John Hus' Commentary on Lombard's Sentences (Part 1)
A. Inception, I., 1-5
1.1 May the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, one and the same God, who assisted me at the beginning of my journey, also assist me at the beginning of the Sentences, in whose name I am already assigning a theme to this book, saying: »If anyone among you needs wisdom, let him ask it from God.« (Jam 1:5) And since I am one who is most in need of wisdom, it is therefore necessary for me to ask for wisdom according to the apostle's commandment; for I am pressed by a great lack of wisdom, both because of a disorderly life, and because of the scarcity of wisdom, and because of the amount of material to be treated, and also because of the diligence of the hearers, who far surpass me in the merits of life.
2. Therefore, according to the saying of the blessed Gregory in the prologue of the Moralia, I almost despaired that I was fit for this task2; but stronger than this despair itself, I immediately placed my hope in him by whom the tongue of the mute is opened, who makes the tongues of children eloquent, who distinguishes the immense and crude brayings of the ass by the intelligible kinds of human speech.3 What wonder, then, if he gives understanding to a foolish man, who tells his truth to whom he will, even through the mouths of beasts of burden? What wonder is there if sweet wine flows through a foul-smelling pipe, and pure water gushes through deep mud, and shining and sweet must trickles through husks? What wonder if righteous rebuke passes through the mouth of the donkey and holy truth through the unclean mouth of Caiaphas? (John 11:49-52) What wonder if clear enlightenment comes from a dark candle and righteous punishment is inflicted on the wicked through a demon? What wonder, then, if the grace of the Holy Spirit enlightens the listeners with the light of science and faith through me, unclean, dirty, muddy and coarse, through my polluted mouth and through me, the dark one? Surely they would not pay attention to me, but to the Spirit speaking through me, and what that kind Spirit in me says, they would gratefully accept, remembering that word of the Saviour in Matthew 10: »For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.« (Matt. 10:20) For whatever truth I speak is his, because he is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father and teaches all truth. Therefore, I entrust myself in my actions to this Spirit, I invoke his help, who invites those in need of wisdom to ask for it, according to the proposed subject, saying: »If anyone among you needs wisdom, let him ask it from God.« (Jam. 1:5)
3. And because it is necessary to acknowledge the uncreated wisdom, which is the most holy Trinity, one God, from whom all things proceed, and because it is necessary to set the incarnate wisdom, which is the only-begotten Son of God, through whom all things are made, and thirdly, it remains to give the inspired wisdom, which is the Holy Scriptures, through which all things are ordered - every pure wayfarer needs these wisdoms - : therefore every such should ask wisdom from the Lord, as the subject says: »If anyone among you needs wisdom, let him ask it from God.« (Jam. 1:5) But four things move us to humble supplication: firstly, the dignity of the one who invites: for it is the Holy Spirit who invites; secondly, the generosity of the giver, for it is God who gives abundantly to all; thirdly, the need of the needy, because all have sinned and are in need of God's grace; fourthly, the fruitfulness of the thing to be given, which is the wisdom inspired to holy men, to which the Spirit of the Lord inspires all who are in need, saying, »If anyone among you needs wisdom, let him ask it from God.« (Jam. 1:5) Let him ask, I say, by admiring vehemently the dignity of God's inviting Spirit, let him ask by magnifying with all his heart the generosity of the giving God, let him ask by reflecting on his own neediness and longing for the fruit of wisdom, so that the Holy Spirit may make him worthy, the almighty Lord and thus the whole Trinity may make him rich, the contemplation of his own need may make him humble, and the fruit of divine wisdom may reward the goal of asking and labour. The apostle hints at this fruit in the 6th chapter of Romans when he says: »You have your fruit in sanctification, and the goal is eternal life.« (Rom. 6:22) The fruit of wisdom (i.e. the Holy Scriptures) is therefore sanctification and the goal is eternal life.
4. It should be noted that things are called holy or sacred in many different ways: Firstly, in themselves, like the uncreated Trinity, or secondly imitatively, like rational creatures that receive holiness through the accidental formation of the image. This is why the 11th chapter of Leviticus says: »You shall be holy, for I am holy.« (Lev. 11:44) But in creatures there is a threefold holiness, namely, subjective, as in man and in the angel, efficacious, as in the sacrament or in the creature which the consecrated person4 uses to effect holiness in him, or, thirdly, significative, as in the cross of Christ or in another sign of a saint to be represented. Thus Aristotle says that urine, medicine and men are healthy in three ambiguous ways: urine is signifying, medicine is effective and men are subjective.5
5. Scripture is therefore called holy: 1. significative, because it signifies holy or sanctified things; and 2. efficacious, because it brings about holiness in man. Whoever uses Holy Scripture in the right way is efficaciously sanctified by it. But Holy Scripture sanctifies man by teaching him to fear God's majesty, to love what is good, to pray with piety, to have the clarity of faith, to keep love, to know the truth, to thirst for the tranquility of peace, to feel the adversity of the world, to abhor all unrighteousness, to seek the fellowship of the good, to despise the prosperity of the world, to long for the happiness of heaven, to rejoice in the sweetness of praise, to preserve the joy of the heart, to escape eternal damnation for good and to possess eternal life in glory. Behold, when the Holy Scriptures bring this about in man, they sanctify him and make him truly wise. For truly wise is he who recognises things as they are. And St Bernard says: “You have found wisdom if you lament the sins of your former life, if you disregard the desires of this world, if you long for eternal bliss with all your heart. You have found wisdom when you understand things as they are.”6 Thus speaks St Bernard.
I use the edition Václav Flajšhans. Spisy M. Jana Husi. č. 4. Super IV Sententiarum. I. (Prague 1904).
Gregory the Great, Moralia in Job, Dedicatory Letter, II.
The most obvious allusion is to the story of Balaam's donkey (Num 22: 21-35). However, since Hus uses the word ‘ruditus’ (braying), an association with Apuleius' Metamorphoses is also conceivable, where the word is explicitly used to refer to the sounds of the donkey. Cf. Apuleius, Met. VIII, 29.
Lat. sanctus.
Cf. e.g. Aristotle, Meteor IV 2, 380a1.
Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermones de Diversis, Sermo XV, 4.