others, or, to use other terms to cover the same phenomena, appropri-
ation and allegiance.
In everyday Latin,commendomeans, not unlike in contemporary
English, recommending somebody as worthy and committing a per-
son to another person or task.^40 In a society in which personal liaisons
and allegiances play a prominent role in all kinds of tasks, acts of
commending have obvious importance. I am more likely to receive a
favour or service if I am recommended or praised by somebody. In
the New Testament, the social idea of commending is outlined in, for
instance, 1 Cor. 10:12a, 18 (NRSV):‘We do not dare to classify or
compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves...
For it is not those who commend themselves that are approved, but
those whom the Lord commends.’
The Vulgate uses herecommendoas a translation ofsynistemi
(NRSV: commend). The entire passage, 2 Cor. 10:12–18, speaks of
measuring oneself and overstepping the limits of boasting. Paul
pleads for the view that Christians should be commended by the
Lord, not by other people. Instead of self-praise, one should boast in
the Lord. Unlike most modern translations, the Vulgate follows the
so-called Western text in 10:12b–13a, reading: ‘But we measure
ourselves with our own standard, comparing ourselves with it. And
so our glorying will not go beyond limits.’^41
While the Latin text of 10:12b–13a has connection points with the
philosophical view (see below), Paul is probably making a social
contrast between God-given standards and human standards. For
Paul, a trustworthy commendation must assume a real heteronomy
as only a recommendation given by a higher authority achieves its goal.
Allegiance must go beyond one’s peers. In this manner, 2 Cor.
10:12–18 can be read in terms of the everyday social practice of
commending a person. Paul is using this practice to illustrate a religious
state of affairs in which the right conduct of Christians should not
witness their own virtues, but of the Lord who has called and commit-
ted these people and to whom the credit therefore belongs.
As a philosophical notion,commendatioenters Western thought
through Cicero. The Roman philosopher holds that nothing is private
property by nature; all property needs to be occupied or taken over.^42
Cicero further considers that every animal starts from its birth to
(^40) TLL, s.v. commendo. (^41) See e.g. Plummer 1948, 286.
(^42) De officiis1, 7, 21.
The Latin Traditions 59