Colloquia Maruliana ..., Vol. 5 , 1996.
Izvorni znanstveni članak
The Figure of Christ in Agony in Marulić's Works
Mladen Parlov
Sažetak
The majority of Marulić’s works are characterized by conspicuous Christocentrism, that, like a thread, links their pages and chapters. Marulić’s conception of the figure of Jesus Christ and of his role in the history of salvation draws primarily upon the theological and spiritual trends of his time. The second important factor that influenced his conception of Christ and of his mission on earth were the poet’s personal theological notions based on the Scriptures, the Christian Fathers and the classics of the high scholastics. The third factor was his own spirituality, shaped under the influences of the popular piety of the late Middle Ages, the Francisc an doctrine and, above all, the spirituality of the devotio moderna.
Marulić was an outstanding Christian humanist of the late Middle Ages and his writings, like those of all contemporary humanists, are to be viewed primarily as a reaction to the decadent scholastics and the moral decay inside the Church at the close of the Middle Ages. Yet, unlike other humanists, Marulić stuck to the sound theological and spiritual traditions of the Middle Ages and it was in close keeping with the lofty word of the Gospel, the teachings of the Christian Fathers and the leading theologists and religious men of the high Middle Ages that he created his noble figure of Christ, God-man and the Redemptor of all mankind. Although the poet’s conception of Jesus works on different levels of meaning, according to the sacrament he treats, by far the most widely represented are the figures of Christ the Sufferer, Christ the Victor and Christ the Judge, corresponding to his three different states (sacraments). It is, however, the figure of the suffering Christ that the poet sees at the center of Christian life, following, in this sense, the popular devoutness of the time (influenced by the Franciscan doctrine) and the spirituality of the devotio moderna. The suffering Christ is particularly frequent in the first two books of the De humilitate et gloria Christi and in his Croatian verses, that express the popular piety of the late Middle Ages. Abiding by the word of the Gospel, the poet distinguishes historical (for which he blames Judas, the Jews and Pilate) from superhistorical (God’s plan, the salvation of mankind, the sins of all men) causes of Christ’s passion and death on the Cross, pointing to his love of man as their cause. Marulić makes no essential difference between the bodily and the moral pains of his suffering Christ, who suffers, above all, carnal pains. This becomes particularly obvious in his Croatian writings (poems). What makes these sufferings so immense is not only his innocence and the good he has done, but, above all, his divine nature. Before the figure of the suffering Christ Marulić invites all Christendom to ponder his pains, so that they could bear their own pains in “conformity” with the suffering Son of God. The pages and the lines dedicated to Christ in agony are characterized by strong affectation, meant to inspire the reader’s conversion, his renouncement of the sins, which are the first cause of Christ’s suffering and death.
Christ’s agony reaches its climax on the Cross or, more precisely, in the moment when he willingly accepts his crucifiction. Contemplating the crucified Christ, Marulić wonders about the reason. Why did Christ permit his crucifiction? The response lies, of course, in his love of man. Love is the ultimate and the fundamental cause of Christ’s crucifiction. This is the idea Marulić enlarges on in the Euangelistarium, the De humilitate et gloria Christi and, particularly, in the poem Od muke Isukarstove i odgovor (On Christ’s Passion and the Answer), where he indicates love as the cause of Christ’s mission on earth, from incarnation to death. The fact that Christ, moved by his love of man, suffered and died on the Cross is of immense importance to every believer. The cross becomes “the path leading to eternal life”. It is the sign of his passion as well as of his victory and Marulić exhorts all Christians to join in. Sinful and weak by nature, man has to comprehend, through Christ’s experience (Christ is the Path), that penance and conversion (The Way of the Cross) lead to eternal life. Every Christian should confront the Cross and respond to Christ’s love with penance and love. Describing Christ’s passion and death Marulić wants to inspire compassion in his reader and, before the sacrifice that Christ made for the salvation of all mankind, and bring about feel-ings of pain, repentance and conversion. Every man is invited to participate in Christ’s Cross, so that he could participate in his glory. The Cross, according to Marulić, is not only the instrument of his passion and death; it is also the means that will make him glorious and become the instrument of his power. Through the Cross the suffering Christ becomes the victorious Christ. The life of the suffering Christ was marked with love and the Cross was its apogee. Christ is the sacrifice to Love. Before this immense love Marulić feels invited to take part in his divine pains and to respond with love to God’s self-offering in Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. He wants to induce his reader to responde with love to the divine love, appearing in the life and death of the suffering Christ. In Marulić’s notion of Christian life the virtue of love has central place. Love, containing all the Deuteronomy and all the Prophets, becomes the supreme norm of action and the basis of all other virtues.
Ključne riječi
Hrčak ID:
9718
URI
Datum izdavanja:
22.4.1996.
Posjeta: 2.613 *