15. The second firmness comes from the outstanding reputation of the witnesses. This consists in three things: the high reputation of their merits, miracles and martyrdom. The high reputation of merits belonged to the patriarchs. Hence in Ecclesiasticus: Let us now praise men of renown. The patriarchs did not perform miracles, but they were famous for their merits. They were the beginning of Scriptures which are concerned with the apparitions that occurred to them. 15. Secunda firmitas est ex testificantium fama praeclara. Haec in tribus consistit: in praeclaritate meritorum, miraculorum et martyriorum. -- Praeclaritas meritorum fuit in Patriarchis. Unde in Ecclesiastico: Laudemus viros gloriosos . Patriarchae miracula non fecerunt, sed famosi fuerunt in meritis. Hi fuerunt initium Scripturae, quae agit de apparitionibus illis factis.
16. The high reputation of both merits and miracles belonged to the Lawmaker. Consider the great miracles in the plagues of Egypt, the passing of the Red Sea, the desert where for forty years shoes and clothes did not wear out; consider Josue who made the sun stop, who divided the waters as they entered the holy land, and the waters were turned back to their source. Add to them Elias and Eliseus: Elias who closed the heavens, gave rain, multiplied food, and went up into heaven in a fiery chariot. Consider Eliseus who, when alive, brought a man back to life, and did the same when he was dead, and who captured men. And so there were miracles before the Law and after the Law and in the giving of the Law, and only in this one people. It follows that these men, so full of love and dear to God, were established in truth. This, then, is the certainty of faith. 16. Praeclaritas meritorum et miraculorum fuit in Legislatore. Vide magna miracula facta in flagellatione Aegypti , in transitu maris rubri , in deserto, ubi per quadraginta annos non sunt attrita calceamenta nec vestimenta , ubi etiam manna de caelo pluit illis . Vide Iosue, qui solem fecit stare , qui aquas divisit in ingressu terrae promissionis, et aquae reversae sunt in suam originem . Adiunge his Eliam et Elisaeum; qui Elias caelum claudebat, pluviam dabat et cibum augmentabat , qui in curru igneo ascendit in caelum . Vide Elisaeum, qui vivens mortuum suscitavit , mortuus etiam mortuum suscitavit , qui homines capiebat . Ante Legem ergo et post Legem et in datione Legis facta sunt miracula, et non nisi in hoc populo. Ex quo sequitur, quod isti viri amantissimi et cari Deo fuerunt in veritate fundati. Haec est ergo certitudo fidei.
17. The third high reputation concerns merits, miracles and martyrdom. And this certainty of truth appears when a man wills to die for the truth he preaches, such as Isaiah who was cut up, Ezechiel who was killed, Jeremiah and also the other prophets. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? If heretics claim they too died for the truth and gained merits, yet they do not have the third requirement, miracles. For it was never heard that a heretic performed a miracle either before, after, or at the time of his death. 17. Tertia praeclaritas est meritorum, miraculorum et martyriorum. Et haec certitudo veritatis apparet, quando homo vult mori pro veritate, quam praedicat, ut Isaias serratus est, Ezechiel interfectus, Ieremias et alii etiam Prophetae. Unde dicitur Iudaeis: Quem Prophetarum non sunt persecuti patres vestri ? . -- Si dicant haeretici, quod ipsi moriuntur pro veritate et habent merita; tertium tamen non habent, scilicet miracula; nunquam auditum est, quod haereticus vel ante vel post mortem vel in morte fecerit miracula.
18. Concerning these heavens, we read: When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, that is, the heavenly men in whom we see this threefold light, the work of God's fingers. The magicians of Pharaoh lacked this third finger, that is, the miracles. 18. De istis caelis legitur: Quoniam videbo caelos tuos, opera digitorum tuorum , scilicet viros caelestes, in quibus videmus hanc triplicem claritatem, quae sunt opera digitorum Dei. -- In isto digito tertio, scilicet miraculi, deficiunt magi Pharaonis .
3. Full Accord of the Witnesses
19. The third firmness of faith consists in the full accord of the witnesses, and is found in three things: in the words of Scriptures, in the decrees of the councils, and in the writings of the saints. As examples of the first, there is the Psalm: From the midst of the rocks they shall give forth their voices. That is, from the midst of the two cherubim of which the Lord speaks, meaning from the space between them, that is, from the midst of the Two Testaments. Isaiah says: The virgin shall be with child; and Luke: Thou shalt conceive. One says: Christ shall be slain; and the Evangelist: Put Him (Jesus) to death. Whatever, then, had been foretold by the prophets was fulfilled through Christ. Isaiah had said: The Lord is riding on a swift cloud on His way to Egypt; the idols of Egypt tremble before Him. This came about in Christ. Never was any prophet or philosopher found who could do away with idolatry: yet that is what Christ did through His apostles all over the earth. 19. Tertia firmitas fidei est ex testificantium concordia plena, quae est in tribus: in eloquiis Scripturarum, in decretis Conciliorum, in documentis Sanctorum. -- De primo Psalmus: De medio petrarum dabunt voces y hoc est de medio duorum Cherubim , de quibus loquebatur Dominus, sive de quorum medio, scilicet de medio duorum testamentorum. Isaias dicit: Ecce, Virgo concipiet , et Lucas dicit: Ecce, concipies . Alius dixit: Occidetur Christus ; et Evangelista: Christus occiditur . Quidquid ergo dictum est per Prophetas, impletum est per Christum. Isaias dixerat: Ascendet Dominus super nubem levem et ingredietur Aegyptum, et movebuntur simulacra ; hoc factum est per Christum; nec unquam inventus est aliquis Propheta, vel philosophus, qui idolatriam potuerit removere; quod tamen Christus fecit per Apostolos ubique terrarum.
20. These are the true witnesses of Scriptures: the prophets and the apostles. Nor can it be said that the apostles bribed the prophets so that their prophecies would accord with what eventually came about in Christ. If they had lived at the same time, there could have been some suspicion: but the prophets came before the apostles. And so this truth is infallible. If, then, the contingent is firmly foretold and known with certainty, it is impossible to see it in any other way than as certainly true. To conclude: The Old and the New Testament agree, standing as they do in major conformity and harmony; and they are like the twenty-four elders around the throne of Christ, so that there be no doubt. 20. Hi veri testes sunt Scripturae, Prophetae et Apostoli. Nec potest dici, quod Apostoli subornaverunt Prophetas, ut sic dicerent, sicut evenit in Christo. Si enim eodem tempore fuissent, posset haberi suspicio; sed illi praecesserunt. Veritas ergo ista est infallibilis. Si enim contingens dicatur firmiter esse futurum et cognoscatur certitudinaliter; impossibile est, quod videatur alicubi nisi in veritate certa. -- Vetus ergo testamentum et novum in magna consonantia et harmonia conve- niunt et sunt sicut viginti quatuor seniores circa thronum Christi, ut nulla sit dubitatio.
21. The second firmness (agreement) is found in the decrees of the councils, for those matters that had been in doubt were confirmed there. Arius taught that the Father was greater than the Son in the order of essence; and through this, an attempt was made to prove that the Son was not equal to the Father. And in the First Council in which some very holy men participated—St. Nicholas was one of them —in which, I say, there were three hundred and eighteen bishops, the catholic faith was confirmed, that is, the universal faith; and this was done under the authority of Peter and of the other Fathers. Now four of these councils were the most important — there were seven in all—because they gave witness to this faith. 21. Secunda firmitas est in decretis Conciliorum, quia illa quae in dubium veniebant, ibi confirmata sunt. Arius dicebat, quod Pater esset Filio maior secundum essentiam; et per hoc nitebatur ostendere, non esse Filium aequalem Patri. Et in primo Concilio, ubi fuerunt viri sanctissimi -- beatus Nicolaus fuit ibi -- ubi, dico, fuerunt trecenti decem et octo episcopi, ibi fides confirmata est catholica, scilicet universalis; et hoc factum est auctoritate Petri et aliorum Patrum. Unde quatuor Concilia principalia fuerunt -- quia septem fuerunt -- quae dant testimonia huic fidei.
22. The third firmness (agreement) is found in the writings of the doctors and of those who were wise with the knowledge of things worldly or divine: Dionysius [the Pseudo-Areopagite], Gregory Nazianzen, Gregory of Nyssa, [John] the Damascene, Basil, Athanasius, [John] Chrysostom. Among the Latins, Hilarion, Gregory, Augustine, Ambrose, Jerome. The writings of all these are in accord: they say the same thing, they have the same flavor. It is of these that Job says: Who can declare the order of the heavens? Or who can make the harmony of heaven to sleep? Such is the accord between Scriptures, the councils and the doctors. 22. Tertia firmitas est in documentis Doctorum et sapientum in mundana sapientia et divina, ut Dionysii, Gregorii Nazianzeni, Gregorii Nysseni, Damasceni, Basilii, Athanasii, Chrysostomi. Latinorum similiter: Hilarii, Gregorii, Augustini, Ambrosii, Hieronymi. Documenta istorum concordant et idem dicunt, idem sapiunt. -- De his dicit Iob: Quis enarrabit caelorum rationem, et concentum caeli quis dormire faciet? . Haec est concordia Scripturarum, Conciliorum et Doctorum.
4. Solid Opinion of the Witnesses
23. The fourth reason for the firmness of faith consists in the solid opinion of the witnesses. This solidity results from the fact that reason agrees, for reason cannot contain contradiction. So the judgment rests on a demonstration of reason: that thoughts about God must be supreme and of the highest order. Now this is threefold: thoughts about God must be the highest in the order of piety, the highest in the order of truth, and the highest in the order of goodness. 23. Quarta ratio firmitatis fidei est ex testificantium sententia firma; quae firmitas habetur ex hoc, quod consentit rationi, quia ratio non potest contradicere. Iudicium enim rationis illustratae est, quod de Deo summe est sentiendum et altissime. Hoc autem est tripliciter: de Deo sentiendum est altissime et piissime, altissime et verissime, altissime et optime.
24. Indeed, reason demands that thoughts about the highest God be the highest and the most pious, for God's essence exists in the most noble mode. The universal form is more noble than the particular, for the latter exists in many; yet the particular is superior to the universal in one sense, for the particular is not multiplied within any one being, while the universal is multiplied in many. Wherefore the divine essence had to contain whatever nobility exists in the creature, so that it be one in many and yet not multiplied. Thoughts of God must be most pious also because the divine essence is the origin of all things, creates all things, and because all things proceed directly from it. Unless you admit that the totality of beings proceeds from God, you are not thinking of God most piously. Plato commended his soul to its Maker, but Peter commended his to its Creator. 24. Ratio ergo dictat, quod de Deo altissimo est sentiendum altissime et piissime, quod illa essentia est nobilissimo modo. Forma universalis nobilior est particulari, quia est in multis; particularis autem uno modo nobilior universali, quia particularis est in uno non numerata, sed universalis in multis est numerata: ergo essentia divina habere debet, quod nobilitatis est in creatura, ut sit una in multis non numerata. -- Sentiendum est etiam piissime, quod illa essentia est origo omnium, creans omnes res, et quod immediate ab ipsa omnes res procedunt. Nisi tu sentias, quod totalitas rerum ab ipsa procedit; non sentis de Deo piissime. Plato commendavit animam suam factori; sed Petrus commendavit animam suam Creatori.
25. Second, thoughts about God must be the highest in the order of truth, for He Himself is the Truth ruling all things, illuminating all things, straightening all things, disposing all things. Wherefore, in the Psalm: The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The power of government should not in any way be attributed to the constellations of heaven. 25. Secundo sentiendum est etiam de Deo altissime et verissime, quia ipse est veritas omnia gubernans, omnia illustrans, omnia rectificans, omnia disponens; unde in Psalmo: Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea, quem timebo? . Non ergo gubernatio est attribuenda astris.
26. Third, thoughts about God must be the highest in the order or goodness, because He is the Best, and out of this [Goodness] He supremely pours Himself and loves. Wherefore He has not spared even His own Son, and by giving Him to us, He gave us all that He knew, all that He could give. The Son said: All things that the Father has are mine. The Father gave us a Son born of us, He gave us One who suffered for us and rose again for our sake, by reason of His very great love wherewith He has loved us, etc. Hence, it is well said: because of the loving-kindness of our God. God's inner goodness is the very reason why He loved to the highest possible degree and was filled with the deepest possible mercy. All this was seen in the resurrection, for by means of that same supreme kindness by which He had created all things, He now restored all things; by His supreme truth, He judged all things; by His supreme goodness, He glorified all things. 26. Tertio sentiendum est de Deo altissime et optime, quod sit optimus, ex quo se summe diffundit et diligit. Unde proprio Filio suo non pepercit y et donando illum nobis dedit quidquid scivit, quidquid potuit. Omnia , inquit Filius, quaecumque habet Pater, mea sunt . Dedit autem Pater nobis Filium natum de nobis, dedit nobis passum pro nobis, resuscitatum propter nos, quia propter nimiam caritatem, qua dilexit nos etc. Unde bene dicitur: Per viscera misericordiae Dei nostri ; intima Dei bonitas facit, quod summe diligat, summe mise- ; reatur. -- Haec omnia apparebunt in resurrectione, quia per summam pietatem, qua omnia creavit, omnia restaurabit; per summam veritatem omnia iudicabit; per summam benignitatem omnia glorificabit.
G. A Threefold Flow out of This Light
27. From this understanding there comes forth in the soul a threefold flow out of this light, through which it is steadied in God. The first is the strength of virtue, the second the zeal of truth, and the third the rapture of love. The strength of virtue is first, because nothing is difficult to the soul that has an unperturbed faith, for "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him who believes." Indeed, he is ready to sustain anything for God's sake, since virtue is made steady by faith. 27. Ex hoc sensu nascitur in anima triplex influxus ab illa luce, per quam stabilitur anima in Deo. Primus est robur virtutis; secundus, zelus veritatis; tertius, excessus amoris. -- Robur virtutis est primus, quia nihil difficile est animae habenti fidem inconcussam, quia, si potes credere, omnia possibilia sunt credenti : quia paratus est sustinere omnia propter Deum, quia per fidem stabilitur virtus.
28. The second flow is the zeal of truth, so that a man be aroused with indignation against anything evil or false and be immediately attracted to anything good. Let him despise every wickedness, like Elias, who foretold about Achab and Jezabel that hounds would devour them. Achab said: "Hast thou found me thy enemy?" And Elias replied: "I have found thee because thou art sold, to do evil in the sight of the Lord," as if he were saying, "Anyone who is against God is against me." 28. Secundus influxus est zelus veritatis, ut homo indignetur contra omne malum et falsum et afficiatur statim ad omne bonum. Dedignetur omne malum, sicut Elias, qui prophetaverat de Achab et Iezabel, quod comederent eos canes. Dixit Achab: Num invenisti me inimicum tuum? Respondit Elias: Inveni, eo quod venundatus sis, ut faceres malum in conspectu Domini , quasi diceret: quicumque est contrarius Deo, est contrarius mihi.
29. The third flow consists in the rapture of love: at such times, the soul always perceives inner joy even in the face of insults and hardships. And it is at its highest when the burning soul feels that the Lord makes it taste the children's bread. And everyone believes such a man is a fool, while he himself believes the others to be fools, and they are indeed. Now this is the highest point of faith, the summit: to be inebriated by actual experience and to have no desire for the world. This will be the defense of such a soul in the time of the Antichrist, referred to in the Second Epistle to the Thessalonians: God sends them a misleading influence that they may believe falsehood. Concerning the summit of faith, which is love, the Apostle says: Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress— all the way to the words, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And, in another passage, being rooted and grounded in love. That is the firmament of heaven. Hence, in the Psalm: The heavens proclaim your wonders, that is, the marvels of the soul which they feel within them. Such experiences make faith most secure. And so, when the soul considers the Most High in a manner that is most pious, true, and good, then it is lifted up by zeal and the rapture of love to the third heaven , yet not in such a perfect way as Paul. And then the house is built on rock. 29. Tertius influxus est excessus amoris, quando anima in vituperes, in tribulationibus semper sentit iucunditatem interius; hoc maxime est, quando ardens sentit, quod Dominus facit gustare panem filiorum . Et hunc reputant omnes stultum, et ipse reputat omnes stultos, et secundum veritatem sunt. Hoc autem est summum fidei et apex, ut per experientiam inebrietur et iam nil curet de mundo. Hoc enim defendet tempore antichristi, de quo secundae ad Thessalonicenses secundo: Mittet illis Deus operationem erroris, ut credant mendacio . -- De apice fidei, qui amor est, Apostolus dicit: Quis nos separabit a caritate Christi? Tribulatio? an angustia? usque ibi: quae est in Christo Iesu, Domino nostro . Et alibi: In caritate radicati et fundati . Hoc est firmamentum caeli. Unde in Psalmo: Confitebuntur caeli mirabilia tua , scilicet animae mirabilia, quae in se sentiunt. Hae enim experientiae faciunt fidem stabilissima!!!. -- Quando ergo anima sentit de Altissimo piissime, verissime et optime; tunc zelo et excessu amoris rapitur anima usque ad tertium caelum, etsi non ita excellenter, ut Paulus . Et tunc domus fundatur supra firmam petram .