Journal: Westminster Theological Journal
Volume: WTJ 48:1 (Spring 1986)
Article: Achard of Saint Victor and the Medieval Exegetical Tradition: Rom 7:22-25 in a Sermon on the Feast of the Resurrection
Author: Timothy F. Merrill

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WTJ 48:1 (Spring 1986) p. 47

Achard of Saint Victor and the Medieval Exegetical Tradition:
Rom 7:22-25 in a Sermon on the Feast of the Resurrection

Timothy F. Merrill

In a sermon for the Feast of the Resurrection,1 Achard of Saint Victor (abbot 1155–1161)2 turns appropriately to the resurrection of Christ for his theme. In the course of his argument he refers to the Pauline letter to the Romans and begins an uncharacteristic verse-by-verse treatment of 7:22–25. At the pivotal point he declares: “Et quia in tam tenebrosam et horrendum carcerem captivus ducor: Ego infelix homo.”3 What is of more than passing interest is the possibility that Achard here invokes, with its time-honored Platonic, Origenistic, and Neoplatonic history, the notion of the body as the prison of the soul. Our purpose in this essay is to assess the plausibility of this notion by examining Achard’s brief commentary in light of the medieval exegetical tradition. We’ll note the points at which he stands with this heritage or apart from it, giving particular emphasis to his understanding of carcer.

WTJ 48:1 (Spring 1986) p. 48

I

Achard’s sermon is a very tightly reasoned exposition of the resurrection which he places squarely within the redemptive matrix of the fall, incarnation, and death of Christ. The resurrection is nothing other than our own redemption: it prefigures our future resurrection and the restoration of all things. Yet, although the resurrection of the body is a future expectation, the restoration of life to the rational soul is a present spiritual reality. Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification. The efficacy of the death of Christ is affirmed in that the threefold destructive power of death has been destroyed: the death of the body, soul, and eternal damnation. The resurrection secures the future transformation of the body, as well as the present vivification of the soul. The deeper meaning of the death and resurrection of Christ is also noted: the former signifies our death to sin while the latter depicts our new life in Christ.

What, then, is the function of the law? The natural law, Achard writes, demonstrates one’s ignorance of the truth. The written law reveals one’s utter impotence. Neither the natural law nor the written law is able to liberate one from bondage to sin. The purpose of the law is to increase transgressions. This does not mean the law is a cruel thing, but that it is rather an instrument of salvation in that it signals the need of salvation even as the doctor is called and medicine prescri...

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