Saint Bonaventure's Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ

102 Pages·1992·4.618 MB·English

WORKS OF SAINT BONAVENTURE
Edited by
GEORGE MARCIL, O.F.M
Saint Bonaventure's
..
DISPUTED QUESTIONS
ON THE KNOWLEDGE OF CHRIST
Introduction and Translation
by
ZACHARY HAYES, O.F.M., D. TH.
THE FRANCISCAN INSTITUTE
SAINT BONAVENTURE UNIVERSITY
SAINT BONAVENTURE, NEW YORK 14778
1992
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 1992 by The Franciscan Institute
of St. Bonaventure University
7
Editor's Foreword
TransLator's Foreword 15
library of Congress Catalog Card Number:
91-78042
Introduction
21
CHAPTER ONE: Historical Context
22
I. From Monastery to University
25
II. From Reading to Question
28
III. Question and Disputation
CHAPTER TWO: The Knowledge of Christ: The
30
History of the Problem
30
I. Dogma and the Question of Christ's Knowledge
32
~««<=to 11. Historical Reflections
, 55 (" 4
'13 (e. CHAPTER THREE: The Context of Bonaventure's
40
Disputed Questions
40
l q I. life and Work of Bonaventure
'?9y
41
II. The Disputed Questions and Related Writings
.~, L{ CHAPTER FOUR: The Disputed Questions on the
45
Knowledge of Christ
45
I. General Structure of the Questions
47
II. The Content of the Questions
47
Question 1
50
Question 2
54
Question 3
55
Question 4
59
Question 5
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 62
Question 6
64
Question 7
Medieval & Renaissance Texts & Studies
Binghamton, N. Y.
The Text of St. Bonaventure's Disputed Questions
in Translation
QUESTION I: Whether the knowledge of Christ, in as far EDITOR'S FOREWORD
as He is the Word, actually extends to an infinite
number of objects. 71
QUESTION II: Whether God knows things by means of The Disputed Questions on the Knowledge of Christ has recently
their likenesses or by means of their proper essence. 83 been published in Italian and in French,l and the work has existed
for some time in a Spanish bilingual publication.2 But this transla
QUESTION III: Whether God knows creatures by means
tion by Fr. Zachary Hayes, O. F. M., represents the first time that
of likenesses that are really distinct. . 96
the work appears in English form. The Franciscan Institute takes
QUESTION IV: Whether that which is known by us with
pride in publishing it as the fourth volume of its series Works of St.
certitude is known in the eternal reasons themselves. 115
Bonaventure.)
QUESTION V: Whether the soul of Christ possessed
A new translation of a Bonaventurian treatise is an event. The
only uncreated wisdom, or whether it possessed also
new treatise adds something to the widening picture of the great
a created wisdom together with the uncreated wisdom. 145
Franciscan scholar-theologian. This work on Christ, along with the
QUESTION VI: Whether the soul of Christ comprehends work on the Trinity, both done in the medieval scholastic style of
the uncreated wisdom itself. 161 disputed questions, shows how Bonaventure, as scholar, was at the
center of what Christianity is about. Here we witness him probing
QUESTION VII: Whether the soul of Christ comprehends
part of the basic meaning of the Christian faith and of his own
all those things which the uncreated wisdom comprehends. 178
piety.
Epilogue 195 Bonaventure is very much the Franciscan, in tune with what St.
FranCis was concerned about. The topic of a set of disputed ques
Indices tions was a matter of choice, and Bonaventure made his choice in
a manner consistent with his Franciscanism. The university curricu~
INDEX OF BIBUCAl CITATIONS 199
lum in its general content was quite fixed. The disputed questions,
INDEX OF AUTHORS AND WORKS 200
an exercise for students, had to be organized by the professor; the
I The Italian version is_ La conoscenza in Cristo, with introduction, translation
and commentary by Letterio Mauro (Vicenza, 1987). The French is Questions
disputies sur le satJoiT chez le Christ, with translation by E. H. Weber, O. P. (Paris:
O. E. I. L, 1985).
Z The Spanish translation is found in vol. 2 of the series, Obms de San
BuenauemuTa in Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos (Madrid, 1946), 95-277.
3 Vol. 1 is a translation of the De reductione artium ad theologiam; vol. 2
presents the Itinerarium mentis in Deum, with a translation by Fr. PhUomeus
Boehner; and vol. 3 contains the Disputed Questions on the Mystery of the Trinity,
along with a very lengthy introduction by Fr. Zachary Hayes, O. F. M.
8 EDITOR'S FOREWORD EDITOR'S FOREWORD 9
topic especially, to be worked on in medieval pedagogical style, was This sometime-reader of modern Christology sees the modern
something the professor had to select. Relevancy came into play, but historicizing everything.
some topics are always relevant. A study of the Trinity and of the The modern historicizes the scriptures. First, he supposes the live,
question of knowledge in Christ was particularly worth looking at, oral preaching of Jesus. Second, he looks for signs of the developing
and in depth, in the new sic et non methodology of the university. postresurrection oral traditions, as the early Church takes shape and
This is a scholar's work. Even more, this is a classroom kind of organizes its catechetical efforts. He then tries to put in proper context
exercise in which everyone in the lecture hall took an active part. each of the New Testament writings as they appear on the scene, each
Despite its multiple participants, however, the text was reviewed writing taking the previous one into some account
later, after the class's work, and it was prepared for publication by In that same context, the modern historicizes the developing
the professor, who had the last word just as he normally had the faith. There is a faith of James, of Peter, of Paul and of John. The
controlling word in the lecture hall itself. things they wrote relate much more to the experience of each than
Reading such a scholarly kind of publication is not easy. Perusing to what they read, though they did read. Each one is affected also by
anyone of its seven questions from beginning to end makes very the context in which he wrote, and the contexts, too, have historical
little sense. This editor recommends the following as a technique: a) characteristics.
read first the question and the complete reply; b) re-enforce that by To follow some of what is being said, one need only glance at
reading the arguments that favor the position of the writer; and c) such books as the monumental study of Schillebeeckx entided Jesus
once Bonaventure's position has been clearly understood, along with Christ (in fact, volume I is Jesus and volume II is Christ), and the
the sources he favors, then begin to study the opponents' argu scriptural work of Sabourin5 I
ments, one at a time, with their appropriate replies. Having studied In a modern study of Jesus," one should not be surprised to see
I
Bonaventure's views, one will not be surprised by the replies he gives the narrative of the life begin with the preaching of Jesus, just like
to the objections; in fact, the replies often restate the position and one reads it in the Gospel of Mark. The story of Jesus continues
arguments that have already been formulated in the body of the text. with his death and resurrection. Then come reflections on the faith
of the Aposdes, marked heavily by the experience of the death scene I
The medieval theologian and Christologist was also very much a and the resurrection. Only in a late chapter will one find a study of
philosopher and metaphysician. This is by strong contrast to the the birth of Jesus-almost like an afterthought. Furthermore, such a
modern Christologist who tends far more to be a historian and
scripture scholar. The medieval was not much of a historian, nor
did he have much of a historical perspective; as to scripture, he 5 In fact, volume one of the Schillebeeckx srudy is subtided An Experience in
tended to take it ad litteram 4. The modern, allowing for some Christolog)', and volume two is subtided The Experience of Jesus as Lord (New York:
Crossroads, 1979 and 1981). The Leopold Sabourin, S. J., study is Christology; i
exceptions, does not generally favor metaphysical and epistemologi;
Basic Texts in Focus (New York: Alba House, 1984). In the same context see Paula
cal enquiry.
Fredriksen, From Jesus to Christ. The Origins of the New Testament Images of Jesus
(New Haven: Yale Univ. Press, 1988); and on a broader scale Jaroslav Pelikan,
Jesus Through the Centuries. His Place in the History of Culture (New Haven: Yale
Univ. Press, 1985). And more recendy, see John Meier, A Marginal Jew: Rethinking
~ Medieval exegesis is actually quite complex. It begins with a literal sense, but the Historical Jesus, vol. 1, The Roots of the Problem and the Person (New York: \
moves into a whole array of spiritual meanings (allegorical, moral, anagogical), Doubleday, 1991).
me
However, no matter how complex !:he interprerations might become. for 6 There are a number of models that one might choose. I have selected the
medieval the literal meaning was still the scarting point, me foundation on which excellent srudy by Gerald O'Collins, S. ]., Interpreting Jems (Ramsey, N. ].: Paulist I
all spirirual applications were built. Press, 1983).
10 EDITOR'S FOREWORD EDITOR'S FOREWORD 11
srudy, especially by a Catholic author, will contain a reflection on the In a srudy by Gerald O'Collins, the above descriptions fit into a
christological statement of the Council of Chalcedon.7 This conciliar Christology that he calls "from below."" Such a Christology be
statement declared what the faith of the Church was and is to be, Le., gins with whatever human evidence is available; it begins with the
that Christ is both fully divine and fully human in one person. work of the best modern scriprural exegesis, which is itself done
In this historicizing context it is difficult and different to ask a from a historical, textually critical starting point.
question about knowledge in Jesus. In fact, the question will even Using the categories of O'Collins, the Christology of Bonaven
8
have some ambiguity about it. Surely it will lean heavily in the rure, like that of most medievals, would appear to be "from above."
direction that Jesus, though very gifted, was an ordinary man living It begins with the clear conception of the Council of Chalcedon,
an ordinary life in his own historical setting. Consequently, the which is that Jesus, from the very first moment of his conception, is
question will lead to reflections on education, both informal and both God and man, the two narures being distinct and whole but
formal, and on other culrural matters.9 Why, for instance, was Jesus united in the person of the Word. All the scriprural texts wUl be
referred to as "rabbi"? Is it that he acted as if he had as much interpreted with that faith in mind. Consequently, there will be very
education as any rabbi, or is it that he had in fact the same formal little stress on the idea of development. This is so because the
training as a rabbi? How do ideas like messianism and redemption power, wisdom, and will of the divine Word that attaches to Jesus'
fit into the life and preaching of Jesus?lO Are these ideas part of humanity enriches it with so many gifts, right from the start, that
Jesus' preaching or are they developments in the faith and under there is very little room to allow for improvements. Jesus's humanity
standing of the Apostles after the resurrection? Furthermore, how is thus described far more like that of a saint fully glorified in
does the idea of the divinity of Jesus fit into the story of his life? heaven or of an Adam in the garden than like that of our own quite
When does the notion first appear? Certainly, the thaumarurgic fallible narure.l2
activity of Jesus and his prophetic utterings, though suggestive, do Very few scriprural quotes make up the body of Bonavenrure's
not immediately and necessarily lead to the idea of his divinity. argument in the Disputed Questions. Some of the scriprural texts that
All of these reflections are made in the general atmosphere of appeared in Bonaventure's early reflections on the question of the
writers who see the historical Jesus becoming in time the Christ of knowledge of Christ are the following: "In his body lives the full·
the faith of the Church. They give a very humanistic twist to the ness of divinity" (Col 2:9); "He who comes from heaven bears
Lucan text, "And Jesus increased in wisdom, in stature, and in favor witness to the things he has seen and heard ... God gives him the
with God and men" (2:52).
11 Gerald O'Collins, S. J., What are they saying about Jesus!, 2nd ed. (New
York: Paulist Press, 1977). There is a long history to the problem of doing
Christology. One way to err in presenting an image of Jesus is to overaccenruate
7 O'Coliins, Interpreting Jesus, 172-83. his divinity; another is to exaggerate his humanity. In his short but very incisive
8 By ambiguity I mean that the question has several possible meanings. Are we study, Fr. O'Collins, a noted contemporary Chrisroiogist, refers to early Christolo
asking, "What did Jesus know?" or, "What did Jesus show that he mew?" or stiU, gies as being "from above"; these begin with the divinity and have a hard time
"What impression did the apostles leave us as to what Jesus knew?" describing a humanity that is like our own. Contemporary Christologies lean far
9 Q'eallins, Interpreting Jesus, 183-90. more toward being "from below"; these begin with human and historical data,
10 Speaking here almost in medieval terms, does Jesus know that he is the established with the best historical method, and work to tell the story of how faith
messiah or that he is the appointed redeemer? Or are these ideas all part of the in Jesus' divinity occurred.
posrresurrection reflection? It cenainly appears that much of the theology of 12 In Bonaventure's Breviloquium IV, 6, 3, when speaking about innate and
redemption comes out of the writings of St. Paul, and this comes decades after the infused knowledge, there is an explicit reference to Adam, the saints, and'the
death and resurrecdon of Jesus. angels as explanatory models. I
I
12 EDITOR'S FOREWORD EDITOR'S FOREWORD 13
Spirit without reserve" On 3:32-34); and "He lived among us and as well. To preserve the note of humanness and limitation, Bona
we saw his glory, the glory that is his as the only Son of the Father, venture falls back on a notion of mystical openness to the infinite.
full of grace and truth" On 1:14)13 Jesus in his humanity is open to all the knowledge that is contained
There are three important problems in Bonaventure's Disputed in the Word, yet being finite he cannot take it all in at once. Conse
Questions on the Knowledge of Christ. The first, studied in questions quently, Jesus remains in a kind of ecstatic tension, constantly trying
1-3, is what can we say, in this context, about knowledge in God. to take in as much as he can.
What does God know and how does he know it? Bonaventure re The discussion, as it is found, in these disputed questions, never
flects, like a good neoplatonist, that God knows all because he is be reaches for particulars: such as, does Jesus know this or that detail
fore all. He knows the world that he creates, but he also knows or fact. Nor does Bonaventure historicize any particular question:
about an infinity of other possible worlds. Furthermore, God has all such as, when or how does Jesus become aware of this or that. To
of this knowledge, has all of these ideas, without disrupting his great him, it appears that Jesus knows all that is relevant to his life, in
unity. Therefore, these ideas are not really distinct one from the fact, all that relates to the world he lives in.
other; they are like one giant, all inclusive idea which is identical to
God himself. The point of these reflections is to invite the contemporary reader
The second problem, studied in question 4, is about human to study Bonaventure. It may be all too obvious that Bonaventure is
knowledge in general. To Bonaventure, as an Augustinian, the not a man of the twentieth century. He does not study scripture in
human mind is touched with fallibility, and he is particularly con the same way a modern theologian does. His Christology may be
cerned about the very possibility of certitude. What is the ground of very different from that of an O'Collins or a Schillebeeckx. But his
our certitude, when we feel certain about anything? It cannot be, thoughts may still cause some to think along new lines and bring
according to him, the evidence in things; and it cannot be the ques~ them to gain new perspectives.
tionable force of our minds. So, we all must be aided by the wisdom Bonaventure begins with the faith of Chalcedon. He begins in
of God on high. This is, in essence, Bonaventure's theory of illumi~ the heavens and -imagines a divinity coming to earth. This is not
nation. When we really know and are sure that we know it is surprising. He is a man of his time and a son of the St. Francis of
because our human efforts are supported by the divine infallibility. Greccio. But even the declared faith of Chalcedon claims that in
The third problem, questions 5-7,centers on knowledge in the some very real way the divinity that invades the humanity of Jesus
human mind of Jesus. If all human minds are illumined by God, leaves that humanity whole and intact, and that humanity must be
then much more so is the mind of Jesus. His mind is completely understood as a finite and limited being, even in its knowledge.
open to the influence of the Word with whom he is identified. But Furthermore, even if the aspect of learning is not dealt with so
somehow this holds the possibility of saying too much. The human distincdy in the Bonaventurian text translated here, the humanity of
mind ofJesus must remain precisely that, a human and finite thing. Jesus must "learn" in some way. It is certainly assumed that Jesus
Consequendy, it is too much to say that Christ, in his humanity, must learn about the beauty of the world through his eyes, ears, and
knows everything that God does. This would imply that the mind of sense of touch; his senses are for something. In fact, the humanity
Jesus is not only open to the infinite but comprehends that infinity of Jesus must be such that it can learn through experience, as the
Episde to the Hebrews says all too clearly, "Although he was Son,
he learned to obey through suffering" (5:8).
In this context it is interesting to note the title Bonaventure chose
13 These texts are quoted in III Sent., d. 13-14. They, along with similar ones,
for these questions-de scientia Christi-and I mean to draw attention
are found in Alexander of Hales' study of the Semences. Some are found as well
me only to the word "scientia." The word has been translated simply,
in original Peter Lombard Sentences and in Hugh of St Victor's De sapientia
animae Christi, all works that Zachary Hayes refers to in his excellent intrOduction. and quite apdy, as knowledge. However, in medieval Aristotelian
14
EDITOR'S FOREWORD
language the word scientia also has a technical meaning; the word
can thus be used in opposition to intellectus and sapientia. In this
more technical sense, scientia relates more specifically to reasoning,
TRANSLATOR'S FOREWORD
going from premises to a conclusion, or more pointedly, going from
the known to the unknown. We could then think of Bonaventure
as deliberately choosing the word to suggest both the knowing and
The task of making usable translations of important texts from
the learning activity that is present in the mens Christi, "the mind of
Christ." the theological and philosophical tradition of the West is more
pressing nOw than in the recent past. If we can speak of a certain
According to Fr. Zachary Hayes in his introduction, Bonaventure
treated the question of knowledge in Jesus formally three times14 urgency in this regard, this concern arises from the problematic ways
in which the very meaning of a tradition is approached. It is not
He also points out that there are differences in each of Bonaven~
sufficient to know the past only through second and third hand
ture's three studiesj they are not reducible to one single and com~
accounts of what past authors have allegedly thought. Nor is it
pletely clear position. But I would say more. Bonaventure was a
complex character and writer. He was the abstract, formal theolo acceptable to view the past as a treasure trove of proof texts which
gian, as in these three studies. But he was also the exegete and the may be used to clothe personal viewpoints with the aura of respect
ability and historical legitimation. It is no longer possible to repre
preacher. There might, therefore, be even more sides to the question
sent a tradition seriously and with intellectual honesty without
than what is found in these treatises. In the more narrative and
SpI.r t· tu a1 Wr.l t.l ngs 0 f Bo naventure, 15 h is ward ing might suggest even acquiring a flTsthand acquaintance with at least the major monu~
more aspects to the knowledge question and give new insights into ments and literary documents of that tradition. Therein lies a major
the drama of the human life and sayings of Jesus. pedagogical problem since the monuments and documents from
Fr. Zachary Hayes, O. F. M., has done a great service to the many centuries of the Western tradition were written in Latin. The
English reader by translating this important work. We can hope that language skills demanded by the pedagogical process of engaging
students of Christology will gain from it. We can also hope that a twentieth-century minds with the insights and claims of our own
renewed enthusiasm will be born for a more general study of the cultural past are difficult to acquire and not often found even among
writings of Bonaventure, the great Doctor of the Church. advanced students of the history of Western thought. Therefore,
even though the use of translations is always a compromise, transla
tion is virtually the only way in which students today can have
George Marcil, O. F. M., Ph.D.
anything that even approaches a firsthand experience of classical
The Franciscan Institute
texts of the tradition.
November, 1991
The present volume is a part of a series, the most recent number
of which contained Bonaventure's Disputed Questions on the Trinity
(1979). 'While the translation of the Questions on the Knowledge of
Christ appears with a later series number, these questions were
11 The three are: The Commentary on the Sentences III, d. 14; these Disputed written by Bonaventure before the Questions on the Trinity. The fact
Que~~ions on the Knowledge of Christ; and the Breviloquium V, chap. 6. that the translation of these two sets of Questions appears in reverse
The Commentary on the Gospel of Luke. the Questions and Collations on the
order has no significant bearing on their content. As a pair, the two
Gospel of john, the Lignum vitae, and many of his sermons. See What Manner of
volumes represent highly sophisticated, speculative discussions on
Man? Sermons on Christ by St. Bonaventure, trans. Zachary Hayes (Chicago: Francis
can Herald Press, 1974). metaphysical and epistemological issues involved in two interrelated
16 TRANSlATOR'S FOREWORD TRANSIATOR'S FOREWORD 17
doctrines of the Christian faith: that of the trinity and that of Chris take account of the most recent discussion concerning the chronolo
tology. If these are viewed from the perspective of the eternal back gy of his life and works.
ground of faith, then the mystery of the trinity appears foundational. Finally, we have looked at the Questions directly, from two per
If, on the other hand, they are viewed in terms of what Christians spectives. We have first given a general statement of the argument of
claim to be the historical manifestation of the divinity, then the the Questions so that, from the start, the reader will have a broad
mystery of Christ is foundational. We are, in fact, looking at one overview of the work as a whole; for it is, indeed, a whole and not
and the same mystery from two different perspectives. Hence, these just seven questions in juxtaposition. This general statement is
two volumes can be seen as integrally related in terms of their followed by a more detailed account of the argument of the individu
content. However, we can begin from either perspective in the al questions, with indications of its relation to other writings of
systematic working out of the Christian mystery once the historical Bonaventure where this seemed appropriate.
revelation has been communicated to us. Bonaventure himself first In preparing this first complete English translation, we have
composed the Questions on the Knowledge of Christ, and then the consulted other recent translations into Spanish, French, and
Questions on the Trinity. Italian. This consultation has been both helpful and enriching for
The desire to make this translation as usable as possible has led the translator. It is our hope that it has also helped to avoid any
to the decision to treat the translation and its introduction in such major mistakes in our own work.
a way that this volume can be used independently of other works in
the series of which it is a part. This has led to a lengthy introduc Zachary Hayes, O. F. M., D. Th.
tion which attempts to do a number of things. Catholic Theological Union
First, we have broadly outlined the historical circumstances that Chicago, Illinois
led to a significant change in theological locale and style for the March,1991
period in which Bonaventure worked and which, among other
things, created the specific form in which this particular theological
discussion is cast. Since the forms of the question and disputation are
crucial to an intelligent reading of the present tex~ we have offered
some reflections on the historical origin of these forms.
But the christological question itself has a history. Therefore, we
felt it useful to sketch in broad strokes the nature of the problem as
a theological issue and at least some of the important moments in
the historical development of this problem. Here we have given
particular emphasis to the Augustinian background of the formula
tion and to the level of awareness reached in discussing the issue by
Bonaventure's theological mentor, Alexander of Hales. Between
these, we have pointed out some of the important moments along
the way.
Against this background, we have situated a sketch of Bonaven
ture's own life and career as a theologian and a brief account of the
place of these particular Questions in the context of his other writ
ings. Our intent was to provide a summary statement that would
INTRODUCTION
"
'~
'i.
:'~
CHAPTER ONE
Historical Context
The development of historical consciousness in the modern
I
Western world has led ever more clearly to the awareness that theol
ogy is always situated in particular cultural contexts and interacts
with culture in a variety of ways. At times the relation between theol
ogy and culture is one of antagonism and rivalry. Theology then
appears as a critic of the' social order. At other times, the two seem
so intimately intertwined that they are scarcely distinguishable. Re
ligion and theology then seem to provide the sacred underpinnings
of the social order. In yet other circumstances, theology and culture
have existed in a sort of symbiotic relationship of mutual criticism
and enrichment Whatever may be the particular relationship in a
specific instance, the implication is inescapable. Theology has never
existed in a cultural vacuum. It has always been deeply conditioned
by the cultural circumstances in which it developed. From this it
becomes clear that to understand a particular style of theology more
deeply means to come to a fuller understanding of its relationship
with the cultural situation in which it was developed.
As the student of Western thought acquires a more detailed
knowledge of the problems and viewpoints of the great medieval
theologians and philosophers, it becomes difficult to maintain the
common image of the High Middle Ages as a time of almost self-evi
dent harmony between faith and reason. In fact, it seems clear that
the period from the middle of the twelfth to the end of the thir
teenth century was a time of cultural and intellectual upheaval that
seriously unsettled the Christian West.
For our purposes in this introquction, it is sufficient to single out
three factors of the socio-cultural context that were of particular
importance in shaping the intellectual world of thirteenth-century
theology. The first was the development of larger cities. The second