Commentaries on the Psalms: St Thomas Aquinas

By way of a brief interlude from Psalm 3, I wanted to continue today with my series of notes on key commentaries on the psalms by the Fathers, Saints and Theologians, looking at the commentaries by St Thomas Aquinas.

St Thomas Aquinas is a saint who either needs no introduction or a lot - and indeed Pope Benedict XVI has devoted no less than three General Audiences to the Doctor Angelicus, including:

• an introduction to his life, given on 2 June 2010;
• a talk on the importance of his teaching for current day theological formation, given on 16 June 2010; and
• an introduction to the Summa Theologica and other key works of the saint, given on 23 June 2010.

St Thomas' Commentaries on the Psalms

But his psalm commentaries, which include a general introduction to the psalms and commentaries on Psalms 1-54, are amongst the less well-known of his works.  Indeed, no complete translation of them in English is yet available (there is one in French), though work on a complete set of translations is in progress through the De Salles University Aquinas Translation Project.  Some additional psalms are also available in translation through the Dominican Priory website.

St Thomas' writing style in these commentaries just begs for the modern invention of dots and dashes, paragraphs and sub-paragraphs - he constantly enumerates points and sub-points in a way that can be rather laborious to read through.  But it is well worth the effort, for as with so much of the saints work, the commentaries are theologically and spiritually dense.

Given the reproduction restrictions the Translation Project puts on its material, I don't think I can reproduce a suitable extract here, but I do highly recommend, as a useful starting point a read of St Thomas' Introduction to the book of Psalms.  And if you are working on or interested in a particular psalm, do take the time to read what  St Thomas has to say on it.

Psalm 3 - Latin Study Hints Part B - Present indicative verbs

Now that we are half way through Psalm 3, I thought I would pause for a moment to allow you to take stock, and as promised provide some links between the psalm and the grammar covered in the excellent Simplicissimus course (see the sidebar) either by way of a refresher or for those actually sittng down and learning Latin for the first time.  Others should skip on quickly past this post...

Unit One of this quick introduction to reading Latin course focuses primarily on verbs in the four conjugation in the present indicative active tense, and the present tense of the verb to be.  So let me point out examples of these in the psalm...

Present tense verbs...

Here is the first part of the psalm with the present tense verbs in the four basic paradigms (conjugations) highlighted:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant (tribulare = first conjugation, third person plural = they harass) me? * multi insúrgunt (insurgere = third conjugation, third person plural = they rise up)advérsum me.
Multi dicunt (dicere = third conjugation, third person plural = they say) ánimæ meæ: * Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.

Present of 'to be'

And here is the whole psalm with the uses of the present tense of the verb to be (sum, esse) highlighted.
But note that there is a bit of a trick here - there are two uses in this psalm of words that look like the present tense of to be, but in fact sum and sunt are being used to form the passive tense of another verb, viz multiplicati sunt and soporatus sum.

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? * multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: * Non est (there/he/she/it is no) salus ipsi in Deo ejus.
Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es (you s. are), * glória mea, et exáltans caput meum.
Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * et exaudívit me de monte sancto suo.
Ego dormívi, et soporátus sum: * et exsurréxi, quia Dóminus suscépit me.
Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me: * exsúrge, Dómine, salvum me fac, Deus meus.
Quóniam tu percussísti omnes adversántes mihi sine causa: * dentes peccatórum contrivísti.
Dómini est (he is) salus: * et super pópulum tuum benedíctio tua.

Psalm 3: Voce mea ad Dominum (v4)

Continuing the verse a day approach to looking at Psalm 3, we have reached the half-way mark with verse 4.

The Fathers and Theologians generally treat this verse as something of a mini-treatise on prayer, encouraging us to engage in prayer that engages the whole body in intense, internal and vocal prayer of the heart. No doubt this is part of the reason Pope Benedict XVI chose this psalm for his own series on the psalms and prayer!

Psalm 3

The psalm so far, with today's verse highlighted:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.
Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es, glória mea, et exáltans caput meum
Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: et exaudívit me de monte sancto suo.

The Douay-Rheims translates verse 4 as: "I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he hath heard me from his holy hill."

Phrase by phrase

Voce mea=with my voice

The word voce perhaps implies that vocal prayer is meant here, but the verb clamavi (I have cried out) below suggests something intense, engaging the whole body.

ad Dóminum clamávi= to the Lord I have cried out

We must cry out with our voice: here it means inner voice, the true voice of our heart, coming from that inner room of our body. Secondly it must be devout, intent.

et exaudívit me=and he heard me

We need also to remember that prayer is a dialogue, and leave room for God to reply to us. The Pope adds that:

"Man is no longer alone, his foes are not invincible as they had seemed, for the Lord hears the cry of the oppressed and answers from the place of his presence, from his holy hill. The human being cries out in anguish, in danger, in pain; the human being calls for help and God answers. In this interweaving of the human cry and the divine response we find the dialectic of prayer and the key to reading the entire history of salvation. The cry expresses the need for help and appeals to the other’s faithfulness; crying out means making an act of faith in God’s closeness and in his willingness to listen."

de monte sancto suo = from his holy mountain(ie Mt Sion, Jerusalem, or heaven).

The Pope comments that:

"Thus the Psalmist, who feels besieged by death, professes his faith in the God of life who, as a shield, surrounds him with an invulnerable protection; the one who believed he was as good as lost can raise his head because the Lord saves him; the praying person, threatened and mocked, is in glory, because God is his glory."

Vocab list

vox, vocis, /., the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument, thunder.
clamo, avi, atum, are to call, cry out; to call to or upon for aid.
exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.
mons, montis, m., a mountain (mons sanctus = Zion)
sanctus, a, um, holy.

This series continues here.

Psalm 3: Tu autem Domine (v3)

Continuing on with this series on Psalm 3, we are now up to verse 3:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.
Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es, glória mea, et exáltans caput meum.

The Douay-Rheims translates the verse as: "But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.

The one God repels many enemies...

This verse is an emphatic contradiction of the previous verse (many say to me, God will not help him), as Pope Benedict XVI's commentary makes clear

"Thus in our Psalm the person praying is called to respond with faith to the attacks of the wicked: his foes — as I said — deny that God can help him; yet he invokes God, he calls him by name, “Lord”, and then turns to him with an emphatic “thou/you” that expresses a solid, sturdy relationship and implies the certainty of the divine response: “But you, O Lord are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head. I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy hill” (vv. 4-5). The vision of the enemies then disappears, they have not triumphed because the one who believes in God is sure that God is his friend. Only the “thou/you” of God is left. Now only One opposes the “many”, but this One is far greater, far more powerful, than many adversaries. The Lord is help, defence and salvation; as a shield he protects the person who entrusts himself to him and enables him to lift his head in the gesture of triumph and victory."

Phrase by phrase

Now let's take a look at the Latin phrase by phrase:

Tu (you) autem (but) Domine (O Lord) = But you O Lord

suscéptor (protector/defender/helper) meus (my) es (you are) = you are my protector

It is worth noting that the Masoretic Hebrew Text here, which the Neo-Vulgate uses as its basis (and the English version of Pope Benedict's talk quotes using the RSV translation), is rather more vivid and anthropomorphic than the Vulgate, suggesting that 'God is a shield about me'.

glória (the glory) mea (my)= my glory

This could perhaps be expanded out as ‘the one I glory in’.

et (and) exáltans (lifting up) =and lifting up

caput (head) meum (my) =my head

‘exaltare caput’, while literally meaning lifting up my head really means to give confidence.

Reflection on the verse

St Augustine comments on this verse in the City of God (Bk I, ch 28), putting it in the context of the choice we must all make for or against God:

"Accordingly, two cities have been formed by two loves: the earthly by the love of self, even to the contempt of God; the heavenly by the love of God, even to the contempt of self. The former, in a word, glories in itself, the latter in the Lord. For the one seeks glory from men; but the greatest glory of the other is God, the witness of conscience. The one lifts up its head in its own glory; the other says to its God, “Thou art my glory, and the lifter up of mine head.” In the one, the princes and the nations it subdues are ruled by the love of ruling; in the other, the princes and the subjects serve one another in love, the latter obeying, while the former take thought for all. The one delights in its own strength, represented in the persons of its rulers; the other says to its God, “I will love Thee, O Lord, my strength.”

Vocabulary list

Here's the word list for the verse:

tu- you
autem – but
dominus i m – Lord
susceptor, oris, m. a protector, helper, defender, guardian; a stay, support
meus mea meum – my, mine
gloria, ae, glory, honor, majesty
et - and
exsulto, avi, atum, are to spring, leap, or jump up; to exult, to rejoice exceedingly
caput, itis, n. the head, caput exaltare, to lift up the head of another is to honor or exalt him

For the next part in this series, go here.

Psalm 3 - Multi dicunt (v2)

Yesterday I looked briefly at verse 1 of Psalm 3:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? * multi insúrgunt advérsum me.

I want to continue today the examination of Psalm 3, with a look at verse 2:

Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: * Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.

Psalm 3: David as a type of Christ

First a reminder of the overall focus of the psalm, from St Alphonsus Liguori:

"This psalm has for its title: David flying before his son Absalom. It was therefore to David fleeing from the persecutions of the unfortunate Absalom that is commonly applied the literal sense of this psalm. But in the mystical sense, according to St. Jerome, St. Augustine, Bede, Theodoret, and others, David here represents Jesus Christ considered in his Passion and in his resurrection. We would here once more remark on the subject of the enemies from whom the royal prophet endured persecution, that all the psalms when they speak literally are to be understood mystically of all the internal and external enemies, especially of our most powerful and most dangerous enemies, I mean the devils who are plotting against our eternal salvation."

Verse 2

The Vulgate is: “Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus."

The Douay-Rheims translates this as ‘Many say (multi dicunt) to/in reference to my soul (animae meae): There is no (non est) salvation (salus) for him (ipsi) in his God (in Deo ejus)’.  

The Coverdale translation (from the Hebrew Masoretic Text) makes it: "Many one there be that say of my soul, There is no help for him in his God."

In sum, the psalmist’s friends and enemies are all saying that God has abandoned him. 

Perseverance in faith

Pope Benedict comments on the verse:

"The Psalm opens with an invocation to the Lord: A multitude threatens him and rises against him, generating fear that magnifies the threat, making it appear greater and even more terrifying; but the praying person does not let this vision of death prevail, he keeps intact his relationship with the God of life and turns to him first in search of help.  However his enemies attempt to break this bond with God and to injure their victim's faith. They insinuate that the Lord cannot intervene, they say that not even God can save him. Hence the attack is not only physical but involves the spiritual dimension too: “there is no help for him in God”, they say, targeting the central principle of the Psalmist's mind.  This is the extreme temptation to which the believer is subjected, the temptation to lose faith, to lose trust in God’s closeness. The righteous pass the final test, remain steadfast in faith, in the certainty of the truth and in full trust in God; in this way they find life and truth. It seems to me that here the Psalm touches us very personally: beset by many problems we are tempted to think that perhaps God does not save me, that he does not know me, perhaps he is not able to; the temptation to lose faith is our enemy's ultimate attack and if we are to find God, if we are to find life, we must resist it."

Vocab list

multus, a, um, much; many, numerous; much, great.
dico, dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak; to sing; in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to praise.
anima, ae,  Equivalent to a personal pronoun: Untranslated:. Life, soul, and heart
meus a um – my mine
non – not
est – he/she/it/there is
salus, utis, /. help, deliverance, safety, salvation.
ipse ipsa ipsum – him, her -self,
in+abl=in, on,by means of, with
deus god
ejus – from is ea id, he, she ,it, that

And now, on to the next verse...

Psalm 3: Domine quid multiplicati sunt (verse 1)

King David in prayer
Pieter Fransz. de Grebber (1600–1652)

I am looking in this series, at how to gain a greater understanding of Psalm 3, including the Latin of it, following the Holy Father's catechesis on the psalms as the prayerbook of the Church  For a general introduction to Psalm 3, see the previous post.

Psalm 3 overview

Here is the whole text and translation of Psalm 3 again, with the verse we will look at in more detail in this post highlighted:

1.  Psalmus David, cum fugeret a facie Absalom filii sui.
The psalm of David when he fled from the face of his son Absalom.
2. Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? * multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me.
3. Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: * Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.
Many say to my soul: There is no salvation for him in his God.
4. Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es, * glória mea, et exáltans caput meum.
But thou, O Lord art my protector, my glory, and the lifter up of my head.
5. Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: * et exaudívit me de monte sancto suo.
I have cried to the Lord with my voice: and he hath heard me from his holy hill.
6. Ego dormívi, et soporátus sum: * et exsurréxi, quia Dóminus suscépit me.
I have slept and taken my rest: and I have risen up, because the Lord hath protected me
7. Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me: * exsúrge, Dómine, salvum me fac, Deus meus.
I will not fear thousands of the people, surrounding me: arise, O Lord; save me, O my God.
8. Quóniam tu percussísti omnes adversántes mihi sine causa: * dentes peccatórum contrivísti.
For thou hast struck all them who are my adversaries without cause: thou hast broken the teeth of sinners.
9. Dómini est salus: * et super pópulum tuum benedíctio tua.
Salvation is of the Lord: and thy blessing is upon thy people.

By way of a refresher on the general thrust of the psalm, St Athanasius says of this psalm:

"If you are persecuted by your own family and opposed by many, say Psalm 3… hearing how God helps those who hope and trust in Him, the listener too rejoices and begins to render thanks, as though that gracious help already were his own. Psalm 3, to take another instance, a man will sing, bearing his own afflictions in his mind (Letter on psalms)"

Verse 1

The first verse of the psalm as it is said in the Office (ie skipping the title) is:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? multi insúrgunt advérsum me.

If you are using this series to learn to say the Office in Latin, the first thing to do is listen to the recording of this verse several times (see the links in the previous post), or use the crib notes on how to pronounce ecclesiastical Latin, until you can say it reasonably fluently.  Then trying singing it (as slowly as you like) on one note.

The translation that appears in many breviaries, from Coverdale, of this verse is: "Lord how are they increased that trouble me! Many are they that rise against me."  The rather more literal version of the Latin from the Douay-Rheims is: "Why, O Lord, are they multiplied that afflict me? many are they who rise up against me."

Phrase by phrase

Let's take a look at it phrase by phrase:

Dómine= O Lord

quid (why) multiplicáti sunt (they are multiplied/they have been multiplied) = why are they multiplied. 

This is an attempt to render a Hebrew idiom.  The sense, then, is of someone hard pressed by an ever increasing number of enemies, reflected in the Revised Standard Version translation as: ‘O LORD, how many are my foes! Many are rising against me’.  An even more idiomatic modern translation might be something like, Lord, why do I do so many enemies keep appearing? 

multi (many) insúrgunt (they rise) advérsum me (against me) =many rise up against/attack me

Pope Benedict comments on this verse and the next that:

"The idea of “multitude” is conveyed with the triple use of “many” — three words that in the original text are different terms with the same Hebrew root so as to give further emphasis to the enormity of the danger — in a repetitive manner, as it were, hammering it in. This insistence on the large number of his enemies serves to express the Psalmist’s perception of the absolute disproportion between him and his persecutors, which justifies and establishes the urgency of his plea for help; his oppressors are numerous, they get the upper hand, whereas the man praying is alone and defenceless, at the mercy of his assailants. Yet the first word the Psalmist says is “Lord”; his cry opens with a call to God."

For reflection

St Robert Bellarmine comments...

"David, addressing himself in prayer to God, complains of and wonders at the number of his enemies…Such was the case with Christ, especially in his passion, for then his son, that is his people, rebelled against him, crying out: “we have no king but Caesar,” and he, like a sick man and a fugitive, was obliged to fly from them through his death; but speedily returned through his Resurrection…"

Word by word

For those wanting to get down and learn some or all of the Latin vocabulary used in this psalm, here is a word list for the verse:

dominus, i, m. a master, lord, ruler
quis, quid, interrog, pron., who? which? what? why? wherefore?
multiplico, avi, atum, are to multiply, increase.
qui, quae, quod, pron. rel., who, which, what, that,
tribulo, avi, atum, are to press, oppress, afflict, harass.
multus, a, um, much; many, numerous; much, great.
insurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3 (in and surgo), to rise up against, revolt against;
adversus prep, with acc against, in the presence of, over against, before.
me me (personal pronoun)

You can find the notes on verse 2 here.

Psalm 3: Latin study hints/ Part A - vocab

As well as verse by verse notes on the psalm itself, I thought I’d try providing some pointers to help speed up your learning of the Latin through each psalm, mainly covering vocabulary and grammar.

You don't need to read these 'Latin study hints' posts to make sense of the verse by verse notes that will follow, so skip quickly past if you wish...

And you certainly don’t need to remember all of this.  You can just read through, and use it as a reference point.  But if you do want to make flashcards, and really learn this material, this is hopefully a starting point.

Grammar and vocab notes

In the case of the grammar, at the end of each week, I will try putting up some notes linking the psalm to one chapter at a time of the excellent Simplicissimus course (see the link in sidebar), pointing out examples of the particular things taught. Even if you aren’t working through that course thoroughly, a quick read of it is a great way of revising your Latin if you already have some, or speeding up your absorption of the Latin from immersion if not.

In the case of the vocabulary, what I propose to do is offer a couple of word lists to help you focus as you work through the psalm. As we do each verse, I'll provide a list of each word used.  After we've finished each psalm, I’ll then provide an alphabetical list of all the vocabulary used in it.   Before we start each psalm though, I’ll try providing a short list of very high frequency words for absolute beginners to learn, and some more focused lists that may make learning more of the key words easier for more advanced students.

Learn all the words or just some?

There are two possible strategies for learning vocabulary: learn every word you come across, and don’t move on until you have; or learn the most important words, the words that are used all the time, then go back later and fill in the ones you don’t know. I’d strongly recommend the second course!

First, if you focus on the really important words, you will quickly understand an awful lot of the text anyway, so you can make guesses as to what the rest means. You will also pick up a lot of others just by repetition. Secondly, being prepared to look up a few words in an online dictionary or go back and refresh your memory from the notes is far more efficient. There are around 2,800 different base words used in the psalms. So even if you learnt around 30 a week (which is the level of a fairly challenging language course) it would still take you around two years to learn it all. But if you learn the words that make up the overwhelming majority of the text and just fill in the gaps as you need to, you will understand most of it much faster.

How many you try and learn is up to you.  I'll provide some starting points here, and add to them once we go on a few verses.

Seven frequently used words to get started with

The first thing to do is to look in the psalm as a whole for the words that occur several times.  And focus particularly on ones frequently used in general - you can find a frequency count for words in the Latin Vulgate here, though I'll try and point out key ones as they occur.

Look through it for frequently used words – there are a few that are really worth learning first. So for example in this psalm:

Dominus – Lord

Here is the psalm with the occurrences bolded:

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus.
Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es, glória mea, et exáltans caput meum.
Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: et exaudívit me de monte sancto suo.
Ego dormívi, et soporátus sum: et exsurréxi, quia Dóminus suscépit me.
Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me: exsúrge, Dómine, salvum me fac, Deus meus.
Quóniam tu percussísti omnes adversántes mihi sine causa: dentes peccatórum contrivísti.
Dómini est salus: et super pópulum tuum benedíctio tua.

Note that it appears here with a number of different endings that change the meaning of the sentence – domine (O Lord), dominum (object), domini (of the Lord).

Deus – God

Dómine quid multiplicáti sunt qui tríbulant me? multi insúrgunt advérsum me.
Multi dicunt ánimæ meæ: Non est salus ipsi in Deo ejus....
Non timébo míllia pópuli circumdántis me: exsúrge, Dómine, salvum me fac, Deus meus.

et - and

Tu autem, Dómine, suscéptor meus es, glória mea, et exáltans caput meum.
Voce mea ad Dóminum clamávi: et exaudívit me de monte sancto suo.
Ego dormívi, et soporátus sum: et exsurréxi, quia Dóminus suscépit me....
Dómini est salus: et super pópulum tuum benedíctio tua.

Now find all the occurrences of these couple of words -

meus (mea, meum) – my, mine (adjective)

me – me (pronoun)

tuus (tuum, tua) – your, yours, referring to one person

tu (pronoun) - you

Other high frequency words to look out for

anima, ae, soul
gloria, ae,. glory, honor, majesty
vox, vocis, the voice of a person, or, the sound of an instrument
populus -i m people

dico dixi, dictum, ere 3, to say, speak; to sing; in the sense of to think, plan, desire; to praise.
clamo, avi, atum, are to call, cry out; to call to or upon for aid.
timeo, ere 2, to fear, be afraid of.
dormio, ivi or ii, itum, ire, to sleep, to lie down to rest.

quoniam, conj., for, because, since, seeing that, whereas.
super, with, on, upon, for, because of.

sanctus, a, um, holy.
multus, a, um, much; many, numerous; much, great
omnis, e, all, each, every; subst., all men, all things, everything

For those who want to learn more words...

This listing doesn't cover all the words in the psalm, just a few that might be worth having in mind as you work throught it, grouped here in ways that might make remembering them easier.

caput, itis, n. the head
dens, dentis, m. a tooth
maxilla, ae, the jawbone, the jaw.
benedictio, ionis f. blessing
mons montis montium m. mountain, hill

adversor, atus sum, ari to oppose, resist, withstand, to be ill-disposed towards any one.
adversus or adversum, prep, with acc. against, in the presence of, over against, before.
tribulo, avi, atum, are to oppress, afflict, harass.
peccator, oris, m. a sinner, transgressor; the wicked, the godless.

contero, trivi, Itum, ere 3, to break, crush, destroy.
percuto, cussi, cussum, ere 3 to smite ,strike; to kill, slay.
dormio, ivi or li, Itum, ire, to sleep, to lie down to rest.
soporor, atus sum, ari to go to sleep

insurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3 to rise up against, revolt against;
circumdo, dedi, datum, are, to surround, beset, encompass with a hostile intent; to gather round

exaudio, ivi, Itum, ire, to hear, hearken to, listen to, give heed to; to regard, answer.
exsurgo, surrexi, surrectum, ere 3, to rise up, arise, i.e., to come to the aid of
exsulto, avi, atum, are to spring, leap, or jump up; to exult, to rejoice exceedingly

susceptor, oris, m. a protector, helper, defender, a stay, support.
salus, utis, /. the act of helping, saving; victory, temporal salvation; help, deliverance, safety, salvation.

Do let me know if this is helpful or not, and alert me to any errors you detect!