Chapter 13 — Accusations that religious procure letters of recommendation

As we have before said, religious are calumniated for performing actions which in themselves are perfectly indifferent. We will now, therefore, enquire into the grounds on which these false charges are based. For religious are accused:

in the first place of commending themselves and their order, and of procuring from others letters of recommendation (ch. 13).

Second, of refuting, instead of bearing with, the detractions of their enemies (ch. 14).

Third, of going to law (ch. 15).

Fourth, of causing their persecutors to be punished (ch. 16).

Fifth, of desiring to please men (ch. 17).

Sixth, of rejoicing in the good which God wonderfully does through them (ch. 18).

Seventh, of frequenting the courts of kings and princes (ch. 19).

Objections

Obj. 1: The enemies of religious try to prove that they ought not to commend themselves, by quoting the verse of St. Paul, by smooth talk and flattery (Rom 16:18), together with the following commentary on this passage, taken from the Gloss: false apostles commend their tradition by fair words, which deceive the simple-minded. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at Rom 16:18 (PL 191:1529D).) Hence when religious commend their order and thus attract others to join it, they prove themselves to be false apostles. They resemble the Pharisees, to whom our Lord said: woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cross sea and land to make a single convert (Matt 23:15).

Obj. 2: We read, are we beginning to commend ourselves again? (2 Cor 3:1). As if, says the Gloss, we were obliged by another to do so. Far be this from us. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 3:1 (PL 192:22A).) Hence religious have no right to commend themselves.

Obj. 3: In the same chapter we read: do we need (as some do) letters of commendation to you, or from you? (2 Cor 3:1.) Gloss: the men here referred to are false apostles, who have no virtue to commend them. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 3:1 (PL 192:22B).) Hence we see that to require letters of recommendation is to be a false apostle.

Obj. 4: Again, St. Paul says: by the open statement of the truth we commend ourselves (2 Cor 4:2); without, as the Gloss says, comparing ourselves with our adversaries. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 4:2 (PL 192:30A).) Hence religious who commend their own order in preference to others are not true apostles.

Obj. 5: In the same chapter the Apostle likewise says: for we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord (2 Cor 4:5). They who commend themselves preach themselves and are therefore no true imitators of the apostles.

Obj. 6: In 2 Corinthians 10:12 we read the following words: we do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves, that is, says the Gloss, who commend themselves falsely. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 10:12 (PL 192:68A).) Hence they who commend themselves would appear to be false apostles.

Obj. 7: Again, we read, it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but those whom the Lord commends (2 Cor 10:18). Therefore, those who commend themselves are not commended by God.

Obj. 8: Again, let another praise you, and not your own mouth—a stranger, and not your own lips (Prov 27:2).

Obj. 9: He who boasts and puffs himself up stirs up quarrels (Prov 28:25). These two verses point out the unrighteousness of self-commendation.

Obj. 10: Our Lord says, if I glorify myself, my glory is nothing (John 8:54). Hence men who commend themselves, do most convincingly prove their own nothingness.

These are the chief arguments brought in support of the dictum that no one is justified in commending either himself or his order.

Response

I answer that, certain holy men have not hesitated to praise themselves, as we shall now proceed to show from the Old and New Testaments. For Nehemiah says, in commendation of his own conduct: I did not demand the food allowance of the governor, because the servitude was heavy upon this people. Remember for my good, O my God, all that I have done for this people (Neh 5:18).

Again, Job 31:1 says: I have made a covenant with my eyes; how then could I look upon a virgin? And: I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban (Job 29:14). In both the chapters cited, the patriarch says many other things to his own praise.

Again, St. Paul says: I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me (Rom 15:18), and further in the same chapter, from Jerusalem and as far round as Illyricum I have fully preached the gospel of Christ (Rom 15:19).

Again, the same Apostle says, I worked harder than any of them (1 Cor 15:10); and, whatever any one dares to boast of . . . I also dare to boast of (2 Cor 11:21). In the same epistle he writes many other things to his own commendation.

Again, Galatians 1:16 says, I did not confer with flesh and blood. In this and the following chapter we find many similar utterances. We also see that St. Paul commended his state of life. For he says: who has qualified us to be ministers of a new covenant, not in a letter but in the Spirit (2 Cor 3:6) . In this chapter again, he adds many other expressions in praise of the apostolic dignity. Hence a religious is justified in extolling his order and in thus attracting others to enter it.

Again, St. Paul commends the perfection of virginity, and exhorts others to this state in which he himself lived, saying: I wish that all were as I myself am (1 Cor 7:7). Hence it is permissible for religious, living in a state of perfection, to commend their mode of life.

Self-commendation, therefore, though at times reprehensible, is likewise, on certain occasions, praiseworthy. St. Gregory in, his Homily upon Ezekiel (9, part 1), writes as follows: just and perfect men do at times extol their own virtues, and make known the favours which they have received. They are not inspired to act thus by motives of ostentation, but from a desire to draw those to whom they preach to a more perfect life by means of their own example. Thus, St. Paul, in order to divert the attention of the Corinthians from false preachers, tells them how he was rapt to Paradise. When perfect men speak of their own virtues, they imitate Almighty God who extols his own magnificence to men, in order to make himself known to them. (Gregory the Great, Homilies on Ezekiel 1.9.19 (CCSL 142; PL 76:878A-B).) St. Gregory proceeds to note the circumstances in which men are justified in commending themselves. Then, in the following words, he warns his readers against rash and ill-considered self-praise. We must remember, he says, that perfect men never disclose their own good deeds, unless urged to do so by necessity, or by desire of their neighbour’s profit. Thus St. Paul, after narrating his virtues to the Corinthians, concludes by saying: "I have become foolish; you have compelled me." (2 Cor 12:11.) At times good men are obliged to speak of themselves, if not for their neighbours’ sake, at least for their own. Thus, holy Job, under the pressure of physical pain, and reproached by his friends for impiety, violence to his neighbour and oppression, was driven to the verge of despair. Then, in self-defence, he called to memory his good deeds, saying: "I was an eye to the blind." (Job 29:15.) He did not enumerate his virtues from desire of praise, but, merely, to reanimate his confidence in God. (Gregory the Great, Homilies on Ezekiel 1.9.20 (CCSL 142; PL 76:878D-879A).)

It is clear then from what has already been said, that men are justified in commending themselves not from motives of vanity, but for the sake of their own spiritual advantage, or that of their neighbour. The most cogent reason which should induce a perfect man to commend his state of perfection, is, the wish to enkindle in others, a desire for the same perfection. Thus, it is permissible for a Christian to commend Christianity to infidels, in order to convert them to the Faith, and in proportion to the sanctity of men, we see them possessed with this zeal for souls. Thus St. Paul said, whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am (Acts 26:29).

Replies to objections

Ad 1: The words quoted from the Gloss on Romans 16, about those who falsely commend their traditions refer, as we see by the context, to the traditions of false preachers who endeavoured to induce the Gentiles to follow Hebrew customs, and tried by their fluent language to commend these rites to the ignorant heathens. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at Rom 16:18 (PL 191:1529D).) The word “tradition” is not applied to any state of true religion, but to false doctrine and heresy. Our Lord rebuked the Pharisees (Matt 23:15) not for their anxiety to make proselytes, but for imbuing their converts with erroneous ideas, or for setting them so bad an example that at the sight of their vices, their proselytes relapsed into paganism. For this cause, the Pharisees deserved greater condemnation (see Gloss on Matt 23 (Glossa interlinearis, at Matt 23:14 (in Glossa ordinaria 5, 381-382).)).

Ad 2: The words quoted from 2 Corinthians 3:1, do we begin to commend ourselves, mean that the apostles extolled themselves, not from vainglory, but inspired by the motives mentioned by St. Gregory above.

Ad 3: To the third argument we reply that St. Paul did not prohibit the use of letters of recommendation. He merely showed that they were not needful for true apostles, as they were for false teachers who had no virtues to commend them as the Gloss explains. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 3:1 (PL 192:22B).) At times, however, holy men do need letters of commendation. They want them, not on their own account, but for the sake of others, who know neither their virtue nor their authority. Thus, St. Paul commended Timothy, saying: when Timothy comes, see that you put him at ease among you, for he is doing the work of the Lord, as I am (1 Cor 16:10). And in Philippians 2:19 he says, I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you soon, so that I may be cheered by news of you. And in Colossians 4:10, he writes, Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you have received instructions. And writing to the Romans, he says: I commend to you our sister Phoebe (Rom 16:1). Thus we see that in the apostolic times, it was customary to provide teachers or other persons who must be sent to distant churches with testimonials, or letters of recommendation.

Ad 4: To the fourth argument, we answer that as holy men do not commend themselves, for the sake of their own glory, but for the advantage of others, so they likewise sometimes prefer themselves to others. Thus just men prefer themselves to sinners, in order that sinners may be avoided and justice imitated. Thus St. Paul says: are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman (2 Cor 11:23). Sometimes, also, good men commend themselves in order that they may be held in credit by men; for if they are despised by those to whom they preach, they cannot influence them. We know that St. Paul preferred himself, in one point, to the other apostles, though they were true apostles. For he says: his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them (1 Cor 15:10). Now they are the less reprehensible who prefer their state to one less perfect, in proportion as such a comparison is divested of anything that savours of vainglory. In this manner, St. Paul (2 Cor 3) compares the ministers of the New Testament to those of the Old Law; and he prefers the status of Doctor, to which he belonged, to the other ranks in the Church. On this point he says: let the priests who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching (1 Tim 1:17). It may be said that the Gloss, on this passage, as quoted above, (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 4:2 (PL 192:30A).) is misinterpreted. For St. Paul speaks of the recommendation, not of words, but of deeds; whereby the apostles commended themselves to the conscience of men. He shows likewise that the true apostles proved themselves by their works to be better than the false apostles. Hence when the Gloss says, without comparing them to their adversaries, the signification is that the apostles did incomparably more than their adversaries. Hence the true meaning of the Gloss, is the exact contrary of that assigned to it.

Ad 5: The answer to the fifth objection is given in the following words of the Gloss: we preach not ourselves, that is, our preaching is directed not to our own honor or advantage, but to the glory of Christ. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 4:5 (PL 192:31D).) Now the saints at times commend themselves; but they do so not for their own glory, but to the praise of God, and for the spiritual benefit of their neighbour.

Ad 6: The sixth argument is answered by the following words from the Gloss: we do not communicate with certain other men (that is, false apostles), who are not sent by God nor approved by him, but who commend themselves by certain actions. (Peter Lombard, Commentaries on the Psalms and St. Paul, at 2 Cor 10:12 (PL 192:68A).) From these words, we cannot conclude that they who are sent by the prelates of the Church, may not commend themselves, when God commends them so munificently by bestowing the gifts of grace upon them.

Ad 7: This is likewise the answer to the seventh objection.

Ad 8-9: To the eighth and ninth objections we reply that the authors cited in them, speak of the self-praise whereby some men commend themselves inspired by motives of vain glory.

Ad 10: The tenth objection is answered by the following passage from the interlinear commentary on the words, if I glorify only myself. (Glossa interlinearis, at John 8:54 (in Glossa ordinaria 5, 1169-1170).) The glory of those who glorify themselves is nothing. But the case is far otherwise with those whom God glorifies by the bestowal of his heavenly favours.