Retractatio
A Misquoted Gospel Passage
The author confesses that he inadvertently added words to a Gospel passage about the Son not knowing the day of judgment, correcting the error with transparent honesty.
In this little work, when I cited that passage from the Gospel—where the Lord says he himself doesn't know the day of the last judgment—to back up and strengthen a point I was making, I accidentally added something I later found isn't actually in the Gospel.✦1 The text says only 'Nor does the Son know,' and I was tripped up—more by forgetting the exact wording than by any desire to mislead—but not the meaning: 'Nor does the Son of Man himself know,' I mean.✦✦23
The Remedy of Public Confession
Having discovered his error only after the work was already widely copied, the author explains why he chose public confession as the only remedy for a lie already scattered abroad.
And so, as I set out the whole of the following discussion, I tried to prove the truth of my claim on the basis of something I had not truly stated. But because I discovered this error of mine long after the same little book had been published by me and already copied by many others, and since I could not track down the lie scattered through so many pamphlets already in circulation, I judged it necessary to take refuge in the remedy of confession.4
A Humble Conjecture About the Seraphim
The author acknowledges that a personal opinion he offered about the Seraphim had no basis in Scripture, and he clarifies that his use of the word 'think' was deliberately restrained to signal uncertainty.
In another passage as well, I put forward a certain opinion about the Seraphim that I never heard anywhere and never read. Where indeed my reader should take note: I therefore used the word "think" with restraint, wishing, clearly, to be understood as meaning nothing other than that I was unable to establish anything certain on the basis of Scripture.5
The Ironic Title
The author notes that the title 'On the Steps of Humility' may draw criticism, since the steps described seem to belong to pride, but he trusts that attentive readers will grasp his intended meaning.
The title itself is also inscribed "On the Steps of Humility." It is inscribed as it is, perhaps, because the steps traced and described here seem to belong not to humility but rather to pride — and for that reason the title will draw criticism. But that criticism will come from those who fail to grasp, or attend to, the meaning of the title itself, a meaning I have taken care to make briefly clear at the end of this little work.6
Read the original Latin
In hoc opusculo, cum illud de Evangelio, quod Dominus ait, diem ultimi iudicii se nescire, ad aliquam sententiam confirmandam atque roborandam proferrem in medium, improvide quiddam apposui quod in Evangelio scriptum non esse postea deprehendi. Nam cum textus habeat tantummodo: Neque filius scit, ego deceptus magis quam fallere volens, litterae quippe inmemor, sed non sensus: "Nec ipse, inquam, filius hominis scit".
Unde etiam totam ordiens sequentem disputationem ex eo quod non veraciter posui, veram conatus sum approbare assertionem. Sed quia talem errorem meum multo post, quam a me idem libellus editus et a pluribus iam transcriptus fuit, deprehendi, cum non potui per tot iam libellos sparsum persequi mendacium, necessarium credidi confugere ad confessionis remedium.
Alio quoque in loco quamdam de Seraphim opinionem posui, quam numquam audivi, nusquam legi. Ubi sane lector meus attendat, quod proinde temperanter "puto" dixerim, volens videlicet non aliud quam putari, quod certum reddere de Scripturis non valui.
Titulus quoque ipse qui "De gradibus humilitatis". inscribitur, pro eo forsitan quod non humilitatis, sed superbiae potius hic distingui describique videntur gradus, calumniam patietur, sed hoc a minus vel intelligentibus, vel attendentibus eiusdem tituli rationem, quam tamen in fine opusculi ipse breviter intimare curavi.
Scripture echoes
- ↩Mark.13.32;Matt.24.36 — But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. Matt.24.36 — But concerning that day and hour, no one knows — not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son — except the Father alone.
- ↩Mark.13.32 — But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
- ↩Mark.13.32 — But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.
Notes
- 1 ↩The Gospel reference is to the saying of Christ that he does not know the day of the last judgment (cf. Mark 13:32 / Matthew 24:36). The author's concern is that he misquoted or embellished this passage in an earlier work.
- 2 ↩The author is correcting his earlier misquotation. The Gospel text (Mark 13:32) reads 'Neque filius scit' ('nor does the Son know') without the addition 'filius hominis' ('Son of Man') that the author had previously inserted. He explains that he misremembered the literal wording (litterae inmemor) while preserving the correct sense (sensus).
- 3 ↩The quoted Latin 'Neque filius scit' and 'Nec ipse filius hominis scit' are variants of Mark 13:32. Final Moses resolution needed to confirm the exact Vulgate form and the author's relationship to it.
- 4 ↩confessionis remedium — 'the remedy of confession' preserves the sacramental resonance of confessio; the author is speaking of a public written retraction, but the language echoes sacramental confession.
- 5 ↩The author qualifies his earlier statement about the Seraphim as personal opinion, not scriptural teaching, and signals this by his careful use of puto ("I think").
- 6 ↩The title 'De gradibus humilitatis' is ironic: the steps described are really the steps of pride, traced so that humility can be understood by contrast.
De gradibus humilitatis et superbiae (On the Steps of Humility and Pride) companion
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