Thomas Aquinas

But here he breaks forth into a rebuke of the crowds. And first he poses a question; second, a certain comparison; third, he explains it. He proceeds thus. Thus John is compared to Elijah by reason of office, but to whom shall I compare this generation? And why does he say this here? He says this as someone does when he has done for another whatever good he could, and that one is ungrateful, so that he does not know to whom to compare him; thus the Lord had done every good thing for this generation; hence Isaiah 5:4: "What more ought I to have done for my vineyard, that I have not done for it?" To whom then shall I be able to compare so great a malice?

It should be noted that "generation" in Scripture is sometimes taken for a gathering of the good, sometimes of the wicked, sometimes of both. For a gathering of the good, as in Psalm 111:2: "the generation of the upright shall be blessed." For a wicked gathering, below in chapter 12:39, where it is said "an evil and perverse generation." For both, Ecclesiastes 1:4, where it is said: "One generation passes away, and another generation comes, but the earth stands forever."

"He is like children sitting in the marketplace," etc. Here he sets forth a certain comparison; and it can be explained according to the plain sense of the letter, or according to the mystical sense. First he sets forth the comparison about the children; second he applies it, at the place "John came neither eating nor drinking," etc.

For it should be noted that it is natural to man to seek delights, and he always seeks them, and unless he is drawn away by cares, he immediately falls into evil delights; but children do not have cares, and therefore they occupy themselves with what is fitting for them, that is, playing. Likewise it should be noted that man is naturally a social being, and this because by nature one needs another, hence he delights in companionship; hence the Philosopher, Politics I: "every man who is solitary is either better than man, and is a god; or worse than man, and is a beast." Hence it is said "sitting in the marketplace," because no one wishes to play by himself, but in the marketplace, where a gathering of many takes place. Likewise it should be noted that it is natural to man that his delight be in some representation, hence if we see something well carved, which represents well what it ought, then we delight; therefore children, who delight in games, always make their games with some representation, either of war, or of the like. Likewise it should be noted that all the affections of the soul terminate in two passions, namely either in joy, or in mourning.

"Who, crying out," etc. This is to be seen thus. Let us suppose that there are children on one side, and others on the other, such that some are to sing, others to dance; that these do one thing, and the others respond to them. If these were to sing, and those did not respond to them according to their form, they would be wronged by them, hence they say, "we have piped to you, and you have not danced." Likewise nothing so changes the mind as song; hence Boethius recounts in his work on music concerning a certain man who was quarreling with another before Pythagoras, and by song others were speaking to him. Then Pythagoras had the song changed, and he grew calm; hence all were trained in music. Therefore it should be noted that a certain song is for the sake of joy, as is found in Ecclesiasticus 40:20: "wine and music make the heart glad"; therefore it is said "we have piped," that is, we have sung a song of joy, and you have not danced. Likewise it is customary that just as some are moved to joy, so some are moved to weeping; hence Jeremiah 9:17: "call for the mourning women, and let them take up a lamentation over us," etc. Therefore they say "we have mourned," that is, we have made mournful songs, and you have not lamented.

Mystically, by the children is signified the people of the old law, among whom some were provokers to spiritual joy, as David, Psalm 32:1: "rejoice, you just, in the Lord," and some to mourning, as Joel 2:13: "turn to the Lord with all your heart, in fasting, weeping, and mourning," etc. Hence they can say, "we have piped," that is, we have incited you to spiritual gladness, and you have not received it; "we have mourned," that is, we have invited you to penance, and you have not agreed.

"John came," etc. Here he applies the comparison. And first he applies it; second he assigns the reasons. Men are drawn to a good life in two ways: for some by the appearance of holiness, but some by the way of familiarity. The Lord and John divided the two ways between themselves. John — or rather the Lord through John — chose the way of austerity; through himself he chose the way of gentleness; and yet through neither were they converted. Hence he says, "John came neither eating nor drinking"; and this according to the letter, because he was greatly abstinent, and they say, "He has a demon," just as hypocrites turn good into evil. "The Son of Man came eating and drinking," that is, using foods without distinction, and it avails him nothing, because you do not believe, but rather you say, "Behold a gluttonous man, a wine drinker, a friend of publicans"; against that saying of Proverbs 23:20: "be not in the feasts of great drinkers," etc. Here it should be noted that whoever would heed the sayings of men would never do anything well; Ecclesiastes 11:4: "he who observes the winds does not sow, and he who considers the clouds will never reap."

But here is a question. Why did the Lord choose for himself the gentler life, and show through John the harsher one? The reason is this: because the Lord confirmed his acts by miracles, but John did not perform them; therefore, if he had no excellence, his testimony would not be approved, just as we see in the saints, because one has excellence in one thing, another in another; as Augustine had excellence in doctrine, Martin in miracles. Likewise, another reason: because John was a mere man, therefore he abstained himself from carnal desires; but Christ was God, therefore if he led a life of austerity, he would not be shown to be man; therefore he took up the human life more fully. Likewise John was the end of the Old Testament, upon which heavy burdens were imposed; but Christ was the beginning of the new law, which proceeds by the way of gentleness.

"And wisdom is justified," etc. This can be read in two ways. In one way, by referring it back to both what was said of John and of Christ; and then the sense is: when a man does what he ought, and another is not corrected, then he saves his own soul, and is justified in his words. "Wisdom is justified," that is, the Son of God, or Christ — that is, she appeared just to her children, because she showed to the Jews what she owed: abstinence through John, gentleness through Christ.

Or it can be said otherwise. Thus let the children of the Devil say that he is a glutton and a wine-drinker; but the children of wisdom understand that life does not consist in food and drink, but in evenness of soul, using food according to place and time, and likewise abstaining when it is fitting, so that they neither exceed in much nor fall short in little, as the Apostle says to the Philippians 4:12: "everywhere, and in all things I am instructed, both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer want." Therefore he would not seem to show full righteousness if he abstained entirely, because it would be believed that the whole of righteousness lay in abstinence; but it does not consist in this, but in evenness of soul. And note that he says "wisdom," because to use food, or to abstain, according to the moderation of wisdom, is that one abstain when he ought, and where he ought.