Treatise on Christian Life

Sermon 1

On the triple forms of Christian modesty

The first virtue of Christian life is called modesty; it is numbered as the tenth fruit of the Spirit by the Apostle in Gal 5:23. Modesty is a particular virtue by which we do neither more nor less. In all actions and words this virtue preserves a mean. The Apostle exhorts us to this by saying: soberly; and in Philippians 4:5 he says again: Let your modesty be known to all. The Lord is nigh. This text can be a theme for the present material on this third Sunday of Advent. It is like a warning to all, just as students pursuing the steps of scholastic discipline are accustomed to be warned: The Master is present. All Christian and moral modesty of life can be understood in a triple modesty: the first is called frugality, the second discipline, while the third is called integrity.

ARTICLE 1

On the triple frugality by which the whole Christian life is regulated

The first modesty is called frugality; it is so called from being frugal in nourishing life which is nothing other than not exceeding a reasonable limit in bodily nourishment.[2] For a person to live according to this reasonable frugality, a triple double frugality must be kept in mind and observed: the first, in food and clothing; the second, in watching and in sleep; the third, in word and in idleness.

CHAPTER I

On the first frugality a person must observe in food and clothing in accord with the circumstances of their state

Firstly, frugality must be observed in food and clothing. The first refers to the internal nourishment of the body, the second, however, to the external warming of the body. In fact, without these two, human life could in no way be sustained; but an excess or lack of these is to be avoided completely.

Firstly, there should be neither excess nor lack in food. Certainly, a person should not exceed in food. By food is understood everything necessary for the inner nourishment of the body. The Lord forbids excess in this when he says in Luke 21:34: Take heed to yourselves lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with dissipation and drunkenness. Further, Sir 37:32-34 says: Be not greedy in any feasting, and pour not out yourself upon any meat, for in many meats there will be sickness, and greediness will turn to choler. By dissipation many have perished, but whoever is temperate shall prolong life. Although a person, according to some,[3] is not bound to the fasts of the Church before reaching the age of twenty one, however, whoever is troubled by allurements of the flesh before that age, should, from the very law of nature, set aside some time or days to mortify their damaging senses, just as the Apostle exhorts in Colossians 3:5: Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth. Moreover, it is a work of great devotion and value to set aside during each week a day of abstinence for oneself out of devotion to the Mother of God, or in memory of the Lord’s passion. Yet excessive abstinence from food is not to be undertaken; for that burden is undertaken with a danger that leads to weariness. Hence, the Apostle says in Rom 12:1: Your reasonable service; and again in 2 Cor 6:9 he says: As chastised and not killed, namely, from thirst.

Secondly, no one should exceed in clothing. With clothing we include other ornaments of the body, the bedroom, and of the whole house. So that no one exceeds in these but maintains genuine frugality, it is necessary to remember three things: firstly, what concerns the past; secondly, what concerns the present moment; thirdly, what concerns the future. – Firstly, indeed, as regards the past, one must ponder and recall if such garments, precious objects and such like possessions are found to have been unlawfully acquired, or if because of them the donor is unable to make satisfaction for what was wrongly acquired; for on the evidence of Isa 9:5: A garment stained with the blood of sin shall be burnt and be fuel for the fire, that is, let it be the cause for whoever wears it being burnt for eternity, so that it becomes food for the infernal fire. – Secondly, with regard to the present moment, one must carefully examine whether so many clothes and ornaments befit one’s state.[4] For what is fitting for one person, is not fitting for another because of the diversity in their state; for example, it is sure that what is fitting for one great lady is not fitting for the wife of a common citizen; nor can one farmer have what is fitting for a citizen of a town; also what befits one bearing arms or one serving for wages is not fitting for a merchant or someone like him. The supreme artist, God, wanting to show this in ornaments, made a difference between the lights of the sky, just as in 1 Cor 15:41 the Apostle points out when he says: Star differs from star in glory. – Thirdly, with regards to the future, one has to provide with prudence, whether with such expenses so broadly undertaken, judging the circumstances commonly approaching, one can persevere without using unlawful resources. For as the Prophet says in Ps 41:8 what a darkened world does not notice: Deep calls on deep. Clearly the deep of large expenses calls on the deep of unlawful resources, an action that is not permitted, even when a person enjoys great and noble circumstances.

CHAPTER II

On the second frugality to be observed in watching and sleep

The second frugality is to be observed in watching and sleep. While our whole life is spent in these two conditions, in neither should there be excess.

Firstly, I say, no one should watch to excess. Watching is holy when one searches and finds every virtue and even God, as the Lord testifies in Song 3:3: The watchmen who guarded the city, namely, of my soul, found me watching as they observed their holy watching. But, as experience bears witness, immoderate watching enervates the spirit and burns up the strength of the body and at times renders a person senseless.

Secondly, there should be no excess in sleep; excessive sleep makes one sluggish and inactive in virtuous actions, gives rise to and fosters negligence; from here the mind is easily liable to fall into all temptations. The reason for this is that from an excess of sleep the mind is shut in, the understanding suppressed, the memory weakened, the will grows lukewarm, and a person become thoughtless, not foreseeing dangers and becoming careless over good; from this it happens that the soul is pushed by a slight temptation, committing evil and omitting good, and what is worse, it does not avert to this. So, in 2 Cor 6:7 the Apostle exhorts us to be trained in the armour of justice on the right hand and on the left, namely, lest, from an excess of watching or sleep, we are laid low by our enemies. So Bernard[5] says:

Whoever from the vice of indiscretion so fasts, watches etc. in this way, so that the with the sprit weakening or the body languishing spiritual works are impeded, it takes away the effect of good work from the body, affection from the spirit, example from a neighbour, honour and reverence to God, commits sacrilege and is guilty of all good things from God.

CHAPTER III

On the third frugality to be observed in work and idleness

The third frugality to be observed is in work and idleness, and in these two things also all human life is passed; but in neither should here be excess.

Firstly, no one should work excessively; moderate work is good for body and soul. Work frees the body from many infirmities, provides necessities for the body, holds it back from many vices and, moreover when moderate, nourishes the spirit of devotion; so the Prophet in Ps 127:2 says: For you shall eat the labours of your hands, blessed are you, and it shall be well with you. But when work is immoderate especially in amassing temporal possessions, it damages bodily strength, shortens life, extinguishes the spirit, weakens good will, and deprives a person of all human pleasure. Such work can be called an investment in hell as the Prophet in Ps 48:9 says: Such shall labour for ever, namely, in hell, and shall still live unto the end, that is, shall work without end by not dying.

Secondly, one should not be excessive in bodily quiet and idleness; idleness is completely contrary to human nature. The Lord in Genesis 2:15 made this clear in a mystical sense when the Lord took Adam and put him in the paradise of pleasure to dress it and to keep it. Every idle person becomes corrupt; hence Sir 33:29 says: Idleness has taught much evil. The example of Sodom makes this clear, of which is written in Ezek 16:49: This was the iniquity of your sister Sodom, namely, O idle soul, pride, fulness of bread and abundance and her idleness. Nevertheless, there is a holy and spiritually active idleness, indeed necessary for salvation, laid down by the Lord in Exodus 20:8: Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, that you abstain from the work given us by God. The Prophet in Ps 45:11 approves this idleness: Be still and see that I am God; as if he wanted to say: By abstaining from the work given us by God you will experience the pleasantness and sweetness of God. Nor is it only on feast days that one should abstain from the work given us by God, but part of each day is to be set aside in which the faithful soul puts before its eyes God as Creator, Redeemer, the One who gives glory, who is just and merciful; so that the soul is always held back in fear from offending God and is drawn by love to do God’s will.

ARTICLE II

On the triple discipline by which the whole Christian life is disciplined

The second modesty is called discipline. According to writers on morality,[6] discipline is an adequate enlightening of the soul to what is useful and upright, or, according to others[7]: Discipline is an acceptance of the precepts which, once accepted, are to be reflected on and obeyed. It is fitting for a Christian to accept the precepts for regulating life and to obey them in deeds with all zeal, because all the precepts of Christian life are useful and upright. In Ps 2:12 the Prophet exhorts us to accept such discipline: Embrace discipline lest at any time the Lord be angry, namely, over a life without discipline, and so you perish from the just way. This text can be taken as the theme for the present material on discipline; as well as another theme in Heb 12:7: Persevere under discipline, in which God deals with you as with children. There is a triple discipline by which the whole Christian life is disciplined: the first is called discipline of the heart, the second discipline of the mouth and the third discipline of work.

CHAPTER I

On the first discipline by which the human heart is disciplined in joy and mourning

The first is discipline of the heart. The human heart has to be disciplined in two things: firstly, in joy; secondly, in mourning. The first concerns agreeable condition in the world; the second concerns adverse conditions of this world, and usually human life is involved in one or the other of these; so it must be restrained by bridle of discipline.

Firstly, I say, the human heart must be disciplined in joy or in the prosperous conditions of this world when many are in danger from prosperity rather than adversity, as the Prophet says to the Lord in Ps 90:7: A thousand shall fall at our side. Shall fall, namely, by eternal damnation, a thousand at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand. The left side represents adversity while the right represents prosperity in the world. As a sign of this we read that Christ often wept but never laughed. Therefore, much caution is to be applied so that the human heart is restrained by the bridle of discipline in prosperity; otherwise it may be dissipated by smooth and vain joys in transitory good arising from great glory, high fame, noble parentage, great family, many possessions, high status or from any other temporal joy. For it is highly displeasing to the inestimable sweetness of God when anyone neglects, rather even abandons and despises such sweetness by a total abandonment or immersion in what is transitory. Hence, by a just and pious judgment, God more frequently allows a person to perceive the fallacies of the world and long for true delights; what the wisdom of God said in Prov 14:13 happens in such cases: Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, that is, it will be immediately involved in mourning; and at the end, that is, unrestrained joys, mourning takes hold, namely, unwanted and unforeseen.

Secondly, the human heart must be disciplined in mourning or in adverse situations of this world lest they swamp the heart from its impatient mourning. Since no one experiences adversity without divine justice mercifully permitting, it is necessary, whenever it causes sorrow or mourning to rise up in the soul, one must argue with oneself and say to the soul with the Prophet in Ps 41:6-7: Why are you sad, O my soul, and why do you trouble me? Hope in God, for I will still give praise to God, namely, by feeling warmly that in all these God deals with me mercifully; and again I will say with the Prophet in Ps 30:16: My times are in your hands. So if poverty weighs heavily on you, a bad report is spread everywhere against you, persecution touches you, exile torments you, prison oppresses you, your children die, any who are dear to you or any other heavy trouble annoys you, hold in mind the example of most patient Job, who as we read in Job1:20-21, when he heard of the violent death of his beloved children and of others belonging to him and other adversities, he rose up and rent his garments, and having shaved his head, as a sign of his paternal and neighbourly compassion and love, fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said: the Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away as it has pleased the Lord so it is done; blessed be the name of the Lord. See with what discipline the heart of this most holy man was guided in his mourning because he was not insensitive to love of neighbour (for he wept just as Christ wept at the death of Lazarus [Jn 11:33]), nor did he forget God, his creator, in sorrow for his children.

CHAPTER II

On the second discipline by which our mouth must be disciplined discretely in silence and in speaking

The second is discipline of the mouth; Wisdom in Prov 5:2 recommends this by saying: May your lips preserve instruction. Our mouth has to be disciplined in two things: firstly, in silence; secondly, in speech.

Firstly, it has to be disciplined in silence. Rarely would one who does not know how to keep a discreet silence be filled with a fruitful word from God; it is a sign of great wisdom and virtue to keep silence for a reason, as Sir 20:7 testifies when it says: The wise will hold their peace till they see opportunity, but a babbler and a fool will regard no time. Also Quintilianus[8] says: ‘In a crowd, when travelling and on a journey ponder in private.

Secondly, it has to be disciplined in speech; for, as Solomon testifies in Prov 18:21: Death and life are in the power of the tongue. So Sir 23:17 warns: Let not your tongue be accustomed to indiscreet speech, for therein is the word of sin. But because the Prophet was aware that it is most difficult to speak in a disciplined way, he strenuously asked for this grace of the Lord, saying in Ps 140:3: Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth, and a door round about my lips. The guarding of a discreet mouth is the bright reason by which a person understands and discerns what should not and what should be spoken; a door that can be opened and shut is the discretion of a mind by which a person speaks with discretion and keeps silence. The Prophet does not ask for a wall to guard the tongue for a wall is built and removed only with difficulty; on the other hand, he says a door that can be closed and opened more easily; nor was it enough to ask for a door but he asks for a door round about his lips, so that he might show in silence and in speech the discreet conditions to be observed.[9]

In speaking there are seven conditions to be observed with great care. In speaking one must weigh: firstly, who is speaking; secondly, why is it said; thirdly, what is said; fourthly, to whom is it spoken; fifthly, when is it spoken; sixthly, how is it said; seventhly, how much is said.[10] – Firstly, one should consider who is speaking for what is fitting in one person is not fitting in another as, for example, Sir 32:4-5, 10, 12-13 says: Speak you are older for it becomes you to speak the first word. And it adds: Young man, scarcely speak in your own case, when it is necessary. And it continues: In many things be as if you were ignorant and hear in silence and withal seeking, and take not upon yourself to speak in the company of the great and when the ancients are present speak not much; this is to be observed in similar circumstances. – Secondly, one must reflect on why, that is, for what reason and intention does someone speak; for it is written:

Whatever people do, the intention judges all.[11]

So in Mt 6:22-23 the Lord says: If your eye, namely, your intention, be single, your whole body shall be lightsome. But if your eye is evil, your whole body shall be darksome. – Thirdly, a person should consider what is said; for there is written in Prov 13:3: Those who keep their mouth, keep the soul from troubles; but those who keep no guard on their speech shall meet with evils.- Fourthly, it is necessary to consider who is being addressed; so Gregory, Super Ezechielem,[12] says: I beg you, learn how you should address anyone whom you correct; and be unwilling on your part to follow your own understanding, even less your anger. – Fifthly, one should also consider how to speak; because as Eccl 3:7 says: A time to keep silence and a time to speak; and Prov 25:11: To speak a word in due time is like apples of gold on beds of silver, that is, ripe fruit in silver vessels. On the other hand, Sir 20:22 says: A parable out of a fool’s mouth is rejected because he does not speak it in due season; also there is written in Prov 15:23: A word in due time is best. – Sixthly, one must ponder how someone speaks because the way has to be varied according to diverse subjects. Since a triple mode is distinguished, namely, humble, middle and eloquent, the topic spoken about determines which form to follow. So, when what we say is important, it must be spoken in a grand manner; when it is of middle importance, in a modified manner; and when unimportant, subtly. Seventhly, a person is to reflect also on how much it is fitting to say, so that one can judge rightly that neither too much nor too little is said. Above all, long speaking is to be avoided because, as Prov 10:19 says: In the multitude of words there shall not want sin.

Care must be taken in all the above circumstances, as Solomon states in Prov 16:1, to prepare the soul, but it is for God to govern the tongue. Blessed James, in his Epistle 3:2, makes clear what great benefit it is to observe all that has been said: If anyone offends not in word, the same is perfect. One who is discreet in silence and speech according to the above stated conditions does not offend in word.

Chapter III

On the third discipline by which our actions are disciplined by mildness and rigour

The third is the discipline of work. Our actions are to be disciplined in two ways: the first is with mildness and the second with rigour; these are ordered together in people so that mildness is shown by patience with justice and displeasure of evil with modesty in rigour.

Firstly, our actions are to be disciplined with mildness lest rigour without mildness and piety leads the mind to hardness and cruelty; rigour is to be ardent externally against vices in such a way that it does not exceed the limits of mildness. Harsh rigour is to be so tempered by the softening of inner piety so that when a person is rigorous from zeal and severity for justice, internally the person maintains a yielding softness of pious compassion; this allows a person to hold in the hand a rod of paternal discretion while in the chest there are the breasts of maternal compassion; so in Eph 4:2 the Apostle says: With all humility and mildness do your works.[13]

Secondly, our works are to be disciplined with rigour lest they grow sluggish from an excess of piety; often cruel injustices are perpetrated under the covering of piety. One should not hold within a rigour without feelings of piety, just as piety should not be without a tempering of severity; so in Micah 6:8 the Spirit of truth says: I will show you what is good, and what the Lord requires of you: verily to do judgment, and to love mercy, and to walk solicitous with your God. In his Regula pastoralis, Gregory[14] says to all rulers and rectors:

Care should be taken that a ruler be seen by subjects as a mother in loving-kindness, and as a father in discipline. And all the time it should be seen to with anxious circumspection, that neither discipline be rigid nor loving-kindness lax. For, there is much wanting both to discipline and to compassion, if one be had without the other.

The Prophet in Ps 22:4, speaking on behalf of every subject, says to such rulers: Your rod and your staff have comforted me. The rod, representing the rod by which wayward children are usually corrected, indicates justice; but the staff by which the weak are supported, stands for mercy. By these two, people and each family are filled with wonderful tranquillity and consolation.

ARTICLE III

On the three things in which every Christian should observe uprightness

The third modesty is called uprightness. According to Isidore,[15] uprightness is that which ‘has no trace of disgrace, or everlasting honour like a state of honour’. Every Christian should be regulated, ordered and made of a triple uprightness: the first is uprightness of the senses, the second, uprightness of clothing, the third uprightness of limbs; because each must be upright in the senses, in clothing and in all their limbs. For this reason, the Apostle in 1 Cor 14:40 says: Let all things be done decently and according to order in you. This text can be taken as the theme for the present article.

CHAPTER I

On the first uprightness by which all the senses of the human body are to be regulated and be illustrious

The first uprightness is to be observed in the senses of the body. A person must be regulated, ordered and composed in the senses so that a correct uprightness of the inner person shines forth in them. If they are not guarded with due care, they allow entry to our enemies who bring death to our soul, as Jer 9:21 says: Death has come up through our windows, it has entered into our houses. – Firstly, sight is to be guarded in an upright way. It is not lawful to look at what cannot lawfully be desired; so Job 31:1 says of sight: I made a covenant with my eyes lest I think upon a virgin; and the Prophet in Ps 118:27 asked of the Lord: Turn away my eyes that they may not behold vanity. – Secondly, hearing is to be guarded in an upright way, especially so as not to hear or read words that are shameful and dishonourable; lewd songs are rightly included in this as are books filled with carnal and lewd references; against such the Apostle in 1 Cor 15:33 says: Evil communications corrupt good manners. – Thirdly, taste is to be guarded in an upright way so that in food and drink, not only in quantity but also in the manner of taking them, Christian modesty and sobriety are observed. Hence, Augustine[16] says on distinction 41 in can. Quisquis:

For it is possible that a wise person may use the daintiest food without any sin of greed or gluttony, while a fool will crave for the vilest food with a most disgusting eagerness of appetite. And any sane person would prefer eating fish after the manner of our Lord, to eating lentils after the manner of Esau, or barley after the manner of oxen. For there are several beasts that feed on commoner kinds of food, but it does not follow that they are more temperate than we are. For in all matters of this kind it is not the nature of the things we use, but our reason for using them, and our manner of seeking them, that make what we do either praiseworthy or blameable.

Shameful and unclean words are to be completely set aside and shunned as the Apostle in Colossians 3:8 commands: Put away filthy speech out of your mouth; again, in Eph 4:29 he says: Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth: Also Seneca[17] says: ‘Refrain from filthy words because their use nourishes shamelessness. Love useful rather than facile speech; add in jokes at times but with moderation’. – Fourthly, smell is to be guarded in a upright way so as not to take delight in any filth and for this Isa 3:24 says: Instead of a sweet smell there shall be a stench. – Fifthly, also touch which while lawful between spouses is to guarded lest an unrestrained action soils a sacred and holy marriage; because as Sir 13:1 says: Whoever touches pitch shall be defiled with it.

Chapter II

On the second uprightness to be observed in the use of clothes

The second uprightness concerns clothing; not only is frugality in them to be observed, as stated in the beginning of this topic, but a person has to be regulated, composed and ordered in clothing and also in everything be it interior or exterior; for the Lord in Mt 12:35 stated: A good person out of a good treasure brings forth good things. The good treasure of a good person is uprightness by which whoever has it should not nor is able to hide it externally as the Lord in Mt 5:16 says: So let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. So Gregory[18] says in his Regula pastoralis: The guard that keeps a person composed is within. Since, therefore, uprightness is interior in the heart, it is not fitting for a noble spirit not to display uprightness in external work; on the other hand an unworthy and vain mind easily breaks out in clear signs contrary to uprightness, as the Lord in Mt 12:35 attests: An evil person out of an evil treasure brings forth evil things.[19] The evil treasure of an evil person is the shame and unrestrained lewdness of mind; from this treasure come forth evil things when to the harm of souls indications contrary to uprightness appear in the clothing of the body. So Bernard[20] says in his Apologia: ‘A vain heart is delighted to bring a note of vanity into the body and a superabundance of external possessions is a sign of vanity. Soft clothes indicate softness of spirit. A cult of the body is looked for only by a mind not exercised in virtues’. Sir 19:27 says the same: The attire of the body and the laughter of the teeth and the movement of a person show what he or she is.

From what has been said it is clear that for an urbane person to dress like a robber is not a sign of an urbane person but indicates a heart set on pillage; and for a woman the dress and fashion of a prostitute indicates the mind of a prostitute, so in such this usage is an unlawful abuse.

Chapter III

On the third uprightness in which is shown with what seriousness and virtue the limbs of the body are to be guarded

The third is uprightness of the limbs. A person should be regulated, ordered and composed in all the limbs so that, both in women and in men, all the limbs of the body display and indicate a Christian uprightness. All levity is to be avoided. Excessive slowness, like excessive speed, does not merit praise. According to the opinion of Chrysostom,[21] it is better to be meek in actions than in words. On this, the moral words of Seneca[22] should be given careful attention: If you are temperate, take note of the movements of your soul and body. For, as is clear from the preceding, exterior actions are signs of inner movements; often what seem serious externally, are exaggerated by the mind such as bombastic words and vain curiosity. So Prov 6:16-17 is written: there are six things that the Lord hates; mentioned first are haughty eyes. Also Isa 3:16 speaking of vanity and levity in women makes this even clearer by saying: The daughters of Zion are haughty and have walked with stretched out necks and wanton glances of their eyes and made a noise as they walked with their feet and moved in a set pace. This is seriousness coming from the levity of a pompous style. The Prophet continues: The Lord will make bald the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, namely, in punishment for this proud display.

May it be far from the Christian religion and correct uprightness to see the youth of our day, and what is even more shameless, to see at times demented older people wearing short jumpers open even to the navel and in front and back (ah, it is shameful to say it!) like shameless dogs, shamelessly presenting all their private parts to the eyes of all standing around. But I turn my attention to those who allow this. Are they not, O mothers, sisters, other domestics and relatives in the home, even more you old and senior people who daily look at and support such shameless behaviour, are they not, I say, signs and indications of your insensibility and foolishness or rather shamelessness? What wise and discreet mind, even more a modest mind, could bear to tolerate daily before the eyes such a monstrous or infernal spectacle? - All, especially women who love modesty and uprightness, should see to a remedy of uprightness, so that for the sake of modesty some garment of Christian modesty be worn clearly covering down to the knees; when such clothing that belongs not to men and women but rather to wild beasts has been destroyed, they can make other clothing that is upright, rational and modest. – What does such open and unrestrained showing of the chest and breasts indicate in women other than a wanton immodesty and an abundant display of flesh? I ask in what way do such actions and behaviour differ from the actions of their dogs? Clearly, it is also necessary for married couples to preserve a Christian uprightness in their limbs, lest from unwarranted looking they are stirred more than is fitting, and so they change the sacrament of holy marriage into an abuse of fornicators? What shall I say of giorneis,[23] worn today without restraint not only by men but also by young women who want to be known as upright and modest? Do they not show openly that in their heart they carry a shameless and unrestrained lewdness since such clothing is properly a military garment for solders and is not even becoming nor decent for prostitutes? But to lay open the secret of my heart, I fear that the clothes of those bearing arms, now common in men and women everywhere through the whole of Italy and so evident to the ears and eyes of my heart, call out more openly and display more clearly, that for the multitude of Italian sins, by a just judgment of God, Italy is to be handed over into a booty of sackcloth unless the people come to their senses. In confirmation of this, what is filthy to say but more filthy to see, even in harlots and prostitutes it would not be upright that women use miliary sandals and often with signs of their seducers and divisions. – O senseless men, o demented parents! What blindness has bewitched you?[24] What carnal insanity has made you stupid? Who, I ask, has alienated your mind so miserably? Where is your Christian dignity? Where your modesty? Where your sobriety? Where your uprightness? Where finally are your signs of modesty? – I ask that such wrong and shameful things be taken away by a love of what is upright and by a fear of the rules and punishments. However, I fear and become greatly frightened that this will happen necessarily by scourging, violence and fear. From which, after a suitable reform of the preceding, may you and all others be freed by the deliverer from all evils, our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns great and glorious, blessed and worthy of blessing, for ever and ever with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sermon II

On Christian justice

We should live soberly, and justly, and godly in this world, looking for the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God; as above from Titus 2:2-13. In the preceding pages we have already considered the modesty and sobriety that were seen to be part of the Christian religion and life because the Apostle commanded us to live soberly. Now the second virtue, named justice, is to be studied since the same Apostle added: and justly.

Justice is commonly understood in many ways: in one way strictly, in another way broadly, in a third way most broadly. The first way applies to penal justice, the second to cardinal justice and the third to legal or general justice. – Firstly, justice concerns penal justice, that is, for inflicting punishment; Bernard[25] says of this: ‘There is no name of God that does not imply justice or piety’. – Secondly, justice concerns the cardinal virtue which, according to Macrobius,[26] is to give to each what is his or her due. - Thirdly, it is also used for legal or general justice because it includes all virtues; Hence in Heb 1:9 the Apostle says: You have loved justice, ‘that is every good’ according to a Gloss.[27] Also Mt 6:33: Seek you first the kingdom of God and God’s justice; on this a Gloss[28] says: ‘The justice of the kingdom includes all that Christ taught to be observed’. On this also see Mt 5:20 where the Lord says: Unless your justice abound, that is, your just life, according to Chrysostom,[29] more than that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. This text can be taken as the theme for the present material.

So, in order that we might include the whole justice of Christians under this triple division, we distinguish in brief a triple general justice: the first is called integral justice, the second ordered justice, while the third is named zealous and perfect justice.

Article I

On the triple integrity of the justice of Christians

The first justice necessary for a Christian is called integral. A triple integrity is necessary for a complete justice of each just person: firstly, a true Christian must have a complete justice towards God, secondly, towards oneself and, thirdly, with others.

Chapter I

Only by human love is justice towards God integrated

Firstly, I say, integral justice towards God which perfectly integrates the love of God is necessary for each person; the Lord made this perfectly clear in Mt 22:37 when he said: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind; also Lk 10:27 adds: and with all your strength. This precept can be expounded in three ways.

For the first exposition it has to be noted, according to John de Picciano,[30] that love and human affection can be divided and drawn to three things: firstly, to external objects; secondly, to interior realities; thirdly, to higher realities. - For love, firstly

is drawn to interior realities, among which are included everything reached by the senses; and this love and affection are referred to the heart. The heart is the source of life, the beginning of love and feeling and it is, moreover, the organ for desire and anger. Love and affection, therefore, are understood to be with the whole heart when it is raised above all sensible realities to God and the mind is not in any way drawn away from divine love by any affection, that is, by any pleasure or displeasure in a sensible reality, but rather is raised up by these sensible realities to their Maker, as in the example of the Prophet who in Ps 83:3 says of himself: My heart and my flesh have rejoiced in the living God,

namely, not in transitory goods; and in Ps 118:10 he says: With my whole heart have I sought after you, let me not stray from your commandments. – Secondly, love

is drawn to interior realities as to its proper life or to itself; such an attraction is noticed in the soul. The soul [anima] comes from needing to be animated [animando], because the body loves the soul by a certain natural affection. Therefore, to love God with the whole soul is to desire one’s own life for the sake of divine love; for in Jn 12:55 the Lord says: Those that love their life lose it.

- Thirdly also, by love

a person is drawn to higher things such as intellectual pursuits; such an attraction is placed in the mind; for mind [mens] is said to come from needing to stand out [eminendo]. Therefore, the word mind refers to the higher part of the spiritual soul and this is conspicuous in humans. The Apostle in 2 Cor 5:13-14 says of this: Whether we be transported in mind, it is to God, or whether we be sober it is for us,[31] for the charity of Christ urges us. Therefore, to love God with the whole mind is nothing other than to despise all intelligible reality for the sake of divine love; in this the curiosity of philosophers is condemned,

and all others who put any form of knowledge ahead of divine love; and all are necessarily obliged to this.

According to Alexander of Hales[32] it can be expounded in a second way. He says:

These four points can be reduced to three so that what Luke adds by saying: with all your strength refers to the way of each of the other three to give the meaning: love the Lord your God with all the strength of the whole heart, with all the strength of the whole soul and with all the strength of the whole mind.

Here it is to be noted that these can be called three loves of God: the first is called intellectual, the second, affectionate, and the third of the memory. And God is to be loved with all the strength of these three loves. – Firstly, God must be loved with all the strength of all your intellectual love because it says: with all your heart, so that your whole intelligence is subject to divine wisdom, believing that all things given us from God are good, that is, whatever has been written by God, whether it be favourable or adverse, according to the Prophet in 2 Cor 10:5: Bringing into captivity every understanding unto the obedience of Christ. – Secondly, God must be loved with all the strength of your affectionate love because God says: with your whole soul, that is, so that your whole will may be in conformity with the divine will, saying the words of Mt 6:10: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven; and whatever you love, you are to love it in God and for the sake of God. – Thirdly, moreover, God must be loved with all the strength of the love of your memory because the text adds: and with your whole mind, so that your whole memory, as it reminisces, holds present the divine power in accord with the warning of Tob 4:6: All the days of your life have God in your mind and take heed lest you consent to sin. This happens when a person always has God present to the eyes of the mind in every action, following the example of the prophet who says in Ps 15:8: I put the Lord always in my sight.

Gregory[33] also comments on this precept in this third way, saying: ‘God is to be loved with your whole heart and with your whole soul and with your whole mind’, that is, before all else. The force of the words indicates the excellence of divine love and may it be a fruitful recalling that expresses and impresses more strongly the height and force of the divine commandment.

Chapter II

That a person integrates justice towards oneself in three ways

Secondly, a person ought to have integral justice towards oneself. For such integrity a triple observance is necessary: the first is of divine precepts, the second of divine counsels and the third of church laws.

Firstly, the divine precepts must be observed; so the Lord in Mt 19:17 says: If you will enter into life, keep the commandments which are recorded in Ex 20:2-17. To understand the commandments one must note that the ten precepts of God are ten rules of the divine will that one must order and apply in a double way: firstly, towards God; secondly, towards a neighbour.

Firstly, towards God and this for a triple reason: firstly, in fidelity to work, secondly, in reverent speech and, thirdly, in devotion of the heart. – Firstly, in fidelity to work, something owed to the divine power which is appropriated to the person of the Father; and this is the first commandment, in which is said: You shall not have strange gods. And, according to Augustine,[34] in this precept is included every acknowledgment that must of necessity be shown to the work of God. – Secondly, in reverent speech and this is to be given to the divine truth which is appropriated to the person of the Son. This is the second precept, namely: You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. – Thirdly, in devotion of the heart due to the divine goodness that is usually appropriated to the Holy Spirit. This is the third commandment, namely: Remember that you keep holy the Sabbath day. Faith leads to an observance of the first commandment, hope to the observance of the second and love helps in the observance of the third.

Secondly, through other precepts of the second table a person is ordered in relation to a neighbour; this is done in two ways: firstly, in kindness; secondly, in innocence. – Firstly, in kindness so that one does to a neighbour whatever good is possible. This is the fourth commandment, namely: Honour your father and your mother that you may be long lived upon the land; in this commandment every kindness to be shown to a neighbour is included. - Secondly, in innocence so that nothing unjust or harmful is done to a neighbour. Harm can be done in three ways: firstly, in work; secondly, in speech; thirdly, in the heart. – Firstly, one can harm a neighbour in three ways: firstly, in their person and this is forbidden by the fifth commandment: You shall not kill. Secondly, in union with another and this is forbidden by the sixth commandment: You shall not commit adultery. Thirdly, in their possessions and the seventh commandment forbids this: You shall not steal. Secondly, however, one harms a neighbour in speech, something forbidden by the eighth commandment: You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour; according to Augustine,[35] this implicitly forbids every lie and any other harm done to a neighbour in speech. Thirdly, one harms a neighbour in the heart when thinking anything evil against a neighbour. This can happen in two ways: firstly, by a carnal affection and, secondly, by a greedy desire. Firstly, by a carnal affection and the ninth commandment forbids this: You shall not covet your neighbour’s wife. Secondly, by a greedy desire, something forbidden by the tenth commandment: You shall not covet anything belonging to your neighbour.

God wrote these ten commandments in the briefest, clearest end easiest style lest memory be burdened, understanding confounded and the will give up in disgust. A person is so bound to the observance of these precepts that no one who has reached the age of reason is excused on the grounds of ignorance. For whatever is contained explicitly in the Decalogue, is contained implicitly in the law of nature binding on all. – Nevertheless, it has to be noted that a person can be bound at times to something conditionally and relatively even though not bond to it simply and absolutely. So many simple lay persons are not bound simply and absolutely to know all the precepts of the divine law, but they are bound conditionally and with regard to the time of working. For when the need to observe or not observe a precept is imminent, then they are explicitly bound to know; for this reason they are not excused simply by ignorance which accuses rather than excuses. The reason for this can be that the very law of nature is in our hearts as the Lord says in Jer 31:33: I will give my law within them and I will write it in their heart. – Lest the memory of these precepts be lost from the mind, the Maker of nature wrote them in three parts of the body. Firstly, in the head’s five senses which lie open, and in the five senses of the mind which are hidden; secondly, in the five toes of the feet; thirdly, in the ten fingers of the hands. By these it can be shown mystically that, according to these ten precepts, conforming one to the divine will, a person is to moderate all the senses as well as the interior and exterior movements of intentions, represented by the ten senses of the head, and to direct every movement of the affections, represented by the feet, and to regulate every aspect of work, indicated by the hands. In this way from the head to the feet all things call out in the beginning, in midlife and at the end of a person that in every intention we aim principally at the divine honour, in all affection we love divine love, and in every work we seek the building up of a neighbour.

Secondly, the integrity of justice in itself needs an observance of the divine precepts. Leaving aside various states under this heading, we pay attention now to five binding on everyone: the first is holy fasting, the second, the celebration of feast days, the third, hearing Mass, the fourth, confession, and the fifth, holy communion.

The first law of the Church concerns holy fasting; each person is obliged by the law of the Church to all the fasts instituted by the Church; and this applies, according to some,[36] to all who have completed their twenty first year. This applies also to any fast laid down by bishops, as is clear in De consecratione, dist 5, Ieiuniis,[37] and dist. 3 can. 1.[38] Also, all are bound to the fasts approved by the custom of the Church because such custom is binding as is clear in dist. 1 can. Consuetudo.[39] But those prevented by a lawful impediment are not bound to fast, as is clear in Extra, De observantia ieiuniorum, ch. Consilium.[40] However, it is fitting that the young before the age of twenty one should become accustomed to fasts on some days at the discretion of their elders.[41]

The second rule of the Church binding on all is the celebration of feast days. It must be noted that beside the feasts laid down by the Church to be celebrated, there are other feasts introduced by custom in the whole Church; examples of this are the feast of Saint Nicholas and others celebrated at least in some areas; in this matter the custom of one’s homeland is to be followed, as stated above on fasting. The same can be said about fasts laid down by bishops because these too should be observed.

The third rule of the Church binding on all is the hearing of Mass.[42] Everyone is bound to hear Mass on Sunday so as to receive the blessing of the priest. See on this De consecratione, dist. 1 can. Missas,[43] the following can.,[44] and can. Omnes,[45] unless a person is excused because of some necessity, as noted in the aforementioned canon Missas. However, according to Scotus in III, dist 9 at the end of 2 art.,[46] ‘Even though necessity excuses from observing this act set down by the Church, nevertheless, it is necessary to replace it with something equivalent, so that at least on that day which is especially set aside for divine worship, there be some action directed towards God for God’s glory’. It should be noted that what is said of a Sunday has to be applied also to other feast days determined by the Church; the argument for this is found in De consecratione, dist. 1 can. Qui die.[47]

The fourth law of the Church deals with confession. For, as is clear in Extra, De poenitentia et remissione, in the chapter Omnis utriusque sexus,[48] all the faithful, upon reaching the age of reason, are necessarily obliged to confess correctly all their sins at least once a year. All who do not observe this in life are to be expelled from the Church and are to be deprived in death of a Church burial, as is clear in the aforementioned chapter Omnis,[49]

The fifth rule of the Church concerns holy communion. The Church has laid down that every one of the faithful, after reaching the age of reason, should receive the Sacrament of the sacred body of Christ at least at Easter unless, on the advice of their priest, they may abstain for some reasonable cause. Otherwise, as stated above, one who does not confess once a year is, while still alive, to be expelled from the Church and, in death, is to be deprived of a Church burial, as is clear in the aforementioned chapter Omnis utriusque sexus, De poenitentia et remissione. A suitable age for receiving this Sacrament, according to Alexander of Hales[50] and Thomas,[51] is ten or eleven when in such there is found both sufficient discernment and a necessary devotion to the Sacrarment.

Chapter III

That justice for a neighbour is integrated by three loves

Thirdly, however, an integral justice towards one’s neighbour is necessary. Justice is integrated by three loves towards a neighbour: the first is called true love, the second just love and the third effective love.[52] Everyone loves themselves with these three loves; hence, each person is bound as necessary for salvation to love everyone with these three loves, the good and bad, the faithful and unfaithful, friends and enemies and in general all, according to the precept of the Lord in Mt 22:39 which says: You shall love your neighbour as yourself.

The first love by which each person is bound to love others is called true love.

A person loves a neighbour with this love when a neighbour is not loved for one’s own sake and value; it is of the nature of love to wish good for the person loved. From this it is clear that since it is natural to love oneself, this movement of love tends towards two things: firstly, towards oneself to whom one wishes good; secondly, towards the good one wants for oneself. And while both are loved by a person, however, with a true love one loves oneself for whom the good is desired; the good desired is not loved truly but in an inaccurate or accidental sense. Who would say that a thing is loved truly when one desires its destruction? There are many good things of which a person makes use and, in so doing, destroys or consumes, for example, a horse when it it exposed to battle, bread when eaten by a person, wine when drunk, an ass worn out from working for the purposes of the owner, and so on. From this it is clear that when a person puts such things to personal use and advantage, they are not truly loved but the love is for oneself. Therefore, just as a person can put other good things of the world to personal use and advantage, so this can be done also to other people; for if others are loved because they are useful or give pleasure to oneself, it is most clear that they are not loved with the true love by which one loves oneself, but like a horse or bread or wine or an ass[53]

and other similar things. Also, reason dictates that a neighbour formed in the likeness of God, is to be loved before sheep or beast or any other temporal thing; so in De poenitentia, dist. 2 in can. Proximos,[54] there is written: ‘We love our neighbours as ourselves only when we love them as sharers in our nature and not for any personal advantage, for a hope of gifts or benefits, or because of any relationship or consanguinity’. – So let married couples, blood relatives or any parents think that ‘if they love one another for the sake of temporal pleasure or usefulness, then they do not love them as themselves’. And if these are not loved with a true love as when one loves oneself, how could they love their enemies? If one loves his wife for her beauty but does not love her if she is deformed in an ugly way by leprosy, old age or any other infirmity, that love was only skin deep and not true love. Therefore, in this case she was loved for pleasure as over a well roasted piglet. Also, were one to love his wife because she served him most diligently, with much care and fidelity, but when he became infirm or old she left him or sent him to a hospital, how could he love, in the way he loves himself, an enemy who has injured him in deeds and words?

From this it is clear that if friendship or love between people is based on pleasure or usefulness, and is not upright in itself, it is not true love but such love is false, mercenary and completely insufficient for salvation. For in 1 Cor 13:5 the Apostle says: Charity seeks not its own; and further in 1 Cor 10:33 the same Apostle uses himself as an example when he says: Not seeking that which is profitable to myself but to many that they may be saved.

The second love by which one is bound to love everyone, even one’s enemies, is called just love.

By a just order each person naturally loves him or herself. Justice demands this so that a greater good is put before a lesser and the greatest before a great good. In us there are three gradated good things: the first is the soul, the second is the body, and the third is the goods of this world. According to this gradated order, nature itself teaches in each person that in love one is to be put before another. This is clear from experience since a person naturally prefers to lose a bodily eye rather than the spiritual eye which in fact is human reason without which a person is unable to think. Further, a person will give up all temporal possessions to safeguard bodily life; Job 2:4 witnesses to this when it says: Skin for skin, that is, the life of one thing to preserve oneself, and all, namely, temporal goods, that people have they will give for their lives, to save their lives. – However there are many who, in things added to nature, pervert this natural order of love by putting the well being of their body before the good of virtue; others take on the heaviest work and extreme dangers for the sake of temporal possessions. In these it is most clearly evident that they do not observe the order of nature in their love; so they do not love themselves but rather, contrary to nature, they hate themselves, as the Prophet in Ps 10:6 says: Those who love iniquity hate themselves.[55]

When then the Lord says: Love your neighbour as yourself, he clearly indicates that ‘by the order of justice by which one knows by nature how to love oneself, one should love a neighbour in the same way, namely, by putting spiritual before corporal and corporal before temporal things’. So parents who by usury, theft, pillage and such things amass temporal goods for their children to the disadvantage of their souls, how could they love enemies as themselves when they do not love their own children with a just love? Also there are mothers who, with this just love, love pagans and unbelievers whom they search out through the whole country for all the incantations and mockery of demons and of diabolical women and men for the healing and freeing of their children; by doing this do they not put health of body before health of spirit in their children? - From this it is clear that ‘whoever obtains or desires for a neighbour temporal goods detrimental to the health of soul or body, does not love a neighbour with a just love as one loves oneself’.

The third love by which one is bound to love all others is called effective love. 'We always desire two things with a natural affection, namely, for good to be present and evil absent. Two other things, when there is need, we try naturally to seize effectively and to see to their completion, namely, as far as possible to get good things for ourselves and to put evil things far from us’. So in the command: Love your neighbour as yourself, an effective love is indicated, that is, not only for us to desire that good comes and evil goes away from a neighbour, even an enemy, and even when necessity presses it commands us to effect it in actions and to see to its completion, as is written in 1 Jn 3:18: My little children, let us love not in word nor in tongue, namely, only, but indeed and in truth, that is, in effective action. – Whoever denies the works of piety to parents, relatives and other neighbours when they are sick or have other needs, how will he or she give the works of charity to strangers and enemies? Therefore, it is clear from the preceding that each is necessarily bound in any case of necessity, whether it be a temporal, bodily or spiritual necessity, to help as much as possible friend and enemy not only in one’s heart but also in word and action; otherwise a person is without love of God; so 1 Jn 3:17 says: Whoever has the goods of this world, namely, temporal, bodily and spiritual, and shall see another in need, namely, from any one of these three, and shall shut up his or her heart from this person, how does the charity of God abide in this person?

On this triple love, spoken of in this chapter, the words of the Apostle in 1 Tim 1:5 can be quoted: The end of the commandment is charity, namely, both of neighbour and of God, from a pure heart: behold true love; and a good conscience: behold just love; and an unfeigned faith: behold effective love. And in this triple love our justice towards neighbour is more fully integrated.

Article II

On justice ordered in three ways, namely, to superiors, equals and inferiors

The second justice necessary for a Christian is called ordered, According to Augustine[56] order is ‘placing equal and unequal things in their proper places’. On this ordered justice the bride in Song 2:4 says of the bridegroom: He set in order charity in me, that is, by justice informed by love he regulated and ordered my whole life. This text can be used as the theme for the present section. All justice in human life has a triple order: the first is directed to superiors, the second to equals and the third to inferiors.

Chapter I

How our justice is ordered in three ways by obedience to superiors

The first order of justice is directed to superiors; for as the Apostle in Rom 13:1 says: All power is from God, and every soul should be subject to higher powers. – There are three groups of people who can be called superiors and fathers and whom we should obey: the first are human fathers; the second, spiritual fathers; the third temporal fathers; this corresponds to our having or possessing in this world three things, namely, a body, a soul and temporal goods.

Firstly, we should obey temporal superiors, namely, our parents; so Sir 7:29-30 says: Honour your father and forget not the groanings of your mother; remember that you would not have been but through them. According to Alexander of Hales,[57] children are bound to obey parents in everything that probably relates to what is necessary or useful to the family and to the discipline of behaviour, especially in what is necessary for salvation. The text of the Apostle in Col 3:20 is understood in this way: Children, obey your parents in everything stated above. Hugh of St Victor[58] adds: ‘We should honour our parents by obeying them in everything excepting those things in which the love of God the Father is offended’.

Secondly, we should obey spiritual superiors, that is, those to whom the care of our souls is committed, such as the Pope, the bishop, parish priest, preacher and confessor and other similar people. I say, we are bound to obey them in everything relating to their office as the Apostle in Heb 13:17 says: Obey your prelates and be subject to them, for they watch, that is, are bound to watch, as being to render an account of your souls, that they may do this with joy and not with grief. In Deut 17:12 there is further written: One who refuses to obey the commandment of the priest who ministers at that time to the Lord your God, and the decree of the judge, that person shall die.

Thirdly, we must obey temporal superiors, that is, officials in what pertains to their office; so the Apostle in Eph 6:5-7 says: Servants, be obedient to them that are your lords according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in the simplicity of your heart, as to Christ, not serving the eye, as it were pleasing humans, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart, with a good will serving as to the Lord and not to humans. Further 1 Pet 2:18-19 says: Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear, not only to the good and gentle, but also to the harsh, for this is thankworthy. Among these are also included all officials and all officers of cities and countries and everyone with authority to manage public affairs.

Chapter II

On justice ordered in three ways towards equals

The second order of justice to be observed is justice to companions or equals and especially by social contact with them. There are three kinds of equals with whom one can pleasantly and socially have contact: the first are confreres, the second are fellow citizens and the third are spouses.

The first, I say, are confreres. With these there is a contact full of confidence, agreement, docility, affability, all charity and pleasure. Minors obey their older brothers and the older yield to the younger. They love one another, converse together, honour and anticipate each other, supporting one anther in charity. Such brothers live together in the spirit of the Prophet who in Ps 132:1 watched and congratulated them as he said: Behold how good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.

Secondly, there are fellow citizens. While among these some are nobler by blood and class, however, they interact with others in a human and pleasant manner. The richer help those suffering from need, are open to whoever wants to approach them, they show themselves affable and at home with minors; minors honour the elders, serve and obey them, and in everything show them reverence. In this way between fellow citizens envies are suppressed, ambitions lessened, jealousies cannot grow, and between them sweetest love is born, nourished and maintained. Indeed, the younger need the older just as the older need the younger; just as in a human body one limb is needed by the others, so in public affairs the younger without the older and the older without the younger cannot survive. So the Apostle in Rom 12:4-5 says: As in one body we have many members, but all the members have not the same office, so we being many are one body in Christ, and everyone members one of another.

The third are spouses. There should be a wonderful love between them for they are two in one flesh (Mt 19:5). For naturally, as stated in Eph 5:29: None ever hate their own flesh but nourish and cherish it; and further in the same chapter, verse 28, the Apostle says: He that loves his wife, loves himself; therefore, if they do not love one another they are acting against nature. - It has to be noted that while the husband is over the wife in managing the home, they are completely equal in the marriage as the Apostle in 1 Cor 7:4 says: The wife has no power of her own body but the husband. And in like manner the husband also has not power of his own body, but the wife.

From this it is clear how a social and gracious way of life is maintained among all these three aforementioned equals. Sir 25:1-2 makes this clear when it says: In three things my spirit is pleased, which are proven, that is, approved, before God and humans: the concord of brethren and the love of neighbours and man and wife that agree well together. He says: that agree well together to exclude dishonest complacency that commonly is seen among carnal spouses.

Chapter III

How justice is ordered in three ways towards inferiors

The third order of justice to be observed is towards inferiors. For, just as is clear in the beginning of this article,[59] there are three kinds of superiors or parents; so corresponding to and as a consequence there are three kinds of children or inferiors to whom the fathers or superiors are obligated in justice: the first are bodily children; the second, spiritual children; the third are temporal children. Fathers from a debt of love have a threefold obligation to these children: firstly, for instruction; secondly, for correction; thirdly, for punishment.

Firstly, fathers are bound to instruct their bodily children, namely, in good behaviour. Youth is tender like a newly transplanted vine that puts on a woody and useless nature unless it be shaped and pruned; so in Prov 29:15 there is written: The child that is left to its own will disturbs its mother; and Sir 7:25-26 says to a father: Have you sons? Instruct them and bend down their neck. Have you daughters? Have a care for their bodies and do not show yourself too indulgent with them. – Secondly, they are bound to correct them; so in Heb 12:7 the Apostle says: What son, from ‘filos’ which means love, that is, loved with a filial love, whom the father does not correct? – Thirdly, they are bound to punish them lest one not corrected by words is kept in order by beatings. The thought of Solomon in Prov 22:15 is true when he says: Folly is bound up in the heart of a child and the rod of correction shall drive it away; and further in Prov 13:24 he says: Those who spare the rod hate their sons. And lest anyone think that a rod must always be used he clearly adds: but those that love them are diligent to correct them; he does say diligent to whip and strike because children are to be corrected rather than struck with whips.

Secondly, spiritual fathers are to direct their spiritual children in the same triple way: firstly, they have to be taught; secondly, corrected; thirdly, punished. – Firstly, they are to be instructed and taught. For just as a herd of different animals is fed and nourished by different foods, so too a spiritual pastor or father is obliged to vary the teaching for the sake of the listeners, feeding milk to the young and solid food to the older. The many whose souls have to be directed are like a group of animals gathered togther from many different animals such as birds, fish and reptiles; for their nourishment, various foods have to be provided according to the variety of those who make up the group. Simple children must learn the Our Father, Creed; see Extra, De vita et honestate clericorum, Ut quisquis;[60] also the Hail Mary out of reverence for the Mother of God. The lukewarm are to be taught to observe the ten commandments of God and the five precepts of the Church which were spoken about in the preceding article, Chapter II;[61] the more perfect are to be encouraged to observe the high counsels of Christ. Of such fathers, Sir 18:13 says: He has mercy and teaches and corrects as a shepherd does his flock. – Secondly, spiritual children have to be corrected when they err. But extreme care must be taken lest correction goes beyond the limits of charity since Sir 11:7 says: Before you enquire, blame no one and when you have enquired, and you find it to be true, reprove justly, that is, according to the just order of charity as will be made clear in the following sermon, Article 2, Chapter 2.[62] - Thirdly, however, when such children want to persevere in evil they are to be punished as the Lord says in Mic 7:14 to the shepherd: Feed your people with your rod, the flock of your inheritance, because, by the ordinary power of a public official, criminals and the incorrigible are to be compelled, clearly by force, quaest. 1, Illi qui,[63] where is stated that all transgressors of the law deserve this punishment, of whom the Apostle in Gal 5:19 says: The works of the flesh are manifest; in this chapter all who follow a carnal life are listed and are to be punished in this way.

Thirdly, children and temporal subjects in the temporal order are to be governed in a threefold way by their masters and governors: firstly, by instruction; secondly, by example; thirdly, by punishment. – Firstly, by instruction, namely, in the holy laws and rules or just decrees which either they formulated or they were formulated by others and which are to be observed under oath or otherwise accepted without change. Nevertheless, they are to take care that there does not happen to them what is written in Isa 10:1-2: Woe to those that make wicked laws and when they write, write injustice, to oppress the poor in judgment and do violence to the cause of my people that widows might be their prey and that they might rob the fatherless. Nor should they say what is written in Wis 2:11: Let our strength be our law of justice. – Secondly, seniors should govern them by example, namely, of the laws promulgated, namely, either by a herald or in some other proper way; this is to make the ignorant take care and for the delinquents and transgressors to fear; so Ezek 3:19 said to every ruler: If you give warning to the wicked, and they are not converted from their wickedness and from their evil ways, they indeed shall die in their iniquity but you have delivered your soul. – Thirdly, they should be governed by the seniors with punishment, namely, when they are in the wrong; so in De civitate Dei, Book IV, chapter 4,[64] Augustine says: ‘With justice taken away, what are kingdoms but great robberies?’ So those who rule must take care lest they turn aside by some impiety of fear or hope, hatred or love, from the correctness of justice. For, as Isidore[65] says on XI, quaest. 3 can. Quattuor[66]: ‘Human judgment is perverted in four ways: from fear when we are afraid to speak the truth because of a fear of some power; by greed when we corrupt a person’s mind by offering a reward; by hatred when we exert ourselves against some enemy; by love when we aim to distinguish ourselves before a friend or neighbour. Such are warned in Wis 1:1: Love justice you that are the rulers of the earth.

Article III

On the triple zeal of the perfect justice of Christians

The third justice, fitting in a Christian is called zealous and perfect, so named after the zeal of the Lord as in Ps 68:10: The zeal of your house has eaten me up. This text can be taken as the theme for the present article; or the theme could be the text of Ps 72:3: I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners. True and just zeal is a certain strong fervour for those things that befit one’s love and are against things contrary to a person who is loved. For, according to Archidiaconus, super Decretum,[67] zeal is a particular fervour of soul by which a mind, setting aside human fear, is on fire to defend truth. It is like a fire that conforms people and things to itself and is against things contrary to it; it is divine and holy when love is divine and just. Fervour, or a heating and outburst of one’s anger is right, when it is in accord with the measure of God’s r