Page:Catholic Encyclopedia, volume 5.djvu/778

 EXEGESIS

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EXEGESIS

Encyclical "Providentissimus Deiis", repeats the principles concerning the authority of the Fathers laid down by the Vatican and Tridentine Councils: "The Holy Fathers, ' to whom, after the Apostles, the Church owes its growth — who have planted, watered, built, governed, and cherished it' (Aug., C. Julian., II, x, 37) — the Holy Fathers, we say, are of supreme au- thority whenever they all interpret in one and the same manner any text of the Bible, as pertaining to the doc- trine of faith or morals; for their unanimity clearly evinces that such interpretation has come down from the Apostles as a matter of Catholic faith." Three conditions are, therefore, required in order that the patristic authority may be absolutely decisive: first, they must interpret texts referrmg to matters of faith or morals; secondly, they must speak as witnesses of Catholic tradition, not merely as private theologians; thirdly, there must be a moral unanimity in their interpretation. This unanimity is not destroyed by the silence of some of the foremost Fathers, and is suf- ficiently guaranteed by the consentient voice of the principal patristic writers living at any critical period, or by the agreement of commentators living at various times; but the unanimity is destroyed if some of the Fathers openly deny the correctness of the interpreta- tion given by the others, or if they explain the passage in such a way as to render impossible the explanation given by others. But the Encj'clical warns us to treat the opinion of the Fathers with reverence, even if there is no unanimity: "The opinion of the Fathers", says the holy pontiff, "is also of very great weight when they treat of these matters in their capacity of doctors, unofficially; not only because they excel in their knowledge of revealed doctrine and in their ac- quaintance with many things which are useful in un- derstanding the Apostolic books, but because they are men of eminent sanctity and of ardent zeal for the truth, on whom God has bestowed a more ample meas- ure of his light."

(c) The Analogy of Faith. — Here again the Encycli- cal "Providentissimus Deus" is our guide: "In the other passages", it reads, "the analogy of faith should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as authoritatively proposed by the Chiu'ch, should be held as the supreme law; for, seeing that the same God is the author both of the Sacred Books and of the doctrine committed to the Church, it is clearly impossible that any teaching can by legitimate means be extracted from the former, which shall in any respect be at variance with the lat^ ter." ThLs principle has a double influence on the interpretation of Scripture, a negative and a positive influence. First, the commentator cannot admit in Scripture a statement contrary to the teaching of the Church; on the other hand, the agreement of an ex- planation with the doctrine of the Church does not prove its correctness, since more than one explanation may agree with the ecclesiastical teaching. Secondly, the Catholic interpreter must explain the obscure and partial teacliing of the Scriptures by the clear and com- plete teaching of the Church; the passages, e. g., which refer to the Divine and human nature of Christ, and to the power of binding and loosing, find their explana- tion and their complement in Catholic tradition and the conciliar definitions. And here we mu.st keep in mind what the Kncyclical adds concerning doctrine which comes down to us in a less authoritative chan- nel: "The authority of other Catholic interjireters is not so great; but the study of Scripture has always continued to advimce in the Church, and, therefore, these coiruncntarics also liave their own lionourable place, ami arc serviceable in many ways for the refuta- tion of assailants and the explanation of difficulties."

III. S.\<ui:i) lliiEToiiic. — The genuine teaching of Sacred Scriptiue is useful to all, but few have the time necessary to investigates it. It is for this rea.son that Scripture students express their results in writing so as to share their light with us many as possible. Sixtus

Senensis [Bibliotheca sancta (Venice, 1575), I, pp. 278 sqq.] eniunerates twenty-four various forms in which such Scriptiu-al explanations may he expressed. But some of these methods are no longer in u.se; others may be reduced to fewer and more general heads. According to the end which the writer has in view, they may be divided into theoretical and practical or historico-dogmatic and moral treatises; considering the persons for whom they were written, they are either popular or learned expositions; but if their literary form be made the basis of division, which is the common and more rational principle of division, there are five kinds of Biblical exegesis: the version, the paraphrase, the gloss and scholion, the disserta- tion, and the commentary.

(1) The Version. — The version is the translation of the Bible from one language into another, especially from its original into the vernacular language. A version made directly from the original text is called immediate, while it is mediate if it be based directly on another version. It is verbal if it renders the very words; in case it renders the meaning rather than the words, it is a free version. A good version must be faithful and clear, i. e. it must express the thought without any alteration; it must reproduce the literary form, whether it be prosaic or poetic, figurative or proper; and it must be easily intelligible, as far as the character of the two languages in question permits this. This shows the difficulty of making a good translation; for it implies not merely a thorough knowledge of the two languages, but also an accurate insight into the genuine meaning of Sacred Scripture.

(2) The Paraphrase. — The paraphrase expresses the genuine sense of Scripture in continuous and more expansive form. The version removes the difficulties which arise from the fact that the Bible is written in a foreign language; the paraphrase elucidates also the difficulties of thought. For it supplies the transitions and middle terms omitted by the author; it changes the foreign and involved pliraseology of the original into idiomatic sentences; it amplifies the brief state- ments of the original by adding definitions, indicating causes and reasons, and illustrating the text by refer- ence to parallel passages. A good paraphrase must render the thought of the original most accurately, and must at the same time be brief and clear; there is danger, in this form of exposition, of rendering ob- scure what has been clearly said in the original text.

(3) The Gloss and Scholion. — The version removes from the Scripture text the difficulties connected with t!ie foreign language, the paraphrase elucidates the difficulties of thought; but there are still other diffi- culties connected with the Bible, which must be re- moved by means of notes. One kind of brief notes, called glosses, explains the difficulties connected with the words; another kind, called scholia, deals with variant readings, verbal difficulties, unknown persons, countries, and things, and with the connexion of thought. Two celebrated series of glosses deserve special mention: the glossa ordinaria by Walafrid Strabo, and the glossa interlinearis by Anselm of I.aon.

(4) The Dissertation. — Origen, Eusebius, and St. Jerome were asked by their contemporaries concern- ing certain difficult texts of Scripture; a similar need of special elucidations of particular passages has been felt by the faithful of all ages. The answers to such questions we may call dissertations or treatises. It is understood that only really important texts ought to be made the subject of such scholarly explanations. In ortler to satisfy the inquisitive reader, the essay- ist should examine the text critically; he shoukl state its various explanations given by other wri- ters and weigh them in the light of the principles of hermeneutics; finally, he should give the true .solution of the difliculty, prove it liy solid arguments, and defend it against the principal exceptions.

(5) Tlw i'ommentary. — The commentary is a contin-