IV

But all these arguments insist upon the occupation with external affairs which is but one feature in the active life, not upon its other feature—namely, its power to repress the passions.

Cajetan: But the five foolish virgins, having taken their lamps, did not take oil with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with the lamps.[478]

By this oil is signified testimony to a man's goodness or love of God. For there is this difference between people who perform good works, that the only testimony which some men have to their goodness is without—namely, in the works themselves; within, however, they do not feel that they love God with their whole heart, that they repent of their sins because they are hateful to God, or that they love their neighbour for God's sake. But there are others who so perform good works that both their works that shine before men bear witness without to the good soul within, and also within their own conscience the Holy Spirit Himself testifies to their spirit that they are the sons of God; for such men feel that they love God with their whole heart, that they repent of their sins for God's sake, and that they love their neighbour and themselves for God's sake: in brief, they feel that God is the sole reason why they love, why they hope, fear, rejoice, or are sad: in a word, why they work both within and without: this is to have oil in one's own vessels (On S. Matt.xxv. 3, 4).

S. Augustine:See the life that Mary chose! Yet was she but a type of that life, she as yet possessed it not. For there are two kinds of life: one means delight; the other means a burden. And the burdensome one is toilsome, while the delightsome one is pleasurable. But enter thou within; seek not that delight without, lest ye swell with it and find yourself unable to enter by the narrow gate! See how Mary saw the Lord in the Flesh and heard the Lord by the voice of the Flesh—as ye have heard when the Epistle to the Hebrews has been read—as it were through a veil. (A new and living way which He hath dedicated to us through the veil, that is to say, His Flesh.[479]) But when we shall see Him face to Face there will be no "veil." Mary, then, sat—that is, she rested from toil—and she listened and she praised; but Martha was anxious about much serving. And the Lord said to her:Martha, Martha, thou art careful and art troubled about many things; but one thing is necessary[480](Sermon, CCLVI., v. 6).

"Bless the Lord, O my soul: and let all that is within me bless His holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all He hath done for thee. Who forgiveth all thy iniquities: Who healeth all thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction: Who crowneth thee with mercy and compassion. Who satisfieth thy desire with good things: thy youth shall be renewed like the eagle's. The Lord doth mercies, and judgment for all that suffer wrong. He hath made His ways known to Moses: His wills to the children of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and merciful: long suffering and plenteous in mercy.He will not always be angry: nor will He threaten for ever. He hath not dealt with us according to our sins: nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For according to the height of the Heaven above the earth: He hath strengthened His mercy towards them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our iniquities from us. As a father hath compassion on his children, so hath the Lord compassion on them that fear Him: for He knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust: man's days are as grass, as the flower of the field so shall he flourish."[481]

S. Gregory says[482]: "The active life precedes the contemplative in the order of time, for from good works a man passes to contemplation."

One thing may precede another in two ways: firstly by its very nature; and in this sense the contemplative life precedes the active in that it is occupied with chiefer and better things, and hence it both moves and directs the active life. For, as S. Augustine says,[483]the higher reason, which is destined for contemplation, is compared to the lower reason, which is destined for action, as man is compared to woman—she is to be governed by him.

But secondly, one thing may be prior to another as far as we are concerned, it may, that is, precedeit in the way of generation. And in this sense the active life precedes the contemplative, for it conduces to it, as we have already said. In the order of generation disposition to a nature precedes that nature, though that nature is, simply speaking and considered in itself, prior to the disposition to it.

But some maintain that the active life does not precede the contemplative, thus:

1. The contemplative life is directly concerned with the love of God, the active life with the love of our neighbour. But love of God precedes love of our neighbour, for we have to love our neighbour for God's sake.

But the contemplative life is not concerned with merely any kind of love of God, but with the perfect love of Him; the active life, on the contrary, is necessary for any kind of love of our neighbour, for S. Gregory says[484]: "Without the contemplative life men can gain admittance to their heavenly home if they have not neglected the good works they could have done; but they cannot enter without the active life, if they neglect the good works they could do." Whence it appears that the active life precedes the contemplative in the sense that that which is common to everybody precedes in the order of generation that which is peculiar to the perfect.

2. Again, S. Gregory says[485]: "You must know that just as the right procedure is for a man topass from the active to the contemplative life; so, too, it is often profitable to the soul to return to the active life." Consequently the active life is not absolutely speaking prior to the contemplative.

But while we proceed from the active life to the contemplative by way of generation, we return from the contemplative to the active by way of direction, in order, that is, that our active life may be directed by the contemplative; just in the same way as habits are generated by acts and then, as is said in theEthics, when the habit is formed we act still more perfectly.[486]

3. Lastly, things which accord with different characters do not seem to be necessarily related. But the active and contemplative life are suited to different characters; thus S. Gregory says[487]: "It often happens that men who could have given themselves to peaceful contemplation of God have been burdened with external occupations and so have made shipwreck; while, on the contrary, men who could have lived well had they been occupied with human concerns, have been slain by the sword of their life of repose." Consequently the active life does not seem to precede the contemplative.

But those who are subject to the influx of their passions because of their natural eagerness in action, are for that very reason more suited for the active life, and this because of the restlessness of their temperament. HenceS. Gregory says[488]: "Some are so restless that if they desist from work they suffer grievously, for the more free they are to think the worse interior tumults they have to endure." Some, on the contrary, have a natural purity of soul and a reposefulness which renders them fit for the contemplative life; if such men were to be applied wholly to the active life they would incur great loss. Hence S. Gregory says[489]: "Some men are of so slothful a disposition that if they undertake any work they succumb at the very outset." But he adds: "Yet often love stirs up even slothful souls to work, and fear exercises a restraining influence on souls which suffer a disturbing influence in their contemplation." Hence even those who are more suited for the active life, may, by the exercise of it, be prepared for the contemplative; and, on the contrary, those who are more suited for the contemplative life may profitably undertake the labours proper to the active life, that so they may be rendered still more fit for contemplation."I have cried to Thee, for Thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline Thy ear unto me, and hear my words. Show forth Thy wonderful mercies; Thou Who savest them that trust in Thee. From them that resist Thy right hand keep me, as the apple of Thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of Thy wings."[490]

"I have cried to Thee, for Thou, O God, hast heard me: O incline Thy ear unto me, and hear my words. Show forth Thy wonderful mercies; Thou Who savest them that trust in Thee. From them that resist Thy right hand keep me, as the apple of Thy eye. Protect me under the shadow of Thy wings."[490]

[438]S. Luke x. 42.

[439]Ethics, x. 7 and 8.

[440]Moralia in Job, vi. 18.

[441]Of the Words of the Lord, Sermonciii.,aliasxxvi. 2.

[442]S. Luke x. 41.

[443]Of the Words of the Lord, Sermonciv.,aliasxxvii. 2.

[444]S. Luke x. 42.

[445]Sermonciii.,aliasxxvi. 4.

[446]Topica, III., ii. 21.

[447]Ibid., III., i. 12.

[448]Of the City of God, xix. 19.

[449]ii. 1.

[450]Exod. xix. 21.

[451]Hom.III.,On Ezechiel.

[452]Of Consolation, v. 2.

[453]Hom.III.,On Ezechiel.

[454]1 Cor. xii. 31.

[455]Of the City of God, xix. 19.

[456]Ps. xlvii. 9, 10, 15.

[457]2 Cor. v. 15.

[458]Ps. xxvi. 5.

[459]Moralia in Job, vi. 18.

[460]Of the City of God, xix. 19.

[461]S. Luke x. 40.

[462]Hom.III.,On Ezechiel.

[463]Rom. ix. 3.

[464]Of Compunction, i. 7.

[465]1 Cor. iii. 8.

[466]Hom.XIV.,On Ezechiel.

[467]Tractat., 124,On St. John, xxi. 22.

[468]Hom.XIV.,On Ezechiel.

[469]Hom.XII.,On Ezechiel.

[470]xxx. 24.

[471]Apoc. xxii. 17.

[472]Wisd. xv. 1-3.

[473]Moralia in Job, vi. 17.

[474]Ibid.

[475]Ps. xlv. 11.

[476]S. Luke x. 41.

[477]Hom.XIV.,On Ezechiel.

[478]S. Matt. xxv. 3, 4.

[479]Heb. x. 20.

[480]S. Luke x. 41, 42.

[481]Ps. cii. 1-15.

[482]Hom.III.,On Ezechiel.

[483]On the Trinity, xii. 12.

[484]Hom.III.,On Ezechiel.

[485]Hom.XIV.,On Ezechiel.

[486]ii. 1, 2.

[487]Moralia in Job, vi. 17.

[488]Moralia, vi. 17.

[489]Ibid., vi. 37.

[490]Ps. xvi. 6-9.

The Lord declared that Mary's wasthe best part, and she is the type of the contemplative life.[491]

Religious Orders differ from one another primarily according to the ends they have in view, but secondarily according to the works they practise. And since one thing cannot be said to be superior to another save by reason of the differences between them, it will follow that the superiority of one Religious Order to another must depend primarily upon their respective ends, secondarily upon the works they practise.

And these two grounds of comparison are not of equal value; for the comparison between them from the point of view of their respective ends is an absolute one, since an end is sought for its own sake; whereas the comparison arising from their respective works is a relative one, since works arenot done for their own sake but for the sake of the end to be gained.

Consequently one Religious Order is superior to another if its end is absolutely a superior one, either as being in itself a greater good, or as being of wider scope. On the supposition, however, that the ends of any two Orders are the same, then the superiority of one to the other can be gauged, not by the quantity of works they undertake, but by the proportion these bear to the end in view. Thus it is that we find introduced into theConferences of the Fathers[492]the opinion of S. Antony, who preferred that discretion by which a man moderates all things to fasts and watchings and similar observances.

The works, then, of the active life are twofold. There is one which springs from the fulness of contemplation: teaching, for example, and preaching. Whence S. Gregory says[493]: "It is said of perfect men that on their return from contemplation:They shall pour forth the memory of Thy sweetness." And this is preferable to simple contemplation. For just as it is a greater thing to shed light than to be full of light, so is it a greater thing to spread abroad the fruits of our contemplation than merely to contemplate. And the second work of the active life is that which wholly consists in external occupation, such as giving alms, receiving guests, etc. And such works are inferior to the works of contemplation, except it be in some case of necessity.

Consequently, then, those Religious Orders are in the highest rank which are devoted to teaching and preaching. And these, too, approach most nearly to the perfection of the Episcopate; just as in other things, too, the ends of those in the first place are, as S. Denis says, close knit to the principles of those in the second place.[494]The second rank is occupied by those Orders which are devoted to contemplation. And the third with those devoted to external works.

And in each of these grades there is a certain superiority according as one Order aims at acts of a higher order than does another, though of the same class. Thus in the works of the active life it is a greater thing to redeem captives than to receive guests; in the contemplative life, too, it is a greater thing to pray than to study. There may also be a certain superiority in this that one is occupied with more of such works than another; or again, that the rules of one are better adapted to the attainment of their end than are those of another.

Some, however, maintain that the contemplative Orders are not superior to the active Orders, thus:

1. In the Canon Law[495]it is said: "Since the greater good is to be preferred to the less, so, too, the common gain is to be preferred to private gain; and in this sense teaching is rightly preferred to silence, anxious care for others to contemplation,and toil to repose." But that Religious Order is the better which is directed to the attainment of the greater good. Hence it seems that Orders which are devoted to an active life are superior to those which aim solely at contemplation.

But this Decretal speaks of the active life as concerned with the salvation of souls.

2. All Religious Orders aim at the perfection of charity. But on those words in the Epistle to the Hebrews,[496]Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, the Gloss has: "There is no more perfect charity in this life than that to which the holy Martyrs attained, for they strove against sin evenunto blood." But to striveunto bloodbelongs to the Military Religious Orders, and they lead an active life. It would seem, then, that these latter are the highest form of Religious Order.

But these Military Orders are more concerned with shedding the blood of their enemies than with shedding their own, which is the feature of the Martyrs. At the same time, there is nothing to preclude these Religious from at times winning the crown of martyrdom and thus attaining to a greater height than other Religious; just as in some cases active works are to be preferred to contemplation.

3. Lastly, the stricter an Order the more perfect it seems to be. But there is nothing to preclude active Orders from being stricter in their observance than some contemplative Orders.

But strictness of observance is not that which is especially commendable in Religious life, as S. Antony has already told us, and as is also said in Isaias[497]:Is this such a fast as I have chosen, for a man to afflict his soul for a day?Strictness of observance is, however, made use of in Religious Orders for the subjection of the flesh; but if such strictness is carried out without discretion there is danger lest it should come to naught, as S. Antony says. Hence one Religious Order is not superior to another because its observances are stricter, but because its observances are directed to the end of that Order with greater discretion. Thus, for example, abstinence from food and drink, which means hunger and thirst, are more efficacious means for preserving chastity than wearing less clothing, which means cold and nakedness; more efficacious, too, than bodily labour.

[491]S. Luke x. 42.

[492]Conf., ii. 2.

[493]Hom.V.,On Ezechiel.

[494]Of the Divine Names, vii.

[495]Extrav. Of Regulars and of those who pass to the Religious Orders, cap.Licet.

[496]xii. 4.

[497]lviii. 5.

Abiding in Christ,32Abraham in Limbo,155Accidents of the Holy Eucharist,9Active Life, the: its meaning,170,174,176,221,229;typified in Jacob's Vision,231;typified by Lia,174,222,225,234,242,246;two features of the Active Life,221,241,247;in what sense it is distinct from the Contemplative Life,220;how less meritorious than the Contemplative Life,240-244;not preferable to the Contemplative Life,233-240;it involves less sacrifice than the Contemplative Life,244;in what sense it precedes the Contemplative Life,223,237,245,249-252;how far it is necessary,186,221,239,245,250;contrasted with the Contemplative Life,172,173;how far it is more stable than the Contemplative Life,232;its dangers,136,147,186;it is a burden super-imposed upon the Contemplative Life,238;all are not meant for it,186,251,252;it will not persist after this life,229-232;the Active Life of the Angels,231;how far the Active Life is inferior to the Contemplative,233-240;occasions when it must be embraced,186,235,239;the part which the Moral Virtues play in it,191,220-223;it is a preparation for the Contemplative Life,176,177,220,237,245;prudence is requisite for it,186,223-226;how far the teaching life pertains to the Active Life,226-229,230;it will pass away,177,191,229-232;it is the Purgative way,220;Prelates and the Active Life,236Active Religious Orders, they are inferior to the Contemplative,253-257Adjure God, in what sense we are said to do so in our prayers,148Adoration of the Cross,37Adoro Te Devote, the rhythm of St. Thomas in honour of the Holy Eucharist,112Albert of Brescia, O.P.,18Albert the Great, Blessed,6Alypius, St. Augustine's friend,123Ambrose, St.: on God as the cause of devotion,57;that the beauty of the soul depends on the Moral Virtues,184Andronicus on the meaning of sanctity,49Angels, the: how they are differentiated from men,113,114,187,206;the knowledge of the Angels,157,187,205,208,230;the Beatific Vision of the Angels,231;the intelligence of the Angels,187,230;the intercession of the Angels,165;their conformity to the will of God,165,167;the Angelic Hierarchies,201,230;the teaching of the Angels230,231;the Active Life of the Angels,231;we shall be like to the Angels, how,230,231;Angels gird St. Thomas,6Anselm of Laudun,25Antony, St.: a patron against Hell-fire,160;on discretion,154,157Areopagite.Cf. s.v.Denis the AreopagiteAristotle: on the aptitude for virtue,35;on honour,39;that the perfection of the moral virtues lies in their mean,43;on Justice,55,221;that "reason asks for the best things,"69;on the need of temporal things,89;that "each man's life is that which he would wish to share with his friend,"170;that "to live is to be,"170;on action and contemplation as distinctions in the intellectual life,171;that life is primarily in the vegetative soul,171;on three kinds of lives,175;that knowledge has little to do with the moral virtues,182,221;that every act of the intellect may be termed "consideration,"188;that the ultimate happiness of man consists in the contemplation of the highest truth,193;of man's dependence on the imagination,201;that motion is the act of a perfect thing,203;on local motion as the chief of bodily motions,204;that delight follows upon a perfect work,213;on the nobility of science,214;that there is no pleasure contrary to that derived from thought,217;on application to the Contemplative Life,217;that the Contemplative Life is "beyond man,"218;that prudence pertains to active happiness,223;that he who commits adultery to steal is more a thief than an adulterer,223;that prudence is the right mode of procedure in our actions,224;that the ends of the moral virtues are the principles of prudence,224;that the proof of the possession of wisdom is the power to teach,228;eight proofs that the Contemplative Life is superior to the Active,234,235;on the better lot,236;that habits produce perfect acts,251Arius, his error regarding the Person of Christ,161Athanasius, St., on the chanting of the Psalms,123Attention: mental,225;in prayer,125-133;three kinds of,128,129,133Attitudes in prayer,150,151Augustine, St.: St. Thomas's kinship with him in doctrine,17-19;they are seen in a vision together,18;the Breviary Hymn to,26;definition of religion,28,29,30;onLatvia,30;onEusebeia,31;on abiding in Christ,32;on the desire of God,32;on prayer for wealth,33;on sacrifice,32,46;of true worship,40;of idolatry,46;on the value of external acts in prayer,46;of virginity,50;on "God alone,"54,92,108,142,197,189,203,219;on the will and the understanding,57;on true grief,65;prayer defined,69;why we should pray,75;on the prayers of the Church,76;when we pray we are God's beggars,79,110;of those who say "He knows already; why then pray?"80;of the knowledge the dead have of our affairs,82;on shrinking from death,83;on avoidance of Hell,86;of the Beatific Vision,87,229;a prayer for continence,87;and for the knowledge of Holy Scripture,88;it is lawful to pray for what it is lawful to desire,89;on prayer for "sufficiency of life,"89;on "seeking first the Kingdom of God,"90;on prayer "without ceasing,"91;of the prayer of desire,92,134;his prayer for deliverance from toothache,92;why temporal favours are sometimes not granted,94,95;on prayer for others,96;that we cannot here distinguish between the predestinate and the reprobate,97;on the imprecations in Holy Scripture,100,101;on prayer for the wicked,101;on the Lord's Prayer, that it is the most perfect form of prayer,102;on "our Daily Bread,"103,109;"hallowed be Thy Name,"104;"Thy kingdom come,"105;"Thy will be done,"105;"forgive us our trespasses,"110,111;of the Lord's Prayer and the gifts of the Holy Spirit,106;of the two versions of the Lord's Prayer in St. Matthew and St. Luke,107;on true righteousness,111;on exterior religion,119;on the chanting of the Psalter,123;on the prayer of the heart,124;on distractions,129-131;on prayer at definite times,134;on the brief prayers of the hermits of old,134;on "much speaking" in prayer,135;that God urges us to pray,138,139;that prayer is a gift of God,139;on unheard prayers,140,142;on prayers heard in anger,142,143;in what sense the prayers of sinners are heard,143,144;on the attitudes to be adopted in and of the time and place for prayer,127,150,151;of the knowledge of the Saints in Limbo,154-156;why the prayers of the Saints are heard,167;the Contemplative contrasted with the Active Life,172-174,186;the three "lives,"175,185;the "mixed" life,226;of the final possession and vision of God,176,177,191,203;on the use of leisure,186;the claims of the two lives, the Active and the Contemplative,186,248;of the Active Life,236;of the Active Life as opposed to the Contemplative,238;that every operation of the intellect may be termed "thought,"188;of the derivation of the term "speculation,"189;of our present perfection,190,191;on the pleasures of sense,185;that the contemplation of God is the goal of all our acts,193;that we must use created things as stepping-stones to the things that abide for ever,193;on Mary's "better part,"196,197;on Martha and Mary,234,235,248;that in contemplation we do not see God Himself,199;the greater the danger in the battle, the greater the joy in the triumph,212;on the transitory nature of our present contemplation,218;on the beauty of the teaching life,227;how the moral virtues remain after death,230;of the repose of Contemplation,230,241;of his desire for solitude, yet he feels that he must work for others,239;he dare hope for the Contemplative Life,240;of the higher reason,249

Basil, St.: on distractions,127,128;on unheard prayers,141Beatific Vision, the,87,153,172,176,177,180,181,193,198-203,217Beatitude, in what it consists,172,176,177,181,191,198,218,219,229Beatitude, a prayer for,192Beauty, definition of,185Benedict, St., the vision of,202Bernard, St.: on the meaning of contemplation,188,189;of the steps in contemplation,194Bestial Life, the,175Birds, the movements of,209Blood of Christ, the,163Boëthius, on the liberty needful for contemplation,237

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