Davenant: inherent justice not formal cause of strict justification
Davenant allows calling inherent justice a formal cause in a loose sense, but not of justification that answers the Judge's strict exam.
Reformed sayings that none is just before God by inherent justice are comparative—not absolute denial of true holiness.
Latin
XLIV. Quibus consona sunt quae docet Joannes Davenantius Sarisburiensis nuper in Anglia Episcopus, qui de justitia habituali & actuali tractatum edidit accuratissimum. Is enim disputatione de Justitia habituali, cap. 22. sic loquitur, Concedimus esse in omnibus justificatis justitiam quandam inhaerentem, quam si formalem causam statuamus justificationis (liceat enim vocabulum procedere) haud repugnabimus, sed praedictae ju-stificationis, quae respondet stricto examini caelestis judicis, nec formalis, nec meritoria causa ullo modo potest. Tertio vero capite; probat ab hac, infusa, sive inhaerente justitia, fideles, seu renatos omnes vocari & censeri justos; idque ab ipso Deo. Non quidem, quod haec sanctitas infusa, aut inhaerens justitia perfecta sit: sed quod vera, ac minime hypocritica, Deoque nota & grata, qui illam infudit mentibus renatorum. Quod autem saepe apud Reformatos occurrit, per justitiam inhaerentem neminem justum esse coram Deo, cap. 3. docet intelligendum, non quasi simpliciter & absolute dictum, sed comparate solum, & secundum quid. Nempe non aliud significari per hoc, quam nos justitiam nullam habere, qua niti possimus, si stricte discutiamur coram tribunali di-vino: vel nos justitiam non habere quam lex Dei exigit, ad maledicti vitationem, & vitae aeternae consecutionem.
About this text
Louis Le Blanc de Beaulieu - Sedan Theological Theses, newly rendered from the 1675 London Latin. Covers De Theologia through Angelorum & Hominum Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII and Pars Secunda (Reformata) I-XL. Not the collected folio.
English follows locked Pitt Latin through Imaginum CLOSED + Sanctorum Cultu Romana CLOSED + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL. 1675 PDF ~384-390 (book ~370-376); Vision OCR + pdftotext + tess. No modern English. This slice densifies Sanctorum Pars Secunda I-XL. Next: Pars Secunda XLI–fin (~CI). Claim stays claimed (book densify not done).
Catalogue & scope
ESTC R17887; Wing L802. IA bub_gb_eOkHAW4G0-wC (+ EEBO 1675 for gap leaves). Densify through Sanctorum Cultu Romana I-LXXVII + Pars Secunda Reformata I-XL (Pars Secunda not closed; not whole folio).
Witnesses
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Theologia I-XLIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive PDF of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Checked print pdftotext of De Theologia pages (Latin)
- Checked print Internet Archive DjVu OCR of the 1675 Pitt folio (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Fide I-XXII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Authoritate Scripturae Pars I I-XLVII + Pars II I-XXXV + Pars III I-VIII (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
- Copy-text Locked Latin, De Scripturae plenitudine densify (Pitt 1675) (Latin)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Latin on each section (or the Latin source witness link) for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.