13. I call to witness,
Honoratus, my conscience, and God Who hath His dwelling in pure
souls, that I account nothing more prudent, chaste, and religious,
than are all those Scriptures, which under the name of the Old
Testament the Catholic Church retains. You wonder at this, I am
aware. For I cannot hide that we were far otherwise persuaded. But
there is indeed nothing more full of rashness, (which at that time,
being boys, we had in us,) than in the case of each several book,
to desert expounders, who profess that they hold them, and that
they can deliver them to their scholars, and to seek their meaning
from those, who, I know not from what cause compelling, have
proclaimed a most bitter war against the framers and authors of
them. For who ever thought that the hidden and dark books of
Aristotle were to be expounded to him by one who was the enemy of
Aristotle; to speak of these systems of teaching, wherein a reader
may perhaps err without sacrilege? Who, in fine, willed to read or
learn the geometrical writings of Archimedes, under Epicurus as a
master; against which Epicurus used to argue with great obstinacy,
so far as I judge, understanding them not at all? What are those
Scriptures of the law most plain, against which, as though set
forth in public, these men make their attack in vain and to no
purpose? And they seem to me to be like that weak woman, whom these
same men are wont to mock at, who enraged at the sun being extolled
to her, and recommended as an object of worship by a certain female
Manichee, being as she was simple-minded and of a religions spirit,
leaped up in haste, and often striking with her foot that spot on
which the sun through the window cast light, began to cry out, Lo,
I trample on the sun and your God: altogether after a foolish and
womanish manner; Who denies it? But do not those men seem to you to
be such, who, in matters which they understand not, either
wherefore, or altogether of what kind they are, although like to
matters cast in the way,1726
yet to such as understand them
exact
1727
and
divine, rending them with great onset of
speech and reproaches,
think that they are effecting something, because the
unlearned
applaud them? Believe me, whatever there is in these Scriptures, it
is lofty and
divine: there is in them altogether
truth, and a
system of teaching most suited to refresh and
renew minds: and
clearly so ordered in measure, as that there is no one but may draw
thence, what is enough for himself, if only he approach to draw
with
devotion and
piety, as true
religion demands. To
prove this to
you, needs many reasons and a longer
discourse. For first I must so
treat with you as that you may not
hate the
authors themselves;
next, so as that you may
love them: and this I must treat in any
other way, rather than by expounding their meanings and words. For
this reason, because in case we
hated Virgil, nay, rather in case
we
loved him not, before understanding him, by the commendation of
our forefathers, we should never be satisfied on those
questions
about him without number, by which grammarians are wont to be
disquieted and
troubled; nor should we listen willingly to one who
solved these at the same time praising him; but should
favor that
one who by means of these essayed to show that he had erred and
doated. But now, whereas many essay to open these, and each (in a
different way according to his capacity, we applaud these in
preference, through whose exposition the
poet is found better, who
is believed, even by those who do not
understand him, not only
in nothing to have offended, but also to have
sung nothing but what
was worthy of
praise. So that in some minute
question, we are
rather
angry with the master who
fails, and has not what to answer,
than think him
silent through any fault in Maro. And now, if, in
order to
defend himself, he should wish to assert a fault in so
great an
author, hardly will his scholars remain with him, even
after they have paid his fee. How great matter were it, that we
should shew like good will towards them, of whom it hath been
confirmed by so long time of old that the
Holy Spirit spake by
them? But, forsooth, we
youths of the greatest understanding, and
marvellous searchers out of reasons, without having at least
unrolled these writings, without having sought
teachers, without
having somewhat chided our own dullness, lastly, without having
yielded our
heart even in a measure
1728
to those who have willed that
writings of this
kind be so long read, kept, and handled through
the whole
world; have thought that nothing in them is to be
believed, moved by the speech of those who are unfriendly and
hostile to them, with whom, under a false promise of reason, we
should be compelled to believe and cherish thousands of
fables.
E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
