Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Sacrament of Penance · Book II: On Contrition
Chapter 17: That Imperfect Contrition, or Attrition Arising from Fear of Punishment, Is Good and Useful; and the Objections Solved
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. III, De Sacramento Poenitentiae, Book II, the fourth general controversy on the sacraments. 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).
The tenth question follows: whether contrition, or attrition, which arises from servile fear, is good; since Martin Luther (as we showed from many of his testimonies in book 1, chapter 6) at the beginning of his defection openly said that contrition arising from servile fear makes a man a hypocrite and a greater sinner. And although the Lutherans afterwards withdrew from that opinion, and now commonly teach that the fear of punishment is useful and that Penance begins from it, as is plain from Chemnitz in part 2 of the Examination, page 954, and from Calvin, book 3 of the Institutes, chapter 3, section 7, yet we have thought it worth while to confute by the testimonies of the Scriptures, the tradition of the ancients and reasons the opinion of Luther, condemned first by Leo X in the bull against the Lutheran articles, then by the ecumenical Council of Trent, session 14, canon 5.
But before we come to the arguments it will have to be explained in a few words about which fear of punishment the controversy chiefly is; for we can, for the sake of teaching, distinguish four fears, all of which regard punishment, not guilt. The first is natural fear, which is a certain passion of the lower part; and of this fear there is no controversy, both because this fear does not extend to eternal punishments, which are grasped by faith alone, and also because it is neither good nor bad, and is found not only in men but also in cattle. For Rupert the abbot errs, book 9 On the Works of the Holy Spirit, chapter 5, where, distinguishing two bad fears from two good ones, he says that the first bad one is that which is numbered among the four chief passions of the soul, which are fear, desire, grief and joy; and he would have the second be that which is born of faith but does not correct a man, such as was in Felix the governor of Judaea, who, when Paul disputed of the judgement to come, Acts 24, was greatly terrified, but did not thence become better. But those passions of the soul are not rightly called bad, since morally they can be called neither good nor bad, seeing that we do not have them in our power; and naturally they are good, and implanted in us by God for many advantages, as Saint Basil shows in the oration against the angry. And that fear which arises from faith ought not to be called bad because it does not correct a man; but that fault is not of faith or of fear, but of the man, who does not follow the leading of faith and fear.
The second fear is that which theologians are accustomed to call worldly; namely when someone so dreads the punishments to be inflicted by creatures that for that reason he does not shrink from sinning against the Creator; such a fear as was in Peter when he denied Christ. Nor can there be any question of this fear; for that fear is by the consent of all bad, and condemned by Christ himself, Matthew 10: “Fear ye not them that kill the body.” And by the apostle Peter, 1 Peter 3: “Be not afraid of their fear, but sanctify the Lord Christ in your hearts.” And by Isaiah, chapter 51: “Who art thou, that thou shouldst be afraid of a mortal man, and of the son of man, who shall wither away like grass?” This same fear Saint Basil in the explanation of Psalm 33 calls hostile, and says it is the offspring of unbelief; and Saint Augustine disputes of the same in sermon 18 on the words of the Apostle.
The third is the fear of punishment which God himself threatens to sinners, but so joined with the fear of the divine offence that, although a man vehemently fears the punishment, yet he fears the offence of God more than that punishment. And this is usually called servile fear according to its substance, but without servility, and is ordered and good; nor does there seem able to be any question of it, and not even Luther himself, as I think, would have reproved that fear. For the Lord too exhorts the holy martyrs, Matthew 10, to fear him who can destroy soul and body in hell; and the holy Fathers everywhere praise this fear, and say it has place even in just men. Saint Basil, oration on Psalm 33, teaches that the temptations of sins are to be repelled by just men by the fear of the judgement to come. And in the oration on the beginning of Proverbs he says that just men are hindered by this fear from sinning, no otherwise than those who are fixed to a cross are hindered by the nails from moving themselves, according to that of Psalm 118: “Pierce thou my flesh with thy fear, for I am afraid of thy judgements.” Saint John Chrysostom, homily 15 to the people of Antioch, writes that the dread of hell is in the soul of a just man like a strong and armed soldier who keeps thieves and robbers and all enemies far from the house. Saint Ambrose on Psalm 118, sermon 21, writes that the holy martyrs, set in the contest of martyrdom, were accustomed to overcome by the fear of hell placed before the eyes of the mind the fear of those punishments which was inflicted by persecutors and executioners. Saint Jerome, in the letter to Eustochium on keeping virginity, writes that he chose solitude and the hardest kind of life from the dread of hell. Saint Augustine, in the book On Grace and Free Will, chapter 18, writes that to holy men is given by God that fear of which the Lord says, “Fear him who can destroy soul and body in hell.” And in the book On Holy Virginity, chapter 38, he openly teaches that this fear is by no means excluded by charity. Lastly, Saint Gregory, homily 26 on the Gospels, exhorts all to fear the judgement to come before it comes, lest afterwards, when it begins to draw near, they have to fear.
The fourth fear is properly servile, by which namely the sinner so fears God punishing that for the sake of fleeing punishment alone he keeps from committing sins and grieves for those committed; which fear Saint Augustine so explains in discourse 25 on Psalm 118: “The fear by which justice is not loved but punishment is feared is servile, because it is carnal; and therefore it does not crucify the flesh. For the will to sin lives, which then appears in the work when impunity is hoped for; but when punishment is believed to follow, it lives secretly, yet it lives; for it would rather it were lawful, and grieves that what the law forbids is not lawful, because it does not spiritually delight in the good of the law, but carnally dreads the evil which it threatens.” Of this fear, then, is the whole controversy; for Luther condemned this as one that makes men hypocrites and greater sinners, and the Synod of Trent, session 14, chapter 4, teaches that this same fear is good and useful, and stirred up by God.
Which opinion is proved, first, from those words of David, Psalm 110, and of Solomon, Proverbs 1: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; and Ecclesiasticus, chapter 1: “The fear of the Lord driveth out sin; for he that is without fear cannot be justified.” And chapter 25: “The fear of God is the beginning of his love.” These things are said of the fear which is in sinners, and which precedes love; but in sinners, and before love, there cannot be filial fear, but only servile. Likewise Isaiah 26, according to the version of the Seventy: “From thy fear we have conceived, and brought forth the Spirit of salvation.” Jeremiah 5: “Will not you then fear me, saith the Lord, and will you not be sorry before my face?” Malachi 1: “The son honoureth the father, and the servant his master; if then I be a father, where is my honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear?” In which place the Lord demands fear from servants who had not known how to love him as a father. That also of the Lord, Matthew 10, “Fear him that can destroy both soul and body in hell,” although it pertains to the just, who are helped by that fear not to sin, yet it cannot be doubted that it ought to be referred also to the unjust, who are helped by the same fear to come to Penance. Besides, the Scriptures everywhere strike terror into sinners, and surely to no other end than that they may conceive fear, and from that fear meditate Penance. Deuteronomy 32: “A fire is kindled in my wrath, and shall burn even to the lowest hell.” Psalm 7: “Except you will be converted, he will brandish his sword; he hath bent his bow and made it ready; and in it he hath prepared the instruments of death, he hath made ready his arrows for them that burn.” Isaiah 33: “Which of you can dwell with devouring fire? which of you shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” Jonah, chapter 3, converted the Ninevites with that threat: “Yet forty days, and Nineve shall be destroyed.” Matthew 3, John the Baptist laboured to bring men to Penance from the fear of punishment: “Ye brood of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come?” And again: “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit shall be cut down, and cast into the fire.” And Christ himself, Matthew 5, 13, 24 and 25, Mark 9, Luke 12 and elsewhere very often, threatened the fire of hell, the gnashing of teeth, the outer darkness, the worm that dieth not and the unquenchable flames. Lastly, the same Scriptures teach so openly that this fear is inspired by God that it ought to seem too great a rashness if anyone still wished to condemn it. Romans 8: “You have not received the spirit of bondage again in fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption of sons,” and so on; in which place blessed Paul teaches that in the Old Testament a spirit of bondage was given by God, by which he might be feared, as in the New Testament he gave a spirit of adoption, by which he might be loved. Isaiah 63: “Why hast thou made us to err from thy ways? why hast thou hardened our heart, that we should not fear thee?” Where the prophet laments that the Hebrews lacked the gift of fear, by which they could have been converted to the Lord. For (as Saint Augustine rightly teaches in letter 105 to Sixtus) God does not harden by imparting malice, but by not imparting mercy.
Let there now be added the tradition of the ancient Church. Tertullian in the book On Penance: “If you draw back from confession,” he says, “consider hell in your heart, which confession extinguishes for you; and first imagine the greatness of the punishment, that you may not doubt about laying hold of the remedy.” The same, book 2 against Marcion, shows that the fear of judgement is good and salutary. Clement of Alexandria, book 2 of the Stromata, before the middle: “Faith,” he says, “is the first inclination to salvation; after it fear, and hope, and Penance.” And below: “Those who condemn fear attack the law also; and if the law, it is clear that they attack him also who gave the law.” Saint Cyprian, in the sermon On the Lapsed, when he exhorted the lapsed to fear: “God,” he says, “as much as he is always indulgent and good with the tenderness of a father, so much is he to be feared with the majesty of a judge.” Saint Basil, oration on Psalm 33: “The saving fear,” he says, “which leads to holiness and is divinely implanted in the soul, of what kind it is, if you desire to hear, attend: when perhaps you see yourself ready for some sin, think of that terrible command and the judgement of Christ,” and so on. See the same in the oration on the beginning of Proverbs. Saint Pacian, in the exhortation to penance, near the end: “Fear, most beloved,” he says, “the just judgements; leave off error, condemn delights; the last time now hastens; Tartarus and hell open their bosoms loosened for the wicked; after the timely torments of souls, punishment is kept also for bodies raised again,” and so on. Saint Ambrose, in the little book to a Fallen Virgin, chapter 8: “Penance,” he says, “is to be done not in words but in deed. And it is done thus, if you set before your eyes from how great a glory you have fallen, and from what book of life your name has been blotted out, and if you believe yourself set now near the very outer darkness.” Saint Jerome, in the commentary on the first chapter of Malachi: “God wishes,” he says, “that first we be his sons and do good with willingness; if we will not obtain this, that at least he may have us as servants, and that we withdraw from evils through the dread of punishments, that from the fear of servants we may pass to the grace of sons.” And on the second chapter of Micah: “That those who are not held by shame or modesty may do Penance at least by the threat of punishments.” Saint John Chrysostom, in book 1 On Compunction of Heart, at the beginning: “This alone is required of us, that we always remember our evils, and recall to mind and have before our eyes the conscience of our deeds, that we may supplicate God for them, that we set hell in our sight, and the angels who in the day of judgement run to and fro everywhere and gather from the whole world those who are to be delivered to the hell of fire,” and so on; see also homily 15 to the people of Antioch. Saint Augustine on Psalm 127, on that, “Blessed are all they that fear the Lord”: “That fear,” he says, “not yet chaste, fears the presence of the Lord and punishments; whatever good it does, it does from fear; not from fear of losing that good, but from fear of suffering that evil; it does not fear lest it lose the embraces of the most beautiful spouse, but it fears lest it be sent into hell. Good is this fear too; it is useful.” And tractate 9 on the epistle of John: “Fear goads,” he says, “but do not fear; charity enters, which heals what fear wounds; the fear of God wounds as the surgeon’s iron removes the rottenness; there is need, then, that fear enter first, through which charity may come; fear is the medicine, charity the health.” John Cassian, book 4 of the Institutes of Renunciants, chapter 39: “The beginning of our salvation,” he says, “and the guard of the same, as I have said, is the fear of the Lord; for through this both the beginning of conversion, and the purging of vices, and the guarding of virtues are acquired by those who are being trained for the way of perfection.” See also the same, conference 3, chapter 4, and conference 11, chapter 6. Saint Gregory, homily 34 on the Gospels: “A depraved mind,” he says, “unless it is first overturned by fear, is not cleansed from its accustomed vices.” Saint Bernard, in the sermon on Saint Mary Magdalen, as if he had foreseen Luther attributing everything to faith alone: “He is deceived,” he says, “who so kisses the foot of mercy that he does not attend to the foot of judgement; who presumes wholly on the foot of mercy, believing that this alone suffices for salvation, that he believes.” And in the book On Precept and Dispensation: “Good indeed,” he says, “is the degree of obedience, according to the sentence of our master, whoever obeys, whether for the dread of hell or for the holy profession which he has professed; but better when one obeys from the love of God.”
Let reason also be added at last. For it is agreeable to nature and reason to fear an evil which can happen, and especially the supreme and everlasting evil, such as is the torment of hell. Then, the effect of this fear is excellent; for either it restrains the will from sinning, or at least hinders the work; but a bad tree cannot bring forth good fruits. Lastly, not only is God the cause of this fear, but it is also probable that this same fear is numbered among those illustrious seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, as among the Scholastics Alexander taught, part 3 of the Summa of theology, question 76, member 2, and Saint Bonaventure on book 3 of the Sentences, distinction 34, part 2, article 1, question 1, and among the ancient doctors Saint Augustine and Saint Gregory, two columns of the Church. Saint Augustine, tractate 9 on the epistle of John, teaches that it is servile fear of which Solomon speaks when he says, Proverbs 1, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”; which Saint Basil also teaches in the oration on the beginning of Proverbs, Bede on chapter 1 of Proverbs, Bernard, homily 23 on the Canticle, and letter 9 to the bishop of Cologne, and the Master with the Scholastic theologians on book 3 of the Sentences, distinction 34. Again, the same Augustine, book 1 On the Lord’s Sermon on the Mount, chapter 9, and Gregory, homily 16 on Ezekiel, write that Solomon spoke of the same fear when he says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,” and Isaiah, chapter 11, who set in the last place among the gifts of the Holy Spirit the spirit of the fear of the Lord. Therefore according to the opinion of Gregory and Augustine servile fear has its place among the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. Add that Gregory, in the place cited, hands down in express words that the spirit of the fear of the Lord of which Isaiah speaks is the fear of punishment, which is diminished as charity grows. And Augustine, in the book On Grace and Free Will, chapter 18, teaches that the spirit of the fear of the Lord, which Isaiah set among the gifts of the Holy Spirit, is not that fear by which Peter denied Christ, but that of which the Lord says, “Fear him who can destroy body and soul in hell”; which fear is certainly servile, at least according to its substance. Nor is it against these things that in Christ were all the gifts of the Holy Spirit, in whom nevertheless there was no servile fear. For neither was that chaste fear in Christ by which we fear lest perhaps we offend God; for he knew himself to be impeccable; and yet who would dare affirm that that chaste fear is not to be numbered among the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Therefore the prophet Isaiah by the spirit of the fear of the Lord understood the fear of the Lord in general, as it comprehends the servile and the filial; but Christ was filled with the spirit of the fear of the Lord, not according to all the species of fear, but only according to the species of filial fear, so far as it regards reverence of the Father, which alone could be in him.
Chapter XVIII. The Objections Are Solved
Martin Luther, in the sermon On Penance and in the assertion of the sixth article, objects some few arguments against the things which have now been explained and settled; which, although they were long ago dissolved by the most learned men John of Rochester and Ruard Tapper, yet it will do no harm if they are also most briefly dissolved by us.
First, then, he objects: that contrition from fear of the precept and of threats is extorted and violent, and increases sin, not diminishes it. For, the precept and threats removed, those who before said from fear that sin displeased them would now say that it pleased them; and they sin the more, and are the more provoked by their sins, the more they are compelled; for they do not wish to hate those things; since indeed the law and the prohibition of sin make sin abound the more, as the Apostle says, Romans 5. I answer: it cannot be doubted that grief for sin drawn forth from the fear of the law and of punishments alone is not so free and voluntary as that which arises from the love of justice and of God; yet simply it too is free and voluntary, since it is born of deliberate counsel and choice, and a man can, as indeed many do in fact, prefer to enjoy present pleasure by sinning rather than by not sinning to escape future punishments. But even if that grief can in some way be called extorted, it is not therefore bad, nor does it increase sin, but it is good, and draws back from sin; otherwise the law itself, which strikes fear, would be bad, and God, who inspires that fear, would be the author of evil. And that we strain after what is forbidden, and that sin thence abounds from the knowledge of the law and the fear of punishments, does not arise from the law or from fear, but from the corrupt will of man, which takes occasion of evil from good. Wherefore blessed Paul openly writes that occasion is not given by the law, but is taken from the law: “What shall we say, then?” he says, Romans 7. “Is the law sin? God forbid. But I did not know sin but by the law; for I had not known concupiscence, if the law did not say: Thou shalt not covet. But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.” And below: “Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, seduced me, and by it killed me. Wherefore the law indeed is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good.” Which same can be said of fear, namely that it is holy and good, since of itself it draws back from sinning, although sometimes the corrupt will of man desires the more, the more it is restrained from the work. But it must be known besides that two degrees, as it were, can be distinguished in servile fear. The first is when it hinders the outward work of sin but not the will; and this fear is good, and the cause of a good thing, because it is good that the outward work be hindered; but because it is joined with a bad will, it begets neither contrition nor attrition. The second is when it restrains not only the outward work of sin but also the will to sin; for often men, even if they do not yet love God with their whole heart, yet, having considered the evil effects of sin and the eternal torments to which it leads them, simply conceive hatred against sin and seriously cast away the will to sin. And this fear is better, nor does the will to sin in any way grow from it; and of it the theologians speak when they say that attrition conceived from fear is a disposition for justification, and, the sacrament being added, really justifies, as is clear from the Council of Trent, session 14, chapter 4, where we read that attrition disposes to justification if it excludes the will to sin.
Secondly, the same Luther objects, in the same sermon On Penance, that no one can perfectly hate anything whose contrary he has not first loved, since love is prior to hatred, and hatred naturally flows from love; therefore that hatred of sins which arises from fear of punishments is not true hatred, but only that which is born of the love of justice; and therefore he exhorts sinners, if they wish to conceive true Penance, not to attend to the foulness of sin but to the beauty and comeliness of virtue. I answer: if we admitted what Luther assumes, nothing else would follow from it than that grief for sins on account of fear of punishment is not perfect hatred of sins; which indeed we by no means deny; for we confess that the perfect hatred of sin is that which proceeds from the love of God and of justice, and therefore we call grief or hatred conceived from fear of punishment not contrition but attrition. But that principle of Luther, namely that nothing can be truly and perfectly hated whose contrary is not first loved, has no place except in those things which are hated for their own sake; for if anything is hated for the sake of another thing, it can be truly and perfectly hated if that thing is loved for whose sake this is hated. In this way we often detest a sweet food, not because we love its contrary, that is, an unsavoury food, but because we love health, to which that sweet food is believed to be going to be harmful; so, then, we can pursue sins with a most true and most vehement hatred, even if we do not at all love the virtues contrary to them, because we love happiness, from which we are persuaded that by sinning we are excluded and fall away. Further, that exhortation of Luther, that one about to do Penance should direct the eyes of the mind not to the harms which sin begets but to the beauty of virtue, is altogether unseasonable. For he who is accustomed to the filth of sins is not moved to the beauty of virtue; nor can it come about that liberality should suddenly begin to please the miser, chastity the lustful, humility the proud, unless God by a singular miracle has willed in a moment to enlighten and change some man from above. But the punishments which God threatens to sinners can easily move the mind of any man whatever, however wicked and impious; and therefore divine providence is ordinarily accustomed to begin from the fear of punishments when it leads a sinner to Penance. For truly was it written by David and Solomon: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” And Augustine, tractate 9 on the epistle of John, said truly: “If there is no fear, there is nothing by which charity may enter. As we see that thread is introduced by a bristle when something is sewn: the bristle enters first, but unless the bristle goes out, the thread does not follow; so fear first occupies the mind, but fear does not remain there, because it entered for this, that charity might be brought in.”
Thirdly, the same Luther, in the assertion of article 6, says many things to prove that contrition conceived from fear of punishments is a certain hypocrisy, and makes men hypocrites; but the sum of the reasoning is this. What is not from the heart and sincere is simulated and hypocritical, according to that of Matthew 15, “Their heart is far from me”; again, what is not done from charity is not done from the heart, and is nothing, vain and false, 1 Corinthians 13; therefore what is not done from charity is simulated and hypocritical. But contrition conceived from fear does not arise from charity; therefore it is simulated and hypocritical. I answer: the first proposition is most true, but the second most false. For what is not done from charity is indeed not meritorious of eternal life, which God has promised to those that love him, James 1; yet it can be true, sincere and useful. For he who prays for the remission of sins and for the receiving of charity does not labour in vain, even if he cannot do it from the charity which he does not yet have; and he who hates sin because it leads to everlasting destruction truly and seriously hates sin, as he truly and seriously fears everlasting destruction; and those who redeemed their sins with alms according to the counsel of Daniel, or who at the preaching of Jonah, fearing the overthrow of the city, afflicted themselves with fasting and sackcloth, will by no means be hypocrites. Nor did the apostle Paul, 1 Corinthians 13, write that what is done without charity is nothing, vain and false; or that faith, tongues, prophecy, knowledge, miracles without charity are nothing, or are vain and false; but that the man who has all those without charity is nothing, because he is not the friend of God, and all those things, if charity is absent, will never make him blessed.
Fourthly, the same Luther objects, in the letter to the vicar of his order, that Penance sounds nothing bitter or harsh, but a sweet and pleasant thing; but fear has torment, as Saint John writes. I answer: this, to be sure, is what the Lutherans desire to hear, that Penance is done pleasantly by sleeping and drinking; to whom what Tertullian writes in the book On Penance most aptly applies, when he says: “Is it fitting, then, that we should supplicate in scarlet and Tyrian purple for our delights? Give me a pin for parting the hair, and powder for polishing the teeth, and some forked instrument of iron or bronze for paring the nails; if there is any false whiteness, any borrowed blush, let it float upon the lips or cheeks. Besides, seek out more pleasant baths, retreats in gardens or by the sea; add to the expense, hunt up the enormous fattening of fowls, strain off old wine. When anyone asks why you lavish on your soul, say: I have sinned against God, and am in danger of perishing for ever.” So he. Not so the publican, who for confusion did not dare lift his eyes to heaven, and with grief beat his breast; not so that sinful woman, who, as Saint Gregory speaks, homily 33, burned with such grief that even among the banquets she did not blush to weep. In short, that Penance of Luther, all sweet and soothing, is very far from those precepts which bid us afflict our souls, rend our hearts, make mourning as for an only son.
Fifthly, it could be objected that servile fear seems disordered, and thereby also bad, since it fears punishment more than guilt. I answer: the argument rightly proves that those who have servile fear are disordered and bad, but not that the fear itself is disordered or bad. For servile fear is not called servile from some form of servility intrinsic and essential to it, but from a form of servility extrinsic to it and intrinsic to its subject. For it is called servile fear because it is found in servants, as if one said the fear of servants; as unformed faith is the faith of sinful men, but is not itself sin, because unformedness is joined with faith, but is not intrinsic to it. So he who fears servilely is bad, because he makes more of punishment than of guilt; but the fear itself is not bad, but good; for he is not bad because he vehemently fears punishment, but because he does not fear guilt more vehemently; and that he does not fear guilt more vehemently does not arise from the fear of punishment, but from the lack of charity. Gregory on chapter 1 of the Canticle: “The upright,” he says, “love thee; those not yet upright fear thee.” You will say: if these things are so, why cannot worldly fear also be called good and holy, although those who have it are bad? For that he sins who denies Christ from fear of death does not seem to be ascribed to fear, for death is rightly feared, but to the lack of charity. I answer: there is a very great difference between servile fear and worldly fear; for servile fear is the fear of God, worldly fear the fear of creatures. And from this difference two others arise. One is that servile fear, although it is joined with sin, yet is not the cause of sin; for it cannot come about that anyone should offend God because he fears God, but rather on the contrary he abstains from sinning because he fears God; and of this good effect there can be none but a good cause. But worldly fear is not only joined with sin, but is also the cause of sin itself; for the fearful man offends God for this reason, that he fears the creature too much, and from that fear chooses sin as a means of fleeing the temporal evil which he fears; and of this bad fruit there can be none but a bad tree as cause. The other difference is that servile fear cannot be excessive intensively; for no one can fear too much an angry God or everlasting destruction; nay, no one in this world fears hell as much as he would fear it if he had it well in view. Hell can indeed be feared too much appreciatively, as if anyone, given the choice, would rather flee hell than sin; but that excess does not arise from a fault of fear, as if it were excessive in itself and therefore the cause of the bad estimate, but from the lack of charity. So he who fears the punishment of hell more than guilt does not sin because he fears the punishment of hell too much, but because from lack of charity he does not fear guilt as much as he ought. But worldly fear, because it is the fear of a created, finite and temporal evil, can easily be excessive not only appreciatively but also intensively; and for the most part it is excessive appreciatively because it is excessive intensively, and then it is properly called worldly fear. Wherefore worldly fear in itself and intrinsically is disordered and bad.
Lastly, it could be objected that those sin who love God for the sake of another thing; therefore those also sin who fear God for the sake of another thing, that is, for fleeing punishments. But the answer is easy. For since the object of love is good and of fear evil, and God in himself is good, or rather the supreme and infinite good, but is not in himself evil, but only in the effects with which he justly afflicts sinners; therefore he is to be loved for his own sake, but feared for the sake of another thing. And let these things suffice about this whole disputation.
One question indeed could still have been treated: whether attrition, or imperfect contrition, which it is certain does not suffice for justification without the sacrament, suffices with the sacrament, so that the penitent from attrite becomes contrite by the power of absolution and is justified. For Luther at one time denied this, as is plain from his answer to the dialogue of Sylvester Prierias, where, speaking of the sixth conclusion, he says: “It is an error that the attrite becomes contrite by the power of the keys.” But his disciples, who place contrition in terrors, and ascribe justification to faith alone conceived from the word of absolution, which follows those terrors, can in no way deny that attrition both alone does not suffice and with absolution does suffice, as was declared in the Council of Trent, session 14, chapter 4.
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Contrilionem impprfcr.lnm. sixc altritiondm cx timore pocnae ortam . bonam atquc ulilcm esse. Decima scquiliir quncslio: Utrura contrilio, sive allrilio quae urilur e\ limore scrvili, sil bona: si- (]uuiem Martinus Lullierus (ul oslcndimus cx mul- lis ejus leslimoniis in lib. 1. cap. 6.) inilio defc- (iionis suae aperle dicebat, contrilionem e.\ limo- re servili ortam, facere hominem hypocrilam et maiiis peccalorem. Et qnamvis Lullierani postea ab ea senlenlia recesserint . etjnm oummuniter do- ifanl.limurem poenae ulilem essc,atquc indc Poe- nilcnliam inchoari. ul perspicuum esl ex Kemni- iio in 2. par. examin. pag. 9o4, el ex Calvino lib. :\. Institul. cap. 3. § 7. lamen operaeprelium esse (luximus, Lutheriseaicniiain a Leone X. primum in buUa conlra articulos Luthcranos,deinde a con- cilio occumenico tridenlino sess. 14. can. 5. dam- natam, leslimoniis Scripturarum, vcterum Iradi- lionc el rationibus confulare. Sed antequam ad argumenta veniamus.exponcn- dum erit pnucis,de quo timore poenae potissimum conlroversia sil; possumus enim doctrinae caussa (]uatuor timores distinguere, qui omnes poenam , non culpam respicianl. Priinus esl timor naturalis, qui passio quacdam esl partis inferioris; et de hoc limore nulla coniro- versia esl, lum quod hic limor non se extendal ad jioenas aeternas,quae sola fide coraprehenduatur, luin eliam quod neque sit bonus, neque maius,nec soliim in hominibus,sed etiam in pecudibus repe- n.ilur. Errat enim Rupertus abbas lib. 9. de ope- ribus Spirilus sancli cap.o. ubi duos timores ma- los a duobus bonis dislinguens, priorem malum esse dicil eum, qui in qualuor praecipuis animae passionibus numeratur,quae sunl, timor.cupiditas, dolor etgiiudium; posleriorem esse vull eum, qui nascitur ex fide, sed hominem non corrigit, qualis luit in Felice praesidc Judaeae , qui disputante Paulo Actor. 24. dc judicio fuluro , valdc perlerri- tns esl, sed inde non evasil melior. Al passiones illae animae non recle dicunlur malae,cum mora- liter nec bonae, nec malae vucari possint, quippe quas non habemus in poleslate ; naluraliter autcra bonae sint, et a Deo ad mulla coramoda nobis in- genitae, ut s. Basilius demonstrat in orat. conlra irascentes. Timor autem ille qui ex fide orilur,non ideo malus dici dcbel , quia hominem non corri- git ; sed vitium illud non fidei, vel limorisi, sed hominis est , qui fidei ac timoris ductum non se- quilur. Alter timur cst is, iiuem thcologi muiidanum ai)|)ellare solent; cum videlicel quis ita puenas a rehus cieiitis inlligeiulas nuiuit , ul proiilercii in creiitorein peccare non miiual; (jualis liimu- iii l*e- Iro fuit, cum Chrislum negavit. Neque de hoc ti- morc ulla (luacslin esse |)olesl: is enini timurcon- seusu oiiiuium malus est, et al> ijiso Cliristo dain- natus, .Mattli. 10. ISolite limere cos, qui occidunt corpus. Et ab aposlolo Pelro. 1. Petr. 3. Tiinorcni corum nc timucrilis. Dominum aulem Chrislum sanclificalc in cordH)Us vcslris. Et ab Isaia ca|). 51. Quis tu, ut titnercs ab liomine mortali , et a filio liominis. qui quasi focnuin , ila arescct ? llunc eundem limorem s. Uasilius in explicatione psalin. 33. hoslilcm appcllal ac sobolem incrcdu- litaiis csse dicil; el de eodem disputat s. Augusti- nus serm. 18. de verbis Aposloli. Tertius est timor poenae, quem Deus ipse pec- catoribus comniinatur; sed cum limorc offensionis divinae ila conjunctus, ul licet homo vehemenlcr pocnam limeat,inagis tanien oirensionem Dei.qiiam poenam illam timcal. Atqucliic tiinor servilis dici solel secundum substantiam, sed absque servilita- le, el ordinatus ae bonus est ; neque de eo quae- stio esse posse videtur, ac nc ipse quidem Luthe- rus, ut existimo , limorcm Istum reprehendisset. Nam et Dominus hortatur sanctos m;irlyres Malth. 10. ul tlraeant eum, qui potesl animara ct coritus perdere in gehennam: et sancli Palres hunc timo- rem passim laudani, el in ipsis etiam justis homi- nibus locum habere dicunt. S. Basilius orat. in psalra. 33. docet peccatorum tentationes repellen- das a viris justis timore futuri judicii. El orationc in principium Proverbiorum , dicit homines jiistos hoc liraore iinpediri ne peccenl, non secus ac im- pediunlur clavis, qui cruci affixi sunt, ne se com- moveant, juxla illud ps. 118. Confige timore tuo carnes meas: ajudiciis enim tuis tifnui. S.Joan- nes chrysostomus homil. 15. ad populura antio- chenura, scribit, metum gehennae esse in anima hominis jusli quusi mililem fortem ct armatum,qui fures el iatrones, el omncs hostes procul arcel a domo. S. Ambros. in psalm. 118.serm.21. scribit, sanctos marlyresin agone martyrii conslilutos. li- more gehennae ante oculos inenlis propositae , vincere soliios earum poenarum timorcm , qui a persequutoribus et carnificibus ingerebatur.S.IIie- ronymus in epist. ad Eustochiura de scrvanda vir- ginitatc, scribit re mctu gehennae solitudinem, el genus vitae durissirnum elegisse. S. Augustinus in libro dc gratia et libcro arbilrio cap. 18. scribit , sanctis viris tiraorem illum a Deo donari , de quo Dominus ait; Timele eum, qui potest animam et corpiis perdere in gcliennam. Et libro de sancta virginilate cap. 38. aperte docet, hunc timor(!m a charitale nequaquara excludi. Denique sanclus Grcgorius hoin. 26. in evangelia, oranes hortatur, ulfulurum judicium timeanl antequam venial, ne poslea cum appropinquare coeperit, liraere de- beant. Quartus timor est proprie servilis, quo videlicet ita peccator Deum punientera limet, ut solius poe- nae fugiendac caussa a peccalis perpetrandis ca- veal, el de perpelralis dolcal: quem tiniorem ila LIBEU SECLlJVDlS 667 explicnl s. Augnstinus conc. 25. in psal. 118. Ti- mor.quo non amatur jnsliUa,sed timclur poena, serviiis est. quia carnalis est. el ideo non cruci- figil carnem. Vivit enim peccandi voluntas, quae tunc apparet in opere , quando speratur impu- nilas: cumvero poena creditur sequutura, laten- ter vivil, vivit tamen: mallel enim licere. et dolet non licerc. quod lex vclat.quia non spirHualiter deleclatur ejvs bono, sed carnaliler malum me- luit, qaod minutur. De iioc igilur liniore Inla conlroversia esl, liunc enim Lulherus (Janinabnl, ul qui 1'acertU iioinines hypocrilas. magisque peccalores; el hunc eundem Iridenlina synodus sess. 14. cap. 4. bonum alque ulilem esse. oi a Deo excilari docct. Quae senten- tia probatur Primo ex verbis illis Davidis, psalm. 110. et Salomonis, Proverb. \.Inilium sapientiae timor Domini. et Ecclcs. cap. 1. Timor Domini expellit peccalum. nam qui sine timore est, non poterit justificari. El cap. 2j. Tivior Domini ini- iium dilectionis ejus. Haec dicuntur de timore qui est in peccaloribus, cl qui dileclionem prae- cedil : in peccatoribus aulcin el anle (Jileclio- nem , timor filialis esse non potest , sed tantum servilis. Item Isaiac 2G. secundum vcrsionem LXX. A iimorc tuo concepimus, et jicperimus Spir,itum salutis. Hierem. .">. Me erqo non timebitis, ct a facic mea nondolebitis. dicit Dominus? Malach. 1. Filius lionnral patrem, etservus dominum,:Si ego pater , ubi est lionor meus ? si dominus , ut)i timor meus ? Quo loco Dominus cxigit limo- rem a servis , qui eum ut patrem amare non no- verant. Illud ctiam Domii\i, Blalth. 10. Timete eum,qui potest corpus et animam perderc in gehennam : etiamsi ad juslos pcrtineat, qui tin)ore islo juvanlur ne peccenl; tamen dubitari non polesl, quin eliam nd injustos referri debeat.qui timore eodem juvan- lur. utad Poeniicntiam venianl. Praeterca Scriplurae passim terrorcm inculiunt peccnlorihus, nec sane ad alium finem, nisi ut li- morcm concipiant, el cx eo limore Poenitcntiam medilenlur, Deulcron. 32. Ignis succensus est in furorc meo, el ardebit usque ad inferni novissi- ma. Psalm. 7. Nisi convcrsi fueritis, gladium suum vibrabit , arcum suum tetendil et paravil illum: et in eo paravil vasa morlis, sagittas suas ardentibus effecit. Isaiac [i^.Quis polerit habitare de vobis cum igne devorante? quis habitabit cx vobis cum ardoribus sempiternis?iou;i^ cap.3.illa comminalione Ninivilas converlil, Adhuc quadra- gintn. dies, et JSinive subvertetur. Malth. f». Joan- nes Baplisla ex limnrc poenac ad Poenilcnliain lio- mines adducere salagebal: Genimina viperarum. quis vobis demonstravil fugcre a ventura ira? Kt rursus: Omnis arbor, quaenonfacit fructum bonum , excindelur , el in ignem miltetur. Et Chrislus ipse Matlh. 5. 13. 24. et 2:i. Marc. 9. Luc. 12. ct alibi saepissimc, ignem gchennac , slridorem dentium , tenebras exleriores, vermem non morientcm et flammas inexlinguibiles mina- balur. Denique cacdom Scripturac limorcm islum a Deo inspirari lam apcrtc docenl , ut nimis magna temerilas videri debeat, si quis eum adhuc damna- rc volucril. Roman. 8. iSon accepislis spiritum servitutis iterum in timore,sed accepistis spiritum adoptionis filiorum etc. quo loco beaius Paulus docel, in Testamenlo veleri datum a Deo spiritum servitulis, quo limerelur, qucmadmodum in Testa- mento novo dcdit spirilum adoptionis. quo dilige- relur. Isaiae 03. Quare nos crrare fecisti de via tua? indurasti cor noslrum ne timeremus te? Ubi lamenlalur propheia, quod Hfibraei caruerint dono timoris, quo convcrti ad Dominum potuissent.iVam (ut recle docet sanctus Augnstinus in epist. 10.5. ad Sixtum) non indurat Deus imperlicndo mali- tiam. sed non imperliendo misericordiain. Accedat nunc tradilio vetcris Ecclesiae. Terlul- lianus in lib. de Poenitentia: Si de exomologesi , inquit, retractas, gehennam in corde considera , quam tibi exomologesis extinguit: et poenae ma- gnitudinem prius imaginare,ut de remedii ade- ptione non dubites. Idem lib. 2. in Marcionem , liraorem judicii bonum et salutarem csse demon- stral. Clemens alexandrinus lib. 2. slromalum . anle medium: Fides. inquil, cstprima adsalutemin- clinatio, postquam timor, et spcs,etPoenilentia. El inlVa: Qui limorem damnant. ii legem etiam insectantur: quodsi legem, clarum est, quod cl et eum qui legem tidit. S.Cyprianus in serm. dc lapsis.cum ad limorem lapsos horlaretur: Deus, inquit, quantum pietate patris indtdgcns sempor o.t bonus est:tantumju- dicAs majestate tiynendus esl. S. Basilius orat. in psal. 33, Tmo^-.inquit. salu- taris,qui ad sanclilalcm deducit, et animae divi- nitus insiius est, qualis existat, si cupis audire, atlende : quand,o forte te ad aliquod peccatum vidcris paratum, illud horribile mandatum., el Chrislijudicium cogila elc.yidc cundem oralionc in principium Proverbiorum. S. Pacianusin paracnesi ad poenilenliam . ferc extrema: Timete, \nq\ni, dilectissimi jusla j udicia. omillili', errorcm.damnale delicias: propernl jam tempvs exlremum : Tartarus el gehenna laxatos impiis sinus pandunl: posl animarum lempesli- va supplicia , redivivis quoque corporis poena servalur etc. S. Ambrosius in libello ad virginem corruptam cnp. 8. Pocnite7itia,\nqn\\,non verbis agenda esl, sed et actu. Tlaec aulcm sic agitur. si tif)i an- te oculos po7ias de quanla gloria rueris et dc quo libro vitae nonien tuum delelum sit , et si te _pnn credas propc ipsas posifam tenebras exfe- riores. S. Hieronymus in commenlario ad caput pri- mum Malachiae: Vnff, inquil. Deus ut primum c- jiLS fdii simufi el bonuin vnlunfnle faciamus : si hoc consequi nolumns: ut salfcm nos i<.ervos ha- beat. aniaiis per suppficiorum formidinemrece- damus, utde timore servorum ad grtitiam fUio- rum Iransenmus. El in onpul secundtun Michene: Ut qvipudore, in(|uit. vcf rcrecundianon fenen- tur, aganl Poenifenfiam saifcm comminatione poennrvm. fifcy Dli l'OEMTi:Wil.\ ^>. Joanues rlirysosloiniis iii l.lihro ilc coiiipiin- vlioiie coriiis, exlioino: liuc ^uUim <'sl.(i>iud vxpu- i^cUnr a iiubi^, ul scmper ro.curdcmur iiuila no- slrajH ad auiinuin rcrucoiius clcunscienliam (jc- ntorum noslrorum habcamus anlc oculos, ut pro liis ^iippliccmus Ifcu, ut (ichcnnam punamus iii coiu^pcclibus nuslris cl anuclos , qui in dic ju- dicii ubique discummt, et connrcgant de o- viui orhe terrarum eos , qui tradcndi sunl in iiehcnnam iqnis . nc suppUciis Iradcndi ctc. vidc clMin lioiii. !.'»■ iul populuiii AnliocluMiiiiii. ^. Auijusliiuis in psaliii. 127. in iHiKi: Bcati u- nincs. qui limcnl Duminum. Illc . inquil. limor noudum casUis, pracscnUam Do)iuni cl por?ias liinet, tiinorc facil quidquid honi facil.non limo- re ainiUcndi honum iUud, sed Uinore paUendi illud inaUiin: nun tiincl ne pcrdat amplcxus j)ulclierrimi spum^i, scd limel nc millalur in gc- hcnnam. Uonm esl et isle limor . uUUs esl. Kl lincl. 9. in cpisl. Jo;\nnis: Slimulat. in(]uil: li- inor. sed noU limcrc. inlrai cliaritas. quacsanai (}Uod vulncrat timor: tiinor Dei sic vubierai.quo- niodo medici fcrramenlum pulredinem tolUi. o- pus est crgo ut inlrel tiinor primu. per quem vc- niai charilas : limor medLcamcnlum , cliaritas sanitas. Joniuics cassiaous lib. 4.de inslilutis renuncinn- tiuni cap. 3i). Principium. inquil. noslrac saUUis ojusdcmquc cuslodia. sicut dixi, timor Domini csl: per hunc cnini ci iniUwn conversionis , et vilioruin purgatio. et viriulum custodia his qui imbuuntur ad viam pcrfeciionis , acquiriluv. Yide eliam eundem collal. 3. cap. 4. el collat. 11. cap. 0. S. Grciiorius hom. 31. in cvangel. Prava mens, inquil. si non prius per iimorem everlilur, ab assuetis viiiis non emundaiur. S. Bernardus in serm. de s. Maria Magdalena , quasi, praevidissel Lulherum soli fidci omnia tri- buenlcm: FaUiiur, inquil. qui sic oscidatur mi- sericordiac pcdem, id pedemjudicii non atlen- dal: qui tolum de miscricordiae pedc praesu.mil. hoc soUiin ad salulem sulficere crcdcu>i.quod cre- dii. tl in lib. de praeceplo et dispensalione: Bo- nus quidem,\nqm[.obedienUac qradus esi.juxla maqisiri nostri senicrUiam: sive prupier mcium (jehennae, sive propter professionem sanclam quani professus esl, quisquis obedial: meUor ta- 7)1671, cuni ex Dci amore obedilur. Accedal denique eliam ralio; iiam consenlaneum cst nalurae ac rationi.limere maUiui quod accide- re polesl,ac praeserlim malum summum el sempi- ternum, (pialis esl crucialus gehennae. Dcinde, li- nioris hujus efTeclus oplimus esi; aut enim coercet voluiitalem a peccando, aut sallem impedil opus : non potest aulem arbor malabonos fructus facere. Poslremo. non solum Deus caussa est hnjus limo- ris.sed eliam probabiJe esl.hunc eundem tiniorem inler illa praedara seplem dona sancli Spirilus nti- merari, ul ex Scholasticis docucrunt Alexander iti 3. par. summae Iheologicae quaesl. 7G. m. 2. et s, Bonaventura in 3. senl. dist. ?y't. par. 2. art. 1. quaest. 1. et ex anlicjuis doctoribus s. Auguslinus el s. Gregorius. duae columnac Ecclesiae. S. Augustinus tract. \i. iii cpisl. Joannis, docct limorcm scrvilcm cssc, dc ([uo loquilur Salomou cum ail Provcrb. 1. IniUuin saj^icnliac limor Do- mini: (piod cliam docciit s. B.isilius , oriilione iii prmcipiiim Proverbiorum, Beda in 1. cap.Proverb. Bi;rnar(liis homil. 23. in cantic. cl c|)isl.!). ad cpi- scopum colouicusciii. cl magislcr cum llicologis Scholaslicis iu 3. senlcnl. disl. 3t. Hursus idcm Aiiguslinus lib. 1. de scrin. Doinini in moiilc cap. \). cl Grcgoiius hom. 10. in lC/.ccliiclem. scribiint dc eodiMU limorc hxpiutujn csse Saloinoncm , (jui ail: Inilium sapicnliae limor Domini; El Isaiaiii cap. 11. (]ui ullimo loco intor dona sancti Spirilus posiiit S|>irilum timoris Domini.Igitur cx senlentia Grc.gorii ct Auguslini. inlcr scplem dona Spiritus snncti liinor servilis locuin suiiin habcl.Adde,quod Grcgorius loco citato dis(M'tis verbis tradit.Spinlum liinoris Doinini, dc quo loquilur Isaias, csse timo- rcm poenae, qui minuilur cresccnte charilate. El Aiiguslinus in libro de gratia el libero arbilrio cap. 18. docct Spirilum limoris Domini,quem inhir do- na Spirilus sancli posuil Isaias, non esse limorem illum, quo Petrus Chrislum negavil. sed illum, dc qiio Dominus ail: Timcte euin . qui poiesl cor- pus el aniinam perderc in gehennam. Qui qui- dem timor servilis est, saltem secundum substan- liam. Neque his rcpugnal, quod in Clirislo fuerint o- mnia dona Spiritus sancti, in quo tanien limor ser- vilis non fuit. Nam neque timor ille caslus fuil iii Christo, quo limemus, ne fortc Deum offendamus: scicbat enim iile se impeccabilem esse ; et tamen quis afTirmare auderel, liraorem illum castum intcr doiia Spiritus sancli non esse numerandum? Igitur prophcta Isaias, per Spiritum timoris Doinini , in- tcllcxit limorem Domini in universum, ut comprc- hendil servilem et filialcm: Chrislus autem replctus fuit Spirilu timoris Domini, non secundum omncs species limoris, sed solum secundum spcciem li- moris filialis,quatenus rcspicil revcrentiam patris, qui solus in ipso esse potuit-. CAPUT Xv'!!!. Solvunlur objectiones. Marlinus Lutherus in sermone dc Pocnilcntia. ct in assertione articuli sexli,adversus ea.quae jam explicata el constilula sunt,pauca quaedam objicit argurncnta, quae licct jam olim a viris doctissimis .Toannc RotTensi et Ruardo Tappero dissolula fue- rint, nihil tamen oberil, si etiam a nobis brcvissi- me dissolvantur. Primo igilur objicit: Contritionem ex timore praecepti et minarum,cxlortam ac violcnlam cssc, ct augere peccatiim, non minuere. Nam rcmoio praecepto elminis, qui antea ex timore diccbant sibi displicerc peccatum, jam diccrent placere, cl eo magis pcccant, ct peccatis suis ntnciunlur , quo raagis cogunlur : non aulcm vokml illa odis- I ir.KK SECIJ^DUS m sp, ; siquidem lex el rownilio ppocati . mnr^is a- buiidare facit peccaliiiii . ul ait Aposlolus ad Rom. 5. Respondeo: Dubilari non potest , quin dolor de peccato exsolo limore legis ct poenarum prorocliis, non sil ila liber ac voiuularius. ul esl ilie, qui ori- lur cx amore justiliae el Dei: simplicilcr lamon li- ber el voluntarius est eliam ipse : cum ex delihe- rato consilio,et eleclione nascatur.el possil liomo, ut eliam reipsa muiti faciuDt.malle peccando prae- senli jucundilale frui, quam iion pccrando luluras poenas evadere. Sed etiamsi dolor islc aliquo mo- do extitrlus dici queal. non idco lamen esl maUis, nequc peccatum augel, scfi bonus est.cl a poccalo relraliii, alioqui lex ipsa.qtiae timorem inciitil, es- sel mala; el Deus, qui limorem illum inspiral,mali auctor essel. Quod aulem nilamur in velilum. el inde peccalum abundel ex cognilione legis el li- more poenarum; non orilur ex lege vel timore , .sed cx corrupla liominis volunlale. quae ex bono accipit occasionem mali. Quocirca b. Paulus aper- te scribit, non a lege occasionem dari.sed ex lege occasioncm accipi : Qiiid erqo. inquit. ad Rom.7. (iicemus? lex peccaLuvi esl? absil: sed peccaliim non cognovi nisi per legem, nam concupiscen- tiam nesciebam, nisi lex dicerel: Non concupi- sces. Occasione aulem accepla , peccatum per mandalum operalum esl in mc omnem concu- pisccntiam. Et infra:Peccarumoccasio?ie accepla, pp.rmandatum seduxil n\e. etper illud occidil: ilaque lex quidem sancln,.et niandatum sanclum etjustum et bonum. Quod idem de limore dici polest, esse videlicet eum sancium el bonum.cum ex se relrahal a peccando. licet inlerdum corrupla bominis voluntas eo magis concupiscal.quo magis ;.b opere coercelur. vSed sciendum est praeterea . duos quasi gradus dislingui posse in timore servili. Primus est.quan- do impedit opus peccali externum.sed non vohin- latem: et hic limor est bonus,et bonae rei caussn, quia bonum est impediri opus externum; sed qiiia ronjuiiclus esl cum mala volunlalc,non gignil con- triiionem neque atlrilionem. Secundus esl,quai)(lo non solum opus exlernum peccali, sed etiam vo- lunlalem peccandi coercel: saepe enim homines eliamsi nondum lolo corde Deum diligant . tamen consideralis malis efTeclibus peccali. ct suppliciis aelernis, ad quae ipsos perducil;simpliciler o<lium contra peccalum concipiunl ct si^rio ahjiciunl pec- caiidi voluntatcm. p]l hic timor cst m(,'lior, neque ex eo iillo modo crescil peccandi voluntas ; et do eo loquimlur thoologi. cum dicunt, allrilionem ex timor<i coiwi^ptam, disi)osilionom esse ad justili- cationem, el sacramento accedente, revera juslifi- I care, ut perspicuum est cx concilio Iridenlino , sess. H. cap. 1. ubi lcgimus, allrilionom dispone- re ad juslilicationom, si volunlalom peccandi cx- cludat. Secundo oi^jicit id(im Lulherus in eodein serm. ,dc Poenilentia, nominom p(>sse pcrfecle odisse a- liquid, cujus coiilraiium non prius dilex(!rit, ciirrt ■iinor sit prior odio, el odium ex amore naturali- jler Iluat; proiiide non esse veriim odium pecc.a- lorum, quod ex limore poenarum orilur. sed illud r>M.LlRni;^l. Vijl lli solum, quod nascitur ex amore juslitiae : atque ideo peccalores hortalur, ut si veram Poenitentiam concipere volunt, non atlendanl ad poccati foe- ditatem , sed ad specicm el pulchriludinem vir- lulis, Respondeo: Si admiUeremus , quod Lutherus assuinil, nihil aliud inde elficerelur, nisi dulorein de peccalis ob linmrein poeiiae non esse perle- ctuin odiuin pcccalorum.qu.od quidem nos rainime negiiimis: fnleniur enim pcrfecluiu odiiim pecciiii esse illud. ((uod ex ainore D-ii. juslilia(;que pr.()- cedil, cl ideo dolorem, sive odium ex limore poe- nae conccplum, non conlritioncn). sod allrilionem nominamus. Vcrumlamen principium illud Lullie- ri, non posse videlicel aliqiiid vere perfectcque odio haheri, cujus conlrarium prius non diligatur; non luibet locum nisi in iis rebus , quae propler se odio habenlur, nam si quid alterius rei graliu odio habeatur.vere ac perfecleodio haberi polcrit, si res ill;i diligatur.cnjus caussa istud odio ha[)elur. floc modo saepe cibum suavem deteslamur . non (]uod ojus contrarium, idesl, cibuin insuavem dili- gamus, sed quia diligimus sanilalem , cui cibus ille suavis credilur obfulurus : sic igilur peccala verissimo, veliomenlissimoque odio prosequi pos- sumus, eliamsi conlrarias illi virlules minime dili- gamus. quia diligimus fclicilalcm, a qua peccan- do nos excludi, atque excidere persuasi suinus. Porro, cohorlatio illa Lulheri , ul Poenilentiam a- cluriis, non in ea damna quae gignit peccalum , sed in speciem virtutis oculos mentis inlendal ; prorsus inlempestiva esl. Qui enim sordibus pec- calorum assuelus est, non movetur ad speciem vir- lulis; nequefieri potest ul avaro liberalitas, luxu- rioso castilas, superbo humililas repenle placere incipial, nisi Deiis singulari miraculo in momento hominem aliquem divinilus illuslrare et immutare voliierit. Al suppIicia.quaeDeus pcccaloribus com- miuatur, facile possunl cujuslibol hominis, qiiam- vls impii et nefarii animum perinovere: et idcirco ordinarie diviiia providenlia a limore poenarurn iiicipere solct. cuin peccalorem ad Poeniteiitiam ducit. Vore enim a Davide (!l Salumono scriplum esl: Inilium sapienliae timor Domini. Kl Augu- sliuiis Iract. 1). in episl. Joanois . vore dixil: S/ nuliii.s eslli.inor,nonesL qua intret charilas. Si- culvideinus per selam inlroduci Hnnvi. quando aliquid suilur: seta, jyrius inlrnt: sed nisi .se/a cxeat. nonsucccdit liiium: sic linwr primo oc- cupal menlem , non aulem ilri remanct ti- mor , quia ideo intravil , nl introdncerelur cha- ritas. Terlio: Idem Lulherus in asserlione arl. 0. mul- la dicil ul prohol, coulrilionom cx limore poena- rum conceplam, esse hypocrisim quandam. el ho- minos hypocritas facere: sod sumina raliocinalio- nis hacc esl. Qiiod iion sit ex cordc ac sincere . simiilatum et hypocriticiim est, juxta illiid Mattli. 15. Cor eorumhmrie esl ame: rursus qiiod non lil ex charilalo, nou fil ox cordo. ol niliil, v.inurn ot falsiim (!st, 1. Coriolh. \'.\. igilur quod nou iit ex charilale simulatum et hypocrilicum esl.At coii- tritio ex limore concepla, non orilur ex charilale; (M-go simulalu et hypocritica ost. 8^ no [)E POEMTtNTIA UesponJeo: Hrim;» proposilio veiissima o.sl, at secunda f.iIsissin)a.Uiioil enini non lil e\ cliaiilale; non estquiileni nieriloriuni vitae aeternae . (piani Dens proniisil dilijieiitibus .se, .lacob. I. tamcn ve- rnm, sinccrnm cl ulile esse polest. Qni oiiim orat pro remissione peccaloruni el cliarilale accipien- da. non frnstra laboral, etiamsi e\ cliarilal(\(piam noncJum liabel. iil lacere nequoal:cl (pii iieccaluiii odil, quia ad iiUorilum sempiloriium ducit , vere iic seno peccalum odil, sicut vere ac serio inleri- lum sempilormim timel: et qui pcccala siin eloe- mosynis rodimobal. ju\la consilium Daniolis. vel ad Jonae praedicalionem . urbis eversionem me- luenles.jejnnio ;ic cilicio se alllii^ebant.ne^iuaquam liypocrilae erunt. Noqne Aposlolns raulus 1. (lo- rinlli. \'.\. scripsil. id quod fit sino cliarilate, nihil, vanum ol falsum esse; aul lidom, linj^uas.proplie- liam, scicntiam. miracula, sine charilalo niliil esse aut vana ot falsa esse: scd liominem , qui illa o- mnia sine cbaritale habel. nihil-esse, quia non est amiciis Dei,neque illa omnia si charilas absil.bca- tuni illum unqiiam facient. Quarlo objicil idoni Lulhorus in epistola ad vi- carium ordinis sui , Poonilentiam niliil amarum ;iut asperum . sod rom dulcom et suavem sona- re: timor autem poenain habct , ul scribit s. .Toan- iie<. Respondeo.Id nimirnm Lullierani audiro cupiunt Poonilentiam agi suavilcr dormiendo ac potando : ijuibus apiissime convenilquod scribil Terlullianus in lib. dc Poonitentia, cum ail: I\'um ergo in coc- cino. el Ttjrio pro deliciis siipplicarenos conde- cel? cedo acum crinHrus distinguendis, el pulve- rem dentibus eliinandis,el lyisulcum. aliquid ferri velaeris.unrjuibus repaslinamdis: siquid ficlini- liyris,si quidcoar.iiruboris. inlabia.aul gcnasur- float.Praelerea exquirilo balneas laeUores..liorlu- lani uiarilimive rece^sus; adjicito ad sumplum,. r.onquirito aUilium '•normem siujinam, defecalo sencciutcm vini. Cum quis interrofjaril, cur ani- mae larfiiaris? Deliqui (dicilo) in Deum el pe- riclilor in aeternum perire. Haec ille. IVon sic publicanus. qui prae confusione non nudebat ocn- los ad coelum levare, et cum dolore pectus suuin perculiebal: non sic mulior illa peocatrix, quae,ul sanclus loquilur Gregorius hom. 3.j. lanlo dolore ardebal. ut eliam inler epulas flore non ernbosco- rct. Denique longissimo abest Poenitenlia isla Lu- theri. tola suavis et blanda, ab illis pracceplis.qui jubot afTligere animos, scindere corda, luclum fa- cere quasi unigenili. Quinlo possel objici, quod limor servilis inordi- nalus videatur, ac per lioc eliam malus, cum raa- gis poenam. qiiam culpam timcat. Respondeo: Argumonlum rof.to probat, eos, qui timorem servilem liabent.inordinalos ac malos es- se. non tamen ipsum limorem inordinalum esse , vel malum. Nam timor servilis non dicitur servilis ab aliqua forma servililalis sibi inlrinseca el es- senliali, sed a forma servilitatis exlrinseca sibi, in- trinseca aulera subJ3clo suo. Dicitur enim timor servilis. quia reperitur in servis . quasi dicerelur limor servorum: quoraodo fides inlormis est fides bominum peccalorum. sed ipsa non est peccatum. (piia iiiformilas est conjuncla cum lido, sed nnn osl illi iiilnnsoca. Iliupn; (jui sorvililor liiiiot, nia- lus est. quia plnris facil poonam, (piam culpam , sod limor ipso iion ostmalus, scd boiiiis: (piia iion idoo illoosl iiiidus,(piia vchemeutcr limel pocnam, sed quia non volieniontiiis liinol ciilpam: quod aii- lom uou vohemonlius culpam limeat , non orilur •'\ limoro poonao. sod ox dofoclii charihilis. (ire- gorius in 1. cap. (/,inl. Recii, inquit, dilifjunL le, non recli adliuc timent te. Dicos, si ha(;c ila se babont, cur non potost et- iain limor inundanus bonus ot sanctus nominari, licel mali sint qui illuin habont ? Quod enini poccet qui timore morlis Chrislam negat , non vidolur adscribondiim limori , mors enim jiire limotur , sed dofeclui cliarilatis. Uospondco : Ma- xiinuin esl discrimen inlor timorem scrvilom ot liinorom fliuitdanum : timor enim sorvilis , limor Dci csl ; tiinor mundanus , limor crealura- ruin. Ex boc aulem discrimine duo alia oriunlur. AI- ternm est, quod timor servilis . licet cum peccalo conjunctus sit,tamen non cst peccafi caussa:noquo. cnim fieri potest, ul quis Ideo Deum offendat^quia Deum timet. sod contra polius a pcccando sc abs- tiiicl, quia Deuin limcl:et hujus boni eircctus non nisi bona caussa esse potesl. Timor autem mun- danns non solum cum peccalo cunjunctus est, sed csl cliam peccali ipsius caussa , propleroa eiiim tiinidus Deum offendil.quia nimis timet crealuram, el ex eo limore peccalum eligit, tamquam medium ad fugicndum raalum temporale quod tiniet: ct hii- jus mali fructus non nisi mala arbor caussa esse poiost. Allerum esl discrimen, quod limor servilis non polest esse nimius intensive: nemo enim Deum ira- tum, aut sempilernum cxilium niraislimere polosl; quin eliam nemo tanlum in hoc mundo limet ge- hcnnam, quanlum timerel si eam bene perspeclara haberet. Potesl quidera gehenna nimis limeri ap- preliative , ut si quis data optione mallot gohon- nam fugere. quara peccalum.sed iste exccssns non oritur ex vilio limoris.quasi ille in se sit niinius, el proinde sil caussa inalao aestimalionis, scd ox de- feclu charilalis. Dnque qui plus timet poenam ge- hennae, quam culpara, non ideo peccat , qnia ni- mium limot poenara gehonnae. sed quia defoctii charilalis non lantuin culpam tirael . quantuin do- beret. Al mundanus timor, quia limor est mal creali, finili ac lemporali, facile potesl esse minus' non solura appretinlive , sed etiara intensive: et ■plerumque ideo nimius est appreliative , quia ni- mius est inlensive, el tunc proprie dicitur limor mundauus. Quare raundanus timor in se, atque iii- trinscce, inordinatus ot malus est. Ullimo posset objici: Peccare eos qui Deum dili- gunl propler aliud: proinde peccare eliam eos.qui beum timent propter aliud, idest , ad fugiendas poenas. Sed facilis responsio est. Nara quia objeclum a- raoris est bonum et limoris malura: el Deus in se bonus est.vel poliiis summum atque infinitum bo- nura; rion aulem est in se malus. sed solum in ef- feclis, quibusjusle peccatores affligit: idcirco pro- LIBEU SECLNDUS 671 pterse diligendus esl, limendus autem propler a- gum Sylveslri Prieralis, ubi de conclusione sexla Jiud, Alque haec de lola hac disputalione sint loquens: Error est, inqnil, quod attrUusfiat con- salis. Iritus virtute clavium. Caeterum discipuli ejus , Una quldem adhuc quaestlo Iractari poluissot. qui conlrilionem in terroribus consliluunt , el soli An videlicet attritio,sive imperfecta conlrilio,quam iidei ex verho ahsohitionis conceplae, quae lerro- oertum est sine sacramento non sufficere ad justi- res iilos conscquilur justiiicationem adscribuat, licalionem; sufliciat cum sacramento, ila ut poeni- nuUo modo negarc possunl, quin atlrilio, el sola tens ex altrito virlute absoluiionis ilat contritus non suiliciat , el cum absoiutione suiTiciat : ul et justificetur.Lutherus enim id aliquando negavit, in concilio tndcnt. scss. U. cap. 4. dcclara- ulperspicuum csl ex ejus responsione ad diaio- tum csl. \ LIBEK TEHTllIS DE POESITENTIAIN ftUO DE COPESSIONE DISSERITUR De Conlritione, Quae prima pars esl sacramcnli sententia calholicae Ecclesiae ex divinis literis Poeniteoliae, disseruiraus libro superiore: sequi- confirraelur. Tertio, proferantur sancliones et de- lur, ut de seeunda parte, quae confessio dicitur, crela conciliorum. Quarlo, tesliraonia veteruni disseraraus.In qua controversia explicanda hic or- Palr um. Quinto, rationcs variae. Poslremo, ar- do servabitur, ul Primo loco referantur errores, gumenta adversariorura proponanlur et dissol- qui de hac re versanlur inler adversarios. f^eindc, vanlur. i