Magistri Petri Lombardi
Arch. Episc. Parisiensis

Master Peter Lombard
Archbishop of Paris

Sententiarum Quatuor Libri

The Four Books of Sentences

LIBER SECUNDUS SENTENTIARUM.

 

DE  RERUM  CREATIONE  ET  FORMATIONE  CORPORALIUM ET  SPIRITUALIUM
ET  ALIIS  PLURIBUS  EO  PERTINENTIBUS

THE SECOND BOOK OF THE SENTENCES

 

ON THE CREATION AND FORMATION OF THINGS CORPORAL AND SPIRITUAL AND MANY OTHERS PERTAINING TO THIS

DISTINCTIO XI.

DISTINCTION 11

Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae,
Ad Claras Aquas, 1885, Vol. 2, pag. 274-275.
Cum Notitiis Editorum Quaracchi

Latin text taken from Opera Omnia S. Bonaventurae,
Ad Claras Aquas, 1885, Vol. 2, pp. 274-275.
Notes by the Quaracchi Editors.

Cap. I.

 

Quod singulae animae habent Angelum bonum ad custodiam, malum ad exercitium.

Chapter I.

That souls have each a good Angel to guard (them), (and) an evil (angel) to exercise (them).

Illud quoque sciendum est, quod Angeli boni deputati sunt ad custodiam hominum, ita ut quisque electorum habeat Angelum, ad sui profectum atque custodiam specialiter delegatum.  Unde in Evangelio1 Veritas, a pusillorum scandalo prohibens, ait:  Angeli eorum semper vident faciem Patris.  Angelos dicit eorum esse, quibus ad custodiam deputati sunt.  Super quem locum Hieronymus tradit, unamquamque animam ab exordio nativitatis habere Angelum ad sui custodiam deputatum, inquiens ita:  « Magna dignitas animarum est, ut unaquaeque habeat ab ortu nativitatis in custodiam sui Angelum delegatum ».  Gregorius2 quoque dicit, quod « quisque bonum Angelum sibi ad custodiam deputatum, et unum malum ad exercitium habet ».  Cum enim omnes Angeli boni nostrum bonum velint communiterque saluti omnium studeant, ille tamen, qui deputatus est alicui ad custodiam, eum specialiter hortatur ad bonum, sicut legitur de Angelo Tobiae3 et de Angelo Petri in Actibus Apostolorum; similiter et mali angeli, cum desiderent malum hominum; magis tamen hominem ad malum incitat et ad nocendum fortius instat ille qui ad exercitium eius deputatus est.

That too must be know, that good Angels have been deputed to guard men [ad custodiam hominum], so that each of the Elect has an Angel, especially delegated to his advancement [ad sui profectum] and (to) guard (him).  Wherefore in the Gospel,1 the Truth, forbidding the scandal of the little ones, says:  Their Angels always see the Face of (My) Father.  He says that “theirs” are the Angels, to whose custody [quibus ad custodiam] they have been deputed.  On which passage (St.) Jerome hands down, that each soul from the origin [ab exordio] of (its) nativity has an Angel deputed to guard it [ad sui custodiam], saying thus:  « Great is the dignity of souls, that each one has from the rise of (its) nativity an Angel delegated to guard it [in custodiam sui] ».  (Pope St.) Gregory (the Great)2 says too, that « everyone has a good Angel deputed to guard him, and an evil angel to exercise (him) ».  For all the good Angels want our good and strive [studeant] commonly for the salvation of all, yet he, who has been deputed to guard anyone, exhorts him in particular [specialiter] to the good, just as is read concerning the Angel of Tobias3 and concerning the Angel of (St.) Peter in the Acts of the Apostles; similarly the evil angels too, since they desire the evil of men; yet he who has been deputed to the exercise of a man, incites him more to evil and pursues (him) to harm (him) more strongly.

Solet autem quaeri, utrum singuli Angeli singulis hominibus, an unus pluribus ad custodiam vel exercitium deputatus sit.  —  Sed cum electi tot sint, quot et boni Angeli sunt, plures constat esse omnes simul bonos et malos homines, quam boni Angeli sint.  Et cum tot sint electi, quot Angeli boni, et Angeli boni plures sint quam mali, pluresque sint homines mali quam boni, non est ambiguum, plures esse bonos homines, quam sint mali angeli, et plures esse malos homines, quam sint mali angeli vel boni Angeli.  Ideoque dici oportet, unum eundemque Angelum, bonum vel malum, pluribus hominibus deputari ad custodiam vel exercitium, sive eodem tempore, sive diversis temporibus.  —  Ideo autem dicimus eodem tempore, vel diversis temporibus, quia videtur quibusdam, quod omnes homines, qui sunt simul in aliquo tempore, singuli singulos Angelos habere possint, bonos vel malos, quia, licet maior sit numerus hominum, computatis in unum omnibus, qui fuerunt et sunt et futuri sunt, quam Angelorum, tamen, quia homines decedentibus hominibus succedunt,4 et ideo nunquam simul sunt in hac vita, Angeli vero nunquam decedunt, sed simul omnes sunt:  ideo esse potest, ut singuli hominum, dum in hac vita sunt, singulos habeant Angelos bonos vel malos ad sui custodiam vel exercitium destinatos.  Ceterum sive ita sint, sive non, non est dubitandum, unumquemque habere Angelum sibi deputatum, sive pluribus simul destinatus sit, sive uni singulariter.  Nec est mirandum, unum Angelum pluribus hominibus ad custodiam deputari, cum uni homini plurium custodia deputetur, ita ut eorum quisque suum dicatur habere dominum vel episcopum vel abbatem.

Moreover it is customarily asked, whether the Angels each (have been deputed) to single men, or whether one has been deputed to several, to guard and/or exercise (him).  —  But since there are as many Elect, as there are good Angels, it is established that all the good and evil men together are more than the good Angels are.  And since there are as many Elect, as good Angels, and there more good Angels than evil ones, and there are more evil men than good ones, it is not in doubt [non est ambiguum], that there are more good men, than there are evil angels, and that there are more evil men, than there are evil angels and/or good Angels.  And for that reason it is necessary [oportet] that one say, that one and the same Angel, good and/or evil, is deputed for several men to guard and/or exercise (him), whether at th same time, or at diverse times.  —  But we say “at the same time”, and/or “at diverse times”, for this reason, because it seems, to certain (authors), that all men, who are together at any time, can each have single Angels, good and/or evil, because, though the number of men is greater, having counted all as one, who were and are and are going to be, than the Angels, yet, because men succeed4 men as they pass away [decedentibus hominibus], and for that reason they are never together in this life, but the Angels never pass away, but are all together:  for that reason it can be, that each one of men, while they are in this life, have single Angels, good and/or evil, destined to guard and/or exercise them.  Otherwise whether they are thus, or not, it must not be doubted, that each one has an Angel deputed to him, whether he has been destined to several together, or to one singularly.  Nor is it to be wondered at, that one Angel is deputed to several men to guard (them), since the custody of several is deputed to one man, such that any of them is said to have “his own” lord and/or bishop and/or abbot.

1  Matth. 18, 10.  —  Hoc primum cap. excerptum est ex Hugone, Sum. Sent. tr. 2. c. 6.

2  Vide apud Hugonem, loc. cit.

3  Cap. 5, 6. et 6, 4. et 8, 3.  De Angelo Petri vide Act. 12, 7. 8.

4  Eccle. 1, 4; Eccli. 14, 19.

1  Mt. 18, 10.  —  This first chapter has been excerpted from Hugo (of St., Victor), Summa Sententiarum., tr. 2, ch. 6.

2  See (the same) in Hugo, loc. cit..

3  Tob. 5:6; 6:5; 8:3.  On (St.) Peter’s Angel, see Acts 12:7,8.

4  Ecclesiastes 1:4; Ecclesiasticus 14:19.

p. 275

Cap. II.

 

Utrum Angeli proficiant in merito et praemio usque ad iudicium.

Chapter II.

Whether Angels make progress in merit and reward up until the Judgment?

Praeterea illud considerari oportet, utrum Angeli boni in praemio vel in merito proficiant usque ad iudicium.  —  Quod in meritis proficiant atque quotidie magis ac magis mereantur, quibusdam videtur ex eo, quia quotidie hominum utilitatibus inserviunt eorumque profectibus student.  Quibus etiam nihilominus videtur, quod et in praemio proficiant, scilicet in cognitione et dilectione Dei.  Licet enim, ut aiunt, in confirmatione beatitudinem acceperint aeternam atque perfectam, augetur tamen quotidie eorum beatitudo, quia magis ac magis diligunt atque cognoscunt; et est eorum caritas, qua Deum et nos diligunt, et meritum et praemium:  meritum, quia per eam et per obsequia ex ea nobis impensa merentur et in beatitudine proficiunt; et ipsa eadem est praemium, quia ea beati sunt.

Besides it is necessary [oportet] that this be considered, whether good Angels make progress [proficiant] in reward and/or in merit up until [usque ad] the Judgment.  —  That they make progress in merits and each day merit more and more, seems to certain (authors) out of this, that each day they are devoted to the uses [utilitatibus inserviunt] of men and strive for their advancements.  Nevertheless it also seems to these, that they make progress also in reward, that is, in the cognition and dilection of God.  For though, as they say, they accepted eternal and perfect beatitude in (their) confirmation, yet their beatitude is each day increased, because they love and cognize more and more; and the charity, by which they love [diligunt] God and us, is both their merit and reward:  (their) merit, because through it and through the services expended [obsequia impensa] on its account upon us, they merit and make progress in beatitude; and the very same is (their) reward, because by it they are blessed.

Et quod Angeli proficiant in cognitione, ac per hoc in beatitudine, testimoniis Sanctorum confirmant.  Dicit enim Isaias1 ex persona Angelorum, Christi ascendentis magnificentiam admirantium:  Quis est iste qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bosra?  Et in Psalmo:  Qui est iste rex gloriae?  Ex quibus apparet, quod mysterium Verbi incarnati plenius cognoverunt Angeli post impletionem quam ante.  Et sicut in cognitione huius mysterii profecerunt, ita, dicunt, eos in Deitatis cognitione proficere.  Quod autem in huius mysterii cognitione profecerint, evidenter docet Apostolus2 dicens:  Quae sit dispensatio sacramenti absconditi a saeculis in Deo, ut innotescat multiformis sapientia Dei per Ecclesiam Principibus et Potestatibus in caelestibus.  Super quem locum dicit Hieronymus:3  « Angelicas dignitates praefatum mysterium ad purum non intellexisse, donec completa est passio Christi, et Apostolorum praedicatio per gentes dilatata ».

And that the Angels make progress in cognition, and through this in beatitude, they confirm with the testimonies of the Saints.  For Isaiah1 says on behalf of the person of the Angels [ex persona Angelorum], admiring the magnificence of Christ ascending: Who is this one who comes from Edom, with the dyed vestments of Bosra?   And in the Psalm:  Who is this King of glory?  Out of which it appears, that the Mystery of the Word Incarnate the Angels cognized more fully after (its) fulfillment than before.  And just as they made progress in the cognition of this Mystery, so, they say, they make progress in the cognition of the Deity.  Moreover that they make progress in the cognition of this Mystery, the Apostle2 evidently teaches, saying:  Which is the dispensation of the sacrament hidden away from the ages in God, so that the manifold Wisdom of God may be made known through the Church to the Princes and Powers in the heavenly (places).  On which passage (St.) Jerome3 says:  «  that the Angelic dignitaries [dignitates] did not understand the foretold Mystery to the pure one [ad purum], until the Passion of Christ was completed, and the preaching of the Apostles (was) spread abroad [dilatata] through the Gentiles ».

His autem videtur contradicere Augustinus super eundem locum Epistolae4 dicens:  « Non latuit Angelos mysterium regni caelorum, quod opportuno tempore revelatum est pro salute nostra.  Illis ergo a saeculis innotuit supra memoratum mysterium, quia omnis creatura non ante saecula, sed a saeculis est ». — Attende, lector, quia videntur dissentire in hac sententia illustres Doctores.  Ideoque ut omnis repugnantia de medio tollatur, praedicta verba, Haymonem5 sequentes, ita determinemus, « ut illis Angelis, qui maioris dignitatis sunt, et per quorum ministerium illa nuntiata sunt, ex parte cognita a saeculis fuisse, utpote familiaribus et nuntiis; illis vero, qui minoris dignitatis sunt, incognita exstitisse dicamus, usquequo impleta sunt et per Ecclesiam praedicata, et tunc ab omnibus Angelis perfecte fuerunt cognita ».  Constat itaque, omnes Angelos in cognitione divinorum mysteriorum secundum processum temporis profecisse.  Unde non incongruenter ipsi iidem dicunt, Angelorum scientiam ac beatitudinem augere usque ad futuram consummationem, quando in scientia ac beatitudine perfectissimi erunt, ut nec augeatur amplius nec minuatur.

But (St.) Augustine seems to contradict these on the same passage of the Epistle,4 saying:  « The Mystery of the Kingdom of the Heavens did not lie hidden to the Angels, which (Mystery) was revealed at the opportune time for our salvation.  Therefore it became known to them from the ages before [supra] the mentioned Mystery, because every creature is not before the ages, but from the ages ».  —  Attend, o reader, because in this sentence there seem to dissent illustrious Doctors.  And for that reason to remove all repugnance from the midst, let us, following Haymo,5 determine the aforesaid words thus, « let us say that to those Angels, who are of a greater dignity, and through whose ministry those (things) were announced, they were in part cognized from the ages, as for example to (God’s) household servants and messengers; but to those, who are of a lesser dignity, they stood forth uncognized, up until [usququo] they were fulfilled and preached through the Church, and then they were cognized perfectly by all the Angels ».  And thus it is established, that all the Angels made progress in the cognition of divine mysteries according to the progress of time [processum temporis].  Wherefore the very same do not incongruently say, that the knowledge and beatitude of the Angels increases up until [usque ad] the future consummation, when in knowledge and beatitude they will have been perfected, so that it will neither be increased more amply nor lessened.

Alii autem dicunt, Angelos in confirmatione tanta Deitatis dilectione atque notitia fuisse praeditos, ut in his ulterius non profecerint nec profecturi sint.  Profecerunt tamen in scientia rerum exteriorum, sicut in cognitione sacramenti Incarnationis et huiusmodi, sed non in contemplatione Deitatis, quia Trinitatem in Unitate atque Unitatem in Trinitate non plenius intelligunt sive intellecturi sunt, quam ab ipsa confirmatione perceperunt.  Ita etiam dicunt, eos in caritate non profecisse post confirmationem, quia eorum caritas postea non est aucta; et sic dicunt, eos non profecisse in meritis, sed hoc quantum ad vim merendi, non quantum ad numerum meritorum.  Plura enim bona fecerunt postea, quae tunc non fecerant; sed eorum caritas, ex qua illa processerunt, non est aucta, ex qua tantum meruerunt, antequam ista adderentur, quantum postea, his adiectis.  —  Illud vero, quod alii superius dicunt, probabilius videtur, scilicet quod Angeli usque ad iudicium in scientia et aliis proficiant.6

But some say, that the Angels in (their) confirmation had been endowed with so great a dilection and knowledge of the Deity, that in these they did not make progress nor are they going to make progress.  Yet they did make progress in the knowledge of exterior things, just as in the cognition of the sacrament of the Incarnation and (things) of this kind, but not in the contemplation of the Deity, because they do not more fully understand nor [sive] are they going to understand the Trinity in the Unity and the Unity in the Trinity, than they perceived from (their) very confirmation. Thus they also say, that they did not make progress in charity after (their) confirmation, because their charity was not increased afterwards; and thus they say, that they did not make progress in merits, but (did) this as much as regards the force of meriting, not as much as regards the number of (their) merits.  For they did do many good (deeds) afterwards, which they had not then done; but their charity, out of which those (deeds) proceeded, was not increased, our of which (charity) they merited as much, before those (deeds) were added, as afterwards, with them added.  —  But the former, which the others said above, seems more probable, namely, that the Angels make progress in knowledge and other (things) up until the Judgment.6

Quibus tamen videntur obviare quorundam auctoritatum verba.  Ait enim Isidorus in libro de Summo Bono:7  « Angeli in Verbo Dei omnia sciunt, antequam fiant ».  —  Sed nec omnes nec omnia perfecte Angelos scire dixit, et ideo eos in scientia proficere non removit.  Gregorius quoque in libro Dialogorum8 ait:  « Quid est, quod ibi nesciant, ubi scientem omnia sciunt »?  Ubi videtur dicere, quod omnia sciant Angeli, et nihil sit quod nesciant.  —  Sed accipiendum est hoc de his quorum cognitio beatum facit cognitorem, ut sunt ea quae ad mysterium Trinitatis et Unitatis pertinent.

Which, however, the words of certain authorities seem to obviate.  For (St.) Isidore (of Seville) says in the book On the Most High Good:7  « The Angels know all (things) in the Word of God, before they come to be ».  —  But he neither said that “all” (the Angels know) nor that the Angels know “all (things) perfectly”, and for that reason he does not remove that they make progress in knowledge.  (Pope St.) Gregory (the Great) also says in the book of Dialogues:8  « What is it, which they do not know There, where they know the One knowing all »?  Where he seems to say, that the Angels know all (things), and (that) there is nothing which they do not know.  —  But this must be accepted of those, the cognition of which makes the cognizer [cognitorem] blessed, as are those which pertain to the Mystery of the Trinity and Unity.

1  Cap. 63, 1.  Sequens textus est Ps. 23, 8.

2  Eph. 3, 9. 10, verbis a Magistro paulisper transpositis, et pro Principatibus posita voce Principibus.

3  Sic ad verbum exhibetur in Glossa, paulo aliter in Commentario Hieronymi.  —  Haec sumta sunt ex Abaelardo, Sic et non, c. 48. circa finem.

4  In Glossa ad Eph. 3, 9. 10, sed originaliter in V. de Gen. ad lit. c. 19. n. 38. 39.

5  Super Epist. ad Eph. (Patrolog. lat. tom. 117. col. 715 a.).  —  Immediate post pro determinemus codd. B C E determinamus.

6  Cod. Erf. hic annotat:  Est opinio Hugonis, Sent. II. c. 6.  Paulo inferius idem cod. citat Gandolphum, lib. II. c. 43.

7  Scil. Sent. I. c. 10. n. 17, nonnullis omissis.

8  Dialog. libr. IV. c. 33.  Cfr. eiusdem II. Moral. c. 3. n. 3.  Immediate post textum codd. omittunt Ubi.

1  Is. 63:1.  The following text is Ps. 23:8.

2  Eph. 3:9,10, with the words transposed a little by Master (Peter), and (with) Princes [Principibus] placed for the word Principalities [Principatibus].

3  Thus is it exhibited verbatim in the Gloss, (it is) a litter otherwise in (St.) Jerome’s Commentary.  — These have been taken from Abelard, Sic et non, ch. 48, near the end.

4  In the Gloss on Eph. 3:9,10, but originally in On a Literal Exposition of Genesis, Bk. V, ch. 19, nn. 38 and 39.

5  On the Epistle to the Ephesians (Patrologia latina., vol. 117, col. 715 a). —  Immediately after this for let us [determinemus] codices B C and E have we [determinamus].

6  The Erfurt Codex here notes:  The opinion of Hugo’s, (Summa) Sent., II, ch. 6.  A little below this the same codex cites Gandolphus, Bk. II, ch. 43.

7  Namely Sententiarum, Bk. I, ch. 10, n. 17, with not a few (things) omitted.

8  Dialogues., Bk. IV, ch. 33.  Cf. the same’s, Morals (on the Book of Job), Bk. II, ch. 3, n. 3.  Immediately after the text the codices omit Where [Ubi].

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