Equivocation on church and head; three proofs that Christ is head of all; four senses of saving

Loserth pp. 58.17–60.10

¶158.17–60.4

58Non repugnat ergo equivocando vocare corpus diaboli ecclesiam Christi, ut posito quod una communitas nominetenus clericorum prescita credatur esse particularis ecclesia, licet committat peccata quantumcunque enormia. Tunc vulgus reputat eam esse ecclesiam, ymo quilibet eorum asserit quod propter ordinem est vir sancte matris ecclesie, racione cuius tituli excecat populum, in fide, officio et ypocrisi indubie menciendo, quia sic idem foret simul membrum Christi et membrum diaboli, ecclesia sanctorum et ecclesia malignancium. Tales enim dicit Thomas eciam membra ecclesie in potencia, licet nunquam reducantur ad actum. Ac si diceretur illud habet potenciam ex sufficiencia passionis Christi et potestate sui arbitrii esse membrum Christi, cum tamen nude sit membrum congregacionis habencium fidem informem, licet nunquam sit membrum corporis Christi mistici. Sed ne ego laborem in istis 59equivocis, limitavi nomen ecclesie, ut signat sponsam Christi. Tres tamen evidencie fiunt ad probandum hanc sentenciam. Primo dictum apostoli I. Timothei IV°, 10 Salvator est omnium et maxime fidelium; secundo per illud I. Johannis, II° cap., Ipse propiciacio pro peccatis nostris, non autem pro nostris tantum est, sed eciam pro tocius mundi. Sed in quantum salvat et propiciatur hominibus, est caput eorum: ergo Christus est caput omnium hominum. Tercio per hoc quod omnes homines sunt fideles, quia habent fidem de Deo. Patet quod ista argumenta procedunt ex equivoco: nam concedi potest cum sancto Thoma quod Christus quoad esse naturale est caput eciam diaboli, et per consequens, caput membrorum suorum, non solum quoad esse naturale, sed eciam quia sunt fratres Christi quoad naturam specificam, quorum omnia peccata ad eorum dampnacionem et penam cedunt, sanctis vero ad gloriam. Et sic misericorditer punit fratres suos ad bonum eorum (ut alias declaravi). Loqui autem sic generaliter atque equivoce est preter propositum nostrum, quia loquimur de capite et membris unius hominis ex sponso et sponsa, de quo Joh. III°, 13 dicitur quod nemo ascendit in celum, nisi qui descendit de celo (ut Augustinus exponit, Joh. Omelia XIIª). Et quantum ad dictum apostoli, dicitur communiter quod esse salvatorem vel salvare est equivocum ad quatuor: primo generaliter accipitur pro apponere medicinam ad infirmum cuius virtute egrotus sanari poterit, et isto modo salvavit Christus totum mundum humani generis, cum apposuit medicinam passionis, que suffecit redimere multos mundos. Istam autem 60medicinam apposuit Christus vel obtulit humano generi, cuius septima pars nunquam suscepit eam, sicut semper infideles quos Christus dicit Joh. III°, 18, iam iudicatos, et illos dicit sanctus Thomas esse membra

It is not repugnant, therefore, by equivocation, to call the body of the devil the church of Christ: as, supposing that one community of clerics in name only, foreknown, is believed to be a particular church, although it commits sins however enormous. Then the common people reckon it to be the church; indeed, each of them asserts that by reason of his order he is a man of holy mother church, by reason of which title he blinds the people, lying beyond doubt in faith, office and hypocrisy; for so the same [thing] would be at once a member of Christ and a member of the devil, the church of the saints and the church of the malignant.¹ For Thomas calls such men also members of the church in potency, although they are never brought to act. As if it were said: that [one] has the potency, from the sufficiency of Christ’s passion and the power of his own choice, to be a member of Christ, while yet he is barely a member of the congregation of those who have unformed faith, although he is never a member of the mystical body of Christ.² But, lest I labour over these 59equivocal [senses], I have assigned the name church [to it] as it signifies the bride of Christ. Yet three pieces of evidence are brought to prove this teaching. First, the saying of the apostle, 1 Timothy 4:10: "He is the Saviour of all, especially of the faithful"; second, by that of 1 John, chapter 2: "He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world." Now, in so far as he saves men and is propitiation for them, he is their head: therefore Christ is the head of all men. Third, by this: that all men are faithful, because they have faith about God.³ It is clear that these arguments proceed from equivocation: for it can be granted with St Thomas that Christ, as to natural being, is head even of the devil, and consequently head of his members, not only as to natural being, but also because they are brothers of Christ as to specific nature; all of whose sins turn to their damnation and punishment, but for the saints to glory. And so he punishes his brothers mercifully, for their good (as I have declared elsewhere).⁴ But to speak so generally and equivocally is beside our purpose, because we are speaking of the head and members of one man [made] of bridegroom and bride, of which it is said in John 3:13 that "no man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven" (as Augustine expounds, on John, homily 12).⁵ And as to the saying of the apostle, the answer commonly given is that to be a saviour, or to save, is equivocal in four [ways]: first, it is taken generally for applying to the sick a medicine by whose virtue the sick man could be healed; and in this way Christ saved the whole world of the human race, since he applied the medicine of the passion, which sufficed to redeem many worlds. And this 60medicine Christ applied or offered to the human race, a seventh part of which never received it, as always the unbelievers, whom Christ, John 3:18, calls "already judged"; and these St Thomas calls members of

¶260.5–60.10

60Christi in potencia, non in actu. Alii autem recipiunt medicinam sed finaliter recidivant, ut presciti. Tercii vero receperunt medicinam et post lapsum ad sanctam matrem ecclesiam revertuntur, ut peccatores predestinati. Quarti quippe sanantur virtute meriti Christi nec unquam post incidunt in mortale.

Christ in potency, not in act. And others receive the medicine but finally relapse, as the foreknown. But the third have received the medicine and after a fall return to holy mother church, as predestinate sinners. The fourth, indeed, are healed by virtue of Christ’s merit and never afterwards fall into mortal [sin].⁶

Notes

1 Equivocando: using the word in another sense. Nominetenus clericorum: clerics in name only; prescita agrees with communitas. Excecat: the subject is each cleric. Ecclesia malignancium: cf. Ps. 25:5 (Vulgate odivi ecclesiam malignantium). B ecclesie Romane cuius at 58.23 (the words it replaces are not clear from the apparatus). A margin: Equivocando conceditur corpus diaboli esse ecclesiam Christi; B: Ecclesia Christi nuncupative (58.16).
2 Aquinas, ST III q.8 a.3 co. and ad 1: those who are members in a potency never brought to act. Illud: neuter, "that [one]", the foreknown cleric or community. Fides informis: faith not formed by charity (the glossary, ); B formem (58.32). A margin: Presciti quomodo sunt in potencia membrum (sic) Christi secundum beatum Thomam; B: Sanctus Thomas (58.27).
3 L (59.2) and M (59.26) were Loserth’s alinea letters, since removed from the Latin. B literavi for limitavi (59.1). 1 Tim. 4:10, DR without "men" (Wyclif lacks hominum); 1 John 2:2, DR; A nostris non tantum est (59.7); B per idem (59.6). The two texts are the sed contra of ST III q.8 a.3; the third proof is not. AB margin: Triplex obieccio (59.3); B: I. Tim. 4, I. Joh. 2 (59.4).
4 That Thomas grants Christ to be head "even of the devil" as to natural being has not been traced: it is not in ST III q.8 (a.7 makes the devil head of the wicked) nor in In III Sent. d.13 q.2 (nearest, a.2 qc.2 ad 6: the wicked share with the members only natural life). Natura specifica: the human species, which the devil’s members share with Christ. Ut alias declaravi: unidentified. A margin: Responsio (59.13); Nota (59.21).
5 John 3:13, DR. Augustine, In Iohannis evangelium tractatus 12.8–9, PL 35:1488–89, read this session: none ascends but he who descended, because Christ descended ut in illo et cum illo unus essent. Unius hominis ex sponso et sponsa: Christ and the church as one person. B margin: Augustinus (59.25).
6 The four senses of salvare (59.26) are four sorts of men offered the medicine; Wyclif numbers only the first and then alii … tercii … quarti. Septima pars (60.1), as printed: the fraction is not explained. John 3:18, DR "is already judged". Mortale: mortal [sin]. AB margin: Salvacio triplex (59.25), against Wyclif’s four; A: Christus salvavit totum mundum quoad sufficienciam (59.29); B: Joh. III (60.3).

How the Latin of this chapter was established

Plate readings; page · reading · note):
- 59: apostoli [NW]
- 59: I (print 'I. Timothei')
- 59: Timothei IV° (token spans two printed words 'Timothei IV°,')
- 59: 10 ('their' is side-note text; print '10:')
- 59: Thoma quod (token spans two printed words)
- 59: Christus
- 59: III°
- 59: 13 (print has verse number '13,' here (Joh. III°, 13))
- 59: XIIª
- 60: Christus
- 60: Christus
- 60: 18
- 60: iudicatos
- 60: membra (print has membra at start of line 5 before Christi)
- 60: finaliter
- 60: humano (136 folio mark glued)
- 060: ∅ ('ercii' is inside neighbour 45 (print Tercii; neighbour reads Tercn)) [DELX]
- 60: ∅ (Tercii printed whole; scan split i|ercn)
- 60: Tercii (print: Tercii vero (agent 13))
Corrected in the Latin: L (59.2) and M (59.26), Loserth’s alinea letters; 59.11 quod. (stray point).