Chapter 4 (126)
138 | THE SENTENCES, BOOK 3
on that text: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: "There are two fears of the Lord: one is that of a servant, and it is the beginning of wisdom; the other is that of a friend, and it is joined with the perfection of wisdom. The servile one is the beginning of wisdom because one who, after erring, begins to know, is first corrected by divine fear, lest he be punished; but perfect charity casts out' this fear. To this fear succeeds the holy fear of the Lord, which perdures forever and ever, and which charity does not cast out, but rather increases; by this fear, the son fears lest he offend even in the least way the eyes of a most loving father. Each of these will cease in the future. But charity shall never fall away."*"
3. AUGUSTINE. Augustine too, on that place in the Psalm: J shall worship in fear of you at your holy temple, says that fear shall have an end:
"Fear of the Lord is a great defence to those who are progressing toward salvation, but it is removed from those who have arrived. For they do not fear him who has become their friend, namely once they have been brought to that which was promised.'°—From these authorities, it is signified that there shall not be fear in the future. But if fear shall not exist in the future, then neither shall the seven gifts, nor are they now in the angels or in the holy souls.
4. SOLUTION. To which we say, resolving the apparent contradiction among the authorities above, that those seven gifts are now in the angels and in the holy souls which live in blessedness, and they shall be in us in the future; but they will not have all the same uses and functions which they have now. For example, filial fear now makes us fear lest we offend the one whom we love and lest we become separated from him; it also makes us revere him; but in the future it will cause us to revere without fear of separation or offence. And so the fear of separation or offence is not now in the angels or in the holy souls, nor will it be in us in the future, but only the reverence, which is love mixed with submission. This was also in Christ, as the Apostle says in the Epistle to the Hebrews, speaking of Christ, who was heard because of his reverence.'—But some contend that fear is in Christ and the angels only according to effect.
Chapter 4 (126) 1. FULL DISTINCTION OF THE FEARS. And because we have been given an occasion to treat fear, it ought to be known that there are four fears,
*1 Jn.4, 18; 3Ps, 18, 10.
{h Coenlsss; 'Bede, Commentarium in Parabolas Salomonis, bk 1 cl.
°Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, on Ps. 5, 8, n9.
7Hebr. 5, 7.
Distinction XXXIV | 139 namely worldly or human, servile, initial, chaste or filial or friendly. —
CASSIODORUS. As Cassiodorus says, human fear is when "we fear the dangers of the flesh or the loss of worldly goods,"' and because of it we sin. This fear is an evil one, which "in the first degree, is abandoned with the world"; the Lord forbids it in the Gospel, saying: Do not fear those who kill the body, etc..—AUGUSTINE. As Augustine says, servile fear is
"when a man abstains from sin because of the fear of hell ... by which he fears the presence and penalties of the judge; and it is by fear that he does whatever good he does: not by fear of losing the eternal good, which he does not love, but by fear of suffering the evil which he fears. He does not fear to lose the embrace of the fairest spouse, but fears lest he be sent to hell. This fear is good and useful," even though it is not sufficient, and through it "little by little, the habit of justice is achieved."'—And initial fear succeeds it, when "what used to be hard begins to be loved," and so "servile fear" begins to be cast out "by charity."*—And afterwards comes chaste or friendly fear, "by which we fear lest the bridegroom be late, lest he go away, lest we offend him, lest we be left without him. This fear comes from love. That servile one is useful, but it does not perdure forever and ever? like this one.' "Divine fear is our companion through all the various degrees.""'
2. COMPARISON OF THE ABOVE. And note that here four fears are distinguished, although Bede said above that there are two.* But Bede omitted human fear, and under the term 'servile' he combined two of the ones which we have distinguished here, namely servile and initial; he calls the friendly fear 'chaste.'
3. Augustine also plainly distinguishes servile and chaste fear in expounding that text of the Epistle to the Romans: For you have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear; but you have received the spirit of adoption as sons of God;' he says: "Two fears are indicated here: one which is in perfect charity, namely the chaste fear; the other which is not in charity, that is, the servile one, in which, although one believes
God, one does not believe in God; and although good is done, yet it is 'Cassiodorus, Jn Psalmum 127, prol.
Mt. 10, 28.
"Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, on Ps. 127, 1, nn7-8.
Ibid.
°Cf Ps. 18,10.
°Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos, on Ps. 127, 1, nn7-8.
7Cassiodorus, /n Psalmum 127, prol.
5In c3 2.
°Rom. 8, 15.