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| ID |
5877 |
| Text |
De gubernatione dei (439 - 451) Salvian of Marseilles |
| Quotation |
XII. Si ergo, inquiunt, respicit res humanas Deus, si curat, si diligit, si gubernat, cur nos infirmiores omnibus gentibus et miseriores esse permittit? Cur vinci a barbaris patitur? Cur juri hostium subjugari? Brevissime, ut jam ante dixi, ideo nos perferre haec mala patitur, quia meremur ut ista patiamur. Respiciamus enim ad turpitudines, ad flagitia, ad scelera illa
Romanae plebis quae supra diximus, et intelligemus si protectionem mereri possumus, cum in tanta impuritate vivamus. Itaque quia hoc argumento plurimi non respici res humanas a Deo dicunt, quod miseri, quod imbecilles simus, quid meremur? Si enim in tantis vitiis, in tanta improbitate viventes, fortissimos, florentissimos beatissimosque esse pateretur, suspicio fortasse aliqua esse poterat quod non respiceret scelera Romanorum Deus, qui tam malos, tam perditos, beatos esse pateretur. Cum vero tam vitiosos, tam improbos, infirmos et miserrimo esse jubeat, evidentissime patet, et aspici nos a Deo et judicari, quia hoc patimur quod meremur. Sed mereri nos absque dubio non putamus; et hinc est quod magis rei et criminosi sumus, quia non agnoscimus quod meremur. Maxima quippe accusatrix hominum noxiorum est usurpatrix innocentiae arrogantia. Inter multos siquidem eorumdem criminum reos nullus est criminosior quam qui se putat non criminosum. Itaque et nos hoc solum malis nostris addere possumus, ut nos innoxios judicemus. Sed esto (inquit aliquis peccator et
malignissimus certe, quod negari non potest, meliores barbaris sumus;
et hoc utique ipso manifestum est quod non respicit res humanas Deus, quia cum meliores simus, deterioribus subjugamur. An meliores simus barbaris, jam videbimus. Certe, quod non est dubium, meliores esse debemus. Et hoc ipso utique deteriores sumus, si meliores non sumus, qui meliores esse debemus. Criminosior enim culpa est, ubi honestior status. Si
honoratior est persona peccantis, peccati quoque major invidia. Furtum in omni quidem est homine malum facinus; sed damnabilius absque dubio senator furatur aliqua quam infima persona Cunctis fornicatio interdicitur; sed gravius multo est
si de clero aliquis quam si de populo fornicetur. Ita et nos qui Christiani et catholici esse dicimur, si simile aliquid barbarorum impuritatibus facimus,
gravius erramus. Atrocius enim sub sancti nominis professione peccamus. Ubi sublimior est praerogativa, major est culpa. Ipsa enim errores nostros religio quam profitemur, accusat. Criminosior est ejus impudicitia, qui promiserit castitatem.
Foedius inebriatur, sobrietatem fronte praetendens. Nihil est philosopho turpius vitia obscena sectanti, quia praeter eam deformitatem quam vitia in se habent, sapientiae
nomine plus notatur. Et nos igitur in omni humano genere philosophiam Christianam professi sumus, ac per hoc deteriores nos cunctis gentibus credi atque haberi necesse est, quia sub tam magnae professionis nomine vivimus, et positi in religione peccamus.
XIII. Sed scio plurimis intolerabile videri, si barbaris deteriores esse dicamur. Et quid facimus quod causae nostrae hoc nihil proficit, si intolerabile id nobis esse videatur? 80 Immo causam nostram hoc magis aggravat, si deteriores simus, et meliores nos esse credamus. Qui enim, inquit Apostolus, se existimat aliquid esse, cum nihil sit, se ipsum seducit. Opus autem suum probet homo (Gal. VI, 3, 4). Operi ergo nostro debemus credere, non opinioni; rationi, non libidini; veritati, non voluntati. Igitur quia non ferendum quidam existimant, ut deteriores aut non multo etiam meliores barbaris judicemur, videamus aut quomodo meliores simus, aut quibus barbaris. Duo enim genera in omni gente omnium barbarorum sunt, id est, aut haereticorum, aut paganorum.
...
XIV.
...
Possunt enim nostra et barbarorum vitia esse paria; sed in his tamen vitiis necesse est peccata nostra esse graviora. Nam cum omnes, ut ante jam diximus, barbari aut pagani sint aut haeretici, ut de paganis, quia prior illorum error est, prius dicam, gens Saxonum fera est,
Francorum infidelis, Gepidarum inhumana, Chunorum impudica; omnium denique gentium barbarorum
vita, vitiositas. Sed numquid eumdem reatum habent illorum vitia quem nostra, numquid tam criminosa est Chunorum impudicitia quam nostra, numquid tam accusabilis Francorum perfidia quam nostra, aut tam reprehensibilis ebrietas Alani quam ebrietas Christiani, aut tam damnabilis rapacitas Albani quam rapacitas Christiani? Si fallat Chunus vel Gepida, quid mirum est, qui culpam penitus falsitatis ignorat? Si pejeret Francus, quid novi faciet, qui perjurium ipsum sermonis genus putat esse, non criminis? |
| Translation |
They say, therefore, if God watches over human
affairs, if He cares for and loves and rules, why does He
permit us to be weaker and more wretched than all other
peoples? Why does He allow us to be conquered by the
barbarians? Why does He allow us to be subject to the law
of the enemy? Very briefly, as I have said before, He allows
us to bear these evils because we deserve to suffer them. Let
us look at the baseness, vices and those crimes of the Roman
commonalty which we have already spoken of, and we will
understand whether we deserve protection when we live in
such impurity.
Therefore, by arguing that we are wretched and weak,
because, as very many say, human affairs are not looked after
by God, what do we deserve? If He allowed us, living in so
great vice and so great wickedness, to be most strong, prosperous and happy, perhaps there could be a suspicion that
God, who allowed such evil and abandoned men to be happy, did not see the crimes of the Romans. Since, indeed, He
orders such vicious and evil men to be abject and wretched,
it is most manifestly clear that we are looked after and judged
by God, because we are suffering what we deserve.
But we, without doubt, do not think that we deserve
judgment, and hence we are the more guilty and criminal,
because we do not acknowledge what we deserve. Indeed,
the greatest accuser of evil men is one who, in arrogance,
takes advantage of innocence. Among many guilty of the
same crimes none is more criminal than he who does not
think himself guilty. Thus we can add this particular crime
to our evils, that we judge ourselves not guilty.
Someone says, let it be! Certainly, we are sinners and
evil. What cannot be denied is that we are better than the
barbarians. By this also it is clear that God does not watch
over human affairs, because, although we are better, we
are subject to those who are worse. We will now see whether
we are better than the barbarians. Certainly, there is no doubt
that we should be better. For this very reason we are worse,
if we who should be better are not better. The more honorable the position, the more criminal the fault. If the person
of the sinner is the more honorable, the odium of his sin is
also greater.
Theft in all men is an evil crime, but, without doubt, a
Senator who steals is more to be condemned than one of the
lower classes. Fornication is forbidden to all, but it is much
more serious if it is done by one of the clergy than by one
of the people. And so we who are said to be Christian and
Catholic sin more gravely, if we commit sins like the im-
purities of the barbarians. We sin more seriously under the
profession of a holy name. Where the prerogative is higher,
there is the fault greater. The religion which we profess itself
accuses our errors. The lewdness of him who vowed chastity
is more criminal; more foul is he who drinks while putting
on a front of sobriety.
Nothing is more vicious than a philosopher pursuing ob-
scene vices, because, besides that baseness which vices have
themselves, he is all the more in the public eye through the
the name of wisdom. We, among the whole human race,
have professed Christian philosophy. Because of this we
must be believed and considered worse than all other peoples,
because we live under the name of such a great profession and,
being placed in the midst of religion, we continue to sin.
13. I know it seems unbearable to many if we are
said to be worse than the barbarians. And what can we do,
because it profits our case nothing, if it seems unbearable to
us? We aggravate our case all the more if we are worse and
and believe we are better. The Apostle says: 'for he who
thinks he is something when he is nothing, deceives himself.
But let every man prove his own work.' We should place
our trust in work, not in opinion; in reason, not in lust; in
truth, not in inclination.
Therefore, because some men think it is unbearable that
we are judged worse, or not even much better than the barbarians, let us see how, and of which barbarians we are
better. For there are two kinds of barbarians in every nation: heretics and pagans.
...
14. ... But, you say, the barbarians commit the same evils, yet
they are not as wretched as we. There is this difference. If
the barbarians do the same things as we do, we, however,
sin with a greater displeasure to God. For ours and the vices
of the barbarians can be equal, but in these same vices our
sins must be greater. Since all the barbarians, as I have al-
ready said, are either pagans or heretics, I shall discuss the
pagans first, for theirs is the prior mistake. The Saxons are
savage. The Franks are treacherous. The Gepidae are ruthless. The Huns are lewd. In short, the life of all barbarian
nations is corruption itself.
Do you think their vices have the same guilt as ours? Is
the lewdness of the Huns as blameworthy as ours? Is the
perfidy of the Franks as reprehensible as ours? Is the drunkenness of the Alemanni as blameworthy as the drunkenness
of Christians? Is the rapacity of the Alani as much to be
condemned as the greed of Christians? What is stranger if a
Hun or Gepid cheats, he who is completely ignorant of the
crime of cheating? What will a Frank who lies do that is
new, he who thinks perjury is a kind of word and not a
crime? |
| Quotation source |
Lib. 4, Cap. 12-13, 14 (pp. 47-50, trans. O'Sullivan, pp. 110-15) |
| Temporal Coverage |
439 - 451 |
| Associated use case(s) |
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| Comment |
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