Cap. 14, Vers. 1-31
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/16/d/14/q/bon-sap-c14
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### Chapter XIV.

#### Secondly is treated the detestation of idols, in four ways.

*Again, another designing to sail* etc. After he has described the manifold errors of those practising idolatry, here he touches the *detestation of idols,* and first, from the *uselessness of the idols themselves;* secondly, from the *offence of the Creator: But alike hateful are;* thirdly, from the *novelty and manner of their invention: For neither were they* etc.; fourthly, from the *effect of human corruption: And it was not enough for them to err.*

#### First he detests idols for their uselessness.

The *uselessness* of the *idols* he shows in the first part by the example of those sailing on the sea, whom, when called upon, they cannot succour. And this *impotence* he shows to be detestable, first from the *frailty of the idol,* which is of no avail; secondly, from the *power of God,* who saves even without a ship: *But thy* etc.; thirdly, from the *usefulness of the ship itself: But that they might not be;* fourthly, by the *example of Noe's ark,* which preserved the human race: *But from the beginning also.*

(Vers. 1.). He says therefore: *Again, another* etc., as if to say: not only do men uselessly ask help of idols on land, but *again,* on the water, because *another,* namely a man, *designing to sail,* namely in purpose, *and through the raging waves,* that is, perilous ones; whence in the Psalm: « Wonderful are the surges of the sea »; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the forty-third: « Let them that sail on the sea tell the dangers thereof ». *Beginning to make his voyage,* namely in the execution of his purpose, *calleth upon a wood more frail than the wood that carrieth him; calleth upon,* namely for help, *a wood,* namely the idol, *more frail than the wood that carrieth him,* that is, the ship.

(Vers. 2.). *For this,* namely the wood of the idol, *the desire of gain devised;* whence to the Ephesians, the fifth, it is said: « covetousness, which is a serving of idols ». *And the workman built it by his wisdom; his,* he says, as if to say: not the divine, « but earthly, sensual, devilish », James, the third; Isaias, the forty-fifth: « The forgers of errors are gone together into confusion »; and Job, the thirteenth: « Shewing you to be forgers of lies »; the Gloss: « Since he who made is greater than that which is made, to adore his own handiwork is madness ».

(Vers. 3.). *But thy, Father,* as if to say: thus do they call upon the idol in the direction of the journey; *but* (*autem*), for *sed;* *thy, Father,* by creation; Isaias, the sixty-fourth: « And now, O Lord, thou art our father, and we are clay » etc.; likewise by provision; whence Matthew, the sixth: « Our Father etc., our bread » etc. *Governest,* namely all things, *by providence,* which, according to Damascene, « is God's care for things »; of which Judith, the ninth: « Thy judgments thou hast laid in thy providence ».

From what has been said it is clear that in the world nothing is done by chance and fortune, because, as Plato says, « there is nothing whose rise a lawful cause has not preceded ». But that the world is administered by providence, Tully proves in the *Rhetoric* thus: « Those things are better administered which are done by providence than those which are done by chance; but the world is administered in the best way: therefore » etc.

*For* etc., as if to say: this is clear, that thou *governest* all things *by providence; for thou hast given,* namely to the children of Israel, *a way in* *the sea,* leading them out of

Egypt through the midst of the dry sea, as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth; *and among the waves,* namely of the river Jordan, *a most sure path,* Josue, the third. And of both it is said in the Psalm: « Thy way is in the sea, and thy paths in many waters »; the Gloss: « The divine power led the Israelites across the Red Sea with dry foot and divided the waters of the Jordan ».

(Vers. 4.). *Shewing,* namely by this, *that thou art able out of all things,* namely perils and mishaps, *to heal*, or better according to another reading, *to save, yea though without a raft,* that is, a ship, *a man went to sea;* Isaias, the forty-third: « When thou shalt pass through the waters, I will be with thee, and the rivers shall not cover thee »; whence « he raised up Peter walking on the waves, lest he should sink », as is clear from Matthew, the fourteenth; « he delivered Paul, thrice shipwrecked, from the depth of the sea », as is clear from the second to the Corinthians, the eleventh.

(Vers. 5.). *But that the works of thy wisdom might not be empty,* nay, necessary to human use, that is, things devised through thy wisdom; in the Psalm: « Thou hast made all things in wisdom ». *Therefore men also trust their souls even to a little wood,* namely to a small ship, that is, their bodily life; *and passing over the sea,* in which yet there are innumerable perils, *are delivered by a raft;* the Gloss: « The Creator gave his creature knowledge, by which it might take counsel for itself in the present and be devoted to his will ».

Allegorically the *little wood* can be called the cross of Christ, on account of its abjection and vileness; the first to the Corinthians, the first: « We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews indeed a stumblingblock, and unto the Gentiles foolishness ». *To this men trust their souls,* namely by believing in Christ crucified and by adoring him in whom they believe. *And so passing over the sea,* of this world, namely by the power and imitation of the cross, they are delivered *by a raft* and come to the haven of eternal salvation. Whence Damascene: « The cross is the resurrection of the sleeping, the staff of the weak, the rod of the shepherds, the help of those turning back, the perfection of those advancing, the salvation of soul and body, the averting of all evils, the teacher of all good things, the destruction of sin, the tree of resurrection, the wood of eternal life ». And in these words: *To a little* etc., first is intimated the *humility* of the cross, when it is said: *To a little wood;* secondly, its *veneration* and dignity, when it is said: *Men trust their souls,* namely rational men, as blessed Andrew saying: « Receive me from men »; thirdly, its *necessity,* when it is said: *And passing over the sea,* namely of this world, of which in the Psalm: « So is this great sea » etc.; fourthly, its *power* and usefulness, when it is said: *Are delivered by a raft;* the first to the Corinthians, the first: « We preach Christ » etc.; likewise: « The word of the cross, to them that perish etc., but to us » etc.

*But from the beginning also.* Here the *usefulness of Noe's ark* is first *shown;* secondly, *it is praised,* there: *For blessed is the wood* etc.; thirdly, the *idol* and its *maker are reproved: But by hands* etc.

(Vers. 6.). *But from the beginning also* etc., as if to say: not only does he deliver from the peril of the sea, but also from the flood, and this is what he says: *But from the beginning also,* namely at the beginning of the second age, namely in the time of Noe, Genesis, the sixth. *When the proud giants perished,* namely in the flood, of whom it is had in Genesis, the sixth; *the hope of the world,* namely of the world to come; the Gloss: « The seed-bed of the human race », namely the eight persons, of whom it is said in the first of Peter, the third: « In which a few souls were saved by water »; *fleeing to a raft,* « that is, the ark », made after the manner of a raft, because its length was greater than its breadth, Genesis, the sixth; *left to the world,* namely to come after the flood, *seed of generation,* namely as well of men as of animals, as is clear from Genesis, the sixth. *Which,* namely the ark, *by thy hand;* the Gloss: « By power, or by the Son », according to that of the Psalm: « Put forth thy hand from on high » etc.; *was governed,* because it had no steersman save God or his Angel, since all men existing outside were dead, and those existing within were shut in.

(Vers. 7.). *For blessed is the wood,* namely of Noe's ark, *by which justice cometh,* namely of the deliverance of the just, the wicked being drowned, which was just. Of this wood above, the tenth: « When water destroyed the earth, wisdom healed it again, governing the just man by a contemptible wood ».

But this wood can *allegorically* be called the wood of the cross, of which it is said in the first of Peter, the second:

« Who his own self bore our sins in his body upon the tree ». Through that wood *justice was done,* because « to each was rendered what was his ». For through that wood *sin was destroyed,* according to that which the Church sings: « Death then died, when on the wood Life died »; Osee, the thirteenth: « O death, I will be thy death » etc. Likewise, through it *the devil was vanquished,* according to that of Gregory: « That he who conquered by the wood should also by the wood be conquered ». Likewise, through it *man was reconciled;* to the Colossians, the second: « Blotting out the handwriting of the decree that was against us, fastening it to the cross »; likewise to the Colossians, the first: « Making peace through the blood of the cross ». Likewise, *hell was despoiled;* to the Colossians, the second: « Despoiling the principalities and powers » etc. Likewise, *heaven was opened;* whence it was said to the thief: « This day thou shalt be with me in paradise », Luke, the twenty-third; Isaias, the twenty-second: « I will give the key of the house of David ». Likewise, *Christ was exalted;* whence to the Philippians, the second: « For which cause God also hath exalted him » etc. This was the rod of Assuerus, shown or held out to man in sign of clemency, Esther, the fifteenth.

(Vers. 8.). And well have I said that the *wood* is *blessed,* according as *justice cometh* by it; *but* (*autem*), for *sed; the idol that is made by hands,* namely of craftsmen, *is cursed, as well it,* namely the idol, *as he that made it,* namely the craftsman.

But the idol, since it is an inanimate thing, how is it cursed? Because this curse is understood either by reason of *fault,* which does not fall upon an idol, or by reason of *punishment,* which has to be inflicted by reason of fault.

It must be said that in the idol two things are to be considered, namely the *presiding spirit* and the *shape of the wood.* The malign *spirit* itself is cursed with the curse of fault and of punishment; but the *wood,* with the curse of detestation and infamy, as of a kind of punishment, not because it is the subject of fault, by reason of which punishment has to be inflicted, but because it is the matter or occasion of fault. Whence the Gloss: « For the devil will be punished for this, that he usurps to himself the divine honour; and man, who honours the creature in place of the Creator ».

*Because he indeed made it,* namely the idol, whence he is deservedly cursed; Isaias, the forty-fourth: « Behold, all the partakers thereof shall be confounded ». *And it,* namely the idol, *because being frail,* since it is of frail matter, *is called a god,* namely by mere naming, not in the truth of the thing; on account of which it is deservedly cursed.

#### Secondly he detests idols on account of the offence of the Creator.

*But alike* etc. Here he touches the second cause of the detestation of idols, taken *on the part of the offence of the Creator;* and first he touches the *sign of the offence,* namely the idol, and the *punishment of the one practising idolatry;* secondly, the *irremissibility of the punishment: Therefore* etc.; thirdly, the *cause on the part of the idol: Because the creatures;* fourthly, the *cause on the part of the one practising idolatry: For the beginning* etc.

(Vers. 9.). Well have I said that both are cursed etc.; *but* (*autem*), for *quia; alike hateful to God are the impious,* namely the idolater, because he denies the piety of divine worship, *and his impiety,* that is, the matter of his impiety, namely the idol, that is, the demon presiding over the idol; Ecclesiasticus, the twelfth: « The Most High hateth sinners ». And it is to be noted that God's hatred does not denote or signify an *affection* in him, but an *effect* in him whom he hates.

(Vers. 10.). *For that which is made,* namely the idol, *together with him that made it,* that is, with the craftsman who is an idolater, *shall suffer torments.*

Of the idolater it is plain; but of the idol, how can it be true, namely that it suffers torment, since it is an inanimate thing?

It must be said that he speaks of the idol by reason of the malign spirit presiding in it, not on the part of the shape or the matter of the idol itself.

**But on the contrary:** The idolater does not make the malign presiding spirit.

It must be said that although he does not make it in itself, yet he makes it to preside in the idol; as we are said to *exalt* and *magnify* God, not in himself, but in ourselves; in the Psalm: « O magnify the Lord with me » etc. Both therefore will be punished; Ecclesiasticus, the fourteenth: « Every work that is corruptible shall fail in the end, and the worker thereof shall go with it »; and the twenty-seventh: « The offence shall be destroyed with the offender ».

(Vers. 11.). *Therefore,* namely because *they are hateful to God, even* (*et*), that is, also, *to the idols of the nations,* that is, to the demons presiding in the idols of the Gentiles, of whom in the Psalm: « All the gods of the Gentiles are devils » etc.; *there shall be no respect,* namely of clemency; which is against Origen, who said that Christ would suffer at the end for the demons in the air, and thus that they would be saved; against which it is said here and in Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-ninth: « There are spirits that are created for vengeance, and in their fury they have fastened on their torments ». *Because* etc.; and deservedly, *because*

*the creatures of God,* that is, things made by God, such as gold and silver; whence Osee, the second: « I multiplied unto them silver and gold » etc.; *are turned to hatred,* namely of the *irascible,* namely that men should hate God, as the demons do, of whom in the Psalm: « The pride of them that hate thee ascendeth continually ». *And a temptation to the souls* *of men,* that is, of the *concupiscible,* namely that men should freely subject themselves to whatever powers according to the will or suggestion of their gods. *And a mousetrap* (*muscipulam*), that is, a deception of the *rational,* and a mousetrap is the name for the instrument with which mice are caught: *to the feet,* namely the interior ones, that is, of the soul, not the exterior ones, namely of the body; *of the unwise,* that is, of unbelievers; Job, the eighteenth: « The gin for him is hidden in the earth »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « Among my people are found impious men that lie in wait as fowlers, setting snares and traps to catch men ».

(Vers. 12.). *For the beginning* etc. Well have I said that *the creatures of God* etc.; *for the beginning of fornication,* namely spiritual, which is by withdrawing from God, *is* etc.; whence the Gloss: « The worst kind of fornication is that by which the soul withdraws from God and commits fornication with idols »; whence Jeremias, the third: « She hath committed adultery with stone and with wood ». Such are lost or destroyed by God, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast destroyed all them that are disloyal to thee ». *For the beginning,* I say, *of fornication,* the aforesaid, *is the devising of idols.*

**But on the contrary:** Ecclesiasticus, the tenth: « Pride is the beginning of all sin ».

I respond: He does not speak here of the fornication which is by any withdrawal whatever from God, as there is in any mortal sin whatever, but of that by which one withdraws from God by a perfect withdrawal, namely as far as the overthrow of faith, which is the foundation of the whole spiritual building; to the Hebrews, the eleventh: « Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for » etc.; likewise the first to the Corinthians, the third: « Other foundation no man can lay » etc.

*And the invention of them is the corruption of life,* namely as to morals; to the Romans, the first: « Wherefore God gave them up to the desires of their heart, unto uncleanness »; in the Psalm: « Give them according to their works, and according to the wickedness of their inventions ».

#### Thirdly he detests idols on account of the novelty and manner of their invention.

*For neither* *were they.* Here is touched the third reason for the detestation of those idols, namely from the *novelty and manner of their invention.* Of this invention and worship he touches several causes: first, the *curious idleness of men;* secondly, the *affection of parents toward their dead children: For with bitter;* thirdly, the *fear of tyrants: Then* etc.; fourthly, the *reverence and honour of princes: Those whom;* fifthly, the *diligence and solicitude of craftsmen: But… set forward* etc.; sixthly he sets down a *recapitulation of the principal causes: And this was… of life.*

(Vers. 13.). Well have I said: *The devising of idols and the invention* etc.; *for they were not from the beginning,* namely the idols, which is clear, because they are not the *Creator;* whence Jeremias, the tenth: « Let the gods that have not made heaven and earth, perish from the earth »; nor yet a *creature,* because every creature is from God, but idols are not from God, but are a fiction of men; on account of which it is said in the first to the Corinthians, the eighth: « An idol is nothing in the world », namely as to the divine *being* which is believed by idolaters to be in it. *Neither shall they be for ever,* nay, they shall be destroyed, men being converted to the worship of the one God; Isaias, the nineteenth: « The Lord will ascend upon a swift cloud, and will enter into Egypt, and the images of Egypt shall be moved at his presence ».

(Vers. 14.). *For the superfluity* (*Supervacuitas*), that is, the idleness, *of men devised these things* etc.; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-third: « Idleness hath taught much evil », namely the idle, who would not labour to seek the one true God and worship him worthily; *into the world,* for in heaven there was never any such error. *And therefore,* namely because they have not always been, *a short end of them has been found,* namely among the wise. For they were soon forsaken by the children of Israel in the time of Moses and by the Christian people in the time of Christ or of the new law; Jeremias, the tenth: « Every artist is confounded in his graven thing; their works are vain and worthy to be laughed at, in the time of their visitation they shall perish ».

(Vers. 15.). *For a father, grieving with bitter mourning,* namely over the death of a son, as David grieved over the death of Absalom, the second of Kings, the eighteenth, or over

the death of the child whom he first had of Bethsabee, the second of Kings, the twelfth, *of his son quickly taken from him,* that is, snatched away beforehand by the violence of death; *made an image;* the Gloss: « Men fashioned for themselves images of their dead friends, in the contemplation of which they had some solace ». *And him who then,* namely freshly, *had died as a man,* whose property is to be mortal, according to that of the second of Kings, the fourteenth: « We all die » etc.; *now,* that is, a little after, which is more inexcusable, *he began to worship as a God;* the Gloss: « And going further, through love of the dead they began to worship their memory ». *And appointed among his servants,* who obeyed him from fear, not from reason; *rites,* namely incensings and praises, *and sacrifices,* namely immolations of animals. Now the first — as Isidore says upon that of Luke, the eleventh: « By Beelzebub, the prince of devils » etc. — was Ninus, king of the Assyrians, who made an image of his dead father Belus, which he honoured with so great veneration that he spared even the guilty who fled to it; on account of which unskilled men began to worship the statue of Belus as God and to multiply statues. Some of whom called that idol *Bel,* some *Baal,* some *Baalim,* some *Beelzebub.*

(Vers. 16.). *Then, time intervening,* that is, by delay of time, *wicked custom growing strong,* which is rather to be rooted out than held to, because length of time does not diminish sin, but rather increases it; *this error,* namely of worshipping idols, *was kept as a law,* namely under precept; Jeremias, the tenth: « The laws of the people are vain »; likewise Isaias, the tenth: « Woe to them that make wicked laws »! *And by the command of tyrants,* that is, of evil princes, *figments were worshipped;* whence Antiochus compelled the Jews to the worship of the Gentiles, the first of Machabees, the first; and Nabuchodonosor compelled them to adore his statue, Daniel, the third.

(Vers. 17.). *Those* *whom men could not honour openly,* that is, in their presence, *on this account,* namely, *that they were far off, from afar,* namely in place, *their figure being brought,* namely in a picture, *an express image,* namely a sculptured image, I say, *of the king, whom they had a mind to honour, they made,* namely giving divine honour to men. Cicero: « But the life and common custom of men have taken it up, that men excelling in benefits they should raise to heaven by fame and by will ». *That him,* namely the king, *who was away,* that is, was absent, yet living, *they might worship as present by their solicitude.* The Gloss: « On account of the folly and depravity of men, who lived a rustic life without any ruler, they extolled the king himself and the whole race with the highest praises, so that they even called them *gods,* whether for outstanding virtue, or for benefits, or out of flattery ». *Those whom* etc. The letter is to be construed thus: Men made an express image, which they wished to honour, their figure being brought from afar; those whom openly, that is, in their presence, they could not honour, on this account, supply, that they were far off; they made it, I say, that him who was away etc.

(Vers. 18.). *But… set forward to the worship of these,* namely of the idols, *even* (*et*), that is, also, *those who were ignorant,* that is, the ignorant and unlettered, *the singular,* that is, the greatest, *diligence of the craftsman; of the craftsman,* I say, who fabricates the idol diligently and curiously and decorates it, according to that of Jeremias, the tenth: « He hath decked it with silver and gold »; likewise Isaias, the forty-fourth: « He hath made the image of a man as it were a comely man dwelling in a house ».

(Vers. 19.). *For he,* the craftsman, *being willing to please him that took him up* (*assumsit*), that is, hired him, namely to make the idol; this is an evil pleasing, of which in the Psalm: « God hath scattered the bones of them that please men »; likewise to the Galatians, the first: « If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ ». *He laboured by his art, that the likeness,* that is, the image, *he might fashion for the better,* that is, in the best manner he could; Isaias, the forty-fourth: « The smith hath wrought with his file »; Baruch, the sixth: « As if it were for a maiden that loveth to go gay, so taking gold they have made them ».

(Vers. 20.). *But the multitude of men,* namely of fools; Ecclesiastes, the first: « The number of fools is infinite »; *carried away,* namely from the truth, *by the comeliness* (*speciem*) *of the work,* that is, its beauty; Proverbs, the last: « Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain »; Daniel, the thirteenth: « Comeliness hath deceived thee »; *him that before the time,* supply: a little, *had been honoured as a man,* namely with the honour of dulia; *now they have esteemed a God,* honouring him with the honour of latria.

(Vers. 21.). *And this was the deception of human life,* that is, the cause of deception, a cause, I say, twofold, as it were a twofold gate of death, namely *love* and *fear,* according to the Gloss upon that of the Psalm: « Things set on fire and dug down » etc. *For to affection,* namely their own, in the honouring of friends, *or to kings,* in the veneration of the powerful; the Gloss: « Thus through peoples and regions », namely out of flattery, or out of fear, « various rites were taken up, while men desire to be pleasing toward their princes »; *serving,* that is, devotedly serving, *men,* against that of the first to the Corinthians, the seventh: « Be not made the bondslaves of men ». *The incommunicable name;* the Gloss: « Of God almighty », because namely the form from which that name *God* is imposed is incommunicable to creatures, yet is communicable to the divine persons; *they gave to stones and wood,* against that precept, Exodus, the twentieth: « Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain ».

**But on the contrary:** Exodus, the seventh: « Behold, I have appointed thee the God of Pharao »; likewise in the Psalm: « I have said: You are gods » etc.: therefore the name *God* is communicable to creatures.

It must be said that *God* is said in three ways: *by nature, by adoption, by naming.* In the first way it is incommunicable; in the second and third way not.

**But on the contrary:** Because the divine name was communicated to Christ as man; whence to the Philippians, the second: « He hath given him a name which is above every name ».

But it must be said that it was not communicated *to one not having it* before, but *otherwise* than before, because this name belongs to the person, not to the nature, namely the human, but yet to one having human nature.

To that which is objected: He hath given him a name etc.; it must be said that *giving* is taken there for *manifestation.* Or: he gave him in human nature what he had before in the divine.

#### Fourthly he detests idols for the effect of human corruption, twofold.

*And it was not enough.* Here is touched the last cause of the detestation of idols, taken from the *effect of human corruption;* and first is touched in the idolaters the *blinding of the mind;* secondly, the *corruption of work: For either their children;* thirdly, the *reasonableness of the blinding* and *of the corruption: And all things;* fourthly, the *cause of both: For of the abominable.*

(Vers. 22.). He says therefore: *And it was not enough for them to err;* the Gloss: « Since with a false religion they subjected themselves to all vices »; *to err,* I say, namely *about the knowledge of God,* that is, faith; above, the thirteenth: « All men are vain, in whom there is not the knowledge of God ». *But whereas they lived in a great war of ignorance,* that is, of unbelief, *war,* by which namely unbelief they war against God; whence Job, the twenty-fourth: « They have been rebellious to the light ». *So many,* namely as to number, *and so great,* as to intensity, or as to quantity of duration; *evils,* as to deformity; *so many,* I say, *and so great evils,* in which namely they live, *they call peace,* according to that of Job, the thirtieth: « And they counted it delightful to be under the briers »; Jeremias, the sixth: « Saying: Peace, peace; and there was no peace »; the Gloss: « Subject under the reign of the devil to divers vices, they could not have true peace ».

*For either* etc. Here he enumerates the evils by which they were corrupted *in work:* first, the evil committed specially against *God;* secondly, that committed specially against *themselves* and against their *neighbour: Neither life.*

(Vers. 23.). He says therefore: *For either sacrificing their own children,* according to that of the Psalm: « And they sacrificed their sons and their daughters to devils »; Ezechiel, the sixteenth: « Is thy fornication small? Thou hast sacrificed my children and given them up, consecrating them to them », because, as the Gloss says, « in the rites of Saturn, out of hatred of Jupiter, without regard for piety they sacrificed their little ones ». *Or making dark sacrifices,* dark, that is, nocturnal, as was done, according to the Gloss, « in the rites of Isis of Egypt and of Ceres, which rites were celebrated with the tossing of burning torches ». *Or keeping watches full of madness,* for in the rites of Bacchus and Cybele, mother of the gods, « after the example of the gods, who, sated at the festival, spent the whole night in games, they themselves played », as says

the Gloss. Against this it is said in the Psalm: « Blessed is the man whose trust is in the name of the Lord, and who hath not had regard to vanities and lying follies ».

(Vers. 24.). *Neither life,* namely their own, *clean* (*mundam*), because « God gave them up unto uncleanness », to the Romans, the first; *nor marriage clean do they now keep,* against that of the Hebrews, the thirteenth: « Marriage honourable, and the bed undefiled »; *do they now keep* etc.; « because, as the Gloss says, they thought to please their gods through lust and uncleanness », and the more criminal one was, the more he thought to please his god. *But also* *one killeth another through envy,* namely in his own person, as Cain Abel, Genesis, the fourth; and the Jews Christ, Matthew, the twenty-seventh. *Or by adultery saddeneth him,* namely in the person joined to him; *saddeneth* he says, because a great cause of sadness is the violation of the conjugal bed; whence also according to the civil laws licence is given to the husband of killing the adulterer and the adulteress found in the very act of adultery.

*And all things,* namely vices, *are mingled together;* whence Osee, the fourth: « Cursing, and lying, and killing, and theft, and adultery have overflowed ».

*Blood.* Here he touches first certain *spiritual* sins; secondly, certain *carnal* ones: *Of souls* etc. — In the first, first certain evils of *work;* secondly, certain evils of the *heart: Corruption;* thirdly, certain evils of *speech: And perjury.* — Of the evils of *work* he touches four, namely *wounding,* when he says: *Blood; slaying,* when he says: *Murder; theft,* when he says: *Theft; fraud,* when he says: *And feigning.*

(Vers. 25.). Well have I said: *And all things are mingled together,* namely, *blood,* by mutual wounding; whence Isaias, the first: « Your hands are full of blood »; likewise Osee, the fourth: « Blood hath touched blood ». *Murder;* whence Micheas, the seventh: « Every one hunteth his brother to death ». *Theft,* Isaias, the first: « Thy princes are faithless, companions of thieves »; in the Psalm: « If thou didst see a thief, thou didst run with him ». *And feigning,* that is, guile; « For guile is when one thing is done, and another is pretended, or feigned ».

*Corruption.* Here he touches sins of the *heart,* namely of the concupiscible power; in the Psalm: « They are corrupt, and are become abominable » etc. *And unfaithfulness,* namely of the rational; whence Jeremias, the seventh: « Faith is lost, and is taken away out of their mouth ». *Disquiet,* namely of the irascible power; whence Isaias, the fifty-seventh: « There is no peace to the impious, saith the Lord ». These are the three evils of the heart.

Then he touches three evils of *speech,* saying: *And perjury,* namely either *assertory,* as it is in false attestations, or *promissory,* as in false promises, against that which is said in Leviticus, the nineteenth: « Thou shalt not swear falsely ». *Tumult,* namely in contentions and discords; whence Isaias, the third: « The child shall make a tumult against the ancient ».

(Vers. 26.). *And forgetfulness of the good things of God*, that is, ingratitude, because they do not praise God for his benefits; whence Luke, the seventeenth: « There is no one found to return and give glory to God » etc.; in the Psalm: « I am forgotten as one dead from the heart ». These are the three evils of *speech:* the first against God and neighbour; the second against neighbour; the third against God, namely by omitting.

*Defiling of souls* etc. Here he touches *carnal* sins, first, sins of *interior lust;* secondly, of *unnatural intercourse,* there: *Of nature* (*Nativitatis*) etc.; thirdly, of *bigamy: Of marriages* etc.; fourthly, of *adultery: Disorder* etc.; fifthly, of *fornication: And of impurity* etc. — He says therefore: *Defiling of souls,* namely through inward lust; whence Matthew, the fifth: « Hath already committed adultery in his heart »; Jeremias, the fourth: « Wash thy heart from malice, O Jerusalem » etc.; to Titus, the first: « Both their mind and their conscience are defiled ». *Changing of nature* (*Nativitatis immutatio*), that is, of nature or of natural use; to the Romans, the first: « Their women have changed the natural use » etc. *Inconstancy of marriages,* namely by taking and repudiating wives at will, when yet they ought to be « two in one flesh », Genesis, the second; likewise Matthew, the nineteenth: « What God hath joined together, let no man put asunder ». *Disorder of adultery* (*moechiae*), that is, of adultery (*adulterii*), against the order of matrimony, against which Exodus, the twentieth: « Thou shalt not commit adultery ». *And of impurity* (*impudicitiae*), that is, of fornication, against which to the Romans, the thirteenth: « Not in chambering and impurities ».

*Of the abominable* etc. Here it is shown that idolatry is the *cause of this corruption;* and first he shows *how* idolatry is the cause of all evils in the idolaters; secondly, *on account of what,* namely on account of the hope of impunity: *For whilst they trust* etc.; thirdly he shows that this very thing is for them the *cause of punishing: Both* etc.; fourthly he shows *what* that punishing is, namely the fall and the casting headlong into other sins: *For not* etc.

(Vers. 27.). *Of the abominable* etc. So I have said that the idolaters do so many and so great evils; *for of the abominable idols,* that is, the unspeakable, that is, unworthy of being named, according to that of the Psalm: « Nor will I be mindful of their names by my lips ». *Of the abominable,* I say, *idols the worship is the cause of all evil,* namely by the blinding of the understanding and the overthrow of the will; *and the beginning,* namely by the inception of the work; *and the end,* by its completion, as faith and the worship of God is the cause of all good, as the Apostle proves to the Hebrews, the eleventh, where he says: « Faith is the substance of things to be hoped for ».

**But on the contrary:** Ecclesiasticus, the tenth: « Pride is the beginning of all sin »; likewise the first to Timothy, the sixth: « The desire of money is the root of all evils »: it is wrongly said here, therefore, that the beginning of all evils is *unbelief.*

It must be said that it is not unfitting that there be several beginnings of evils according to diverse respects — as of one thing there are *four* causes, namely efficient, material etc., and yet *one only* in one genus — because on the part of the rational there is *unbelief,* on the part of the concupiscible *cupidity,* on the part of the irascible *pride*.

(Vers. 28.). *For either, whilst they are merry, they are mad;* the Gloss: « In feasts and games », and this as to the evil in *affection; they are mad,* he says, because irrational gladness is madness, like the laughter of the frenzied; Osee, the ninth: « Madness in the house of his God ». *Or surely they prophesy false things,* namely by prophesying falsely, and this as to the evil of *thought;* the third of Kings, the last: « I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all the prophets ». *Or they live unjustly,* and this as to the evil of *conduct;* Ecclesiastes, the seventh: « The impious man liveth a long time in his malice ». *Or they forswear themselves* (*periurant*), or *perjure* (*peierant*), and this as to the sin of *speech; easily,* that is, readily, on account of their evil custom; on account of which Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-third: « Let not thy mouth be accustomed to swearing, for in it there are many falls ».

(Vers. 29.). *For whilst they trust in idols, which are without soul,* as to life; *swearing amiss,* namely on the part of the thing *by which* they swear, because by an idol, and on the part of the thing *for which* they swear, because a falsehood, against that of Jeremias, the fourth: « Thou shalt swear: As the Lord liveth, in truth, and in judgment, and in justice ». *They do not hope to be hurt,* that is, they do not fear.

But how do they not fear, since they believe them to be true gods?

It must be said that although they worship them as gods, yet they do not think omnipotence to be in them; or they do not believe that they punish the sins of men. And in truth they cannot hurt them, on account of which Jeremias, the tenth: « Be not afraid of them », namely the idols, « for they can neither do evil nor good »; but yet they will be punished by God for the sin of perjury.

(Vers. 30.). Whence there follows: *Both therefore shall befall them,* namely the evil of *fault,* because they are permitted to swear amiss; and the evil of *punishment,* because on account of this they will be punished; *shall befall,* I say, *worthily,* namely according to their merits; the Apocalypse, the last: « He that is filthy, let him be filthy still ». *Because they have thought ill of God, giving heed to idols,* that is, by attributing divine worship to idols, while they swear by an idol. *And have sworn unjustly by an idol*, *despising justice,* namely by swearing an illicit or a false thing, and so they err or sin doubly, namely, because they swear *by that which* they ought not, and because they swear *that which* they ought not; Exodus, the twenty-third: « By the name of strange gods you shall not swear ».

(Vers. 31.). *For not,* as if to say: and truly they sin by swearing thus; *for not of them that swear,* namely thus, *is it virtue*, that is, a virtuous or meritorious work; *but the punishment of them that sin,* that is, the sin itself, which is also a punishment of preceding sins and a fault in itself. *Walketh always,* namely from bad to worse, *in the transgression of the just,* that is, of just things, namely of the commandments of God; Gregory: « For sin which is not washed away by penance, by its own weight soon drags to another »; for the Psalm: « Let their way become dark and slippery » etc.

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