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Title: |
Divino Afflante Spiritu
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Descr.: |
On Promoting Biblical Studies
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Pope: |
Pope Pius XII |
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Date: |
September 30, 1943
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To
Our Venerable Brethren, Patriarchs, Archbishops, and Other Local
Ordinaries Enjoying Peace and Communion with the Apostolic See
1.
Inspired by the Divine Spirit, the Sacred Writers composed those
books, which God, in His paternal charity towards the human race,
deigned to bestow on them in order "to teach, to reprove, to
correct, to instruct in justice: that the man of God may be
perfect, furnished to every good work."(1) This heaven-sent
treasure Holy Church considers as the most precious source of
doctrine on faith and morals. No wonder therefore that, as she
received it intact from the hands of the Apostles, so she kept it
with all care, defended it from every false and perverse
interpretation and used it diligently as an instrument for
securing the eternal salvation of souls, as almost countless
documents in every age strikingly bear witness. In more recent
times, however, since the divine origin and the correct
interpretation of the Sacred Writings have been very specially
called in question, the Church has with even greater zeal and care
undertaken their defense and protection. The sacred Council of
Trent ordained by solemn decree that "the entire books with
all their parts, as they have been wont to be read in the Catholic
Church and are contained in the old vulgate Latin edition, are to
be held sacred and canonical."(2) In our own time the Vatican
Council, with the object of condemning false doctrines regarding
inspiration, declared that these same books were to be regarded by
the Church as sacred and canonical "not because, having been
composed by human industry, they were afterwards approved by her
authority, nor merely because they contain revelation without
error, but because, having been written under the inspiration of
the Holy Spirit, they have God for their author, and as such were
handed down to the Church herself."(3) When, subsequently,
some Catholic writers, in spite of this solemn definition of
Catholic doctrine, by which such divine authority is claimed for
the "entire books with all their parts" as to secure
freedom from any error whatsoever, ventured to restrict the truth
of Sacred Scripture solely to matters of faith and morals, and to
regard other matters, whether in the domain of physical science or
history, as "obiter dicta" and - as they contended - in
no wise connected with faith, Our Predecessor of immortal memory,
Leo XIII in the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus Deus, published
on November 18 in the year 1893, justly and rightly condemned
these errors and safe-guarded the studies of the Divine Books by
most wise precepts and rules.
2.
Since then it is fitting that We should commemorate the fiftieth
anniversary of the publication of this Encyclical Letter, which is
considered the supreme guide in biblical studies, We, moved by
that solicitude for sacred studies, which We manifested from the
very beginning of Our Pontificate,(4) have considered that this
may most opportunely be done by ratifying and inculcating all that
was wisely laid down by Our Predecessor and ordained by His
Successors for the consolidating and perfecting of the work, and
by pointing out what seems necessary in the present day, in order
to incite ever more earnestly all those sons of the Church who
devote themselves to these studies, to so necessary and so
praiseworthy an enterprise.
3.
The first and greatest care of Leo XIII was to set forth the
teaching on the truth of the Sacred Books and to defend it from
attack. Hence with grave words did he proclaim that there is no
error whatsoever if the sacred writer, speaking of things of the
physical order "went by what sensibly appeared" as the
Angelic Doctor says,(5) speaking either "in figurative
language, or in terms which were commonly used at the time, and
which in many instances are in daily use at this day, even among
the most eminent men of science." For "the sacred
writers, or to speak more accurately - the words are St.
Augustine's - (6) the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them, did not
intend to teach men these things - that is the essential nature of
the things of the universe - things in no way profitable to
salvation"; which principle "will apply to cognate
sciences, and especially to history,"(7) that is, by
refuting, "in a somewhat similar way the fallacies of the
adversaries and defending the historical truth of Sacred Scripture
from their attacks."(8) Nor is the sacred writer to be taxed
with error, if "copyists have made mistakes in the text of
the Bible," or, "if the real meaning of a passage
remains ambiguous." Finally it is absolutely wrong and
forbidden "either to narrow inspiration to certain passages
of Holy Scripture, or to admit that the sacred writer has
erred," since divine inspiration "not only is
essentially incompatible with error but excludes and rejects it as
absolutely and necessarily as it is impossible that God Himself,
the supreme Truth, can utter that which is not true. This is the
ancient and constant faith of the Church."(9)
4.
This teaching, which Our Predecessor Leo XIII set forth with such
solemnity, We also proclaim with Our authority and We urge all to
adhere to it religiously. No less earnestly do We inculcate
obedience at the present day to the counsels and exhortations
which he, in his day, so wisely enjoined. For whereas there arose
new and serious difficulties and questions, from the wide-spread
prejudices of rationalism and more especially from the discovery
and investigation of the antiquities of the East, this same Our
Predecessor, moved by zeal of the apostolic office, not only that
such an excellent source of Catholic revelation might be more
securely and abundantly available to the advantage of the
Christian flock, but also that he might not suffer it to be in any
way tainted, wished and most earnestly desired "to see an
increase in the number of the approved and persevering laborers in
the cause of Holy Scripture; and more especially that those whom
Divine Grace has called to Holy Orders, should day-by-day, as
their state demands, display greater diligence and industry in
reading, meditating and explaining it."(10)
5.
Wherefore the same Pontiff, as he had already praised and approved
the school for biblical studies, founded at St. Stephen's,
Jerusalem, by the Master General of the Sacred Order of Preachers
- from which, to use his own words, "biblical science itself
had received no small advantage, while giving promise of
more"(11) - so in the last year of his life he provided yet
another way, by which these same studies, so warmly commended in
the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus Deus, might daily make
greater progress and be pursued with the greatest possible
security. By the Apostolic Letter Vigilantiae, published on
October 30 in the year 1902, he founded a Council or Commission,
as it is called, of eminent men, "whose duty it would be to
procure by every means that the sacred texts may receive
everywhere among us that more thorough exposition which the times
demand, and be kept safe not only from every breath of error, but
also from all inconsiderate opinions."(12) Following the
example of Our Predecessors, We also have effectively confirmed
and amplified this Council using its good offices, as often
before, to remind commentators of the Sacred Books of those safe
rules of Catholic exegesis, which have been handed down by the
Holy Fathers and Doctors of the Church, as well as by the
Sovereign Pontiffs themselves.(13)
6.
It may not be out of place here to recall gratefully the principal
and more useful contributions made successively by Our
Predecessors toward this same end, which contributions may be
considered as the complement or fruit of the movement so happily
initiated by Leo XIII. And first of all Pius X, wishing "to
provide a sure way for the preparation of a copious supply of
teachers, who, commended by the seriousness and the integrity of
their doctrine, might explain the Sacred Books in Catholic
schools..." instituted "the academic degrees of
licentiate and doctorate in Sacred Scripture...; to be conferred
by the Biblical Commission";(14) he later enacted a law
"concerning the method of Scripture studies to be followed in
Clerical Seminaries" with this end in view, viz.: that
students of the sacred sciences "not only should themselves
fully understand the power, purpose and teaching of the Bible, but
should also be equipped to engage in the ministry of the Divine
Word with elegance and ability and repel attacks against the
divinely inspired books";(15) finally "in order that a
center of higher biblical studies might be established in Rome,
which in the best way possible might promote the study of the
Bible and all cognate sciences in accordance with the mind of the
Catholic Church" he founded the Pontifical Biblical
Institute, entrusted to the care of the illustrious Society of
Jesus, which he wished endowed "with a superior professorial
staff and every facility for biblical research"; he
prescribed its laws and rules, professing to follow in this the
"salutary and fruitful project" of Leo XIII.(16)
7.
All this in fine Our immediate Predecessor of happy memory Pius XI
brought to perfection, laying down among other things "that
no one should be appointed professor of Sacred Scripture in any
Seminary, unless, having completed a special course of biblical
studies, he had in due form obtained the academic degrees before
the Biblical Commission or the Biblical Institute." He wished
that these degrees should have the same rights and the same
effects as the degrees duly conferred in Sacred Theology or Canon
Law; likewise he decreed that no one should receive "a
benefice having attached the canonical obligation of expounding
the Sacred Scripture to the people, unless, among other things, he
had obtained the licentiate or doctorate in biblical
science." And having at the same time urged the Superiors
General of the Regular Orders and of the religious Congregations,
as well as the Bishops of the Catholic world, to send the more
suitable of their students to frequent the schools of the Biblical
Institute and obtain there the academical degrees, he confirmed
these exhortations by his own example, appointing out of his
bounty an annual sum for this very purpose.(17)
8.
Seeing that, in the year 1907, with the benign approval of Pius X
of happy memory, "to the Benedictine monks had been committed
the task of preparing the investigations and studies on which
might be based a new edition of the Latin version of the
Scripture, commonly called the Vulgate,(18) the same Pontiff, Pius
XI, wishing to consolidate more firmly and securely this
"laborious and arduous enterprise," which demands
considerable time and great expense, founded in Rome and lavishly
endowed with a library and other means of research, the monastery
of St. Jerome, to be devoted exclusively to this work.(19)
9.
Nor should We fail to mention here how earnestly these same Our
Predecessors, when the opportunity occurred, recommended the study
or preaching or in fine the pious reading and meditation on the
Sacred Scriptures. Pius X most heartily commended the society of
St. Jerome, which strives to promote among the faithful - and to
facilitate with all its power - the truly praiseworthy custom of
reading and meditating on the holy Gospels; he exhorted them to
persevere in the enterprise they had begun, proclaiming it "a
most useful undertaking, as well as most suited to the
times," seeing that it helps in no small way "to
dissipate the idea that the Church is opposed to or in any way
impedes the reading of the Scriptures in the vernacular."(20)
And Benedict XV, on the occasion of the fifteenth centenary of the
death of St. Jerome, the greatest Doctor of the Sacred Scriptures,
after having most solemnly inculcated the precepts and examples of
the same Doctor, as well as the principles and rules laid down by
Leo XIII and by himself, and having recommended other things
highly opportune and never to be forgotten in this connection,
exhorted "all the children of the Church, especially clerics,
to reverence the Holy Scripture, to read it piously and meditate
it constantly"; he reminded them "that in these pages is
to be sought that food, by which the spiritual life is nourished
unto perfection," and "that the chief use of Scripture
pertains to the holy and fruitful exercise of the ministry of
preaching"; he likewise once again expressed his warm
approval of the work of the society called after St. Jerome
himself, by means of which the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles
are being so widely diffused, "that there is no Christian
family any more without them and that all are accustomed to read
and meditate them daily."(21)
10.
But it is right and pleasing to confess openly that it is not only
by reason of these initiatives, precepts and exhortations of Our
Predecessors that the knowledge and use of the Sacred Scriptures
have made great progress among Catholics; for this is also due to
the works and labors of all those who diligently cooperated with
them, both by meditating, investigating and writing, as well as by
teaching and preaching and by translating and propagating the
Sacred Books. For from the schools in which are fostered higher
studies in theological and biblical science, and especially from
Our Pontifical Biblical Institute, there have already come forth,
and daily continue to come forth, many students of Holy Scripture
who, inspired with an intense love for the Sacred Books, imbue the
younger clergy with this same ardent zeal and assiduously impart
to them the doctrine they themselves have acquired. Many of them
also, by the written word, have promoted and do still promote, far
and wide, the study of the Bible; as when they edit the sacred
text corrected in accordance with the rules of textual criticism
or expound, explain, and translate it into the vernacular; or when
they propose it to the faithful for their pious reading and
meditation; or finally when they cultivate and seek the aid of
profane sciences which are useful for the interpretation of the
Scriptures. From these therefore and from other initiatives which
daily become more wide-spread and vigorous, as, for example,
biblical societies, congresses, libraries, associations for
meditation on the Gospels, We firmly hope that in the future
reverence for, as well as the use and knowledge of, the Sacred
Scriptures will everywhere more and more increase for the good of
souls, provided the method of biblical studies laid down by Leo
XIII, explained more clearly and perfectly by his Successors, and
by Us confirmed and amplified - which indeed is the only safe way
and proved by experience - be more firmly, eagerly and faithfully
accepted by all, regardless of the difficulties which, as in all
human affairs, so in this most excellent work will never be
wanting.
11.
There is no one who cannot easily perceive that the conditions of
biblical studies and their subsidiary sciences have greatly
changed within the last fifty years. For, apart from anything
else, when Our Predecessor published the Encyclical Letter
Providentissimus Deus, hardly a single place in Palestine had
begun to be explored by means of relevant excavations. Now,
however, this kind of investigation is much more frequent and,
since more precise methods and technical skill have been developed
in the course of actual experience, it gives us information at
once more abundant and more accurate. How much light has been
derived from these explorations for the more correct and fuller
understanding of the Sacred Books all experts know, as well as all
those who devote themselves to these studies. The value of these
excavations is enhanced by the discovery from time to time of
written documents, which help much towards the knowledge of the
languages, letters, events, customs, and forms of worship of most
ancient times. And of no less importance is papyri which have
contributed so much to the knowledge of the discovery and
investigation, so frequent in our times, of letters and
institutions, both public and private, especially of the time of
Our Savior.
12.
Moreover ancient codices of the Sacred Books have been found and
edited with discerning thoroughness; the exegesis of the Fathers
of the Church has been more widely and thoroughly examined; in
fine the manner of speaking, relating and writing in use among the
ancients is made clear by innumerable examples. All these
advantages which, not without a special design of Divine
Providence, our age has acquired, are as it were an invitation and
inducement to interpreters of the Sacred Literature to make
diligent use of this light, so abundantly given, to penetrate more
deeply, explain more clearly and expound more lucidly the Divine
Oracles. If, with the greatest satisfaction of mind, We perceive
that these same interpreters have resolutely answered and still
continue to answer this call, this is certainly not the last or
least of the fruits of the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus
Deus, by which Our Predecessor Leo XIII, foreseeing as it were
this new development of biblical studies, summoned Catholic
exegetes to labor and wisely defined the direction and the method
to be followed in that labor.
13.
We also, by this Encyclical Letter, desire to insure that the work
may not only proceed without interruption, but may also daily
become more perfect and fruitful; and to that end We are specially
intent on pointing out to all what yet remains to be done, with
what spirit the Catholic exegete should undertake, at the present
day, so great and noble a work, and to give new incentive and
fresh courage to the laborers who toil so strenuously in the
vineyard of the Lord.
14.
The Fathers of the Church in their time, especially Augustine,
warmly recommended to the Catholic scholar, who undertook the
investigation and explanation of the Sacred Scriptures, the study
of the ancient languages and recourse to the original texts.(22)
However, such was the state of letters in those times, that not
many - and these few but imperfectly - knew the Hebrew language.
In the middle ages, when Scholastic Theology was at the height of
its vigor, the knowledge of even the Greek language had long since
become so rare in the West, that even the greatest Doctors of that
time, in their exposition of the Sacred Text, had recourse only to
the Latin version, known as the Vulgate.
15.
On the contrary in this our time, not only the Greek language,
which since the humanistic renaissance has been, as it were,
restored to new life, is familiar to almost all students of
antiquity and letters, but the knowledge of Hebrew also and of
their oriental languages has spread far and wide among literary
men. Moreover there are now such abundant aids to the study of
these languages that the biblical scholar, who by neglecting them
would deprive himself of access to the original texts, could in no
wise escape the stigma of levity and sloth. For it is the duty of
the exegete to lay hold, so to speak, with the greatest care and
reverence of the very least expressions which, under the
inspiration of the Divine Spirit, have flowed from the pen of the
sacred writer, so as to arrive at a deeper and fuller knowledge of
his meaning.
16.
Wherefore let him diligently apply himself so as to acquire daily
a greater facility in biblical as well as in other oriental
languages and to support his interpretation by the aids which all
branches of philology supply. This indeed St. Jerome strove
earnestly to achieve, as far as the science of his time permitted;
to this also aspired with untiring zeal and no small fruit not a
few of the great exegetes of the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries, although the knowledge of languages then was much less
than at the present day. In like manner therefore ought we to
explain the original text which, having been written by the
inspired author himself, has more authority and greater weight
than any even the very best translation, whether ancient or
modern; this can be done all the more easily and fruitfully, if to
the knowledge of languages be joined a real skill in literary
criticism of the same text.
17.
The great importance which should be attached to this kind of
criticism was aptly pointed out by Augustine, when, among the
precepts to be recommended to the student of the Sacred Books, he
put in the first place the care to possess a corrected text.
"The correction of the codices" - so says this most
distinguished Doctor of the Church - "should first of all
engage the attention of those who wish to know the Divine
Scripture so that the uncorrected may give place to the
corrected."(23) In the present day indeed this art, which is
called textual criticism and which is used with great and
praiseworthy results in the editions of profane writings, is also
quite rightly employed in the case of the Sacred Books, because of
that very reverence which is due to the Divine Oracles. For its
very purpose is to insure that the sacred text be restored, as
perfectly as possible, be purified from the corruptions due to the
carelessness of the copyists and be freed, as far as may be done,
from glosses and omissions, from the interchange and repetition of
words and from all other kinds of mistakes, which are wont to make
their way gradually into writings handed down through many
centuries.
18.
It is scarcely necessary to observe that this criticism, which
some fifty years ago not a few made use of quite arbitrarily and
often in such wise that one would say they did so to introduce
into the sacred text their own preconceived ideas, today has rules
so firmly established and secure, that it has become a most
valuable aid to the purer and more accurate editing of the sacred
text and that any abuse can easily be discovered. Nor is it
necessary here to call to mind - since it is doubtless familiar
and evident to all students of Sacred Scripture - to what extent
namely the Church has held in honor these studies in textual
criticism from the earliest centuries down even to the present
day.
19.
Today therefore, since this branch of science has attained to such
high perfection, it is the honorable, though not always easy, task
of students of the Bible to procure by every means that as soon as
possible may be duly published by Catholics editions of the Sacred
Books and of ancient versions, brought out in accordance with
these standards, which, that is to say, unite the greatest
reverence for the sacred text with an exact observance of all the
rules of criticism. And let all know that this prolonged labor is
not only necessary for the right understanding of the
divinely-given writings, but also is urgently demanded by that
piety by which it behooves us to be grateful to the God of all
providence, Who from the throne of His majesty has sent these
books as so many paternal letters to His own children.
20.
Nor should anyone think that this use of the original texts, in
accordance with the methods of criticism, in any way derogates
from those decrees so wisely enacted by the Council of Trent
concerning the Latin Vulgate.(24) It is historically certain that
the Presidents of the Council received a commission, which they
duly carried out, to beg, that is, the Sovereign Pontiff in the
name of the Council that he should have corrected, as far as
possible, first a Latin, and then a Greek, and Hebrew edition,
which eventually would be published for the benefit of the Holy
Church of God.(25) If this desire could not then be fully realized
owing to the difficulties of the times and other obstacles, at
present it can, We earnestly hope, be more perfectly and entirely
fulfilled by the united efforts of Catholic scholars.
21.
And if the Tridentine Synod wished "that all should use as
authentic" the Vulgate Latin version, this, as all know,
applies only to the Latin Church and to the public use of the same
Scriptures; nor does it, doubtless, in any way diminish the
authority and value of the original texts. For there was no
question then of these texts, but of the Latin versions, which
were in circulation at that time, and of these the same Council
rightly declared to be preferable that which "had been
approved by its long-continued use for so many centuries in the
Church." Hence this special authority or as they say,
authenticity of the Vulgate was not affirmed by the Council
particularly for critical reasons, but rather because of its
legitimate use in the Churches throughout so many centuries; by
which use indeed the same is shown, in the sense in which the
Church has understood and understands it, to be free from any
error whatsoever in matters of faith and morals; so that, as the
Church herself testifies and affirms, it may be quoted safely and
without fear of error in disputations, in lectures and in
preaching; and so its authenticity is not specified primarily as
critical, but rather as juridical.
22.
Wherefore this authority of the Vulgate in matters of doctrine by
no means prevents - nay rather today it almost demands - either
the corroboration and confirmation of this same doctrine by the
original texts or the having recourse on any and every occasion to
the aid of these same texts, by which the correct meaning of the
Sacred Letters is everywhere daily made more clear and evident.
Nor is it forbidden by the decree of the Council of Trent to make
translations into the vulgar tongue, even directly from the
original texts themselves, for the use and benefit of the faithful
and for the better understanding of the divine word, as We know to
have been already done in a laudable manner in many countries with
the approval of the Ecclesiastical authority.
23.
Being thoroughly prepared by the knowledge of the ancient
languages and by the aids afforded by the art of criticism, let
the Catholic exegete undertake the task, of all those imposed on
him the greatest, that namely of discovering and expounding the
genuine meaning of the Sacred Books. In the performance of this
task let the interpreters bear in mind that their foremost and
greatest endeavor should be to discern and define clearly that
sense of the biblical words which is called literal. Aided by the
context and by comparison with similar passages, let them
therefore by means of their knowledge of languages search out with
all diligence the literal meaning of the words; all these helps
indeed are wont to be pressed into service in the explanation also
of profane writers, so that the mind of the author may be made
abundantly clear.
24.
The commentators of the Sacred Letters, mindful of the fact that
here there is question of a divinely inspired text, the care and
interpretation of which have been confided to the Church by God
Himself, should no less diligently take into account the
explanations and declarations of the teaching authority of the
Church, as likewise the interpretation given by the Holy Fathers,
and even "the analogy of faith" as Leo XIII most wisely
observed in the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus Deus.(26) With
special zeal should they apply themselves, not only to expounding
exclusively these matters which belong to the historical,
archaeological, philological and other auxiliary sciences - as, to
Our regret, is done in certain commentaries - but, having duly
referred to these, in so far as they may aid the exegesis, they
should set forth in particular the theological doctrine in faith
and morals of the individual books or texts so that their
exposition may not only aid the professors of theology in their
explanations and proofs of the dogmas of faith, but may also be of
assistance to priests in their presentation of Christian doctrine
to the people, and in fine may help all the faithful to lead a
life that is holy and worthy of a Christian.
25.
By making such an exposition, which is above all, as We have said,
theological, they will efficaciously reduce to silence those who,
affirming that they scarcely ever find anything in biblical
commentaries to raise their hearts to God, to nourish their souls
or promote their interior life, repeatedly urge that we should
have recourse to a certain spiritual and, as they say, mystical
interpretation. With what little reason they thus speak is shown
by the experience of many, who, assiduously considering and
meditating the word of God, advanced in perfection and were moved
to an intense love for God; and this same truth is clearly proved
by the constant tradition of the Church and the precepts of the
greatest Doctors. Doubtless all spiritual sense is not excluded
from the Sacred Scripture.
26.
For what was said and done in the Old Testament was ordained and
disposed by God with such consummate wisdom, that things past
prefigured in a spiritual way those that were to come under the
new dispensation of grace. Wherefore the exegete, just as he must
search out and expound the literal meaning of the words, intended
and expressed by the sacred writer, so also must he do likewise
for the spiritual sense, provided it is clearly intended by God.
For God alone could have known this spiritual meaning and have
revealed it to us. Now Our Divine Savior Himself points out to us
and teaches us this same sense in the Holy Gospel; the Apostles
also, following the example of the Master, profess it in their
spoken and written words; the unchanging tradition of the Church
approves it; and finally the most ancient usage of the liturgy
proclaims it, wherever may be rightly applied the well-known
principle: "The rule of prayer is the rule of faith."
27.
Let Catholic exegetes then disclose and expound this spiritual
significance, intended and ordained by God, with that care which
the dignity of the divine word demands; but let them scrupulously
refrain from proposing as the genuine meaning of Sacred Scripture
other figurative senses. It may indeed be useful, especially in
preaching, to illustrate, and present the matters of faith and
morals by a broader use of the Sacred Text in the figurative
sense, provided this be done with moderation and restraint; it
should, however, never be forgotten that this use of the Sacred
Scripture is, as it were, extrinsic to it and accidental, and
that, especially in these days, it is not free from danger, since
the faithful, in particular those who are well-informed in the
sciences sacred and profane, wish to know what God has told us in
the Sacred Letters rather than what an ingenious orator or writer
may suggest by a clever use of the words of Scripture. Nor does
"the word of God, living and effectual and more piercing than
any two-edged sword and reaching unto the division of the soul and
the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and a discerner of
the thoughts and intents of the heart"(27) need artificial
devices and human adaptation to move and impress souls; for the
Sacred Pages, written under the inspiration of the Spirit of God,
are of themselves rich in original meaning; endowed with a divine
power, they have their own value; adorned with heavenly beauty,
they radiate of themselves light and splendor, provided they are
so fully and accurately explained by the interpreter, that all the
treasures of wisdom and prudence, therein contained are brought to
light.
28.
In the accomplishment of this task the Catholic exegete will find
invaluable help in an assiduous study of those works, in which the
Holy Fathers, the Doctors of the Church and the renowned
interpreters of past ages have explained the Sacred Books. For,
although sometimes less instructed in profane learning and in the
knowledge of languages than the scripture scholars of our time,
nevertheless by reason of the office assigned to them by God in
the Church, they are distinguished by a certain subtle insight
into heavenly things and by a marvelous keenness of intellect,
which enables them to penetrate to the very innermost meaning of
the divine word and bring to light all that can help to elucidate
the teaching of Christ and to promote holiness of life.
29.
It is indeed regrettable that such precious treasures of Christian
antiquity are almost unknown to many writers of the present day,
and that students of the history of exegesis have not yet
accomplished all that seems necessary for the due investigation
and appreciation of so momentous a subject. Would that many, by
seeking out the authors of the Catholic interpretation of
Scripture and diligently studying their works and drawing thence
the almost inexhaustible riches therein stored up, might
contribute largely to this end, so that it might be daily more
apparent to what extent those authors understood and made known
the divine teaching of the Sacred Books, and that the interpreters
of today might thence take example and seek suitable arguments.
30.
For thus at long last will be brought about the happy and fruitful
union between the doctrine and spiritual sweetness of expression
of the ancient authors and the greater erudition and maturer
knowledge of the modern, having as its result new progress in the
never fully explored and inexhaustible field of the Divine
Letters.
31.
Moreover we may rightly and deservedly hope that our time also can
contribute something towards the deeper and more accurate
interpretation of Sacred Scripture. For not a few things,
especially in matters pertaining to history, were scarcely at all
or not fully explained by the commentators of past ages, since
they lacked almost all the information which was needed for their
clearer exposition. How difficult for the Fathers themselves, and
indeed well nigh unintelligible, were certain passages is shown,
among other things, by the oft-repeated efforts of many of them to
explain the first chapters of Genesis; likewise by the reiterated
attempts of St. Jerome so to translate the Psalms that the literal
sense, that, namely, which is expressed by the words themselves,
might be clearly revealed.
32.
There are, in fine, other books or texts, which contain
difficulties brought to light only in quite recent times, since a
more profound knowledge of antiquity has given rise to new
questions, on the basis of which the point at issue may be more
appropriately examined. Quite wrongly therefore do some pretend,
not rightly understanding the conditions of biblical study, that
nothing remains to be added by the Catholic exegete of our time to
what Christian antiquity has produced; since, on the contrary,
these our times have brought to light so many things, which call
for a fresh investigation, and which stimulate not a little the
practical zest of the present-day interpreter.
33.
As in our age, indeed new questions and new difficulties are
multiplied, so, by God's favor, new means and aids to exegesis are
also provided. Among these it is worthy of special mention that
Catholic theologians, following the teaching of the Holy Fathers
and especially of the Angelic and Common Doctor, have examined and
explained the nature and effects of biblical inspiration more
exactly and more fully than was wont to be done in previous ages.
For having begun by expounding minutely the principle that the
inspired writer, in composing the sacred book, is the living and
reasonable instrument of the Holy Spirit, they rightly observe
that, impelled by the divine motion, he so uses his faculties and
powers, that from the book composed by him all may easily infer
"the special character of each one and, as it were, his
personal traits."(28) Let the interpreter then, with all care
and without neglecting any light derived from recent research,
endeavor to determine the peculiar character and circumstances of
the sacred writer, the age in which he lived, the sources written
or oral to which he had recourse and the forms of expression he
employed.
34.
Thus can he the better understand who was the inspired author, and
what he wishes to express by his writings. There is no one indeed
but knows that the supreme rule of interpretation is to discover
and define what the writer intended to express, as St. Athanasius
excellently observes: "Here, as indeed is expedient in all
other passages of Sacred Scripture, it should be noted, on what
occasion the Apostle spoke; we should carefully and faithfully
observe to whom and why he wrote, lest, being ignorant of these
points, or confounding one with another, we miss the real meaning
of the author."(29)
35.
What is the literal sense of a passage is not always as obvious in
the speeches and writings of the ancient authors of the East, as
it is in the works of our own time. For what they wished to
express is not to be determined by the rules of grammar and
philology alone, nor solely by the context; the interpreter must,
as it were, go back wholly in spirit to those remote centuries of
the East and with the aid of history, archaeology, ethnology, and
other sciences, accurately determine what modes of writing, so to
speak, the authors of that ancient period would be likely to use,
and in fact did use.
36.
For the ancient peoples of the East, in order to express their
ideas, did not always employ those forms or kinds of speech which
we use today; but rather those used by the men of their times and
countries. What those exactly were the commentator cannot
determine as it were in advance, but only after a careful
examination of the ancient literature of the East. The
investigation, carried out, on this point, during the past forty
or fifty years with greater care and diligence than ever before,
has more clearly shown what forms of expression were used in those
far off times, whether in poetic description or in the formulation
of laws and rules of life or in recording the facts and events of
history. The same inquiry has also shown the special preeminence
of the people of Israel among all the other ancient nations of the
East in their mode of compiling history, both by reason of its
antiquity and by reasons of the faithful record of the events;
qualities which may well be attributed to the gift of divine
inspiration and to the peculiar religious purpose of biblical
history.
37.
Nevertheless no one, who has a correct idea of biblical
inspiration, will be surprised to find, even in the Sacred
Writers, as in other ancient authors, certain fixed ways of
expounding and narrating, certain definite idioms, especially of a
kind peculiar to the Semitic tongues, so-called approximations,
and certain hyperbolical modes of expression, nay, at times, even
paradoxical, which even help to impress the ideas more deeply on
the mind. For of the modes of expression which, among ancient
peoples, and especially those of the East, human language used to
express its thought, none is excluded from the Sacred Books,
provided the way of speaking adopted in no wise contradicts the
holiness and truth of God, as, with his customary wisdom, the
Angelic Doctor already observed in these words: "In Scripture
divine things are presented to us in the manner which is in common
use amongst men."(30) For as the substantial Word of God
became like to men in all things, "except sin,"(31) so
the words of God, expressed in human language, are made like to
human speech in every respect, except error. In this consists that
"condescension" of the God of providence, which St. John
Chrysostom extolled with the highest praise and repeatedly
declared to be found in the Sacred Books.(32)
38.
Hence the Catholic commentator, in order to comply with the
present needs of biblical studies, in explaining the Sacred
Scripture and in demonstrating and proving its immunity from all
error, should also make a prudent use of this means, determine,
that is, to what extent the manner of expression or the literary
mode adopted by the sacred writer may lead to a correct and
genuine interpretation; and let him be convinced that this part of
his office cannot be neglected without serious detriment to
Catholic exegesis. Not infrequently - to mention only one instance
- when some persons reproachfully charge the Sacred Writers with
some historical error or inaccuracy in the recording of facts, on
closer examination it turns out to be nothing else than those
customary modes of expression and narration peculiar to the
ancients, which used to be employed in the mutual dealings of
social life and which in fact were sanctioned by common usage.
39.
When then such modes of expression are met within the sacred text,
which, being meant for men, is couched in human language, justice
demands that they be no more taxed with error than when they occur
in the ordinary intercourse of daily life. By this knowledge and
exact appreciation of the modes of speaking and writing in use
among the ancients can be solved many difficulties, which are
raised against the veracity and historical value of the Divine
Scriptures, and no less efficaciously does this study contribute
to a fuller and more luminous understanding of the mind of the
Sacred Writer.
40.
Let those who cultivate biblical studies turn their attention with
all due diligence towards this point and let them neglect none of
those discoveries, whether in the domain of archaeology or in
ancient history or literature, which serve to make better known
the mentality of the ancient writers, as well as their manner and
art of reasoning, narrating and writing. In this connection
Catholic laymen should consider that they will not only further
profane science, but moreover will render a conspicuous service to
the Christian cause if they devote themselves with all due
diligence and application to the exploration and investigation of
the monuments of antiquity and contribute, according to their
abilities, to the solution of questions hitherto obscure.
41.
For all human knowledge, even the nonsacred, has indeed its own
proper dignity and excellence, being a finite participation of the
infinite knowledge of God, but it acquires a new and higher
dignity and, as it were, a consecration, when it is employed to
cast a brighter light upon the things of God.
42.
The progressive exploration of the antiquities of the East,
mentioned above, the more accurate examination of the original
text itself, the more extensive and exact knowledge of languages
both biblical and oriental, have with the help of God, happily
provided the solution of not a few of those questions, which in
the time of Our Predecessor Leo XIII of immortal memory, were
raised by critics outside or hostile to the Church against the
authenticity, antiquity, integrity and historical value of the
Sacred Books. For Catholic exegetes, by a right use of those same
scientific arms, not infrequently abused by the adversaries,
proposed such interpretations, which are in harmony with Catholic
doctrine and the genuine current of tradition, and at the same
time are seen to have proved equal to the difficulties, either
raised by new explorations and discoveries, or bequeathed by
antiquity for solution in our time.
43.
Thus has it come about that confidence in the authority and
historical value of the Bible, somewhat shaken in the case of some
by so many attacks, today among Catholics is completely restored;
moreover there are not wanting even non-Catholic writers, who by
serious and calm inquiry have been led to abandon modern opinion
and to return, at least in some points, to the more ancient ideas.
This change is due in great part to the untiring labor by which
Catholic commentators of the Sacred Letters, in no way deterred by
difficulties and obstacles of all kinds, strove with all their
strength to make suitable use of what learned men of the present
day, by their investigations in the domain of archaeology or
history or philology, have made available for the solution of new
questions.
44.
Nevertheless no one will be surprised, if all difficulties are not
yet solved and overcome; but that even today serious problems
greatly exercise the minds of Catholic exegetes. We should not
lose courage on this account; nor should we forget that in the
human sciences the same happens as in the natural world; that is
to say, new beginnings grow little by little and fruits are
gathered only after many labors. Thus it has happened that certain
disputed points, which in the past remained unsolved and in
suspense, in our days, with the progress of studies, have found a
satisfactory solution. Hence there are grounds for hope that those
also will by constant effort be at last made clear, which now seem
most complicated and difficult.
45.
And if the wished-for solution be slow in coming or does not
satisfy us, since perhaps a successful conclusion may be reserved
to posterity, let us not wax impatient thereat, seeing that in us
also is rightly verified what the Fathers, and especially
Augustine,(33) observed in their time viz: God wished difficulties
to be scattered through the Sacred Books inspired by Him, in order
that we might be urged to read and scrutinize them more intently,
and, experiencing in a salutary manner our own limitations, we
might be exercised in due submission of mind. No wonder if of one
or other question no solution wholly satisfactory will ever be
found, since sometimes we have to do with matters obscure in
themselves and too remote from our times and our experience; and
since exegesis also, like all other most important sciences, has
its secrets, which, impenetrable to our minds, by no efforts
whatsoever can be unraveled.
46.
But this state of things is no reason why the Catholic
commentator, inspired by an active and ardent love of his subject
and sincerely devoted to Holy Mother Church, should in any way be
deterred from grappling again and again with these difficult
problems, hitherto unsolved, not only that he may refute the
objections of the adversaries, but also may attempt to find a
satisfactory solution, which will be in full accord with the
doctrine of the Church, in particular with the traditional
teaching regarding the inerrancy of Sacred Scripture, and which
will at the same time satisfy the indubitable conclusion of
profane sciences.
47.
Let all the other sons of the Church bear in mind that the efforts
of these resolute laborers in the vineyard of the Lord should be
judged not only with equity and justice, but also with the
greatest charity; all moreover should abhor that intemperate zeal
which imagines that whatever is new should for that very reason be
opposed or suspected. Let them bear in mind above all that in the
rules and laws promulgated by the Church there is question of
doctrine regarding faith and morals; and that in the immense
matter contained in the Sacred Books - legislative, historical,
sapiential and prophetical - there are but few texts whose sense
has been defined by the authority of the Church, nor are those
more numerous about which the teaching of the Holy Fathers is
unanimous. There remain therefore many things, and of the greatest
importance, in the discussion and exposition of which the skill
and genius of Catholic commentators may and ought to be freely
exercised, so that each may contribute his part to the advantage
of all, to the continued progress of the sacred doctrine and to
the defense and honor of the Church.
48.
This true liberty of the children of God, which adheres faithfully
to the teaching of the Church and accepts and uses gratefully the
contributions of profane science, this liberty, upheld and
sustained in every way by the confidence of all, is the condition
and source of all lasting fruit and of all solid progress in
Catholic doctrine, as Our Predecessor of happy memory Leo XIII
rightly observes, when he says: "unless harmony of mind be
maintained and principle safeguarded, no progress can be expected
in this matter from the varied studies of many."(34)
49.
Whosoever considers the immense labors undertaken by Catholic
exegetes during well nigh two thousand years, so that the word of
God, imparted to men through the Sacred Letters, might daily be
more deeply and fully understood and more intensely loved, will
easily be convinced that it is the serious duty of the faithful,
and especially of priests, to make free and holy use of this
treasure, accumulated throughout so many centuries by the greatest
intellects. For the Sacred Books were not given by God to men to
satisfy their curiosity or to provide them with material for study
and research, but, as the Apostle observes, in order that these
Divine Oracles might "instruct us to salvation, by the faith
which is in Christ Jesus" and "that the man of God may
be perfect, furnished to every good work."(35)
50.
Let priests therefore, who are bound by their office to procure
the eternal salvation of the faithful, after they have themselves
by diligent study perused the sacred pages and made them their own
by prayer and meditations, assiduously distribute the heavenly
treasures of the divine word by sermons, homilies and
exhortations; let them confirm the Christian doctrine by sentences
from the Sacred Books and illustrate it by outstanding examples
from sacred history and in particular from the Gospel of Christ
Our Lord; and - avoiding with the greatest care those purely
arbitrary and far-fetched adaptations, which are not a use, but
rather an abuse of the divine word - let them set forth all this
with such eloquence, lucidity and clearness that the faithful may
not only be moved and inflamed to reform their lives, but may also
conceive in their hearts the greatest veneration for the Sacred
Scripture.
51.
The same veneration the Bishops should endeavor daily to increase
and perfect among the faithful committed to their care,
encouraging all those initiatives by which men, filled with
apostolic zeal, laudably strive to excite and foster among
Catholics a greater knowledge of and love for the Sacred Books.
Let them favor therefore and lend help to those pious associations
whose aim it is to spread copies of the Sacred Letters, especially
of the Gospels, among the faithful, and to procure by every means
that in Christian families the same be read daily with piety and
devotion; let them efficaciously recommend by word and example,
whenever the liturgical laws permit, the Sacred Scriptures
translated, with the approval of the Ecclesiastical authority,
into modern languages; let them themselves give public conferences
or dissertations on biblical subjects, or see that they are given
by other public orators well versed in the matter.
52.
Let the ministers of the Sanctuary support in every way possible
and diffuse in fitting manner among all classes of the faithful
the periodicals which so laudably and with such heartening results
are published from time to time in various parts of the world,
whether to treat and expose in a scientific manner biblical
questions, or to adapt the fruits of these investigations to the
sacred ministry, or to benefit the faithful. Let the ministers of
the Sanctuary be convinced that all this, and whatsoever else an
apostolical zeal and a sincere love of the divine word may find
suitable to this high purpose, will be an efficacious help to the
cure of souls.
53.
But it is plain to everyone that priests cannot duly fulfill all
this unless in their Seminary days they have imbibed a practical
and enduring love for the Sacred Scriptures. Wherefore let the
Bishops, on whom devolves the paternal care of their Seminaries,
with all diligence see to it that nothing be omitted in this
matter which may help towards the desired end. Let the professors
of Sacred Scripture in the Seminaries give the whole course of
biblical studies in such a way, that they may instruct the young
aspirants to the Priesthood and to the ministry of the divine word
with that knowledge of the Sacred Letters and imbue them with that
love for the same, without which it is vain to hope for copious
fruits of the apostolate.
54.
Hence their exegetical explanation should aim especially at the
theological doctrine, avoiding useless disputations and omitting
all that is calculated rather to gratify curiosity than to promote
true learning and solid piety. The literal sense and especially
the theological let them propose with such definiteness, explain
with such skill and inculcate with such ardor that in their
students may be in a sense verified what happened to the disciples
on the way to Emmaus, when, having heard the words of the Master,
they exclaimed: "Was not our heart burning within us, whilst
He opened to us the Scriptures?"(36)
55.
Thus the Divine Letter will become for the future priests of the
Church a pure and never failing source for their own spiritual
life, as well as food and strength for the sacred office of
preaching which they are about to undertake. If the professors of
this most important matter in the Seminaries accomplish all this,
then let them rest joyfully assured that they have most
efficaciously contributed to the salvation of souls, to the
progress of the Catholic faith, to the honor and glory of God, and
that they have performed a work most closely connected with the
apostolic office.
56.
If these things which We have said, Venerable Brethren and beloved
sons, are necessary in every age, much more urgently are they
needed in our sorrowful times, when almost all peoples and nations
are plunged in a sea of calamities, when a cruel war heaps ruins
upon ruins and slaughter upon slaughter, when, owing to the most
bitter hatred stirred up among the nations, We perceive with
greatest sorrow that in not a few has been extinguished the sense
not only of Christian moderation and charity, but also of humanity
itself. Who can heal these mortal wounds of the human family if
not He, to Whom the Prince of the Apostles, full of confidence and
love, addresses these words: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou
hast the words of eternal life." (37)
57.
To this Our most merciful Redeemer we must therefore bring all
back by every means in our power; for He is the divine consoler of
the afflicted; He it is Who teaches all, whether they be invested
with public authority or are bound in duty to obey and submit,
true honesty, absolute justice and generous charity; it is He in
fine, and He alone, Who can be the firm foundation and support of
peace and tranquillity: "For other foundation no man can lay,
but that which is laid: which is Christ Jesus."(38) This
author of salvation, Christ, will men more fully know, more
ardently love and faithfully imitate in proportion as they are
more assiduously urged to know and meditate the Sacred Letters,
especially the New Testament, for, as St. Jerome the Doctor of
Stridon says: "To ignore the Scripture is to ignore
Christ";(39) and again: "If there is anything in this
life which sustains a wise man and induces him to maintain his
serenity amidst the tribulations and adversities of the world, it
is in the first place, I consider, the meditation and knowledge of
the Scriptures."(40)
58.
There those who are wearied and oppressed by adversities and
afflictions will find true consolation and divine strength to
suffer and bear with patience; there - that is in the Holy Gospels
- Christ, the highest and greatest example of justice, charity and
mercy, is present to all; and to the lacerated and trembling human
race are laid open the fountains of that divine grace without
which both peoples and their rulers can never arrive at, never
establish, peace in the state and unity of heart; there in fine
will all learn Christ, "Who is the head of all principality
and power"(41) and "Who of God is made unto us wisdom
and justice and sanctification and redemption."(42)
59.
Having expounded and recommended those things which are required
for the adaptation of Scripture studies to the necessities of the
day, it remains, Venerable Brethren and beloved sons, that to
biblical scholars who are devoted sons of the Church and follow
faithfully her teaching and direction, We address with paternal
affection, not only Our congratulations that they have been chosen
and called to so sublime an office, but also Our encouragement to
continue with ever renewed vigor with all zeal and care, the work
so happily begun. Sublime office, We say; for what is more sublime
than to scrutinize, explain, propose to the faithful and defend
from unbelievers the very word of God, communicated to men under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.?
60.
With this spiritual food the mind of the interpreter is fed and
nourished "to the commemoration of faith, the consolation of
hope, the exhortation of charity."(43) "To live amidst
these things, to meditate these things, to know nothing else, to
seek nothing else, does it not seem to you already here below a
foretaste of the heavenly kingdom?"(44) Let also the minds of
the faithful be nourished with this same food, that they may draw
from thence the knowledge and love of God and the progress in
perfection and the happiness of their own individual souls. Let,
then, the interpreters of the Divine Oracles devote themselves to
this holy practice with all their heart. "Let them pray, that
they may understand";(45) let them labor to penetrate ever
more deeply into the secrets of the Sacred Pages; let them teach
and preach, in order to open to others also the treasures of the
word of God.
61.
Let the present-day commentators of the Sacred Scripture emulate,
according to their capacity, what those illustrious interpreters
of past ages accomplished with such great fruit; so that, as in
the past, so also in these days, the Church may have at her
disposal learned doctors for the expounding of the Divine Letters;
and, through their assiduous labors, the faithful may comprehend
all the splendor, stimulating language, and joy contained in the
Holy Scriptures. And in this very arduous and important office let
them have "for their comfort the Holy Books"(46) and be
mindful of the promised reward: since "they that are learned
shall shine as the brightness of the firmament, and they that
instruct many unto justice, as stars for all eternity."(47)
62.
And now, while ardently desiring for all sons of the Church, and
especially for the professors in biblical science, for the young
clergy and for preachers, that, continually meditating on the
divine word, they may taste how good and sweet is the spirit of
the Lord;(48) as a presage of heavenly gifts and a token of Our
paternal goodwill, We impart to you one and all, Venerable
Brethren and beloved sons, most lovingly in the Lord, the
Apostolic Benediction.
Given
at Rome, at St. Peter's, on the 30th of September, the feast of
St. Jerome, the greatest Doctor in the exposition of the Sacred
Scriptures, in the year 1943, the fifth of Our Pontificate.
Endnotes:
1.
2 Tm. 3:16-17. | 2. Session IV, decr. 1; Ench. Bibl. n. 45. | 3.
Session III, Cap. 2; Ench. Bibl. n. 62. | 4. Address to the
Ecclesiastical students in Rome (June 24, 1939); Acta Ap. Sedis
XXXI (1939), p. 245-251. | 5. Cf. Iª, q. 70, art. I ad 3. | 6. De
Gen. ad litt. 2, 9, 20; PL 34, col. 270 s.; CSEL 28 (Sectio III,
pars. 2), p. 46. | 7. Leonis XIII acta XIII, p. 355; Ench. Bibl.
n. 106; supra, p. 22. | 8. Cf. Benedictus XV, Enc. Spiritus
Paraclitus, Acta Ap. Sedis XII (1920), p. 396; Ench. Bibl. n. 471;
supra p. 53. | 9. Leonis XIII Acta XIII, P. 357 sq.; Ench. Bibl.
n. 109 sq.; supra, pp. 23-25. | 10. Leonis XIII Acta XIII, p. 328;
Ench. Bibl. n. 67 sq. | 11. Apostolic Letter Hierosolymae in
coenobio, Sept. 17, 1892; Leonis XIII Acta XII, pp. 239-241; v. p.
240. | 12. Cf. Leonis XIII Acta XXII, p. 232 ss.; Ench. Bibl. n.
130-141; v. nn. 130, 132; supra. p. 31. | 13. Letter of the
Pontifical Biblical Commission to their Excellencies the
Archbishops and Bishops of Italy, Aug. 20, 1941; Acta Ap. Sedis
XXXIII (1941), pp. 465-472; infra, pp. 129-138. | 14. Apostolic
Letter Scripturae Sanctae, Feb. 23, 1904; Pii X Acta I,
pp.176-179; Ench. Bibl. nn. 142-150; v nn. 143-144. | 15. Cf.
Apostolic Letter Quoniam in re biblica, March 27, 1906; Pii X Acta
III, p. 72-76; Ench. Bibl. nn. 155-173; v. n. 155; supra. pp.
36-39. | 16. Apostolic Letter Vinea electa, May 7, 1909; Acta Ap.,
Sedis I (1909), pp. 447-449; Ench. Bibl. nn. 293-306; v. nn.
296-306; v. nn. 296 et 294. | 17. Cf. Motu proprio Bibliorum
scientiam, April 27, 1924; Acta Ap. Sedis XVI (1924), pp. 180-182:
Ench. Bibl. nn. 518-525. | 18. Letter to the Most Rev. Abbot Aidan
Gasquet, Dec. 3, 1907; Pii X Acta IV, pp. 117-119, Ench. Bibl. n.
285 sq. | 19. Apostolic Constitution Inter praecipuas, June 15,
1933; Acta Ap. Sedis XXVI (1934), pp. 85-87. | 20. Letter to the
Most Eminent Cardinal Casetta Qui piam, Jan. 21, 1907; Pii X Acta
IV, pp. 23-25. | 21. Encyclical Letter Spiritus Paraclitus, Sept.
15, 1920; Acta Ap. Sedis XII (1920), pp. 385-422; Ench. Bibl. nn.
457-508; v. nn. 457, 495, 497, 491; supra, pp. 43-78. | 22. Cf.
ex. gr. St. Jerome, Praef. in IV Evang. ad Damasum; PL 29. col.
526-527; St. Augustine, De Doctr. christ. II, 16; PL 34, col.
42-43. | 23. De doctr. christ. II, 21; PL 34, col. 40. | 24. Decr.
de editione et usu Sacrorum Librorum; Conc. Trid. ed. Soc. Goerres,
t. V, p. 91 s. | 25. Ib., t. X, p. 471; cf. t.V, pp. 29, 59, 65; t.
X, p. 446 sq. | 26. Leonis XIII Acta XIII, pp. 345-346; Ench.
Bibl. n. 94-96; infra, pp. 15-16. | 27. Hebr. 4:12. | 28. Cf.
Benedict XV, Encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus; Acta Ap. Sedis XII
(1920), p. 390; Ench. Bibl. n. 461; supra, pp. 46-47. | 29. Contra
Arianos I, 54; PG 26, col. 123. | 30. Comment. ad Hebr. cap. I,
lectio 4. | 31. Hebr. 4:15. | 32. Cf. v. gr. In Gen. I, 4 (PG 53,
col. 34-35); In Gen. II, 21 (ib. col. 121); In Gen. III, 8 (ib.
col. 135); Hom. 15 in Joan., ad. I, 18 (PG 59, col. 97 sq.). | 33.
St. Augustine, Epist. 149 ad Paulinum, n. 34 (PL 33, col. 644); De
diversis quaestionibus, q. 53, n. 2 (ib. XL, col. 36); Enarr. in
Ps. 146, n. 12 (ib. 37, col. 1907). | 34. Apostolic letter
Vigilantiae; Leonis XIII Acta XIII, p. 237; Ench. Bibl. n. 136;
supra, p. 34. | 35. Cf. 2 Tm. 3:15, 17. | 36. Lk. 24:32. | 37. Jn.
6:69. | 38. 1 Cor. 3:11. | 39. St. Jerome, In Isaiam, prologus; PL
24, col. 17. | 40. Id., In Ephesios, prologus; PL 26, col. 439. |
41. Col. 2:10. | 42. 1 Cor. 1:30. | 43. Cf. St. Augustine, Contra
Faustum XIII, 18; PL 42, col. 294; CSEL. XXV, p. 400. | 44. St.
Jerome, Ep. 53, 10; PL 22, col. 549; CSEL 54, p. 463. | 45. St.
Augustine, de doctr. christ. III, 56; PL 34, col. 89. | 46. 1
Mach. 12:9. | 47. Dan. 12:3. | 48. Cf. Wisd. 12:1.
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