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← De eruditione filiorum nobilium (On the Education of Noble Children)/Book 1 · De eruditione filiorum nobilium
Chapter 28Erud.1.28

Quod instruendi sunt pueri de obediencia filiali.

The Threefold Training of Children

The author introduces the moral formation of boys, defining discipline through Cyprian and Hugh of Saint Victor, and identifies three areas of instruction: filial obedience, moral composure, and social conduct, following Bernard of Clairvaux's triad of humble, orderly, and sociable living.

Having said what needs to be said about the training of boys — the kind by which they are compelled to learn and to restrain themselves from evil — we must now speak about that other training which embraces good morals and by which their life is shaped. On this subject, blessed Cyprian says in his book On the Twelve Abuses of the Age: 'Discipline is the orderly correction of morals.'1 On this subject also Hugh of Saint Victor says: 'Discipline is a good and honorable way of life, which strives not only to avoid doing evil, but also to remain blameless in all things through whatever it does well.' And since we have already said a great deal about morals, good conduct, the governance of actions and gestures and senses — all of which pertain to discipline — in the third book of this work above, let us say only this for the present: that boys must be instructed especially about three things, namely:2 filial obedience, moral composure, and social conduct. For in these three especially consists the good formation of life, according to what blessed Bernard says in his sermon on the apostles Peter and Paul. 'Do you think,' he says, 'it is a small thing to know how to live well?'3 .

Bernard's Triad and the Nature of Obedience

Bernard of Clairvaux's triad of living humbly toward God, orderly toward oneself, and sociably toward neighbor is unpacked; obedience is defined as the willing submission of the will to a superior, with disobedience characterized as stubborn resistance, and the wandering will of children is shown to require governance through obedience.

. I think, however, that . . . You live well if you live humbly, in an orderly manner, and sociably. Humbly toward God, in an orderly manner toward yourself, sociably toward your neighbor. These are Bernard's words. Now that act of humility and obedience — or of submission to God — is said to be bestowed which is shown to prelates, the powerful, and magistrates, on account of God's ordering, according to that word of the Apostle to the Romans, chapter 13.✦ 'There is no authority,' he says, 'except from God; and those authorities that are from God are ordained.'✦ And so, first, they are humbled before their elders; second, they are set in order within themselves; third, they conduct themselves rightly among their companions or neighbors. Now obedience is the willingness to carry out the command of a superior. Likewise, obedience is said to be a voluntary and rational sacrifice of the will, properly speaking. Again, obedience is described in this way: it is the dutiful renunciation of the will, through a proper zeal for the command, and a voluntary refusal of self. Disobedience, on the other hand, is the stubborn hardness of a mind that refuses to submit to the one in authority, though it ought to. Because the will of children is fickle and wandering, it especially needs to be governed by obedience under another's authority. Otherwise, as it is said in Proverbs 29: 'A child left to his own will brings shame to his mother.'✦

Why Royal Children Must Learn Obedience

Royal children especially need to learn obedience because one who commands well must first have obeyed; Augustine teaches that obedience is the primal virtue given to man under God, and the greatest vice—pride—is disobedience.

Moreover, royal boys too, who are destined one day to command others, have even more need than others to experience and learn obedience. For as Tully says in the fourth book of his work on the laws: 'He who commands well must at some point have obeyed, and he who obeys modestly seems worthy at some point to command.'4 Therefore, three things are to be considered about obedience, namely: why one must obey, and to what persons, and in what ways. Indeed, the motive that should incite one to obey ought to be threefold, namely: the good of obedience itself, and example, and advantage. So great, namely, is the good of obedience that, as Augustine says in the eighth book on Genesis, 'it was necessary from the beginning that man, placed under God, be forbidden something, so that for him the very virtue of obedience would be to earn his Lord.'5 'Which,' he says, 'I dare most truly to call the sole virtue for every rational creature acting under God's authority, first, because the greatest vice of pride is to wish to use one's own power to one's ruin — and the name of this vice is disobedience.'67

Obedience as the Root of All Virtue

Gregory teaches that God forbade the tree of knowledge not because it was evil but so that man might grow through the merit of obedience; obedience is the virtue that implants and guards all other virtues and is inseparable from faith.

Gregory also says in book 35 of the Moralia: 'The evil tree in paradise that God forbade man to touch, so that he wouldn't touch it, was by no means there [by nature].'✦ But so that man, well created, might grow better through the merit of obedience, it was fitting that God should also forbid him what is good. . . For obedience is the only virtue that implants other virtues in the mind and, once implanted, guards them. . . It alone possesses the merit of faith, without which everyone is convicted of being unfaithful — even if they may seem to be faithful.

Christ and Abraham: The School of Obedience

God placed both Adam and Christ in the school of obedience; Christ learned obedience through suffering (Hebrews 5:8), and Abraham demonstrated supreme obedience through three escalating commands: leaving his homeland, circumcision, and the sacrifice of Isaac.

So says Gregory. In short, the good of obedience is so great that God chose to place in the testing ground — or the school — of obedience not only the first man, who by nature is the head of all people, but also Christ in his humanity, who by grace is the head of all the faithful. Hence the Apostle says of him to the Hebrews (5): 'Although he was the Son of God, he learned obedience from what he suffered' — that is, he gained the experience of obedience — so that he might be equally its student and its teacher.✦ Indeed, we read many examples of great obedience, and first of all Abraham, the father of our faith, whose obedience God wished to test by a threefold and weighty command. First, namely — First, regarding his leaving his homeland, God says, as we read in Genesis 12: 'Go out from your land, and from your kindred, and from your father's house, etc.'✦ Second, regarding circumcision, God says, as we read in the same book, chapter 17: 'Let every male among you be circumcised, and you shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin, etc.'✦ Third, regarding the sacrifice of his son, God says in the same book, chapter 22: 'Take your only-begotten son, whom you love, Isaac, and offer him as a holocaust, etc.'✦

The Escalating Trial of Abraham

Origen's homily on Genesis 22 reveals how God's command to sacrifice Isaac was designed to stir Abraham's paternal affections to the utmost, so that the memory of love and the promise through Isaac's name would make the trial as severe as possible.

The first command was serious, the second more serious, and the third, indeed, the most serious of all. Origen explains these words in his eighth homily on Genesis: 'Take,' he says, 'your only-begotten son Isaac,' and so on.✦8 See how, by tender and sweet names, again and again repeated, a father's affections are stirred up — so that as the memory of love awakens, the right hand is held back from sacrificing the son, and the whole army of the flesh rises up against the faith of the mind.9 . . And because the promised seed had been placed in Isaac, the boy's very name is also brought to mind, so that despair may overwhelm Abraham regarding the promises that had been made under that name.✦10 . .

The Journey to the Mountain of Sacrifice

The trials grow step by step: first the command to offer his son, then the ascent of the mountain, so that along the whole road Abraham is torn between the pressing command and the struggling affection of his only child, creating room for the struggle between faith and fleshly love.

But what comes after this? . . ? Look closely at each detail — see how the trials grow step by step. . . First, he's told to offer his son — that's where it begins. . . Next, that he is to climb the mountain.✦ . . So that, as he makes his way along the whole road, he may be torn apart by thoughts — tormented on one side by the pressing command, and on the other by the struggling affection of his only child.11 For this reason, then, both the journey is enjoined and the ascent of the mountain — so that in all these things there may be room for struggle: affection and faith, the love of God and the love of the flesh, the grace of what is present and the expectation of what is to come.1213 .

The Three-Day Journey and Isaac's Cry

On the third day Abraham sees the place from afar; the extended journey allows a father's heart to be tormented by watching his son, sharing meals, and embracing him at night, until Isaac's tender cry 'My father' strikes Abraham's heart with the full force of filial love.

. On the third day, he saw the place from afar.✦ Here too I behold the wisdom and counsel of the one who tests. . . The journey is extended over three days, by which —✦14 . . When worries come rushing back, a father's heart is tormented — so that through all this long, drawn-out time, watching his son, he would share a meal with him, and for so many nights the boy would cling to his father's embrace, press close to his chest, and rest in his lap. . . And as they walked on together, Isaac said to his father: 'My father.✦ . ." How do you think a son about to be sacrificed struck his father's heart with this one cry? .

Abraham's Magnanimity and God's Reward

Origen marvels that Abraham's magnanimity, produced by the virtue of obedience, surpasses what most can muster even in ordinary grief; after Isaac is spared and a ram sacrificed, God blesses Abraham abundantly because he did not withhold his only son, and Sedulius celebrates the holy mind that set aside paternal wounds to embrace God's commands.

. Do you think any one of us draws so much strength of soul from the historical narrative itself that, when a son is perhaps lost by a common death — a death owed to all — even if he's an only and beloved child, he'd set Abraham before himself as an example and place his magnanimity before his eyes? Origen says this about the magnanimity of Abraham, which the virtue of obedience produces in him. So after his son was freed and a ram sacrificed in his place, the Lord said to him: 'By myself I have sworn, because you have done this thing and did not spare your only-begotten son on my account, I will bless you and multiply your seed like the stars of heaven, etc.'✦ , because you obeyed my voice.'✦ From this point Sedulius also says the following about him in his Paschal hymn, book ten: O holy mind of the just man—with all piety set aside, you who have a greater measure of piety have despised the wounds of the child, yet embraced the commands of God.

Christ the Supreme Model of Obedience

Christ is the greatest example of obedience: he came down from heaven to do the Father's will (John 6:38), entered the world through Mary's obedience (Luke 1:38), lived doing the Father's will as his food (John 4:34), rose to go to his Passion (John 14:31), and became obedient even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

We have another example, and the greatest one: the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who taught obedience not only by word but also by example — coming into the world, remaining in the world, and passing out of the world. Regarding the first point, he says in John chapter six: 'I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.'✦15 From this we also see that he entered through the Virgin's obedience, because he immediately took flesh in her womb when she obeyed his word sent through the angel, saying: 'Behold, the handmaid of the lord,' and so forth.✦16 Regarding the second point, he says in the same Gospel, chapter four: 'My food is to do the will of my Father.'✦17 Regarding the third point, he says in the same Gospel, chapter fourteen: 'That the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father gave me commandment, so I do — rise, let us go from here,' that is,✦18 'Rise, let us go from here,' that is,✦19 to the place of his Passion. And the Apostle, writing to the Philippians in chapter two, says: 'He humbled himself, becoming obedient even to death — even death on a cross.'✦20

All Creation Obeys: Angels, Elements, and the Shame of Man

The final act of Christ's obedience reveals its mystery; beyond Abraham and Christ, all creation obeys God—angels minister, celestial bodies keep their decrees, winds and sea obey, mountains rise and valleys sink—yet man, endowed with reason, disobeys, which Ambrose calls a great shame.

The final act of this obedience reveals its mystery: that having bowed his head, he sent forth his spirit, as it is read in John 19. And let these two chief examples suffice for now — namely, one from the Old Testament and the other from the New. Moreover, we have a general example in every kind of creation except the demon and man, who above all ought to obey on account of their faculty of reason. For of the angels it is said in Hebrews 1 that all are ministering spirits. Whence also in Daniel 7 it is said that thousands of thousands ministered to him; and of the sun and moon and other celestial creation it is said elsewhere that he set a decree and it will not pass away. Of the winds and the sea it is said in Matthew 8 that the winds and the sea obey him. Of the earth, however, it is said in the psalm: 'Mountains rise up and valleys sink down,' etc. 'You have set them a boundary that they will not cross.' Hence Ambrose says: 'It is no small shame,' he says, 'for unfeeling elements to obey the command of God, and for men not to obey, to whom sense was granted by the Author himself.' These things concern examples of obedience.

The Sevenfold Blessings of Obedience

Obedience brings seven blessings: it makes us brothers of Christ (Matthew 12:50), welcomes Christ into the lodging of the mind (John 12, Bethany as 'house of obedience'), purifies from self-will (1 Peter 1:22), triumphs over enemies (Proverbs 21:28), brings peace (Proverbs 13:13), prepares for heavenly contemplation (Isaiah 58:13–14), and leads to eternal life (Matthew 19:17), recovering the key of paradise lost through disobedience and given to Simon whose name means 'obedient' (Matthew 16:19).

The benefits of obedience are indeed many. First, namely — — because it makes them brothers of Christ, just as he himself says in Matthew 12: 'Whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven — that person is my brother and sister.'✦ Second, because Christ is received in the lodging of the mind — which is signified by the fact that Christ himself offered himself as a guest in Bethany and in the house of Simon, as it is read in John 12.✦ For Simon means 'obedient,' and Bethany means 'house of obedience.' Third, obedience itself purifies them from the pull of self-will, according to that word of John in 1 Peter: 'purifying your souls in obedience to love.'✦ Fourth, obedience triumphs over spiritual enemies and even bodily ones, according to that word of Proverbs 21: 'The obedient man will speak of victory.'✦ Fifth, obedience brings peace within and without, according to that word of Proverbs 13: 'Whoever fears the commandment will dwell in peace.'✦ Sixth, obedience prepares them for the contemplation of heavenly things, according to that word of Isaiah 58: 'If you glorify God, not following your own ways, and your own will is not found speaking its own discourse, then you will delight yourself in the Lord, and I will lift you above the heights of the earth, and feed you with the inheritance of Jacob your father.'✦ Seventh, obedience leads them into eternal life, according to that word of Matthew 19: 'If you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments.'✦ For just as disobedience lost the key of paradise, so obedience recovered it. Hence also to Simon, whose name means 'obedient,' it was said by the Lord in Matthew 16: 'I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.'✦ Here it's also worth noting that obedience rides into paradise like a mounted knight, leaning, that is, upon —

Obedience Rides into Paradise; Blessings and Curses

Obedience rides into paradise leaning on another's will; Deuteronomy 11 and 28 promise manifold blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience; Ecclesiasticus warns against following one's own will, which makes a servant of the devil, and we experience daily how disobedience drove us into exile.

By another's feet — that is, by another's will and judgment. Furthermore, obedience obtains the many blessings set forth in Deuteronomy 11: 'If you obey my commandments,' says the Lord, 'I will give rain for your land, etc.' And in the same book, chapter 28: 'All these blessings will come upon you, if you listen to his precepts and keep them. Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed shall you be in the field, etc.'✦ On the other hand, just as obedience makes a person a servant of God, so disobedience — or one's own will — makes a servant of the devil. For this reason it is said in Ecclesiasticus 18: 'Do not follow your desires, and turn away from your own will.' For if you give your soul over to its desire, it will make you a joy to your enemies.' And truly it is remarkable that disobedience is not utterly hateful to all people. For we experience constantly in ourselves how great an evil disobedience is — on account of which we were driven out of paradise into this exile, where we also endure countless miseries.'

The Gravity of Disobedience: Idolatry and the Fall

The evil of disobedience required the death of God's Son to heal (Romans 5:19); it is compared to idolatry (1 Samuel 15:23) because the disobedient person claims for himself the submission owed to God; Job equates following one's own will with the greatest iniquity (Job 31:27–28), and Augustine calls it the first and greatest vice.

So great was the evil of disobedience that the Son of God had to die through obedience to heal it, following the words of the Apostle to the Romans 5: 'Just as through the disobedience of one man many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of one many will be made righteous.'✦ In short, the evil of disobedience is so great that it is compared to the greatest of crimes — namely, idolatry. Idolatry — according to 1 Samuel 15: 'To refuse to submit is as the wickedness of idolatry.'✦ The disobedient person, because a slave to his own will, claims for himself the submission owed to God — and that is the crime of idolatry. Hence Job says in chapter 31: 'If I have kissed my own hand, that is the greatest iniquity and a denial of God Most High.'✦ For to kiss one's own hand means to act lustfully or to follow one's own will. This also explains the passage from Augustine cited a little earlier: 'The first and greatest vice leading to ruin,' he says, 'is to want to use one's own authority — and the name of this vice is disobedience.' Moreover, a person's own will voids every merit before God — even the merit of a good deed.

Self-Will Destroys All Merit

Isaiah 58 shows that even fasting is void when self-will is present; Gregory says obedience with any self-will is worth nothing; Bernard says self-will makes what is good not good; disobedience cast down Adam from dignity and Saul from his kingdom (1 Samuel 15:26), and Hosea says Israel is put to shame in his own will.

So when the Jews complained to the Lord, saying, 'Why have we fasted, and you did not notice? We humbled our souls, and you did not pay attention' — that is, you did not approve — the Lord answers through Isaiah 58: 'Look,' he says, 'in your own fast days, your own will is found.'✦ And Gregory, in Morals 35, says: 'Obedience, if it has anything of its own, is generally worth nothing,' because — your very own will empties out all the merit. That is why blessed Bernard says on the Song of Songs: 'One's own will is a great evil, because it makes what is good for you not good for you.' What's more, disobedience has generally cast a person down from his dignity, just as it cast down the first man. An example is also found in Saul, 1 Kings 15, whom disobedience cast down from his kingdom. So there, through Samuel it is said to him: 'Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, the Lord has rejected you, so that you will not be king over Israel.'✦ Again, a person is often confounded, because what happens is frequently contrary to his will and hope, according to that word of Hosea 10: 'Israel will be put to shame in his own will.'✦

Curses for Disobedience and Bernard's Final Warning

Isaiah 45 declares that all who resist the Lord will be put to shame; Deuteronomy 28 lists comprehensive curses for disobedience—in city, field, barn, stores, womb, land, herds, flocks, going in and going out—and blessed Bernard warns in a sermon about the gravity of disobedience.

This is why it says in Isaiah 45 that everyone who stands against the Lord will be put to shame— the Lord. In the end, just as many blessings are promised to the obedient, so too many curses are laid out for the disobedient. In Deuteronomy 28: 'If,' it says, 'you refuse to listen to the voice of the Lord and to carry out all his commandments, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you.' 'You'll be cursed in the city and cursed in the field.' 'Cursed will be your barn and cursed your stores.' 'Cursed will be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, the herds of your cattle and the flocks of your sheep.' 'You'll be cursed going in and cursed going out,' and so on. For all these reasons, blessed Bernard says in a sermon:

Read the original Latin

Dicto de puerorum disciplina, qua discere et a malo se cohibere conpelluntur, dicendum est de illa, que bonos mores conplectitur, quibus eorum vita informetur. De hac enim dicit beatus cyprianus in libro de XII abusionibus seculi: ‘Disciplina est ordinata morum correctio.’ de hac eciam dicit hugo de sancto victore: ‘Disciplina est conuersacio bona et honesta, que non tantum mala non facere studet, sed eciam in hiis, que bene agit, per cuncta irreprehensibilis permanere.’ Et quoniam de moribus et bona conuersacione et actuum ac gestuum sensuumque regimine, que ad disciplinam pertinent, plurima iam diximus in tercio huius operis libro superius, hoc solum ad presens dicamus, quod pueri maxime instruendi sunt de tribus, videl. de obediencia filiali, de conposicione morali, de conuersacione sociali. In hiis enim tribus precipue consistit uite bone informacio, iuxta illud beati bernardi in sermone de apostolis petro et paulo. ‘Putas,’ inquit, ‘parua res sit scire bene viuere . .

. Arbitror autem, quod . . . bene uiuis, si humiliter, ordinabiliter, sociabiliter uiuis. Humiliter deo, ordinabiliter tibi, sociabiliter proximo.’ Hec bernardus. Illud autem humilitatis et obediencie uel subiectionis deo dicitur impendi, quod prelatis ac potentibus et magistratibus exhibetur propter ordinacionem dei, iuxta illud apostoli ad romanos xiii.

‘Non est,’ inquit, ‘potestas nisi a deo; que autem a deo sunt, ordinata sunt.’ Itaque per primum humiliantur erga maiores suos, per secundum ordinantur apud semetipsos, per tercium recte conuersantur inter socios siue proximos. Est autem obediencia voluntas faciendi mandatum superioris. Item obediencia dicitur esse spontaneum et racionale sacrificium uoluntatis proprie. Iterum sic describitur: Obediencia est pio iussi studio proprie uoluntatis abnegacio et voluntaria recusacio. Inobediencia uero est ex duricia mentis obstinate, cui debeas, imperanti nolle obtemperare. Quia vero puerorum uoluntas est volatilis et vaga, ideo maxime opus habet regi obediencia sub voluntate aliena. Alioquin, ut dicitur in prouerbiis xxix: ‘puer, qui dimittitur voluntati sue, confundet matrem suam.’

Ceterum pueri quoque regales, qui debent aliquando ceteris precipere, plus ceteris necesse habent obedienciam experiri et addiscere. ut enim dicit tullius in libro de legibus iiio: ‘et qui bene imperat, necesse est aliquando paruerit, et qui modeste paret, videtur, quod aliquando imperare dignus sit. ’ Itaque de obediencia consideranda sunt tria, videl. cur obediendum sit et quibus personis et quibus modis. Causa siquidem ad obediendum incitatiua debet esse trina, uidel. ipsius obediencie bonum et exemplum et conmodum. Nempe tantum est obediencie bonum, ut, sicut dicit augustinus super genesim libro viiio, ‘oportuit ab inicio, ut homo sub deo positus alicunde prohiberetur, ut ei uirtus esset ipsa obediencia promerendi dominum suum. Quam,’ inquit, ‘audeo verissime dicere solam virtutem esse, omni racionabili creature agenti sub dei potestate, primum quia et maximum vicium esse tumoris ad ruinam uti velle potestate sua, cuius vicij nomen est inobediencia.’

Hinc eciam dicit gregorius in moralibus libro xxxv: ‘Nequaquam arbor illa mala in paradyso extitit, quam deus homini, ne contingeret, interdixit. Sed ut melius per obediencie meritum homo bene conditus cresceret, dignum fuit, ut illum eciam a bono prohiberet . . . Sola namque virtus est obediencia, que menti ceteras virtutes inserit, insertasque custodit . . . Sola est, que fidei meritum possidet, sine qua quisque infidelis esse conuincitur, eciam si fidelis esse uideatur.’

Hec gregorius. Denique tantum est bonum obediencie, ut non solum illum hominem primum, qui est capud omnium secundum naturam, sed eciam secundum hominem christum, qui est capud omnium fidelium secundum graciam, ponere voluerit deus in probatorio uel in scola obediencie. unde de ipso dicit apostolus ad hebreos v: ‘quia, cum esset filius dei, didicit ex hiis, que passus est, obedienciam,’ id est experienciam obediencie, ut esset pariter discipulus et doctor obediencie. Exempla uero multa legimus magne obediencie, et primo quidem abraham patrem fidei nostre, cuius obedienciam trino precepto et graui deus voluit probare. Primo sc. de patrie sue desertione, dicens, ut legitur in genesi xii, ‘Egredere de terra tua et de cognacione tua et de domo patris tui etc.’ Secundo de circuncisione dicens, ut legitur in eodem xvii: ‘Circoncidetur ex uobis omne masculinum et circoncidetis carnem prepucii uestri etc.’ Tercio de filij immolacione, dicens in eodem xxii: ‘Tolle filium tuum unigetum, quem diligis, ysaac et offer illum in holocaustum etc.’

Primum fuit graue preceptum, secundum grauius, tercium uero grauissimum. unde origenes sic exponit illa uerba, super genesim omelya octaua: ‘Tolle,’ inquit, ‘filium tuum unigenitum ysaac etc. Ecce caris ac dulcibus appellacionibus, iterum ac sepe repetitis, affectus paterni suscitantur, ut amoris euigilante memoria ad immolandum filium dextera retardetur et aduersus fidem animi tota carnis milicia repugnetur . . . Et quia semen in ysaac promissum fuerat, fit eciam memoracio nominis pueri, ut et promissionum, que sub hoc nomine facte sunt, desperacio subeat . . .

Sed quid post hec . . . ? Intuemini per singula, quomodo fiunt temptacionis augmenta . . . Prius enim dicitur ei, quod filium offerat .

. . deinde, quod in montem ascendat . . . ut, dum iter agit, per totam viam cogitationibus discerpatur et hinc urgente precepto, hinc vero unici affectu obluctante crucietur. propter hoc igitur et via iniungitur, et ascensio montis, ut in omnibus hiis spacium accipiant certaminis affectus et fides, amor dei et amor carnis, gracia presencium et exspectacio futurorum . .

. Die autem tercio vidit locum procul. Hic quoque sapienciam et consilium temptantis intueor . . . Per triduum iter protenditur, quo . . .

curis recursantibus paterna viscera cruciantur, ut omni hoc spacio tam prolixo pater filium intuens cum eo cibum sumeret, totque noctibus puer in amplexibus patris penderet, pectori inhereret, in gremio cubitaret . . . Cumque pergerent simul, dixit ysaac patri: “pater mi . . .” Quomodo putas immolandus filius per hanc uocem viscera paterna concussit . .

. Putasne alicui nostrum ex ipsa hystorica narracione tantum animi robur acquiritur, ut, cum forte amittitur filius morte conmuni, et omnibus debita, etiam si sit unicus et dilectus, abraham sibi in exemplum adducat et magnanimitatem eius ante oculos ponat.’ Hec origenes de magnanimitate abrahe, quam facit in eo virtus obediencie. unde postmodum filio liberato et ariete pro eo immolato dictum est ei a domino: ‘Per memetipsum iuraui, quia fecisti rem hanc et non pepercisti filio tuo unigenito propter me, benedicam tibi et multiplicabo semen tuum, sicut stellas celi etc. , quia obedisti uoci mee.’ Hinc eciam de ipso dicit sedulius in carmine paschali libro io:

O iusti mens sancta uiri pietate remota, plus pietatis habens contempsit uulnera nati, amplexus precepta dei.

Aliud exemplum habemus potissimum ipsum dominum iesum christum, qui eam docuit non solum uerbo sed eciam exemplo et in mundum veniens et in mundo manens et de mundo transiens. De primo dicit in iohanne vi: ‘Descendi de celo, non ut faciam voluntatemmeam, sed voluntatem eius, qui misit me.’ Hinc eciam per obedienciam virginis intrauit, quia statim in uterum eius se recepit, cum illa uerbo eius per angelum misso obediuit, dicens: ‘Ecce ancilla domini etc.’ De secundo dicit in eodem iiiio: ‘Meus cibus est, ut faciam uoluntatem patris mei.’ De tercio dicit in eodem xiiiio: ‘ut cognoscat mundus, quia diligo patrem, et sicut mandatum dedit michi pater, sic facio. Surgite, eamus hinc,’ sc. ad locum passionis. Hinc et apostolus ad philipenses iio: ‘Humiliauit,’ inquit, ‘semetipsum, factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis.

Huius obediencie finalis pretendit misterium, quod inclinato capite emisit spiritum, ut legitur in iohanne xix. Et hec duo potissima exempla sufficiant modo, sc. unum de veteri testamento et alterum de nouo. Ceterum exemplum generale habemus in omni genere creature excepto demone et homine, qui maxime propter sensum racionis deberent obedire. Nam de angelis dicitur ad hebreos io, quod omnes sunt administratorij spiritus. unde et in viio danielis dicitur, quod milia milium ministrabant ei; de sole et luna et alia creatura celesti dicitur alibi, quod preceptum posuit et non preteribit. De ventis et mari dicitur in matheo viii, quod venti et mare obediunt ei. de terra vero dicitur in psalmo: ‘Ascendunt montes et descendunt campi etc.

terminum posuisti eis, quem non transgredientur.’ unde ambrosius, ‘Non mediocris est,’ inquit, ‘pudor insensibilia elementa imperio dei parere et homines non obedire, quibus tributus est sensus ab ipso auctore.’ hec de exemplis obediencie. Commoda vero obediencie sunt multa. Primum sc. , quod ipsos obedientes christi fratres efficit, sicut ipsemet dicit in matheo xii: ‘Quicumque fecerit uoluntatem patris mei, qui in celis est, ille meus frater et soror est.’ Secundum, quod christum in hospicio mentis recipit, quod signatum est in hoc, quod ipse christus in bethania et in domo symonis hospitem se prebuit, ut legitur in iohanne xii. Symon enim interpretatur obediens et bethania domus obediencie.

Tercium est, quod ipsa obediencia eos a libidine proprie voluntatis castificat, secundum illud Io petri io: ‘Animas,’ inquit, ‘vestras castificantes in obediencia caritatis.’ Quartum est, quod de hostibus spiritualibus uel eciam corporalibus triumphat, secundum illud prouerbiorum xxi: ‘vir obediens loquetur victoriam.’ Quintum est, quod eos intus et extra pacificat, secundum illud prouerbiorum xiii: ‘Qui timet preceptum, in pace versabitur.’ Sextum est, quod eos ad contemplacionem celestium preparat, secundum illud ysaie lviii: ‘Si glorificaueris deum, dum non facis uias tuas, et non inuenitur voluntas tua, ut loquaris sermonem, tunc delectaberis super domino et subtollam te super altitudinem terre et cibato te hereditate iacob patris tui.’ Septimus est, quod eos ad uitam eternam introducit, secundum illud mathei xix: ‘Si uis ad uitam ingredi, serua mandata.’ Sicut enim inobediencia paradysi clauem amisit, sic eam obediencia recuperauit. unde et symoni, quod interpretatur obediens, dictum est a domino in matheo xvi: ‘Tibi dabo claues regni celorum.’ Hic eciam est notandum, quod obediencia quasi eques uadit in paradysum, innitendo sc.

alienis pedibus, id est voluntati et sensui alterius. Denique obediencia plurimas benedictiones assequitur, que proponuntur in deuteronomio xi: ‘Si obedieritis mandatis meis,’ dicit dominus, ‘dabo pluuiam terre uestre etc.’ Et in eodem xxviii: ‘venient super te uniuerse benedictiones iste, si precepta eius audieris et custodieritis. Benedictus tu in ciuitate et benedictus in agro etc.’ Econtra uero, sicut obediencia facit hominem seruum dei, sic inobediencia siue uoluntas propria seruum dyaboli, propter quod dicitur in ecclesiastico xviii: ‘post concupiscencias tuas non eas et a voluntate tua auertere. Si enim prestes anime tue concupiscenciam eius, faciet te in gaudium inimicis tuis.’ Et reuera mirum est, quod inobediencia non est omnibus hominibus maxime odiosa. Nam in nobis ipsis experimur assidue, quantum sit malum inobediencie, propter quod de paradyso in hoc exilium detrusi sumus, ubi et infinitas miserias sustinemus.

Tantumque fuit inobediencie malum, ut filium dei per obedienciam oportuerit mori propter illud curandum, iuxta illud apostoli ad romanos v: ‘Sicut per inobedienciam unius hominis peccatores constituti sunt multi, ita et per unius obedienciam iusti constituuntur multi.’ Denique tantum est malum inobediencie, ut criminum maximo conparetur, sc. ydolatrie, iuxta illud samuelis, primo regum xv: ‘quasi scelus ydolatrie est nolle acquiescere.’ Inobediens enim quia seruus est uoluntatis proprie; subiectionem deo debitam sibimetipsi tribuit, quod est scelus ydolatrie. unde dicit Job xxxi: ‘Si osculatus sum manum meam, que est iniquitas maxima et negacio contra deum altissimum.’ Nam osculari manum suam, hoc est libidinose facere uel sequi voluntatem propriam. Hinc eciam est illud augustini paulo ante positum: ‘Primum,’ inquit, ‘et maximum uicium ad ruinam est uti uelle potestate propria, cuius vicij nomen est inobediencia.’ Ceterum propria uoluntas in homine omne meritum apud deum eciam boni operis euacuat.

unde iudeis conquerentibus ac dicentibus domino: ‘quare ieiunauimus et non aspexisti; humiliauimus animas nostras et nescisti,’ id est non approbasti, respondet dominus per ysaiam lviii: ‘Ecce,’ inquit, ‘in diebus ieiunij uestri inuenitur voluntas vestra.’ Hinc et gregorius in moralibus xxxv, ‘Obediencia,’ inquit, ‘plerumque, si de suo aliquid habeat, nulla est,’ quia sc. ipsa voluntas propria meritum euacuat. Ideo dicit beatus bernardus super cantica: ‘Grande malum est uoluntas propria, qua fit, ut bona tua non sint tibi bona.’ Preterea inobediencia plerumque hominem a dignitate sua deiecit, sicut et primum hominem deiecit. Exemplum eciam habetur de saul I Regum xv, quem inobediencia deiecit a regno. unde ibi a samuele dicitur ei: ‘Quia proiecisti sermonem domini, proiecit te dominus, ne sis rex israel.’ Iterum hominem sepe confundit, quia frequenter eius uoluntati ac spei contrarium accidit, secundum illud osee x: ‘Confundetur israel in uoluntate sua.’

unde et dicitur in ysaia xlv, quod confundentur omnes qui repugnant ei, sc. domino. Denique, sicut obedienti proponuntur plurime benedictiones, sic et inobedienti plurime maledictiones. in deuteronomio xxviii: ‘Si audire,’ inquit, ‘nolueris uocem domini, ut facias omnia mandata eius, venient super te omnes maledictiones iste et apprehendent te. Maledictus eris in ciuitate et maledictus in agro. Maledictum horreum tuum et maledicte reliquie tue. Maledictus fructus uentris tui et fructus terre tue, armenta boum tuorum et greges ouium tuarum. Maledictus eris ingrediens et maledictus egrediens etc.’

propter hec omnia dicit beatus bernardus in sermone:

Scripture echoes

  1. ↩Rom.13.1 — Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God, and the authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
  2. ↩Rom.13.1 — Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except by God, and the authorities that exist have been appointed by God.
  3. ↩Prov.29.15 — The rod and reproof give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother.
  4. ↩Gen.2.16-Gen.2.17 — And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; Gen.2.17 — but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for on the day you eat from it you shall surely die.
  5. ↩Heb.5.8 — Although he was a Son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.
  6. ↩Gen.12.1 — Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your land and from your kindred and from your father's house to the land that I will show you.
  7. ↩Gen.17.10 — This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.
  8. ↩Gen.22.2 — And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
  9. ↩Gen.22.2 — And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
  10. ↩Gen.17.19 — But God said, "No — Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him."
  11. ↩Gen.22.2 — And He said, "Take now your son, your only son, whom you love—Isaac—and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you."
  12. ↩Gen.22.4 — On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
  13. ↩Gen.22.4 — On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes and saw the place from a distance.
  14. ↩Gen.22.7 — And Isaac said to Abraham his father, and he said, 'My father.' And he said, 'Here I am, my son.' And he said, 'Here is the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?'
  15. ↩Gen.22.16-Gen.22.17 — and he said, 'By myself I have sworn, declares the LORD, because you have done this thing and have not withheld your son, your only son— Gen.22.17 — because I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore, and your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies;
  16. ↩Gen.22.18 — and in your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice
  17. ↩John.6.38 — For I have come down from heaven not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me.
  18. ↩Luke.1.38 — And Mary said, 'Behold, the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.' And the angel departed from her.
  19. ↩John.4.34 — Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.
  20. ↩John.14.31 — But so that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, so I do. Rise, let us go from here.
  21. ↩John.14.31 — But so that the world may know that I love the Father, and just as the Father commanded me, so I do. Rise, let us go from here.
  22. ↩Phil.2.8 — And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
  23. ↩Matt.12.50 — For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.
  24. ↩John.12.1-John.12.3 — Then Jesus, six days before the Passover, came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. John.12.2 — So they made a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. John.12.3 — Then Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard, anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
  25. ↩1Pet.1.22 — Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.
  26. ↩Prov.21.28 — A false witness will perish, but the one who listens will speak forever.
  27. ↩Prov.13.13 — Whoever despises a word will be broken by it, but whoever fears a command will be rewarded.
  28. ↩Isa.58.13-Isa.58.14 — If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honored, and honor it by not going your own ways, from pursuing your own pleasure and speaking empty words— Isa.58.14 — Then you will delight yourself in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth, and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.
  29. ↩Matt.19.17 — And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. But if you wish to enter into life, keep the commandments."
  30. ↩Matt.16.19 — I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
  31. ↩Deut.28.3 — Blessed are you in the city, and blessed are you in the field.
  32. ↩Rom.5.19 — For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
  33. ↩1Sam.15.23 — For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and iniquity and idolatry are stubbornness. Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He has rejected you from being king.
  34. ↩Job.31.27-Job.31.28 — and my heart was enticed in secret, and my hand kissed to my mouth Job.31.28 — That too would be a punishable offense, for I would have been unfaithful to God above.
  35. ↩Isa.58.3-Isa.58.5 — "Why have we fasted, and you have not seen? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you do not notice? Look, on the day of your fasting you pursue your own pleasure and exploit all your laborers. Isa.58.4 — Look, you fast only for quarreling and strife, and for striking with a fist of wickedness. You do not fast as you do today in order to make your voice heard on high. Isa.58.5 — Is this the fast I would choose—a day for a person to afflict his soul? To bow his head like a reed and spread out sackcloth and ashes—will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the LORD?
  36. ↩1Sam.15.26 — But Samuel said to Saul, "I will not return with you, for you have rejected the word of the LORD, and the LORD has rejected you from being king over Israel."
  37. ↩Hos.10.1 — Israel is a luxuriant vine that yields fruit in abundance; the more his fruit increased, the more altars he built; as his land prospered, he improved the sacred pillars.

Notes

  1. 1 ↩The work cited is the pseudo-Cyprianic De XII Abusionibus Saeculi, a widely circulated medieval text.
  2. 2 ↩The author refers back to Book 3 of De eruditione filiorum nobilium, which covers moral formation, conduct, and sensory governance at length.
  3. 3 ↩Attributed to Bernard of Clairvaux, sermon on Saints Peter and Paul. Exact source not verified; the quotation may be paraphrased or from a spurious attribution common in medieval florilegia.
  4. 4 ↩paruerit: perfect indicative or future perfect; rendered as perfect ('has obeyed') following the gloss preference.
  5. 5 ↩promerendi: gerund of purpose ('of earning / of deserving'); rendered 'to earn' to capture the sense that obedience itself is the means of meriting the Lord.
  6. 6 ↩tumoris: literally 'swelling,' rendered as 'pride' in the sense of arrogant self-inflation.
  7. 7 ↩vicium/vicij: variant spelling of vitium; rendered as 'vice.'
  8. 8 ↩omelya is a transliterated Greek term (homilia/homily); retained as a technical reference to Origen's homiletic work.
  9. 9 ↩milicia carnis ('army/soldiery of the flesh') is a vivid metaphor for the full force of natural human affection and instinct resisting the demands of faith.
  10. 10 ↩The 'promised seed' refers to God's covenant promise that Abraham's descendants would come through Isaac (Genesis 17:19, 21:12). The argument is that God's command to sacrifice Isaac forces Abraham to confront the apparent contradiction between the promise and the command.
  11. 11 ↩The hinc...hinc vero construction sets up a vivid contrast between the force of divine command and the pull of natural parental love. The purpose clause (ut) frames this inner conflict as divinely intended — the struggle itself is the point of the journey.
  12. 12 ↩The paired contrasts (affectus et fides, amor dei et amor carnis, gracia presencium et exspectacio futurorum) map the interior battlefield of the soul. 'Gracia presencium' likely refers to the grace found in present experience, while 'exspectacio futurorum' points to hope in promised things — together they frame the full range of spiritual contest.
  13. 13 ↩Gracia presencium rendered as 'grace of what is present' rather than 'grace of present things' to preserve the experiential sense. Exspectacio futurorum rendered as 'expectation of what is to come' to capture the eschatological horizon.
  14. 14 ↩The relative quo (ablative singular) is truncated here — the sentence appears incomplete in the source, cutting off before the relative clause is finished. The antecedent of quo is ambiguous: it may refer to triduum ('three days') or to the whole phrase per triduum ('over the course of three days'). The translation preserves the truncation.
  15. 15 ↩Quotation from John 6:38. The Latin voluntatemmeam is a scribal fusion of voluntatem + meam, normalized in the source text.
  16. 16 ↩Quotation from Luke 1:38 (Mary's response to the angel Gabriel). The Latin intrauit ('he entered') refers to the Incarnation — Christ entering the world through Mary's obedient consent.
  17. 17 ↩Quotation from John 4:34. The Latin source uses Roman numeral 'iiii°' for chapter 4.
  18. 18 ↩Quotation from John 14:31. The Latin source uses Roman numeral 'xiiiio' for chapter 14. The quotation is split across sentences s5 and s6.
  19. 19 ↩Continuation of the John 14:31 quotation begun in s5. The abbreviation 'sc.' (scilicet) is rendered as 'that is.'
  20. 20 ↩Quotation from Philippians 2:8. The Latin source uses Roman numeral 'ii°' for chapter 2. The autem after the second mortem is contrastive, specifying the type of death — rendered here with an em dash for the same rhetorical effect.

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