. 258]
253. Exclusa supra vetustate hominis quantum ad vim rationalem et irascibilem, hic prohibet eam quantum ad concupiscibilem provenientem ex rerum inordinata concupiscentia.
253. Having banned the oldness of man in regard to his rational and irascible powers, here he proscribes it in regard to the concupiscible appetite when it desires temporal goods inordinately.
Circa quod duo facit.
Concerning this he does two things:
Primo prohibet concupiscibilis vetustatem;
first, he prohibits the old ways of the concupiscible appetite;
secundo hortatur ad eius novitatem, ibi magis autem laboret, et cetera.
second, he encourages a renewal of it, at rather let him labor.
254. Ad vetustatem autem concupiscibilis pertinet furtum, quod provenit ex corrupto et inordinato appetitu rei temporalis. Ideo dicit qui furabatur, iam non furetur, etc., quasi dicat: qui habebat concupiscibilem corruptam et vetustam ex corrupto appetitu rerum temporalium, iam non furetur, scilicet si vult concupiscibilem renovare, quia, ut dicitur Eccli. V, 17: super furem confusio; propter hoc dicitur Ex. XX, 15: non furtum facies.
254. Stealing pertains to the concupiscible appetite’s old ways; it arises from a corrupted and inordinate desire for a temporal object. Therefore he says he that stole, let him now steal no more, as if to say: whoever has an old and corrupted concupiscible appetite due to a contaminating desire for transitory goods, let him not steal any more if he wants to renew it. For confusion is upon a thief (Sir 5:17), so that it is written: you shall not steal (Exod 20:15).
255. Et quia aliquis posset se excusare prae paupertate, ideo dicit magis autem laboret, et cetera. Sicut ipse fecit Apostolus, ut dicitur Act. XX, 33: argentum et aurum nullius concupivi, aut vestem, vos ipsi scitis, quoniam ad ea quae mihi opus erant, et his qui mecum sunt, ministraverunt manus istae. Item II Thess. III, 78: ipsi enim scitis quemadmodum oporteat vos imitari nos, quoniam non inquieti fuimus inter vos, neque gratis panem manducavimus ab aliquo, sed in labore et fatigatione, nocte ac die laborantes, ne quem vestrum gravaremus, et cetera.
255. Since someone might excuse himself by reason of his poverty, he says rather let him labor, working with his hands. The Apostle himself practiced this: for such things as were needful for me and them that are with me, these hands have furnished (Acts 20:34). For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us: for we were not disorderly among you; neither did we eat any man’s bread for nothing, but in labor and in toil we worked night and day, lest we should be chargeable to any of you (2 Thess 3:7–8).
256. Unde notandum est, quod opus manuale ad tria inducitur. Primo ad necessitatem victus acquirendam. Gen. III, 19: in sudore vultus tui vesceris pane tuo. Et ideo qui non habet unde licite vivat, tenetur manibus laborare. II Thess. III, 10: si quis non vult operari, non manducet; quasi dicat: sicut qui non comedit in necessitate peccat, ita et si non laborat. Et sic ponitur hic ad excludendum furtum.
256. Notice that three motives for manual labor are given. Primarily, it is to obtain necessary food: in the sweat of your face shall you eat bread (Gen 3:19). Therefore, anyone who does not lawfully have the where-with-all to live is bound to work with his hands. If any man will not work, neither let him eat, (2 Thess 3:10) seems to affirm: just as he who does not eat when necessity demands it sins, so likewise he who does not work when necessary. This is put here to exclude stealing.
Quandoque vero inducitur contra otium, quia multa mala docuit otiositas, Eccli. XXXIII, v. 29. Et ideo qui habent vitam otiosam, tenentur manibus laborare. II Thess. III, 11 s.: audivimus quosdam inter vos ambulare in quiete nihil operantes, sed curiose agentes. His autem, qui huiusmodi sunt, denuntiamus et obsecramus in Domino Iesu Christo, ut cum silentio operantes suum panem manducent.
Sometimes, however, work is urged in order to dispel idleness since idleness has taught much evil (Sir 33:29). Hence, those who lead an idle life are bound to work with their hands: for we have heard there are some among you who walk disorderly; working not at all, but curiously meddling. Now we charge them that are such and beseech them by the Lord Jesus Christ that, working with silence, they would eat their own bread (2 Thess 3:11–12).
Quandoque enim inducitur ad carnis macerationem et domationem. Unde ponitur inter alia opera continentiae II Cor. VI, 5: in laboribus, in vigiliis, in ieiuniis, et cetera.
At other times work is recommended to discipline and subdue the flesh. In this sense it is included among the acts of continence: in labors, in watchings, in fastings (2 Cor 6:5).
Triplex ergo est ratio iniungendi laborem corporalem; sed prima omnibus necessaria est, et hoc de necessitate praecepti, quia aliis modis potest excludi otium, similiter et lascivia carnis potest alio modo domari et refrenari, et sufficit quomodocumque fiat.
Three reasons exist, therefore, for engaging in physical labor. The first is necessary for everyone, and is so by a necessity of precept, while idleness can be avoided in other ways and the immoral tendencies of the flesh can be controlled and checked by other means. It is sufficient if these latter are accomplished in some way.
257. Sequitur quod bonum est, quod dupliciter potest intelligi. Vel in vi accusativi, et sic construetur: magis autem laboret operando manibus, et quidem non illicita, sed quod bonum est. Gal. ult.: bonum autem facientes, non deficiamus. Is. I, 16 s.: quiescite agere perverse, discite bene facere.
257. Which is good follows and can be understood in two ways. If it has the accusative force it could be rendered: rather let him labor, working with his hands, not at what is unlawful, but at whatever is good. And in doing good, let us not fail. For in due time we shall reap, not failing (Gal 6:9). Cease to do perversely. Learn to do well (Isa 1:16–17).
Vel potest intelligi in vi nominativi: laboret, etc., quod bonum est, quasi haec sit ratio quare laborandum est; quasi dicat: non solum est necessarium laborare, immo etiam bonum est laborare, ut laborans possit vivere, et ut habeat unde tribuat necessitatem patienti. Eccli. XXIX, 2: foenerare proximo tuo in tempore necessitatis illius, et cetera.
Or it can be taken with a nominative force: rather let him labor, working with his hands, which is good. This is the reason why they should work, as though he said: not only is it necessary to work, it is even good to work that he who does can live and that he may have something to give to him who suffers need. Lend to your neighbor in the time of his need (Sir 29:2).
258. Deinde cum dicit omnis sermo malus, etc., ponit pertinentia ad veterem hominem in deordinatione ad alium; et facit duo: quia
258. When he states let no evil speech proceed from your mouth, he begins to discuss what the old man does in relation to other men. He makes two points:
primo prohibet vetustatem, et inducit novitatem;
first, he prohibits the old and encourages the new;
secundo inducit exemplum, in principio V cap., ibi estote ergo, et cetera.
second, he provides an example for imitation at the beginning of chapter five, at be therefore followers (Eph 5:1).
Ad proximum autem potest quis male se habere dupliciter. Uno modo laedendo eum verbis malis; alio modo malis exemplis. Primo prohibet primum; secundo secundum, ibi et nolite contristare, et cetera.
A person may be wrongly disposed toward his neighbor in two ways. In one way, he may hurt him through evil words; in another, he may harm him through bad example. First he forbids the former; second the latter, at do not grieve (Eph 4:30).
Prima iterum in duas.
The first of these also has two sections:
Primo prohibet vetustatem;
first, he bans the old;