Faith And Healing

Et erat quidam regulus, cujus filius infirmabatur Capharnaum. Hic cum audisset quia Jesus adveniret a Judea in Galilaeam, abiit ad eum, et rogabat eum ut descenderet, et sanaret filium ejus: incipiebat enim mori. Dixit ergo Jesus ad eum: Nisi signa et prodigia videritis, non creditis. Dicit ad eum regulus: Domine, descende priusquam moriatur filius meus. Dicit ei Jesus: Vade, filius tuus vivit. Credidit homo sermoni quem dixit ei Jesus, et ibat. Quaest. II. Item quaerit Gregorius de isto regulo, utrum crederet , an non? Quod non, videtur: 1. Quia Dominus increpat eum: Nisi signa et prodigia videritis , non creditis. 2. Hoc ipsum arguitur per litteram: quia petebat, quod descenderet, quasi nisi in praesentia sanare non posset. Sed contra hoc est: si non credidit, quomodo salutem filii postulavit a Domino? Respondeo: Dicendum, quod credidit, sed semiplene: credidit, in Christo esse virtutem ad salvandum filium; sed non credidit, in eo esse Divinitatem per quam posset ubique. Unde fides fuit, cum petiit salutem; sed defectus fidei, cum requirebat praesentiam corporalem. Quaest. III. Item quaerit dictus Gregorius : unde est, quod Dominus ad servum centurionis ire se obtulit, ad filium reguli, cum rogaretur, ire recusavit? Respondeo: Dicendum, quod hoc fuit ad aedificationem fidei et morum: fidei, quia, dum se obtult centurioni, ipsius fidei devotionem nobis manifestavit; dum retraxit se a filio reguli, curando eum in absentia, ad Divinitatis idem invitavit. Ad aedificationem vero morum , ut nostram superbiam constringeret, qui magnos veneramur et parvos despicimus, Dominus se obtulit ire ad centurionis servum, et recusavit ire ad reguli filium. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput IV Source: Here, p278

And there was a certain local ruler, whose son was lying sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus had come from Judaea to Galilee, he went to him and asked Him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die. Jesus said to him, 'Unless you shall see signs and miracles, you shall not believe.' The local ruler said to him, 'Lord, come down before my child dies.' Jesus told him, 'Go, your son lives.' And the man believed in the word which Jesus had spoken to him, and he went.' 1 Question 2 Gregory asks the same thing regarding this ruler, whether he believed or not. 2 It seems that he did not, 1 Because the Lord admonished him with, 'Unless you shall see signs and prodigies, you shall not believe.' 2 According to what is written it is asserted that he entreated Him to come down, as if unless He was present He could not heal. But against this, if he did not believe why did he ask the Lord to heal his son? I answer that it must be said that he did believe but not fully. He believed that the power of Christ could heal his son, but he did not believe in the Divinity in Him by which He was able to be everywhere. Hence there was faith when he sought healing, but a lack of faith because he sought bodily presence. Question 3 Gregory asks the same question, why did the Lord offer to go to the servant of the centurion 3 but when he was asked to go to the son of the ruler he refused? I answer that it must be said that this was for the edification of faith and morals. Faith because when He offered Himself to the centurion He manifested the devotion of his faith to us, and when He held Himself back from the son of the ruler and cured him in His absence, He signified His Divinity. And to edify morals in that we should suppress our pride, we who admire great men and scorn little men, for the Lord offered Himself to the centurion's servant and refused to go to a ruler's son. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 4 1 Jn 4.46-50 2 Homilies on Gospels 2.28.1 3 Homilies on Gospels 2.28.2, Lk 7.1-10

Nicodemus And The Night

Hic venit ad Jesum nocte... Sed quaeritur hic primo de hoc quod dicitur, quod Nicodemus erat Princeps Judaeorum, et credebat in Jesum. Quia dicitur Joan septimo: Numquid aliquis ex Principibus credidit in eum? Quasi dicant: Non. Resp Dicendum,quod Nicodemus credidit,et erat ex Principibus. Et illud verbum, quod dicitur Joan septimo,fuit verbum Pharisaeorum,qui decepti fuerunt. Nicodemus enim credebat, etsi non palam, tamen occulte. Item quaeritur, cum hora illa fit hora malefactorum, quia qui male agit, odit lucem, unde est hoc, quod Nicodemus venire voluit nocte? Et videtur, quod inordinate venerit. Resp. Dicendum, quod in causa fuit verecundia, quaedam infimitas, et diligentia. De verecundia dicit Victor: Nocte venit; quia Magister in Israel palam dicere erubuit. De infirmitate Chrystostomus: Adhuc judaica detinebaur infirmitate; propterea et nocte venit, trepidans in die hoc facere. De diligentia dicit Beda: Nocte venit cupiens secreta allocutione mysteria fidei percipere, cujus jam aperta ostensione signorum aliquatenus rudimenta perceperat. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput III Source: Here, p278

He came to Jesus at night... 1 It should be asked first concerning this which is said, how it is that when Nicodemus was one of the leading men of the Jews he believed in Jesus. Because it is said in the seventh chapter of John, 'Do any of the leading men believe in him?' 2 As if it said: 'Not one.' It must be said in reply that Nicodemus did believe and he was one of the leading men, and what was said in the seventh chapter of John was the word of the Pharisees, who were deceived. For Nicodemus believed, even if not openly but in secret. Likewise it should be asked why Nicodemus wished to come at night, in that time of the hour of evil doers, because he who does evil hates the light? 3 It seems that he came irregularly. It must be said in reply that the cause of this was modesty and weakness and love. Concerning modesty Victor says: 'He came at night, because this teacher of Israel was ashamed to speak openly.' Concerning weakness Chrysostom says He was yet held back by Jewish weakness and so he came at night, fearing to do so in the day. Concerning love Bede says: 'He came in the night desiring a secret conversation about the mysteries of the faith, which in its rudiments he had already seen in the showing of signs.'4 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 3 1 Jn 3.2 2 Jn 7.48 3 cf Lk 22.53, Jn 3.20 4 Chrystostom Hom 24. Gosp John, Bede Hom XII In Octava Pentecostes

Wanting More

Quaestiones II. Item quaeritur de hoc quod dicit, quod nihil deest animae suae ex omnibus, quae desiderat. Contra: Supra quinto: Avarus non implebitur pecunia; et rursus Hieronymus: Avaro deest tam quod habet, quam quod non habet: male ergo dicit, cum ait: Et nihil deest. Respondeo: dicendum, quod deesse aliquid, hoc potest esse dupliciter: vel quantum ad sufficientiam secundum rem et naturam, vel secundum opinionem. Dico ergo, quod bene potest esse avarus ita dives, quod nihil desit ei secundum rem et naturam; sed tamen nunquam ita dives, quin aliquid ei desit secundum suam aestimationem, quia semper plus cupit habere; et ita sibi deest. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Caput VI Source: Here, p 51

Questions 2. The same must be asked of this which he says 'his soul wants nothing of all that it desires.' 1 For above in the fifth chapter he says that the avaricious man shall not be filled with wealth, 2 and again Jerome says, 'Lack comes to the avaricious man more by what he has than by what he does not have.' 3 Therefore it is wrongly spoken here when it is said that he wants nothing. I reply that it must be said that the lack of something may be twofold, either as much as it pertains to sufficiency for the thing and nature, or according to opinion. I say, therefore, that it is indeed possible that an avaricious, and so rich man, lacks nothing according to the thing and nature, and yet there is never a rich man but he lacks something according to judgement, because he always has a desire for something more, and so in his own mind he lacks. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 6 1 Eccles 6.2 2 Eccles 5.9 3 Jerome Com Eccl PL 23.1055b

Study Wisdom

Ad sapientiae studiosam acquisitionem; Proverbiorum vigesimo septimo: Stude sapientie, fili mi. Filium vocat, quemcumque paterna affectione informat, sive sit iuvenis, sive senex. Augustinus: Ad discendum quod opus est nulla mihi aetas sera videri potest; quia, etsi senes magis docere deceat quam doceri, magis tamen decet eos discere, quam quid doceant ignorare. Stude, inquit, et hoc innuit vehementem diligentiam circa acquisitionem sapientiae adhibendam. Studium enim, ut dicit Tullis, est vehemens applicatio animi cum summa voluptate ad aliquid agendum. Haec autem vehemens animi applicatio requirit vacationem ab exterioribus occupationibus. Impar enim efficitur ad singula qui confusa mente dividitur ad multa, ut dicit Gergorius. Propter quod Ecclesiastici trigesimo octavo: Sapientiam scribe in tempore vacuitatus, id est vacationis ab opere exteriori; qui enim minoratur actu, scilicet exteriori, percipiet sapientiam, ut dicitur in eodem. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Librum Sapientiae, Prooemium Source: Here, 358c

Concerning the studious acquisition of wisdom, it is said in the twenty seventh chapter of Proverbs, 'Study wisdom, my son.' 1 He names him a son whoever he shapes with fatherly love, whether he is a youth or an old man. Augustine says: 'It does not seem to me that old age should be an obstacle to learning, because even if it befits the old to teach rather than to be taught, yet it is more befitting to learn something than to be ignorant of what one should teach.' 2 'Study,' it says here, and this signifies attachment to a concentrated desire for the acquisition of wisdom. For as Cicero says, 'Studiousness is the concentrated application of the soul with great pleasure for the accomplishment of something.' 3 But this concentrated application of the soul requires leisure from exterior occupations, since flaws come into each thing when a confused mind is divided among many things, as Gregory says. 4 About which it says in the thirty eighth chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Write wisdom in a time of quiet.' 5 That is, when one has leisure from exterior work. And in the same place: 'For he who is less in deeds,' that is exterior ones, 'acquires wisdom.' Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On Wisdom, Introduction 1 Prov 27.11 2 Aug Epist 166.1 3 Circero Rhet 1.25 4 Greg Reg Past 1.4 5 Sirach 38.25

Giving The Spirit

Ego rogabo Patrem, et alium Paracletum dabit vobis. Paracletus dicitur consolator vel advocatus; alium dicit, in quo innuit se consolatorem et advocatum; primae loannis secundo: Advocatum habemus apud Patrem lesum Christum iustum. Alium advocatum promittit eis aeternum, quia ipse consolator in praesentia corporali non fuerat nisi ad tempus. Ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum; non sic in Saul , de quo primi Regum decimo sexto: Spiritus Domini recessit a Saul, etc. Et quis sit iste advocatus, subdit: Spiritum veritatis... Qui a Patre procedit, dabit, scilicet alium Paracletum Spiritum veritatis etc. Hunc Spiritum describit quantum ad effectum, unde vocat Spiritum veritalis , quia docet vera, sicut spiritus erroris falsa; infra decimo sexto: Cum venerit, docebit vos omnem veritatem. Describit etiam quantum ad hospitium, quia non in infidelibus, sed fidelibus, non in animalibus hominibus , sed spiritualibus; propter quod subdit: Quem mundus non potest accipere. Et ratio est, quia caecus est per infidelitatem; quia non videt eum, cognitione aperta, nec scit eum, quacumque intelligentia; Sapientiae primo: Spiritus sanctus disciplinae effugiet fictum et auferet se a cogitationibus, quae sunt absque intellectu; et primae ad Corinthios secundo: Animalis homo non percipit ea quae Dei sunt. Vos autem cognoscelii eum, quia apud vos manebit et in vobis erit; Apocalypsis secundo: Vincenti dabo manna absconditura, et dabo illi calculum candidum, et in calculonomen scriptum, quod nemo scit, nisi qui accipit. De hac notitia Sapientiae decimo quinto: Nosse te consummata iustitia est, et scire iustitiam et virtutem tuam radix est immorlalitatis. Et notandam quod dicit: Apud vos manebit et in vobis erit, significans duplicem gratiam Spiritus sancti: praevenientem et subsequentem; Psalmus: Misericordia eius praeveniet me; et in alio Psalmo: Et misericordia tua subsequetur me omnibus diebus vitae meae. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIV Source: Here, p441

And I shall ask the Father and He shall give you another comforter... 1 It says 'Paraclete' here which means consoler or advocate, and He says 'another' to make it known that He is also a consoler and advocate. In the second chapter of the first letter of John, 'We have an advocate with the Father, the righteous Jesus Christ.' 2 And He promises them an advocate for eternity, because He was a consoler in the present body but only for a time. 'Who will remain with you always.' Not as it was with Saul, concerning whom it says in the sixteenth chapter of the First Book of Kings, 'The Spirit of the Lord withdrew from Saul.' 3 And who this advocate may be, He adds, The Spirit of truth... He will give Him who proceeds from the Father, that is, another consoler, the Spirit of Truth. He refers to this Spirit as it pertains to effect, whence he calls it the Spirit of truth, because He teaches true things, just as there is a spirit of error. Below in the sixteenth chapter. 'When He comes He shall teach you all truth.' 4 He describes it as it pertains to indwelling, because he does not come among the faithless nor among animal men but to those who are spiritual, on account of which He adds, 'Whom the world is not able to receive.' And the reason is that it is blind because of a lack of faith. 'Because it does not see Him,' with open awareness, 'nor does it know Him,' with any understanding. In the first chapter of the book of Wisdom, 'The Holy Spirit flees the fiction of discipline and He takes Himself away from thoughts that are without understanding.' 5 And in the second chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, 'The animal man does not perceive the things of God.' 6 'But you know Him, because He shall remain with you, and in you.' In the second chapter of the Apocalypse, 'Him who triumphs I will feed him with hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, on which a new name has been written, which no one knows but only him who receives it.' 7 Concerning this awareness, in the fifteenth chapter of Wisdom, 'To know you is the perfection of righteousness, and to know your righteousness and virtue is the root of immortality.' 8 And let it be noted that when He says, 'He shall remain with you and in you,' it signifies a twofold grace of the Holy Spirit, the coming and what follows. In the Psalm: 'His mercy came before me.' And in another Psalm, 'And your mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.' 9 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 14 1 Jn 14.16 2 1 Jn 2.1 3 1 Kings 16.14 4 Jn 16.13 5 Wisdom 1.5 6 1 Cor 2.14 7 Apoc 2.17 8 Wisdom 15.3 9 Ps 58.11, Ps 22.6

Rewards For Remaining

Si manseritis in me... Supra ostendit, se esse fructus originem per oppositum mansionis; hic nunc ostendit per ipsam mansionm, quae fructum dat et respectu mi et respectu proximi. Respectu sui: Si manseritis in me, et verba mea in vobis manserint; non sicut illi, de quibus Lucae octavo: Ad tempus credunt et in tempore tentationis recedunt; sed sicut illi, de quibus in Psalmo: Qui servant testamentum eius et memores sunt mandatorum ipsius ad faciendum ea. Quodcumque volueritis, petetis, et fiet vobis. Supra nono: Si quis voluntatem Dei facit , hunc exaudi. Non solum est fructus respectu sui, sed etiam proximi convertendi ad Dei gloriam; ideo subdit: In hoc clarificatus est Pater meus, ut fructum plurimum afferatis... Ut scilicet homines convertantur vestro verbo et exemplo ; Matthaei quinto: Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona et glorificent Patrem vestrum, qui in caelis est; et ex hoc, Efficiamini mei discipuli, Id est imitatores mei, qui plurimum fructam attuli per meam mortem, sicut supra duodecimo: Si granum frumenti mortuum fuerit , multum fructum affert. Sic etiam Apostoli; unde Ecclesia cantat de eis, quod plantaverunt Ecelesiam sanguine suo; ad Colossenses primo: Adimpleo ea quae desunt passionum Christi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p447-8

'If he remains in me...' 1 Having just shown what the reward will be for those who are opposed to remaining with Him, He now shows what it will be for those who do remain, which reward is given with regards to the one who remains and with regards to his neighbour. As regards the one who does remain: 'If you remain in me, my words shall remain in you.' Not as those who in the eighth chapter of Luke: 'Believe for a time and in the time of trial fall away,' but as those who, as it says in the Psalm, 'Keep His testament and are mindful in the doing of His commandments.' 2 'And whatever you wish, ask, and it shall be yours.' In the ninth chapter of this Gospel: 'If someone does the will of God, he will be heard.' 3 And there is not only reward for the one who remains, but even in the turning of his neighbour to the glory of God. Therefore He adds: 'In this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit...' That is, you convert men by your word and example. In the fifth chapter of Matthew: 'So let your light shine before men, that they might see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.' 4 And because of this, 'You are made my disciples,' That is, imitators of me, as in the twelfth chapter of this Gospel, 'If a grain of wheat dies, it bears much fruit.' 5 So even the Apostles, whence the Church sings concerning them, 'They have nurtured the Church with their blood.' And in the first chapter of the letter to the Colossians: 'I complete those things lacking in the passion of Christ.' 6 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.7 2 Lk 8.13, Ps 102.18 3 Jn 9.31 4 Mt 5.16 5 Jn 12.25 6 Colos 1.24

The True Vine

Sed quaeritur hic de hoc quod dicit: Ego sum vitis vera. Obiicit Augustinus: Si vitis de Christo dicitur, sicut dicitur leo, lapis; et ista dicuntur non per proprietatem , sed per simiUtudinem ; et illa dicuntur vera, quae dicuntur per proprietatem: non videtur, quod deberet dicere: Ego sum vitis vera, sed similitudinaria. Et respondet Augustinus, quod addens vera, ab illa se discernit, cui dictum est: Quomodo conversa es in amaritudinem, vitis aliena? leremiae secundo: Quomodo conversa es in pravum, vinea aliena? Unde non dicitur vera, quia non per similitudinem; sed vera, quia non aliena. Potest tamen dici, quod sicut vinum verum est, quod habet operationem vini; sic vitis vera, quae habet operationem vitis. Vitis igitur ad litteram, tunc est vera, quando vinum producit ; non vera, quae non fructificat. Sic et simililudinaria dicitur vera , quae habet actum vitis ; non vera, quae non habet. Sic et Christus, quia verum abet actum vilis, veravilis est. Sed synagoga non, de qua Isaiae quinto: Exspectavit, ut faceret uvas, fecit autem spinas. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XV Source: Here, p448

But question may be asked about this which He says: 'I am the true vine.'1 Augustine objects. 'If the vine is spoken of concerning Christ as it is with 'lion' and 'rock', then these things are not said properly but as a likeness, yet those things are spoken of as true which are said properly, therefore it does not seem He should have said: 'I am the true vine,' but a likeness. And Augustine answers: 'True' is added to distinguish Himself from that about which it has been said; 'How you have turned to bitterness, foreign vine?' in the second chapter of Jeremiah, 'How you have become wicked, O foreign vine?' Whence 'true' is not said because it is not a likeness, but 'true' because it is not foreign. 2 3 However, it is possible to say that as He is the true vine He has the work of the vine, just as a true vine is one which functions as a vine. A vine therefore literally is 'true' when it produces wine, and is 'not true' when it does not give its fruit. So even a likeness is called true when it has the work of the vine, and not true when it does not have it. So indeed Christ who has the true work of the vine is the true vine. But not the synagogue, concerning which it is said in the fifth chapter of Isaiah, 'He hoped that it would give grapes, but it gave thorns.' 4 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 15 1 Jn 15.1 2 Jerem 2.21 3 Aug Trac Jn 80.1 4 Isaiah 5.2

Wretchedness And The Passion

Passionis igitur vilitas describitur in incessu, in loco, in genere passionis et in societate patientium. Primo ergo vilitas passionis in incessu notatur in hoc, quod tanquam latro ducitur, et ipse baiulat sibi supplicium; propterea dicit: Susceperunt autem Iesum; Psalmus: Susceperunt me sicut leo paratus ad praedam, scilicet milites Iesum; duxerunt, tanquam maleficum, scilicet extra castra; propter quod ad Herbraeos ultimo: Exeamus ad eum extra castra, improperiu, crucis eius portantes. Et baiulans sibi crucem... In qua scilicet tanquam latro puniretur. Tunc impletum est quod dictum erat Isaiae vigesimo secudo: Dabo clavem David super humerum eius; et Isaiae nono: Factus est principatus super humerum eius, quia ibi triumphavit. De hoc Augustinus: Grande spectaculum! Sed si spectat impietas, grande ludibrium; si pietas, grande mysterium. Exivit in eum qui dicitur Calvariae locus. Hic innuitur vilitas a loco; quia in eo loco passus est, ubi puniebantur latrones et malefici. Calvaria enim dicitur ille locus, quia ibi declavabantur capita damnatorum. Calvaria enim dicitur testa capitis carne undata; Hebracie Golgath, id est, locus decollationis. Ubi eum crucifixerunt. Notatur hic vilitas passionis a genere mortis, quia vilissimum genus mortis erat; Sapientiae secundo: More turpissima condemnemus eum. Et cum eo alios duos, hinc et hinc, medium autem Iesum. Notatur hic vilitas a societate, quia isti duo erant latrones; unde Marci decimo quinto: Crucifigunt cum eo duos latrones. Tunc impletum est quod dicitur Isaiae quinquagesimo tertio: Et cum iniquis deputatus est. Ideo autem in medietate, ut significetur, quonaim mediator, unde in nativitate in medio animalum, Habacuc ultimo; et in passione in medio latronum, quia pax vera, ad Ephesios secundo. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIX Source: Here, p495-496

The wretchedness of the Passion is described by procession, by place, by the type of passion, and by those associated with the passion. First, then, is the wretchedness of the passion by the procession, in which He is led off as a criminal, and He bears His punishment, whence it is said, 'They took Jesus.' 1 The Psalm: 'They took me like a lion prepared for prey.' 2 that is, the soldiers took Jesus. They led him out as an evildoer, as outside the camp, whence it says in the last chapter of Hebrews: 'Let us go out to Him outside the camp, abused, bearing His cross.' 3 'And bearing His own cross...' By which he was punished as a criminal. Then was fulfilled what was said in the twenty second chapter of Isaiah: 'I shall give the key of David on his shoulder.' 4 And in the ninth chapter of Isaiah: 'And the staff of rule on his shoulder,' because by it He triumphed. 5 Concerning which Augustine says: 'A great spectacle! But if impiety sees, a great amusement, if piety, a great mystery.' 6 'He went to that place which is called Calvary.' Here wretchedness by place is noted, because in that place He suffered, where they punished criminals and evildoers. And that place is called Calvary because they would cut off the heads of the condemned there. For calvary is the skull of the head with the skin stripped off. In Hebrew it is Golgotha, that is, the place of beheading. 'Where they crucified Him.' Here the wretchedness of the passion by the type of death is noted, because it was the most wretched type of death. The second chapter of Wisdom says: 'In the most shameful manner we condemned Him.' 7 'And with Him two others, one on both side, and Jesus in the midst of them.' Here wretchedness is noted by association, because they were two bandits, whence in the fourteenth chapter of Mark: 'They crucified Him with two bandits.' 8 Then were fulfilled the words of Isaiah in the fifty third chapter: 'And we reckoned Him among the wicked.' 9 Then the middle is signified because He is the mediator, whence in the nativity He is in the midst of the animals, as in the last chapter of Habakkuk, 10 and in the passion He is in the midst of thieves, because He is true peace, according to the second chapter of Ephesians. 11 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 19 1 Jn 19.17 2 Ps 16.12 3 Heb 13.13 4 Isaiah 22.22 5 Isaiah 9.6 6 Augustine Tractate John 117.3 7 Wisdom 2.20 8 Mk 14.27 9 Isaiah 54.12 10 Habakkuk 3.2 LXX 11 Ephes 2.14

Knowing The Way

Dicit ei Thomas: Domine, nescimus, quo vadis; et quomodo possumus viam scire? Thomas dubius tarde intelligebat, et hoc ad nostrum profectum; quia, sicut negatio Petri profuit ad tollendam praesumtionem , sic nescientia Thomae ad fidei robur et distinctionem. Ideo certifcat eum Dominus de via et termino; unde: Dicit ei lesus: Ego sum via, veritas, et vita. Veritas et vita quoad terminum, quia veritas intellectum, vita respicit affectum. Ego sum via quaerentibus, veritas invenientibus, vita sine morte permanentibus. Ego sum via non errans ; Psalmus: Erraverunt in invio et non in via. Ego sum veritas non fallens; Psalmus: Fidelis Dominus in omnibus verbis suis. Vita indeficiens; Lucae decimo: Maria optimam partem elegit, quae non auferetur ab ea. Ego sum via ducens; Proverbiorum quarto: Ducam te per semitas aequitatis, quas cum ingressus fueris, non arctabuntur gressus tui , et currens non habebis offendiculum. Ego sum veritas lucens; Malachiae ultimo: Orietur vobis timentibus Deum sol iustitiae. Vita pascens; supra decimo: Per me si quis introierit, salvabitur; et ingredietur et egredietur et pascua inveniet. Ego sum via exemplo ; supra decimo tertio: Exemplum dedi vobis, ut quemadmodum ego feci vobis, ita et vos faciatis. Ego sum veritas in promisso; Psalmus: Quae procedunt de labiis meis non faciam irrita. Ego sum vita in praemio; ad Romanos sexto: Stipendia peccati mors; gratia autem Dei, vita aeterna. Et quod sit via, ostendit: Nemo venit ad Patrem nisi per me. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XIV Source: Here, p495-496

Thomas said, 'Lord, we do not know where you are going, how can we know the way?' 1 Because of doubt Thomas was slow to understand, and this is to our advantage, because as Peter's denial profits for ridding oneself of presumption, so the ignorance of Thomas profits for the strength and discernment of faith. Therefore the Lord assures him of the way and end, whence: Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life.' The truth and the way as much as they are an end, since truth looks to the intellect, and life to love. 'I am the way for those who seek, the truth for those who find, the life without death for those who persist. 'I am the way that does not err.' The Psalm: 'They wandered without a way and not in the way.' 2 'I am the truth that does not deceive.' The Psalm: 'The Lord is faithful in all His words.' 3 'I am the life that does not perish.' In the tenth chapter of Luke: 'Mary has chosen the best part which shall not be taken from her.' 4 'I am the way that leads.' In the fourth chapter of Proverbs: 'I shall lead you along a path of righteousness, and when you shall enter into it, your steps shall not be impeded, but you shall have no obstacles to your running.' 5 'I am the truth that shines.' In the last chapter of Malachi, 'The sun of righteousness shall rise over those who fear God.' 6 'I am the life that feeds.' In the tenth chapter of this Gospel: 'He who enters through me shall be saved, and he shall come in and go out and find pasture.' 7 'I am the way by example.' In the thirteenth chapter: 'I have given an example to you, that as I have done, so you may do.' 8 'I am truth as promise.' The Psalm: 'What comes forth from my lips shall not vex.' 9 'I am the life as reward.' In the sixth chapter of Romans: 'The reward of sin is death, but the grace of God is life eternal.' 10 And He shows what the way is: 'No one comes to the Father unless through me.' Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 14 1 Jn 14.5 2 Ps 106.40 3 Ps 144.13 4 Lk 10.42 5 Prov 4.11 6 Malachi 4.2 7 Jn 10.9 8 Jn 13.15 9 Ps 88.13 10 Rom 6.23

Living Among The Wicked

Et quia non sufficit fideli quod ordinate conversetur, et vivat cum his cum quibus est colligatus dicitis modis. Sed oportet quod virtuose vivat cum his qui adversantur, propter quod dicitur in laudem Iob: Quod vir erat in terra simplex et rectus. Super quod Gregorius Moralium i: Non multum laudabile et esse bonum cum bonis sed bonum cum malis. Et Ezechielem iii dicitur: frater fui draconum. Unde Gregorius xx ibidem, et Ezechielem iii: Cum scorpionibus habitas. Ibi Gregorius libro i omelia ix idem. Ideo dicitur iustus Loth aspectu et auditur ii Petri i Quia bonus inter malos, Genesis xix. Philippenses ii: In medio nationis prave and perverse. Canticum ii: Sicut lilium inter spinas. Sunt ergo fideles ammonendi, ut licet habitent inter malos iuste tamen vivant declinando a malis eorum, ad Romanos ultimo: Declinate a malos. Et ut etiam diligant orent et benefaciant eis qui sunt inimici et persequentes, Mathei v: Diligite inimicos vestros, et cetera. Inimicus enim diligendus est ratione nature, odeindus ratione cuple, ait Augustinus, Contra Faustum xiii. Et xix De Civitate Dei capitulo vi. Perfecto inquit odio odera illos. Idem Gregorius Pastoralis xxix. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Pars secunda, Distinctio nona, secunde partis, Captiulum primum, De virtuali conversatione cum adversariis. Quod laudabile est bene vivere inter malos Source: here, p124

It is not enough for a faithful man to conduct himself in an orderly fashion and live among those with whom he has attachments in the various ways mentioned, but it is necessary that he should live virtuously with those who are averse to him, because of which it is said in praise of Job that he was an innocent and upright man on the earth, 1 concerning which Gregory says in the first book of his Moralia that there is not much that is praiseworthy in being good with the good, but rather in being good among the wicked. And on the third chapter on Ezekiel 'I was a brother of dragons.' 2 Whence Gregory in the tenth book of the same work and in the third chapter of Ezekiel 'You dwell with scorpions.' 3 And in the ninth homily of the first book on the same. Therefore it is said 'the righteous Lot by sight and hearing...' in the first chapter of the second letter of Peter. 4 And a good man among evil men is found in the nineteenth chapter of Genesis. In the second chapter of the Letter to the Philippians: 'In the midst of a depraved and perverse people.' In the second chapter of the Song of Songs: 'Like a lily among thorns.' 5 Therefore let the faithful be exhorted that it is possible to dwell righteously among the wicked, yet they who do so must live there while rejecting their evils, as in the last chapter of Romans: 'Stand apart from evil folk.' Even so that they love and pray and do good to those who are enemies and persecutors. In the fifth chapter of Mathew: 'Love your enemies,' and the rest. 6 An enemy is loveable because of his rational nature and worthy of hate because of his faults, says Augustine in the third chapter of Against Faustus, and in the sixth chapter of the nineteenth book of the City of God. 'With a perfect hatred I hated them.' 7 Likewise Gregory in the twenty ninth book of his Pastoral Guide. John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Second Part, Second Part of the Ninth Distinction, First Chapter, On living virtuously among enemies, and that it is praiseworthy to live well among evil folk. 1 Job 1.1 2 Job 30.29 3 Ezek 2.6 4 2 Pet 2.7 5 Phil 2.15, Song 2.2 6 Rom 16.17, Mt 5.44 7 Ps 138.22

Fraternal Love

Consimiliter sunt ammonedni homines, ut habeant benivolum affectum ad homines qui sunt sibi colligati naturali colligatione vel affinitate, quia tales dicuntur fratres in scripturis. Quatuor enim modis dicuntur fratres, ut ait papam, scilicet natura, ut Esau et Iacob, gente, ut omnes Iudei, cognatione, ut Abraham et Loth, affectu, et hoc vel speciali quo omnes Christiani dicuntur fratres, vel communi quo omnes homines ex uno patre nati. Ad omnes ergo qui sunt colligati cognatione, amor ordinatus debet extendi. Et si dicat salvator, Luce xviii: Qui non odit patrem aut matrem et cetera, non potest esse meus discipulus. Non prohibet amorem naturalem parentum et cognatorum, sed carnalem quo impeditur amor divinus, prout exponit Augustinus episola xxii. Unde et antiqui erant affectuosi sicut Abraham et Loth quem liberavit ab hostibus, Genesis xiii. Et Laban ad Iacob quando audivit eum advenisse, Genesis xxviii. Et ideo coniugium institutum est fieri inter extraneos inter quos amor et caritas extendatur et dilatetur ubi amor naturalis minus servet secundum Augustinus xv De civitate dei capitulo xvi. ubi loquitor bene de ista materia: Predictos igitur debet predictor ammonere ut habeant se vicissini sicut debent se habere, et de talibus cum eisdem conferre. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Pars secunda, Distinctio tercia, secunde partis, Capitulum tercium, De amore ad consanguineos Source: here, p107

Similarly men should be exhorted to be of good will to men who are bound to them by natural bonds or affinity, because such brothers are spoken of in Scripture. Men are brothers in four ways, by a father, as it is according to nature, as with Esau and Jacob, by a people, as with all the Jews, by kinship, as Abraham and Lot, and by love, which is that by which all Christians are especially called brothers, or by that shared commonness of all men who are born from the one Father. Therefore to all those who are bound by family relationship, an orderly love should be extended. And if the Saviour says in the eighteenth chapter of Like, 'He who does not hate father or mother, ' and the rest, 'cannot be my disciple,' 1 this does not prohibit the natural love of parents and relations, but rather anything carnal that would be an obstacle to Divine love, as Augustine explains in his twelfth letter. Whence the men of old were affectionate, as when Abraham freed Lot from his enemies in the thirteenth chapter of Genesis. And as Laban was when he heard Jacob had arrived in the twenty eighth chapter of Genesis. 2 Therefore marriage was instituted among those more distant from us, so that love and charity might increase and expand where natural love is lacking, and should have our care, according to Augustine in the fifteenth book of the city of God, chapter sixteen, where he speaks well about this matter. Therefore let the preacher admonish men to have as much love for their neighbours as they have for themselves, and treat them as they would themselves. 3 John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Second Part, Second Part of the Third Distinction, Third Chapter, On Love of Relations. 1 Lk 14.26 2 Gen 15.8-16, Gen 29.12-14 3 Mk 12.31, Levit 19.18

Speech And Understanding

Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Nota, quod Dominus loquitur nobis aliquando per signa creaturae; aliquando per litteras Scriptarae; aliguando quasi per nuntios, et hoc in praedicatione; aliquando quasi voce viva, et hoc interna inspiratione. Loquitur ergo per signa creaiiirae; Proverbiorum primo: Sapientia foris praedicat, id est in creaturis; unde Proverbiorum sexto: Vade ad formicam, o piger , et considera vias eius. Loquitur per litteras Scripturae; unde Exodi vigesimo: Locutus est Dominus cunctos sermones hos; et leremiae trigesimo sexto: Tolle volumen et scribe in eo omnia verba, quae locutus sum tibi adversus Israel et ludam . Loquitur per nuntios in praedicatione, quibus dicitur Matthaei decimo: Non vos estis, qui loquimini, sed Spiritus Patris vestri, qui loquitur in vobis. Loquitur voce viva et interna inspiratione; unde in Psalmo: Audiam, quid loquatur in me Dominus Deus; et Osee secundo: Ducam eam in solitudinem et loquar ad cor eius. Cum igitur Dominus loquatur signis, litteris , nuntiis et verbis, recte improperat indoctis: Quare loquelam meam non cognoscitis? Quia non potestis audire sermonem meum. Nota, quod gravis fuit Christus malis ad audiendum; unde hic: Quia non potestis etc. Ad videndum; Sapientiae secundo: Gravis est nobis etiam ad videndum. Ad sustinendum; loannis undecimo: Quid facimus, quia hic homo multa signa facit? Si dimittimus eum sic, omnes credent in eum; hoc dicebant ludaei graviter ferentes Christum. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VIII, Collatio XXXV Source: Here, p577

'Why do you not understand what I say?' 1 Observe that the Lord sometimes speaks to us through the signs of created things, and something through the letters of Scripture, and sometimes through messengers, which is by preaching, and sometimes with the living voice, which is internal inspiration. Of the signs of created things it is said in the first chapter of Proverbs: 'Wisdom preaches outside,' that is, through created things, whence in the sixth chapter of Proverbs: 'Go to the ant, sluggard, and consider his ways.' 2 He speaks through the letters of Scripture in the twentieth chapter of Exodus: 'The Lord spoke all these words,' and in the thirty sixth chapter of Jeremiah: 'Take up the book and write in it all the words I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah.' 3 He speaks through messengers by preaching, concerning which it is said in the tenth chapter of Matthew: 'It is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.' 4 And He speaks with the living voice by internal inspiration, whence in the Psalm: 'I shall hear what the Lord God shall say in me.' And in the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall lead her into solitude and I shall speak to her heart.' 5 When, therefore, the Lord speaks in signs and letters and messengers and words, rightly He reproves the unlearned with: 'Why do you not understand what I say?' 'Because you cannot hear my word.' Observe that hearing Christ was a burden to the wicked, whence here: 'You cannot...' and also in seeing, in the second chapter of Wisdom: 'It is burdensome for us even to see.' And in enduring, in the eleventh chapter of John, 'What shall we do, because this man makes many signs? If we leave him alone, everyone will believe in him.' 6 This they said who were bearing Christ as a burden. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 8 1 Jn 8.43 2 Prov 1.20, Prov 6.6 3 Exod 20.1, Jerem 36.2 4 Mt 10.20 5 Ps 84.9, Hosea 2.14 6 Wisdom 2.15, Jn 11.47

Grace And Water And Life

Flumina de ventre eius fluent aquae vivae. Nota, quod gratia Dei dicitur aqua viva, quia vitam tribuit, vitam custodit, ad vitam perducit. Vitam tribuit; Ezechielis quadragesimo septimo: Omnia, ad quae pervenerit torrens, vivent. Vitam custodit; Numerorum vigesimo: Aperi vobis thesaurum tuum, fontem aquae vivae, ut satiati, cesset murmuratio eorum. Ad vitam perducit; loannis quarto: Fiet in eo fons aquae salientis in vitam aeternam. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput VII, Collatio XXXII Source: Here, p573

Rivers of living water shall flow out of his breast. 1 Note that it is the grace of God that is called living water, because it gives life, and it protects life, and it leads to life. It gives life in the forty seventh chapter of Ezekiel: 'Everything shall live where the river shall go.' 2 It protects life in the twentieth chapter of Numbers: 'Open your treasure, the fount of living waters, that being satisfied, their murmuring is silenced.' 3 It leads to life in the fourth chapter of John: 'It will become in him a fount of water leaping up to eternal life.' 4 Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 7 1 Jn 7.38 2 Ezek 47.9 3 Numb 20.6 4 Jn 4.14

Questions About Baptism

Et ego nesciebam eum, sed ut manifestetur in Israël, propterea veni ego in aqua baptizans. Et testimonium perhibuit Joannes, dicens: Quia vidi Spiritum descendentem quasi columbam de cælo, et mansit super eum. Sed dubitatio est hic: Cum minoris sit ire ad maiorem, non e converso; videtur, quod loannes debuit ire ad Christum. Item, cum in Christo nulla fuerit macula; et baptismus significet ablutionem a sorde: ergo falsum significavit in ipso: ergo si veritas Christi non recipit falsitatem, non debuit baptizari a loanne. Respondeo: Dicendum, quod aliquid debito vel congruo modo fit , aut quia necessitatis, aut quia supererogations. Quod minor vadat ad maiorem, hoc est debitum necessitatis; unde dixit loannes Domino: Ego a te debeo baptizari. Quod vero maior vadat ad minorem, hoc est perfectionis et supererogationis. Sic Dominus venit ad loannem; unde ipse dixit loanni: Sic decet nos implere omnem iustitiam, Matthaei tertio. Quod ergo venit, fuit condescensionis et in commendationem humiitatis. Quod quaeritur: quare voluit baptizari? Respondeo: Dicendum, quod sicut verbo significativo aliquid dicitur de capite ratione membrorum, sic actu exercito aliquid signifleatur in capite pro membris. Unde baptismus ille nullam significabat ablulionem interiorem in Christo, sed solum in membris. Ratio autem, quare Chiistus voiuit baptizari, fuil tripler: ut daret exemplum humilitatis; ut vim regenerativam conferret aquis; ut per baptismum loannis manifestaret se universis. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p250

'And I did not know Him, but that He may be made manifest in Israel, therefore I have come baptising with water.' And John gave testimony, saying: 'I saw the Spirit coming down, as a dove from heaven, and it remained upon Him.' 1 But there is a doubt here, in that the greater goes to the less and not the opposite, for it seems that John should go to Christ. Similarly, when there was no fault in Christ, and baptism signifies a cleansing from soiling, therefore it signifies falsely about Him, and as the truth of Christ receives no falsity, then he should not have been baptised by John. I answer that it must be said that something may be done as a matter of debt or because it is fitting, either because of necessity or as a matter of supererogation. That the less goes to the greater is a debt of necessity, whence John said to the Lord, 'I should be baptised by you.' However, because the greater goes to the less, this is a matter of perfection and supererogation. So the Lord comes to John and says to him, 'So it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness,' in the third chapter of Matthew. 2 Therefore that He came was a matter of condescension and a commendation of humility. Because it is asked, 'Why did He wish to be baptised?' I answer that it must be said that as the word signifies something about the rational head of the members, so the external act signifies something about the head for the members. Whence that baptism did not signify anything about the cleansing of the interior in Christ, but only about the members. Thus the reason why Christ was baptised was threefold, that He give an example of humility, that He confer on the waters the power of regeneration, and that by the baptism of John He manifest Himself to all. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.31-32 2 Mt 3.14-15

Grasping The Light

Item quaeritur de hoc quod dicitur: Tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt. Contra: Lux corporalis, dum lucet, et est praesens, non potest non videri; ergo a pari ratione videtur de luce spirituali et intellectu. Item quare dicitur de tenebris? Quia nullus etiam bonus eam comprehendit, cum sit incomprehensibilis. Respondeo: Dicendum quod non est simile de luce corporali et spirituali triplici de causa; tum ex parte motivi, quia corporalis se manifestat naturaliter, spiritualis vero voluntarie: tum ex parte oculi, quia oculus intellectus caecus est respectu unius, et tamen videt respectu alterius; sicut videmus, quod unius habet ignorantiam, alterius cognitionem, sic oculus infidelis caecus respectu Dei. Tertia ratio ex parte comparationis; quia aliqua proportio est oculi nostri ad lucem corporalem, sed lux spiritualis improportionabiliter excedit, et ideo lucem habitat inaccessibilem. Quod quaeritur de comprehensione dicendum, quod est comprehensio per inclusionem, sive terminationem, per apertam visionem, per fidei et caritatis adhaesionem. Primo modo a nullo, secundo modo a Beatis, tertio modo a Sanctis, nullo dictorum modorum a malignis. Ideo dicitur: Et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt, id est, nec fide, nec amore adhaeserunt. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p250

Similarly one may enquire about this which is said: 'The darkness did not comprehend it.' 1 Against this: it impossible not to see material light when it shines and is present, therefore with equal reason it seems to be the case with the spiritual light and the intellect. Similarly why is this said of 'the darkness'? Because not even anything good comprehends the light when it is incomprehensible. I answer that it must be said that there is not this sort of similarity between material light and spiritual light for three reasons, from the part of motive because material light manifests itself naturally and the spiritual voluntarily, then from the part of the eyes, because the eye of the intellect may be blind in respect of one thing and yet see in respect of another thing, as we see that it is ignorant of one thing and has knowledge of another thing, and so the eye of the faithless man is blind with respect to God. The third reason comes from comparison, because though there is a certain proportion between our eyes and material light, yet the spiritual light exceeds all proportionality, and therefore dwells in inaccessible light. 2 One must then speak of what should be said regarding comprehension, that is, that comprehension may be by inclusion, or ending, or open vision, through an adherence in faith and love. The first way is open to no man, the second is the way of the blessed, the third is the way of the saints, and none of the ways mentioned are open to the wicked. Therefore it is said: 'And the darkness did not comprehend it,' that is, they did not adhere either in faith or in love. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.5 2 1 Tim 6.16

Light And Darkness

Et lux in tenebris lucet, cum peccatores fecit vera cognoscere. Et tenebrae eam non comprehenderunt: quia infidelitatis tenebris obcaecati non cognoscunt: Genesis primo: Tenebrae erant super faciem abyssi, id est, infidelitas in facie cordis humani. Unde ad Ephesios quinto: Fuistis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem lux in Domino; primae Ioannis primo: Deus lux est, et tenebrae in eo non sunt ullae. Si dixerimus, quoniam societatem habemus cum eo et in tenebris ambulamus; mentimur et veritatem non fecimus. Et per hoc eliditur error ille, qui posuit, omnia esse a fortuna, et non esse providentiam, nec Deum cognoscere acta nostra. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput I Source: Here, p249

'The light shines in the darkness,' 1 when it tries to make sinners know the truth. 'And the darkness was not able to grasp it,' since being blinded with the darkness of faithlessness they did not know. In the first chapter of Genesis, 'Darkness was on the face of the abyss,' 2 that is, faithlessness on the face of the human heart. Whence in the fifth chapter of Ephesians: 'You were once in darkness, now you are light in the Lord.' 3 In the first chapter of the first letter of John, 'God is light and there is no darkness at all in Him. If we say that we have a relationship with Him and we walk in darkness, we lie and do not do what is true.' 4 And with this that error is crushed down which has claimed that everything is by chance, and there is no providence, nor does God know our deeds. Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 1 1 Jn 1.5 2 Gen 1.2 3 Ephes 5.8 4 1 Jn 1.5-6

Birth And Virtue

Econtratrio monendi sunt ignobiles, ut studeant esse nobiles virtutibus, quamvis non sint nobiles nobilitate sanguinis, quia humili loco nati multi clari fuerunt, prout ait Valerius libro iii capitulo viii. Pones exampla de talibus, sicut de Tullio Hostilio quem in cunabulis accepit agreste tugurium. Eiusdem adolescentia in pecora pascendo fuit occupata, validior etas. Imperium Romanum rexit et duplicavit, senectus in altissimo maiestatis fastigio fulsit. Et ibidem de aliis talibus. Similiter narrat qualiter humiliter nati, fulserunt nobilitate philosophie. Socrates inquit, non solum hominum consensu, verum etiam Appollonis oraculo sapientibus, iudicatus phantaice vel phanaretis matre obsistrice, et sophanisto patre marmorareo vel morario genitus ad clarissimum glorie lumine accessit, et si virtus per seipsum existimatur magister vite optimus. Et ibidem quam matrem eripides, aut quem patern Demostenes habuit, ipsorum quoque seculo ignotum fuit, alterius enim matrem cultellos vendidisse, omnium pene doctorum litere loquuntur. Sed quid aut illius tragita, aut huius oratoria vir clarus, natus ergo de humili genere, clarus tamen philosophia, et virtutibus satis magis est commendabilis nobili nato et alto genere, talibus carente. Johannes Gallensis, Communiloquium sive Summa Collationum, Tercia part: De informatione hominum quantum ad ea que omnibus sunt communia, Tercia distinctio, Captiulum tercium: De ignobilibus Source: here, p138

On the contrary the ignoble should be encouraged so that they become zealous to be noble by virtue, though they are not noble by nobility of blood, because many who were born in lowly position have become celebrated men, as Valerius says in book 3 chapter 8, giving examples of such men like Tullius Hostilius whom a rustic hut received into its cradle. His youth having been spent in pasturing cattle, he became strong in years, and ruling as king of the Romans, he doubled their territory, and in old age he shone with the most high majesty. 1 And in the some place he speaks of others. And likewise he tells of those who were humbly born and shone with the nobility of philosophy. Socrates, he says, not only by the agreement of men, but by the oracle of Apollo, was adjudged to be truly wise, he who was born of a mother, Phaenarete, who was a midwife, and his father, Sophroniscus, was a marble worker, or a stone cutter, but he came to the brightest light of glory, if virtue is judged to be the best teacher of life. And in the same place the mother of Euripides, and the father of Demosthenes, were also unknown to the world, for the mother of the former sold knives, 2 yet they are celebrated in nearly all of the works of those who are educated, for the first in tragedy and the other in oratory were great men, and both were born in a humble state, yet by philosophy they become famous, for indeed virtue is more commendable than a noble birth or a fine lineage which lacks such things. John of Wales, The Communiloquium, Third Part, On The Fashioning of Men In Things All Have In Common, Third Distinction, Third Chapter, On The Ignoble. 1 Valerius Maximus 3.4.2 2 Valerius Maximus 3.4e.1-2

Nothing More

His amplius etc. Hic tertio reprimitur curiositas auditorum, quos alioquitur sub persona filii dicens: His amplius , fili mi, ne requiras, ut semper velis audire nova; sufficit enim scire necessaria; Ecclesiastici tertio: Quae praecepit tibi Deus, illa cogita semper, et in pluribus operibus eius ne fueris curiosus. Et redditur ratio duplex huius admonitionis, quia inquisitio huius curiositatis est interminata et laboriosa. Est interminata; ideo dicit: Faciendi plures libros nullus est finis; quia curiosi nunquam tot habent, quin velint audire plures, quia nunquam volunt audire vetera, sed semper nova; unde Actuum decimo septimo: Athenienses ad nihil aliud vacabant, nisi aut dicere, aut audire aliquid novi. Ideo dicitur Danielis duodecimo: Pertransibunt plurima tempora, et multiplex erit scientia, eo quod scientia semper quodam modo renovatur. Non tantum est interminata, sed etiam laboriosa curiosa inquisitio; ideo subdit: Frequensque meditatio carnis est afflictio; Ecclesiastici trigesimo primo: Vigilia honestatis tabefaciet carnem. Est, inquam, afllictio magna, et e contrario utilitas modica, secundum quod dictum est supra octavo: Est homo, qui diebus et noctibus non capit somnum oculus. Et intellexi, quod operum Dei nullam possit homo invenire rationem eorum quae fiunt sub sole. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Ecclesiasten, Cap XII Source: Here, p 98

Anything more than these... 1 Here he restrains the curiosity of those who hear, speaking to them under the person of a son, saying, 'Anything more than these things, O son, do not seek,' so that you are always wanting to hear something new, for it is enough to know what is needful. 2 In the third chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'What God has commanded you, think on these things always, and do not be curious about His many works.' 3 And there is a twofold reason for this admonition: because the pursuit of such curiosity is both endless and burdensome. That it is interminable, he then says here: 'Of making many books there is no end.' Because the curious shall never have everything, since they wish to hear more, because they will not listen to old things, but must always have new things, whence it is said in the seventeenth chapter of Acts: 'The men of Athens have leisure for nothing but to to say or hear something new.' 4 And it is said in the twelfth chapter of Daniel: 'Much time will pass and knowledge shall be multiplied,' 5 because knowledge is always being renewed in a certain way. Then that this inquisitive curiosity is not only interminable but burdensome, he adds: 'And frequent meditation is a weariness of the flesh.' In the thirty first chapter of Ecclesiasticus: 'Watchfulness for wealth wearies the flesh.' 6 And it is a grave affliction, I say, but on the contrary it is moderation that is useful, according to which it was said previously in the eighth chapter: 'There is a man who for days and nights does not allow sleep to come to his eyes. And I understood that no man is able to find the reason for the works of God which are beneath the sun.' 7 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary on Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12 1 Eccles 12.12 2 Acts 17.21, Lk 10.42 3 Sirach 3.22 4 Acts 17.21 5 Dan 12.4 6 Sirach 31.1 7 Eccl 8.16-17

Jars And Water And Wine

Et die tertio nuptiae factae sunt in Cana Galilaeae... Moraliter Nuptiae istae sunt Dei et Animae ipsa reconciliatone animae ad Deum. Oseae secundo: Sponsabo te mihi in fide, et scies, quia ego Dominus. Ad has nuptias faciendas venit Dominus Jesus, sed invitatus. Apocal tertio: Ecce ego sto ad ostium, et pulso, si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit mihi januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo. Vinum in his nuptiis defecit. Hoc vinum est interna devotio, de quo in Psal Vinum laetificat cor hominis. Et Matth nono: Nemo mittit vinum novum in utres veteres. Istud vinum deficit, cum homo efficitur aridus et indevotus, sicut dicit anima sancta in Psal Anima mea, sicut terra sine aqua, tibi. Sed ad preces Virginis, quae compatitur miseris, Dominus implet hydrias aqua compunctionis, quae convertitur in dulcedinem devotionis. Unde Exodo quinto decimo dicitur, quod aquae Marath in dulcedinem conversae sunt. Nota igitur, quod hyrdria, in qua hauritur aqua, est consideratio. Hydria vacua est consideratio defectus, et vacuitatis, quam incurrit homo per peccatum. Ista hydria impletur aqua, cum homo ex consideratione tali lacrymis perfunditur. Est igitur hydria prima consideratio defectus cognitionis; Tob quinto: Quale gaudium mihi erit, qui in tenebris sedeo, etc Secunda hydria consideratio defectus circumspectus circa hostem, secundae ad Cor. undecimo: Timeo autem, ne sicut serpens seduxit Hevam asturia sua, ita corrumpantur sensus vestri, et excidant a simplicitate, quae est in Christo. Tertia est consideratio defectus internae consolationis. Jer secundo: Vide quia malum, et amarum est, te reliquisse Dominum Deum tuum. Quarta est consideratio defectus virtutis ad resistendum; Psal Dereliquit me virtus mea, et lumen oculorum, et ipsum non est mecum. Quinta est consideratio defectus stabilitatis; Gen octavo: Sensus et cogitatio humani cordis in malum prona sunt ab adolescentia sua. Sexta est consideratio defectus securitatis ad proemium expectandum; Ecclesiastici nono: Nescit homo, utrum amore, an odio dignus fit. Tunc implentur istae hydriae aqua usque ad summum, quando anima poenitens lavat per singulas noctes ex his considerationibus, lectum suum. Et ex aqua vinum fit optimum devotionis, de quo Zach nono: Quid bonum ejus, et quid pulchrum ejus, nisi frumentum electorum, et vinum germinans virgines? In hoc converitur aqua compunctionis, unde sancta anima in Psal Convertisti planctum meum in gaudium mihi. Sanctus Bonaventura, Commentarius In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput II Source: Here, p507

On the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee... 1 Morally these nuptials are of God and the soul, in the reconciliation of the soul to God. In the second chapter of Hosea: 'I shall espouse you to me in faith, and you shall know I am the Lord.' 2 For the performance of these nuptials comes the Lord Jesus, even uninvited. In the third chapter of the Apocalypse: 'Behold I stand and the door and I knock, if someone hears my voice and opens the door to me, I shall enter and feast with him.' 3 The wine at the wedding ran out. This wine is internal devotion, concerning which in the Psalm: 'Wine which delights the heart of a man,' 4 and in the ninth chapter of Matthew: 'No one puts new wine in old wineskins.' 5 This wine runs out when a man is made arid and undevout, as the holy soul says in the Psalm, 'As a land without water to you,' 6 but to the prayers of the Virgin, who has compassion on your misery, the Lord fills the jars with the water of compunction, which are then turned into the sweetness of devotion. Whence in the fifteenth chapter of Exodus it is said that the waters of Mara turned sweet. 7 Therefore note that the jars from which the water is drawn is consideration. An empty jar is defective consideration and it holds nothing, and because of it a man hurries to sin. But this jar is filled with water when a man in such consideration is drenched with tears. Thus the first jar is consideration of defective knowledge. In the fifth chapter of Tobit, 'What joy shall there be for me who sit in darkness?' 8 The consideration of the second jar concerns the defect of wariness regarding the enemy. In the eleventh chapter of the second letter to the Corinthians: 'But I fear lest as the serpent seduced Eve with its cleverness, so your minds are corrupted and you are cut off from the simplicity which is in Christ.' 9 The third jar is the consideration of the defect of internal consolation. In the second chapter of Jeremiah: 'See that it is wicked and bitter that you have forsaken the Lord your God.' 10 The fourth consideration is the defect of virtue for resisting. In the Psalm: 'My virtue has gone from me, and the light of my eyes is not with me.' 11 The fifth consideration is of the defect of stability. In the eighth chapter of Genesis: 'The mind and thought of the human heart is inclined to wickedness from its youth.' 12 The sixth consideration is a defect in hope for the expected reward. In the ninth chapter of Ecclesiastes: 'A man does not know if he is worthy of love or hate.' 13 And then the jars are filled even to the brim when the penitent soul washes itself with these considerations each night on its own bed. And from this water is made the best wine of devotion, concerning which it is said in the ninth chapter of Zachariah: 'What is His good, and what is His beauty, unless the wheat of the elect and wine bringing forth virgins?' 14 One is changed into this by the water of compunction, whence the holy soul says in the Psalm: 'You turned my weeping into joy.' 5 Saint Bonaventura, Commentary On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 2 1 Jn 2.1 2 Hosea 2.19 3 Apoc 3.10 4 Ps 103.15 5 Mt 9.17 6Ps 142.6 7 Exod 15.23 8 Tob 5.12 9 2 Cor 11.3 10 Jerem 2.19 11 Ps 37.11 12 Gen 8.21 13 Eccl 9.1 14 Zach 9.17 15 Ps 29.12

Conquering The World

Confidite, quia ego vici mundum Nota, quod Dominus dicit, se fecisse tria in mundo, scilicet reliquisse mundum, loannis decimo sexto: Relinquo mundum et vado ad Patrem; vicisse mundum; unde hic Ioannis decimo sexto: Confidite, quia vici mundum; reprehendisse mundum; loannis septimo: Me odit mundus, quia testimonium perhibeo de eo, quia opera eius mala sunt; per hoc ostendens fidelibus suis, quod relinquendae sunt mundanae prosperitates , sustinendae sive superandae mundanae adversitales , arguendae perversitates mundanae. Sic mundum conversatione reliquit, passione superavit, praedicatione reprehendit. Sanctus Bonaventura, Collationes In Evangelium Ioannem, Caput XVII, Collatio LXI Source: Here, p610

Be confident, because I have conquered the world. 1 Note that the Lord says He has done three things in the world, that is, He has left it, in the sixteenth chapter of John, 'I leave the world and go to the Father,' 2 He has conquered it, whence it says here, 'Be confident, because I have conquered the world.' And He has reproved it in the seventh chapter of John, 'The world hates me because I give testimony of it, that its works are wicked.' 3 By this He shows His faithful ones that one must leave worldly riches, and endure, and overcome worldly adversities. So He left the world's way of living, and He overcame in suffering, and He reproved the world in preaching. Saint Bonaventura, Observations On The Gospel Of Saint John, Chapter 17 1 Jn 16.33 2 Jn 16.28 3 Jn 7.7