Trent's two Latin texts

Two of the three texts Trent cites for the increase of justification read differently in the Latin Trent quotes and in the Greek (the chapter James 2:24). "He that is just, let him be justified still" is Revelation 22:11 in the Latin Vulgate; the Greek, as the critical editions print it, says "let the righteous still do righteousness". "Be not afraid to be justified even to death" is Sirach 18:22 in the Vulgate; the Greek has "to be justified" too, but in a sentence about paying vows: "do not wait until death to be justified". Trent introduces both with "as it is written" (Session VI, ch. 10), having declared the Vulgate "authentic" for "public lectures, disputations, sermons and expositions" (Session IV).

In 1943 Pius XII urged Catholic scholars back to the Hebrew and the Greek. The original text, he wrote in Divino Afflante Spiritu,

"written by the inspired author himself, has more authority and greater weight than any even the very best translation" (§16).

Four centuries earlier, Trent had taught the increase of justification from two verses whose Latin reads differently from the Greek. Do the pope and the council contradict each other? The answer here is drawn from Rome's own documents and nothing else: the council's decree, the pope's letter, and the Catholic Church's own translation of the Greek.

The answer depends on what "as it is written" claims

Taken as a claim about what the inspired authors wrote, it cannot be held together with Pius XII. He teaches that the original text, "written by the inspired author himself, has more authority and greater weight than any even the very best translation" (§16). The original of Revelation 22:11, as the Church's own translation gives it, says "the righteous must still do right", not "be justified still". Those commitments cannot all be true together (trent_as_the_inspired_text_contradicts_pius, which is checked for Revelation 22:11). Every one of them is Rome's.

Taken as Pius XII takes Trent's decree on the Vulgate, there is no contradiction. Pius XII denies that going back to the originals "in any way derogates" from Trent (§20). The Vulgate's authority is "juridical", a matter of the Church's approval, and not a claim about the original wording. And the Vulgate, "in the sense in which the Church has understood and understands it", is "free from any error whatsoever in matters of faith and morals" and "may be quoted safely ... in disputations" (§21). Taken that way, Trent quotes the Church's approved Latin, not the inspired authors' words, and everything Rome says can be held together (pius_reading_is_consistent).

What the consistent way of taking it costs. It moves the support for the two texts from the inspired authors to the Church: the claims that carry it rest on Rome's word alone (pius_reading_rests_on_authority). And Pius XII asks that a doctrine taught from the Vulgate be confirmed from the original texts (§22), which at these two verses do not confirm it (pius_finds_no_confirmation). So of the three texts chapter 10 cites, only James 2:24 is left to confirm the doctrine from the originals. It is weighed in the chapter James 2:24.

What this does not show

It does not show that Rome contradicts itself. Trent does not say which way its "as it is written" is meant, and Pius XII supplies the way on which there is no contradiction. The first contradicts Pius XII. The second makes the two texts an appeal to the Church's authority, which Pius XII himself asks to be confirmed from the originals, and the originals do not confirm it.

Nor does it show that the doctrine is false. Pius XII holds the Vulgate free from error in faith because Rome holds the doctrine true on other grounds. This section is about what these two texts can bear.

How this is checked

The positions, steps and results behind this chapter, each with the formula or the Lean that checks it

Taken as the inspired text

romeOnTheInspiredText

Rome's own commitments, with Trent's citation taken as the inspired text. Trent's "as it is written" at Revelation 22:11, as a claim about what its author wrote. The Greek, as the Catholic Church's own translation gives it. Pius XII's principle that the original outweighs any translation. And the step from the last two to "the inspired text does not say 'be justified still'".

(1) \(\href{claims.html#claim-92}{P_{92}}\) — Revelation 22:11 says: he that is just, let him be justified still
(2) \(\href{claims.html#claim-93}{P_{93}}\) — The Greek of Revelation 22:11 says: let the righteous still do righteousness
(3) \(\href{claims.html#claim-96}{P_{96}}\) — The original text, written by the inspired author, outweighs any translation: a reading it lacks is not his word
(4) \((\href{claims.html#claim-93}{P_{93}} \land \href{claims.html#claim-96}{P_{96}}) \rightarrow \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-92}{P_{92}}\) — would deny: Revelation 22:11 says: he that is just, let him be justified still

trent_as_the_inspired_text_contradicts_pius

Trent's Revelation 22:11, taken as what its inspired author wrote, cannot be held together with Pius XII. The original "has more authority and greater weight than any even the very best translation" (Divino Afflante Spiritu §16). The original of Revelation 22:11, as the Catholic Church's own translation gives it, says "the righteous must still do right". With those two, the claim that the inspired author wrote "let him be justified still" cannot be true. Every premise is Rome's own.

It does not show that Trent meant its citation that way. Taken as Pius XII takes Trent's use of the Vulgate, there is no contradiction (pius_reading_is_consistent).

theorem trent_as_the_inspired_text_contradicts_pius : ¬Satisfiable
    romeOnTheInspiredText
-- axioms: propext, Classical.choice, Quot.sound

Taken as Pius XII takes the Vulgate

piusConfirmationSource

Pius XII's step. A doctrine taught from the Vulgate is to be confirmed from the original texts (§22). The original of Revelation 22:11 has no "be justified". The Greek of Sirach 18:22 has it, but says "do not wait until death to be justified" of paying a vow, not "be not afraid to be justified even to death". So these two texts do not confirm the doctrine from the originals. Rated wellSupported: it is Pius XII's own requirement, applied to texts whose originals the Church's own translation gives.

def piusConfirmationSource : Source :=
  {
    primary :=
      Reference.work divinoAfflanteSpiritu (Bib.Locus.sectionRef "§22"),
    supporting := [Reference.work nabre], tradition := Tradition.romanCatholic,
    confidence := Confidence.wellSupported }

piusOnTrentsVulgate — Pius XII, on Trent's Vulgate

Rome's own position on the two Latin texts, taken as Pius XII takes Trent. Trent quotes the Vulgate as the Church's approved text. The Vulgate is free from error in faith and morals. The original outweighs any translation, and the originals of the two verses do not say what the Latin says. A doctrine taught from the Vulgate is to be confirmed from the originals. The conclusion: the two texts do not confirm the increase of justification from the originals.

(1) \(\href{claims.html#claim-98}{P_{98}}\) — Trent quotes the Vulgate's Revelation 22:11 and Sirach 18:22 as juridically authentic, not as the inspired authors' words
(2) \(\href{claims.html#claim-97}{P_{97}}\) — The Vulgate, as the Church understands it, is free from error in faith and morals: its authenticity is juridical
(3) \(\href{claims.html#claim-96}{P_{96}}\) — The original text, written by the inspired author, outweighs any translation: a reading it lacks is not his word
(4) \(\href{claims.html#claim-93}{P_{93}}\) — The Greek of Revelation 22:11 says: let the righteous still do righteousness
(5) \(\href{claims.html#claim-95}{P_{95}}\) — The Greek of Sirach 18:22 is about paying a vow: do not wait until death to be justified
(6) \(\href{claims.html#claim-99}{P_{99}}\) — A doctrine taught from the Vulgate is to be confirmed from the original texts
(7) \((\href{claims.html#claim-93}{P_{93}} \land \href{claims.html#claim-96}{P_{96}}) \rightarrow \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-92}{P_{92}}\) — would deny: Revelation 22:11 says: he that is just, let him be justified still
(8) \((\href{claims.html#claim-95}{P_{95}} \land \href{claims.html#claim-96}{P_{96}}) \rightarrow \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-94}{P_{94}}\) — would deny: Sirach 18:22 says: be not afraid to be justified even to death
(9) \((\href{claims.html#claim-99}{P_{99}} \land \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-92}{P_{92}} \land \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-94}{P_{94}}) \rightarrow \lnot \href{claims.html#claim-100}{P_{100}}\)
\(\vdash\) \(\lnot \href{claims.html#claim-100}{P_{100}}\) — at issue, the denial of: Revelation 22:11 and Sirach 18:22 confirm the increase of justification from the original texts

No premise here rests on scripture alone.

piusReading

Rome's position, as Pius XII takes Trent. The Vulgate is the Church's approved text and free from error in faith. Trent quotes it as such. The originals of the two verses do not say what the Latin says, and outweigh any translation. So the two texts do not confirm the doctrine from the originals. Everything else is as Trent holds it.

def piusReading : Valuation Claim :=
  fun a =>
    match a with
    | Claim.rev22_11BeJustifiedStill => False
    | Claim.sir18_22BeJustifiedToDeath => False
    | Claim.latinTextsConfirmedFromOriginals => False
    | Claim.worksAreFruitNotGround => False
    | x => True

pius_reading_is_consistent

Taken as Pius XII takes Trent's decree on the Vulgate, Rome is consistent. All of this can be held together: Trent quoting the Vulgate as the Church's approved text; the Vulgate free from error in faith and morals; the original outweighing any translation; the Greek of the two verses as the Church's own translation gives it; and the requirement that a doctrine taught from the Vulgate be confirmed from the originals.

theorem pius_reading_is_consistent : Satisfiable piusOnTrentsVulgate.premises
-- axioms: propext, Quot.sound

pius_finds_no_confirmation

By Pius XII's own teaching, the two Latin texts do not confirm the increase of justification from the originals. He asks that a doctrine taught from the Vulgate be confirmed from the original texts (§22). The original of Revelation 22:11 has no "be justified". The Greek of Sirach 18:22 has the verb, in a sentence about paying a vow before death, and not the Latin's "be not afraid ... even to death". So of the three texts chapter 10 cites, only James 2:24 is left to confirm the doctrine from the originals.

It does not show that the Greek of Sirach 18:22 could not be read in Trent's favour. That would be a further argument about what its "be justified" means, and none is written down here.

theorem pius_finds_no_confirmation : Establishes piusOnTrentsVulgate
-- axioms: propext, Quot.sound

pius_reading_rests_on_authority

Taken that way, the two texts rest on the Church's word. The claims that carry Trent's citation are cited to Pius XII alone: that it quotes the Vulgate as the Church's approved text, and that the Vulgate is free from error in faith. So are the principle that the original outweighs any translation and the requirement of confirmation from the originals, though Westminster holds the principle too.

theorem pius_reading_rests_on_authority :
    piusOnTrentsVulgate.restingOnAuthority =
    [Claim.trentQuotesTheVulgateJuridically,
    Claim.vulgateFreeFromDoctrinalError, Claim.originalTextDecides,
    Claim.doctrineToBeConfirmedFromOriginals]
-- axioms: propext