Materias de aplicación exclusiva del Reglamento 1215/2012

The Stoic idea of natural law as right reason superior to any conventional rules of conduct provided Ambrose with the means to deal with the Pauline controversy about the Old Law. Ambrose joined Paul on the question of salvation as eternal life of the spirit. Still, he was also under the influence of the Sermon on the Mount. So he could not discard the Commandments completely. He was, in a sense, in between the Gospel of Matthew, with its stress on the Law as preparation for salvation, and Paul’s message of salvation in the spirit outside the Law. The Old Law was to him the ‘approximate’ law of nature for yet not-wise men. The Christian natural law for the wise men could and should be a new law of salvation in the place of the Commandments.

Ambrose set out to reinterpret the Stoic notion of virtue from the Christian view of salvation. He undertook this task in his De Officiis Ministrorum, or Duties of Clergy (DC), mirrored Cicero's On Duty. Ambrose assimilated the Pauline idea of the Christian

20 Lactantius (260 – 320 AD) wrote, ‘How can charity be preserved where there is nothing certain which may be loved? If all are children of all, who will be able to love sons as his own, since either he does not know his own or he is doubtful of them? Therefore, the idea of community perishes for that one through Nature herself as reclaimer.’ (Divine Institutes 3. 21) Lactantius’ target was Plato’s ideal community

salvation in the spirit by to the Stoic notion the sage’s virtuous life by right reason. Ambrose’s wise man was a Christian priest, who was akin to the sage in his unworldly life. Ambrose saw the Christian natural law as a law of intellectual virtue (duties) rather than of the legalistic Commandments. But he still was confronted with a question: was the Old Law in force, or was it amended, or abolished? Ambrose could occupy the extreme Pauline position, that the Law was abolished. But it would be against the spirit of the Mount Sermon and Matthew’s Gospel. Ambrose thus attempted to reconcile the content of the Old Testament with the Gospel with a help of the Stoic natural law vision. Like Cicero, he saw virtues as duties, but he too was able to see them like inner commandments.

He distinguished two kinds of the Commandments, or duties; ‘ordinary’ and ‘perfect’. (DC 1.11.36) The Old Testament Commandments were ordinary duties. Ambrose cited Jesus' message to keep the commandments, like Thou shalt do not murder; Thou shalt not commit adultery; Thou shalt not steal; Thou shalt not bear false witness; Honour thy father and thy mother; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself [Matt.19.7,17-9]. Ambrose (DC 1.11.37) added to those ordinary commandments the perfect commandment of mercy, taken from the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5.44,19-21] A man should love his enemies and pray for those who falsely accuse and persecute him, and bless those who curse him.

By dividing commandments into ordinary and perfect ones, Ambrose cleared the way for the development of the Christian natural law on the lines of the Commandments. The Old Testament Commandments were supplemented by Jesus with the new inward

commandment of love into an intellectualistic commandment of reason. Ambrose's project was to turn the Stoic natural law into an intellectualistic natural law built upon the Christian virtues as the perfect commandments of right reason. The ordinary Commandments were capable to be known and obey even by the ordinary man. But the Christian sage was already to obey the perfect of commandment of right reason.

Thus action of life was to be regulated by three rules (DC 1.24.105-6). Firstly, passion should not resist reason; with passion under the control of reason it would be easily to discover one's duties. Secondly, and thirdly, there should be moderation in endeavors and works, as well as in the order and timing things.

Like Cicero, Ambrose understood virtues as duties, but as the Christian duties not the Roman civic duties. In contrast to Panaetius and Cicero, he was less concerned with the natural inclinations. To Ambrose, the whole prospective of the human life thus shifted from the Stoic vision of human life as entirely natural to the new Christian vision of the whole purpose of human life culminating in eternal salvation of spirit. The new Christian virtues were the virtues helping to achieve this salvation. Those new Christian duties were derived by Ambrose from the Stoic cardinal virtues of prudence justice, fortitude and temperance (DC 1.24.115)

Prudence was in a search for the truth (DC 1.24.115).21 Prudence consisted in the choice of what might be good by knowing how to distinguish between things useful and the reverse (DC 2.9.49). It was ingrained in all living creatures to preserve their own

21 In accordance with human nature all men were endowed with a desire to search out the truth. But only a few men excelled in it by deep thought, careful deliberation and great labor in order to attain the blessed

safety and to strive for their own advantage (DC 1.27.128). Prudence was then practical reason directing preservation men's natural life.

Prudence, however, did not exist without justice. Justice assigned his own to each man without claim upon another and with the disregard of one’s own advantage for sake of the good of all (DC 1.24.115).22 Justice, that held a society together, divided into justice proper and charity (or liberality, or kindness). Justice proper was a judgment what was due. Charity was showing goodness (DC 1.28.130). Charity in perfection consisted of two qualities: to wish well and to do well (DC 1.30.143). Justice, in accordance with Nature, firstly directed towards God; secondly, one's own country; next, towards parents; lastly towards all (DC 1.27.127). Ambrose borrowed the Ciceronian hierarchy of the civic duties only to reinforce the Christian priority of God. The foundation of justice was faith, for the hearts of the just dwelt on faith (DC 1.29.142). Classical virtue ‘to give due’ was transformed by Ambrose into a virtue of self-sacrifice. The Christian virtue of charity was supported by a faith inspired judgment that God's intended men to live together.

Ambrose's fortitude and temperance were unmistakably Stoic virtues, grounded in the detachment of the mind from external things. Fortitude was shown in undergoing labor and dangers (DC 2.9.49). The glory of fortitude rested on the courage of the mind rather than on the strength of one's body (DC 1.36.179). Fortitude of mind was twofold (DC 1.36.182). Firstly, it accounted all externals as being despised rather than sought after. Secondly, it strove after the highest and moral things (ibid.). Temperance

preserved the right method and order in all that should be done or said (DC 1.24.115). Temperance was in despising pleasures (DC 2.9.49). It was in tranquility of mind, which was in regard for what was virtuous and reflection on what was seemly (DC 2.43.219).

Ambrose subscribed to Posidonius’ vision of the soul as capable of ruling by right reason, even if affected by irrational emotions. The virtuous soul was trained by pure thoughts to be undisturbed (by desires) to be true and virtuous (DC 2.38.200). The soul should guard itself against the irrational motions, that could break forth in a sort of rush (DC 2.47.237-8). The soul's force rested on reason and on passions, but if there was a natural force in every passion of man, yet the same passion was subjected to reason by Law of Nature (DC 2.47.238).

To Ambrose, man in this life should live by the consideration of the higher reason of self-abnegation. The true Christian followed not the wisdom of flesh, but the wisdom of God, whereby the things greatly valued in this world should be counted as a loss (DC 3.2.9). Blessed was a life, not valued at the estimation of outsiders, but known as judge of itself by its own inner feelings (DC 2.1.2). Reason and good works made man blessed in the likeness of God, with faith aiding to knowledge. By attaining to the truth man would preserve the likeness [to God] and he would be rewarded [on the Day of Judgment] accordingly. (DC 1.49.249). Faith had a promise of eternal life. Good works too had the same, for the upright man would be tested by his work (DC 2.2.7). Ambrose was rather anti-Pauline in his assertion that future life will granted according to the works. But he reinterpreted ‘the works’ as performed under Natural Law based on the