Folio 185

Alexander III, 1159-1181

printed p. 153 · pdf p. 185

when we speak of one God, one divine substance, we confess that the one God himself, the one divine substance are three persons.

391. 3. We believe (and we confess) that only God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit are eternal, and not by any means other things, whether they be called relations or peculiarities or singularities or onenesses, and that other such things belong to God, which are from eternity, which are not God.

392. 4. We believe (and confess) that divinity itself, whether you call it divine substance or nature, is incarnate only in the Son.

ANASTASIUS IV 1153–1154      HADRIAN IV 1154–1159

ALEXANDER III 1159–1181

Erroneous Proposition concerning the Humanity of Christ1

[Condemned in the letter "Cum Christus" to Willelmus, Archbishop of Rheims, February 18, 1177]

393. Since Christ perfect God is perfect man, it is strange with what temerity anyone dares to say that "Christ is not anything else but man."2 Moreover lest so great an abuse of God be able to spring up in the Church . . . by our authority you should place under anathema, lest anyone dare to say this concerning the other . . . because just as He is true God, so He is true man existing from a rational soul and human flesh.

The Illicit Contract of a Sale3

[From the letter "In civitate tua" to the Archbishop of Geneva, of uncertain time]

394. In your city you say that it often happens that when certain ones are purchasing pepper or cinnamon or other wares which at that time are not the value of more than five pounds, they also promise to those from whom they receive these wares that they will pay six pounds at a stated time. However, although a contract of this kind according to such a form cannot be considered under the name of usury, yet nevertheless the sellers incur sin, unless there is a doubt that the wares would be of

  1. CIC Decr. Greg. V, 7, 7: Frdbg II 779; Rcht II 751; Jf 12785; Msi XXI 1081 C f.; cf. DuPl I, I 116 b; DCh I n. 9. ↩

  2. This sentence was Abelard's; cf. Opera sancti Bonaventurae ed. Quaracchi tom. 3, p. 156 f., Schol. ↩

  3. CIC Decr. Greg. V, 19, 6: Frdbg II 813; Rcht II 784; Jf 13965.  ↩