Praeterea, iustitia Dei exigebat ut homo a peccato liberaretur, Christo per passionem suam satisfaciente. Sed Christus suam iustitiam praeterire non potest. Dicitur enim II ad Tim. II, si non credimus, ille fidelis permanet, negare seipsum non potest. Seipsum autem negaret si iustitiam suam negaret, cum ipse sit iustitia. Ergo videtur quod non fuerit possibile alio modo hominem liberari quam per passionem Christi. Obj. 3: Further, God’s justice required that Christ should satisfy by the Passion in order that man might be delivered from sin. But Christ cannot let His justice pass; for it is written (2 Tim 2:13): If we believe not, He continueth faithful, He cannot deny Himself. But He would deny Himself were He to deny His justice, since He is justice itself. It seems impossible, then, for man to be delivered otherwise than by Christ’s Passion. Praeterea, fidei non potest subesse falsum. Sed antiqui patres crediderunt Christum passurum. Ergo videtur quod non potuerit esse quin Christus pateretur. Obj. 4: Further, there can be no falsehood underlying faith. But the Fathers of old believed that Christ would suffer. Consequently, it seems that it had to be that Christ should suffer. Sed contra est quod Augustinus dicit, XIII de Trin., istum modum quo nos per mediatorem Dei et hominum, hominem Christum Iesum, Deus liberare dignatur, asserimus bonum et divinae dignitati congruum, verum etiam ostendamus alium modum possibilem Deo fuisse, cuius potestati cuncta aequaliter subiacent. On the contrary, Augustine says (De Trin. xiii): We assert that the way whereby God deigned to deliver us by the man Jesus Christ, who is mediator between God and man, is both good and befitting the Divine dignity; but let us also show that other possible means were not lacking on God’s part, to whose power all things are equally subordinate. Respondeo dicendum quod aliquid potest dici possibile vel impossibile dupliciter, uno modo, simpliciter et absolute; alio modo, ex suppositione. Simpliciter igitur et absolute loquendo, possibile fuit Deo alio modo hominem liberare quam per passionem Christi, quia non est impossibile apud Deum omne verbum, ut dicitur Luc. I. Sed ex aliqua suppositione facta, fuit impossibile. Quia enim impossibile est Dei praescientiam falli et eius voluntatem sive dispositionem cassari, supposita praescientia et praeordinatione Dei de passione Christi, non erat simul possibile Christum non pati, et hominem alio modo quam per eius passionem liberari. Et est eadem ratio de omnibus his quae sunt praescita et praeordinata a Deo, ut in prima parte habitum est. I answer that, A thing may be said to be possible or impossible in two ways: first of all, simply and absolutely; or second, from supposition. Therefore, speaking simply and absolutely, it was possible for God to deliver mankind otherwise than by the Passion of Christ, because no word shall be impossible with God (Luke 1:37). Yet it was impossible if some supposition be made. For since it is impossible for God’s foreknowledge to be deceived and His will or ordinance to be frustrated, then, supposing God’s foreknowledge and ordinance regarding Christ’s Passion, it was not possible at the same time for Christ not to suffer, and for mankind to be delivered otherwise than by Christ’s Passion. And the same holds good of all things foreknown and preordained by God, as was laid down in the First Part (Q. 14, A. 13). Ad primum ergo dicendum quod dominus ibi loquitur supposita praescientia et praeordinatione Dei, secundum quam erat ordinatum ut fructus humanae salutis non sequeretur nisi Christo patiente. Reply Obj. 1: Our Lord is speaking there presupposing God’s foreknowledge and predetermination, according to which it was resolved that the fruit of man’s salvation should not follow unless Christ suffered. Et similiter intelligendum est quod secundo obiicitur, si non potest hic calix transire nisi bibam illum, scilicet, propter hoc quod et tu ita disposuisti. Unde subdit, fiat voluntas tua. Reply Obj. 2: In the same way we must understand what is here objected to in the second instance: If this chalice may not pass away but I must drink of it—that is to say, because Thou hast so ordained it—hence He adds: Thy will be done. Ad tertium dicendum quod haec etiam iustitia dependet ex voluntate divina ab humano genere satisfactionem pro peccato exigente. Alioquin, si voluisset absque omni satisfactione hominem a peccato liberare, contra iustitiam non fecisset. Ille enim iudex non potest, salva iustitia, culpam sive poenam dimittere, qui habet punire culpam in alium commissam, puta vel in alium hominem, vel in totam rempublicam, sive in superiorem principem. Sed Deus non habet aliquem superiorem, sed ipse est supremum et commune bonum totius universi. Et ideo, si dimittat peccatum, quod habet rationem culpae ex eo quod contra ipsum committitur, nulli facit iniuriam, sicut quicumque homo remittit offensam in se commissam absque satisfactione, misericorditer, et non iniuste agit. Et ideo David, misericordiam petens, dicebat, tibi soli peccavi, quasi dicat, potes sine iniustitia mihi dimittere. Reply Obj. 3: Even this justice depends on the Divine will, requiring satisfaction for sin from the human race. But if He had willed to free man from sin without any satisfaction, He would not have acted against justice. For a judge, while preserving justice, cannot pardon fault without penalty, if he must visit fault committed against another—for instance, against another man, or against the State, or any Prince in higher authority. 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 anyone else, overlooking a personal trespass, without satisfaction, acts mercifully and not unjustly. And so David exclaimed when he sought mercy: To Thee only have I sinned (Ps 50:6), as if to say: Thou canst pardon me without injustice. Ad quartum dicendum quod fides humana, et etiam Scripturae divinae, quibus fides instruitur, innituntur praescientiae et ordinationi divinae. Et ideo eadem ratio est de necessitate quae provenit ex suppositione eorum, et de necessitate quae provenit ex praescientia et voluntate divina. Reply Obj. 4: Human faith, and even the Divine Scriptures upon which faith is based, are both based on the Divine foreknowledge and ordinance. And the same reason holds good of that necessity which comes of supposition, and of the necessity which arises of the Divine foreknowledge and will. Articulus 3 Article 3 Utrum alius modus convenientior fuisset liberationis humanae quam per passionem Christi Whether there was any more suitable way of delivering the human race than by Christ’s Passion? Ad tertium sic proceditur. Videtur quod alius modus convenientior fuisset liberationis humanae quam per passionem Christi. Natura enim in sua operatione imitatur opus divinum, utpote a Deo mota et regulata. Sed natura non facit per duo quod per unum potest facere. Cum ergo Deus potuerit hominem liberare sola propria voluntate, non videtur conveniens fuisse quod ad liberationem humani generis Christi passio adderetur. Objection 1: It would seem that there was some other more suitable way of delivering the human race besides Christ’s Passion. For nature in its operation imitates the Divine work, since it is moved and regulated by God. But nature never employs two agents where one will suffice. Therefore, since God could have liberated mankind solely by His Divine will, it does not seem fitting that Christ’s Passion should have been added for the deliverance of the human race. Praeterea, ea quae fiunt per naturam, convenientius fiunt quam ea quae per violentiam fiunt, quia violentum est quaedam excisio, seu casus, ab eo quod est secundum naturam, ut dicitur in libro de caelo. Sed passio Christi mortem violentam induxit. Ergo convenientius fuisset quod Christus naturali morte moriendo hominem liberaret, quam quod pateretur. Obj. 2: Further, natural actions are more suitably performed than deeds of violence, because violence is a severance or lapse from what is according to nature, as is said in De Coelo ii. But Christ’s Passion brought about His death by violence. Therefore it would have been more appropriate had Christ died a natural death rather than suffer for man’s deliverance. Praeterea, convenientissimum videtur quod ille qui violenter et iniuste detinet, per superioris potentiam spolietur, unde et Isaiae LII dicitur, gratis venundati estis, et sine argento redimemini. Sed Diabolus nullum ius in homine habebat, quem per fraudem deceperat, et per quandam violentiam servituti subiectum detinebat. Ergo videtur convenientissimum fuisse quod Christus Diabolum per solam potentiam spoliaret, absque sua passione. Obj. 3: Further, it seems most fitting that whatsoever keeps something unjustly and by violence, should be deprived of it by some superior power; hence Isaias says (52:3): You were sold gratis, and you shall be redeemed without money. But the devil possessed no right over man, whom he had deceived by guile, and whom he held subject in servitude by a sort of violence. Therefore it seems most suitable that Christ should have despoiled the devil solely by His power and without the Passion. Sed contra est quod Augustinus dicit, XIII de Trin., sanandae nostrae miseriae convenientior modus alius non fuit quam per Christi passionem. On the contrary, St. Augustine says (De Trin. xiii): There was no other more suitable way of healing our misery than by the Passion of Christ. Respondeo dicendum quod tanto aliquis modus convenientior est ad assequendum finem, quanto per ipsum plura concurrunt quae sunt expedientia fini. Per hoc autem quod homo per Christi passionem est liberatus, multa occurrerunt ad salutem hominis pertinentia, praeter liberationem a peccato. Primo enim, per hoc homo cognoscit quantum Deus hominem diligat, et per hoc provocatur ad eum diligendum, in quo perfectio humanae salutis consistit. Unde apostolus dicit, Rom. V, commendat suam caritatem Deus in nobis, quoniam, cum inimici essemus, Christus pro nobis mortuus est. Secundo, quia per hoc dedit nobis exemplum obedientiae, humilitatis, constantiae, iustitiae, et ceterarum virtutum in passione Christi ostensarum, quae sunt necessariae ad humanam salutem. Unde dicitur I Pet. II, Christus passus est pro nobis, nobis relinquens exemplum, ut sequamur vestigia eius. Tertio, quia Christus per passionem suam non solum hominem a peccato liberavit, sed etiam gratiam iustificantem et gloriam beatitudinis ei promeruit, ut infra dicetur. Quarto, quia per hoc est homini indicta maior necessitas se immunem a peccato conservandi, secundum illud I Cor. VI, empti estis pretio magno, glorificate et portate Deum in corpore vestro. Quinto, quia hoc ad maiorem dignitatem cessit, ut, sicut homo victus fuerat et deceptus a Diabolo, ita etiam homo esset qui Diabolum vinceret; et sicut homo mortem meruit, ita homo moriendo mortem superaret; ut dicitur I Cor. XV, Deo gratias, qui dedit nobis victoriam per Iesum Christum. Et ideo convenientius fuit quod per passionem Christi liberaremur, quam per solam Dei voluntatem. I answer that, Among means to an end that one is the more suitable whereby the various concurring means employed are themselves helpful to such end. But in this that man was delivered by Christ’s Passion, many other things besides deliverance from sin concurred for man’s salvation. In the first place, man knows thereby how much God loves him, and is thereby stirred to love Him in return, and herein lies the perfection of human salvation; hence the Apostle says (Rom 5:8): God commendeth His charity towards us; for when as yet we were sinners . . . Christ died for us. Second, 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. Hence it is written (1 Pet 2:21): Christ also suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps. Third, because Christ by His Passion not only delivered man from sin, but also merited justifying grace for him and the glory of bliss, as shall be shown later (Q. 48, A. 1; Q. 49, AA. 1, 5). Fourth, because by this man is all the more bound to refrain from sin, according to 1 Cor. 6:20: You are bought with a great price: glorify and bear God in your body. Fifth, 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. Hence it is written (1 Cor 15:57): Thanks be to God who hath given us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. It was accordingly more fitting that we should be delivered by Christ’s Passion than simply by God’s good-will. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod natura etiam, ut aliquid convenientius faciat, plura ad unum assumit, sicut duos oculos ad videndum. Et idem patet in aliis. Reply Obj. 1: Even nature uses several means to one intent, in order to do something more fittingly: as two eyes for seeing; and the same can be observed in other matters. Ad secundum dicendum quod, sicut Chrysostomus dicit, Christus non sui mortem, quam non habebat, cum sit vita, sed hominum mortem venerat consumpturus. Unde non propria morte corpus deposuit, sed ab hominibus illatam sustinuit. Sed et, si aegrotavisset corpus eius et in conspectu omnium solveretur, inconveniens erat eum qui aliorum languores sanaret, habere proprium corpus affectum languoribus. Sed et, si absque aliquo morbo seorsum alicubi corpus deposuisset ac deinde se offerret, non crederetur ei de resurrectione disserenti. Quomodo enim pateret Christi in morte victoria, nisi, coram omnibus eam patiens, per incorruptionem corporis probasset extinctam? Reply Obj. 2: As Chrysostom says: Christ had come in order to destroy death, not His own, (for since He is life itself, death could not be His), but men’s death. Hence it was not by reason of His being bound to die that He laid His body aside, but because the death He endured was inflicted on Him by men. But even if His body had sickened and dissolved in the sight of all men, it was not befitting Him who healed the infirmities of others to have his own body afflicted with the same. And even had He laid His body aside without any sickness, and had then appeared, men would not have believed Him when He spoke of His resurrection. For how could Christ’s victory over death appear, unless He endured it in the sight of all men, and so proved that death was vanquished by the incorruption of His body? Ad tertium dicendum quod, licet Diabolus iniuste invaserit hominem, tamen homo propter peccatum iuste erat sub servitute Diaboli derelictus a Deo. Et ideo conveniens fuit ut per iustitiam homo a servitute Diaboli liberaretur, Christo satisfaciente pro ipso per suam passionem. Fuit etiam hoc conveniens ad vincendam superbiam Diaboli, qui est desertor iustitiae et amator potentiae, ut Christus Diabolum vinceret et hominem liberaret, non per solam potentiam divinitatis, sed etiam per iustitiam et humilitatem passionis, ut Augustinus dicit, XIII de Trinitate. Reply Obj. 3: Although the devil assailed man unjustly, nevertheless, on account of sin, man was justly left by God under the devil’s bondage. And therefore it was fitting that through justice man should be delivered from the devil’s bondage by Christ making satisfaction on his behalf in the Passion. This was also a fitting means of overthrowing the pride of the devil, who is a deserter from justice, and covetous of sway; in that Christ should vanquish him and deliver man, not merely by the power of His Godhead, but likewise by the justice and lowliness of the Passion, as Augustine says (De Trin. xiii). Articulus 4 Article 4 Utrum Christus debuerit pati in cruce Whether Christ ought to have suffered on the cross? Ad quartum sic proceditur. Videtur quod Christus non debuerit pati in cruce. Veritas enim debet respondere figurae. Sed in figuram Christi praecesserunt omnia sacrificia veteris testamenti, in quibus animalia gladio necabantur, et postmodum igni cremabantur. Ergo videtur quod Christus non debuerit pati in cruce, sed magis gladio vel igne. Objection 1: It would seem that Christ ought not to have suffered on the cross. For the truth ought to conform to the figure. But in all the sacrifices of the Old Testament which prefigured Christ the beasts were slain with a sword and afterwards consumed by fire. Therefore it seems that Christ ought not to have suffered on a cross, but rather by the sword or by fire. Praeterea, Damascenus dicit quod Christus non debuit assumere detractibiles passiones. Sed mors crucis videtur maxime detractibilis et ignominiosa, unde dicitur Sap. II, morte turpissima condemnemus eum. Ergo videtur quod Christus non debuit pati mortem crucis. Obj. 2: Further, Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii) that Christ ought not to assume dishonoring afflictions. But death on a cross was most dishonoring and ignominious; hence it is written (Wis 2:20): Let us condemn Him to a most shameful death. Therefore it seems that Christ ought not to have undergone the death of the cross. Praeterea, de Christo dicitur, benedictus qui venit in nomine domini, ut patet Matth. XXI. Sed mors crucis erat mors maledictionis, secundum illud Deut. XXI, maledictus a Deo est qui pendet in ligno. Ergo videtur quod non fuit conveniens Christum crucifigi. Obj. 3: Further, it was said of Christ (Matt 21:9): Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. But death upon the cross was a death of malediction, as we read Deut. 21:23: He is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree. Therefore it does not seem fitting for Christ to be crucified. Sed contra est quod dicitur Philipp. II, factus est obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis. On the contrary, It is written (Phil 2:8): He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Respondeo dicendum quod convenientissimum fuit Christum pati mortem crucis. I answer that, It was most fitting that Christ should suffer the death of the cross. Primo quidem, propter exemplum virtutis. Dicit enim Augustinus, in libro octogintatrium quaest., sapientia Dei hominem, ad exemplum quo recte viveremus, suscepit. Pertinet autem ad vitam rectam ea quae non sunt metuenda, non metuere. Sunt autem homines qui, quamvis mortem ipsam non timeant, genus tamen mortis horrescunt. Ut ergo nullum genus mortis recte viventi homini metuendum esset, illius hominis cruce ostendendum fuit, nihil enim erat, inter omnia genera mortis, illo genere execrabilius et formidabilius. First of all, as an example of virtue. For Augustine thus writes (Qq. lxxxiii, qu. 25): God’s Wisdom became man to give us an example in righteousness of living. But it is part of righteous living not to stand in fear of things which ought not to be feared. Now there are some men who, although they do not fear death in itself, are yet troubled over the manner of their death. In order, then, that no kind of death should trouble an upright man, the cross of this Man had to be set before him, because, among all kinds of death, none was more execrable, more fear-inspiring, than this. Secundo, quia hoc genus mortis maxime conveniens erat satisfactioni pro peccato primi parentis, quod fuit ex eo quod, contra mandatum Dei, pomum ligni vetiti sumpsit. Et ideo conveniens fuit quod Christus, ad satisfaciendum pro peccato illo, seipsum pateretur ligno affigi, quasi restituens quod Adam sustulerat, secundum illud Psalmi, quae non rapui, tunc exsolvebam. Unde Augustinus dicit, in quodam sermone de passione, contemsit Adam praeceptum, accipiens ex arbore, sed quidquid Adam perdidit, Christus in cruce invenit. Second, because this kind of death was especially suitable in order to atone for the sin of our first parent, which was the plucking of the apple from the forbidden tree against God’s command. And so, to atone for that sin, it was fitting that Christ should suffer by being fastened to a tree, as if restoring what Adam had purloined; according to Ps. 68:5: Then did I pay that which I took not away. Hence Augustine says in a sermon on the Passion: Adam despised the command, plucking the apple from the tree: but all that Adam lost, Christ found upon the cross. Tertia ratio est quia, ut Chrysostomus dicit, in sermone de passione, in excelso ligno, et non sub tecto passus est, ut etiam ipsius aeris natura mundetur. Sed et ipsa terra simile beneficium sentiebat, decurrentis de latere sanguinis stillatione mundata. Et super illud Ioan. III, oportet exaltari filium hominis, exaltari audiens, suspensionem intelligas in altum, ut sanctificaret aerem qui sanctificaverat terram ambulando in ea. The third reason is because, as Chrysostom says in a sermon on the Passion (De Cruce et Latrone i, ii): He suffered upon a high rood and not under a roof, in order that the nature of the air might be purified: and the earth felt a like benefit, for it was cleansed by the flowing of the blood from His side. And on John 3:14: The Son of man must be lifted up, Theophylact says: When you hear that He was lifted up, understand His hanging on high, that He might sanctify the air who had sanctified the earth by walking upon it. Quarta ratio est quia, per hoc quod in ea moritur, ascensum nobis parat in caelum, ut Chrysostomus dicit. Et inde est quod ipse dicit, Ioan. XII, ego, si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum. The fourth reason is, because, by dying on it, He prepares for us an ascent into heaven, as Chrysostom says. Hence it is that He says (John 12:32): If I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all things to Myself. Quinta ratio est quia hoc competit universali salvationi totius mundi. Unde Gregorius Nyssenus dicit quod figura crucis, a medio contactu in quatuor extrema partita, significat virtutem et providentiam eius qui in ea pependit, ubique diffusam. Chrysostomus etiam dicit quod in cruce, expansis manibus, moritur, ut altera manu veterem populum, altera eos qui ex gentibus sunt, trahat. The fifth reason is because it is befitting the universal salvation of the entire world. Hence Gregory of Nyssa observes (In Christ. Resurr., Orat. i) that the shape of the cross extending out into four extremes from their central point of contact denotes the power and the providence diffused everywhere of Him who hung upon it. Chrysostom also says that upon the cross He dies with outstretched hands in order to draw with one hand the people of old, and with the other those who spring from the Gentiles. Sexta ratio est quia per hoc genus mortis diversae virtutes designantur. Unde Augustinus dicit, in libro de gratia Vet. et novi Test., non frustra tale genus mortis elegit, ut latitudinis et altitudinis et longitudinis et profunditatis, de quibus apostolus loquitur, magister existeret. Nam latitudo est in eo ligno quod transversum desuper figitur; hoc ad bona opera pertinet, quia ibi extenduntur manus. Longitudo in eo quod ab ipso ligno usque ad terram conspicuum est, ibi enim quodammodo statur, idest, persistitur et perseveratur; quod longanimitati tribuitur. Altitudo est in ea ligni parte quae ab illa quae transversa figitur, sursum versus relinquitur, hoc est, ad caput crucifixi, quia bene sperantium superna expectatio est. Iam vero illud ex ligno quod fixum occultatur, unde totum illud exurgit, significat profunditatem gratuitae gratiae. Et, sicut Augustinus dicit, super Ioan., lignum in quo fixa erant membra patientis, etiam cathedra fuit magistri docentis. The sixth reason is because of the various virtues denoted by this class of death. Hence Augustine in his book on the grace of the Old and New Testament (Ep. cxl) says: Not without purpose did He choose this class of death, that He might be a teacher of that breadth, and height, and length, and depth, of which the Apostle speaks (Eph 3:18): For breadth is in the beam, which is fixed transversely above; this appertains to good works, since the hands are stretched out upon it. Length is the tree’s extent from the beam to the ground; and there it is planted—that is, it stands and abides—which is the note of longanimity. Height is in that portion of the tree which remains over from the transverse beam upwards to the top, and this is at the head of the Crucified, because He is the supreme desire of souls of good hope. But that part of the tree which is hidden from view to hold it fixed, and from which the entire rood springs, denotes the depth of gratuitous grace. And, as Augustine says (Tract. cxix in Joan.): The tree upon which were fixed the members of Him dying was even the chair of the Master teaching. Septima ratio est quia hoc genus mortis plurimis figuris respondet. Ut enim Augustinus dicit, in sermone de passione, de diluvio aquarum humanum genus arca lignea liberavit; de Aegypto Dei populo recedente, Moyses mare virga divisit, et Pharaonem prostravit, et populum Dei redemit; idem Moyses lignum in aquam misit et amaram aquam in dulcedinem commutavit; ex lignea virga de spirituali petra salutaris unda profertur; et, ut Amalec vinceretur, contra virgam Moyses expansis manibus extenditur; et lex Dei arcae testamenti creditur ligneae; ut his omnibus ad lignum crucis, quasi per quosdam gradus, veniatur. The seventh reason is because this kind of death responds to very many figures. For, as Augustine says in a sermon on the Passion (Serm. ci De Tempore), an ark of wood preserved the human race from the waters of the Deluge; at the exodus of God’s people from Egypt, Moses with a rod divided the sea, overthrew Pharaoh and saved the people of God; the same Moses dipped his rod into the water, changing it from bitter to sweet; at the touch of a wooden rod a salutary spring gushed forth from a spiritual rock; likewise, in order to overcome Amalec, Moses stretched forth his arms with rod in hand; lastly, God’s law is entrusted to the wooden Ark of the Covenant; all of which are like steps by which we mount to the wood of the cross. Ad primum ergo dicendum quod altare holocaustorum, in quo sacrificia animalium offerebantur, erat factum de lignis, ut habetur Exod. XXVII, et quantum ad hoc veritas respondet figurae. Non autem oportet quod quantum, ad omnia, quia iam non esset similitudo, sed veritas, ut Damascenus dicit, in III libro. Specialiter tamen, ut Chrysostomus dicit, non caput ei amputatur, ut Ioanni; neque sectus est, ut Isaias, ut corpus integrum et indivisibile morti servet, et non fiat occasio volentibus Ecclesiam dividere. Loco autem materialis ignis, fuit in holocausto Christi ignis caritatis. Reply Obj. 1: The altar of holocausts, upon which the sacrifices of animals were immolated, was constructed of timbers, as is set forth Ex. 27; and in this respect the truth answers to the figure; but it is not necessary for it to be likened in every respect, otherwise it would not be a likeness, but the reality, as Damascene says (De Fide Orth. iii). But, in particular, as Chrysostom says: His head is not cut off, as was done to John; nor was He sawn in twain, like Isaias, in order that His entire and indivisible body might obey death, and that there might be no excuse for them who want to divide the Church. While, instead of material fire, there was the spiritual fire of charity in Christ’s holocaust. Ad secundum dicendum quod Christus detractibiles passiones assumere renuit quae pertinebant ad defectum scientiae vel gratiae, aut etiam virtutis. Non autem illas quae pertinent ad iniuriam ab exteriori illatam, quinimmo, ut dicitur Heb. XII, sustinuit crucem confusione contempta. Reply Obj. 2: Christ refused to undergo dishonorable sufferings which are allied with defects of knowledge, or of grace, or even of virtue, but not those injuries inflicted from without—nay, more, as is written Heb. 12:2: He endured the cross, despising the shame. Ad tertium dicendum quod, sicut Augustinus dicit, XIV contra Faustum, peccatum maledictum est et per consequens mors et mortalitas ex peccato proveniens, caro autem Christi mortalis fuit, similitudinem habens carnis peccati. Et propter hoc Moyses eam nominat maledictum, sicut et apostolus nominat eam peccatum, dicens, II Cor. V, eum qui non noverat peccatum, pro nobis peccatum fecit, scilicet per poenam peccati. Nec ideo maior invidia est, quia dixit, maledictus est a Deo. Nisi enim Deus peccatum odisset, non ad eam suscipiendam atque tollendam filium suum mitteret. Confitere ergo maledictum suscepisse pro nobis, quem confiteris mortuum esse pro nobis. Unde et Galat. III dicitur, Christus nos redemit de maledicto legis, factus pro nobis maledictum. Reply Obj. 3: As Augustine says (Contra Faust. xiv), sin is accursed, and, consequently, so is death, and mortality, which comes of sin. But Christ’s flesh was mortal, ‘having the resemblance of the flesh of sin’; and hence Moses calls it accursed, just as the Apostle calls it sin, saying (2 Cor 5:21): Him that knew no sin, for us He hath made sin—namely, because of the penalty of sin. Nor is there greater ignominy on that account, because he said: ‘He is accursed of God.’ For, unless God had hated sin, He would never have sent His Son to take upon Himself our death, and to destroy it. Acknowledge, then, that it was for us He took the curse upon Himself, whom you confess to have died for us. Hence it is written (Gal 3:13): Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. Articulus 5 Article 5