Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Grace of the First Man
Chapter 19: Objections are answered
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. V, De Gratia Primi Hominis. The Latin source text is public domain; this English rendering is released with the site. Scripture quotations follow Bellarmine's Vulgate citations, rendered in Douay-Rheims wording where he quotes exactly. Click “Show the Latin” for the original (raw OCR of the scan; scanning errors remain — the scan itself is the authority).
Certain men object, first, that the tree of life was in the midst of paradise, and thereby known and at hand; from which it seems to follow that Adam could take of its fruit at his pleasure, at whatever time he willed — especially since no tree had been forbidden him besides the tree of knowledge of good and evil; nay, on the contrary, it was commanded that he eat of every tree. The tree of life, then, was not to be tasted only once, and that at the end of that state. Second, they object that men were not to be translated to the life simply blessed and immortal save after the number of the elect was fulfilled; and that meanwhile there was need of some remedy against death and old age; nor can anything be conceived to which this might be attributed besides the tree of life.
To the first, Rupert answers, in the place cited, that neither Adam, nor even the demon himself, knew where the tree of life was; otherwise, as Satan had persuaded him to eat of the tree of knowledge, to make him wretched, so he would also have persuaded him to eat of the tree of life, to make him perpetually wretched. And therefore Rupert adds (as we noted above) that it was said by God “lest perhaps he take of the tree of life,” because it could happen that Adam should light by chance upon the tree of life, though he was ignorant where it was. We can also answer that Adam knew where the tree of life was, but was not going to take of it save at its own time — that is, when he was to be translated from the state of grace to the state of glory. For Adam was not ignorant that he was at some time to be raised to a far more sublime state, and that then would be the time of taking of the tree of life; and at the same time he knew that immortality without beatitude profits little; nor was he curious, nor was he goaded by any evil concupiscence of tasting something before the time. And so he would have abstained from that food until the appointed time, and thus would have fulfilled that precept, “Of every tree that is in paradise thou shalt eat” — at its own time, namely; for it was not needful that he taste the fruits of all the trees in one day. But after the fall he had become intemperate and curious, and there was danger lest to his own destruction he should take the tree of life; therefore, by the most just counsel of God, and one most useful to man himself, he was cast out of paradise.
To the second objection I answer that it is not so very certain whether, if Adam had not sinned, all the elect were to be translated together, at one and the same time, to the blessed life, or rather some after others — so that sons would succeed their parents in the state of innocence, and they who entered this life earlier would also arrive earlier at the other. For St. Augustine, in book 9 On Genesis to the Letter, chapter 6, raises this question, and leaves it unsolved. And so it is probable that the time of merit would have been defined by some fixed number of years, as of 50 or 100 years; and that, when one had reached that term, and through all that time had endured in good works, he was to be translated to everlasting glory — just as at this time the holy souls do not wait for the number of the elect to be fulfilled, but those who first complete the time of pilgrimage and of the way are first raised to the fatherland and to glory. But even if we grant that the number of the elect had to be fulfilled before any should pass over from the state of innocence to the state of glory, yet we shall not therefore be compelled so to stretch out that time of merit and of the way that the use of the tree of life would have been necessary before the end of the common and universal translation. And let these things about paradise suffice, according to the plan of our undertaking. But since not long ago there came into the light disputations on the same argument, published by Benedict Pereira in the commentary on Genesis, and by Gregory of Valentia on part 1 of St. Thomas, which are said to be excellent and most accurate, I have thought the reader should be advised that these things of ours, whatever they are, were written many years ago, and delivered to hearers in the schools; nor has leisure ever allowed me to turn over the books of those most learned theologians of my own order.
THE END OF THE THIRTEENTH GENERAL CONTROVERSY [On the Grace of the First Man].
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
Objiciunt quidam primo, lignum vitae fuisse in medio paradisi, et per hoc notum, et in promptu ; ex quo sequi videtur, ut Adam pro arbitrio potuerit de fructu ejus sumere, quocumque tempore vellet, praeser¬ tim cum non fuisset illi interdicta ulla arbor praeter arborem scientiae boni et mali, imo e contrario imperatum, ut de omni ligno ve¬ sceretur. Non igitur semel tantum, idque sub finem status illius gustandum fuerat lig¬ num vitae. Secundo objiciunt, non fuisse transferen¬ dos homines ad vitam simpliciter beatam, et immortalem, nisi post impletum numerum electorum : interea vero opus fuisse remedio aliquo advei-sus mortem, et senectutem : ne¬ que aliud fingi posse, cui hoc tribuatur prae¬ ter lignum vitae. Respondet ad primum Rupertus loco ci¬ tato. Neque Adamum, neque ipsum etiam daemonem scivisse ubi esset lignum vitae, alioqui sicut persuaserat illi Satan ut come¬ deret de ligno scientiae, ut faceret eum mise¬ rum, sic etiam persuasurum fuisse ut come¬ deret de ligno vitae, ut faceret perpetuo mi¬ serum. Et idcirco addit Rupertus (ut supra notavimus) dictum esse a Deo, ne forte su¬ mat de ligno vitae, quia poterat fieri ut casu incideret Adam in arborem vitae, licet ubi esset, ignoraret. Possumus etiam respondere, scivisse Ada¬ mum ubi esset lignum vitae, sed non fuisse de illo sumpturum, nisi suo tempore, id est, cum esset transferendus de statu gratiae ad statum gloriae. Neque enim ignorabat Adam se aliquando ad statum longe subli¬ miorem evehendum, et tunc fore tempus su¬ mendi de ligno vitae ; et simul sciebat parum (l)Gen. III, 22. CAPUT XIX. 207 prodesse immortalitatem sine beatitudine, neque erat curiosus, nec aliqua stimulabatur concupiscentia mala gustandi aliquid ante tempus. Itaque abstinuisset se ab eo cibo • usque ad praefinitum tempus, et sic praece¬ ptum illud implevisset : De omni ligno, quod est in paradiso, comede, suo tempore videli¬ cet, neque enim oportebat eum uno die fru¬ ctus omnium arborum degustare. At post lapsum factus erat intemperans, et curiosus, et periculum erat ne in suam perniciem su¬ meret lignum vitae, ideo justissimo, et ipsi homini utilissimo Dei consilio de paradiso fuit ejectus. Ad secundam objectionem : Respondeo non esse usque adeo certum, utrum, si Adam non peccasset, omnes simul electi transfe¬ rendi fuissent uno eodemque tempore ad beatam vitam an vero alii post alios ; ita ut filii parentibus ni statu innocentiae succe¬ derent, et qui priores in hanc vitam intra¬ rent, priores etiam ad aliam pervenirent. Sanctus enim Augustinus in lib. ix de Genes, ad litteram cap. 6. quaestionem hanc movet, et insolutam relinquit. Itaque probabile est tempus meriti fuisse futurum certo aliquo annorum numero definitum, ut 50. vel 100. annorum, et ut quis eum terminum attigisset, et toto eo tempore in bonis operibus perdu- rasset, ad sempiternam gloriam transferen¬ dum : quemadmodum hoc tempore non ex- pectant animae sanctae, ut impleatur numerus electorum, sed quae prius absolvunt tempus peregrinationis et viae, eae prius ad patriam et gloriam evehuntur. Quod si etiam demus debuisse impleri nu¬ merum electorum, antequam ullus de statu innocentiae ad statum gloriae transmigraret non tamen ideo cogemur tempus illud meriti et viae in longum sic extendere, ut necessa¬ rius fuerit usus ligni vitae ante finem com¬ munis et universalis translationis. Atque haec de paradiso pro instituti nostri ratione sufficiant. Quia vero non ita pridem in lucem prodierunt disputationes ejusdem argumenti a Benedicto Pererio in comment. in Gen. et a Gregorio de Valentia ini part. S. Thomae, aditae, quae praeclarae et accuratissimae es¬ se dicuntur, lectorem admonendum censui, haec nostra, qualiacumque sunt, ante multos annos scripta, et auditoribus in scholis tra¬ dita fuisse : neque mihi unquam libros do¬ ctissimorum illorum Theologorum ordinis mei, evolvere per otium licuisse. FINIS TREDECIM.E CONTROVERSI.® GENERALIS. DECIMA QUARTA CONTROVERSIA GENERALIS