Prologue to the Second Book of Sentences
Theology, Life, and God's Word
------------------Prologue to the Second Book of Sentences OnlY this have I found: that God made the human person upright, and he has entangled himself in an infinity of questions
[Eccl 7 :30].
The words just quoted from the wise man in Ecclesiastes provide. a response to tho. anxious to on ider th principal intention and entire ont nts of Lh se ond Book of Senttfl1ccs.
Wh on eon has attempted t follow wisdom in all rna teTs, and failed mol' often than suce eded, it is nec ssalY t acknowlt-dge what has been discovered: t/f(lt God //lade the hUl/lal/ person upright, and he has cnttntglcd himself in an jnjlniO' o/questions. This statement en ompasse two realitie : upright formation and rectitude come. from God, since God made the human person upright, and the miserable deformation of humankind originates in the human person, since he has entangled himself in an infinity of questions. These two statements encompass the goal of all human understanding: to recognize the origin of good, to seek it out, reach it, and rest in it; and to know the source and origin of evil, so as to avoid it and guard against it. These matters include the whole intention of this book, namely two things: the original condition of humankind and the subsequent fall from that state.
The Original State of Humankind God made the 11ll1l1C1.n per on upright tells us of the original human stat . . he lllanner in which rod made humankind UI ri ' h is explained by irach: God created tlte /tumall p(Jrsrm from the emth re.f; rst lh b dy; muJ made him after his aWIIllllrrgtf r fers to nalur f Lh soul; and he tUI'I'II:d him il'lto it again refers to the .1ddition of grac [ l7: 1-2]. This grace tum the s nil toward od by mean of habits, called virt u s' therefor , it , tat unci clothed him with strength according to himself. These words demon-
Theology, Life, and God's Word ----------- ---------strate that God not only made rectitude possible for men and won ,en b on~ ITin his image upon Lhem. but a tually made th m upright hy turning lhem toward him. A per
11 is pright when millen;tanding is in accord wi ]) th · 11 ighe l truth ill I.h act of knowing, thewUl i con [onned to the highest good in the a ' I. of loving. and :trength i join 'd WiLh he high t lOw ' r in op raling. T his () UI'S when om one urns omplel Iyaway from self and toward God.
Apr on is upright. first rail. vvh n lind· rstandlng is in accordwiththe higlpsttrULh.Wh nI sa "in a' ord," h vev ' r,I do no ' mean cornplct Iy, ruth 'r a Lype of imitation. If, as Anselm says, ' blJLh i ' rectitud p rccivable to the mind Ion ," and no hing e \uals lIprigh n . ' Iil thaL which i ul right, then when our intellect is in accord with the truth, it is necessarily rectified. The intellect is brought into accord when it actually turns toward the truth. Actual truth is defined as "the accord between perception and reality." When om understanding is turned toward truth it is made true and thus in accord with truth, just as it is made upright when it is in accord with rectitude. Augustine's book, The True Religion, states:
"Without truth, no one judges rightly." But the one who looks to the truth judges rightly, as the Lord said to Simon: You have judged rightly [Lk 7:43]; that is, "you have decided properly."
Likewise, a person is "rectified" as the will is conformed to the highest good. The highest good is the highest equity or justice; for one becomes better as one becomes more just. Anselm, however, says: "Justice is the rectitude of the will." Nothing, however, conforms to uprightness as that which is upright;
111 pror ,a long as the will is shaped in harmony with the highest good and equity, it is certainly rectified. The will is con form d when it turns, in love, toward the good. As Hugh of Saint Vi t r says: "I know, soul of mine. that when you love
'omething, you ar tra ns~ rm d into its til ·ne s." The one who loves guodn 5S i. upright. This i what the ong of 0ngs tat : The upright lOl/e)lOU [I :3]; that is to say, "the upright tum t 'Ward yow' oodn ss whil y ur goodn's5 inclines toward lh 'm." TIle soul Iial. ha expr ri nc d this ries out ~md says:
T/t(tJ/vgv. L!{t. amI Gc =d~"_"'~'~nI ,----_____ _ 61 I-low g(wd God is to Israel, to those II'JIl1 arr OI {//I IIprigllt hw rt! lPs
72: I J. And since it is only the upright who are experienced in this regard, it is said: Pmist isfittillgfor the II/JI'ight [Ps 32: I j.
A person is no less rectified when his or her power is joined with the highest power. ~Som c thin g is upright, whose mean docs not extend beyond {'xu-ellles." The extremes arc theflrst
IIm{ /l1st. a/pllllllllli omegll, begillllillg fl/lff wd [Rv 22: i 3]. The action by wllich an agent reaches the goal is found in the middle.
That power is therefore "upright" whose operation is from the first pri nciple to the last end. Since divine power is operative in all things and works on God 's account, il is the most upright of all operations. Noth ing joins with what is upright except the upright; and so, when power joins with the highest power it undoubtedly becomes upright.. As a result, a human being is not only made upright but is also made I1Iler and killg as suggested in Deuteronomy: I-/e will be king lI'ilh tlte I1I(}St Il/'right: til!' prillces cif thi' people bdllg IIssemble(/ with the tribes f!f Ismrll33:5 ].
This will happen in glory, when our power will be joined to the divine pov'ier. W e will have complete power then over our wills, just as God has over his. Consequently all are kings and promised the kingdom of heaven.
Cod, therefore, made men and women upriglll when he turned them toward himself. In their turning toward Cod, t.hey became upright. not only in rdation to things above them but. also in relation to things beneath them. Men :\nd women stand in t.he middle. WhiJe. t.hey are turned in lhe direction of God and subject to him , everything else is subject to them.
This is so because God subjected every crented truth to their intellect for discern ment, evelY good to their affecLions fo r usc, every force to their power for governance.
Indeed it follows that hurnnn understanding, once it cncoumers divine tnlth , lays claim to the wisdom by which all things ilre discerned. For according to the Book of Wisdom: I-Ie gf/Jli~ me the kl/OJv/cflga of all thillgs till/t 1 might kll(lw: the rlisposil iOIl t!f the whole world, (/ 1/(/ the power tif the dell/cllts; tlli' bq!,illllillg, (11/(1 Cllr/illg, miff ill-bct lweI/ of the timcs, the a/tertlliolls oj their CJJllrses. fIIlff tIle ch(fl/gel' f!f the Sl'flSOIlS; the t:YcI(~ of tIll' ) 'Cflr, (f1U1 the order of the
Theology, Life, and God's Word -------------------stars; the nature of living creatures, and the rage of wild animals, the force of the winds, and reasoning ofhumankind, the diversity of plants, and the power of roots; such things hidden and unforeseen [7: 1 7 -21].
And so Adam gave names to all things.
God subjected, nonetheless, all things to human will for their use so that they might utilize everything to their advantage. As the psalm says: He has put all things under hisfeet [8:8].
Likewise in the First Letter to the Corinthians, the apostle, when speaking to those already turned toward God, states: Everything is for you [3:22]. According to Genesis, God also subjected everything to the power of humankind for governance:
Subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea and the birds of the air [1:28].
The upright condition of the human person in relation to things above and below is touched upon in the passage: Let us make the human person to our image and likeness; and let him have dominion, etc. [Gn 1 :26]. God made men and women upright, therefore, when he turned toward them and made them similar to himself, thus placing them over everything. This clearly reveals that upright condition of humankind.
The Poverty of Humankind What follows brings to mind the miserable deviation of the human person: he has entangled himself in an infinity of questions.
Here we note the way humankind fell as well as the state into which it fell. The manner of the fall is indicated by three aspects of sin and three points in the text. Sin entails a turning from, a turning toward, and a loss of goods or stripping. In the text
"entangling" refers to the turning toward, "infinity" to the turning from, and "questions" to a stripping. The act of turning toward renders men and women impure, the turningfrom leaves them weak, and a stripping reduces them to poverty. All this is contained in the words: he has entangled himself in an infinity of questions.
Theology, Life, and God's Word
W also not the stat into which humanity fell. Although men and women fell ,fr m uprightness to the extent of losing uprightness itself, lhey did not lose th apLitud for it. Th"y lost the habit of uprightne. without losing the inclination to it. The similitude was lost, n vertheles ,lte per ses like al1 image lP 38:71Men and wom n becam anxious sear her, b cause the inclination remained without the habit. No created object could compensate for the good lost, since it was infinite, and so the human person desires, seeks, but never rests. Thus by turning away from uprightness he entangled himself in an infinity of questions.
The understanding, b turning away from the highest truth, becom -s ignorant; it enmeshes its If in endless questions through curiosity.
Ec 1 sia te says: There 6crC those who daJI and night take no lccp with tlteil' t!Ycs.ll1l1d '1' tcll1d that II/C/n em find no reclson oJall those words of Cod [8: 16-.I7J, which, n ntight add, auld put an nd to hi desires and inquiries. Inde d, one question leads to another, provokes a new d bate, and tho e asking the qu stion are ntangl d in in :t.ri able d ub '. That is why 1 roverb states: It i. an !tollor/or a mal1 to epnrate him elf fr01ll quarrels; but Cllljools are m,eddling Ivith n~proaches [20:3]. Mi erabl are they wiLo, according to the irst L tter to Tim hy, pay attention tofables tlnl'i endless f(ellcalogies that prompt questto/ls
[1 :4]. Th ond tt r l.a T imothy n.otes that tll se peopl,e, by Lheirv ry natur , pro okeabuse, be aus theY[lrecverlcamillg and IICI7er attainiNg to the f.:now/edge (if th ' truth 1.3: 7].
The will, by opposing the highest good, becomes destitute as con upisc n and greed entangle it in an infinite nllmb r of que. tions. As I rove.rbs say: Tile fire IIwer say., It i enough
[30: 16] and Ecclesiastes adds: A cOJIetous man II>,il/ Not be stttiifierl IVith mong; [5:9].
0 th hUl1'lan p rson is ndle sl asking and begging. ovetousnes, til wise, is never satisfjed. Instead, it is ent\·vin d in endless qu stiol'lS dealing with th d sir r r pleasure. Wisdom ta cs: All thing al" mixed tog,'thcr, Mood, murder, theft and gllilt:, corruption alld IIl1ja.itlifuIIlC5' ,tumult and perjury, distzllVillg tlu: good, forgcifulness oj God, d~fi.ling of souls, cllnngrng ojlln.ture, di ordt:r in mal7'iage, alld the irregulnrit;y qladul-