Cap. 15, Vers. 1-19
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/15/q/bon-sap-c15
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### Chapter XV.

#### Thirdly is treated the commendation of the true God.

*But thou, our God* etc. After he has shown the error of those practising idolatry and the detestation of idols, here he adds the *commendation of the true God.* And the true God he shows to be commendable, first from *his own goodness;* secondly, from the *reward of those who believe in him: For if we sin* etc.; thirdly, from the *vileness of idols: The potter also;* fourthly, from the *reproach of those practising idolatry: For all.*

#### God is commended first from his own goodness.

(Vers. 1.). *But thou* etc., as if to say: such are idols; *but* (*autem*), for *sed;* *thou, our God; God,* I say, *by creation,* according to that of Genesis, the first: « In the beginning God created »; likewise *by governance* and *by conservation;* according to Damascene, God is called *theos* apo tou theein, that is, to dispose or to govern. The first effect is of *power,* the second of *wisdom,* the third of *goodness. Our,* namely by appropriation of worship, because only « in Judea is God known », as is said in the Psalm. *Sweet,* namely to the affection, according to that of the Psalm: « O taste, and see that the Lord is sweet »; above, the twelfth: « O how good and sweet is thy spirit in us »! *sweet,* I say; the Gloss: « Of inestimable charity »; Gregory: « O inestimable love of charity, that to redeem a servant thou didst deliver up the Son »! *And true art thou,* namely to the contemplating understanding; the Gloss: « Because he neither deceives nor is deceived »; likewise to the Romans, the third: « But God is true, and every man a liar »; and both of the foregoing are referred to the good; *and patient,* namely by overlooking the evils of guilt, namely as regards the wicked; whence the Gloss: « *Patient,* that is, long bearing with sinners »; Joel, the second: « Patient and ready to repent of the malice »; in the Psalm: « God is a just judge, strong and patient ». *And disposing all things in mercy,* as regards all, namely by remitting the evils of punishment; in the Psalm: « His tender mercies are over all his works »; Matthew, the fifth: « And he maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad ».

#### Secondly he is commended from the reward of those who believe in him.

*For* etc. Here he is shown commendable from the *reward of believers;* and first he shows that *those who sin* are *subject* to God. Secondly, that *those who do not sin* are *accepted* by God: *And if we sin not* etc. Thirdly he shows what is the *reason of this,* namely the knowledge and worship of God: *For to know thee.* Fourthly he shows who are *worthy of* such a *benefit: For not into error.* Fifthly, who are *unworthy: The lovers of evil things.*

(Vers. 2.). *For if* etc., as if to say: and truly thou art such; *for if we sin,* namely by mortal sin, and most of all by the sin of unbelief, which is called *sin* by antonomasia; whence John, the sixteenth: « He will convince the world of sin »; and of this he speaks here especially. *If we sin,* I say, *we are thine,* that is, set in thy power and governance; the Gloss: « We cannot escape, because we are thy creature »; whence in the Psalm: « If I ascend into heaven, thou art there: if I descend into hell, thou art present »; likewise Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: « There is none that can deliver out of my hand ». *Knowing thy greatness, greatness,* I say, not *of bulk,* but *of power,* containing all things and able to destroy all things; whence in the Psalm: « Great is God, and great is his power ». *And if we sin not,* namely by mortal sin, which is sin simply and most of all the sin of unbelief, which is sin by antonomasia. For we cannot be without venial sin, or if we can, yet not for long; whence the first of John, the first: « If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us ». *If we sin not,* I say; *we know,* namely by faith, *that we are counted with thee;* the Gloss: « With whom the number of good works is known or kept »; in the Psalm: « I will number them, and they shall be multiplied above the sand ». And not only numbered, but also written down by name; Luke, the tenth: « Rejoice, that your names are written in heaven ». And the *good* are said to be *counted* as

*beloved* and *chosen;* and they can well be counted, because they are few, according to that of Matthew, the twentieth: « Many are called, but few chosen ». But the *wicked* are not counted by God, just as no one counts reprobate coin; and they are reprobate coin, according to that of Jeremias, the sixth: « Call them reprobate silver »; likewise, because they are infinite, according to that of Ecclesiastes, the first: « The number of fools is infinite ». Yet this is not from any impotence of God who counts, but rather from their unworthiness. For the sinner is unworthy of the bread on which he feeds, as Augustine says; likewise below in the same: « His life more base than clay »; and clay no one would count.

(Vers. 3.). *For to know* etc. I said well: *if we sin not,* and most of all by the sin of unbelief, *we are counted with thee; for to know thee,* namely by formed faith, *is perfect justice,* that is, the perfection of justice in the present; and this is to be understood *causally,* so that the sense is: *to know thee* by faith *is perfect justice,* that is, the cause of perfect justice; for faith justifies, whence to the Romans, the fifth: « Being justified therefore by faith » etc.; likewise in the same place, the fourth: « Abraham believed God, and it was reputed to him unto justice »; *and to know,* namely by formed faith, *thy justice and thy power, justice,* namely of goodness, *and power,* of might; or: *power,* that is, Christ, who is « the power of God and the wisdom », the first to the Corinthians, the first; *is the root of immortality,* that is, the principle and cause of eternal beatitude in the future; whence John, the seventeenth: « This is eternal life, that they may know thee, the only true God » etc.

*The root,* that is, of the spiritual tree, that is, of the life of the just man, who is like « a tree which is planted near the running waters » etc.; *the root* is faith, as is said here. *The foot,* humility, just as on the contrary the foot of the impious is pride, according to that of the Psalm: « Let not the foot of pride come to me ». *The trunk,* raising itself on high, is hope; to the Colossians, the third: « Seek the things that are above ». *The interior moisture* and *greenness* of this tree is the grace of inward devotion; Job, the eighth: « Can the rush be green without moisture »? *The directing heat* is the virtue of charity; Luke, the twelfth: « I am come to cast fire on the earth » etc. *The exterior watering,* spiritual teaching; whence Wisdom says in Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fourth: « I will water the garden of my plantations ». *The branches,* the multiplying of good working; Ezechiel, the thirty-sixth: « Ye mountains of Israel, spread forth your branches ». *The flowers,* the manners of honest conversation; whence the Canticles, the second: « The flowers have appeared in our land ». *The leaves,* the words of discreet speech, according to that of the Psalm: « And his leaf shall not fall off ». *The fruit,* the wage of eternal retribution; above, the third: « The fruit of good labours is glorious ».

(Vers. 4.). *For not* etc. I said well: *that we are counted with thee,* we, and not others, namely the idolaters; *for not into error,* namely of idolatry, which is the chief error, *hath it led us,* namely as it did others, of whom above, the fourteenth: « And the singular diligence of the artificer helped to set forward the ignorant to the worship of them »; *of men,* namely of those fabricating idols etc., *the device of the evil art,* that is, of one leading to evil by gods, who are figured by it. Yet the art itself is good in itself, but its abuse evil; for every science is of the genus of goods, namely as to the habit itself, since it is from God; Ecclesiasticus, the first: « All wisdom is from the Lord God ». And it is to be known that he touches two things *inductive,* namely or provocative, to idolatry, namely the *diligence of the art,* when he says: *the device of the evil art,* and the *beauty of the idol,* when he adds: *nor the shadow of a picture,* that is, nor the painting overshadowing the comeliness of the wood; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-eighth: « His continual diligence is to vary the figure »; *a labour,* namely of the artificer, *without fruit,* namely of usefulness; above, the third: « Their hope is empty, and their labours without fruit »; *an effigy,* that is, an image, *graven with divers colours,* which distinguish the parts of the sculpture; above, the thirteenth: « Making the colour of it red with paint ».

(Vers. 5.). *The sight whereof to the senseless one,* that is, to the unbeliever, *giveth lust,* namely by occasionally inciting to evil; Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-fourth: « Vain hope and lying is to a man void of understanding ». *And he loveth the effigy of a dead image without a soul; he loveth,* I say, *the effigy,* that is, the figure, by worshipping it as God, *of a dead image,* that is, of one lacking the act of life, and this lack is of negation, not of privation; *without a soul,* that is, lacking the power of giving life. « For the soul is the act of a physical, organic body, having life in potency », as is had in the second *On the Soul*.

(Vers. 6.). *The lovers of evil things* etc., and deservedly, *hath it not led,* because *the lovers of evil things,* namely of idols and

of the sins that proceed from idols, *are worthy of death*, namely eternal and temporal; to the Romans, the first: « They who do such things are worthy of death ». *Who have hope in such things,* namely in idols, namely by calling upon their help; Isaias, the forty-second: « Let them be confounded with confusion that trust in a graven thing »; *and they that make them,* namely by fabricating such gods; in the Psalm: « Let them that make them become like unto them »; *and they that love,* namely by affection, by having devotion to idols; above in the same: « He loveth the effigy of a dead image » etc.; *and they that worship,* by effect, by adoring outwardly; in the Psalm: « Let them be all confounded that adore graven things »; Deuteronomy, the fifth: « Thou shalt not adore strange gods, nor worship them ».

#### Thirdly God is commended from the vileness of idols, in two ways.

*The potter also.* Here the true God is shown to be commendable from the *vileness of idols;* and this vileness he shows first from the vileness of the *matter;* secondly, from the vileness of the *artificer: And with vain labour.* — And this, namely the vileness of the artificer, he shows there, first from the *frailty of his condition;* secondly, from the *vanity of the intention* moving him: *But his care is;* thirdly, from *ignorance of the Creator: For his heart is ashes;* fourthly, from the *error of his conversation: Yea and they have counted;* fifthly, from the *comparison of iniquity: For that man knoweth* etc.

(Vers. 7.). *The potter also;* so I said that *the lovers of evil things are worthy of death,* namely *they that* worship idols or *they that make* them; *the potter also,* that is, the maker of earthen vessels, supply: is of their number; *the potter,* I say, *pressing soft earth laboriously;* Ecclesiasticus, the thirty-eighth: « The potter sitting at his work, turning the wheel about with his feet », who is always set in carefulness for his work. *Fashioneth for our uses every vessel;* « for in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth », the second to Timothy, the second. *And of the same clay he fashioneth those that are clean for uses,* honest and clean; *and likewise those that are contrary to these,* as are those which are deputed to unclean uses; whence in the same place: « Some indeed unto honour, but some unto dishonour »; to the Romans, the ninth: « Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump, to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour »? *But what is the use of these vessels,* namely clean, or unclean, *the potter is the judge,* as superior and their maker, not the vessels themselves; in the same place: « Shall the clay say to the potter: Why hast thou made me thus »?

(Vers. 8.). *And with vain labour,* that is, fruitless; Jeremias, the fifty-first: « Their works are vain, and worthy to be laughed at »; *he fashioneth a god of the same clay;* the like is said in Isaias, the forty-fourth, of wooden idols, that part is burned for human uses, part is worshipped as a god. *He,* namely the potter, *who a little before had been made of earth,* by earthly birth; Genesis, the second: « God formed man of the slime of the earth »; *and after a little while,* namely of time; Job, the fourteenth: « The days of man are short »; likewise: « Living for a short time »; *bringeth himself back,* by the merit of his sins, namely *into* death; above, the first: « The impious with hands and words have called it to them », *after* death and *through* death; *whence he was taken,* that is, into the earth, from which he had been taken as to the body, according to that of Genesis, the third: « Till thou return to the earth, out of which thou wast taken »; Ecclesiastes, the third: « All things that were made of the earth shall return together to the earth ». *Being asked back the debt of the soul, which,* namely the soul, *he had,* namely as a *debt,* lent, that he might render it with usury; not given, as to that rich man to whom it was said in Luke, the twelfth: « Thou fool, this night do they require thy soul of thee »; Matthew, the eighteenth: « Laying hold of him, he throttled him, saying: Pay what thou owest », namely the debt of the soul.

(Vers. 9.). *But his care is,* although, namely, the labour is vain, *not that he is to labour,* and vainly, which ought rather to be his care, *he is to labour* also wickedly, according to that of Jeremias, the ninth: « They have laboured to commit iniquity ». *Nor that his life is short,* though so much the more ought it to be his care to spend it usefully; James, the fourth: « What is your life? It is a vapour which appeareth for a little while ». *But he striveth with the goldsmiths and silversmiths,* busying himself to make the comeliness and subtlety of his work like theirs; *and he imitateth also the workers in brass.* It is to be noted that he calls *goldsmiths* the artificers who make gods of gold; *silversmiths,* those who make them of silver; *workers in brass,* those who make them of brass; Isaias, the forty-sixth: « You that lay out silver from the bag, and weigh gold in the scales, and hire an artificer to make a god ». *And he counteth it a glory,* supply: a vain one, to his labour or to the shortness of his life. « Glory is frequent fame with praise »; *a glory,* that is, in this

glorifying himself; in which there should be no glorying. *For superfluous things,* that is, useless ones, namely idols, *he fashioneth,* namely he makes of clayey matter; Osee, the fourth: « I will change their glory into shame »; likewise to the Philippians, the third: « Whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things ».

(Vers. 10.). *For his heart is ashes* etc., as if to say: so he glories; *for* (*enim*), for *sed;* or thus: so he glories, which yet he ought not to do; *for* (*enim*), for *quia;* *ashes,* that is, a vile thing, *is,* like, *his heart ashes,* that is, his thought, because in the ashes and dust of which he fabricates his god he sets his heart; Ecclesiasticus, the tenth: « Why is earth and ashes proud »? *And superfluous earth,* that is, useless, *is his hope,* that is, his desire and affection, because, namely, he sets it in an earthen idol; above, the third: « Their hope is empty »; for such an idol is earth empty and nothing, of which Jeremias, the fourth: « I beheld the earth, and lo it was empty and nothing ». *And his life*, that is, his conversation, is *more base than clay,* because, namely, he occupies his life in making and worshipping a clay idol; in the Psalm: « I will bring them to nought, like the dirt of the streets ». And the clay of guilt is baser than the clay of nature; whence the Gloss: « His life fouler than mire »; the second of Peter, the second: « The sow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire ».

(Vers. 11.). *Forasmuch as he knew not,* namely with an ignorance of which the first to the Corinthians, the fourteenth: « If any man know not, he shall not be known »; *him that fashioned him,* that is, God, who made him of the slime of the earth as to the body; in the Psalm: « He knoweth our frame »; *and him that inspired into him a soul,* according to that of Genesis, the second: « He breathed into his face the breath of life »; *and he loveth*, namely more than God, *the things he worketh,* namely the idols. *And that breathed into him a vital spirit,* to be repeated: *he knew not,* and he speaks now of the bodily spirit, when he says: *a vital spirit;* Isaias, the fifty-seventh: « The spirit shall go forth from my face, and breathings I will make »; in the Psalm: « His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth ».

(Vers. 12.). *Yea and they have counted;* so I said, that they knew not God, but rather *they have counted,* namely the fabricators of idols, *our life,* namely the natural, *to be a pastime,* namely of wantonness, as those of whom Exodus, the thirty-second: « The people sat down to eat and drink »; Job, the twenty-first: « They take the timbrel and the harp ». *To be a pastime* etc., this he says because making and worshipping idols seems to be like the play of children, and so are they who make images of clay and adore them. *And the conversation of life,* namely the moral, *composed,* that is, ordered, *for gain,* namely of avarice, and not only gain, but unlawful, whence he adds: *and that we must be getting every way, even out of evil,* that is, out of an unlawful craft or business; against which Ecclesiasticus, the fifth: « Be not anxious for goods unjustly gotten: for they shall not profit thee in the day of calamity » or of retribution « and revenge ». These are « riches kept to the hurt of the owner ».

(Vers. 13.). *For that man* etc., as if to say: and truly those making idols get out of evil; *for that man knoweth that he offendeth above all,* the other artificers of idols, namely; that man, I say, *who of earthly matter,* which is viler, *brittle vessels,* on the one part, *and graven things,* that is, idols, on the other part of his matter, *fashioneth.* Whence from the comparison of these he better understands or can understand the vileness of idols.

But how can he know this, namely that he offends or sins above all, since he is ignorant of God, as has been said?

It must be said that he knows this or can know it by the *habit* of the natural law written in his heart. But *actually* he does not know it, namely because he will not search it out, though he could; or if he cannot fully or easily, this is because he is blinded by the merit of his unbelief.

#### Fourthly God is commended from the folly of those practising idolatry.

*For all.* Here the true God is shown to be commendable from the *folly of those practising idolatry,* and first, from the folly of those practising idolatry who worship *inanimate* things, namely statues; secondly, of those who worship *animate* things: *But the animals also.*

In the first, first he shows and reproves them as fools, because idols *are the cause of many evils* to their worshippers; secondly, because *in themselves also they are useless* to man: *For all the idols;* thirdly, because *they are made by man: For man;* fourthly, because *they are worse than man: For he is better.*

(Vers. 14.). *For all* etc. I said well that *that man* who makes an idol of clayey matter *knoweth that he offendeth above all,* the other artificers; *for all are foolish;* the Gloss: « Who think idols gods »; for this is great foolishness; Jeremias, the fourth: « They are foolish and senseless children ». *Foolish,* I say, by defect of wisdom or of faith as to the understanding, *and unhappy,* as to the affection; and this on account of the defect of grace, which makes happy; above, the

thirteenth: « Unhappy are they who have called gods the works of their own hands ». *Beyond the measure of their soul,* that is, of their nature, *they are proud,* namely against God, and this by fashioning idols for themselves as gods; Isaias, the sixteenth: « We have heard of the pride of Moab, he is exceeding proud: his pride and his arrogancy is more than his strength ». Or: *unhappy beyond measure,* because with an infinite unhappiness, because « their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched », Isaias, the last. *Enemies of thy people,* namely by persecuting those who believe in God; *enemies,* I say, as to *affection,* and by persecuting *in deeds;* Esther, the fourteenth: « It doth not suffice them, that they oppress us with most hard bondage: but attributing the strength of their hands to the power of their idols, they will alter thy promises »; *and reproaching it*, namely *with words;* in the Psalm: « The reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me »; as certain men of Ephraim and Manasses mocked the messengers of Ezechias, who wished to call them back to the worship of God, as is clear from the second of Paralipomenon, the thirtieth.

(Vers. 15.). *For all the idols* etc., as if to say: all this is evil, *for all* etc. Or thus: I said well that *foolish and unhappy, beyond the measure of their soul proud* etc.; *for all the idols of the nations,* that is, of the gentiles not reborn through faith, but abiding in the fault of their birth, *they have esteemed gods;* so did the Romans, namely by carrying all the idols of the subjugated gentiles to Rome and adoring and guarding them; *which,* namely the idols, *have neither the sight of eyes to see,* according to that of the Psalm: « They have eyes and see not »; *nor ears to hear,* according to that in the same place: « They have ears and hear not ». *Nor noses to perceive breath;* in the same place: « They have noses and smell not ». *Nor fingers of hands to handle,* that is, to feel anything; whence in the same place: « They have hands and feel not ». *And as for their feet, they are slow,* that is, immovable, *to walk,* in the same place: « They have feet and walk not ». Therefore it is said in Baruch, the sixth: « The beasts are better than they, which can fly under a covert, and help themselves ».

(Vers. 16.). *For man,* to whom, namely, it belongs not to give sense and motion, *made them,* did not beget them of his own substance, but figured them of extrinsic matter; *and he that borrowed his spirit,* namely from God, to be rendered to him when it shall please him; Ecclesiastes, the last: « And the spirit return to God, who gave it ». *He fashioned them,* that is, made them of clay. *For no man* etc., as if to say: and truly they are thus without sense and motion; *for no man can fashion a god like to himself,* like, namely by the likeness of equality, by which a man is like another man, though like by the likeness of some exterior representation.

(Vers. 17.). *For being mortal,* having a mortal life, *a dead thing,* that is, lacking life, *he fashioneth with wicked hands;* in the Psalm: « In whose hands are iniquities ». And the *mortal* is better than the *dead,* according to that of Ecclesiastes, the ninth: « A living dog is better than a dead lion ». And I said well that *no man can make one like himself* etc.; *for he is better,* namely man, *than they whom he worshippeth.* But God ought to be the best of man, according to Augustine, since he is his beatitude. *Because he indeed hath lived,* at some time, namely man, *though he were mortal,* for what does not live is not mortal; *but they never,* namely the false gods. And by right living things are put before things not living, sensing things before things not sensing, according to Augustine.

But *it is objected:* Because above in the same it is said: « His life more base than clay ».

It must be said that above he speaks of the moral life, here of the natural.

*But the animals also* etc. Here is shown the reproach of those worshipping *animate* things; and first they are shown to be *miserable* in themselves; secondly, in respect of the foregoing *somewhat excusable: Things without sense* etc.; thirdly, *simply inexcusable: Yea, neither by sight* etc. — And there they are shown inexcusable, first by this, that *they worship irrational things;* secondly, because *they have fled from the true God: But they have fled* etc.

(Vers. 18.). *But the animals also;* the Gloss: « Not only the form of men », but also the image of animals, as the Egyptians Isis in the form of an ox, the Babylonians the dragon, as is clear from Daniel, the fourteenth; *most miserable* *they worship;* Proverbs, the fourteenth: « Sin maketh nations miserable ». *Miserable* indeed are

all the impious and sinners, but *more miserable* all unbelievers, but *most miserable* those worshipping idols. On account of this I said well: *But the most miserable animals also they worship;* in the Psalm: « They changed their glory into the likeness of a calf that eateth grass ». *For things without sense; for* (*enim*), for *sed;* *things without sense,* that is, statues, *compared to these,* namely to the animals, *are worse than they,* because, according to Augustine, the living is better than the not living, and the sensing than the not sensing; whence the Gloss: « In truth living things are better than dead, and sensible than insensible, and rational than irrational. But it was fitting that those who were ignorant of the Creator should not know the distinction in creatures ».

(Vers. 19.). *Yea, neither by sight* etc. So it was said that idols neither hear nor see nor know anything; and not only do they see nothing, *but neither by sight can any* *of these animals behold good things. Yea, neither by sight,* as if to say: not only in absence by imagination, but neither in presence by sense; *any of these animals,* which, namely, they worship, *can behold good things,* that is, know good things by beholding them; and it is to be understood of honest goods, which are goods simply, as are the virtues and such things; not of useful or delightful goods, which are goods in a certain respect. *But they have fled* etc., as if to say: so *most miserable* they *worship animals; but* (*autem*), for *sed,* *they have fled* etc. Or: *but* (*autem*), that is, certainly, by worshipping animals, *they have fled from the praise of God and from his blessing,* as if to say: neither did they praise God himself nor bless him; *praise* for his goodness in himself, *and blessing* for his beneficence towards us. Against which two it is said in the Psalm: « Give glory to the Lord, for he is good », namely *in himself,* « for his mercy endureth for ever », that is, for the beneficence of his mercy extends itself to all; and he says *they have fled,* not only not praising and not blessing inwardly in heart, but not confessing with the mouth either, against which, to the Romans, the tenth: « With the heart we believe unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation ».

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