St.

Thomas Aquinas on the Commendation

and Division of Sacred Scripture

Together with Related Texts

Compiled from Various Sources

By Bart A. Mazzetti

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 COMMENDATION OF AND DIVISION OF
SACRED SCRIPTURE1

The Commendation of Sacred Scripture

This is the book of the commandments of God, and the law that is for ever. All that keep it shall
come to life: but they that have forsaken it, to death.
Baruch 4:1

According to Augustine in On Christian Doctrine 4.12, one skilled in speech should so

speak as to teach, to delight and to change; that is, to teach the ignorant, to delight the
bored and to change the lazy. The speech of Sacred Scripture does these three things in the
fullest manner. For it firmly teaches with its eternal truth. Psalm 118.89: ‘Thy word, O
Lord, stands firm for ever as heaven.’ And it sweetly delights with its pleasantness. Psalm
118.103: ‘How sweet are thy words to my mouth!’ And it efficaciously changes with its
authority. Jeremiah 23.29: ‘Are not my words as fire, saith the Lord?’
Therefore in the text above Sacred Scripture is commended for three things. First,
for the authority with which it changes: ‘This is the book of the commandments of God.’
Second, for the eternal truth with which it instructs, when it says, ‘and the law that is for
ever’. Third, for the usefulness with which it entices, when it says, ‘All that keep it shall
come to life.’
The authority of this Scripture is shown in three things. First, its origin, because
God is its origin. Hence it says, ‘the commandments of God’. Baruch 3.37. ‘He found out
all the way of knowledge.’ Hebrews 2.3: ‘For it was first announced by the Lord and was
confirmed unto us.’ Such an author is infallibly to be believed, both on account of the
condition of his nature, because he is truth; John 14-4: “I am the way and the truth and the
life.’ And on account of his fullness of knowledge: Romans 11:33: ‘Oh, the depth of the
riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!” And also on account of the power of
the words; Hebrews 4.12: ‘For the word of God is living and efficient and keener than any
two-edged sword.’
Second, it is shown to be efficacious by the necessity with which it is imposed.
Mark 16.16: ‘He who does not believe shall be condemned.’ The truth of Sacred Scripture
is proposed in the manner of a precept, hence the text says, ‘the commandments of God’.
These commandments direct the intellect through faith: ‘You believe in God, believe also
in men.’ John 14.1; inform the affections with love: ‘This is my commandment, that you
love one another’, John 15.12; and induce to action: ‘Do this and you shall live’, Luke
10.28.
Third, it is shown to be efficacious by the uniformity of its sayings, because all who
teach the sacred doctrine teach the same thing. 1 Corinthians 15.11: ‘Whether then it is I or
they, so we preach, and so you have believed.’ And this is necessary because they all had
one teacher. Matthew 23.8: ‘Your teacher is one.’ And they had one spirit, ‘Have we not
walked in the same spirit?’ and one love from above, ‘Now the multitude of believers were
of one heart and one soul’ (Acts 4.32). Therefore, as a sign of the uniformity of doctrine, it
says significantly, ‘This is the book.’
The truth of this teaching of Scripture is immutable and eternal, hence the words,
‘and the law that is for ever’. Luke 21.33: ‘Heaven and earth will pass away but my words
shall not pass away.’ This law will endure for ever because of three things: First, because

1
Cf. Selected Writings of Thomas Aquinas. By Thomas Aquinas, Ralph McInerny. Introduction by: Ralph
McInerny. Translator: Ralph McInerny (Penguin Books, 1998).
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of the power of the lawgiver. Isaiah 14.27: ‘For the Lord of hosts hath decreed, and who
can disannul it.’ Second, on account of his immutability. Malachi 3.6: ‘For I am the Lord
and I change not’; Numbers 23.19: ‘God is not a man, that he should lie: nor like the son of
man, that he should be changed.’ Third, because of the truth of the law. Psalm 118.86: ‘All
thy commandments are faithful.’ Proverbs 12.19: ‘The lip of truth shall be steadfast for
ever.’ 3 Ezra 4.38: ‘Truth remains and gathers strength eternally.’
The usefulness of this scripture is greatest: ‘I am the Lord thy God that teach thee
profitable things.’ Hence our text continues: ‘All that keep it shall come to life.’ Which
indeed is threefold: First it is the life of grace, to which Sacred Scripture disposes. John
6.64: ‘Thy words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.’ For through this life the
spirit lives in God. Galatians 2.20: ‘It is now no longer I that live, but Christ lives in me.’
Second is the life of justice consisting in works, to which Sacred Scripture directs. Psalm
118.93: ‘Thy decrees I will never forge, for by them thou hast given me life.’ Third is the
life of glory which Sacred Scripture promises and to which it leads. John 6.69: ‘Lord, to
whom shall we go? Thou hast words of everlasting life.’ John 20.31: ‘But these are written
that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may
have life in his name.’

The Division of Sacred Scripture

Sacred Scripture leads to this life in two ways, by commanding and by helping.
Commanding through the mandates which it proposes, which belong to the Old Testament.
Ecclesiasticus 24:33: ‘Moses commanded a law in the precepts of justice.’ Helping,
through the gift of grace which the lawgiver dispenses, which pertains to the New
Testament. Both of these are touched on in John 1:17: ‘For the Law was given unto Moses;
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.’
Hence the whole of Sacred Scripture is divided into two principal parts, the Old and
New Testaments, which are mentioned in Matthew 13:52: ‘So then every Scribe instructed
in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings forth from his storeroom things
new and old.’ And Song of Songs 7.13: ‘In our gates are all fruits, the new and the old, my
beloved, I have kept for thee.’
The Old Testament is divided according to the teaching of the commandments, for
the commandment is of two kinds, the binding and the warning. The binding is the
command of a king who can punish transgressors. Proverbs 20.2: ‘As the roaring of a lion,
so also is the dread of a king.’ But a warning is the precept of a father who must teach.
Ecclesiasticus 7.25: ‘Hast thou children? Instruct them.’ The precept of a king is of two
kinds, one which establishes the laws, another which induces to observance of the law,
which is customarily done through his heralds and ambassadors. Thus it is that three kinds
of command are distinguished, that of the king, that of the herald and that of the father. On
this basis the Old Testament is subdivided into three parts, according to Jerome in his
prologue to the Book of Kings.2
The first part is contained in the Law which is proposed by the king himself. Isaiah
33.22: ‘For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our King.’
The second is contained in the Prophets who were, as it were, ambassadors and
heralds of God, speaking to the people in the person of God, and urging them to
observance of the law. Aggeus 1.13: ‘And Aggeus, the messenger of the Lord, as one of
the messengers of the Lord, spoke.’

2
For this text, see further below.
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 The third is contained in the works of the hagiographers, writers who were inspired
by the Holy Spirit and spoke as for themselves and not for God. Hence they are called
saintly writers because they were writers of the sacred, agios meaning ‘sacred’, and
graphia meaning ‘scripture’. Thus the precepts found in them are paternal. As is evident in
Proverbs 6.20: ‘My son, keep the commandments of thy father.’
Jerome mentions a fourth kind of book, namely, the apocryphal, so called from
apo, that is, ‘especially’, and cryphon, that is, ‘obscure’, because there is doubt about their
contents and authors. The Catholic Church includes among the books of Sacred Scripture
some whose teachings are not doubted, but whose authors are. Not that the authors are
unknown, but because these men were not of known authority. Hence they do not have
force from the authority of the authors but rather from their reception by the Church.
Because there is the same manner of speaking in them and in the hagiographical works,
they are for now counted among them.
The first part, which contains the law, is divided into two parts, insofar as there are
two kinds of law, public and private.
A private law is imposed for the observance of one person or one family. Such law
is contained in Genesis, as is evident from the first precept given to man, ‘But of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat’ (2.17), and to Noah, ‘Saving that flesh with
blood you shall not eat’ (9.4), and to Abraham, ‘And again God said to Abraham: ‘And
thou therefore shalt keep my covenant, and thy seed after thee in their generations’ (17.9).
The public law is that which is given to the people. For the divine law was given to
the Jewish people through a mediator, because it was not fitting that the people should
receive it immediately from God. Deuteronomy 5.5: ‘I was the mediator and stood between
the Lord and you at that time to show you his words.’ Galatians 3.19: ‘What then was the
Law? It was enacted on account of transgressors, being delivered by angels through a
mediator.’ Thus a twofold level is found in legislation, First, when the law comes from the
Lord to the mediator, and this pertains to three books, Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers.
Hence we frequently read in them, ‘God spoke to Moses.’ Second, when the law is given
to the people by the mediator, and this pertains to Deuteronomy, as is evident from its very
beginning, ‘These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel.’
These three books are distinguished by the three things in which people should be
ordered. First, precepts bearing on equity of judgement, and this is found in Exodus.
Second, in sacraments with respect to the establishment of worship, and this in Leviticus.
And third, in offices, with respect to they administration of the community, and this in
Numbers.
The second part, which is the prophets, is subdivided insofar as a herald ought to do
two things. He should manifest the beneficence of the king, so that men will be inclined to
obey, and he should declare the edict of the law.
There is a threefold divine beneficence that the prophets expose to the people. First,
the effect of heredity, and this in Joshua, or which Ecclesiasticus 46.1 says, ‘Valiant in war
was Joshua.’ Second, the destruction of armies, and this in the book of Judges, of whose
destruction Psalm 82.10 says, ‘Do to them as to Madian, as to Sisara.’ Third, the exaltation
of one person, and this in Ruth, and a public which is of the whole people, and this in
Kings, which benefice God grants to them, Ezekiel 16.13: ‘And thou wast adorned with
gold and silver.’ For these books, according to Jerome, are placed in the rank of prophets.
In other books which are commonly said to be of the prophets, the prophets posed
divine edicts for the observance of the law. And this is said, first, in general, in the major
prophets who were sent to the whole people and called for the observance of the whole
law; second, in particular, and this in the minor prophets, different ones of whom were sent
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for different reasons to special tribes, as Osee to the ten tribes of Joel, Jonah to the
Ninevites, and so with the rest.
The major prophets differ according to the different ways the prophets sought to
lead the people to observance of the law, namely, cajoling by the promise of benefits,
frightening with the threat of punishment, arguing by condemnation of sins. Although each
of these is found in every prophet, Isaiah chiefly cajoles, as is said in Ecclesiasticus 48.27:
‘With a great spirit he saw the things that are come to pass at last, and comforted the
mourners in Sion.’ Jeremiah chiefly warns, hence Jeremiah 38.4: ‘He weakened the hands
of the men of war that remain in this city.’ But Ezekiel argues and scolds. Ezekiel 16.3:
‘Thy father was an Amorrhite and thy mother a Cethite.’
They can be distinguished in another way, insofar as Isaiah chiefly foretells the
mystery of the Incarnation, which is why he is read during the time of Advent by the
Church, and Jeremiah the mystery of the Passion, hence he is read in Passiontide, and
Ezekiel the mystery of the Resurrection, hence his book finishes with the raising of the
bones and the repair of the temple. Daniel, however, is included among the prophets
insofar as he predicted future events in a prophetic spirit; although he did not speak to the
people in the person of the Lord, he dealt with the divinity of Christ. Thus the four
prophets answer to the four evangelists, and also to the call to judgement.
The third part, which contains the hagiographic and the apocryphal books, is
subdivided according to the ways fathers instruct their sons in virtue, namely, by word and
deed, since in morals examples are no less important than words. Some teach by deed
alone, some by word alone, some by word and deed.
By deed, however, in two ways. One, instructing about the future by warning, and
this in Joshua, whom Jerome places among the hagiographers. For although one is a
prophet because of the gift of prophecy, this is not his office, because he was not sent by
God to prophesy to the people. Hence what is said in Wisdom 8.8 can be applied to the
prophet: ‘She knoweth signs and wonders before they are done.’ In another way speaking
of past events as examples of virtue. There are four principal virtues, namely, justice,
which serves the common good, an example of which is given in Parapelomenon, in which
the condition of a whole people who were governed with justice is described. The second
is temperance, an example of which is given in Judith, which is why Jerome says, ‘Take
Judith as an example of the chaste widow.’ Judith 15.11: ‘For thou hast done manfully, and
thy heart has been strengthened, because thou hast loved chastity.’ Third is fortitude, which
has two attributes. To attack, and an example of this is found in the Book of Maccabees;
and to endure, and an example of this is found in Tobit 2.12: ‘Now this trial the Lord
therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given to posterity of his
patience.’ The fourth is prudence, by which dangers are avoided, and an example of this is
given in Ezra, For in that book we are shown how Ezra and Nehemiah and other princes
prudently guarded against the plots of enemies wishing to impede the building of the
temple and the city. It also pertains to prudence wisely to repel the violent, and an example
is given in Esther, where it is shown how Mardocheus and Esther handled the deceptions
of the most powerful Aman.
The hagiographical and apocryphal books which instruct by word, are divided
insofar as words work in a twofold way to instruct, in one way, by asking for the gift of
wisdom, Wisdom 7.7: ‘Wherefore I have wished, and understanding was given me, and I
called upon God, and the spirit of wisdom came upon me.’ This is how the psalter
instructs, speaking to God in prayer. In another way, by teaching wisdom, and this in two
ways according to a twofold work of wisdom, one of which is to expose the liar, and Job
who drove out errors by way of disputation exhibits this. Job 13.3-4: But yet I will speak to
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the Almighty and I desire to reason with God, having first shown that your are forgers of
lies and maintainers of perverse opinions.’ The other work is not to lie about what it
knows, and thus we are instructed in a twofold way, because either wisdom is commended
to us, and this in the book of Wisdom, or the precepts of wisdom are proposed, and this in
the three books of Solomon, which indeed differ according to the three grades of virtue that
Plotinus, in Enneads I.1.2.2-7, distinguishes, since the precepts of wisdom ought to
concern only the acts of virtue. In the first grade, according to him, are political virtues,
whereby a man moderately uses the things of this world and lives among men, and this in
the Proverbs. In the second grade are the purgative virtues, whereby a man regards the
world with contempt, and this in Ecclesiastes, which aims at contempt of the world, as is
clear from Jerome’s prologue. In the third grade are the virtues of the purged soul, whereby
a man, wholly cleansed of worldly cares, delights in the contemplation of wisdom alone,
and this is found in the Song of Songs. In the fourth grade are the exemplar virtues existing
in God, concerning which precepts of wisdom are not given but are rather derived from
them.
In word and in deed Ecclesiasticus instructs. Hence the precepts of wisdom in
praise of fathers close his book, as is clear in Chapter 44 and after.

The New Testament, which is ordered to eternal life not only through precepts but also
through the gifts of grace, is divided into three parts. In the first the origin of grace is
treated, in the Gospels. In the second, the power of grace, and this in the epistles of Paul,
hence he begins in the power of the Gospel, in Romans 1.16 saying, ‘For I am not ashamed
of the Gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.’ In the
third, the execution of the aforesaid virtues is treated, and this in the rest of the books of
the New Testament.
Christ is the origin of grace. John 1.16-17: ‘And of his fullness we have all
received, grace for grace. For the Law was given through Moses: grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ.’ In Christ a twofold nature is to be considered, a divine, and the
Gospel of John is chiefly concerned with this, hence he begins, ‘In the beginning was the
Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.’ And a human, and the other
Gospels treat chiefly of this, and they are distinguished according to a threefold dignity
that belongs to the man Christ. With respect to his royal honour, Matthew speaks. Hence in
the beginning of his Gospel he shows that Christ descended from kings and was adored by
the Magi kings. With respect to his prophetic honour, Mark speaks, hence he begins with
the preaching of the Gospel. With respect to his priestly dignity, Luke speaks, and he
begins with the temple and the priesthood and ends his Gospel in the temple, and
frequently returns to the temple, as the Gloss says about Luke 2.46: ‘And they found him
sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers.’
[The part dealing with the power of grace as exemplified in the epistles of Paul is
missing from the text.]
The execution of the power of grace is shown in the progress of the Church, in
which there are three things to consider. First, the beginning of the Church, in which there
are three things to consider. First, the beginning of the Church, and this is treated in the
Acts of the Apostles, hence Jerome says, in his preface to the Pentateuch, that ‘The Acts of
the Apostles seem to give the bare history of the birth and to clothe the infant Church.’
Second, the progress of the Church, and to this is ordered the apostolic instruction of the
canonical epistles. Third, the end of the Church, with which the whole content of Scripture
concludes in the Apocalypse, with the spouse in the abode of Jesus Christ sharing the life

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of glory, to which Jesus Christ himself conducts, and may he be blessed for ever an ever .
Amen. (tr. Ralph McInerney)
§

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 PARS 1
Commendatio sacrae Scripturae

[70806] Hic est liber, pars 1 Secundum Augustinum, in IV de doctrina Christiana,

eruditus eloquens ita eloqui debet ut doceat, ut delectet, ut flectat: ut doceat ignaros; ut
delectet tediosos; ut flectat tardos. Haec tria completissime sacrae Scripturae eloquium.
Docet enim firmiter aeterna sua veritate, Psalm.: in aeternum, domine, permanet verbum
tuum. Delectat suaviter sua utilitate, Psalm.: quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua. Flectit
efficaciter sua auctoritate, Ier. XXIII: nunquid non verba mea sunt quasi ignis, dicit
dominus? Et ideo sacra Scriptura in verbo proposito commendatur a tribus: primo ab
auctoritate qua flectit, cum dicit: hic est liber mandatorum Dei. Secundo, ab aeterna
veritate qua instruit, cum dicit: et lex quae est in aeternum. Tertio, ab utilitate qua allicit,
cum dicit: omnes qui tenent eam pervenient ad vitam. Auctoritas autem huius Scripturae ex
tribus ostenditur efficax. Primo ex origine; quia Deus origo eius est. Unde
dicit: mandatorum Dei; Baruch III: hic adinvenit omnem viam disciplinae; Hebr. II: quae
cum initium accepisset enarrari per dominum, ab eis qui audierunt, in nos confirmata est.
Cui quidem auctori infallibiliter credendum est; tum propter naturae suae conditionem,
quia veritas est, Ioan. XIV: ego sum via, veritas et vita; tum propter scientiae plenitudinem,
Rom. XI: o altitudo divitiarum sapientiae et scientiae Dei; tum propter verborum virtutem,
Hebr. IV: vivus est sermo Dei et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti. Secundo,
ostenditur efficax ex necessitate quam scilicet imponit, Marc. ult.: qui autem non crediderit
condemnabitur, et cetera. Unde per modum praecepti veritas sacrae Scripturae proponitur;
unde dicit: mandatorum Dei. Quae quidem mandata intellectum per fidem dirigunt, Ioan.
XIV: creditis in Deum et in me credite; per dilectionem affectum informant, Ioan. XV: hoc
est praeceptum meum ut diligatis invicem, sicut dilexi vos; quod ad actum et executionem
inducunt: hoc fac, et vives. Tertio, ostenditur efficax ex dictorum uniformitate, quia omnes
qui sacram doctrinam tradiderunt, idem docuerunt, I Cor. XV: sive autem ego, sive illi sic
praedicamus, et sic credidistis. Et hoc necesse est quia omnes habuerunt unum magistrum,
Matth. XXIII: unus est magister vester, etc.; unum habuerunt spiritum, II Cor. XII: nonne
eodem spiritu ambulavimus? Unum insuper affectum, Act. IV: multitudinis credentium
una erat anima et cor unum in Deo. Et ideo in signum uniformitatis doctrinae dicitur
singulariter: hic est liber. Veritas Scripturae huius doctrinae est immutabilis et aeterna.
Unde sequitur: et lex quae est in aeternum. Luc. XXI: caelum et terra transibunt; verba
autem mea non transibunt. Permanet autem in aeternum haec lex propter tria: primo,
propter legislatoris potestatem, Isa. XIV: Deus exercituum decrevit, et quis poterit

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infirmare? Secundo, propter eius immutabilitatem, Malach. III: ego Deus et non mutor.
Num. XXIII: non est dominus quasi homo ut mentiatur; nec ut filius hominis ut mutetur.
Tertio, propter legis veritatem, Psal.: omnia mandata tua veritas. Prov. XII: labium
veritatis firmum erit in perpetuum. III Esdr. IV:veritas manet et invalescit in aeternum.
Utilitas autem huius Scripturae est maxima, Isai. XLVIII: ego dominus Deus tuus docens te
utilia. Unde sequitur: omnes qui tenent eam pervenient ad vitam; quae quidem triplex est.
Prima est vita gratiae, ad quam sacra Scriptura disponit, Ioan. VI: verba quae ego locutus
sum vobis, spiritus et vita sunt. Per hanc enim vitam spiritus Deo vivit, Gal. II: vivo autem,
iam non ego: vivit vero in me Christus. Secunda est vita iustitiae in operibus consistens, ad
quam sacra Scriptura dirigit, Psal.: in aeternum non obliviscar iustificationes tuas; quia in
eis vivificasti me. Tertia est vita gloriae, quam sacra Scriptura promittit et ad eam perducit,
Ioan. VI: domine, ad quem ibimus? Verba vitae aeternae habes. Eodem, XX: haec autem
scripta sunt ut credatis; et ut credentes vitam habeatis in nomine ipsius.

PARS 2
Partitio sacrae Scripturae

[70808] Hic est liber, pars 2Ad hanc autem vitam sacra Scriptura perducit dupliciter: scilicet,
praecipiendo et adiuvando. Praecipiendo per mandata quae proponit, quod pertinet ad vetus
testamentum, Eccli. XXIV: legem mandavit nobis Moyses. Adiuvando autem per donum
gratiae quod legislator largitur, quod pertinet ad novum testamentum. Ioan. I: lex per
Moysen data est, gratia et veritas per Iesum Christum facta est. Unde tota sacra Scriptura
in duas partes principaliter dividitur, scilicet, in vetus et novum testamentum; quae duo
tanguntur Matth. XIII: omnis Scriba doctus in regno caelorum similis est ei qui profert de
thesauro suo nova et vetera. Et Cant. VII: omnia poma, nova et vetera, dilecte mi, servavi
tibi. Vetus autem testamentum dividitur secundum doctrinam mandatorum, est enim
duplex mandatum, scilicet coactorium et monitorium. Coactorium est mandatum regis qui
potest transgressores punire, Prov. XX: sicut rugitus leonis, ita et terror regis. Sed
monitorium est praeceptum patris qui habet erudire, Eccli. VII: filii tibi sunt? Erudi illos.
Praeceptum autem regis est duplex, scilicet unum, quo legem statuit; aliud quod ad
observantiam statutae legis inducit, quod consuevit per suos praecones et nuntios
promulgare. Et sic distinguuntur tria praecepta, scilicet regis, praeconis et patris. Et
secundum haec tria vetus testamentum dividitur in tres partes, secundum Hieronymum in
prologo libri regum. Prima pars continetur in lege, quae est quasi praeceptum ab ipso rege
propositum, Isai. XXXIII: dominus rex noster, dominus legifer noster. Secunda continetur
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in prophetis, qui fuerunt quasi nuntii et praecones Dei ex persona Dei populo loquentes et
ad observantiam legis inducentes, Aggaei I: dixit Aggaeus, de nuntiis domini. Tertia
continetur in Agiographis, qui spiritu sancto inspirati locuti sunt non tamen ex parte
domini, sed quasi ex se ipsis. Unde Agiographi dicuntur quasi sacri scriptores, vel quasi
sacra scribentes, ab agios quod est sacrum et graphia quod est Scriptura: et sic praecepta
quae in eis continentur sunt quasi paterna. Ut patet Prov. VI: fili mi, custodi praecepta
patris tui,et cetera. Ponit tamen Hieronymus quartum librorum ordinem, scilicet,
apocryphos: et dicuntur apocryphi ab apo, quod est valde et cryphon, quod est obscurum,
quia de eorum sententiis vel auctoribus dubitatur. Ecclesia vero Catholica quosdam libros
recepit in numero sanctarum Scripturarum, de quorum sententiis non dubitatur, sed de
auctoribus. Non quod nesciatur qui fuerint illorum librorum auctores, sed quia homines illi
non fuerunt notae auctoritatis. Unde ex auctoritate auctorum robur non habent, sed magis
ex Ecclesiae receptione. Quia tamen idem modus loquendi in eis et in Agiographis
observatur, ideo simul cum eis computentur ad praesens. Prima autem pars, quae legem
continet, in duas partes dividitur; secundum quod duplex est lex, scilicet, publica et privata.
Privata lex est quae uni personae vel familiae imponitur observanda. Et talis lex in Genesi
continetur, ut patet de primo praecepto homini dato, Gen. II 17: de ligno scientiae boni et
mali ne comedas; et Noe, Gen. IX 4: carnem cum sanguine non comedetis; et Abrahae:
Gen. XVII 9: custodies pactum meum et semen tuum post te in generationibus suis. Lex
autem publica est quae populo traditur. Lex enim divina populo Iudaeorum tradita est per
mediatorem, quia non erat idoneus populus ut immediate a Deo susciperet, Deut. V,
unde: ego sequester fui et medius inter vos et dominum. Gal. III: lex ordinata est per
Angelos in manu mediatoris. Et ideo in legislatione duplex gradus attenditur. Unus quo lex
a domino ad mediatorem pervenit, et hoc pertinet ad tres libros, scilicet: Exodum,
Leviticum, numeros. Unde frequenter in illis libris legitur: locutus est Deus ad Moysen.
Secundus gradus est quo lex per mediatorem populo exponitur; et hoc pertinet ad
Deuteronomium, ut patet ex hoc quod in eius principio dicitur: locutus est Moyses, et
cetera. Tres autem libri praedicti distinguuntur secundum tria in quibus oportebat populum
ordinari: primo in praeceptis quantum ad iudicii aequitatem, et hoc fit in Exodo; secundo in
sacramentis quantum ad cultus exhibitionem, et hoc fit in Levitico; tertio in officiis,
quantum ad rei publicae administrationem, et hoc fit in libro numerorum. Secunda autem
pars, quae est prophetarum, dividitur in duas partes, secundum quod nuntius duo debet
facere. Debet enim exponere regis beneficium ut inclinentur homines ad obediendum; et
debet proponere legis edictum. Triplex autem beneficium divinum prophetae populo
exposuerunt: primo haereditatis consecutionem, et hoc in Iosue, de quo Eccli. XLVI: fortis
in bello Iosue; secundo hostium destructionem, et hoc in libro Iudicum, de quorum
destructione in Psalmo: fiat illis sicut Madian et Sisarae; tertio populi exaltationem; quae
quidem est duplex, scilicet: privata unius personae, et de hoc in Ruth; et publica quae est
10
totius populi, usque ad regiam dignitatem, et de hoc in libro regum: quod beneficium Deus
improperat eis Ezech. XVI: decora facta es vehementer. Hi enim libri, secundum
Hieronymum in ordine prophetarum ponuntur. In aliis autem libris qui communiter
prophetarum dicuntur, prophetae posuerunt divina edicta ad legis observationem. Et hoc
dicitur, primo in communi; et hoc in prophetis maioribus qui ad totum populum
mittebantur et ad totius legis observantiam inducebant; secundo in particulari; et hoc in
prophetis minoribus, quorum diversi, propter diversa ad speciales gentes mittebantur, sicut
Osee ad decem tribus; Ioel ad senes Israel; Ionas ad Ninivitas; et sic de aliis. Prophetae
autem maiores dividuntur secundum ea quibus ad observantiam legis prophetae populum
induxerunt: scilicet blandiendo per promissiones beneficiorum; terrendo per
comminationem paenarum; arguendo per vituperationes peccatorum. Quamvis haec tria in
singulis prophetarum inveniantur, tamen Isaias principaliter blanditur; de quo dicitur Eccli.
XLVIII: consolatus est lugentes in Sion; Ieremias vero comminatur, unde dicebat: de
industria dissolvit manus virorum bellantium Ier. XXXVIII; sed Ezechiel arguit et
vituperat, Ezech. XVI: pater tuus Amorrhaeus et mater tua Cethaea. Potest tamen aliter
distingui, ut dicatur quod Isaias praenunciat principaliter incarnationis mysterium, unde
tempore adventus in Ecclesia legitur; Ieremias vero mysterium passionis, unde legitur
tempore passionis; Ezechiel mysterium resurrectionis, unde in resurrectione ossium et
templi reparatione librum suum finit; Daniel autem secundum quod inter prophetas
computatur ex hoc quod spiritu prophetico praedixit futura, quamvis non ex persona
domini populo loqueretur, prosequitur de divinitate Christi, ut quatuor prophetae quatuor
Evangelistis respondeant, vel etiam de advocatione ad iudicium. Tertia autem pars, quae
continet Agiographos et apocryphos libros, in duo distinguitur, secundum duo quibus
patres instruunt filios ad virtutem, scilicet verbo et facto; quia exempla in moralibus non
minus valent quam verba. Quaedam autem instruunt facto tantum; quaedam verbo tantum;
quaedam verbo et facto. Facto autem dupliciter. Uno modo instruendo de futuro ad
cautelam; et hoc est in Iosue, quem Hieronymus inter Agiographos ponit. Quamvis enim
propheta ex dono prophetiae esset, non tamen ex officio; quia non fuit a domino missus ad
prophetandum populo. Unde quod Sap. VIII dicitur, de eo intelligi potest: signa et monstra
scit antequam fiant. Alio modo narrando ad exemplum virtutis praeterita. Virtutes autem
principales sunt quattuor, scilicet: iustitia, qua est bonum commune, cuius exemplum
ponitur in Paralipomenis, in quo totius populi status describitur qui per iustitiam
gubernatur. Secunda est temperantia, cuius exemplum ponitur in Iudith; unde
Hieronymus: accipite Iudith viduam castitatis exemplum. Iudith XV: fecisti viriliter eo
quod castitatem amaveris. Tertia est fortitudo, cui duo competunt, scilicet, aggredi; et
quantum ad hoc ponitur exemplum in libro Machabaeorum; et sustinere et quantum ad hoc
ponitur exemplum in Thobia, Thob. II: hanc autem tentationem ideo permisit dominus
evenire illi, ut posteris daretur exemplum patientiae eius. Quarta est prudentia, cuius est
11
obviare insidiis; et quantum ad hoc ponitur exemplum eius in Esdra. In illo enim libro
ostenditur quomodo Esdras et Neemias et alii principes prudenter caverunt insidias
inimicorum volentium impedire aedificationem templi et civitatis. Est etiam prudentiae
sagaciter repellere violentias; et quantum ad hoc datur eius exemplum in libro Hester: ubi
ostenditur quomodo Mardocheus et Hester Aman potentissimi fraudes eliserunt. Libri
autem Agiographi et apocryphi, qui tantum instruunt verbo, distinguuntur secundum quod
verbum dupliciter ad instructionem operatur: uno modo petendo sapientiae donum, Sap.
VII: optavi et datus est mihi sensus, invocavi et venit in me spiritus sapientiae. Et ad
instructionem operatur Psalterium, per modum orationis Deo loquens. Secundo modo
sapientiam docendo, et hoc dupliciter, secundum duplex opus sapientis; quorum unum est
mentientem manifestare posse: et quantum ad hoc est liber Iob, qui per modum
disputationis errores elidit, Iob XIII: disputare cum Deo cupio prius vos ostendens
fabricatores mendacii et cultores perversorum dogmatum. Aliud opus eius est non mentiri
de quibus novit; et sic dupliciter instruimur: quia vel commendatur nobis sapientia, et hoc
in libro sapientiae; vel sapientiae praecepta proponuntur, et hoc in tribus libris Salomonis:
qui quidem distinguuntur secundum tres gradus virtutum quos Plotinus distinguit; quia
praecepta sapientiae non nisi de actibus virtutum esse debent. In primo gradu, secundum
eum, sunt virtutes politicae, quibus homo moderate rebus mundi utitur et inter homines
conversatur; et secundum hoc est liber proverbiorum. In secundo gradu sunt virtutes
purgatoriae, quibus homo se a rebus mundi exuit per contemptum; et secundum hoc est
Ecclesiastes qui ad contemptum mundi ordinatur, ut patet per Hieronymum in prologo. In
tertio gradu sunt virtutes purgati animi, quibus homo, saeculi curis penitus calcatis, in sola
sapientiae contemplatione delectatur; et quantum ad hoc sunt cantica. In quarto autem
gradu sunt virtutes exemplares in Deo existentes, de quibus praecepta sapientiae non
dantur, sed magis derivantur ab eis. Verbo autem simul et facto instruit Ecclesiasticus.
Unde praecepta sapientiae qui proposuit, in laude patrum librum suum terminavit, ut patet
a XLIV capitulo et deinceps. Novum autem testamentum, quod ad vitam aeternam ordinat,
non solum per praecepta, sed per gratiae dona, dividitur in tres partes. In prima agitur de
gratiae origine: et hoc in Evangeliis. In secunda de gratiae virtute: et hoc in epistolis Pauli;
unde in principio a virtute Evangelii incipit dicens: virtus Dei est in salutem omni credenti.
Rom. I. In tertia agitur de virtutis praedictae executione: et hoc in reliquis libris novi
testamenti. Origo autem gratiae Christus est, Ioan. I: de plenitudine eius omnes accepimus,
gratiam pro gratia, quia lex per Moysen data est, gratia et veritas per Iesum Christum
facta est. In Christo autem est considerare duplicem naturam, scilicet: divinam: et de hoc
est principaliter Evangelium Ioannis, unde incipit: in principio erat verbum et verbum erat
apud Deum, et Deus erat verbum; et humanam: et de hac principaliter tractant alii
Evangelistae, qui distinguuntur secundum tres dignitates, quae Christo homini competunt.
De ipso enim quantum ad dignitatem regiam determinat Matthaeus; unde in principio sui
12
Evangelii eum secundum carnem a regibus descendisse ostendit et a magis regibus
adoratum. Sed quantum ad dignitatem propheticam determinat de eo Marcus; unde a
praedicatione eius Evangelium incipit. Quantum vero ad sacerdotalem dignitatem
determinat de eo Lucas; unde a templo incipit et a sacerdotio, et in templo finit
Evangelium, et frequenter circa templum versatur, ut dicit quaedam Glossa Luc. II super
illud: invenerunt eum in templo sedentem in medio doctorum. Vel aliter, ut dicatur quod
Matthaeus determinat de Christo principaliter quantum ad mysterium incarnationis; et ideo
in figura hominis describitur; Lucas quantum ad mysterium passionis; et ideo describitur in
figura bovis, quod est animal immolatitium; Marcus vero quantum ad victoriam
resurrectionis; et ideo describitur in figura leonis; Iohannes vero, qui ad alta divinitatis eius
volat, per aquilam designatur. Executio autem virtutis gratiae ostenditur in progressu
Ecclesiae, in quo est tria considerare. Primo Ecclesiae initium; et de hoc agitur in actibus
apostolorum; unde dicit Hieronymus: actus apostolorum nudam videntur sonare historiam
et nascentis Ecclesiae infantiam texere. Secundo Ecclesiae profectum; et ad hunc ordinatur
instructio apostolica in epistolis canonicis. Tertio Ecclesiae terminum; in quo totius sacrae
Scripturae continentiam Apocalypsis concludit, quousque sponsa in thalamum Iesu Christi
ad vitam gloriosam participandam; ad quam nos perducat ipse Iesus Christus, benedictus in
saecula saeculorum. Amen.

13
 Commencement of Brother Thomas Aquinas
at his inception at the University of Paris as Biblical Baccalaureate

On the Praise and Division

of Sacred Scripture

translated by Eric J. Kingsepp

TABLE OF CONTENTS
 The Praise of Sacred Scripture
o Its Authority
o Its Truth
o Its Profitableness
 The Division of Sacred Scripture
o The Old Testament
 The Law
 The Prophets
 The Writings and Apocrypha
o The New Testament
 The Gospels
 The Catholic Epistles and Apocalypse

I. Praise of Sacred Scripture

THIS IS THE BOOK of the commandments of God, and the law which is eternal;
all who believe it find life. (Baruch 4,1)

According to Augustine, in IV De doctrina christiana [chap. 12, PL 34,

1199. ---
101], the learned man who discourses must do so in order to teach, to delight, and
to persuade: specifically, to teach the ignorant, to delight the weary, and to
persuade the sluggish of will.

These three are found most completely in the discourse of Sacred Scripture: It
teaches ably with its eternal truth -- Ps. 118,89-90: Your word, Lord, stands firm in
eternity. It delights pleasantly with its profitableness -- Ps. 118,103: How sweet are
your promises to my lips! And it persuades effectively with its authority -- Jer.
23,29: Are not my words like fire? says the Lord.

Similarly, Sacred Scripture is praised for these same three things in the verse above
us: First for the authority by which it persuades, when it says: This is the book of
14
the commandments of God. Second, for the eternal truth by which it teaches, when
it says: and the law which is eternal. Third, for the profitableness by which it
delights, when it says: All who believe it find life.

1200. --- Now the AUTHORITY of Scripture is shown to be effective in three

ways. First by its origin, which is God; whence the verse says: the Commandments
of God; -- Bar 3,37: He has discovered the whole way of knowledge and Heb. 2,3:
The promise was first announced by the Lord Himself, and is guaranteed to us by
those who heard him. Indeed this author is infallibly to be believed for three
reasons: because of the nature of his being, which is truth -- John 14,4: I am the
way, the truth and the life, -- because of the fulness of his knowledge -- Rom.
11,33: How rich are the depths of God’s wisdom and knowledge! -- and because of
the power of his words -- Heb. 4,12: The word of God is living and effective, more
penetrating than any two edged sword.

Second, Scripture is shown to be effective by the necessity which it imposes -- Mk

16,16: He who does not believe will be condemned. Hence it is in the manner of a
precept that the truth of Holy Writ is proposed; whence the verse says:
Commandments of God. Now these commandments guide the intellect by faith -- Jn
14:1: You believe in God; believe also in me; -- inform the affections by love -- Jn
15:12: This is my commandment: love one another, as I have loved you; -- and
[quod ad actum et executionem inducunt] -- Lk 10,28: Do this, and live.

Third, Scripture is shown to be effective by the unity of its teachings, since all who
hand on sacred doctrine teach the same thing -- I Cor. 15,11: For whether I or they,
so we have preached, and so you have believed. And this is necessary because all
have had one teacher -- Matt. 23,8: For one is your teacher. -- one spirit -- II Cor.
12,18: Have we not walked in the same spirit? -- and one will also -- Acts 4,32: the
multitude of believers had but one soul and one heart in God. And it is also a sign
of this unity of teaching that it is said in the singular This is the book.

1201. --- The TRUTH of the teachings of Scripture is immutable and eternal. So
the verse continues: and the law which is eternal. -- Lk 21,33: heaven and earth
shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. Now this law will remain
forever on account of three things: First, because of the power of the lawmaker --
Is. 14,27: the God of hosts has decreed it, and who can disannul it? Second,
because of his immutability -- Mal. 3,6: For I am God and I do not change, and
Num. 23,19: God is not a man, that he should lie; nor as the son of man, that he
should be changed. Third, because of the truth of the law -- Ps 118,86: All your
commandments are truth, Prov.12,19: Truthful lips will be steadfast forever, and III
Esdras 4,38: Truth remains and prevails for eternity.

1202. --- Now the PROFITABLENESS is the greatest -- Is. 48,17: I am the Lord
your God, who teaches you profitable things. Hence the verse continues: all who
believe it find life; which life is threefold: First is the life of grace, to which Holy
Writ disposes us -- Jn 6,64: The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. For
through this life the spirit lives for God -- Gal 2,20: For I live, now not I, truly
Christ lives in me. Second is the life of justice which consists in works, to which
Holy Writ directs us -- Ps. 118,93: Your justifications I will never forget, for by
15
them you have given me life. Third is the life of glory, which Holy Writ promises
and to which it leads -- Jn 6,69: Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of
everlasting life, and Jn 20,31: This is written that you should believe; and believing,
you will have life in his name.

II. Division of Sacred Scripture

1203. --- Now Sacred Scripture brings us to this life in two ways, namely, by
commanding and by assisting: Commanding by the commandments it puts forth,
which belongs to the Old Testament -- Ecclus 24,33: Moses commanded a law. and
assisting by the gift of grace that the lawmaker bestows, which belongs to the New
Testament -- Jn 1,17: The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came
through Jesus Christ.

Thus all of Holy Writ is divided into two principle parts, namely the Old and the
New Testament, both of which are mentioned in Matt 13,52: Every scribe
instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like to a man that is a householder, who
brings forth out of his treasure things old and new, and Cant. 7,13: All fruits, the
new and the old, my beloved, I have kept for thee.

1204. --- Now the OLD TESTAMENT is divided according to the manner of
teaching of its commandments, for the authority to command is twofold, namely the
authority of compulsion and the authority of admonition. Compulsion belongs to
the authority of the king, who has the power to punish transgressors -- Prov. 20,2:
As the roaring of a lion, so also is the dread of a king. The authority of admonition
carried by the precept of the parent, who has the job of instructing -- Ecclus. 7,25:
Do you have children? Instruct them. Now kingly precepts are of two types, by one
he establishes a law, and by the other he fosters observation of the already-
established law; this latter he is wont to promulgate with his public announcers and
messengers. Thus we distinguish three types of precepts: those of the king, the
messenger and the parent. And it is according to these three is the Old Testament
divided into three sections, following Jerome in his Prologue to the books of Kings
[PL 28, 598-600]:

The first section, contained in the Law, is like the precept set forth by the king
himself -- Is. 33,32: The Lord is our king; the Lord is our lawgiver.

The second section is contained in the Prophets, who were like the messengers and
public announcers of God, speaking to the people in the person of God, and
inducing them to observation of the law, Hag. 1,13: And Haggai spoke as one of
the messengers of God.

The third section is contained in the Holy Writings which, while inspired by the
Holy Spirit, nevertheless spoke not on God’s part, but as from themselves. Thus the
authors of the Holy Writings [agiographi] are said to be authors of sacred scripture
16
[sacra scriptura], or to have written sacred things, from ‘agios’ which is holy
[sacrum], and ‘graphia’ which is writing [scriptura]; and so the commands that are
contained in them are like parental commands, as is clear from Prov. 6,20: My son,
keep the commandments of thy father, etc.

Now Jerome [op cit., PL 28, 601 ss.] lists as a fourth sections of books the
Apocrypha, so called from the Greek ‘apo,’ which is exceedingly, and ‘cryphon,’
which is covered, since there are doubts about their sayings or their authors. To be
sure, the Catholic Church has accepted into the number of Sacred Scripture not
books whose sayings are in doubt, but only whose authors are in doubt; and this not
because the authors are unknown , but because they were not men of recognized
authority. Hence these books have force not from the authority of their authors, but
rather from their acceptance by the church. Yet because the manner of speaking in
these and in the Writings is visibly the same, they are now grouped together with
the Writings.

1205. --- Now the first section, which contains the LAW, is divided into two parts,
according to two types of law, namely, public and private.

A private law is one whose observance is imposed upon one person or family. And
this kind of law is contained in Genesis, as is clear from the first command given to
Adam -- Gen. 2,17: Of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat
-- and to Noah -- Gen. 9,4: Meat with blood you shall not eat -- and to Abraham --
Gen. 17,19: You shall keep my covenant, and your seed after you in their
generations.

A public law is the kind given to the whole people. Yet the divine law was given to
the Jewish people through a mediator, because it was not fitting that the people
should receive it directly from God -- Dt. 5,5: I was a mediator between you and
the Lord, and Gal. 3,19: The law was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.
Thus we can see two phases in the making of this Law. In the first phase the law
comes to the mediator from God, which belongs to the three books of Exodus,
Leviticus and Numbers to relate; hence it is frequently read in these books: God
spoke to Moses. In the second phase the mediator explains the law to the people,
which belongs to Deuteronomy, as is clear from what is read at the beginning --
Moses spoke, etc.

Now the three books of Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers are distinguished
according to the areas in which the people require ordering: first for the
determinations of justice (precepts), which is done in Exodus; second for the
administration of worship (the sacraments), which is done in Leviticus; and third in
civil administration (offices), which is done in Numbers.

1206. --- Now the second section containing the PROPHETS is divided into two
parts according to the two tasks a messenger must perform. He must expound on
the king’s goodness so as to incline men to obedience; and he must lay out the
requirements of the law.

17
Now there are three aspects of the divine goodness that the prophets explained to
the people. First the acquisition of their inheritance, which is set forth in Joshua;
hence Ecclus. 46,1 says: Valiant in war was Joshua. Second, the destruction of the
enemy, set forth in the book of Judges; hence Ps. 82,10: Do to them as you did to
Midian and Sisera. Third, the elevation of the people, which is twofold, namely
private, i.e. of an individual, as seen in Ruth; and public i.e., evelation of the whole
people, even up to the level royal dignity, as seen in the books of Kings. God
reproached them with this beneficence in Ez. 16,13: You were made exceedingly
beautiful. For these books, according to Jerome, are put in the order of prophets.

In the other books which are more commonly called Prophetic, the prophets set
forth divine commands in order to foster observance of the law. We may speak of
this, first, in general; as in the major prophets, who were sent to the whole people
and exhorted observance of the whole law; and second, in particular, as different
minor prophets were sent to different places for the sake of particular people, as
Hosea to the ten tribes [of the Northern Kingdom]; Joel [to the elders of Israel?];
Jonah to Nineveh; and so on with the others.

Now, the major prophets are divided according to how they led the people to
observance of the law: e.g., soothing with promise of benefits; frightening with the
threat of punishment; accusing them with reproof for their sins. Although these
three are found in each of the prophets, still it is Isaiah principally who soothes;
hence Ecclus. 48,27 says: He comforted the mourners in Zion; Jeremiah mainly
threatens, as in Jer 38,4: For on purpose he weakens the hands of the men of war;
but Ezekiel accuses and reproaches -- Ez. 16,3: Your father was an Amorite and
your mother a Hittite.

The Prophetic books may also be divided another way: It is said that Isaiah
announced mainly the mystery of the Incarnation, so in the Church he is used in the
time of Advent; Jeremiah announced mainly the mystery of the Passion, so he is
read at the time of the Passion; and Ezekiel announced the mystery of the
Resurrection, whence he ends his book with the raising of the bones and the
rebuilding of the Temple. Now Daniel, counted among the prophets insofar as he
predicted the future with a prophetic spirit (although he did not speak to the people
in the person of the Lord), traced the divinity of Christ. So the four prophets would
correspond to the four evangelists, or even from the call to judgment.

1207. --- Now the third part of the Old Testament, containing the HOLY
WRITINGS and APOCRYPHAL BOOKS, is divided according to the two ways
parents instruct their children in virtue, namely by word and deed -- since in
morality examples have no less force than words. Now some of these books
instruct by deed alone, some by words alone, and some by word and deed.

Now instruction by deed may be done in two ways. One way is to teach by
cautioning about the future; and this is in Joshua. Jerome classifies Joshua among
the Holy Writings because, while he was a prophet from his having the gift of
prophecy, he was not by office -- he was not sent by God to prophesy to the people.
Hence what is said in Wis. 8,8: He knows signs and wonders before they are done,
may be perceived about him. The other way to use deeds for instruction is to
18
recount past deeds as examples of virtue. Now the principal virtues are four. An
example of justice, from which comes the common good, is set down in
Paralipomenon, where the state of the whole people, which is governed by justice,
is described. An example of temperance, is set down in Judith; hence Jerome
[Praef. in lib. Iudith PL 29, 41]: Take note of the widow Judith, as an example of
chastity -- Judith 15,11: You have done manfully, because you have loved chastity.
Now fortitude two aspects: undertaking [tasks], which we find in the book of the
Macchabees; and enduring [trials], which we find in Thobias -- Tob 2,12: Now this
trial the Lord therefore permitted to happen to him, that an example might be given
to posterity of his patience. An example of prudence, which endures unexpected
hardships is set down in Esdras. For in this book is shown how Esdras and
Nehemias and other leaders prudently guarded against the plots of enemies who
wished to hinder the building of the Temple and the community. It also belongs to
prudence to repel violence through wisdom; and this is exemplified in the book of
Esther, which shows how Mordecai and Esther stamped out the crimes of the
powerful Aman.

Now the Holy Writings and apocryphal books that teach by word alone are
distinguished by the fact that instruction uses words in two ways. One way is by
asking for the gift of wisdom -- Wis. 7,7: I desired and prudence was given me; I
prayed and the spirit of wisdom came to me. And the Psalter works for instruction,
speaking in the manner of prayer to God. The second way is by teaching wisdom,
and this is done according to the twofold work of wisdom: First, it is able to expose
fallacies, as is done in the book of Job, which refutes errors through the mode of
debate -- Job 13,3-4: I wish to reason with God, but you are glossing over
falsehoods and offering vain remedies. Second it does not mislead concerning the
things it knows. Now here we are instructed in two ways: for either wisdom is
recommended to us, as in the book of Wisdom, or its precepts are laid out for us, as
in the three books of Solomon. These three, moreover, are distinguished according
to the three levels of virtue identified by Plotinus -- for the precepts of wisdom
must concern nothing if not virtuous acts: On the first level, according to him, are
the social virtues, by which man uses the things of the world with moderation, and
lives among other men. These precepts of wisdom are laid out in the book of
Proverbs. On the second level are the purgative virtues, by which man scorns and
puts off the things of the world. These precepts of wisdom are laid out in
Ecclesiastes, which is ordered towards contempt of the world, as is clear from
Jerome in his Prologue [Praef., PL 23, 1061]. On the third level are the virtues of
the purified soul, by which man, his worldly cares stamped out, delights solely in
the contemplation of wisdom; the precepts of wisdom concerning these virtues are
laid out in the Canticles. Now on the fourth level are the exemplar virtues which
exist in God. There are no precepts of wisdom given concerning these, rather
wisdom’s precepts are themselves derived from them.

Now in the third division of Holy Writings, Ecclesiasticus instructs by both word
and deed. Hence the precepts of wisdom that it puts forth conclude with praise of
the fathers, as is seen from chapters 44 to the end.

1208. --- Now the NEW TESTAMENT is ordered to eternal life not just by
precepts, but through the gift of grace, and is divided into three parts. The first part
19
 deals with the origin of grace, which is covered in the Gospels. The second part
deals with the power of grace, and this is covered in the Epistles of Paul; hence at
the beginning Paul starts with the power of the Gospel, saying: It is the power of
God unto salvation for everyone that believes (Rom. 1,16). The third part of the
New Testament treats of the accomplishment of the power that has been preached,
and this is found in the remaining books of the New Testament.

Now the origin of grace is Christ -- Jn 1,16-17: Of his fullness we have all
received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth
came through Jesus Christ. Now in Christ there are two natures: His divine nature
is treates principally by the Gospel of John, hence it begins, In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The other Gospels
treat principally of Christ’s human nature, which is distinguished according to the
three dignities which belong to the man Christ. Matthew treats of Him according to
his royal dignity, hence at the beginning of his Gospel he shows Him to have
descended from kings according to the flesh, and adored by kings (the Magi). Mark
treats of Christ according to his prophetic dignity, so he begins his gospel with
Christ’s public preaching. And Luke treats of Christ according to His priestly
dignity; hence he begins with the Temple and priesthood, and ends his gospel in the
Temple, and frequently occupies himself with the Temple, as a certain gloss says
on Lk 2,46: They found him in the Temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers.

Or alternately, it is said that Matthew treats of Christ principally according to the

mystery of the Incarnation, and for this reason he is represented in the figure of a
man. Luke treats principally of the mystery of the Passion, and for this reason is
represented in the figure of an ox, which is a sacrificial animal. Mark treats
principally of the victory of the Resurrection, and thus is represented in the figure
of a lion. Finally, John, who sours to the height of His divinity, is represented by an
eagle.

[The second part of the New Testament -- on the Power of grace, which is treated
in the Epistles of Paul -- is missing from the manuscript.]

Now the accomplishments of the power of grace are manifested in the progress of
the Church, which has three phases. First, the beginning of the Church is treated in
the Acts of the Apostles; hence Jerome says, The Acts of the Apostles seems to
combine the telling of plain history and the infancy of the nascent Church. Second
is the growth of the Church, to which the apostolic instruction found in the catholic
epistles is ordered. Third is the end [terminus] of the Church, in which the
Apocalypse concludes the entire contents of Sacred Scripture, as far/long as the
Bride into the abode of Jesus Christ to participate in the life of glory, and to which
may Jesus Christ Himself, blessed forever and ever, lead us. Amen.

###

Online Translation Copyright © 2002 by Eric J. Kingsepp

http://www.firstphilosophy.net/bible/HicEstLiber.html (retrieved 02/22/07)

20
§

21
 Outline of St. Thomas’s Lecture Hic Est Liber:

On the Praise and Division of Scripture

I. Discourse to teach (the truth), to delight (with profitableness) and to persuade (with
authority). Scripture has all these to the highest degree.
A. Authority of Scripture:
1. its origin (from God)
2. its necessity. The Commandments of God:
a. guide the intellect
b. inform the affections
c. lead to accomplishment that which is ordered to action
3. its uniformity in saying, which comes from:
a. one teacher
b. one spirit
c. one will
B. Truth of Scripture, which is immutable
1. b/c of the power of the lawmaker
2. b/c of the immutability of the lawmaker
3. b/c of the truth of the law
C. Profitableness of Scripture, since “all who believe it find life”, which is
threefold:
1. the life of grace
2. the life of justice
3. the life of glory

II. Scripture leads us to this threefold life in three ways: by commanding [OT] and by
assisting [NT]
A. by commanding, in the OLD TESTAMENT
1. commands by compulsion, from the King establishing the Law
Himself [Pentateuch]
a. Private Law: imposed on only one person or family
[Genesis]
b. Public Law: given to the people, in two steps:
i. the Law is given to the mediator
 to order precepts for determinations of justice
[Exodus]
 to order sacraments, for administration of
worship [Leviticus]
 to order offices for civil administration
[Numbers]
ii. the Law is explained to the people by the mediator
[Deuteronomy]

2. commands by compulsion, through the King’s messengers

[Prophets]
22
 a. Messengers expound on the king’s beneficence to incline
men to obedience.
i. expound on the acquisition of their inheritance
[Joshua]
ii. expound on the destruction of the enemy [Judges]
iii. expound on the exaltation of the people:
 private [Ruth]
 public [(Samuel and) Kings]
b. Messengers lay out the commands of the law. (These books
are more commonly called ‘Prophetic’.)
i. in general [the major prophets]
 soothing with promises of benefits [Isaiah]
 frightening with threat of punishment
[Jeremiah]
 accusing with reproof for sins [Ezekiel]

-- or --

 announcing the mystery of the Incarnation

(used in Advent) [Isaiah]
 announcing the mystery of the Passion (used
in Passiontide) [Jeremiah]
 announcing the mystery of the Resurrection
[Ezekiel]
 announcing the divinity of Christ [Daniel]
ii. in particular [the minor prophets]
 to the ten tribes [Hosea]
 to the elders of Israel? [Joel]
 to Nineveh [Jonah]
 (others not mentioned)

3. commands by admonition, from the Parent

a. Books whose sayings and authors are not in doubt [Holy
Writings]
i. Admonitions by Deed alone
 cautioning about the future [Joshua]
 narrating past deeds of virtue
o of justice [Paralipomenon]
o of temperance [Judith]
o of fortitude [Maccabees]
o of prudence [Ezra and Nehemiah]
ii. Admonitions by Word alone
 asking for the gift of Wisdom [the Psalter]
 teaching wisdom, according to wisdom’s
twofold work:
o exposing fallacies [Job]

23
 onot deceiving concerning what one
knows
 commending wisdom to us
[Wisdom]
 laying the precepts of wisdom
out for us, according to
Plotinus’ 3 levels of virtue:
1. social virtues
[Proverbs]
2. purgative virtues
[Ecclesiastes]
3. virtues of the purified
soul [Canticle]
4. (the exemplar virtues
existing in God)
iii. Admonitions by Deed and Word [Ecclesiasticus]
 by word: Ch. 1-43
 by deed: Ch. 44 to the end
b. Books whose authors are in doubt (as to authority, not
identity) [Deuterocanonical]

B. by Assisting, through the gift of grace, in the New Testament

1. the Origins of grace: the Gospels
a. Christ in his Human Nature, according to His 3 dignities
i. His royal dignity [Matthew]
ii. His prophetic dignity [Mark]
iii. His priestly dignity [Luke]
b. Christ in his Divine Nature [John]

-- or --

c. concerning the Incarnation, represented by a man [Matthew]

d. concerning the Passion, represented by an ox [Luke]
e. concerning the Resurrection, represented by a lion [Mark]
f. concerning his Divinity, represented by an eagle [John]
2. the Power of grace: the Epistles of Paul
3. the Practice of the Virtues: the rest of the NT
a. the beginning of the Church [Acts]
b. the growth of the Church [Catholic Epistles]
c. the end of the Church [Apocalypse]

http://www.firstphilosophy.net/bible/HicEstOutline.html (retrieved 2/22/07)

24
Cf. Michael Waldstein, “On Scripture in the Summa Theologiae”. The Aquinas Review,
Vol. 1, No. 1 1994, III. The Fourfold Sense of Scripture and Christ, pp. 82-86:

In his inaugural lecture as Baccalarius Biblicus in Paris (De Commendatione et Partitione

Sacrae Scripturae), St. Thomas offers the following outline of Scripture to guide his hearers
through the complex labyrinth of texts.

Scripture Leads to Eternal Life

(1) By giving commandments (praecipiendo): Old Testament

(A) Commandments of the King who can punish: the Law

(I) Private law given to an individual or a family Genesis

(II) Public law given to the people

(a) The law passes from God to his mediator, Moses: “And God said to Moses...”

(i) Equity in judgment Exodus

(ii) Visible mysterious signs (sacramenta) pertaining to the cult Leviticus

(iii) Offices and the administration of the commonwealth Numbers

(b) The law is set forth by the mediator, Moses, to the people: “And Moses said...”
Deuteronomy

(B) Exhortation by the king’s Envoys to follow his Law: the Prophets

(I) Prophets that set forth the benefits offered by the king to incline the people to obey the
Law

(a) The attainment of the bequest (the land) Joshua

(b) The destruction of the enemies Judges

(c) The exaltation of the people

(i) The private exaltation of one person Ruth

(ii) The public exaltation of the whole people, culminating in kingship 1-4 Kings

(II) Prophets that propose the Law as a law that must be obeyed

(a) To all (in communi)

(i) Loving caresses (blandiendo) in the promise of benefits: (1) Announces Incarnation
Isaiah

(ii) Terrifying through the threat of punishment:

25
(2) Announces Passion Jeremiah

(iii) Persuasion through the castigation of sins

(3) Announces Resurrection Ezekiel

[(4) Christ’s Divinity Daniel]

(b) To particular groups (in particulari) Minor Prophets

(C) Commandments of the Father who educates: the Hagiographers and Apocrypha

(I) By deeds, since deeds have no less power than words in moral matters

[(a) Instruction about the future bearing on caution Joshua]

(b) Narrative of the past bearing on the virtues

(i) Justice 1-2 Chron

(ii) Temperance Judith

(iii) Courage

(a) In attacking 1-2 Maccabees

(b) In enduring suffering Tobit

(iv) Prudence

(a) In repelling insidious attacks Esdras

(b) In repelling violence Esther

(II) By words

(a) Asking for the gift of wisdom; instruction in wisdom through prayer to God Psalms

(b) Teaching wisdom, according to the two tasks of the wise person

(i) Exposing liars Job

(ii) Saying what is true

(a) Wisdom is commended Wisdom

(b) The precepts of wisdom are proposed in “the three books of Solomon”

* First degree of virtue: political virtue and the proper use of the world Proverbs

* Second degree of virtue: purifying virtues, leading to contempt of the world Ecclesiastes
26
* Third degree of virtue: virtues of the purified soul: delight in wisdom alone Canticle

[(III) By words and deeds together (ends in praise of the fathers of the people) Sirach]

(2) By helping (adiuvando) through the gift of grace: New Testament

(A) The origin of grace

(I) Christ’s human nature emphasized

(a) Christ’s dignity as King:

(a) Mystery of the Incarnation Man Matthew

(b) Christ’s dignity as Prophet:

(b) Victory of the Resurrection Lion Mark

(c) Christ’s dignity as Priest

(c) Mystery of the passion Ox Luke

(II) Christ’s divine nature emphasized

(d) The heights of divinity Eagle John

(B) The power of grace Paul

(C) The power of grace works itself out

(I) In the beginning of the Church Acts

(II) In apostolic instruction ordered to the growth of the Church Canonical Letters

(III) In the Church’s fulfillment: the bride joins the wedding-banquet of the bridegroom:
eternal life Revelation

The overall intention of Scripture, according to this outline, is to lead to eternal life. The Old
Testament leads to life by giving the law, summarized in the love of God and neighbor. The
New Testament leads to life by pointing to the gift of grace. Both Testaments have a three-
step rhythm of increasing fulfillment. The Old Testament begins with the law of love
promulgated by the King who can threaten punishment (Pentateuch). It continues with the
king’s emissaries, the prophets, who exhort the people to follow the law of love (Joshua to
the minor prophets). And it culminates in God’s fatherly education of his people in the ways
of love. The high-point of this third part is found in the Song of Songs. The New Testament
begins with an account of the origin of grace in the life and suffering of Jesus (Gospels). It
continues with Paul, the emissary or apostle par excellence, who unfolds the power of grace.
And it culminates in the texts that show how the power of grace is consummated. The high-
point of this third part is found in the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation to John 21-22).

A single principle shapes both of these structural levels, namely, God’s providence leading
along a path to life from promise to fulfillment. This principle is clearest in the
27
correspondence between the theological high-points of the two Testaments, namely, the
Song of Songs and the wedding feast of the Lamb (Revelation to John 21-22). The Song of
Songs, the song of love par excellence, points ahead to the consummation of all love in the
wedding of the Lamb (Revelation to John 21-22). It is at this point, the central point of
biblical theology, that one can understand why the multiple senses of Scripture (literal and
spiritual) are so important to St. Thomas. Scripture speaks not merely as a text (literal sense)
but, inasmuch as the final plans of God’s providence are revealed in it, it opens up God’s
speech through things themselves. The sense of the text (literal sense) remains the
foundation, but God’s revelation carries further, making use of what the text signifies to
signify something further.

28
 Supplement I

St. Jerome’s Preface to Kings

Cf. Jerome, Preface to the Books of Samuel and Kings - original Latin Text with English
translation (Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers: Second Series, Volume VI Jerome edited by
Philip Schaff):

The first of these books is called Bresith, to which we give the name Genesis. The second,
Elle Smoth, which bears the name Exodus; the third, Vaiecra, that is Leviticus; the fourth,
Vaiedabber, which we call Numbers; the fifth, Elle Addabarim, which is entitled
Deuteronomy. These are the five books of Moses, which they properly call Thorath, that is
law.

The second class is composed of the Prophets, and they begin with Jesus the son of Nave,
who among them is called Joshua the son of Nun. Next in the series is Sophtim, that is the
book of Judges; and in the same book they include Ruth, because the events narrated
occurred in the days of the Judges. Then comes Samuel, which we call First and Second
Kings. The fourth is Malachim, that is, Kings, which is contained in the third and fourth
volumes of Kings. And it is far better to say Malachim, that is Kings, than Malachoth, that is
Kingdoms. For the author does not describe the Kingdoms of many nations, but that of one
people, the people of Israel, which is comprised in the twelve tribes. The fifth is Isaiah, the
sixth, Jeremiah, the seventh, Ezekiel, the eighth is the book of the Twelve Prophets, which is
called among the Jews Thare Asra.

To the third class belong the Hagiographa, of which the first book begins with Job, the
second with David, whose writings they divide into five parts and comprise in one volume of
Psalms; the third is Solomon, in three books, Proverbs, which they call Parables, that is
Masaloth, Ecclesiastes, that is Coeleth, the Song of Songs, which they denote by the title Sir
Assirim; the sixth is Daniel; the seventh, Dabre Aiamim, that is, Words of Days, which we
may more expressively call a chronicle of the whole of the sacred history, the book that
amongst us is called First and Second Chronicles; the eighth, Ezra, which itself is likewise
divided amongst Greeks and Latins into two books; the ninth is Esther.

And so there are also twenty-two books of the Old Testament; that is, five of Moses, eight of
the prophets, nine of the Hagiographa, though some include Ruth and Kinoth (Lamentations)
amongst the Hagiographa, and think that these books ought to be reckoned separately; we
should thus have twenty-four books of the old law. And these the Apocalypse of John
represents by the twenty-four elders, who adore the Lamb, and with downcast looks offer
their crowns, while in their presence stand the four living creatures with eyes before and
behind, that is, looking to the past and the future, and with unwearied voice crying, Holy,
Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who wast, and art, and art to come.

This preface to the Scriptures may serve as a “helmeted” introduction to all the books which
we turn from Hebrew into Latin, so that we may be assured that what is not found in our list
must be placed amongst the Apocryphal writings. Wisdom, therefore, which generally bears
the name of Solomon, and the book of Jesus, the Son of Sirach, and Judith, and Tobias, and
the Shepherd are not in the canon. The first book of Maccabees I have found to be Hebrew,
the second is Greek, as can be proved from the very style. Seeing that all this is so, I beseech
you, my reader, not to think that my labours are in any sense intended to disparage the old
translators. For the service of the tabernacle of God each one offers what he can; some gold
and silver and precious stones, others linen and blue and purple and scarlet; we shall do well
if we offer skins and goats’ hair. And yet the Apostle pronounces our more contemptible
29
parts more necessary than others. Accordingly, the beauty of the tabernacle as a whole and in
its several kinds (and the ornaments of the church present and future) was covered with skins
and goats’-hair cloths, and the heat of the sun and the injurious rain were warded off by
those things which are of less account. First read, then, my Samuel and Kings; mine, I say,
mine. For whatever by diligent translation and by anxious emendation we have learnt and
made our own, is ours. And when you understand that whereof you were before ignorant,
either, if you are grateful, reckon me a translator, or, if ungrateful, a paraphraser, albeit I am
not in the least conscious of having deviated from the Hebrew original. At all events, if you
are incredulous, read the Greek and Latin manuscripts and compare them with these poor
efforts of mine, and wherever you see they disagree, ask some Hebrew (though you ought
rather to place confidence in me), and if he confirm our view, I suppose you will not think
him a soothsayer and suppose that he and I have, in rendering the same passage, divined
alike. But I ask you also, the handmaidens of Christ, who anoint the head of your reclining
Lord with the most precious ointment of faith, who by no means seek the Saviour in the
tomb, for whom Christ has long since ascended to the Father—I beg you to confront with the
shields of your prayers the mad dogs who bark and rage against me, and go about the city,
and think themselves learned if they disparage others. I, knowing my lowliness, will always
remember what we are told. “I said, I will take heed to my ways that I offend not in my
tongue. I have set a guard upon my mouth while the sinner standeth against me. I became
dumb, and was humbled, and kept silence from good words.”

30
 Supplement II

Excerpt From The Commendation Of Sacred Scripture As The Science Of Sciences And
The Wisdom Of God. By Corneliis À Lapide

The Great Commentary of Cornelius À Lapide.

Translated by Thomas W. Mossman, B.A. Second Edition (London, 1876):

GENERAL PREFACE CONCERNING THE EXCELLENCE

AND MAJESTY OF THE FOUR GOSPELS.

I PROCEED from the Old Testament to the New, from Solomon to Christ, as from a rivulet
to a fountain: from Proverbs to Gospels, as from a river to the Ocean of Wisdom. Speaking
of the Gospels I would place a crown upon the Scriptures of the New Testament.
The dignity, usefulness, and majesty of Scripture are so great that it surpasses the books of
all philosophers and theologians, both Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, as much as Divine
surpasses human wisdom. For Scripture is the Word of God. It is the very utterance of God,
by means of which God enunciates His wisdom to us, and points out to us the way to virtue,
health, and eternal happiness. S. Augustine asserts that “Sacred Scripture is an
Encyclopaedia of all the sciences. Here is Natural Philosophy, because all the causes of all
creatures are in God, the Creator. Here is Moral Philosophy, because a good and honest life
is derived from no other source than the love of God and our neighbour as they ought to be
loved. Here is Logic, because Truth and the Light of the rational soul are God. Here is
Political Science, for a really flourishing State can neither be founded nor preserved except
upon the foundation, and by the bond of faith, and firm concord, when the common good of
all is loved: that is to say, when God is loved above all things, and when men love one
another in Him, and for His sake.” After an interval he adds, “By the Scriptures depraved
minds are corrected, little minds are nourished, great minds are delighted. The only minds
which are hostile to this doctrine are those which either by going astray know not its
healthfulness, or being sick dislike its medicine.”
Sacred Scripture is the art of arts, the science of sciences: it is the Pandora of Wisdom. In
our own time, S. Theresa, a woman endowed with the spirit of prophecy, and renowned
throughout all Spain for the glory of her miracles, and the sanctity of her life, was taught by
God that all the troubles of the Church, all the evils in the world, flow from this source, that
men do not, by clear and sound knowledge, and serious consideration, penetrate into the
verities of Sacred Scripture. See Franciscus Ribera, her Life.
S. Basil (Hom. in Ps. I) says, “Holy Scripture is the universal depository of medicine for
the cure of souls. From it every one may select the remedy which is salutary and appropriate
for his own disease.”
Thus it was that in the age of the martyrs, the Church drew from Holy Scripture courage
and fortitude; in the times of the doctors aptitude both to learn and teach, the illumination of
wisdom, floods of eloquence; in the ages of heresy, confirmation of faith, whereby errors
were plucked up: in prosperity she learns from Holy Scripture humility and modesty, in
adversity greatness of soul. Lastly, if at any time in all the gliding years the Church be
deformed by the wrinkles of old age, by spots, or blemishes, it is from the Scriptures she
derives correction of morals, and a return to her primitive state of virtue and dignity.
Now, of all the Divine writings, the Gospel is the most excellent, says S. Augustine (de
Consens. Evan. c. I). “For that which the Law and the Prophets foretold was to be is shown
in the Gospel to be accomplished. Prophecy is the Gospel veiled as the Gospel is prophecy
unveiled.” Hear S. Ambrose: “It is the Gospel by which the martyr ascends to heaven. The
Gospel is the sea in which the Apostles fish: wherein the net is cast to which the kingdom of
heaven is like. The Gospel is the sea in which the mysteries of Christ are figured. The
31
Gospel is the sea in which the Hebrews were saved, the Egyptians drowned. The Gospel is
the sea, wherein is the plentitude of Divine grace, wherein is the Spouse of Christ, which has
been founded upon the seas, as the prophet hath said, ‘He hath founded it upon the seas.’”
Christ cries aloud, “I am the Light of the World”, for by means of the Light of the Gospel
which I spread abroad, I illuminate the whole world. The Gospel, therefore, is the Light of
the world, and its Sun. This is why, when it is read, candles are lighted. This was an ancient
custom even in the time of Jerome, as he shows in his work against Vigilantius: “In all the
Eastern churches when the Gospel is read, lights are kindled, even when the sun is shining,
not for the purpose of banishing darkness, but as a mark of joy. Whence also the virgins in
the parable always had their lamps burning, that under the figure of corporeal light there
might be set forth the light of which we read in the Psalter, ‘Thy word, O Lord, is a light
unto my feet, and a lantern unto my paths.’”

<...>

The Author, and as we might call Him, the Choragus in the Evangelical Drama, who is
the chief, almost the sole actor and speaker, is Christ the Lord. “God”, says the Apostle to
the Hebrews, “who at sundry times, and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers
by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, whom He hath appointed
heir of all things, by whom also He made the worlds.” Therefore not Moses, nor prophets,
nor kings, but the Only-Begotten One, who from the mind of the Father hath drawn the
secrets of the Divine Wisdom, and the very uncreated Wisdom itself, hath made the same
known unto us in the Gospels. The very omniscient Word, I say, here speaks to us with His
own mouth, and declares the mysteries kept secret from eternity, though shadowed forth by
so many figures in the Law and the Prophets.
This is another way by which the Gospels vindicate for themselves the dignity which is
due to them. They have been so formed by the Holy Ghost that those who are simple and
unlearned should not be without profit in reading them, whilst great and lofty intellects may
discover many things both difficult and obscure in which they may find exercise for their
highest powers. “The Divine Word”, says S. Gregory (Prefat. in Job, c. 4), “exercises by its
mysteries those who are prudent and comforts the simple, for the most part, by what appears
on its surface. It has openly wherewith to nourish the little ones: it preserves in secret things
whereby it may fill with admiration the minds of the lofty. It is, if I may so say, a river which
is both shallow and deep: in which a lamb may wade, and an elephant may swim.” For
indeed the doctrine of Christ is easy and accessible both to the lowly and the learned: it is
only difficult and inaccessible to those who are proud, or slothful, or have confidence in
themselves. “I give thanks unto Thee, O Father”, saith Christ, “because Thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes: even so, Father,
because it hath seemed good in Thy sight.”

32
 Supplement III

THE MATTER, ORDER, AND DISTINCTION

OF THE EPISTLES OF ST. PAUL

(St. Thomas Aquinas)

The matter of these epistles is signified by the name of Christ; e.g. this doctrine or
teaching as a whole is about Christ

This doctrine as a whole is about the grace of Christ:

Grace as it is in its head, namely, Christ: The Epistle to the Hebrews

Grace as it is in the principal members of the mystical body:
the epistles to the Prelates [see below]
Grace as it is in the mystical body itself, which is the Church
(the epistles sent to the Gentiles):

Grace as it is in itself: The Epistle to the Romans

Grace as it is in the sacraments of grace: First and Second Corinthians

The first treats about the sacraments themselves: First Corinthians

The second about the dignity of its ministers: Second Corinthians

The superfluous sacraments are excluded against those who wished to join
the old sacraments to the new in The Epistle to the Galatians

The grace of Christ according to the state or passion of unity, which it has
made in the Church:

The institution of ecclesiastical unity: The Epistle to the Ephesians

Its confirmation and progress: The Epistle to Philippians
Its defense against errors: The Epistle to the Colossians
Against present persecutions: First Thessalonians
Against future errors, principally in the time of Anti-Christ:
Second Thessalonians

The grace of Christ as it instructs the Prelates of the Church, both spiritual
and temporal:

About the spiritual:

The institution, instruction, and governing of ecclesiastical unity:

First Timothy
About its firmness against persecutors: Second Timothy
About its defense against heretics: The Epistle to Titus

St. Paul instructs temporal lords in The Epistle to Philemon

33
Cf. Lectures on the Letter to the Romans by Saint Thomas Aquinas. Translated by Fabian
Larcher. Edited by Jeremy Holmes with the support of the Aquinas Center for Theological
Renewal:3

1 The Structure of the Pauline Corpus

According to St. Thomas Aquinas

I. All of the letters are about the grace of Christ. Nine letters consider the grace of Christ as
it exists in the mystical body itself:

A. This grace is considered in three ways. First, in itself, and this is how it is treated in the
letter to the Romans.

B. Second, in the sacraments which communicate it:

1. In 1Corinthians, the sacraments themselves are considered;

2. In 2 Corinthians, the ministers of the sacraments are discussed;
3. In Galatians, certain sacraments (namely those of the Old Law) are excluded;

C. Third, in its effect, namely the unity of the mystical body, the Church:

1. First, the unity itself is discussed:

a) In Ephesians, the foundation [institutio] of the Church’s unity is considered;

b) In Philippians, the progress and confirmation of the Church’s unity is set forth;

2. Second, its defense:

a) Against error, in the letter to the Colossians;

b) Against persecution:

(1) In the present in 1Thessalonians;

(2) In the future (and chiefly at the time of the Anti-Christ) in 2Thessalonians

II. Four letters consider the grace of Christ as it exists in the chief members of the Church,
namely the prelates:

A. First, in the spiritual prelates, in 1&2 Timothy and Titus;

B. Second, in temporal prelates, and this is how it is considered in the letter to Philemon;

III. One letter, that to the Hebrews, considers the grace of Christ as it exists in the head of
the body, Christ himself.

3
(http://nvjournal.net/files/Aquinas_on_Romans.pdf [Retrieved 04/29/13])
34
 Supplement IV

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII (1912), s.v. “Scripture”.

Scripture

Sacred Scripture is one of the several names denoting the inspired writings which make up
the Old and New Testament.

I. USE OF THE WORD

The corresponding Latin word scriptura occurs in some passages of the Vulgate in the
general sense of “writing”; e.g., Ex., xxxii, 16: “the writing also of God was graven in the
tables”; again, II Par., xxxvi, 22: “who [Cyrus] commanded it to be proclaimed through all
his kingdom, and by writing also”. In other passages of the Vulgate the word denotes a
private (Tob., viii, 24) or public (Ezra 2:62; Nehemiah 7:64) written document, a catalogue
or index (Ps. lxxxvi, 6), or finally portions of Scripture, such as the canticle of Ezechias
(Isaiah 38:5), and the sayings of the wise men (Ecclus., xliv, 5). The writer of II Par., xxx,
5, 18, refers to prescriptions of the Law by the formula “as it is written”, which is rendered
by the Septuagint translators kata ten graphen; para ten graphen, “according to Scripture”.
The same expression is found in I Esdr., iii, 4, and II Esdr., viii, 15; here we have the
beginning of the later form of appeal to the authority of the inspired books gegraptai
(Matthew 4:4, 6, 10; 21:13; etc.), or kathos gegraptai (Romans 1:11; 2:24, etc.), “it is
written”, “as it is written”.

As the verb graphein was thus employed to denote passages of the sacred writings, so the
corresponding noun he graphe gradually came to signify what is pre-eminently the writing,
or the inspired writing. This use of the word may be seen in John, vii, 38; x, 35; Acts, viii,
32; Rom., iv, 3; ix, 17; Gal., iii, 8; iv, 30; II Tim., iii, 16; James, ii, 8; I Pet., ii, 6; II Pet., i,
20; the plural form of the noun, ai graphai, is used in the same sense in Matt., xxi, 42; xxii,
29; xxvi, 54; Mark, xii, 24; xiv, 49; Luke, xxiv, 27, 45; John, v, 39; Acts, xvii, 2, 17; xviii,
24, 28; I Cor., xv, 3, 4. In a similar sense are employed the expressions graphai hagiai
(Romans 1:2), ai graphai ton propheton (Matthew 26:56), graphai prophetikai (Romans
16:26). The word has a somewhat modified sense in Christ’s question, “and have you not
read this scripture” (Mark 12:10). In the language of Christ and the Apostles the expression
“scripture” or “scriptures” denotes the sacred books of the Jews. The New Testament uses
the expressions in this sense about fifty times; but they occur more frequently in the Fourth
Gospel and the Epistles than in the synoptic Gospels. At times, the contents of Scripture
are indicated more accurately as comprising the Law and the Prophets (Romans 3:21; Acts
28:23), or the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms (Luke 24:44). The Apostle St.
Peter extends the designation Scripture also to tas loipas graphas (2 Peter 3:16), denoting
the Pauline Epistles; St. Paul (1 Timothy 5:18) seems to refer by the same expression to
both Deut., xxv, 4, and Luke, x, 7.

It is disputed whether the word graphe in the singular is ever used of the Old Testament as
a whole. Lightfoot (Galatians 3:22) expresses the opinion that the singular graphe in the
New Testament always means a particular passage of Scripture. But in Rom., iv, 3, he
modifies his view, appealing to Dr. Vaughan’s statement of the case. He believes that the

35
usage of St. John may admit a doubt, though he does not think so, personally; but St.
Paul’s practice is absolute and uniform. Mr. Hort says (1 Peter 2:6) that in St. John and St.
Paul he graphe is capable of being understood as approximating to the collective sense (cf.
Westcott. “Hebr.”, pp. 474 sqq.; Deissmann, “Bibelstudien”, pp. 108 sqq., Eng. tr., pp. 112
sqq., Warfield, “Pres. and Reform. Review”, X, July, 1899, pp. 472 sqq.). Here arises the
question whether the expression of St. Peter (II, Pet., iii, 16) tas loipas graphas refers to a
collection of St. Paul’s Epistles. Spitta contends that the term graphai is used in a general
non-technical meaning, denoting only writings of St. Paul’s associates (Spitta, “Der zweite
Brief des Petrus und der Brief des Judas”, 1885, p. 294). Zahn refers the term to writings of
a religious character which could claim respect in Christian circles either on account of
their authors or on account of their use in public worship (Einleitung, pp. 98 sqq., 108).
But Mr. F.H. Chase adheres to the principle that the phrase ai graphai used absolutely
points to a definite and recognized collection of writings, i.e., Scriptures. The
accompanying words, kai, tas loipas, and the verb streblousin in the context confirm Mr.
Chase in his conviction (cf. Dict. of the Bible, III, p. 810b).

II. NATURE OF SCRIPTURE

A. According to the Jews

Whether the terms graphe, graphai, and their synonymous expressions to biblion
(Nehemiah 8:8), ta biblia (Dan., ix, 2), kephalis bibliou (Psalm 39:8), he iera biblos (2
Maccabees 8:23), ta biblia ta hagia (1 Maccabees 12:9), ta iera grammata (2 Timothy
3:15) refer to particular writings or to a collection of books, they at least show the
existence of a number of written documents the authority of which was generally accepted
as supreme. The nature of this authority may be inferred from a number of other passages.
According to Deut., xxxi, 9-13, Moses wrote the Book of the Law (of the Lord), and
delivered it to the priests that they might keep it and read it to the people; see also Ex., xvii,
14; Deut., xvii, 18-19; xxvii, 1; xxviii, 1; 58-61; xxix, 20; xxx, 10; xxxi, 26; I Kings, x, 25;
III Kings, ii, 3; IV Kings, xxii, 8. It is clear from IV Kings, xxiii, 1-3, that towards the end
of the Jewish kingdom the Book of the Law of the Lord was held in the highest honour as
containing the precepts of the Lord Himself. That this was also the case after the Captivity,
may be inferred from II Esdr., viii, 1-9, 13,14, 18; the book here mentioned contained the
injunctions concerning the Feast of Tabernacles found in Lev., xxiii, 34 sq.; Deut., xvi, 13
sq., and is therefore identical with the pre-Exilic Sacred Books. According to I Mach., i,
57-59, Antiochus commanded the Books of the Law of the Lord to be burned and their
retainers to be slain. We learn from II Mach., ii, 13, that at the time of Nehemias there
existed a collection of books containing historical, prophetical, and psalmodic writings;
since the collection is represented as uniform, and since the portions were considered as
certainly of Divine authority, we may infer that this characteristic was ascribed to all, at
least in some degree. Coming down to the time of Christ, we find that Flavius Josephus
attributes to the twenty-two protocanonical books of the Old Testament Divine authority,
maintaining that they had been written under Divine inspiration and that they contain
God’s teachings (Contra Apion., I, vi-viii). The Hellenist Philo too is acquainted with the
three parts of the sacred Jewish books to which he ascribes an irrefragable authority,
because they contain God’s oracles expressed through the instrumentality of the sacred
writers (“De vit. Mosis”, pp. 469, 658 sq.; “De monarchia”, p. 564).

36
B. According to Christian Living This concept of Scripture is fully upheld by the
Christian teaching. Jesus Christ Himself appeals to the authority of Scripture, “Search the
scriptures” (John 5:39); He maintains that “one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law,
till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18); He regards it as a principle that “the Scripture cannot
be broken” (John 10:35); He presents the word of Scripture as the word of the eternal
Father (John 5:33-41), as the word of a writer inspired by the Holy Ghost (Matthew 22:43),
as the word of God (Matthew 19:4-5; 22:31); He declares that “all things must needs be
fulfilled which are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms,
concerning me (Luke 24:44). The Apostles knew that “prophecy came not by the will of
man at any time: but the holy men of God spoke, inspired by the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter
1:21); they regarded “all scripture, inspired of God“ as “profitable to teach, to reprove, to
correct, to instruct in justice” (2 Timothy 3:16). They considered the words of Scripture as
the words of God speaking in the inspired writer or by the mouth of the inspired writer
(Hebrews 4:7; Acts 1:15-16; 4:25). Finally, they appealed to Scripture as to an irresistible
authority (Rom., passim), they supposed that parts of Scripture have a typical sense such as
only God can employ (John 19:36; Hebrews 1:5; 7:3 sqq.), and they derived most
important conclusions even from a few words or certain grammatical forms of Scripture
(Galatians 3:16; Hebrews 12:26-27). It is not surprising, then, that the earliest Christian
writers speak in the same strain of the Scriptures. St. Clement of Rome (I Cor., xlv) tells
his readers to search the Scriptures for the truthful expressions of the Holy Ghost. St.
Irenaeus (Adv. haer., II, xxxviii, 2) considers the Scriptures as uttered by the Word of God
and His Spirit. Origen testifies that it is granted by both Jews and Christians that the Bible
was written under (the influence of) the Holy Ghost (Contra Cels., V, x); again, he
considers it as proven by Christ’s dwelling in the flesh that the Law and the Prophets were
written by a heavenly charisma, and that the writings believed to be the words of God are
not men’s work (De princ., iv, vi). St. Clement of Alexandria receives the voice of God
who has given the Scriptures, as a reliable proof (Strom., ii).

C. According to Ecclesiastical Documents

Not to multiply patristic testimony for the Divine authority of Scripture, we may add the
official doctrine of the Church on the nature of Sacred Scripture. The fifth ecumenical
council condemned Theodore of Mopsuestia for his opposition against the Divine authority
of the books of Solomon, the Book of Job, and the Canticle of Canticles. Since the fourth
century the teaching of the Church concerning the nature of the Bible is practically
summed up in the dogmatic formula that God is the author of Sacred Scripture. According
to the first chapter of the Council of Carthage (A.D. 398), bishops before being
consecrated must express their belief in this formula, and this profession of faith is exacted
of them even today. In the thirteenth century, Innocent III imposed this formula on the
Waldensians; Clement IV exacted its acceptance from Michael Palaeologus, and the
emperor actually accepted it in his letter to the Second Council of Lyons (1272). The same
formula was repeated in the fifteenth century by Eugenius IV in his Decree for the
Jacobites, in the sixteenth century by the Council of Trent (Sess. IV, decr. de can. Script.),
and in the nineteenth century by the Vatican Council. What is implied in this Divine
authorship of Sacred Scripture, and how it is to be explained, has been set forth in the
article INSPIRATION.

III. COLLECTION OF SACRED BOOKS

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What has been said implies that Scripture does not refer to any single book, but comprises
a number of books written at different times and by different writers working under the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Hence the question, how could such a collection be made,
and how was it made in point of fact?

A. Question of Right

The main difficulty as to the first question (quoestio juris) arises from the fact that a book
must be Divinely inspired in order to lay claim to the dignity of being regarded as
Scripture. Various methods have been suggested for ascertaining the fact of inspiration. It
has been claimed that so-called internal criteria are sufficient to lead us to the knowledge
of this fact. But on closer investigation they prove inadequate.
Miracles and prophecies require a Divine intervention in order that they may happen, not
in order that they may be recorded; hence a work relating miracles or prophecies is not
necessarily inspired.

The so-called ethico-aesthetic criterium is inadequate. It fails to establish that certain

portions of Scripture are inspired writings, e.g., the genealogical tables, and the summary
accounts of the kings of Juda, while it favours the inspiration of several post-Apostolic
works, e.g., of the “Imitation of Christ”, and of the “Epistles” of St. Ignatius Martyr.

The same must be said of the psychological criterium, or the effect which the perusal of
Scripture produces in the heart of the reader. Such emotions are subjective, and vary in
different readers. The Epistle of St. James appeared strawlike to Luther, divine to Calvin.

These internal criteria are inadequate even if they be taken collectively. Wrong keys are
unable to open a lock whether they be used singly or collectively.

Other students of this subject have endeavored to establish Apostolic authorship as a

criterium of inspiration. But this answer does not give us a criterium for the inspiration of
the Old Testament books, nor does it touch the inspiration of the Gospels of St. Mark and
St. Luke, neither of whom was an Apostle. Besides, the Apostles were endowed with the
gift of infallibility in their teaching, and in their writing as far as it formed part of their
teaching; but infallibility in writing does not imply inspiration. Certain writings of the
Roman pontiff may be infallible, but they are not inspired; God is not their author. Nor can
the criterium of inspiration be placed in the testimony of history. For inspiration is a
supernatural fact, known only to God and probably to the inspired writer. Hence human
testimony concerning inspiration is based, at best, on the testimony of one person who is,
naturally speaking, an interested party in the matter concerning which he testifies. The
history of the false prophets of former times as well as of our own day teaches us the
futility of such testimony. It is true that miracles and prophecy may, at times, confirm such
human testimony as to the inspiration of a work. But, in the first place, not all inspired
writers have been prophets or workers of miracles; in the second place, in order that
prophecies or miracles may serve as proof of inspiration, it must be clear that the miracles
were performed, and the prophecies were uttered, to establish the fact in question; in the
third place, if this condition be verified, the testimony for inspiration is no longer merely
human, but it has become Divine. No one will doubt the sufficiency of Divine testimony to
establish the fact of inspiration; on the other hand, no one can deny the need of such

38
testimony in order that we may distinguish with certainty between an inspired and a non-
inspired book.

B. Question of Fact

It is a rather difficult problem to state with certainty, how and when the several books of
the Old and the New Testament were received as sacred by the religious community.
Deut., xxxi, 9, 24 sqq., informs us that Moses delivered the Book of the Law to the Levites
and the ancients of Israel to be deposited “in the side of the ark of the covenant”; according
to Deut., xvii, 18, the king had to procure for himself a copy of at least a part of the book,
so as to “read it all the days of his life”. Josue (xxiv, 26) added his portion to the law-book
of Israel, and this may be regarded as the second step in the collection of the Old
Testament writings. According to Is., xxxiv, 16, and Jer., xxxvi, 4, the prophets Isaias and
Jeremias collected their respective prophetic utterances. The words of II Par., xxix, 30, lead
us to suppose that in the days of King Ezechias there either existed or originated a
collection of the Psalms of David and of Asaph. From Prov., xxv, 1, one may infer that
about the same time there was made a collection of the Solomonic writings, which may
have been added to the collection of psalms. In the second century B.C. the Minor Prophets
had been collected into one work (Ecclus., xlix, 12) which is cited in Acts, vii, 42, as “the
books of the prophets”. The expressions found in Dan., ix, 2, and I Mach., xii, 9, suggest
that even these smaller collections had been gathered into a larger body of sacred books.
Such a larger collection is certainly implied in the words II Mach., ii, 13, and the prologue
of Ecclesiasticus. Since these two passages mention the main divisions of the Old-
Testament canon, this latter must have been completed, at least with regard to the earlier
books, during the course of the second century B.C.

It is generally granted that the Jews in the time of Jesus Christ acknowledged as canonical
or included in their collection of sacred writings all the so-called protocanonical books of
the Old Testament. Christ and the Apostles endorsed this faith of the Jews, so that we have
Divine authority for their Scriptural character. As there are solid reasons for maintaining
that some of the New-Testament writers made use of the Septuagint version which
contained the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament, these latter too are in so far
attested as part of Sacred Scripture. Again, II Pet., iii, 15-16, ranks all the Epistles of St.
Paul with the “other scriptures”, and I Tim., v, 18, seems to quote Luke, x, 7, and to place
it on a level with Deut., xxv, 4. But these arguments for the canonicity of the
deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament, of the Pauline Epistles, and of the Gospel of
St. Luke do not exclude all reasonable doubt. Only the Church, the infallible bearer of
tradition, can furnish us invincible certainty as to the number of the Divinely inspired
books of both the Old and the New Testament. See CANON OF THE HOLY
SCRIPTURES.

IV. DIVISION OF SCRIPTURE

A. Old and New Testaments

As the two dispensations of grace separated from each other by the advent of Jesus are
called the Old and the New Testament (Matthew 26:28; 2 Corinthians 3:14), so were the
inspired writings belonging to either economy of grace from the earliest times called books
of the Old or of the New Testament, or simply the Old or the New Testament. This name
39
of the two great divisions of the inspired writings has been practically common among
Latin Christians from the time of Tertullian, though Tertullian himself frequently employs
the name “Instrumentum” or legally authentic document; Cassiodorus uses the title
“Sacred Pandects”, or sacred digest of law.

B. Protocanonical and Deuterocanonical

The word “canon” denoted at first the material rule, or instrument, employed in various
trades; in a metaphorical sense it signified the form of perfection that had to be attained in
the various arts or trades. In this metaphorical sense some of the early Fathers urged the
canon of truth, the canon of tradition, the canon of faith, the canon of the Church against
the erroneous tenets of the early heretics (St. Clem., “I Cor.”, vii; Clem. of Alex., “Strom.”,
xvi; Orig., “De princip.”, IV, ix; etc.). St. Irenaeus employed another metaphor, calling the
Fourth Gospel the canon of truth (Adv. haer., III, xi); St. Isidore of Pelusium applies the
name to all the inspired writings (Epist., iv, 14). About the time of St. Augustine (Contra
Crescent., II, xxxix) and St. Jerome (Prolog. gal.), the word “canon” began to denote the
collection of Sacred Scriptures; among later writers it is used practically in the sense of
catalogue of inspired books. In the sixteenth century, Sixtus Senensis, O.P., distinguished
between protocanonical and deuterocanonical books. This distinction does not indicate a
difference of authority, but only a difference of time at which the books were recognized
by the whole Church as Divinely inspired. Deuterocanonical, therefore, are those books
concerning the inspiration of which some Churches doubted more or less seriously for a
time, but which were accepted by the whole Church as really inspired, after the question
had been thoroughly investigated. As to the Old Testament, the Books of Tobias, Judith,
Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Baruch, I, II, Machabees, and alos Esther, x, 4- xvi, 24, Daniel, iii,
24-90, xiii, 1-xiv, 42, are in this sense deuterocanonical; the same must be said of the
following New- Testament books and portions: Hebrews, James, II Peter, II, III John, Jude,
Apocalypse, Mark, xiii, 9-20, Luke, xxii, 43-44, John, vii, 53-viii, 11. Protestant writers
often call the deuterocanonical Books of the Old Testament the Apocrypha.

C. Tripartite Division of Testaments

The prologue of Ecclesiasticus shows that the Old-Testament books were divided into
three parts, the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings (the Hagiographa). The same division
is mentioned in Luke, xxiv, 44, and has been kept by the later Jews. The Law or the Torah
comprises only the Pentateuch. The second part contains two sections: the former Prophets
(Josue, Judges, Samuel, and Kings), and the latter Prophets (Isaias, Jeremias, Ezechiel, and
the Minor Prophets, called the Twelve, and counted as one book). The third division
embraces three kinds of books: first poetical books (Psalms, Proverbs, Job); secondly, the
five Megilloth or Rolls (Canticle of Canticles, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther);
thirdly, the three remaining books (Daniel, Esdras, Paralipomenon). Hence, adding the five
books of the first division to the eight of the second, and the eleven of the third, the entire
Canon of the Jewish Scriptures embraces twenty-four books. Another arrangement
connects Ruth with the Book of Judges, and Lamentations with Jeremias, and thus reduces
the number of the books in the Canon to twenty-two. The division of the New-Testament
books into the Gospel and the Apostle (Evangelium et Apostolus, Evangelia et Apostoli,
Evangelica et Apostolica) began in the writings of the Apostolic Fathers (St. Ignatius, “Ad
Philad.”, v; “Epist. ad Diogn., xi) and was commonly adopted about the end of the second
century (St. Iren., “Adv. haer.”, I, iii; Tert., “De praescr.”, xxxiv; St. Clem. of Alex.,
40
“Strom.”, VII, iii; etc.); but the more recent Fathers did not adhere to it. It has been found
more convenient to divide both the Old Testament and the New into four, or still better into
three parts. The four parts distinguish between legal, historical, didactic or doctrinal, and
prophetic books, while the tripartite division adds the legal books (the Pentateuch and the
Gospels) to the historical, and retains the other two classes, i.e., the didactic and the
prophetic books.

D. Arrangement of Books

The catalogue of the Council of Trent arranges the inspired books partly in a topological,
partly in a chronological order. In the Old Testament, we have first all the historical books,
excepting the two books of the Machabees which were supposed to have been written last
of all. These historical books are arranged according to the order of time of which they
treat; the books of Tobias, Judith, and Esther, however, occupy the last place because they
relate personal history. The body of didactic works occupies the second place in the Canon,
being arranged in the order of time at which the writers are supposed to have lived. The
third place is assigned to the Prophets, first the four Major and then the twelve Minor
Prophets, according to their respective chronological order. The Council follows a similar
method in the arrangement of the New Testament books. The first place is given to the
historical books, i.e., the Gospels and the Book of Acts; the Gospels follow the order of
their reputed composition. The second place is occupied by the didactic books, the Pauline
Epistles preceding the Catholic. The former are enumerated according to the order of
dignity of the addresses and according to the importance of the matter treated. Hence
results the series: Romans; I, II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians;
I, II, Thessalonians; I, II Timothy; Titus; Philemon; the Epistle to the Hebrews occupies
the last place on account of its late reception into the canon. In its disposition of the
Catholic Epistles the Council follows the so- called western order: I, II Peter; I, II, III John;
James; Jude; our Vulgate edition follows the oriental order (James; I, II, III, John; Jude)
which seems to be based on Gal., ii, 9. The Apocalypse occupies in the New Testament the
place corresponding to that of the Prophets in the Old Testament.

E. Liturgical Division

The needs of liturgy occasioned a division of the inspired books into smaller parts. At the
time of the Apostles it was a received custom to read in the synagogue service of the
sabbath-day a portion of the Pentateuch (Acts 15:21) and a part of the Prophets (Luke 4:16;
Acts 13:15, 27). Hence the Pentateuch has been divided into fifty-four “parashas”
according to the number of sabbaths in the intercalary lunar year. To each parasha
corresponds a division of the prophetic writings, called haphtara. The Talmud speaks of
more minute divisions, pesukim, which almost resemble our verses. The Church transferred
to the Christian Sunday the Jewish custom of reading part of the Scriptures in the
assemblies of the faithful, but soon added to, or replaced, the Jewish lessons by parts of the
New Testament (St. Just., “I Apol.”, lxvii; Tert., “De praescr.”, xxxvi, etc.). Since the
particular churches differed in the selection of the Sunday readings, this custom did not
occasion any generally received division in the books of the New Testament. Besides, from
the end of the fifth century, these Sunday lessons were no longer taken in order, but the
sections were chosen as they fitted in with the ecclesiastical feasts and seasons.

F. Divisions to facilitate reference

41
For the convenience of readers and students the text had to be divided more uniformly than
we have hitherto seen. Such divisions are traced back to Tatian, in the second century.
Ammonius, in the third, divided the Gospel text into 1162 kephalaia in order to facilitate a
Gospel harmony. Eusebius, Euthalius, and others carried on this work of division in the
following centuries, so that in the fifth or sixth the Gospels were divided into 318 parts
(tituli), the Epistles into 254 (capitula), and the Apocalypse into 96 (24 sermones, 72
capitula). Cassiodorus relates that the Old Testament text was divided into various parts
(De inst. div. lit., I, ii). But all these various partitions were too imperfect and too uneven
for practical use, especially when in the thirteenth century concordances (see
CONCORDANCES) began to be constructed. About this time, Card. Stephen Langton,
Archbishop of Canterbury, who died 1228, divided all the books of Scripture uniformly
into chapters, a division which found its way almost immediately into the codices of the
Vulgate version and even into some codices of the original texts, and passed into all the
printed editions after the invention of printing. As the chapters were too long for ready
reference, Cardinal Hugh of St. Cher divided them into smaller sections which he indicated
by the capital letters A, B, etc. Robert Stephens, probably imitating R. Nathan (1437)
divided the chapters into verses, and published his complete division into chapters and
verses first in the Vulgate text (1548), and later on also in the Greek original of the New
Testament (1551).

V. SCRIPTURE

Since Scripture is the written word of God, its contents are Divinely guaranteed truths,
revealed either in the strict or the wider sense of the word. Again, since the inspiration of a
writing cannot be known without Divine testimony, God must have revealed which are the
books that constitute Sacred Scripture. Moreover, theologians teach that Christian
Revelation was complete in the Apostles, and that its deposit was entrusted to the Apostles
to guard and to promulgate. Hence the apostolic deposit of Revelation contained no merely
Sacred Scripture in the abstract, but also the knowledge as to its constituent books.
Scripture, then, is an Apostolic deposit entrusted to the Church, and to the Church belongs
its lawful administration. This position of Sacred Scripture in the Church implies the
following consequences:

(1) The Apostles promulgated both the Old and New Testament as a document received
from God. It is antecedently probable that God should not cast his written Word upon men
as a mere windfall, coming from no known authority, but that he should entrust its
publication to the care of those whom he was sending to preach the Gospel to all nations,
and with whom he had promised to be for all days, even to the consummation of the world.
In conformity woth this principle, St. Jerome (De script. eccl.) says of the Gospel of St.
Mark: “When Peter had heard it, he both approved of it and ordered it to be read in the
churches”. The Fathers testify to the promulgation of Scripture by the Apostles where they
treat of the transmission of the inspired writings.

(2) The transmission of the inspired writings consists in the delivery of Scripture by the
Apostles to their successors with the right, the duty, and the power to continue its
promulgation, to preserve its integrity and identity, to explain its meaning, to use it in
proving and illustrating Catholic teaching, to oppose and condemn any attack upon its
doctrine, or any abuse of its meaning. We may infer all this from the character of the
42
inspired writings and the nature of the Apostolate; but it is also attested by some of the
weightiest writers of the early Church. St. Irenaeus insists upon these points against the
Gnostics, who appealed to Scripture as to private historical documents. He excludes this
Gnostic view, first by insisting on the mission of the Apostles and upon the succession in
the Apostolate, especially as seen in the Church of Rome (Haer., III, 3-4); secondly, by
showing that the preaching of the Apostles continued by their successors contains a
supernatural guarantee of infallibility through the indwelling of the Holy Ghost (Haer., III,
24); thirdly, by combining the Apostolic succession and the supernatural guarantee of the
Holy Ghost (Haer., IV, 26). It seems plain that, if Scripture cannot be regarded as a private
historical document on account of the official mission of the Apostles, on account of the
official succession in the Apostolate of their successors, on account of the assistance of the
Holy Ghost promised to the Apostles and their successors, the promulgation of Scripture,
the preservation of its integrity and identity, and the explanation of its meaning must
belong to the Apostles and their legitimate successors. The same principles are advocated
by the great Alexandrian doctor, Origen (De princ., Praef.). “That alone”, he says, “is to be
believed to be the truth which in nothing differs from the ecclesiastical and and Apostolical
tradition”. In another passage (in Matth. tr. XXIX, n. 46-47), he rejects the contention
urged by the heretics “as often as they bring forward canonical Scriptures in which every
Christian agrees and believes”, that “in the houses is the word of truth”; “for from it (the
Church) alone the sound hath gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of
the world”. That the African Church agrees with the Alexandrian, is clear from the words
of Tertullian (De praescript., nn, 15, 19). He protests against the admission of heretics “to
any discussion whatever touching the Scriptures”. “This question should be first proposed,
which is now the only one to be discussed, `To whom belongs the faith itself: whose are
the Scriptures’?. . .For the true Scriptures and the true expositions and all the true Christian
traditions will be wherever both the true Christian rule and faith shall be shown to be”. St.
Augustine endorses the same position when he says: “I should not believe the Gospel
except on the authority of the Catholic Church” (Con. epist. Manichaei, fundam., n. 6).

(3) By virtue of its official and permanent promulgation, Scripture is a public document,
the Divine authority of which is evident to all the members of the Church.

(4) The Church necessarily possesses a text of Scripture, which is internally authentic, or
substantially identical with the original. Any form or version of the text, the internal
authenticity of which the Church has approved either by its universal and constant use, or
by a formal declaration, enjoys the character of external or public authenticity, i.e., its
conformity with the original must not merely be presumed juridically, but must be
admitted as certain on account of the infallibility of the Church.

(5) The authentic text, legitimately promulgated, is a source and rule of faith, though it
remains only a means or instrument in the hands of the teaching body of the Church, which
alone has the right of authoritatively interpreting Scripture.

(6) The administration and custody of Scripture is not entrusted directly to the whole
Church, but to its teaching body, though Scripture itself is the common property of the
members of the whole Church. While the private handling of Scripture is opposed to the
fact that it is common property, its administrators are bound to communicate its contents to
all the members of the Church.

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(7) Though Scripture is the property of the Church alone, those outside her pale may use it
as a means of discovering or entering the Church. But Tertullian shows that they have no
right to apply Scripture to their own purposes or to turn it against the Church. He also
teaches Catholics how to contest the right of heretics to appeal to Scripture at all (by a kind
of demurrer), before arguing with them on single points of Scriptural doctrine.

(8) The rights of the teaching body of the Church include also that of issuing and enforcing
decrees for promoting the right use, or preventing the abuse of Scripture. Not to mention
the definition of the Canon (see CANON), the Council of Trent issued two decrees
concerning the Vulgate (see VULGATE), and a decree concerning the interpretation of
Scripture (see EXEGESIS, HERMENEUTICS), and this last enactment was repeated in a
more stringent form by the Vatican Council (sess. III, Conc. Trid., sess. IV). The various
decisions of the Biblical Commission derive their binding force from this same right of the
teaching body of the Church. (Cf. Stapleton, Princ. Fid. Demonstr., X-XI; Wilhelm and
Scannell, “Manual of Catholic Theology”, London, 1890, I, 61 sqq.; Scheeben, “Handbuch
der katholischen Dogmatik”, Freiburg, 1873, I, 126 sqq.).

VI. ATTITUDE OF THE CHURCH TOWARDS THE READING OF THE BIBLE

IN THE VERNACULAR

The attitude of the Church as to the reading of the Bible in the vernacular may be inferred
from the Church’s practice and legislation. It has been the practice of the Church to
provide newly-converted nations, as soon as possible, with vernacular versions of the
Scriptures; hence the early Latin and oriental translations, the versions existing among the
Armenians, the Slavonians, the Goths, the Italians, the French, and the partial renderings
into English. As to the legislation of the Church on this subject, we may divide its history
into three large periods:

(1) During the course of the first millennium of her existence, the Church did not
promulgate any law concerning the reading of Scripture in the vernacular. The faithful
were rather encouraged to read the Sacred Books according to their spiritual needs (cf. St.
Irenaeus, “Adv. haer.”, III, iv).

(2) The next five hundred years show only local regulations concerning the use of the
Bible in the vernacular. On 2 January, 1080, Gregory VII wrote to the Duke of Bohemia
that he could not allow the publication of the Scriptures in the language of the country. The
letter was written chiefly to refuse the petition of the Bohemians for permission to conduct
Divine service in the Slavic language. The pontiff feared that the reading of the Bible in
the vernacular would lead to irreverence and wrong interpretation of the inspired text (St.
Gregory VII, “Epist.”, vii, xi). The second document belongs to the time of the Waldensian
and Albigensian heresies. The Bishop of Metz had written to Innocent III that there existed
in his diocese a perfect frenzy for the Bible in the vernacular. In 1199 the pope replied that
in general the desire to read the Scriptures was praiseworthy, but that the practice was
dangerous for the simple and unlearned (“Epist., II, cxli; Hurter, “Gesch. des. Papstes
Innocent III”, Hamburg, 1842, IV, 501 sqq.). After the death of Innocent III, the Synod of
Toulouse directed in 1229 its fourteenth canon against the misuse of Sacred Scripture on
the part of the Cathari: “prohibemus, ne libros Veteris et Novi Testamenti laicis permittatur
habere” (Hefele, “Concilgesch”, Freiburg, 1863, V, 875). In 1233 the Synod of Tarragona
issued a similar prohibition in its second canon, but both these laws are intended only for
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the countries subject to the jurisdiction of the respective synods (Hefele, ibid., 918). The
Third Synod of Oxford, in 1408, owing to the disorders of the Lollards, who in addition to
their crimes of violence and anarchy had introduced virulent interpolations into the
vernacular sacred text, issued a law in virtue of which only the versions approved by the
local ordinary or the provincial council were allowed to be read by the laity (Hefele, op.
cit., VI, 817).

(3) It is only in the beginning of the last five hundred years that we meet with a general law
of the Church concerning the reading of the Bible in the vernacular. On 24 March, 1564,
Pius IV promulgated in his Constitution, “Dominici gregis”, the Index of Prohibited
Books. According to the third rule, the Old Testament may be read in the vernacular by
pious and learned men, according to the judgment of the bishop, as a help to the better
understanding of the Vulgate. The fourth rule places in the hands of the bishop or the
inquisitor the power of allowing the reading of the New Testament in the vernacular to
laymen who according to the judgment of their confessor or their pastor can profit by this
practice. Sixtus V reserved this power to himself or the Sacred Congregation of the Index,
and Clement VIII added this restriction to the fourth rule of the Index, by way of appendix.
Benedict XIV required that the vernacular version read by laymen should be either
approved by the Holy See or provided with notes taken from the writings of the Fathers or
of learned and pious authors. It then became an open question whether this order of
Benedict XIV was intended to supersede the former legislation or to further restrict it. This
doubt was not removed by the next three documents: the condemnation of certain errors of
the Jansenist Quesnel as to the necessity of reading the Bible, by the Bull “Unigenitus”
issued by Clement XI on 8 Sept., 1713 (cf. Denzinger, “Enchir.”, nn. 1294-1300); the
condemnation of the same teaching maintained in the Synod of Pistoia, by the Bull
“Auctorem fidei” issued on 28 Aug., 1794, by Pius VI; the warning against allowing the
laity indiscriminately to read the Scriptures in the vernacular, addressed to the Bishop of
Mohileff by Pius VII, on 3 Sept., 1816. But the Decree issued by the Sacred Congregation
of the Index on 7 Jan., 1836, seems to render it clear that henceforth the laity may read
vernacular versions of the Scriptures, if they be either approved by the Holy See, or
provided with notes taken from the writings of the Fathers or of learned Catholic authors.
The same regulation was repeated by Gregory XVI in his Encyclical of 8 May, 1844. In
general, the Church has always allowed the reading of the Bible in the vernacular, if it was
desirable for the spiritual needs of her children; she has forbidden it only when it was
almost certain to cause serious spiritual harm.

VII. OTHER SCRIPTURAL QUESTIONS

The history of the preservation and the propagation of the Scripture-text is told in the
articles MANUSCRIPTS OF THE BIBLE; CODEX ALEXANDRINUS (etc.);
VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE; EDITIONS OF THE BIBLE; CRITICISM (TEXTUAL);
the interpretation of Scripture is dealt with in the articles HERMENEUTICS; EXEGESIS;
COMMENTARIES ON THE BIBLE; and CRITICISM (BIBLICAL). Additional
information on the foregoing questions is contained in the articles INTRODUCTION;
TESTAMENT, THE OLD; TESTAMENT, THE NEW. The history of our English
Version is treated in the article VERSIONS OF THE BIBLE.

Publication information

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Written by A.J. Maas. Transcribed by Robert B. Olson. Offered to Almighty God for
Timothy and Kris Gray, and for a holy love and understanding of Sacred Scripture for all
members of Our Blessed Lord’s Church.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume XIII. Published 1912. New York: Robert Appleton
Company. Nihil Obstat, February 1, 1912. Remy Lafort, D.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John
Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York

Bibliography

A list of Catholic literature on Scriptural subjects has been published in the American
Ecclesiastical Review, xxxi (August, 1904), 194-201; this list is fairly complete up to the
date of its publication. See also the works cited throughout the course of this article. Most
of the questions connected with Scripture are treated in special articles throughout the
course of the ENCYCLOPEDIA, for instance, in addition to those mentioned above,
JEROME; CANON OF THE HOLY SCRIPTURES; CONCORDANCES OF THE
BIBLE; INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE; TESTAMENT, etc. Each of these articles has an
abundant literary guide to its own special aspect of the Scriptures.

(c) 2013-2024 Bart A. Mazzetti. All rights reserved.

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