De ecclesia, chapter 23, part 4

Answers to the three arguments: no one is saved or damned without his own concurrence, and the debt to God is unlike any debt to man

Loserth pp. 558.24–561.18

¶1558.24–559.13

558ad salutem qui non vult iuvare Christum ad suam satisfaccionem, quia Psalmo LXI°, 13 dicitur: Tu reddes unicuique iuxta opera sua. Sic ergo tam militans quam triumphans satisfacit pro viatore indebitato quoad Deum, sed oportet ipsum indebitatum omnimode se ipsum iuvare, quia aliter ipse non solveret quod debebat, et per consequens non fuit 559apud Deum illo debito exoneratus, sed unus alius a quo Deus debitum illud exigit, non ab illo. Ideo videat homo si potest esse beatus pure per procuratorem, et tunc concipiet si potest satisfacere pure per procuratorem; oportet enim percipientem premium persolvere meritum. Unde non foret onus meum, ad quod supportandum alius me iuvat nisi ego debeam satisfacere pro illo. Ideo dicit Apostolus: Unusquisque onus suum portabit Gal. VI°, 5. Sic ergo ex vi communionis sanctorum habemus reciproce adiutores, in tantum quod Dei adiutores sumus secundum Apostolum Iª, Corinth. III°, 9 seu oportet quod cum adiutorio isto simus cooperatores.

unto salvation who is not willing to help Christ toward his satisfaction; for in Psalm 61:13 it is said: "Thou wilt render to every man according to his works."¹ Thus, then, the church militant as well as the church triumphant makes satisfaction for a wayfarer who is in debt as regards God; but the one in debt must help himself in every way, because otherwise he would not pay what he owed, and consequently he was not 559discharged of that debt before God; but some other was, from whom God exacts that debt, and not from him.² Therefore let a man see whether he can be blessed purely through a proctor, and then he will grasp whether he can make satisfaction purely through a proctor; for whoever receives the reward must pay the merit in full. Hence it would not be my burden, which another helps me to bear, unless I ought to make satisfaction for it. Therefore the Apostle says: "Every one shall bear his own burden," Galatians 6:5.³ Thus, then, by virtue of the communion of saints we have one another as coadjutors, so much so that "we are God’s coadjutors," according to the Apostle, 1 Corinthians 3:9; or, we must be co-workers with that help.⁴

¶2559.14–560.5

559Ad secundum argumentum patet quod conclusio est concedenda, sed nunquam potest unus dampnare alium quoad Deum, nisi ipse superaddat proprium delictum, ut patet in materia de originali peccato, et ideo canit fidelis ecclesia quod nulla ei nocebit adversitas, si nulla dominetur iniquitas. Quomodo, queso, posset Deus dampnare non reum et per consequens non dampnabilem? Et patet bonitas Dei in hoc quod neminem salvat, nisi quem prevenit adiuvando, nec aliquem dampnat, nisi a quo preveniente occasionem accipit ex peccato. Et patet quod licet brachium se exponat pro capite, tamen oportet caput quodammodo se iuvare. Ideo quamvis quodlibet membrum iuvet aliud ad agendum, tamen nullum membrum supplet omnino alterius membri officium, sed iuvando satisfacit; et sic est de corpore Christi mistico, quia aliter posset Deus omnino eximere hominem a debito servitutis quoad Deum, quod notum est claudere repugnanciam formalem. Ideo sicut Deus in opere creacionis non potest habere naturam coadiuvantem 560propter solitudinem sue supereminencie, sic creatura non potest opus quodcunque perficere nisi cum iuvamine alterius nature propter per se subieccionem servitutis et essencialem dependenciam a suo principio. Et per hec patet responsio.

To the second argument it is clear that the conclusion is to be granted; but one can never damn another as regards God unless the other adds his own offence besides, as is clear in the matter of original sin; and therefore the faithful church sings that "no adversity shall harm her, if no iniquity exercise lordship over her." How, I ask, could God damn one not guilty, and consequently not damnable?⁵ And the goodness of God is clear in this: that he saves no one except one whom he goes before by helping, nor damns anyone except one from whom, going before him, he takes occasion by sin.⁶ And it is clear that although the arm exposes itself for the head, yet the head must in some way help itself. Therefore, although each member helps another to act, yet no member wholly supplies the office of another member, but makes satisfaction by helping; and so it is with the mystical body of Christ, because otherwise God could wholly exempt a man from the debt of service as regards God, which is known to imply a formal repugnance.⁷ Therefore, just as God in the work of creation cannot have a nature helping together with him, 560because of the solitude of his supereminence, so a creature cannot perfect any work whatever except with the help of another nature, because of the subjection of service that belongs to it of itself and its essential dependence on its principle. And by these things the reply is clear.⁸

¶3560.6–561.18

560Ad tercium dicitur negando minorem, nam oportet Deum in omni satisfaccione creature sue concurrere et est in racione debiti hominis ad hominem ac in racione debiti hominis ad Deum neganda differencia. Homo enim potest omnino solvi a corporali debito sui ad hominem, quia non est essencialiter debitor sui pro omni bono quod possidet, quia tunc alius foret Deus suus, sed nemo potest omnino eximi a debito Dei sui, quia tunc non teneretur Deo pro esse suo, sed foret Deus simpliciter par cum illo. Ideo ista est condicio obligacionis hominis ad Deum, quod de quanto copiosius et complecius solvit sibi debitum de tanto est obligacior quoad eum, quia de tanto plus boni ab eo recipit. Et hec racio quare homo potest recipere satisfaccionem debitoris sui in vita vel morte eius per procuratorem ipso non cooperante ad hoc. Deus autem non potest recipere a servo suo satisfaccionem pro debito nisi ipse in persona propria satisfaciat adiutus per Deum, et hoc testatur immensitatem libertatis Dei et excellenciam sui dominii, ut non oportet, si homo potest libere ac meritorie exuere se a dominio servi sui subiciendo se sue servituti, quod deitas sic potest quoad servum simpliciter; homo potest relinquere domini superioris vindictam offense non vindicando in persona propria, ergo Deus sic potest; homo potest dimittere culpam non expetendo sibi emendam satisfactoriam, ergo Deus sic potest, et sic de infinitis exemplis attestantibus infirmitatem humani dominii et invincibilitatem dominii divini. Et patet 561quod ista sentencia est pia fidelibus sese consolantibus in domino et non blaspheme exigentibus honorem debitum soli Deo, unde qui putat peccatum commutari vel vendi pro nudo numismate implicat quod Deus vendit a se dominium parificans sibi creaturam a qua non exigit servitutem, et per consequens Deus venderet se ipsum, quia insuperabilem iusticiam, pro vili precio proprio, ut puta, pro minuta, cum pro qualibet parte precii venderet indivisibilem iusticiam que est Deus. Sed quid rogo blasfemius? Ideo si quis peccat in Deum, oportet quod ipse in persona propria expectat satisfaccionem vel satispassionem ab eadem persona, qui in eum peccaverit. Et patet quod primum assumptum est falsum, videlicet quod Deus potest peccata sine satisfaccione dimittere vel communicare vicario suo potenciam vel peccata taliter remittendi vel contra peccata taliter dispensandi. Hoc enim est de regalia propria deitati.

To the third the answer is by denying the minor; for God must concur in every satisfaction of his creature, and in the notion of the debt of man to man and in the notion of the debt of man to God a difference is [not] to be denied.⁹ For a man can be wholly released from his bodily debt to a man, because he is not essentially that man’s debtor for every good that he possesses, for then the other would be his God; but no one can be wholly exempted from the debt to his God, because then he would not be bound to God for his being, but God would be, without qualification, on a par with him. Therefore this is the condition of man’s obligation to God: that by as much as he pays him the debt more copiously and more completely, by so much is he the more obliged as regards him, because by so much the more good does he receive from him.¹⁰ And this is the reason why a man can receive the satisfaction of his debtor, in his life or at his death, through a proctor, the debtor himself not cooperating in it. But God cannot receive from his servant satisfaction for a debt unless the servant makes satisfaction in his own person, helped by God; and this attests the immensity of God’s freedom and the excellence of his lordship; so that it need not be, if a man can freely and meritoriously strip himself of lordship over his servant by subjecting himself to that servant’s service, that the Godhead can do so as regards one who is a servant without qualification. A man can leave to a superior lord the avenging of an offence, by not avenging it in his own person: therefore God can do so? A man can forgive a fault by not demanding of the offender amends by way of satisfaction: therefore God can do so? And so with infinite examples that attest the infirmity of human lordship and the invincibility of divine lordship.¹¹ And it is clear 561that this teaching is pious to the faithful who console themselves in the Lord, and not to those who blasphemously demand the honour due to God alone; hence whoever thinks that sin is exchanged or sold for bare coin implies that God sells away from himself his lordship, making a creature equal to himself, from which he exacts no service; and consequently God would sell himself, because [he would sell] unsurpassable justice for a vile price of his own, as, say, for a mite, since for any part of the price he would sell the indivisible justice which is God.¹² But what, I ask, is more blasphemous? Therefore, if anyone sins against God, God himself in his own person must look for satisfaction or satispassion from the same person who has sinned against him. And it is clear that the first assumption is false, namely that God can remit sins without satisfaction, or communicate to his vicar the power either of remitting sins in this way or of dispensing against sins in this way. For this belongs to the regality proper to the Godhead.¹³

Notes

1 The sentence runs on from the previous part: "but let us not believe that Christ made satisfaction for the debt of that one unto salvation who is not willing to help Christ …". Ad suam satisfaccionem: toward Christ’s satisfaction, that is, by concurring in it; suam could refer to the debtor’s own satisfaction. S. Psalm 61:13 (Douay–Rheims), without the Vulgate’s quia ("for").
2 Tam militans quam triumphans: ecclesia is understood. Viatore indebitato: a wayfarer in debt (cf. row indebitare se). Omnimode: in every way. Sed unus alius: the one discharged would be someone other than the debtor, and God would still exact the debt from the debtor himself.
3 Pure per procuratorem: purely by a proxy (row procurator). Oportet … percipientem premium persolvere meritum: whoever receives the reward must himself pay the merit in full. Unde non foret onus meum …: a burden is mine only if I must make satisfaction for it, even when another helps me bear it. S. Galatians 6:5 (Douay–Rheims), without the Vulgate’s enim ("for"); it answers Galatians 6:2, quoted for the opinion at 557.6.
4 Habemus reciproce adiutores: we have one another as helpers. Adiutores is rendered "coadjutors" both times, after the Douay–Rheims of 1 Corinthians 3:9, so the play on the word stays visible. Seu oportet …: "or [rather]", restating the point: those helped must co-operate with the help. S. 1 Corinthians 3:9 (Douay–Rheims), given in part; the quotation is closed at "coadjutors".
5 Ad secundum argumentum: the second ground of the assumption (557.10): one can bring condemnation on another. Superaddat proprium delictum: the subject is taken as the one damned, who adds his own offence. In materia de originali peccato: in the treatment of original sin, not located in this work; probably De civili dominio III c. 25 (Society ed. IV, 563 ff.), where original sin is a defect of the person’s own justice (568). S. Canit fidelis ecclesia: the collect Tuere, Domine, populum tuum … quia nulla ei nocebit adversitas, si nulla dominetur iniquitas (Gregorian and Leonine sacramentaries, PL 78, PL 55; cited by Bernard as collecta Ecclesiae). The print gives it in indirect speech (quod … nocebit); the quotation is closed at iniquitas. R. Side-note 559.14. B in the margin at 559.14: "This, it seems, tells against those who hold that an infant departing without the baptism of the Spirit is inevitably damned." A in the margin at 559.20: Soluciones utiles argumentorum supra positorum (Loserth: above, without a mark of reference).
6 Quem prevenit adiuvando: whom God goes before by helping (cf. row gracia preveniens). A quo preveniente occasionem accipit ex peccato: from one who goes before God by his sin, God takes the occasion to damn. The sinner’s act comes first, as God’s help comes first in salvation.
7 Brachium … pro capite: Wyclif turns the opinion’s own figure (557.15). Iuvando satisfacit: makes satisfaction [for another] by helping, not by replacing him. Claudere repugnanciam formalem: to imply a formal repugnance, a contradiction in the terms (cf. row claudit contradictionem).
8 Naturam coadiuvantem: another nature helping him, which God cannot have in creating, since he alone is supereminent. Propter per se subieccionem servitutis: because of the subjection of service that belongs to a creature of itself (per se). A suo principio: on its source, God. T. At 560.3 Loserth reports B alterius nec, presumably against alterius nature; it does not give the sense.
9 Ad tercium: the third ground of the assumption (557.21): God is freer to receive satisfaction than his servant, and a man often receives one man’s debt from another’s satisfaction. Negando minorem: what follows grants that a man can receive satisfaction through a proctor and denies that the case carries over to God. T. The print reads est … neganda differencia, "a difference is to be denied", which contradicts the argument that follows and the side-note at 560.6. We supply [not] (our supply): the print shows no loss at the line end and has no apparatus here; notanda, "is to be noted", would give the same sense. R. Side-note 560.6; B in the margin at 560.8: Raciones debitorum hominis ad hominem et hominis ad Deum differunt.
10 Corporali debito: a bodily, that is a material, debt. Alius foret Deus suus: the creditor would be his God. Simpliciter par: equal without qualification (row). De quanto … de tanto: by as much … by so much. R. Side-note 560.17.
11 Ipso non cooperante: the debtor not cooperating. Ut non oportet …: the inference from human lordship to God’s does not hold. Subiciendo se sue servituti: taken as subjecting himself to the servant’s service. Quoad servum simpliciter: one who is a servant without qualification, as every creature is to God. The two arguments homo potest …, ergo Deus sic potest are examples of the invalid inference; we punctuate them as questions, though they may be bare statements which Wyclif rejects. Relinquere domini superioris vindictam offense: taken as leaving to a superior lord the avenging of the offence. Emendam satisfactoriam: amends by way of satisfaction.
12 Sentencia: CONTEXTUAL (teaching / sentence); here the position taught. Pia fidelibus sese consolantibus: a pious teaching for, that is a comfort to, the faithful. Commutari … pro nudo numismate: exchanged (row) for bare coin, money without satisfaction. Parificans sibi creaturam: making the creature his equal. Quia insuperabilem iusticiam: venderet is understood. Pro vili precio proprio: proprio is awkward; taken with precio, a price of his own setting. Minuta: a mite, the smallest coin (Mark 12:42, minuta duo). T. B de se consolantibus (561.1). R. Side-notes 561.5, 561.10. A in the margin at 561.5: Nota de usurpata auctoritate pape.
13 Ipse in persona propria expectat: the subject is taken as God, the one sinned against; expectat is indicative after oportet quod. Primum assumptum: the first argument’s assumption (556.9–13), that God can remit sins without satisfaction and commit to his vicar the power of dispensing in this way. Communicare stands where the argument had committere (556.12). De regalia propria deitati: belongs to the regality (row) proper to the Godhead. R. Side-note 561.15. B in the margin at 561.18 asks what Wyclif means: he has answered only about dispensing through another’s satisfaction, so is it to be held that neither God nor any pope can dispense against any sin unless the offender makes satisfaction in his own person? "What, then, is that which belongs to the regality proper to the Godhead?"

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 558: illius (print: debito / illius ad salutem)
- 558: ∅ (duplicate INS? at same pos 158 (ilhus = illius), given on the illius row)
- 559: procuratorem (main token holds whole word (procu- / ratorem); 204c folio mark on next line)
- 559: Iª
- 560: dependenciam [NW]
- 560: tanto (English side-note "we" in slot of Latin tanto)
- 560: est (print: tanto est obligacior)
- 561: quod (204c is the glued folio mark)
- 561: parificans [NW]
- 561: sibi (English side-note "The" glued) [NW]
- 561: blasfemius? [NW]