r in psalms, hymns and spiritual canticles." Now we should
employ nothing in the divine worship, save what is delivered to us on
the authority of Scripture. Therefore it would seem that, in praising
God, we should employ, not corporal but spiritual canticles.

Obj. 2: Further, Jerome in his commentary on Eph. 5:19, "Singing and
making melody in your hearts to the Lord," says: "Listen, young men
whose duty it is to recite the office in church: God is to be sung
not with the voice but with the heart. Nor should you, like
play-actors, ease your throat and jaws with medicaments, and make the
church resound with theatrical measures and airs." Therefore God
should not be praised with song.

Obj. 3: Further, the praise of God is competent to little and great,
according to Apoc. 14, "Give praise to our God, all ye His servants;
and you that fear Him, little and great." But the great, who are in
the church, ought not to sing: for Gregory says (Regist. iv, ep. 44):
"I hereby ordain that in this See the ministers of the sacred altar
must not sing" (Cf. Decret., dist. xcii., cap. In sancta Romana
Ecclesia). Therefore singing is unsuitable to the divine praises.

Obj. 4: Further, in the Old Law God was praised with musical
instruments and human song, according to Ps. 32:2, 3: "Give praise to
the Lord on the harp, sing to Him with the psaltery, the instrument
of ten strings. Sing to Him a new canticle." But the Church does not
make use of musical instruments such as harps and psalteries, in the
divine praises, for fear of seeming to imitate the Jews. Therefore in
like manner neither should song be used in the divine praises.

Obj. 5: Further, the praise of the heart is more important than the
praise of the lips. But the praise of the heart is hindered by
singing, both because the attention of the singers is distracted from
the consideration of what they are singing, so long as they give all
their attention to the chant, and because others are less able to
understand the things that are sung than if they were recited without
chant. Therefore chants should not be employed in the divine praises.

_On the contrary,_ Blessed Ambrose established singing in the Church
of Milan, as Augustine relates (Confess. ix).

_I answer that,_ As stated above (A. 1), the praise of the voice is
necessary in order to arouse man's devotion towards God. Wherefore
whatever is useful in conducing to this result is becomingly adopted
in the divine praise