Quamvis autem sufficienter pro peccatis humani generis sua morte satisfecerit, ut vigesimasexta ratio proponebat, sunt tamen unicuique remedia propriae salutis quaerenda. Mors enim Christi est quasi quaedam universalis causa salutis: sicut peccatum primi hominis fuit quasi universalis causa damnationis. Oportet autem universalem causam applicari ad unumquemque specialiter, ut effectum universalis causae percipiat. Effectus igitur peccati primi parentis pervenit ad unumquemque per carnis originem: effectus autem mortis Christi pertingit ad unumquemque per spiritualem regenerationem, per quam homo Christo quodammodo coniungitur et incorporatur. Et ideo oportet quod unusquisque quaerat regenerari per Christum, et alia suscipere in quibus virtus mortis Christi operatur. Although Christ atoned sufficiently for the sins of mankind by his death, as the twenty-sixth objection argued, each one must seek the means of his own salvation. Christ’s death is by way of being a universal cause of salvation, just as the sin of the first man was like a universal cause of damnation. Now a universal cause needs to be applied to each individual, that the latter may have its share in the effect of the universal cause. Accordingly, the effect of the sin of our first parent reaches each individual through carnal origin: and the effect of Christ’s death reaches each individual through spiritual regeneration, whereby man is united to and incorporated with Christ. Therefore, each one must seek to be regenerated by Christ, and to receive the other things in which the power of Christ’s death is effective. Ex quo patet quod effluxus salutis a Christo in homines non est per naturae propaginem, sed per studium bonae voluntatis, qua homo Christo adhaeret. Et sic quod a Christo unusquisque consequitur, est personale bonum. Unde non derivatur ad posteros, sicut peccatum primi parentis, quod cum naturae propagine producitur. Et inde est quod, licet parentes sint a peccato originali mundati per Christum, non tamen est inconveniens quod eorum filii cum peccato originali nascantur, et sacramentis salutis indigeant, ut vigesimaseptima ratio concludebat. Hence it follows that the outflow of salvation from Christ to mankind is not through the channel of natural procreation, but through the endeavor of the goodwill whereby a man adheres to Christ. Consequently, that which each one receives from Christ is his own personal good, so that it is not transmitted by him to his children, as the sin of our first parent is, through having its source in natural procreation. Hence it is that although parents be cleansed of original sin by Christ, it is not unreasonable, as the twenty-seventh objection argued, that their children be born in original sin, and need the sacraments of salvation. Sic igitur ex praemissis aliquatenus patet quod ea quae circa mysterium incarnationis fides Catholica praedicat, neque impossibilia neque incongrua inveniuntur. In some measure, then, we have shown that the teaching of the Catholic faith concerning the mystery of the Incarnation is neither impossible nor unreasonable. Sacramenti The sacraments Caput 56 Chapter 56 De necessitate sacramentorum Of the necessity of the sacraments Quia vero, sicut iam dictum est, mors Christi est quasi universalis causa humanae salutis; universalem autem causam oportet applicari ad unumquemque effectum: necessarium fuit exhiberi hominibus quaedam remedia per quae eis beneficium mortis Christi quodammodo coniungeretur. Huiusmodi autem esse dicuntur Ecclesiae sacramenta. We have already observed that Christ’s death is a kind of universal cause of man’s salvation, and that a universal cause needs to be applied to each individual effect. Consequently, it was necessary for man to be supplied with certain remedies, so that thereby the benefit of Christ’s death might be brought to him. These remedies are called the sacraments of the Church. Huiusmodi autem remedia oportuit cum aliquibus visibilibus signis tradi. And it was expedient that they should be supplied to man under the guise of visible signs. Primo quidem, quia sicut ceteris rebus ita etiam homini Deus providet secundum eius conditionem. Est autem talis hominis conditio quod ad spiritualia et intelligibilia capienda naturaliter per sensibilia deducitur. Oportuit igitur spiritualia remedia hominibus sub signis sensibilibus dari. First, because God provides for man, as for other things, according to the condition of his nature. Now it is a condition of man’s nature that he be naturally led to things spiritual and intelligible by objects of sense. Therefore, it was expedient for man to receive spiritual remedies under the guise of sensible signs. Secundo quia instrumenta oportet esse primae causae proportionata. Prima autem et universalis causa humanae salutis est verbum incarnatum, ut ex praemissis apparet. Congruum igitur fuit ut remedia quibus universalis causae virtus pertingit ad homines, illius causae similitudinem haberent: ut scilicet in eis virtus divina invisibiliter operaretur sub visibilibus signis. Second, instruments should be proportionate to the first cause. Now the first and universal cause of man’s salvation is the incarnate Word, as we have already stated. Therefore, it was fitting that the remedies whereby the power of the universal cause reaches mankind should bear some likeness to that cause—namely, that in them the divine power should work invisibly under visible signs. Tertio, quia homo in peccatum lapsus erat rebus visibilibus indebite inhaerendo. Ne igitur crederetur visibilia ex sui natura mala esse, et propter hoc eis inhaerentes peccasse, per ipsa visibilia congruum fuit quod hominibus remedia salutis adhiberentur: ut sic appareret ipsa visibilia ex sui natura bona esse, velut a Deo creata, sed hominibus noxia fieri secundum quod eis inordinate inhaerent, salutifera vero secundum quod ordinate eis utuntur. Third, man had fallen into sin by adhering to visible things unduly. Lest, therefore, it be thought that visible things are evil by nature, and that it was sinful to adhere to them for this reason, it was expedient that by means of visible things man should receive salutary remedies. For thus it was made evident that visible things are by their nature good, as being created by God, and that they become hurtful to man through his adhering to them inordinately; but they are beneficial to him as long as he makes proper use of them. Ex hoc autem excluditur error quorundam haereticorum qui omnia huiusmodi visibilia a sacramentis Ecclesiae volunt esse removenda. Nec mirum, quia ipsi iidem opinantur omnia visibilia ex sui natura mala esse, et ex malo auctore producta: quod in secundo libro reprobavimus. Hereby we refute the error of certain heretics, who would remove all such visible elements from the sacraments of the Church. This is naturally so, because they deem all visible things to be evil by nature, and to be produced by an evil author. We have refuted this in the second book. Nec est inconveniens quod per res visibiles et corporales spiritualis salus ministretur: quia huiusmodi visibilia sunt quasi quaedam instrumenta Dei incarnati et passi; instrumentum autem non operatur ex virtute suae naturae, sed ex virtute principalis agentis, a quo applicatur ad operandum. Sic igitur et huiusmodi res visibiles salutem spiritualem operantur, non ex proprietate suae naturae, sed ex institutione ipsius Christi, ex qua virtutem instrumentalem consequuntur. Nor is it unreasonable that spiritual well-being be dispensed by means of visible and corporeal things, since these visible elements are, as it were, instruments of God’s Incarnation and Passion. Now an instrument is effective not by virtue of its nature, but by virtue of the principal agent, by whom it is applied to act. So too these visible elements effect spiritual well-being not by any property of their nature, but by Christ’s institution, from which they derive their instrumental efficacy. Caput 57 Chapter 57 De distinctione sacramentorum veteris et novae legis Of the difference between the sacraments of the Old and of the New Law Deinde considerandum est quod, cum huiusmodi visibilia sacramenta ex passione Christi efficaciam habeant et ipsam quodammodo repraesentent, talia ea esse oportet ut congruant saluti factae per Christum. Haec autem salus, ante Christi incarnationem et mortem, erat quidem promissa, sed non exhibita: sed verbum incarnatum et passum est salutem huiusmodi operatum. Sacramenta igitur quae incarnationem Christi praecesserunt, talia esse oportuit ut significarent et quodammodo repromitterent salutem: sacramenta autem quae Christi passionem consequuntur, talia esse oportet ut salutem hominibus exhibeant, et non solum significando demonstrent. The next point to consider is that since these visible sacraments derive their efficacy from Christ’s Passion, and in a certain way represent it, they ought to be of such a nature as to be in keeping with the salvation wrought by Christ. Now this salvation, before Christ’s Incarnation and death, was indeed promised, but not actually realized: the Word, by his Incarnation and Passion, wrought this salvation. Accordingly, the sacraments which preceded Christ’s Incarnation needed to be such as to signify and (so to speak) promise salvation; but the sacraments that followed Christ’s Passion needed to be such as to give salvation to man, and not merely signify it. Per hoc autem evitatur Iudaeorum opinio, qui credunt sacramenta legalia, propter hoc quod a Deo sunt instituta, in perpetuum esse servanda: cum Deus non poeniteat, non mutetur. Fit autem absque mutatione disponentis vel poenitentia, quod diversa disponat secundum congruentiam temporum diversorum: sicut paterfamilias alia praecepta tradit filio parvulo, et alia iam adulto. Sic et Deus congruenter alia sacramenta et praecepta ante incarnationem tradidit, ad significandum futura: alia post incarnationem, ad exhibendum praesentia et rememorandum praeterita. Thus we avoid the opinion of the Jews, who believe that the sacraments of the Law, as being instituted by God, ought to be observed forever, for God does not repent, nor does he change. But it does not argue change or repentance in a man if he makes various arrangements to fit various times. Therefore, even as a father gives certain commands to his son when a child, and others when he is grown up, so too God delivered one kind of sacraments and precepts before the Incarnation, to signify the future, and another kind after the Incarnation, to show forth the present and commemorate the past. Magis autem irrationabilis est Nazaraeorum et Ebionitarum error qui sacramenta legalia simul cum Evangelio dicebant esse servanda, quia huiusmodi error quasi contraria implicat. Dum enim servant evangelica sacramenta, profitentur incarnationem et alia Christi mysteria iam esse perfecta: dum autem etiam sacramenta legalia servant, profitentur ea esse futura. Still more absurd is the error of the Nazarenes and Helonites, who held that the sacraments of the Law are to be observed together with those of the Gospel, since such an error implies a contradiction. By observing the sacraments of the Gospel, they admit that the Incarnation and other mysteries of Christ are things of the past; by observing the sacraments of the Law, they hold that those things are yet to come. Caput 58 Chapter 58 De numero sacramentorum novae legis The number of the sacraments of the New Law Quia vero, ut dictum est, remedia spiritualis salutis sub signis sensibilibus sunt hominibus tradita, conveniens etiam fuit ut distinguerentur remedia quibus provideretur spirituali vitae, secundum similitudinem corporalis. Since, as stated above, the remedies of spiritual welfare have been given to man under sensible signs, it follows that the remedies which give life to the soul differ from one another in a manner that corresponds with the life of the body. In vita autem corporali duplicem ordinem invenimus: sunt enim propagatores et ordinatores corporalis vitae in aliis; et sunt qui propagantur et ordinantur secundum corporalem vitam. In the life of the body, there is a twofold order. There are those who propagate and direct this life in others, and there are those who are propagated and directed to corporal life. Vitae autem corporali et naturali tria sunt per se necessaria, et quartum per accidens. Oportet enim primo, quod per generationem seu nativitatem res aliqua vitam accipiat; secundo, quod per augmentum ad debitam quantitatem et robur perveniat; tertio, ad conservationem vitae per generationem adeptae, et ad augmentum, est necessarium nutrimentum. Et haec quidem sunt per se necessaria naturali vitae: quia sine his vita corporalis perfici non potest; unde et animae vegetativae quae est vivendi principium, tres vires naturales assignantur, scilicet generativa, augmentativa, et nutritiva. Sed quia contingit aliquod impedimentum circa vitam corporalem, ex quo res viva infirmatur, per accidens necessarium est quartum, quod est sanatio rei viventis aegrotae. Three things are essentially necessary to the life of the body, and a fourth is required accidentally. In the first place, a thing needs to receive life by generation or nativity; second, it needs growth so as to attain to its proper size and strength; third, it needs nourishment for the preservation of the life thus generated and developed. These are essentially necessary to natural life, since without them the body cannot live: hence to the vegetative soul, which is the principle of life, are assigned the three natural forces of generation, growth, and nutrition. Since, however, the life of the body meets with obstacles, which cause the body to ail, a fourth thing is necessary accidentally; this is that the living being be healed of its ailments. Sic igitur et in vita spirituali primum est spiritualis generatio, per Baptismum; secundum est spirituale augmentum perducens ad robur perfectum, per sacramentum confirmationis; tertium est spirituale nutrimentum, per Eucharistiae sacramentum. Restat quartum, quod est spiritualis sanatio, quae fit vel in anima tantum per poenitentiae sacramentum; vel ex anima derivatur ad corpus, quando fuerit opportunum, per extremam unctionem. Haec igitur pertinent ad eos qui in vita spirituali propagantur et conservantur. Accordingly, in the spiritual life there is first spiritual regeneration by baptism; second, spiritual growth by confirmation, bringing the soul to perfect strength; third, spiritual nourishment by the sacrament of the Eucharist; and fourth, spiritual healing, which is given either to the soul only by the sacrament of penance, or, when it is expedient, to the body through the soul by the sacrament of extreme unction. These concern those who are propagated and safeguarded in the life of the soul. Propagatores autem et ordinatores corporalis vitae secundum duo attenduntur: scilicet secundum originem naturalem, quod ad parentes pertinet; et secundum regimen politicum, per quod vita hominis pacifica conservatur, et hoc pertinet ad reges et principes. The propagators and directors of the life of the body are required from two points of view, namely, in respect of natural origin, which concerns the parents, and in respect of political order (whereby man is assured a peaceful life), and this regards kings and governors. Sic igitur est et in spirituali vita. Sunt enim quidam propagatores et conservatores spiritualis vitae secundum spirituale ministerium tantum, ad quod pertinet ordinis sacramentum; et secundum corporalem et spiritualem simul, quod fit per sacramentum matrimonii, quo vir et mulier conveniunt ad prolem generandam et educandam ad cultum divinum. Thus is it also in the life of the soul. There are those who propagate and safeguard the spiritual life by a purely spiritual administration: to these corresponds the sacrament of orders. And there are those who propagate and safeguard the spiritual life by ministering to both body and soul: this is the object of the sacrament of matrimony, in which husband and wife are joined together in order to beget children, and bring them up in the fear of God. Caput 59 Chapter 59 De Baptismo On baptism Secundum hoc igitur apparere potest circa sacramenta singula et effectus proprius uniuscuiusque et materia conveniens. Et primo quidem circa spiritualem generationem, quae per Baptismum fit, considerandum est quod generatio rei viventis est mutatio quaedam de non vivente ad vitam. Vita autem spirituali privatus est homo in sua origine per peccatum originale, ut supra dictum est; et adhuc quaecumque peccata sunt addita abducunt a vita. Oportuit igitur Baptismum, qui est spiritualis generatio, talem virtutem habere quod et peccatum originale, et omnia actualia peccata commissa tollat. In accordance with what we have been saying, we shall be able to gather what are the peculiar effects and the appropriate matter of each sacrament. First, we will do this with regard to spiritual regeneration, which is the result of baptism. The generation of a living thing is the change of a lifeless into a living being. Now man is deprived of spiritual life in his origin by original sin, as we have already stated, and whatever sins a man commits in addition to this deprive him of life. Hence it was necessary that baptism, which is spiritual birth, should have the power to remove original sin and all the actual sins a man has committed. Et quia signum sensibile sacramenti congruum debet esse ad repraesentandum spiritualem sacramenti effectum, foeditatis autem ablutio in rebus corporalibus facilius et communius fit per aquam: idcirco Baptismus convenienter in aqua confertur per verbum Dei sanctificata. Now the sensible sign in a sacrament should be adapted to signify the spiritual effect of that sacrament, and water is the easiest and handiest means of removing dirt from the body. Therefore, baptism is fittingly conferred with water, hallowed by the Word of God. Et quia generatio unius est alterius corruptio; et quod generatur priorem formam amittit et proprietates ipsam consequentes: necesse est quod per Baptismum, qui est spiritualis generatio, non solum peccata tollantur, quae sunt spirituali vitae contraria, sed etiam omnes peccatorum reatus. Et propter hoc Baptismus non solum a culpa abluit, sed etiam ab omni reatu poenae absolvit. Unde baptizatis satisfactio non iniungitur pro peccatis. Moreover, since the generation of one thing is the corruption of another, and since that which is generated loses its previous form and the properties resulting from it, it follows that baptism, which is spiritual generation, removes not only sins which are contrary to spiritual life, but also all guilt of sin. Thus it not only washes sin away, but removes all debt of punishment. Hence no satisfaction for sin is demanded in the sacrament of baptism. Item, cum per generationem res formam acquirat, simul acquirit et operationem consequentem formam, et locum ei congruentem: ignis enim, mox generatus, tendit sursum sicut in proprium locum. Et ideo, cum Baptismus sit spiritualis generatio, statim baptizati idonei sunt ad spirituales actiones, sicut ad susceptionem aliorum sacramentorum, et ad alia huiusmodi; et statim eis debetur locus congruus spirituali vitae, qui est beatitudo aeterna. Et propter hoc baptizati, si decedant, statim in beatitudine recipiuntur. Unde dicitur quod Baptismus aperit ianuam caeli. Again. By generation a thing acquires its form, and thus it acquires the operation that results from that form and the place that is becoming to it at the same time; thus as soon as it is kindled, fire tends upwards as towards its proper place. Therefore, since baptism is spiritual generation, as soon as a man is baptized he is fit for spiritual action (such as the reception of other sacraments and things of that sort), and a place befitting the spiritual life—namely, eternal happiness—is due to him. For this reason, if a man dies immediately after being baptized, he is immediately admitted into heaven. Hence baptism is said to open the gates of heaven. Considerandum est etiam quod unius rei est una tantum generatio. Unde, cum Baptismus sit spiritualis generatio, unus homo est semel tantum baptizandus. Again, we must observe that a thing can be born but once; thus since baptism is spiritual generation, a man is but once baptized. Manifestum est etiam quod infectio, quae per Adam in mundum intravit, semel tantum hominem inquinat. Unde et Baptismus, qui contra eam principaliter ordinatur, iterari non debet. Hoc etiam commune est, quod, ex quo res aliqua semel consecrata est, quandiu manet, ulterius consecrari non debet, ne consecratio inefficax videatur. Unde, cum Baptismus sit quaedam consecratio hominis baptizati, non est iterandum Baptisma. It is also evident that the disorder which came into the world through Adam infects man but once. Hence baptism, which is chiefly a remedy for that disorder, may not be repeated. It is also a general rule that when a thing is once consecrated, so long as it remains intact it must not be reconsecrated, lest the consecration seem to have been invalid. Consequently, since baptism is a kind of consecration of the person baptized, it must not be repeated. Per quod excluditur error Donatistarum, vel rebaptizantium. And thus the error of the Donatists or Rebaptizers is refuted. Caput 60 Chapter 60