The first theory does violence to the context, while the second sees opposition where in reality none exists. It is unquestionably true that our Lord's counsel of celibacy marks the beginnings of asceticism, for virginity is its basic and essential element. Asceticism is possible even when the other practices that generally accompany virginity are absent; but without virginity it does not and cannot exist. 66 Jesus counselled poverty even more explicitly. He said: "Do not possess gold, nor silver, nor money in your purses." "Take nothing for your journey, neither staff, nor scrip, nor bread, nor money." "Sell what you possess and give alms." Everyone that doth not renounce all that he possesseth cannot be My disciple." "If thou wilt be perfect, go sell what thou hast, and give to the poor."25 He did not give a command to the rich young man, but clearly made an appeal to his generosity. "If thou wilt be perfect" are His words.2 are His words.26 Finally, Jesus asked His chosen ones to renounce their own wills, "to deny themselves and to take up their cross. Harnack 28 is wrong in declaring that the Catholic Church teaches two different moral codes, one for the multitude, and another for the monk who stands for a higher type of perfection. The difference between them is merely a difference of degree, or rather of means. Both have the same end in view, viz., the love of God and love of the neighbor for God's sake.29 1927 St. John the Baptist, who stands midway between the Old Law and the New, is a character well worthy of study from the viewpoint of asceticism. He is at once a Jewish prophet and a Christian ascetic. He led a solitary life in the desert of Juda, practised the most rigorous penance, and insisted upon his disciples fasting.30 His ascetic life explains the veneration and love the people had for him.31 The example and teaching of Jesus were the inspiration of His Apostles. Were the Apostles married men or celibates? St. Peter tells us that the Apostles left all things to follow Jesus,82 but we are hardly justified in deducing much from so indefinite a We know that St. Peter was married,33 and that St. statement. 27 Matt. xvi. 24. 25 Matt. x. 9; Luke ix. 3; xii. 33; xiv. 33; Matt. xix. 21. Matt. ix. 14. 33 Mark i. 30. Paul was not.3 34 The witness of the early ecclesiastical writers does not help us much, for their testimony is rather late, and St. Clement of Alexandria35 contradicts Tertullian.3 36 Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical Historys describes the austere asceticism of St. James, the first Bishop of Jerusalem, and mentions the virgin daughters of the evangelist Philip," who did prophesy."38 St. Clement of Alexandria speaks of the deacon Nicholas, who lived apart from his wife, and whose daughters were virgins. Mayer39 is right in recognizing the germ of asceticism in the primitive Christian community of Jerusalem.40 The communism which they practised like the monks of the fourth century, was by no means obligatory, as we learn from St. Peter's words to Ananias,41 but a matter of free choice. The Acts say nothing, however, of the practice of virginity, which later on was to become the very essence of the ascetical life. St. Paul's teaching on celibacy is set forth in the seventh chapter of his first letter to Corinth. Virginity is, absolutely speaking, a good state in itself; it is indeed preferable to marriage, because it enables the Christian to serve God better, and "to be holy both in body and in spirit." It is not intended for all, for everyone has his proper gift from God, one after this manner and another after that." In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle discusses the asceticism of certain communities of Asia Minor, which was inspired by either Jewish or Pagan influences.42 He does not find fault with their abstaining from meat and drink, as some ignorant controversialists have maintained, but on the contrary recognizes in their practices" a show of wisdom in their not sparing the body."43 He does, however, absolutely condemn the human motives of their ascetic practices as conducing to pride.44 Some Catholic writers have tried to make St. Paul a witness for the vow of virginity, by a forced interpretation of 1 Tim. x. 12: “Having damnation, because they have made void their first faith."45 But the Abbé Martinez rightly rejects their hypothesis, as well as Achelis'46 theory 341 Cor. vii. 7. 35 Strom., iii., 6. 30 De Monog., viii. Cf. Leclercq, Dict. d'Archeologie, Célibat. II., ch. xxiii., 3, 5, 10; III., ch. xxxix., 9. 38 Acts xxi. 9. Duchesne, Hist. Anc. de l'Église, vol. i., p. 135. 39 Die Christliche Asceze, p. 6. "Acts. v. 4. 43 Col. ii. 23. 40 Acts ii. 44, 45; v. 4. "Prat, La Theologié de St. Paul, p. 391. "Col. ii. 18. Bigelmair, Archiv. für kath. Kirchenrecht, 1896, p. 85. Realencyclopadie, vol. xiii., p. 215. of the Subintroducta supposedly mentioned in 1 Cor. vii. 36-38. St. John in the Apocalypse speaks with the greatest enthusiasm of the state of virginity. "They sang as it were a new canticle. ...These are they (144,000) who were not defiled with women: for they are virgins. These follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. These were purchased from among men, the first fruits to God and to the Lamb: and in their mouth was found no lie: for they are without spot before the throne of God."48 It is probable that he mentions Sardis as the home of some of these ascetics.1 49 No Catholic, of course, would expect to find in the Sacred Scriptures a complete and detailed account of asceticism or of the religious life. But the few passages to which we have called the attention of our readers, are ample enough to prove that the anchorites and cenobites of the fourth century are to be traced to the teachings of Jesus and His Apostles. We have next to consider the testimony of the ecclesiastical writers of the first three centuries, studying as we do so the pseudoasceticism of Gnosticism, Encratism, and Montanism, and the influence of Neo-Platonism on the orthodox asceticism of Alexandria. The Apostle St. John was still living when St. Clement of Rome addressed his words of counsel to the ascetics of the Church of Corinth. Are not the following words an echo of St. Paul's propium donum?50 "Let him who is chaste in body not glory therein, for he knows that it is Another Who bestows upon him the gift of continence.51 St. Ignatius, on his road to Rome to be martyred for the faith, sends greetings to the virgins of Smyrna.52 Even at this early date virginity was recognized as a permanent state, and was highly honored by the faithful. So much so, indeed, that some of these ascetics considered themselves superior to the bishop. St. Ignatius warns them against this spirit of pride, saying, "Asceticism is good; it honors the flesh of the Savior; but the ascetic is subject to the bishop, who is the head of the community."53 "The Subintroducta were those virgins who, while desirous of remaining true to their profession, lived with men who had also pledged themselves to the virgin life. They were united in a spiritual bond. With the one exception of the marital relation, they lived in the closest possible intimacy. There is very little agreement among scholars as to their first appearance in history, their aim, or their relations with the ecclesiastical authorities. (p. 34.) Apoc. xiv. 3-5. Epis. ad Cor., xxxviii., 2. "Apoc. iii. 4. 50Proper gift, 1 Cor. vii. 7. "Ad Smyrn., xiii., 1. Ad Polyc., v., 2; Duchesne, Hist. Anc. de l'Église, vol. i., p. 531. The Didache speaks of a special type of ascetics, known as apostles or prophets. They traveled from city to city of Syria preaching the Gospel like modern Catholic missionaries, never staying long in any one place. They practised poverty, never accepting money for their labors. Indeed those who did accept money were by the very fact excluded from the rank of prophets. Even though their celibacy is not expressly mentioned, it may reasonably be inferred from their mode of life. Harnack55 interprets a rather difficult passage of the Didaches to mean, that they were models of virginity and continence. They were held in such honor by the people, that the author of the Didache feels called upon to remind them, as St. Ignatius had done, of the rightful authority of the bishops and deacons.57 Some of the bishops of this period also lived the ascetical life. Polycrates of Ephesus says of Bishop Melito of Sardis that he was "a eunuch, who lived entirely in the Holy Spirit."58 The aim of Hermas in his Shepherd is to preach penance, and to renew the fervor of those who had grown lax during the bitter trials of persecution. Although he does not address the ascetics directly, he cannot avoid alluding to them. He tells us that his wife was as a sister to him, and that his continence has gained for him the grace of God. He is totally opposed to all idea of encratism; he admits that a widow may marry again without sin, although he believes widowhood more honorable in the sight of God. He speaks of the ascetics of Rome as little children, who have not been stained by sin; they do not know what sin is, for they have always remained pure. He says that they are happy, inasmuch as their reward is great in the sight of God.59 There has been a great deal of controversy about the meaning of a certain passage in the Shepherd, viz., Sim. ix., 10, 6. Funk and Achelis believe that it refers clearly to the Subintroducta, while Zahn and Harnack think that they did not come into being until the third century. Most probably the disputed passage does not refer to any real occurrence at all."0 60 About the middle of the second century the Apologists Justin, Tatian, Athenagoras, Minucius Felix, and others began to write to the pagan emperors their eloquent apologies of the Christian faith. One of their strongest arguments was to contrast the simple Lehre der zwölf Apostel., p. 44 et seq. 55 Eusebius, Hist. Eccles., V., xxvi., 5. A. D. 50-160. XI., 11. "XV., 2. 59 Vis. i., 2-4; ii., 2, 3; Mand. iv., 4; Sim. ix., 29; xi., 29, 31. Page 41. and pure lives of the Christians with the corruption of an immoral and a debased paganism. If the ascetic life had attained a more perfect development, they might have insisted more on the heroism of these superior souls. But the ascetics still lived in the world, and were in no way distinguishable from the body of the faithful. However they were far from neglecting so powerful an argument. I They were proud of the number of those who lived the virgin life, and they defied the pagans to produce anyone comparable to I them in virtue. 1961 St. Justin Martyr, after painting a vivid picture of pagan immorality, says: "When we marry, we marry to bring forth children; when we renounce marriage, we are perfectly continent." In two other passages he speaks of the great number of Christians who are practising celibacy and poverty.62 Both Tatian and Athenagoras insist on the purity of the Christian women of their day, the latter saying that they were pure body and soul, shunning even evil thoughts and desires. He also declares with St. Paul, that the many men and women who remain virgins to extreme old age, do so for the sole purpose of uniting themselves more intimately with God.68 The Gospel origin of asceticism could not be more clearly put. Minucius Felix at the close of the second century writes: Many are possessed of a body spotless by a perpetual virginity, although they do not boast of it. So far removed is incest from our hearts, that some regard even the marriage bond with a sense of shame."64 66 It is clear from the few documents that remain to us of this second century, that asceticism was honored everywhere, both in the East and in the West; in Syria, in Asia Minor, in Greece, and in Rome. Wherever Christianity spread, generous souls by the thousands spontaneously followed, not merely the commands of the Lord, but also his free counsels of virginity and poverty.65 These virgins did not live apart from their families. They were regarded as superior to the average Christian, though like them subject to their legitimate pastors. Their influence for good was felt not only by the faithful about them, but by the pagan world outside, which often bore tribute to "their purity, mastery of soul, and passionate love of virtue."66 Their asceticism was in no way 11. Apol., xxix. 21. Apol. xiv., 2; xv., 6. Tatian, Oratio, 33; Athenagoras, Legatio, 33. "Galien, quoted by Harnack, Die Mission und Ausbreitung des Christenthums, p. 157. |