Class 2.-Catholic Commentators

PRIMASIUS, bishop of Utica, in Africa, and disciple of St. Augustine, wrote also a comment on all St. Paul’s Epistles, and one on the book of Revelation. He flourished A.D. 550.

And to ANDREAS, archbishop of Cæsarea, in Cappadocia, we are indebted for a very extensive comment on the Apocalypse, which is highly extolled by Catholic writers, and which contains a sufficient quantum of mystical interpretations.

All these writers, with others of minor note, may be found in the Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum, &c., by Deuteronomy la BIGNE, folio, par. 1624, vol. 1. Any person who is fond of ecclesiastical antiquity will find himself gratified even by a superficial reading of the preceding authors; for they not only give their own sentiments on the subjects they handle, but also those of accredited writers who have flourished long before their times.

CLASS 2.-CATHOLIC COMMENTATORS

Among the Catholic writers many valuable commentators are to be found; the chief of whom are the following:-Hugo de Sancto CLARA, or Hugh de St. CLER, flourished in 1200. He was a Dominican monk and cardinal, and wrote a commentary on the whole Bible, and composed a Concordance, probably the first regular work of the kind, in which he is said to have employed not less than 500 of his brethren to write for him. Nicholaus de LYRA or Lyranus, Anglice, Nicholas Harper, wrote short comments on the whole Bible, which are allowed to be very judicious, and in which he reprehends many reigning abuses. It is supposed that from these Martin Luther borrowed much of that light which brought about the Reformation. Hence it has been said,

Si Lyra non lyrasset,

Lutherus non saltasset.

“If Lyra had not harped on profanation,

Luther had never planned the reformation.”

Lyra flourished in 1300, and was the first of the Christian commentators, since St. Jerome, who brought rabbinical learning to illustrate the sacred writings. His postils may be found in the Glossa Ordinaria of Walafrid Strabus, already mentioned.

John MENOCHIUS, who flourished in the sixteenth century, has published short notes on all the Scriptures; they are generally esteemed very judicious and satisfactory.

ISIDORE CLARIUS, bishop of Fuligni in Umbria, in 1550, wrote some learned notes on the Old and New Testaments: he is celebrated for an eloquent speech delivered before the council of Trent in favour of the Vulgate. His learned defence of it contributed no doubt to the canonization of that Version.

JOHN MALDONAT wrote notes on particular parts of the Old and New Testaments, at present little read.

CORNELIUS a LAPlDE is one of the most laborious and voluminous commentators since the invention of printing. Though he has written nothing either on the Psalms or Job, yet his comment forms no less than 16 vols. folio; it was printed at Venice, 1710. He was a very learned man, but cites as authentic several spurious writings. He died in 1637. In 1693-4, Father QUESNEL, Priest of the Oratory, published in French, at Brussels, Moral Reflections on the New Testament, in 8 vols. 12mo. The author was a man of deep piety, and were it not for the rigid Jansenian predestinarianism which it contains, it would, as a spiritual comment, be invaluable. The work was translated into English by the Rev. Richard Russel, and published in 4 vols. 8vo., London, 1719, &c. In this work the reader must not expect any elucidation of the difficulties, or indeed of the text, of the New Testament; the design of Father Quesnel is to draw spiritual uses from his text, and apply them to moral purposes. His reflections contain many strong reprehensions of reigning abuses in the Church, and especially among the clergy. It was against this book that Pope Clement XI. issued his famous constitution Unigenitus, in which he condemned one hundred and one propositions taken out of the Moral Reflections, as dangerous and damnable heresies. In my notes on the New Testament I have borrowed several excellent reflections from Father Quesnel’s work. The author died at Amsterdam, December 2, 1719, aged 86 years.

DOM AUGUSTIN CALMET, a Benedictine, published what he terms Commentaire Litteral, on the whole of the Old and New Testaments. It was first printed at Paris, in 26 vols. 4to., 1707-1717; and afterwards in 9 vols. folio, Paris, Emery, Saugrain, and Martin, 1719-1726. It contains the Latin text of the Vulgate and a French translation, in collateral columns, with the notes at the bottom of each page. It has a vast apparatus of prefaces and dissertations, in which immense learning good sense, sound judgment, and deep piety, are invariably displayed. Though the Vulgate is his text, yet he notices all its variations from the Hebrew and Greek originals, and generally builds his criticisms on these. He quotes all the ancient commentators, and most of the modern, whether Catholic or Protestant, and gives them due credit and praise. His illustrations of many difficult texts, referring to idolatrous customs, rites, ceremonies, &c., from the Greek and Roman classics, are abundant, appropriate, and successful. His tables, maps, plans, &c., are very judiciously constructed, and consequently very useful. This is without exception the best comment ever published on the sacred writings, either by Catholics or Protestants, and has left little to be desired for the completion of such a work. It is true its scarcity, voluminousness, high price, and the language in which it is written, must prevent its ever coming into common use in our country; but it will ever form one of the most valuable parts of the private library of every Biblical student and divine. From this judicious and pious commentator I have often borrowed; and his contributions form some of the best parts of my work. It is to be lamented that he trusted so much to his printers, in consequence of which his work abounds with typographical errors, and especially in his learned quotations. In almost every case I have been obliged to refer to the originals themselves. When once written he never revised his sheets, but put them at once into the hands of his printer. This was a source of many mistakes; but for the following I cannot account. In his notes on Numbers 12:2, he adds the following clause: Dominus iratus est, Le Seigneur se suit en colere, on which he makes the following strange observation: Cela n’est dans l’Hebreu, ni dans les Septante, ni dans le Chaldeen. On which Houbigant remarks: Potuit addere nec in Samaritano codice, nec in ejus interprete, nec in ipso Vulgato;nec in utroque Arabe. Ut difficile sit divinare unde hæc verba Aug. Calmet deprompserit: nec mirortalia multa excidisse in scriptore qui chartas suas, prima manu scriptas, non prius retractabat, quamcas jam mississet ad typographos. The fact is, the words are not in the Bible nor in any of its versions.

In 1753, Father HOUBIGANT, a Priest of the Oratory, published a Hebrew Bible, in 4 vols. folio, with a Latin Version, and several critical notes at the end of each chapter. He was a consummate Hebraician and accurate critic;