ENCYCLICAL OF POPE LEO
XIII ON THE STUDY OF HOLY SCRIPTURE
To Our Venerable Brethren, All
Patriarchs, Primates, Archbishops, and Bishops
of the Catholic World, in Grace and Communion
with the Apostolic See.
Venerable Brethren, Health and Apostolic
Benediction
1. The God of all Providence, Who in
the adorable designs of His love at first elevated
the human race to the participation of the Divine
nature, and afterwards delivered it from universal
guilt and ruin, restoring it to its primitive
dignity, has in consequence bestowed upon man
a splendid gift and safeguard-making known to
him, by supernatural means, the hidden mysteries
of His Divinity, His wisdom and His mercy. For
although in Divine revelation there are contained
some things which are not beyond the reach of
unassisted reason, and which are made the objects
of such revelation in order "that all may
come to know them with facility, certainty,
and safety from error, yet not on this account
can supernatural Revelation be said to be absolutely
necessary; it is only necessary because God
has ordinated man to a supernatural end."(1)
This supernatural revelation, according to the
belief of the universal Church, is contained
both in unwritten Tradition, and in written
Books, which are therefore called sacred and
canonical because, "being written under
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, they have
God for their author and as such have been delivered
to the Church."(2) This belief has been
perpetually held and professed by the Church
in regard to the Books of both Testaments; and
there are well-known documents of the gravest
kind, coming down to us from the earliest times,
which proclaim that God, Who spoke first by
the Prophets, then by His own mouth, and lastly
by the Apostles, composed also the Canonical
Scriptures,(3) and that these are His own oracles
and words(4) - a Letter, written by our heavenly
Father, and transmitted by the sacred writers
to the human race in its pilgrimage so far from
its heavenly country.(5) If, then, such and
so great is the excellence and the dignity of
the Scriptures, that God Himself has composed
them, and that they treat of God's marvellous
mysteries, counsels and works, it follows that
the branch of sacred Theology which is concerned
with the defence and elucidation of these divine
Books must be excellent and useful in the highest
degree.
2. Now We, who by the help of God, and
not without fruit, have by frequent Letters
and exhortation endeavoured to promote other
branches of study which seemed capable of advancing
the glory of God and contributing to the salvation
of souls, have for a long time cherished the
desire to give an impulse to the noble science
of Holy Scripture, and to impart to Scripture
study a direction suitable to the needs of the
present day. The solicitude of the Apostolic
office naturally urges, and even compels us,
not only to desire that this grand source of
Catholic revelation should be made safely and
abundantly accessible to the flock of Jesus
Christ, but also not to suffer any attempt to
defile or corrupt it, either on the part of
those who impiously and openly assail the Scriptures,
or of those who are led astray into fallacious
and imprudent novelties. We are not ignorant,
indeed, Venerable Brethren, that there are not
a few Catholics, men of talent and learning,
who do devote themselves with ardour to the
defence of the sacred writings and to making
them better known and understood. But whilst
giving to these the commendation they deserve,
We cannot but earnestly exhort others also,
from whose skill and piety and learning we have
a right to expect good results, to give themselves
to the same most praiseworthy work. It is Our
wish and fervent desire to see an increase in
the number of the approved and persevering labourers
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.
Holy Scripture Most Profitable To Doctrine
and Morality
3. Among the reasons for which the Holy
Scripture is so worthy of commendation-in addition
to its own excellence and to the homage which
we owe to God's Word-the chief of all is, the
innumerable benefits of which it is the source;
according to the infallible testimony of the
Holy Ghost Himself, who says: "All Scripture,
inspired of God, is profitable to teach, to
reprove, to correct, to instruct in justice,
that the man of God may be perfect, furnished
to every good work."(6) That such was the
purpose of God in giving the Scripture of men
is shown by the example of Christ our Lord and
of His Apostles. For He Himself Who "obtained
authority by miracles, merited belief by authority,
and by belief drew to Himself the multitude"(7)
was accustomed in the exercise of His Divine
Mission, to appeal to the Scriptures. He uses
them at times to prove that He is sent by God,
and is God Himself. From them He cites instructions
for His disciples and confirmation of His doctrine.
He vindicates them from the calumnies of objectors;
he quotes them against Sadducees and Pharisees,
and retorts from them upon Satan himself when
he dares to tempt Him. At the close of His life
His utterances are from Holy Scripture, and
it is the Scripture that He expounds to His
disciples after His resurrection, until He ascends
to the glory of His Father. Faithful to His
precepts, the Apostles, although He Himself
granted "signs and wonders to be done by
their hands"(8) nevertheless used with
the greatest effect the sacred writings, in
order to persuade the nations everywhere of
the wisdom of Christianity, to conquer the obstinacy
of the Jews, and to suppress the outbreak of
heresy. This is plainly seen in their discourses,
especially in those of St. Peter: these were
often little less than a series of citations
from the Old Testament supporting in the strongest
manner the new dispensation. We find the same
thing in the Gospels of St. Matthew and St.
John and in the Catholic Epistles; and most
remarkably of all in the words of him who "boasts
that he learned the law at the feet of Gamaliel,
in order that, being armed with spiritual weapons,
he might afterwards say with confidence, `The
arms of our warfare are not carnal but mighty
unto God.' "(9) Let all, therefore, especially
the novices of the ecclesiastical army, understand
how deeply the sacred Books should be esteemed,
and with what eagerness and reverence they should
approach this great arsenal of heavenly arms.
For those whose duty it is to handle Catholic
doctrine before the learned or the unlearned
will nowhere find more ample matter or more
abundant exhortation, whether on the subject
of God, the supreme Good and the all-perfect
Being, or of the works which display His Glory
and His love. Nowhere is there anything more
full or more express on the subject of the Saviour
of the world than is to be found in the whole
range of the Bible. As St. Jerome says, "To
be ignorant of the Scripture is not to know
Christ."(10) In its pages His Image stands
out, living and breathing; diffusing everywhere
around consolation in trouble, encouragement
to virtue and attraction to the love of God.
And as to the Church, her institutions, her
nature, her office, and her gifts, we find in
Holy Scripture so many references and so many
ready and convincing arguments, that as St.
Jerome again most truly says: "A man who
is well grounded in the testimonies of the Scripture
is the bulwark of the Church."(11)And if
we come to morality and discipline, an apostolic
man finds in the sacred writings abundant and
excellent assistance; most holy precepts, gentle
and strong exhortation, splendid examples of
every virtue, and finally the promise of eternal
reward and the threat of eternal punishment,
uttered in terms of solemn import, in God's
name and in God's own words.
4. And it is this peculiar and singular
power of Holy Scripture, arising from the inspiration
of the Holy Ghost, which gives authority to
the sacred orator, fills him with apostolic
liberty of speech, and communicates force and
power to his eloquence. For those who infuse
into their efforts the spirit and strength of
the Word of God, speak "not in word only
but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and
in much fulness."(12) Hence those preachers
are foolish and improvident who, in speaking
of religion and proclaiming the things of God,
use no words but those of human science and
human prudence, trusting to their own reasonings
rather than to those of God. Their discourses
may be brilliant and fine, but they must be
feeble and they must be cold, for they are without
the fire of the utterance of God(13) and they
must fall far short of that mighty power which
the speech of God possesses: "for the Word
of God is living and effectual, and more piercing
than any two-edged sword; and reaching unto
the division of the soul and the spirit."(14)
But, indeed, all those who have a right to speak
are agreed that there is in the Holy Scripture
an eloquence that is wonderfully varied and
rich, and worthy of great themes. This St. Augustine
thoroughly understood and has abundantly set
forth.(15) This also is confirmed by the best
preachers of all ages, who have gratefully acknowledged
that they owed their repute chiefly to the assiduous
use of the Bible, and to devout meditation on
its pages.
5. The Holy Fathers well knew all this
by practical experience, and they never cease
to extol the sacred Scripture and its fruits.
In innumerable passages of their writings we
find them applying to it such phrases as "an
inexhaustible treasury of heavenly doctrine,"(16)
or "an overflowing fountain of salvation,"(17)
or putting it before us as fertile pastures
and beautiful gardens in which the flock of
the Lord is marvellously refreshed and delighted.(18)
Let us listen to the words of St. Jerome, in
his Epistle to Nepotian: "Often read the
divine Scriptures; yea, let holy reading be
always in thy hand; study that which thou thyself
must preach. . . Let the speech of the priest
be ever seasoned with Scriptural reading."(19)
St. Gregory the Great, than whom no one has
more admirably described the pastoral office,
writes in the same sense: "Those,"
he says, "who are zealous in the work of
preaching must never cease the study of the
written word of God."(20) St. Augustine,
however, warns us that "vainly does the
preacher utter the Word of God exteriorly unless
he listens to it interiorly;"(21) and St.
Gregory instructs sacred orators "first
to find in Holy Scripture the knowledge of themselves,
and then to carry it to others, lest in reproving
others they forget themselves."(22) Admonitions
such as these had, indeed, been uttered long
before by the Apostolic voice which had learnt
its lesson from Christ Himself, Who "began
to do and teach." It was not to Timothy
alone, but to the whole order of the clergy,
that the command was addressed: "Take heed
to thyself and to doctrine; be earnest in them.
For in doing this thou shah both save thyself
and them that hear thee."(23) For the saving
and for the perfection of ourselves and of others
there is at hand the very best of help in the
Holy Scriptures, as the Book of Psalms, among
others, so constantly insists; but those only
will find it who bring to this divine reading
not only docility and attention, but also piety
and an innocent life. For the Sacred Scripture
is not like other books. Dictated by the Holy
Ghost, it contains things of the deepest importance,
which in many instances are most difficult and
obscure. To understand and explain such things
there is always required the "coming"(24)
of the same Holy Spirit; that is to say, His
light and His grace; and these, as the Royal
Psalmist so frequently insists, are to be sought
by humble prayer and guarded by holiness of
life.
What the Bible Owes to the Catholic Church
6. It is in this that the watchful care
of the Church shines forth conspicuously. By
admirable laws and regulations, she has always
shown herself solicitous that "the celestial
treasure of the Sacred Books, so bountifully
bestowed upon man by the Holy Spirit, should
not lie neglected."(25) She has prescribed
that a considerable portion of them shall be
read and piously reflected upon by all her ministers
in the daily office of the sacred psalmody.
She has ordered that in Cathedral Churches,
in monasteries, and in other convents in which
study can conveniently be pursued, they shall
be expounded and interpreted by capable men;
and she has strictly commanded that her children
shall be fed with the saving words of the Gospel
at least on Sundays and solemn feasts.(26) Moreover,
it is owing to the wisdom and exertions of the
Church that there has always been continued
from century to century that cultivation of
Holy Scripture which has been so remarkable
and has borne such ample fruit.
7. And here, in order to strengthen
Our teaching and Our exhortations, it is well
to recall how, from the beginning of Christianity,
all who have been renowned for holiness of life
and sacred learning have given their deep and
constant attention to Holy Scripture. If we
consider the immediate disciples of the Apostles,
St. Clement of Rome, St. Ignatius of Antioch,
St. Polycarp - or the apologists, such as St.
Justin and St. Irenaeus, we find that in their
letters and their books, whether in defence
of the Catholic Faith or in its commendation,
they draw faith, strength, and unction from
the Word of God. When there arose, in various
Sees, Catechetical and Theological schools,
of which the most celebrated were those of Alexandria
and of Antioch, there was little taught in those
schools but what was contained in the reading,
the interpretation and the defence of the divine
written word. From them came forth numbers of
Fathers and writers whose laborious studies
and admirable writings have justly merited for
the three following centuries the appellation
of the golden age of biblical exegesis. In the
Eastern Church, the greatest name of all is
Origen - a man remarkable alike for penetration
of genius and for persevering labour; from whose
numerous works and his great Hexapla almost
all have drawn that came after him. Others who
have widened the field of this science may also
be named, as especially eminent; thus, Alexandria
could boast of St. Clement and St. Cyril; Palestine,
of Eusebius and the other St. Cyril; Cappadocia,
of St. $asil the Great and the two St. Gregories.
of Nazianzus and Nyssa; Antioch, of St. John
Chrysostom, in whom the science of Scripture
was rivalled by the splendour of his eloquence.
In the Western Church there were many names
as great: Tertullian, St. Cyprian, St. Hilary,
St. Ambrose, St. Leo the Great, St. Gregory
the Great; most famous of all, St. Augustine
and St. Jerome, of whom the former was so marvellously
acute in penetrating the sense of God's Word
and so fertile in the use that he made of it
for the promotion of the Catholic truth, and
the latter has received from the Church, by
reason of his pre-eminent knowledge of Scripture
and his labours in promoting its use, the name
of the "great Doctor."(27) From this
period down to the eleventh century, although
Biblical studies did not flourish with the same
vigour and the same fruitfulness as before,
yet they did flourish, and principally by the
instrumentality of the clergy. It was their
care and solicitude that selected the best and
most useful things that the ancients had left,
arranged them in order, and published them with
additions of their own - as did S. Isidore of
Seville, Venerable Bede, and Alcuin, among the
most prominent; it was they who illustrated
the sacred pages with "glosses" or
short commentaries, as we see in Walafrid Strabo
and St. Anselm of Laon, or expended fresh labour
in securing their integrity, as did St. Peter
Damian and Blessed Lanfranc. In the twelfth
century many took up with great success the
allegorical exposition of Scripture. In this
kind, St. Bernard is pre-eminent; and his writings,
it may be said, are Scripture all through. With
the age of the scholastics came fresh and welcome
progress in the study of the Bible. That the
scholastics were solicitous about the genuineness
of the Latin version is evident from the Correctoria
Biblica, or lists of emendations, which they
have left. But they expended their labours and
industry chiefly on interpretation and explanation.
To them we owe the accurate and clear distinction,
such as had not been given before, of the various
senses of the sacred words; the assignment of
the value of each "sense" in theology;
the division of books into parts, and the summaries
of the various parts; the investigation of the
objects of the writers; the demonstration of
the connection of sentence with sentence, and
clause with clause; all of which is calculated
to throw much light on the more obscure passages
of the sacred volume. The valuable work of the
scholastics in Holy Scripture is seen in their
theological treatises and in their Scripture
commentaries; and in this respect the greatest
name among them all is St. Thomas of Aquin.
8. When our predecessor, Clement V.,
established chairs of Oriental literature in
the Roman College and in the principal Universities
of Europe, Catholics began to make more accurate
investigation on the original text of the Bible,
as well as on the Latin version. The revival
amongst us of Greek learning, and, much more,
the happy invention of the art of printing,
gave a strong impetus to Biblical studies. In
a brief space of time, innumerable editions,
especially of the Vulgate, poured from the press
and were diffused throughout the Catholic world;
so honoured and loved was Holy Scripture during
that very period against which the enemies of
the Church direct their calumnies. Nor must
we forget how many learned men there were, chiefly
among the religious orders, who did excellent
work for the Bible between the Council of Vienne
and that of Trent; men who, by the employment
of modern means and appliances, and by the tribute
of their own genius and learning, not only added
to the rich stores of ancient times, but prepared
the way for the succeeding century, the century
which followed the Council of Trent, when it
almost seemed that the great age of the Fathers
had returned. For it is well known, and We recall
it with pleasure, that Our predecessors from
Pius IV. to Clement VIII. caused to be prepared
the celebrated editions of the Vulgate and the
Septuagint, which, having been published by
the command and authority of Sixtus V. and of
the same Clement, are now in common use. At
this time, moreover, were carefully brought
out various other ancient versions of the Bible,
and the Polyglots of Antwerp and of Paris, most
important for the investigation of the true
meaning of the text; nor is there any one Book
of either Testament which did not find more
than one expositor, nor any grave question which
did not profitably exercise the ability of many
inquirers, among whom there are not a few -
more especially of those who made most use of
the Fathers - who have acquired great reputation.
From that time downwards the labour and solicitude
of Catholics has never been wanting; for, as
time went on, eminent scholars have carried
on Biblical study with success, and have defended
Holy Scripture against rationalism with the
same weapons of philology and kindred sciences
with which it had been attacked. The calm and
fair consideration of what has been said will
clearly show that the Church has never failed
in taking due measures to bring the Scriptures
within reach of her children, and that she has
ever held fast and exercised profitably that
guardianship conferred upon her by Almighty
God for the protection and glory of His Holy
Word; so that she has never required, nor does
she now require, any stimulation from without.
How to Study Holy Scripture
9. We must now, Venerable Brethren,
as our purpose demands, impart to you such counsels
as seem best suited for carrying on successfully
the study of Biblical science.
10. But first it must be clearly understood
whom we have to oppose and contend against,
and what are their tactics and their arms. In
earlier times the contest was chiefly with those
who, relying on private judgment and repudiating
the divine traditions and teaching office of
the Church, held the Scriptures to be the one
source of revelation and the final appeal in
matters of Faith. Now, we have to meet the Rationalists,
true children and inheritors of the older heretics,
who, trusting in their turn to their own way
of thinking, have rejected even the scraps and
remnants of Christian belief which had been
handed down to them. They deny that there is
any such thing as revelation or inspiration,
or Holy Scripture at all; they see, instead,
only the forgeries and the falsehoods of men;
they set down the Scripture narratives as stupid
fables and lying stories: the prophecies and
the oracles of God are to them either predictions
made up after the event or forecasts formed
by the light of nature; the miracles and the
wonders of God's power are not what they are
said to be, but the startling effects of natural
law, or else mere tricks and myths; and the
Apostolic Gospels and writings are not the work
of the Apostles at all. These detestable errors,
whereby they think they destroy the truth of
the divine Books, are obtruded on the world
as the peremptory pronouncements of a certain
newly-invented "free science;" a science,
however, which is so far from final that they
are perpetually modifying and supplementing
it. And there are some of them who, notwithstanding
their impious opinions and utterances about
God, and Christ, the Gospels and the rest of
Holy Scripture, would faro be considered both
theologians and Christians and men of the Gospel,
and who attempt to disguise by such honourable
names their rashness and their pride. To them
we must add not a few professors of other sciences
who approve their views and give them assistance,
and are urged to attack the Bible by a similar
intolerance of revelation. And it is deplorable
to see these attacks growing every day more
numerous and more severe. It is sometimes men
of learning and judgment who are assailed; but
these have little difficulty in defending themselves
from evil consequences. The efforts and the
arts of the enemy are chiefly directed against
the more ignorant masses of the people. They
diffuse their deadly poison by means of books,
pamphlets, and newspapers; they spread it by
addresses and by conversation; they are found
everywhere; and they are in possession of numerous
schools, taken by violence from the Church,
in which, by ridicule and scurrilous jesting,
they pervert the credulous and unformed minds
of the young to the contempt of Holy Scripture.
Should not these things, Venerable Brethren,
stir up and set on fire the heart of every Pastor,
so that to this "knowledge, falsely so
called,"(28) may be opposed the ancient
and true science which the Church, through the
Apostles, has received from Christ, and that
Holy Scripture may find the champions that are
needed in so momentous a battle?
11. Let our first care, then be to see
that in Seminaries and Academical institutions
the study of Holy Scripture be placed on such
a footing as its own importance and the circumstances
of the time demand. With this view, the first
thing which requires attention is the wise choice
of Professors. Teachers of Sacred Scripture
are not to be appointed at hap-hazard out of
the crowd; but they must be men whose character
and fitness are proved by their love of, and
their long familiarity with, the Bible, and
by suitable learning and study.
12. It is a matter of equal importance
to provide in time for a continuous succession
of such teachers; and it will be well, wherever
this can be done, to select young men of good
promise who have successfully accomplished their
theological course, and to set them apart exclusively
for Holy Scripture, affording them facilities
for full and complete studies. Professors thus
chosen and thus prepared may enter with confidence
on the task that is appointed for them; and
that they may carry out their work well and
profitably, let them take heed to the instructions
We now proceed to give.
13. At the commencement of a course
of Holy Scripture let the Professor strive earnestly
to form the judgment of the young beginners
so as to train them equally to defend the sacred
writings and to penetrate their meaning. This
is the object of the treatise which is called
"Introduction." Here the student is
taught how to prove the integrity and authority
of the Bible, how to investigate and ascertain
its true sense, and how to meet and refute objections.
It is needless to insist upon the importance
of making these preliminary studies in an orderly
and thorough fashion, with the accompaniment
and assistance of Theology; for the whole subsequent
course must rest on the foundation thus laid
and make use of the light thus acquired. Next,
the teacher will turn his earnest attention
to that more fruitful division of Scripture
science which has to do with Interpretation;
wherein is imparted the method of using the
word of God for the advantage of religion and
piety. We recognize without hesitation that
neither the extent of the matter nor the time
at disposal allows each single Book of the Bible
to be separately gone through. But the teaching
should result in a definite and ascertained
method of interpretation-and therefore the Professor
should equally avoid the mistake of giving a
mere taste of every Book, and of dwelling at
too great length on a part of one Book. If most
schools cannot do what is done in the large
institutions-that is, take the students through
the whole of one or two Books continuously and
with a certain development-yet at least those
parts which are selected should be treated with
suitable fulness; in such a way that the students
may learn from the sample that is thus put before
them to love and use the remainder of the sacred
Book during the whole of their lives. The Professor,
following the tradition of antiquity, will make
use of the Vulgate as his text; for the Council
of Trent decreed that "in public lectures,
disputations, preaching, and exposition,"(29)
the Vulgate is the "authentic" version;
and this is the existing custom of the Church.
At the same time, the other versions which Christian
antiquity has approved, should not be neglected,
more especially the more ancient MSS. For although
the meaning of the Hebrew and Greek is substantially
rendered by the Vulgate, nevertheless wherever
there may be ambiguity or want of clearness,
the "examination of older tongues,"(30)
to quote St. Augustine, will be useful and advantageous.
But in this matter we need hardly say that the
greatest prudence is required, for the "office
of a commentator," as St. Jerome says,
"is to set forth not what he himself would
prefer, but what his author says."(31)
The question of "readings" having
been, when necessary, carefully discussed, the
next thing is to investigate and expound the
meaning. And the first counsel to be given is
this: That the more our adversaries contend
to the contrary, so much the more solicitously
should we adhere to the received and approved
canons of interpretation. Hence, whilst weighing
the meanings of words, the connection of ideas,
the parallelism of passages, and the like, we
should by all means make use of such illustrations
as can be drawn from apposite erudition of an
external sort; but this should be done with
caution, so as not to bestow on questions of
this kind more labour and time than are spent
on the Sacred Books themselves, and not to overload
the minds of the students with a mass of information
that will be rather a hindrance than a help.
Holy Scripture and Theology; Interpretation;
the Fathers
14. The Professor may now safely pass
on to the use of Scripture in matters of Theology.
On this head it must be observed that in addition
to the usual reasons which make ancient writings
more or less difficult to understand, there
are some which are peculiar to the Bible. For
the language of the Bible is employed to express,
under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, many
things which are beyond the power and scope
of the reason of man-that is to say, divine
mysteries and all that is related to them. There
is sometimes in such passages a fulness and
a hidden depth of meaning which the letter hardly
expresses and which the laws of interpretation
hardly warrant. Moreover, the literal sense
itself frequently admits other senses, adapted
to illustrate dogma or to confirm morality.
Wherefore it must be recognized that the sacred
writings are wrapt in a certain religious obscurity,
and that no one can enter into their interior
without a guide(32); God so disposing, as the
Holy Fathers commonly teach, in order that men
may investigate them with greater ardour and
earnestness, and that what is attained with
difficulty may sink more deeply into the mind
and heart; and, most of all, that they may understand
that God has delivered the Holy Scriptures to
the Church, and that in reading and making use
of His Word, they must follow the Church as
their guide and their teacher. St. Irenaeus
long since laid down, that where the charismata
of God were, there the truth was to be learnt,
and that Holy Scripture was safely interpreted
by those who had the Apostolic succession.(33)
His teaching, and that of other Holy Fathers,
is taken up by the Council of the Vatican, which,
in renewing the decree of Trent declares its
"mind" to be this - that "in
things of faith and morals, belonging to the
building up of Christian doctrine, that is to
be considered the true sense of Holy Scripture
which has been held and is held by our Holy
Mother the Church, whose place it is to judge
of the true sense and interpretation of the
Scriptures; and therefore that it is permitted
to no one to interpret Holy Scripture against
such sense or also against the unanimous agreement
of the Fathers."(34) By this most wise
decree the Church by no means prevents or restrains
the pursuit of Biblical science, but rather
protects it from error, and largely assists
its real progress. A wide field is still left
open to the private student, in which his hermeneutical
skill may display itself with signal effect
and to the advantage of the Church. On the one
hand, in those passages of Holy Scripture which
have not as yet received a certain and definitive
interpretation, such labours may, in the benignant
providence of God, prepare for and bring to
maturity the judgment of the Church; on the
other, in passages already defined, the private
student may do work equally valuable, either
by setting them forth more clearly to the flock
and more skilfully to scholars, or by defending
them more powerfully from hostile attack. Wherefore
the first and dearest object of the Catholic
commentator should be to interpret those passages
which have received an authentic interpretation
either from the sacred writers themselves, under
the inspiration of the Holy Ghost (as in many
places of the New Testament), or from the Church,
under the assistance of the same Holy Spirit,
whether by her solemn judgment or her ordinary
and universal magisterium(35) - to interpret
these passages in that identical sense, and
to prove, by all the resources of science, that
sound hermeneutical laws admit of no other interpretation.
In the other passages, the analogy of faith
should be followed, and Catholic doctrine, as
authoritatively proposed by the Church, 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 latter. Hence it follows that all interpretation
is foolish and false which either makes the
sacred writers disagree one with another, or
is opposed to the doctrine of the Church. The
Professor of Holy Scripture, therefore, amongst
other recommendations, must be well acquainted
with the whole circle of Theology and deeply
read in the commentaries of the Holy Fathers
and Doctors, and other interpreters of mark.(36)
This is inculcated by St. Jerome, and still
more frequently by St. Augustine, who thus justly
complains: "If there is no branch of teaching,
however humble and easy to learn, which does
not require a master, what can be a greater
sign of rashness and pride than to refuse to
study the Books of the divine mysteries by the
help of those who have interpreted them?"(37)
The other Fathers have said the same, and have
confirmed it by their example, for they "endeavoured
to acquire the understanding of the Holy Scriptures
not by their own lights and ideas, but from
the writings and authority of the ancients,
who in their turn, as we know, received the
rule of interpretation in direct line from the
Apostles."(38) The Holy Fathers "to
whom, after the Apostles, the Church owes its
growth-who have planted, watered, built, governed,
and cherished it,"(39) the Holy Fathers,
We say, are of supreme authority, whenever they
all interpret in one and the same manner any
text of the Bible, as pertaining to the doctrine
of faith or morals; for their unanimity clearly
evinces that such interpretation has come down
from the Apostles as a matter of Catholic faith.
The opinion of the Fathers 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 acquaintance with many
things which are useful in understanding 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
measure of His light. Wherefore the expositor
should make it his duty to follow their footsteps
with all reverence, and to use their labours
with intelligent appreciation.
15. But he must not on that account
consider that it is forbidden, when just cause
exists, to push inquiry and exposition beyond
what the Fathers have done; provided he carefully
observes the rule so wisely laid down by St.
Augustine-not to depart from the literal and
obvious sense, except only where reason makes
it untenable or necessity requires;(40) a rule
to which it is the more necessary to adhere
strictly in these times, when the thirst for
novelty and unrestrained freedom of thought
make the danger of error most real and proximate.
Neither should those passages be neglected which
the Fathers have understood in an allegorical
or figurative sense, more especially when such
interpretation is justified by the literal,
and when it rests on the authority of many.
For this method of interpretation has been received
by the Church from the Apostles, and has been
approved by her own practice, as the holy Liturgy
attests; although it is true that the holy Fathers
did not thereby pretend directly to demonstrate
dogmas of faith, but used it as a means of promoting
virtue and piety, such as, by their own experience,
they knew to be most valuable. The authority
of other Catholic interpreters is not so great;
but the study of Scripture has always continued
to advance in the Church, and, therefore, these
commentaries also have their own honourable
place, and are serviceable in many ways for
the refutation of assailants and the explanation
of difficulties. But it is most unbecoming to
pass by, in ignorance or contempt, the excellent
work which Catholics have left in abundance,
and to have recourse to the works of non-Catholics
- and to seek in them, to the detriment of sound
doctrine and often to the peril of faith, the
explanation of passages on which Catholics long
ago have successfully employed their talent
and their labour. For although the studies of
non-Catholics, used with prudence, may sometimes
be of use to the Catholic student, he should,
nevertheless, bear well in mind-as the Fathers
also teach in numerous passages(41) - that the
sense of Holy Scripture can nowhere be found
incorrupt outside of the Church, and cannot
be expected to be found in writers who, being
without the true faith, only gnaw the bark of
the Sacred Scripture, and never attain its pith.
16. Most desirable is it, and most essential,
that the whole teaching of Theology should be
pervaded and animated by the use of the divine
Word of God. This is what the Fathers and the
greatest theologians of all ages have desired
and reduced to practice. It was chiefly out
of the Sacred Writings that they endeavoured
to proclaim and establish the Articles of Faith
and the truths therewith connected, and it was
in them, together with divine Tradition, that
they found the refutation of heretical error,
and the reasonableness, the true meaning, and
the mutual relation of the truths of Catholicism.
Nor will any one wonder at this who considers
that the Sacred Books hold such an eminent position
among the sources of revelation that without
their assiduous study and use, Theology cannot
be placed on its true footing, or treated as
its dignity demands. For although it is right
and proper that students in academies and schools
should be chiefly exercised in acquiring a scientific
knowledge of dogma, by means of reasoning from
the Articles of Faith to their consequences,
according to the ules of approved and sound
philosophy - nevertheless the judicious and
instructed theologian will by no means pass
by that method of doctrinal demonstration which
draws its proof from the authority of the Bible;
"for (Theology) does not receive her first
principles from any other science, but immediately
from God by revelation. And, therefore, she
does not receive of other sciences as from a
superior, but uses them as her inferiors or
handmaids."(42) It is this view of doctrinal
teaching which is laid down and recommended
by the prince of theologians, St. Thomas of
Aquin;(43) who, moreover, shows - such being
the essential character of Christian Theology
- how she can defend her own principles against
attack: "If the adversary," he says,
"do but grant any portion of the divine
revelation, we have an argument against him;
thus, against a heretic we can employ Scripture
authority, and against those who deny one article,
we can use another. But if our opponent reject
divine revelation entirely, there is then no
way left to prove the Article of Faith by reasoning;
we can only solve the difficulties which are
raised against them."(44)' Care must be
taken, then, that beginners approach the study
of the Bible well prepared and furnished; otherwise,
just hopes will be frustrated, or, perchance,
what is worse, they will unthinkingly risk the
danger of error, falling an easy prey to the
sophisms and laboured erudition of the Rationalists.
The best preparation will be a conscientious
application to philosophy and theology under
the guidance of St. Thomas of Aquin, and a thorough
training therein - as We ourselves have elsewhere
pointed out and directed. By this means, both
in Biblical studies and in that part of Theology
which is called positive, they will pursue the
right path and make satisfactory progress.
The Authority of Holy Scripture; Modern
Criticism; Physical Science
17. To prove, to expound, to illustrate
Catholic Doctrine by the legitimate and skilful
interpretation of the Bible, is much; but there
is a second part of the subject of equal importance
and equal difficulty - the maintenance in the
strongest possible way of its full authority.
This cannot be done completely or satisfactorily
except by means of the living and proper magisterium
of the Church. The Church, "by reason of
her wonderful propagation, her distinguished
sanctity and inexhaustible fecundity in good,
her Catholic unity, and her unshaken stability,
is herself a great and perpetual motive of credibility,
and an unassailable testimony to her own Divine
mission."(45) But since the divine and
infallible magisterium of the Church rests also
on the authority of Holy Scripture, the first
thing to be done is to vindicate the trustworthiness
of the sacred records at least as human documents,
from which can be clearly proved, as from primitive
and authentic testimony, the Divinity and the
mission of Christ our Lord, the institution
of a hierarchical Church and the primacy of
Peter and his successors. It is most desirable,
therefore, that there should be numerous members
of the clergy well prepared to enter upon a
contest of this nature, and to repulse hostile
assaults, chiefly trusting in that armour of
God recommended by the Apostle,(46) but also
not unaccustomed to modern methods of attack.
This is beautifully alluded to by St. John Chrysostom,
when describing the duties of priests: "We
must use every endeavour that the `Word of God
may dwell in us abundantly'(47) and not merely
for one kind of fight must we be prepared-for
the contest is many-sided and the enemy is of
every sort; and they do not all use the same
weapons nor make their onset in the same way.
Wherefore it is needful that the man who has
to contend against all should be acquainted
with the engines and the arts of all-that he
should be at once archer and slinger, commandant
and officer, general and private soldier, foot-soldier
and horseman, skilled in sea-fight and in siege;
for unless he knows every trick and turn of
war, the devil is well able, if only a single
door be left open, to get in his fierce bands
and carry off the sheep."(48) The sophisms
of the enemy and his manifold arts of attack
we have already touched upon. Let us now say
a word of advice on the means of defence. The
first means is the study of the Oriental languages
and of the art of criticism. These two acquirements
are in these days held in high estimation, and
therefore the clergy, by making themselves more
or less fully acquainted with them as time and
place may demand, will the better be able to
discharge their office with becoming credit;
for they must make themselves "all to all,"(49)
always "ready to satisfy every one that
asketh them a reason for the hope that is in
them."(50) Hence it is most proper that
Professors of Sacred Scripture and theologians
should master those tongues in which the sacred
Books were originally written; and it would
be well that Church students also should cultivate
them, more especially those who aspire to academic
degrees. And endeavours should be made to establish
in all academic institutions - as has already
been laudably done in many - chairs of the other
ancient languages, especially the Semitic, and
of subjects connected therewith, for the benefit
principally of those who are intended to profess
sacred literature. These latter, with a similar
object in view, should make themselves well
and thoroughly acquainted with the art of true
criticism. There has arisen, to the great detriment
of religion, an inept method, dignified by the
name of the "higher criticism," which
pretends to judge of the origin, integrity and
authority of each Book from internal indications
alone. It is clear, on the other hand, that
in historical questions, such as the origin
and the handing down of writings, the witness
of history is of primary importance, and that
historical investigation should be made with
the utmost care; and that in this matter internal
evidence is seldom of great value, except as
confirmation. To look upon it in any other light
will be to open the door to many evil consequences.
It will make the enemies of religion much more
bold and confident in attacking and mangling
the Sacred Books; and this vaunted "higher
criticism" will resolve itself into the
reflection of the bias and the prejudice of
the critics. It will not throw on the Scripture
the light which is sought, or prove of any advantage
to doctrine; it will only give rise to disagreement
and dissension, those sure notes of error, which
the critics in question so plentifully exhibit
in their own persons; and seeing that most of
them are tainted with false philosophy and rationalism,
it must lead to the elimination from the sacred
writings of all prophecy and miracle, and of
everything else that is outside the natural
order.
18. In the second place, we have to
contend against those who, making an evil use
of physical science, minutely scrutinize the
Sacred Book in order to detect the writers in
a mistake, and to take occasion to vilify its
contents. Attacks of this kind, bearing as they
do on matters of sensible experience, are peculiarly
dangerous to the masses, and also to the young
who are beginning their literary studies; for
the young, if they lose their reverence for
the Holy Scripture on one or more points, are
easily led to give up believing in it altogether.
It need not be pointed out how the nature of
science, just as it is so admirably adapted
to show forth the glory of the Great Creator,
provided it be taught as it should be, so if
it be perversely imparted to the youthful intelligence,
it may prove most fatal in destroying the principles
of true philosophy and in the corruption of
morality. Hence to the Professor of Sacred Scripture
a knowledge of natural science will be of very
great assistance in detecting such attacks on
the Sacred Books, and in refuting them. There
can never, indeed, be any real discrepancy between
the theologian and the physicist, as long as
each confines himself within his own lines,
and both are careful, as St. Augustine warns
us, "not to make rash assertions, or to
assert what is not known as known."(51)
If dissension should arise between them, here
is the rule also laid down by St. Augustine,
for the theologian: "Whatever they can
really demonstrate to be true of physical nature,
we must show to be capable of reconciliation
with our Scriptures; and whatever they assert
in their treatises which is contrary to these
Scriptures of ours, that is to Catholic faith,
we must either prove it as well as we can to
be entirely false, or at all events we must,
without the smallest hesitation, believe it
to be so."(52) To understand how just is
the rule here formulated we must remember, first,
that the sacred writers, or to speak more accurately,
the Holy Ghost "Who spoke by them, did
not intend to teach men these things (that is
to say, the essential nature of the things of
the visible universe), things in no way profitable
unto salvation."(53) Hence they did not
seek to penetrate the secrets of nature, but
rather described and dealt with things in more
or less 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 by the most eminent men of science. Ordinary
speech primarily and properly describes what
comes under the senses; and somewhat in the
same way the sacred writers-as the Angelic Doctor
also reminds us - `went by what sensibly appeared,"(54)
or put down what God, speaking to men, signified,
in the way men could understand and were accustomed
to.
19. The unshrinking defence of the Holy
Scripture, however, does not require that we
should equally uphold all the opinions which
each of the Fathers or the more recent interpreters
have put forth in explaining it; for it may
be that, in commenting on passages where physical
matters occur, they have sometimes expressed
the ideas of their own times, and thus made
statements which in these days have been abandoned
as incorrect. Hence, in their interpretations,
we must carefully note what they lay down as
belonging to faith, or as intimately connected
with faith-what they are unanimous in. For "in
those things which do not come under the obligation
of faith, the Saints were at liberty to hold
divergent opinions, just as we ourselves are,"(55)
according to the saying of St. Thomas. And in
another place he says most admirably: "When
philosophers are agreed upon a point, and it
is not contrary to our faith, it is safer, in
my opinion, neither to lay down such a point
as a dogma of faith, even though it is perhaps
so presented by the philosophers, nor to reject
it as against faith, lest we thus give to the
wise of this world an occasion of despising
our faith."(56) The Catholic interpreter,
although he should show that those facts of
natural science which investigators affirm to
be now quite certain are not contrary to the
Scripture rightly explained, must nevertheless
always bear in mind, that much which has been
held and proved as certain has afterwards been
called in question and rejected. And if writers
on physics travel outside the boundaries of
their own branch, and carry their erroneous
teaching into the domain of philosophy, let
them be handed over to philosophers for
Inspiration Incompatible with Error
20. The principles here laid down will
apply cognate sciences, and especially to History.
It is a lamentable fact that there are many
who with great labour carry out and publish
investigations on the monuments of antiquity,
the manners and institutions of nations and
other illustrative subjects, and whose chief
purpose in all this is too often to find mistakes
in the sacred writings and so to shake and weaken
their authority. Some of these writers display
not only extreme hostility, but the greatest
unfairness; in their eyes a profane book or
ancient document is accepted without hesitation,
whilst the Scripture, if they only find in it
a suspicion of error, is set down with the slightest
possible discussion as quite untrustworthy.
It is true, no doubt, that copyists have made
mistakes in the text of the Bible; this question,
when it arises, should be carefully considered
on its merits, and the fact not too easily admitted,
but only in those passages where the proof is
clear. It may also happen that the sense of
a passage remains ambiguous, and in this case
good hermeneutical methods will greatly assist
in clearing up the obscurity. But it is absolutely
wrong and forbidden, either to narrow inspiration
to certain parts only of Holy Scripture, or
to admit that the sacred writer has erred. For
the system of those who, in order to rid themselves
of these difficulties, do not hesitate to concede
that divine inspiration regards the things of
faith and morals, and nothing beyond, because
(as they wrongly think) in a question of the
truth or falsehood of a passage, we should consider
not so much what God has said as the reason
and purpose which He had in mind in saying it-this
system cannot be tolerated. For all the books
which the Church receives as sacred and canonical,
are written wholly and entirely, with all their
parts, at the dictation of the Holy Ghost; and
so far is it from being possible that any error
can co-exist with inspiration, that 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 unchanging faith
of the Church, solemnly defined in the Councils
of Florence and of Trent, and finally confirmed
and more expressly formulated by the Council
of the Vatican. These are the words of the last:
"The Books of the Old and New Testament,
whole and entire, with all their parts, as enumerated
in the decree of the same Council (Trent) and
in the ancient Latin Vulgate, are to be received
as sacred and canonical. And the Church holds
them as sacred and canonical, not because, having
been composed by human industry, they were afterwards
approved by her authority; nor only because
they contain revelation without error; but because,
having been written under the inspiration of
the Holy Ghost, they have God for their author."(57)
Hence, because the Holy Ghost employed men as
His instruments, we cannot therefore say that
it was these inspired instruments who, perchance,
have fallen into error, and not the primary
author. For, by supernatural power, He so moved
and impelled them to write-He was so present
to them-that the things which He ordered, and
those only, they, first, rightly understood,
then willed faithfully to write down, and finally
expressed in apt words and with infallible truth.
Otherwise, it could not be said that He was
the Author of the entire Scripture. Such has
always been the persuasion of the Fathers. "Therefore,"
says St. Augustine, "since they wrote the
things which He showed and uttered to them,
it cannot be pretended that He is not the writer;
for His members executed what their Head dictated."(58)
And St. Gregory the Great thus pronounces: "Most
superfluous it is to inquire who wrote these
things-we loyally believe the Holy Ghost to
be the Author of the book. He wrote it Who dictated
it for writing; He wrote it Who inspired its
execution. "(59)
21. It follows that those who maintain
that an error is possible in any genuine passage
of the sacred writings, either pervert the Catholic
notion of inspiration, or make God the author
of such error. And so emphatically were all
the Fathers and Doctors agreed that the divine
writings, as left by the hagiographers, are
free from all error, that they laboured earnestly,
with no less skill than reverence, to reconcile
with each other those numerous passages which
seem at variance-the very passages which in
great measure have been taken up by the "higher
criticism;" for they were unanimous in
laying it down, that those writings, in their
entirety and in all their parts were equally
from the afflatus of Almighty God, and that
God, speaking by the sacred writers, could not
set down anything but what was true. The words
of St. Augustine to St. )erome may sum up what
they taught: "On my part I confess to your
charity that it is only to those Books of Scripture
which are now called canonical that I have learned
to pay such honour and reverence as to believe
most firmly that none of their writers has fallen
into any error. And if in these Books I meet
anything which seems contrary to truth, I shall
not hesitate to conclude either that the text
is faulty, or that the translator has not expressed
the meaning of the passage, or that I myself
do not understand."(60)
22. But to undertake fully and perfectly,
and with all the weapons of the best science,
the defence of the Holy Bible is far more than
can be looked for from the exertions of commentators
and theologians alone. It is an enterprise in
which we have a right to expect the co-operation
of all those Catholics who have acquired reputation
in any branch of learning whatever. As in the
past, so at the present time, the Church is
never without the graceful support of her accomplished
children; may their services to the Faith grow
and increase! For there is nothing which We
believe to be more needful than that truth should
find defenders more powerful and more numerous
than the enemies it has to face; nor is there
anything which is better calculated to impress
the masses with respect for truth than to see
it boldly proclaimed by learned and distinguished
men. Moreover, the bitter tongues of objectors
will be silenced, or at least they will not
dare to insist so shamelessly that faith is
the enemy of science, when they see that scientific
men of eminence in their profession show towards
faith the most marked honour and respect. Seeing,
then, that those can do so much for the advantage
of religion on whom the goodness of Almighty
God has bestowed, together with the grace of
the faith, great natural talent, let such men,
in this bitter conflict of which the Holy Scripture
is the object, select each of them the branch
of study most suitable to his circumstances,
and endeavour to excel therein, and thus be
prepared to repulse with credit and distinction
the assaults on the Word of God. And it is Our
pleasing duty to give deserved praise to a work
which certain Catholics have taken up-that is
to say, the formation of societies and the contribution
of considerable sums of money, for the purpose
of supplying studious and learned men with every
kind of help and assistance in carrying out
complete studies. Truly an excellent fashion
of investing money, and well-suited to the times
in which we live! The less hope of public patronage
there is for Catholic study, the more ready
and the more abundant should be the liberality
of private persons-those to whom God has given
riches thus willingly making use of their means
to safeguard the treasure of His revealed doctrine.
Summary
23. In order that all these endeavours
and exertions may really prove advantageous
to the cause of the Bible, let scholars keep
steadfastly to the principles which We have
in this Letter laid down. Let them loyally hold
that God, the Creator and Ruler of all things,
is also the Author of the Scriptures - and that
therefore nothing can be proved either by physical
science or archaeology which can really contradict
the Scriptures. If, then, apparent contradiction
be met with, every effort should be made to
remove it. Judicious theologians and commentators
should be consulted as to what is the true or
most probable meaning of the passage in discussion,
and the hostile arguments should be carefully
weighed. Even if the difficulty is after all
not cleared up and the discrepancy seems to
remain, the contest must not be abandoned; truth
cannot contradict truth, and we may be sure
that some mistake has been made either in the
interpretation of the sacred words, or in the
polemical discussion itself; and if no such
mistake can be detected, we must then suspend
judgment for the time being. There have been
objections without number perseveringly directed
against the Scripture for many a long year,
which have been proved to be futile and are
now never heard of; and not unfrequently interpretations
have been placed on certain passages of Scripture
(not belonging to the rule of faith or morals)
which have been rectified by more careful investigations.
As time goes on, mistaken views die and disappear;
but "truth remaineth and groweth stronger
for ever and ever."(61) Wherefore, as no
one should be so presumptuous as to think that
he understands the whole of the Scripture, in
which St. Augustine himself confessed that there
was more that he did not know, than that he
knew,(62) so, if he should come upon anything
that seems incapable of solution, he must take
to heart the cautious rule of the same holy
Doctor: "It is better even to be oppressed
by unknown but useful signs, than to interpret
them uselessly and thus to throw off the yoke
only to be caught in the trap of error. "(63)
24. Such, Venerable Brethren, are the
admonitions and the instructions which, by the
help of God, We have thought it well, at the
present moment, to offer to you on the study
of Holy Scripture. It will now be your province
to see that what we have said be observed and
put in practice with all due reverence and exactness;
that so, we may prove our gratitude to God for
the communication to man of the Words of his
