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ORIGEN, PLATO, AND CONSCIENCE (SYNDERESIS) IN JEROME'S EZEKIEL COMMENTARY By DOUGLAS KBIES Due especially to the pioneering work of Lottin,1 philosophers and theologians interested in the medieval discussion of the human conscience are today well aware that the Scholastic debate was framed principally in relation to two words, conscientia and synderesis. In the now classic formulation of the distinction between those two terms by Thomas Aquinas, synderesis is understood as the special habitus of the practical intellect whereby human beings know the basic principles of morality, whereas conscientia is the act whereby the practical reasoning powers of a human being apply the fundamental principles to the particular matter at hand.2 It is also generally acknowledged by scholars today that the argument about the relationship between conscientia and synderesis began many years prior to Thomas's work, that the medieval debate was originally spurred by the introduction of the strange term synderesis into the conversation, and that the term entered the discussion by means of an enigmatic passage in Jerome's Commentary on Ezekiel.3 Finally, most scholars acknowledge that the appearance of synderesis in the medieval manuscripts of Jerome's commentary is in all likelihood a corruption of the Greek word syneidesis, which is the standard correlate in Greek Patristic literature for the Latin conscientia.4 1 D. Odon Lottin, Psychologie et morale aux XlT et XIII' siècles (Louvain, 1942-60), 2:103-349. Some of the more important texts in the medieval debate have been translated into English and published by Timothy C. Potts, Conscience in Medieval Philosophy (Cambridge , 1980). 2 De verdate, qq. 16 and 17. The matter is treated less thoroughly in the Summa theologiae , I, q. 79, aa. 12-13; I—II, q. 94, a. 1 ad 2; I—II q. 47, a. 6, ad 1 and ad 3. 3 On these matters, see especially Michael B. Crowe, "The Term Synderesis and the Scholastics," Irish Theological Quarterly 23 (1956): 151-64, 228-45; Jacques de Blic, S. J., "Syndérèse ou conscience?" Revue d'ascétique et de mystique 25 (1949): 146-57. Also Ake Petzäll, "La syndérèse: De l'Aigle d'Ézéchiel à la conscience morale par le Commentaire de Saint Jérôme," Theoria (Lund-Copenhagen) 20 (1954): 64-77. 4 The question about whether syneidêsis or synderesis is the correct reading was a disputed question in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It seems fair to say that the predominant scholarly opinion eventually concluded that synderesis is a corrupted reading . Crowe gives a summary of the reasons for this judgment in "The Term Synderesis and the Scholastics," 153-55. A more complete account is provided by Blic. A brief overview of the debate is provided by Oscar James Brown, Natural Rectitude and Divine Law in Aquinas : An Approach to an Integral Interpretation of the Thomistic Doctrine of Law (Toronto, 1981), 175-77. Nevertheless, Potts argues that synderesis or synleresis does occur, though 68TRADITIO What has not been satisfactorily explained, however, is the meaning of Jerome's passage itself. That the passage in the Commentary on Ezekiel was the prompt for subsequent reflection is clear, but what did the author of that passage originally intend? To be sure, some scholars have recognized that Jerome's remarks were probably influenced by Origen, and Jerome tells us himself that his passage reports the views of some commentators who follow Plato, but these intimations are vague. This essay intends to show that it is possible to identify the sources of the passage in Jerome's work with much more precision and detail than has ever been attempted heretofore . The interpretation of Ezekiel that Jerome reports can be traced to specific passages in Plato's dialogues, while the crucial statements Jerome relates about conscience can be demonstrated to rely upon Origen. The interpretation recorded by Jerome turns out to be extremely interesting in itself as well as valuable for the glimpse it gives us into the early encounter between philosophy and the Christian faith. Platonic Parallels to Ezekiel's Vision At the beginning of the book of Ezekiel, the prophet reports a remarkable vision in which he had...

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