De sententia.
The Truth of Divine Sentences
A divine sentence is never absurd or false, though it may carry one or many meanings.
A divine sentence can never be absurd or false, but — as was said — since many contrary things are found in the sense, a sentence admits no contradiction: it is always consistent, always true. Sometimes one statement has one meaning, sometimes a single statement has several meanings, sometimes several statements have one meaning, and sometimes several statements have several meanings.
Pursuing the Author's Mind
The reader should pursue the author's clear intention, then what fits sound faith, and finally what faith itself prescribes.
So when we read the divine books, among such a great abundance of true understandings that are drawn out from so few words and are fortified by the soundness of the Catholic faith, let us especially pursue whatever has clearly appeared to be the mind of the author we are reading. But if this is hidden, at least that which the circumstance of Scripture does not hinder and which agrees with sound faith is certainly the thing to hold. But if the circumstance of Scripture also cannot be thoroughly examined and discussed, at least let that alone which sound faith prescribes be the conclusion.
Discernment and Devotion
Failing to discern the author's meaning is not the same as straying from devotion, and a faith-consistent reading is never useless.
For it is one thing not to discern what the author especially meant, and another to stray from the rule of devotion. If both are avoided, the reader's fruit is complete in itself. But if both cannot be avoided, even if the writer's intention is uncertain, it is not useless to have drawn out a meaning that is consistent with sound faith.
Humility Before Obscure Writings
When divine writings can be reconciled with multiple opinions, the reader must not cling so rashly to one that a shaken opinion would cause a fall from faith.
Likewise, in matters obscure and far removed from our sight, if we ever come across any divine writings from that tradition that can be reconciled with one set of opinions or another without compromising the faith, let us not throw ourselves headlong into any one of them with such rash conviction that if the truth, once more carefully examined, should shake it, we fall — not fighting on behalf of the teaching of the divine Scriptures, but on behalf of our own, so determined to make the Scriptures' position match ours, when we ought rather to make ours match the Scriptures'.
Read the original Latin
Sententia divina numquam absurda, numquam falsa esse potest, sed cum in sensu, ut dictum est, multa inveniantur contraria, sententia nullam admittit repugnantiam, semper congrua est, semper vera. aliquando unius enuntiationis una est sententia, aliquando unius enuntiationis plures sunt sententiae, aliquando plurium enuntiationum una est sententia, aliquando plurium enuntiationum plures sunt sententiae. cum igitur divinos libros legimus, in tanta multitudine verorum intellectuum, qui de paucis eruuntur verbis, et sanitate catholicae fidei muniuntur, id potissimum diligamus, quod certum apparuerit eum sensisse quem legimus. si autem hoc latet, id certe quod circumstantia scripturae non impedit, et cum sana fide concordat. si autem et scripturae circumstantia pertractari ac discuti non potest, saltem id solum quod fides sana praescribit. aliud est enim quid potissimum scriptor senserit non dinoscere, aliud a regula pietatis errare. si utrumque vitetur, perfectae se habet fructus legentis. si vero utrumque vitari non potest, etsi voluntas scriptoris incerta sit, sanae fidei congruam non inutile est eruisse sententiam.
item in rebus obscuris atque a nostris oculis remotissimis, si qua inde scripta etiam divina legerimus, quae possint salva fide aliis atque aliis parere sententiis, in nullam earum nos praecipiti affirmatione ita proiciamus, ut, si forte diligentius discussa veritas eam labefactaverit, corruamus, non pro sententia divinarum scripturarum, sed pro nostra ita dimicantes, ut eam velimus scripturarum esse quae nostra est, cum potius eam quae scripturarum nostram esse debeamus.
Didascalicon de Studio Legendi (On the Study of Reading) companion
Hugh said begin with small daily portions. Start tomorrow.
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