Cap. 3, Vers. 9-15
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/15/d/3/q/bon-eccl-c3-v9-15
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#### Art. 2. *Our curiosity is reproved in two ways.*

*What hath man more* etc. Above he showed the variety of things according to diverse times; here, secondly, from this he reproves human curiosity; and this indeed he does in this order. First he intimates *the uselessness of curiosity;* but secondly, in detestation of it, he commends *present pleasure.*

#### The uselessness of curiosity is intimated, and present pleasure is commended.

(Vers. 9. 10. 11.). He reproves our *curiosity* on account of its uselessness, whence he says: *What hath man more?* supply: except mutability and variety, and through this affliction. — And he makes plain that he has affliction: *I have seen the affliction which God hath given to the sons of men, that they may be stretched in it; hath given*, that is, hath permitted to be given, according to that of Romans, chapter 1: « God delivered them up to a reprobate sense »; *to the sons of men*, that is, to sinners; above, chapter 2:

« But to the sinner God hath given affliction and superfluous care ». *That they may be stretched*, namely with various cares; wherefore Ecclesiasticus, chapter 11: « Son, let not thy acts be about many things ». And he explains what that affliction is, namely of consideration; whence he says: *He hath made all things good in their time;* whence Ecclesiasticus, chapter 39: « All the works of the Lord are good, and every work shall minister in its hour. It is not to be said: This is worse than that; for all shall be well approved in their time ». And although he made them good, yet he did not give the cognition of them, but gave wit for inquiry; whence he says: *And hath delivered the world to their disputation*, namely for *inquiring;* Ecclesiasticus, chapter 17: « He gave them counsel and a tongue and eyes and ears and a heart to devise », not for *arriving;* whence he subjoins: *So that man may not find out the work which God hath wrought*, that is, so that he may not come to perfect cognition; and this because of doubt. *From the beginning to the end*, namely of his life; Job, chapter 36: « Remember that thou knowest not his work, of which men have sung »; and below, chapter 8: « I understood that I could find no reason of the works of God ».

(Vers. 12. 13.). *And I have known* etc. Here, secondly, he commends *present pleasure*, and this in order to argue against curiosity; whence he says: *And I have known that there was nothing better*, supply: in these transitory goods, *than to be glad and to do good things in his life*, namely *to be glad*, in the heart, *to do good things*, in work. — Or: *to be glad*, in enjoying; Wisdom, chapter 2: « Let us everywhere leave tokens of gladness » of ours; *to do good things*, in preparing delightful things; Luke, chapter 12: « My soul, thou hast many goods laid up for very many years; take thy rest, eat, drink, make good cheer ». — And he subjoins the reason; whence he says: *For every man that eateth and drinketh seeth good of his labour*, and there is something superfluous there, so that the sense is: he who eats and drinks sees good of his labour, because he has his recompense at once; whence he says: *And this is the gift of God;* below, chapter 5: « To every man to whom God hath given riches, and hath granted him power to eat of them, it is the gift of God ».

The Gloss expounds it *spiritually*: *And I have known that there was nothing better*, that is, more useful, *than to be glad*, namely with gladness of mind; Ecclesiasticus, chapter 30: « The joyfulness of the heart, this is the life of a man, and a treasure of holiness without failing »; *and to do good things in his life*, namely meritorious works; Galatians, chapter 6: « Therefore, whilst we have time, let us work good to all men ». — *For every man that eateth and drinketh;* supply: of Scripture, eats the difficult things and drinks the easy things; in Proverbs, chapter 9, Wisdom says: « Come, eat my bread, and drink the wine which I have mingled for you ». *And this is the gift of God*, because the understanding of the Scriptures is given by God; II Corinthians, chapter 3: « Not that we are sufficient to think anything of ourselves, as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God ».

#### Art. 3. *The immutability of the divine works is shown.*

*I have learned that all the works* etc. Above he showed the mutability of works, and from this he reproves the curiosity of men. Here, thirdly, he shows *the immutability of the divine works*, because above he had shown their variability.

(Vers. 14. 15.). He says, then: *I have learned that all the works which God hath made continue for ever.* Behold the perpetuity, on account of which our consideration can change nothing; whence he says: *We cannot add anything to, or take away from, those things which God hath made, that he may be feared*, and so they are not in our power; Proverbs, chapter 30: « Add not anything to his words, lest thou be reproved and found a liar ». — And he shows this, because not even God himself lessens or adds; whence he says: *That which hath been made, the same remaineth.* Nor does he add either; whence he infers: *The things that shall be have already been*, because like things went before; whence he also says: *And God restoreth that which is past*, because « the corruption of one is the generation of another »; above, chapter 1: « Nothing new under the sun, nor is any man able to say: This is new »; Genesis, chapter 2: « God rested on the seventh day ».

### Question

A question arises here: since he intends to determine *the vanity of mutability*, why does he determine *perpetuity* here?

1. It seems to be outside his purpose.

2. Likewise, a question is asked about this perpetuity itself, because he says: *The works which God hath made continue for ever;* but no bodily things continue for ever: therefore God made no bodily things: therefore this goes back to the heresy of Manichaeus, who said that corruptible things were not created by the good God.

3. Likewise, it seems that he contradicts himself, because there follows at once: *God restoreth that which is past:* therefore something of the works of God is corrupted and restored; therefore he says what is false when he says that *all the works of God continue for ever.*

But that all the works of God are incorruptible, as he says in the letter, is shown:

1. Because cause and effect are proportional; therefore of an incorruptible cause the effect ought to be incorruptible; but God remains for ever and is incorruptible: therefore so too are the works of God.

2. Likewise, since the works of God are all *very good*, as is said in Genesis, chapter 1; and incorruptible things are better than corruptible: it seems that these corruptible things were not created by the good God.

I respond: to the first, why he determines perpetuity here, it must be said that he does so not by reason of itself, but on the occasion of mutability; and this indeed he does for a threefold cause. The first is *to remove error;* for since above he had shown mutability in creatures, lest it should be believed that the works of God were altogether defectible, he adds that in some way they are perpetual. Again, another reason is *to restrain curiosity*, which he had restrained, because we cannot search out the mutability of things, nor its cause and origin; he wishes also to restrain it because we can neither change nor increase the very substance of things. The third reason is *to repress elation;* for since he seems to have depreciated the works of the Lord through mutability, lest anyone should on this account condemn God as their author, he returns again to intimating the perpetuity in them.

As to what is asked about permanence, the answer is that the *being* of things is threefold: namely in their *own genus*, in the *soul*, in the *divine foreknowledge;* and above he showed that they are mutable in their *own genus*, and according as they are in the *soul;* here he touches on their perpetuity in the *divine foreknowledge.*

Otherwise it can be answered that one can speak of things according to their proper *being* in two ways: either according to *common being*, or *individual.* According to *individual being* many things are corruptible; according to *common being*, perpetual; because God continually preserves their *being* through generation; « for because of standing far distant from the principle, God completed *being* in the remaining way, making generation continuous in these ».

1. To the objection that they are incorruptible because proportional to their cause, it must be said that this is understood where there is *univocal* generation, where the cause produces what is like itself. But it is not so with the Creator and the creature; rather, through infinite power he makes great and small, corruptible and incorruptible.

2. To the objection about goodness, it must be said that all things are good *in themselves*, but very good *in order;* and because where there is order, there is more and less good: therefore some things are corruptible, some incorruptible. Therefore goodness is in things not only according to more and less, but according to opposition and likeness; therefore the world is compared to a most beautiful song; therefore it is fitting that some things be corruptible, some the contrary.

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