Bellarmine · De Controversiis · On the Sacraments in General · Book II: On the Effect, Number, and Ceremonies of the Sacraments
Chapter 26: The same proved by congruities
Our translation, from the Latin of the Opera Omnia (Paris: Vivès, 1870–74), vol. III, De Sacramentis in Genere, Book II: On the Effect, Number, and Ceremonies of 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 Catholic Doctors are wont to confirm the sevenfold number of the Sacraments by various congruities. The first is from the likeness of the spiritual and the corporeal life. For in the corporeal life certain things are required on the part of individual men, certain on the part of the whole commonwealth. On the part of individual men three things are required per se — generation, growth, and nutrition — and two per accidens: a remedy against diseases, if it happen that a man fall sick, and a remedy against the remnants of the disease, that he may perfectly recover. On the part of the commonwealth two things are required. First, parents, who propagate the corporeal life of men. Second, princes and magistrates, who order and rule it. In the same manner, then, in the spiritual life. First, regeneration is required, which is through Baptism. Second, growth, through Confirmation. Third, nutrition, through the Eucharist. Fourth, a remedy against diseases, if it happen that the regenerate sin, through Penance. Fifth, a remedy against the remnants of sins, through Extreme Unction. Sixth, on the part of the commonwealth, Matrimony, by which men are propagated who are to be deputed to the worship of God. Seventh, holy Order, by which they are ruled and governed.
The second reason is from the number of sins and wounds. For Baptism is chiefly against original sin; Penance against actual mortal sin; Extreme Unction against the remnants of sins; Confirmation against infirmity; the Eucharist against malice; Matrimony against concupiscence; Order against ignorance. The third reason is from the number of the virtues: Baptism answers to faith, Confirmation to hope, the Eucharist to charity, Penance to justice, Extreme Unction to fortitude, Order to prudence, and Matrimony to temperance. The fourth reason is from the frequency of the sevenfold number in expiations. See Exodus 29, Leviticus 4 and 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 23, Numbers 19, Deuteronomy 15, 2 Paralipomenon 29, Job last chapter, where you will always see in an expiation seven animals offered, or seven days, or the blood sprinkled seven times, etc. Whence also 4 Kings 5 Naaman was bidden to wash seven times to purge his leprosy. See St. Thomas in book 4 distinction 2 question 1, part 3 question 65 article 1, and against the Gentiles book 4 chapter 58.
But Kemnitz in the second part of the Examen pages 16, 17, and 18 says three things of these reasons. First he affirms that they are the principal foundations and demonstrations of our opinion: “These,” he says, “are the demonstrations, these the foundations, by which the sevenfold number of the Sacraments was brought into the Church and received by the Scholastic writers.” Second he says that these demonstrations avail nothing, because otherwise we should prove also that there were seven Sacraments in the old law; for then too there were virtues and sins and a spiritual and corporeal life. Third he says that if the number of the Sacraments must be taken from the numbers celebrated in Scripture, it can be proved that there are three Sacraments, or even twelve, or more, because there are many celebrated and sacred numbers in the Scriptures. But these are light. For, in the first place, none of the Theologians said that these are foundations and demonstrations, but only congruities, the faith being supposed. For this the Scholastics are wont to do, that the things which we have from faith they may show not to repugn reason, but rather to be conformable to it. Nor yet does Kemnitz's argument conclude that there ought to have been seven Sacraments in the old law too. For the old Sacraments (as we showed above) were not instituted to perfect a man in the spiritual life, nor for a remedy of sin, Circumcision excepted, but only to signify the Christian mysteries, and for certain other ends; but ours are instituted for a remedy of sin, and to justify and perfect a man in the spiritual life, as is most plainly deduced from the Scriptures. And so those congruities are most rightly maintained if they be applied to our Sacraments, but not if they be applied to the old. Finally that reason of Kemnitz about the various numbers celebrated in Scripture concludes nothing. For the reason of the Catholics is taken from the numbers which signified the expiation of sins, not from any numbers whatsoever. Now in Scripture the sevenfold number is so frequent in expiations that the whole Scripture seems to cry out that there was to be at some time a time in which seven notable and most efficacious remedies would be given by God for the expiation of sins.
Show the Latin (Vives edition, OCR)
CAPUT XXVI. 481 CAPUT XXVI. Idem' probatur ex congruentiis. Catholici Docto res confirmare solent sep¬ tenarium Sacramentorum numerum variis congruentiis. Prima est a similitudine vitee spiritualis, et corporalis. Siquidem in vita corporali quaedam requiruntur ex parte ho¬ minum singulorum, quaedam ex parte totius Reipublicae. Ex parte hominum singulorum requiruntur tria per se, generatio, augmenta- tio, et nutritio; et duo per accidens, remedium contra morbos, si contingat hominem aegro¬ tare : et remedium contra reliquias morbi, ut perfecte convalescat. Ex parte Reipubli¬ cae requiruntur duo. Primo parentes, qui propagent vitam corporalem hominum. Se¬ cundo Principes, et Magistratus, qui eam ordinent, et regant. Eodem igitur modo in vita spirituali. Primo, requiritur regenera¬ tio, quae est per Baptismum. Secundo, aiig- mentatio, per Confirmationem. Tertio, nu¬ tritio, per Eucharistiam. Quarto, remedium, contra morbos, si contingat regeneratum peccare, per poenitentiam. Quinto, reme¬ dium contra reliquias peccatorum, per Unc¬ tionem extremam. Sexto, ex parte Reipu¬ blicae, Matrimonium, quo propagentur ho¬ mines ad cultum Dei deputandi. Septimo, Ordo sacer, quo regantur, et gubernentur. Secunda ratio ex numero peccatorum, et vulnerum. Nam Baptismus est praecipue contra originale. Poenitentia contra actuale mortale, Unctio extrema contra reliquias peccatorum, Confirmatio contra infirmita¬ tem, Eucharistia contra malitiam, Matrimo¬ nium contra concupiscentiam. Ordo contra ignorantiam. Tertiaralio ex numero virtutum, Baptismus respondet fidei, Confirmatio spei, Eucharis¬ tia charitati, Poenitentia justitiae. Unctio ex¬ trema fortitudini, Ordo prudentiae, et Matri¬ monium temperantiae. Quarta ratio ex celebritate numeri septe¬ narii in expiationibus. Vide Exod. XXIX, Lex. IV, et VIII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XXIII, Num. XIX Deut. XV, II Paralip. XXIX. Job ult. ubi semper videbis in expiatione offerri septem animalia, vel septem diebus, vel septies aspergi sanguinem etc. Unde etiam IV Reg. V, Naaman septies jussus est lavari ad purgandam lepram. Vide S. Thomam in IV. dist. 2. quaist. t. 3. par. quaest. LXV. art.l. et contra Gentes lib. IV. cap. 58. Sed Kemnitius in 2. par. Exam. pag. 16. 17. et 18. tria dicit de his rationibus. Primo affirmat, esse fundamenta principalia, et demonstrationes nostrae sententiae : « Haec sunt, inquit, demonstrationes, haec funda¬ menta, quibus septenarius numerus Sacra¬ mentorum in Ecclesiam invectus et receptus fuit a scriptoribus Scholasticis. » Secundo dicit, has demonstrationes nihil valere, quia alioqui probaremus etiam septem fuisse Sa¬ cramenta in lege veteri : nam etiam tunc erant virtutes, et peccata, et vita spiritualis, et corporalis. Tertio dicit, si ex numeris ce¬ lebratis in scriptura numerus Sacramento¬ rum desumi debeat, posse probari tria esse Sacramenta, vel etiam duodecim, aut plura, quia multi sunt numeri celebres, et sacri in Scripturis. Sed haec levia sunt. Nam in primis nullus Theologorum dixit, ista esse fundamenta, et demonstrationes, sed solum congruentias supposita fide. Id enim Scholastici facere solent, ut ea, qute ex fide habemus, osten¬ dant etiam non repugnare rationi, sed illi potius esse conformia. Nec tamen argumen¬ tum Kemnitii concludit, oportuisse nimirum etiam in veteri lege esse Sacramenta sep¬ tem. Nam Sacramenta vetera (ut supra os¬ tendimus) non erant instituta ad perficien¬ dum hominem in vita spirituali, nec ad re¬ medium peccati, excepta Circumcisione; sed solum ad significanda mysteria Chris¬ tiana, et alios quosdam fines : nostra autem sunt instituta in remedium peccati, et ad justificandum, et perficiendum hominem in vita spirituali, ut ex Scripturis apertissime deducitur. Itaque congruentiae illae rectissi¬ me se habent, si applicentur nostris Sacra¬ mentis, non autem si applicentur veteribus. Denique illa ratio Kemnitii de variis nume¬ ris in Scriptura celebribus, nihil concludit. Nam ratio Catholicorum sumitur ex nume¬ ris, quae significabant expiationem peccato¬ rum, non autem ex quibuscumque numeris. Porro in Scriptura, ita frequens est nume¬ rus septenarius in expiationibus, ut tota Scriptura clamare videatur, futurum ali¬ quando fuisse tempus, quo septem insignia, et efficacissima remedia darentur a Deo in expiationem peccatorum. 488 LIBER II.