Folio 227

John XXII, 1316-1334

printed p. 195 · pdf p. 227

priest, are by the institution of Christ equal in authority and jurisdiction.

499. (5) That the whole Church joined together can punish no man by forced punishment, unless the emperor permits this.

500. We declare by sentence the above mentioned articles . . . to be contrary to Sacred Scripture and enemies of the Catholic faith, heretics, or heretical and erroneous, and also that the above mentioned Marsilius and John, will be heretics—rather they will be manifest and notorious archheretics.

Errors of Eckart (The Son of God, etc.)1

[Examined and condemned in the edict "In agro dominico," Mar. 27, 1329]

501. (1) And when asked why God did not create the world first, he answered that God was not able to create the world first,2 because He cannot make things before He is; therefore, as soon as God was, He immediately created the world.

502. (2) Likewise it can be granted that the world existed from eternity.

503. (3) Likewise at the same time and once, when God was, when He begot the Son coeternal with Himself, through all things coequal God, He also created the world.

504. (4) Likewise in every work, even evil, evil I say, as of punishment and of sin, the glory of God is manifested and reflects equally.

505. (5) Likewise he who blames anyone, in the blame itself by the sin of blaming praises God, and the more he blames and the more gravely he sins, the more he praises God.

506. (6) Likewise anyone by blaspheming God Himself, praises God.

507. (7) Also he seeking anything here or there seeks evil and badly because he seeks the denial of good and the denial of God, and he prays God to be denied to him.

508. (8) In those men who do not seek after wealth, or honors, or utility, or interior devotion, or sanctity or reward, or the kingdom of heaven, but renounce all these things even that which is theirs, God is honored.

509. (9) Recently I have considered whether I would wish to receive or to wish for anything from God; I wish to deliberate exceedingly well about this, because when I was receiving from God, then I was under Him

  1. Denifle, Archiv. f. litt. and K.G. II (1886) 638 ff.; DuPl I, I 312a ff.; Gotti, Verit. relig. christ. II 348 f.—Eckart, O. P., was born about the middle of the 13th century at Hockheim, Germany, and taught in Paris and Strassburg. He withdrew his errors, which had been reported to the Pope, before sentence was passed. After his death (†1327) the errors were condemned [Hrt II³ 615 ff.; D Ch II 148]. Cf. Theol., Quartalschrift (Tübingen) 113 (1932) 150 ff. [I. Koch]. ↩

  2. Should be corrected: prius, (previously). ↩