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← De eruditione filiorum nobilium (On the Education of Noble Children)/Book 1 · De eruditione filiorum nobilium
Chapter 23Erud.1.23

De morali puerorum instruccione.

Knowledge and Virtue Must Walk Together

Learning in letters must be joined to moral instruction, for knowledge without virtue not only fails to help but actively harms, as Lactantius and Bernard teach.

But learning in letters must be joined with instruction in morals, because knowledge without virtue or good morals doesn't just fail to help — it actually does harm. That knowledge without virtue is of no benefit, Lactantius shows in his book On True Worship: 'Just as on a journey,' he says, 'it's no help at all to know the way unless you have the effort and strength to walk it, so true knowledge is of no benefit if the virtues themselves are lacking.'1 That it can even do harm, Saint Bernard says, as cited above: 'Knowledge, as it is read, if it has not been refined by the fire of love, puffs up — just as undigested food generates bad humors and doesn't nourish the body but rather corrupts it.'✦2 These two, moreover, joined together — namely, virtue and knowledge — help one another and make a person wise. Hence Lactantius in his book On False Wisdom: 'Virtue,' he says, 'when joined with knowledge, is wisdom.' . .

The Twofold Calling of Human Nature

God created human nature to pursue both religious life and wisdom together; separating them is a deception, and both must be taught from boyhood by instructors of genuine humility and integrity.

For God willed that human nature should be this: that it would be drawn toward and eager for two things — namely, religious life and wisdom. But people are deceived for this reason: they either take up religious life while neglecting wisdom, or devote themselves to wisdom alone while neglecting religious life — when neither can be true without the other. Lactantius says these things. Therefore, both must be pursued from boyhood, and instruction in both is necessary for boys. For in both areas, as was said above, a person's character is especially to be formed while it is still soft and tender, and yields very readily to those instructing or teaching. But it is also necessary in a moral instructor that there be honesty of character and humility in teaching. For if an instructor lacks good character in himself, let him hear the Apostle in Romans 2: 'You are confident,' he says, 'that you yourself are a leader of the blind, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children.'✦3

The Teacher Must Live What He Teaches

A teacher who instructs others but not himself commits an excess of abuse; wisdom demands that one's deeds agree with one's words, as Seneca teaches.

So if you teach another yet don't teach yourself— one might say this is excessive abuse— For as Seneca says to Lucilius: 'This he demands— . . Philosophy—so that each person may live by their own law, and life may not diverge from prayer.4 . .

Words Without Inner Truth Profit Nothing

True wisdom requires that deeds match words; to speak rightly while living perversely is condemned by the rule of justice, as Seneca and Prosper affirm.

This is especially the duty and the mark of wisdom: that one's deeds agree with one's words, and that a person be equal and consistent with himself in every circumstance. . . That man fulfills his own promise who, both when you see him and when you hear him, is the same person. Seneca said this. And Prosper, noted above: It profits no one to speak only good words, if the mind holds what the tongue sounds out so well.5 For to speak rightly and to live perversely is wretched, and the rule of justice condemns it as a mark of evil.6

Humility: The Wax That Receives the Shape

The student cannot receive moral formation without humility, for only a soul softened by humility — like wax before the seal — can be shaped by another's hand, as Hugh of Saint Victor teaches.

This was discussed more fully above. The one being educated also cannot properly receive instruction in moral character from another without humility. For, as Hugh says in his book on the training of novices: 'Just as wax does not take a shape unless it has first been softened, so also a person is not shaped by the hand of another's action into the form of virtue, unless that person has first been made pliable through humility, freed from all the stiffness of pride and resistance.'7 Nor indeed will a person who still attacks the good qualities of others and defends his own faults through the vice of pride ever be reformed for the better by another's example. These are Hugh's words. And so a child's character must be shaped in accord with that saying of Ovid's in the Ars amatoria:8 In a boy, the age is soft and ready to be guided.

Scripture Commands the Formation of Children

Solomon, the Apostle, the Law, and Tobias all command parents to bring up children in discipline and the knowledge of God, promising refreshment to the soul and warning of eternal fire for neglect.

On the zeal for good character, Solomon says in Proverbs 20: 'From his own pursuits a child is understood, if his deeds are pure and upright.'9 On the moral education of children as well, the Apostle says to their parents in Ephesians 6: 'Bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord.'10 The law also commands that parents teach their children the commandments and blessings of the Lord — for example, in Deuteronomy 6: 'You will tell these things to your sons, etc.'11 This is what Tobias did for his own son, teaching him from childhood to know God and to refrain from all sin, as it is read in Tobit 5.12 Hence it is also said in Proverbs 29: 'Instruct your son, and he will refresh you, and he will give delights to your soul.'13 Well does it say, 'he will refresh you' — that is, he will gladden you, namely — bringing rest from anxiety — or, 'he will refresh you,' that is to say — from the eternal fire that you deserve if you have not instructed him.

The Honor and Joy of a Well-Educated Child

Scripture promises parents who educate their sons both present honor and future glory: a wise son is his father's crown, and the one who teaches his son will rejoice in him among the household of God.

If you do this, it will bring delights to your soul, namely — — of honor or of joy, and of each, both present and future. For concerning present honor or glory, an authority often cited by the holy fathers says: 'A wise son is the glory of his father.'✦ Concerning future glory, it is said in Ecclesiasticus chapter 30: 'Whoever teaches his own son will be praised in him, and will glory in him in the midst of the members of the household' — that is, of the angels and the saints, who are God's household. Hence it is also said in Proverbs chapter 17: 'The crown of old men is grandchildren, and the glory of sons is their fathers.'✦ Further, concerning the present joy that a person acquires by educating a son, it is said in Proverbs chapter 10: 'A wise son gladdens his father; but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.'✦ Concerning both present and future joy, it is said in Ecclesiasticus chapter 30: 'In his own life he saw' — namely — — the father saw his son educated, 'and rejoiced in him.'

The Sorrow and Shame of Neglectful Parents

On the other hand, the carnal father who neglects his sons' education will not know their fate after death, for the wicked do not know whether their children are noble in virtue or ignoble in vice, as Gregory teaches.

Here is the point about the present life. At his death he was not made sorrowful, nor was he confounded before his enemies. For he left behind a defender of the house against its enemies, and one who shows favor to his friends. Here is the point about the future life. Whence the same passage allows this: 'His father is dead, and yet it is as if he were not dead, for he left behind one like himself after him.' On the other hand, concerning the impious man who loves his sons too carnally and does not educate them in good morals, it is said in Job 14: 'Whether his sons are noble or base, he will not understand,' that is to say, after his own death. Gregory, explaining this, says: 'Carnal men, who lavish their chief' — that is, their principal or greatest — 'love upon their sons, do not know after death those whom they loved so intensely in this life. And indeed, concerning — . . For this is not to be supposed of the holy, because those who see the brightness of almighty God within — it is by no means to be believed that there is anything outside that they do not know. Gregory, plainly stating his own view, holds that after death the holy have come to know in what state their sons stand; the wicked, however, do not know whether their sons are noble through the nobility of virtues or ignoble through the ignobility of vices. For, as someone says:

True Nobility Is Virtue of the Soul

True nobility consists not in birth but in the character within and the habits of a good life that adorn the soul; the only real virtue is virtue itself.

True nobility consists in this alone: it is the character within and the habits of a good life that adorn the soul. And from this, the young man: The only true nobility of soul, and the only real virtue, is virtue itself.

The Judgment That Falls on Negligent Fathers

Parents will be held accountable not only for their own sins but for the sins of children they neglected to correct, as the examples of Eli and the Pauline qualifications for bishops make clear.

The reason they don't understand is that they'll be held accountable not only for their own sins but also for the sins of the children they neglected to educate or correct — and for that they'll be cast into the outer darkness.✦ As we read in the fourth book of Wisdom: 'All the children born of wicked parents are witnesses of their parents' wickedness when they are called to account.' And likewise in Ecclesiasticus chapter forty-one: 'Children complain about their wicked father, because on his account they live in disgrace.' We have the example of Eli in the first book of Kings, chapter one: he raised his sons too softly and then rebuked them too late, once they'd already grown up — and so he and his whole household brought God's vengeance down on themselves.✦ Hence Jerome writes to Aletia: 'Eli the priest offended the Lord because of his children's vices.'✦ And according to the Apostle, no one can become a bishop who has had children that are self-indulgent and disobedient.✦ If, then, the corrupted youth of their children is held against parents who are already of age and legally responsible, how much more will it be held against those who are still nursing and frail, who… . . He doesn't know. . . The distinction between good and evil will be charged to him. . . .

Better Childless Than Wicked in Children

Drawing on Jerome and Ecclesiasticus, the text warns that one person who fears God is better than a thousand wicked children, and it is better to die without offspring than to leave behind children who are wicked.

So whoever is a little child and has the understanding of a little child, until he comes to the years of wisdom —✦✦ . . his bad deeds as much as his good ones are credited to his parents.' These are Jerome's words. Because of all this, it is said in Ecclesiasticus sixteen: 'Do not take pleasure in wicked children, even if they increase in number, and do not delight in them.14 For one person who fears God is better than a thousand wicked children. And it is a good thing to die without children than to leave behind wicked children.'15

The Shame of Indulgent Upbringing

Just as diligent parents gain honor and joy, negligent parents gain shame and sorrow; Quintilian and Seneca warn that indulgence breaks every sinew of mind and body, and education shapes character for life.

And so, just as good parents earn honor and joy for themselves—both now and in the future—through their diligence in raising their children, so too, on the contrary, wicked parents bring shame and sorrow on themselves through their negligence. Hence it is said in Ecclesiasticus 22: 'A father is shamed by an undisciplined son,' and in Proverbs 29: 'A child left to his own will brings shame to his mother.'16 Therefore Quintilian, in his book on oratorical training, speaks about the lax upbringing of children: 'Would that we ourselves were not the ones destroying our children's character!' Right from infancy we let them have their way with indulgences. For that which we call indulgence is a soft upbringing; it breaks every sinew of mind and body. These are Quintilian's words. On the other hand, Seneca, in his book on morals, says: 'Education and discipline' — that is, a disciplined education — 'shape a person's character, and each one's life tastes of what he has learned.' That proverb, therefore, is detestable which is commonly accustomed to be said, namely:17

Against the Proverb of the Holy Boy Who Becomes an Old Devil

The common proverb that a holy young man makes an old devil lacks both goodness and truth; what appears to be youthful virtue that fades was likely never genuine but feigned, as Horace confirms that nature cannot be driven out.

From a holy young man, the devil becomes an old man. And this saying is not only lacking in goodness but also in truth, because what is stated in a proverb must be constantly or frequently true. This, however, even if it sometimes seems to happen — namely, that a boy progressing in goodness should afterwards fall away from goodness — nevertheless, this does not tend to happen in most cases, and in those instances where it perhaps does happen, it seems that the goodness was not true but rather feigned. For sometimes boys outwardly pretend simplicity and innocence, either to win their parents' favor or out of fear of the whip. Therefore, once these restraints are removed, the hidden malice bursts forth and reveals itself to everyone. Whence Horace, in his Book of Epistles: You may drive out Nature with a pitchfork, yet she will always rush back.

The Instability of Youth and the Fragility of Feigned Virtue

Youth is naturally changeable and impulsive, but feigned virtue falls away quickly like flowers, as Cicero and Seneca teach; genuine goodness, rooted in solid character, makes better progress over time, though even promising youths can fall through bad company, laxity, or excessive severity.

The same holds true in the art of poetry. A boy who already knows how to render voices and marks the ground with a sure foot longs to play with his peers, and he gathers his anger and puts it aside rashly, and changes hour by hour. A beardless young man, his guardian at last removed, rejoices in horses and dogs and the grass of a sunny field — you'll be waxen, harsh to advisers, slow to provide what's useful, quick to bend toward vice, and wasteful. Lofty, eager, and nimble at leaving behind the things you've loved. As Cicero says in the second book of his De Officiis, 'Everything feigned falls away quickly, like little flowers, and nothing pretended can last.' And Seneca in the first book of De Clementia: 'No one,' he says, 'can bear a feigned role for long — they quickly fall back into their own nature, those in whom truth has no foundation.' But things born from what is solid, in time … . . '… make better progress.' These are Seneca's words. But boys who have good natural gifts and good beginnings in conduct are sometimes harmed and fall away from the good — whether through bad company, or lax discipline, or excessive severity.

Imperfect Things Slip Back: The Danger of Falling Away

Seneca warns that imperfect things are bound to slip back; Ovid compares a young branch easily shaken by the breeze to a youth who has not yet toughened through testing — the weak are harmed by even small things.

For as Seneca says to Lucilius, 'Imperfect things are bound to slip — at one moment they may even advance, and at the next…' . . let them fall back.' And from here also Ovid, in the second book of Remedies: For the weak, even a very small thing does harm. The same author, in the second book on art: While a young branch is still growing and taking root in its green bark, the slightest breeze shakes it and it falls. But soon, once that same branch has toughened over time in the winds, it stands firm against them.

The One Who Falls Was Never Truly Standing

Boethius teaches that the one who utterly falls from goodness was never truly standing firm; Ovid laments those who start better than they finish, whose end does not match their beginning — such are the ones who give rise to the detestable proverb.

This can be understood in the sense of what Ovid says in the twelfth book of the Metamorphoses: The outcome is uncertain. Now concerning the one who utterly falls short of the good, Boethius says in the first book of the Consolation: 'The one who has fallen was never standing firm in that position.' To such a person Ovid also speaks, in his book of Letters: You've started better than you're finishing: the end doesn't match the beginning — this man and that boy are nothing alike.18

The Genuinely Good Child Perseveres

Boys who are genuinely good — not pretending, not forced — and in whom goodness has taken root by nature and been strengthened through sound teaching do not easily drift from their way of living; their early virtue is an image of what they will become, as Proverbs teaches.

And it's precisely because of people like this that this detestable proverb was coined — about a holy young man becoming an old devil.1920 But boys who are genuinely good — not pretending, not forced against their will — boys in whom goodness itself has taken root almost by nature and has been strengthened, just a little, through sound teaching and a well-formed way of life: they don't easily drift from their accustomed way of living. On the contrary, what's rightly said of them is a natural disposition — that is, without any guile — a kind of image of the virtue they'll grow into, according to that proverb in the Book of Proverbs, chapter twenty: 'A boy is understood by his pursuits,' and so on.212223

Read the original Latin

At uero litterarum erudicioni morum eciam instructio copulanda est, quia sciencia sine uirtute uel moribus bonis non solum non prodest, sed eciam obest. Quod enim non prosit, lactancius in libro de uero cultu sic ostendit: ‘Sicut in itinere,’ inquit, ‘celebrando nichil prodest uiam nosse, nisi conatus ac uires ambulandi suppetant, ita ueri sciencia nichil prodest, si uirtutes proprie deficiant.’ Quod eciam obsit, dicit beatus bernardus, ubi supra: ‘Sciencia, ut legitur, si caritatis igne decocta non fuerit, inflat, quantum et cibus indigestus malos humores generat corpusque non nutrit, sed pocius corrumpit.’ Hec autem duo inuicem coniuncta, sc. uirtus et sciencia, se iuuant inuicem et hominem faciunt sapientem. unde lactancius in libro de falsa sapiencia: ‘Virtus,’ inquit, ‘cum sciencia coniuncta est sapiencia . . .

Naturam etenim hominis deus hanc uoluit esse, ut duarum rerum cupidus et appetens esset, scil. religionis et sapiencie. Sed homines ideo falluntur, quoniam aut religionem suscipiunt omissa sapiencia, aut sapiencie soli student religione omissa, cum alterum sine altero uerum esse non possit.’ Hec lactancius. Igitur in utroque studere debent a puericia et in utroque pueris est erudicio necessaria. Nam in utroque, sicut dictum est supra, tunc maxime hominis etas est informanda, dum adhuc mollis ac tenera existit et precipientibus uel erudientibus facillime cedit. Verum et in eruditore morum oportet, ut sit morum honestas et in erudiendis humilitas. Nam si eruditor in se bonis moribus careat, apostolum audiat ad romanos ii: ‘Confidis,’ ait, ‘te ipsum esse ducem cecorum, eruditorem insipiencium, magistrum infancium.

Qui ergo alium doces, teipsum non doces.’ Ac si diceret: abusio nimia hec est. ut enim ait seneca ad lucilium: ‘hoc exigit . . . philosophia, ut ad legem suam quisque uiuat, nec ab oracione vita dissenciat . . .

maxime, quia hoc est officium et indicium sapiencie, ut uerbis opera concordent et ipse homo sibi par idemque sit ubique . . . Ille promissum suum implet, qui et cum uideas et cum audias illum, idem est.’ Hec seneca. Hinc et prosper, ubi supra:

Non prodest cuiquam solis bona dicere uerbis, impia mens habeat, quod bene lingua sonat. Nam fari recte miserum est, et uiuere praue, dampnat nota malum regula iusticie.

De hoc autem plenius dictum est superius. Erudiendus quoque sine humilitate non potest erudicionem morum ab alio conpetenter suscipere. Nam, ut dicit hugo in libro de institucione nouiciorum, ‘sicut cera, nisi prius emollita fuerit, formam non recipit, sic et homo quidem per manum actionis aliene ad formam virtutis non flectitur, nisi prius per humilitatem ab omni elationis et contradictionis rigore molliatur. Neque enim per exemplum alterius aliquando in melius reformari poterit, qui adhuc per elacionis uicium et aliena bona oppugnat et sua mala deffendit.’ Hec hugo. Itaque formanda est etas pueri, iuxta illud ouidii de arte io:

In puero est etas mollis et apta regi.

Itaque de studio circa mores bonos dicit salomon in prouerbiis xx: ‘Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer, si munda et recta sunt opera eius.’ De morali quoque puerorum erudicione dicit apostolus, loquens eorum parentibus ad ephesios vi: ‘Educate illos in disciplina et correpcione domini.’ precipit eciam lex, ut parentes doceant filios mandata et beneficia domini, verbi gracia in deuteronomio vio: ‘Narrabis ea filiis tuis etc.’ sic faciebat tobias filio suo, docens eum ab infancia deum et abstinere ab omni peccato, ut legitur in thobia v. hinc eciam dicitur in prouerbiis xxix: ‘Erudi filium tuum et refrigerabit te et dabit delicias anime tue.’ Bene dicit ‘refrigerabit te,’ id est letificabit, sc. quietem conferens a sollicitudine, vel refrigerabit te, sc. ab eterno incendio, quod mereris, si non eum erudieris.

Quod si feceris, dabit delicias anime tue, sc. honoris siue leticie et utriusque presentis ac future. Nam de presenti honore uel gloria dicit auctoritas a sanctis patribus frequentata: ‘Gloria patris filius sapiens est.’ De futura uero dicitur in ecclesiastico xxx: ‘Qui docet filium suum, in illo laudabitur et in medio domesticorum,’ id est angelorum et sanctorum, qui domestici dei sunt, ‘in illo gloriabitur.’ Hinc etiam dicitur in prouerbiis xvii: ‘Corona senum filii filiorum, et gloria filiorum patres eorum.’ Porro de presenti leticia, quam acquirit homo filium erudiendo dicitur in prouerbiis xo: ‘filius sapiens letificat patrem suum; filius uero stultus mesticia est matri sue.’ De presenti quoque et futura dicitur in ecclesiastico xxx: ‘In uita sua uidit,’ sc. pater filium eruditum, ‘et letatus est in illo.’

Ecce de presenti. ‘Et in obitu suo non est contristatus, nec confusus est coram inimicis. Reliquit enim defensorem domus contra inimicos et amicis reddentem graciam.’ Ecce de futura. unde ibidem permittitur: ‘Mortuus est pater illius et quasi non est mortuus, similem enim sibi reliquit post se.’ Econtra uero de impio, qui filios nimis carnaliter diligit, nec illos in bonis moribus erudit, dicitur in Iob xiiii: ‘Siue nobiles fuerint filij eius, siue ignobiles, non intelliget, ’ sc. post mortem suam. Quod exponens gregorius dicit: ‘Carnales homines, qui precipuum,’ id est principalem uel maximum, ‘amorem filiis impendunt, post mortem nesciunt, quos hic vehementer amauerunt.

ac uero de . . . sanctis hoc senciendum non est, quia qui omnipotentis dei claritatem intus uident, nullo modo credendum est, quia sit foris aliquid, quod ignorent.’ Hec gregorius, manifeste innuens se sentire, quod sancti post obitum nouerunt, in quo statu filij eorum sunt; mali uero nesciunt, utrum filij eorum nobiles sunt nobilitate uirtutum an ignobiles ignobilitate uiciorum. Nam ut ait quidam:

nobilitas sola est animum que moribus ornat.

Hinc et iuuenalis:

Nobilitas animi sola est atque unica uirtus.

Ideo autem nesciunt, quia non solum pro peccatis propriis, sed eciam pro peccatis filiorum, quos erudire uel corrigere neglexerunt, in tenebras exteriores proiecti sunt. ut enim legitur in libro sapiencie iiiio, ‘ex iniquis omnes filij, qui nascuntur, testes sunt nequicie aduersus parentes in interrogacione sua.’ Hinc et in ecclesiastico xli: ‘De patre impio queruntur filij, quoniam propter illum sunt in obprobrium.’ Exemplum habe0tur in hely Io Regum, i, qui filios molliter educauit ac negligenter iam adultos corripuit et ideo diuinam ulcionem ipse et domus eius incurrit. unde ieronimus ad aletham: ‘hely,’ ait, ‘sacerdos offendit dominum ob uicia liberorum. Episcopus quoque, secundum apostolum, non potest fieri, qui filios luxuriosos et non subditos habuerit. Si ergo parentibus etas filiorum infecta et sui iuris imputatur, quantum magis lactens et fragilis, que . .

. ignorat . . . boni et mali distanciam, imputabitur. . . .

Qui itaque paruulus est et sapit ut paruulus, donec ad annos sapiencie ueniat, . . . tam mala eius quam bona parentibus imputantur.’ Hec ieronimus. propter hec omnia dicitur in ecclesiastico xvi: ‘Ne iocunderis in filiis impiis, si multiplicentur, nec oblecteris super eos. Melior est enim unus timens deum quam mille filii impii. Et utile est mori sine filiis quam relinquere filios impios.’

Itaque sicut boni parentes pro diligencia circa filiorum erudicionem acquirunt sibi honorem ac leticiam presentem et futuram, sic econtrario mali pro neglicencia confusionem atque tristiciam. unde dicitur in ecclesiastico xxii: ‘Confusio patri de filio indisciplinato,’ et in prouerbiis xxix: ‘Puer, qui dimittitur uoluntati sue, confundit matrem suam.’ Ideo de remissa puerorum educacione dicit quintilianus in libro de oratoria institucione: ‘utinam liberorum nostrorum mores non ipsi perderemus! infanciam enim statim deliciis soluimus. Nam illa, quam indulgenciam uocamus, educacio mollis, neruos omnes frangit mentis et corporis.’ Hec quintilianus. Econtra uero seneca in libro de moribus, ‘Educacio,’ inquit, ‘et disciplina,’ id est educacio disciplinata, ‘mores facit et id sapit quisque, quod didicit.’ Illud ergo prouerbium est detestabile, quod uulgariter solet dici, sc.

de iuuene sancto dyabolum senem fieri. Nec tantummodo caret bonitate, sed etiam veritate, quia, quod in prouerbio dicitur, assidue aut frequenter oportet uerum esse. Hoc autem, etsi aliquando fortasse uideatur accidere, uidel. ut puer in bono proficiens postea deficiat a bonitate, non tamén in plurimis solet contingere, et in quibus fortasse contingit, pocius videtur non fuisse bonitas vera, sed magis simulata. aliquando namque pueri simplicitatem et innocenciam exterius simulant uel ob parentum fauorem uel ob flagelli timorem. Ideo postea cessantibus hiis malicia latens erumpit et omnibus se ostendit. unde horacius in libro epistolarum:

Naturam expellas furca, tamen usque recurret.

idem in poetria:

Reddere qui uoces iam scit puer et pede certo, signat humum, gestit paribus colludere et iram colligit ac ponit temere et mutatur in horas. inberbis iuuenis tandem custode remoto, gaudet equis canibusque et aprici gramine campi, Cereus in vicium flecti monitoribus asper, utilium tardus prouisor prodigus eris. Sublimis cupidus et amata relinquere pernix.

ut enim dicit tullius in libro de officiis ii, ‘omnia ficta celeriter tanquam flosculi decidunt, nec quicquam simulatum potest esse diuturnum.’ Et seneca in libro io de clemencia: ‘Nemo,’ inquit, ‘personam ferre fictam diu potest, cito nimirum in naturam suam recidunt, quibus veritas non subest. Que autem ex solido nascuntur, tempore in . . . melius proficiunt.’ Hec seneca. Ceterum pueri eciam habentes bona naturalia et bona conuersacionis inicia quandoque leduntur et a bono deficiunt uel societate mala uel educacione remissa uel seueritate nimia.

ut enim dicit seneca lucilio, ‘Imperfecta necesse est labi et modo quidem prodeant, modo . . . subcidant.’ Hinc et ouidius in libro de remediis iio:

Infirmis causa pusilla nocet.

Idem quoque in libro 2o de arte:

Dum nouus in uiridi coalescit cortice ramus, Concuciat tenerum quelibet aura cadit. Mox eadem uentis spacio durata resistit.

De tali potest intelligi, quod dicit ouidius in libro mathemorphoseos xii:

Exitus in dubio est.

De illo autem, qui penitus a bono deficit, dicit boecius in libro de consolacione io: ‘Qui cecidit, stabili non erat ille gradu.’ Tali quoque dicit ouidius in libro epistolarum:

Cepisti melius quam desinis, ultima primis cedunt dissimiles hic vir et ille puer.

Et utique propter tales inuentum est illud prouerbium execrandum de sancto iuuene fieri et senem dyabolum. At uero pueri boni non simulati, non penitus coacti, sed quibus ipsa bonitas quasi naturaliter est inolita et per doctrinam bonam atque conuictum est aliquantulum solidata, non facile deuiant a uita consueta, quin pocius in eis recte dicitur indoles, id est sine dolo, quedam future virtutis ymago, iuxta illud prouerbiis xx: ‘Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer etc.’

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩1Cor.8.1 — Now concerning food offered to idols: we know that all of us possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
  2. ↩Rom.2.17 — But if you call yourself a Jew and rest on the law and boast in God,
  3. ↩Prov.10.1 — The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
  4. ↩Prov.17.6 — Grandchildren are the crown of the aged, and the glory of children is their fathers.
  5. ↩Prov.10.1 — The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son makes a father glad, but a foolish son is a grief to his mother.
  6. ↩Matt.8.12 — But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown out into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
  7. ↩1Sam.2.12-1Sam.2.36 — Now the sons of Eli were worthless men; they did not know the LORD. 1Sam.2.13 — And the custom of the priests with the people was this: when any man offered a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was boiling, with a three-pronged fork in his hand. 1Sam.2.14 — and he would strike it into the basin, or into the kettle, or into the cauldron, or into the pot; all that the fork would bring up, the priest would take for himself. Thus they did to all Israel who came there at Shiloh. 1Sam.2.15 — Even before the fat was burned, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, "Give meat for the priest to roast, for he will not take boiled meat from you, but only raw." 1Sam.2.16 — And the man said to him, "Let them burn the fat today, and take for yourself whatever your soul desires." But he said to him, "No, you must give it now; and if not, I will take it by force." 1Sam.2.17 — And the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD, for the men treated the offering of the LORD with contempt. 1Sam.2.18 — Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD, a boy wearing a linen ephod. 1Sam.2.19 — And a small robe his mother made for him, and brought it up to him year by year, when she came up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice. 1Sam.2.20 — And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, and say, 'May the LORD give you offspring from this woman in place of the one she asked of the LORD.' And they went to their home. 1Sam.2.21 — Indeed, the LORD visited Hannah, and she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters. And the boy Samuel grew up in the presence of the LORD. 1Sam.2.22 — Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and that they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 1Sam.2.23 — And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I am hearing of your evil deeds from all these people. 1Sam.2.24 — No, my sons, for the report I am hearing is not good, causing the people of the LORD to transgress. 1Sam.2.25 — If one person sins against another, God will arbitrate for him; but if a person sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him? Yet they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to put them to death. 1Sam.2.26 — And the boy Samuel grew on, and was in favor both with the LORD and also with men. 1Sam.2.27 — A man of God came to Eli and said to him, "Thus says the LORD: Did I not reveal myself to your father's house when they were in Egypt, in the house of Pharaoh?" 1Sam.2.28 — And I chose him from all the tribes of Israel to be my priest, to go up to my altar, to burn incense, to wear an ephod before me; and I gave to your father's house all the offerings by fire of the people of Israel. 1Sam.2.29 — Why do you kick at my sacrifice and my offering, which I have commanded in my dwelling, and honor your sons above me, by fattening yourselves with the choicest of every offering of my people Israel? 1Sam.2.30 — Therefore, declares the LORD, the God of Israel: 'I promised that your house and your father's house would walk before me forever. But now, declares the LORD, far be it from me! For those who honor me I will honor, and those who despise me will be held in contempt.' 1Sam.2.31 — Behold, the days are coming when I will cut off your arm and the arm of your father's house, so that there will not be an old man in your house. 1Sam.2.32 — You will look upon the distress of my dwelling in all the good that he does to Israel, and there will not be an old man in your house all the days. 1Sam.2.33 — Yet I will not cut off every man from you from my altar, to consume your eyes and to grieve your soul; but all the increase of your house shall die as men. 1Sam.2.34 — And this shall be the sign to you that will come upon your two sons, upon Hophni and Phinehas: on one day they shall both die. 1Sam.2.35 — And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who will do what is in my heart and in my soul; and I will build for him a faithful house, and he shall walk before my anointed one all the days. 1Sam.2.36 — And it shall be that everyone who remains in your house will come and bow down to him for a piece of silver and a loaf of bread, and will say, 'Please, appoint me to one of the priestly duties, so that I may eat a morsel of bread.'
  8. ↩1Sam.2.22-1Sam.2.25 — Now Eli was very old, and he heard all that his sons did to all Israel, and that they lay with the women who served at the entrance to the tent of meeting. 1Sam.2.23 — And he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I am hearing of your evil deeds from all these people. 1Sam.2.24 — No, my sons, for the report I am hearing is not good, causing the people of the LORD to transgress. 1Sam.2.25 — If one person sins against another, God will arbitrate for him; but if a person sins against the LORD, who will intercede for him? Yet they did not listen to the voice of their father, because the LORD desired to put them to death.
  9. ↩1Tim.3.4-1Tim.3.5;Titus.1.6 — He must manage his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity. 1Tim.3.5 — If someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for the church of God? Titus.1.6 — if anyone is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who are believers, not accused of dissipation or insubordinate.
  10. ↩1Cor.13.11 — When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I thought as a child, I reasoned as a child; but when I became an adult, I put away childish things.
  11. ↩Matt.18.3 — And he said, "Truly I tell you, unless you turn and become like the children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The quoted passage is attributed to Lactantius (De vero cultu / De opificio Dei). The Latin text here reads 'celebrando' which may reflect a variant or corruption of the transmitted text.
  2. 2 ↩The phrase 'Knowledge puffs up' echoes 1 Corinthians 8:1 (Scientia inflat). The full Bernard quotation weaves this scriptural allusion into an extended digestive metaphor.
  3. 3 ↩Romans 2:17 — the Vulgate reads 'Confidis' at the start of the verse. The full passage (Rom 2:17–20) addresses the inconsistency of teaching others while failing to live by what one teaches.
  4. 4 ↩ad legem suam could mean 'by the law within' or 'by the standard one sets for oneself'; rendered to keep both senses open. oracione rendered as 'prayer' in the devotional sense consistent with the lexeme policy for oratio.
  5. 5 ↩The subjunctive habeat is rendered as a conditional ('holds') rather than a jussive ('let it have'), reading the clause as a statement about the inner state that undercuts mere outward speech.
  6. 6 ↩Nam is rendered 'For' as an explanatory connective expanding the thought of the previous sentence. et coordinates the two infinitive subjects (to speak rightly / to live perversely) as a single compound subject of miserum est.
  7. 7 ↩Hugh of St. Victor, De institutione novitiorum. The wax-and-virtue analogy is his.
  8. 8 ↩The Latin reads 'iuxta illud ouidii de arte io' — a citation of Ovid, Ars amatoria. The 'io' may mark a book or chapter division in the source manuscript. The specific Ovid verse is not supplied here and will be cited in the following section.
  9. 9 ↩The quoted passage echoes Proverbs 20:11 ('Even a child makes himself known by his acts, whether his conduct is pure and right'), though the Vulgate wording and citation here differ slightly from standard editions.
  10. 10 ↩Quotation from Ephesians 6:4 (Vulgate: 'Educate [them] in disciplina et correptione Domini').
  11. 11 ↩The quotation echoes Deuteronomy 6:7, 20–21 (Vulgate), where parents are instructed to teach God's commandments to their children.
  12. 12 ↩The reference is to Tobit (Tobias) 5, where Tobias instructs his son; the passage reflects the broader narrative of Tobit 1:4–8 and 4:5–19 on teaching children the fear of God.
  13. 13 ↩The quotation closely parallels Proverbs 13:1 and 15:20, though cited here as Proverbs 29. The Vulgate chapter numbering and wording may account for the discrepancy.
  14. 14 ↩The quotation is attributed to Ecclesiasticus (Sirach) 16. The closest Vulgate text is Sirach 16:1–3, which warns against rejoicing in ungodly children. The exact wording here may be a loose quotation or paraphrase; final resolution deferred to tx-08 Moses stage.
  15. 15 ↩The word 'utile' (useful, profitable, a good thing) carries practical-moral weight: the author argues that childlessness is preferable to leaving ungodly offspring. This is a stark claim rooted in the ancient concern for legacy and moral formation.
  16. 16 ↩Scriptural quotations from Ecclesiasticus (deuterocanon) and Proverbs are candidates pending Moses resolution.
  17. 17 ↩The abbreviation 'sc' stands for 'scilicet' (namely/that is to say), introducing a proverb that follows in the next section. The proverb itself is not included in this section.
  18. 18 ↩The Latin is compressed and the syntax uncertain: ultima primis cedunt dissimiles is difficult to parse with confidence. The rendering above takes ultima ('last things,' i.e., the end) as the subject of cedunt ('yield, give way'), primis ('the first things,' i.e., the beginning) as an ablative of comparison, and dissimiles as a predicate describing the mismatch between the two states. Alternative parses are possible; the sense is clear enough — the end doesn't live up to the start — but the exact grammatical relationships remain uncertain.
  19. 19 ↩The gerundive 'execrandum' modifying 'prouerbium' is syntactically ambiguous: it could be attributive ('this proverb is to be cursed') or predicative ('this proverb has been found to be detestable'). The translation follows the attributive reading, treating the proverb itself as execrable.
  20. 20 ↩The proverb 'de sancto iuuene fieri et senem dyabolum' is not a direct biblical quotation. It may reflect a medieval proverbial saying or a loose allusion to Sirach/Ecclesiasticus themes about moral decline. Status: candidate allusion, unresolved.
  21. 21 ↩'conuictum' is textually uncertain. It could be the perfect passive participle of 'conuinco' (conquered, established) or a form related to 'conuictus' (way of life, manner of living). The translation reads it as 'a well-formed way of life' (i.e., a manner of living that has been shaped and confirmed), which fits the educational context.
  22. 22 ↩The quotation 'Ex studiis suis intelligitur puer etc.' is a candidate allusion to Proverbs 20:11 (Vulgate: 'Ex studiis suis intellegitur puer in quibus etenim et qualis sit demonstrant illi opera illius'). The reference 'prouerbiis xx' confirms Proverbs 20 as the source. Status: candidate, pending Moses resolution.
  23. 23 ↩'indoles' rendered as 'natural disposition' preserves the sense of an inborn character trait. The gloss 'natural disposition, character' is followed; this avoids reducing it to mere temperament while keeping the theological nuance that such disposition can be formed and directed by grace and instruction.

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