Question XXIV. Whether he ought to have said: Of the house of David?

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QUAESTIO XXIV. Utrum debuerit dicere: De domo David?

§ I. Postea quaeritur de domo. Non enim videtur, quod iste fuerit de domo David. 1. Ubicumque enim in Biblia numeratur populus resolvendo a multitudine in unitatem, primo fit divisio in tribus, post hoc tribus in cognationes, cognatio in familias, familia in domos, sicut dicitur in Josue ¹, ubi per inquisitionem hujusmodi furtum invenitur apud Achan: sed hoc modo Joseph non fuit de domo David.

2. Item, Ut patet in genealogia scripta in Evangelio, Liber generationis ², Joseph distabat a David viginti et octo generationibus: ergo non erit de domo David.

3. Similiter quaeritur de hoc quod dicitur, David ³. Cum enim melior et nobilior cognitio fit per causam immediatam et propinquam, quam per causam remotam, melius notificasset Joseph per patrem immediatum, quam per David. Si autem dicitur, quod hic describitur David, eo quod David promissionem accepit ejus qui hic annuntiatur incarnatus, secundum hoc deberet dici de domo Abrahae, qui primo accepit promissionem, quod in semine ejus benedicentur omnes gentes ⁴. Non dico in seminibus, sed semine tuo qui est Christus.

4. Juxta hoc quaeritur, quare in hac annuntiatione in qua mundissima Filii Dei conceptio describitur, David qui quandoque notorius peccator exstitit, quamvis remotus innuatur?

5. Item, Cum in genealogia Domini peccatores et peccatrices recitentur, quare hic unus peccator, et nulla tangitur peccatricum?

§ II. Ad primum dicimus, quod dicitur de domo David, non tantum propter generis successionem, sed principalius propter virtutum imitationem: et tales dicuntur esse proprie de una domo, juxta illud: Qui inhabitare facit unius moris in domo ⁵: ex convictu enim formantur mores. Unde Bernardus: «Huc accedit quod dicitur fuisse de domo David. Vere enim de domo David, vere de regia stirpe descendit vir iste Joseph, nobilis genere, mente nobilior. Plane filius David, non tantum carne, sed fide, sed sanctitate, sed devotione, quem tamquam alterum David Dominus invenit secundum cor suum, cui tuto committeret secretissimum atque sanctissimum sui cordis arcanum: cui tamquam alteri David incerta et occulta sapientiae suae manifestavit: et dedit illi non ignarum esse mysterii, quod nemo principum hujus saeculi cognovit: cui denique datum est quod cum multi reges et prophetae eum vellent videre, non viderunt, audire et non audierunt, non solum videre et audire, sed etiam portare, deducere, amplecti, deosculari, et nutrire, et custodire ⁶.» Non tantum autem Joseph, sed et Mariam descendisse credendum est de domo David. Alioquin non fuisset desponsata viro de domo David, si non ipsa esset de domo David. Ambo igitur erant de domo David: sed in altera completa est veritas quam juravit Dominus David, altero tantum conscio et teste adimpletae promissionis. Recte igitur dicitur sponsus Virginis fuisse de domo David, ut scandalum evitetur, ut eadem tribus esse probetur, ut amor legis in utroque ostendatur, ut humilitas nobilitate regis exaltetur, ut paupertas nobilitati non repugnare doceatur, ut Davidis humilitas evangelizetur, ut humilitatis imitatio in Joseph insinuetur, ut veritatis promissio adimpleatur, ut genealogia Dominae describeretur, ut paupertas mirabilior demonstretur, ut nobilius exemplum paupertatis et humilitatis detur.

QUESTION XXIV. Whether he ought to have said: Of the house of David?

§ I. Afterwards inquiry is made concerning the house. For it does not seem that this man was of the house of David. 1. For wherever in the Bible a people is numbered by resolving from multitude into unity, first a division is made into tribes; after this the tribes into kindreds, the kindred into families, the family into houses, as is said in Joshua ¹, where by an inquiry of this kind the theft is found with Achan. But Joseph was not of the house of David in this way.

2. Likewise, as is clear in the genealogy written in the Gospel, The book of generation ², Joseph stood distant from David by twenty-eight generations; therefore he will not be of the house of David.

3. Similarly inquiry is made concerning what is said, David ³. For since a better and nobler knowledge is made through an immediate and proximate cause than through a remote cause, it would have made Joseph known better through his immediate father than through David. But if it is said that David is described here because David received the promise of him who is announced here as incarnate, according to this it ought to be said of the house of Abraham, who first received the promise that in his seed all nations would be blessed ⁴. I do not say in seeds, but in your seed, who is Christ.

4. Alongside this it is asked why, in this annunciation in which the most pure conception of the Son of God is described, David, who at one time existed as a notorious sinner, is intimated, although remotely.

5. Likewise, since in the genealogy of the Lord male sinners and female sinners are recited, why is one male sinner here, and none of the female sinners touched upon?

§ II. To the first we say that he is said to be of the house of David not only because of succession of stock, but more principally because of imitation of virtues; and such persons are properly said to be of one house, according to that saying: He makes those of one manner dwell in a house ⁵, for morals are formed by living together. Hence Bernard: "To this is added that he is said to have been of the house of David. For truly of the house of David, truly from royal stock, this man Joseph descended, noble in race, nobler in mind. Clearly a son of David, not only in flesh, but in faith, in holiness, in devotion, whom the Lord found as another David according to his own heart, to whom he could safely entrust the most secret and most holy secret of his heart; to whom, as to another David, he manifested the uncertain and hidden things of his wisdom; and he granted to him not to be ignorant of the mystery which none of the princes of this age knew; to whom finally it was given that, when many kings and prophets wished to see him and did not see, to hear and did not hear, he not only saw and heard, but also carried, led, embraced, kissed, nurtured, and guarded him ⁶." But not only Joseph, but also Mary must be believed to have descended from the house of David. Otherwise she would not have been betrothed to a man of the house of David if she herself were not of the house of David. Therefore both were of the house of David; but in the one the truth that the Lord swore to David was completed, the other being only conscious and witness of the fulfilled promise. Therefore rightly the spouse of the Virgin is said to have been of the house of David: that scandal might be avoided, that the same tribe might be proved, that love of the law might be shown in both, that humility might be exalted by royal nobility, that poverty might be taught not to be opposed to nobility, that David's humility might be evangelized, that imitation of humility might be insinuated in Joseph, that the truth of the promise might be fulfilled, that the genealogy of the Lady might be described, that poverty might be shown more wonderful, and that a nobler example of poverty and humility might be given.

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Quod etiam quaeritur, quare David hic ponatur, cum peccator fuerit? Respondetur, quod non ponitur ideo quia peccator fuerit, sed quod Joseph ab ipso carnaliter descenderit, et per imitationem in virtutibus illi similis fuit. Nec propter peccati maculam quam poenitentia delevit, minus in genealogia Domini nominari debuit, sed audacter praedicari: tum propter hoc quia peccatoribus confidentiam generet, et misericordiam Dei augmentet, qui dicit: Si impius egerit poenitentiam ab omnibus peccatis suis, omnium iniquitatum ejus, quas operatus est, non recordabor ⁷. Quod autem hic nulla peccatrix ponitur, causa esse potest, ut omnis peccati imitatio vel suspicio a beata Virgine excludatur: cum sicut a patre in filios, sic a matribus in filias solet imitatio derivari.

§ III. Quod autem in genealogia Dominae nostrae, ubi plene describitur, et boni et mali in serie narrantur, non caret ratione. Quod autem a bonis orta fuit, triplex est ratio. Una, ut antiquitas nobilitatis ipsam nobilitatem extolleret. Alia autem, ut sanctitas ipsam undique circumdaret. Tertia, ut humilitas laudabilior appareret.

Quod autem antiquitas nobilitatem extollat, patet: quia non potest arbor bona malos fructus facere ⁸. Et iterum: Unaquaeque arbor ex fructu cognoscitur. Et quod natura tale, magis tale et magis ad virtutem perficitur: quia ad ipsam ex naturae origine inclinatur: virtutes enim partim innatae sunt nobis, perfectae autem per consuetudinem. Unde, Job, XXXI, 18: Ab infantia mea crevit mecum miseratio, et de utero matris meae egressa est mecum. Sicut enim diuturnitas non minuit peccatum, sed auget: et tanto igitur majora sunt peccata, quanto diutius infeliciorem animam detinent alligatam. Et sicut adulterinae plantationes non dant radices altas sapientiae: ita e converso, quam pulchra est casta generatio cum claritate! immortalis est enim memoria illius, quoniam et apud Deum nota est, et apud homines ⁹. Et sicut ex iniquis somnis filii qui nascuntur, testes sunt nequitiae adversus parentes in interrogatione sua ¹⁰: ita generatio rectorum benedicetur. Gloria et divitiae in domo ejus, et justitia ejus manet in saeculum saeculi ¹¹. Et sic beatissima Virgo orta est ex bonis et magnis, ut antiquitas nobilitatem extolleret.

As to what is also asked, why David is placed here, since he was a sinner: it is answered that he is not placed here because he was a sinner, but because Joseph descended carnally from him and was like him through imitation in virtues. Nor, because of the stain of sin which penance erased, ought he to have been less named in the genealogy of the Lord; rather he ought to be boldly proclaimed, both because this begets confidence for sinners and increases the mercy of God, who says: If the impious man does penance for all his sins, I shall not remember all his iniquities which he has worked ⁷. But that no female sinner is placed here can have this cause, that every imitation or suspicion of sin might be excluded from the blessed Virgin, since, as imitation is wont to be derived from father to sons, so from mothers to daughters.

§ III. But that in the genealogy of our Lady, where it is described fully, both good and evil persons are narrated in the line, is not without reason. That she arose from the good has a threefold reason. One, that the antiquity of nobility might exalt nobility itself. Another, that holiness might surround her on every side. A third, that humility might appear more praiseworthy.

That antiquity exalts nobility is clear, because a good tree cannot make bad fruits ⁸. And again: Every tree is known from its fruit. And what nature has made such, it is perfected more such and more toward virtue, because from the origin of nature it is inclined to it; for virtues are partly innate in us, but perfected through custom. Hence Job 31:18: From my infancy compassion grew with me, and from my mother's womb it went forth with me. For just as length of time does not lessen sin, but increases it, and therefore sins are greater the longer they hold bound the more unhappy soul; and just as adulterous plantings do not give deep roots of wisdom, so conversely, how beautiful is chaste generation with brightness! For its memory is immortal, since it is known both before God and among men ⁹. And just as the children born from unjust dreams are witnesses of wickedness against their parents in their interrogation ¹⁰, so the generation of the upright will be blessed. Glory and riches are in his house, and his justice remains forever and ever ¹¹. And thus the most blessed Virgin arose from the good and the great, so that antiquity might exalt nobility.

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Secunda causa fuit, ut sanctitas eam undique circumdaret, retro per nobilitatem, ante per utilitatem, supra per dignitatem, infra per potestatem, a dextris per virtutum summitatem, a sinistris per peccati immunitatem.

Tertia causa fuit, ut humilitas laudabilior appareret. Quia, ut dicit Bernardus, in alto positum non alta sapere, sed humilibus consentire, nihil Deo charius, sed nihil apud homines rarius invenitur. His igitur tribus de causis nata est de bonis.

Triplici etiam ratione orta fuit a malis. Prima, ut comparatio alterum extremorum extolleret, juxta illud Canticorum, II, 2: Sicut lilium inter spinas, etc. Et illud: Sicut spina rosam, genuit Judaea Mariam.

Secunda causa, ut sapientia Dei misericordior appareret. Est enim exitus quod de bono bonum, et exitus est quo de malo malum. De primo: Vidit Deus cuncta quae fecerat: et erant valde bona ¹². De secundo: Initium omnis peccati est superbia ¹³, etc. Tertius exitus est, ut de bono malum, ut de muliere initium peccati. Quartus exitus est, ut de malo bonum, et hoc solius Dei est proprium, cujus sapientia vincit malitiam, attingens a fine usque in finem.

Tertia causa, ut confidentiam peccatoribus augmentaret, per hoc quod mediatrix eorum eadem propinquitate utramque extremitatem conjungeret, ut sicut mater esset et filia Dei, sic esset mater et soror nostra, et sic a natura inclinaretur ad miserendum peccatori. Propter hoc signatur per arcum positum in nubibus caeli in signum foederis inter caelum et terram: non potuit Deus cum peccatoribus efficacius stabilire pacem, quam quod filiam peccatorum suo Filio accepit uxorem sponsam et matrem, nec aliquis fidelius inter Deum et hominem pacem fecit, quam quae mater utriusque fuit. Ex praedictis igitur relinquitur, quod Joseph et beatissima Virgo Maria de domo David intitulantur ¹⁴ esse.

The second cause was that holiness might surround her on every side: behind by nobility, before by utility, above by dignity, below by power, on the right by the summit of virtues, on the left by immunity from sin.

The third cause was that humility might appear more praiseworthy. For, as Bernard says, to be placed on high and not to think high things, but to consent to the lowly, nothing is dearer to God, but nothing is found rarer among men. Therefore for these three causes she was born from the good.

She also arose from the evil for a threefold reason. First, so that the comparison might exalt the other of the extremes, according to that saying of the Song of Songs 2:2: As a lily among thorns, etc. And that saying: As the thorn generated the rose, Judea generated Mary.

The second cause was that the wisdom of God might appear more merciful. For there is an issue by which good comes from good, and there is an issue by which evil comes from evil. Of the first: God saw all the things that he had made, and they were very good ¹². Of the second: The beginning of every sin is pride ¹³, etc. The third issue is that evil comes from good, as the beginning of sin from the woman. The fourth issue is that good comes from evil, and this is proper to God alone, whose wisdom conquers malice, reaching from end to end.

The third cause was that she might increase confidence for sinners, through the fact that their mediatrix joined both extremes by the same nearness: that just as she was mother and daughter of God, so she was mother and sister of us, and thus by nature was inclined toward having mercy on the sinner. For this reason she is signified by the bow placed in the clouds of heaven as a sign of covenant between heaven and earth: God could not establish peace with sinners more efficaciously than that he took the daughter of sinners as wife, spouse, and mother for his Son; nor did anyone make peace more faithfully between God and man than she who was mother of each. Therefore from the aforesaid it is left as established that Joseph and the most blessed Virgin Mary are entitled ¹⁴ as being of the house of David.

Notes

Compare Joshua 7:14 and following. (Cf. Josue, VII, 14 et seq.) ↩
Matthew 1:1. (Matth. I, 1.) ↩
Luke 1:27. (Luc. I, 27.) ↩
Genesis 17:7 and 8. (Genes. XVII, 7 et 8.) ↩
Psalm 67:7. (Psal. LXVII, 7.) ↩
St. Bernard, Homily 2 on Missus est. (S. Bernardus, Homilia 2 super Missus est.) ↩
Ezekiel 18:21 and 22. (Ezechiel. XVIII, 21 et 22.) ↩
Matthew 7:18. (Matth. VII, 18.) ↩
Wisdom 4:1. (Sapient. IV, 1.) ↩
Wisdom 4:6. (Sapient. IV, 6.) ↩
Psalm 111:2 and 3. (Psal. CXI, 2 et 3.) ↩
Genesis 1:31. (Genes. I, 31.) ↩
Ecclesiasticus 10:15. (Eccli. X, 15.) ↩
In another reading: are intimated. (Alias intimantur.) ↩