The Passions of Christ's Soul in the Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas

THE PASSIONS OF CHRlST'S SOUL IN THE THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

1 wish to express my gratitude to Professor Fr., Jean-Pierre Torrell, O.P., and to the second reader, Professor Fr. Gilles Emery, O:P., both ofwhom kindly and generously guided me throughout this work. Without their expertise in the field ofmedieval theology in general and the thought ofAquinas in particular, the quality of this work would not be what it is. 1 also wish to thank Professor Dr. LudWig Hodl and Professor Dr. h.c. multo Wolfgang Kluxen for accepting this book in the Baeumker-Beitriige series. 1 thank as well the Gorres-Gesellschafl and the Director ofAschendorff, Dr. Dirk Passmann, for their assistance in the printing of this manuscript.

Paul Gondreau

Finally, 1 wish to dedicate this book to my lovely wlfe Christiana, without whose tireless self-sacrifices and cheeifitl encouragement this work would not have seen the light of day.

University of Scranton Press Scranton and London

CONTENTS © 2009 University of Scranton Press All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Gondreau, Paul. The passions of Christ's soul in the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas / Paul Gondreau. p.cm. Previously published: Miinster : Aschendorff, c2002. ISBN 978-1-58966-170-7 (pbk.) I. Jesus Christ--Humanity. 2. Thomas, Aquinas, Saint, 1225?-1274. 3. Jesus Christ--Passion. I. Title. BT218.G662009 232' .8--dc22 2008049072

PREFACE BY JEAN-PIERRE TORRELL, O.P INTRODUCTION

17

A Note on Terminology

30

Chapter I. THE CHRISTOLOGICAL SOURCES OF AQUINAS' THEOLOGY OF CHRIST'S HUMAN PASSIONS

35

A. Scriptural Sources 1.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Use oftbe Gospels in the Account of Christ's Passions

The Use of the Old Testament in Thomas' Account of Christ's Passions 3, The Synthesis of Revelation and Reason in Aquinas' Theology of Christ's Human Affectivity B. Patristic Sources I. Hilary of Poitiers and the Debate over the Psychosomatic Reality of Christ's Suffering and PaiD 2. Augustine a. The De civitate Dei h. The De diversis Quaestionibus 83,

35

36

2.

3.

Distribution: University of Scranton Press Chicago Distribution Center 11 030 S. Langley Chicago, IL 60628

7

4.

John Damascene a.

The Impact of the De fide orthodoxa on Aquinas' Theology

h.

of Christ's Passions Christ's Human Affectivity in the Thought of Damascene

Other Patristic auctoritates

C. The Pre-13th-Century Medieval and Scholastic Sources 1. The Early Medieval Sources: Bede and Alcuin 2. Hugh ofSt. Victor 73 3. The Sentences of Peter Lombard a. The Impact of the Sentences on Aquinas' Theology of Christ's Passions b. Christ's Human Affectivity in the Thought of Lombard D.. The 13th-Century Sources 1. The Commentaries on Lombard's Sentences 2. The Summa theologiae and Quaestiones disputatae 'antequam esse!/rater' of Alexander of Hales 3. The De incarnatione ofAlbert the Great 4. The Christologicai Writings of Bonaventure

39 44 47 48 51 53 55

58 58 60 66 71 71

76 76 80 88 88 89 94

96

2

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

E. Recapitulation and Conclusion Chapter 2. THE ANTIlROPOWGICAL SOURCES OF AQUINAS' THEOWGY OF CHRIST'S HUMAN PASSIONS A. The Treatise on the Passions (Summa theologiae I-II, qq. 22-48) 1. The Originality of the Treatise on the Passions 2. The Role of the Passions in the Proper Telos of Ruman Life 3. The Historical Achievement of the Treatise on the Passions 4. Damascene's De fide orthodoxa as the Methodological Source for Aquinas' Theology of Christ's Passions in the Summa B. Aristotle I. The Use of Aristotle in Aquinas' Theology of Christ's Human Affectivity 2. The Role of Aristotle in Thomas' Treatise on the Passions 3. Aquinas' Transfonnation of Aristotle's View on the Role of Passion in the Moral Life C. John Damascene and Nemesius ofEmesa D'. Albert the Great E. Augustine F. Others 1. Marginal Sources 2. Peter Lombard and the "Affective Spark to Sin" (fames peccati) 3. Excluded Sources G. Recapitulation and Conclusion

98

2. 3.

The Relationship between Christ's Sinlessness and His Human Affectivity Christ's Metaphysical Human Consubstantiality

158 164

101 102 102 107 109 III 113 113 116 119

120 123 127 128 128 130 132 134

Chapter 3. THE FOUNDATIONAL CHRISTOLOGlCAL PRINCIPLES OF AQUINAS' THEOWGY OF CHRIST'S PASSIONS

137

A. The Hypostatic Union and the Divine Dignity of Christ

137

B. The Full Integrity of the Humanity of Christ I. A Matter of Faith 2. Aquinas' Anti-Docetism: The FuJI Realism of Christ's Human Nature 3. The Truth of Christ's Human Nature "in All Its Singular Parts": The Case of Christ's Male Sexuality 4. Aquinas' Anti-Monophysitism and His "Existential Christology" 5. The Instrumentality of Christ's Humanity and the Role of the Soteriological Principle C. Christ's Absolute Sinlessness l. AMatter of Faith

141 141 142

145 150 152 157 158

D. The Principle of Economy and Christ's Coassumed Defects and Perfections I. The Principle of Economy and the coassumpta 2. The Tension between Christ's Coassumed Perfections and Defects in the Arena ofRis Human Affectivity 3. Christ's Coassumed Defects: His Passions a. For Purposes of Expediency in Satisfaction b. For Purposes ofCredibiJity in the Incarnation 4. Christ's Coassumed Perfections: The Fullness of Grace a. The Grace of Union b. The Personal Grace c. The Capital Grace d. The Perfection of Grace as the Foundation for the Moral Quality of Christ's Life E. The "Fittingness" (conveniens) of Christ's Human Wealmesses I. ' The Argument of Fittingness in Aquinas' Christology 2. Understanding Christ's Passions as Fitting (or Optional) Features of the Incarnation F. Recapitulation and Conclusion Chapter 4. THE ONTOLOGICAL REALISM OF THE INCARNATION: CHRIST'S POSSESSION OF A PASSIBLE SOUL A. Christ's Sensate Human Nature I. The "Animal" Side of Christ's Humanity: His Possession of a Sensitive Appetite 2. Christ's Possession of a Concupiscible and Irascible Appetite B. The Passibility of the Human Soul I. Passion as a Movement of the Sensitive Appetite a. The Passions in General b. The Specific Movements of the Sensitive Appetite: The Eleven Types of Passion 2. Passion as a Defect ofthe Soul a. Affective Suffering Signifies the Proper Meaning of Passion b. Pass~on as a Consequence of the Natural Corruptibility of the Body c. PaSSIon as a Consequence of Sin

166 166 169 170 172

174 176 177 178 179 180 181 181 183 188

191 192 192 199 202 204 204 211 219 221 225 227

3

4

THE PASSrONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

C. The Passibility of Christ's Human Soul (Utrum anima Christi foerit passibUis) 1. The Placement of the Treatise on Christ's Passions in the Structural Design of the Tertia Pars 2. The "Passion of the Body" (passio corporalis) in Christ 3. The "Passion of the Soul" (passio animalis) in Christ D. Recapitulation and Conclusion

233 236

245 252 257

Chapter 5. "THE PASSIONS WERE IN CHRIST OTHERWISE THAN IN US": THE MORAL QUALITY OF JESUS' HUMAN AFFECTMTY 261 A. The Role of the Passions in the Moral Life 1. The Passions as the First Step towards Attaining Hwnan Happiness 2. The Passions as the Proper "Matter" of Moral Virtue 3. The Commanding Role of Reason in the Moral Life 4. The Metaphysical Basis for the Role of the Passions in the Life of Virtue 5. Reason's "Limited" or "Political Rule" (principatus politicus) over the Sensitive Appetite 6. "Virtuous Passions": Moral Virtue Resides in the Sense Appetite 7. The Moral Neutrality of the Passions: Aquinas Replies to the Stoics B. The Relationship Between Christ's Passions and His Virtue 1. Christ's Immunity to the Effects of Original Sin on Human Affectivity a. The Theological Method of Aquinas b. The Affective Integrity of Prelapsarian Man c. The Consequences of Original Sin on Human Affectivity d. "Christ Received Hwnan Nature in the Purity that It Possessed in the State ofInnocence" e. Christ's Spontaneous Appetitive Inclinations: Voluntas ut natura and voluntas sensualitatis 2. Christ's Passions as Integral to His Consummate Virtue 3. The Soteriological Significance of Christ's Perfection in Virtue a. The Need for Satisfaction b. "In Order to Give Us an Example" C. The Threefold Distinction in the Morality of Christ's Passions I. The Object of Christ's Passions: Jesus' Affective Tendency to Lawful Sense Objects 2. The Principle of Christ's Passions: Jesus' Affective Movements Never Preceded the Judgment of Reason a. Antecedent Passions and Consequent Passions b. The Absence of the "Affective Spark to Sin" (fomes peccatij in Christ c. Christ's Temptations

264 264 267 269 271 273 276 281 286 288 288 291 294

3.

The Effects ofChrist's Passions: Jesus' Affective Movements Never Impeded the Use of Reason a. The Obscuring Influence of Passion b. Christ's "Propassions" D. Recapitulation and Conclusion

362 364 366 372

Chapter 6. AQUINAS ON THE SPECIFIC PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL: THE CASE OF JESUS' SENSmLE PAIN, SORROW, FEAR, WONDER, ANGER, AND THE VISIO DEI

375

"A. Christ's Experience of Sensible Pain

B.

C.

D.

E.

301 309

317 324 325 326 333 334 335 337 342 350

F. G.

I. Sensible Pain as a Passion of the Soul 2. The Christological Impact: The Reply to Hilary of Poitiers Christ's Experience of Sorrow 1. The Human Passion of Sorrow 2. Utrum in Christo foeri! tristitia Christ's Experience of Fear 1. The Human Passion of Fear 2. Utrum in Christojuerit timor Christ's Affective Experience of Wonder 1. Wonder or Amazement (admiratio) as a Passion of the Soul 2. Utrum in Christo fuerit admiratio Christ's Experience of Anger 1. The Human Passion of Anger 2. Utrum in Christo foerit ira Christ's Passions and His Enjoyment of the Vision of God Recapitulation and Conclusion

380 380 384 388 390 394 403 404 408 414 416

418

427 429

434 441

453

GENERAL CONCLUSION

457

BmLIOGRAPHY 1. Primary Sources 2. Translations 3. Works onAquinas' Theology of Christ's Human Affectivity 4. Works on Aquinas' Thought "On Genem1 Human Affectivity 5. Complementary Works

461 461 466 469 470

477

INDEX OF THEMES AND PRINCIPAL TERMS

499

INDEX OF NAMES

504

ABBREVIATIONS

SIS

5

PREFACE lly JEAN-PmRRE TORRELL, O.P. The image of Christ presented by Christians throughout the course of the centuries has gone through considerable change. From that of the Pantocrator Christ of the Byzantine mosaics to the image of the machine-gun armed warrior Jesus of the I 960s, from the figure of the majestic Christ of the Gothic cathedrals or of the Man of suffering so frequently represented at the end of the Middles Ages to the image of Jesus inspired by feminist ~eology, the choice is divergent and infinite. At the risk of surprising the reader, it should be acknowledged that an analogous divergence 'characterizes the theological reflection on Christ throughout the same course of centuries. Certainly. all Christian authors of committed belief adhere to the profession offaith of the first Councils and confess the one Christ God and man, yet many are divided still today along the two great lines that havetraditionaIly demarcated christological thought: the one that turns Christ into a hieratic or timeless idea who remains closer to the divine than' to the human, or the other, undoubtedly more popular, which accentuates his humanity sometimes to the point of obscuring his divinity. The difficult balance that must be maintained, so that neither his divinity nor his humanity is sacrificed, requires careful and multiple nuances. Without surrendering Christ's divinity in any way, Thomas Aquinas certainly ranks as the one medieval author who paid the greatest heed to the demands ofthe Incarnation and who did more than anyone to shed light on the human face of God. To verify this, all one need do is page through his treatise on the "mysteries" ofChrisfs life to see the kind of attention he gives to the historical reality of Jesus. Or all one need do is look at his study on Christ's passions. We are hardly used to seeing the tenn "passion" associated with the name of Jesus, yet we must understand that for Aquinas the tenn passion does not shoulder the pejorative sense it does for us today. Whereas for us passion calls to mind notions of excess and fits of extreme, for Thomas it refers simply to a movement of sensibility. A pas:... sion begins with the slightest sense impression and manifests itself as any kind of affective movement or as a feeling or emotion. To speak of the passions of the soul is in fact to consider human affectivity in all its degrees. Acutely attuned moralist, the Master from Aquino examined this topic with great care and devoted the most extensive part of his moral theology to it. His treatise on the passions, found in the Prima Secundae Pars of the Summa theologiae, is today the object of several studies, seminar discussions, and pUblications, yet the application Thomas made of it to the spe~ial case of Christ has yet to garner the at-

8

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

9

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

tention it rightly deseIVes. By choosing the treatise on Christ's passions as the object of his research so that an image of Christ accessible to believers of today might be retrieved, Paul Gondreau shows a timely perspicacity which offers the occasion for the accomplishment of a truly new work.

* * * One can read this work from three angles. The first considers it from the point of view of the history of theology, whereby it pinpoints the precise manner in which Thomas, no matter his unique achievements, proves himself the heir of a process of christological and anthropological reflection that began long before his time, and where one sees at work a remarkable convergence of Eastern and Western traditions. At the ropt source of this process is of course the witness of the Gospels, which speaks profusely of Jesus' feelings or emotions: tears, wonder, joy, desire, love, fear or dread, compassion, disgust, sorrow, anger (more frequently mentioned than any other emotion). The Fathers of the Churcb also have their input. Though it is true that the general influence of Stoic philosophy, with its estimation of the passions as sicknesses of the soul, offered little encouragement to Christian thinkers to pause and reflect on Christ's human feelings, Augustine reverses this course. By his rejection of the Stoic position, he adopts in fact a decidedly pro-peripatetic attitude, and one that Aquinas will find quite congenial; among other things, Thomas will receive from Augustine the understanding that the neutral character of the passions allows the Word to assume them in his human nature without in any way jeopardizing his absolute sinlessness. The influence of John Damascene goes deeper still: in him Thomas encounters not only an Aristotelian inspiration but also and especiallya distinctly anti-docetic resolve, as well as a structured doctrine on the passions (due in large part to the influence of Nemesius of Emesa's De natura hominis, attributed in the Middle Ages to Gregory of Nyssa) and an invaluable elaboration on the distinction between the sensitive appetite and the will (where one detects the influence of Maximus the Confessor). It goes without saying that for these latter authors as for Augustine, Christ possessed only "irreproachable" passions that remained compatible with his perfect holiness; between his intellectual will and his passions there reigned, as in Adam in the state of original justice, a total harmony. As for his other patristic sources, Thomas mentions in passing Ambrose, pseudo-Dionysius, Leo the Great, and Jerome, from whom he borrows the term "propassion" to signify

a passion that remains under the control of reason. Thomas employs medievru SOlU'Ces as well (from Peter Lombard to Alexander of Hales to Albert the Great to Bonaventure), yet here he proves himself more selective, as he forges little by little his conviction that a doctrine on the passions must presuppose a hylemorphic conception of human nature, since there is no passion that does not at the same time involve a bodily modification. It is on this point especially that Aquinas distances himself from Bonaventure, for whom the existence of Christ's soul is postulated more by faith than by a hylemorphic necessity. Standing alongside tbese directly christological considerations are Thomas' "anthropological" sources, or the writings of ancient moralists. The treatise on the passions, which forms a structural_ element in the fundamental moral theology of Thomas Aquinas, owes much to these writings, even if this treatise marks a profoundly personal and original work. From the two basic tendencies to the good-to savor or to subdue-and near the end of an analysis that is as subtle as it is detailed, Aquinas constructs an edifice of eleven passions that belongs to him alone and which many specialists consider to be without parallel in both ancient and Christian literature. His method gladly underscores the psychosomatic side of the passions and the interaction that results from this: the passions proceed not only from a bodily alteration to an internal perception (pass;o corporalis); they can also follow the opposite path by arising in the sensible part of the soul and ending in a bodily reaction (passio animalis). By placing this study at the beginning of his ethical analysis, Thomas wishes to send the message that the virtuous life does not stand independent of human sensibility, and that the construction of man's moral life involves the integration of the passions or affectivity, in the virtues. ' In this last sense, Thomas shows himself to be a true disciple of Aristotle, even if the philosopber provided him only with a rudimentary definition of passion and with various moral maxims and psychological observations that hardly amount to a structured treatise. If Aquinas was able to erect a much more elaborate exposition, it is due in large part to Nemesius of Emesa, the author of the first Christian anthropological work that was transmitted by John Damascene. If Thomas cites Aristotle more often in his treatise on the passions, it does not change the fact that Nemesius and Damascene playa more influential role, in addition to Albert the Great, who holds decidedly to a hylemorphism and thus to an integration of passion in the work of virtue. Betraying an impressive array of documentation, Aquinas uses a number of other sources, though in a more marginal manner. The absence of certain authors is thus quite significant: Bonaventure, whose rational psychology

10

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

11

THEOLOGY OF ST. mOMAS AQUINAS

stands in marked opposition to Thomas' position; the Augustinian apocryphal work De spiritu et anima,' the early Dominican manuals of moral theology that are so gravely devoid of speculative ambition,

* * * A second possible reading of this book consists in taking note of the foundational principles that underlie Thomas' Christology. These five themes, so fully operative in the treatise on Christ's passions, are rarely enumerated by Aquinas himself and are even more rarely noticed' as a group by his readers, yet they play an entirely essential role. The first should be fairly obvious: given the very nature of the hypostatic union, one can never dissociate the humanity of Jesus from the Person of the Word: though verus homo, he is not purus homo, What results from this is a certain reluctance to push the analysis of Christ's passions as far as the modem reader would like; a light for theological reflection, defined dogma can also at times exercise a restraining role. The full integrity of the humanity of Christ is the second of these principles that Thomas employs in the name of the faith; this principle translates not only into certain anti-docetic affrrmations and anti-Monophysitic statements, but also into an appreciation of the masculine character of Christ: this does not mean that the Word could not have been a woman, but only that the realism of his humanity requires that he be either a man or a woman. The absolute sinlessness of Christ, listed as the third principle, takes on a foundational role as well, as seen in the fact that Thomas begins his consideration of Christ's passions with this tenet. There results from this a clearly perceptible tension-which runs throughout his entire analysis-between two givens that are difficult to reconcile with each other: by his holiness, Christ participates in the integrity of the original nature of Adam, even though the truth of the Incarnation requires that he possess a passible nature like OW'S in everything, Echoing the standard practice of his predecessors, Aquinas is subsequently led to refine his analysis and distinguish, on the one hand, between the metaphysical dc::finition of the specific human nature (which does not include sin) and the historical or existential condition of man (which is marked by the consequences of sin), and, on the other, between those passions that are compatible with holiness (bodily passibility, for example) and those that are incompatible with it (inclination to sin, concupiscence), The criterion that allows for this distinction is the way in which these elements either favor or subvert the goal of the

Incarnation, viz" the accomplishment of Christ's mission: a sinner Christ can'in no way either alleviate the reality 'of sin or be an example of justice and holiness. The fourth principle, which the author terms the ''principle of economy" (in the sense of the economy of salvation), detennines the Word's assumption-ofwhatAquinas calls the "coassumed" realities. This principle is itself governed by the preceding one: on the one hand, Christ must be supremely perfected to accomplish his mission, whereby, at least from this perspective, his defects give way to his holiness (it is in this sense that authors speak of the ''principle of perfection"); on the other hand, his participation in our common humanitymust be taken to be so real that it is not doubted (this allows one to speak ofa kind of "principle of credibility"). All this converges into a fifth foundational theme: the "principle of fittingness." In his contemplation oftbe plan of God such as it is accomplished in Jesus, the theologian must acknowledge that, strictly speaking, there is no necessary explanation either for the mystery of the Incamation itself or for the passibility of Christ; in the domain of the pure generosity of the good will of God, the theologian can do his best merely to discover the secret logic of this will, which one may term a "fittingness," Such an understanding requires that any theological endeavor be grounded in a radical humility.

* * * With these preceding remarks in mind, we now pass to a consideration of the delights of the third way of reading this work-which will be the most obvious to the theologian-and attempt to follow Thomas Aquinas in his reflection on the realism of the Incarnation, On the most general level, the passions stand out above all as consequences of the ontological constitution of the humanity of Christ: since his soul exercises diverse functions like all other human souls, its sensible part is endowed with an "appetite" in which are rooted those powers that account for the soul's inclination to the good in itself (the concupiscible) or to the difficult good (the irascible). That said, it would seem that Thomas should have examined the passibility of Christ's soul among the consequences' of the hypostatic union, whereby the passions are seen to belong to human nature since its very creation. Instead, Aquinas preferred to treat Christ's passions among what he calls the Word's "coassumed" realities (grace, knowledge, etc.), whereby the passions are looked upon as defects of the

12

PAUL GONDREAU

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

13

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

soul that more properly belong to the condition of human nature after sin. The reasons for this decision are somewhat pedagogical, but especially historical, as they result from a perspective inherited from the received theological tradition. This leads to a narrow approach, inasmuch as Thomas passes up a more neutral presentation of Christ's passions-which would have comprised an analysis of all Christ's passions (including those relating to the good: love, joy, desire)-and instead focuses almost exclusively on those passions that involve suffering and a reaction to evil. Though the modem reader might regret this decision, this present work, with its scrupulous attention to detail, nonetheless shows how Aquinas' position progressed in some noteworthy ways: whereas in the commentary on the Sentences Thomas was unable to affirm passions originating in Christ's soul ("animal" passions [from the Latin anima for "soul"], to use his terminology), since the joy of the blessed vision would have excluded them, in the Summa he would henceforth admit of such passions. This view of the mature Aquinas was unique in the writings of his time, as underscored by the fact that his master Albert the Great flatly refused to affinn the same. Driving the analysis deeper, one will take note of the manner in which Christ's passions are much different from our own, as they remain in total compatibility with his perfect moral quality., Such a view can only be understood if one recalls Thomas' heralded view that the exercise of virtue consists not in a forced submission of the passions to reason from without, but in evangelizing them from within on account of the synergy between reason and sensibility; such a synergy results from the progressive penetration of reason and will, assisted by grace, into the domain of the sensible appetite to the extent that this appetite is empowered to assist the work of virtue through its own acts. Applying this understanding to the case of Christ, it becomes immediately clear that his experience was much more hannonious than our own: since he Was free of original sin, he evaded its effects, most notably the disordered inclination to the most immediate good (concupiscence). In point of fact, Christ found hhnself in the same situation as Adam before the Fall, whereby the sensitive appetite, fortified by original grace, subnutted perfectly to reason and will to the very point that man lived in supreme hannony both with himself and with God. Yet, such perfect moral integrity in no way undermined Christ'S ontological constitution, since from the moment he assumed our nature in its cWTent condition, he participated in its passibility and mortality; in this way Christ shares in the condition of Adam after the fall. A synthetic consideration of the status of the passions in Christ yields the realization that his differed from our own in three essential ways: with respect to their object, Christ's pas-

sions inclined only to goods in confonnity with reason and will; as for their source, Jesus' movements of affectivity were always in perfect hannony with his fullness of grace; with respect to their effects, Jesus' passions never obstructed his reason or overcame it to the point of blinding it. Ifwe keep in mind the aforementioned remarks on the consummate harmony of Jesus' moral being, we can understand how Thomas remains convinced that Jesus' sensibility lost out on nothing and preserved its entire authenticity. This does not mean, however, that all difficulties vanish, since it remains unclear how a sensibility so intimately penetrated by a grace-filled reason can retain its spontaneity, a spontaneity clearly expressed in the scene of Jesus' agony. Even so, such an observation should in no way derogate from the following twofold conclusion: first, no other,author treated this issue as fully as Aquinas; and, second, Thomas positive regard for the passions is intimately bound to his conception of the substantial unity of the human being, a unity that attains the very domain of sensibility. . If we proceed to a co~sideration of the way in which Aquinas treats the five passions he retains in Christ-sensible pain, sorrow, fear, wonder (admiratio), and anger-we see the rather clear results of his method. Concerning sensible pain, the reader can detect a distinct evolution in Thomas' thought by comparing the Sentences to the Summa: whereas in the former work the author rese:rves sensible pain to the body alone, in the latter he affirms that sensible pain involves internal repercUSsions at the level of the soul. As the mature Aquinas was well aware, ifhe did not maintain this latter position, he would have found himself in the camp of Hilary of Poitiers, according to whom Christ felt only the impact of his wounds without their concomitant pain. As for sorrow, Thomas followed an analogous path: he defines it as an "animal" passion (that is, as a passion originating internally with the mind or with the imagination), and whereas he initially had trouble recognizing its presence in Christ on account of the blessed vision he possessed, the Master from Aquino would later affirm it outright and qualify sorrow as a praiseworthy passion under certain circumstances. The fact that it was a propassion only in Christ gives Thomas the opportunity to correct the Stoic view that the wise man never allows himself to be troubled by sorrow, since the propassion of sorrow failed to reach the point of perturbing or disrupting Jesus' spirit. Curiously, Aquinas never speaks of compassion or pity with respect to Christ, even though he clearly defines it as a kind of sorrow over an evil that befalls another. After sorrow, fear is the passion that best captures the meaning of passion: whereas sorrow concerns a present evil that cannot be avoided, fear arises in the soul when it encounters an impending evil that is yet j

14

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

15

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

to come. Thomas is careful not to confuse fear with a spontaneous aversion to death (which instead arises from a fundamental movement of the will), and, here too, he underscores more and more the internal origin of fear as well as its status as a propassion in Jesus: as with all his other passions, Jesus takes on fear voluntarily, and so gives it soteriological value, especially on account of his moral and ontological exemplarity. Aquinas was alone in addressing wonder (admiratio) in Christ; if wonder is strictly speaking not a passion, it can still be related to fear (whence the reason for its placement in this series of queries). Still, not every experience of wonder is a species offear nor even a sensible passion; Thomas also takes it to signify a kind of intellectual passion in order to prove, contrary to Apollinarius of Laodicea, that Christ possessed not only a sensible soul (psyche) but also an intellectual soul (nails, mens). This point is all the more worthy of mention, since, believing (according to his theories) that Jesus could be ignorant ofnothing, Thomas is unmistakably ill at ease with the experience of wonder in Jesus. It is also noteworthy to remark that the Dominican speaks of Christ's admiratio only in the Summa; if it comes here, it is because he was finally led to conclude to the existence of acquired lmowledge in Christ: without ceasing to lmow all things by his infused lmowledge, he could also learn new things through his growth in empirical knowledge. As most know, this position remains fairly problematic; however, it remains no less true that if Thomas was the only one to attempt to explain this given of the Gospel witness, it is because he alone dared to speak of a real experimental knowledge in Christ. Despite a certain resistance from the theological tradition which viewed anger as a capital vice, Aquinas did not hesitate to regard it as a passion and, hence, as neutral in its soW'Ce, and thus worthy of consideration with respect to Christ (the Gospels are too explicit in this regard for him to have ignored it). Defined as the appetite for a restoration ofjustice, anger can take on a certain kind of nobility that relates typically to an act of reason. In Christ this passion never blinded his reason and was wholly praiseworthy. Final attention is given to the way in which Thomas reconciles the foregoing analysis with the presence of the blessed vision that he opines Christ enjoyed during his earthly life. All his contemporaries share this view, yet Thomas offers a more refined explanation, since he alone understands the full import of the passions, given the unparalleled attention he gives them. Without entering into the matter in full detail (as this would mark the beginning point of a whole other work), the present author succinctly recapitulates Aquinas' position: by a special disposition of divine wisdom, the glory of the vision which should have re-

dounded onto the sensible powers and even onto the body was confined to the highest part of Cln'ist's soul, in such a way as to impede neither the natural passibility of Jesus' humanity nor the nonnal workings of his sensible powers. Thouih recognizing the internal rational coherence of this solution, -Paul Gondreau does not hide his misgivings; he even offers an argument that would appear to represent a new objection against Thomas' position, as he holds that it was precisely Aquinas' adherence to Christ's_ poss~ssion of the beatific vision that prevented him from transposing to Christ's case the whole group of eleven passions, as well as from pushing his analysis of the passions that he does attribute to Christ to nearly the extent he readily left open to himself. .

* * * As the foregoing swmnary should have made clear, this work of historical and critical theology is of great interest ,and sheds considerable new light on several issues. Its very subject matter, the human passions of Christ, has been examined not even once; one could even say that it has been purposely avoided. Tackling this issue head-on, and in an extensive manner, the author of this book has thus filled a great void and has offered an ·original contribution to Thomist studies. This work goes far in cOIlfInning Aquinas' positive esteem for the full human reality of Christ, an esteem enhanced by Thomas' celebrated position on the substantial unity oftbe human being; in this way, he can appraise the many aspects oftraditional Christian thought that have taken too long to be examined. The Alexandrine heritage which some have so often recently denounced in Aquinas' thought is thus, at least on this issue, considerably tempered by the influence of the Antiochene heritage. This work is remarkable on several other particular points as well. I have in mind especially the manner in which Thomas Aquinas should be read and studied today-at least if one wishes to take into account the progress in medieval and theological research in the twentieth century. The author of this present work excels both in an internal analysis of the texts and in an appeal to parallel passages; he accordingly is able to shed light on some rather elliptical passages and to spot evidence of a progression in Thomas' thought; he knows how to highlight the evolution of Aquinas' position, thanks to the perspective he gives to the texts and to the evidence he supplies in each case for the most plausible reasons for such an internal evolution. The most prominent case centers on the evidence given

16

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

in the development of the notion ofpassio anima/is, the type of passion that originates in the sensible soul: this passion, Thomas is finally led to conclude, can cause the soul to be saddened on its own without anything bodily provoking it. This advance is comparable to the one that brings Aquinas to the full and unadulterated recognition of an acquired knowledge in Christ, and this is not just by chance. These two positions ~e1ong to !h0~~s alon~, and their originality is all the more impressive when comparing them to the mabihty of his contemporaries to admit of these same possibilities. The constant effort to place Aquinas among his contemporaries is in fact another characteristic of this work. The present author is not content simply to repeat what Thomas says, but perfonns a careful study when the context demands it. At the same time-and this is in no way the least remarkable feature-he offers a critically informed reading of Aquinas which the thought of the Dominican Master deserves; that is, the author highlights Thomas' originality (which is vast) when called for, but he also does not hesitate to point out Aquinas' limits. The most striking of these limits concerns a kind of diffident approach due to cer. tain factors well identified in this work: the weight of the patristic heritage, a theological context that is little favorable to the subject matter, the beatific vision, and the difficulty of conceiving how this vision does not impede the normal workings-of Christ's passions. These are real difficulties, but the author evades them not in the least. Enlightened disciple of Thomas Aquinas, Paul Gondreau does not hide his fundamental devotion to the thought of the Master, yet he knows how to take a certain critical distance when necessary to do so. From this point of view as well, this work is exemplary.

INTRODUCTION

"Nihil enim mirabilius excogitari potest divinitus factum quam quod verus Deus, Dei Filius, fieret homo verus" - "Nothing more wonderful can be considered than the divine

achievement of true God, the Son ofGod,-becoming true man."1 With these words from the Summa contra Gentiles, Thomas Aquinas betrays his supreme regard for the_ realism of the

Incarnation. In his recent worl< on Aquinas' Christology, the French scholar J.-P. Torrell notes that Thomas' regard for Christ's full humanity is thoroughly permeated by a distinctly anti-docetic spirit.' Torrell's claim can be readily verified by turning to that area of Thomas' thought to which this present study is consecrated: his theology of Christ's human passions (or Christ's human affectivity). St. Thomas writes on Christ's human affectivity throughout the whole of his career: first in his commentary on the Sentences, afterward in the De veritate, later in the Compendium theologiae and in his various scriptural commentaries, and, fmally, in the treatise on Christ's passions in question 15 of the Tertia Pars of the Summa theologiae, which brings this element of his Christology to full fruition.' An undeniable jewel in his christological thought, Aquin?S' theology of Jesus' human affectivity works from the recognition that the tenet of the Incarnation, or the doctrine of God become man, cannot be left in the abstract, but must yield a theological appreciation of its concrete implications, which extends totbe arena of the assumed human passions; as Thomas succinct-

1. CG IV, ch. 27. Aquinas offers almost the identical phrase in his commentary on John's Gospel {Lectura super loannem}, ch. 2, Ject. 3: "Nothing more marvelous could be accomplished than that God became man" (Nihil enim mirabiliusfieri potuit quam quod Deus factus est homo). Later in ch. 6, lect. 4, Thomas repeats this: "nothing is more a source of wonder than the Son of God made man" (nihil est admirabiJius quam Filius Dei homo factus) . 2. l-P. Torrell, Le Christ en ses mysteres. La vie et I'oeuvre de Jesus selon saint Thomas d'Aquin, vol. 1 (paris: Desclee, 1999), pp. 89, 173, 197, and 272. and especially 118, where Torrell writes: "chaque fois qu'it croit pouvoir Ie faire, Thomas tient a faire du Christ un homme pleinement soumis aux lois de l'humanite." Cf. as weB G. Lafont. Structures et methode dans la "Somme theologique" de saint Thomas d'Aquin (paris: Les Editions du Cerf. 1996), p. 349. 3. III Sent, d. 15, q. 2, a. I, qc. 3; a. 2, qc. 1-3 (when citing Thomas' commentary on Bk. HI of the Sentences, I will be using the provisional texts of the critical Leonine edition that the editor J.F. Hinnebusch has kindly provided for me); De ver. q. 26, aa. 8-10; Compo theol. cbs. 226-8 and 230-3; and STill. q. 15. aa. 1-2, and 4-10 (in teIDlS of structure, the analysis of Cbrist's passions in the Summa most resembles that of the commentary on the Sentences). For Aqufuas' remarks on Christ's passions in his scriptural commentaries; cf. Lect. super loan .• ch. 11, lects. 5-6; ch. 12, lect. 5; ch. 13, lect. 4; Lectura super Mattheum. ch. 26, lect. 5; and Expositio super lob ad litteram, on 3: I. Thomas also offers passing remarks on Christ's human affectivity in CG IV, chs. 32-3; and De malo q. 12, a. I,sed contra 4.

18

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

19

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

ly puts it in his Summa theologiae, "the passions of the soul were in Christ even as all else pertaining to human nature. "4 The inclusion of a treatise on, Christ's passions in the Tertia Pars of the Summa theologiae merits brief attention. Since this last part of the Summa represents Aquinas' definitive vision of what a truly comprehensive Christology encompasses, the fact that here Aquinas inserts an analysis of Christ's passions indicates that, in Thomas' mind, no satisfactory Christology, i.e., no adequate theological reflection on the mystery of the Incarnate Word, can ignore the affective element of Jesus' life. At the bedrock of this conviction is Thomas' Aristotelian-inspired metaphysics of human nature, whereby the passions, which necessarily issue from the animal side of human nature, are seen to represent an essential element of human life. If complete and authentic, Christ's humanity must possess a full animal nature, including movements of affectivity. In this way, then, Thomas successfully evades-and resoundingly rejects-the temptation, to which the Stoics and those numerous spiritual writers inspired by these ancient philosophers fall prey, to look upon the passions as accessory "sicknesses of the soul," or' as inherently inimical obstacles to virtuous activity and spiritual growth. It is undoubtedly due in no small measure to the ongoing influence of Stoicism, be it conscious or subconscious, that explains why the subject of Jesus' human passions has received almost no attention in nearly two thousand years of Christian theological reflection. S Such neglect is truly remarkable, given the unequivocal witness of the Gospels, where one finds over thirty references to experiences of anger in Jesus, at least ten references to compassion in Jesus, and ten passages affinning anguish, distress, or sorrow in Jesus. An honest reading of the New Testament obliterates the icon of a pallid, stoic Jesus. Given his

4. STllI, q. 15, a. 4; emphasis mine: ''passiones animae ... in Christo juenmt, sicut et cetera quae ad naturam hominis pertinent. "

5. Among modern theologians, the subject ofJesus' emotions has generated only a handful of recent studies, all with a distinctly pastoral orientation: cr. R. Law, The Emotions of Jesus (Clonmei, Co. Tipperary, Ireland: Tentmaker Publications, 1995); 1. Brieg, The Emotional Jesus: How to Feel Good about Feelings (Mystic, Conn.: TWenty-Third Publications, 1996); D. Mohline. Emotional Whole· ness: Connecting with the Emotions of Jesus (Shippensburg, Penn.: Treasure House, 1997); 1. Mosqueda, Jesus, Emotions, and You (Westchester, IL: Good News, 1983); idem., The Emotions 0/ Jesus Christ (M.Div. thesis: Talbot Theological Seminary, 1981); L. Palmer, Human Emotions in the Life ofChrist (Ph.D. thesis: Huntington College, 1964); R. Mason, The Emotions ofChrist as Reconied in the Gospel o/Mark (Th.M. thesis: Dallas Theological Seminary, 1980); G. Mazak, The Emotional Life ofJesus as a Guidefor the Christian (ph.D. thesis: Bob Jones University, 1990; Microfiche, Portland, Or.: Theological Research Exchange Network, 1990); and C. Powell, ImplicatiOns from Jesus' Life for the Believer oS Emotional Life (Th.M. thesis: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1979).

persistent remarks on the matter, Thomas Aquinas stands out as one of the few Christian thinkers to have given. an attentive reading to this feature of the Gospel witness on the humaoity of Jesus. And yet, despite Aquinas' efforts at assigning Christ's passions a centetpiece role in his comprehensive Christology, Thomist scholars have categorically ignored the issue of Jesus' human passions. Instead, such notions as the unity of Christ's being or the .different modes oflmowledge in Christ, and similar aspects of Thomas' Christology, have secured the almost exclusive attention of Thomists (this omission is symptomatic as well of the state of general medieval and patristic scholarship, where the issue of Christ's passibility of soul is of even less scholarly consideration6); to my knowledge, one finds only the following

6. Though rarely discUssed, the issue of Jesus' human affectivity in general medieval thought is examined in the following works: P.A. Sepinski, La psychologie du Christ chez Saint Bonaventure (paris: J. Vrin, 1948), which provides a fairly solid treatment ofBonaventure's teaching on Christ's passions, and which makes occasional references to Aquinas; M.L. Colish, Peter Lombard (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1994), vol. I, pp. 443-8, which supplies a briefsuIlllhruy of Peter Lombard's theology of Christ's human affectivity; W.H. Principe, "Quaestiones Concerning Christ from the First Half of the Thirteenth Century: II: Quaestiones from Douai Ms. 434: The Need of the Incarnation; The Defects Assumed by Christ," MS 42 (1980), pp. 1-40, which offers a terse commentary on the subject of Christ's human affectivity as it is conveyed in the several anonymous texts dating from 1228-36 which Principe reproduces in this article; L.O. Nielsen, Theology and Philosophy in the 1Welflh Century: A Study on Gilbert Porreta:S Thinking and the Theological Expositions of the Doctrine ofthe Incarnation during the Period 1I30-1I80, trans. R. Christophersen (Leiden: EJ. Brill, 1982), pp. 193-211,

which briefly examines Hugh of St. Victor's views on Jesus' human affectivity, as does the article by F. Vernet, ''Rugues de Saint-Victor," DTC 7,1 (1927), cols. 239-307, at 277; and G.P. Sijen, "La passibilite du Christ chez Philippe de Harveng," in Une enquete sur I'observance disciplinaire et liturgique a l'Abbaye d'Averbode au debut du XVII'sieele, ed. P.F. Lefevre (Tongerloo, Belgium: Typis Abatiae, 1938), pp. 198-208, which considers the controversy surrounding the denial of Christ's passibility of soul by the late 12th·century author Philip of Harvengst (L. Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, trans. P. Lynch [2nd ed., Rockford, IL.: Tan Books, 1974], pp. 173-4, also offers a brief overview of this controversy), and which mentions Thomas' position on Christ's passibiIity by way of comparison. For the Patristics, to my knowledge one finds a treatment of the Fathers' position on Christ's human passions only in the following works: A. Grillmeier, Christ in Christian Tradition. From the Apostolic Age to Chalcedon (451), vol. 1, trans. J. Bowden (2nd ed.• Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975), which offers passing yet penetrating comments on Christ's human affectivity in several patristic authors; X. Le Bachele~ ''Hilaire (saint)," DTC 6.2 (1947). cols. 2385-2462, at 2439-40. which examines Hilary of Poitiers' denial of Christ's passibility of soul (the impact of this denial in late 12th·century thought is examined in 1. de Ghellinck, Le mouvement theologique du XIIC sieele [2nd ed., Bmssels: Editions "De Tempel," 1948], p. 325); M. Jugie, "Gaianite (La Controverse) et la passibilite du corps de Jesus Chris~" DTC 6, I (1947). cols. 1002-23, which discusses the 6th-century denial of the corruptibility and passibility of Christ's body by Julian ofHalicamassus and Gaianos, a denial that John Damascene will seek to refute in his De fide orthodoxa; A. Gesche, La christologie du "Commentaire sur les Psaumes" decouvert aToura (Gembloux: Editions J. Ducutot, 1962), pp. 181-417, which examines the reID;arks made on Christ's passions in the commentary on the

20

PAUL GONDREAU

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

21

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

scholars to have treated Aquinas' account of Christ's human passions, though none do so in an extensive or critical fashion (this list excludes the various editions of the Summa with their corresponding commentaries): J.-H. Nicolas, I.-P. Torrell, M.-B. Schwalm, P. Parente, I. Biffi, F. Cunningham, P. Engelhardt, A. M. Henry, L. Ott, F. Ruello, R. Spiazzi, and E.H. Weber.' A work devoted wholly to St. Thomas' theology of Christ's human affectivity

Psalms in the commentary on the Psalms written either by the 4th-Century author Didymus "the Blind" of Alexandria or by one of his disciples (ef. as welI Gesche's "L'ame hUmaine de Jesus dans la christologie du IV e siecle," RHE 54 [1959], pp. 385-425); and L. Ott, ibid., which provides a rapid overview of the patristic position on Christ's passions. 7. I-H. Nicolas, Synthese dogmatique. De la Trinite a la Trinite (Fribourg, Switz.: Editions Universitaires, 1985), pp. 404-11 (Nicolas perfonns an abbreviated yet penetrating analysis of Thomas' account of the psychological limitations in Christ. including his human affectivity); I.-P. TorrelI, Le Christ en ses mysteres, pp. 101-8,224-42,327-39, and 358-61 (Torrell gives not only a summary of the role of the passions and other defects in the humanity of Christ in Aquinas' thought, but also an examination of the relationship betwe~n Jesus' affectivity and his temptations); M.-B. Schwalm, Le Christ d'apres saint Thomas d'Aquin. Commentaires du De Incarnatione (Tertia pars Summae Theologiae). 2nd ed. by P. Coquelle (Paris: P. Lethielleux, 1939), pp. 303-44 (Schwalm provides a running, and at times insightful, commentary on the treatise on Christ's passions in Tertia, q. 15 of the Summa, yet does little to go beyond the wording of the text); P. Parente. L '10 di Cristo (3rd ed., Rovigo: Istituto,Padano di Aste Grafiche, 1981), pp. 289-307 (parente focuses on a few of the main issues in Thomas' theology of Christ's passions yet does little to pierce the surface); I. Biffi, I Mister; di Cristo in Tommaso d:4quino. vol. I (Milan: Jaca Books, 1994), pp. 132-40 (Biffi gives a cursory overview of some of the more salient elements of Thomas' theology of Christ's passions); F. Cunningham, ed., Christ and His Sacraments (Dubuque, Iowa: Priory Press, 1958), pp. 163-9 (here Cunningham does little more than recap some of the major points of Aquinas' theology of Christ's passions); P. Engelhardt, ''Thomas von Aquin: Mensch und Christ in der Spannung von Vemunft und Leidenschaft," Wort und Antwort 24 (1985), pp. 134-41 (though this work offers an extremely brief introduction to Aquinas' theology of Jesus' human affectivity, it supplies penetrating comments); A.M. Henry, The Historical and Mystical Christ, "Theology Library 5," trans. A. Bouchard (Chicago: Fides Publishers, 1958), pp. 104-5 (Henry touches on a few of the highlights of Thomas' account of Christ's passions in a rather elementary fashion); L. Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma, pp. 173-4 (Ott provides an extremely cursory analysis of Christ's passions in Aquinas' thought that is quite rich in theological and historical content); F. Ruella, La christo[ogie de Thomas d'Aquin (paris: Beauchesne, 1987), pp. 180-7 and 373-7 (Ruello supplies little more than a summary ofa few main points that the commentary on the Sentences and the De veri/ate relate on Christ's passions); R Spiazzi, "Le passioni e Ja passione di Cristo in San Tommaso d' Aquino," Sacra Doctrina 37 (1992), pp. 5-34 (Spiazzi examines a few aspects of Thomas' theology of Christ's hUman affectivity in a strictly introductory man~ ner); and E.-H. Weber, Le Christ seloH saint Thomas d'Aquin (paris: Desclee, 1988) (though he devotes an, entire section to Aquinas' appraisal of Christ's moral actions ["L'activite volitive chez Ie Christ," pp. 177-98], Weber integrates the affective dimensiQn of Christ's humanity in this analysis in a purely marginal manner [ef. pp. 189-90, and 197-8]); cf. as well my own The Passions in Christ: A Study on the Psychology ofJesus. MtSmoire de licence (Fribourg, Switz.: University of Fribourg, 1992). Among these scholars, Nicolas, Torrell, and Schwalm' provide the more earnest theological studies. For the various editions of the Summa with their respective commentaries, cf. section 3 ofmy bibliography supplied at the end of this work.

and to retrieving this element of Aquinas' Cluistology from the closet of hiqden treasures. is therefore long overdue. Such a work would in its turn act as a complement to the recent resurgence in scholarly interest in the properly theological-and christological-nattrre of Aquinas'thought, represented by such scholars as: T. O'Meara, who strives to reinstate (though for a wide audience) the primacy oftbeology in scholarly research on Thomas' writings;8 I. Biffi, I.-H. Nicolas, F. Ruello, M.-B. Schwalm, 1. Backes, and E.-:H. Weber, all of whom attempt to offer a synthesis ofAquinas' Christology;9 and especially I.-P. Torrell, who has issued a recent work on a long neglected aspect ofAquinas' Christology, viz., the theology of the mystaries of the life of Jesus in Tertia Pars, qq. 27-59 of the Summa theologiae. 10 It is worth noting that Aquinas' interest in Christ's passions correlates with the other-

wise unparalleled interest he holds for human affectivity in general. The massive treatise on the passions presented in the Prima Secundae Pars of the Summa, the largest treatise of this entire theological work, as it comprises 27 questions of 132 articles, epitomizes such interest. Largely dependent upon his own thought and insight for the composition of this treatise, Aquinas, who is too often erroneously viewed as nothing more than an abstract thinker, examines both the _metaphysical and moral dimensions of human 'pas"sion in as

8. T.F. O'Meara, Thomas Aquinas, Theologian (Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press, 1997); cf. T.S. Hibbs' perspicacious review of this work in Thomist 63 (1999), pp.139-42. 9. 1. Biffi, I Misteri di Cristo in Tommaso d'Aquino; J.~H. Nicolas; Synthese dogmatique. De la Trinite a Ja Trinite, pp. 272-621; F. RueIlo. La christologie de Thomas d'Aquin; M.-B. Schwalm, Le Christ d'apres saint Thomas d'Aquin,' I. Backes, Die Christologie des hI. Thomas von Aquin und die griechischen Kirchenvater (paderbom: Ferdinand Schoningh Verlag, 1931); and E.-H. Weber, Le Christ selon saint Thomas d'Aqujn.

10. J.-P. Torrell, Le Christ en ses mysteres. La vie et l'oeuvre de Jesus selon saint Thomas d'Aquin, 2 vols. (paris: Desclee, 1999); cf. as well I. Biffi, "I misteri delia vita di Cristo nei commenti biblici di San Tommaso d'Aquino," Divus Thomas 53 (1976), pp. 217-54; L. Scheffczyk, "Die Stellung des Thomas vonAquin in der Entwicklung der Lehre von den Mysteria Vitae Christi," in Renovatio et ReM formatio. Wider das BUd YOm "finisteren" Milte/alter: FestschrifljUr Ludwig HOd/ zum 60. Geburtstag, eds. M. Gerwing and G. Ruppert (Munster: Aschendorff, 1986), pp. 44-70; and I-M. Voste, Commentarius in Summam theologicam S. Thomae. De mysteriis vitae Christi (Rome: Scuola Tipografica Missionaria Domenicana, 1940). One could add here T. Weinandy, In the Likeness ofSinful Flesh. An Essay on the Humanity ofChrist (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1993), which integrates aspects

of Aquinas' Christology in its analysis of the wealmesses of Christ's humanity. In a more extended sense, G. O'Collins, Christology. A Biblical, Historical, and Systematic Study ofJesus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), employs elements of Thomas' Christology in a marginal (and at times Simplistic) manner in his remarks on Christ's full humanity.

22

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

23

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

nearly an exhaustive a fashion as possible. Thomas' doctrine on the passions is not a work of total originality, however, as he benefits from certain piecemeal writings ~t offer li~­ ited reflections on human passion. These include Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethzcs, Rhetonc, and, to a lesser extent, the De anima, as well as Nemesius of E~esa's De natura homi~is, a late- 4th-century work that bears the clear imprints of Aristotehan psychology and WhiCh represents the first authentic Christian work of anthropology. ~quinas wou~d also tum t,o John Damascene's Defide orthodoxa, which for its part appropnates Nemeslus ofEmesa s thought on the passions. Thomas' doctrine on the passions.leans ad~tionally up~nAlbert the Great's writings and on Augustine's De civitate Dei, whIch contams an extensIve moral treatise on the passions in a running polemic against Stoic philosophy. What finally emerges as the treatise on the passions in the Prima Secundae Pars of the Summa represents, then, a work of remarkable originality and synthesis, and $is allows for an analysis of Christ's own passions of corresponding insight and penetration. If, however, Thomas' theology of Christ's human passions derives in large measure from his doctrine on human passion in general, it is his conception of general human affectivity that remains no less indebted to his theology of Christ's h~an affectivity.ll For Thomas who is first and foremost a theologian (and who therefore !\lves first rank to the tenets of divine revelation), maintains that a proper regard for general human affectivity must in order to be complete, receive consideration in direct light of the Incarnation, since Chri~t is the full bearer of God's revelation. Confnmation of this fact comes in the structurallayout itself, or ordo disciplinae, of the Summa theologiae, as suggested by L. Boyle and S. Pinckaers. These scholars point to the fact that the moral part of the Summa (the Secunda Pars), which includes the treatise on the passions, is not meant to stand in isolation from the dogtnatic parts of the Summa: the trinitarian Prima Pars and the christological Tertia Pars. This purposeful design of a summa theologiae, i.e., a comprehensive overview of theology, indicates that, for Aquinas, a proper grasp of Christian morality comes only when put in direct relation both to the Trinity (the Prima Pars) and to Christ (the Tertia Pars)." Accordingly, without the treatise on Christ's passions in Tertia, q. 15, I.e., WIthout the

11. 1 Pieper (Guide to Thomas Aquinas, trans. R. and C. Winston [San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 1991], p. 131) argues the same vis~a-vis the influence of the doctrine of the Incarnation on Thomas' general anthropology. . . 12. L.E. Boyle, The Setting ofthe "Summa theologiae" ofSaint Thomas (Toronto: Pontifical InStitute of Mediaeval Studies, 1982), pp. 16 and 28; and S. Pinckaers, The Sources of Christian Ethics, trans. M.T. Noble (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 1995), pp. 221-2. For more on how the morality of the Summa points to Christ, cf. l-P. Torrell, Saint Thomas d'Aquin, maitre spirituel (Fribourg, Switz.: Editions Universitaires. 1996), pp. 135-8; for the morality of the passions pointing directly to Christ, cf. L. Mauro, "Umanitd della passione in S. Tommaso (Florence: Felice Le Monnier, 1974), p. 8. Cf. as well S. Pinckaers, "Les passions et lamorale," RSPT74 (1990), pp. 379-91, at 381-4; and G. Lafont, Structures et methode, pp. 254 and 263.

analysis of human affectivity within the full revelatory light of the Incarnation, Aquinas' account of general human passion remains radically incomplete. Moreover, for Aquinas the possibility of attaining the state of supremely regulated passion comes only through a configuration to Christ's own affective example, whose passions are harmoniously integrated into a life of consummate holiness and virtue. This further underscores the indispensable role that the import of Jesus' own human affectivity exercises in Thomas Aquinas' thought on human passion in general, particularly since for him the stUdy of theology, the aim of which is to lead one to salvation, is spiritual at its very core (cf. Prima, q. 1, a. 5). In a word, Jesus shows us how we should live with our passions in the most fully human way possible. That the recent interest sparked by Thomas' doctrine on general human passion remains predominantly philosophical in scope evinces the need for greater clarification on this point. , As for this recent interest in Thomas' teaching on general human affectivity, it should be noted that, like his theology of Christ's passions, this element of the Master from Aqnino's thought has been largely ignored in the history of Thomist scholarship." However, a veritable renaissance ofAquinas' doctrine on the passions and on the integral role of emotion in the moral life has taken place s~ce the neo:"Thomist revival of the last century, with several scholars (e.g" A.-D. SertiIIanges, R. Garrigou-Lagrange, and O. Pesch) paying cursory tribute to Thomas' doctrine on the passions within a general synthesis of the Dominican's thought, while others (e.g., E. Gilson, H.-D. Noble, M. Manzanedo, S. Pinckaers, E. Schockenhoff, L. Mauro, R.R. Baker, M.-D. Chenu, M.D. Jordan, etc.) present a more detailed analysis ofAquinas' view on human affectivity as it relates to the morallife. 14

13. L. Boyle (The Setting ofthe 'Summa the%giae; pp. 23-9) retraces tbe historical events by which the Prima Secundae Pars oftbe Summa, which contains the treatise on the passions, became almost categorically ignored as the necessary counterpart and preliminary to the moral teaching of Thomas as captured in the Secunda Secundae Pars. Formore on how most moral writers have ignored the importance that St. Thomas ascribes to the passions, cf. l-P. Torrell, Maitre spirituel p. 344~ andA.-D. SertilIanges, S. Thomas d'Aquin (paris: F61ixAlcan, 1910), vol. 2, pp. 203-5. 14. A.-D. SertiI1anges,S. Thomas d'Aquin, vol. 2, pp. 203-5; R. Garrigou-Lagrange, Reality: A Synthesis of Thomistic Thought(St. Louis: B. Herder, 1950),pp. 282-3; D.H. Pesch, Thomas von Aquin. Grenze und Grosse mittelalterlicher The%gie. Eine Einfiihrung (2nd ed., Mainz: Mattbias-Griinewald-VerIag, 1989), pp. 228-30; E. Gilson, The Christian Philosophy ofSt. Thomas Aquinas, trans. L.K.. Shook (New York: Random House, 1956), pp. 236-86; H.-D. Noble, les passions dans la vie mora/e, 2 vols. (paris: P. Lethielleux, 1931-32); M. Manzanedo, Las pasiones 0 emociones segum santo Tomas (Madrid: Instituto Pontificio de Filosofia "Santo Tomas," 1984); S. Pinckaers, "Les passions et 1a morale," RSPT74 (1990). pp. 379-91 (cf. as wen his The Sources of Christian Ethics); E. Schockenhoff, Bonum hominis. Die anthropoligiSchen und theologischen Grundlagen der Tugendethik des Thomas von Aquin (Mainz: Verlag, 1987), pp. 172-201; L. Mauro. "Umanitd" de/lapas

24

THE PASSIONS OF CHRIST'S SOUL IN THE

PAUL GONDREAU

25

THEOLOGY OF ST. THOMAS AQUINAS

This revival parallels the growing interest in the philosophical import of the passions or emotions that has taken place in non-Thomist scholars of the last twenty-five years. IS Among those Thomist thinkers who accentuate the integral role of the passions in the moral life, J.P. Torrell again merits singular attention, as his recent work on Aquinas as a spiritual master underscores the centrality of human affectivity in Thomas' vision of the spirituallife. 16 Deserving of distinction as well is S. Pinckaers' critically acclaimed The Sources of Christian Ethics, which strives vigorously to remind moral theologians that any Thomist-inspired

moral theolOgy worthy of its name must include the passions as a vital and indispensable piece to the puzzle of the human drive for moral excellence, contrary to the rationalistic models that have doininated modem approaches to moral theory. The revival of interest in Aquinas' view on the passions has also sparked a fluny of studies aimed at exploring the significant points of contact between Thomistic psychology and modem behavioral or clinical psychology concerning a life of psychological balance. I? With the recov~ry ofAquinas' doctrine on general human affectivity well under way, then, the arena of Christ's passions remains the last element of Thomas ' teaching on human affectivity in need of retrieval.

Historically, though Aquinas' theology of Christ's human affectivity marks a significant achievement in the aI)D.als of theological thought, it is not the sole accomplishment of its kind, since it comes in the midst of an intense medieval debate over the role of passion sione in S. Tommaso; RR Baker, The Thomistic Theory o/the Passions and Their Influence upon the Will (Notre Dame, IN: University of Notre Dame Press, 1941); M.-D. Chenu, "Les passions vertueuses. L'anthropologie de saint Thomas," RPL 72 (1974), p. 11-18; M.D. Jordan, "Aquinas's Construction of a Moral Account of the Passions," FZPT33 (1986). pp. 71-97; cf. as well K. White, ''The Passions of the Soul (IaIJae, qq. 22-48)," in Essays in the Ethics o/St. Thomas Aquinas, ed. S. Pope (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 2002); and D. Chardonnens, L'homme sous Ie regard de la providence. Providence de Dieu et condition humaine selon I 'Exposition Jitterale sur Ie livre de Job de Thomas d' Aquin (paris: J. Vrin, 1997), pp. 185-98, which offers an analysis of Aquinas' doctrine of human passion as related in his exposition on the Book of Job. For additions to this list, see section 4 of my bibliography supplied at the end of this work. IS. A representative sample of this growing interest would include: P.A. French and H.K. Wettstein, eds., The Philosophy o/Emotions (Notre Dame, Ind.: University of Notte Dame Press, 1999); C. Calhoun and R. Solomon, eds., What Is an Emotion? Classic Readings in Philosophical Psychology (Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1984); R. Solomon, The Passions (Garden City. N.¥.: Doubleday, 1976); W.W. Fortenbaugh. Aristotle on Emotion: A Contribution to Philosophical Psychology. Rhetoric, Poetics, Politics, and Ethics (New York: Barnes and Noble, 1975); I Brunschwig and M.e. Nussbaum. eds. Passions and Perceptions: Studies in Hellenistic Philosophy of Mind (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993); M. Scheler, Grammatik der Gefohle. Dos Emotionale als Grundlage der Ethik, Ausgewiihlt und mit einem 10nvort herausgegeben von Paul Good (Munich: Deutscher Taschenbucher Verlag, 2000); A.O. Hirschman, The Passions and the Interests (princeton: Princeton University Press, 1977); A.J.P. Kenny, Action. Emotion and Will (Bristol, Eng.: Thoemmes Press, 1994; first published in 1963); S. Bandes. et aI., The Passions o/Law (New York: New York University Press, 1999); A.O. Rorty, ed., Explaining Emotions (Berkeley: University of California Press. 1980); idem, "Aristotle on the Metaphysical Status of Pathe, " Review o/Metaphysics 37 (1984), pp. 521-46; I. Dilman, "Reason, Passion, and the Will," Philosophy 58 (1984), pp. 185-204; J. Schaeffer, "An Assessment of Emotion," American Philosophical Quarterly 20 (1983), pp. 161-72; and W.M. Hoffman, "Structure and Origin of the Religious Passions,"International Journal/or Philosophy of Religion 8,1 (1977). pp. 36-50. Also, the Societas Ethica, European Society for Research in Ethics, hosted its annual conference on the theme of ethics and emotions on August 25-29, 1999, in Padua, Italy, in order to reverse the longstanding philosophical neglect of the passions. 16. I-P. Torrell, Maitre spirituel pp. 344-65.

in Christ's life. This debate stems from the controversial position taken by the patristic author Hilary of Poitiers, who essentially denies the psychological or affective reality of Christ's suffering and pain. According to Hilary, Christ's soul did not feel the pain inflicted upon his body, as if his body were, as it were, entirely anesthetized at the time of his cruci-

fixion. Hilary adopted this view in his attempt to defend the orthodox Christian faith against theAriI;Ul heresy, which took Jesus' display of passion as a sufficient disclaimer of the di-

17. Cf. A PIe "St. Thomas Aquinas and the Psychology of Freud," Dominican Studies 5 (1952), pp. 1-34 (this is a revised English version of "Saint Thomas d' Aquin et lapsychologie des profondeurs," Vie spirituelle Suppl. 82 [1951], pp. 402-34); M. Stock. "Thomistic Psychology and Freud's Psychoanalysis," Thom 21 (1958). pp.125-45; IP. Reid. "Emotional Psychopathology," appendix'4 to Summa theologiae, vol. 21,FearandAnger(London: Blackfriars, 1965),pp. 156-Q3; G. Cottier. "Libido" de Freud et "appetitus" des saint Thomas," in L 'anthropologie de saint Thomas, ed. N.A. Luyten (Fribourg, Switz.: Editions Universitaires, 1974), pp. 91-123; S. Pfiirtner, Triebleben und sittliche Vollendung. Eine moraJpsychologische Untersuchung nach Thomas von Aquin (Fribourg, Switz.: Universitiitsverlag. 1958), pp. 205-28; P. Gondreau, The Passions in Christ. pp. 69-76; A. Stagnitta. L 'antropologia in Tommaso d'Aquino: saggio di ricerca comparata sulJe passioni e abitudini delI'uomo (Naples: E.D.1. Editrice. 1979), pp. 53-118; R. Klingseis, "Modeme Theorie tiber das Unbewupte bei Thomas von Aquin," Divus Thomas 7 (l929),pp. 147-83 and 279-300; 8 (1930),p. 40-59, 129-206, and 381-405; P. Nolan, St. Thomas and the Unconscious Mind Abstract ofa Dissertation at the Catholic University of America (Washington, D.C.: CUA Press, 1953); G. Thibon. "La psychoanalyse freudienne et la psychologie scolastique," RT 14 (1931), pp. 488-521; F. Bednarski, "La . psychoanalyse de l'agressivite ala lumiere de la psychosynthese de saint Thomas d' Aquin," Ang 58 (1981), pp. 389-419; idem. "Vis concupiscibilis et irascibiIis in luce psychologiae "pro fundi", in De homine: Studia hodiernae anthropo{ogiae (Rome: Officium Libri Catholici, 1972), vol. 2. pp. 60-4; M. Rock. "Aggression einmal anders. Zum Stellenwert der "agressio" bei Thomas von Aquin," Trierer theologische Zeitschrift 26 (1973), pp. 367-73; and H.G. Weil. The DynamicAspect o/Emotions in the Philosophyo/St. ThomasAquinas (Ro~e: Pontificia Studiorum Universitas AS. ThomaAq. en

urbe,1966),pp.75-97.

1'
22 This leaves the·exegete-theologian free to explore the mysteries that remain imperfectly

communicated, especially in the Old Testament, through the medium of human language, but which are nonetheless attainable if one loans an attentive ear to the spiritual sense of the "Sacred Page." To be sure, though it may have escaped the awareness of the human author in question, this spiritual sense contains treasures that are ordered, so far as Thomas is concerned, and to quote the scholar B. Smalley, to "the benefit ofreaders living afterwards, recipients of a fuller revelation than God had vouchsafed to the hwnan author. '>23 No doubt counting himself among such "beneficiary readers living afterwards," Aquinas wastes little energy in seeking to thrash out this "fuller revelation" of God and in clarify-

ing what precisely the larger and deeper divine mysteries transcribed in the Old Testament involve. The greatest mystery that Aquinas sees at work in the Old Testament, and, indeed,

in the whole of Scripture, is the mystery of Chris!. Smalley does not hesitate to affirm that for Thomas, "[t]he Bible was Christ centered," and that "[t]o deny it would be to deny God's plan for salvation.'>24 In this view, the literal sense of the Old Testament is incorporated,

through what M. Morard terms a "quasi-ontological union," into that which the Old Testament announces and points toward for its fulfillment: the mystery of Christ.2S For Aquinas,

one can identity Christ (or his mystical Body, the Church) with the spiritual sense of most any passage from the Old Testament, which explains why he writes on so many occasions, adapting an expression ofAugustine: "dicitur ex persona Christi ... it is written [in a given 18. C. Spicq, "Saint Thomas d'Aquin exegete," col. 711. Cf. as well M.-D. Chenu, Toward Understanding St. Thomas, pp. 253-9. In his preface to Postilla super Psalmos, Thomas expresses his con-

Old Testament passage] on behalf of the person of Chris!. .. ""

cern to avoid the error advanced by Theodore ofMopsuestia, which was condemned at Constantinople II (553) and which states that "nothing in the Old Testament refers expressly to Christ, but to other things, and was only later adapted to Christ" (Theodorus enim MOp8uestenus dixit, quod in sacra scriptura et prophetiis nihil expresse dicitut de Christo, sed de quibusdam a/iis rebus, sed adaptaverunt Christo). For more on this, cf. M. Morard, ''Une source de saint Thomas d' Aquin: Ie Deuxieme Concile de Constantinople (553)," RSPT81 (1977), pp. 21-56, at 31-4 and 48-50. 19. Cf. D.H. Pesch, Thomas von Aquin. Grenze und Grasse mittelalterlicher Theologle. Eine Ein./Uhrung (2nd ed., Mainz: Matthias-Griinewald-Verlag, 1989), p. 88. For more on the innovations of Thomas' interpretation of Scripture, cf. B. Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages (3rd. ed., Oxford: B. Blackwell, 1984), pp. 300-3; and idem, The Gospels in the Schools, c.l100-c.1280

(London-Ronceverte, West Virginia: Hambledon Press, 1985), pp. 257-71. 20. For the pivotal text on the matter, cf. STI, q. I, a. 10. Cf. as well R.E. Brown, The "Sensus Plenior" ofSacred Scripture (Baltimore: St. Mary's University, 1955), p. 61. 21. Cf. STI, q. 10, a. 1 ad 3; Lecturasuper Matthaeum. ch. 3, lect. 1; and Quodlibet VII, q. 6, a. 3; In Gal, ch. 4, lect. 7; and Expos. super lob ad Iitt., on 1:6. Cf. as well lA. Weisheipl, "Introduction" to Commentary on the Gospel ofSt. John by St. Thomas Aquinas (Albany, NY: Magi Books, 1980), pp. 3-19, at 9-11; M.-D. Philippe, "Preface" to Saint Thomas d'Aquin, Commentaire sur l'Evangile de saint Jean, vol. I (Buxy: Les amis de saint Jean, 1978), pp. 28-47j and B. Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Middle Ages, pp. 292-300, where Smalley maintains that Aquinas considers "the 'spirit' of Scripture as something not hidden behind or added on to, but expressed by the text. We

cannot ... understand the Bible by distinguishing letter from spirit and making a separate study of each." Such an exegesis, of course, follows upon Aquinas' Aristotelian metaphysics, whereby reality as such is identified with concrete material things perceived by the senses. 22. Lectura super Ioannem. ch. 21, lect. 6: "i11finita enlm verba hominum non possunt attingere unum Dei verbum"; cited in T. O'Meara, Theologlan. p. 71. 23. The Gospels in the Schools, p. 265. 24. B. Smalley, The Gospels in the Schools, p. 266; cf. as well W.G.B.M. Valkenberg, Did Not Our Heart Burn?, p. 196. For texts in Aquinas, cf. SiI, q. 1, a. 10; and Lectura super Epistolam Primam ad Corinthios, ch. 15,lect. 1. 25. M. Morard, "Une source de saint Thomas d' Aquin," p. 33: