約伯倫理 第 884 章

24. Catholics vanquish heretics with the very testimonies of sacred Scripture which they bring forward. — By silver the clarity of the sacred utterance is wont to be understood, as is said elsewhere: 「The words of the Lord are pure words, silver tried by fire」 (Psalm 12:6). And because some desire to have God's utterance not inwardly by exhibition, but outwardly by display; therefore it is said through the prophet: 「All that were wrapped in silver are cut off」 (Zephaniah 1:11). These assuredly are they who, with the utterance of God, clothe themselves not by inner refreshment, but by outward show. Whence also their silver — that is, the utterance of heretics — is compared to earth, because they labour over the sacred Scripture in order to know something, and out of appetite for earthly praise.

They also prepare garments like clay, because loosely and defilingly they weave together the testimonies of sacred Scripture by which they wish to protect themselves. He will indeed prepare, 「but the just shall be clothed with them,」 because the man full of right faith — which is wont to be reckoned unto righteousness for the saints — gathers those very testimonies of sacred Scripture which the heretic brings forward, and thereby convicts the obstinacy of his error. For against us, while they bring forth the testimonies of the sacred law, they bring with them to us that by which they may be conquered. Whence also David, prefiguring the Lord, and Goliath signifying the pride of heretics, spoke in deeds what we open up in words. For Goliath came to battle with a sword, but David with a shepherd's scrip.

But David, overcoming this same Goliath, slew him with his own sword — which we too do, we who by the condescension of the promised David have been counted worthy to become members of Him. For when we conquer the proud heretics who bring forward the sentences of sacred Scripture, with the very words and sentences which they bring forth, we as it were behead Goliath with his own sword. The just man therefore is clothed with those garments which the unjust prepares, because the holy man uses for the truth those very sentences by which each perverse person tries to show himself learned against the truth. 25. The word of God must be discreetly expounded and fitted to individuals. 「And the innocent shall divide the silver.」

— For the innocent to divide the silver, that is, to expound the words of the Lord minutely and discreetly, and to fit to each one what worthily suits him. For the utterance of the Lord, which here is called silver or garments, is elsewhere called spoils. Which the Psalmist also testifies by comparison, saying: 「I will rejoice over thy words, as one that findeth much spoil」 (Psalm 119:162). Which are called spoils for this reason, that as the Gentiles pass over to faith in the Lord, the Jews are stripped of the sacred utterances with which they had been clothed. [Section 9.] Concerning this division of silver or of spoils it is said elsewhere: 「Benjamin, a ravening wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, in the evening shall divide the spoil」 (Genesis 49:27).

By which words assuredly the apostle Paul is designated, born of the stock of Benjamin, who ate that prey, because in his beginnings, seizing whom of the faithful he could, he satisfied his own cruelty. In the evening he divided the spoil, because, made faithful afterwards, he distributed the sacred utterances by expounding them. 26. Those things which are wholesomely said by heretics must be discerned. — Although this silver which the innocent divides can be understood also otherwise. For the heretics, that they may the more easily persuade what is perverse, mingle certain right things with their sayings, so as to draw the minds of their hearers from right meanings, and strike them from perverse ones.

These, because in the precepts of God they vary with sound and unsound speech, are well figured in the Gospel by the form of the ten lepers who were spurned (Luke 17:12), whose sound colour, while a diseased whiteness is sprinkled upon it, is injured by that immoderate whiteness. Whence we are admonished not to be more wise than it behoveth to be wise, but to be wise unto sobriety (Romans 12:3). These also, because they neither yet love God, of whom they think ill, nor their neighbour, from whom they are separated, are contrary to the precepts of the Decalogue, and therefore they come as ten to beseech the Lord. But because they mingled the unsound with the sound, they are varied with diversity of colour. But because they offended in His precepts, they call Him from that in which they had offended, saying: 「Jesus, Master」 (Luke 17:13);

whence also they presently deserved to be healed. Therefore, because the catholic man understands what things are rightly, or what things are perversely, perceived by them, 「the innocent divides the silver,」 that is, he discerns what things have been wholesomely, or what things have been pestilently said by them. There follows: