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BONAVENTURE’S COMMENTARY ON LUKE: FOUR CASE STUDIES OF HIS CREATIVE BORROWING FROM HUGH OF ST. CHER It has been recognized for some time that St. Bonaventure borrowed more extensively from Hugh of St. Cher in his commentary on Luke 924 than he had for the previous eight chapters. Often in their 1895 critical edition the Quaracchi editors were understated when they indicated such borrowing with the words, “Cardinal Hugh has something sim ilar.” In my forthcoming annotated translation of Bonaventure’s commentary on Luke 9-16 I will detail many other small and not-so-small borrowings. In this article I give four representative borrowings and point out some aspects of Bonaventure’s creativity in passing on the insights of his older contemporary, Hugh of St. Cher. Our first test case focuses on Bonaventure’s commentary on Luke 11:29-32. Here Bonaventure reveals his love for the mnemonic device of numbering items. Both Hugh of St. Cher and he list the same seven pre-eminent characteristics of the queen of the South. Further, Bonaventure manifests his creative individuality by highlighting Jesus as the Wisdom of God and by giving his extraordinary christological rendering ofJohn 8:25: “I am the beginning, who is speaking to you.” The one single verse, Luke 11:41, provides our second test case. Again the mnemonic device of numbering occurs. Bonaventure lists seven effects of almsgiving which are boiled down from Hugh’s twelve. Both list seven conditions for effective almsgiving and have the same mnemonic verse about the seven corporal works of mercy: “I visit. I give to drink. I give to eat. I liberate. I clothe. I invite into my house. I bury.” Both are insistent that almsgiving (whether given to promote a crusade, to build a basilica, to assist the clergy, or to provide necessities for the poor) needs to be complemented by repentance. No almsgiver gets off scotfree. The parable of the leaven and the three measures of flour in Luke 13:20-21 is the subject of our third test case. Hugh of St. Cher combed the traditional interpretations of the three measures of flour and came up with ten, but did not number them. For his part Bonaventure rearranges Hugh’s interpretations and numbers them. Bonaventure’s creativity shines forth in his emphasis that the leaven is love: “And since Franciscan Studies, 59 (2001) 133 134 R o b e r t K a r r is love and joy expand the heart and warm it from inside, they find an external analogy in leaven.” The final test case deals with Luke 16:16. In my analysis of the relationship between Bernard of Clairvaux, Hugh of St. Cher, and Bonaventure I argue that Bonaventure borrowed his quotation of Bernard from Hugh. But Bonaventure’s borrowing is very creative, as he gives his own twist to Bernard’s four types of people who possess the kingdom of heaven and reveals his Franciscan heritage: “In the time of the Law people used their possessions to help the poor. After John they should become the poor. The old covenant promised the riches of a choice land flowing with milk and honey. In the time of the new covenant poverty is the choice.” I JESUS, THE WISDOM OF GOD, A VALIANT QUEEN, A RELUCTANT PROPHET, NON-BELIEVERS, AND BELIEVERS: A COMPARISON OF ST. BONAVENTURE AND HUGH OF ST. CHER ON LUKE 11:29-32 In an earlier article I focused on Bonaventure’s dependence upon Hugh of St. Cher for his quotations from scripture.1 In studying Bonaventure’s brief commentary on Luke 11:29-32 (#64-69), I have come to the conclusion that Bonaventure is dependent upon Hugh in at least thirteen instances and for more than scripture citations.2 Bonaventure and Hugh share at least eight scripture quotations in common.3 That constitutes more than a 33% dependence, because Bonaventure has a total of only twenty-three scripture quotations. Further, they share one “gloss” together: Bonaventure attributes it to Bede while Hugh to the Glossa. More significantly Bonaventure’s quotation from Chrysostom is virtually identical with Hugh’s citation of this Church Father, and both differ from the Latin...

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