LatineEnglish
Verse 12. And when God had seen that the earth was corrupted (for all flesh had corrupted its way), etc.1
Vers. 12. Cumque vidisset Deus terram esse corruptam (omnis quippe caro corruperat viam suam), etc.
Licet Deus videat omnia etiam priusquam fiant, in sacris tamen litteris dicitur tunc Deus videre peccata hominum cum ea vult et statuit punire. Tunc enim peccata dicuntur venire ante oculos et in conspectum et in memoriam Dei, cum ea Deus meritis ac debitis poenis vindicare decernit. Prius enim quam puniat Deus, videtur similis aut dormienti aut ignoranti; unde dicitur excitari et exsurgere et animadvertere, quia cum punit quod antea non puniebat, similis videtur expergiscenti et advertenti. Quemadmodum infra capite 18 dixit Deus: Clamor Sodomorum et Gomorrhaeorum multiplicatus est, et peccatum eorum aggravatum est nimis; descendam et videbo utrum clamorem qui venit ad me opere compleverint, an non est ita, ut sciam. Quamobrem cum aliquid vellemus a Deo puniri, quotidiano et vulgari sermone dicere solemus: Videat Deus et iudicet; non quod ignoremus id videri Deo, sed quod optemus id a Deo videri ad puniendum. Sic igitur hoc loco dicitur Deus vidisse quod omnis terra corrupta erat et quod omnis caro corruperat viam suam, quia decreverat non amplius differre tantorum scelerum vindictam, sed quamprimum ea supplicio diluvii punire.
Although God sees all things even before they happen, yet in the sacred writings God is said to ‘see’ the sins of men when he wills and resolves to punish them. For then sins are said to come before the eyes and into the sight and into the memory of God, when God determines to avenge them with deserved and due punishments. For before God punishes, he seems like one asleep or ignorant; whence he is said ‘to be roused,’ ‘to rise up,’ and ‘to take notice,’ because, when he punishes what he did not punish before, he seems like one awaking and noticing. As below, in chapter 18, God said: ‘The cry of the Sodomites and Gomorrhaeans is multiplied, and their sin is exceedingly grievous; I will go down and see whether they have accomplished in deed the cry that has come to me, or whether it be not so, that I may know.’ Wherefore, when we wish something to be punished by God, in daily and common speech we are wont to say: ‘Let God see and judge’ — not that we are ignorant that it is seen by God, but that we desire it to be seen by God for punishment. So, then, in this place God is said to have seen that all the earth was corrupted and that all flesh had corrupted its way, because he had decreed to defer the vengeance of such great crimes no longer, but to punish them as soon as possible with the punishment of the Flood.2
Quod sequitur, Omnis caro corruperat viam suam, explanans Ambrosius ita scribit: Carnem hic posuit Moses pro homine terreno, in quo carnis illecebra viam eius corruperat. Qui si intellexisset quod munus accepisset a Deo, non utique passus esset ut caro obstaret animae virtutibus. Itaque corrumpendae etiam animae caro fuit causa, quae velut origo et locus quidam est voluptatis, ex qua velut a fonte prorumpunt concupiscentiarum malarumque passionum flumina lateque exundant, quibus demergitur anima velut excusso gubernatore remigium, cum ipsamet mens velut quibusdam tempestatibus et procellis victa loco suo cedit. Pulchre autem ait Quia homo natura sua viam corrumpit. Nam via sua in Paradiso erat, in illo beatitudinum tramite, in illo virtutum flore, in illa incorruptibili gratia, quam viam terrenis inquinavit vestigiis. Alii habent, Viam ipsius, hoc est Dei; hoc solet verbo Domini declarari. Sic Ambrosius.
What follows, ‘All flesh had corrupted its way,’ Ambrose, explaining, writes thus: ‘Here Moses put “flesh” for earthly man, in whom the enticement of the flesh had corrupted his way. Who, if he had understood what gift he had received from God, would by no means have suffered the flesh to stand in the way of the soul’s virtues. And so the flesh was the cause of the soul’s being corrupted too — the flesh, which is as it were the origin and a certain seat of pleasure, from which, as from a fountain, burst forth the rivers of concupiscences and evil passions and overflow far and wide, by which the soul is sunk like an oarage with the steersman cast out, when the mind itself, overcome as by certain storms and tempests, yields its place. And he says beautifully, “Because man by his own nature corrupts his way.” For his way was in Paradise, in that path of blessings, in that flower of virtues, in that incorruptible grace — which way he defiled with earthly footsteps. Others have “His way,” that is, God’s way; this is usually declared by the word of the Lord.’ Thus Ambrose.3
Sed illius vocabuli via, ut frequentissimus, sic amplissimus et perquam varius est in sacris litteris usus. Significat enim vitam hominis, studia, mores, instituta, opera, consuetudines; saepissime autem id nominis pro lege Dei usurpatur, quo modo putant quidam hic accipi...
But the use of that word ‘way’ in the sacred writings, as it is most frequent, so it is most ample and exceedingly varied. For it signifies a man’s life, pursuits, morals, institutions, works, customs; but very often that word is used for the law of God, in which way some think it is taken here…4
...ut sit sensus, omnis caro, id est omnis homo, corruperat viam suam, id est violaverat legem sibi a Deo datam, non quidem legem Mosis aut aliam positivam, quae nulla eo tempore fuit, sed naturalem, praesertim vero quantum ad concupiscentiam carnis et vexationem atque oppressionem proximi. Alii interpretantur illos corrupisse viam suam quantum ad naturalem rationem coitus, scilicet cum feminis generandae prolis causa. Illi enim abutebantur coitu contra naturam, facientes id quod Paulus scribit ad Rom. 1: Feminae eorum immutaverunt naturalem usum in eum usum qui est contra naturam; similiter autem et masculi, relicto naturali usu feminae, exarserunt in desideriis suis invicem, masculi in masculos turpitudinem operantes. Quin etiam putant quidam tantam fuisse turpitudinem libidinis animorumque corruptelam ut masculi non solum cum masculis sed etiam cum brutis miscerentur.
…so that the sense is: all flesh — that is, every man — had corrupted its way, that is, had violated the law given to it by God; not indeed the law of Moses or any other positive law (for there was none at that time), but the natural law, and especially as to the concupiscence of the flesh and the harassment and oppression of the neighbor. Others interpret that they corrupted their way as to the natural manner of intercourse — namely, with women for the sake of begetting offspring. For they abused intercourse against nature, doing that which Paul writes in Romans 1: ‘Their women changed the natural use into that use which is against nature; and in like manner the males also, leaving the natural use of the female, burned in their desires one toward another, males with males working that which is filthy.’ Indeed, some think that the baseness of lust and the corruption of souls was so great that males mingled not only with males, but even with beasts.5
Addit praeterea Lyranus (id nempe mutuatus ex Hebraeis) etiam animalia corrupisse viam suam, quippe unius speciei animalia cum animalibus diversarum specierum miscebantur; quod mihi tamen non fit verisimile. Animalia enim habent naturalem propensionem ad unum aliquid praefinitum ipsis et determinatum a natura, quo fit ut, nisi ab homine vel instigata vel condocefacta, non appetant coitum eorum quae diversae sunt speciei. At homo, qui praeditus est intellectu et voluntate, quae sunt universalia et indeterminata principia agendi, potest variare naturalem suam propensionem et, prout sibi visum et libitum fuerit, agere.
Lyra adds, moreover (this being borrowed from the Hebrews), that the animals too corrupted their way, since animals of one species mingled with animals of diverse species; which, however, does not seem probable to me. For animals have a natural propensity toward one single thing predetermined and fixed for them by nature, whereby it comes about that, unless instigated or trained by man, they do not seek the coupling of those that are of a diverse species. But man, who is endowed with intellect and will — which are universal and indeterminate principles of acting — can vary his natural propensity and act according as it seems good and pleasing to him.6
Translator’s notes
- Genesis 6:12 (Vulgate lemma). ↩
- §43: God ‘sees’ sins when he resolves to punish them. Margin: ‘When God is said to see the sins of men.’ ↩
- §44: ‘all flesh had corrupted its way’ — Ambrose: ‘flesh’ for earthly man, the flesh the source of corruption. Margin: Ambrose, On Noah and the Ark, ch. 5. ↩
- §45 (continues on p. 161): the manifold scriptural senses of ‘way’ (life, morals, the law of God). Margin: ‘What the word “way” signifies.’ ↩
- §45 (continued from p. 160): ‘all flesh corrupted its way’ = violated the natural law, especially in lust and against nature (Rom. 1). Margin: Rom. 1. ↩
- §46: Lyra adds (from the Hebrews) that the animals too corrupted their way — which Pererius doubts, since beasts follow a fixed natural instinct. Margin: Lyra. ↩