110. Whether Christ Suffered All Human Passions and Pains
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Main Topics #
Whether Christ Suffered Every Human Passion #
The Distinction Between Species and Genus
- Thomas distinguishes between passions according to species (particular kinds) and passions according to genus (general category)
- It was not necessary that Christ undergo every species of passion, since many species are contrary to one another (e.g., death by fire vs. death by drowning)
- However, Christ did suffer every genus of human passion
- This distinction comes from Porphyry’s Isagoge, which Berquist emphasizes monks must study: “Nobody had read the Isagoge. Some of them have not even heard of it.”
Sources and Modes of Suffering
- Christ suffered from all categories of people: Gentiles and Jews, males and females, princes and their ministers, the crowd, and those known to him (Judas, Peter)
- Christ suffered in all goods of which humans are capable of deprivation:
- In friends through desertion
- In fame through blasphemies
- In honor and glory through mockery and contumely
- In possessions through being despoiled of vestments
- In soul through sadness and fear
- In body through wounds and scourging
Suffering According to Bodily Members and Senses
- Christ suffered in particular bodily members: head (crown of thorns), hands and feet (nails), face (blows and spitting), whole body (scourging)
- Christ suffered according to all five senses:
- Touch: through scourging and nails
- Taste: through gall/vinegar (myrrh, gall)
- Smell: through the fetid place of Calvary (place of dead cadavers)
- Hearing: through blasphemous voices
- Sight: through seeing his mother and the beloved disciple whom he loved, suffering
Whether Christ’s Pain Was the Greatest #
Four Reasons for the Magnitude of Christ’s Pain
From the Cause of Sensible Pain
- The bodily injury caused by crucifixion is the most bitter form of death
- The method fits nails into the most sensitive parts and nerves
- Pain is concentrated mainly in hands and feet
- The weight of the hanging body continually increases the pain
- Unlike those killed by sword, crucifixion victims do not die immediately
From the Sensitivity of the Patient (perceptibilitas patientis)
- Christ’s body was optimae complexionata (perfectly balanced) through miraculous formation by the Holy Spirit
- Just as miraculous wine is better than ordinary wine (Chrysostom), Christ’s body had superior sensitivity
- His sense of touch was more vigorous than any other person’s
- Aristotle teaches that a better mind correlates with better sense of touch
- Illustration: A musician with trained ear suffers more from off-pitch singing; a wine connoisseur suffers more from inferior beverages
- His interior powers most efficaciously apprehended all causes of sadness
From the Purity of His Suffering (puritate passionis)
- In ordinary suffering, interior sadness (tristitia) is mitigated by consideration of reason
- Exterior bodily pain is mitigated by overflow from higher powers to lower powers (distraction)
- Illustration: A toothache can be diminished by distraction
- In Christ’s suffering, He permitted each power to act according to its nature without overflow
- Each power did its own thing fully and without mitigation from other powers
- This purity of suffering increased the total magnitude of pain rather than decreasing it
- Knowledge and Sorrow: Knowledge brings sorrow; supreme knowledge brings supreme sorrow; Christ had supreme knowledge
From the Voluntary Assumption
- Christ assumed pain voluntarily for the purpose of liberating man from sin
- He assumed such a quantity of pain proportional to the magnitude of the fruit that would follow
- The redemption of all mankind justifies the magnitude of His suffering
Key Arguments #
Objections Against Greatest Pain #
Objection 1: Martyrs Suffered Longer and More Severe Passions
- Saint Lawrence was broiled on a gridiron (particula)
- Saint Vincent’s flesh was lacerated with sharp nails
- Therefore Christ’s pain was not greatest
Thomas’s Response: These arguments consider only one cause of pain (bodily injury). The other causes mentioned in the body of the article much more augment Christ’s pain.
Objection 2: Virtue Mitigates Pain
- Stoics held that sadness does not fall in the soul of the wise man
- Aristotle teaches moral virtue holds the middle in passions
- Christ possessed most perfect virtue
- Therefore His pain should be least, not greatest
Thomas’s Response: Moral virtue mitigates interior sadness (tristitia) but not exterior sensible pain (dolor). Virtue directly diminishes sadness by constituting the middle in the proper matter of emotion. However, virtue does not directly diminish bodily pain because such pain does not obey reason. Christ assumed the greatest sadness for satisfaction for all sins—“His soul is sad even unto death” (maxime), yet the sadness was proportional and not exceeding the rule of reason.
Objection 3: Adam’s Body or Separated Souls Experience Greater Pain
- Adam in innocence had a more sensitive body than Christ’s assumed body
- Separated souls’ pain pertains to a future state exceeding all evils of present life
- Therefore Christ’s pain was not greatest
Thomas’s Response: When comparing Christ’s pain as greatest, we refer to pains of present life, not future state. The pain of separated souls exceeds every evil of this life as the glory of saints exceeds every present good. Adam could not suffer without becoming mortal; if per impossibile Adam in innocence could suffer, it would be less than Christ’s pain.
Objection 4: Christ’s Innocence Diminishes Pain; He Rose in Three Days
- Innocent suffering has less pain (no guilt added to punishment)
- Christ lost bodily life only for three days before resurrection
- Sinners lose life permanently
- Therefore Christ’s pain was not greatest
Thomas’s Response: Christ was pained not only for loss of His own bodily life but for the sins of all mankind. His pain exceeded every pain of anyone who was contrite, both because it proceeded from greater wisdom and charity and because He suffered for the sins of all together. The bodily life of Christ was of such great dignity (united to divinity) that its loss even for an hour was more sorrowful than loss of any other man’s life for whatever duration. Innocence diminishes pain as regards number of pains (guilt adds additional pain), but increases pain as regards perception that the harm is undeserved.
Objection 5: Greatest Pain Would Be Superfluous
- Nothing superfluous was assumed by Christ
- The least pain would suffice for salvation (infinite power from divine person)
- Therefore greatest pain was not necessary
Thomas’s Response: Christ wished to liberate mankind not only by power but also by justice. Therefore He attended not only to what power His sadness had from being united to divinity, but also what pain was sufficient according to human nature for such satisfaction.
Important Definitions #
Passions and Pain #
- Species of passion (species passionis): The particular kind of suffering (e.g., death by fire, drowning, crucifixion)
- Genus of passion (genus passionis): The general category under which multiple species fall
- Sensible pain (dolor sensibilis): Physical pain caused by bodily injury, tied to sense of touch
- Interior pain/Sadness (tristitia): Spiritual suffering caused by apprehension of something harmful, more properly spiritual
- Purity of suffering (puritas passionis): Absence of mitigation between powers of soul; each power acts fully according to its nature
- Optimae complexionata: Perfectly balanced bodily constitution
- Perceptibilitas patientis: Sensitivity or perceptibility of the one suffering
Virtue and Passion #
- Stoic position: Sadness should be entirely absent from the wise man; it discords with reason
- Aristotelian position: Moral virtue constitutes the middle in passions, not according to quantity of thing but according to rule of reason (ratio)
- Truth: Some sadness is useful when it proceeds from holy love (Augustine) or when useful for satisfaction for sin (2 Corinthians 7: “the sadness which is according to God works penance”)
Examples & Illustrations #
On Superior Sensitivity and Pain #
- Mozart’s ear: Mozart was so sensitive that trumpet blasts would cause him to faint; his sensitive ears would be more pained by bad music
- Trained musician: Someone with a trained ear suffers more when the choir sings off-pitch than a tone-deaf person who does not hear it
- Wine taster: One who develops refined taste in wine suffers more annoyance from ordinary beverages
- The toothache distraction: One can diminish toothache pain by mental distraction into something else
- Berquist’s anecdote: Driving in Maine, struck by stone from another car; tried to mitigate with philosophy (“I’m a philosopher, I don’t take it seriously, I’m mortal anyway”) but found one cannot quite reason with bodily pain
On Virtue and Emotional Control #
- Aristotle vs. Stoics: Aristotle teaches the virtuous man moderately laments the death of friend or son; Stoics would say “he was always mortal” with no grief
- Jerome on Aurelius: “Either the man is a stone or he is God” (regarding Marcus Aurelius and supposed Stoic apathy)
- Shakespeare’s critique: Shakespeare mocks the Stoics as “stock”—like a piece of wood being struck repeatedly without response
On Understanding Evil and Sin #
- Abortion and demonic hatred: If the devil can get humans to kill their own children, he must really hate humanity; indicates how difficult it is to comprehend the depth of evil
- Saints and perception of sin: Saints shown the state of a soul in mortal sin report it is so ugly they cannot bear to look at it; dying from the sight
- Christ’s apprehension: Christ would be infinitely more aware of all the terrible things happening in the world; thus infinitely more aware of causes of sadness
Notable Quotes #
“Pay attention and see if there is a pain as my pain.” (Lamentations, cited as prophecy of Christ’s pain being unequaled)
“His soul is sad even unto death” (Tristitia animae usque ad mortem) (Matthew 26, cited as evidence Christ assumed greatest sadness for satisfaction)
“Truly he bore our pain” (Isaiah 53, cited as evidence Christ suffered for sins of all)
“The sadness which is according to God works penance” (2 Corinthians 7, cited as evidence sadness can be virtuous)
“Knowledge brings sorrow; supreme knowledge brings supreme sorrow.” (Wisdom literature, applied to Christ’s supreme knowledge producing supreme sorrow)
Questions Addressed #
Did Christ Suffer All Human Passions? #
Answer: Christ suffered all genera (general categories) of human passions, though not all species (particular kinds). This is because:
- Many species are contrary to one another (cannot simultaneously suffer death by fire and drowning)
- Passions from internal defects (coming from defective form—the Holy Spirit—or from bad living) did not happen in Christ
- But Christ suffered from every general category: from all peoples, losing all types of goods humans can lose, in all bodily members, and through all five senses
Why Was Christ’s Pain the Greatest? #
Answer: Christ’s pain was the greatest among all pains of present life for four combined reasons:
- Crucifixion is the most bitter form of death, affecting the most sensitive nerves
- Christ’s body was perfectly formed and had superior sensitivity
- His suffering was pure—each power acted fully without mitigation from other powers
- He voluntarily assumed pain proportional to the redemption of all mankind
Could Virtue Mitigate Christ’s Pain? #
Answer: Moral virtue directly mitigates interior sadness (tristitia) but not exterior bodily pain (dolor). Bodily pain does not obey reason and therefore cannot be directly diminished by rational virtue. Christ did not allow his superior virtue to overflow from higher powers to lower powers to diminish his suffering; instead, he permitted each power to act according to its nature without such mitigation. This purity of suffering increased rather than decreased the total magnitude of his pain.
Why Did Christ Not Rise Immediately? #
Answer: Though objectors note Christ rose in three days while others lose life permanently, Thomas responds that Christ suffered for the sins of all mankind, not merely for loss of his own life. His pain exceeded every pain of one who was contrite. Additionally, the bodily life of Christ, being united to divinity, had such great dignity that its loss even for one hour was more sorrowful than the permanent loss of any other person’s bodily life.
Connections and Context #
Relationship to Previous Lectures: This lecture continues examination of Christ’s passion from the perspective of degree and comprehensiveness of suffering. It builds on earlier distinctions between absolute and suppositional necessity, perfections and defects assumed by Christ, and Christ’s perfect knowledge and will.
Importance of Porphyry’s Isagoge: Berquist emphasizes that students must have studied the Isagoge to understand Thomas’s use of the species/genus distinction. He notes none of his colleagues have read it and some have not even heard of it, yet it is foundational for understanding univocal predication and the complete division of names.