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preached by St. Thomas Aquinas, December 6, 1269, 1270, or 1271, Paris, France Latin text prepared by Athanasius Sulavik, op, translated by Louis-Jacques Bataillon, op, with Peter Kwasniewski The sermon appears to be incomplete, as it ends abruptly, without comment on the fourth part of the Psalm selection, and my arm will strengthen him, the quality of steadfastness. Text: Psalm 88:21-22
my hand will help him, and my arm will strengthenhim (Ps. 88:21–22).2 I have discovered David my servant, etc. From these words we are able to learn four commendable things about this holy bishop: first, his wondrous election; second, his singular consecration; third, his effective execution of office; and fourth, his unshakable and steadfast stability.7 His wondrous election is pointed out in these words: I have discovered David my servant; his particular consecration is pointed out in these words: with my holy oil I have anointed him; his effective execution of office is pointed out in these words: for my hand shall help him; and his abiding steadfastness is pointed out in these words: and my arm shall strengthen him. [His wondrous election] Let us then look at what it [the text] says: I have discovered David my servant; and here we can consider four ways of understanding a discovery. A discovery implies rarity, investigation, disclosure, and conviction from experience.8 First, I say that a discovery implies rarity, because rare things are said to be discovered. It would be laughable to say: "I discovered people on the Little Bridge."9 But what is rare is said to be discovered, as we see in Proverbs (31:10) where it is asked: Who shall discover a strong woman? as if to say, only with difficulty is a strong woman to be found because a woman is naturally delicate and frail. Secondly, things sought for are said to be discovered, as it says in Proverbs (2:4): If you will seek for it as [other men seek for] money, you will find it, namely divine knowledge.10 Moreover, the Gospel speaks about a woman searching for a lost coin, until she finds it (Lk. 15:8). Thirdly, a discovery implies disclosure, as we read in the Gospel: The kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household searching for a treasure hidden in a field; when he finds it, he goes and sells all that he has, etc. (Mt. 13:44). When a treasure is brought forth from the earth and shown to others, then it is said to have been discovered. Fourthly, a discovery implies conviction from experience. When a person doubts something and afterwards comes to know it with certainty, he declares: "I have discovered this to be so." And in just this way Solomon declares: I have discovered that a woman is more bitter than death (Eccles. 7:22).11 The Lord discovered blessed Nicholas in these ways. First, He discovered in him something very rare, namely, virtue in the prime of his youth, which is rare among youths12; hence it says in Proverbs: Youth and pleasure are vain.13 This is a rara avis,14 namely, that as a youth he was not subject to vanity; and because blessed Nicholas preserved his holiness from childhood, he is said to have been discovered. For he himself "while still a little boy used to afflict his body with much fasting."15 Also the saying in Hosea (9:10) [comes to mind]: I discovered Israel like grapes in the desert, I discovered the sons of Israel as first fruits of the fig tree.16 The fig ripens later than other fruits, but if it ripens in prime season it is said to be discovered."17 Likewise, children who preserve their holiness from childhood are called the first fruits of a fig tree and are said to be discovered, and this is pleasing to God; thus in Micah [we read] (7:1): My soul desired the first ripe figs.18 Fish and fruit in season are very much desired; so, too, very desirable to God is the man who carries the Lord's yoke from his youth, as is said in Lamentations (3:27): It will be good for a man, when he has borne the Lord's yoke from his youth,19 because a young man shall walk according to his way, even when he is old he will not depart from it (Prov. 22:6).20 At the same time, if such as these should depart from the path of holiness, they return to it more easily.21 Secondly, the Lord discovers in blessed Nicholas what He seeks. And what does
the Lord seek? Surely, He seeks a faithful soul,22 hence [we read] in John
(4:24): God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit
and in truth. And why does God seek out the man with a faithful soul? I say:
whoever takes delight in dwelling with another person seeks out that person. So
it is with God, because it gives Him delight to dwell with a faithful soul.
Hence He says: My delights are to be with the children of men (Prov. 8:31).23 And God discovered in blessed Nicholas a faithful
soul, because he was frequently in church, faithfully at his prayers24;
so, what is said in Hosea (12:4) is suitably said of him: He wept and made
supplication to Him, and He discovered him in Bethel.25
Bethel means "the house of God."26 Notice how rightly it is said that He discovered
David, for David possessed great virtues from his youth: he slew a bear and
a lion,27
he was preferred over all his brothers,28 and he was also most devout.
The Psalmist says: As with the marrow and fat, that is, of devotion,29
let my soul be filled (Ps. 62:6)30; and Sirach (47:1): As the
fat taken away from the flesh, thus was David separated from among
the children of Israel.31 And blessed Nicholas was eminently holy.
Thirdly, the Lord discovered in blessed Nicholas something outstanding,32 namely a pious affection. What makes a person stand
out? I say that nothing makes a person so outstanding as piety and a ready will
to do good for others.33 God is hidden in Himself, yet He is revealed to us
through the benefits He grants. So, in Sirach it is said about those who show
pity toward others34: These were men of mercy, whose pious deeds have
not failed (44:10), and the church declares their praise (44:15).35 And in another place it says: The lips of many
will praise him who gives freely of his bread (Sir.
31:28).36 Blessed Nicholas was
especially "sympathizing with and showing pity from his heart toward the afflicted,"37 and indeed having given them gold, he relieved the
poverty of virgins.38 Thus, what Hosea (14:9) says can be applied to him:
From me is his fruit discovered.39 And this is why the Lord says
rightly: I discovered David, my servant. A servant is one who carries out
his lord's work; and the principal work of the Lord is mercy, as the Psalmist
says: And His tender mercies are over all His works
(Ps. 144:9).40 Therefore, the
Lord's servant is the one who exercises mercy toward the poor. As the Apostle
says: We are servants for Jesus' sake (2 Cor. 4:5).
Fourthly, the Lord discovered in blessed Nicholas something tested by
experience, namely faithfulness,41 which is greatly sought after;
thus the Apostle says: Now what is sought after in stewards, except that a
man be found faithful? (1 Cor. 4:2); and the Book of Wisdom (3:5) says:
He tested them, and found them worthy of Himself. A faithful man must be
a servant, so that he refers all that is his to God.42 You pray, you perform works of
mercy, whatever kind of good you do, it is necessary that you should refer it to
God. Hence it is said: He has been tested in this, and was found perfect (Sir. 31:10).43 Blessed Nicholas is such a man, and for that reason
he is called my servant (Ps. 88:21). Many people, on the other hand, do
not serve the Lord but themselves; as the Apostle puts it: They that are such
serve not Christ but their own belly (Rom. 16:18). If you are doing good in
order to get prebends,44 you are serving yourself, not
God.
A good bishop ought not to be like these sorts of people, but rather he ought
to be upright [innocens] in his own person, devout before God, merciful
to his neighbor, faithful in all things in respect to everyone.
[His singular consecration]
We move on now to his consecration, which is indicated by these words:
with my holy oil I have anointed him (Ps. 88:21). It should be noted that
the consecration45 of bishops and of certain others is done with oil;
there is hardly any consecration for which we do not use oil. To show the power
of oil, note that we use it for four reasons: namely, to heal a wound, to fuel
light, to give flavor to food, and to soften.46
First, I say that we use oil to heal. Thus in Isaiah we read (1:6):
Bruises and sores and bleeding wounds are not bound up, nor dressed nor
softened with oil.
Secondly, we use oil to fuel light, hence in Exodus (25:6) a precept was
given to the sons of Israel that they offer oil for making ready the lamps.47
Thirdly, we use oil to give flavor to food,48 therefore we read that King
Solomon sent Hiram oil as food.49
Fourthly, we use oil to soften, thus it is said: His words are smoother
than oil (Ps. 54:22).50
First, I say that we use oil to heal a wound, through which [image] we
understand healing grace. Thus we read in Luke (10:34) that the Samaritan who
wanted to take care of a wounded man poured [on his wounds] wine and oil.
The sick are anointed with oil, as James [instructs] (5:14): Is any man sick
among you? Let him bring in the presbyters of the church and let them pray over
him, anointing him with oil.51 And since blessed Nicholas was anointed with the
oil of healing grace, because he had full soundness of [spiritual] health and
was equipped to anoint others, we are told that wine and oil were
poured—that is to say, the wine of stern correction and the oil of mercy and
comfort.
Secondly, we use oil to prepare lamps, and this signifies the studious quest
for wisdom.52 It is said about this oil: Let not oil be
lacking from your head (Eccles. 9:8), and in Zechariah (4:14): These are
two sons of glistening oil.53 Since oil functions as fuel for light, therefore
the prophets were anointed with oil.54
Thirdly, we use oil to give flavor to food, and this signifies spiritual joy.
Just as seasonings make food tasty,55 so also spiritual joy makes good works easy. When
we are sad, even a small task seems difficult; but when we are joyful, even a
difficult task seems easy. So, we find in the Psalms: That He may make
your face cheerful with oil (Ps. 103:15).56 God, your God, has anointed
you with the oil of gladness above your companions (Ps. 44:8).57 And in Isaiah (61:3): The oil of joy, in place
of mourning.58 Therefore priests are anointed with oil, that is to
say with the oil of gladness. From all this we see that spiritual gladness
belongs to those who are surrendered over to divine worship59;
Let your priests be clothed with joy, etc. (Ps.
131:9)60
Fourthly, we use oil to soften, and this signifies mercy and kindness of
heart, both of which blessed Nicholas possessed, since he was utterly filled
with mercy and devotion.61 It is said in Deuteronomy (33:24): Let him be
pleasing to his brothers, and let him dip his foot in oil. Oil is diffusive
of itself; mercy is the same way.62 Just as oil spreads over things, mercy spreads over
every good work.63 Therefore, unless you have mercy, your labors are
nothing; hence the Apostle says: Pity avails for everything(1 Tim. 4:8).64 You ought to consider that in the future, according
to the merits of graces the evidence of rewards will appear in the glorified
bodies of the saints, and that even in this life the signs of their affection
appear [in their earthlybodies].65 This is evident in the case of blessed Francis,
where the signs of the passion of Christ became visible, so vehemently was he
affected by the passion of Christ.66 In blessed Nicholas's case, signs of mercy appeared
when "his tomb sweated oil,"67 thus indicating that he was a man of great mercy.
In Deuteronomy (32:13) we find: So that he might suck honey out of the rock,
and oil out of the hardest stone. This pertains to a king.68
[His effective execution of office]
Next comes the way in which he carried out his office, when it says:
My hand shall help him (Ps. 88:22), etc. God does not have a bodily hand,
but His strength is called His hand. Now see the four ways by which the hand of
God helped Nicholas: by drawing him to Himself and snatching him from evil; by
guiding him; by strengthening him69; and by working miracles
through him.
First, I say: the hand of the Lord, that is to say His strength, helped
blessed Nicholas by drawing him to Himself and delivering him from evil. We read
in the Psalms: Stretch forth your hand from on high, rescue me and deliver me
from the many waters and from the hand of strange children(Ps.143:7).70
Secondly, the hand of God helped blessed Nicholas by guiding him. Just as we
normally use our hands to guide others, so the Lord uses His power to guide the
just. Again the Psalmist says: The wickedness of sinners will be
brought to an end, but the Lord will guide the just
(Ps. 7:10).71 Isaiah
(8:11) speaks in a similar way: He has taught me by His strong hand, that I
should not walk in the way of this people.72
Thirdly, the hand of the Lord, that is to say His power, helped blessed
Nicholas by giving him strength, hence in Ezekiel (3:14): And the hand of the
Lord was with me to strengthen me.73 And he was greatly strengthened.74
Fourthly, the hand of the Lord, that is to say His power, helped blessed
Nicholas by working miracles75 through him, hence in Acts (4:30): You will stretch
out your hand [to heal], and signs and wonders are performed in the
name of your Son.76 Blessed Nicholas was filled with the power to work
miracles.77 Who is there that has ever sought the glory of the world and
obtained it as did blessed Nicholas, who was but a poor bishop in Greece? The
Lord adorned him with miracles because he showed the greatest mercy. Know
that the Lord has made His holy one wonderful (Ps.
4:4).78 It was mercy that made
blessed Nicholas an extraordinary man, and the Lord [Jesus Christ] strengthened
him even unto everlasting life. May He lead us there, who lives [and reigns]
with the Father and the Holy Spirit, [God, for ever and ever, Amen.]79
By St. Thomas Aquinas, translated by Athanasius
Sulavik, op, with Louis-Jacques Bataillon, op, and Peter Kwasniewski,
The
Aquinas Translation Project. Copyright © Peter Kwasniewski.
Reproduced under the terms of the Aquinas Translation Project. Link 1. Translated by Athanasius Sulavik,
op, from the provisional critical edition of the Leonine Commission. The
translator is thankful to Louis-Jacques Bataillon, op, for providing this text.
All of the references to Thomas's sources, and most of the references to loci
paralleli, are the work of Fr. Bataillon; remaining notes are the work of A.
Sulavik and P. Kwasniewski. Thomas's quotations of Scripture are translated
directly from his own words; chapter and verse are those of the Vulgate. Where
modern editions differ in the numbering of chapter and verse, or where the RSV
translation is importantly different, this will be noted for the sake of
comparison. Thomas refers to the book after Wisdom as Ecclesiasticus; to avoid
confusion with Ecclesiastes (Eccles.), we have substituted 'Sirach' ('Sir.') for
'Ecclesiasticus'. In Fr. Bataillon's judgment this sermon is most likely to have
been preached in Paris on the sixth of December in 1269, 1270, or 1271. (return to text)
2. Ps. 89:20-21 (RSV): "I have found
David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him; so that my hand shall
ever abide with him, my arm also shall strengthen him." For a different
application of these verses, cf. Thomas's prologue to his Commentary on
Ephesians: "Confirmavi ne a fide vacillarent, sicut artifex confirmat
aedificium, ne cadat. Unde dictum est Petro Lc. xxii, 32: «Et tu aliquando
conversus confirma fratres tuos,» quod fecit Paulus. Unde ei competit illud Iob
iv, 4: «Vacillantes confirmaverunt sermones tui.» Confirmavit item ne pseudo
timerent, sicut episcopus confirmat puerum ad robur contra pusillanimitatem,
unde dictum est de David in Ps. lxxxviii, 21: «Inveni David servum meum, oleo
sancto meo unxi eum; manus enim mea auxiliabitur ei, et brachium meum
confortabit eum, nihil proficiet inimicus in eo,» etc." (return to text)
3. Augustine, Tractatus in
Iohannem, tr. 72.13 on Jn. 14:12 (CCSL 36:508.1-4, 509.14-15; PL 35:1823):
"Iudicat qui potest, utrum maius sit iustos creare quam impios iustificare." Cf.
Catena aurea in Ioh. 14:12. St. Thomas often mentions this truth in the
form of the phrase "maius est iustificare impium quam creare mundum (uel
celum et terram)": cf. Sent. I, d. 5, q. 1, a. 2, sc. 2; De
veritate q. 27, a. 3, sc. 4; De potentia q. 3, a. 4, obj. 8); ST
I-II, q. 113, a. 9; ST III, q. 43, a. 4, ad 2. (return to text)
4. Cp. Ps. 68:35 (RSV): "Terrible is
God in his sanctuary. . ." (return to
text)
5. cordium et renum. Cf. Ps.
7:10; Jer. 17:10; Rev. 2:23. (return to
text)
6. As was customary in medieval
writing, phrases whose natural completion would have been evident to the speaker
or reader are often replaced with a curt "etc."; the same can be seen at the end
of this sermon, where a traditional doxology is expected. (return to text)
7. This fourfold division of Ps.
88:21-22 structures the remainder of the sermon. St. Thomas omits to discuss the
fourth division, viz., the "abiding steadfastness" signified by "my arm shall
strengthen him"; for three possible explanations of this omission, see P.
Kwasniewski, "Two Wonderworkers," note 49. (return to text)
8. raritatem, inquisitionem,
apparitionem et experimentalem probationem (return to text)
9. A clear reference to the Little
Bridge, located upon the Seine River in Paris, upon which classes were taught at
the University of Paris. Thomas's reference to it establishes both the audience
and place of this sermon, namely clerical students at Paris. (return to text)
10. Prov. 2:4-5 (RSV): "[I]f you seek
it like silver and search for it as for hidden treasures; then you will
understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God." (return to text)
11. Eccles. 7:26 (RSV): "I found more
bitter than death the woman whose heart is snares and nets, and whose hands are
fetters; he who pleases God escapes he r, but the sinner is taken by her." (return to text)
12. scilicet tempestiuam uirtutem
que rara est in iuuenibus. "Tempestivam" carries the note, first, of
seasonable, opportune, timely; it then comes to have the sense of in one's
prime, ripe, ready, mature. It can at times mean early. (return to text)
13. In fact, Eccles. 11:10 (RSV):
"Remove vexation from your mind, and put away pain from your body; for youth and
the dawn of life are vanity." (return to
text)
14. rara auis: cf. Persius,
Sat. 146; Juvenal, Sat. 6.165; cf. also Horace, Sat.
II.2.26. (return to text)
15. Adhuc . . . corpus: cf.
Officium S. Nicolai, First Antiphon at Lauds. Rome, Santa Sabina, AGOP
XIV-L-1, f. 275va. (return to text)
16. The Vulgate reads: "I have found
Israel like grapes in the desert, I saw their fathers like the firstfruits of
the figtree in the top thereof. . ." (return
to text)
17. The point again seems to be that
if one were to find fruits on a fruit tree before the usual season for it, one
would go to one's companions with surprise and say: "I discovered fruit on that
tree!" Later, when the fruits are expected, it would be strange to say that one
had discovered them; it's common knowledge, the fruits are plain to see.
(return to text)
18. Mic. 7:1 (RSV): "Woe is me! For I
have become as when the summer fruit has been gathered, as when the vintage has
been gleaned: there is no cluster to eat, no first-ripe fig which my soul
desires." (return to text)
19. Lam. 3:27 (RSV): "It is good for a
man that he bear the yoke in his youth." (return to text)
20. Prov. 22:6 (RSV): "Train up a
child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."
(return to text)
21. Here, we find an example where
Thomas's preaching is influenced by his biblical exegesis. He appropriates the
same insight he made as a cursor biblicus in his Postill
(commentary) on Lamentations iii, where he says, "Hic ostendit divinam
misericordiam ex expectatione futurorum . . . bonum est viro cum portaverit
jugum, timoris domini et amoris, ab adolescentia, ut fervens aetas deprimatur,
et facilius ad bona assuescat. Prov. 22: adolescens juxta viam suam, etiam cum
senuerit, non recedet ab ea." On the relationship between Aquinas's preaching
and biblical exegesis, see L.-J. Bataillon, op, "Les sermons de saint Thomas et
la Catena aurea," in St. Thomas Aquinas, 1274-1974, Commemorative
Studies, ed. A. Maurer et al. Toronto, Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval
Studies, 1974, 1:67-75. (return to
text)
22. mentem deuotam, and
slightly below, cum mente deuota, etc. (return to text)
23. Cp. Prov. 8:30b-31 (RSV): "I was
daily his delight, rejoicing before him always, rejoicing in his inhabited
world, and delighting in the sons of men." (return to text)
24. assiduus fuit in ecclesia et
deuota oratione (return to text)
25. Cp. Hos. 12:4 (RSV): "He strove
with the angel and prevailed, he wept and sought his favor. He met God at
Bethel, and there God spoke with him. . ." (return to text)
26. Jerome, Liber interpretationis
Hebraicorum nominum, Gen. B (CCSL 72:62, line 18; PL 23:775-76). (return to text)
27. Cf. 1 Kings 17:36 (Vulg.) or 1
Sam. 17:37 (RSV): "And David said, 'The Lord who delivered me from the paw of
the lion and from the paw of the bear, will deliver me from the hand of this
Philistine.'" (return to text)
28. Cf. 1 Kings 16 (Vulg.) or 1 Sam.
16, esp. verse 13a (RSV): "Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in
the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon David
from that day forward." (return to
text)
29. Cf. ST I-II, q. 82, a. 2,
arg. 2: "devotio vero per pinguedinem"; ibid., ad 2. (return to text)
30. Cp. Ps. 63:5 (RSV): "My soul is
feasted as with marrow and fat, and my mouth praises thee with joyful lips. . ."
(return to text)
31. Sir. 47:2 (RSV): "As the fat is
selected from the peace offering, so David was selected from the sons of
Israel." (return to text)
32. apparens, and in the next
sentence, apparere (return to
text)
33. nichil reddit hominem ita
clarum sicut pietas et benignitas ad alios (return to text)
34. pietatem exercent ad alios.
See note 64. (return to text)
35. Sir. 44:10, 15 (RSV): "But these
were men of mercy, whose righteous deeds have not been forgotten . . . Peoples
will declare their wisdom, and the congregation proclaims their praise." (return to text)
36. Sir. 31:23 (RSV): "Men will praise
the one who is liberal with food. . ." (return to text)
37. compatiens et super afflictos
pia gestans uiscera: Officium S. Nicolai, First Responsory at Matins.
Roma, Santa Sabina, AGOP XIV-L-1, f. 274va. (return to text)
38. Cf. Jacobus de Voragine, The
Golden Legend. Trans. William Granger Ryan, 2 vols. Princeton, Princeton
University Press, 1993, 1:21-22. (return
to text)
39. Cp. Hos. 14:8b (RSV): "I am like
an evergreen cypress, from me comes your fruit." (return to text)
40. Cp. Ps. 145:9 (RSV): "The Lord is
good to all, and his compassion is over all that he has made." (return to text)
41. aliquid experimentaliter
probatum, scilicet fidelitatem (return to text)
42. or "offers everything of his own
back to God": Fidelis debet esse seruus ut omnia sua in Deum referat. (return to text)
43. The full context: "Blessed is the
rich man who is found blameless, and who does not go after gold. Who is he? And
we will call him blessed, for he has done wonderful things among his people. Who
has been tested by it and been found perfect? Let it be for him a ground for
boasting. Who has had the power to transgress, and did not transgress, and to do
evil and did not do it? His prosperity will be established, and the assembly
will relate his acts of charity" (Sir. 31:8-11, RSV). (return to text)
44. Thomas was openly critical of the
clerical abuses of his own day. One of the more reprehensible abuses involved
certain clerics enrolled at the University of Paris who accepted one or more
prebends or ecclesiastical benefices without providing pastoral care to their
churches, enabling them to remain in studies for great lengths of time. See also
Quodlibet V, q. 11, a. 3; Quodlibet I, q. 7, a. 1; Quodlibet
VI, q. 5, aa. 2-4. (return to
text)
45. In this sentence,
sanctificatio; in the preceding sentence, consecratio. (return to text)
46. St. Thomas encountered these four
reasons in a definition from Papias Vocabulista transcribed by William Brito in
the Summa Britonis. "To kindle light" renders ad fomentum
luminis; "to give flavor to food" renders ad condimentum
saporis. (return to text)
47. Cf. also Ex. 27:20: ""And you
shall command the people of Israel that they bring to you pure beaten olive oil
for the light, that a lamp may be set up to burn continually." (return to text)
48. ad condimentum cibi. Cf.
Ex. 29:2, which speaks of "unleavened bread, unleavened cakes mixed with oil,
and unleavened wafers spread with oil." (return to text)
49. Cf. 3 Kings 5:11 (Vulg.) or 1
Kings 5:11 (RSV): "while Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand cors of wheat as
food for his household, and twenty thousand cors of beaten oil. Solomon gave
this to Hiram year by year." (return to
text)
50. Ps. 55:21 (RSV): "His speech was
smoother than butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil,
yet they were drawn swords." (return to
text)
51. Jas. 5:14. (return to text)
52. sapientie studium (return to text)
53. The Vulgate reads: "These are two
sons of oil." Cp. Zech. 4:14 (RSV): "Then he [the angel] said, 'These are the
two anointed who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.'" (return to text)
54. Cf. 3 Kings 19:16 (Vulg.) or 1
Kings 19:16 (RSV), the Lord speaking to Elijah: "and Jehu the son of Nimshi you
shall anoint to be king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of
Abelmeholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place." (return to text)
55. condimenta enim reddunt cibaria
sapida (return to text)
56. Cf. Ps. 104:14-15 (RSV): "Thou
dost cause the grass to grow for the cattle, and plants for man to cultivate,
that he may bring forth food from the earth, and wine to gladden the heart of
man, oil to make his face shine, and bread to strengthen man's heart." (return to text)
57. Ps. 45:7 (RSV). (return to text)
58. Part of the prophecy of the
Messianic good tidings: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord
has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; he has sent me to bind
up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of
the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and
the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who
mourn in Zion -- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that
they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he may
be glorified" (Is. 61:1-3, RSV). (return
to text)
59. ad illos qui sunt diuino cultui
mancipati. Cf. R. J. Deferrari, A Latin-English Dictionary of St. Thomas
Aquinas. Boston, Daughters of St. Paul, 1986. S.v. mancipo: "to
devote or consecrate to . . . to make subject to, enslave; to bind over, to give
the right to another." (return to
text)
60. The Vulgate reads: "sacerdotes tui
induentur iustitia et sancti tui exultabunt." Cf. Ps. 132:9-10 (RSV): "Let thy
priests be clothed with righteousness, and let thy saints shout for joy. For thy
servant David's sake do not turn away the face of thy anointed one." (return to text)
61. "kindness of heart" renders
benignitas cordis, which carries the sense of a hearty will to do good
for others; "devotion" renders pietate, which here also carries the
connotation of 'pity', which is derived from the same Latin word. Following Bede
and Alcuin, St. Thomas discusses oil as a symbol of mercy in several places; cf.
Catena aurea in Ioh. 8:1; Lectura in Ioh. 8:1; Super Psalmos
44:5; Sermo Osanna Filio Dauid. (return to text)
62. Oleum est sui diffusiuum,
similiter misericordia -- reminiscent of the Neoplatonic axiom bonum est
diffusivum sui. (return to text)
63. "spreads over":
superenatat. (return to text)
64. A difficult verse to translate:
Pietas ad omnia ualet. Older English translations rendered pietas
with "godliness." St. Thomas often interprets the word to mean what we mean
by 'pity' or 'works of mercy', e.g., "pro eleemosynarum largitione" (Sent.
IV, d. 15, q. 2, a. 1, qa. 3, arg. 1); "Glossa dicit, 1 Timoth., 4, super
illud: «Pietas ad omnia valet»: «Omnis summa disciplinae christianae est in
misericordia et pietate.» Sed in illo consistit summa rei quod est in re
praecipuum. Ergo praecipuum inter alia satisfactionis opera est eleemosyna"
(Sent. IV, d. 15, q. 2, a. 2, qa. 2, sed contra 1; the Gloss is St.
Ambrose's). In ST II-II, q. 30, a. 4, an objection starts from 1 Tim. 4:8
and concludes that misericordia is the highest of all virtues. The
response: "Summa religionis christianae in misericordia consistit quantum ad
exteriora opera. Interior tamen affectio caritatis, qua coniungimur Deo,
praeponderat et dilectioni et misericordiae in proximos." (Similarly, at ST
I-II, q. 68, a. 7, St. Thomas explains that when St. Paul says "pietas
is useful in everything," he is not suggesting that pietas is the
greatest of God's gifts, but rather contrasting it with bodily exercise, which
"profits little.") In an article on the gift of counsel, Thomas expressly
equates the pietas of 1 Tim. 4:8 with misericordia (ST
II-II, q. 52, a. 4). In his own commentary on the verse, Thomas recognizes a
double meaning: "Cum ergo dicit «exerce teipsum ad pietatem,» potest accipi
secundum quod pertinet ad cultum Dei, et ad opera misericordiae exhibenda.
Glossa: «ad pietatem, id est, ad cultum omnipotentis Dei, et opera
misericordiae»" (Super I Tim. cap. 4, lec. 2). (return to text)
65. "evidence" and "signs" translate
indicia. Thomas's assertion may be phrased: After the resurrection, the
bodies of the saints will bear indications of the good works they have done
owing to the grace of God, and even now, in this world, the great love of some
saints is given a bodily expression (the example of the stigmata implying that
such an expression, too, like the charity it symbolizes, is a gift from God, and
not the result of natural causes). (return
to text)
66. The Latin reads sicut patet
quod in beato Francisco fuerunt indicia passionis Christi quia uehementer
afficiebatur circa passionem Christi. If one were to render the quia
"because," it would sound like an assertion of efficient causality, as if to
say: it was the intensity of St. Francis's affections that caused the signs to
appear, his immense charity and inner likeness to the Crucified spilling over,
as it were, into his body so that body could mirror soul. Clearly Thomas is
asserting some causal connection, which I believe is this: it was due
to Francis being the sort of saint he was that God fittingly bestowed this
gratuitous grace on him -- bearing in mind, of course, that he owed his sanctity
as well as its mode or "mission" also primarily to God's grace. On this
interesting reference to St. Francis, see cf. L.-J. Bataillon, op, "Les
stigmates de Saint François vus par Thomas d'Aquin et quelques autres
prédicateurs Dominicains," in: Archivum Franciscanum Historicum 90
(1997), 341-47. (return to text)
67. Officium S. Nicolai, Ninth
Responsory at Matins. Rome, Santa Sabina. AGOP XIV-L-1, f. 275rb. (return to text)
68. What Thomas means by this brief
statement is a bit obscure. Perhaps he is saying that the noble words applied to
the people of Israel in the Song of Moses (Deut. 32:8-14) are fitting for a
kingly people or a kingly person; or he may be saying that only a great king
could be so strong and wise as to "suck honey out of the rock and oil from
hardest stone." Thus, so great was the mercy of St. Nicholas that he was a king
in the Lord's spiritual kingdom, as verified in the miraculous flowing of oil
from hardest stone. (return to text)
69. ipsum confortando could
also be rendered "by comforting him." (return to text)
70. Ps. 144:7 (RSV). (return to text)
71. Cp. Ps. 7:9 (RSV): "O let the evil
of the wicked come to an end, but establish thou the righteous, thou who triest
the minds and hearts, thou righteous God." (return to text)
72. Cp. Is. 8:11 (RSV): "For the Lord
spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the
way of this people . . ." (return to
text)
73. Cp. Ez. 3:14 (RSV): "The Spirit
lifted me up and took me away, and I went in bitterness in the heat of my
spirit, the hand of the Lord being strong upon me. . ." (return to text)
74. bene confortatus (return to text)
75. In a translation of this
paragraph, it is impossible to convey the subtle interplay of "wonder" words:
the Lord works miracles (miracula) through Nicholas, who was full of [the
power of] the miraculous (plenus miraculis); the Psalmist says "Know that
the Lord has made wonderful [mirificauit] his saint"; "it was mercy that
made Nicholas an extraordinary man [mirabilem]." The "signs and wonders"
of Acts 4:30 is signa et prodigia. (return to text)
76. Acts 4:29-30 (RSV): "And now,
Lord, look upon their threats, and grant to thy servants to speak thy word with
all boldness, while thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders
are performed through the name of thy holy servant [or: child] Jesus." (return to text)
77. Beatus Nicholaus plenus fuit
miraculis (return to text)
78. Cp. Ps. 4:3 (RSV): "But know that
the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself. . ." (return to text)
79. In place of the bracketed phrases
the text has "etc." (see note 6). For Fr. Bataillon's three possible
explanations of the sermon's abrupt ending and its lack of the fourth part of
the exposition announced near the beginning ("and his abiding steadfastness is
pointed out in these words: and my arm shall strengthen him"), see P.
Kwasniewski, "Two Wonderworkers," note 49. (return to text)
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