Cap. 17, 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/17/q/bon-sap-c17
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### Chapter XVII.

#### Secondly, on the punishment of loss.

*For great are* etc. After he has treated of the punishment of sense, here he treats of the punishment *of loss,* that is, of the withdrawing of light; and first is touched the *equity* of the punishing of the Egyptians, namely because they were punished for their merits; secondly, its *irremediableness,* namely because it was without intermission: *For neither did the den that held;* thirdly, its *generality,* because it was all of them, there: *But they who the powerless;* fourthly, its *singularity,* because it was they alone, namely the Egyptians: *For the whole.*

Now the *equity* is shown from the meritorious cause of the sins of those men: first, *of the sin against God;* secondly, *against the neighbour: For while they were persuaded;* thirdly, *against themselves: And while they think.*

(Vers. 1.). *For great* etc. I said well that the Egyptians were punished, but the Israelites consoled; *for great are thy judgments, O Lord;* the Gloss: « By which thou rulest the whole creation »; in the Psalm: « Thy judgments are a great deep ». *And thy words cannot be expressed,* namely those by which thou instructest the rational creature; *cannot be expressed,* I say, to the full; to the Romans, the eleventh: « O the depth of the riches of the wisdom of God » etc. *Therefore;* the Gloss: « Because they would not believe and understand their Creator », *the undisciplined souls,* that is, those incorrigible of their sins; Ecclesiasticus, the twentieth: « And there is a going forward in evil for an undisciplined man »; likewise Jeremias, the fifth: « Thou hast struck them, and they have not grieved; thou hast bruised them, and they have refused to receive discipline »; in the Psalm: « But thou hast hated discipline »; *have erred,* from the way of truth; above, the fifth: « Therefore we have erred from the way of truth », of which John, the fourteenth: « I am the way, and the truth, and the life »: the way in example, the truth in promise, the life in reward.

(Vers. 2.). *For while* etc. I said well that *they have erred; for while the wicked,* namely the Egyptians, called *wicked* on account of the wicked oppression of the Israelites and the drowning of their infants, Exodus, the first; *are persuaded,* that is, believe, *that they are able to have dominion over the holy nation,* that is, over the children of Israel, who are called *a holy nation,* because they were the *children* of the Saints, according to that of Tobias, the second: « We are the children of the Saints »; likewise, because *sanctified* through circumcision, of which sanctification it is had in Genesis, the seventeenth; thirdly, because they were to be sanctified through their *conversation,* according to that of Leviticus, the eleventh: « Be ye holy, because I am holy ». *With the bonds of darkness,* namely of the palpable darkness, which was in Egypt, Exodus, the tenth; *and of a long night,* that is, of a dark time, as if it were night; which time was long, because for three days

no one saw his neighbour, as is clear in the same place; *fettered,* namely through likeness of effect, because, namely, they could not go, as if they were fettered; hence in the same place: « For three days no one moved himself from the place where he was »; *shut up under roofs,* namely of their houses, not daring to go out; *fugitives from the perpetual providence,* namely as far as was in them, namely because they thought to hinder the deliverance of the Israelites foreseen by God. Or: *fugitives* etc., that is, wishing to escape the providence of God; which could not be, since it is said above, the sixteenth: « It is impossible to escape thy hand ». *They lay hid,* that is, they thought to lie hid, according to this of Proverbs, the fourteenth: « The evil shall lie down before the good »; or *they pleased,* namely in punishment, who displeased in fault, because through punishment there comes about the reordering of those who through fault had been disordered.

(Vers. 3.). *And while they think to lie hid,* namely from God the punisher, though nevertheless « all things are naked and open to his eyes », to the Hebrews, the fourth. *To lie hid,* I say, *in their dark sins,* that is, enormous ones, which are done chiefly in the dark; to the Ephesians, the fifth: « The things that are done by them in secret, it is a shame even to speak of », because « he that doth evil hateth the light », John, the third; on account of this sins are called « the works of darkness », to the Romans, the thirteenth. *With a dark veil of forgetfulness,* that is, with the gloom of darkness veiling them and bringing on forgetfulness of others, while, namely, they could not help themselves; *they were scattered,* namely one from another, *being horribly afraid,* that is, with a horrible fear, namely on account of the darkness. *And troubled with exceeding great astonishment,* namely on account of the unaccustomed newness of the thing; above, the fifth: « Seeing it, they shall be troubled with terrible fear, and shall be amazed » etc.; Job, the eighteenth: « They that come after him shall be astonished at his day, and horror shall fall upon them that went before ».

*For neither did the den that held them* etc. Here is shown the *irremediableness of the punishment,* first from the *place;* secondly from the *contrary: And the fire;* thirdly from *artifice: And the magic* etc.

(Vers. 4.). *For neither* etc. I said well: *being horribly afraid* etc.; *for neither did the den, that held them,* who, namely, had fled there on account of the hail and the rain and the fire. And note that he sets the *singular* for the *plural,* when he says *den,* because they had not fled to one den only, but to several, and they thought to lie hid in divers places; *keep them without fear;* the Gloss: « Because horror always accompanies darkness; and the less one discerns the things that are about him, the more he fears ». *For a sound coming down,* namely into that pit, *a sound,* I say, either of heavenly thunders, or of diabolical illusions; *troubled,* that is, thoroughly troubled, *them;* Job, the fifteenth: « The sound of dread is always in his ears ». *And sad persons appearing to them.*

But how did they appear in so great darkness?

It can be said that they did not appear to sense, but to imagination.

*Afforded them dread,* because, as the Gloss says, « it could be that the demons cast upon them certain terrible phantasms, which frightened them to the increase of their punishments », according to that of Job, the seventh: « Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions ».

*And the fire indeed* etc. Here is shown the irremediableness of the punishment, and this on the *part of the contrary,* namely of fire: first, because it *afforded no help;* secondly, because it rather *afforded harm: But there appeared to them.*

(Vers. 5.). He says therefore: *And no power of fire indeed could afford them lumen**;* whence illumination failed them on the *lower* side; and he says: *no power,* because there are three species of fire, according to the Philosopher, namely light, flame and coal. *Nor of the stars* (*siderum*), that is, of the stars (*stellarum*), *the clear flames,* that is, given [so printed: *dati* for *clari*] rays, *could illuminate that horrible night;* whence it is clear that lumen failed them on the *upper* side, although the stars are placed above to illuminate the night, Genesis, the first. And deservedly lumen was lacking to them, because, namely, they were rebels against the spiritual lumen; Job, the twenty-fourth: « They have been rebellious to the lumen », and therefore the sun of justice did not rise upon them; whence above, the fifth: « The sun of understanding hath not risen upon us, and the lumen of justice hath not shone unto us ».

(Vers. 6.). *But there appeared to them,* namely to the Egyptians, *a sudden fire,* namely of heavenly lightnings, *full of fear,* namely on account of the sight of the evils seen, namely of the thunderbolts; « for the heavier the pains are, the greater the horrors that are feared ». *And struck with fear*, on account of the vision of evils imagined, *of that face which was not seen,* that is, of a phantasm not seen outwardly, but imagined inwardly, which the devil sent in to terrify them more; *they thought the things which were seen to be worse,*

supply: than they were according to the truth of the thing; Job, the eighteenth: « Fears shall terrify him on every side, and shall entangle his feet ».

*And the magic* etc. Here is shown the irremediableness *from artifice,* namely of the magic art; and first is shown *the confusion of the magicians;* secondly, *the matter of the confusion,* namely fear: *For they;* thirdly, *the cause outwardly effecting fear: For though nothing;* fourthly, *the disposition inwardly increasing fear: For often* etc. And there are touched three things increasing fear, of which the first is *the remorse of conscience;* the second is *the perturbation* following remorse: *For always;* the third is *the distrust of help* following both: *For fear is nothing* etc.

(Vers. 7.). *And of the magic art,* that is, of the magicians themselves, *were put,* namely to the aforesaid evils, *the mockeries,* in this, namely, that they tried to expel these evils and could not; whence they themselves too feared exceedingly; Exodus, the eighth: « This is the finger of God ». *And the glory of wisdom,* that is, the glory of the magicians in their wisdom, *was a rebuke with reproach,* supply: was, that is, the cause of a reproachful correction; Proverbs, the eleventh: « Where pride is, there also shall be reproach »; Jeremias, the ninth: « Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom ».

(Vers. 8.). And I said well that their *rebuke* was *with reproach* of themselves; *for they,* namely the magicians, *who promised to expel fears,* namely interior ones, *and perturbations,* namely exterior ones, namely through their magic art, *from a languishing soul,* namely for fear and perturbation; *these, with mockery,* brought on them by others, *full of fear,* in themselves, *languished.* Whence to each of them could be said that of Luke, the fourth: « Physician, heal thyself »; Proverbs, the twenty-fifth: « As clouds, and wind, when no rain followeth, so is the man that boasteth, and doth not fulfil his promises ».

(Vers. 9.). *For though nothing from monsters,* that is, from phantasms appearing, or from the miracles of Moses, *disturbed them,* because, namely, they were accustomed to monsters, as Balaam did not fear the speech of the ass, as is clear from Numbers, the twenty-second. *Yet by the passing of animals,* namely sudden and violent, namely of bears and lions and the like, *and the hissing of serpents* or *of serpents,* which, namely, they could not see, *moved,* namely inwardly; *trembling,* namely outwardly, *they perished,* namely failing on account of the aforesaid things; Deuteronomy, the twenty-eighth: « The Lord will give thee a fearful heart, and languishing eyes, and a soul consumed with pensiveness, and thou shalt fear night and day ». *And,* that is, also, *the air, which no one could by any means escape,* namely on account of the necessity of breathing in and breathing out; *denying that they saw,* on account of the palpable darkness.

(Vers. 10.). *For often they forecast,* namely by thinking and expecting before the event, *the worst things,* namely the penalties to be inflicted for sins; he says *the worst,* because evil things in life, worse in death, the worst after death; or: evil things innate, worse brought on by man, but the worst inflicted by God; on account of which to the Hebrews, the tenth: « It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ». *Conscience reproving,* them, according to that of Jeremias, the second: « Thy own malice shall reprove thee ». *For whereas wickedness is fearful,* that is, having fear annexed to it, for the reason that the evil of fault always follows upon or accompanies the evil of punishment; whence as « perfect charity casteth out fear », as is said in the first of John, the fourth; so iniquity causes or brings it on; in the Psalm: « They have trembled for fear, where there was no fear »; likewise Leviticus, the twenty-sixth: « The sound of a flying leaf shall terrify them »; *it beareth witness of condemnation,* namely against its own doer; whence to the Romans, the second: « Their conscience bearing witness »; *witness,* I say, *of condemnation,* namely of its doer, that is, it testifies that he is worthy of condemnation; whence above, the fifth: « We fools » etc.; likewise Genesis, the forty-second: « We deserve to suffer these things, because we have sinned against our brother ». Others have: *is given unto the condemnation of all. For it always presumes,* that is, before they come, suspects, *grievous things,* that is, harsh things about to befall it, *a troubled conscience,* namely by sin or by the remorse of sin; whence Cain says, Genesis, the fourth: « Every one, therefore, that findeth me, shall kill me ».

(Vers. 11.). *For fear is nothing.* Note that here a *causal* predication, not an *essential* one, is had; for *fear* is not *presumption,* but is caused from presumption, that is, from the presumed suspicion of an evil to come. Hence he describes fear here in two ways: first through its *cause,* which is the presumption of an evil to come; secondly, through *its effect,* which is the betrayal or manifestation of the thought that help is failing. *For fear is nothing*

*but a help of presumption*, that is, the presumption or suspicion of an evil to come or about to happen helping towards fearing, and *a betrayal of the thought of helps,* namely failing ones, that is, a thought betraying the lack of help both to the one fearing and to others, namely those who perceive by his fear that help is failing him. Hence such fear makes one cry out asking for help, as is clear in Peter, who, when he began to sink, cried out and said: « Lord, save me », Matthew, the fourteenth.

(Vers. 12.). *And while from within,* namely in the mind, *the expectation is less,* that is, hope or confidence, because it lacks justice, which makes the just confident and secure, according to that of Proverbs, the twenty-eighth: « The just, bold as a lion, shall be without dread ». *It thinks the power greater,* that is, they reckon the force for harming greater, *of that cause,* namely the terrible one, *from which the torment comes forth,* that is, threatens them, because the lack of greater hope and confidence increases fear, making one suspect the evil that threatens to be greater than it is.

Otherwise it seems that it can be expounded according to the Gloss, from that point: *For it always presumes grievous things* etc.; as if to say: deservedly *wickedness beareth witness of condemnation; for it always presumes grievous things,* that is, it presumptuously lifts itself up to inflict grievous things on others; *a troubled conscience,* that is, an angry conscience, not a tranquil one; *for* (*enim*), for *sed* ("but"). *For fear is nothing but a help of presumption,* that is, a medicine, namely by repressing the motion of this presumption, and *a betrayal,* that is, a manifestation, *of the thought of helps,* that is, of the infirm thought, which before lifted itself up by presuming that it did not need help. *And while from within the expectation is less,* that is, a lesser power of harming is hoped for in the thing by which it is punished, namely from without; *it thinks the power greater,* that is, the strength for harming it, than it is according to the truth.

*But they* etc. Here is shown *the generality of the punishing,* first on the part of *time;* secondly, on the part of *the persons afflicted: Moreover if any one;* thirdly, on the part of *the causes: Whether it were a whistling wind.*

(Vers. 13. 14.). As if to say: thus were the magicians terrified; *but they,* namely the Egyptians, *who the night truly powerless,* that is, strong, because very dark and long and to be illuminated by no remedy; *and from the lowest,* namely by the rising of vapours and of gross fumes darkening the air; *and from the highest*, namely by the failure of the irradiation of the heavenly bodies, *coming upon them,* that is, coming over them, *slept the same sleep,* that is, a common one, *sleeping,* because as one slept, so did another, no better. — *Sometimes they were harassed with the fear of monsters,* that is, of monstrous phantasms appearing to them in their sleep; Job, the seventh: « Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions ». *Sometimes their souls failed by the carrying across,* that is, as it were by an imminent going forth from the body, and this while waking, when they had now been roused; because, as the Gloss says, « neither waking nor sleeping could they rest, because they were surrounded by horrible monsters and visions and exceeding terror ». *For a sudden,* that is, a hasty, *and unlooked-for,* that is, an unforeseen, because quickly and unexpectedly, *fear had come upon them,* that is, from above, from the divine judgment; Isaias, the forty-seventh: « Misery shall come upon thee suddenly, which thou shalt not know ».

(Vers. 15.). *Moreover,* namely besides the aforesaid evils, *if any of them,* namely of the Egyptians, *had fallen down,* namely into a pit or something of the kind, *he was kept in prison,* that is, in the place where he had fallen, not able to go out from it, *shut up without iron,* that is, without iron bonds, because all were fettered by the bond of darkness, as is clear above in the same chapter.

(Vers. 16.). *For if any one were a countryman,* that is, a tiller of the country, *or a shepherd,* of animals, *or a labourer in the works of the field,* as a reaper or a vintager, *and had been overtaken,* namely by that darkness outside his house; *he endured a necessity from which he could not fly,* namely want and affliction, because no one moved himself for three days from the place where he was, as is clear from Exodus, the tenth.

(Vers. 17. 18.). *For with one,* that is, a common, *chain of darkness,* namely of exterior darkness, *they were all bound together,* that is, tied together. And not only by the chain of exterior darkness, but of interior, namely of unbelief and of sins; whence Proverbs, the fifth: « With the ropes of his own sins » each one « is fast bound »; likewise in the Psalm: « The cords of sinners have encompassed me ». *Whether a wind* etc. I said well that they endured necessity; *for whether a wind* hissing to itself, that is, « the whistling of a gentle air », the third of Kings, the nineteenth; *or among the thick*

*branches of trees the sound of birds,* that is, their song, *sweet, sweet,* in so far as of itself it was fit for delighting rather than for terrifying; *or the force of water running down too much,* that is, running violently, as the waters of torrents run. — *Or the mighty sound of stones hurling down*, that is, falling violently from high places, *or the unseen running of animals playing,* namely on account of the density of the darkness, *of animals,* namely of mild ones, as of beasts of burden; *or the mighty voice of lowing beasts,* that is, of wild beasts, or of bears, or of lions, or the like; *or an echo resounding from the highest mountains,* that is, the reproduction of the voice of animals on account of the reverberation of mountains or of rocks; *made them faint for fear,* namely all the things said above; whence the Gloss: « On every side the wretches were tormented; for whatever they perceived by the ears, or by the eyes, or by any sense, they dreaded as dangerous ».

And it is to be noted that the aforesaid *chain,* speaking *morally,* signifies the *progress* and *connexion* of sins, of which Isaias, the fifty-eighth: « If thou take away the chain out of the midst of thee ». *The whistling wind* signifies the hidden suggestion of the devil; Apocalypse, the sixteenth: « I saw from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits go forth like frogs ». *The sweet sound of birds,* the delectation of thoughts; Sophonias, the second: « The voice of the singing bird in the window ». *The water running down,* consent to the perpetration of sin, against which Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-fifth: « Give no issue to thy water, no, not a little ». *The sound of falling stones,* the exterior operation of sin; Job, the fourteenth: « A mountain falling cometh to nought, and a rock is removed out of its place ». *The running of playing animals,* depraved custom; Job, the fortieth: « All the beasts of the field play there ». *The mighty voice of lowing beasts,* open glorying in sin perpetrated; against which in the Psalm: « Why dost thou glory in malice »? *The resounding echo,* the delectable remembrance of sin; Numbers, the eleventh: « We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt ».

*For the whole* etc. Here is touched *the singularity of the punishment;* and because « opposites placed beside one another shine out the more », first is touched *the illumination of the others;* secondly, *the darkening of the Egyptians: But over them only* etc.; thirdly, *the merit of the darkening: They therefore.*

(Vers. 19.). I said well: that the Egyptians were fettered with the bonds of darkness, and not others; *for the whole world,* namely except the region of Egypt, *was made bright with a clear* « that is, bright », *lumen,* namely of the sun and of the heavenly luminaries, although elsewhere there were many sinners in the world; Matthew, the fifth: « He maketh his sun to rise upon the good and bad ». *And with works unhindered it was kept,* that is, preserved, *with works unhindered,* of the luminaries, by the density of the darkness; or in another way: *with works unhindered,* of men other than the Egyptians, on account of the lack of light, since elsewhere there was the clearness of light, which is required for working; whence John, the ninth: « Work, while it is day; for the night cometh, when no man can work ».

(Vers. 20.). *But over them only,* namely the Egyptians, *was placed,* namely by God, *a heavy night,* because darker than usual and longer; Job, the thirty-seventh: « For we are wrapped up in darkness ». *Night,* I say, being *an image,* that is, an express representation, *of darkness,* namely of the eternal darkness; *which,* namely the image of darkness, that is, the imagined darkness, *was to come upon them,* namely in hell; whence Matthew, the twenty-fifth: « The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness »; likewise Job, the tenth: « A land of misery and darkness » etc. And because they suffered such heavy darkness, and not undeservedly; *they therefore were to themselves a heavier darkness*, that is, the cause of a heavier darkness, supply: than that which they suffered, that is, of the darkness to come upon them in hell; whence Job, the thirty-fourth: « He knoweth their works, and therefore he shall bring night on them, and they shall be destroyed ». Or: *they were a heavier darkness,* that is, more dangerous, through the blinding of the heart; « for their own malice blinded them », above, the second; to the Ephesians, the fifth: « You were heretofore darkness »; some books have: *heavier than the darkness,* namely the exterior darkness, on account of the remorse of conscience.

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