CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER X
CHAPTER 10
1. (Verse 1a). So he adds: Dying flies, that is, thoughts coming to sinners and inciting them to mortal sin,1 spoil the sweetness of the ointment, that is, the thoughts lose their anointing and with it many good things, for 1 John 2:27 reads: "Anointing teaches you about all things."2 Another interpretation is: The sweetness of the ointment, that is, inner devotion and the sweetness of wisdom. Proverbs 27:9 says: "A person is delighted by ointment and various perfumes."3
2. (Verses 1b-2). Wisdom is more precious. Third, he prefers wisdom to the height of earthly glory or to the foolishness desired by the stupid. Therefore, he says: Wisdom is more precious and a little glory,4 that is, with a little glory.
1Hugh of St. Cher, 97v, bc comments: "Restless sinners, unclean like flies."
21 John 2:27 reads: "And as for you, let the anointing that you received from him, dwell in you, and you have no need that anyone teach you.
But as his anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is no lie, even as it has taught you, abide in him." Hugh of St. Cher, 97v, bc also cites 1 John 2:27 and has the future tense: "The anointing will teach you about all things."
3Proverbs 27:9 states: "The heart delights in ointment and various perfumes, and the good counsels of a friend are sweet to the soul." Hugh of St. Cher, 97v, c quotes Proverbs 27:9 in its entirety.
4The Vulgate reads et gloria parva ("and a little glory") while Bonaventure has parvaque gloria ("and a little glory").
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
For a time, that is, while still on earth. It is better, I say, than foolishness, even with much glory. Ecclesiastes 4:13 above states: "Better a child who is poor and wise than a king who is old and foolish." Or the meaning can be that wisdom is better than foolishness, and even a little passing glory, that is, glory given at a fitting time, is better than foolishness.
3. And he adds the reason: The heart of the wise are in their right hands, and the heart of the fools is in their left hands, the right representing good things and the left bad things. Matthew 25:22 has: "He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on his left."5 So his intention is to say that the wise think on good things and the foolish on bad things. We read in Proverbs 10:32: "The lips of the just consider what is acceptable, and the mouth of the wicked utters perverse things." The right hand gives knowledge of eternal goods; the left of temporal goods. Thus, Proverbs 3:16 states: "Length of days is in her right hand, and in her left hand are riches and glory."6 So his intent is to say that the wise think of and desire eternal good while the stupid think of and desire temporal goods. The Song of Songs 2:6 says: "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand will embrace me." The foolish think of what is vain and do not know how to discern either in themselves or in others what is more fitting.
4. (Verse 3). So he adds: But, and the fool when he walks in the way, that is, in that way which seems to him to be good. Proverbs 12:15 reads: "The way of the fool is right in his own eyes."7 Whereas he himself is a fool, that is, he walks stupidly, because he is walking in the dark.
Ecclesiastes 2:14 above says: "The fool walks in darkness."
5Hugh of St. Cher, 98e also quotes Matthew 25:22.
6Hugh of St. Cher, 98g also cites Proverbs 3:16.
7Hugh of St. Cher, 98l also cites Proverbs 12:15.
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He esteems all people to be fools. For Proverbs 26:16 reads:
"The sluggard is wiser in his own conceit than seven men who voice their opinions."
QUESTION 31
A question arises here on what he means by the words:
The person who will sin in one, etc.8
1. For if God always punishes according to what is fitting,9 then a person who sins in one matter should not be punished except for that one sin. Therefore, a person should not lose many, but only one thing.
2. Also, it seems from this that there is a connection between sins just as there is between virtues.10 For, if sin is a lack of good and if many good things are lost by one sin, then a person incurs much harm from one sin. But this can only be if sins are connected, and so there is a connection between sins.
3. Moreover, that there is a connection between all sins seems to follow from James 2:10: Whoever sins in one matter, has become guilty of all. Therefore, it seems that a person who commits one sin is as guilty as if he had committed all sins.
But contra: 1. Some sins are contrary to one another. And if there is a connection between sins, then two contraries would be in the same thing at the same time, which is impossible.11
8See Ecclesiastes 9:18.
9On p. 80 n. 4 QuarEd quote Wisdom 11:27: "But you spare all, because they are yours, O Lord, who loves souls." They also refer to Book IV, d.
46, a. 2, q. 2 on Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary. See Omnia Opera 4:963.
10On p. 80 n. 5 QuarEd refer to Book III, d. 36, q. 1 and 3 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary. See Omnia Opera 3:791 and 796 respectively.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
2. Also, sins are not from God, but acquired from what we do. But it is sure that by the same deed we do not acquire temperance and justice, since they are acquired by customary action.12 It is the same with sins.
I reply that the word sin is to be seen from the point of view of deformity and from the perspective of liability to punishment. With respect to deformity three things may be involved, namely, the loss of a good freely given; the loss of a natural good or of a natural ability; and lastly, an inclination to act in a disordered way, which is also called a certain ability. Concerning the loss of a good freely given, there is indeed a connection between sins, because to commit one sin is to lose grace and all the virtues in so far as they are freely given. Concerning the loss of an ability there is no connection, but a distinction among them because each sin deprives one of its own ability. Relative to the third loss, namely, the inclination to act in a disordered way, there is no distinction or connection whatsoever, nor does one sin incline one to another sin. Sometimes, however, one sin may lead to another sin, as the sin of gluttony can lead to a sin of voluptuousness. Likewise in spiritual matters pride may lead to envy.
11On p. 80 n. 7 QuarEd cite Book II, n. 14 of Aristotle's Categoriae.
See WAE, vol. 1, 11b: "Pairs of opposites which are contraries are not in any way interdependent, but are contrary the one to the other. . . .Those contraries which are such that the subjects in which they are naturally present, or of which they are predicated, must necessarily contain either the one or the other of them, have no intermediate. . . ."
12On p. 80 n. 8 QuarEd quote Book II, n. 1 of Aristotle's Ethica nicomachea. See WAE, vol. 9, 1103a: ". . . moral virtue comes about as a result of habit. . . .Neither by nature, then, nor contrary to nature do the virtues arise in us; rather we are adapted by nature to receive them, and are made perfect by habit." The editors refer to Book III, d.
36, q. 1 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary for a consideration of virtues bestowed by grace, that is, the infused virtues. See Omnia Opera
3:791.
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Seen from the point of view of liability to punishment, sin puts one under a double punishment, namely, lack of vision and the pain of fire. With respect to the first there is a connection, because whoever commits one sin loses the glory due to all the virtues. Concerning the second there is no connection, but a distinction, because there is a pain corresponding to each sin. – Therefore, this text of Ecclesiastes and that of James the Blessed are to be understood relative to the loss of grace and glory.13
1. To the objection that a person is punished beyond what is fitting, I say that this is false. For whoever sins in one act sins against the grace of all the virtues, and so deserves to lose all.
ECCLESIASTES 10:4-6
THE PROMOTION OF THE
FOOLISH 5. If the spirit of the one who has power. He has treated above of the despising of a wise person and of the just approval of such a person. Here in a third point he adds the promotion of the foolish. Since the rule of the stupid is burdensome, he recommends the armor of patience. Further, he describes the disordered rule of the foolish where verse 5 reads: There is an evil that I have seen, etc.
6. (Verse 4). He recommends the armor of patience by saying: If the spirit of the person who has power, that is, the fury of a prelate. For in Isaiah 2:22 spirit is said to be fury:
"Get away from the person, whose spirit is in his nostrils."14
1 Kings 19:11 reads: "A great and strong spirit,15 overthrowing the mountains and breaking rocks to pieces." Ascend
13On p. 80 n. 9 QuarEd refer to Book III, d. 36, q. 4 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary. See Omnia Opera 3:799.
14Bonaventure is referring to the snorting of the person filled with fury.
15The reference is to the wind.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
upon you, namely, to oppress. Jeremiah 4:13 states: "Behold, he will ascend like a cloud, and his chariots like a tempest. . . .Woe unto us, for we have been laid waste."
Leave not your place, that is, a place of patience and constancy, in which your soul is at rest, according to what
Luke 21:19 says: "In your patience you will possess your souls." 1 Peter 2:18-19 has: "Servants, be subject to your masters in all fear, not only to the . . . gentle, but also to the severe. For this is a grace, if a person endures on account of conscience towards God," etc. He gives the reason why this is useful: Because care will make the greatest sins to cease. Here the distress of troubles is called the care,16 by which a person is cured. Wisdom 6:19 says: "The care of discipline is love, and love is the keeping of her laws." The predicates of both parts of Wisdom 6:19 have a causal connection,17 because, if love is reached through many troubles and the law is observed, then love puts an end to sin.
7. There is another exposition: If the spirit of the person who has power, that is, if the spirit of ambition, that is, the malice of the ambitious person, ascend upon you, that is, if it enters your mind, so that you want to be a prelate, leave not your place, namely, the place of subjection and service. About this Luke 14:8-9 says: "When you are invited to a wedding, recline in the lowest place. And Sirach
11:22 reads: "Trust in God and stay in your place." And Ecclesiastes gives the reason: Because care will make the greatest sins to cease. The translation of Symmachus reads:
Because purity will make the greatest sins to cease.18 For 16Douay translates curatio as "care." Its basic meaning, however, is
"cure" or "healing." As Bonaventure's commentary will indicate, the meaning of Ecclesiastes 10:4b is not crystal clear. NAB translates
Ecclesiastes 10:4b: "for mildness abates great offenses."
17On p. 81 n. 1 QuarEd refer to Omnia Opera 3:528 note 5 for more detail on causal predication.
18On p. 81 n. 3 QuarEd quote Jerome's commentary on this verse.
See his Commentarius in Ecclesiasten in CCSL lxxii, 334-335.:
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1 Corinthians 9:27 states: "I chastise my body and bring it into subjection, lest, perhaps, after I have preached19 to others, I myself should become a castaway."
8. Others interpret the text about the devil: If the spirit of the one who has power, that is, the devil. Job 41:24 reads:
"There is no power on earth that can be compared with him." Ascend upon you, that is, through temptation. Luke
11:24 states: "When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it walks through places without water, seeking rest, and finds none." Leave not your place, namely, the place of penance. Ephesians 4:27 says: "Give no place to the devil."
Because care will make the greatest sins to cease. The text of Origen reads healing, which results from the medicine of penance.20 Sirach 11:29 has: "The affliction of one21 hour makes one forget the greatest22 voluptuousness," that is, a short penance makes one forget a great sin.23
"Symmachus translated in a similar way the Hebrew marphe, which all had translated as hiama, which means health or cure, according to its sense and said: 'If the spirit of the prelate rushes upon you, do not abandon your place, because purity conquers great sins.' That is, if the devil titillates your mind and incites you to voluptuousness, do not follow the most wretched thought and the one tempting to voluptuousness, but be strong and rigid, and extinguish by the frigidity of chastity the flames of voluptuousness."
19On p. 81 n. 3 QuarEd rightly mention that the Vulgate reads praedicaverim ("I have preached") while Bonaventure has praedicavero
("I have preached").
20On p. 81 n. 5 QuarEd refer to Origen's Hexapla. See PG 13:15531554 where Origen quotes both the LXX and Theodotion as reading: quia medela sedabit peccata magna ("because healing will appease great sins"). Interestingly, Bonaventure does not use medela ("healing"), but salvatio ("healing" or possibly "salvation"). In PG 13:1551 Origen says that the Latin of the Hebrew is sanitas ("healing").
21On p. 81 n. 5 QuarEd correctly state that the Vulgate does not read unius ("one").
22On p. 81 n.5 QuarEd accurately indicate that the Vulgate reads magnae ("great") while Bonaventure has maximae ("greatest").
23Hugh of St. Cher, 98r comments: "Because the healing] of penitential medicine. sWill make the greatest sins to cease] that is, that evil actions
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
9. (Verse 5). There is an evil that I have seen, etc. Second, he considers the disordered rule of the foolish. It is disordered both because of lack of knowledge and because of a lack of life, because the foolish and the wicked are promoted, but the wise and those rich in good behavior are dismissed. So he continues: There is an evil that I have seen under the sun, that is, in the present human condition, as it were by an error proceeding, not from an error concerning the truth, but seemingly from an error, which follows after a just discussion. From the face of the prince, namely, of the one from whom comes all power, who by a just decision sometimes gives the office of prelate to the wicked. Hosea 13:11 reads: "I will give you a king in my wrath and will take him away in my indignation."24
10. (Verse 6). Ecclesiastes states that this is an evil with respect to a lack of knowledge: A fool set in high dignity.
His expression set is a good one, because the fool occupies a false position. Psalm 72:18 reads: "You have set them up. When they were lifted up, you have cast them down."25
Another interpretation: Set like a useless stone. For the foolish prelate is addressed in Zechariah 11:17: "O shepherd and idol, who forsakes the flock, the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye. His arm will wither away, and his right eye will be utterly blackened."26 And therefore, are not performed. And therefore, one should resist suggestions and the giving of one's consent lest these temptations turn into actions.
Sirach 11:[29] says: The affliction of one hour makes one forget the greatest voluptuousness. Another interpretation of 'healing will make the greatest sins to cease' is: as if he were saying, penance heals all sins, namely, those of heart, mouth, and deed and heals the soul." The astute reader will note that Bonaventure and Hugh of St. Cher quote
Sirach 11:29 in the same way.
24See Hugh of St. Cher, 98v, m who also quotes Hosea 13:11.
25Bonaventure implies the first part of Psalm 72:18, but doesn't quote it. Psalm 72:18 reads: "But indeed in deceit you have set them up. When they were lifted up, you have cast them down."
26Hugh of St. Cher, 98v, o quotes the first words of Zechariah 11:17.
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Proverbs 26:8 states: "As the person who casts a stone into the pile of mercury, so is the person who gives honor to a fool." On the other hand, the rich sit beneath. The rich, that is, who are rich in good behavior, knowledge, and grace.
About these 1 Corinthians 1:5-7 says: "In all things you have been made rich in him, . . . so that nothing is lacking to you in any grace." And Isaiah 33:6 has: "The riches of salvation are wisdom and knowledge."
11. (Verse 7). With regard to the lack of life he says: I have seen servants upon horses. Servants are to be understood as sinners, about whom we read in John 8:34: "The person who commits sin is a servant of sin."27 Upon horses, put in the plural to express pomp. Deuteronomy 17:16 says:
"When he has been established, he will not multiply horses for himself."28 On the other hand, princes walking as servants,29 namely, those princes, whose concern is to lead a good life. Seneca says: "If you rule yourself well, you will be a prince."30 He saw them like servants, but in the future it will be different. Luke 14:11 has: "Everyone, who humbles himself, will be exalted, and the person who exalts himself will be humbled."
QUESTIONS 32
It is asked here whether it is just that the wicked are over the good.31 That it is just would seem to be so:
27Hugh of St. Cher, 98v, k also cites John 8:34.
28The context indicates that "a king" is the person being established.
29The Vulgate reads ambulantes quasi servos super terram ("walking as servants on the ground").
30On p. 81 n. 9 QuarEd cite two of Seneca's letters. On Letter 37, see Seneca ad Lucilium Epistulae Morales I, trans. Richard M. Gummere,
LCL (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1934), xxx: "If you would have all things under your control, put yourself under the control of reason. You will rule over many, if reason rules over you." On Letter
113, see LCL…………: "Self-command is the greatest command of all."
31See Ecclesiastes 10:6-7.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
1. Because it is said in Romans 13:1: There is no power, but from God. Therefore, wicked rulers have their power from no one else, but from God.
2. We also read in John 19:11 that Christ said to Pilate:
You would not have any power against me, unless it were given you from above. Augustine explains the words from above to mean "from God."32 Therefore, if Pilate was evil and used power wrongly, it is from God that evil people are rulers.
3. Moreover, 1 Peter 2:18-19 says: Be subject . . . not only to the good and gentle, but also to the severe and gives the reason: on account of conscience.33 Therefore, if it is just to be subject to them, and since all justice is from God, then this also is from God.
4. Furthermore, Job 34:30 reads: Who makes a hypocrite to reign on account of the sins of the people, etc.34 Therefore, etc.
Contra: 1. Hosea 8:4 reads: They have reigned, but not from me. They have been princes, and I knew not. Therefore, it seems that rule by the wicked is not from God.
32On p. 82 n. 2 QuarEd refer to three places where Augustine gives an exposition of John 19:11. See, for example, Augustine's third exposition of Psalm 32 in Expositions of the Psalms 1-32, trans. Maria
Boulding, Works of Saint Augustine Part III/Volume 15 (Hyde Park, NY: New City Press, 2000), 413: "There is no power, except from God
(Rom 13:1); this is the apostle's authoritative teaching. . . .The GodMan, standing before a man, said the same: You would have no power over me, had it not been given you from above (Jn 19:11). Pilate was judging; Christ was teaching. Even as he was being judged, Christ was teaching, so that he might later judge those whom he had taught." The editors also refer to Book II, d. 44, chapter 1 of Peter Lombard's
Sententiae in IV Libris Distinctae, 577-579.
33Bonaventure has adapted 1 Peter 2:18-19 to his purposes.
34On p. 82 n. 4 QuarEd correctly mention that the Vulgate reads hominem hypocritam ("a person who is a hypocrite") while Bonaventure has hypocritam ("hypocrite").
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2. Likewise, servitude is a punishment imposed because of sin.35 Hence, it is imposed on no sinner wrongly or unjustly. On the other hand, power is only given justly to a just person. So, if power is given to a sinner and servitude to a just person, there is a lack of order and justice in this instance. Wherefore, it is not from God.
3. Moreover, if the power of the wicked is just and from God, because anything from God has to be just, and since no one should take away the right of another,36 then no one should have to work at the whim of an evil ruler. Therefore, whoever works under these conditions is sinning against this regulation.
I reply that there are three kinds of evil or unjust rulers. There is one who is unjust as a person, but has become a ruler in a just manner and rules with justice. Such a ruler can rule with justice without sinning, and it is just to be subject to such a ruler. There is another ruler who acquires his office unjustly and rules without justice. Such a person can neither rule with justice nor should one be subject to this person. There is yet another ruler who is unjust, but obtained his office in a just manner. However, this individual rules without justice in putting down the good and promoting the wicked. It is lawful to be subject to such a person in those things concerning justice. But in things against God one should not be subject. "Because the person who abuses the power given merits to lose the 35On p. 82 n. 6 QuarEd cite Book II, chapter 11 n. 79 of Ambrose's De
Abraham. See PL 14:519B: "Servitude is contracted by sin, and sin is remitted at a price." The editors also refer to Omnia Opera 2:168 note
3 and 2:1008 note 3 for quotations from Augustine's works.
36On p. 82 n. 7 QuarEd cite Book I, title 6: Those who are sui juris and those who are alieni juris, law 2 from Justinian's Digest: "There must be no derogation from any man's legal rights." This text is not found in the appropriate spot in The Digest of Justinian, Volume 1, ed.
Alan Watson (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1998).
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
privilege,"37 even though lawfully in office. However, it is unjust to remove such a ruler.
To the objection in the first part, namely, whether it is just for the wicked to rule, it has to be said that when the wicked rule and hold the first place well, it is not harmful to the state. But the person who rules badly holds the office lawfully, not because of his own justice, but because of divine justice, for God makes him the ruler on account of the sins of the people.38 – And in this way an answer is given to the first objections that the power of evil rulers is from God.
1. To the first objection I reply that this is to be understood of those who take power unlawfully and by their own authority, not by God's authority.
2. To the objection about order, I reply that the punishment due sin remains even without further sins. I say that is also the case concerning servitude among the good.
3. To the objection that if the power is from God it must be just for a person to have such power, I reply that in comparison with the individual's own merits it is not just, but rather wicked. In comparison with the merits of wicked subjects, it is just. And since it is lawful for us, for various reasons, to want things that are contrary when the divine
37On p. 82 n. 9 QuarEd state that this principle comes from Pope Innocent III. See Book V, titulus 33 ("On the privileges and on the excesses of those holding the privileges"), chapters 11 and 24 of Decretales D. Gregorii Papae IX, suae integritati una cum glossis restitutae Ad exemplar Romanum diligenter recognitae, Editio ultima
(Tavrini: Apud Nicolaum Beuilaquam, 1621), 1810-1811 and 1827 respectively.
38On p. 82 n. 10 QuarEd helpfully refer to Job 34:30: "Who makes a person who is a hypocrite to reign on account of the sins of the people."
The editors also refer to Book XXV, chapter 16, n. 34-41 of Gregory the Great's Moralia in Iob. See CCSL cxliii b, 1259-1265.
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will is not clear, and we do not know which of these will please God more in the future, a person can work in a just way to have an unjust ruler removed. – Therefore, while the unjust ruler has power from God, it is the ruler who exercises the power. He possesses the power justly, but exercises it unjustly. And hence, in so far as the power is from God, the ruler is to be obeyed. But since he exercises this power unjustly, efforts should be made to have the ruler removed. This is the answer.39
ECCLESIASTES 10:8-11:10 THE REMEDY AGAINST THE
VANITY OF SECURITY
12. The person who digs a hole, etc. He has already treated the vanity of security, and now in a second point he wants to provide a remedy against this vanity. Since security comes from what seems to be a lack of just retribution and of a rule by providence, he divides the material into two. First he gives a remedy against the lack of the order of providence. Second is his consideration of the lack of just retribution where Ecclesiastes 11:1 below reads: Cast your bread, etc.
ECCLESIASTES 10:8-20 THE REMEDY AGAINST SECURITY
ARISING FROM A SEEMING LACK
OF DIVINE PROVIDENCE
13. Now disorder in government comes from a triple cause: from the promotion of an evil ruler, or of a foolish ruler, or of a useless and negligent ruler. So he first provides a remedy against an evil ruler. Second, against a foolish ruler where verse 12 says: The words of the mouth of a wise
39On p. 82 n. 11 QuarEd refer to Book II, d. 44, a. 2 and 3 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary. See Omnia Opera 2:1005-1016.
The editors refer to Book II, chapters 2-6 of Alanus de Insulis, De fide catholica contra haereticos where the author counters the opinion of the Waldensians and later heretics who taught that the authority of wicked rulers was null. See PL 210:380-384.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
person are grace. Third, against a carnal and negligent ruler where verse 16 says: Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child.
ECCLESIASTES 10:8-11
THE DEFECT IN GOVERNMENT
WHEN AN EVIL RULER IS
PROMOTED 14. On the first point he proceeds as follows. First, he states that a good ruler is not to be removed. Second, he says that a wicked ruler is not to be tolerated or promoted. Third, he states that when a wicked ruler is promoted, the ruler is to be corrected. Fourth, he says that a wicked ruler is not to be disparaged in secret.
15. (Verse 8). First, he states that a good ruler is not to be removed, neither by deceit or by violence. He warns against deceit: The person who digs a hole, namely, in preparing a trap for a good ruler, will fall into it. We read in Psalm
7:16: "The person who opened a pit and dug it has fallen into the hole he made."40 The ruler is not to be removed by force. So he warns the person attempting this: The person who breaks a hedge, that is, the good ruler who guards his or her subjects like a hedge. Sirach 36:27 says: "Where there is no hedge, the property will be plundered."41 A serpent will bite him, that is, the devil with demons who are serpents who bite.42 Jeremiah 8:17 has: "Behold, I will send among you the worst43 serpents, against which there is no incantation, and they will bite you."44
40Hugh of St. Cher, 99b also quotes Psalm 7:16, as he interprets Ecclesiastes 10:8 to deal with deception.
41Hugh of St. Cher, 99c also cites Sirach 36:27.
42Hugh of St. Cher, 99c also takes the serpent to be the devil.
43The Vulgate reads serpentes regulos ("basilisk serpents") while Bonaventure has serpentes pessimos ("the worst serpents").
44Hugh of St. Cher, 99v, h also quotes Jeremiah 8:17 and reads serpentes pessimi ("the worst serpents").
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16. (Verse 9). The person who removes stones, etc. Second, he shows that a harsh and useless ruler is not to be promoted. He warns against promoting a harsh ruler by saying: The person who removes stones, that is, he promoted harsh and wicked people to a higher dignity. Will be hurt by them, that is, through them or because of them. Proverbs 26:8 states: "As the person who casts a stone into a pile of mercury, so is the person who gives honor to a fool."
Later on Proverbs 26:27 says: "The person who rolls a stone, it will return to him." And Sirach 27:28 has: "If a person casts a stone on high, it will fall upon his own head." –
Further, a vain and useless person is not to be promoted.
Therefore, Ecclesiastes says: The person who cuts trees.45
Another translation has: Who trims.46 The person who trims is the person who wants to put a useless ruler in charge of a building. A useless ruler is compared to wood, because, just as unproductive wood is cut up and put into the fire, this, too, will happen to a useless ruler. Matthew
7:19 reads: "Every tree that does not bring forth good fruit, will be cut down and will be cast into the fire." The ruler will be wounded by them, because the ruler will be wounded in conscience. Sirach 27:28 states: "And the deceitful blow will wound the deceitful." About such wounds Isaiah 1:6 says: "Wounds and bruises and swelling sores, they are not bound up . . . nor soothed by oil."
17. (Verse 10). If the iron be blunt, etc. Third, he treats of a ruler who in some way has turned to evil and is to be corrected. The ruler may change, even though it will require much work. So he says: If the iron be blunt, that is, if the sharpness of good and wisdom have been changed by some
45Hugh of St. Cher, 99g comments: "That is, who cuts by the sword of excommunication or correction unfruitful men and women, that is, heretics and other evil people, from the body of the Church."
46On p. 93 n. 3 QuarEd confess that they are unable to find the source of this "other translation."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
sin in the ruler. And be not as before. Supply: sharp. But be made blunt, by sin. With much labor, namely, of correction. It will be sharpened, that is, restored to its former right sharpness.47 Proverbs 27:17 reads: "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."48
From this example in material matters he draws a parallel in spiritual matters. And after industry, that is, industrious work, wisdom will follow, just as after the sharpening of iron a straight and a sharp cutting edge follows. We read in Proverbs 15:31: "The ear that hears the reproofs of life will abide in the midst of the wise." And Proverbs 2:45 states: "If you will seek her49 as money and will dig for her as for a treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and will find knowledge."50
18. (Verse 11). If a serpent bites, etc. Fourth, he shows that such a ruler is not to be spoken against in secret, and he shows the gravity of the sin of detraction by an example in material matters. So he says: If a serpent bites in secret, which is the way with serpents, because they inject their venom in secret. The person who backbites in secret is no better, because just as a serpent acts in a fraudulent way, so too does the person who is a backbiter, for his action speaks evil of the deaf. Leviticus 19:14 reads: "You shall not speak evil of the deaf, nor put a stumbling block before the blind." Just as one is deadly, so too is the other.
Galatians 5:15 states: "If you bite and devour one another, take heed lest you be consumed by one another." Proverbs
26:22 says: "The words of a talebearer are as it were simple, 47The translation "right sharpness" attempts to capture Bonaventure's change of vocabulary from acumen ("sharpness") to rectitudo
("sharpness/rectitude").
48Hugh of St. Cher, 99v, d also cites Proverbs 27:17.
49That is, wisdom.
50On p. 83 n. 5 QuarEd correctly indicate that the Vulgate reads scientiam Dei ("knowledge of God") while Bonaventure has scientiam
("knowledge").
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but they reach to the innards of the belly."51 Just as in former times they were liberated by looking at Christ,52 according to what is said in Wisdom 16:7: "The person who had turned53 was not saved by what he or she saw, but by you, Lord,54 Savior of all," so it is now. Therefore, he himself says in John 15:20: "If they have kept my word, they will also keep yours."
QUESTIONS 33
It is asked whether it is detraction and a sin to speak evil of a person secretly, when it is sure to the speaker that it is the truth.55 That it is not a sin would seem to be the case from:
1. Because, just as a good person is worthy of praise, so an evil person is worthy of blame. Therefore, just as it is just to praise a good person, so it is just to blame the evil person. Therefore, just as one does not sin by praising a good person, so too one does not sin by speaking evil of the evil person.
2. Also, just as one should rejoice with the good, so one should sorrow over evil. Therefore, just as one can tell another person some good thing, and they can rejoice together without sin, so they can be sorry together over evil.
51On p. 83 n. 6 QuarEd accurately mention that the Vulgate has ad intima ventris ("to the innermost parts of the belly") while Bonaventure reads usque ad interiora ventris ("to the innards of the belly").
52The implicit reference is to the bronze serpent of Numbers 21:9 and the use of this sign to refer to Christ crucified in John 3:14.
53On p. 83 n. 7 QuarEd rightly point out that the Vulgate reads conversus est ("turned") whereas Bonaventure has conversus erat ("had turned").
54On p. 83 n. 7 QuarEd correctly indicate that the Vulgate does not read Dominum ("Lord").
55See Ecclesiastes 10:11.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
Therefore, the person who shares his sorrow when speaking evil of another in secret does not sin.
3. Moreover, the Lord says in Matthew 18 that when a neighbor sins, the neighbor is to be corrected before one or two others.56 If the neighbor does not listen, the matter must be told to the Church. Therefore, it seems that a person can at least speak evil of an individual who is incorrigible.
Contra: 1. See that you never do to another what you would hate to have done to you by another.57 Therefore, what you do not want to be said about yourself, you should not say about another. You do not want some to speak evil of you in your absence, because it will do you no good. Therefore, etc.
2. Also, whoever speaks evil of another takes away the person's good name. Thus, since a good name is better than many treasures,58 and since a person may not without sin take the riches of another, therefore, etc.
3. Moreover, it is said in Leviticus 19:14: You shall not speak evil of the deaf. But to speak evil behind someone's back, is to speak evil of the deaf. So this is against the precept of Leviticus.
56See Matthew 18:15-17.
57See Tobit 4:16: "See that you never do to another what you would hate to have done to you by another." See also Matthew 7:12: "Therefore, all that you wish men and women to do to you, even so do you also to them. For this is the Law and the prophets." Luke 6:31 reads: "And even as you wish men and women to do to you, so also do you to them."
58See Proverbs 22:1. On p. 84 n. 3 QuarEd accurately mention that the Vulgate has divitiae multae ("many riches") whereas Bonaventure reads treasuri multi ("many treasures").
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4. Furthermore, a sin committed in public causes scandal.
Wherefore, whoever makes public a sin that is not done in public causes scandal, and the one doing this makes known a sin that was hidden. In this way the person to whom the words are addressed is scandalized.
I reply that a person who speaks evil of another does so: either because the person is driven by necessity, or drawn by its usefulness, or stirred by a desire to detract.
Thus, a person is compelled by necessity when bound by a human or divine precept to speak. A human precept when the individual, who can command and does command, tells a person to speak. A divine precept when conscience dictates that one is bound to accuse a neighbor for the sake of correction, in accord with the precept of the Lord about correcting one another.
One is drawn by its usefulness when telling evil to someone to whom it is of benefit and does no harm. Hearing the evil will be for the good and not for the harm of such people. For example, when one is speaking with a person who is loved, with whom one is in sympathy, and with the intention of correcting the person involved.
But when there is neither necessity nor usefulness, even if what is said is the truth, a person is not excused by the passion of committing detraction. Further, such a person commits the sin of detraction, even if he is speaking the truth.
So the reasons that prove that it is a sin to speak evil of an absent person are to be accepted except in the case of necessity or usefulness. For then it is clear what reasons are not valid.
1. To the objection about the contrary, that it is just to blame, etc., it has to be said that even if men and women
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
are worthy of blame, nonetheless we should not blame them. Blame is not the same as praise, for a good name promotes good, but evil promotes evil. And so evil is not to be made public, in the way good is. - Moreover, it is not for me to judge.
2. To the objection about compassion, it must be said that true compassion exists in the compassionate person who is suffering with another, not in the condemnation of an unfortunate person. And since in the objection the good name of the sinner is lessened, there should be no such accusation.
3. To the objection based on the precept of the Lord, it should be said that the Lord's intention is that those who are to be called are able to and want to benefit from the correction. And the word Church does not refer to a multitude of people, but the text is directed to the person who can benefit and to the person who should perform the correction. To such people this text is addressed.59
ECCLESIASTES 10:12-15
THE DEFECT IN GOVERNMENT
WHEN A FOOLISH RULER IS
PROMOTED 19. The words of the mouth of a wise person, etc.
Ecclesiastes has given a remedy against the malice of a ruler. He now gives a remedy against the foolishness of a ruler, showing that a foolish ruler should not be promoted, but rather is worthy of dismissal. He is worthy of dismissal, first, for a lack of discretion in speech; second, for showing a lack of provident care; third, for a lack of profitable work.
20. (Verses 12-14a). On account of a lack of discretion in words, the foolish ruler casts himself down in contrast to 59On p. 84 n. 7 QuarEd refer to Part II, q. 130 of Alexander of Hales'
Summa.
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the wise who are exalted. So he says: The words of the mouth of a wise person are grace, because in them grace is acquired through their discretion. Sirach 20:13 reads: "A person wise in words60 will make himself beloved." But on the contrary: The lips61 of a fool will throw him down headlong, that is, words coming from the lips of a fool. Proverbs 18:7 says: "The mouth of a fool is destructive, and his lips are the ruin of his soul."62
21. The reason why the foolish ruler is thrown down is his indiscretion, because he begins indiscreetly. Thus, he continues: The beginning of his words is folly. The reason for this is that the foolish do not reflect. Wherefore, Proverbs
29:20 states: "Have you seen a person hasty to speak? Folly is rather to be looked for rather than his amendment." He also finishes indiscreetly. Hence, he says: And the end of his talk is a mischievous error, because foolishness in the end leads to erroneous opinions. We read in Proverbs 14:8:
"The imprudence of fools errs,"63 because, as said above in Ecclesiastes 2:14: "The eyes of a wise person are in his head. The fool walks in darkness."
22. Further, the foolish ruler perseveres in foolishness. So he adds: A fool multiplies words, and, by multiplying foolish words, the fool becomes obstinate in evil. Against this we read in Psalm 140:4: "Incline not your heart to make excuses for sins,"64 for this is useless and vain, for as it is said in Proverbs 19:7: "The person who follows65 after words
60On p. 84 n. 8 QuarEd accurately indicate that the Vulgate reads in verbis ("in words") whereas Bonaventure has verbis ("in words").
61The Vulgate reads et labia ("and the lips").
62Hugh of St. Cher, 99v, m also cites Proverbs 18:7.
63On p. 85 n. 1 QuarEd rightly mention that the Vulgate reads errans ("is in error") while Bonaventure has errat ("errs").
64Hugh of St. Cher, 100c also quotes Psalm 140:4.
65On p. 85 n. 1 QuarEd accurately indicate that the Vulgate reads tantum ("only") which Bonaventure does not have.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
will have nothing." And Proverbs 14:23 states: "Where there are many words, there is often want."66
23. (Verse 14b). People cannot tell, etc. Second, the fool shows a lack of provident care when, ignorant of the past, the fool is unable to provide for the future. So he says:
People cannot tell what has been before them, for they are foolish and unthinking persons. James 1:24 reads: "The person looked at himself and went his way and immediately forgot what manner of person he was." – And what will be after them, who can tell them?, as if to say: No one.
Ecclesiastes 8:7 above states: "The person who is ignorant of past things cannot know future things67 by any messenger." And this is very damaging, for Deuteronomy 32:29 has: "O that they would be wise and would understand and would provide for their last end."
24. (Verse 15). The labor of fools, etc. Third, he shows that in the fool there is a lack of profitable work, because in his work he is much troubled and gains little. So he says: The labor of fools will afflict them, because they do not work in what is good. Jeremiah 9:5 reads: "They have labored to commit iniquity." Thus, Wisdom 5:7 states: "We wearied ourselves in the way of iniquity and destruction and have walked through hard ways, but the way of the Lord we have not known." He gives the reason for this: who do not know how to go to the city, that is, they are ignorant of the true way for reaching that city about which we read in Isaiah 26:1: "Zion, the city of our strength, a savior, a wall and a bulwark will be set therein." The foolish do not know how to reach this city. For he said above in Ecclesiastes
6:8: "What more has the wise person than the fool? And what the poor person, except to go thither where there is life?"
66Hugh of St. Cher, 100c also cites Proverbs 14:23.
67The Vulgate reads et ventura ("and things to come") whereas Bonaventure has futura ("future things").
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25. In a spiritual interpretation we understand the wise person to be Christ and the foolish person to be the Antichrist. The words of the mouth of the wise person are grace, because the words of Christ are pleasing. Psalm 44:3 reads:
"Grace is poured abroad on your lips. Therefore, God has blessed you forever." And Luke 2:47 states: "All who heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers." And in John 7:46 others were saying: "Never did a person speak like this man."
26. On the other hand, the foolish person is the Antichrist, of whom we read in Psalm 13:1: "The fool has said in his heart: There is no God." The lips of a fool will throw him down headlong,68 because on account of the evil of his teaching he is cast into the depths. Job 18:7 reads: "The step of his strength will be curtailed, and his own counsel will cast him down headlong." For his words are blasphemy and pride and so are foolish and wrong. For it is said in Daniel 11:36: "He will speak great things against the God of gods and will prosper, till the wrath be accomplished."
And 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4 states: "The man of sin will be revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes, and will be exalted69 above all that is called God," etc.70
27. This fool is not only indiscreet in speech, but also lacks foresight, because he will not consider the ruin to follow in his wake, according to what the Apostle says in 2
Thessalonians 2:8: "Whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the spirit of his mouth." Foolish people follow this fool and are afflicted, who do not know how to go to the city, in true
68Ecclesiastes 10:12.
69On p. 85 n. 5 QuarEd correctly notice that the Vulgate reads revelatus fuerit ("will be revealed") whereas Bonaventure has revelabitur ("will be revealed") and the Vulgate reads extollitur ("is lifted up") while
Bonaventure has exaltabitur ("will be exalted").
70Hugh of St. Cher, 100c explains Ecclesiastes 10:13 as referring to the Antichrist and alludes to 2 Thessalonians 2.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
faith and love. 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11 reads: "God will send the operation of error to those . . . who have not believed the truth, but have consented to iniquity," because they did not receive the love of truth. So Psalm 81:5 says:
"They have not known nor understood. Therefore, they are walking in darkness."
ECCLESIASTES 10:16-20
THE DEFECT IN GOVERNMENT
WHEN A USELESS AND CARELESS
RULER IS PROMOTED
28. Woe to you, O land, etc. He has given a remedy against disorder coming from an evil and foolish ruler. Now in a third point he gives a remedy against disorder from a useless and careless ruler. So he shows that such a lazy and carnal person is neither to be promoted nor endured. There are two sections because, first, he detests such a ruler and shows him to be unworthy to rule, and second, he says that people should not speak against him in secret where verse 20 reads: In your thought, etc.
ECCLESIASTES 10:16-19
A USELESS AND CARELESS
RULER IS UNWORTHY TO RULE
29. He shows that a carnal and lazy ruler is worthy to be a ruler. First, on account of the disorder of gluttony. Second, on account of weakness or the laziness of sloth. Third, on account of inappropriate celebration. Fourth, on account of the subversion of justice through a love of money.
30. (Verses 16-17). Because of the disorder of gluttony a carnal and careless ruler is unworthy, and woe to those over whom he rules. Therefore, he says: Woe to you, O land, when your king is a child, that is, pursues passions. For children are pursuers of passions. Isaiah 65:20 states: "A child will die a hundred years old." Hence, woe, because it is an occasion of eternal damnation and a sign of divine anger. Isaiah 3:4 reads: "I will give children to be their
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princes, and the effeminate will rule over them." And since princes follow a leader, he says: And whose princes eat in the morning, quickly looking for delicacies.71 And therefore, they are always foolish, because it is said in Proverbs
20:1: "Wine is a luxurious thing and drunkenness riotous.
Whoever delights in these will not be wise."
31. And since "when opposites are placed together they become clearer,"72 he praises one saying against its opposite: Blessed is the land, whose king is noble, namely, in nobility of character, for true nobility consists in having a soul adorned with virtues.73 For this reason Proverbs 31:23 says: "Her husband is noble in the gates, when he sits among the leaders of the land." And since princes follow a leader, he adds: And whose princes eat in due season for refreshment, and not for riotousness, that is, at a proper time after finishing work, and then for refreshment and not for riotousness. An interlinear Gloss comments: "They eat only to live, not live to eat,"74 like those about whom
71Hugh of St. Cher, 100v, c comments: "And so since he gives himself over to gluttony in the morning, there follow confusion in business deals, loss of subjects, subversion of judgments, and justice is at risk."
72On p. 86 n. 2 QuarEd quote Book I, n. 15 of Aristotle's De sophisticis elenchis. See WAE, vol. 1, 174b: "For the placing of their contraries close beside them makes things look big to men, both relatively and absolutely, and worse and better." The editors also cite Book II, n. 6 of Aristotle's De mundo. See WAE, vol. 3, 396b: "It may perhaps be that nature has a liking for contraries and evolves harmony out of them and not out of similarities. . . ."
73Hugh of St. Cher, 100v, e has virtually the same wording of this saying: "Nobilitas animi sola est, quae moribus ornat ("Nobility of soul consists solely in having it adorned with virtues"). Hugh's editor put these words in italics and set them off as a citation. It seems that Bonaventure has cited this saying from Hugh of St. Cher. A search on the internet revealed that the saying ultimately comes from number
40 of Avian's Fables.
74On p. 86 n. 3 QuarEd state that Lyranus has this interlinear Glossa in his commentary on Ecclesiastes 10:17. Hugh of St. Cher, 100v, h quotes this Interlinear Glossa: "That is, they eat more from necessity than from voluptuousness. For they should eat, so that they may live for God; not live to eat, the Interlinear says."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
we read in 2 Peter 2:13: "They are spots and blemishes, abounding in delicacies, wantonly enjoying banquets."75
32. (Verse 18). By slothfulness, etc. Second, he shows that a careless ruler is unworthy because of the laziness of sloth, which brings about the downfall of a building. For this reason he says: By slothfulness a building will be brought down.76 A building is said to be a joining of wood beams to cover a house.77 This building is brought down by sloth, because when repairs are neglected, it collapses. In the same way a spiritual building is destroyed by sloth. Proverbs 18:9 reads: "A person who is loose and slack in his work is the brother of the person who wastes his own works." And since where the fear of God is not active sloth takes charge, it is said in Sirach 27:4: "Unless you hold yourself diligently in the fear of the Lord, your house will quickly be overthrown." – And through the weakness of hands the house will leak. These words say the same thing, but give a more complete explanation. A house leaks, when it is not protected in rainy weather from showers, and this is not good. We read in Proverbs 27:15: "Leaky roofs on a cold day and a contentious woman are alike." This house is collapsing, when hands are weak and careless. Therefore, Hebrews 12:12-13 states: "Lift up the hands that hang down and the feeble knees, and take straight steps with your feet."
75On p. 86 n. 3 QuarEd correctly indicate that the Vulgate reads conviviis suis ("in their banquets") while Bonaventure has conviviis
("banquets").
76The Vulgate has contignatio, which Douay translates by "building," but as the context shows, its primary meaning is "woodwork." In this instance it refers to a roof made of wood.
77On p. 86 n. 4 QuarEd refer, amidst matters about wooden houses, to Jerome's commentary on this passage in his Commentarius in Ecclesiasten. See CCSL lxxii, 342-343. Hugh of St. Cher, 100vi comments:
"That is, a construction of wood beams. Wood beams are wood for buildings, which are called 'forelocks' in French, because they interlock with one another as they bind together."
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33. (Verse 19a). For the sake of laughter they make bread, etc. Third, he shows the anger of the lazy and carnal ruler on account of inappropriate celebration, during which they always want to be carnal and everything they do is directed to this end. So he says: For the sake of laughter they make bread. A Gloss states: Rulers who laugh, that is, inappropriate rejoicing.78 Luke 12:19 says: "My soul, you have many goods for very many years… Eat, drink, feast."79 And therefore, he adds: And wine that those drinking80 may feast. For they are doing this, so that they may eat, not so that they may break bread for a hungry person. James 5:5 states: "You have feasted upon earth, and in voluptuousness you have nourished your hearts."81 This conduct is condemned in Isaiah 5:12: "The harp and lyre . . . and wine are in your feasts, and the work of God82 you regard not."
34. (Verse 19b). And all things obey money, etc. Fourth, he shows how such rulers are unworthy on account of a subversion of justice, done out of love for money. So he says:
And all things love money, for all love money more than anything else. Isaiah 1:23 reads: "All love bribes. They run after rewards. Then there follows a subversion of justice.
Isaiah 1:23 says: "They judge not for the fatherless, and the widow's cause does not come before them." And 78On p. 86 n. 7 QuarEd quote the Glossa Interlinearis apud Lyranum:
"Since rulers or whoever are given over to delicacies and laughter."
They also refer to Jerome's Commentarius in Ecclesiasten. See CCSL lxxcci, 342 where Jerome interprets this passage via the instructions to preachers in 1 Timothy and Titus: Do not preach to please human beings, but the Lord.
79On p. 86 n. 7 QuarEd accurately indicate Bonaventure's adaptation of Luke 12:19: "And I will say to my soul: Soul, you have many good things laid up for very many years. Take your ease, eat, drink, feast."
80The Vulgate has viventes ("the living") while Bonaventure reads bibentes ("those drinking").
81James 5:5 concludes with: ". . . in the day of slaughter."
82The Vulgate reads Domini ("of the Lord") while Bonaventure has Dei ("of God").
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
Jeremiah 6:13 states: "From the least of them even to the greatest, all are given to covetousness."
ECCLESIASTES 10:20
DO NOT SPEAK IN SECRET
AGAINST THE CARNAL AND LAZY
RULER 35. In your thought, etc. He has shown above that a carnal and lazy person is unworthy to be a ruler. Now he restrains subjects from speaking ill of a ruler in private, should an unworthy ruler be promoted. First, he exhorts and, second, gives the reason for his exhortation.
36. (Verse 20). So he exhorts us neither to speak evil so as to lessen a good name, nor to curse people and wish them misfortune. So he says: Do not speak detraction against the king in your thought, that is, in secret. Exodus 22:28 reads: "You shall not speak detraction against the gods, and the prince of your people you shall not curse." – And in your private chamber, that is, in your conscience,83 speak no evil of the rich person, for this is to curse him. Romans
12:14 states: "Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse." And 1 Peter 3:9 says: "Nor rendering curse for curse."
37. Because even the birds of the air, etc. He now gives the reason for the exhortation, namely, because what you have said in secret will be made public by the angels, for the birds of the air will carry your voice. He calls the birds of the air demons because of their speed as they move swiftly84 or because of their rapacity.85 Thus, Genesis 15:1
83Hugh of St. Cher, 101b also has this interpretation.
84Bonaventure links volucres ("birds") by means of velocitas ("swiftness").
85On p. 87 n. 1 QuarEd refer to Book II, d. 6, a. 2, q. 1,2 and dubia 12 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary for his treatment of demons.
See Omnia Opera 2:164-166, 169.
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says: "The birds came down upon the carcasses, and Abraham drove them off."86 And Matthew 13:4 has: "Other seed fell87 by the wayside, and the birds came and ate them."88 The air refers here to a gloomy atmosphere in which demons live. The demons carry the voice, because they frequently make known what was secret. Matthew
10:26 reads: "Nothing is covered . . . that will not be known."
And the one who has wings will tell what you have said, that is, the devil will announce your evil words, because the devil is an accuser. But the devil will finally be overthrown, for Revelation 12:10 says: "The accuser of our brothers and sisters has been cast forth, the one who accused them . . . day and night."
QUESTIONS 34
I. A doubt arises here because he says that the birds of the air, that is, demons announce detraction that is in a person's mind.89 This would seem to be so, because the devil knows our will and thought.
But contra: 1. Because of God alone is it said that he searches hearts and innards.90 Therefore, only God knows our thoughts and affections.
2. Also, Augustine says that had the demons known of the patience of Job, they would not have tempted him, because
86The Vulgate reads Abram ("Abram") while Bonaventure has Abraham ("Abraham").
87On p. 87 n. 1 QuarEd rightly notice that the Vulgate reads Quaedam ceciderunt ("Some fell") whereas Bonaventure has Aliud cecidit ("Other seed fell").
88Hugh of St. Cher, 101d comments: "Birds of the air] that is, the demons, who are called birds of the air, Matthew 13 & Luke 8. Birds because of their swiftness."
89See Ecclesiastes 10:20.
90See Psalm 7:10 and Revelation 2:23.
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES
they do not tempt a person except to overcome the person, not to be overcome.91
I reply that neither the demons nor the good angels can know our hidden thoughts and affections except in the Word. The adjective hidden refers to what is not made clear through signs. But the demons apprehend and understand those thoughts and affections manifested through signs. And since there are few thoughts and affections that are not revealed by some sign, action, facial expression, word, or in some other way, he says that they hear.92
II. Furthermore, one can ask what the text means: The birds of the air will carry or announce.
I ask how will the birds carry? If one says that they carry it to the person being spoken about, this is false, because then everyone would know all the hidden evils spoken about them. Therefore, it means that they will carry it to God.
But contra: 1. God is more immediate and present to us than demons, since God is not far from any one of us.93 If to carry or to announce means to bring it to a person who is distant, it is clear that this is not the same.
91On p. 87 n. 4 QuarEd cite Book XII, chapter 17 n. 34 of Augustine's De Genesi ad litteram. See On Genesis, 482: "There have, all the same, been the most definite and certain indications to establish that what people have been thinking has been made public by demons; and yet if these could observe in people the inner beauty of their virtues, they would not even try to tempt them. Thus if the devil had been able to observe in Job that wonderful, noble patience of his, he would undoubtedly have been most unwilling to be defeated in his effort to tempt him."
92On p. 87 n. 5 QuarEd refer to Book II, d. 7, p. II, q. 3 n. 4 and d. 8, p.
II, q. 6 of Bonaventure's Sentence Commentary. See Omnia Opera 2:194 and 232 respectively.
93See Acts 17:27 in Paul's Areopagus speech: "that they should seek God, and perhaps grope after him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us."
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2. Also, who is to carry the words? It must be either by good or by bad angels. They are not carried by the good angels, for good angels work for our salvation, not for our damnation. Therefore, they do not bear evil things. If you say by the demons, the following is contrary to that: The demons do not see God nor speak with God any more than evil men and women. Wherefore, if evil people do not bring the words to God, neither do the demons.
I reply that in the text birds stand for evil spirits or demons, who are said to carry bad and hidden merits to God, while the good angels carry our good merits. Now the word to carry, as far as the meaning of the word is concerned, does not mean to speak to God or to inform
God, as if God were ignorant, but to recognize our malice and by such recognition to remember it and be a witness to it. On the other hand, the good angels add intercession to our knowledge, memory, and witness, while the bad angels add the will to accuse.94
1.2. This makes clear the answer to the first objection, because it does not refer to someone distant, but to a judge.
The reply to the second objection is that evil beings by nature observe evil and work for damnation. This is their proper work.
94On p. 87 n. 7 QuarEd refer to three helpful passages. In Tobit 12:12 the angel Raphael tells Tobias: "When you did pray with tears and did bury the dead and did leave your dinner and hide the dead by day in your house and bury them by night, I offered your prayer to the Lord."
Revelation 12:10b reads: "For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been cast down, he who accused them before our God day and night."
See Book II, chapter 8 n. 13-14 of Gregory the Great's Moralia in Iob in ccsl, pp. 68-69: "But when our ancient adversary has found no evil by which to accuse a person, he seeks to turn the good into evil. When he is conquered by deeds, he scrutinizes our words to find some accusation.
When he finds no basis for accusation in words, he seeks to darken the intention of the heart."
ST. BONAVENTURE'S COMMENTARY ON ECCLESIASTES