Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 14.djvu/665

 THEOLOGY

tJ05

THEOLOGY

tions which are advanced or rather reiterated even to-day against the efficacy of prayer. Occasional writings and monographs are offered to us in the precious works of St. Cyprian (d. 2.58); among the former must be numbered: "Do mortalitate" and "De martyrio", in a certain sen.-ie also "De lapsis", though it bears rather a discipHnary and judicial character; to the latter class belong: "De habitu virginum ", " De oratione", " De opere et eleemosy- nis", "Debono patientis", and "De zelo et hvore". .\ clearer title to be classed among moral-theological books seems to belong to an earUer work, the "Pa;da- gogus" of Clement of Alexandria (d. about 217). It is a detailed account of a genuine Chri.stian's daily Ufe, in which ordinary and every-day actions are measured by the standard of supernatural moral- ity. The same author touches upon Christian morals also in his other works, particularly in the "Stromata"; but this work is principally written from the apologetic stand])oint, since it was intended to vindicate the entire Christian doctrine, both faith and morals, against pagan and Jewish philosophies.

In subsequent years, when the persecutions ceased, and patristic hterature began to flourish, we find not only exegetical writings and apologies written to defend Christian doctrine against various heresies, but also numerous moral-theological works, princi- pally sermons, homilies, and monogj-aphs. First of these are the orations of St. Gregory of Xazianzus (d. 391), of St. Gregorv of Nvssa (d. .39.")), of St. John ChrysostoD-. (d. 406), of S"t. Augustine (d. 4.30), and above all the "Catecheses" of St. Cyril of Jerusalem (d. 386). Of St. John Chrysostom we have "De sacerdotio"; of St. Augustine, "Confes- siones", "Soliloquia'', "De cathechizandis rudibus", "De patientia", "De continentia", "De bono con- iugali", "De adulterinis coniugiis", "De sancta virginitate", "De bono viduitatis", "De mendacio", "De cura pro mortuis gerenda", so that the titles alone suffice to give an intimation of the wealth of subjects discussed with no less unction than original- ity and depth of thought. A seiiarate treatment of the supernatural moraUty of Christians was at- tempted by St. Ambrose (d. 397) in his books "De officiis",a work which, imitating Cicero's "De offi- ciis", forms a Christian counterpart of the pagan's purely natural discu.ssions. A work of an entirely different stamp and of larger proportions is the "Expositio in Job, seu morahum lib. XXV", of Gre- gory the Great (d. 604). It is not a systematic arrange- ment of the various Christian duties, but a collection of moral instructions and exhortations based on the Book of Job; Alzog (Handbuch der Patrologie, 92) calls it a "fairly complete repertory of morals". More systematic is his work "De cura pastorali", which was intended primarily for the pastor and which is considered even to-day a classical work in pastoral theology.

Having broadly outlined the general progress of moral theology during the Patristic era proper, we must supplement it by detailing the development of a very special branch of moral theology and its practical application. For moral theology must neces.'iarilj' assume a pecuUar form when its purpose is restricted to the administration of the Sacrament of Penance. The chief result to be attained was a clear notion of the various sins and their species, of their relative grievousness and importance, and of the penance to be imposed for them. In order to ensure uniform procedure, it was necessary for ecclesia-stical superiors to lay down more detailed directions; this thej- did either of their own accord or in answer to inquiries. Writings of this kind are the pastoral or canonical letters of St. Cjprian, St. Peter of Alexandria, St. Basil of Cappadocia, and St. Gregory of Xy.ssa; the decretals and synodal letters of a number of popes, as Siriciua, Innocent, Celestine,

Leo I, etc.; canons of several oecumenical councils. These decrees were collected at an early date and used by the bishops and priests as a norm in dis- tinguishing sins and in imposing ecclesiastical pen- ance for them.

The ascendancy of the so-called "penitential books" dated from the seventh century, ' when a change took place in the practice of ecclesiastical penance. Till then it had been a time-honoured law in the Church that the three capital crimes: apostasj', nmrder, and adulterj', were to be atoned for bj' an accurately determined penance, which was pubhc at least for public sins. This atonement, which consisted chiefly in severe fasts and public, humiliat- ing practices, was accompanied by various religious ceremonies under the strict supervision of the Church ; it included four distinct stations or classes of peni- tents and at times lasted from fifteen to twcntj' j'ears. At an early period, however, the capital sins mentioned above were divided into sections, according as the circumstances were either aggravat- ing or attenuating, and a correspondingly longer or shorter period of penance was set down for them. When in the course of centuries, entire nations, uncivilized and dominated by fierce passions, were received into the bosom of the Church, and when, as a result, heinous crimes began to multiplj', manj' offences, akin to those mentioned above, were in- cluded among sins which were subject to canonical penances, while for others, cspeciallj' for secret sins, the priest determined the penance, its duration and mode, by the canons. The seventh century brought with it a relaxation, not indeed in canonical penance, but in the ecclesiastical control; on the other hand, there was an increase in the number of crimes which demanded a fixed penance if discipline was to be maintained; besides, manj' hereditary rights of a particular nature, which had led to a certain mitigation of the universal norm of penance, had to be taken into consideration; substitutes and so-called redemptiones, which consisted in pecu- niary donations to the poor or to public utilities, gradually gained entrance and vogue; all this neces- sitated the drawing up of comprehensive lists of the various crimes and of the penances to be imposed for them, so that a certain uniformitj' among con- fessors might be reached as to the treatment of penitents and the administration of the sacraments.

There appeared a number of "penitential books". Some of them, bearing the sanction of the Church, closely followed the ancient canonical decrees of the popes and the councils, and the approved st.atutes of St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nyssa, and others; others were merely private works, which, recommended by the renown of their authors, foimd a wide circula- tion, others again went too far in their decisions and hence constrained ecdesia-stical superiors either to reprehend or condemn them. A more detailed account of these works will be found in another article.

These books were not written for a scientific, but for a practical, juridical purpose. Nor do thej' mark an advance in the science of moral theology, but rather a standing-still, n.ij', even a decadence. Those cen- turies of migrations, of social and political upheavals, offered a soil little adapted for a succe.«.sful cultiva- tion of the sciences, and though in the ninth centurj' a fresh attempt was made to rai.«e scientific studies to a higher level, still the work of the sub.sequent cen- turies consisted rather in collecting and renewing treasures of former centuries than in adding to thom. This is true of moral-theological questions, no less than of other scientific branches. From this stagna- tion theology in general and moral theology in par- ticular rose again to new life towards the end of the twelfth and the beginning of the thirteenth century. A new current of healthy development waa noticeable