Quaest. 4, Art. 3
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/10/d/4/q/bon-qpe-q4-a3
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### Article III. *On the obedience owed to the Supreme Pontiff.*

Lastly it is asked whether it belongs to the Christian religion that all obey one. And that it does so seems to be shown both through *the old testament* and through *the new* and through *canon right* and through *the evidence of reasons.*

First, then, it is shown through the *old* testament thus.

1. Deuteronomy, chapter 17: *If thou perceive that there be among you a hard and doubtful matter in judgment, and thou see that the words of the judges vary; arise and go up to the place which the Lord thy God shall choose. But he that will be proud, refusing to obey the commandment of the priest, that man shall die*; there the Gloss: «Here he grants the faculty of appealing». From this text and from the Gloss it is gathered that in the old law there was one supreme Pontiff, to whom recourse was to be had in judgments, and whom all were to obey. If, therefore, this was so in the law of the figure, much more does it seem that it ought to be so in the law of grace. And this for a threefold reason: first, because unity is greater now than then: therefore much more ought there to be one Pontiff. — Likewise, the pontificate is worthier and higher: therefore much more ought men now to be subjected to one Pontiff than in the time of the law of Moses. — Lastly, because here there ought to be greater obedience and a better-ordered hierarchy. From all which it is gathered that, if one supreme Pontiff was to be complied with in the time of the law of Moses, much more in the time of the law of Christ.

2. Likewise, the Psalm: *He hath appointed princes over all the earth*; it is settled that this was said of the Apostles: therefore all the earth is under the princedom of the Apostles; but that princedom is a stable princedom, according to that of the Psalm: *Their princedom is exceedingly strengthened*; but it is not stable unless it be united, because *every kingdom divided against itself shall be brought to desolation*; nor is it united unless it have one principal prince: therefore, according to the prophetic testimony, all the earth ought to lie under one, who is the prince of all.

3. Likewise, to the confirming of this makes what Bernard says in the third book to Eugenius: «He must go out of the world who has perchance willed to explore what does not pertain to thy care. Thy forebears were destined, not to subdue some regions, but the world itself; and indeed *their sound hath gone forth into all the earth*» etc. And afterwards: «*Their princedom is exceedingly strengthened; they are appointed princes over all the earth.* Thou hast succeeded to his inheritance, so that thou art heir, and the world is thy inheritance». From this, therefore, it appears that according to the prophetic testimony the universal obedience of all is owed to one.

Likewise, this same thing is shown through the *new* testament.

4. Matthew, chapter 16: *Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church* etc., as far as: *it shall be loosed also in heaven*; but it is settled that he who can loose and bind all ought to be obeyed by all: therefore God so instituted the Church

that all should obey one. But the Church is to be ruled and governed as it was instituted by the Lord: therefore etc.

5. Likewise, John, last chapter: *Feed my sheep*, was said to Peter; but the sheep of Christ are all who walk by the way of salvation: therefore Peter is set over all such: one, therefore, was the pastor of all Christ's sheep according to the Church's foundation: therefore also according to its progress and consummation one is to be obeyed by all.

6. Likewise, Bernard, treating the foregoing words, in the second book to Eugenius speaks thus: «Thou art he to whom the keys were handed over, to whom the sheep were entrusted. There are indeed other doorkeepers of heaven and pastors of flocks; but thou hast inherited both names before the rest, the more gloriously as also the more distinctively. They have flocks assigned to them, each his own; to thee all are entrusted, to one man one flock. Not of the sheep only, but also of the pastors art thou alone the pastor of all. Whence do I prove it, thou askest? From the word of the Lord: *If thou love me, Peter, feed my sheep.* Which? The peoples of this or that city, or region, or kingdom? *My sheep*, he says. To whom is it not plain that he designated not *some*, but assigned *all*? Nothing is excepted where nothing is distinguished». And afterwards: «Thy privilege stands unshaken for thee, both in the keys and in the sheep committed to thee, namely the sign of the singular pontificate of Peter, by which he took up for governing, not one ship, as each of the rest his own, but the world itself; so that, while each of the rest has his own, to thee alone has been committed the greatest ship of all, made out of all, the universal Church herself, spread through the whole world». — From this it is manifestly had that, according to the divine institution, one, namely the Supreme Pontiff, ought to be obeyed by all.

7. Likewise, Augustine, to Optatus: «In the Roman Church the princedom of the apostolic Chair has always flourished»; but this is not said by reason of that city alone, since so it could be said of other places and other bishops; therefore it is said in respect of the whole world: therefore according to this the whole world ought to obey the Roman Pontiff as the prince of the world and the universal prince.

8. Likewise, Jerome, to Pope Damasus: «We desire to be corrected by thee, who holdest both the See of Peter and his faith; but if this our confession is approved by the judgment of thy apostolate, whoever shall wish to blame me will prove himself unskilled, or ill-willed, or even not catholic but heretical»: therefore the judgment and the correction of one supreme Pontiff is, according to Jerome, to be stood by by all, for no other cause than that he holds the See of Peter and the authority which the Lord gave him.

9. Likewise, Gelasius, distinction 21: «Although the catholic Churches established throughout the world are one bridal chamber of Christ, yet the holy Roman Church has been set before the others by no synodical enactments, but obtained the primacy by the evangelical voice of our Lord and Saviour: *Thou art*, says the Lord, *Peter, and upon this rock*» etc.

10. Likewise, Nicholas, distinction 22: «The Roman Church has instituted the dignities of every order, but she herself was founded by him alone, and raised upon the rock of the faith then newly born, who committed to the blessed key-bearer of eternal life the rights of the earthly and at once of the heavenly empire. Not any earthly sentence, therefore, but that Word by which heaven and earth were framed, through which at length all the elements were created, founded the Roman Church; assuredly she enjoys his privilege, she is upheld by his authority; and whoever tries to take this away slips beyond doubt into heresy. *And below*: Hence also S. Ambrose himself professes that he follows in all things the holy Roman Church as his mistress».

11. Likewise, Anacletus, in the same place: «The most holy Roman Church obtained the primacy not from the Apostles, but from our Lord and Saviour himself, as he said to the blessed Apostle Peter: *Thou art Peter*». And a little after: «Among the blessed Apostles there was a certain distinction of power; and although all were Apostles, yet it was granted to Peter by the Lord — and they themselves willed the same among themselves — that he should be set over all the rest of the Apostles; and they handed down the same form to be held by their successors and by the rest of the bishops; and this was not only in the new testament, but was also in the old». — From these things it is manifestly gathered that, according to the testimony of *both* testaments, one is to be complied with by all.

Likewise, this same thing is shown through *canon right*:

12. Because *whose office it is to judge the rest and to be judged by none, he ought to be obeyed by all*; but such is some one man, namely the supreme Pontiff: therefore he is to be complied with by all. The *major* is manifest of itself; the *minor* is proved through manifold rights.

Cause 9, question 3, Pope Nicholas says: «It is plain indeed that the judgment of the apostolic See, than whose authority there is none greater, is to be retracted by none, nor may it be lawful for anyone to judge concerning its judgment». — Likewise, Pope Innocent, in the same place: «No one shall judge the first apostolic See, which desires to temper justice; for neither by Augustus nor by all the clergy nor by the people shall the judge be judged». — Likewise, Pope Anterus, in the same place: «The deeds of subjects are judged by us, but ours are judged by the Lord» — Likewise, Pope Gelasius to all Bishops, in the same place: «The whole Church throughout the world knows that the most holy Roman Church has the right of judging concerning all, nor may it be lawful for anyone to judge concerning her judgment. For to her appeal is to be made from any part of the world, but from her no one is permitted to appeal». — Likewise, the same to the bishops appointed throughout Dardania, in the same place: «The whole Church throughout the world knows that the See of blessed Peter has the right of rescinding what has been bound by the sentences of whatsoever pontiffs, inasmuch as she has the right of judging concerning the whole Church». — From these things, therefore, it is manifestly gathered that it belongs to the supreme Pontiff to judge the rest and to be judged by none, and through this that he ought to be obeyed by all.

13. Likewise, whose office it is *to establish decrees to be observed by all*, he ought to be obeyed by all; but such is the supreme Pontiff: therefore he is to be complied with by all. The *major* is plain of itself; the *minor* is proved in many ways. First, in distinction 19 Pope Agatho thus: «All the sanctions of the apostolic See are to be received as though confirmed by the divine voice of the blessed Apostle Peter himself». — Likewise, in the same distinction Stephen the Fifth: «For indeed, since the holy Roman Church, over which Christ has willed us to preside, is set for a mirror and an example to all, whatever she shall have established, whatever she shall have ordained, is to be observed perpetually and irrefragably». — Likewise, Pope Gregory, in the same: «It is lawful for none either to will or to be able to transgress the precepts of the apostolic See». And afterwards: «Let him therefore be laid low with the grief of his own ruin, whoever shall have willed to go against the decrees of the apostolic See; since it is not doubted that he is already condemned by the holy Synod and by the apostolic Church for his own disobedience and presumption before anyone at all». — Likewise, in distinction 20 Pope Nicholas: «If you do not possess the decrees of the Roman Pontiffs, you are to be charged with neglect and carelessness; if you possess them and do not observe them, you are to be rebuked for rashness». — Likewise, Cause 25, question 1, Pope Hilary: «Let it be lawful for none, without peril to his own state, to violate the divine constitutions or the decrees of the apostolic See». — Likewise, in the same, Pope Adrian: «By a general decree we establish that an execrable anathema be made, and that he stand guilty before God for ever as a prevaricator of the catholic faith, whoever of kings or of bishops or of the powerful shall henceforth have believed or permitted that the censure of the decrees of the Roman Pontiffs be violated in any man». — From all these things it is manifestly shown that it belongs to the supreme Pontiff to establish decrees to be observed by all, and that from this obedience is to be exhibited to him by all.

14. Likewise, he *without whose obedience the unity of the Church cannot be preserved* ought to be obeyed by all; but such is one man, namely the supreme Pontiff: therefore etc. The *major* is known of itself; the *minor* is proved. Cyprian, Cause 24, question 1: «That he might manifest unity, he disposed by his own authority the origin of the unity of the Church, beginning from one». — Likewise, the same, in the same question: «He is an alien, he is profane, he is an enemy; he cannot have God for his father who does not hold the unity of the universal Church». — Likewise, Jerome, in the same question: «I speak with the successor of the fisherman and the disciple of Christ. I, following no reward save Christ, am joined in communion with your beatitude, that is, with the Chair of Peter; upon that *rock* I know the Church to be founded. Whoever shall eat the lamb outside this house is profane; if any man shall not have been in the ark of Noe, he shall perish when the flood reigns». And afterwards: «*Whosoever gathereth not with thee scattereth*, that is, he who is not of Christ is of antichrist». — Likewise, Bede, on Matthew, in the same question: «Whoever in any manner whatsoever separate themselves from the unity of the faith or of the fellowship of Peter the Apostle, such can neither be absolved from the bonds of their sins nor enter the gate of the heavenly kingdom». — Likewise, in distinction 93 Cyprian says: «Let him who deserts the Chair of Peter, upon which the Church is founded, not be confident that he is in the Church». — He cannot therefore be within ecclesiastical unity who withdraws from the obedience of him who sits in the Chair of Peter.

Likewise, this same thing is shown through *the evidence of reasons.*

15. The Church of God is one body, in which there is a diversity of members; but so it is in the *material* body, that all the members are subjected and comply with one principal member, namely the head: therefore so will it be in the *spiritual* body, that all the spiritual members ought to be subjected to one as to the principal head. But this comes about through obedience: therefore etc.

16. Likewise, the Church has order according to *ministries*, as also according to *charisms and gifts of graces*; but the inflowing of *charisms and of graces* is from one head, namely Christ: therefore also the derivation of *ministries and jurisdictions* ought to be from one head, namely the supreme Pontiff. But this cannot be without the obedience of all in respect of one: therefore etc.

17. Likewise, the Church is one hierarchy: therefore it ought to have one chief and supreme hierarch, since from the unity of the prince the unity of the princedom ought to descend; but the one and supreme hierarch is to be obeyed by all: therefore etc.

18. Likewise, the Church is conformed to the supernal hierarchy; but all the spirits minister to and comply with one supreme Spirit: therefore also all men in the Church ought to comply with one man. But this is the supreme Pontiff: therefore etc.

19. Likewise, the union in the *being* of grace is greater than in the *being* of nature; but all men have one bodily father: therefore they ought to have one spiritual father. But a father is to be obeyed by all his sons: therefore etc.

20. Likewise, in the *lesser world* it is so, that all the lower powers ought to comply with one, namely with reason or with free choice: therefore also in the ecclesiastical order all ought to comply with one man; but this is the supreme Pontiff: therefore etc.

21. Likewise, in the *greater world* we see that all movables and all movers are regulated according to the first mover and the first movable: therefore likewise in the ecclesiastical order all princedoms and powers ought to be regulated according to some one and sole principal mover; but this comes about by complying with the supreme Pontiff: therefore etc.

22. Likewise, the Church is one bride, therefore she ought to have one bridegroom; but all particular Churches are reduced to one Church: therefore all the bridegrooms constituted in the place of Christ, namely the bishops, ought to be reduced to one, who principally holds the place of Christ. But she would not have one bridegroom unless one were to be complied with by all: therefore etc.

23. Likewise, every temporal controversy has to be terminated through one temporal judge; but if there were two or several who were to be equally obeyed, judgments could not be terminated: therefore it is necessary, for the terminating of judgments in the Church, that there be one to whom obedience is owed by all.

24. Likewise, «in any genus there is one first, by which all things that are in that genus are measured and to which they are reduced»: therefore in the genus of human powers one supreme and principal power is to be posited, according to which all other powers may be measured and regulated; but this comes about by obeying and complying with him: therefore etc.

Sᴇᴅ ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀ: 1. Matthew, chapter 20: *Whosoever will be the greater among you, let him be your minister; and he that will be first among you, shall be your servant*: therefore it belongs to the first and the greater rather to serve than to command: therefore he ought rather to obey all than all him, according to the dictate and the command of the evangelical law.

2. Likewise, Matthew, chapter 23: *Call none your father upon earth*; it is settled that he does not understand this of a carnal father, therefore he understands it of a spiritual father: therefore it is against the dictate of the evangelical law that one be called *father* by all, and that the rest obey him as a father.

3. Likewise, to the Galatians, chapter 2: *I withstood him to the face*; the Gloss: «as an equal». «For he would not have dared to do this unless he knew himself to be not unequal»: therefore Paul was Peter's equal; by parity of reason the other Apostles also: therefore the successors of the Apostles too are equals of the successor of Peter according to the institution of the Lord's law: it does not therefore belong to the Christian religion that all obey one.

4. Likewise, Cyprian says, and it is had in Cause 24, question 1: «The other Apostles will be what Peter was, endowed with an equal share both of honour and of power»: if therefore all the Apostles are equals, therefore also all the successors of the Apostles: therefore

one is not more bound to obey another than the other way about: it is not, therefore, of divine right that all be under one head.

5. Likewise, that same thing which is said to Peter in Matthew, chapter 16: *I will give thee the keys; and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth* etc., is said also to the other Apostles in Matthew, chapter 18: *Amen I say to you, whatsoever you shall bind upon earth, shall be bound also in heaven, and whatsoever you shall loose upon earth* etc.: therefore it seems that the power of Peter and of the other Apostles was equal: therefore, according to the dictate of the evangelical law, it is not necessary that all be reduced to one head whom they are bound to obey.

6. Likewise, on that text of Matthew, chapter 16: *Whatsoever thou shalt bind* etc.; the Gloss «The other Apostles indeed have the same judiciary power, to whom after the resurrection he said: *Receive ye the Holy Ghost; whose sins you shall forgive*» etc.: if therefore in the other Apostles the judiciary power is the same, it does not therefore seem that it resides principally with one person.

7. Likewise, in distinction 93, Jerome to Evangelus the presbyter: «If authority is sought, the world is greater than the city. Wherever a bishop shall be, whether at Eugubium or at Rome, he is of the same merit and of the same priesthood»: therefore all bishops, according to Jerome, are of equal dignity: therefore it is not necessary, according to the dictate of the law of God, that all comply with one.

8. Likewise, the government of the ecclesiastical hierarchy is divided into royal and priestly power; but it is not necessary for salvation that all kings comply with one king: therefore by parity of reason it seems that it is not necessary that all comply with one priest.

9. Likewise, he who has ordinary power and jurisdiction wholly can commit it to another; but when the supreme Pontiff appoints bishops, he bestows ordinary authority upon them throughout the world: therefore it now seems that he has transferred jurisdiction to others: therefore it does not seem that it is necessary to obey him any further.

10. Likewise, all priests are equals in the power of confecting, therefore by parity of reason also in the power of binding and loosing: it does not therefore seem that all lie under one.

11. Likewise, after Peter universal power cannot be in anyone save through an election made concordantly by many: therefore the power of Peter has devolved more immediately upon the college than upon one person: it does not therefore seem that, according to the derivation of that power, all must be subjected to one.

12. Likewise, either Peter, the first pastor of the Church, *had* in himself the fullness of authority and of power, or *not.* If he *had* it fully, then the supreme Pontiff writes superfluously that he does what he does by the authority of *the Apostles Peter and Paul*, since in Peter alone was the fullness of authority; but if it *was not* in Peter, much less is it in his successors.

13. Likewise, if all ought to obey one, then one ought to provide for all; but to provide for all is not in human power, but in the divine power alone: if therefore to provide for all belongs to God alone, all ought not to obey one save the Lord alone.

14. Likewise, if all ought to obey one, it is either as an *immediate* prelate or as a *mediate* one. If as an *immediate* one, then the others are superfluous; if as a *mediate* one — but in every genus the *immediate* is more potent and more excellent than the *mediate*: therefore according to this there will be least or no authority in that one, and the others are least of all bound to comply with him.

15. Likewise, if all are bound to obey one as to a prelate, then he seems to be as it were a common prelate, and therefore a universal one; but a universal cause cannot act upon an effect save by the mediation of a particular one, as the sun cannot act upon the production of a man save through a man: therefore according to this, if there is one supreme Pontiff, it seems that he can do nothing save through others: therefore it seems that the others are least of all bound to this, that they lie under one.

16. Likewise, the heavenly hierarchy has no one under whom it lies through obedience save God alone: therefore it seems that neither ought the earthly or ecclesiastical hierarchy to have any one save only *the mediator of God and men, Jesus Christ*.

CONCLUSIO.

> *Although diverse men are bound by several bonds to the subjection of obedience to diverse men, according to the diversity of grades, offices and powers; yet this variety must be reduced to one supreme and first Prelate, in whom the universal princedom of all principally resides; and not only to Christ himself, but also, by divine right, to his Vicar; and this indeed most fittingly, since the order of universal justice, the unity of the Church and stability in both require it.*

Rᴇsᴘᴏɴᴅᴇᴏ: For the understanding of what has been said it is to be noted that, although diverse men are bound to diverse men by several

bonds unto the subjection of obedience, according to that which the Apostle says: *Let every soul be subject to higher powers*, to the Romans, chapter 13, and this according to the diversity of grades, offices and powers; yet all this variety has to be reduced to one supreme and first, in whom the universal princedom of all principally resides; not only to God himself and to *Christ, the mediator of God and men*, but also to his Vicar; and this not by a human statute, but by a divine statute, by which Christ appointed Peter prince of the Apostles, whom he *appointed princes over the whole earth*. And Christ did this most fittingly, because the *order of universal justice, the unity of the Church* and *stability in both* required it.

For the *order of universal justice* required this both as to *natural* justice and as to *civil* and as to *heavenly* or spiritual justice. — For *natural* justice, by which *the elements of the world* and the whole machine of the universe are ordered, requires that among *locating* bodies there be one first locating body, among *movables* one first movable, among *shining* things one principally irradiating, among *movers* one first mover, and universally that «in *any genus* there be one first, by which all things contained in that genus are measured». — *Natural* justice also requires in the *lesser world* that there be one principal *member*, from which the rest receive inflowing according to *truth*, as the heart, and according to *evidence*, as the head; and that there be one *power* principally ruling all the powers of the soul and the whole man, namely free choice.

*Civil* *justice* also requires that there be one principal *judge*, from whom the final decision of causes proceeds; and one principal *leader* and ruler, from whom the bearing of right proceeds, lest through a division of heads a schism and division arise in the body of the commonwealth, and lest, when the judges contradict one another on even terms, if there be no supreme judge, the litigation be never terminated.

The *heavenly* *order* also has this, that all the spirits, under the obedience of one supreme Spirit whom they behold in his presence, are most orderly disposed.

Since, therefore, this lower hierarchy is consonant both with the *natural* order and with the *moral* and with the *heavenly*, because it perfects nature and adorns morals and emanates from the supernal Jerusalem; hence it is that it has to be reduced, according to the account of obedience, to one first and supreme. For just as there is no order of *priority and posteriority* save through a reduction to a *first*, so there is no complete order according to *under and above* save through a reduction to a *supreme.* Whence there alone is the *most perfect* order, where there is a perfect reduction to a supreme which is *supreme simply*, of which kind God is; and this is in the supernal Jerusalem, where there is full justice. — But where there is a reduction to *a supreme in the genus* of men, of which kind is the Vicar of Christ, the supreme Pontiff, there is a *perfect* order, so far as it befits the perfection of the present Church, which is formed after the likeness of the supernal Jerusalem. — Whence Bernard, in the third book to Eugenius: «Do not reckon cheap this form which is on earth; it has its form in heaven. He had seen this who said: *I saw the holy city coming down out of heaven, prepared by God.* For I reckon that it was said by reason of the likeness, that, as there the Cherubim and Seraphim and the rest down to the Archangels and Angels are ordered under one head, God; so here too, under one supreme Pontiff, primates or patriarchs, archbishops, bishops, presbyters or abbots and the rest in this manner. That is not to be lightly esteemed which has both God for its author and draws its origin from heaven». — Thus, therefore, there ought to be one to whom the universal subjection is reduced; and this because, as has been shown, so *the order of universal justice* demanded.

The *unity of the Church herself* also requires this. For since the Church herself is one *hierarchy*, one *body* and one *bride*, it is necessary that she have one chief *hierarch*, one *head* and one *bridegroom*; and since a unity of this kind is not only in the Church according to the *interior inflowing* of charisms, but also according to the *exterior dispensation* of ministries: hence it is that not only is Jesus Christ himself the chief hierarch, head and bridegroom of the Church, who *inwardly* rules, vivifies and makes her fruitful, but also *outwardly* there ought to be one chief minister, holding the place of the first *hierarch*, of the *head* and of the *bridegroom*, so that the Church may be preserved in unity not only *inwardly* but also *outwardly.* — And this is what Cyprian says, and it is had in Cause 24, question 1: «The Lord speaks to Peter: *I say to thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock* etc. Upon one he builds the Church, and the beginning proceeds from unity, that the Church of Christ may be shown to be one; the episcopate is one, of which a share is held severally in solidarity; and the Church is one, which

spreads abroad more widely the increases of fruitfulness in a multitude. As there are many rays but one lumen, and the branches of a tree are many but there is one trunk founded upon a tenacious root; and as from one fount many streams flow, and although the multiplicity may seem to be diffused by the largess of the overflowing plenty, yet unity is preserved entire in the source: so also the Church of God, suffused with light, stretches out her rays through the whole world; yet that which is everywhere diffused is one, nor is the unity of the body separated». Cyprian therefore means that the Church — since she is one dove, one episcopate, one body — had to be founded upon one chief pastor, namely upon Peter, as upon one bishop and head and bridegroom.

The *solidity of both* also requires this. For, as the Philosopher says, «a power, the more it is united, the more it is infinite»; which indeed is true both as to *permanence* and as to *inflowing* and as to *preeminence.* — As to *permanence*: because, as division begets destruction, so a greater uniting gives firmness and strength, whence also the whole firmness of the Church herself flows principally from the solidity of one Rock and of one Peter, who is the Vicar of the Rock; in sign of which thing it was said to Peter: *And upon this rock I will build my Church*; and it was also said to him: *I have prayed for thee, Peter, that thy faith fail not*; nor was this prayer empty. Whence Jerome, and it is had in Cause 24, question 1: «The holy Roman Church, which has always remained unstained, by the Lord's providing and by the help of the blessed Apostle Peter, shall in time to come remain without any insulting of heretics, and shall persist firm and immovable for all time». This unity of the supreme Pontiff, therefore, makes for the solidity of the Church herself as to *permanence.* — As also to *inflowing*: because a power more united is more potent; and the more potent it is in efficacy, the more powerful is its inflowing upon the effect: whence the fullness of power had to be placed in one Pontiff alone. Whence Pope Leo, distinction 19: «The Lord so willed the sacrament of this office to pertain to the office of all the Apostles, that he should place it principally in the most blessed Peter, the supreme prince of all the Apostles, so that from him, as from a certain head, he might pour out his gifts as it were into the whole body, so that he should understand himself to have no share in the divine mystery who shall have dared to withdraw from the solidity of Peter». — Lastly, it makes also as to *preeminence*: because a power more united is less liable to another, and through this is more free; and because also, being more united, it holds more the account of the first and the supreme, as the ark was finished in a cubit: whence the unity of the supreme Pontiff alone is that which confers upon the whole Church the preeminence of dignity. And through this, just as in the head there comes about, for the adornment of the whole body, a gathering of all the senses; so in the supreme Pontiff himself there ought to be a gathering of all the dignities. And this is what Bernard says to Eugenius: «Come, let us search out, let us search out yet more diligently who thou art, that is, what person thou bearest for the time in the Church of God. Who art thou? The great priest, the supreme Pontiff; thou art the prince of bishops, thou art the heir of the Apostles, thou art Abel in primacy, Noe in governing, Abraham in patriarchate, Melchisedech in order, Aaron in dignity, Moses in authority, Samuel in judging, Peter in power, Christ in anointing».

From these things, therefore, it is openly gathered that the unity of the supreme Pontiff flows from the law of God, since the *order of universal justice* demands it, both *natural* and *civil* and also *heavenly*; since the *unity of the Church*, as of one *hierarchy*, of one *body* and of one *bride*, also demands it; since the *stability and sublimity of both*, both in the *permanence of duration* and in the *inflowing of power* and in the *preeminence of dignity*, also demands it. Whence, although it has flowed from the *law of grace*, which is the law of Jesus Christ, yet it is consonant with *the law of nature* and *the written law*, with *pontifical right* and *canon right*; it is consonant with things *visible*, it is consonant with things *invisible*; it is consonant also with the *piety* of all the faithful and with the right *intelligence* of all minds; as also the reasons set down above show, whence they are to be conceded.

1. To that which is objected first to the contrary, that he who would be the greater ought to be the servant; it must be said that *servant* is said in two ways: either by an *obligatory subjection*, or by a *perfect humility.* The first is repugnant to *supreme* authority, and one cannot at the same time be bound to others in subjection and be set over them for governing. But the second is not repugnant, but most consonant; and of this the Lord speaks, because he teaches that he who is supremely set over others should chiefly imitate Christ, who left to others the example of humility

chiefly to be imitated; in sign of which thing also the supreme Pontiff writes himself *the servant of the servants of God.* Whence Bernard, in the second book to Eugenius, speaking of humility: «No jewel is more splendid in the whole chief adornment of the supreme Pontiff; for the loftier he is than the rest, the more illustrious he appears, even than himself».

2. To that which is objected, that we ought not to call anyone *father* upon earth; it must be said that a *father* is so called as the communicator of nature, a *master* is so called as the communicator of knowledge; and since God alone it is who principally bestows nature and infuses knowledge, therefore to him, as to the principal principle both of knowledge and of nature, each name, inasmuch as it intimates *principal authority*, ought to be attributed, and to no other, namely the name of *father* and of *master*. But since God works in these things also outwardly through human ministry, therefore each name, inasmuch as it says *ministry*, can be communicated to a man, not as to the principal agent, but as to a dispenser.

3. 4. To that which is objected concerning Paul, that he was Peter's equal; it must be said that the authority of apostolate has a twofold comparison, namely to him from whom it is handed over, and to those over whom it is handed over; because an *apostle* is called one sent by someone and to some. According to the *first* comparison the Gloss says that Paul is made equal to Peter, because each was sent immediately by Christ. Whence also Paul says that he is an *Apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ.* But according to the *second* comparison he is not made equal to him; for Peter is called *prince of the Apostles*, which is never said of Paul, because according to this comparison he was inferior to Peter. Whence also the Gloss says there: «Peter himself gave an example to posterity, whereby their superiors should not disdain, if perchance they had anywhere left the path of rectitude, to be corrected even by their inferiors». — And through this the following objection is plain, which objects from the authority of Cyprian.

5. 6. To that which is objected, that that word was said to the Apostles which had first been said to Peter; it must be said that it was said to them and to Peter in very different ways. For to Peter it was said *severally and singularly*, because in him the fullness of power was to be placed principally and singularly; but to the others it was said *together*: *Whatsoever you shall bind* etc., because they had been called «into a share of the solicitude». Whence, although they had a *like* power, yet they did not have an *equal* one; and therefore that word had to be said both to the Apostles and to Peter, yet not together nor under the same context, but in one manner and in another. — And through this the reply to the following objection from the Gloss is plain; because the Apostles are said to have the same judiciary power, that is a *like* one; but from this it does not follow that they have an *equal* one, but this is a *figure of diction* arising from a change of predicate, since likeness consists in *quality*, but equality in *quantity*.

7. To that which is objected from the authority of Jerome, that a bishop, wherever he be, is of the same priesthood; it must be said that Jerome is speaking to the effect that the greatness of riches and the multitude of men subject do not make a man on that account a more excellent prelate; nor is the Pope said to be more excellent than others on this account, that he is the bishop of the City, which is of the greatest populousness; but because he is the successor of Peter, upon whom the fullness of power was conferred, not by the statute of man, but of God and of Christ.

8. To that which is objected, that it is not necessary that all kings comply with one; it must be said that the case is not alike: because the sceptre of a king does not proceed from the statute of the law of the Gospel as the key of the Pontiff does. For the evangelical law is spiritual, whence Christ also, the bearer of that law, directed the eyes of his mind to a spiritual pontificate, not to a carnal empire. — Yet it could be said that according to truth both powers meet in one person in the supreme Pontiff. For since he himself is the supreme *priest according to the order of Melchisedech*, who was *king of Salem and priest of the most high God*, and Christ had both; the Vicar of Christ on earth received both powers from Christ; whence both swords also belong to him. Whence Bernard, in the fourth book to Eugenius: «Both belong to the Church, both the spiritual sword, namely, and the material; but the one indeed is to be drawn *for* the Church, the other *by* the Church; the one by the hand of the priest, the other by the hand of the soldier, but certainly at the nod of the priest and at the bidding of the emperor». From which it is openly gathered that both powers are reduced to him as to one first and supreme hierarch.

9. To that which is objected, that he who has ordinary power can commit it to another; it must be said that jurisdiction is in a threefold difference: one is *half-full* and *wholly descending from elsewhere*, and this cannot be committed on account of its own imperfection; another, on the contrary, is *most full*, and this, because it is supreme, cannot be save in one man at one and the same time; and therefore it cannot be committed to another, whence the Pope cannot make other Popes; and another is *middle*, which is *ordinary*, and yet is not *supreme*; and this indeed, because it is in a certain manner perfect and multipliable, can be committed to another; nor yet is it lost when it is given, inasmuch as it is a *spiritual power*: because in this *spiritual* things differ from *bodily* ones, that *bodily* things, when they are given, are possessed less entirely; but *spiritual* things, when they are distributed, are then possessed more fully, as is manifestly seen also in the gift of knowledge. Whence, although the supreme Pontiff communicate jurisdiction to others, yet he does not on this account suffer any loss, because he never so commits it, nor can so commit it, that he should exempt anyone from his own power.

10. To that which is objected, that all priests are equals in the power of confecting; it must be said that the case is not alike: because the power of confecting is *essential* to the character, and therefore, just as the character is not received in different men more or less, so neither is that power. It is not so with the power of absolving, because this follows upon the priestly character as *annexed* to it. — But the reason of this is that the first power is an *absolute* power, whereas this is *related to another*, namely to the persons of the subjects; and therefore it has to be diversified according to the diversity of powers and grades which make the order in the ecclesiastical princedom.

11. To that which is objected, that the fullness of power flowed from Peter immediately into the college; it must be said that a power is said to be in something in two ways: either as in a *sustaining* subject, or as in a *bearer*. In the first way the fullness of power never is nor was save in one, first indeed in Christ, secondly in Peter, thereafter in his successor, namely the Roman Pontiff. But since the subject of that power is a mortal person, therefore Christ and his Spirit so ordained that this power should be borne from one to one, not by the way of flesh but of spirit, which is election, in which the Holy Spirit ought to work in a conformity of minds unto the constituting of one. And because it resides principally in one, therefore the obedience of all is principally referred to one, short of whom it has neither standing nor completion.

12. To that which is objected, that if the supreme Pontiff has the fullness of authority from Peter, he ought not to join together the authority of Peter and of Paul; it must be said that the fullness of authority was principally and singularly in Peter. But since Paul, by the fullness of his wisdom and of his letters, was most efficacious in the conversion of unbelievers and most prudent in the governance of the Church herself, so that in some things he seemed to be as it were more excellent than the other Apostles; lest contention should arise among their successors, at the dictation of the Holy Spirit it came about that both should come to one city, in which, dying together, they should found the pontificate of the one Church in the city of Rome, so that from this every scruple of controversy should cease. Whence Paul added nothing to the supreme Pontiff as to the *fullness of power*, which was in Peter, but as to *evidence*, that *the mouth of them that speak wicked things may be stopped*, and chiefly of the Greeks, who wished to contend on even terms with the Roman Church. On which account also, by the just judgment of God, thinking less rightly of the unity of the head and keeping ill the unity of the Church, they have been blinded, so that they think less rightly of the unity of the Holy Spirit, who as the love of the Father and of the Son proceeds from both. Whence Paul, coming to Rome that he might live under the wings of Peter unto death, did nothing else than admonish that the Church of the Greeks is subject to the Roman Church unto the end, lest it should lose the unity of the Holy Spirit. Since, therefore, the supreme Pontiff ought to express in his letters the fullness of power, not only universally, but also evidently, not only sufficiently, but also abundantly; therefore he expresses the authority of both.

13. To that which is objected, that if all ought to obey one, then one ought to provide for all; it must be said that, although all ought to obey *one*, yet not *one alone*, because neither can one man be everywhere, nor can one man provide everywhere for individuals. Therefore divine providence has provided that there be several intermediate and distinct superiors, through whom the providing power should descend from the supreme even to the lowest. Whence Bernard, to Eugenius, in the third book: «Not thy power alone is from the Lord; there are also middling ones, there are also lower ones; and as *those whom God hath joined together* are not to be separated, so neither are those whom he has *subjoined* to be compared». On which account, just as it belongs to particular prelates to attend to a particular care, so it belongs to the supreme Pontiff himself to attend to the general state of the Church. Whence Bernard subjoins in the same place: «It remains that

thy consideration attend generally to the whole state of the Church».

14. To that which is objected, that if all ought to obey one, this is either as to a mediate prelate or to an immediate one; it must be said that an *immediate prelate* is so called in two ways: either according to *grade*, or according to *power*. It must be said, therefore, that the one and supreme Pontiff, although he is furthest distant from the lowest members according to *grade*, because there are many intermediate grades between him and the lowest common people, is nevertheless most immediate according to the *inflowing* of power. For he is not obeyed on account of the authorities of others, but the others are obeyed on account of his authority; just as a king is not obeyed on account of the bailiff, but the bailiff rather on account of the king. Whence his authority is as it were the proximate and immediate cause which ought to move all and each to exhibiting obedience to their own superiors.

15. To that which is objected, that if all are bound to obey one, then he is a common prelate; it must be said that a *universal* cause is twofold: one which is altogether *of another genus and power* than the particular, as the sun is of another genus than a man; and this cannot act upon its proper effect save through its proper cause. The other is a *universal* cause which has in itself *all the power* which the *particular* one has; and in this way God can be called the universal cause of things, and against such a universal cause what is objected does not hold; but the supreme Pontiff is not likened to a universal cause in the *first* way, but in the *second*, because he holds the place of Christ on earth; whence, even if he alone remained and all things were destroyed in the Church, he could repair the whole: and therefore that reason does not conclude.

16. To that which is objected concerning the hierarchy of that supernal Jerusalem; it must be said that the case is not alike: because they, as Blessed, have God always present, whence *they always see the face of the true Solomon.* But we in the state of the way, as *little ones*, since we neither see God nor can have recourse to him immediately in human affairs, need the leading by the hand and the government of a man who is a wayfarer, who as a pastor may lead us forth and lead us back to the *sheepfold* of the supreme Pastor.