La Fe que allí hay cuerpo y alma y carne y sangre me ha dicho;
y pues sentido de Fe es solamente el Oído, crea el Oído a la Fe y no a los demás sentidos.
Que si la Vista, el Olfato, el Tacto y el Gusto han visto, tocado, olido y gustado pan, es porque no han creído que solos los accidentes duran en aquel divino milagro de los milagros, prodigio de los prodigios, no la substancia de pan, pues con poder infinito transubstanció la substancia del pan en carne y del vino en sangre. [. . .]376
Hearing belongs to faith ( ‘ sentido de Fe / es solamente el Oído ’ )
377and thus, in contrast to the other senses, is able to ‘ understand ’ the miracle of the Eucharist and to ‘ believe ’ that Christ is wholly present in the bread, the host (and the wine) ( ‘ que allí hay cuerpo y alma / y carne y sangre ’ ). The explanation of the mystery ( ‘ aquel divino / milagro de los milagros ’ ) articulated by Oído also stresses the insufficiency of sensory perception. The judgment of the four other senses cannot be trusted here ( ‘ crea el Oído a la Fe / y no a los demás senti-dos ’ ), because what they convey – namely, the visual appearance, the tactile traits, the smell and the taste of bread ( ‘ han visto, / tocado, olido y gustado / pan ’ ) – only refers to the accidents ( ‘ solos los accidentes / duran ’ ),
378not the substance of the bread, the ‘ transubstantiation ’ ( ‘ con poder infinito /
Trent, trans. Rev. Jeremiah Donovan, Dublin 1867, p. 200]; for the Latin, seeCatechismus ex decreto Concilii Tridentini ad parochos Pii V. Pont. Max. iussu editus, Parma 1600 (1st ed. Rome 1566), p. 279]).
376 Calderón,Loa para el auto intituladoLa vida es sueño (cf. note 362), vv. 223–241.
377 SeeRom10,17 (“Ergo fides ex auditu, auditus autem per verbum Christi”/‘So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’).
378See above note 365.
transubstanció la substancia / del pan en carne ’ ) – without the help of faith – is beyond their ability to grasp.
379Then the allegory of Oído continues with an aspect that is decisive for the miracle of transubstantiation, first referring to the institution of the sacrament by Christ at the Last Supper ( “ [ . . . ] ¿Quién es la misma / verdad que imperiosa dijo: / ‘ Este es mi cuerpo y mi sangre ’ / con alma y vida? ”
380) and then relating to the consecration: “ [ . . . ] y pues rindo / mi afecto a cinco palabras, / en fe dellas solicito / el tiro acertar y así, / cerrados los ojos, digo / que, transubstanciado el pan / de aquellas palabras cinco, / no es pan, carne y sangre sí; / con que veréis que el Oído / deja, a pesar de los cuatro, / su entendimiento cautivo. ”
381Believing in ‘ five words, ’ meaning the formula of the consecration Hoc est enim corpus meum [For this is my body], which the priest speaks as Christ ’ s representative in the Eucharistic ceremony when the bread is being transubstantiated,
382he now, even with his eyes closed, was able to hit the target with his arrow ( ‘ cinco palabras, / en fe dellas solicito / el tiro acertar y así, / cerrados los ojos, digo ’ ). The bread, transubstantiated by the words of consecration, was now ‘ flesh and blood ’ ( ‘ no es pan, carne y sangre sí ’ ). Oído shoots his arrow and ‘ hits, ’ thus receives the host and chalice.
383Hearing wins the archery competition; it is the sense by which the human being who has faith can have the mystery of transubstantiation revealed to him, enabling him to hit the miracle of the Eucharist in its meaning (the real presence of Christ, with body and soul, under the shapes of bread and wine).
Only the (right) faith is relevant ( “ ¡[ . . . ] viva el Oído, / pues creyendo lo que
379 See on this subject the Corpus Christi hymn attributed to Thomas AquinasAdoro te de-vote, latens Deitas, in which it says:“Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur. / Sed auditu solo tuto creditur”[Seeing, feeling, tasting are deceptive in you, but hearing alone gives firm faith].
(The indication to this reference point in Plata Parga,“Introducción”[cf. note 361], p. 57 and already in Cirot,“L’allégorie des tireurs à l’arc”[cf. note 366], p. 174).
380 Calderón,Loa para el auto intituladoLa vida es sueño (cf. note 362), vv. 241–244.
381 Vv. 244–254.
382 At the sanctification of the wine follows accordingly:Hic est enim Calix Sanguinis mei, novi et æterni testamenti[For this is the chalice of my blood, of the new and eternal testament];
reference point is the tradition, e.g., in 1Cor11,23–26;Mt26,26–28;Lk22,19 f.;Mk14,22–24.
383 Stage direction:“Dispara y a este tiempo desciende la Cruz hasta donde pueda llegar el Discurso y, quitando della Hostia y Cáliz, le pone en manos delOído.”and:“DISCURSO: Que es carne y sangre dijo. / MÚSICA YTODOS: ¡Viva, viva, pues solo / no ha errado el tiro! / ¡Viva, viva el Oído, / pues creyendo lo que oye, / merece el víctor!”(Calderón,Loa para el auto intitulado La vida es sueño [cf. note 362], vv. 255–260. Oído’s‘prize,’the Eucharistic gift, is then distrib-uted and celebrated among all the characters (“OÍDO: Para partirle con todos / solamente le recibo, / pues aunque la fe del cielo / le bajó al efecto mío, / para todos es la dicha. / TODOS:
¡Pues todos con regocijos / la celebremos!”vv. 273–279).
oye, / merece el víctor! ”
384) – Oído relies on it – whereas reason, which receives its information through the senses, is not able to comprehend on its own the dogma of transubstantiation (cf. ‘ con que veréis que el Oído / deja, a pesar de los cuatro [sentidos], / su entendimiento cautivo. ’ and ‘ cerrados los ojos ’ ). In its function as a kind of ‘ explanatory prologue ’ to the subsequent auto sacramental this allegorically depicted critique of the senses as unreliable in the loa (in the context of the doctrine of Eucharistic transubstantiation in accordance with the genre and committed to Counter-Reformation ideology) and the associated em-phasis on the relevance of faith, can be seen as an indication of the tenor of what is then elaborated on in the auto sacramental. First of all, it is worth draw-ing attention to the focus on the specifically Christian reservations about sen-sory perception contained in the ‘ Paradise scene ’ of the play. Although it is not within the scope of this chapter to give a detailed description of the entire plot of the auto La vida es sueño, a concise review of its content is necessary for a better understanding of the passage in question and subsequent references.
Furthermore, please note that the discussion is referring here only to the later auto (comp. 1673; publ. 1677).
385The play ’ s action is typical of the auto sacramental genre, and follows a basic symbolic structure of Creation, Fall, and Redemption. It begins with the representation of Chaos or Nothingness.
386The Four Elements: Agua, Aire, Tierra, and Fuego, fight against each other until God in His Trinity, represented by Poder, a “ viejo venerable, ” Sabiduría, and Amor (both presented as “ gal-anes ” ) appear. This marks the beginning of Creation. Nature is created, order and meaning are assigned to the elements, who subject themselves to and praise God. They explain to their ruler that their dispute for supremacy was also
384 Vv. 258 ff.
385Apart from the length (the first version counts 1404 verses, the second version 1943 verses), there is a difference between the earlier and the laterauto, e.g. in the extension of the allegorical characters: the figure of El Verbo (representing God) in the first version, becomes in the second play–referring to the Trinity–three personifications of divine qualities, the fig-ures ‘Power’ (El Poder) – God Father, ‘Love’ (El Amor) – Jesus Christ, and ‘Wisdom’ (La Sabiduría)–Holy Spirit. The diabolic counterpart La Sombra (Shadow) is extended by Satan (El Principe de las Tinieblas) or the allegorical figure of sin (El Pecado). Plata Parga,
“Introducción”(cf. note 361), pp. 11–24, gives a brief overview regarding the interpretation and relation of the twoautosto each other and to thecomedia.
386 “FUEGO: Un globo y masa confusa, / que poéticos estilos / llamarán‘caos’y‘nada’/ los profetas / compusimos los cuatro; [. . .]”(vv. 29–33; references are to the edition: Pedro Calderón de la Barca,Auto sacramental intituladoLa vida es sueño[segunda versión; 1673], in:
Calderón,La vida es sueño: Edición crítica de las dos versiones del auto y de la loa[cf. note 361], pp. 105–199).
because God, or rather Poder, had no heir or favorite ( “ [ . . . ] no teniendo here-dero / tú que pueda preferirnos ”
387), no ‘ viceroy ’ ( “ virrey ”
388) for the earth, the
‘ Colony of Heaven ’ ( “ reino aparte de tu imperio / y colonia de tu Impirio ”
389), who could ensure the preservation of peace and justice. They ask him to appoint one to whom they could be subjects in his name ( “ a quien en tu nombre demos / la obediencia [ . . . ] ”
390). Poder then turns to his ‘ royal court ’
391and re-veals the following ‘ secret ’
392– it is first the account of Lucifer ’ s rebellion of an-gels against God. When he had informed his ministers of his decision to marry
‘ Human Nature ’ and to designate their son as heir to the throne,
393one of his vassals, “ el más sabio, hermoso y lindo, ”
394instigated a rebellion against him.
Sabiduría answers the subsequent question, “ si en la segunda criatura, / sujeto hermoso que elijo / para mi heredero, había / de sucederme lo mismo. ”
395The
‘ second creature ’ chosen as potential heir is Man, but also he, as she had fore-seen by virtue of her omniscience, will turn out to be ungrateful like “ el ángel, ” thus plunging the whole human race into misfortune (meaning the Fall of Man), so that in the end she herself will be forced to take on human form to repair the damage (redemption).
396Amor states that since the world was created for Man, he too has to be created, and adds an aspect that is relevant for the course and
387 Vv. 238 f.
388 V. 244.
389 Vv. 230 f.
390 Vv. 246 f.
391 “PODER: Gran corte del universo, / leales vasallos míos[,]”(vv. 258 f.) It should be noted that there is an obvious parallel to thecomedia: King Basilio’s speech before the Polish court, in which he reports on the existence of his son Segismundo and on his intention to let him have a trial rule (see there vv. 602–843).
392 “quiero un secreto deciros / que hasta ahora de mi mente / para ninguno ha salido”(vv.
263 ff.).
393 “cercado de los ministros / que más hermosos, más puros / crié para mi servicio, / les revelé cómo había / [. . .] / para mi esposa elegido, / y reina suya, a la humana / naturaleza, cuyo hijo / heredero por la gracia / sería del imperio mío”(vv. 277–287).
394 V. 289.
395 Vv. 318–321.
396 The definition of divine omniscience:“SABIDURÍA: Yo, que sé todas las ciencias[,] / [. . .] / yo, para quien el presente / tiempo solamente es fijo, / pues, si miro hacia el pasado / y si hacia el futuro miro, / es tiempo presente todo / futuro o pasado siglo;”(vv. 324–337); the fall of man and the consequences for humanity:“[. . .] no menos / ingrato y desconocido / te será el hombre que el ángel, / poniendo en tan gran conflicto / a todo el género humano / que a sombra de su delito, / sea el ámbito del orbe / tan heredad del abismo, / que nazcan de sus raíces / el pasmo, el susto, el peligro, / el adulterio, el rencor, / el hurto y el homicidio”(vv.
350–361); the possibility of salvation through Christ:“Pero, ¿qué mucho, si, habiendo / una vez introducido / la palidez de la muerte / sus últimos parasismos, / será tan universal / el
theological message of the play: man is to be endowed with the soul ’ s faculties intellectus and voluntas. Understanding would make man capable of distinguish-ing between good and evil, and free will would enable him to choose between bad or good ( “ [ . . . ] le has de dar / [ . . . ] / [ . . . ] tres potencias [ . . . ] / y [ . . . ] uno razón y juicio, / [ . . . ] que el Entendimiento, / con el racional distinto, / le ad-vierta del bien y el mal, / dándole un libre albedrío / con que use del mal o el bien ”
397). Man is to be endowed with the knowledge that it is up to him alone to earn participation in God ’ s kingdom or squander it. Finally, the actual creation of Man is decided. Poder informs his subjects: “ a sacar me determino / de la prisión del no ser, / a ser, este oculto hijo / que, ya de mi mente ideado / y de la tierra nacido / ha de ser príncipe vuestro. ”
398However, this reign is ‘ on proba-tion ’ only ( “ [ . . . ] por dejar abierto / a la experiencia un resquicio ”
399). Without knowing who he is, Man will be taken (from his prison of ‘ non-existence ’ ) to a ‘ splendid palace, ’ ‘ paradise ’ ( “ a un hermoso alcázar rico, / que [ . . . ] / será verde paraíso ”
400), and, furthermore, the figure of Gracia, ‘ divine grace ’ is to be given to him for a wife ( “ le daré el raro prodigio / de la Gracia por esposa ”
401). If he acted properly, i.e. “ [ . . . ] benigno, / atento, prudente y cuerdo, ”
402they were to be subservient to him forever, but if his actions were characterized by arro-gance and disobedience, he will be denied rule and expelled, for (endowed with reason and free will) the result of this ‘ trial ’ was in the hands of man himself ( “ puesta su suerte en sus manos / el logro o el desperdicio / o por sí le habrá ganado, / o por sí le habrá perdido ”
403). Agua, Tierra, Aire, and Fuego agree to everything, Poder decides to carry out the creation ( “ [ . . . ] al hombre haga-mos ”
404) and sends the Elements to the palace in order to ceremoniously wel-come el hombre. In the subsequent scene, the opponent characters enter the action: La Sombra (the shadow, darkness) – a symbol of guilt, as opposed to
morir? Pues si yo mismo / en tu nombre, para enmienda / de sus errores, admito / humano ser [. . .]”(vv. 362–369).
397 Vv. 392–400.
398Vv. 427–431. It should be noted that the‘figurative nature,’the allegorical dimension of the action is made explicit beforehand in the text itself:“SABIDURÍA: [. . .] he previsto / que, si del lóbrego seno / de la tierra, el duro silo / de sus entrañas, el ciego / vientre de su obscuro limbo, / donde sin ser alma y vida, / discurso, elección, ni aviso, /en metáfora de cárcel/ hasta ahora le has tenido, / le sacas a luz [. . .]”(vv. 341–350; my italics).
399Vv. 433 f.
400 Vv. 437 ff.
401Vv. 443 f.
402Vv. 445 f.
403Vv. 454–457.
404V. 472.