Coll. 2
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/13/d/2/q/bon-praec-c2
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### COLLATION II.
#### *On the first precept of the decalogue in particular.*

### Summarium

*Introduction,* 1. 2. — *Repetition and confirmation of the second part of Collation I,* 3. 4. — *On the manner in which the ten precepts are handed down,* 5. — On the first precept, Part I. The literal explanation of the words of the first precept, by which three things are forbidden. *The first precept is the foundation of the others,* 6. —

*The words of this precept, which contain three things, namely the things to be set first for its knowledge, the things to be added for its keeping, and the things to be placed between for its completeness,* 7. 8. — *First, two things are to be set first, namely the knowledge of the Creator and of the Restorer,* 9-13. — *Secondly, two things are to be added which avail for its keeping, namely fear and love,* 14-16. — *Thirdly, the things to be placed in the middle which avail for the completeness of the commandments and forbid in the negative the worship of others and imply in the affirmative the worship of God; the several words are explained by which a threefold idolatry is forbidden,* 17-20. — Part II. A fuller explanation according to the Christian faith. *Three other things are forbidden: covenants with demons, inventions of errors, perverse appraisals of worldly natures,* 21. — *On covenants with demons,* 22. 23. — *On inventions of errors,* 24-28. — *On perverse appraisals of worldly natures,* 29.

1. *Come up to me into the mount, and I will give thee two tables of stone, and the Law and the commandments which I have written, that thou mayest teach the children of Israel,* Exodus the twenty-fourth. — *Depart from me, ye malignant, and I will search the commandments of my God.* We read that blessed Gregory, who was Pope and Doctor of the Church, had it for a custom that whenever he went to the study of the divine law he always said these words: *Depart from me* etc. He was asked why he did this; and he answered Peter, to whom he was accustomed to tell his secrets, that he had learned by experience that whenever he wished to meditate on the law of God he felt the demons always opposing him. But in other subtleties the demons do not press upon a man, because in them they see no loss to themselves; rather they look for gain. But when there is mention of the teachings of truth, by which demons are put to flight, then the prince of darkness comes armed, now by earthly occupations, now by fantastic illusions, and strives to call back the minds of men from the study of truth. It is true that those words: *Depart from me* etc., were said by blessed Gregory, who had the power of restraining demons; but I am not of that number. Therefore at the outset let us ask the Lord to command the demons not to hinder us, but to give us serene minds for understanding words about his commandments.

2. *Come up to me* etc. That word the Lord said to Moses, and Moses, having heard the word, went up into the mount and received two tables of stone and the Law and the commandments. In which it is signified that if we wish to come to the intelligence of the commandments of God, we must go up into the mount, that is into the height of the mind; because it is according to the impression of the eternal light that the law of nature is given to us, and it is according to that light that we have received the teachings of the divine law.

3. I was touching on it with you at another time, that it is certain that *being* of itself falls first into the soul. But *being* is twofold, namely created and uncreated, and according to this justice is twofold: one by which we are ordered to uncreated being, the other by which we are ordered to created being. And according to this twofold justice the table given to Moses is twofold, namely the first and the second. In the first table are contained the commandments by which we are ordered to uncreated being, that is God. In the second table are contained the commandments by which we are ordered to created being, namely our neighbour.

4. Now uncreated being is the cause of all things — the *efficient,* the *formal-exemplar* and the *final* cause, I say — and it has power, wisdom and goodwill, and produces all things into *being.* And these three are appropriated to the three persons in the Trinity: *power* or majesty is appropriated to the Father, *wisdom* or truth to the Son, *goodwill* or goodness to the Holy Spirit. The highest majesty in the Father is to be humbly adored, the highest truth in the Son is to be faithfully asserted, and the divine goodness in the Holy Spirit is to be sincerely loved. — These things were said of the commandments of the first table in general; but since discourses about the commandments in *general* are said to no purpose unless they are made in *particular,* it is therefore necessary to explain the commandments in *particular.* — It was said in general that there are ten commandments, of which the first three are contained in the first table and seven in the second.

5. But I will tell you a general lesson: the eternal wisdom of God, which wrote those tables, handed them down in the *briefest* way, the *clearest* way and the *easiest* way that it could. It handed them down in the briefest way, that our memory might not be burdened; in the clearest way, that our intelligence might not be darkened; in the easiest way, that our will might not be drawn back or called away. This is the reason why the commandments were given through words as brief and as clear and easy as possible, and through synecdochic acts.

6. First, then, let us look at the first commandment. And here it is to be noted that, just as we see in other things that the first work is the foundation and rule

of all that follow, so the first commandment is the foundation and rule of all the other commandments.

7. The first words concerning the commandments are these: *I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make a graven thing, nor the likeness of the things that are in the heavens, nor of those that are in the earth, nor of those that are in the waters. Thou shalt not adore them, nor serve them. I am the Lord thy God, strong, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, and shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me.*

8. For the full explanation of these words three things come together: certain things pertain to the *knowledge* of the commandment, and these must be *set first;* certain things pertain to the *keeping* of the commandment, and these must be *added;* and certain things pertain to the *completeness* of the commandment, and these must be *placed between.*

9. First, I say, certain things pertain to the *knowledge* of the commandment, and these must be *set first,* and they are the two greatest foundations of faith. The first is the knowledge of the *Creator,* the second is the knowledge of the *Restorer*; and these are two rays, or two spiritual eyes, directing us into the way of the commandments of God. For a man ought first to open his eyes before he walks; likewise a man ought first to know the commandments by faith before he carries them out by action. — Now for knowing the *Creator* he says: *I am the Lord thy God.* In that he says *Lord,* he intimates the power of the Father. In that he says *God,* he intimates the wisdom of the Son. In that he says *thy,* he intimates the goodwill or goodness of the Holy Spirit. But in that he says *I,* he marks the identity of the essence, and in this he intimates God three and one, the Creator of all things.

10. There follows: *Who brought thee out of the land of Egypt;* here he intimates the gift of *restoration* through the Word incarnate. The Lord speaks to all to whom he gave the precept, and he gave the precepts to all, although he first gave them to the children of Israel. *Out of the house of bondage,* that is, of sin; for we have all been brought out of the bondage of sin, we who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb.

11. These words the whole Trinity speaks. It says therefore *I,* namely he whom thou must obey and whom thou must love and adore. Or it says *I,* who made thee in the *being* of nature and in the *being* of grace. We too, therefore, must say: Lord, thou art he whom we must adore, whom we must serve; thou art he who created me; thou art he who redeemed me. The Psalm: *Know ye that the Lord he is God;* there follows: *He made us, and not we ourselves. Come, let us adore and fall down and weep before the Lord that made us, for he is the Lord our God, and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand.* — These two, then, namely the knowledge of the Creator and of the Restorer, are set first, without which we can understand nothing, because they are the foundations of our faith.

12. But that we may understand these things, we must know certain helps. Do you know to whom the first noble knowledge concerning the commandments was given? Certainly to Moses, who wrote by the Holy Spirit. But when did he have that knowledge? Certainly when the Lord appeared to him. And how did he appear to him? Certainly in the fire of the flame of the burning bush. And then Moses said: Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord answered him: *I am who am*. And then the Lord gave him two lights, namely the light of the eternity of the essence and the light of the eternal truth. The bush burned and was not consumed, in which the mystery of the incarnation is signified to us.

13. These are the two lights and the principal foundations of faith, namely the light of the eternity of the essence and the light of the eternal truth, and with this also the mystery of the incarnation of our Saviour. — And when we make the cross upon our forehead in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we acknowledge the Trinity and with this our Redeemer. By saying: In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, a man acknowledges the Trinity; by making the cross upon his forehead, he acknowledges the Redeemer. — It is clear now that two things avail for the knowledge of the commandment, which must be *set first;* and these are the two foundations of faith, namely the knowledge of the *Creator* and of the *Redeemer.*

14. Secondly there are certain things which avail for the *keeping* of the commandments, and these must be *added.* And it is to be noted here that all the commandments are either *affirmative* or *negative. Affirmative* they are, that a man may do good; but *negative,* that a man may avoid evil. But it is impossible for a man to avoid evil except through *fear,* and to do good except through *love;* and on this account two things are necessary for the keeping of the commandments, namely *fear* and *love*. —

A bird cannot fly without two wings, nor can a man walk without two feet. Likewise no one can be a perfect keeper of the commandments of God unless he is filled with *fear* and *love.* But a man is not filled with *fear* except from the consideration of the divine severity, nor is he filled with *love* except from the consideration of the divine goodness.

15. This twofold consideration, then, is necessary for a man. And on this account he says: *I am the Lord thy God, strong, jealous, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me.* — *Strong, jealous*, that is, having a most strong jealousy, namely of *them that hate me. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children,* not that he takes vengeance upon the children for the actual sins of the fathers, but when the children are imitators of their fathers' crimes, then the Lord punishes the sins of the fathers together with their own sins unto the third and fourth generation, namely of *them that hate me*. He says this that we may fear and through fear turn aside from evil; whence in Ecclesiastes: *Fear God and keep his commandments; for this is all man,* that is, for this is every man. Dost thou wish to merit, that thou mayest come to the highest fulfilment? *Fear God.* But how shall I fear? Certainly by considering that the Lord is most strongly jealous.

16. Likewise, along with this it is also necessary to love him, because he says of himself, as follows: *And shewing mercy unto thousands to them that love me;* in which he shows us that God's mercy and kindness surpass the avenging of iniquities. When the heart is enlarged through love, then a man easily keeps the commandments of God; the Psalm: *I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart. I have seen an end of all perfection; thy commandment is exceeding broad.* He says that the way of the commandments of God is broad, and yet to some it seems to be narrow. Certainly to those who love it is broad; but to those who do not love it seems to be narrow. — It is clear therefore how *fear* and *love* avail for the keeping of the commandments of God.

17. Thirdly, certain things avail for the *completeness* of the commandments, and these must be *placed between,* that is, set in the middle; and he touches on this when he says: *Thou shalt not have strange gods before me. Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor any likeness of the things that are in the heavens above, nor that are in the earth beneath, nor of those that are in the waters.* — Note that *latria* is the worship due to God alone, and it is so rendered that it is due to no other. God forbids the worship of others in the *negative,* and by this he has implied the worship of God in the *affirmative,* which is unfolded in the New Testament, when the Lord says in Matthew the fourth: *The Lord thy God shalt thou adore, and him only shalt thou serve.*

18. But it is asked why the Lord forbade the worship of others in the *negative* and did not unfold the worship of God in the *affirmative.* Certainly because he wished to give us the commandments in the easiest way he could; and therefore in the negative he was calling us back from the worship of others, so as to imply his own worship in the affirmative. — And it is to be noted that he was calling us back from *all* idolatry. Now everything that is adored other than God is either an *intellectual creature,* as the angels and demons; or a *corporeal creature,* as heaven and earth and water and the like; or it is a *figment* of the human mind. And these three the Lord forbids to be adored.

19. But why did the Lord place among idolatry the *figment* of the human mind, since a figment is nothing in reality? I say that *an idol is nothing*, but rather it is carried over to that which is in the estimation. — And see how sacred Scripture proceeds: it sets the *intellectual* creature in the highest place, the *figment* in the middle and *corporeal* nature in the lowest; and according to this it first forbids idolatry with respect to the *intellectual* creature, when it says: *Thou shalt not have strange gods.* Secondly it forbids idolatry with respect to the *figment* of the human mind, when it says: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing.* Thirdly it forbids idolatry with respect to *corporeal* nature, when it says: *Neither shalt thou make the likeness of the things that are in the heavens, nor that are in the earth, nor of those that are in the waters.* First it is forbidden with respect to *things of heaven,* secondly with respect to *things of earth,* thirdly with respect to *those things that are in the waters.*

20. Of idolatry with respect to the *spiritual creature* it is said in the Psalm: *For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils, but the Lord made the heavens.* — Of idolatry with respect to the *figment* of the human mind it is said in the Psalm: *Let them all be confounded that adore graven things, and that glory in their idols.* That a man should bow down to adore his own figment and so glory in adoring it — this is the highest perversion. — Of idolatry with respect to *corporeal nature* the Apostle says: *Who have changed the glory of the incorruptible God;* there follows: *And they served the creature rather than the Creator.* Behold how the true adoration of God is here implied, and all idolatry forbidden. — We have, then, the helps toward the commandments.

21. Now I say that we Christians must see further than that Jewish people to whom these commandments were given; because the truth has been laid open to us, and according to the three things which are forbidden here a great and true light has appeared to us. Now three things are forbidden by which the human mind is turned away from reverence for its Creator, and in those three there are forbidden to us, first, all profane *covenants with demons,* there: *Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.* Secondly there are forbidden the false and superstitious *inventions of errors,* there: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing.* Thirdly there are forbidden all perverse *appraisals of worldly natures,* there: *Neither the likeness of the things that are in the heavens* etc.

22. I say therefore that in the first word: *Thou shalt not have strange gods before me,* there are forbidden all profane *covenants with demons,* whether they are made by incantations of words, or by inscriptions of characters or images, or by the immolation of sacrifices. In these three consist all the parts of the magic art. And thus, by forbidding these three, all things are forbidden from which arise all profane covenants with demons, whether they are made for the transmutation of natures, as Pharaoh's magicians did; or for the deluding of the senses, as stage-players do; or whether they are for the investigation of future contingents. All these things Augustine calls *covenants with demons,* because in such things there is attributed to a creature what ought to be attributed to the Creator; and therefore such men sin against the first word of the commandment, which is: *Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.* Of such it is said in the canticle of Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: *They provoked him by strange gods, and in him that was not God they stirred him up to anger.* Whence such men fall into the hands of demons; the Apostle: *God delivered them up to shameful affections,* that is, he permitted them to be delivered up, their sins requiring it.

23. Of this we have an example in a certain learned man, who had long studied how he might become rich, and had long made his tongue venal, and yet was always in want. So he thought thus: since I cannot be enriched by God, I shall be enriched by the devil. He sought a magician among Jews and Christians and found none. At last he thought: I will myself make the trial, whether I can be made rich by the devil. He went by a certain way that was shadowy and stony and beside a torrent, and said: where art thou, demon, who art always seeking to deceive men? I am here, to give thee my soul. The first and the second time the demon did not come nor answer, because the Lord had not yet permitted it. But the third time the devil came and said: what dost thou ask of me? He answered: that thou make me rich. To whom the devil: thou must first adore me. And then the man bowed himself down and adored him. And at once the devil had power over him and made sport of him: he brought it about that all those stones seemed to him to be gold. And the demon said to him: take gold enough. And then the man, rejoicing, loaded himself with stones, and when he came home he put the stones in a certain corner of the house; and the stones caught fire, and the house was burned and whatever was in it, so that he himself barely escaped. He thought to go back again to the former place, saying: I will go and take gold enough. And when he came to the place, then he saw that there was nothing there but stones; and so he was made sport of. — It is clear now how in the first word all profane covenants with demons are forbidden.

24. In the second word: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing,* there are forbidden all false and superstitious *inventions of errors.* And it is to be noted here that every error is nothing else but a fiction of the mind. Now what makes an error is the fantasy that clouds reason and makes that seem to be which is not. But all false and superstitious inventions of errors come either from the *shameless daring of philosophical investigation,* or from a *perverse understanding of sacred Scripture,* or from an *inordinate affection of human carnality.*

25. From the *shameless daring of philosophical investigation* proceed the errors in the *philosophers,* such as to hold the world eternal, and that there is one intellect in all. For to hold the world eternal is to pervert the whole of sacred Scripture and to say that the Son of God was not incarnate. But to hold that there is one intellect in all is to say that there is no truth of faith nor salvation of souls nor keeping of the commandments; and this is to say that the worst man is saved and the best is damned. To hold this, therefore, comes from the shameless daring of philosophical investigation. And such men hold that it is impossible for what is mortal to come to immortality. And whoever *invents* this, or *defends* it, or *imitates* it, that is, walks according to it, errs most gravely, because he acts against the second word of the commandment: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing;* whence the inventor as well as the defender and the imitator — all are forbidden here.

26. Secondly, errors arise in some from a *perverse understanding of sacred Scripture,* as in *heretics,* who think ill of the Trinity and of the Holy Spirit. Such are the Arians, Sabellians, Donatists, Pelagians and the like.

27. Thirdly, there are forbidden the errors which come from a *perverse affection of human carnality,* such as the errors of the *Epicureans*, who say that there is no other life but this one; and the Nicolaites, who say that it is lawful for anyone to act shamefully with anyone. The Sara-

cens also do not have what they say from sacred Scripture nor from the height of the divine wisdom. All errors, therefore, in whatever way they proceed, must be abominated as graven things, because they sin against this word of the commandment: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing.*

28. Of such men, who invent, or defend, or imitate these errors or the like, Jeremias says: *Every man is become a fool by his own knowledge,* that is, by his own and excessive investigation of philosophy, *every founder is confounded by his graven thing; their works are vain and worthy of laughter, and in the time of their visitation they shall perish.* We must therefore stand upon what the lights of faith dictate, and whatever is contrary to this we must wholly abominate as a graven thing. — I heard, when I was a student, about Aristotle, that he held the world to be eternal; and when I heard the reasons and arguments that were brought for this, my heart began to be shaken and it began to consider, how can this be? But these things are now so manifest that no one can doubt about it. — It is clear now how in the second word of the commandment: *Thou shalt not make a graven thing,* there are forbidden all profane and superstitious *inventions of errors.*

29. In the third word: *Neither shalt thou make the likeness of the things that are in the heavens* etc., there are forbidden all perverse *appraisals of worldly natures.* Now every perverse appraisal of creatures proceeds either by reason of *loftiness,* or by reason of *sufficiency,* or by reason of *delight.* In the first way it is the idolatry of *the proud;* in the second way it is the idolatry of *the covetous;* in the third way it is the idolatry of *the lascivious.* Against the first the Prophet says: *There shall be no new god in thee, neither shalt thou adore a strange god;* against the second the Apostle: *Covetousness is the service of idols;* against the third the Apostle: *Whose God is their belly.* At another time, the Most High willing it, we shall pursue this more fully.

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