Pope
Pius XII
Encyclical Promulgated
On 30 September 1943.
To Our Venerable Brethren, Patriarchs,
Archbishops and other Local Ordinaries
enjoying Peace and Communion with the
Apostolic See.
1. Inspired by the Divine Spirit,
the Sacred Writers composed those books,
which God, in His paternal charity towards
the human race, deigned to bestow on
them in order "to teach, to reprove,
to correct, to instruct in justice:
that the man of God may be perfect,
furnished to every good work."[1] This
heaven-sent treasure Holy Church considers
as the most precious source of doctrine
on faith and morals. No wonder herefore
that, as she received it intact from
the hands of the Apostles, so she kept
it with all care, defended it from every
false and perverse interpretation and
used it diligently as an instrument
for securing the eternal salvation of
souls, as almost countless documents
in every age strikingly bear witness.
In more recent times, however, since
the divine origin and the correct interpretation
of the Sacred Writings have been very
specially called in question, the Church
has with even greater zeal and care
undertaken their defense and protection.
The sacred Council of Trent ordained
by solemn decree that "the entire books
with all their parts, as they have been
wont to be read in the Catholic Church
and are contained in the old vulgate
Latin edition, are to be held sacred
and canonical."[2] In our own time the
Vatican Council, with the object of
condemning false doctrines regarding
inspiration, declared that these same
books were to be regarded by the Church
as sacred and canonical "not because,
having been composed by human industry,
they were afterwards approved by her
authority, nor merely because they contain
revelation without error, but because,
having been written under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, they have God for
their author, and as such were handed
down to the Church herself."[3] When,
subsequently, some Catholic writers,
in spite of this solemn definition of
Catholic doctrine, by which such divine
authority is claimed for the "entire
books with all their parts" as to secure
freedom from any error whatsoever, ventured
to restrict the truth of Sacred Scripture
solely to matters of faith and morals,
and to regard other matters, whether
in the domain of physical science or
history, as "obiter dicta" and—as they
contended—in no wise connected with
faith, Our Predecessor of immortal memory,
Leo XIII in the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus
Deus, published on November 18 in the
year 1893, justly and rightly condemned
these errors and safe-guarded the studies
of the Divine Books by most wise precepts
and rules.
2. Since then it is fitting that We
should commemorate the fiftieth anniversary
of the publication of this Encyclical
Letter, which is considered the supreme
guide in biblical studies, We, moved
by that solicitude for sacred studies,
which We manifested from the very beginning
of Our Pontificate,[4] have considered
that this may most opportunely be done
by ratifying and inculcating all that
was wisely laid down by Our Predecessor
and ordained by His Successors for the
consolidating and perfecting of the
work, and by pointing out what seems
necessary in the present day, in order
to incite ever more earnestly all those
sons of the Church who devote themselves
to these studies, to so necessary and
so praiseworthy an enterprise.
3. The first and greatest care of
Leo XIII was to set forth the teaching
on the truth of the Sacred Books and
to defend it from attack. Hence with
grave words did he proclaim that there
is no error whatsoever if the sacred
writer, speaking of things of the physical
order "went by what sensibly appeared"
as the Angelic Doctor says,[5] speaking
either "in figurative language, or in
terms which were commonly used at the
time, and which in many instances are
in daily use at this day, even among
the most eminent men of science." For
"the sacred writers, or to speak more
accurately—the words are St. Augustine's—[6]
the Holy Spirit, Who spoke by them,
did not intend to teach men these things—that
is the essential nature of the things
of the universe—things in no way profitable
to salvation"; which principle "will
apply to cognate sciences, and especially
to history,"[7] that is, by refuting,
"in a somewhat similar way the fallacies
of the adversaries and defending the
historical truth of Sacred Scripture
from their attacks."[8] Nor is the sacred
writer to be taxed with error, if "copyists
have made mistakes in the text of the
Bible," or, "if the real meaning of
a passage remains ambiguous." Finally
it is absolutely wrong and forbidden
"either to narrow inspiration to certain
passages of Holy Scripture, or to admit
that the sacred writer has erred," since
divine inspiration "not only is essentially
incompatible with error but excludes
and rejects it as absolutely and necessarily
as it is impossible that God Himself,
the supreme Truth, can utter that which
is not true. This is the ancient and
constant faith of the Church."[9]
4. This teaching, which Our Predecessor
Leo XIII set forth with such solemnity,
We also proclaim with Our authority
and We urge all to adhere to it religiously.
No less earnestly do We inculcate obedience
at the present day to the counsels and
exhortations which he, in his day, so
wisely enjoined. For whereas there arose
new and serious difficulties and questions,
from the wide-spread prejudices of rationalism
and more especially from the discovery
and investigation of the antiquities
of the East, this same Our Predecessor,
moved by zeal of the apostolic office,
not only that such an excellent source
of Catholic revelation might be more
securely and abundantly available to
the advantage of the Christian flock,
but also that he might not suffer it
to be in any way tainted, wished and
most earnestly desired "to see an increase
in the number of the approved and persevering
laborers in the cause of Holy Scripture;
and more especially that those whom
Divine Grace has called to Holy Orders,
should day-by-day, as their state demands,
display greater diligence and industry
in reading, meditating and explaining
it."[10]
5. Wherefore the same Pontiff, as
he had already praised and approved
the school for biblical studies, founded
at St. Stephen's, Jerusalem, by the
Master General of the Sacred Order of
Preachers—from which, to use his own
words, "biblical science itself had
received no small advantage, while giving
promise of more"[11] —so in the last
year of his life he provided yet another
way, by which these same studies, so
warmly commended in the Encyclical Letter
Providentissimus Deus, might daily make
greater progress and be pursued with
the greatest possible security. By the
Apostolic Letter Vigilantiae, published
on October 30 in the year 1902, he founded
a Council or Commission, as it is called,
of eminent men, "whose duty it would
be to procure by every means that the
sacred texts may receive everywhere
among us that more thorough exposition
which the times demand, and be kept
safe not only from every breath of error,
but also from all inconsiderate opinions."[12]
Following the example of Our Predecessors,
We also have effectively confirmed and
amplified this Council using its good
offices, as often before, to remind
commentators of the Sacred Books of
those safe rules of Catholic exegesis,
which have been handed down by the Holy
Fathers and Doctors of the Church, as
well as by the Sovereign Pontiffs themselves.[13]
6. It may not be out of place here
to recall gratefully the principal and
more useful contributions made successively
by Our Predecessors toward this same
end, which contributions may be considered
as the complement or fruit of the movement
so happily initiated by Leo XIII. And
first of all Pius X, wishing "to provide
a sure way for the preparation of a
copious supply of teachers, who, commended
by the seriousness and the integrity
of their doctrine, might explain the
Sacred Books in Catholic schools . .
." instituted "the academic degrees
of licentiate and doctorate in Sacred
Scripture . . .; to be conferred by
the Biblical Commission";[14] he later
enacted a law "concerning the method
of Scripture studies to be followed
in Clerical Seminaries" with this end
in view, viz.: that students of the
sacred sciences "not only should themselves
fully understand the power, purpose
and teaching of the Bible, but should
also be equipped to engage in the ministry
of the Divine Word with elegance and
ability and repel attacks against the
divinely inspired books";[15] finally
"in order that a center of higher biblical
studies might be established in Rome,
which in the best way possible might
promote the study of the Bible and all
cognate sciences in accordance with
the mind of the Catholic Church" he
founded the Pontifical Biblical Institute,
entrusted to the care of the illustrious
Society of Jesus, which he wished endowed
"with a superior professorial staff
and every facility for biblical research";
he prescribed its laws and rules, professing
to follow in this the "salutary and
fruitful project" of Leo XIII.[16]
7. All this in fine Our immediate
Predecessor of happy memory Pius XI
brought to perfection, laying down among
other things "that no one should be
appointed professor of Sacred Scripture
in any Seminary, unless, having completed
a special course of biblical studies,
he had in due form obtained the academic
degrees before the Biblical Commission
or the Biblical Institute." He wished
that these degrees should have the same
rights and the same effects as the degrees
duly conferred in Sacred Theology or
Canon Law; likewise he decreed that
no one should receive "a benefice having
attached the canonical obligation of
expounding the Sacred Scripture to the
people, unless, among other things,
he had obtained the licentiate or doctorate
in biblical science." And having at
the same time urged the Superiors General
of the Regular Orders and of the religious
Congregations, as well as the Bishops
of the Catholic world, to send the more
suitable of their students to frequent
the schools of the Biblical Institute
and obtain there the academical degrees,
he confirmed these exhortations by his
own example, appointing out of his bounty
an annual sum for this very purpose.[17]
8. Seeing that, in the year 1907,
with the benign approval of Pius X of
happy memory, "to the Benedictine monks
had been committed the task of preparing
the investigations and studies on which
might be based a new edition of the
Latin version of the Scripture, commonly
called the Vulgate,[18] the same Pontiff,
Pius XI, wishing to consolidate more
firmly and securely this "laborious
and arduous enterprise," which demands
considerable time and great expense,
founded in Rome and lavishly endowed
with a library and other means of research,
the monastery of St. Jerome, to be devoted
exclusively to this work.[19]
9. Nor should We fail to mention here
how earnestly these same Our Predecessors,
when the opportunity occurred, recommended
the study or preaching or in fine the
pious reading and meditation on the
Sacred Scriptures. Pius X most heartily
commended the society of St. Jerome,
which strives to promote among the faithful—and
to facilitate with all its power—the
truly praiseworthy custom of reading
and meditating on the holy Gospels;
he exhorted them to persevere in the
enterprise they had begun, proclaiming
it "a most useful undertaking, as well
as most suited to the times," seeing
that it helps in no small way "to dissipate
the idea that the Church is opposed
to or in any way impedes the reading
of the Scriptures in the vernacular."[20]
And Benedict XV, on the occasion of
the fifteenth centenary of the death
of St. Jerome, the greatest Doctor of
the Sacred Scriptures, after having
most solemnly inculcated the precepts
and examples of the same Doctor, as
well as the principles and rules laid
down by Leo XIII and by himself, and
having recommended other things highly
opportune and never to be forgotten
in this connection, exhorted "all the
children of the Church, especially clerics,
to reverence the Holy Scripture, to
read it piously and meditate it constantly";
he reminded them "that in these pages
is to be sought that food, by which
the spiritual life is nourished unto
perfection," and "that the chief use
of Scripture pertains to the holy and
fruitful exercise of the ministry of
preaching"; he likewise once again expressed
his warm approval of the work of the
society called after St. Jerome himself,
by means of which the Gospels and Acts
of the Apostles are being so widely
diffused, "that there is no Christian
family any more without them and that
all are accustomed to read and meditate
them daily."[21]
10. But it is right and pleasing to
confess openly that it is not only by
reason of these initiatives, precepts
and exhortations of Our Predecessors
that the knowledge and use of the Sacred
Scriptures have made great progress
among Catholics; for this is also due
to the works and labors of all those
who diligently cooperated with them,
both by meditating, investigating and
writing, as well as by teaching and
preaching and by translating and propagating
the Sacred Books. For from the schools
in which are fostered higher studies
in theological and biblical science,
and especially from Our Pontifical Biblical
Institute, there have already come forth,
and daily continue to come forth, many
students of Holy Scripture who, inspired
with an intense love for the Sacred
Books, imbue the younger clergy with
this same ardent zeal and assiduously
impart to them the doctrine they themselves
have acquired. Many of them also, by
the written word, have promoted and
do still promote, far and wide, the
study of the Bible; as when they edit
the sacred text corrected in accordance
with the rules of textual criticism
or expound, explain, and translate it
into the vernacular; or when they propose
it to the faithful for their pious reading
and meditation; or finally when they
cultivate and seek the aid of profane
sciences which are useful for the interpretation
of the Scriptures. From these therefore
and from other initiatives which daily
become more wide-spread and vigorous,
as, for example, biblical societies,
congresses, libraries, associations
for meditation on the Gospels, We firmly
hope that in the future reverence for,
as well as the use and knowledge of,
the Sacred Scriptures will everywhere
more and more increase for the good
of souls, provided the method of biblical
studies laid down by Leo XIII, explained
more clearly and perfectly by his Successors,
and by Us confirmed and amplified—which
indeed is the only safe way and proved
by experience—be more firmly, eagerly
and faithfully accepted by all, regardless
of the difficulties which, as in all
human affairs, so in this most excellent
work will never be wanting.
11. There is no one who cannot easily
perceive that the conditions of biblical
studies and their subsidiary sciences
have greatly changed within the last
fifty years. For, apart from anything
else, when Our Predecessor published
the Encyclical Letter Providentissimus
Deus, hardly a single place in Palestine
had begun to be explored by means of
relevant excavations. Now, however,
this kind of investigation is much more
frequent and, since more precise methods
and technical skill have been developed
in the course of actual experience,
it gives us information at once more
abundant and more accurate. How much
light has been derived from these explorations
for the more correct and fuller understanding
of the Sacred Books all experts know,
as well as all those who devote themselves
to these studies. The value of these
excavations is enhanced by the discovery
from time to time of written documents,
which help much towards the knowledge
of the languages, letters, events, customs,
and forms of worship of most ancient
times. And of no less importance is
papyri which have contributed so much
to the knowledge of the discovery and
investigation, so frequent in our times,
of letters and institutions, both public
and private, especially of the time
of Our Savior.
12. Moreover ancient codices of the
Sacred Books have been found and edited
with discerning thoroughness; the exegesis
of the Fathers of the Church has been
more widely and thoroughly examined;
in fine the manner of speaking, relating
and writing in use among the ancients
is made clear by innumerable examples.
All these advantages which, not without
a special design of Divine Providence,
our age has acquired, are as it were
an invitation and inducement to interpreters
of the Sacred Literature to make diligent
use of this light, so abundantly given,
to penetrate more deeply, explain more
clearly and expound more lucidly the
Divine Oracles. If, with the greatest
satisfaction of mind, We perceive that
these same interpreters have resolutely
answered and still continue to answer
this call, this is certainly not the
last or least of the fruits of the Encyclical
Letter Providentissimus Deus, by which
Our Predecessor Leo XIII, foreseeing
as it were this new development of biblical
studies, summoned Catholic exegetes
to labor and wisely defined the direction
and the method to be followed in that
labor.
13. We also, by this Encyclical Letter,
desire to insure that the work may not
only proceed without interruption, but
may also daily become more perfect and
fruitful; and to that end We are specially
intent on pointing out to all what yet
remains to be done, with what spirit
the Catholic exegete should undertake,
at the present day, so great and noble
a work, and to give new incentive and
fresh courage to the laborers who toil
so strenuously in the vineyard of the
Lord.
14. The Fathers of the Church in their
time, especially Augustine, warmly recommended
to the Catholic scholar, who undertook
the investigation and explanation of
the Sacred Scriptures, the study-of
the ancient languages and recourse to
the original texts.[22] However, such
was the state of letters in those times,
that not many—and these few but imperfectly—knew
the Hebrew language. In the middle ages,
when Scholastic Theology was at the
height of its vigor, the knowledge of
even the Greek language had long since
become so rare in the West, that even
the greatest Doctors of that time, in
their exposition of the Sacred Text,
had recourse only to the Latin version,
known as the Vulgate.
15. On the contrary in this our time,
not only the Greek language, which since
the humanistic renaissance has been,
as it were, restored to new life, is
familiar to almost all students of antiquity
and letters, but the knowledge of Hebrew
also and of their oriental languages
has spread far and wide among literary
men. Moreover there are now such abundant
aids to the study of these languages
that the biblical scholar, who by neglecting
them would deprive himself of access
to the original texts, could in no wise
escape the stigma of levity and sloth.
For it is the duty of the exegete to
lay hold, so to speak, with the greatest
care and reverence of the very least
expressions which, under the inspiration
of the Divine Spirit, have flowed from
the pen of the sacred writer, so as
to arrive at a deeper and fuller knowledge
of his meaning.
16. Wherefore let him diligently apply
himself so as to acquire daily a greater
facility in biblical as well as in other
oriental languages and to support his
interpretation by the aids which all
branches of philology supply. This indeed
St. Jerome strove earnestly to achieve,
as far as the science of his time permitted;
to this also aspired with untiring zeal
and no small fruit not a few of the
great exegetes of the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, although the
knowledge of languages then was much
less than at the present day. In like
manner therefore ought we to explain
the original text which, having been
written by the inspired author himself,
has more authority and greater weight
than any even the very best translation,
whether ancient or modern; this can
be done all the more easily and fruitfully,
if to the knowledge of languages be
joined a real skill in literary criticism
of the same text.
17. The great importance which should
be attached to this kind of criticism
was aptly pointed out- by Augustine,
when, among the precepts to be recommended
to the student of the Sacred Books,
he put in the first place the care to
possess a corrected text. "The correction
of the codices"—so says this most distinguished
Doctor of the Church—"should first of
all engage the attention of those who
wish to know the Divine Scripture so
that the uncollected may give place
to the corrected."[23] In the present
day indeed this art, which is called
textual criticism and which is used
with great and praiseworthy results
in the editions of profane writings,
is also quite rightly employed in the
case of the Sacred Books, because of
that very reverence which is due to
the Divine Oracles. For its very purpose
is to insure that the sacred text be
restored, as perfectly as possible,
be purified from the corruptions due
to the carelessness of the copyists
and be freed, as far as may be done,
from glosses and omissions, from the
interchange and repetition of words
and from all other kinds of mistakes,
which are wont to make their way gradually
into writings handed down through many
centuries.
18. It is scarcely necessary to observe
that this criticism, which some fifty
years ago not a few made use of quite
arbitrarily and often in such wise that
one would say they did so to introduce
into the sacred text their own preconceived
ideas, today has rules so firmly established
and secure, that it has become a most
valuable aid to the purer and more accurate
editing of the sacred text and that
any abuse can easily be discovered.
Nor is it necessary here to call to
mind—since it is doubtless familiar
and evident to all students of Sacred
Scripture—to what extent namely the
Church has held in honor these studies
in textual criticism from the earliest
centuries down even to the present day.
19. Today therefore, since this branch
of science has attained to such high
perfection, it is the honorable, though
not always easy, task of students of
the Bible to procure by every means
that as soon as possible may be duly
published by Catholics editions of the
Sacred Books and of ancient versions,
brought out in accordance with these
standards, which, that is to say, unite
the greatest reverence for the sacred
text with an exact observance of all
the rules of criticism. And let all
know that this prolonged labor is not
only necessary for the right understanding
of the divinely-given writings, but
also is urgently demanded by that piety
by which it behooves us to be grateful
to the God of all providence, Who from
the throne of His majesty has sent these
books as so many paternal letters to
His own children.
20. Nor should anyone think that this
use of the original texts, in accordance
with the methods of criticism, in any
way derogates from those decrees so
wisely enacted by the Council of Trent
concerning the Latin Vulgate.[24] It
is historically certain that the Presidents
of the Council received a commission,
which they duly carried out, to beg,
that is, the Sovereign Pontiff in the
name of the Council that he should have
corrected, as far as possible, first
a Latin, and then a Greek, and Hebrew
edition, which eventually would be published
for the benefit of the Holy Church of
God.[25] If this desire could not then
be fully realized owing to the difficulties
of the times and other obstacles, at
present it can, We earnestly hope, be
more perfectly and entirely fulfilled
by the united efforts of Catholic scholars.
21. And if the Tridentine Synod wished
"that all should use as authentic" the
Vulgate Latin version, this, as all
know, applies only to the Latin Church
and to the public use of the same Scriptures;
nor does it, doubtless, in any way diminish
the authority and value of the original
texts. For there was no question then
of these texts, but of the Latin versions,
which were in circulation at that time,
and of these the same Council rightly
declared to be preferable that which
"had been approved by its long-continued
use for so many centuries in the Church."
Hence this special authority or as they
say, authenticity of the Vulgate was
not affirmed by the Council particularly
for critical reasons, but rather because
of its legitimate use in the Churches
throughout so many centuries; by which
use indeed the same is shown, in the
sense in which the Church has understood
and understands it, to be free from
any error whatsoever in matters of faith
and morals; so that, as the Church herself
testifies and affirms, it may be quoted
safely and without fear of error in
disputations, in lectures and in preaching;
and so its authenticity is not specified
primarily as critical, but rather as
juridical.
22. Wherefore this authority of the
Vulgate in matters of doctrine by no
means prevents—nay rather today it almost
demands—either the corroboration and
confirmation of this same doctrine by
the original texts or the having recourse
on any and every occasion to the aid
of these same texts, by which the correct
meaning of the Sacred Letters is everywhere
daily made more clear and evident. Nor
is it forbidden by the decree of the
Council of Trent to make translations
into the vulgar tongue, even directly
from the original texts themselves,
for the use and benefit of the faithful
and for the better understanding of
the divine word, as We know to have
been already done in a laudable manner
in many countries with the approval
of the Ecclesiastical authority.
23. Being thoroughly prepared by the
knowledge of the ancient languages and
by the aids afforded by the art of criticism,
let the Catholic exegete undertake the
task, of all those imposed on him the
greatest, that namely of discovering
and expounding the genuine meaning of
the Sacred Books. In the performance
of this task let the interpreters bear
in mind that their foremost and greatest
endeavor should be to discern and define
clearly that sense of the biblical words
which is called literal. Aided by the
context and by comparison with similar
passages, let them therefore by means
of their knowledge of languages search
out with all diligence the literal meaning
of the words; all these helps indeed
are wont to be pressed into service
in the explanation also of profane writers,
so that the mind of the author may be
made abundantly clear.
24. The commentators of the Sacred
Letters, mindful of the fact that here
there is question of a divinely inspired
text, the care and interpretation of
which have been confided to the Church
by God Himself, should no less diligently
take into account the explanations and
declarations of the teaching authority
of the Church, as likewise the interpretation
given by the Holy Fathers, and even
"the analogy of faith" as Leo XIII most
wisely observed in the Encyclical Letter
Providentissimus Deus.[26] With special
zeal should they apply themselves, not
only to expounding exclusively these
matters which belong to the historical,
archaeological, philological and other
auxiliary sciences—as, to Our regret,
is done in certain commentaries,—but,
having duly referred to these, in so
far as they may aid the exegesis, they
should set forth in particular the theological
doctrine in faith and morals of the
individual books or texts so that their
exposition may not only aid the professors
of theology in their explanations and
proofs of the dogmas of faith, but may
also be of assistance to priests in
their presentation of Christian doctrine
to the people, and in fine may help
all the faithful to lead a life that
is holy and worthy of a Christian.
25. By making such an exposition,
which is above all, as We have said,
theological, they will efficaciously
reduce to silence those who, affirming
that they scarcely ever find anything
in biblical commentaries to raise their
hearts to God, to nourish their souls
or promote their interior life, repeatedly
urge that we should have recourse to
a certain spiritual and, as they say,
mystical interpretation. With what little
reason they thus speak is shown by the
experience of many, who, assiduously
considering and meditating the word
of God, advanced in perfection and were
moved to an intense love for God; and
this same truth is clearly proved by
the constant tradition of the Church
and the precepts of the greatest Doctors.
Doubtless all spiritual sense is not
excluded from the Sacred Scripture.
26. For what was said and done in
the Old Testament was ordained and disposed
by God with such consummate wisdom,
that things past prefigured in a spiritual
way those that were to come under the
new dispensation of grace. Wherefore
the exegete, just as he must search
out and expound the literal meaning
of the words, intended and expressed
by the sacred writer, so also must he
do likewise for the spiritual sense,
provided it is clearly intended by God.
For God alone could have known this
spiritual meaning and have revealed
it to us. Now Our Divine Savior Himself
points out to us and teaches us this
same sense in the Holy Gospel; the Apostles
also, following the example of the Master,
profess it in their spoken and written
words; the unchanging tradition of the
Church approves it; and finally the
most ancient usage of the liturgy proclaims
it, wherever may be rightly applied
the well-known principle: "The rule
of prayer is the rule of faith."
27. Let Catholic exegetes then disclose
and expound this spiritual significance,
intended and ordained by God, with that
care which the dignity of the divine
word demands; but let them scrupulously
refrain from proposing as the genuine
meaning of Sacred Scripture other figurative
senses. It may indeed be useful, especially
in preaching, to illustrate, and present
the matters of faith and morals by a
broader use of the Sacred Text in the
figurative sense, provided this be done
with moderation and restraint; it should,
however, never be forgotten that this
use of the Sacred Scripture is, as it
were, extrinsic to it and accidental,
and that, especially in these days,
it is not free from danger, since the
faithful, in particular those who are
well-informed in the sciences sacred
and profane, wish to know what God has
told us in the Sacred Letters rather
than what an ingenious orator or writer
may suggest by a clever use of the words
of Scripture. Nor does "the word of
God, living and effectual and more piercing
than any two-edged sword and reaching
unto the division of the soul and the
spirit, of the joints also and the marrow,
and a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart"[27] need artificial
devices and human adaptation to move
and impress souls; for the Sacred Pages,
written under the inspiration of the
Spirit of God, are of themselves rich
in original meaning; endowed with a
divine power, they have their own value;
adorned with heavenly beauty, they radiate
of themselves light and splendor, provided
they are so fully and accurately explained
by the interpreter, that all the treasures
of wisdom and prudence, therein contained
are brought to light.
28. In the accomplishment of this
task the Catholic exegete will find
invaluable help in an assiduous study
of those works, in which the Holy Fathers,
the Doctors of the Church and the renowned
interpreters of past ages have explained
the Sacred Books. For, although sometimes
less instructed in profane learning
and in the knowledge of languages than
the scripture scholars of our time,
nevertheless by reason of the office
assigned to them by God in the Church,
they are distinguished by a certain
subtle insight into heavenly things
and by a marvelous keenness of intellect,
which enables them to penetrate to the
very innermost meaning of the divine
word and bring to light all that can
help to elucidate the teaching of Christ
and to promote holiness of life.
29. It is indeed regrettable that
such precious treasures of Christian
antiquity are almost unknown to many
writers of the present day, and that
students of the history of exegesis
have not yet accomplished all that seems
necessary for the due investigation
and appreciation of so momentous a subject.
Would that many, by seeking out the
authors of the Catholic interpretation
of Scripture and diligently studying
their works and drawing thence the almost
inexhaustible riches therein stored
up, might contribute largely to this
end, so that it might be daily more
apparent to what extent those authors
understood and made known the divine
teaching of the Sacred Books, and that
the interpreters of today might thence
take example and seek suitable arguments.
30. For thus at long last will be
brought about the happy and fruitful
union between the doctrine and spiritual
sweetness of expression of the ancient
authors and the greater erudition and
maturer knowledge of the modern, having
as its result new progress in the never
fully explored and inexhaustible field
of the Divine Letters.
31. Moreover we may rightly and deservedly
hope that our time also can contribute
something towards the deeper and more
accurate interpretation of Sacred Scripture.
For not a few things, especially in
matters pertaining to history, were
scarcely at all or not fully explained
by the commentators of past ages, since
they lacked almost all the information
which was needed for their clearer exposition.
How difficult for the Fathers themselves,
and indeed well nigh unintelligible,
were certain passages is shown, among
other things, by the oft-repeated efforts
of many of them to explain the first
chapters of Genesis; likewise by the
reiterated attempts of St. Jerome so
to translate the Psalms that the literal
sense, that, namely, which is expressed
by the words themselves, might be clearly
revealed.
32. There are, in fine, other books
or texts, which contain difficulties
brought to light only in quite recent
times, since a more profound knowledge
of antiquity has given rise to new questions,
on the basis of which the point at issue
may be more appropriately examined.
Quite wrongly therefore do some pretend,
not rightly understanding the conditions
of biblical study, that nothing remains
to be added by the Catholic exegete
of our time to what Christian antiquity
has produced; since, on the contrary,
these our times have brought to light
so many things, which call for a fresh
investigation, and which stimulate not
a little the practical zest of the present-day
interpreter.
33. As in our age, indeed new questions
and new difficulties are multiplied,
so, by God's favor, new means and aids
to exegesis are also provided. Among
these it is worthy of special mention
that Catholic theologians, following
the teaching of the Holy Fathers and
especially of the Angelic and Common
Doctor, have examined and explained
the nature and effects of biblical inspiration
more exactly and more fully than was
wont to be done in previous ages. For
having begun by expounding minutely
the principle that the inspired writer,
in composing the sacred book, is the
living and reasonable instrument of
the Holy Spirit, they rightly observe
that, impelled by the divine motion,
he so uses his faculties and powers,
that from the book composed by him all
may easily infer "the special character
of each one and, as it were, his personal
traits."[28] Let the interpreter then,
with all care and without neglecting
any light derived from recent research,
endeavor to determine the peculiar character
and circumstances of the sacred writer,
the age in which he lived, the sources
written or oral to which he had recourse
and the forms of expression he employed.
34. Thus can he the better understand
who was the inspired author, and what
he wishes to express by his writings.
There is no one indeed but knows that
the supreme rule of interpretation is
to discover and define what the writer
intended to express, as St. Athanasius
excellently observes: "Here, as indeed
is expedient in all other passages of
Sacred Scripture, it should be noted,
on what occasion the Apostle spoke;
we should carefully and faithfully observe
to whom and why he wrote, lest, being
ignorant of these points, or confounding
one with another, we miss the real meaning
of the author."[29]
35. What is the literal sense of a
passage is not always as obvious in
the speeches and writings of the ancient
authors of the East, as it is in the
works of our own time. For what they
wished to express is not to be determined
by the rules of grammar and philology
alone, nor solely by the context; the
interpreter must, as it were, go back
wholly in spirit to those remote centuries
of the East and with the aid of history,
archaeology, ethnology, and other sciences,
accurately determine what modes of writing,
so to speak, the authors of that ancient
period would be likely to use, and in
fact did use.
36. For the ancient peoples of the
East, in order to express their ideas,
did not always employ those forms or
kinds of speech which we use today;
but rather those used by the men of
their times and countries. What those
exactly were the commentator cannot
determine as it were in advance, but
only after a careful examination of
the ancient literature of the East.
The investigation, carried out, on this
point, during the past forty or fifty
years with greater care and diligence
than ever before, has more clearly shown
what forms of expression were used in
those far off times, whether in poetic
description or in the formulation of
laws and rules of life or in recording
the facts and events of history. The
same inquiry has also shown the special
preeminence of the people of Israel
among all the other ancient nations
of the East in their mode of compiling
history, both by reason of its antiquity
and by reasons of the faithful record
of the events; qualities which may well
be attributed to the gift of divine
inspiration and to the peculiar religious
purpose of biblical history.
37. Nevertheless no one, who has a
correct idea of biblical inspiration,
will be surprised to find, even in the
Sacred Writers, as in other ancient
authors, certain fixed ways of expounding
and narrating, certain definite idioms,
especially of a kind peculiar to the
Semitic tongues, so-called approximations,
and certain hyperbolical modes of expression,
nay, at times, even paradoxical, which
even help to impress the ideas more
deeply on the mind. For of the modes
of expression which, among ancient peoples,
and especially those of the East, human
language used to express its thought,
none is excluded from the Sacred Books,
provided the way of speaking adopted
in no wise contradicts the holiness
and truth of God, as, with his customary
wisdom, the Angelic Doctor already observed
in these words: "In Scripture divine
things are presented to us in the manner
which is in common use amongst men."[30]
For as the substantial Word of God became
like to men in all things, "except sin,"[31]
so the words of God, expressed in human
language, are made like to human speech
in every respect, except error. In this
consists that "condescension" of the
God of providence, which St. John Chrysostom
extolled with the highest praise and
repeatedly declared to be found in the
Sacred Books.[32]
38. Hence the Catholic commentator,
in order to comply with the present
needs of biblical studies, in explaining
the Sacred Scripture and in demonstrating
and proving its immunity from all error,
should also make a prudent use of this
means, determine, that is, to what extent
the manner of expression or the literary
mode adopted by the sacred writer may
lead to a correct and genuine interpretation;
and let him be convinced that this part
of his office cannot be neglected without
serious detriment to Catholic exegesis.
Not infrequently—to mention only one
instance—when some persons reproachfully
charge the Sacred Writers with some
historical error or inaccuracy in the
recording of facts, on closer examination
it turns out to be nothing else than
those customary modes of expression
and narration peculiar to the ancients,
which used to be employed in the mutual
dealings of social life and which in
fact were sanctioned by common usage.
39. When then such modes of expression
are met within the sacred text, which,
being meant for men, is couched in human
language, justice demands that they
be no more taxed with error than when
they occur in the ordinary intercourse
of daily life. By this knowledge and
exact appreciation of the modes of speaking
and writing in use among the ancients
can be solved many difficulties, which
are raised against the veracity and
historical value of the Divine Scriptures,
and no less efficaciously does this
study contribute to a fuller and more
luminous understanding of the mind of
the Sacred Writer.
40. Let those who cultivate biblical
studies turn their attention with all
due diligence towards this point and
let them neglect none of those discoveries,
whether in the domain of archaeology
or in ancient history or literature,
which serve to make better known the
mentality of the ancient writers, as
well as their manner and art of reasoning,
narrating and writing. In this connection
Catholic laymen should consider that
they will not only further profane science,
but moreover will render a conspicuous
service to the Christian cause if they
devote themselves with all due diligence
and application to the exploration and
investigation of the monuments of antiquity
and contribute, according to their abilities,
to the solution of questions hitherto
obscure.
41. For all human knowledge, even
the non-sacred, has indeed its own proper
dignity and excellence, being a finite
participation of the infinite knowledge
of God, but it acquires a new and higher
dignity and, as it were, a consecration,
when it is employed to cast a brighter
light upon the things of God.
42. The progressive exploration of
the antiquities of the East, mentioned
above, the more accurate examination
of the original text itself, the more
extensive and exact knowledge of languages
both biblical and oriental, have with
the help of God, happily provided the
solution of not a few of those questions,
which in the time of Our Predecessor
Leo XIII of immortal memory, were raised
by critics outside or hostile to the
Church against the authenticity, antiquity,
integrity and historical value of the
Sacred Books. For Catholic exegetes,
by a right use of those same scientific
arms, not infrequently abused by the
adversaries, proposed such interpretations,
which are in harmony with Catholic doctrine
and the genuine current of tradition,
and at the same time are seen to have
proved equal to the difficulties, either
raised by new explorations and discoveries,
or bequeathed by antiquity for solution
in our time.
43. Thus has it come about that confidence
in the authority and historical value
of the Bible, somewhat shaken in the
case of some by so many attacks, today
among Catholics is completely restored;
moreover there are not wanting even
non-Catholic writers, who by serious
and calm inquiry have been led to abandon
modern opinion and to return, at least
in some points, to the more ancient
ideas. This change is due in great part
to the untiring labor by which Catholic
commentators of the Sacred Letters,
in no way deterred by difficulties and
obstacles of all kinds, strove with
all their strength to make suitable
use of what learned men of the present
day, by their investigations in the
domain of archaeology or history or
philology, have made available for the
solution of new questions.
44. Nevertheless no one will be surprised,
if all difficulties are not yet solved
and overcome; but that even today serious
problems greatly exercise the minds
of Catholic exegetes. We should not
lose courage on this account; nor should
we forget that in the human sciences
the same happens as in the natural world;
that is to say, new beginnings grow
little by little and fruits are gathered
only after many labors. Thus it has
happened that certain disputed points,
which in the past remained unsolved
and in suspense, in our days, with the
progress of studies, have found a satisfactory
solution. Hence there are grounds for
hope that those also will by constant
effort be at last made clear, which
now seem most complicated and difficult.
45. And if the wished-for solution
be slow in coming or does not satisfy
us, since perhaps a successful conclusion
may be reserved to posterity, let us
not wax impatient thereat, seeing that
in us also is rightly verified what
the Fathers, and especially Augustine,[33]
observed in their time viz: God wished
difficulties to be scattered through
the Sacred Books inspired by Him, in
order that we might be urged to read
and scrutinize them more intently, and,
experiencing in a salutary manner our
own limitations, we might be exercised
in due submission of mind. No wonder
if of one or other question no solution
wholly satisfactory will ever be found,
since sometimes we have to do with matters
obscure in themselves and too remote
from our times and our experience; and
since exegesis also, like all other
most important sciences, has its secrets,
which, impenetrable to our minds, by
no efforts whatsoever can be unraveled.
46. But this state of things is no
reason why the Catholic commentator,
inspired by an active and ardent love
of his subject and sincerely devoted
to Holy Mother Church, should in any
way be deterred from grappling again
and again with these difficult problems,
hitherto unsolved, not only that he
may refute the objections of the adversaries,
but also may attempt to find a satisfactory
solution, which will be in full accord
with the doctrine of the Church, in
particular with the traditional teaching
regarding the inerrancy of Sacred Scripture,
and which will at the same time satisfy
the indubitable conclusion of profane
sciences.
47. Let all the other sons of the
Church bear in mind that the efforts
of these resolute laborers in the vineyard
of the Lord should be judged not only
with equity and justice, but also with
the greatest charity; all moreover should
abhor that intemperate zeal which imagines
that whatever is new should for that
very reason be opposed or suspected.
Let them bear in mind above all that
in the rules and laws promulgated by
the Church there is question of doctrine
regarding faith and morals; and that
in the immense matter contained in the
Sacred Books—legislative, historical,
sapiential and prophetical—there are
but few texts whose sense has been defined
by the authority of the Church, nor
are those more numerous about which
the teaching of the Holy Fathers is
unanimous. There remain therefore many
things, and of the greatest importance,
in the discussion and exposition of
which the skill and genius of Catholic
commentators may and ought to be freely
exercised, so that each may contribute
his part to the advantage of all, to
the continued progress of the sacred
doctrine and to the defense and honor
of the Church.
48. This true liberty of the children
of God, which adheres faithfully to
the teaching of the Church and accepts
and uses gratefully the contributions
of profane science, this liberty, upheld
and sustained in every way by the confidence
of all, is the condition and source
of all lasting fruit and of all solid
progress in Catholic doctrine, as Our
Predecessor of happy memory Leo XIII
rightly observes, when he says: "unless
harmony of mind be maintained and principle
safeguarded, no progress can be expected
in this matter from the varied studies
of many."[35]
49. Whosoever considers the immense
labors undertaken by Catholic exegetes
during well nigh two thousand years,
so that the word of God, imparted to
men through the Sacred Letters, might
daily be more deeply and fully understood
and more intensely loved, will easily
be convinced that it is the serious
duty of the faithful, and especially
of priests, to make free and holy use
of this treasure, accumulated throughout
so many centuries by the greatest intellects.
For the Sacred Books were not given
by God to men to satisfy their curiosity
or to provide them with material for
study and research, but, as the Apostle
observes, in order that these Divine
Oracles might "instruct us to salvation,
by the faith which is in Christ Jesus"
and "that the man of God may be perfect,
furnished to every good work."[36]
50. Let priests therefore, who are
bound by their office to procure the
eternal salvation of the faithful, after
they have themselves by diligent study
perused the sacred pages and made them
their own by prayer and meditations,
assiduously distribute the heavenly
treasures of the divine word by sermons,
homilies and exhortations; let them
confirm the Christian doctrine by sentences
from the Sacred Books and illustrate
it by outstanding examples from sacred
history and in particular from the Gospel
of Christ Our Lord; and—avoiding with
the greatest care those purely arbitrary
and far-fetched adaptations, which are
not a use, but rather an abuse of the
divine word—let them set forth all this
with such eloquence, lucidity and clearness
that the faithful may not only be moved
and inflamed to reform their lives,
but may also conceive in their hearts
the greatest veneration for the Sacred
Scripture.
51. The same veneration the Bishops
should endeavor daily to increase and
perfect among the faithful committed
to their care, encouraging all those
initiatives by which men, filled with
apostolic zeal, laudably strive to excite
and foster among Catholics a greater
knowledge of and love for the Sacred
Books. Let them favor therefore and
lend help to those pious associations
whose aim it is to spread copies of
the Sacred Letters, especially of the
Gospels, among the faithful, and to
procure by every means that in Christian
families the same be read daily with
piety and devotion; let them efficaciously
recommend by word and example, whenever
the liturgical laws permit, the Sacred
Scriptures translated, with the approval
of the Ecclesiastical authority, into
modern languages; let them themselves
give public conferences or dissertations
on biblical subjects, or see that they
are given by other public orators well
versed in the matter.
52. Let the ministers of the Sanctuary
support in every way possible and diffuse
in fitting manner among all classes
of the faithful the periodicals which
so laudably and with such heartening
results are published from time to time
in various parts of the world, whether
to treat and expose in a scientific
manner biblical questions, or to adapt
the fruits of these investigations to
the sacred ministry, or to benefit the
faithful. Let the ministers of the Sanctuary
be convinced that all this, and whatsoever
else an apostolical zeal and a sincere
love of the divine word may find suitable
to this high purpose, will be an efficacious
help to the cure of souls.
53. But it is plain to everyone that
priests cannot duly fulfill all this
unless in th
