The spouse aspires to an union with Christ, their mutual love for one another.
1Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: for thy breasts are better than wine,Mi baci egli col bacio della sua bocca; perocché migliori sono del vino le tue mammelle, che spiran fragranza di ottimi unguenti.LET him kisse me with the kisse of his mouth: because thy brestes are better then wine,Sponsa. Osculetur me osculo oris sui; / quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino, 2Smelling sweet of the best ointments. Thy name is as oil poured out: therefore young maidens have loved thee.Olio sparso è il tuo nome: per questo le fanciulle ti amarono.smelling fragrantly of the best ointments. Oile powred out is thy name: therfore haue yongmaydes loued thee.fragrantia unguentis optimis. / Oleum effusum nomen tuum; / ideo adolescentulæ dilexerunt te. 3Draw me: we will run after thee to the odour of thy ointments. The king hath brought me into his storerooms: we will be glad and rejoice in thee, remembering thy breasts more than wine: the righteous love thee.Traimi tu dietro a te, correremo noi all'odore de' tuoi profumi. M'introdusse il Re ne' suoi penetrali: esulteremo, e ci allegreremo in te, ripensando alle tue mammelle migliori del vino: Te amano i giusti.Draw me: we wil runne after thee in the odour of thine ointments. The king hath brought me into his cellars: we wil reioyce & be glad in thee, mindful of thy brests aboue wine: the righteous loue thee.Chorus Adolescentularum. Trahe me, post te curremus / in odorem unguentorum tuorum. / Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua; / exsultabimus et lætabimur in te, / memores uberum tuorum super vinum. / Recti diligunt te. 4I am black but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Cedar, as the curtains of Solomon.Negra son io, o figlie di Gerusalemme, come le tende di Cedar, ma bella come i padiglioni di Salomone.I am blacke but beutiful, ô ye daughters of Ierusalem, as the tabernacles of Cedar, as the skinnes of Salomon.Sponsa. Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiæ Jerusalem, / sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis. 5Do not consider me that I am brown, because the sun hath altered my colour: the sons of my mother have fought against me, they have made me the keeper in the vineyards: my vineyard I have not kept.Non badate, che io sia bruna: perocché il sole mi fe' cangiar di colore. I figli della madre mia mi fecero guerra. Mi dettero a custodir delle vigne: la vigna mia non fu custodita da me.Doe not consider me that I am browne, because the sunne hath altered my colour: the sonnes of my mother haue fought against me, they haue made me a keeper in the vinyards: my vinyard I haue not kept.Nolite me considerare quod fusca sim, / quia decoloravit me sol. / Filii matris meæ pugnaverunt contra me; / posuerunt me custodem in vineis: / vineam meam non custodivi.
6Shew me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou liest in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions.Fammi sapere, o amore dell'anima mia, il luogo de' tuoi paschi, il luogo, dove in sul meriggio riposi, perch'io non cominci d'andar vagando dietro a' greggi de' tuoi compagni.Shew me ô thou, whom my soule loueth, where thou feedest, where thou lyest in the midday, lest I beginne to wander after the flockes of thy companyons.Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, / ubi cubes in meridie, / ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum. 7If thou know not thyself, O fairest among women, go forth, and follow after the steps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds.Se tu non conosci te stessa, o bellissima tralle donne, esci fuora, e vai dietro alle pedate de' greggi, e pasci i tuoi capretti presso ai padiglioni dei pastori.If thou know not thyselfe, ô most fayrest among wemen, goeforth, and folow after the steppes of the flockes, and feede thy kiddes byside the tabernacles of the pastours.Sponsus. Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, / egredere, et abi post vestigia gregum, / et pasce hædos tuos juxta tabernacula pastorum. 8To my company of horsemen, in Pharao’s chariots, have I likened thee, O my love.A' miei destrieri nei cocchi di Faraone io ti rassomiglio, o mia Diletta.To my companie of horsemen, in the chariotes of Pharao, haue I likened thee, ô my loue.Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis / assimilavi te, amica mea. 9Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtledove’s, thy neck as jewels.Belle son le tue guance come di tortorella: il collo tuo come monili.Thy cheekes are beautiful as the turteldoues, thy necke as iewels.Pulchræ sunt genæ tuæ sicut turturis; / collum tuum sicut monilia. 10We will make thee chains of gold, inlaid with silver.Noi ti faremo delle piccole murene a oro punteggiate d'argento.We wil make thee cheynes of gold, enamoled with siluer.Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, / vermiculatas argento. 11While the king was at his repose, my spikenard sent forth the odour thereof.Mentre il re stavasi alla sua mensa, il mio nardo spirò il suo odore.Whiles the king was at his repose, my spikenard gaue the odour thereof.Sponsa. Dum esset rex in accubitu suo, / nardus mea dedit odorem suum. 12A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts.Mazzetto di mirra (è) a me il mio diletto: si starà sempre al mio seno.A bundle of myrrhe my beloued is to me, he shal abide betwen my brestes.Fasciculus myrrhæ dilectus meus mihi; / inter ubera mea commorabitur. 13A cluster of cypress my love is to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi.Il mio Diletto (è) a me un grappolo di cipro delle vigne d'Engaddi.A clustre of cypre my loue is to me, in the vineyardes of Engaddi.Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi / in vineis Engaddi.
14Behold thou art fair, O my love, behold thou art fair, thy eyes are as those of doves.Bella veramente se' tu, o mia Diletta: bella veramente se' tu, gli occhi tuoi son di colomba.Behold thou art fayre, ô my loue, behold thou art fayre, thyne eyes are as of doues.Sponsus. Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea ! ecce tu pulchra es ! / Oculi tui columbarum. 15Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely. Our bed is flourishing.Bello veramente se' tu, o mio diletto le pieno di grazia: il talamo nostro è fiorito:Behold thou art fayre my beloued, & comlie: our litle bed is florishing.Sponsa. Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi, et decorus ! / Lectulus noster floridus. 16The beams of our houses are of cedar, our rafters of cypress trees.Delle nostre case le travi (sono) di cedro, le soffitte di cipresso.The beames of our houses are of cedar, our rafters of cypresse trees.Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, / laquearia nostra cypressina.
1:1
Let. Hebrew yishakeni, (Haydock) "kiss or instruct me," as if to insinuate that we must raise our thoughts from carnal to spiritual things.
The. Hebrew, "kisses."
Menochius
His mouth. Others I reject. (Menochius)
Worthington
The synagogue prays for Christ's coming, as the Church does for his glorious appearance. (Worthington)
Origen † AD 253
The figures of the law and predictions afford not satisfaction; only the Messias can bring it to mankind. (Origen)
Ven. Bede
Breasts. Hebrew also, "loves." But the former is the primary signification of (Menochius) dodec. Christ, in his divine and human nature, is the source of all our good. His graces are manifested. He instructs and feeds us with the truths contained in Scripture, and in tradition, (Haydock) or in the Old and New Testament. (Ven. Bede, etc.)
Tirinus
Spiritual delights are to be preferred before all terrestrial ones. From the incarnation of Christ, and sanctification of man, all other graces proceed. (Tirinus)
Calmet
At first the spouse speaks to the bridegroom in the third person, to show her respect, though he was certainly present. Her companions attend her. (Calmet)
Haydock
Wine. All seem to agree that these words are addressed to the bridegroom: which shews that they must be understood in the mystical sense. (Haydock)
1:2
Ointments. The bosom used to be perfumed. (Athen. 15:5., and 15:14.)
Calmet
Thy name. Thou thyself. The preaching of the gospel produced a wonderful change in the world, 2 Corinthians 2:15. (Calmet)
Haydock
The Church honours the name of Jesus on the second Sunday after the Epiphany. (A. Butler, p. 130.) (Haydock)
Thee. The martyrs and Christian virgins are inflamed with divine love.
1:3
Calmet
To, etc., is in the Septuagint; but not in Hebrew or Complutensian. (Calmet)
Bossuet
Grace must draw, and then people will run, John 6:44., and 12:32., and Philippians 3:12. (St. Ambrose) (Bossuet)
Calmet
Rooms. Where there is abundance of wine and ointments. The extraordinary favours of heaven are not granted to all, Matthew 13:11. (Calmet)
Tirinus
Righteous. The apostles, and faithful souls, (Haydock) and all who form a right judgment of things, (Menochius) having their thoughts, works, and actions composed. (Tirinus)
Haydock
Black. Or brown, ver. 5. (Haydock)
Calmet
The Egyptians were of a less fair complexion, and she had been exposed to the sun, ver. 5. (Calmet)
Theodoret
The synagogue gloried in her advantages; but the Gentiles being chosen by Christ, obtain the palm. (Theodoret)
Worthington
Though outwardly afflicted, the Church is inwardly fair. (Worthington)
Calmet
Cedar. Or of the Arabs, who dwelt in tents, made of black goat's hair. (Calmet)
Bernier
The tents of the eastern kings were equal in magnificence to our palaces. (Bernier, Valle, etc.)
1:5
Haydock
Altered. Hebrew, "looked upon me," (Protestants) or "darted his rays at me." (Montanus) (Haydock)
The Church of the Gentiles was quite disfigured before Christ chose it. Persecutors afterwards strove to tarnish its beauty, but in vain.
Haydock
Vineyard. My face (Calmet) and person I have not regarded, while I was attentive to serve others. (Haydock)
Calmet
Pastors, who are chosen against their will, sometimes pay so much attention to the welfare of their flock, that they neglect their own interior, and fall into small faults, which Christ will know how to excuse and pardon, Ezechiel 33:2. (St. Bernard, ser. xxx.) (Calmet)
1:6
Haydock
Liest. Hebrew, "makest thy flock to rest." (Protestants) (Haydock)
Mid-day. She represents herself and her beloved as guarding flocks, which were usually driven into some shady place during the heat of the day, when the shepherds took their innocent recreations.
Cassiodorus
Wander. (Septuagint; Protestants) But marginal note has, "as one that is veiled," which was the mark of a common woman, Genesis 38:14. The Gentile Church is eager to be guided by the one true Shepherd, and adheres to him with the greatest fervour, (Calmet) during the heat of persecution. (Cassiodorus)
Calmet
We ought to imitate the solicitude of the spouse, and hide ourselves under the shadow of the cross when we are tempted, Isaias 25:4. (Calmet)
1:7
Worthington
If. Christ comforts his Church. (Worthington)
Menochius
He doubts not of her fidelity. (Menochius)
But the very insinuation, which she had made, causes him to give her this sort of rebuke. God is jealous, Exodus 34:14. He punishes the smallest faults. The spouse perceives this, and runs towards him.
St. Jerome
Thyself. He who is ignorant of himself, must be so likewise of God, (Calmet) and will be sentenced to feed goats. (St. Jerome, ep. xxii. ad Eustoc.)
Kids. Which had been detained at home. They will naturally seek their mothers. All creatures will raise the soul to God, Job xii.
Menochius
Shepherds. Though in the midst of a perverse generation of idolaters and philosophers, the Church will continue steadfast. (Menochius)
1:8
Calmet
Company. Hebrew, "mare." Such were preferred, as more gentle and swift. Pharao had probably made his son-in-law a present of a magnificent chariot. Theocritus (xviii.) compares the beautiful Helena to a Thessalian horse in a chariot, so that this idea is not low, Genesis 49:14., and Osee 10:11. (Calmet)
Haydock
Horsemen. Protestants, "horses." (Haydock)
Menochius
Hebrew susa. Septuagint e ippos means also "cavalry," as well as a mare. The Church has nothing to fear. (Menochius)
1:9
As, etc. Hebrew, "with rows of jewels, thy neck with chains of gold." (Protestants)
Calmet
Septuagint here read like the Vulgate c instead of b before thurim, which signifies chains, (ver. 10.; Haydock) as well as turtles. We cannot say that this bird has cheeks. (Calmet)
Calmet
It is an emblem of the Church mourning, and ever true to her beloved, (Origen, etc.) who bestows a variety of graces on different people, 1 Corinthians 12:4. (Calmet)
1:11
Worthington
While. The Church meditates on his passion and resurrection. (Worthington)
Calmet
Repose. Or bed. Thus our Saviour was treated, Matthew 26:7., and Luke 7:37. (Calmet)
Menochius
Odour. The virtues of the Church please him. (Menochius)
The saints, before and since his coming, pray with all earnestness, Apocalypse 5:8.
1:12
Calmet
Abide. Hebrew adds, "all night." Christ remained nine months in the virgin's womb. (Calmet)
The faithful discover him in both the Testaments, (Haydock) and meditate on his sufferings. Myrrh is a bitter but odoriferous liquor.
1:13
Menochius
Cyprus. A shrub with leaves like the olive-tree, and fruit growing in clusters, of a very agreeable smell. See Pliny, [Natural History?] 12:24. Christ has given us his sacred blood on the cross, and in the blessed Eucharist. (Menochius)
1:14
Worthington
Behold. Christ praiseth his spouse. (Worthington)
Origen † AD 253
Doves. Sharp-sighted, and reddish, Genesis 49:12. The Holy Ghost came upon Christ in the form of a dove, Matthew 3:16. We must imitate his simplicity, (Matthew 10:16.) and have a pure and single eye, or intention, (Matthew 6:22.; Calmet) inviolably to please God. (Origen)
Menochius
The Church decides matters of controversy, without any mistakes. (Menochius)
1:15
Worthington
Behold. The spouse makes a return of praise, and thanksgiving for her repose, to Christ. (Worthington)
The corporal beauty of Solomon or of our Saviour is not fully ascertained; but their inward perfections are often proclaimed.
Flourishing. Hebrew, "green." Septuagint, "shaded." (Esther 1:5.)
1:16
Beams. Prelates.
Menochius
Rafters. Virtuous subjects. (Menochius)
Pliny
Cypress. The are both odoriferous and incorruptible. The cypress has leaves from top to bottom, and grows not so large as the cedar. (Pliny, [Natural History?] 12:17.)
1:1
Let him kiss me.... The church, the spouse of Christ, prays that he may love and have peace with her, which the spouse prefers to every thing delicious: and therefore expresses (ver. 2) that young maidens, that is the souls of the faithful, have loved thee.
1:3
Draw me.... That is, with thy grace: otherwise I should not be able to come to thee. This metaphor shews that we cannot of ourselves come to Christ our Lord, unless he draws us by his grace, which is laid up in his storerooms: that is, in the mysteries of Faith, which God in his goodness and love for mankind hath revealed, first by his servant Moses in the Old Law in figure only, and afterwards in reality by his only begotten Son Jesus Christ.
1:4
I am black but beautiful.... That is, the church of Christ founded in humility appearing outwardly afflicted, and as it were black and contemptible; but inwardly, that is, in its doctrine and morality, fair and beautiful.
1:7
If thou know not thyself, etc.... Christ encourages his spouse to follow and watch her flock: and though she know not entirely the power at hand to assist her, he tells her, ver. 8, my company of horsemen, that is, his angels, are always watching and protecting her. And in the following verses he reminds her of the virtues and gifts with which he has endowed her.
1:1
The Church of the old testament desireth Christs coming in flesh: and the Christian Church prayeth for his coming in glorie.
1:4
The Church outwardly afflicted, is inwardly fayre.
1:7
Christ encorageth his spouse the Church.
1:11
She meditateth of his Passion, and Resurrection.
1:14
Christ praiseth his spouse
1:15
She againe praiseth him;
VVith thankes for her repose, and present consolation.
1:1
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Exposition of the Christian Faith 2.2
32. But why do we doubt? The Church hath believed in His goodness all these ages, and hath confessed its faith in the saying: “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth; for thy breasts are better than wine;”
1:2
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 6
29. After this, you went up to the priest, consider what followed. Was it not that of which David speaks: “Like the ointment upon the head, which went down to the beard, even Aaron’s beard”? This is the ointment of which Solomon, too, says: “Thy Name is ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved Thee and drawn Thee.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Repentance 2.8
69. In a kiss is the sign of love, and therefore the Lord Jesus says: “Let her kiss Me with the kisses of her mouth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Virgins 1.3
… She, passing beyond the clouds, air, angels, and stars, has found the Word of God in the very bosom of the Father, and has drawn Him into herself with her whole heart. For who having found so great a Good would forsake it? For “Thy Name is as ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved Thee, and drawn Thee.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Virgins 2.6
… We have not formed this power for ourselves, but have received it; this is the heavenly teaching of the mystic song: “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth, for Thy breasts are better than wine, and the odor of Thy ointments is above all spices. Thy name is as ointment poured forth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 41.14
… Whence, then, can a Jew have a kiss, seeing he has not known peace, nor received peace from Christ when He said: “My peace I give you, My peace I leave you.” The Synagogue has not a kiss, but the Church has, who waited for Him, who loved Him, who said: “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Selections from the Letters of St. Ambrose 41.18
18. But the Church ceases not to kiss the feet of Christ, and therefore in the Song of Songs she desires not one but many kisses,
1:3
St Ignatius of Antioch † AD 108 Epistle to the Ephesians: Shorter and Longer Versions 17
For this end did the Lord suffer the ointment to be poured upon His head, that His Church might breathe forth immortality. For saith [the Scripture], “Thy name is as ointment poured forth; therefore have the virgins loved Thee; they have drawn Thee; at the odour of Thine ointments we will run after Thee.”
Origen † AD 254 Origen De Principiis 2.6.6
… Lastly, the expression, “God, thy God, anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows,” shows that that soul is anointed in one way with the oil of gladness, i.e., with the word of God and wisdom; and his fellows, i.e., the holy prophets and apostles, in another. For they are said to have “run in the odour of his ointments;”
St Gregory of Nazianzus † AD 389 Select Orations of Saint Gregory Nazianzen 40
… Let us be healed also in the smell, that we be not effeminate; and be sprinkled with dust instead of sweet perfumes, but may smell the Ointment that was poured out for us,
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 2.9
… was not sufficient to implant in us an adequate notion of the ineffable mode of subsistence of the Only-begotten, Scripture avails itself also of the third kind of generation to indicate the doctrine of the Son’s Divinity,—that kind, namely, which is the result of material efflux, and speaks of Him as the “brightness of glory ,” the “savour of ointment
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 8.4
… And since this particular species of generation did not suffice to produce in us an adequate idea of the unspeakable existence of the Only-begotten, it employs also another species of generation, that which is the result of efflux, to express the Divine Nature of the Son, and calls Him “the brightness of glory ,” the “savour of ointment
St Gregory of Nyssa † AD 395 Against Eunomius 8.5
… Let this materialist and friend of the senses be persuaded therefore to correct the error of his conception by the other forms of generation. What will you say when you hear of the “brightness of glory” or of the “savour of ointment
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 1.8
95. In like manner that you may believe that that which is shed abroad cannot be common to the creatures but peculiar to the Godhead, the name of the Son is also poured forth, as you read: “Thy Name is as ointment poured forth.”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 6
… This is the ointment of which Solomon, too, says: “Thy Name is ointment poured out, therefore have the maidens loved Thee and drawn Thee.” How many souls regenerated this day have loved Thee, Lord Jesus, and have said: “Draw us after Thee, we are running after the odour of Thy garments,”
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 Concerning Virgins 2.6
… Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” The whole of that place of delights sounds of sport, stirs up approval, calls forth love. “Therefore,” it continues, “have the maidens loved Thee and have drawn Thee, let us run after the odour of Thy ointments. The King hath brought me into His chamber.”
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Ephesians 14
Or else he means thus, “that it may make them, the hearers, full of grace.” For as sweet ointment gives grace to them that partake of it, so also does good speech. Hence it was moreover that one said, “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.” (
St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on Colossians 9
These things let us learn, not as far as words only, but to fulfill them also by works. Nothing is equal to this Name, marvelous is it everywhere. “Thy Name,” he saith, “is ointment poured forth.” (
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.7
… There, also—the Lord Himself is my witness—when I had shed copious tears and had strained my eyes towards heaven, I sometimes felt myself among angelic hosts, and for joy and gladness sang: “because of the savour of thy good ointments we will run after thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 9.7
… Thanks be to Thee, O my God. Whence and whither hast Thou thus led my remembrance, that I should confess these things also unto Thee,—great, though I, forgetful, had passed them over? And yet then, when the “savour” of Thy “ointments” was so fragrant, did we not “run after Thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 13.15
… because we also, although we be the well-beloved of Thy Son, yet it hath not yet appeared what we shall be. He looketh through the lattice of our flesh, and He is fair-speaking, and hath inflamed us, and we run after His odours.
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 16.2
… For who can carefully and intelligently consider these things without recognizing them accomplished in Christ? Shem, of whom Christ was born in the flesh, means “named.” And what is of greater name than Christ, the fragrance of whose name is now everywhere perceived, so that even prophecy sings of it beforehand, comparing it in the Song of Songs,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Concerning Faith of Things Not Seen 6
… day, concerning whom it was said, “All the glory of that King’s daughter is within:” although she strike upon the eyes of them also that are without with the blaze of the fame of her preachers, in diversity of tongues, as “in fringes of gold, and raiment of divers colors.” If there be not, now that His fame is spread abroad in every place by His good odor,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Of the Work of Monks 36
… O servants of God, soldiers of Christ, is it thus ye dissemble the plottings of our most crafty foe, who fearing your good fame, that so goodly odor of Christ, lest good souls should say, “We will run after the odor of thine ointments,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Answer to the Letters of Petilian, the Donatist 3.6
… For in fact I ought to consider, not how bitter, but how false is what I hear, and how true He is in defense of whose name I am exposed to it, and to whom it is said, "Thy name is as ointment poured forth."
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 26.5
5. But what is this, “Whom the Father shall draw,” when Christ Himself draws? Why did He say, “Whom the Father shall draw”? If we must be drawn, let us be drawn by Him to whom one who loves says, “We will run after the odor of Thine ointment.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 50.7
… of such it is said, that through them “the name of the Lord is blasphemed.” If through such God’s name is blasphemed, through the good the name of the Lord is honored. Listen to the apostle, when he says, “We are a sweet savor of Christ in every place.” As it is said also in the Song of Songs, “Thy name is as ointment poured forth.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 38.8
… That which we mourn over is stench, that which we reckon upon is fragrance. Were there not therefore such a perfume as that to invite us, we should never call the Sabbath to remembrance. But since, by the Spirit, we have such a perfume, as to say to our Betrothed, “Because of the savour of Thy good ointments we will run after Thee;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 45.20
… He then was glorious in the preaching of God’s Word, and in regulating his life according to the rule of that “rod of direction;” and he was loved by those who loved Christ in him, who followed after and pursued the odour of sweet savour; who loved the friend of the bridegroom: that is to say, by the Bride Herself, who says in the Song of Songs,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 91.20
… and our Lord Jesus Christ is that very great sight. He who appeared humble, will Himself appear great, and will rejoice us, as He is even now seen of His Angels.…Let us love and imitate Him: let us run after his ointments, as is said in the Song of Solomon: “Because of the savour of thy good ointments, we will run after thee.”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 5.17
… towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus,” whither he ever directs his mental gaze, and hastening towards it with all speed of heart, proclaims with confidence, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.” And because he knows he has run unweariedly “after the odour of the ointment”
John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 5.18
But he does not mean that he has only finished the contest of a race when he says “I so run, not as uncertainly” (a phrase which has more particularly to do with the intention of the mind and fervour of his spirit, in which he followed Christ with all zeal, crying out with the Bride, “We will run after thee for the odour of thine ointments;”
Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 Register of the Epistles of St. Gregory the Great 7.26
… and in whose presence there is no place, wherein a soul moved by compunction can be, which is not a secret one. For you inhale the odour of eternal sweetness, and so ardently love the bridegroom of your soul as to be able to say with the heavenly bride, Draw me after thee; we run in the odour of thine ointments (
1:4
Origen † AD 254 Prologue of Rufinus 1
… our brother and colleague had, at the earnest entreaty of Bishop Damasus, translated two of the Homilies on the Song of Songs out of Greek into Latin, he prefixed so elegant and noble a preface to that work, as to inspire every one with a most eager desire to read and study Origen, saying that the expression, “The King hath brought me into his chamber,”
St Cyril of Jerusalem † AD 386 The Catechetical Lectures of S. Cyril 3.2
For now meanwhile thou standest outside the door: but God grant that you all may say, The King hath brought me into His chamber
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Mysteries 7
35. The Church, having put on these garments through the laver of regeneration, says in the Song of Songs: “I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem.”
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 Preface to the Translations of Origen's Books Περὶ ᾽Αρχῶν 1
… He said that to the soul of that great man the words might well be applied:
Rufinus of Aquileia † AD 411 The Apology of Rufinus. Addressed to Apronianus, in Reply to Jerome's Letter to Pammachius 2.14
… In these he discusses first the version of the Septuagint; then those of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, and last of all a Fifth Version which he states that he discovered on the coast of Actium, and this he does so grandly and so freely that it seems to me as if the words were fulfilled in him which say,
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.1
… He has “married an Ethiopian woman.” When once you desire the wisdom of the true Solomon and come to Him, He will avow all His knowledge to you; He will lead you into His chamber with His royal hand;
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 80.1
… To the soul of that just man—so he declared—the words of the Song were applicable: “the king hath brought me into his chambers;”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 107.7
… Let her imitate the retirement of Mary whom Gabriel found alone in her chamber and who was frightened, it would appear, by seeing a man there. Let the child emulate her of whom it is written that “the king’s daughter is all glorious within.” Wounded with love’s arrow let her say to her beloved, “the king hath brought me into his chambers.”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 130.2
… Such was the coat of many colours, that is, formed of many different virtues, which Joseph wore; and similar ones were of old the ordinary dress of king’s daughters. Thereupon the bride herself rejoices and says: “the king hath brought me into his chambers,”
St Jerome † AD 420 To Pammachius against John of Jerusalem 27
… You see we understand your subtleties, and publish abroad the mysteries which you utter in the bedchamber and amongst the perfect, mysteries which may not reach the ears of outsiders. You smile, and with hand uplifted and a snap of the fingers retort, “All the glory of the king’s daughter is within.” And,
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 The Confessions 8.4
9. Haste, Lord, and act; stir us up, and call us back; inflame us, and draw us to Thee; stir us up, and grow sweet unto us; let us now love Thee, let us “run after Thee.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 City of God 17.20
… But this pleasure is wrapped up in allegorical veils, that the Bridegroom may be more ardently desired, and more joyfully unveiled, and may appear; to whom it is said in this same song, “Equity hath delighted Thee;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 88.7
7. It seems obscure, obscure it is; for it is a mystery of the sacred marriage bed. For she says, “The King hath brought me into His chamber.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Lectures or Tractates on the Gospel According to St. John 99.4
… five messengers, as it were, of the body, when it understands, chooses, and loves the unchangeable truth,—is said both to see the light, whereof it is said, “That was the true light;” and to hear the word, whereof it is said, “In the beginning was the Word;” and to be susceptible of smell, of which it is said, “We will run after the smell of thy ointments;”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Ten Homilies on the First Epistle of John 9.9
… He had no form nor comeliness,” that He might give thee form and comeliness. What form? what comeliness? The love which is in charity: that loving, thou mayest run;
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 9.6
… name of God’s throne to his soul, so that his body may peradventure be the earth, which is called God’s “footstool:” for “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself:” or whether the soul of the Church, perfect now and without spot and wrinkle, worthy, that is, of the hidden things of the Son, in that “the King hath brought her into His chamber,”
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St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith 3.3
3. The Queen of Sheba was a sheep that had come into the place of wolves; the lamp of truth did Solomon give her, who also married
St Ambrose of Milan † AD 397 On the Holy Spirit 2.10
… And therefore it is written: “Ethiopia shall stretch out her hand unto God.” In which is signified the appearance of holy Church, who says in the Song of Songs: “I am black and comely, O daughters of Jerusalem;”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.1
… And in another place, “He that committeth sin is of the devil.” Born, in the first instance, of such parentage we are naturally black, and even when we have repented, so long as we have not scaled the heights of virtue, we may still say: “I am black but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On Christian Doctrine 3.32
… An example of this is that passage in the Song of Solomon, “I am black, but comely, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.17
17. Let your companions be women pale and thin with fasting, and approved by their years and conduct; such as daily sing in their hearts: “Tell me where thou feedest thy flock, where thou makest it to rest at noon,”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.25
… You may excuse yourself and say: “I have drawn close my veil, I have covered my face and I have sought Thee there and have said: ‘Tell me, O Thou whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest Thy flock, where Thou makest it to rest at noon. For why should I be as one that is veiled beside the flocks of Thy companions?’”
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 66.10
… Go out into the streets and charge the daughters of Jerusalem: then shall you find him lying down in the noontide weary and drunk with passion, or wet with the dew of night by the flocks of his companions, or fragrant with many kinds of spices, amid the apples of the garden.
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 108.12
12. I linger long in the land of the midday sun for it was there and then that the spouse found her bridegroom at rest
St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 122.1
… For one who had gone so far astray as to live in Gomorrah could not all at once reach the noonland where Abraham, the friend of God, entertained God and His angels. (For it was in Egypt that Joseph fed his brothers, and when the bride speaks to the Bridegroom her cry is: “tell me where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 93.24
… in the interest of their party the words of Scripture: “Where Thou feedest, where Thou dost rest in the south”!
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 93.25
… the spiritual Zion which preceded all your sects in the matter of warrantable secession, and who interpret in their favour the words of the Psalm, “Mount Zion, on the sides of the north, the city of the Great King,” with much more reason than the party of Donatus interpret in their favour the words, “Where Thou feedest, where Thou dost rest in the south.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 93.28
… “Tell me where Thou feedest, where Thou dost rest at noon: for why should I be as one veiled beside the flocks of Thy companions?”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Reply to Faustus the Manichæan 22.38
… Thus we find that the righteous life of the Church is for the glory of Christ, that her beauty may bring honor to her husband, as Abraham was honored on account of the beauty of Sara among the inhabitants of that foreign land. To the Church, to whom it is said in the Song of Songs, "O thou fairest among women,"
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 88.6
6. With good reason then to This Shepherd of shepherds, doth His Beloved, His Spouse, His Fair One, but by Him made fair, before by sin deformed, beautiful afterward through pardon and grace, speak in her love and ardour after Him, and say to Him, “Where feedest Thou?”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.25
… For why should I be as one that is veiled beside the flocks of Thy companions?’” Yet in spite of your excuses He will be wroth, He will swell with anger and say: “If thou know not thyself, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock and feed thy goats beside the shepherd’s tents.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Letters of St. Augustin 93.29
29. It is to the Church also that the answer is given immediately after in the passage quoted above: “If thou know not thyself, O thou fairest among women, go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids beside the shepherds’ tents.”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Sermons on Selected Lessons of the New Testament 45.5
5. So then this Bridegroom, “fair in beauty above the children of men,” became deformed that He might make His Spouse fair to whom it is said, “O thou beauteous among women,”
St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 Expositions on the Book of Psalms 67.4
… but Thine image ought not in darkness to remain: send a ray of Thy wisdom, let it dispel our darkness, and let there shine in us Thy image; let us know ourselves to be Thine image, let us hear what hath been said in the Song of Songs, “If Thou shalt not have known Thyself, O Thou fair one among women.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.30
30. I pass to the Song of Songs, and whereas our opponent thinks it makes altogether for marriage, I shall show that it contains the mysteries of virginity. Let us hear what the bride says before that the bridegroom comes to earth, suffers, descends to the lower world, and rises again.
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.8
… Of whom that is not unfitly understood, which is said in the Song of Songs to the bride, “We will make thee borders of gold, with studs of silver, while the King sitteth at His table;”
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St Augustine of Hippo † AD 430 On the Holy Trinity 1.8
… But that contemplation is not yet, so long as our joy is in hope. For “hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it,” viz . “as long as the King sitteth at His table.”
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 22.25
… You will be wounded and stripped, you will lament and say: “The watchmen that went about the city found me: they smote me, they wounded me, they took away my veil from me.” Now if one who could say: “I sleep but my heart waketh,” and “A bundle of myrrh is my well beloved unto me; he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts”;
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Origen † AD 254 Origen's Commentary on the Gospel of John 10.18
… For neither is the ruling principle in our soul free from agitation, nor are our eyes such as those of the fair bride of Christ should be, of which the bridegroom says,
St Ephrem the Syrian † AD 373 Ephraim Syrus: Nineteen Hymns on the Nativity of Christ in the Flesh 1
The wise man, if so be he that watches, one of two things chooseth him; either takes sweet, moderate, sleep, or a holy vigil keeps. That night is fair, wherein He Who is Fair
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Twelve Books on the Institutes of the Cœnobia, and the Remedies for the Eight Principal Faults 9.3
… “Our rafters are of cypress: the beams of our houses are of cedar.”
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1. LET HIM KISS ME WITH THE KISS OF HIS MOUTH. — The bride seems shameless, who contrary to the custom of honest and modest women, first seeks out the bridegroom and immediately demands his spiritual kiss without any preamble; but drunk with holy love she knows not how to blush: for where there is love, there is neither fear nor shame. "Headlong love," says St. Bernard, "neither awaits judgment, nor is tempered by counsel, nor restrained by shame, nor subjected to reason. I beg, I beseech, I entreat: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: and, as St. Bernard says: "The manner of loving God is to love without manner." This Tuccius here extensively recounts many kisses of Christ and the Church. The bride is silent about the person of the bridegroom, and says only, let him kiss, because since she turns over nothing in her mind except the bridegroom, she believes nothing else is turned over in the minds of others. Whence she expresses the act, but is silent about the person, as one whom she esteems to be as well known to herself as to all others, and present in the thoughts of all, just as Mary Magdalene, John xx, 15, when asked by Christ appearing in the form of a gardener: "Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" answered: "Sir, if thou hast taken him away," etc.: whom him? surely Christ, who as he is my love, indeed my mind and my heart, so I believe he is also that of others: namely, she herself wholly full of Christ, and could not think that either she or others could think of anything other than Christ. There is, however, some shame in the bride here, in that she does not direct her speech to the bridegroom, so as to say: "Kiss me;" but addresses others as if as intermediaries, saying: "Let him kiss me," as the same St. Bernard notes. Thus Mary Magdalene, drunk with love, without shame, "importunately" rushed into the "banquet," says St. Ambrose, but "opportunely for the benefit," so that she might kiss not the mouth, but the feet of Christ. But the bride here, not content with the kiss of the feet, which is that of servants and subjects, seeks the kiss of the mouth, which is that of brides and those who love greatly, as parents kiss their children, brothers one another, friend a friend. "O what great power of love!" exclaims St. Bernard, sermon 7, "what confidence in the spirit of liberty! What is more manifest than that manifest charity casts out fear?" And St. Augustine in the Manual, chapter xix: "Love," he says, "ignorant of dignity knows not reverence;" and chapter xx: "The loving soul is borne along by vows, drawn by desires, disregards merits, closes its eyes to majesty, opens them to pleasure," etc. This agrees with what St. Gregory writes concerning love, book VI, epistle 24 to Anastasius, where he shows that love and power presume equally, and speak freely with authority and command. And Chrysologus, sermon 147: "Love," he says, "knows not judgment, lacks reason, knows not measure, receives no consolation from impossibility, receives no remedy from difficulty. Love unless it has penetrated to what is desired, kills the lover. Love cannot help but see what it loves. Hence it is that all the Saints esteemed all things which they had merited as small, if they did not see the Lord. Hence it is that love which desires to see God, although it does not have judgment, has nevertheless the zeal of piety. Whence also Moses dares to say to God: If I have found favour in thy sight, shew me thy face. Add that the bride does not first seek out the bridegroom, but is stirred and called forth by the bridegroom,
First Sense, Total and Adequate, Concerning Christ and the Church. It is the voice of the patriarchs, says St. Bernard, and of the Synagogue, says St. Thomas, desiring the coming of Christ, as if to say: Because Christ has promised me His coming so many times through the prophets, I for three thousand years have eagerly and anxiously awaited Him; let Him therefore come and "let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth," so that taking on my flesh and my bone through that kiss He may speak to me, and join Himself to me, so that He who once opened the mouths of the prophets may now open His own mouth. Hear Origen: "How long does my Bridegroom send kisses through Moses, send kisses through the prophets? Now I desire to touch His own lips, let Him come, let Him descend. Therefore the Bride prays to the Bridegroom's Father, and says to Him: Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth. And because He is such that through her that prophetic word may be fulfilled in which it is said, While thou art yet speaking, behold I am here: the Father of the Bridegroom hears the Bride, and sends His Son. When she sees Him whose coming she had besought, she ceases to pray, and speaks to Him face to face: Because thy breasts are better than wine, and the odour of thy ointments above all aromatical spices." Thus also Theodoret, Aponius and Bede. as will be evident from what follows: "Thy breasts are better than wine;" for these "breasts," that is, the bowels of mercy shown by the Bridegroom to the Bride, call her forth, indeed make her bold to ask for a kiss, because they instill in her a wonderful love and confidence in the Bridegroom. For, as Christ says, John vi, 44: "No man can come to me, unless the Father, who sent me, draw him" by grace exciting and calling, as St. Augustine teaches and the Council of Trent defines, session VI. Theodoret adds: "When therefore she understands the beauty, strength, riches, kingdom which He has over all, His eternal power, incorruptible, which shall have no end; she desires to see Him, and to rush into His embrace, and to give Him spiritual kisses." Add that this voice is not so much that of the Synagogue as of the Church, which after Christ's incarnation says let Him kiss, that is, let Him continue to kiss me, and let Him ever increase this kiss of His love in me. Whence in Hebrew it is, let Him kiss me with kisses. LET HIM KISS ME WITH THE KISS OF HIS MOUTH. — Hebrew, he shall kiss me with kisses (Vatablus, with kisses) of his mouth. He shall kiss, that is, let him kiss: for the Hebrews signify the optative by the future, which they lack. The Septuagint, let him kiss me with kisses (Origen, in the translation of St. Jerome, has with a kiss) of his mouth; Arabic, let him kiss (the Syriac renders it in the past tense, he kissed) me from the kisses of his mouth. "Kisses" in the plural signifies vehement desire and love of the Bridegroom, so that her presence cannot satisfy her, and she desires it to be continuous. For, as the Poet says: True love knows no measure; For, as the Poet says: True love knows no measure; This physical kiss of Christ is the very hypostatic union itself; for by it He joined flesh to the Word, humanity to God, just as by a kiss the Bridegroom is joined to the Bride. Whence the one kissing, says St. Bernard, is God, the one kissed is man, the kiss is the union of both, through which there becomes one person of both, which is at once God and man: for a kiss is the most chaste symbol of kinship and affinity; whence among all peoples parents kiss their children, brothers, relatives, relations: wherefore Cato kissed women related to him by blood with paternal affection, so that he might know whether they smelled of wine. For in ancient times it was not permitted for Roman women to drink wine; if they had drunk it, they were held to be intemperate and immodest, as Tiraquellus shows by many examples, leg. IX Connub. num. 206. Much more does God, kissing and visiting the soul, inspect whether it smells of delights and vanities, and chastises it for these, according to that: "Thou hast proved my heart, and visited it in the night: thou hast tried me by fire, and iniquity hath not been found in me," Psalm xvi, 3. But the ethical or moral kiss is the intimate affection and love by which Christ is most closely joined to the Church and to the faithful soul. Hear St. Bernard here, serm. 2, piously and pathetically expounding this vow of the kiss in the Bride: "What good to me are these half-words of the prophets? Let Him Himself, fairer in beauty than the sons of men, let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth. I hear Moses no longer: for He has become to me one of impediment of speech. The lips of Isaiah are unclean: Jeremiah knows not how to speak, because he is a child, and all the prophets are without eloquence. He Himself, He Himself of whom they speak, let Him speak: let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth. Let Him not speak to me in them, or through them, for that is dark water in the clouds of the air, but let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth, whose gracious presence, and the admirable streams of His doctrine may become in me a fountain of water springing up unto life eternal." Note that a kiss is a symbol, first, of reconciliation, for when someone has offended another, he is reconciled to him through a kiss, just as the father was reconciled to the prodigal son, Luke xv, 20; secondly, of peace and concord; thirdly, of greeting and good will, whence the Apostle: "Greet one another with a holy kiss," II Cor. cap. xiii, 12; fourthly, of love and intimate union; whence the divine Hierotheus in St. Dionysius, On the Divine Names, cap. IV, says that love has the power of joining, mingling and uniting: which is signified through a kiss. For all these reasons the Church and the faithful soul seek the kiss of Christ, that is to say, as Cosmas Damianus says: How long, finally, will you be angry with your suppliants, O best creator of our kind and Father God? How long, being angry, will you postpone your promises to the human race, and allow them to be sought in vain? To what end will your kindness, poured out first upon man, be drawn back into itself and contained in your treasures? Does the dominion of the world occupied by Satan move you not at all; does the subjection of your children into servitude move you not; does the necessity of sinning, and even of dying imposed upon those who have not sinned themselves, move you not; does the law given for life, which equally leads to destruction, move you not; does the faith given, the prayers and vows of the pious move you not? Your indignation is just, we confess. The judgments which you exercise upon us are just; for your kindness toward man was incredible at first, with the honors of the most ample decree, and the immense benefits which you conferred upon him. But on the other hand, against such great kindness of yours, our impiety toward you stands incredible, against the most ample honors, atrocious injuries, and against such immense benefits, which no man could bestow, the gravest guilt. But now for three thousand years your wrath has raged upon our entire race, upon the sons, I say, of Adam, who, ignorant of the bitter eating of that apple and of their father's transgression, and as innocent lambs, yet guilty through their father, pay the penalty; these are all the more truly your sons. Have mercy upon your own, O Lord. Let your mercy therefore excel judgment. Let Christ come, promised to Adam, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the other prophets, let him assume our flesh, and through it exhibit to us the kiss of reconciliation: for he himself is the propitiation for the sins of the world, he himself is our peace and salvation, he himself is our love, soul, breath and life. "The Spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord," says Jeremiah, "was taken in our sins: to whom we said: In your shadow we shall live among the nations," Lam. IV, 20. Join me therefore to him as a bride betrothed to him from the beginning of the world, at last sometime. Fill me with his embraces and kisses. Let him himself cleanse me by the touch of his sacred mouth, let him join his rosy and divine mouth to mine. Let him fix a thousand kisses upon me. Let him himself be our peace, who gives your peace and good will. Behold, finally, let him join and glue me to himself with the glue of charity, so that I may become one spirit with him, and one body; nor let us be two any longer, but let one man exist from both of us. You therefore I await coming, O most desired spouse of mine, you I look for to come shortly, whose embracing and kissing by our bridesmaids and groomsmen, the greater the hope becomes for us, the more our desire grows hot and burns for you, and our soul grows sick in the healing. Cease, I pray, now to speak to me through legates, to confirm me through intermediaries; come yourself, speak yourself face to face. Accept my faith, and give yours in return, you embrace me, you kiss me, you who alone can make the most present medicine, you, I say, taking pity on one who loves so desperately, I pray that you heal our pain. This was the prayer of all the prophets, who greatly desired Christ the spouse and his Church the bride. Let a few be heard from among many. Hosea cap. II, vers. 19: "And I will espouse you to me forever: and I will espouse you to me in justice and judgment, and in mercy, and in commiserations: and I will espouse you to me in faith." Similarly also through the prophet Jeremiah it is said, cap. ii, 2: "I remember you, taking pity on your youth, and the love of your betrothal, when you followed me in the desert, in a land that is not sown." And through Isaiah, cap. lxi, 10, similarly the voice of the Church says: He put a mitre upon me as upon a bride, and "clothed me with the garments of salvation: and covered me with the robe of justice, as a bridegroom adorned with a crown, and as a bride adorned with her jewels." And through Zechariah, cap. ix, 9, he announces such glory to the trembling Church, saying: "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion: BEHOLD YOUR KING comes to you just, and a savior: he himself poor, and ascending upon a colt the foal of an ass." Thus Aponius cites the words of the prophets. Solomon therefore expresses here the prayers of all these. Symbolically the three persons of the Holy Trinity are signified here: through "let him kiss" the Father; through "of his mouth" the Son, for He is the mouth and word of the Father; through the kiss the Holy Spirit, for He is the bond, love, and as it were the kiss by which the Father and Son kiss each other. Thus St. Bernard, sermon 7, who says the Church here seeks a kiss, that is, the Holy Spirit. Therefore the Church and the soul petition that the whole Holy Trinity kiss her, that is, that it join itself to her intimately through affection, so that she becomes a holy temple of the Holy Trinity, indeed so that she becomes one spirit with it. "For he that is joined to the Lord, is one spirit," I Corinthians vi, 17. For a kiss joins the mouth of the one kissing to the mouth of the one being kissed, so as to signify that the soul is joined in like manner to his soul, so that from two lovers there becomes as it were one lover, one soul, one spirit. Thus the Word kissing our flesh and humanity, breathed into it His spirit and His divinity, so that one and the same being was God and man, because the two natures, namely humanity and divinity, came together in one person of the Word. Moreover the Chaldean interprets the kiss as the law given through Moses: for through this God betrothed Israel to Himself and bound and obliged it to Himself: "Blessed, he says, be the name of the Lord, who gave us the law by the hand of Moses the great scribe, written on two tablets of stone, and He spoke with us face to face, as a man who kisses his companion." This sense, although Jewish, serves us, and Solomon alludes to it here, indeed presupposes it as it were typically. For Moses, giving Israel the kiss of divine teaching and law, was a type of Christ kissing Christians with the kiss of His mouth, by which He embraced them most lovingly and taught them the new law and evangelical doctrine, and by it bound them to Himself and betrothed them to Him. Whence through the kiss many of the Fathers understand the doctrine of Christ, so that the kiss is what the oracle is. Thus Origen, Philo of Carpathus, Anselm here, and St. Jerome, epistle 146 to Damasus, and St. Gregory, XIX Morals xxii, who adds that St. Matthew alluded to this kiss, when concerning Christ he says chapter v, 2 and 3: "And opening His mouth He taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit," etc.; "then, says St. Gregory, He opened His mouth who had previously opened the mouths of the prophets."
The Second Literal Sense, Partial, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. What I have already said concerning Christ and the Church can be applied to the holy soul, with only the name of the Church changed to the name of the soul; to which add that this can be expounded concerning the soul first, penitent; second, innocent and just; third, meditating and contemplating fixed upon God; fourth, loving and in ecstasy. Fourfold, therefore, you may expound this passage concerning the soul: first, concerning the penitent, that is to say, Eternal Father, deign to reconcile to yourself me, a sinful soul, whom I have gravely offended, but who through your calling and grace am now penitent, and grant me the kiss of peace, by which you may wipe away all offense, indeed abolish and blot it out, and reconcile me to yourself, and restore me to your former friendship and grace; for just as a kiss is the joining of two mouths and bodies, so peace is the close union of two hearts. Therefore Christ first, striking and arousing the soul benumbed by sin through his grace, calls it forth, saying: "Arise, thou that sleepest, and Christ shall enlighten thee," Ephesians v, 14; or: "Kiss me with the kiss of thy mouth," according to that of the Psalmist, which the Church prays so often: "Turn us, O God our saviour," Psalm lxxxiv, 5; and that word of God through the prophet Zacharias, cap. i, 3, calling sinners to himself: "Turn ye to me, and I will turn to you." Thus Magdalen, called inwardly by Christ, runs to the kiss: thus the Council of Trent, sess. VI. Moreover, the betrothal of the soul with God is made through the virtues, especially faith, penance, chastity, charity, according to that: "The charity of God is poured forth in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, who is given to us," Romans v, 5, as I have shown at length in II Corinthians xi, at those words: "I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Hence St. Agnes: "With his ring," she says, "my Lord Jesus Christ has betrothed me, so that I admit no lover but him; as a bride he has adorned me with a crown; I am betrothed to him, whom the angels serve, whose beauty the sun and moon marvel at. I love Christ, into whose chamber I shall enter, whose mother is a virgin, whose father knows not a woman, whose instruments sing to me with modulated voices; when I shall have loved him, I am chaste; when I shall have touched him, I am pure; when I shall have received him, I am a virgin." Thus from St. Ambrose, serm. 90, the Church in the ecclesiastical office of St. Agnes. Finally, how much study and love God invites sinners to this kiss of reconciliation, St. Dionysius graphically depicts, epist. to Demophilus: "What," he says, "that he most benignly tolerates even those dissolved in delights, and on that account delaying to return, and deigns to render account by himself, indeed relieves them with promises, and soothes them with blandishments? And when those who return to him are still far off, he joyfully comes to meet them and goes forth to them, and embraces all of them wholly with a kiss, nor does he blame them for their former aversion, but content with their present conversion, he makes a feast day and calls his friends. Second, those purged from sin and justified seek the kiss of Christ, by which namely Christ breathes his Spirit into them, so that by it they may be renewed from torpor and age, as an eagle, and be kindled in the love of God, just as those who breathe upon and inspire one another. It alludes to the formation of the body of Adam from the clay of the earth, whom God, as if kissing, "breathed into his face the breath of life, and man became a living soul," Genesis ii, 7. For just as the soul, while it assumes and as it were kisses the body, animates and vivifies it lifeless, so the grace of the Holy Ghost kissing the soul vivifies it, indeed deifies it, and makes it a daughter and heir of God. Thus St. Ambrose, lib. De Isaac et anima, cap. iii: "She seeks," he says, "the kiss of the bridegroom, by which the spirit of the one kissing is transfused into her." Hence symbolically St. Bernard understands by the kiss the Holy Ghost, who is the kiss, that is, the love of the Father and the Son. Hear him, serm. 8: "She seeks a kiss, that is, she invokes the Holy Ghost, by whom she may receive both the taste of knowledge and the seasoning of grace." And a little after the beginning of the sermon: "It suffices," he says, "for the bride, if she be kissed by the kiss of the bridegroom, even if she be not kissed by his mouth. For she does not think it a small or vile thing to be kissed by a kiss, which is nothing other than to be filled with the Holy Ghost." The bride therefore says: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," that is, let the eternal Father be most closely joined to me by the spirit of his Word, and make me a sharer in his nature by this secret union. For through grace we become sharers of the divine nature, as St. Peter says, epist. II, cap. i, vers. 4. Thirdly, those who pray and contemplate seek and receive a kiss, that is, illuminations, impulses and ardors of the divine Holy Spirit. Whence St. Ambrose, in the place already cited: "The kiss of the Word," he says, "is the light of sacred knowledge." And Gregory of Nyssa, homily 1: "Because," he says, "the words of the bridegroom are spirit and life; whoever therefore is joined to the spirit, becomes spirit; and he who is joined to life, passes from death to life: for this reason the spiritual soul desires to draw near to the fountain of life, namely to the mouth of the bridegroom, whence gushing forth words of eternal life fill his mouth, drawing it." St. Bernard, sermon 1: "Whose (Christ's)," he says, "living and efficacious word is indeed a kiss to me, not truly a joining of lips, which sometimes feigns peace of souls; but truly an infusion of joys, a revelation of secrets, a certain wonderful and in a manner indiscrete mingling of supreme light and the illuminated mind. For adhering to God, he is one spirit." Fourthly, those who love and are wholly devoted to divine love seek, and obtain from God the kiss of ardent and full charity, concerning which Gregory of Nyssa, homily 1: "Just as Moses," he says, "who was deemed worthy (Exodus 33) to speak with God face to face, was held by a greater desire for such kisses, asking that he might see whom he desired, after God had appeared to him so many times, just as if he had never beheld him. Thus all the others, in whose hearts divine desire dwelt in the deepest recesses, never ceased their desire whatever happened to them divinely, seizing upon the matter to enjoy him who was desired, and fuel for greater desire. How also the soul, which now is joined to God, cannot be satisfied with enjoyment, the more abundantly it is filled with enjoyment, the more vehemently does desire flourish, and thus saying: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. Hence St. Agnes, appearing gloriously after death to her parents: "Do not," she says, "mourn for me; for I am joined to him in heaven, whom while placed on earth, I loved with my whole heart, my whole spirit, my whole devotion of mind." Repeat here his other words recited above for another reason. To this pertains what St. Bernard, sermon 3 and following, distinguishes a threefold kiss; first, the kiss of the feet, by which penitents with Mary Magdalene kiss the two feet of Christ, namely mercy and truth, so that by truth they may condemn sins in penitence, by mercy they may hope for pardon in confidence; secondly, the kiss of the hand, by which the just and those making progress kiss the hand of Christ, while they bring to him the good works of virtues, and in turn receive from him the gifts of graces; thirdly, the kiss of the mouth, by which the perfect soul thirsting for God alone, and desiring to cling to him alone says: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," that is, let him infuse into me and breathe into me the Holy Spirit, so that I may be wholly united to my love Christ. To this strive religious men and those devoted to perfection, who renounce from themselves the love of all things, so that they may transfer it wholly to God, so that namely they may be devoted to God alone, and betroth themselves to him through the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. Hence Blessed Aegidius, companion of St. Francis, being asked, "what was the way of perfection?" answered: "One to One," that is to say, The soul will be perfect, if one soul joins and delivers itself wholly to God alone. "This kiss," says St. Bernard, "is not the noise of the mouth, but the jubilation of the heart; not the sound of lips, but the movement of joys: for this reason it does not befit the infantile soul, and one recently converted to Christ, but already advanced, and which has already come to the age of perfection, and marriageable years (of merits, not of time), has become fit for the nuptials of the heavenly bridegroom." For this alone can say: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, for thy loves are better than wine," as others translate. Then how one should gradually ascend to the kiss of the mouth, St. Bernard thus teaches: "First prostrate yourself at the kisses of the feet, and water them with your tears, nor rise from there, until you hear: Thy sins are forgiven thee; and then as much as you shall have made progress in grace, so much shall you expand in confidence. From there you will be able to make progress to the kiss of the hands, when you shall have begun already strenuously and perseverantly to act in the works of all virtues. Then at last perhaps you will dare to lift your head to the very mouth of glory itself (fearing and with trembling I say it), not only to behold, but also to kiss. The kiss therefore of the feet is for those beginning; of the hands, for those making progress; of the mouth, for the perfect." Finally, three anonymous Fathers in Theodoret, and St. Ambrose, in the book On the Sacraments, chapter ii, hold that this kiss is a real one, which the holy soul desires when it wishes to receive Christ sacramentally in the Eucharist, and ardently longs for his embrace: "The soul," he says, "sees itself cleansed from all sins, and worthy to approach the altar of Christ; for what is the altar but the form of the body of Christ? It sees the wonderful sacraments, and says: Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth, that is, let Christ imprint a kiss upon me. Why? Because thy breasts are better than wine, that is, thy senses are better, thy sacraments are better than that wine, which although it has sweetness, has joy, has grace; yet in it is worldly joy, but in thee is spiritual gladness." Hence St. Agnes: "Now my body," she says, "is united with his body, and his blood has adorned my cheeks: to him alone do I keep faith, to him do I commit myself with all devotion." Most excellently does St. Cyril, book XI on John, chapters xxvi and xxvii, explaining that word of Christ to the Father concerning the disciples: "That they may be one, as we also are one. I in them, and thou in me: that they may be made perfect in one," John xvii, 23, teach us that through the reception of the Eucharist we become one with Christ, and through Christ one with God. Whence he draws forth this axiom: "Therefore Christ is the bond of our union with God the Father: to us indeed as man, but to God the Father as God naturally united." He adds the reason: "For it was not possible for human nature, subject to corruption, to ascend to immortality, unless the immortal and unchangeable nature had descended to it, and by communion and participation in itself had raised us up, reformed from the bounds of our mortality to its good. We are therefore made perfect, and brought back to union with God the Father by the mediation of the Saviour, that is, of Christ." Whence he concludes: "We ought therefore to marvel at the benignity of the divine nature, which deigns to communicate to the creature what is proper to itself." Moreover, through this kiss the holy souls draw forth wonderful consolations of heavenly love, a taste and delights, so that they disdain all earthly pleasures, and say with Paul, Philippians chapter iii, 8: "For whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but as dung, that I may gain Christ;" wherefore, nourished on this divine nectar and ambrosia, nay, already drunk on it, they seem to themselves to be as it were in paradise, and to enjoy God with the angels and the blessed. Whence they say: "Our conversation," our thought, our mind, our love, our delights, our life "is in heaven." And with the Psalmist: "My soul hath thirsted after thee, how many ways hath my flesh longed for thee," Psalm lxii, 2. And: "But it is good for me to adhere to God," Psalm lxxii, 28. And: "Lord, what have I for thee in heaven, and besides thee what do I desire upon earth? Thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever," ibid. verse 25. This is what God promises to the pious soul through Hosea, chapter ii, 14: "Behold I will allure her, and will lead her into the wilderness: and I will speak to her heart." See the words there. Hence what the Vulgate has in Exodus chapter xxxiii, 11: "The Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man is wont to speak to his friend," namely when he gave Moses the law to be promulgated to the Hebrews: the Chaldean here, verse 2, taking this same law given by the mouth of God and Moses to the Hebrews as a kiss, thus translates it, he spoke with us face to face, as a man who kisses his companion. Hear St. Gregory here: "The mouth of the bridegroom is the inspiration of Christ: the kiss of his mouth, the sweet love of inspiration. The bride therefore says, burning with desire, and inflamed with longing for the embrace of her bridegroom: Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, as if she said: Let him come whom above all things, nay, alone I love, he who may touch me with the sweetness of his inspiration; for when I feel his kiss, by a sudden change I abandon myself, and am straightway melted and transformed into his likeness. For the holy mind disdains all things which it feels through the body, and desires to be wholly transformed into spiritual things; and while these make a noise, it flees into those, and seeks to hide itself, lest it feel these; and therefore it seeks the kiss of the bridegroom, because if he does not draw it with the bond of most grateful love, it, held fast by the force of its most troublesome heaviness, finds no way at all to betake itself to him; but the pious bridegroom, feeling its anxiety, loving its love, hearing its voice, offers a kiss, and lest it grow weary with longing, soothes it with the taste of his sweetness, and while he exhibits his presence, he inflames it to a greater kiss of love." All these kisses of God are felt most keenly, and as it were by tasting through kissing, by men eminent in holiness, prayer and contemplation, and subsequently by those in ecstasy, who perceive the wonderful influxes of God and most sweet inpourings, but inexplicable in human words and known only to the experienced; such as Paul felt, when he was caught up to the third heaven, where as if transformed into Christ he said: "I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me," Gal. cap. ii, 20. St. Gertrude experienced this corporally through vision, and thus narrates of herself, lib. II Revelat. cap. xxii: "At one time when I was wholly intent upon psalmody, thou, O Lord, gavest ten times and more the sweetest kiss to the mouth of my soul. O kiss far surpassing all the fragrance of aromatics, and all the sweetness of honey!" At other times she often perceived God pouring Himself into her soul, just as the sun pours itself into the air by its splendor, from which inpouring her soul was then suffused both with wonderful virtues of grace and with ineffable serenity and joy; for it penetrated intimately all the marrow, senses and powers of her soul. Mystics and contemplatives through this kiss receive the highest degree of contemplation, whereby the soul, first exercised for a long time and much in humility, prayer, meditation, patience, and other virtues, is elevated by God to the immediate and intimate contemplation and union of Himself; by which it comes to pass that the soul now, neither in virtues, nor in divine consolations, nor in discourses or phantasms, nor in any created thing, but immediately in God alone through contemplation and love, finds rest, and says: "In peace in the selfsame I will sleep, and I will rest," Psalm. 4, 9. This union through divine inpouring, as St. Dionysius teaches and from him St. Bernard, St. Bonaventure, Hugh, Richard, Gerson, Lawrence Justinian, Tauler, Ruysbroeck, Harphius, Suso and the like, who have written on mystical theology. This inpouring is that by which God pours Himself through Himself into the intellect and will of man, and becomes intimately present to it, communicates Himself wholly, shows Himself, and immediately joins Himself in the capacity of object: to the intellect indeed under the aspect of immense light, but not so clear and open as it is in the blessed; to the will however under the aspect of the highest good, so that God binds the will to Himself and to His essence, as to the highest good intimately, so that the will immediately tastes and feels His goodness, and delights and enjoys in it. For then the intellect is suffused by God with wonderful light and elevated, so that it knows Him in the highest manner, although not by intuition (for this is proper to the blessed), and thus presents Him to the will under the aspect of the highest good and supremely delightful; whereby the will and the whole soul impelled by God is most ardently seized by that good, fully embraces it, and exhausts all its powers in loving it, binding itself to it and kissing it; hence it comes to pass that the soul then neither hears, nor feels, nor sees, nor thinks, nor loves anything other than God, and hangs wholly suspended from Him as if in rapture and ecstasy: which is the mystical betrothal and marriage of the soul with God through mutual adherence and fruition, whereby, as St. Ambrose says, the soul betrothed to God is wedded to the eternal Word, and the Word pours Himself into the soul, not at the apex, but in the very center and depth of the mind, and binds it to Himself. This cannot be grasped except by one who has experienced it. St. Bernard had experienced it, and therefore, serm. 31, he says that the bride of God burning with love is not content with other illuminations or revelations, "unless also by special prerogative she receives Him poured in through her most intimate affections, and in the very marrow of her heart from heaven, and has at hand Him whom she desires, not figured, but infused; not appearing, but efficacious;" and soon after: "Yet I would not say that He appears to her as He is, although altogether n "Yet I would not say that He appears as He is, although He exhibits nothing in this way other than what He is;" and Richard of St. Victor, in the treatise On the Degrees of Violent Charity: "Often," he says, "under this state the Lord descends from the heavens, often He visits him who sits in darkness and the shadow of death, often the glory of the Lord fills the tabernacle of the covenant; yet He exhibits His presence in such a way that He shows His face not at all; He infuses His sweetness, but does not show His beauty; He infuses pleasantness, but does not show His brightness." But in particular, Blessed Teresa, in the treatise On Perfection, mansion 7, chapters i and ii: "The soul," she says, "remaining in that center, by intellectual vision perceives the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity, and all three persons are made manifest; yet this manifestation is preceded by a most sweet kind of inflammation of the spirit, like a most luminous cloud, and there the soul perceives by a certain admirable knowledge the manner in which the three persons are one substance, one power, one wisdom, and one God, so that what we hold by faith, the soul knows in a certain intuitive way." Moreover, the effects of this union are: first, the ardor of love, so that the soul burns with love, melts, and is transformed into God, and most greatly desires to see Him and to enjoy Him face to face. Second, a wondrous peace of the soul, sweetness, and joy, by which the soul tasting, "that the Lord is sweet," is so inebriated and absorbed by His sweetness that it despises and loathes all other things, and now seems to itself almost blessed, and differs from the blessed only by the body, as if by a wall interposed, according to that passage of Isaiah, chapter lviii, 14: "Then shalt thou be delighted in the Lord, and I will lift thee up above the high places of the earth;" indeed sometimes by the force of a burning spirit the body is lifted up on high and ascends toward heaven, as happened to St. Mary Magdalene, St. Francis, St. Ignatius and others. Third, a great influx of virtues and graces, so that the soul fully obtains divine likeness, and becomes most beautiful, indeed is made deiform, and is as it were deified, and is conformed to Christ; whence her beauty is celebrated in the Canticles by the bridegroom so greatly: wherefore like Christ she embraces crosses and torments, rejoices in reproaches, exults in adversities, glories in persecutions, as St. Paul did. Fourth, there is a sublime and perfect knowledge of divine mysteries, and of God Himself illustrious, though in darkness, as St. Dionysius says, a contemplation closely approaching the clear and visible knowledge of the blessed, to which pertains that passage of Isaiah, chapter lviii, 10: "Thy light shall rise up in darkness, and thy darkness shall be as the noonday. And the Lord will give thee rest always, and will fill thy soul with splendors." Fifth, such a soul has God as it were always present in mind, and converses and speaks with Him, although it does not see Him clearly, just as one converses with a friend in darkness and an obscure place, whom he hears but does not see.
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Those things which have been said of a just soul belong by far more justly to the Blessed Virgin, who was the forerunner of all the just. Besides those things, a fourfold kiss of God belongs properly to the Blessed Virgin alone. The first is the kiss of the Holy Trinity, by which from eternity before all men and angels, God the Father chose her for himself as a daughter, the Son as a mother, the Holy Spirit as a bride, so that through her and through her son there might be a kiss, that is, a reconciliation of all mankind. For this reason she first made a vow of virginity to God, so that she might dedicate herself wholly to God in body and soul, and might say: "My flesh and my heart have fainted away: O God of my heart, and God that art my portion for ever," Psalm 72:26. The second is the kiss of desire and longing, by which she above all the patriarchs most ardently desired the incarnation of the Word, for the reconciliation and salvation of the world. She therefore, as it were the mother of all the faithful and saints, desiring most wonderfully the salvation of the whole world, with seraphic ardors of desire was saying: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth." Wherefore when she read and pondered that oracle of Isaiah, chapter 7:14: "Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel," she exclaimed: Send, O Lord, this virgin, who shall bear Emmanuel for us: would that I might see this virgin, would that I might deserve to be her handmaid! On account of these most burning desires she merited by congruity the incarnation of Christ, indeed his maternity, so that she alone of all should become the mother of Christ, as theologians teach, and Francis Suarez, III part, Question ii, article 10, disputation 10, section viii. Whence St. Gregory, in I Kings 1: "She raised the summit of merits," he says, "even to the throne of divinity;" and St. Jerome, epistle 22 to Eustochium: "Propose to yourself Mary," he says, "who was of such purity that she deserved to be the mother of the Lord;" and St. Anselm, On the Praises of the Virgin, chapter viii: "The most holy purity and purest holiness of her heart, transcending the purity and holiness of every creature by incomparable sublimity, merited this, that she should become most fully the restorer of the lost world." The third was the kiss in the incarnation of Christ: for then the Holy Spirit espoused her to himself as a bride, so that in her and from her most pure blood he might form the body of Christ, according to that word of the archangel Gabriel: "The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy One that shall be born of thee, shall be called the Son of God," Luke 1:35. "Was not this word of the angel," says Rupertus, "a word and a pledge of the imminent kiss of the mouth of the Lord?" Wherefore, when she gave her consent to the Holy Spirit for the incarnation of the Word with the greatest humility, and equally with charity, saying: "Behold the handmaid of the Lord, be it done to me according to thy word," then in truth she said: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth," that is, let him assume flesh from me, and let the Son of God kiss it and unite it intimately to himself. And in that same instant, the Holy Spirit working, in her sacred womb was accomplished the kiss of God with humanity, by which peace and justice kissed each other, when the Word was made flesh. "Truly," says Rupertus, "thy soul was melted when thy beloved spoke, namely God the Father spoke with an admirable utterance, with an ineffable utterance, while he inserted the substance of his Word, with that love of his the Holy Spirit, into thy mind, into thy womb completely; in which thou hast appeared neither to have a first like thee, nor to have one following." Again the flesh assumed by Christ was the flesh of the Blessed Virgin; wherefore when Christ assumed his flesh, he assumed the flesh of the Blessed Virgin, and impressed upon her as it were the kiss of hypostatic union, and thus deified her as it were. The fourth kiss was bodily at the nativity of Christ, when she bore Christ, and as a mother kissed her son with the greatest reverence and love, and from these frequent kisses of her beloved, she felt wonderful ardors of divinity breathed upon her by him. Whence in Hebrew it is, let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth. To this pertains that vaticination of the Sibyl concerning Christ about to be born from the Blessed Virgin in Virgil, Eclogue 4: Begin, little boy, to recognize thy mother with a smile. Hence pious and grave men prudently judge 4: Begin, little boy, to know your mother by smiling. Hence pious and grave men prudently judge that the Blessed Virgin, as soon as she had brought forth Christ, adored and greeted him with the deepest reverence, saying: "Welcome, my God, my Lord, and my Son," and immediately gave him a kiss at his feet as to God, at his hands as to the Lord, at his mouth as to her son; then indeed she wrapped him naked in swaddling clothes and brought him to her breast, and gave him her virgin milk; Christ in turn smiled and applauded to his mother with mouth, eyes and joyful countenance. Anagogically, Christ in the resurrection by kissing, as it were a dead body, will breathe into her his soul, so that she may revive, and will communicate to the saints the gifts of his glorious body. The type of this was Eliseus, who by kissing the dead boy raised him up; for, as it is said in IV Kings iv, 34: "He put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes," etc. Whence "the boy yawned seven times, and opened his eyes." Elias did the same, III Kings xvii, 21. Again the blessed in heaven kiss Christ; whence Paul, Philippians i, 23: "I am straitened, he says, between two: having a desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ." The gentiles imitated this and feigned that Diana by kissing Endymion raised him from deadly sleep, as Pierius relates, Hieroglyphics 50, chapter xxix. Moreover as to the soul, the blessed in heaven, and especially the Blessed Virgin, seeing the face of God, through this vision continually as it were kiss God, and from him draw all the gifts of divinity, delights and joys, according to that: "They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure. For with thee is the fountain of life: and in thy light we shall see light," Psalm xxxv, 9. It is related of the soul of a certain saint, who had endured many hardships in this life, that when after death he appeared to a friend, and the friend asked whether joys equal to such pains had been rendered to him, he answered: The very first greeting of the heavenly citizens, with which they embraced me entering heaven, and especially the first kiss of Christ, with which he kissed me, was so sweet to me, and so penetrated my inmost being, that immediately it caused me to forget all my labors, and took from me and wiped away the memory of all my sorrows, according to that: "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes: and death shall be no more, nor mourning, nor crying, nor sorrow shall be anymore, for the former things are passed away. And he that sat in the throne, said: Behold, I make all things new," Apocalypse xxi, 4.
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. St. Bernard, sermon 9, holds that these words can be understood either as the words of the bridegroom, or of the bride, or of the bride's companions; yet that these are properly and genuinely the words of the bride is evident from the word because: for this word gives the reason why the bride so greatly desired the kiss of the bridegroom, namely because she had experienced, either in herself or in others, the sweetness of the bridegroom's breasts, as if to say: Because I have tasted the sweetness of milk, that is, of spiritual consolations flowing from your love as if from a breast, when you first drew me to yourself and called me forth, hence I aspire to your kiss, so that from it I might draw your breath, spirit and soul, from which all sweetness flows forth, as if from the very fountain itself. Breasts therefore that give milk signify love giving consolations and wonderful sweetnesses. There is a twofold breast, a twofold love; one is eternal, by which God in perpetual charity from eternity loved the bride; the other is created, placed in the human will of the bridegroom Christ, whence from the first instant of his conception, fostering the bride with maternal affection, as if a breast bursting forth from the breast or rather from the heart. Hence St. Agnes: "I have received," she says, "honey and milk from his mouth;" and the Psalmist, Psalm 30:20: "How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you have hidden for those who fear you," and you have perfected it for those who hope in you, says Aponius. Hear Haymo, and from him St. Thomas: "By the breasts of Christ, the sweetness of the Gospel is understood, by which, as if with milk, the infancy of believers is nourished: for wine indeed signifies the austerity of the law; but the breasts of Christ are better than wine, because the sweetness of the Gospel is better than the austerity of the law." You will say, how are breasts, which are proper to women, attributed to the bridegroom, as a man? I answer, first, in parables certain things are said which belong not so much to the parable as to the thing signified by the parable. Breasts therefore should be understood not so much as corporeal, but as spiritual things signified through corporeal things: for by these Christ nourishes his faithful. Again, just as Scripture borrows metaphors from animals, as it calls Christ a lamb, an ox, a lion: so also it borrows from women, so as to give him breasts, by which it signifies the bowels of mercy. I answer secondly, certain men, who have both sexes, namely the masculine and the feminine, have breasts, such as androgynes. By these breasts therefore it is signified that Christ is not only the father of the faithful, but also a most loving mother, inasmuch as he, like a mother, nourishes us with his mystical breasts. Hence Christ is called patrimater, that is, father-mother, according to that which he himself, as the eternal wisdom of the Father, says of himself, Ecclesiasticus 24:24: "I am the mother of fair love." Christ therefore, so as to signify that he is not only a bridegroom, but also a father and mother, names breasts, by which he nourishes and feeds the Church as if a daughter with maternal affection and piety. Thirdly, the Hebrew dodim signifies both loves and breasts, for breasts are a symbol of love; whence the Hebrews here, for breasts, translate loves. Hence Vatablus translates, your loves surpass wine in goodness. It appears that our author and the Septuagint read dodim for daddim; for daddim signifies breasts, but dodim signifies loves, says Marinus in the Lexicon. Whence dodim when written with vau, so that it cannot be read as daddim, the Septuagint and our author always translate as loves, or beloved, never as breasts. Here however daddim is written without vau; whence they read daddim, that is, breasts. Others, as Origen testifies, translate, your speeches are better than wine: these for dodim appear to have read debarim, that is, words, speeches; or certainly they explain breasts through speeches and discourses: for by these Christ nourishes us. Fourthly, lovers, says Titelmannus, on account of the excess of love are accustomed to mix words, confuse them, and as it were speak ineptly: so here the bride, from the vehemence of love, as if forgetting the masculine condition, gives breasts to the bridegroom, so as to indicate his immense beneficence and her supreme affection toward him. For love makes lovers mad. Fifth, through the breasts Nyssenus understands the heart, which is covered by the breasts; and Titelmannus says: We could, he says, through the breasts understand the breast itself, where the place of the breasts is, so that the sweetness and piety of the Lord's breast, which was given to the beloved disciple to experience at that memorable supper, reclining upon the breast, or in the bosom of the bridegroom, is understood to be commended; which breasts and breast were also pierced for the bride on the cross, and poured forth blood and water like wine and milk for the regeneration of believers. Finally, most plainly and easily you may answer with Delrio and Sotomajor, that men have small breasts, namely nipples, both for the protection and warming of the heart, as Galen teaches in his work On the Use of Parts, which therefore sometimes also produce milk, as Aristotle expressly teaches, book I of the History of Animals, chapter xii, and book III, chapter xx: "In men," he says, "after puberty a small amount of milk is expressed in some, but it is handed down that in some a much greater amount has been produced through more frequent stimulation." Whence also St. Augustine in book IV of the City of God, chapter xii, says that the gentiles gave a breast to Jupiter, just as the Hebrews also call God Saddai, that is, the breasted one. Indeed, Isaiah, chapter xlvi, 3, gives God a womb and uterus, and chapter lxvi, 11, breasts and milk. Finally, Clement of Alexandria in the Pedagogue, chapter vi, fittingly shows that Christ the Lord is as it were the nipple of God the Father, that is, the loves and delights of God the Father: in which sense Christ the Lord himself also, John, chapter i, 18, affirms that he is in the bosom of God his Father: so much does God the Father delight in and take pleasure in himself in Christ his son, and is delighted beyond excessive love. You will ask secondly, what the breasts signify here. First, our Gaspar Sanchez understands by the breasts the lips, for through these as it were breasts of Christ he poured forth the milk of his doctrine, by which he feeds us. Whence some in Origen translate, thy lips are better than wine. This sense aptly coheres with the preceding, that is, "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, because thy breasts are better," that is, the lips of thy mouth, "than wine." Hence also Rabbi Saadias translates, thy saliva is better than wine. For the saliva of Christ illuminated the blind man, John ix, 6. Second, Nyssenus understands by the breasts the heart, which the breasts surround and cover: for in the heart is the seat of love, equally as of wisdom; whence the Wise Man, Proverbs xxiii, 26: "Give," he says, "my son, thy heart to me." Hear Nyssenus, homily 1: "Altogether, he who understands the heart indeed as the hidden and secret virtue of divinity, will not err; but the breasts of divine virtue working for us we may rightly consider, through which God as a nurse nourishes the life of each one, bestowing upon each of those who receive it, fitting nourishment." The bride therefore, asking for a kiss, asks for nourishment. The bride therefore, asking for a kiss, asks to be joined to the heart of Christ, indeed demands that it be given to her, so that she may possess the whole of it and all his love; just as St. Catherine of Siena asked Christ to give her his heart, and obtained it, not the substantial heart of Christ itself (for who would believe this?) but the effect formed by Christ, and conformed and similar to her own heart. Third, Titelmannus understands by the breasts the breast: for in it are the breasts, which signify the affection, love and beneficence of Christ, that is, Sanchez says: "O my beloved, if it is permitted me to sleep between thy breasts, that is, between thy left and right, which is allowed to the bride, indeed is customary; or to draw through legitimate kisses the sweetest breath, which breathes forth from thy breasts, that is, from thy heart, which is far sweeter than generous wine and the best ointments: this will be present to me for all things, indeed and before all ointments as a medicine." Fourth, Origen, Bede, Justus, Cassiodorus, Philo of Carpathus and Aponius understand by the two breasts the two Testaments, namely the Old and New, or the doctrine of the prophets and apostles: for each as it were a double breast feeds the faithful, and nourished formerly the Jews, equally as the Christians. Hear St. Ambrose, sermon 1 on Psalm cxviii: "As if despising all his joys and delights, desiring to cling to heavenly commandments, he says: Because the best precepts of thy Testaments are above all appetite of the flesh and worldly pleasure: for he remembered that he had thus fallen before in Eve." Fifth, our Sanchez understands by breasts the viscera, from which breath is drawn by breathing; whence the Syriac translator renders breasts as viscera. But when, says Sanchez, the bridegroom's breath, cap. v, vers. 16, is said to be most sweet, that is what that means: "His throat is most sweet;" therefore the bride seems to desire a kiss so greatly, because through it she draws in the bridegroom's breath and soul, which is far sweeter than the finest wine and the best ointments. That the heart is signified by the name of breasts, see cap. vii, at that passage: "I will give thee my breasts." Or perhaps (which I think more likely) it signifies that she greatly desires the time of marriage, because then by custom the bride lies in the bridegroom's bosom, that is between the left and right arm, which place is that of the breasts, and is called the bosom. But in the bosom or breasts of the bridegroom where sleep is to be taken by the bride, nothing is more powerful for calming the anguish of the soul. Perhaps breasts are taken for kisses: nor is this manner of speaking harsh, if you understand love in the breasts: for love is used for a kiss by that figure in which the thing signified is put for the sign; which often happens in Holy Scripture. By breasts therefore the bride asks that the sweet and fragrant breath of the bridegroom's viscera be breathed upon her: for which reason formerly more refined men and women used to chew mastic, so that they might breathe out sweet and fragrant breath, as Clement of Alexandria testifies, III Paedagogus, cap. iii. This opinion is favored by what follows: "Fragrant with the best ointments." Thus Sanchez. Sixth and genuinely, breasts signify the sweetest faculty and power of nursing: for Christ indeed with His sweetest doctrine and grace, as it were with two breasts, most sweetly nurses the faithful; the breasts of Christ therefore are His very wisdom and beneficence, from which honeyed eloquence and the sweetness of doctrine and words, as it were honeyed milk, flows forth, which is sweeter than all wine of carnal pleasures, inasmuch as it is sharp and biting. For wine is the mark and cause of raging lust, according to that saying: As Venus in wines, fire in fire rages. But the milk of Christ already mentioned, the faithful as newly born infants, as St. For wine is the mark and cause of raging lust, according to that saying: As Venus in wines, fire in fire rages. But the milk of Christ already mentioned, the faithful as newly born infants, as St. Sixth and genuinely, breasts signify the sweetest faculty and power of nursing: for Christ indeed with His sweetest doctrine and grace, as it were with two breasts, most sweetly nurses the faithful; the breasts of Christ therefore are His very wisdom and beneficence, from which honeyed eloquence and the sweetness of doctrine and words, as it were honeyed milk, flows forth, which is sweeter than all wine of carnal pleasures, inasmuch as it is sharp and biting. For wine is the mark and cause of raging lust, according to that saying: As Venus in wines, fire in fire rages. But the milk of Christ already mentioned, the faithful as newly born infants, as St. Peter says, leads to the full age of virtue and perfect life, because it does not spring forth as a vine and wine, from the depths of earthly wisdom or secular learning, but rains down from heaven from on high like manna and morning dew. Again, just as breasts surround the heart, and as it were draw their power from it, so doctrine and grace proceed from the heart and breast of Christ, and offer and present it to us as it were. Moreover, just as breasts are the seat of loves and delights, according to that passage Prov. v, 19: "A dear hind, and a most agreeable young hart; let her breasts inebriate thee at all times," so the seat of these same things is the breast and heart of Christ, full of all consolation and grace. Just as therefore in maternal breasts infants have all their nourishment and solace, and seek or desire nothing else outside them, so the holy Church, in the breasts of divine mercy, piety and beneficence, has placed all good, all nourishment, all solace. It seeks nothing outside, refuses to be consoled except in God. Better, it says, are thy breasts to me than the most savory wine, than all that in this world, whatever, or however much, or of whatever kind it can bring forth consolation or joy. Thy beneficence delights me more, and what I receive from thee of spiritual nourishment or holy delight, than all the bodily delights of this world. After I have once sucked these breasts, after I have once tasted the most sweet milk that is drawn and pulled from the hidden viscera of thy mercy, I cannot taste or see other breasts; I abhor foreign consolations, my soul utterly refuses to be consoled except in God. Thus Titelmannus and others in various places. Hear three anonymous Fathers in Theodoret: "He makes mention of breasts, because they are near to the heart, in which the principal seat of the mind is, whence the fountains of doctrine flow forth: therefore the bridegroom's breasts as sources of good things he admires, from which conveniently, both infants still, and also the perfect are nourished; and he says these are better than wine, which by the testimony of divine Scripture gladdens the heart of man. For figuratively indeed he called wine gladness, so that he might declare that gladness to excel all human pleasures, which proceeds from his gifts to the pious. But if you wish also to understand breasts mystically, by those admirable breasts and superior to wine think of those ineffable fountains of the altar, from which all of us, the nurslings of piety, are nourished." By these last words through breasts they understand the Eucharist, in which by his flesh, as by food he feeds us, and by his blood as by drink and milk he gives us drink, suckles and inebriates us, Christ: for these are the intrinsic breasts of Christ, since the others are extrinsic. Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 60 to the People and 83 in Matthew: "Who," he says, "shall speak the mighty deeds of the Lord, shall make all his praises heard? What shepherd ever nourished his sheep with his own members? Many mothers after childbirth gave their infants to other nurses: he himself was unwilling to do this, but nourishes us with his own body, and joins us to himself, and glues us together." And with a few words interposed: "Do you not see with what alacrity of spirit infants seize the nipples, with what pressure they fix their lips to the teats? With no less eagerness let us also approach this table, and the spiritual nipple of this chalice: nay rather with greater desire, as nursing children let us suck the grace of the Spirit; let there be one sorrow for us, one sadness, if we are deprived of this spiritual nourishment." Again Christ suckles us with his doctrine, his grace, his miracles, his examples, his passion, his wounds. Whence also the side of Christ on the cross was opened by the lance of Longinus, and from it as from a breast flowed blood and water like milk, by which he suckles us, John xix, 34. The external breasts of Christ are the apostles and evangelists (whence Judas the apostle was surnamed Thaddaeus, that is, liberal: for thad in Chaldaic signifies breast; and Lebbaeus, that is, little heart: for לב leb is heart): concerning whom hear Justus of Orgelitum, bishop: "We understand the breasts of Christ not incongruously as the apostles and evangelists: for through them we are nourished in faith, and are refreshed with spiritual nourishment. For this reason indeed they are proved better than wine, because evangelical doctrine is known to be more eminent than the law once given. Finally there figure, here truth; there as it were the austerity of wine, showing that only the neighbor is to be loved, and the enemy to be hated, here the sweetness of grace admonishes that we pray for enemies, and those who hate us are to be loved." And St. Gregory: "These," he says, "are breasts, that is, teachers, which fixed in the ark of the breast give them drink with milk, because they themselves adhering to the mysteries of supreme contemplation, nourish us with subtle preaching." This is what Isaiah sings, chapter lxvi, 11: "That you may suck, and be filled from the breast of his consolation (Jerusalem, that is, of Christ and the Church): that you may milk, and abound in delights from all his glory;" and soon after: "You shall be carried at the breasts, and upon the knees they shall caress you. As if one should be caressed by his mother, so will I comfort you, and you shall be comforted in Jerusalem." Hear the Gardener here expressing with pathos and wisdom the voice of the bride rejoicing in the breasts of the bridegroom: O my bridegroom, what great kindness of yours toward me! Behold, I who once was humble and defiled, lying in mourning and squalor, now by a free gift, raised from the depths of filth to royal dignity, shining, adorned, decorated with a diadem and all royal ornament and adornment, I proceed as the sister and bride of the highest King, a marvel to the whole world, and a most pleasing spectacle to all divine things. You are that only-begotten Son of the best and greatest God, and yourself God and best and greatest, whom the heavenly Father cherishes as the unique delight in His bosom, having become a partaker of my nature, you have made me, your humble and abject handmaid, a partaker of your nature, ennobled me by your nuptials, cherished me in your bosom, delighted me with all delights, in your highest delights and pleasures you have me, God on earth, man in heaven. Angels with men on earth, men with angels in heaven join their choirs. Through you there has been made one mingling of all things. Through you there has been made a forgetting of injuries, enmities taken away, war suddenly dissolved, God reconciled to men, sin blotted out, death destroyed, made for us an access to heaven hitherto inaccessible. From there flow forth the most abundant fountains of all graces, milky eloquence flows from your mouth, divine breath from there breathes forth, which carries me away and snatches me into heavenly delights, a breeze. My body indeed creeps on the earth, yet my mind is already with you in heaven, most sweet bridegroom of mine, enjoys your loves in heaven, and goods of that kind which neither human eye can see, nor ear hear, nor our mind by itself can embrace in thought. Hence Aponius symbolically understands by the two breasts two Johns, St. John the Baptist and St. John the Evangelist: this one who as it were most intimate to Christ reclined on his breast at supper, and from there drew forth the streams of graces as it were from breasts. Hear Aponius: "It will not be unfitting that the two breasts of Christ be understood properly as the Baptist and the Evangelist, the two Johns, who after the kisses of the aforesaid sacrament have supplied the Church with the fullest breasts. Since one shows Him alone taking away the sin of the world, and the Lamb to the Church, the other in the beginning the Word God remaining with God the Father; who by an immaculate life thus adhered to His breast in love as it were like breasts, while one to the Church still small and nursing showed the true man under the name of the immaculate Lamb; the other from the effect of creating all things demonstrates the Maker in the beginning the Word God, through whom all things were created." And Origen, homily 1: "It is certain," he says, "that John is said in the Gospel to have rested in the principal heart of Jesus, and in the eternal senses of His doctrine, there seeking and searching the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, which were hidden in Christ Jesus." Mystically, the breasts of charity are better than wine, because they are never tightened, never are empty, but always abound and overflow with gifts. Some natural philosophers report that a raven, when it recognizes its young, since it has no milk, feeds them with its own flesh and blood. Whence the Poet: And never without milk is charity, Milk does not flow, but Whence the Poet: And never without milk is charity, Milk does not flow, but flows blood; thus Christ from the most ardent charity on the cross flowed with blood, by which as a pelican He vivified and nourished us His young ones dead. Whence the Poet: And never without milk is charity, Milk does not flow, but flows blood; thus Christ from the most ardent charity on the cross flowed with blood, by which as a pelican He vivified and nourished us His young ones dead. Surely these are the breasts of charity. Hear St. Gregory: "The breasts of the bridegroom are the love of God and neighbor: from these breasts He nourishes His bride with the milk of piety, and amid the tumults of temptations He cherishes and nourishes her with these, and refreshes her that she may persist. But what is expressed by wine except temporal care, by which the worldly mind of anyone is intoxicated, so that for knowing invisible things it becomes either wholly or almost insensible? But the breasts of the bridegroom exist better than wine, because that kills, these nourish; that troubles the eyes of the mind, these sharpen them; that causes even the wise to apostatize, these make even the unlearned truly most wise. How many times the bride ruminates and draws from the abundance of love's breasts, so many sentences of wisdom she draws into the belly of her memory. For holy charity pacifies the heart, strengthens the mind in temptations, and that the soul of the just may be the seat of wisdom, grants quiet, and prepares a place." Furthermore, St. Bernard, sermon 9, understands by the two breasts the benign longsuffering of God, by which He awaits sinners for repentance, and the benign reception, by which He already embraces and nurses the penitent. Moreover, breasts particularly signify consolations, the taste and delights of the spirit, by which God nourishes the soul, gladdens it, strengthens it, and does so indifferently and continually. For the breasts of man and of earthly pleasures are quickly exhausted and dried up; but the breasts of Christ pour forth inexhaustible perpetual milk of delights, and do so most readily and most abundantly. WINE. — By wine understand any delights of the world, as I have said; mystically, the austerity of the Mosaic law and the crudeness of the doctrine of philosophers, says Anselmus: for to both the sweetness of the milk of evangelical doctrine is preferable. Furthermore, some understand by wine anger, indignation, punishments and vengeance, which not rarely occur between lovers, according to that of Micah, chapter ii, 11: "I will drop down upon thee in wine, and in drunkenness," that is, I will prophesy, and will give thee to drink wine of divine fury; I will foretell the punishments with which God will make thee drink, and as it were make thee drunk. Thus the sense will be, as if to say: The breasts of divine love are better than the wine of the same indignation, both because they are more pleasant, and because they are more efficacious: for men are drawn more by love than by fear, by affection than by indignation, by benefits than by punishments. Or, as if to say: Although I have often offended thee, O my spouse, and thou hast justly been indignant with me, yet the sweetness of thy breasts, that is, of thy mercy and love, surpasses all the bitterness of thy wine, that is, of thy wrath: for it is thy nature to have mercy and to spare; wherefore thou hast always shown me greater proofs of love than of indignation. Finally, St. Bernard, sermon 9: "Thy breasts are better than wine," that is, he says, "the fatness of grace, which flows from thy breasts, is more efficacious to me for spiritual progress than the sharp rebuke of prelates."
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Faithful Soul. Accommodate to the soul what has been said of the Church, with only the name changed. Whence the Chaldean translator renders it: on account of the multitude of love, with which he loved us more than seventy nations. The soul therefore espoused to Christ says to him: "Thy breasts are better (O spouse) than wine," that is, the milk of thy doctrine and grace is better to me and more pleasing to me than all the wine of consolation, delights, prudence and human cunning: for this weakens the mind equally as the body, makes it bitter, torments it, dissolves the soul, deceives it, infatuates it, drives it mad, according to that: "They that were brought up in scarlet, have embraced dung," Lamentations iv, 5; and that: "Who hath woe? whose father hath woe? who hath contentions? who hath complaints? who hath wounds without cause? who hath redness of eyes? Surely they that pass their time in wine, and study to drink off their cups," Proverbs xxiii, 29 and 30. See what is said there. But thy milk above all human delights gladdens, satisfies, protects from harm, strengthens against falling, strengthens in good, dispels the clouds of the mind, calms angers, vain loves and hatreds, and fills the heart with the love of God and neighbor. This milk the Psalmist had tasted, whence he exclaims: "O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee!" Psalm xxx, 20. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 9: "The pleasure of the flesh," say they (the pious souls espoused to Christ), "by which a little before, as by wine, we were made drunk, is surpassed by these delights which thy breasts distill upon us, spiritual delights. And they beautifully compare carnal affection to wine: for as the grape once pressed has nothing more to pour forth, but is condemned to perpetual dryness, so the flesh in the pressure of death is dried up from all its pleasure whatsoever, nor does it again grow green for lusts. Whence the Prophet: All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. The grass is withered, and the flower is fallen, Isaiah xl, 6; and the Apostle, Galatians vi, 8: He that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. And again, I Corinthians vi, 13: Meat for the belly, and the belly for meats: but God shall destroy both it and them." Then the same one adds concerning the pleasures of the world: "But see lest this proportion apply not only to the flesh, but perhaps also to the world; for it too passes away, and the concupiscence thereof; and when all things that are in the world have an end, their end will not be an end. But breasts are not thus; for when these have been exhausted, they again take from the fountain of the maternal breast what they may give to those who suck. With good reason therefore are the breasts of the spouse, which are never dried up by any number of those who suckle, asserted to be better than the love of flesh and world, but always abound from the bowels of charity, so that they may flow again: for rivers flow from his belly, and it becomes in him a fountain of water springing up unto life eternal," John vii, 38. Finally, St. Bernard, sermon 10, assigns two breasts to Prelates, maternal affection of congratulation and compassion, which the Apostle prescribes, Romans xii, 15, saying: "Rejoice with them that rejoice, and weep with them that weep:" so that congratulation may pour forth milk of exhortation, and compassion that of consolation; and by both the spiritual mother is sprinkled, when through prayer she draws the kiss of the spouse.
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. "What, says Rupertus, do we rightly understand by her breasts except her sweetness? And what is her sweetness except the Holy Spirit? Such sweetness is beautifully distinguished into two breasts, because two gifts of the same Holy Spirit are given. One is given for the remission of sins, by the breast of which gift, namely, none of the ancient saints before this Blessed Virgin was nursed. The other is given for the divisions or distributions of various graces, by which breast, namely, the holy fathers were nursed and both prophesied and wrought many miracles." Furthermore, the breasts properly communicated by God to the Blessed Virgin are the very maternity of God: for these are the mark of this; for these, as soon as a woman gives birth and becomes a mother, swell up and are filled with milk to nourish the offspring. For God the Father, just as He begot the Son inasmuch as He is God, so also gave to the Blessed Virgin as a mother to generate the same inasmuch as He is man: which is the supreme dignity of hers, surpassing all wine of the excellence of creation, and requiring the supreme excellence of all graces. For, as St. Thomas teaches, I part. Quest. xxv, art. 6, God can create all things created by Him otherwise better and more noble, except three, namely, the humanity assumed by the Word, the beatific vision, and the maternity of God: for these three, since they have God for their object, can be surpassed by no thing, and can be transcended by no created gift. Hence that woman in the Gospel exclaimed: "Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck," Luke xi, 27. And St. Augustine, placing himself between the Blessed Virgin and Christ crucified: "Hence," he says, "I am nursed from the breast, hence I am fed from the wound." The Blessed Virgin, visibly communicating the milk of these breasts to a certain clerk of Nevers devoted to her, who was at the point of death, restored him to life and health, as St. Peter Damian relates, lib. VI, epist. 29: "For when," he says, "his spirit palpitated anxiously in his breast as if about to depart, behold the glorious Mother of God stood visibly before him, and expressing milk from the nipple of her sacred breast, she instilled it into his lips, and straightway he, fortified by the antidote of divine power, recovered from infirmity, and soon, clothed in clerical vestments, went to the Church, and joyfully inserting himself among the choir of singing brethren, presented a wondrous spectacle to those beholding. It is also said that even then some traces of milk were seen on his lips." Thus far Damian. The same happened to St. Fulbert, bishop of Chartres, who was illustrious in learning and holiness and died in the year of the Lord 1028. For when he himself was wonderfully devoted to the Blessed Virgin, and his tongue was seized with sacred fire, so that he burned entirely; one night when he was tormented beyond his custom, a noble matron presented herself to be seen by him, by whom he was warned to open his mouth: which when he had done, straightway she expressed milk from her sacred breasts into his mouth; by which his tongue was so cooled that it extinguished all the burning, and restored him to perfect health. But lest it be thought to be an illusion or phantom, some drops remained on Fulbert's cheek, which he himself carefully collected in a cloth, and are preserved even to this day in the treasury of the church of Chartres with the greatest veneration. Thus the Annals of the Church of Chartres have it, and William of Malmesbury, lib. III De Gestis Anglorum, and Baronius, tome XII, year of Christ 1028. It is also related that St. Bernard, sprinkled with the same milk of the Blessed Virgin by her, became milky and honeyed in speaking and writing, especially when he treats of the praises of the Blessed Virgin and the incarnate Word. Whence also in the hymn of the same, whose beginning is: "Hail, Queen, mother of mercy," which Hermann the Lame, Count of Veringen, composed, professed as a monk in the monastery of St. Gall under the year of the Lord 1040, which we hear sung commonly in churches in the evening in honor of the Blessed Virgin, St. Bernard delighted wonderfully. Hence he wrote several sermons on this hymn: and therefore the Canons of Speyer, St. Bernard entering the Church of the Blessed Virgin at Speyer, sang this hymn, St. Bernard himself thrice kneeling and joining in: "O clement, O pious, O sweet Virgin Mary!" In memory of which thing these very words, engraved in letters of bronze on plates placed in the same places on the ground, are still seen at Speyer.
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Hebrew, to the odor of thy good ointments, namely by antonomasia, that is, the best; the Syriac, to the odor of thy sweetnesses. Whence some refer these things to the oil which follows, and thus connect it with it, "to," that is, on account of, "the odor of thy ointments, thy name is as oil poured out." But our Interpreter better explains to the odor as fragrant things, namely fragrances, and refers it to the breasts which preceded. For noble and refined women are accustomed to carry to the breast and breasts little vessels for smelling and myrrh-boxes, that is, cases containing musk and other sweet odors, which in Psalm xliv, 9, are called houses of ivory: for house among the Hebrews signifies any kind of case. Moreover the Septuagint, explaining the best, translate, and the odor of thy ointments above all aromatics. For if the ointments of the bridegroom are the best, therefore they surpass all ointments and aromatics. It alludes to the custom of the ancients, among whom bridegrooms crowned with a crown and anointed with ointments, entered into marriage. Whence of Christ the bridegroom it is said, Psalm xliv, 8 and 9: "God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Myrrh, and stacte, and cassia perfume thy garments, from the ivory houses." To this pertains that of Virgil: Now shall my temples sweat no more with rich myrrh, Nor shall the pine kindle the chaste honors of marriage. Now shall my temples sweat no more with rich myrrh, Nor shall the pine kindle the chaste honors of marriage.
First Sense, Concerning Christ and the Church. The sense therefore is, as if to say, "Thy breasts are better than wine," on account of fragrance, or because they are fragrant and emit the best ointments. For the young bride, just as she had not yet perceived the kisses of the bridegroom except from afar, so neither the milk of the breasts, except from a distance; but their fragrance, that is, their fame, having been enticed and allured, she desires both the milk of the breasts and the kiss of the mouth. For odor is a symbol of fame, according to that, Ecclesiastes vii, 2: "A good name is better than precious ointments;" and that, II Corinthians ii, 15: "We are the good odor of Christ to God," that is, by preaching the fame of Christ we spread it everywhere. Thus Magdalene, enticed by the sweet fame which was spread abroad concerning the holiness, sweetness and power of Christ, ran to the kiss of his feet. Whence the Chaldean, accommodating these things after his manner to the Synagogue, that is, to Moses and the Jews who were a type of the Church, that is, of Christ and Christians, thus translates: at the voice of thy miracles and thy power, which thou didst for thy people, the house of Israel, all peoples who heard the fame of thy power and thy good signs were moved. Hence again the ointments of Christ are the charisms of the Holy Spirit: for these spread abroad a most sweet odor and fame of him everywhere. Whence Rupert: "The best ointments, he says, are these charisms: the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, the grace of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, the discerning of spirits, and the rest, which those who have are of good odor, and smell sweetly like the best ointment. Whence the Apostle: Thanks be to God, he says, who always maketh us to triumph in Christ Jesus, and manifesteth the odor of his knowledge by us in every place, because we are the good odor of Christ to God." For concerning Christ St. Peter says, Acts x, 38: "God anointed him with the Holy Ghost, and with power, who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed by the devil, because God was with him." Whence his "fame went forth into every region," Luke iv, 14: and, "the fame of him was spread abroad throughout every place of the country," ibid. verse 37. Moreover the version of the Septuagint which has, and the odor of thy ointments above all aromatics, and those who follow them, the Arabic, and the odor of thy sweetnesses is the most excellent of all sweetnesses, thus the Fathers explain it, as if to say, the grace and power of Christ, with which the Father anointed him, surpasses all gifts, graces and powers given, not only to Moses and the prophets, but to all the saints taken together. For, as Habakkuk says of him, chapter iii, 3: "His power covered the heavens," that is, it is heavenly, and transcends the heavens and the heavenly angels: for the power of Christ by itself is power itself; the wisdom of Christ, justice, charity, etc., by itself is wisdom itself, justice, charity, etc., as Nyssen says. Thus also Origen, Aponius and Theodoret, whom hear: "Known to me, he says, are the ointments which Moses made, and the oil of unction, and the incense of composition; but of all those aromatics thy ointment is the sweetest. Ointment here he calls the spiritual grace, with which he was filled, and from his fullness imparted to us all: wherefore with a clear voice blessed Paul says, II Corinthians ii, 15: We are the good odor of Christ, he says, to God, in those who are saved, and in those who perish: to some indeed the odor of death unto death, but to others the odor of life unto life." For Christ from the first instant of his conception received infused in him by God all grace and power, and that in such a degree, perfection and sublimity, that it is the grace of the head, which namely from Christ is derived to all the Saints, as from the head to the members, according to that: "God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows," Psalm xliv, 8. For in Christ there dwelt not only the likeness, but also "all the fullness of the Godhead," as Paul says, Colossians ii, 9. Whence of "his fullness we all have received," John i, 16.
The Second Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. Christ the Bridegroom communicates His breasts anointed with the finest ointments and charisms of fragrance to His Bride, namely the holy soul, according to that passage, I Cor. i, 30: "But of him you are in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and justice, and sanctification, and redemption." Whence St. Gregory, who understands by the two breasts the twofold love of God and neighbour: "These breasts," he says, "are fragrant with the finest ointments, because they carry with them the odour of sweetness through the words of wisdom and examples of holiness. For whosoever refreshes himself with holy charity through the grace of God, he perceives both the odour and the sweetness of spiritual gifts. By the abundance of these good things he draws neighbours also to taste of interior things with him, and nourishes them with these breasts that they may grow strong in the love of God." These therefore are the finest, in respect to carnal ointments; because those whom they anoint they make true kings and priests. Others, who through the breasts of Christ receive the apostles and evangelical doctors, say that they surpass the holy prophets, patriarchs, priests and Mosaic kings in the fragrance of graces, of holy virtues, of works and miracles, and consequently of the resulting fame and glory. "Because," says Justus Orgelitanus, "with such great virtues and shining forth with such miracles, that the odour of their justice spread far and wide then delighted those beholding it, and even now refreshes all who hear of it, just as one of them himself pronounces, saying: Now thanks be to God, who always maketh us to triumph in Christ Jesus, and manifesteth the odour of his knowledge by us in every place," II Cor. ii, 14; and: "Who hath anointed us God: who also hath sealed us, and given the pledge of the Spirit in our hearts," II Corinth. i, 21 and 22. See what I have noted in both places. Finally, St. Bernard, sermon 10 and following, assigns three mystical ointments of the soul: first, of contrition; second, of devotion; third, of piety; which he then pursues at length individually: "The first," he says, "is pungent, causing pain; the second, tempering, alleviating pain; the third, healing, expelling disease." With this threefold ointment Magdalen anointed both the feet and the head of Christ. But the holy soul anoints Him especially with the ointment of praise and thanksgiving, whereby she attributes all her grace, all her merit, all her praise and glory to Christ. The same author, sermon 22, understands by ointments the four cardinal virtues, which are true in Christ alone, but false and fictitious in philosophers: "What have you to do," he says, "with virtues, you who know not Christ the virtue of God? Where, I ask, is true prudence, except in the doctrine of Christ? Where true justice, except from the mercy of Christ? Where true temperance, except in the life of Christ? Where true fortitude, except in the passion of Christ? Therefore, only those who are imbued with his doctrine are to be called prudent; only those just who have obtained pardon of sins from his mercy; only those temperate who strive to imitate his life; only those strong who firmly hold the lessons of his patience in adversities. In vain therefore does anyone labour in the acquisition of virtues, if he thinks they are to be hoped for from elsewhere than from the Lord of virtues, whose doctrine is the seedbed of prudence, whose mercy is the work of justice, whose life is the mirror of temperance, whose death is the badge of fortitude."
The Third Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Rupertus, who receives these and all other things of the entire Canticle properly concerning the Blessed Virgin, asserts that the breasts of twofold charity granted to the Blessed Virgin exhaled the sweetest odour of all virtues, which the Holy Spirit distributes to others, but collected all in the Virgin, and with such abundance and fullness, that she alone was more fragrant with them all than all other saints gathered together, according to that passage, Eccli. xxiv, 20: "As cinnamon and balm have I yielded a sweet odour, as myrrh chosen have I given a pleasant savour, etc. I have brought forth a pleasant savour like a vine, and my flowers are the fruit of honour and riches. I am the mother of fair love, and of fear, and of knowledge, and of holy hope. In me is all the grace of the way and of the truth, in me is all the hope of life and of virtue. Come over to me, all ye that desire me, and be filled with my fruits. For my spirit is sweet above honey, and my inheritance above honey and the honeycomb. My memory is unto everlasting generations." See what is said there.
Oil poured out is thy name. Oil is distilled not only from olives, but from any flower, herb, or aromatic substance, which draws out the whole substance of the thing, its juice, fatness and power: whence it is called by physicians the fifth essence, which if skillfully mixed with the oil of other aromatics, makes an excellent and fragrant ointment. Hence the Septuagint, Vatablus and others translate, ointment poured out is thy name; the Syriac, ointment of myrrh is thy name; the Arabic, thy name is a sweet ointment poured out. For the Hebrew word schemen signifies not only oil, but also ointment, and this suits this place better. For it explains by the fragrance of the best ointments, as if to say, The breasts of thy most sweet beneficence, O Christ, are better than wine, that is, than all the pleasures and allurements of the world, because they are fragrant with the best ointments, that is, they breathe forth the best charisms, which thou pourest out upon all, so that thou canst be called oil, or ointment poured out, and this name is peculiar and proper to thee. Whence in the Hebrew there is a beautiful paronomasia: thy name schem is schemen, that is, thy name is oil, and the divinity of oil. Wherefore Hortolanus thus expounds it paraphrastically, but genuinely and wisely, as if to say, By these heavenly ointments thou, O Christ, art wholly perfused by the Holy Spirit, thou art fragrant, thou smeltest most sweetly, and by thy admirable words and deeds thou hast already acquired such a name for thyself: thus thy renowned fame, by which thou art called by the Greeks Christ, by the Latins the Anointed, because in the incarnation, in which thou as man wast anointed and consecrated by the grace of God the Father as the highest Pontiff, Prophet, Legislator, King and Redeemer of the world. Whence he poured out this ointment of his grace upon all who believe in him, and pours it out daily: hence all are called Christians from Christ. "For when he delivered his power and authority to the apostles, the whole world most holily embraced piety," says Philo of Carpathus. Whence also in baptism Christians are visibly anointed with the chrism of ointment on the body, and invisibly with the grace of the Holy Spirit on the soul, says Theodoret. Wherefore Nazianzen, in his oration on Holy Baptism: "That ointment, he says, poured out for our sake, let us smell in a spiritual manner, receiving it thus, and being so formed and changed by it, that a sweet odor may also flow forth from us." For just as Magdalen pouring out ointment on the head of Christ, filled the whole house with a sweet odor, so Christ pouring out his graces upon the faithful, filled the whole Church, nay the whole world, with the most sweet odor of the Gospel. Thus also Cassiodorus, Justus of Urgel, Bede and St. Gregory, whom hear: "The name, he says, of the bridegroom is Christ; but the name of the bridegroom is poured out like oil, because whosoever are reckoned in the name of Christian in truth, abound in charity, by which they are softened; and, that they may emit the flames of examples, by the same charity they are continually suffused." And St. Augustine, commentary 3 on Psalm xxx, understanding by the ointment of Christ his mercy: "Nor, he says, didst thou hold the ointment of thy mercy in Jerusalem as in a vessel, but as in a broken vessel, the ointment is poured out through the world, that it might be fulfilled what is said: Oil poured out is thy name; and thus thou hast made thy mercy wonderful in the city of the circumference, that is, in all nations pouring out thy mercy." In like manner Philo of Carpathus understands by ointment the most ardent charity of God and Christ poured out and shed upon us. For this reason pontiffs as well as kings and princes are anointed with oil, that they may pour out full charity upon their subjects. Hence of Jesus the pontiff and Zorobabel the prince it is said in Zacharias IV, 14: "These are the two sons of oil, who stand before the Lord of all the earth." And of Elias and Henoch it is said in the Apocalypse XI, 4: "These are the two olives, and the two candlesticks, standing in the sight of the Lord of the earth." See the words in both places. Furthermore Eusebius, book IV of the Demonstration, chapter xv, adds that Christ not only as he is man, but also as he is God, was anointed from eternity with oil, that is, received from the Father the fullness of divinity; "The divine Spirit, he says, conferring and accommodating by its own and fitting example that power of the supreme and unbegotten divine essence, which is able to do all things, bestows all good, furnishes all beauty, calls it by the name of oil. Wherefore he calls both Christ, and anointed him who is a partaker of it." And in a few You ask, what is this name? First, the Chaldean takes the name Jehova: "And thy holy name," he says, "is heard throughout all the earth, which is chosen rather than the oil of unction, with which the heads of kings and priests are anointed." Whence many here take the name of God, who in the creation of the world poured forth his goodness and beneficence upon all creatures as oil, and in the redemption of the same poured forth the bowels of his mercy, namely his Only-begotten Son, into our flesh, indeed poured forth. For Jehova signifies being itself, and the ocean or immense sea of being, and the first principle of all things, from which all things as from a fountain beg and draw their being; but Jehova was transformed into Jesus, when God became man, pouring forth the sea of his grace and salvation upon all the faithful. Eusebius adds, lib. IV Demonstr. cap. v, that Jehova, that is God the Father, pours forth his whole divinity into the Son through generation: but the Father and the Son pour forth the same into the Holy Spirit through spiration. Whence the same author, lib. V Demonstr. 1, calls the Son the fragrance of the Father. Furthermore, the name Jehova, that is of God, once known only to the Jews, and as it were shut up in Judaea, was through Jesus, that is the incarnate Word, scattered and poured forth throughout the whole world, when through the preaching of the apostles all nations, even the heathen, came to know, love and glorify God. Thus Origen, Anselm and others. Hear St. Ambrose, lib. III De Virgin., after the middle: "This ointment was always, but it was with the Father: it was in the Father: it smelled only to the angels and archangels as if within a vessel of heaven. The Father opened his mouth saying: Behold I have set thee for a covenant of my people, for a light of the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth: the Son came down, all things were filled with a new odor." And with some passages interjected: "The Son of God himself in a body as in a vessel at first contained his odor, waiting for the time, as he says: The Lord hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary: the hour came, he opened his mouth: the ointment went forth, when virtue went out from him. This ointment poured out upon the Jews, and was gathered by the Gentiles: poured out in Judaea, and smelled sweet in all lands." With some passages interjected: "Him," he says, "who alone with this whole oil is anointed, or who made prince of the divine and paternal fragrance, which is communicated with no others, and who alone is begotten from him, God the Word by the communication of the unbegotten begetter, God of God is declared, Christ and anointed he called." But properly here it is treated of Christ, as he is man; for thus he is the Spouse of the Church, and therefore is called Christ, that is anointed, and so abundantly and fully, that he is not only anointed, but also called ointment and oil: "Oil," he says, "poured out is thy name," by which pouring out he consecrated Christians into mystical kings and priests, according to that I Pet. II, 9: "But you are a chosen generation, a kingly priesthood, a holy nation, a purchased people: that you may declare his virtues, who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light." Christ therefore as man was anointed with a twofold oil or ointment, that is with a twofold grace. The first is the grace of hypostatic union, by which the flesh was united to the Word, and man was made God. The second, following from the first already mentioned, is the grace of habitual grace infused into the soul of Christ, which not only sanctified him, but also constituted him the fountain of sanctity and the head and cause of all the saints: from him therefore followed all the outpouring of grace upon all the faithful and saints of every nation, age, sex, condition, degree and order: "The Jew," says St. Bernard, "has oil, but not poured out; he has it in books, but not in hearts. What does it profit thee to read the pious name of the Savior in books, and not to have piety in thy manners?" But the Christian receives piety in his manners from Christ, who receives the unction of Christ in his hearts. Finally, by the name is understood the thing and person signified by the name, as if Bede says: "Oil poured out is thy name," that is, thou art rightly named, O Christ, what thou art, namely full of the Spirit, and of his gifts, which thou pourest forth abundantly upon others. For oil denotes the Holy Spirit and his charisms, which Christ at Pentecost distributed largely to the apostles and other faithful, according to that: "I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh," Joel II, 28. Thirdly, the proper name of the Spouse of the Church is Jesus: for the name Christ is a name of office; but the name Jesus is proper to the person, namely to that man who is hypostatically united to the Word. For the name Jesus was imposed upon Him at His circumcision, just as names are imposed upon us in baptism, such as Cornelius, Peter, Paul, etc.; for Jesus signifies Saviour, which only that man was who is God, or the incarnate Word; for He pours forth this saving grace, and that varied and manifold, upon the faithful, so that they may attain to salvation and eternal glory, according to that: "Neither is there any other name under heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved," Acts IV, 12. For Jesus pours forth upon virgins the grace of virginal chastity, upon widows widowhood, upon the married conjugal grace, to martyrs He inspires fortitude, to confessors confession, to doctors doctrine, to religious the religious life, to anchorites solitude, to the active the active life, to the contemplative the contemplative life, etc.; and all these things He does not distil sparingly, but pours forth abundantly, and that with a marvellous fragrance of sweetness, so that to holy souls nothing is sweeter, nothing more delightful, than to think of, to name, to invoke Jesus. "Jesus," says St. Bernard, "is honey in the mouth, melody in the ear, jubilation in the heart: nothing is sung more sweetly, nothing heard more pleasantly, nothing thought more sweetly, than Jesus the Son of God. Jesus, sweetness of hearts, living fountain, light of minds, exceeding all joy and all desire." See the whole hymn of St. Bernard on the name of Jesus. Therefore the Church and the faithful soul say to Christ: Thou art to me Jesus, thou my Saviour, thou my salvation, thou pourest out the ointment of thy salvation upon all the saints. For this ointment of thy name is composed of the most precious aromatics of thy divinity and humanity, namely of thy flesh, blood, and soul adorned with all gifts and virtues, mingled with thy divinity. Thus St. Cyril, lib. IV and IX On Adoration. Therefore the name Jesus includes the name Jehovah, and all other names of God and Christ, which are: Emmanuel, Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of the world to come, Prince of Peace, etc., Isa. IX, 6; Num. xiv, 18. Hence the name Jesus was so sweet and beloved to St. Paul, that he repeats it often in almost every period, and delights in it. Hence in his few Epistles he iterates it two hundred and twenty-nine times, but the name Christ four hundred and one times. St. Ignatius did the same, as is evident from his Epistles, especially in the epistle to the Romans, where he also says: "My Jesus, my love, was crucified." So also St. Dionysius, who in cap. iv of the Ecclesiastical Hierarchy, page 3, says: "We know that the most august Jesus supersubstantially, as a fragrant odour, by spiritual distributions fills our mind with divine pleasure;" and St. Francis, as St. Bonaventure says in his Life, "when he pronounced or heard the name Jesus, being filled with a certain jubilation within, seemed to be wholly changed outwardly, as if a honeyed flavour had changed his taste, or a harmonious sound had changed his hearing." The name Jesus is said to be purak, in the Septuagint, exkevosen, that is, emptied and poured out, both in the circumcision, where pouring forth the firstfruits of His blood He merited this name; and in the passion and cross, where He poured forth all His blood, spirit and life for us, according to that: "He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled Himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross," Phil. II, 7 and 8. Ointment shut up in a vessel is not perceived, but when poured out it spreads its fragrance to all. So the name Jesus in Christ was as it were shut up and not perceived; but when it poured itself forth in the circumcision and cross, it exhaled the sweetest odours of love and all virtues to all, as Theodoret, Philo Carpathius and Aponius say: "As water, he says, I am poured out: and all my bones are scattered," Ps. xxi, 15. Hear St. Ambrose, serm. 1 on Ps. cxviii: "Thy name is poured out ointment, that is, this whole world reeked with uncleanness and impurities of various crimes; now everywhere the ointment of faith breathes with the sweetness of chastity, the flower of integrity." The same, lib. On Isaac and the Soul, cap. III: "In the Word there breathes the odour of grace, and the remission of sins, which being spread throughout the whole world, has filled all things as with poured out ointment, because throughout the universe the heavy filth of vices has been wiped away." Moreover, oil is a symbol, first, of peace and tranquility; whence that saying: "More tranquil than oil." For oil is so tranquil that it even calms a tumultuous sea: for which reason divers are accustomed to scatter oil when descending into the sea, so that it may then become calm and clear, and also bright, so that by this light they may find what is submerged and lost in it, as Pliny testifies, lib. II, cap. ciii. Secondly, oil is a symbol of grace and mercy; whence among the Greeks the names are near to one another, elaios and eleos, that is, oil and mercy, so that one appears to have drawn force and name from the other. This is supported by what Pliny says, lib. XV, cap. II: "It was an ancient law for those who cultivate olives: Do not press the oil, nor beat it." For this reason, at the nativity of Christ, a fountain of oil burst forth in Rome, which throughout the entire day continuously flowed with oil, signifying that Christ was now being born, who would pour forth the oil of sweetness, clemency and grace throughout the whole world. This prodigy is narrated by Osorius, lib. VI, cap. xix, and by Eusebius in the Chronicle, Paul the Deacon, and from these by Baronius. Thirdly, oil is a symbol of richness and heat, which love and charity bring; for oil is airy and contains much spirit, and therefore floats upon waters, as Aristotle says, lib. II De Generat. animal. cap. II. Hence also "oil fattens the flock," says the same author, lib. VIII Histor. animal. cap. x. The same asserts that bees rejoice in oil, so that they may make honey. Pliny adds from Theophrastus, lib. XV, cap. II: "The cause of oil is heat; wherefore both in presses and already in cellars much fire is sought." The same, cap. iv: "Oil," he says, "has the nature of warming the body, and of protecting against cold." Fourthly, of odor and fragrance of good example, of name and fame; for oil here is understood not pure, but artificially mixed from various aromatic and odorous species, and therefore most fragrant. Fifthly, oil is a sign and cause of cheerfulness: for it cheers the anointed, and makes them bright and joyful and radiant; whence that saying: "That he may make his face cheerful with oil," Psalm ciii, 15. Sixthly, oil, and more so ointment, is a symbol of pleasure and delights; whence formerly at banquets guests were anointed with precious ointments for luxury and delights. Seventhly, oil strengthens the body, and restores vigor to limbs either wearied by travel, or exhausted by any labor. Whence the Samaritans, having led away captives from Judea, at the admonition of the Prophet, having refreshed them with food and drink, and anointed them with oil to remove the weariness of the journey, sent them back to their homeland, II Paral. xxviii, 15. Hence also athletes about to contend in the stadium anointed themselves with oil for greater strength; and victors were crowned with olive. Hear Pliny, lib. XV, cap. IV: "The Roman majesty bestowed great honor upon the olive, crowning squadrons of cavalry on the Ides of July from it; thus in lesser triumphs those celebrating; and at Athens victors were crowned with olive." The same, lib. XXIII, cap. IV: "With all oil," he says, "the body is softened, it receives vigor and strength, etc. It dulls all poisons. And it is a remedy for weariness and soreness: warm drink drives away griping pains; likewise intestinal worms; it is useful for wound-healing plasters, it cleanses the face, etc. It is more helpful for those with lethargy, and for declining illness. It is a remedy for headaches: likewise for burning fevers." He adds more on this matter. Eighthly, it is well known that oil is applied to heal wounds; whence that saying, Isai. I, 6: "Wound, and bruise, and swelling sore, they are not bound up, nor dressed with medicine, nor fomented with oil." And that Samaritan of the Gospel is narrated to have poured oil and wine into the wounds of the half-dead man, Luke cap. x, 34. All these things the name of Jesus accomplishes, for first, it calms the angry, and settles all passions; secondly, it brings grace and mercy, indeed it pours it forth; thirdly, it fattens the soul and warms it with love and heavenly ardor; fourthly, it breathes upon all the most sweet grace and fame; fifthly, it cheers the sorrowful; sixthly, it feeds the faithful with heavenly delights, indeed it inebriates them; seventhly, it strengthens martyrs and those fighting for virtue, and those wearied by contending, so that they may overcome all kinds of torments cheerfully and generously, and it crowns them as victors; eighthly, it heals all wounds of the soul. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 15: Once, he says, this name "not only poured out, but also effused: for it was already infused. The heavens already possessed it, it was already made known to the angels. But it is sent forth outwardly; what was so infused in the angels that it was also private, has been effused into men, so that even then it could be cried out with merit from the earth: Thy name is as ointment poured out. And below: "O blessed name! O ointment poured out everywhere! How far? From heaven into Judaea, and thence into all the earth it runs; and from the whole world the Church cries out: Thy name is as ointment poured out. Poured out indeed, which not only has suffused heaven and earth, but has sprinkled even the lower regions, so that in the name of Jesus every knee bends, of those in heaven, on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confesses and says: Thy name is as ointment poured out." And after some things: Oil, he says, "shines, feeds and anoints; it fosters fire, nourishes flesh, soothes pain; light, food, medicine. See now the same in the name of the Bridegroom: preached it shines, pondered it feeds, invoked it soothes and anoints. And let us go through each thing. Whence do you think comes such great and so sudden a light of faith throughout the whole world, except from Jesus preached? Did not God call us in the light of this name into His admirable light? to whom illuminated and seeing light in this light, Paul may say with merit: You were heretofore darkness, but now light in the Lord. And after a few things: "Nor is the name of Jesus only light, but also food. Are you not strengthened as often as you remember? What equally fattens the mind of one thinking? what so restores exercised senses, strengthens virtues, enlivens good and honest morals, fosters chaste affections? Every food of the soul is dry, if it is not infused with this oil; it is tasteless, if it is not seasoned with this salt. If you write, it does not taste to me, unless I read Jesus there. If you dispute or confer, it does not taste to me, unless Jesus sounds there. Jesus honey in the mouth, in the ear melody, in the heart jubilation. But it is also medicine. Is someone of you sad? let Jesus come into the heart, and thence leap into the mouth: and behold at the rising of the name light, every cloud flees, serenity returns. Does someone slip into crime, and moreover run to the snare of death in despair? does he not, if he invoke the name of life, immediately breathe again unto life? To whom has there ever stood before the face of the saving name hardness (as is wont) of heart, sloth, torpor, bitterness of mind, languor of acedia? to whom perhaps the fountain dried up of tears, Jesus invoked, has not immediately burst forth more abundantly, flowed more sweetly? To whom, trembling and quaking in dangers, has not the invoked name of virtue immediately given confidence, driven away fear?" Finally from the things said he concludes thus: "Nothing so restrains the impulse of wrath, calms the swelling of pride, heals the wound of envy, restrains the flux of lust, extinguishes the flame of desire, tempers the thirst of avarice, and drives away the itching of all indecorum. For indeed when I name Jesus the man, I set before myself one meek and humble of heart, kind, sober, chaste, merciful, and conspicuous in all honesty and holiness, and the same God almighty, who by His example heals me, and by His aid strengthens me. All these things sound to me at once, when Jesus has sounded. I take therefore to myself examples from the man, and aid from the mighty, etc. Always have Him in your bosom, always in your hand, so that all your senses and acts may be directed unto Jesus. Finally you are also invited: Put me (he says, cap. VIII, 6) as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm." See more in the same, sermons 15 and 18. All these things which have been said of Christ and the Church, it is easy with the name changed to apply to the holy soul, and more to the Blessed Virgin. Whence Rupert, taking the name for the Word, or the Son of the eternal Father, by whom He created all things: "Who can," he says, "estimate His strength? Moreover this name so strong, so great, behold it is ointment poured out. A marvelous thing! What is stronger than the Word, and what is sweeter than oil! Is the Word therefore changed from His nature? No; but the qualities of creatures, with which He has relation, are hence by virtue, thence by vice diverse, nay contrary. For example, the devil in heaven was proud by vice: you, Virgin, appeared humble on earth by virtue. On account of qualities so diverse and so contrary, vice, and the same word, to him as a river, to you as oil presented itself, according to that of James, IV, 6: God resisteth the proud; but to the humble He giveth grace." And after a few things: "Oil therefore is poured out, that is your name, because the Word of your strength proceeded from the secret of your substance with the sweetness of mercy."
Therefore the young women have loved thee. St. Bernard, sermon 19, adds more, but this is not found in the Hebrew, Greek and Latin texts. He calls young women the Churches and souls newly born in faith and justice, and recently regenerated in Christ through baptism, who, just as young women advance in age, so also advance and grow in virtue, so that finally they may deserve to be perfectly united with Christ and joined to him by the spiritual bond and kiss of marriage. Thus Cassiodorus, Bede, Haymo, Justus and others. In Hebrew for young women is עלמות alamoth, that is, virgins; עלמה alma indeed is called a virgin, because she is hidden and unknown to a man, from the root עלם alam, that is, he hides, as I have shown at length at Isaiah VII, 14, to those words: "Behold a virgin (in Hebrew haalma, that is, that virgin, namely the Virgin Mother of God) shall conceive and bear a son." The sense therefore is, as if to say, Young women, that is, souls newly born in faith and virtue, as virgins hidden from the corruptions of the world, while they smell the fragrance of the oil or ointment, that is, the charisms of Christ the bridegroom, and while they feel how the name of Jesus Christ is oil, or ointment poured out, and that most sweet and fragrant, by this odor and this sweetness enticed, they are seized with love for him, and love him dearly. Whence the Chaldean translator renders it, and therefore the just have loved to walk after the way of thy goodness, that they may possess this world and the world to come. Cassiodorus notes, and from him Bede and Haymo, that young women are called in the feminine: Because, he says, the souls of the saints, the more conscious they are of their own weakness, the more they love Christ. Moreover the cause of their love is "oil poured out," that is, the poured out liberality of Christ. Whence Rupertus: "Unless," he says, "oil had been poured out, unless the Word had been made flesh, imperfect souls would not have dared to love God, indeed they would not have dared to hear him; whence also they said: Let not the Lord speak to us, lest perhaps we die," Exodus xx, 19. Thus also Origen: Unless, he says, Christ as ointment had emptied himself, no one in that fullness of divinity could have received him, except perhaps alone the bride, as if to say, the perfect receive Christ in his divinity, and the imperfect in his humanity; hence on account of them Christ poured himself out, made flesh and man. And St. Bernard, sermon 19: "For the pouring out," he says, "makes the name capable, the captive lovable, but for young women only. Those who are more capable enjoy the whole, they do not need the poured out. The angelic creature with unimpeded keenness of mind beholds the abyss of divine judgments, many of which, in the ineffable delight of supreme equity blessed, it glories moreover in being enslaved to their effect through its ministry, and in being made manifest, and therefore loves the Lord Christ deservedly." Again, others understand by young women not imperfect souls, but vigorous and perfect ones, who have grown in virtue, so that they can also communicate the same to others and bear spiritual children to Christ, such as the martyrs, as Philo of Carpathus says. Thus also Theodoret and St. Gregory, XIX Morals, chapter IX. For adolescence, that is, youth, is the middle age between childhood and old age, and therefore is mature, fixed and the best age. Whence some from the Hebrew thus translate, because young women have loved thee, therefore to them thy name is oil or ointment poured out. Hear the Nyssene, homily 1: "That soul alone," he says, "which has passed the state of infancy, and has come to the flower of spiritual age, and has received no stain or wrinkle, or anything of this kind; and neither on account of infancy does it lack sense, nor on account of age is it weak, which young woman is named in this place, loves with all her heart and all her strength that beauty, whose description, example and interpretation thought does not find." This also is true; for in the beginning of the Church so much grace of Christ was poured out upon the newly baptized faithful, that it inflamed them with love of Christ, and made them immediately preachers and martyrs of the same. Christianity introduced to the world the pursuit of chastity and angelic purity, and therefore born of a virgin, by virginity and purity He surpassed all the angels. For this reason the first faithful converted by the apostles were for the most part virgins or celibates, so much so that many thought Christ's law forbade matrimony and commanded all Christians to celibacy, as is evident from the question which the Corinthians proposed to St. Paul, whether the use of matrimony was permitted to Christians? 1 Corinthians VII. And the Blessed Virgin held up the standard to all these, she who first made a vow of virginity to God, and therefore deserved to become the mother of God. For, as St. Bernard says, homily 2 on Missus est, "It was fitting for God to have such a nativity, in which He would be born only of a virgin. Such a birth was fitting for the Virgin, that she would bear none other than God." And so by young maidens here all the faithful are understood, but especially virgins: for these, perceiving the fragrance of Christ before others, love none other than Him; whence also they follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth, Apocalypse XIV, 4. Such were St. Catherine, St. Cecilia, St. Dorothy, St. Agnes, whose wonderful love for Christ St. Ambrose describes graphically, sermon 9, of whom the Psalmist sings: "Virgins shall be brought to the king after her," Psalm XLIV, 46.
1:3
Thus far has been the voice of the Synagogue desiring the kiss of Christ, that is, the Incarnation; now begins the voice of the Church, which, already attracted to Christ now born by the fragrance of His most sweet charisms, asks to be drawn after Him, so that she may imitate His most holy life, which He lived on earth, His passion and cross. For she knows herself to be weak and powerless for the following of Christ, much more for His kiss, unless she be impelled, nay drawn, to it by the grace of Christ, according to that saying of Christ: "No man can come to me, unless the Father, who sent me, draw him," John VI, 44. Thus Cassiodorus, Bede, Haymo and others; especially because the cross of Christ is exalted, and therefore difficult to ascend and arduous; whence He Himself says: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself," John XII, verse 32. Draw me therefore from vices to virtues, from ignorance to faith and knowledge of Thee, from flesh to spirit, from torpor to fervor, from beginning to progress, from small and plain things to great and arduous things, from earthly to heavenly things, from fear to love, from pleasure to the cross and mortification. The Septuagint for משכני (moschkeni), that is, draw me, reading it with other points משכוני (meschachuni), translate they drew me. Moreover, the Septuagint codices here vary remarkably. For the Roman, Nyssenus, Theodoret and others read therefore the maidens loved thee, they drew thee; St. Ambrose, book I On Virginity, they drew thee to themselves. The same, in the book On those who are initiated into the mysteries, chapter vi, first has, and they drew thee to themselves; then, draw us after thee; the Complutensian editors, they drew me; Origen, they drew thee after themselves. The true reading is, draw me: after thee we will run. For thus the Hebrew, Latin, Aquila, Symmachus and Chaldean have it. Yet all readings come to the same thing and signify the same, as if to say: So great is thy fragrance, O Christ, and so sweet is the oil poured forth from thee, that the maidens eagerly desire to draw thee to themselves, and in turn wish themselves to be drawn by thee to me; nay, they themselves have drawn me to thee, so that with me they may be joined to thee intimately, and after thee they may not walk, but run; wherefore I with them and for them say, and beseech: "Draw me: after thee we will run in the odor of thy ointments." Where Theodoret rightly observes that the maidens, first drawn by Christ and by love of Christ, then through Him strive in turn to draw Christ to themselves, so that they may love Him more ardently and enjoy Him more intimately. Again, the Hebrew alone has, draw me: after thee we will run; but the Septuagint, and our translator following it, add, in the odor of thy ointments; for the discourse concerning it had preceded. Moreover, the soul drawing God to itself through prayer as if by a rope, does not so much draw God to itself as itself is drawn to God: just as he who casts a ship by a rope draws it to a rock, seems to draw the rock to himself, but in truth he does not draw the rock, but with the ship is drawn to the rock. And just as he who by a rope grasped in his hands ascends to the summit of a house, does not draw the summit to himself, but is himself drawn to the summit and ascends. Both these examples are given by St. Dionysius, On the Divine Names, chapter III. Note: To post te, first, can be referred to what precedes: "Draw me;"; for the bride wishes to be drawn to the bridegroom, so that she may follow him in all things. Thus Aponius, Justus Orgelitanus, the Chaldean, St. Bernard and others. Second and better, you refer it to curremus, which follows, as if to say: Draw me, so that I with the maidens may run after thee. Thus the Hebrew, Septuagint, Latin, Roman, and commonly the ancients. Whence Origen, Nyssenus, Anselm and St. Basil in Isaiah, chapter III, verse 24, note that the bride speaks here in the person, not so much of herself, as of the maidens. For the bride grasps the right hand of the bridegroom, and walks with him at an equal pace; but the maidens, as it were servants and handmaids, follow both from behind; whence they wish to be drawn after both, and say: "After thee we will run in the odor of thy ointments." Note secondly: To draw me signifies first, the weakness of the bride, in that she cannot follow the bridegroom unless drawn by him; second, her slowness in following the bridegroom and in progressing in the way of virtue; third, the resistance of concupiscence, which resists charity and the following of the bridegroom, and therefore must be drawn to him: for drawing signifies violence, for the unwilling and reluctant are wont to be drawn, according to that saying: The fates lead the willing, the unwilling they drag. For concupiscence innate in us, resisting reason and virtue, makes it so that by efficacious grace it The fates lead the willing, the unwilling they drag. For concupiscence innate in us, resisting reason For concupiscence innate in us, resisting reason and virtue, makes it so that by efficacious grace it as if we ought not to be drawn, according to that saying of the Apostle: "I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members," Rom. VII, 23; and verse 14: "The law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I work, I understand not. For I do not that good which I will: but the evil which I hate, that I do." The bride therefore desires to be drawn by the grace of Christ, so that through it the impediment to following the bridegroom, namely the resistance of concupiscence, may be removed or overcome, as if to say: I would wish to follow you, O bridegroom, but with concupiscence resisting I am not able. Remove therefore, or overcome its struggle through your grace, which infused in me may draw me efficaciously to you, and cause me not only to walk after you but also to run. Thus St. Bernard, sermon 21: "Draw," he says, "me after you, because it is better for me that you draw me, namely that you inflict upon me some force either by terrifying me with threats or by exercising me with scourges, than sparing me in my torpor to leave me badly secure. Draw me in some way unwilling, so that you may make me willing; draw me sluggish, so that you may make me running." For God first draws the soul to himself by fear, then by love infused, as he drew St. Paul, Acts IX, 6, as Aponius says. Whence the Arabic version translates: draw me from behind you, that is, draw me from behind to face, so that I who was behind you may become before you, and may enjoy your society and your face. Thirdly, she desires to be drawn not by chains or scourges, as oxen and asses are drawn; but by the force of love, as men are drawn, according to that saying in Hosea, cap. XI, 4: "I will draw them with the cords of Adam, with the bands of charity." Whence St. Gregory and Anselm say we are drawn by the Holy Spirit. Hear St. Augustine, sermon 1 On the Words of the Apostle, who citing that saying of Christ, John VI: No man cometh to me, except the Father, who sent me, draw him: "He did not say," he says, "lead him. Let this violence be to the heart, not to the flesh. Why therefore are you amazed? Believe and you come, love and you are drawn. Do not think this a harsh and troublesome violence; it is sweet, it is pleasant: this very sweetness draws you. Is not a sheep drawn when grass is shown to the hungry one? and I think it is not impelled by body, but gathered by desire. So also you come to Christ. Do not meditate long journeys; where you believe, there you come: for to him who is everywhere, one comes by loving, not by sailing." The same, tract. 26 in John: "How," he says, "do I believe by will, if I am drawn? I say to you: It is not enough to believe by will, but you are also drawn by pleasure. What is it to be drawn by pleasure? To delight in the Lord, and he will give you the petitions of your heart. There is a certain pleasure of the heart, to which that heavenly bread is sweet. Moreover, if it was permitted to the Poet to say, Virg. II Eclog.: Each is drawn by his own pleasure: not necessity but pleasure, not obligation but delight; how much more ought we to say that a man is drawn to Christ, who delights in truth, delights in beatitude, delights in justice, II Eclog.: Each is drawn by his own pleasure: not necessity but pleasure, not obligation but delight; how much more II Eclog.: Each is drawn by his own pleasure: not necessity but pleasure, not obligation but delight; how much more ought we to say that a man is drawn to Christ, who delights in truth, delights in beatitude, delights in justice, delights in eternal life, which is all Christ? Or do the senses of the body have their pleasures, and the soul be abandoned from its pleasures? If the soul does not have its pleasures, whence is it said: But the children of men shall put their trust under the covert of thy wings: they shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house, and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure: for with thee is the fountain of life, and in thy light we shall see light? Give me one who loves, and he feels what I say; give me one who desires, give me one who hungers, give me one who in this wilderness is a pilgrim and thirsts, and sighs for the fountain of the eternal homeland, give me such a one, and he knows what I say: but if I speak to one who is cold, he knows not what I speak." Fourthly, the sinful soul, prevented by the grace of the bridegroom, desires to be drawn out from the deep mire of sins, and to be drawn to penance and justice: but the soul already justified desires to be drawn by the same to the increase of justice, to good works, to heroic virtues, such as are to renounce the world, to be occupied with Mary Magdalene in contemplation and divine love. Tropologically, St. Bernard twists these words against those who covet dignities: "The bride," he says, "does not presume to enter the cell or the bedchamber without the king introducing her, you irreverently rush in neither called nor introduced. Draw me after you, she says. Now however each is drawn by his own pleasure, and those pursuing the odor of foul gain esteem gain as piety, whose damnation is certain." Moreover the Chaldean, after his custom, referring these things to the Jews going forth led by a pillar into the Promised Land, thus translates: "When the people of the house of Israel went forth from Egypt, the majesty of the ruler of the world was their guide in a pillar of cloud by day, and in a pillar of fire by night. The just of that generation said: O Ruler of all the world, draw us after thee, and we shall run after the way of thy goodness." This is the Jewish sense, and as it were the grammatical one; whence it is laid beneath and serves the Christian and genuine sense: for the pillar of fire and cloud drawing and leading the Jews through the desert into Chanaan was a type of the Holy Spirit and his grace, which leads, nay draws, Christians through the temptations and hindrances of this life into heaven. Moreover the soul immersed in the flesh, and from this heavy and sluggish, in order that it may run to heaven, that is to Christ, has need of wings of great alacrity, which divine consolations suggest to it. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 21: "Therefore I have need to be drawn, because the fire of thy love has grown cold in us for a little while, and we are not able to run from the face of this cold as we did yesterday and the day before. But we shall run afterwards, when thou shalt have restored to us the joy of thy salvation, when a better mildness of grace shall have returned, when the sun of justice shall have grown warm again, and the cloud of temptation, which is seen to cover this for a season, shall have passed away, and at the light breath of a breeze more gentle than usual shall have begun to melt ointments, and aromatics to flow, and to give their odour. Then shall we run, in that odour shall we run, breathing, I say, ointments shall we run, because the sluggishness which now is shall depart, and devotion shall return, and now there shall be no need for us to be drawn, since being stirred by the odour, we shall run willingly. But now meanwhile draw me after thee." This the Psalmist was doing, saying, Psalm 118, 32: "I have run the way of thy commandments, when thou didst enlarge my heart:" for love enlarging the heart, enlarges also the feet and steps, which sluggishness had constrained. Whence the same, Psalm 54, 7: "Who, saith he, will give me wings like a dove, and I will fly, and be at rest?" Then St. Bernard, after interposing several things, subjoins: "And what wonder if she who runs after a giant has need to be drawn, she who strives to comprehend him who leaps upon the mountains, who passeth over the hills? Swiftly, saith he, runneth his word. She cannot run equally, cannot contend with him in equal swiftness, who exulteth as a giant to run his way; she cannot by her own strength, and therefore she begs to be drawn. I am weary (saith she), I faint, do not forsake me, but draw me after thee, lest I begin to wander after other lovers, nor run as it were uncertainly. I shall not run alone, although I have asked to be drawn alone: the young maidens also shall run with me. We shall run together, we shall run at once, I in the odour of thy ointments, they stirred by my example and exhortation, and thus all of us shall run in the odour of thy ointments. The bride has imitators of herself, as she herself is of Christ. And therefore she does not say singularly I shall run, but we shall run." Then St. Bernard asks why the bride says in the singular draw me, not in the plural draw us; but in running says in the plural we shall run, not I shall run in the singular? and he answers: "We are drawn, when we are exercised by temptations and tribulations; we run, when visited by internal consolations and inspirations, as it were breathing in sweet-smelling ointments: therefore what appears austere and hard, I retain for myself as for one strong, as for one healthy, as for one perfect, and I say singularly: Draw me. What is sweet and pleasant, I communicate to thee as to one weak, and I say: We shall run. I know that the young maidens are delicate and tender, and less fit to bear temptations, and therefore I wish them to run with me, but not to be drawn with me; I wish to have companions of consolation, but not also of labour. Why? because they are weak, and I fear lest they faint, lest they succumb. Me, saith she, O spouse, correct, me exercise, me tempt, me draw after thee: because I am prepared for scourges, and strong to endure. But we shall run together, I alone shall be drawn, but we shall run together. We shall run, we shall run, but in the odour of thy ointments, not in the confidence of our merits: nor do we trust to run in the greatness of our own strength, but in the multitude of thy mercies. For even if at any time we have run and been willing, it was not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy." Otherwise St. Gregory: Draw, saith he, me after thee, that I may love thee as God alone, yet so that at the same time my faithful may run with me towards the mutual love and aid of neighbours. Bede responds more clearly and fully, saying that the Bride, namely the Church, speaks of herself now in the singular, because she herself is one through the aggregation of many faithful; now in the plural, because in her there are many faithful, and many orders and degrees of the faithful—those beginning, those making progress, those perfect, pastors, subjects, etc. She therefore says of herself, that is, of her prelates and pastors, who direct the young maidens: "Draw me," that is, draw my pastors, so that they themselves may draw the young maidens, that is, the people subject to them, and may run with them in the odor of thy ointments. Therefore the Church in the apostles and apostolic men, who are the supreme heads of the Church, is the perfect Bride of Christ, and walks with the Bridegroom in almost equal step, according to that: "The queen stood on thy right hand," Psalm 44:10; the same Church in pastors who follow Christ most closely leads after herself the young maidens, namely the weaker souls, those less perfect, and says to them: "Let us run in the odor of thy ointments." In similar phrase and gradation, Cicero, in book II to Atticus, letter 23, calling Pomponius to himself, so that he come immediately: "If thou sleepest," he says, "awake; if thou standest, go forward; if thou goest forward, run; if thou runnest, fly." Furthermore, Rupert adapts these things to the Blessed Virgin visiting Elizabeth: "The woman of desires," he says, "was drawn after the Lord, and was drawn and ran in the odor of such ointments and benefits, and for her to run, that is, to go into the mountains with haste, was to say: Draw me after thee. For whoever truly loves is both drawn and desires to be drawn." Moreover, he interprets the ointments of God as benefits: "The ointment was precious," he says, "the benefit was great, which the Lord gave to the barren woman, the conception of such a man, who was to go before the Lord in spirit and power of Elias, and than whom a greater has not risen among those born of women. She had perceived the odor of such and so great an ointment: she had received the fame, or the message, of such and so great a benefit from the Angel himself." Thus the Blessed Virgin, drawn by Christ above all others, ran after him her whole life, imitating his most holy ways above all others, and representing them in her deeds, so that she herself was a living image of Christ, and to the apostles and other faithful the purest mirror of Christian and perfect life, so much so that some heretics have thought her to be a goddess, and have adored her as a goddess. Indeed, St. Dionysius says: Unless, he says, I knew that there is one God, I would have believed her to be a goddess, as I have cited elsewhere.
In the odour of thy ointments. So it should be read with the Greeks and Latins. It is therefore remarkable that St. Ambrose reads vestments instead of ointments, and refers this to the resurrection, of which baptism is the type and anagogy; for thus he says, in the book On those initiated into the mysteries, chapter VI: "How many souls renewed today (through baptism) have loved thee, O Lord Jesus, saying: Draw us after thee; in the odour of thy vestments we will run, that they might inhale the odour of the resurrection." Origen presses the point: in the odour, that is to say, If the odour of the bridegroom thus entices to his following and course, how much more will his very appearance, voice, taste and touch entice, and how will his very substance entice? "I think," he says, "that if they ever come to this, they will no longer walk, nor run, but bound by certain bonds of his charity will cleave to him, so that no place for any further mobility remains in them, but they will be with him one spirit, and in them will be fulfilled that which is written: As thou, Father, in me, and I in thee, that they also in us may be one," John XVII, 21. O how powerful an odour, how pleasant and delightful a course, when the soul, perceiving the odour of the virtues of Christ drawing it, forgetful of all other things, even of itself, runs with great delight to poverty, to contempt, to labours, to insults, to death, to the cross! By ointments understand the graces and charisms of Christ, says St. Augustine, IX Confessions, chapter VII. See St. Bernard, sermon 22. Moreover, these charisms of Christ the faithful receive in baptism, by which they are anointed as Christians; and in confirmation, by which they are anointed as soldiers and athletes of Christ, but especially priests, pastors and prelates, who in the sacrament of orders are anointed and consecrated as leaders and teachers of the faithful, who therefore ought above all others after Christ to run, and to imitate his life and manners as much as possible, and to express them in living action: for thus the fragrance of their virtues will draw all after them to Christ; just as dove-keepers catch doves by releasing a dove smeared with fragrant odour, which attracts the others by this odour and leads them with it to the dove-cote, says St. Basil, epistle 175 to Julitta. Anagogically, the Church, and the holy soul contemplating Christ ascending into heaven, cries out: "Draw me after thee," that with thee I may ascend from the valley of tears to the mountains of eternity and eternal pleasure. Thus Cassiodorus and St. Bernard. Hear St. Augustine on Psalm XC: "Let us love and imitate, let us run after his ointments; for he came and anointed, and his odour filled the whole world. Whence the odour? from heaven: follow therefore to heaven, if thou dost not falsely answer that which is said, thy heart upward, thy thought upward, thy love upward, thy hope upward." Thus St. Jerome, epistle to Eustochium, On the Custody of Virginity, writes of himself dwelling in the desert of Syria: "After many tears," he says, "after eyes fixed on heaven, sometimes I seemed to myself to be present with bands of angels, and joyfully and gladly I sang: After thee we will run in the odour of thy ointments." And St. Augustine, book XIII Confessions, chapter VIII: "Give me thyself," he says, "O my God, restore thyself to me. Behold I love, and if it is too little, let me love more strongly. I cannot measure so as to know how much love is lacking to me for that which is sufficient, that my life may run into thy embraces, nor turn away until it is hidden in the hiddenness of thy face. This only I know, that it is ill with me except in thee, not only outside me, but also in myself, and all abundance to me which is not my God is poverty." To this pertains that passage of Isaiah chapter XL, last verse: "But they that hope in the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall take wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint." See the remarks there.
The First Sense Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. In the grammatical or dramatic sense, the bride, running with her young maidens as companions after the bridegroom, was brought by him into his cellars, but alone, with the maidens remaining outside; whence, having gone out, turning to them she recounts where she was, saying: "The king hath brought me into his cellars;" to which the maidens, congratulating and applauding, respond: "We will be glad and rejoice in thee;" Symmachus, for "brought," renders it "shall bring," in the future, or rather in the optative: for it is a prophecy concerning the future introduction of the Church by Christ about to be born. Thus "brought" could be understood as "shall bring"; because indeed the bride had said to the bridegroom: "Draw me after thee," as if she herself, having already obtained this very thing from her beloved, says: "He hath brought," that is, he shall speedily and certainly bring me into his most intimate cellars; for lovers are full of good hope, so that they seem to themselves to possess what they hope for: for love dilates the heart, imagination and mind. Whence that saying: And the lover fashions dreams for himself. The bridegroom, namely Christ incarnate, she now calls king, because he himself, as man, is King of kings and Lord of lords, Apocalypse XIX, 16; now shepherd, because formerly kings and princes were shep- Whence that saying: And the lover fashions dreams for himself. The bridegroom, namely Christ incarnate, she now calls king, because he himself as man, is King of kings and Lord of lords, Apocalypse XIX, 16; now shepherd, because formerly kings and princes were shep- The bridegroom, namely Christ incarnate, she now calls king, because he himself as man, is King of kings and Lord of lords, Apocalypse XIX, 16; now shepherd, because formerly kings and princes were shep- herds of sheep and flocks: for such were Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David. Therefore that the king signifies these cellars, into which the bride was brought, were royal, opulent, and filled with all goods and treasures, says Origen. CELLARS.—The Hebrew חדריו (chadarav) signifies innermost places or inner chambers, such as private rooms and bedchambers, in which the master himself dwells in secret, and hides his wealth and treasures. Whence the Syriac renders it, he brought me into the bridal chamber; the Arabic, into a secret, private and peculiar chamber. The same is signified by the Greek ταμεῖον, as the Septuagint renders it, and the Latin cellaria. For a cell or cellar is said to be derived from concealing, because in it are concealed those things which we wish to be hidden, as Servius says. Hence a cell signifies a storehouse of grain, wine, oil. Whence Donatus: "A cell," he says, "and cellar are named from storing and concealing edible and drinkable things." And Cicero, in his De Senectute: "Always," he says, "the cell of a good and diligent master is filled with wine-cellars, oil-cellars, honey-cellars and bread-cellars." Hence a cell signifies a secret chamber, likewise a more secret part of the temple, into which it was not permitted to enter: whence Gellius writes that Scipio came to the Capitol, and ordered the cell of Jupiter to be opened, and remained there alone. Hence a cell was dear and precious to St. Bernard as if heaven itself, inasmuch as in it, free from the noise of the world, he alone dealt with God alone. He alludes to the cellars which Solomon built in the temple, in which the treasures and riches of the temple were stored, I Paralipomenon XXVIII, 11. You may ask first, what are these cellars of the bridegroom, into which he himself brought the bride? The Chaldean takes it as the secret treasury of divinity and divine wisdom, from which the law proceeded, whence thus renders it, and bring us to the roots of Mount Sinai, and give us thy law from thy treasure, which is in the firmament, and we shall be delighted and shall rejoice. This is Jewish, but serves the Christian sense: for the cellars here signify the secrets of divinity, in which the bridegroom shows to the bride his mysterious arcana, as well as the hidden goods and gifts, which are great and manifold; wherefore the bride hints at her vows heard, which she had desired: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth;" for the bridegroom assented to them, and in these cellars gave her a kiss, thus St. Ambrose, whose words I shall presently recite; there also she tasted the breasts of the bridegroom; for concerning these she presently adds: "We will be glad and rejoice in thee, mindful of thy breasts." For in cells or cellars are stored riches, delights, jewels, treasures and precious things. Therefore the bride here signifies first that she was brought by the bridegroom into the cellars, that is into a private chamber and intimate inner sanctum, where she might deal most familiarly with the bridegroom; second, that she was made a sharer of his secrets; third, that she was made an inspectress of his treasures and riches, and became a partner in them, and therefore enjoys wonderful pleasure and the highest delights. You ask secondly, what in particular are these cellars? I answer that they are various and manifold. First, Theodoret, St. Gregory, Justus Orgelitanus, and St. Jerome, epistle 142 to Damasus, understand by cellars Holy Scripture, or Moses and the prophets, as if the bride received knowledge of the mysteries hidden in Holy Scripture from the bridegroom, and especially knowledge of the Godhead and the Holy Trinity, or God in essence one and in persons three. For the Church received this through Christ and the apostles. Whence Christ, Apocalypse V, 5, opened the book sealed with seven seals, and gave to the apostles understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures, Luke chapter XXIV, 32 and 45. Secondly, St. Ambrose, sermon 1 on Psalm CXVIII, at verses 7 and 8, understands by these cellars the secrets or mysteries of the incarnation, passion, cross and death and resurrection of Christ, into which the bride was led, when she received knowledge and faith of them through the preaching of the apostles: "When, he says, the king brought her into his chamber, the time of passion declares the compunction of the side, the effusion of blood, the ointment of burial, the mystery of resurrection, so that the bride received a kiss as it were; etc. and the Church was brought into the chamber of Christ: not now as if merely betrothed, but as if married; nor only did she enter the bridal chamber, but also obtained the legitimate keys of the marriage bond." And after a few words: "For the king brought her into all the inner mysteries, gave her keys that she might open to herself the treasures of the knowledge of sacraments, might open doors closed before, might know the grace of the resting one, the sleep of the dead one, the power of the rising one." To this is added Philo Carpathius: The cellar or storehouse of Christ, he says, is first that body in which He made a dwelling for Himself. For the Word in flesh dwelt as in a cell, according to that: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt in us," John I, 14. Whence the Apostle, explaining these cellars of Christ, Colossians II, 2: "Instructed, he says, in charity, and in all the riches of the fullness of understanding, in the knowledge of the mystery of God the Father and of Christ Jesus, in whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge hidden." Thus Philo. Thirdly, others understand by cellars the secret counsels and judgments of God, which God reveals to the saints, among which one and the principal is that crosses and tribulations are prepared for the saints, that they may be purified and more sanctified, and therefore the patient are blessed, because the cross is the straight way to glory, according to that: "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Matthew V, 10: thus Philo Carpathius. Fourthly, others understand by cellars or cells heaven, in which there are many cells and mansions according to the diversity of merits, John XIV, 2; as if the bride here received revelation of the goods and heavenly joys which God has prepared for those who fear and love Him. Thus Cassiodorus, Aponius, Anselm and Bede, whom hear expressing the feelings of the bride: "Therefore I beseech the bridegroom, that He Himself, giving His hand, may help us following after Him, that we do not fail, because I have already tasted the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom: I have already tasted and seen that the Lord is sweet: I have already known the good things prepared for me in the heavens, He Himself revealing them. And immediately turning to Him, giving Him thanks: We shall exult, she says, and rejoice in Thee; as if to say: In no way do we exult in the gifts received, but in all that we live well, we exult, nay we shall exult and rejoice in Thy mercy." Again others understand by cellars the earthly paradise, into which Adam was led by God and received all the delights of the world, all knowledge, all faith and hope; but he was expelled from it with his posterity on account of transgression: wherefore Christ brought him back, and restored men to their original justice, grace and glory. Fifth, St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac and the Soul, chapter III, understands by cellars the secret things of God, namely revelations, visions, consolations, raptures, loves, heavenly joys, into which the soul is caught up through contemplation or ecstasy, as St. Paul was caught up to the third heaven, where he heard secret words which it is not lawful for a man to speak, II Corinthians XII, 2 and 4. Hear St. Ambrose: "Blessed is the soul that enters into the inner sanctuaries of God: for rising up from the body it becomes removed from all things, and within itself searches for and seeks that divine thing, if in any way it can attain it: and when it is able to comprehend those things which are intelligible, having surpassed them it is confirmed in that, and is nourished by it. Such was Paul, who knew that he was caught up into paradise, but whether caught up outside the body or in the body he knew not." And after some things: "For indeed striving toward perfection, he intends only that one good of divinity, nor does he think anything else is to be sought, because he holds what is supreme, and it alone abounds for him, because it alone suffices for him. Nor is he ever alone, to whom the Lord as ruler is present. Finally, led into that divine secret: Let us exult, he says, and rejoice in thee. For not in the treasures of gold and silver riches, not in the fruits of possessions, not in powers, not in feasts, but in God alone does he exult." Sixth, fittingly the same St. Ambrose, in book V On the Sacraments, chapter II, understands by cellars the sacraments, especially the Eucharist, in which under the form of bread and the appearance of wine, as under a bread-cellar and wine-cellar, Christ dwells nourishing us with his flesh and giving us to drink his blood. "Where good libations, says St. Ambrose, odors of good wine, where sweet honeys, where diverse fruits, where varied feasts, where your meal is seasoned with many delicacies."
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. The cellars of God, into which Christ leads the soul and fills and inebriates it with all goods, are the attributes of God, among which the principal ones are twelve, namely God's infinity, immensity, eternity, omnipotence, omniscience, goodness, holiness, love, dominion, providence, mercy, justice, which our Lessius treats learnedly and piously in the book On Divine Perfections. For each of these is infinite and immense in every direction, and therefore when the soul is led into them through meditation, contemplation, rapture and ecstasy by Christ, as it were it swims in an abyss of all goods, indeed it is submerged, and wholly is carried away into love and admiration of divinity, so that it can think, speak, or love nothing else. There indeed, as the Psalmist says, "they shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: and thou shalt make them drink of the torrent of thy pleasure," Psalm XXXV, 9. There the Saints exult and rejoice in God, there they are nourished from the breasts of divine sweetness. Into these cellars of Divinity having entered, St. Paul, amazed, exclaims, Romans XI, 33: "O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God: how incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways!" And St. Peter in the transfiguration of Christ, through the shadow of the glorious body, not so much beholding as conjecturing the glory of divinity, as if drunk with joy: "Lord, he says, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles, one for thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias," Matthew XVII, 4. And St. John, I epistle chapter 1, 1: "That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands have handled of the word of life, etc., we announce to you." This cellar was found by "a woman struck with compunction (Magdalene) at the feet" of the Lord Jesus, says St. Bernard; "Thomas in his side, John in his breast, Peter in the bosom of the Father, Paul in the third heaven, have obtained the grace of this secret. Who of us would be sufficiently able to distinguish worthily these truths of merits, or rather of rewards? Yet lest we seem to have altogether passed over what we ourselves know, the former woman laid herself in the mud of humility, the latter in the throne of hope, Thomas in the throne of faith, John in the breadth of charity, Paul in the depths of wisdom, Peter in the light of truth." Into all these cellars the Blessed Virgin was led before all others. Whence Rupert refers these things to the Blessed Virgin visiting Elizabeth, and saying to her: "My soul doth magnify the Lord, etc., because he that is mighty hath done great things to me," Luke I, 46; to which Elizabeth answered: "We shall exult and rejoice in thee." For at the voice and greeting of Mary, Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, and the infant leaped in her womb. To this pertains that: "But Mary kept all these words, pondering them in her heart," Luke chapter II, 19.
We shall exult and rejoice in thee. These are the words of young maidens rejoicing together with the bride because she has been brought into such rich storehouses, or certainly wishing that they themselves might be brought into them; and therefore they turn themselves toward the bridegroom and say to him: Let us exult and rejoice in thee, as the Septuagint translates it; Symmachus renders it, and we shall rejoice, that is, let us be cheerful, let us be delighted, let us breathe forth in thee. The latter interpretation is held by Origen, Gregory of Nyssa, Theodoret, Bernard and St. Anselm, whom hear: "Because thou, O Lord, hast already introduced thy bride into thy secret places, therefore we also shall prepare ourselves to be worthy, so that we may be introduced with her. For we shall exult, namely in the body working well with exultation, and we shall rejoice in the soul, because we shall think good thoughts with joy; or we shall rejoice, if we shall have done good, not by compulsion, but willingly, and this in thee, attributing all things to thee as to the first cause." Secondly, more coherently and plainly (so that there may not be so sudden a change of persons), you might attribute these words to the bride, who, having come forth from the storehouses, recounts to the maidens what delights she has drawn from them, and says: "The king has introduced me into his storehouses, filled with all riches and delights, which he has prepared not for me alone, but also for you, when you shall have grown strong in virtue. Come therefore, O companions, congratulate me as well as yourselves, and give thanks to the bridegroom, and with me, jubilating, say continually: O good Jesus, 'we shall exult and rejoice in thee.' Come therefore, let us exult in the Lord, let us jubilate to God our saviour, let us go before his face in confession, and let us jubilate to him in psalms. We shall exult, I say, mindful of 'thy breasts,' that is, of thy most sweet benevolence and beneficence, which thou hast communicated to me as a bride, and which thou wilt communicate to my companions in due time. Thus the Gardener. Furthermore, he mentions the breasts of the bridegroom, so that from Christ pastors and prelates may learn to show themselves as mothers to their subjects, and to nourish them with their breasts. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 23: "Let those prelates hear this, who always wish to be a terror to those committed to them, rarely a help. Be instructed, you who judge the earth. Learn that you ought to be mothers to your subjects, not lords; strive to be loved rather than feared, and if severity is sometimes necessary, let it be paternal, not tyrannical. Show yourselves as mothers in cherishing, as fathers in correcting. Become gentle, put away fierceness; suspend the rods, bring forth the breasts; let your breasts grow fat with milk, not swell with pride. Why do you lay a heavy yoke upon those whose burdens you ought rather to bear? Why does a little one bitten by a serpent flee the conscience of the priest, to whom he ought rather to run as to the bosom of a mother? If you are spiritual, instruct such a one in the spirit of gentleness; each one considering himself, lest he also be tempted. Otherwise he will die in his sin, and his blood (saith he) will I require at thy hand." Mystically, Bartholomaeus of Martyrs, archbishop of Braga, in his Compendium of Spiritual Doctrine, truly divine, chapter XV, at the end, assigns seven degrees by which we can ascend to these storehouses of Christ, that is, to contemplation and unitive love; which are, taste, desires, satiety, inebriation, security, tranquility; and he says that the name of the seventh is known to God alone. The first is therefore rightly called taste, because it consists in the change of tastes: for to sinners, who know only carnal tastes, it is said in Psalm XXXIII, 9: "Taste ye, and see that the Lord is sweet;"; change your tastes, and do not think that heavenly flavors can come from anywhere but from God. Therefore the Lord is accustomed to impart consolations of the spirit to those beginning, knowing that a weak and fragile soul can scarcely fly to divine things unless by a prior taste. In this first degree let the soul be occupied with compunctions, mortifications, meditations on the four last things of life, and the passion of Christ, especially with mortifications and eradications of evil thoughts and habits, so that it may be able to pass freely into God, which is not done without the greatest effort: "For the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away," Matthew XI, 12; but not the faint-hearted and the self-indulgent. Second, because divine things, the more they are tasted, the more they are accustomed to be desired, therefore to taste there follow desires, more and more, of enjoying God, while it rejects the taste of all external things with weariness. And from these desires there arises not only the study of meditating, but also of imitating the life of Christ, and the ardor of walking through him, who said, John XIV, 6: "I am the way." But the steps by which you ought to walk are these: humility, gentleness, patience, charity, prayer, his cross and suffering, labors. Third, satiety; when the soul reaches the point that worldly things are abhorred and intimately hated, it soon also rests, and is satisfied by divine love alone; for in reality it experiences that it cannot be fully satisfied anywhere except in God. Fourth, intoxication, which is a certain ecstasy and mental excess proceeding from the aforesaid satiety of divine love, which is not mixed with the water of any imaginings or phantasms, from which we are most difficultly drawn away, unless the Lord himself leads the soul by hand and introduces and receives it into his secret chamber, that is into himself, with the senses sent outside and their functions suspended. Fifth, security excluding fear: for having tasted the perfection of divine charity, the soul remains entirely resigned to the divine will, so that it is perpetually prepared to bear hell, if it should so please God. Moreover it experiences in itself a certain most strict bond of divine friendship so firm that it believes it can never be separated from it. Sixth, tranquility, namely such abundance of peace and jubilation, that the soul, as if reclining in silence and sleep upon the breast of the Lord, is believed to live.
Mindful of thy breasts above wine: the righteous love thee. In Hebrew it is nazkira, which first signifies we shall be mindful; whence the Syriac renders it, let us remember thy love before wine; the Septuagint, we shall love. Second, we shall commemorate, we shall celebrate; whence Vatablus renders it, we shall proclaim thy loves as superior to wine, because thou art most intimately joined to him. Third, some render it, we shall smell thy breasts (or thy loves), because, as he said in verse 2: "Thy ointments are fragrant with the best perfumes." It alludes to what he said in verse 1: "Thy breasts are better than wine." Whence it is gathered that these breasts are the bridegroom's, not the bride's, which denote the bridegroom's sweetness, beneficence and nourishment, as I said there. Again, from this it is clear that better is here to be understood, as if to say, We shall be mindful of thy breasts, which are better and more pleasant than wine, that is, than all the delights and pleasures of the world; for wine holds the first place among these. Moreover those who understand the bride's breasts here rather than the bridegroom's, by breasts understand loves, as if the young maidens here congratulate the bride on the marriage and the loves of the bridegroom, namely that such a fortunate lot, such a happy love, such a noble union with Christ has befallen her, that they determine it to be perpetually remembered, commemorated and celebrated. Thus Sanchez. Whence Nyssenus and Theodoret thus explain it, as if the young maidens and any Christians should say to the Church: Because thou hast loved the breasts of Christ above the wine of worldly pleasure and wisdom, therefore we likewise shall love both thy breasts and thy doctrine, and shall suck so securely, because righteousness, that is Christ, hath loved thee: in this sense Nyssenus adapts it to St. John, who reclined upon the breast of Christ at supper.
The upright love thee. First, in Hebrew it is מישרים mescharim, that is, uprightnesses, equities; whence the Septuagint translates, equity loved thee; the Arabic, uprightness loved thee; the Syriac indeed, before the upright I loved thee. These are words of the bride to the bridegroom, as I have said, as if to say, We shall exult in thee, O Christ, mindful of thy breasts, that is, of thy loves and sweet things, which are more pleasant than wine, that is, than any bodily delights whatsoever, because thy love is not carnal and impure, but spiritual, most pure and most holy. For "the uprightnesses loved thee," that is, thee all uprightnesses, that is, all virtues and graces have embraced, so that thou mayest appear to be the son of virtues and graces; and truly thou art such, because thou art the Son of God, whom all divine gifts, all beauties, all charisms surround, adorn and crown. Thus Origen. Second, others translate mescharim in the ablative, in uprightnesses, as if to say, Virgins love thee in uprightnesses, that is, in love altogether upright, that is, chaste and pure, because in thy love there is the highest uprightness, the highest equity, the highest honesty, the highest beauty. Third, R. Abraham refers mescharim, that is, uprightnesses, to wine, as if to say, Mindful shall we be of thy breasts, that is, of thy loves, which are better than wine of uprightnesses, that is, than sincere, pure and most excellent wine. But this seems obscure, cold and contorted. Finally, Our [translator] most excellently translates mescharim as the upright, either because mescharim signifies both the upright and uprightnesses; or because by metonymy the abstract is put for the concrete, namely uprightnesses for the upright. The sense is, as if to say, We shall continually exult, and rejoice, and be glad in thee, O good Jesus, bridegroom of our soul: because we shall remember thy breasts of sweetness and mercy to be better than wine, that is, than all the delights of the whole world: hence the upright, who namely have a right and sincere taste of mind, not corrupted by the disease of concupiscence, who namely measure all things by right reason, not by perverse cupidity, love thee, because thy breasts, that is, thy sweetnesses are most upright, that is, most just, most equitable, and altogether conformable to reason, law, virtue and God. Hence Symmachus translates, the upright are those who love thee, because they are led by right reason, law and virtue. For uprightness two things are required: first, that life and action be upright in itself, that is, honest and just; second, that it be done with upright intention. Hence St. Thomas interprets, as if to say, The upright, that is, those who have upright intention, who namely study to please God alone, and set him before themselves as the end of all their life and operations; these, I say, love thee. Origen thinks that here the bride tacitly rebukes the young maidens, as if to say, Those who are altogether upright in mind and love, so that they have all their affections upright, these fully love Christ; but my young maidens, because they have not yet made their affections altogether upright, but still love the wine of pleasures, and there still remains in them something of vicious concupiscence, hence they do not fully love Christ; but they are growing and gradually will purify their loves, so that they may become altogether upright, and then they will be the brides of Christ, and will love him with all their heart and with all the powers of their soul. Hence gather: if thou wishest to love Christ, rectify thy mind, and thy loves and customs. For none but the upright love Christ. Thus St. Ambrose in Psalm CXVIII, sermon 2, at verse 1: "Equity," he says, "loved thee, that is, not crooked paths follow thee, only by the path of justice can one reach thee. For he who loves justice does not turn himself away from Christ." Again hence gather that uprightness of life and customs is charity and love of Christ. For this love is most upright, and rectifies all that is twisted; wherefore what is conformable to this love is upright; what is not conformable is crooked and twisted. Thus Cassiodorus, Justus Orgelitanus, Bede and others. Charity is the uprightness of the soul and of all its powers and faculties. Moreover, this rectitude of soul is admonished by the body that is upright and given by God most upright before all other animals. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 24: "For what is more unseemly than to bear a crooked mind in an upright body? It is a perverse and foul thing, a clay vessel, which is the body from earth, to have eyes upward, to gaze freely upon the heavens, and to delight the sight in the luminaries of the heavens; but the spiritual and heavenly creature, on the other hand, to draw its eyes, that is its inner senses and affections, downward to the earth, and to cling to the mud, as one of the swine, what ought to have been nourished in saffron, and to embrace filth. Be ashamed, my soul, to have exchanged the divine likeness for a bestial one; be ashamed to wallow in mud, thou who art from heaven. Be ashamed, O soul, says the body, in my consideration. Created upright, like thy Creator, thou hast also received me as a helper like unto thee, surely according to the lineaments of bodily rectitude." Tropologically, a worthy prelate, says St. Bernard, and an apostolic man, who nourishes others with the breasts of his doctrine, often suffers persecutions and calumnies from the impious and wicked; but let him console himself in that the upright love him, and especially God, who is the most upright of the upright, according to that: "The Lord our God is upright: and there is no iniquity in him," Psalm XCI, 16; wherefore, trusting in this, and joyful in the testimony of conscience, let him despise the judgments of the impious, and say with the Psalmist: "My soul shall be praised in the Lord: let the meek hear and rejoice," Psalm XXXIII, 3. Again, St. Gregory understands this of the commemoration of the passion of Christ, which inflames in us the love of Christ: "The holy soul, he says, the bride of Christ, exults in the delights of her Bridegroom, while she rejects bodily things and hides herself in spiritual things; and she makes the same Bridegroom her delights, in whose regard she cares not for worldly things. But she does this in the memory of breasts; because while she recalls how much charity Christ loved her, who redeemed her with his blood dying on the cross, and daily nourishes her in the bosom of the Church his mother with the milk of that same blood, she undoubtedly becomes more and more intent upon his love. Which milk is well said to be sweeter than wine, because through the blood of Christ we are mercifully educated, we who were previously strictly bound by the letter of the law. Through which love is fulfilled what is said: The upright love thee: only the upright truly love Christ, because whosoever still runs through the distorted paths of vices from desire, while they always stumble against the line of rectitude, cannot altogether love Christ the author of justice." Finally, the Chaldean renders it: and we shall delight, and exult, and remember them, and love thy divinity, and turn away from the idols of the peoples; and all the just, who do what is right before thee, shall fear thee, and love thy precepts.
1:4
I AM BLACK, BUT BEAUTIFUL (in Hebrew שחורה schechora, that is, I am somewhat dark and swarthy, as St. Ambrose reads in the Apology of David, namely in the skin of my hands and face, as is customary for those who tend sheep in the fields, but with a noble countenance and beautiful features, and in all the members of my body I am beautiful and comely), O DAUGHTERS OF JERUSALEM, AS THE TABERNACLES (Arabic: as the dwellings) OF CEDAR, AS THE SKINS (Aquila and Symmachus: tents, which are made from skins) of Solomon. — This latter similitude must be connected to the former respectively and disjunctively, in this manner: I am black as the tabernacles of Cedar, that is, of the Arabs (for Cedar was the son of Ishmael, and father of the Arabs, or nomads, dwelling in the wilderness of the Saracens in tents), but beautiful as the skins of Solomon. Thus Origen, Theodoret, Cassiodorus, St. Gregory, Rupert, St. Bernard, St. Anselm and others; although Nyssenus and Aponius refer both similitudes, namely the tabernacles of Cedar and the skins of Solomon, to both the blackness and the beauty of the bride. It is a difficulty, for someone will say: How do you, O pastoral and rustic bride, who like the Cedarenes dwell perpetually in tabernacles, so that you may tend flocks, and there are burned and darkened by the heat of the sun, dare to aspire to the nuptials of a king, and to say: "Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth"? The objection is met and answered: Although I am black outwardly, like the skins and tabernacles of the Cedarenes, yet inwardly I am beautiful like the skins and furnished tabernacles of Solomon, who, as in all things, so also in his tents (which he used while journeying) was most refined and most precious; wherefore he adorned them with gold and gems and precious paintings. Thus Pliny concerning Nero: "To whom," he says, "there were sealed tents and gilded pavilions." Again, these things cohere with what immediately precedes, as if to say: "The righteous love you," O Bridegroom Christ, equally as they love me, who am your bride; but truly many wicked ones hate and persecute both me and you. I am therefore black through the darkness of afflictions and the tribulation of persecutions, but beautiful through patience, constancy and victory, by which I have overcome, indeed subdued, converted the persecutors, and subjected them to myself and to you. Therefore the blackness of tribulations has not disfigured me, but has honored and illuminated me. He alludes to the Ethiopian wife of Moses, on account of whom his sister Mary, murmuring against Moses, was struck with leprosy by God, Num. XII, 1 and 10; for she was a type of the Church gathered from the nations, dark with infidelity to Christ, on account of which the murmuring Jews themselves were rejected. Thus Origen. Moreover, many of the orientals and southerners are dark, such as the Mauritanians, Egyptians, and neighboring Jews, Arabs and Ethiopians; such was Andromeda, the daughter of their king Cepheus; concerning whom Ovid says: Andromeda of Cepheus pleased Perseus, dark with the color of her country. Indeed Andromeda of Cepheus pleased Perseus, dark with the color of her country. Indeed among them the dark are held to be beautiful, but the white are considered deformed. Indeed among them the dark are held to be beautiful, but the white are considered deformed. Whence the Ethiopians paint Judas and demons white; but St. Peter and angels they paint black. Add that dark is a mixed and middle color between white and black, and therefore has its own elegance. Hence the dawn in Hebrew is called schachar, that is, somewhat dark, because it is the boundary between night and day, or between darkness and light: yet it is beautiful, on account of the rays of the sun shining and radiating beautifully through the darkness. Whence the bride is compared to it, cap. VI, vers. 9: "Who is she," it says, "that comes forth as the dawn rising, beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun?" By the daughters of Jerusalem, some first with Aponius understand angels, who are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem, as if to say: Do not marvel, O angels, that I am not so white as you are, but black; for although I am black, yet I am beautiful like you. Secondly, others understand the Jews, who persecuted Christ and the Christians, especially the gentiles, because they were black through infidelity. Thus Theodoret and St. Athanasius in the Synopsis. Thirdly and more plainly, others understand young maidens, that is, souls new in the faith of Christ: for these are called daughters of Jerusalem, a beautiful allusion to the bride, who was the wife of Solomon, who was king of Jerusalem. You ask, how is the Church black and at the same time beautiful? First, Nyssenus, St. Gregory, Philo Carpathius, St. Jerome in chapter II of Sophonias, St. Chrysostom, homily 1 On Virtue, and others in various places hold that the Church of the Gentiles is said to be black on account of the preceding idolatry and crimes by which in paganism she served sin and the devil; but beautiful indeed through conversion and the grace of Christ, by which He washed away the blackness of sins in baptism, and she whitened herself in the blood of the Lamb. Whence St. Ambrose, sermon 2 on Psalm CXVIII: "Dark, he says, through guilt, fair through grace; dark through vice, fair through washing. I am dark because I have sinned; fair because Christ now loves me." The same, in the book On Those Who Are Initiated into the Mysteries, chapter VII: "Black, he says, because from sinners; fair through the sacrament of faith." Hear St. Bernard, sermon 25: "But hear from whence she said herself black, and from whence beautiful. Is she black indeed on account of the foul conversation which she previously had under the prince of this world, still bearing the image of the earthly man; but beautiful indeed from the heavenly likeness which she afterwards exchanged, walking now in newness of life? But if this is so, why does she not rather say of the past: I was black, and I am not black? If however it pleases anyone to accept this sense, what follows: As the tabernacles of Cedar, as the skins of Solomon, thus it ought to be understood, so that of the old conversation indeed Cedar, but of the new Solomon she said herself a tabernacle. For this is what skins are, which the tabernacle the Prophet showed, saying: Suddenly my tabernacles are laid waste, suddenly my skins." The sense therefore is, as if she said, says Origen and Nyssenus: I the Church of the Gentiles, once was black through infidelity, and therefore was a tabernacle of Cedar, that is of darkness, in which dwelt the prince of darkness the devil; but now through baptism washed, and through the grace of Christ sanctified, I have become beautiful as skins, that is a tabernacle of Solomon, because I have become a temple of Christ, who is the true Solomon, and the peaceful king. To this the Chaldean adds, who in his manner refers these things to the Jews adoring the golden calf: "When, he says, the house of Israel made the calf, their faces were blackened like the faces of the sons of Ethiopia, who dwell in the tabernacles of Cedar; and when they did penance, and sin was forgiven, the splendor of their countenance was multiplied, like the countenance of angels, because they made the curtains of the tabernacle, and the majesty of the Lord sat in the midst of them. But Moses their master ascended to the heavens." In a similar manner indeed the Church passes from the tabernacles of Cedar to skins, that is to the tabernacles of Solomon, when from error to true faith, from the darkness of falsehood to the light of truth, from bloody wrath to the tranquility of peace, from the defense of idols to the defense of the true religion of God she has migrated, says Aponius. Second, the Church is said to be black and beautiful, which consists of sinners and the just: thus Bede and St. Augustine, book III On Christian Doctrine, chapter XXXII. Or because she consists of Gentiles once in paganism uncircumcised, foul and dark; and of Jews, who from of old were circumcised, faithful and the people of God: thus Theodoret and Philo Carpathius. Third, St. Augustine, sermon 201 On the Seasons, says the Church and the faithful soul is black through nature corrupted by sin, that is through concupiscence, but beautiful through grace: "Whence, he says, is the Church black and beautiful? Black through nature, beautiful through grace. Whence black? Behold I was conceived in iniquities, and in sins did my mother conceive me. Whence beautiful? Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed: thou shalt wash me, and I shall become whiter than snow, Psalm L, verse 9. Whence black? The Apostle says: I see another law in my members fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, Romans VII, 23. Whence beautiful? Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? The grace of God through Jesus Christ our Lord, verse 24. Truly the Church of the Gentiles was like unto ravens, when she despised the living Lord, and before receiving grace like to dead carcasses, she ministered to idols." And St. Ambrose, book On Those Who Are Initiated into the Mysteries, chapter VII: "She is black, he says, through the frailty of the human condition, fair through grace." And Aponius: "From captive, he says, free; from sojourner, citizen; from most vile, queen and spouse of the Creator, the Word of God Christ through His kindness made her." Fourth, and most appropriately, the Church is black through the storms of persecutions and sufferings, beautiful through the unconquered patience and constancy of spirit. This meaning is required by what follows: "Do not consider me that I am dark, because the sun hath altered my colour. The sons of my mother have fought against me:" therefore she is black on account of afflictions; beautiful, first, on account of the glory of fortitude and humility, and other virtues, which she acquires and increases by suffering and fighting; second, on account of the most beautiful crowns, which she merits for herself in the heavens; third, on account of the manifold orders of saints, by which she is adorned, as Aponius says. And St. Ambrose, On the Holy Spirit, cap. XI: "Black," he says, "is she with the dust of her exercise, while she fights; beautiful when she is crowned with the insignia of her victory." And in Psalm CXVIII, serm. 18: "He sent before," he says, "the black that he might increase the beautiful." Thus also Cassiodorus: Cedar, he says, that is the Saracens, Arabs, enemies of Israel, denote the persecutors of the Church, who strive to blacken her; but she is beautiful, because she herself is the tabernacle (which is made from skins) of Solomon, that is of Christ, and therefore worthy of his visitation and conso- lation; especially because she constantly applies herself to mortification, of which skins are the symbol, being the spoils of dead animals. Thus also Bede, who adds that the Church is compared to Cedar the son of Ishmael, of whom it was said: "His hand will be against all, and all hands against him," Genesis XVI, 12. In a similar manner Christ foretold to the apostles and the Church: "You shall be hated by all men for my name's sake," Matthew cap. X, vers. 22. Justus Orgelitanus gives an example from St. Paul: Consider, he says, black and beautiful in Paul: "In all things we suffer tribulation, but are not destitute: we labour, but are not forsaken: we are cast down, but we perish not," II Corinthians IV, 8. The tabernacles of Cedar are, when he says: "We are made as the refuse of this world, the offscouring of all," I Corinthians IV, 13. But the skins of Solomon, when he says: "Always bearing about in our body the mortification of Jesus, that the life also of Jesus may be made manifest in our bodies," II Corinthians IV, 10. Thus Justus.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. First, a sinful and penitent soul is black through guilt, but beautiful through penance; black through torpor, beautiful through fervor. "For conversion bestows beauty upon it," says Origen, "when it begins to ascend from humble things to lofty ones, and it is said of it: Who is she that ascendeth white?" To this is added the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa, showing that a soul blackened by sin becomes beautiful, because Christ loved it according to what preceded: "Righteousness loved thee." Hear Gregory of Nyssa: "Do not marvel (O maidens) that righteousness loved me, but that, when I was black with sin, and by my works was akin to and joined with darkness, it made me beautiful through love, having exchanged its beauty for my deformity: for in transferring to itself the filth of my sins, it imparted to me its own purity." He brings forth a similitude of night and dawn: for night makes all things dark and black; but dawn, having put to flight the dark shadows, brings forth a bright and beautiful light to all things. Christ does the same, when he makes a soul dark with error and sins bright and beautiful through his luminous grace. St. Gregory, however, refers these things to the holy soul, but with Mary Magdalene penitent, who, mindful of her past sins, calls herself black, but beautiful, through the present grace and justice of Christ. "Black indeed," he says, "and beautiful does the holy soul bless itself, because it always perceives the deformity of its sins, and yet the justice which it sees within, it carefully bears forth in its outward acts. Which rightly, like the tents of Cedar black, and like the skins of Solomon beautiful, is said, because insofar as it bears the darkness of mortality, it is soiled with the blackness of corruption. For Cedar is interpreted as darkness; Solomon, however, who signifies Christ, is called peaceful. Beautiful therefore does it call itself like the skins of Solomon; because while it does not neglect to imitate the holy ones, who mortify themselves in imitation of Christ, it certainly joins itself to their beauty through likenesses." Wherefore the penitent, who strives to guard against future sins and to establish himself in the grace of God, ought continually with St. Mary Magdalene to turn over in his mind the sins which he has committed, to mourn and weep for them; for this humility, contrition and compunction will conciliate the grace of God, which shall bestow upon him the gift of perseverance. Second, the just soul is black outwardly on account of defects and venial faults, into which it often falls; but beautiful inwardly through grace, charity, and the other virtues. Again, it is black on account of the dangers of sinning mortally, of damnation and hell: for these dangers are suggested to it by the daily temptations of the devil, the world and the flesh, on account of which it works out its salvation in humility with fear and trembling, and therefore it is beautiful; for humility and holy fear make it beautiful, which therefore confirms it, so that it generously resists temptations, and thus victory and salvation are as it were assured to it, as St. Bernard teaches. Third, you may understand this of the soul struggling with concupiscences and passions, as if to say: I am black through the foul movements of anger, gluttony, lust, and all concupiscence; but beautiful, because I continually and strongly struggle against them and overcome them, and thus through battle I attain true peace, through the grace of Solomon, that is of Christ the peaceful king, in which peace the harmony and beauty of the soul consists. Thus St. Ambrose, On those initiated into the mysteries, chapter VII; the same, Exhortation to Virgins, adapting these things to any virgin: Black, he says, through the flesh, comely through virginity, like skins, that is, tents of Solomon made of skins, but interwoven with gold and gems, and wrought with Phrygian and Babylonian work. Fourth, understand this of a holy soul, which endures the reproaches of rivals, persecutions, and other hardships of this life: for she is black through hardships, but beautiful through patience; wherefore the blackness of hardships increases her beauty through patience. "Blessed blackness," says St. Bernard, sermon 25, "which produces the brightness of the mind, the light of knowledge, the purity of conscience." And below he cites the example of Paul, II Corinthians XII, 5: "Gladly," he says, "will I glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Desirable infirmity, which is compensated by the power of Christ. Who will grant me not only to be infirm, but also to be destitute and to fail utterly from myself, that I may be strengthened by the power of the Lord of hosts? For virtue is made perfect in infirmity. Finally he says: When I am weak, then am I strong and powerful. Since this is so, the bride beautifully turns to her glory what is cast at her as a reproach by rivals, glorying not only that she is beautiful, but also that she is black. For she is not ashamed of the blackness, which she knows preceded her also in the spouse, to whom to be made similar—what glory is that! She therefore thinks nothing more glorious than to bear the reproach of Christ. Whence that voice altogether of exultation and salvation: God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The disgrace of the cross is pleasing to him who is not ungrateful to the Crucified. It is blackness, but the form and likeness of the Lord." Moreover, Theodoret understands by the skins of Solomon the precious skins with which Solomon was clothed, as if to say: I am the bride of the true Solomon, that is, of Christ, and therefore I am beautiful, because I go clothed in him and his garments. Finally, hear Paul describing the skins of the saints, Hebrews XI, 37: "They were stoned, they were cut asunder, they were tempted, they were put to death by the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being in want, distressed, afflicted: of whom the world was not worthy; wandering in deserts, in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth."
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. First, the Blessed Virgin was black not in herself, but in her father Adam, who sinned and infected his entire posterity with sin (except the Blessed Virgin). She is therefore black through external dominion, because she is the daughter of a sinner; in herself, however, she is beautiful through the fullness of grace. Whence St. Ambrose, sermon 2 on Psalm CXVIII: The flesh, he says, sinful which he cast out in Eve, he received from the Virgin, he took from Mary her original purity and beauty. Second, Rupertus: The Blessed Virgin, he says, appeared black when she was found by Joseph to be with child, and he therefore wished to put her away secretly; but she was beautiful in truth, because she conceived by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Again, she was black through humility, by which she conducted herself outwardly like other mothers, who conceiving and bearing from a man are defiled, and therefore on the fortieth day are purified. For thus also the Blessed Virgin was purified; but inwardly she was most beautiful and most fair, and so this great humility brought her new grace and new beauty. Third, she was vile and despised by the Jews and other infidels, like the tents of Cedar; but to the faithful, indeed to the angels and to God, beautiful like skins, that is the tabernacle (for the tabernacle of Moses was covered without with skins, but within with gold, silver, etc.), and the temple of Solomon, because she herself was a temple, indeed a heaven not made by hands, which Wisdom of God, namely Christ, built for himself, Proverbs cap. IX, 1. Thus Hailgrinus, hear him: "I am black in appearance, and despised like the mother of a leper; but beautiful in the existence of truth, and as the glorious mother of the true God. I am black like the tents of Cedar, because I am not reckoned the tabernacle of the King of justice, but like other mothers, whose wombs are tabernacles of the children of sorrow and darkness; among the tents of Cedar I am reckoned, which is interpreted darkness or sorrow. Yet truly I am beautiful like skins, that is the tabernacle of Solomon, because it was a temple, indeed a heaven not made by hands, which Wisdom of God, namely Christ, built for himself. I am black in appearance, and despised like the mother of a leper; but beautiful in the existence of truth, and as the glorious mother of the true God. skins dedicated indeed to Solomon Christ, the true peacemaker. For as those skins contained the typical ark, so I within my womb contained the true ark, namely Christ, whose flesh is signified by the ark, whose soul is designated by the golden urn which was in the ark, and whose divinity is designated in the manna; and as the skins protected the whole tabernacle, so under the shadow of my protection I defend the whole Church. I indeed am like a reddened skin, because I am tinged with the compassion of the sorrow in the passion of my son. I am also like a hyacinthine skin, by contemplation of heavenly things and by love. Fourth, most excellently William the Small and Hailgrinus refer this to the time of the passion, when the sorrowful mother stood by her dying Son, and with the sun darkened the splendor and beauty was darkened, which this moon more beautiful drew from her sun. For they think that the person of the Virgin mother is here presented to us by the Holy Spirit, as it were in dark garment contemplating the most bitter torments of her son, as if to say: Just as the son dying not miserably, but mercifully, disdained that this unworthy and unseemly mourning be spent upon him: so also the mother most blessed, dying in affection with her son, and in a certain way dying in him, because bone of his bones and flesh of his flesh: What, she says, do you weep over me, as over a wretched woman, and the mother of a wretched man? I am black now, because it is fitting that I be despised with my despised son, and be reckoned leprous with him reckoned a leper. He according to the Prophet is my sun, now made like a sack of haircloth in your eyes, and to whom there is no form nor comeliness; it is fitting also for me to be conformed to him, and to be assimilated to the dark and black garb of the guilty: like the tents of Cedar, as if some of the sinful women, says Honorius. Finally, the Church and the faithful soul militant is black like the tents of the camp of Cedar, through the struggles and wounds which it gives or receives, while it continually fights with enemies. But the same Church triumphant is beautiful, in Hebrew נָאוָה nava, that is, desirable, lovable, like the skins of Solomon; because it enjoys heavenly peace, honor, glory, and every good. Whence the Psalmist, aspiring to it, groans: "Alas for me, because my sojourning is prolonged: I have dwelt with the inhabitants of Cedar: my soul hath been long a sojourner," Psalm cxix, 5 and 6. Therefore the Church says to the daughters of Jerusalem, that is, to souls and angels triumphing in heaven: See that you do not despise me, militant and blackened with dust, because through these struggles, fighting generously, I shall tend toward your triumphs. Tropologically, the faithful and saints appear outwardly abject, vile, dingy, dark; but inwardly they are beautiful with virtues and wisdom. "Often," says he, "a philosopher lies hidden under a vile cloak." Wherefore Ecclesiasticus wisely admonishes, cap. xi, 2: "Praise not a man for his beauty, neither despise a man in his look;" he proves it by example: "Small (μικρά, that is, little) among flying creatures is the bee, and the beginning (Greek ἀρχήν, that is, the principality) of sweetness hath her fruit," namely honey, which the bee makes. See the sayings there. Anagogically, the soul is black while it dwells in this wretched body as in a vile and dark tent of Cedar; but it will be beautiful when it shall depart to the skins of Solomon, that is, to heaven: for God "stretcheth out the heavens like a skin," Psalm ciii, 2. For as skins are distinguished by carvings, so the heavens are distinguished by stars and Angels, thus St. Bernard. Wherefore the soul, continually aspiring to the blessed life, is beautiful, because it is like heaven, says Origen. Hear St. Bernard, serm. 27: "Nor is it undeserved that it borrows a likeness thence, whence it draws its origin. But for what reason does it compare its form to such heavens? because it adores and worships one God? as the angels do; it loves Christ above all things? as the angels do; it is chaste as the angels are, and that in the flesh of sin, and in a fragile body, which the angels are not; finally it seeks and savors what is with them, not what is upon earth. What is a more evident sign of heavenly origin, than to retain similarity in the region of dissimilarity, being innate; to usurp the glory of the heavenly life on earth, and from an exile; finally to live an angel in a body almost bestial? These are heavenly things of power, not earthly." Symbolically, the Church and the faithful soul is black through the labors, distractions and uncleanness of the active life, such as the Cedarenes, that is, the Arabs, practiced and practice, who therefore never rest, or have a fixed seat; but dwell perpetually in mobile tents, which are blackened by heat, rain, and dust, and wander from region to region, as nomads do. The same is beautiful, and, as St. Ambrose reads in the Apology of David, is comely through the beauty and quiet of the contemplative life, which the skins represent, that is, the tabernacle of Solomon, that is, of the peaceful king.
1:5
For "decoloravit" in Hebrew is שֶׁשֶׁזָפַתְנִי scheschezaphatni, which word is found here alone, and in Job xx, 9, where our translator renders it, saw; the Septuagint, beheld; others, gazed upon. Various translators therefore render it variously here. The Septuagint: Do not behold that I am black, because παρέβλεψε, despised, that is, looked upon me obliquely the sun; Symmachus, παρενέβλεψε, that is, looked upon me fiercely; Theodotion, the sun burned me; Aquila, the sun burned me; St. Jerome, because the sun despised me, or, as is better contained in the Hebrew, the sun decolorated me. St. Ambrose indeed, in the book On Isaac, chapter IV, Since the sun did not gaze upon me; for παραβλέπω signifies to turn aside the eyes, which often happens when men pretend not to see what they see, and do not look with a straight face, but a sideways one, which is the same as not to look, likewise to gaze with squinting and fierce eyes, as Budaeus says. Vatablus, in that the sun striking me with its rays gazed upon me; Symmachus, touched; Philo of Carpathus for παρέβλεψε, that is, despised, reads περιέβλεψε, that is, looked around, as if to say, Do not consider me, because once in paganism I was dark through infidelity, because now the sun of justice has looked around me, which by its faith and grace has illuminated me all about. The same, sermon 12 on Psalm cxviii, attributes the same thing to the Church of the gentiles, as if she herself, with the Synagogue objecting to her, humbly responds to paganism, confessing her former blackness of idolatry, in that the sun of the faith of Christ, as unworthy of his gaze, did not regard her, as if to say, Because I did not gaze upon Christ by believing, therefore neither did he regard me with his grace, but passed by and despised me, says Origen, homily 2 from the four. Again, Origen, homily 3, renders παρέβλεψε, looked upon obliquely, as if to say, I was dark, because obliquely and distortedly the sun of justice Christ looked upon me, in that I first looked upon him obliquely and perversely: for all obliquity and perversity has its cause and origin from us, according to that in Leviticus xxvi, 23, according to the Septuagint: If you walk with me obliquely, I too will walk in my fury with you obliquely. Thus Origen. Whence the Chaldean, after his manner attributing these things to the Jews, thus renders it, the assembly of Israel says before the peoples: Do not despise me because I am blacker than you, and because I acted according to your works, and worshipped the sun and moon. Thus also Theodotion: I am blackened, he says, while I worship creatures, the Creator being passed by, and I worship this visible sun for the sun of justice; but soon I shall be whitened through the grace of Christ, and then you will exclaim: Who is this, who ascends whitened? Canticles viii, 3. Furthermore St. Ambrose, in Psalm cxviii, sermon 2, reading, the sun did not gaze upon me, namely the sun of justice, that is, Christ, takes this verse concerning the Synagogue left behind, and for a time rejected by Christ, when namely the Gospel transferred from the unbelieving Jews to the gentiles. The Synagogue of the Jews therefore says, says St. Ambrose: "Do not flee from me, because I am dark; I am dark for this reason, because the sun of justice left me, which before was accustomed to illuminate, Malachi iv, 2; I have lost the color of my face, the keenness of my eyes has become dull, by which before I saw the sun. I walk in darkness, because I know not the day of Christ, John xii, 35. Yet do not despise me, because he who left can again gaze, have mercy again. He is accustomed to gather the scattered, to seek out the deserted, to collect the destitute." And after a few words: "The sun did not gaze upon me, and therefore I am darkened. But the sun shines upon the just and unjust, upon the just for grace, upon the unjust for mercy: giving to those the reward of their merits, to these remitting sins. And to the gentiles the sun did not shine before, now it shines. Now it rises for them, which rose for me, which forgave them, will forgive me also. Do not think because I am darkened, that the sun has utterly left me, and now does not gaze upon me, nor revisits the dark one. It dissembled from me, because I did not keep his commandments: it will be reconciled, when it sees the repentance of my sins. The sun did not see me, because I did not receive him coming, did not open the windows, that the light of life might enter. When
First Sense in Whole, Concerning Christ and the Church. These things can be expounded in four ways, according to the four senses assigned in the preceding verse; hence by the sun can be understood heat, first of mortal sins, second of venial sins, third of concupiscences, fourth of persecutions and tribulations. First therefore some expound thus, that is to say: Do not marvel at me and despise me, because I am dark, not by nature, but by the past crimes of idolatry, lust, gluttony, pride, etc., because the sun, that is the heat of temptations, has defiled and blackened me, but these stains have been washed away by baptism and penance: thus the Nyssenus, Aponius and others. Aponius however understands by the sun the devil, who is almost the instigator of all temptation by which we are discolored. Second, the Church and the just soul says of itself: Do not marvel that I am dark through defects and venial faults: for these do not blacken, but obscure the brightness of the soul, because the sun, that is the heat of temptation, has discolored me. Third, that is to say: Do not marvel that I am dark through various soots and mists of passions, because the concupiscence innate in me continually exhales these, which discolors me. Whence St. Jerome in chapter three of Amos notes that, just as idle and inert bodies when struck by the sun are burned and darkened, so also the idle and those languishing in idleness are inflamed and blackened by the heat of temptations; but those which move, walk and labor in the sun feel the sun's rays but little: so also laborious men, who prepare themselves for struggles and contests, overcome the injuries of the world, and obtain the blessing of the Holy Spirit, saying to the just: "By day the sun shall not burn thee, nor the moon by night," Psalm 120:6. Fourth and genuinely, that is to say: Do not marvel that I am darkened by tribulations and hardships, because the heat of persecution has discolored me with these; but the same has breathed into me patience and constancy, which illuminates me far more. Thus Cassiodorus, Bede, Justus Orgelitanus and others. In a similar sense concerning the Nazarites in the destruction of Jerusalem, pale and dark from hunger, Jeremiah says: "Their face is made black as a coal, and they are not known in the streets," Lamentations 4:8. That this is the sense is clear from what follows: "The sons of my mother have fought against me." Somewhat differently St. Anselm: The sun of justice, he says, Christ has discolored me, because on account of faith in him and love of him I endure these persecutions, by which I am obscured. And St. Gregory and St. Bernard, sermon 28, who explain thus, that is to say: I am white and pure in myself, but I appear dark if I am compared with the splendor of the holiness of Christ: for this is so great that it obscures me and as it were discolors me, just as the stars, when the sun rises, are obscured by its splendor. I will open, it will illuminate my eyes, he who came that he might illuminate the whole world, and let even those who do not see behold."
Second Sense in Part, Concerning Christ and the Just Soul. All these things which I have said concerning the Church, attribute to the soul alone with the name changed, to which add: Symbolically, the sun burning, and thus as it were consuming and blackening the soul, is the heat of charity, likewise the burning desire of enjoying God, and the zeal of justice by which the soul as it were wastes away, when it sees the offenses of God and the perdition of souls, according to that Psalm 68:10: "The zeal of thy house hath eaten me up;" and that Psalm 118:139: "Thy zeal hath made me pine away: because my enemies forgot thy words." Thus St. Bernard, sermon 28, who also adds that charity as it were discolors the soul, while it burns and torments it, so that it may weep with those who weep, be infirm with the infirm, and say with Paul: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?" II Corinthians 11:29. In a similar way the desire of enjoying God induces languor in the soul, and from this as it were paleness, darkness and fainting. Hear St. Bernard: "Or to be discolored by the sun is to be inflamed by fraternal charity, to weep with those who weep, to be infirm with those who are infirm, to be burned by the scandals of individuals. Or thus: The sun of justice Christ has discolored me, for whose love I languish. This languor is a certain destruction of color, and a defect in the desire of the soul, whence also it says: I remembered God, and was delighted, and was exercised: and my spirit fainted away, Psalm 76:4. Therefore like a burning sun, the ardor of desire discolors the pilgrim in the body, while he who pants for the vision of glory makes him impatient of rejection, and torments the lover with delay. Who of us is so inflamed with holy love, that in the desire of seeing Christ, he despises and casts off all the color of present glory and joy, contesting with that prophetic voice: And I desired not the day of man, thou knowest? etc. Jeremiah 17:16: likewise with St. David: My soul refused to be comforted, Psalm 76:3, that is, he despises being colored with the empty joy of present goods."
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. First, the Blessed Virgin as to color was dark and somewhat dark-skinned, such as are the Egyptians and Palestinians, because they are scorched by the sun. This is evident from her image painted by St. Luke, which is religiously venerated at Rome in the Basilica of St. Mary Major. Whence Nicephorus, II Hist. cap. xxiii, from St. Epiphanius, thus describes her form: "She was of wheat color, with fair hair, keen eyes, having somewhat yellowish and as it were olive-colored pupils in them; her eyebrows were arched and becomingly black, her nose longer, her lips ruddy, and full of the sweetness of words; her face not round and sharp, but somewhat longer, her hands likewise and fingers longer." Second, the Blessed Virgin in purity and holiness was most bright; which nevertheless if it be compared with the transcendent holiness of God and Christ, appears to be darkened, just as the brightness of the moon is dimmed and darkened by the splendor of the sun. Third, she was dark because she bore a child in her womb and brought him forth as other mothers do, who while they conceive and give birth grow pale and dark: but the Blessed Virgin by conception and childbirth was not darkened in this way, but rather was gilded and as it were deified, because she conceived and brought forth the Son of God, who is the light of the world. Thus Rupertus: "Do not, says he, O daughters of Jerusalem, regard me because I am dark, that is, corrupted; because what I have a swollen womb, because I have been found having in my womb, was not made by a man, because I know not man, but thus the sun has discolored me. The true sun, and a God far more beautiful than the sun, has filled me with himself, from himself has made my swollen womb. Is this to be discolored? Not in your sight, O daughters of Jerusalem, who have a simple eye, but in the thoughts of the proud, whose eye is evil. The eye of Joseph was not evil, but having a certain excusable cloud of ignorance, was quickly purified, the angel of the Lord saying to him, that I was discolored with sound skin, which not the flame of fire from below, but from above the sun has discolored, because I was pregnant with virginity preserved; whom not an earthly man, but the heavenly Father made pregnant by the Holy Spirit." Therefore motherhood in the Blessed Virgin did not discolor virginity, but most highly adorned it. Finally, standing at the cross in the passion of Christ, she was darkened not so much by the heat of the sun as by the heat of sorrow; but this darkness was soon wiped away by the glorious resurrection and appearance of Christ. Thus Hailgrinus and William, as if to say: Do not despise me because of the passion of my son and my compassion, or because of the various insults, mockeries and afflictions of my whole life: for these happened through no fault or merit of mine or my son's, but because the sun of Jewish envy and the heat of afflictions discolored me, in that my son wished me to be conformed and made like to his passion.
The sons of my mother have fought against me, they made me keeper of the vineyards: my vineyard I have not kept. FOUGHT AGAINST ME. — In Hebrew נִחֲרוּ בִי nicharu vi, that is, they were angry, or became enraged against me; others, they contended, or quarreled against me; Origen, they fought against me; the Septuagint, they fought in me, that is in me, in the ablative, that is for me; or in me, that is against me, as others commonly translate. For often ἐν ἐμοί, that is in me, is taken by the Greeks for ἐπ' ἐμοί, that is against me, in the accusative; yet it can be taken in me properly in the ablative, as I shall show presently; Symmachus, they assailed me. THEY MADE ME KEEPER OF THE VINEYARDS, MY VINEYARD I HAVE NOT KEPT. — For my, the Hebrew texts have, which is mine, namely my own or hereditary, or dowry, or acquired by my labors, or singularly dear and beloved to me; Vatablus, for the sons of my mother, becoming enraged against me, made me keeper of the vineyards; but I have not kept my own vineyard. Grammatically, the bride gives the reason why the sun has discolored her, namely that the brothers persecuting her compelled her to act as keeper of others' vineyards, so that she could not keep her own vineyard: in which, while wandering about examining and guarding each part, struck by the rays of the sun, she became discolored and darkened. Thus Aben-Ezra. THE SONS OF MY MOTHER, — are my brothers, born from the same mother and the same womb, who therefore ought to defend me as their sister and love me supremely; yet these, contrary to all the law of nature and right, contrary to all brotherly and maternal love, fought against me. For brothers and sisters from the same mother are accustomed to love one another more than those born from the same father but from another mother: for the mother unites and binds together her own children, as conceived in her womb, so also when born in her house in continuous education and care, among themselves. Again, the sons of the mother are here called those born from another father, and therefore having dissimilar loves, affections and customs, on account of which they fought against their sister from the same womb, born from another father. ii. For often ἐν ἐμοί, that is in me, is taken by the Greeks for ἐπ' ἐμοί, that is against me, in the accusative; yet it can be taken in me properly in the ablative, as I shall show presently; Symmachus, they assailed me. Now as to the parabolic and true sense through the sons of the mother, first, some understand the sons of Eve, namely any gentile nations whatsoever that are idolaters, which have assailed the Church: Lyra understands Pharaoh and the Egyptians, who persecuted the sons of Israel, Exodus I. For both, after the descent of Jacob into Egypt, were born in Egypt; both therefore were sons of the same mother, that is the land of Egypt. Secondly, others understand the Jews who, apostatizing from the true God and Moses, turned aside to idols and the rites of the gentiles in the time of the Judges, Kings and Maccabees, so that this complaint is not of the Church, but of the Synagogue, namely of the Jews rightly worshiping God in Judaism, as if to say: My brothers the Jews from the same stock of Israel and the Synagogue as mother, born with me, descending to idols, have assailed me the Synagogue of faithful Jews worshiping one God, and have perverted many of them, and drawn them to their idolatry, whom therefore they made keepers in vineyards, that is rulers and prefects in the adulterous assemblies of idolaters, and in the perverted religions of the gentiles, so that they might propagate them, and lead all Jews to them; by which it came to pass that my vineyard, that is the true religion of God, worship and faith, and the true Synagogue of God, I could not keep, but many from it flowed away to vineyards, that is to the synagogues of profane gentiles, according to that: "The vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel: and the man of Juda, his pleasant plant, and I looked that he should do judgment, and behold iniquity; and justice, and behold a cry," Isaiah v, 7. Thus the Chaldean translator, who rendered it, because the false prophets were the cause that the wrath of the fury of the Lord was turned upon me, and they taught me to serve your idols, and to walk in your institutions; but to the Lord of the world, who is God, I did not serve, nor did I walk in his laws, nor did I keep his precepts and his law. Yet the bride in this Song book is the Church of Christians, not the Synagogue of Jews; wherefore these words are of the Church, not of the Synagogue. Third and genuinely, by "sons of my mother" are here understood the Jews persecuting the Church of Christ: for these, since they are born from the same mother, namely the Synagogue (for from it Christ was born, the apostles, and the other first Christians, who all were by race and nation Jews, according to that: "Out of Sion shall come forth the law (evangelical), and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem," Isaiah cap. ii, 3), are born, but from another father, namely the devil, since the Church was born from God and Christ, according to that: "You are of your father the devil: and the desires of your father (that I should be killed) you will do," John cap. viii, 44. The sense therefore is, as if to say, the Jews obstinate in Judaism fiercely attacked me, the Church of Christ, that is the apostles and first Christians, and therefore forced them to abandon Judaea and flee to the gentiles, and there to establish and keep vineyards, that is, the external Churches of the gentiles: by which it came to pass that I could not keep my vineyard, that is the Church situated in Judaea, which was native and proper to me, and uniquely entrusted to me by Christ, wherefore expelled from it, I was forced to wander through the vineyards of the gentiles, where I suffered various heats of the sun, that is of persecution, discolored by hardships, afflicted and obscured. Where note in passing the fruit of the persecution of the Jews, for this was the cause of the conversion of all the gentiles: for while the Jews, says Lyra, wished to disturb the Church, unwillingly they brought it about that the Gospel was spread more widely, and instead of one Church in Judaea, Churches were established in all the gentiles. This is what Paul reproaches to the Jews: "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first: but because you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold we turn to the gentiles: for so the Lord hath commanded us," Acts xiii, 46. Thus Origen, Cassiodorus, Bede, Justus Orgelitanus, Haymo, Anselm and Bernard, serm. 29. Whence the Author of the Imperfect Commentary on St. Matthew in St. Chrysostom, homil. 3: "The nature of vipers," he says, "is to break the bowels of their mothers, and thus to be born. Since therefore the Jews, constantly persecuting the prophets, corrupted their mother the Synagogue, as she herself mourning says in the Canticle: The sons of my mother have fought against me; therefore John called them the generation of vipers," Luke iii, 7. Wherefore alluding to this, Christ introduces the parable of the vineyard, into which God sending workers, the prophets, who were all killed by the husbandmen, that is by the Jews, at length he sent his son, who was crucified by them, and destroyed Judaea and the Jews, Matt. cap. xxi, vers. 33. To this is added St. Gregory, who by the sons of my mother understands the first Christians judaizing, who by their importunity forced the primitive Church to judaize, and to observe circumcision and the other things prescribed by the old law. To this are added also those who think there is here a hysterologia or inverted order; for thus in the right order these things should be placed: "They made me (the apostles) a keeper in the vineyards," that is in the churches of the gentiles; because "my vineyard (that is the church of Judaea) I did not keep," that is I could not keep; because "the sons of my mother (the Jews) have fought against me." Fourth, by "sons of my mother" can be understood heretics, who attack, afflict and discolor their mother Church, in which they were baptized and reborn, while they introduce their adulterous vineyards, that is the synagogues of Satan, in which they teach their heresies, and set over them keepers, that is presbyters, doctors and preachers, by which it comes to pass that the orthodox Church cannot keep itself, but is torn and mangled by them. Of these John says, I Epistle ii, 19: "They went out from us, but they were not of us;" and Paul, Acts xx, 30: "Of your own selves shall arise men speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Fifth, by "sons of my mother" can be understood wicked pastors of the Church, bishops and prelates, especially those who seek after bishoprics and prelacies, that they may be constituted keepers of vineyards, that is presidents of Churches, not from zeal for Christ and souls, but that they may gather riches, and proudly preside over and dominate others in the clergy; wherefore these do not keep their vineyard, that is the Church committed to them, but scatter and overturn it. Thus Origen, homil. 1, and Aponius. See St. Bernard, homil. 30, where he beautifully explains how holy souls flee the keeping of vineyards, that is the presidency of Churches, because they say: "My vineyard I have not kept," that is, I cannot preserve and govern my own soul; how then shall I govern others in such great number? Wherefore if they are unwillingly set over others, they continually grieve and mourn. Symbolically, Theodoret, St. Gregory, Philo of Carpathus, and St. Bernard, sermon 29, and St. Ambrose on Psalm 118, sermon 2, at verse 1, understand by the sons of the mother the apostles, who fought against the Church, but for the benefit of the Church, namely that they might purge it from errors and vices, just as the prophets fought against the Synagogue. Origens understands the same of holy angels, homily 2, who fight in us and for us against demons, that they might destroy crimes and implant virtues. But these are accommodated senses, not literal ones, indeed scarcely consonant with the letter. St. Anselm and Cedrenus in the Compendium hold the same. To this also pertains Theocritus, Idyl. 10, who testifies that Syrian women are dark-skinned by these verses: Graceful in silk, all call you / Slender, burned by the sun, / But I alone call you fresh honey.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and a Holy Soul. First, the "sons of the mother" fight against their brother or sister, when impious faithful persecute a faithful and religious man, for example a superior, a preacher, a teacher, etc., who reproves, chastises and reforms their impiety and crimes. How often in monasteries, chapters, societies, cities, etc., do we see and hear dissolute or ambitious religious, canons, priests, citizens fight against their order, church, congregation, city? so that the same, sighing and groaning, says: "The sons of my mother have fought against me." See St. Bernard, sermon 29. Second, the "sons of the mother," that is of the same soul, are the senses and concupiscences, which springing from the same soul fight against their sister, that is the reason and mind of the soul, while they rebel against it, and strive to drag it to their desires, namely to sensible goods, against the law of God, as it were to adulterous vineyards, and in fact often do drag it; whereby it comes to pass that the soul does not keep its vineyard, that is the state of grace, charity and virtues from which all the flowers and fruits of goods will germinate, but dissipates and squanders it, according to that: "Mine eye hath destroyed my soul," Lamentations 3:51. Thus St. Ambrose, book On Isaac and the Soul, chapter 4: "The sons of my mother have fought in me. This is," he says, "the passions of the body have assailed me, the allurements of the flesh have discolored me, therefore the sun of justice has not shone upon me." To this pertains the version of the Septuagint, the sons of my mother have fought in me. For in the same soul are concupiscences, which struggle against reason and mind, according to that: "The flesh lusteth against the spirit: and the spirit against the flesh," Galatians 5:17: wherefore religious, who know how difficult it is for man to keep the vineyard of his will, which is continually assailed by his sisters, namely by so many concupiscences, subject it to a superior, and commit it to his custody. Hence some, according to St. Bernard, sermon 29, among whom is Gregory of Nyssa, homily 2, and Psellus according to Theodoret, understand by the sons of the mother demons, who were at first created in heaven just and upright, as it were sons of the heavenly Jerusalem our mother; but seduced by Lucifer and rebelling against God, and therefore cast out of heaven, they persecute the faithful of God with prophetic hatred, and therefore stir up in them all depraved movements of concupiscence, which discolor them, and often burn, destroy and kill them: for "concupiscence, when it hath conceived, bringeth forth sin: but sin, when it is completed, begetteth death," James 1:15. The soul therefore is as it were a spiritual vineyard, of which the eternal Father is the vinedresser and husbandman, John 15:1. Which therefore, rightly cultivated, bears most sweet clusters, from which is pressed wine of exultation and confession; otherwise "their grapes are grapes of gall, and their clusters most bitter. The gall of dragons is their wine, and the incurable poison of asps," Deuteronomy chapter 32, verse 32. Again, a vineyard is the state of each one, for example priesthood, marriage, pastorate, etc., but especially virginity; for this indeed gives most sweet grapes and wine of devotion, prayer, contemplation, union with God and Christ. Whence St. Ambrose, Exhortation to Virgins, before the middle: "Let no one," he says, "take away the vineyard of your soul, and sow vile vegetables. For a vineyard is a certain fruit of virginity; marriages are like gardens of vegetables in which there is frequent zeal; and therefore just as vegetables of herbs quickly fall and wither, unless old age puts an end to them, or brings them to the perfection of continence. Let not therefore Ahab come upon you, who desired to destroy and extinguish your vineyard; nor let Jezebel come upon you, that vain and worldly flood, for this is signified by the name vain and empty abundance; but let Naboth come, who comes from the Father, as the interpretation of his very name signifies, who defends the vineyard with his own blood, and offers death for it." He alludes, says Nyssenus, homil. 2, to the earthly paradise, which was delivered to Adam by God as it were a vineyard, that he might keep it, Genesis ii, 15; but Adam, tempted by the demon, and Eve, as it were by a brother and sister of his, neither kept themselves nor the paradise. Whence sinning, he was expelled from it and lost his whole posterity, and defaced it with original sin. For the same thing does man do, who does not keep his soul as it were his own vineyard, but defaces it with sin and delivers it to the demon, and thus he cultivates a vineyard, not of paradise, but of hell; not of virtues, but of vices; not of divine law, but of concupiscence. Whence Nyssenus thinks that the soul here mourns its fall and ruin, in that it was expelled from the vineyard of paradise, when in Adam it was overcome by the serpent, it did not keep the vineyard of immortality, impassibility, likeness to God, and aversion from sin. Finally, St. Gregory, homil. 17 in the Gospel: "Our vineyards," he says, "are our actions, which we cultivate by the use of daily labour; but the keepers placed in vineyards do not keep our vineyard, because while we are entangled in extraneous actions, we neglect the ministry of our own action."
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. First, the Jews, her sister, that is the Blessed Virgin, a Jewess by race, even as Christ her son, vexed and persecuted with various injuries. Whence neither by the death of the son have their hatreds died. They fought, says Rupertus, battles of words, battles of blaspheming tongues; the apostles preached to them that her son is God, and I am the Mother of God, that he was conceived of the Holy Ghost, that I remained an inviolate virgin in childbirth and after childbirth. I had peculiar care of my people; but their wickedness compelled me to transfer this care to others. But God for one vineyard has granted me many to cultivate and keep: All, she says, have my keeping, and desire to have it, presuming on my merits, trusting in my intercessions, and for such keeping crying out to me continually. Thus Rupertus concerning the peculiar churches of the whole world. Do we not use this most excellently of so many sodalities of the Virgin everywhere, which are certain private and peculiar vineyards of the Mother of God? says Delrio. Otherwise William: The Jews, he says, fighting against the Blessed Virgin and her son the Saviour of the world, fought against their own salvation. They placed the Blessed Virgin as keeper in the vineyards, because, while they raged against her even unto death, she laid down her soul in redemption (through Christ) for many, and that she might keep many vineyards, she did not keep her own vineyard, that is, that she might save many souls, she exposed her life and that of her son to death.
1:6
TELL ME (thou, O my spouse, who art he) WHOM MY SOUL LOVETH (more than itself, because thou art the soul and life of my soul, for Christ is the son of charity, and charity itself, says Origen, homil. 2 of the four), WHERE THOU FEEDEST, WHERE THOU LIEST IN THE MIDDAY (for where in Hebrew is אֵיכָה echa, which can also be translated, how, as if the bride asks to be taught by the bridegroom the shepherd the manner of feeding the flock), LEST I BEGIN TO WANDER AFTER THE FLOCKS OF THY COMPANIONS. — For liest in Hebrew is תַרְבִּיץ tarbits, that is, to lie down, to recline, to cause thy flock to rest. St. Ambrose, lib. De Isaac et anima, cap. iv, reads, where thou dwellest, and thinks that three senses of Holy Scripture are denoted here. Grammatically, the bride, wandering about while keeping the vineyards, burnt by the sun's rays, discoloured and darkened, asks of the bridegroom the shepherd a place in which, as it were in a shelter, she may rest with the flocks and lie down in the midday, that is in the heat of the sun, that she may hasten to him, lest she be scorched by the sun, but there enjoy the shadow of her spouse, rest and pasture, lest otherwise seeking shade, she begin to wander and fall in with the bride's companions, that is rivals, competitors and adversaries. For shepherds are accustomed in the midday to lead the flocks to stables or forests, or shady valleys, lest they be struck by the heat of the sun, but there partly they ruminate and digest the food which they ate in the fields, partly they receive new food prepared by the shepherd. The bride therefore in the heat of midday seeks the shade by which she may be refreshed, nor does she think any better than that in which her spouse lies, next to whom the midday heat is not to be feared.
First Sense, Adequate and Concerning Christ and the Church. Parabolically and genuinely, according to the letter it is signified that the Church, afflicted and discolored by the heat of persecution from Jews and gentiles, asks of Christ her spouse a place in which he may feed his faithful, and with them may seek refreshment by resting at midday, that is in the heat of tribulation, so that there she may be fed by the spouse, animated, strengthened, lest otherwise she fall in with the spouse's rivals, that is heretical enemies, or impious men, by whom she may be fed with the fodder of heresies, errors and vices. Whence the Chaldean, applying these things after his manner to the Jews, vexed and tempted in captivity by idolaters, thus translates: "When the time came that Moses was to depart from this world, he said before the Lord: It is manifest before me that this people will be such as to sin, and go into captivity; but now show me how they are governed, and how they shall dwell among peoples, whose decrees are heavier for them than heat and burning at midday, in the revolution of Tammuz." Aptly Bede: "Well," he says, "does she call him whose protection she seeks the beloved of her soul; because the more serious the danger from which she desires to be rescued, the more does she love him through whom she knows herself to be rescued." More pathetically Gregory of Nyssa, homily 2: "Tell me," he says, "whom my soul loves; for thus do I name you, because your name surpasses all thought and understanding, nor can all nature partaking of reason utter it or comprehend it. For your name, by which your goodness is known, is the relation of my soul to you; how then should I not love you, who have so loved me, even if I were so black that you laid down your soul for the sheep which you feed? There cannot be conceived a greater love than that your soul should exchange itself for my salvation." Note that midday, when the sun burns, is a symbol first of the heat of persecution and affliction, when it is as it were at its height and at its peak; for then especially does the Church invoke Christ, that he may provide her with aid and refreshment. Thus Cassiodorus and Bede: "Christ," he says, "who feeds his sheep, rests among them at midday, because he refreshes the hearts of his faithful with the memory of heavenly sweetness, lest they dry up within from the heat of temptations, and he himself is accustomed to remain propitious in them." To this St. Gregory adds, who understands by midday the heat of vices: "At midday," he says, "Christ feeds and rests in the shade, because in the refreshment of the Holy Spirit he prepares for himself as it were rest and pasture. For by midday the heat of vices is expressed, but by shade the state of spiritual grace is designated. Therefore at burning midday in the shade Christ rests, because while the heat of vices rages in the reprobate, he himself grants to his spouse the spirit of refreshment, and in her makes for himself a delightful place of rest. But the spouse asks that this be made known to her, which is never declared save to her who receives the same office of sanctifying grace." Secondly, midday is a symbol of the highest clarity of faith, equally of the highest charity: for in midday the day is most bright, equally most ardent. The bride therefore seeks the place of the bridegroom at midday, that is, she seeks to be led from dawn, that is from slight knowledge of God, to the clearest contemplation of God and of the things of faith, by which she may dispel all the errors of the Jews and other unbelievers as if scattering clouds by illuminating them. She seeks also the most ardent charity, so that being kindled by it she may overcome and surpass all the heat of persecution and tribulation, according to that: "Many waters could not quench charity, neither could the floods drown it," Canticles viii, 7. To this pertains that passage, Habakkuk iii, 3: "God shall come from the south;" "by which midday is signified, that is the fervor of charity and the splendor of truth," says St. Augustine, book x of the City of God, chapter xxxii. Whence Origen here, homily 2 from four: "The bride requests, he says, from the bridegroom that he show her the place of his secret and rest, since impatient of love she desires even through midday to hear the bridegroom, especially at that time when the light is clearer, and the splendor of day is perfect and pure, so that she may stand by him feeding or refreshing the sheep. The same, homily 1 from two: 'I do not seek, he says, other times, when in the evening, when at dawn, when in the setting of the sun you feed. That time I seek, when in the flourishing day, when in full light in the splendor of your majesty you are present.' And St. Ambrose, book iv of the Hexameron, chapter v, addressing Christ thus says: 'You feed in the meridian, that is in the place of the Church where justice shines forth, where judgment gleams; as midday, where shadow is not seen, where the days are greater, because the sun of justice as in summer lingers longer with them.' The same, sermon 2 on Psalm cxviii: 'Those who received you, he says, as the author of salvation, are in midday: for them your grace shines, for them it burns as midday; you have become midday for them, who feed in your riches, and hope in you. Therefore, as David says, He shall bring forth their justice as light, and their judgment as the midday,' Psalm xxxvi, verse 6. The same in the Exhortation to the Virgin: 'Where does Christ dwell, except where the midday of justice shines forth? And therefore it is said: In the sun he set his tabernacle,' Psalm xviii, verse 6. Hence Theodoret teaches here that midday is assigned as a mark of true faith and consequently of the true Church, that is the clear, public and universal preaching of orthodox faith throughout the whole world; for in it Christ is at midday, and from this the Church is named catholic, that is universal, or shining forth throughout the whole world; whereas the sects of heretics seek hiding places and corners, and hide themselves only in one or another province. Thus also St. Augustine, book On the Unity of the Church, chapter xiv. Thirdly, some think that the Church here seeks from Christ where he lies at midday, that is where he lay in the manger, when he was newly born. For although he was born after midnight in darkness, yet in his own light he illuminated the world, so that it appeared not to be night, but midday, according to that saying concerning the angel announcing to the shepherds the birth of Christ: "And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them, and the brightness of God shone round about them," Luke ii, 9. But you would better understand by midday the crucifixion of Christ, for he was crucified at midday, and the cross of Christ provides to the Church and to the faithful against all the heat of persecutions and tribulations a sure and faithful shelter and consolation. Therefore the dawn of the life of Christ was in his nativity, the day in his preaching, midday in the cross, evening in the sepulcher. Thus Philo of Carpathus. Silently therefore the bride, namely the Church and the faithful soul, which desires to be wholly conformed to Christ crucified, and to bear his cross and imprint it upon herself, seeks how (for the Hebrew אֵיכָה echa means both how and where), how, I say, Christ at midday, that is in the most fervent heat of sorrows and torments, at the sixth hour namely, lay in the hard bed of the cross, so that according to his likeness she may temper her soul and her zeal, and finally form and fashion herself wholly according to the example of Christ crucified at midday. Fourthly, midday is a symbol of Jerusalem and Sion, where Christ taught, and instituted the first Church of the faithful and saints, according to that Isaiah ii, 3: "Out of Sion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord out of Jerusalem." For Jerusalem tends toward the south. For the first faithful in doubtful matters and in any tribulation took refuge with the Blessed Virgin and the apostles dwelling in Jerusalem, so that they might receive from them light, strength and fervor, as is evident Acts xv, 13. Again, the south is the Roman Church, to which St. Peter, at the command of Christ, transferred his primacy and pontificate from Jerusalem and Antioch; wherefore to it, as to a shelter and asylum, the faithful from the whole world flee in any difficulty and doubt, that they may be illuminated in faith by it, and be inflamed in the love of God. In it therefore are the pastures of orthodox doctrine, of faith and of divine things. Hence Aponius understands by the south the chair of Peter, or the Apostolic See: "These pastures," he says, "namely of evangelical doctrine, which were revealed to Peter the prince of the apostles, no soul sees unless it has followed the footsteps of Peter by believing and confessing." Moreover, the Donatists wrongly abused this passage in this place, to prove that the true Church was among them in Africa, because Africa is situated to the south; but St. Augustine rightly refuted them, sermon 50 On the Words of the Lord according to John: First, because these are the words of the bride, that is the Church, seeking the place of the bridegroom in the south, not of the bridegroom seeking the Church his bride; secondly, because Egypt, which is not in their communion, and whom they were never able to draw to their communion, is more to the south than Africa; thirdly, because in Africa there were two Churches: one of the Catholics, and another of the Donatists; the bride therefore seeks in which of these two the bridegroom lies down and feeds, as if to say: "O thou whom my soul loveth, tell me, teach me. For I hear in the south, that is in Africa, there are two parts, nay many divisions. Tell me therefore where thou feedest, which sheep belong to thee, what fold there thou commandest me to love, to which I ought to join myself, lest perchance I become as one veiled. For they mock as if hidden, they insult as if lost, as if existing nowhere else. Lest therefore I become as one veiled, as one hidden among the flocks of thy companions the Donatists, Maximianists, Rogatists, and other plagues gathering outside, and therefore scattering, I beseech thee, tell me if I should seek my shepherd there, that I may not fall into the abyss of rebaptism." Thus Augustine. See the same, book On the Unity of the Church, chapter xiv.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. A holy soul, scorched by the heat of tribulation, temptation and concupiscence alone, seeks the aid of Christ, who illuminates the faithful like the noonday sun with true knowledge, and inflames them with great love of God, so that they overcome all hardships cheerfully and ardently, according to that passage, Ecclesiasticus chapter 34, 19: "The eyes of the Lord are upon them that fear him, a protector of power, a firmament of virtue, a shelter of heat, and a shadow of the noonday sun." And that passage, Isaiah 25, 4: "For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress: a refuge from the whirlwind, a shadow from the heat." They therefore flee to Christ, of whom Jeremiah says: "The spirit of our mouth, Christ the Lord, was taken in our sins: to whom we said: In thy shadow we shall live among the nations," Lamentations 4, 20. Whence the bride, having obtained what she here seeks, chapter 2, 3, says: "Under his shadow, whom I desired, I sat." Hence noonday denotes the state of perfection, in which the soul loves God with all her heart, with all her mind and with all her strength. Hear St. Augustine, sermon 50 On the Words of the Lord according to John: "Tell me where thou feedest, where thou liest down at noonday. What does noonday signify? great fervor, and great splendor. Therefore make known to me who are thy wise ones, fervent in spirit, shining in doctrine. Make thy right hand known to me, and those instructed in heart in wisdom. To these I may cleave in thy body, to these I may be joined, with these I may enjoy thee. Therefore tell me where thou feedest, where thou liest down at noonday, lest I fall upon those who say one thing of thee, feel another of thee, believe another of thee, preach another of thee, and have their flocks, and are thy companions because they live from thy table, and handle the sacraments of thy table; for they are called companions because they eat together, as it were together eating," etc. Hence the same St. Augustine, epistle 48 to Vincent, understands by noonday the just, "in whom shining with light and fervent with charity, as it were at noonday, Christ rests." But in the book On the Unity of the Church, 18, Christ lies down at noonday, that is, he says, in those "who have charity, and do not divide unity." Wherefore Aponius understands by noonday the holy virgins, monks and religious; for "the path of the just, as a shining light, proceedeth and groweth even to perfect day," Proverbs 4, 18. Hear Origen, homily 2 on the four: "If ever the sun of justice, Christ, manifests to his Church the lofty and arduous secrets of his virtues, he will also seem to teach pleasant pastures and noonday couches. For when she still has the beginnings of learning, and receives, so to speak, the first rudiments of knowledge from him, then let the Prophet say: And he will help her in the early morning. Now therefore because she seeks more perfect things, and desires more exalted things, she asks for the noonday light of knowledge," according to that passage, Psalm 36, 5 and 6: "Commit thy way to the Lord: and he will do it. And he will bring forth thy justice as the light: and thy judgment as the noonday." Again the Nyssene, homily 2, thinks the bride here seeks the food of the Eucharist, by which strengthened she makes her way to the noonday of heavenly glory: "Teach me, she says, to say, O pious soul, where thou feedest, so that having received the saving pasture, I may be filled with eternal nourishment, which he who has not eaten cannot enter into eternal life; and running to the fountain, I may draw the divine drink, which thou givest as from a fountain to the thirsty, pouring out water from thy side, this vein opened by iron, which he who has tasted becomes a fountain of water springing up into eternal life: if indeed thou feedest me in these things, thou wilt make me altogether lie down at noonday, when sleeping in peace together I may rest in the light which lacks shadow, the sun shining upon the crown, in which thou makest lie down those whom thou hast fed, when thou receivest thy children with thee in the bedchamber. But no one is deemed worthy of this noonday rest who has not been a child of light, and a child of day: but he who has equally separated himself from the evening and morning darkness, that is, where evil begins, and where it ends, he is placed at noonday, so that in it he may lie down, by the sun of justice." The Eucharist is rightly called noonday, both because it contains Christ, who is himself the very light of the world; and because against all temptations and concupiscences it provides a noonday shelter: and because it confers the fullness of charity, and of heavenly delights and lights, according to that passage: "Jesus, etc., having loved his own, who were in the world, unto the end (of love, that is extremely) he loved them," John 13, 1. Anagogically, noon is a type of heaven and heavenly glory: for just as at noon the sun exerts all its power of illuminating and warming, and communicates it to the whole earth, so Christ in heaven exerts, as it were, all the power and glory of his divinity, first in his humanity, then in the Blessed Virgin and all the saints, by which he fills, heaps upon and blesses them in body and soul with all joy, pleasure and all good things. In this life, therefore, there is the dawn of faith; in the other life, the noon of vision and love, according to that: "I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear," Psalm xvi, verse 15. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 33: "O truly noon, fullness of fervor and light, station of the sun, extermination of shadows, drying up of marshes, expulsion of foul odors! O perpetual solstice, when the day shall no longer decline! O meridian light, O spring-like mildness, O summer beauty, O autumn abundance, and (lest I seem to have omitted anything) O rest and repose of winter! Or certainly if you prefer this, winter alone has then departed and withdrawn. Show me this place of such brightness, and peace and fullness, that, just as Jacob while still remaining in the body saw the Lord face to face, and his soul was saved, Genesis xxxii, 30, so I too may merit to contemplate thee in thy light and in thy beauty through an excess of mind, feeding more abundantly, resting more securely. For thou feedest me here too, but not to satiety; nor is it permitted to lie down, but I must stand and watch because of the fears of night. Alas! neither clear light, nor full refreshment, nor safe dwelling; and therefore show me where thou feedest, where thou liest down at noon. Thou callest me blessed when I hunger and thirst for justice, Psalm lxiv, 6. What is this compared to the happiness of those who are filled with the good things of thy house, who feast and exult in the sight of God, and delight in joy? Psalm lxvii, 4;" and after a few intervening words: "All things here fall short of perfection for me, more things come short of my desire, and nothing is safe. When wilt thou fill me with joy with thy countenance? Psalm xv, 10. Thy countenance, O Lord, I will seek: thy countenance is noon. Show me where thou feedest, where thou liest down at noon. I know well enough where thou feedest without lying down: show me where thou feedest and liest down," Psalm xxvi, 8. Hence St. Augustine in Psalm liv understands by noon the blessed eternity: "Evening, morning and noon," he says, "I will declare and announce: and he will hear my voice. Do thou evangelize, do not be silent, tell what thou hast received. Evening concerning the past, morning concerning the future, noon concerning eternal things. Therefore to what he says, evening, pertains that his voice is heard; for the end is at noon, but from there it does not decline toward sunset. For at noon the light is lofty, the splendor of wisdom, the fervor of love. Evening, morning and noon: evening the Lord on the cross, morning in the resurrection, noon in the ascension. And I will declare evening the patience of the dying, I will announce morning the life of the resurrection, I will pray that he hear at noon sitting at the right hand of the Father." Mystics and contemplatives understand by noon the highest degree of contemplation and love. Whence St. Lawrence Justinian, On the Wood of Life, tract. On Prayer, chapter x, assigns six degrees of contemplation, and places this sixth and highest one: "The sixth degree of contemplation is when that mind, from the irradiation of divine light, knows those things by which all human reason declines, and the intelligence of intelligible things loses reason, and transcends all human reason and intention. Hence the rushing forth of the flowing stream gladdens the soul of the contemplating one with the memory of the abundance of God's sweetness: in which taste, since the power of God easily draws man to love God with all his heart, and his virtue and glory, majesty, goodness, blessedness, to contemplate his lovable things through themselves shining forth into the affection of the contemplating heart; this especially snatches the lover into the lovable, because he himself in himself is whatever is lovable in him, who is all that he is because he is good: by love of that very good the pious affection so stretches itself that it does not recall itself from there, until it becomes one spirit with him: which when it shall be perfected in him, it now differs and is divided from the Holy of Holies, from that supreme blessedness of the supercelestial ones, only by the veil of mortality, yet in faith and hope of him whom it loves, in conscience it enjoys."
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. First, Honorius of Autun expounds it thus: "The soul of Mary loved Christ, therefore all the secrets of the Father were made known to her. She was a most chaste virgin, the south, shining and burning from the Holy Spirit, into whom Christ turned aside the heat of the lustful, and lay down in her humility, was fed in her chastity. Do not wander, etc. That is, make known to all that you have rested in me, lest heretics tear it apart saying: If a virgin gave birth, it was a phantom. And I wander through their flocks, because I am in the secrets and conventicles of them, I am their psalm." These things are true, but less suited to this place. Second, Rupertus adapts these things to the Blessed Virgin seeking Christ lost for three days, and finding him in the temple: "Son," she says, "why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing," Luke ii, 48. For in the temple is the south, that is, the doctrine of truth, and the burning preaching of charity. Third, the same Rupertus and William, and from them Delrio, judge that by these words the Blessed Virgin aspires first to heaven; second, to her Christ, that she may enjoy him face to face, as if to say: Assume me whither thou hast been assumed, that I may feed with thee, may lie down with thee, whom I once fed so devoutly, and so often placed in thy bed. Thou wast once sent forth from the seat of thy greatness, that thou mightest be with me and labor with me: send me now forth from the prison of this sorrowful life, that I may be with thee, and rest with thee after so many labors of maternal affection. Third, not to add whom he feeds, or whom, that he may exercise our understanding; because not only does he feed his own there, that is the holy angels, but also his humanity with the perpetual delights of his divinity; whence afterwards it will be said that he himself feeds among the lilies: he feeds as God, he is fed as man. Fourth, he adds in the south, because there is eternal south, there is perpetual fervor of divine brightness, where Jesus lies down, where humanity united to divinity rests. There the pious mother sought to be fed by God himself, to be fed with the same man, there to lie down with her Jesus. Fifth, the companions are the apostles, who in the dispersion of the Gentiles wandered about as it were, carrying the Gospel around the whole world; but the pious mother asks that, now that all maternal duties have been completed, worn out and full of days, she should not be ordered to undertake a new labor of journeys and preaching with the apostles, to which the apostles themselves were equal, sufficiently instructed by the grace of the Holy Spirit and heavenly light. THY NECK IS LIKE CHAINS OF GOLD. — Our author with the Septuagint reads כחרוזים cacharuzim, that is, like chains of gold; now they read בחרוזים bacharuzim, that is, in chains of gold, as if to say: Thy neck is surrounded with chains of gold. Moreover, Pagninus and the Rabbis interpret charuzim as torques and pearls pierced and joined by thread: for matrons are accustomed, that they may gain beauty for themselves, to adorn the neck with torques and pearls. Furthermore, τὸ amicta or covered can be taken in five ways: first, for a harlot, for these were formerly accustomed to cover and wrap themselves with a small cloak or veil from shame, lest they be recognized, as is evident from Thamar, Genesis xxxviii, 15; whence Vatablus translates, lest wandering through the flocks of thy companions I appear cloaked, that is, a little harlot: others, why therefore as one who declines, and turns aside to the flocks of thy companions? that is, of those who call themselves thy companions, when they are rather anything else. Second and better, covered, that is, mourning, for those who mourn are accustomed to cover the head and face with a veil, especially widows, who mourn the death of a husband, as if to say: Why thou, O my spouse, being absent, shall I thy bride appear a widow, and mourning thy absence as death? Thirdly, one could note that τὸ cooperta signifies the modesty, honesty and virginal shame of the bride, who veils and covers herself, so that she cannot be seen by the bridegroom's companions, just as Rebecca veiled herself and covered herself with a mantle when she saw her bridegroom Isaac, Genesis xxiv, 65. For thus honest virgins and brides veil themselves, according to the precept of the Apostle, I Corinthians xi, 5. See Tertullian and from him St. Cyprian, in the book On the Veiling of Virgins, and in the book On the Dress of Women. Thus Origen, homily 1, whom hear: "Unless indeed you announce to me, I begin to be cast about wandering; and while I seek you, I run into the flocks of others; and because I am ashamed before others, I begin forthwith to cover my face without delay. For I am indeed a beautiful bride, and I do not show my face naked to others, except to you alone whom I kissed long ago." And St. Jerome, epistle 22 to Eustochium, teaches from this passage that virgins ought to veil their face not in part, but wholly and entirely: "Jesus is jealous," he says, "he does not wish your face to be seen by others, though you may excuse and defend yourself; with covering drawn over, I covered your mouth, and I sought you there, and I said: Announce to me, lest I become as one covered among the flocks of your companions; and it will swell and say: If you do not know yourself," etc. Fourthly, St. Augustine, epistle 48 to Vincent., and in the book On the Unity of the Church, chapter xiv: Cooperta, he says, that is obscure, hidden and unknown. For the Church is placed by Christ in the meridian, so that it may be visible and conspicuous to all: therefore it is not fitting for it to be covered, that is hidden and concealed, as are the churches of the Donatists and other heretics. Thus also Origen, who asserts that for this reason the Church, or the soul the bride of God, requires the chambers of Christ, and seeks the fullness of knowledge from God, lest it appear to be one of the schools of philosophers, which is called covered, because truth among them is hidden and unknown. Fifthly and most excellently, cooperta is the same as wandering and erring, as Our [translator] rendered it: for women when they go from home, and go elsewhere, for the sake of honesty cover and veil themselves. The bride therefore asks of the bridegroom a place where she may lie down in the meridian, that is in the heat of persecutions, so that she may flee to him, lest otherwise, she says, I, that is my faithful ones who are my members, especially in the primitive, new and tender Church, be scattered, and wandering turn aside to the gentiles, idolaters, heretics and philosophers, and be led into their error, who boast themselves to be companions of Christ and true pastors and teachers of truth, when they are associates and ministers of the devil. OF COMPANIONS. — First, Origen, homily 2 out of four, understands by companions the angels, to whom God distributed and entrusted singular care of individual nations, as if to say: Lest I wander through the nations, and be subject to their presiding angels, I who am subject to one bridegroom Christ, and to his vicar St. Michael: for he is now the protector of the Church, as he was formerly of the Synagogue. Secondly, Rupertus understands by companions the scribes and Pharisees, as if to say: Show me, O Christ, where you feed your faithful, lest otherwise I fall back to my former masters, namely the Mosaic scribes, who draw me back to Judaism and Jewish traditions and superstitions, just as the Magi seeking Christ with the star as their guide, when they left it as if hiding at meridian, fell in with Herod and the scribes, who persecuted Christ and on account of Christ the Magi returning by another way to their country, Matthew ii, 16. Thirdly, St. Bernard, sermon 33, understands demons, especially meridian ones, who although they are night, that is dark through malice, nevertheless fraudulently simulate and display the meridian of Christ, that is his splendor and fervor, so that they may allure and deceive the faithful, according to that Psalm xc, 6: "From the assault and the demon of the meridian." And so, he says, unless the true meridian from on high, which may convince and expose the false one, has shone upon that heart which perhaps some such meridian demon has received to tempt, it cannot be guarded against at all, but will tempt and supplant without doubt under the appearance of good, persuading evil for good to the incautious and improvident. And then meridian, that is greater clarity, appears tempting, when it presents almost the image of a greater good." Fourthly and most excellently, you should understand by companions heretics, philosophers and other masters of errors, who strive to draw flocks of disciples after themselves, and in turn actually draw new Christians to themselves: for the Church wishes to avoid this here. Thus Cassiodorus, Justus Orgelitanus, Philo Carpathius, St. Anselm and Bernard. Theodoretus rightly notes that heretics call themselves companions of Christ, because they carry about the habit and name of Christ, and speak of nothing but the Gospel of Christ with their mouths, yet they oppose him in their hearts, according to that saying of Paul: "Having an appearance indeed of godliness, but denying the power thereof," II Tim. iii, 5. Again, heretics have the same baptism and other sacraments which Christ and Christians have. Finally, they are called companions, not because they are friends, but because they strive to contend with Christ as if from a position of equality, promising the same goods to their followers which Christ promises to his disciples; whence they are also named after their own names, Donatists from Donatus, Arians from Arius, Pelagians from Pelagius, just as Christians are called from Christ. Wherefore by these the Church (that is, the more modest faithful in the Church) is made wandering, erring, and is carried about and turned "by every wind of doctrine unto the circumvention of error," as Paul says, Ephes. iv, 14. Tropologically, St. Gregory understands by companions perverse Christians and false brethren, into whom the faithful fear to fall, lest they be perverted by them: "Truly," he says, "in which place Christ does not lie down, there is wandering; because a mind which that sweet and weighty spirit of Christ does not fill, is carried about dissolved in many thoughts. But who are the companions of Christ, through whose flocks the spouse fears to wander, except false Christians? who are called brethren of Christ either by name alone, or also by participation in the sacraments; because by dwelling in the Church with the elect, whom he himself called brethren, they are associated with them. The multitudes of these are well called flocks by way of reproach: because while they live like irrational animals without order, they are delivered to seducing spirits to be devoured. Through such flocks there wanders whosoever, driven out by the lowest desire, imitates the foolishness of the reprobate through like lusts." For concupiscence is wandering, and makes man wandering, so that from one which he has tried and loathes, he passes to another and another without end, because he seeks satiety in them, and finds it not, according to that saying, Isai. lvii, 17: "He went astray in the way of his heart." And that of Jerem. l, 6: "My people hath become a lost flock: their shepherds have seduced them, and have caused them to wander in the mountains: from mountain to hill they have passed, and have forgotten their resting place." Concupiscence therefore carries the soul about from one pleasure to another, from one crime to another, and turns it, as a stone is turned in a sling, to every injury and violence against one's neighbour, and to every wickedness, according to that saying, Wisdom cap. iv, vers. 12: "The inconstancy of concupiscence perverteth the sense." This is signified by τὸ περιφερομένη, that is, turned about or rotated in a sling, as Symmachus renders it.
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Vatablus and other Hebrew scholars think that τὸ (the accusative particle) with the accusative, if you ignore it, is redundant by a Hebrew pleonasm, and is placed only for the sake of elegance. Whence they themselves translate from the Hebrew, if you ignore to yourself, that is if you ignore, just as immediately in the Hebrew it is said צְאִי לָךְ (tsei lach), that is go forth to yourself, that is go forth, and elsewhere often. Thus te or tibi among the Latins often is redundant, as you yourself did this, go to yourself, live to yourself, behold to yourself, that is behold. Thus the sense will be, as if to say: If you ignore, O bride, where I your bridegroom lie down at midday, go and follow the footsteps of the flocks and the shepherds: for among them you will find me as the shepherd of shepherds and prince. Hence the sense is very easy and plain, and it expedites a sentence otherwise difficult, and makes it clear. Thus Titelmannus, Hortolanus, Sanchez, Soto Major and other Hebrew scholars. But the Greek and Latin Fathers urge and weigh τὸ (the particle) equally, as the Septuagint translating σεαυτήν, that is yourself. Thus the sense can be, first, as if to say: If you ignore yourself, that is your beauty, and the beautiful tabernacle in which I feed and lie down at midday, because your tabernacle is likewise mine, just as your beauty is likewise mine: for where the bride is, there also is the bridegroom; where the Church is, there also is Christ. Wherefore if you ignore this very thing, go forth and go after the footsteps of the flocks and of your faithful: for your flocks are mine also; and where my flocks are, there also am I their faithful and inseparable shepherd. "And feed your kids beside the tabernacles of the shepherds," namely of the apostles and doctors: for I have appointed them as leaders for you, and constituted them as masters, and I dwell and abide in the midst of them, just as when I lived in the midst of them, I was found by my parents in the temple, Luke ii, 46, according to that: "Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world," Matt. xxviii, 20. Wherefore through these shepherds I will feed you with true doctrine, and in all the heat of the sun, that is of persecution, I will comfort and protect you: if you follow this, you will not begin to wander, nor will you fall in with my rivals, that is heretical enemies and masters of other errors. Thus St. Athanasius in the Synopsis and Justus Orgelitanus, who rightly note the cause of the bride's ignorance, namely why she ignores where the bridegroom lies down at midday, to be that she ignores herself and her own beauty; wherefore let her look into herself, and she will find the bridegroom in herself. Secondly, Nyssenus thinks these words are not of the bridegroom, but of the young maidens to the bride seeking herself discolored by the heat of the sun, as if to say: Though you appear discolored to yourself, you are truly beautiful by excellence, that is you are the most beautiful of women; which if you ignore on account of persecutions and hardships, go after your flocks and shepherds, from them you will hear yourself praised, and your beauty proclaimed with full cheeks. But this sense seems impertinent; for it does not answer the bride's question seeking, not whether she herself is beautiful, but where the bridegroom feeds and lies down at midday. Thirdly, Titelmannus and others think these things are said through irony: for the bride had pricked the bridegroom with the sting of jealousy saying: "Let me not begin to wander;" wherefore the bridegroom playfully turns this sting back upon her, as if some lover wishing to persuade the bride that nowhere else can she be so well and honorably treated as with himself, thus addresses her: If you ignore yourself, O my bride! if you do not yet sufficiently know your condition, in which you dwell with me; go forth, and go after other lovers, and there apply yourself to fulfilling your pleasures and desires, so that you may see and by experience itself finally know how unlike your condition is to those who cling to other lovers. To this Cassiodorus and Bede are added, who expound it through a threat, as if to say: If you ignore, O bride, that you have been made beautiful through baptism, and will be more beautiful through the endurance of tribulations, which I have therefore decreed to send upon you, go forth from my fellowship, and imitate the acts of those who err. And St. Gregory here: "Whoever," he says, "does not know that he is placed in this condition, that he may overcome temptations through patience, withdraws from the familiarity of Christ, because placed in battle with his Lord he refuses to fight." Fourth and genuinely, these words appear to be not of the bridegroom alone, but also of his companions; whence also immediately his companions say there: "We will make little golden necklaces," in the plural, not "I will make" in the singular, as Justus, Rupertus, Anselmus and St. Bernard note there. The bridegroom therefore responds to the bride not by himself, but through his companions: "If thou knowest not thyself," that is, thy ways, thy steps, by which thou tendest to me, as if to say: If thou knowest not the way and path which thou ought to follow, that thou mayest arrive at the place where I feed and lie down at midday. "Go forth after the footsteps of thy flocks;" in Hebrew, it is in the heels of the sheep; the Septuagint, go thou forth in the footsteps of the flocks (for "of thine" is not in the Hebrew, nor in the Greek); Symmachus, having gone forth thou walkest according to the footsteps of the flocks, that is, follow the faith, life and customs of the ancient faithful, who pleased God, namely the patriarchs and prophets. For these are thine, that is, they belong not so much to the old law as to the new, and to Christ's Church, as St. Augustine testifies. "Feed thy kids beside the tents of the shepherds," that is, thy weak faithful and sinners, who smell badly, like he-goats and kids on account of foul concupiscence, feed them beside the tents of the shepherds, that is, beside the Churches of the apostles, and of those who succeeded the apostles: for by them they shall be strengthened in faith and virtue, and shall be cured of concupiscences; wherefore there they shall find the bridegroom of their soul Christ at midday, that is, in the splendor of doctrine and fervor of charity, reclining, and feeding his faithful through the apostles and apostolic men. He alludes grammatically to the kids, who by natural instinct recognize their mothers, and recognizing them by scent immediately flee to them. For here the bride is imagined to feed little and weak kids, and to suckle them beside the tents of the shepherds, who feed adult he-goats and she-goats; wherefore from the kids, who recognize by scent and fly to nearby she-goats as if to their mothers, the bride shepherdess recognizes where the bridegroom shepherd of sheep and goats is. To this the Chaldean adds, who applying these things to the Jews after their custom thus translates: "The Holy and Blessed One said to Moses the prophet: Thou askest that exile be blotted out for them, O Synagogue, which is compared to a most beautiful maiden, and whom my soul loves, walk in the ways of the just, and let her order her prayer in the mouth of her rulers, and let her lead forth her generations, and teach her sons, who are compared to the kids of she-goats, that they may walk in the house of the church and in the house of doctrine: and on account of that merit they shall be sustained in captivity, until I send them the king Messiah, who shall lead them into rest to their tabernacle, which is the house of the Sanctuary, which David and Solomon shepherds of Israel shall build for him." Some pastors less aptly understand here not true but false ones, as if to say: Follow the footsteps of the flocks, that is, the faith and customs of the ancient just; thus it shall come to pass that thou also mayest safely lead thy kids, that is, thy imperfect faithful, around the tents of the shepherds, of those perfidious ones, I say, of their associates, whom thou didst greatly fear; and therefore I have decreed to make thee like the riding of my horses, the strength and power which I showed in the chariots of Pharaoh, namely in prostrating and drowning them in the Red Sea. Finally the bridegroom comforts and encourages the bride, addressing her, "O fairest among women," as if to say: Thou seemest to thyself, O bride, discolored and obscured by the sun of persecutions, but know that by the gift and grace of God thou art the fairest among women. He explains and confirms this, while he adds: "Thy cheeks are beautiful as the turtle dove's, thy neck as chains," etc. Tropologically, first, "if thou knowest not thyself, go forth," etc., that is to say, Knowledge of oneself is the way to knowledge of God, just as ignorance of oneself is ignorance of God: for he who knows his own weakness is compelled to acknowledge God's grace and omnipotence, and to beseech Him humbly. Whence Agapetus the Deacon, in his Admonitions to the Emperor Justinian: "He who knows himself," he says, "will know God. Knowing God, he will be made like unto God. He will be made like unto God who is worthy of God, who does nothing unworthy of God, but thinks on the things that are God's; and what he thinks he speaks, and what he speaks he does." See St. Bernard, book ii On Consideration to Eugenius, chapter iii, and St. Ambrose, sermon 2 on Psalm cxviii, and Origen here, homily 2 from the four. Whence St. Jerome, epistle 23 to Eustochium: "Although thou be fair," he says, "and thy beauty be loved by me thy spouse above all women, unless thou knowest thyself, and keepest thy heart with all diligence, unless thou fleest the eyes of young men, thou shalt go forth from my chamber, and shalt feed the kids, which shall be set on the left hand." And St. Augustine, sermon 50 On the Words of the Lord according to John: "Unless," he says, "thou knowest thyself, because thou art one, because thou art throughout all nations, because thou art chaste, because thou ought not to be corrupted by the perverse conversation of wicked companions; unless thou knowest thyself, because he rightly betrothed to me a virgin chaste to present unto Christ, and rightly to me The sense therefore is, that is to say, as the Gardener says: If ever, O Church my most beautiful spouse, perplexed amid the greatest persecutions and the difficulties of all things, and lacking counsel, thou shalt hesitate, observe the faith of thy forefathers, and their unbroken spirit in enduring evils, and what they, having entered these difficult ways as it were with their own feet, left impressed as vestiges, their heroic deeds, rare examples of fortitude and constancy for thee and thy flock to imitate. Walk thou also in the same footsteps, tread the same paths, and do thou and thy flock keep that same straight and perpetual way: that way will doubtless lead you to the dwellings of my Chief Shepherd and of other distinguished shepherds, fixed in the green, watered and shaded places of Israelitic minds. There thou shalt find none who, deceiving thee, would defile or solicit thee, no false Christ, no false prophet; but me myself, who shall keep thee uncorrupted forever and undefiled, thy true Christ and legitimate spouse, and my faithful shepherds, who feed my flock according to the desire of my heart, with sound doctrine and knowledge. There I command thee to feed thy kids, thy sons, I say, newly born to thee, yea and grown, but still neophytes in morals and judgment, wanton, itching in the ears, desirous of new things, and lovers of pleasures (whose poison they exhale) rather than of me. There thy kids, safe from the inconveniences of the noonday sun, by preaching the word in season, out of season beseeching, rebuking with all patience and doctrine. thyself, lest by evil conversations, as the serpent deceived Eve by cunning, so also thy senses be corrupted from my chastity: unless therefore thou knowest thyself such, go forth. Thou go forth, for to others I shall say: Enter into the joy of thy Lord. To thee I shall not say: Enter, but: Go forth, that thou mayest be among those who have gone out from us, go forth thou: but unless thou knowest thyself, then go forth; if however thou knowest thyself, enter: but if thou knowest not, go forth thou in the footsteps of flocks, and feed thy kids in the tabernacles of shepherds. Go forth in the footsteps, not of a flock, but of flocks, and feed not as Peter my sheep, but thy kids in the tabernacles, not of the Shepherd, but of shepherds, not of unity, but of dissension." Secondly, in order that man may come to God the spouse of the soul, he must go forth from his disordered affections and loves, and as it were from himself, namely that he may put off the old man; for thus he will put on the new, namely Christ. Whence St. Ambrose, On the Soul and Isaac, cap. iv, teaches that the soul may secure for itself the presence of God through knowledge of itself and mortification: "Know thyself therefore, he says, and the beauty of nature, and go forth as if freed from the bonds of thy feet, and with bare foot exposed, so that thou mayest not feel carnal coverings, let the footstep of thy mind not be entangled in corporeal bonds, so that thy foot may appear beautiful, etc. This therefore is what he says: Go forth thou in the heels of the flocks, and feed thy kids in the tabernacles of the shepherds; because by flocks we understand the kingdom, for it is the part of power to preside over flocks; and each one presides over himself with a certain royal power, if he restrains in himself the luxury of the body, and reduces his flesh to servitude: therefore it was said, Luke xvii, 21: The kingdom of God is within you. Whence he beautifully says to the soul: Go forth, that is go forth from servitude, go forth from the dominion and rule of the flesh; and go forth not in the flesh, but in the spirit, go forth to the governance of power; and therefore he added: Feed thy kids, that is, rule those things which are on thy left. For if they are not ruled, they easily fall away. Restrain the wantonness and lasciviousness of thy body; tame light movements: feed them not in corporeal tabernacles, but in the tabernacles of shepherds who know how to rule the flock. For they are lovely tabernacles of Israel, like groves overshadowing a river." This is what God commanded Abraham, when he called him to himself, saying: "Go forth out of thy land, and out of thy kindred, and out of thy father's house," etc., Gen. cap. xii, 1. Hence John of Carmel thus explains it: Go forth, that is cut thyself in two, and divide thyself in the middle, so that thou mayest separate thy mind from appetite, and constitute two as it were armies: in one army indeed thou wilt count the appetite feeling, and its unbridled movements; but from this army thou wilt separate thy mind and will, and thou wilt number another army, in which thou wilt place thyself, and, war being declared, thou wilt avoid the intercourse and commerce of the first army. Thus thou wilt seize the way and enjoy the light. "Go after the footsteps of thy flocks," that is, after the flocks to be driven, not that thou mayest be drawn by the movements of unbridled appetite, but that thou mayest as it were urge thyself with an inflicted blow, and compel thyself to go rightly where the mind calls, "Feed thy kids according to the tabernacles of the shepherds," that is, the rebellious senses like kids, while fresh blood boils over, exulting, when thou hast tamed them, and made them obedient to thy word, do not allow them to give themselves to idleness, or abandon them so quickly, as if they cannot or are not accustomed to rebel: certainly if thou permittest them to act with impunity, they will break the covenant, and rush upon thee with one assault. Preside therefore over them, and cut them sharply, and at the same time feed them according to the huts and dwellings of the shepherds, who are men most learned in divine things, and successors and heirs of the apostles, who offer to their entrusted flock the most healthful herbs of spiritual doctrines to be plucked: if thou drinkest in their doctrines with thy whole breast, thou wilt hasten most swiftly to their meridian under their guidance. Thirdly, the soul, in order that it may find God, ought to follow the footsteps of the flocks, that is of the saints, who have followed the law of God, and have fed upon its doctrines in Holy Scripture as it were pastures. The same soul ought to restrain the kids, that is the wanton and unbridled movements of concupiscence, by the discipline of the shepherds. Symbolically St. Bernard: The flocks of God, he says, are creatures, from whose footsteps, that is from consideration of them, we track and arrive at their Creator, as St. Thomas teaches, I part., Quaest. v, art. 6, and Quaest. xlvii, art. 7. See St. Basil, hom. 11 Hexam., St. Augustine, lib. x Confess. cap. vi, St. Gregory, xii Moral. cap. viii. Thus St. Antony through these footsteps knew the spouse's chamber, that is God's throne and glory, as Nicephorus relates, lib. xi, cap. xlii. Whence this was the axiom of St. Antony, nay the definition of the world: "What is the world? It is a book of divinity. For the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth the works of his hands," Psal. xviii, 1. Moreover, Nyssenus reads: If thou know not thyself, O beautiful among women, go forth thou by the footsteps of the flocks, and feed thy kids in (or, as other codices have it, for) the tabernacles of the shepherds: and thus they explain it: "The soul, which from black has become beautiful, if it is thy care that grace and the beauty of thy form endure for a long time, do not go astray after the footsteps of those who have gone before; follow reason, not the common custom of men devoid of reason: do not look upon the footsteps of beasts, which by their heels signify those who are fixed to earthly life, etc. For it is not clear whether the path of the kids is that which appears, which thou followest, for the reason that those who have worn out their life by their footsteps are not seen by thee. After thou hast passed through life, and hast been shut up in the stable of death, it is to be feared lest thou be numbered among the kids, who are to be placed on the left, whom, being ignorant and adhering to their footsteps, thou hast followed." And Origen, who expounds thus, as if to say: "If thou know not thyself, because thou art the bride of the king, and made beautiful by me, this shall be thy punishment, that thou shalt be last in the footsteps of the shepherds; and that not among sheep and the just, but among kids and sinners. Finally, Rupertus adapts this to the Blessed Virgin, who was most beautiful of all not only women, but of all creatures, in whose womb, as in a temple, nay rather as in heaven, Christ lay, as if Christ said to her: Since thou knowest not thyself, that thou art the mother of God, and blessed among women, thou knowest likewise where I lie, namely in thy faith and humility. For thou didst say: "Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid." Therefore from faith and humility, nay rather faith and humility is all thy beauty, and this is the place of my rest; the place in which thy beloved, feeding and lying down, shall be delighted in the midday, that is in this time of full grace, when the figure having passed away the reality hath shone forth; the shadow being driven away, the sun of truth hath ascended."
1:8
For horseman in Hebrew it is לְסֻסָתִי lesusathi, that is, as the Septuagint, τῇ ἵππῳ, that is to my mare, or rather to my horsemanship; the Syriac, to my mare in the chariot of Pharao I have likened thee; the Arabic, I have named (praised, celebrated) thee, O my near one, upon my horse in the chariots of Pharao. Now
First Sense. First, some hold that Solomon here compares his bride to a certain mare, most excellent for a chariot, most noble and most beautiful, which he himself used for driving the chariots of Pharaoh; or which Pharaoh conveyed his daughter in a chariot to Solomon, as a bride to a bridegroom: by which symbol it is signified that the bride is similar to the bridegroom as a mare to a horse, both drawing the same chariot of matrimony and life with equal consent; for from this yoke of horses, matrimony is called conjugium, because spouses are, as it were, two horses yoked to the same chariot, so that they may bear the works of matrimony on equal shoulders, and overcome its difficulties with equal strength. Again by this symbol it is signified that the bride ought to accommodate herself in manners to the husband, and he in turn ought to adapt himself to the weakness of the bride, just as in drawing a chariot yoked horses accommodate themselves to one another. Therefore by this metaphor of a mare is signified the mutual love of bridegroom and bride, mutual regard, mutual harmony, mutual labor, mutual services and offices. Thus the Lyric poet compares a fair maiden to a mare: "Which like a mare in broad fields, / Plays leaping, and fears to be touched." It is a well-known proverb: A Thessalian mare. Therefore a mare denotes first the swiftness of the Church: for mares are swifter than horses, as is especially evident in Spanish horses: thus Theodoret: "The Bridegroom," he says, "when he saw the bride burning with the heat of love and running swiftly to him, asserted her to be like a swift-footed mare." Second, her obedience and mortification, in that when she lived in paganism untamed, she has now submitted her neck to the yoke of Christ. Thus St. Ambrose, sermon 2 on Psalm 118. Third, her extent, in that she has run most swiftly through the whole world and spread the faith of Christ. "The bride of Christ," says the same St. Ambrose, "began by concord and gentleness to be exalted among peoples, and to be carried about the whole world as a chariot, and borne aloft on swift horses above the world she ascended to Christ." Fourth, her fruitfulness, thus St. Ambrose, On Isaac and the Soul, chapter iv: "The labor of virtue," he says, "seeks victory, so that it may be compared to that mare which is Solomon's, swift for running, apt for pasture; because the fruitfulness of the soul is desired and sought. A soul similar to this mare is esteemed, that is of prophetic or apostolic virtue: because it is numbered in the flock of those who by the fruitfulness of their preaching have sprinkled the spaces of the whole earth, and although placed in the body, yet have experienced no loss of spiritual running." Second, you may take this more vigorously of war-horses. For he alludes to war-horses, which Solomon used to buy for himself from Egypt from Pharaoh: for Egypt was fertile in the best horses. See the history, III Kings chapter iv, 26, where among other things it is said: "And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen," etc. The sense therefore is, as if to say: You are, O bride, discolored by the heat of persecutors, and fear lest again wandering you fall in with rivals, that is my enemies and yours: wherefore you have sought where I might lie down at midday, so that under my shadow you might rest safe and secure from all enemies, and feed and restrain your wanton kids beside the tents of the shepherds: I see you trembling at such difficulties, persecutors and enemies; I therefore add courage to you, and say that I will give you such strength and vigor that you may seem similar to the war-cavalry which Solomon obtained from Pharaoh, by which you may overcome all enemies. For I call you to war, and through you I intend to subject the whole world to myself, so that I may drive out the prince of the world the devil with all his forces from there; and those whom he has reduced into captivity, my brothers, I will restore to their freedom. Surely I will send forth from you apostles and apostolic men, who like noble horses may most swiftly traverse seas and lands, and carry me as if riding upon them through the midst of the ranks of enemies, and spread peoples prostrate on all sides. For through me alone, trusting in my all-powerful right hand, I will perform mighty and wonderful deeds, and this difficult and memorable war I will accomplish by your work, as of a victorious horse and cavalry, I will conquer and triumph. Hence St. John saw the conversion of the world through the apostles to Christ represented by a white horse: "Behold," he says, "a white horse, and he that sat upon him had a bow, and a crown was given to him, and he went forth conquering that he might conquer," Apocalypse chapter vi, 2. For this reason the Bridegroom compares the bride the Church, chapter vi, 9, to an army arranged in battle array. Again, the chariots of Pharaoh with Aphonius, Bede and St. Bernard can be understood not as those which Solomon bought from Pharaoh, but as those which God overthrew in the Red Sea, as if to say: You, O my Church, shall be made like unto my cavalry, which I set against the cavalry and chariots of Pharaoh, when fighting for the Church and the Hebrews I routed them and sank them in the sea. For in a similar manner through you I shall rout all your faithless enemies, but in such a way that from the faithless I shall make the faithful, from enemies friends, from rebels subjects, from wild beasts men, from the dead living, from demons angels; wherefore I shall lead them through the Red Sea, that is through baptism reddened as it were with the blood of Christ, into the promised land, not on earth, but in the heavens. Thus Cassiodorus, Anselm and Bede, who also add that this is done under the leadership of the pillar of fire and cloud, that is the Holy Spirit. See the sayings of Exodus xiv. Moreover the cavalry of God was angelic: for angels fighting for God and the Hebrews overthrew Pharaoh. Whence John the Carmelite thus explains: "I have made thee like unto my cavalry in the chariots of Pharaoh," that is to an angel, by whom as by my horse I was borne of old, when I overturned the chariots of Pharaoh in the Arabian gulf, I made thee similar. To this pertains that passage in Habakkuk cap. iii, 15: "Thou madest a way in the sea with thy horses, in the mud of many waters;" and verse 8: "Thou shalt mount upon thy horses: and thy chariots are salvation," etc. He alludes to Psalm lxvii, 18: "The chariots of God are ten thousand fold, thousands of the rejoicing: the Lord is among them in Sina in the holy place." For he, in Psalm lxvii, treats the same argument of the marriage of Christ and the Church, which this is of, and thy kids thou feedest and restrainest near the tents of the shepherds: I see thee trembling at such difficulties, persecutors and enemies; I therefore add courage to thee, and I say that I shall give thee such strength and power that thou shalt seem like unto the warlike cavalry, which Solomon compared from Pharaoh, by which thou mayest overcome all enemies. This canticle. Thus the Chaldean, whom hear: "When the children of Israel went out from Egypt, Pharaoh and his army followed after them in chariots and on horseback, and the way was shut to them on four sides: on the right and on the left were deserts full of fiery serpents; and behind them was the wicked Pharaoh and his army; and likewise before them was the sea full of reeds. What did that Holy and Blessed One do? He was revealed in the strength of his power over the sea, when Pharaoh was drowned, and his army, and his chariots, and his horsemen, and his horses; and likewise Israel would have perished, had not Moses the prophet stretched forth his hands in prayer before the Lord, and turned away the wrath of the Lord from them; and they and the righteous of that generation opened their mouth, and sang a canticle, and passed through the midst of the sea full of reeds on dry ground, on account of the merit of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the beloved of the Lord." To this Origen adds, who thus expounds: "If thou wishest to understand, O bride, how thou shouldest know thyself, know to whom I have compared thee, and then thou shalt see that thou art such as ought not to be defiled, when thou hast known thy beauty. For thou hast been made like unto my cavalry in the chariots of Pharaoh: inasmuch as my cavalry differs from the horses of Pharaoh, by so much art thou better than all the daughters, thou my beloved." But Haymo by the cavalry of God understands the very children of Israel saved in the Red Sea, to whom the Church is made similar, when she is saved through the water of baptism. Symbolically, Sotomajor holds this to be the cavalry of love, by which the bride conquered and bound the bridegroom to herself, as if to say: Indeed, O most beloved bride, as soon as I saw you, you bound me entirely to yourself, and truly you conquered my heart as it were by your exceptional beauty and comeliness, so powerfully and vehemently that you seem to me no less strong and mighty in love than that cavalry of mine joined with the chariots of Pharaoh, which is strong and robust in war for fighting and conquering and routing the enemies of God's people. Thus Plato in the Symposium, On Love, among other excellences of love places this as principal, that it is most powerful and strongest, and even stronger than Mars himself, that is the god of war and author of war. For thus he says there: "As for strength moreover, Mars indeed does not resist love. For Mars does not hold love, but love holds Mars, the god of love (as it is said). But that which holds is more powerful than that which is held. Whoever therefore rules over the strongest of others is to be judged strongest of all without doubt." More divinely St. Bernard, sermon 64, exclaiming: "O sweetness! he says, O grace! O force of love! Is it so that the highest of all, made one of all? Who did this? Love ignorant of dignity, rich in condescension, powerful in affection, efficacious in persuasion. What is more violent? Love triumphs over God. What yet is so non-violent? It is love. What is this force, I ask, so violent unto victory, so conquered unto violence? Finally he emptied himself, so that you might know it was love that To this is added St. Gregory: "By goats, unclean thoughts are designated; by the tabernacles of shepherds the assemblies of heretics are expressed. Whoever therefore does not know how to fight, pastures goats near the tabernacles of shepherds: because whoever does not manfully resist the swords of opposing temptations, nourishes unclean thoughts like wanton goats in his heart, and becomes like him who also falls away from the faith. But the soul which desires to become the bride of Christ, how she ought to conduct herself, Christ teaches her, when he says to her through comparison straightway: I have compared you to my cavalry in the chariots of Pharaoh, my beloved." And St. Bernard, sermon 35, who takes these as a threat, as if to say: If you do not know, that is if you do not consider, do not esteem, do not contemplate the immense heavenly goods which I have partly given you, partly promised you, "depart from my sanctuary, from your heart, where you were accustomed to draw sweetly the secret and sacred senses of truth and wisdom, and rather as from worldly things, to entangle yourself in feeding and delighting the senses of your flesh. For goats indeed (which signify sin, and are to be placed on the left in judgment) he calls the wandering and wanton senses of the body, through which sin as death entered through the windows into the soul. To which it also fits well what follows in Scripture: Near the tabernacles of shepherds." covered with the gold of true conscience, how resplendent in all holy conversation these are, who from Pharaoh's have become the chariots of Christ, is clearly recognized, where they are said to be drawn by the Lord's horses. To which also for the highest praise Christ assimilates his soul saying: To my cavalry, and the rest." Hear St. Gregory: "We know that the cavalry of Israel, fleeing the chariots of Pharaoh, left them submerged in the sea, nor did it immediately enter the promised land; but first it endured many temptations in the desert for forty years, conquered many kings with many labors, and thus at length received laboriously what had been promised to it. To this the holy soul, the beloved of the bridegroom, becomes similar, which first in baptism left all its sins extinguished as it were the army of Pharaoh; and afterwards, while it lives among the inhabitants of this world, namely evil spirits, it prostrates impending vices as foreign kings, and thus at length arrives at the blessed land, in which it may delight with the bridegroom." See St. Bernard, sermon 39, where by the chariots of Pharaoh he understands all vices, especially malice, lust, avarice, and to each he assigns his own charioteers and similar horses.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. By the mare and the cavalry, first, Philo of Carpathus, reading "my horse," and three Fathers in Theodoret, understand the apostles, upon whom Christ, as if riding upon horses, routed the chariots of Pharaoh, that is, the unfaithful nations, and subjected them to himself, and in them swiftly and strongly, as if riding, he immediately turned about the chariot of his Gospel through all nations. Thus to Elijah ascending in a fiery chariot and fiery horses, Elisha cried out: "My father, my father, (thou art) the chariot of Israel, and the driver thereof," IV Kings II, 12, that is to say: Thou, O Elijah, didst bear the Israelite people as a chariot by thy merits, and didst rule it as a driver by thy counsels. Who, now that thou art taken up into heaven, shall bear and rule Israel? Second, the Nyssene, Aponius and St. Bernard understand by the cavalry the angels, who, just as formerly as it were God's horsemen overthrew the chariots of Pharaoh in the sea, so now they overthrow demons, and any men whatsoever attacking the soul of the just. Third, Origen, homily 2 from the four, and from him Aponius, understand by the cavalry souls which from infidelity or sin through the preaching of the apostles and the grace of Christ have been transferred to faith and holiness, and thus from the cavalry of the devil have become the cavalry and mares of God; for, as Thomas of Cîteaux says here: "All who act wickedly are horses in the chariots of Pharaoh, namely of the devil, by whom as by a driver they are directed and driven;" but these converted become horses of God in the chariots of Christ, when they receive the bridle of his discipline, bear the yoke of the Gospel, and are driven by his spirit. Whence Aponius explains the chariots here from the chariots of Pharaoh. For those allow themselves to be turned by Christ the rider to every good, whithersoever he wills, and to be restrained from every evil, however delightful and concupiscible, as I said in Apoc. VI, 2. "With the great rider changed, great become the horses," says Aponius, "which bear the Holy Spirit. And in which Pharaoh used to sit, who is interpreted as destroying or scattering them, who is indeed understood as the prince of the world, now there is carried in them the prince of the heavenly army, Christ: and those whom the ministers of Antichrist's vices were accustomed to lead, dragging through rocky valleys of crimes, are now drawn by the mighty and gentle horses the apostles, by life, example and sound doctrine through the fields of justice, in which the wheels are will and rational sense; the reins, performing the office through which each one becomes either Pharaoh's or Christ's chariot. And how splendid they are Fourth, Origen, homily 2 from the four, and Theodoret understand by the mare the most holy soul and humanity of Christ, in which the divinity sat, and drove it as a driver through so many heroic works of all virtues (for the humanity of Christ is here the primary bride, which the Word as bridegroom espoused to himself, as I said in the Proem, cap. II): for Christ assimilates to his humanity the soul of the just, as if thus addressing it: Thee, my soul made near to me, and therefore called near, and in reality having obtained the fruit of the name, I say thou art like my mare, by which I, using it, submerged the intelligible Pharaoh, and have granted thee liberty, according to that: "Who shall reform the body of our lowliness, made conformable to the body of his glory," Philip. III, 21. And: "But we all beholding the glory of the Lord with open face, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord," II Corinth. III, 18. Fifth, St. Jerome in that passage, Habac. cap. III, vers. 8: "Who ascendest upon thy horses," judges that the soul of the just is here compared to a horse properly so called, in that like a horse lacking reason and will it ought to allow itself to be bridled and ruled by the rider and driver Christ, and to say with the Psalmist: "I am become as a beast of burden with thee," Psalm. LXXII, 23. More fully St. Bernard, homily 39, shows that the holy soul is not only a mare, but the most powerful cavalry of God: "Nor wilt thou marvel," he says, "that one soul is likened to a multitude of cavalry, if thou considerest how many ranks of virtues are held in that one soul, which is nevertheless a holy soul; how much order in the affections, how much discipline in the morals, how much armament in the prayers, how much strength in the actions, how much terror in the zeal, how much conflict with the enemy, the constancy of conflicts, the multitude of triumphs." But he then narrates this manifold victory over the enemy in detail after some preliminaries thus: "There the people were led out of Egypt, here man out of the world; there Pharao is cast down, here the devil; there the chariots of Pharao are overturned, here carnal and worldly desires, which war against the soul, are destroyed; those in the waves, these in tears; those of the sea, these of bitterness. I think the demons even now cry out, if perchance they should happen to fall upon such a soul: Let us flee from Israel: for the Lord fighteth for them against us," Exod. XIV, 25. Therefore the obedient and holy soul is the mare and cavalry of God, because in obeying and in every good work which God commands or counsels, it runs most promptly, most swiftly, most efficaciously, and with all the impulse of the spirit like the angels, of whom the Psalmist sings, Psal. CIII, 4; and the Apostle, Hebr. cap. I, vers. 7: "Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Rupertus, understanding by the mare and cavalry the rod of Moses, by which God as it were by cavalry cast down Pharao and drowned him in the sea, asserts that by the same the Blessed Virgin is denoted: "For as that rod, he says, devoured the rods of the sorcerers and enchanters, and broke all the pride of Egypt, and then sprouted, put forth leaves, flowered and brought forth fruit, not planted, not animated by the juice of the earth, but advanced by heavenly virtue beyond the use of nature: so thou most beautiful of women, my beloved, hast destroyed all heretical depravity, hast cast down the pride of the devil, fertile in conception, fruitful in childbirth; virgin in conception, incorrupt in childbirth; virgin before childbirth, incorrupt after childbirth. Art thou not therefore most beautiful of women? truly most beautiful." Hence the Blessed Virgin crushed the head of the serpent, that is of Lucifer, and of all his followers, Genes. cap. III, vers. 15, such as are heretics: wherefore the Church truly and justly sings to the Blessed Virgin: "Thou alone hast destroyed all heresies throughout the whole world." That this is truly attributed to her is evident from the history of all heretics and all ages.
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THY CHEEKS ARE BEAUTIFUL AS THE TURTLE DOVE. — That is to say, Thy, O bride (that is the Church and the faithful soul), chastity and virginal modesty shine forth in thy cheeks, equally as in the cheeks of the turtle dove. In Hebrew it is תורים torim, that is of turtle doves, in the plural; but the plural is put for the singular, whence our translator renders turtle dove from the Septuagint; the Chaldean and the Rabbis render torim as earrings, gems, torques, pearls, chains; R. Abraham, small murex shells which were depicted in the manner of a turtle dove; others, small murex shells fashioned to the appearance of a turtle dove, which descending from the temples down to the cheeks adorned them wonderfully. Whence Vatablus renders, thy cheeks are comely among the murex shells, and thy neck among the chains; the Syriac, thy cheeks are fair with curls, and thy neck with a torque. But our translator renders better: for the Hebrew תור properly signifies a turtle dove by onomatopoeia from the sound which the turtle dove makes in cooing; not a chain or anything similar. Add that our translator and the Septuagint read in the Hebrew כתורים cattorim, that is as of turtle doves, not בתורים battorim, that is among turtle doves, or murex shells, or chains similar to turtle doves. Finally, the cheeks of the bride are more aptly compared to turtle doves than to chains, because turtle doves are chaste, gentle (whence also they lack gall), modest and bashful, and this they especially show in their eyes and cheeks: "for in the cheeks is the seat of modesty," says Pliny, lib. XI, cap. XXXVII. Thus cap. IV, 1, he says: "Thy eyes are as doves:" for doves of one kind are turtle doves.
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. The bridegroom explains and commends in parts through his companions what he said generally to the bride: "O fairest among women." Whence he here represents the beauty of her cheeks and neck, as if to say: Your face, darkened by the sun, shines and gleams with the splendor of silvered doves. He alludes to that passage, Psalm LXVII, 14: "If you sleep among the midst of the lots, (you shall be) as the wings of a dove covered with silver." Nyssenus adds, lest anyone, from the fact that he compared the bride to a mare or to horsemanship, and called her a shepherdess of kids, should esteem her wanton and luxurious, as mares and kids are, therefore to wipe away this impression, he assimilates her to a dove, which keeps perpetual faith with her mate and is a symbol of chastity. The common exposition of the Fathers is that by fair cheeks is signified here the modesty and chastity of the bride, namely the Church: for this is the first and greatest dowry of brides, which shines forth especially in the blushing and shame of the cheeks. For the Church loves no other bridegroom than Christ, thinks of and speaks of him alone, and sighs and groans for him when absent, like a dove. Thus Origen, Theodoret, Cassiodorus, Nyssenus, St. Gregory, Philo, Bede, Justus, Aponius, Rupert, Anselm, St. Bernard, and St. Ambrose, sermon 3 on Psalm CXVIII. Whence the Septuagint renders it by interrogation and admiration: How fair your cheeks have become, like a dove! where Origen presses the point that they have become fair, as if to say: The cheeks of the Church, at first, while she lived in paganism, were not fair; but after she received the kiss of the bridegroom in the washing of baptism, they became fair, because after Christ and through Christ chastity and virginity began to be cultivated. There is noted therefore here a great multitude of virgins and the continent in the Church of Christ, through his doctrine and example. Whence Aponius symbolically understands by the dove Christ himself; for the Church strives to imitate his virginal modesty: whence as the dove, when her mate is absent, groans continually, so the Church continually groans and sighs for Christ, that she may enjoy him in heaven. Moreover the Chaldean, translating for dove, an earring and a bridle of the jaw, thinks that by it is noted the obedience of the Synagogue: "When," he says, "they went out into the desert, the Lord said to Moses: How beautiful is this people, that words of the law should be given to them, and they should be as an earring in their jaws, that they might not depart from the good way, as a horse in whose jaw is a bridle does not depart!"
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. First, just as the turtledove admits only one mate, and when he is dead, lives a widowed life in continual mourning and lamentation: so the holy soul loves only the spouse Christ, and mourns his passion and death continually, and sighs toward him in the heavens; wherefore she bewails his absence, so that her cheeks are often wet with the shower of pious tears. For the turtledove is monogamous, and the female, having lost her mate, avoids clearer waters, lest she see herself in the waters and be reminded of her mate. Moreover widows are more frequent among turtledoves because males, as Aristotle reports in Book IX of the History of Animals, chapter VII, are accustomed to die sooner and are less long-lived. Hence that saying of Virgil: Nor shall the turtledove cease to moan from the airy elm. The turtledove therefore is a symbol first of monogamy; second, of widowhood; third, of faithfulness. Whence Goropius Becanus in his Saxonic writings believes it is derived from the Hebrew תור tor, and the Latin turtur, the Cimbric and Belgian trou, that is faithfulness by metathesis, and trouwen, that is to marry and to give the faith of marriage, as the turtledove gives it to her mate. A coin of Heliogabalus exists, from which is seen a woman bearing a turtledove with this inscription: "The Faithfulness of Soldiers," as if to say, just as the turtledove is faithful to her mate, so let the soldier be faithful to his leader. "The turtledove," says St. Gregory, "after she has lost her mate once, never joins herself to another, but always remaining solitary perseveres in mourning, because seeking him whom she loved, she does not find him: so also the holy soul, when she is absent from her spouse, does not withdraw from his love, but always pants and mourns in his desire; and while she does not find him whom she greatly loves, because she withdraws herself from all alien love, as it were in the shame of her cheeks she shows the chastity of her heart by the very external habit and act;" and St. Bernard, On the Manner of Living Well to a Sister, chapter X: "Fair are the cheeks, he says, as the turtledove's. It is the nature of the turtledove, that if by chance she loses her mate, she seeks no other thereafter. O spouse of Christ, assimilate yourself also to this turtledove, and besides Jesus Christ your spouse, you will seek no other lover. O spouse of Christ, be like the turtledove, and mourn day and night with longing for Jesus Christ your spouse, because he has already ascended to the heavens, so that someday we may deserve to see his face at the right hand of the Father. Fair are your cheeks as the turtledove's. In the cheeks shame is accustomed to dwell. Venerable sister, you have the cheeks of the turtledove, if for shame of Jesus Christ your spouse you do nothing against his will; you have the cheeks of the turtledove, if with love and reverence of Christ you set aside those things which displease him; you have the cheeks of the turtledove, if besides Christ you love no other friend." St. Chrysostom has similar things, homily 8 On the Turtledove, volume V. Second, the turtledove, in order to preserve chastity, loves solitude, and nests in remote places, and generates and nourishes her young, where they are removed from and safe from the attack of enemies. The holy soul does the same. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 40: "It is altogether above you to be espoused to the Lord of the angels. Is it not above you to cleave to God, and to be one spirit with him? Sit therefore alone like the turtledove; nothing for you with crowds, nothing with the multitude of others; and even forget your people, and your father's house; and the king shall desire your beauty. O holy soul, be alone, so that you alone of all may keep yourself for him alone whom you have chosen for yourself from all. Flee the public, flee even your own household; withdraw from friends and intimates, even from him who ministers to you. Do you not know that you have a modest spouse, and one who by no means wishes to grant you his presence in the presence of others? Withdraw therefore, but in mind, not in body; but in intention, but in devotion, but in spirit." And after some things: "You are alone, if you do not think of common things, if you do not seek the presence of others, if you despise what many esteem, if you loathe what all desire, if you avoid quarrels, if you do not feel losses, if you do not remember injuries. Otherwise, not even if you are alone in body, are you alone." Thirdly, the turtledove by its mourning represents a soul not dissolute and intemperate, but composed equally in merits and words, grave, temperate, devoted to prayer and compunction; which restrains gluttony and lust through temperance, anger through patience, pusillanimity through fortitude, etc.: thus three Fathers in Theodoret. For the turtledove, instead of song, has lamentation; whence the voice of St. Mary Magdalene bewailing her sins was that of a turtledove: hence the moaning turtledove denotes a meditative soul, which groans and mourns its own and others' faults and the afflictions of this pilgrimage and exile of ours. Hence also the turtledove is a symbol of wisdom: for "the heart of the wise is where sorrow is; the heart of fools where joy is," Ecclesiastes VII, 5; hence also the proverb: "The flesh of the turtledove is food for the wise;" for, as Aldrovandus teaches in his work on the Turtledove, the flesh of the turtledove gives not a thick but a thin juice, which is easily converted into subtle animal spirits: for these are suited and plainly serve meditation and contemplation. Hence again the meditative turtledove is a type of providence, which premedicates and foresees future things, as Pierius testifies in his Hieroglyphics; whence that passage, Jeremiah VIII, 7: "The turtledove, and the swallow, and the stork, have observed the time of their coming." Fourthly, St. Bernard, sermon 40, understands by the cheeks right intention, which Christ compared to the eyes, Matthew VI, 22; but the cheeks surround and support the eyes; whence Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods: "The cheeks," he says, "are protected from below the eyes placed beneath them, and project gently. And they are two, because in intention two things must be considered, namely the thing and the cause, that is, what you intend, and for what reason you intend it." Hear Pliny, book XI, chapter XXXVII: "Below the eyes are the cheeks, which the ancients called malae, which the Twelve Tables forbade women to scratch by interdict; this is the seat of modesty: there especially is blushing shown; below them, the cheeks indicate cheerfulness and laughter;" and a little before: "The graver birds close the lower cheek; the same blink, with a membrane passing from the corners. Doves and similar birds (such as turtledoves) close both, etc. The ancients called the extreme border of the upper cheek the cilium, whence also the eyebrows. This, if drawn apart by some wound, does not heal together." Such precisely is intention, equally as chastity and virginal modesty.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Fair cheeks denote the extraordinary purity and modesty of the Blessed Virgin, who like a turtledove continually mourned the death of the turtledove, that is of Christ her beloved: for, as St. Jerome says, book I Against Jovinian: "The turtledove is a most chaste bird, always dwelling in high places, a type of the Saviour." Hence she herself offered for her son in the Purification a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons, Luke II, 24, and with Joseph her husband preserved chastity, not only conjugal but also virginal, and after his death, virginal widowhood. Hence she is compared to the bee: for bees know not carnal union, but conceive and bring forth their offspring as virgins, as the Blessed Virgin in a wondrous way united in herself virginity and fruitfulness, or motherhood. Hear St. Ambrose, book I On Virginity: "Worthy virginity, which is compared to bees, so laborious, so chaste, so continent. The bee feeds on dew, knows not intercourse, makes honey; dew also is to the virgin the divine word, because as dew, the words of God descend. The modesty of the virgin is an undefiled nature; the offspring of the virgin is the fruit of the lips, free from bitterness, fertile in sweetness." Whence Origen gathers that she who anoints Christ with the nard of devotion, preaching, and holy deeds, by this very anointing receives the odour of Christ and breathes it forth, namely the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the greater fragrance of spiritual doctrine, equally as of holiness of life. But Nyssenus explains to autou, that is of himself, namely of Christ, thus, as if to say: From all the virtues which I behold in myself, which all together like many kinds of spices make one ointment of nard, I attain to the knowledge of the most perfect virtue of God, and the same I communicate to those and breathe upon them. But Theodoret thus, as if to say: From these virtues of mine I have attained knowledge of God, but by smell only, that is a thin and meagre knowledge. Finally three Fathers in Theodoret thus, as if to say: My virtues, which are as it were the nard of God, exhibit to me the image of God through nature inaccessible, whose image and mark I bear, as his image and likeness; wherefore while I reflect his likeness in my conduct, I represent him in myself as the exemplar in the image.
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. The neck, which is properly subject to burden and yoke, just as it is to the head, signifies the subjection and obedience of the Church, by which she obeys Christ the Bridegroom and the laws of God in all things, which do not so much burden her as adorn her, like a necklace, according to that passage, Prov. I, 8 and 9: "Hear, my son, the discipline of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother: that grace may be added to thy head, and a chain of gold to thy neck." See the remarks there. Hence, just as the neck is not rigid, but flexible and versatile in all directions, whither the head commands, and therefore round: so also obedience is agile and versatile for all the works which the superior may command. Hear Aristotle, lib. IV De Partib. animal. cap. X: "The neck and arteries are had for the sake of protection; for it protects the artery and also the gullet, and guards it with its embrace. This is flexible and compacted with vertebrae in other animals; but in the wolf and lion it is rigid with continuous bone. For nature wished the neck to be more suited to strength in them than to other uses." Whence the Chaldean translator renders it, and how beautiful are their backs, that they may bear the burden of my precepts, and be upon them as a yoke upon the necks of oxen, which plough in the plough, and sustain themselves and their master. Thus also Theodoret and others in many places. Hence first, in Scripture, and indeed also among the pagans, a flexible, submissive neck denotes one who is obedient; but a hard neck denotes one who is rebellious and contumacious. Whence that passage, Isa. XLVIII, 4: "I knew that thou art hard, and thy neck is an iron sinew, and thy forehead of brass." Secondly, just as the neck is intermediate between the head and body, and receives the influence and spirit of the head, and derives it into all the members, and connects them to the head and subordinates them: so also obedience joins the subjects to the superior, and derives his precepts and counsels, spirit and virtue into them. Thirdly, just as the neck contains the artery, by which we draw vital breath, and the gullet by which we pass food into the stomach: so obedience breathes life and vital spirit into the mind, and supplies not bodily food, but spiritual food to the will, which is as it were the stomach of the soul. Hear Aristotle, lib. I Hist. animal. cap. XII: "The neck, which is between the breast and the face, of which the front part is the throat, the back part the gullet, and as much of the neck itself as is cartilaginous occupying the front position, transmits voice and breath, this is called the artery: but as much as lies within the flesh before the spine, is called the gullet: and the back part of the neck on the outside, is called the cervix." The same, lib. III De Part. animal. cap. III: "The neck, he says, is subject to the head in those animals which have it: for not all have it, but only those which have those parts for the sake of which the neck is formed, that is the throat, and what is called the gullet; the throat is given for the sake of breath, for animals draw and expel breath by it, and by breathing in and breathing out: wherefore those which lack a lung also lack a neck, as the race of fishes: the gullet is that by which food and drink are swallowed, and so those which lack a neck do not have this gullet manifest." Hence just as the cheeks denote virgins in the Church, so the neck denotes monks and religious, whose profession is obedience, according to that passage: "Put your neck under the yoke, and let your soul receive discipline," Eccli. LI, 34. "Put thy foot into her fetters, and thy neck into her chains. Bow down thy shoulder, and bear her, and be not grieved with her bands," ibid. cap. VI, vers. 25. And: "Bind them in thy heart, and tie them about thy neck," Prov. VI, 21. For just as a chain encompasses and embraces the whole neck, so obedience encompasses the whole religious, and all his actions, and his entire life, so that nothing is permitted him to do except what pleases the superior. Moreover, just as a chain woven of pearls contains many pearls, so obedience contains all virtues. "Obedience alone is the virtue which implants the other virtues in the mind, and keeps them implanted," says St. Gregory, XXXV Moral. cap. X. Wherefore obedience is the crown and rosary of all virtues. Furthermore, for necklaces the Septuagint renders hormiskous, which first St. Ambrose, serm. 3 in Psal. CXVIII, translates as redimicula, that is to say, Obedience does not so much depress the neck of the obedient and religious as it redeems it, and like a chain adorns and crowns it; hence religion is said to be derived from binding again, in that it binds again to God the mind previously torn from God by sin; and what is more noble than to be bound again and joined to God? Hear St. Ambrose: "Thy neck is like ornaments. Bear the yoke of Christ; it is sweet, if thou thinkest the ornaments of thy neck to be, not burdens; therefore lift up thine eyes to the Lord thy God, and seek God, and thou shalt find Him. Lift up thy neck; thou wearest ornaments, not chains. Even dumb animals rejoice in ornaments, and seem to prefer to be adorned rather than to go naked. The cheeks like the turtle dove shall bear the marks of modesty; the ornaments of the neck shall lift up the confidence of liberty: for the yoke of Christ is light, and therefore the neck is not pressed down by it, but is lifted up." Hence Origen, homily 2 from the four, by ornaments understands the obedience of Christ even unto death: for this indeed adorned his whole life, that is, surrounded and beautified it; therefore he thinks the obedience of the Church should be compared to the obedience of Christ: "Great, he says, is the praise of the bride in this, great is the glory of the Church, where the imitation of His obedience fulfils the obedience of Christ, whom she imitates." But Gregory of Nyssa derives the ornaments, that is, the redimicula, from hormous, that is, a harbour, because torques are curved in the manner of a harbour, which has the form of a crescent moon; whence the name Panormus, a noble city of Sicily, as if to say All harbour, or harbour in all respects, because ships from all sides come together and flow thither. Obedience therefore to the religious is as it were a harbour, which against all dangers and temptations affords him security, so that with a quiet and tranquil conscience he may spend his whole life in joy. Wherefore John Climacus in the 4th degree: "Obedience, he says, is perfect abnegation of one's own soul and one's own body, voluntary death, life without anxiety, navigation without loss, a voluntary burial of the will, the way of humility, and as if one were to journey while sleeping." And he adds the same: "To live in obedience is nothing else than to lay one's own burden upon the shoulders of others, to swim upon the waves of others, and to be sustained in the waters lest we sink, but without danger to cross this great sea of this life, and indeed with the shortest voyage." The cause a priori is, that the obedient man is governed by God: for God has set superiors over him, through whom He governs him. But who would fear to err, with God governing and leading, nay commanding? That saying of Christ is well known: "He that heareth you, heareth me," Luke X, 16.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and a Holy Soul. The neck, that is, the state of subjection, admonishes the soul, first of obedience, which it ought to render to God and superiors; secondly, of humility; thirdly, of patience: for these two are companions, indeed the supports of obedience, without which it cannot stand; thus St. Ambrose, in the book On Isaac and the Soul, chapter IV: "The soul is praised," he says, "because, illuminated by the heavenly precept, it is now beautiful, now fair, which sees that it prefer the adornment of chastity, and lift up the ornaments of the neck, in which are the insignia of patience and humility." Wherefore our Holy Father St. Ignatius in the rules of modesty ordains that our men walk with the neck somewhat bent, so that by this form they may display humility and modesty: "The head," he says, "is to be held upright with moderate bending toward the front, bending to neither side. The eyes are to be kept downcast for the most part." Thus did Christ the Lord walk, concerning whom Nicephorus thus writes, book I, chapter XL: "His neck gradually inclined, so that he was not in an arduous and excessively extended bodily posture." Hear also three Fathers in Theodoret: "The neck has been made beautiful like a necklace. For your neck is not iron, so that it cannot be bent on account of pride, but on account of modesty it can easily be twisted, like a necklace wrought from gold: the probity and purity of which gold your humility imitates by genuine simplicity. But if the necklace signifies not feigned humility, as has been said, so the neck of the bride of Christ is commended like a necklace, and it indicates a multitude of virtues, and humility implicated in each virtue. For just as a necklace is first fashioned in a straight figure by the craftsman, then accommodated in a circle for use and bent around: so a man perfected in virtue, when he is upright with absolute moderation of life, is bent through humility by compassion toward others, and is set aside." They then add that the neck is reason: "To the neck surrounded by humility, there is the reason of the soul, which, as the neck joins the head to the rest of the body, so it itself connects the mind with the senses, while from the habit of virtues it applies the mind through actions to the senses, and again brings the senses back from the precept of virtues to the mind. It is bent also through humility, when it is not exalted from its own dignity, but is brought low from the abjection of dust and matter." For this reason religious place the scapular on the neck, just as the priests in the old law placed the ephod on the neck, which admonishes both of obedience and patience, just as a necklace hanging from the neck admonishes virgins of chastity, and men of generosity and manly virtue. Hence the necklace was so called, because it admonishes of virtue. For it was first accustomed to be given to freeborn youths on account of some distinguished deed; whence Ovid, X Metamorphoses: He gives gems to the fingers, gives long necklaces to the neck. So also the Greek hormiskos, that is, a necklace, alludes to hormen, that is, impulse and impetus, which it may inject into men and women toward illustrious works of virtue; just as the Hebrew חרוז charuz, that is, a necklace or torque, alludes to חרוץ charutz, that is, expeditious, strenuous, keen for heroic deeds: for such are owed a necklace and torque. Hence T. Manlius received the cognomen Torquatus from the torque, which he took from the Gaul slain at the Anio, as Livy testifies. Again, to soldiers for a deed strenuously performed, a golden torque was placed on the neck by the commander, and from this they were called torquati, and there were two kinds, simplares and duplares. "The torquati," says Vegetius, book II, "duplares, torquati simplares were: to whom a solid golden torque was the reward of virtue, which whoever had merited, besides praise, sometimes obtained two annuities, duplares two, simplares one." Thus St. Agnes gloried in being adorned by Christ the bridegroom with torque and necklaces, when to the son of the prefect of the city, who sought her in marriage, she answered with spirit: "Depart from me, fuel of sin, food of death, for a much more noble and richer bridegroom has betrothed me; who, being the king of heaven and earth, has adorned me with golden raiment, and has decorated my ears with insignia of pearls, and my neck-
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. All these things already mentioned apply most excellently to the Blessed Virgin above all. Moreover, Rupert understands by the necklace of the neck the silence of the Blessed Virgin: "Just as," he says, "necklaces protect the chaste breasts of matrons, whence they are also called necklaces, because they protect the breast, lest anyone foreign, that is, unchaste, place his hand upon it: so also your neck is protected by your words, not only lest anything idle or harmful, or disordered, burst forth through your voice; but also lest your own good, your secret, the divine mystery entrusted to you, find easily a way or voice, so that a foreign ear, or some daughter, although she may appear to be a daughter of Jerusalem, who perhaps would not know how to guard such pearls, as they ought to be guarded on account of swine, and especially on account of Herod and his accomplices, might understand. Truly therefore most beautiful of women, most beautiful in your cheeks, most beautiful in your neck, that is, in the most becoming moderation both of your eyes and of your words."
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GOLDEN NECKLACES WE WILL MAKE FOR YOU, WROUGHT WITH SILVER. — As if to say: We will adorn you with golden laws of obedience and with silver marked out by wisdom. In Hebrew, necklaces of gold we will make for you marked with silver; the Septuagint, likenesses or images of gold (Symmachus, golden ornaments; the fifth edition, twisted gold) we will make for you with marks or distinctions of silver; Symmachus, with varieties; the fifth edition, in miliis, that is in small points of silver; another, with variegations; Vatablus, ornaments befitting made of gold we will make for you with marks or clasps of silver. Our translator most excellently rendered it, wrought with silver, that is variegated with points of silver, in the manner of certain worms, whose back is marked with various colors, or which at night shine and gleam like silver. The Syrian translator rendered it, golden curls we will make for you with plates or sheets of silver; the Arabic, images, or figures, or carved works of gold shall be made for you, most like to you. A murena is a fish the same as an eel, or certainly very similar to it, as is evident from its image, which Aldrovandus and Rondeletius exhibit in their work On Fishes, in murena: hence murenula is called the gold of the neck, which namely, with gold extending into rods, is woven together in a certain chain of winding order, from the image of the fish indeed, the word being conformed to it, says Caelius Rodiginus from St. Jerome, book IV, chapter X. Again, just as a murena is distinguished by various marks as if by points, so also a murenula is wrought and distinguished by points of silver. Whence Pliny, book IX, chapter XXIII: "In northern Gaul, he says, in all murenas, seven marks on the right side of the jaw shine with a golden color in the form of the north star, namely while living, and likewise are extinguished with the soul." Murenulae therefore are golden rods of winding texture, and variegated with points and marks, and thus very similar to the murena fish, which bends itself in a circle, whether they encircle and adorn the hand, or the head, or another member. Properly, however, they are of the head and neck, as St. Jerome indicates to Marcella, epistle 15, where praising the blessed Asella: "The gold of her neck, he says, which the common people call a murenula, which namely, with metal extending into rods, is woven together in a certain chain of winding order, she sold without her parents' consent." Following him, Cassiodorus: "Murenulae, he says, are an ornament of the virgin and maiden's neck: namely, rods of gold interwoven, sometimes intermixed with a beautiful variety of the most subtle threads of silver. And this is what it says, wrought with silver, that is, in the manner of earthly worms, which they call earthworms, distinguished and joined together. Murenulae moreover are called from the likeness of a sea fish, which is called a murena." Whence Aponius reads, golden necklaces we will make, which St. Anselm and Bernard attribute not to the neck, but to adorning the ears. Better is Justus Orgelitanus: "Murenulae, he says, are an ornament descending from the head, by which the neck is adorned." Finally, murena is said to be from myren, that is to flow, says Eustathius, because, as Macrobius testifies, on account of its fatness it floats on the surface of the water, nor can it sink, being namely scorched by the sun. Whence Martial, book XIII, epigram 77: The great murena which swims in the Sicilian deep, / Cannot sink its sun-scorched skin. So likewise a golden murenula floats around the neck, and struck by the sun's rays gleams brightly. In Hebrew it is תורי thore, which word the Vulgate a little before rendered as turtle; whence some here understand a turtle or turtledove, but a river one, namely a trout: for this fish, as it is distinguished by the most beautiful marks, so it is equally wholesome and most savory: hence also the fifth edition rendered it twisted gold, in the manner of a turtle, or trout or murena. Whence also some think that turtle is said in Hebrew תור tur, as if tortile, because with a twisted neck looking about it continually explores whether it can find and see its mate absent somewhere. Others render thore as dispositions, orders, series, such as are in the joining of rings and plates in necklaces. Our translator most excellently rendered it murenulas, that is golden necklaces and torques. It alludes to that, Psalm LXVII, 14: "If you sleep among the midst of the lots, (you shall be as) the wings of a dove covered with silver, and her back with the paleness of gold." St. Gregory, Cassiodorus and Bede think these are the words of the bridegroom. Better do Justus Orgelitanus, Anselm, Rupertus and St. Bernard think these are the words of the companions of the bridegroom; whence they say: We will make golden necklaces, in the plural; not I will make, in the singular.
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. It is asked, what do the golden murex shells signify? First, the Chaldean takes the tablets of the Decalogue given by God to Moses on Sinai; for thus he translates: Then it was said to Moses: Ascend to the firmament, and I will give thee two stone tablets, hewn from the sapphire of my throne of glory, and bright as the finest gold, arranged in lines, written by my finger, in which are written the ten words, which are refined more than silver, which has been refined seven times: and I will give it by thy hand to the people of the house of Israel. Second, Cassiodorus, St. Gregory, Bede, Justus, Aponius and Anselmus understand by murex shells the charism of understanding of Holy Scripture, which are called golden either on account of the wisdom and brightness of the spiritual sense, or on account of the charity which they teach; but they are asserted to be vermiculated with silver either on account of the brightness of eloquence, or on account of sonorous preaching, or, as St. Anselmus says, so that the doctors of Sacred Scripture may know how to dispense the meanings according to each one's capacity and benefit; or, as Aponius says, they are called vermiculated because they contain various prophecies, some concerning the conception of Christ, others his nativity, others his passion, others his resurrection, etc., agreeing with one another, which as if interwoven with the vermiculation of silver, shine elegantly. To this are added Nyssenus, St. Augustine, Origen, Theodoret, and three Fathers, who understand by murex shells the knowledge of sacred Letters, and especially of the figures of the Old Testament. These therefore, following the version of the Septuagint, which has, likenesses of gold we will make for thee from the marks, or distinctions of silver, until the king be in his reclining place; St. Ambrose, in his interpretation, that is in his throne, where he may recline, thus explain: Nyssenus indeed thinks these murex shells pertain to the mare or cavalry, to which he had compared the bride a little before, as if companions of the bridegroom, angels, or holy doctors thus address her: To thee, O soul, who art rightly compared to horses, we will make certain simulacra of truth, and certain likenesses, which cannot accurately and exactly show what beauty of mind is in thee. But thou, having received these, shalt become through faith a yoked beast and a dwelling place of him who is about to dwell in thee: for thou shalt be both the seat and the house of Christ. More fully Origen, homily 2 from the four, thus interprets, as if to say: Sacred Scripture, and the knowledge of God, was handed down to the ancient fathers through likenesses and enigmas, until Christ rising from the dead, reclining lay down as a lion, Genesis XLIX, 9; for he revealed the sense of the prophets and of Holy Scripture. The same in the same place thus explains tropologically: An imperfect soul is instructed concerning divine things through likenesses and examples, until the king be in his reclining place, that is, until such a soul makes such progress that it may receive the king, and have him reclining in itself; for the word of God dwells in a perfect soul, according to that saying of Christ: "To him we will come, and will make our abode with him;" John XIV, 23. On the other hand St. Augustine in the first book of On the Trinity, chapter VIII, thus explains: "Likenesses of gold we will make for thee with distinctions of silver," that is, do throne, in which the king descending may recline and rest. This Psellus. The golden murex shells therefore signify the world, or the ornament of Holy Scripture shining with the gold of spiritual senses, and gleaming and resounding with the silver of eloquence. Hear St. Gregory: "The murex is a fish which, when caught, turns itself in a circle, after whose example an earring is made, which is called a murex shell, by which preaching is designated, which adheres to the ears and penetrates them. With murex shells necklaces are bound to the neck, because both wisdom and religion are joined to the neck by preachers from the holy Scriptures. For by murex shells Holy Scripture is understood, which are well called vermiculated with gold and silver, because both holy wisdom shines forth in Scripture, and is heard through sonorous preaching throughout the whole world. For just as through gold wisdom is demonstrated, so through silver holy preaching is demonstrated." This is relevant to that passage, Psalm XI, 7: "The words of the Lord, the chaste words (as) silver tried in fire, proved to the earth, purified sevenfold." Thirdly, St. Jerome, in book I Against Jovinianus, understands by golden chains virginity. Before Christ, he says, the Church had silver in widows and married women, but received the gold of virginity through Christ. For it seems here that to the most chaste bride, on account of her chastity, a golden chain interspersed with silver is given, so that she might regard what he said: "Thy cheeks are as the turtle dove's," that is, she is supremely chaste and modest like the turtle dove. To this are added others, who by golden chains understand the aureole to be given to virgins: for the Hebrew תורי thore, that is chains, is the same as תורים thorim, that is turtle doves, as if these chains had been woven from the likenesses of turtle doves, which are a symbol of chastity; even if from turtle doves thorim has been extended to signify the likenesses of other things, such as chains and serpents, from which the necklaces and chains of the ancients were made, as Clement of Alexandria teaches in book II of the Paedagogus, chapter XI. Whence the Septuagint translates thorim as homoimata, that is, likenesses or simulacra in general. Fourthly, Psellus by chains understands progress in virtue and holiness, as if the angels thus address the pious soul: Because it will come to pass that the king in thee, O bride, whom thou lovest chastely and seekest, shall rest, come, allow thyself to be instructed and adorned by us: for although thou dost not yet shine with virtues as gold, but still splendest as silver, we shall nevertheless adorn thee to the likeness of gold, and shall make thee like the cherubic and flaming and venerable throne, in which the king descending shall recline and rest. Thus Psellus. To this pertains the fact that the Hebrew תורי tore, that is chains, plainly alludes to תורה thora, that is law, and to תור tor, that is disposition, order, series; whence the Chaldean by tore understands the Decalogue; and Origen, Theodoret, St. Augustine, St. Gregory and the others cited in the second exposition, understand Holy Scripture, which contains and promulgates the law of God. Therefore God casts upon the neck of the bride, so obedient, as a reward and ornament, chains, that is His divine laws, which, since they emanate from the eternal reasons that are in the mind of God, are in themselves most wise, and equally most beautiful, so that they wonderfully adorn the obedient one who receives them, not so much binding as adorning; under laws understand not only precepts, but also evangelical counsels, as well as beatitudes, which will make man heavenly and angelic, nay an angel on earth. Therefore chains of gold have been given to the Church of Christ, the evangelical laws, which St. Matthew recounts in chapters V, VI and VII, among which the first are the eight beatitudes: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek," etc. For what more beautiful, more worthy, more noble, more divine can be conceived? The Church therefore, embracing these laws of Christ and beatitudes, is adorned with them as with golden chains aptly connected among themselves; for gold, because it is more flexible and ductile than other metals, is a symbol of obedience. Hence also the sentences of Holy Scripture, which contain these laws, are chains, from whose texture the Church is beautified; they are golden, because full of the spirit of charity; they are interspersed with silver, because they are tempered with the spirit of knowledge and discretion. Whence Bede: "The chains," he says, "composed with artistic skill, she wears about her neck, when each faithful soul in all things which she speaks and does, nay in all that she lives and breathes, is continually intent upon Holy Scriptures, and carefully directs her sense and words to their example." Again, these chains denote beautiful and constant acts of obedience, by which, as it were with new gifts, Christ polishes and adorns the obedient faithful, and makes them praiseworthy, admirable and venerable to the whole world: for by gold the worth and excellence of actions, by silver their purity, brightness and splendor are denoted. For, as our Sanchez rightly says, if this most obedient bride is moved by the Spirit of God, it is fitting that the Holy Spirit, who sits upon her neck as charioteer and guide, should adorn her neck with His gifts and virtues. For the necklace to her, in Hebrew torim, that is turtle doves or doves, are so called because the divine Spirit, signified by the dove, loves her as a bride, and as a bridegroom holds and embraces her neck tightly. Moreover, the chains denote the hierarchical order of the Church, which wonderfully perfects and adorns her: for this order is nothing other than the order of obedience, by which patriarchs are subordinated to, subject to and obey the supreme pontiff; primates to patriarchs; archbishops to primates; bishops to archbishops; priests to bishops; deacons to priests; subdeacons to deacons and other clergy, and laymen to these. Behold this order in Rome, when the pontiff celebrates, with cardinals, archbishops, bishops, priests clothed in sacred vestments assisting him, legates of kings and princes, etc., and thou wilt truly say that this oracle is fulfilled there: "We will make thee chains of gold, interspersed with silver." For chains in Hebrew are called tore, that is dispositions, orders, series, such as appear most beautifully in this sacred senate, as also in the other offices and rites of the Church. subdeacons and other clerics, and after these laymen. Behold this order in Rome, when the pontiff celebrates, with cardinals, archbishops, bishops, and priests clothed in sacred vestments assisting him, legates of kings and princes, etc., and you will truly say that this oracle is fulfilled there: "We will make thee borders of gold, wrought with silver." For borders in Hebrew are called tore, that is, arrangements, orders, series, such as appear most beautifully in this sacred senate, as also in the other offices and rites of the Church.
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. A holy soul, especially one professed in obedience and religious life, is adorned in reward for this profession and obedience with little golden bracelets distinguished with silver, that is, with rules, constitutions and religious ordinances proper to each order, which represent nothing but the gold of charity and the silver of prudence, by which the order is wonderfully adorned. Again, the little bracelets are acts of obedience, by which the entire life of a religious is as it were concatenated and crowned like a golden bracelet, which are variegated with silver points, that is, with acts of humility, temperance, patience and other virtues: for from morning until evening, whatever a religious does, he does from the rules of obedience. He rises from bed, prays, chants psalms, studies, teaches, preaches, dines, sups, goes to bed, when obedience gives the signal. See Jerome Platus, in book II On the Good of the Religious State, chapter five, who also brings forth an example suited to this place, in book III, in the last chapter after the middle, of a certain excellent young man, who being called by God to the Cistercian order, when he deferred from day to day, began to grow lukewarm. Wherefore, when he had returned home from the Compostela pilgrimage, that very same night Christ the Lord appeared to him with two apostles, Peter and James; and Peter held a most beautiful book open before the Lord, in which the young man's name John was written. Then the Lord said to St. Peter: "Blot out this one from my book." But James began to beseech him on behalf of his, as he called him, pilgrim, and moreover to promise his amendment; but John, seeing that this was being done concerning him, was afraid and trembled, and promised a new life for the future. But the Lord, as if not quite believing in his constancy, demanded a surety for his will; whom St. James offered himself to be: and when the young man was awakened, and marveling at these things had fallen asleep again, the same vision was presented to him again, and moreover, there appeared in that book such an inscription from the Canticles: "We will make thee little golden bracelets, vermiculated with silver." He therefore, both invited by this pleasant promise and terrified by those threats, without any delay interposed, betook himself to Citeaux, where, having made great progress in virtue, he first became abbot of Bonnevaux, and afterwards also bishop of Valence. Platus relates this from the Chronicles of the Cistercians. To this pertains the example of our Father Peter Faber, who was the first companion of St. Ignatius the founder of the Society of Jesus, who, having spent his entire life wandering through various provinces out of obedience, and everywhere scattering seeds of piety, religiously passed away likewise out of obedience. Whence appearing after death to a certain religious person, he said most joyfully that he had undergone death for the sake of obedience, and narrated much concerning the joy which he obtained in heaven on account of that cause. Deservedly is he crowned with the halo of obedience in heaven, who was a victim of obedience on earth. Thus our Orlandinus in his Life, book II, chapter XXVIII. Again, by the little bracelets some understand the charisms which the Holy Spirit imparts to the obedient and religious, and especially the gifts of wisdom and eloquence: for wisdom is signified by gold, eloquence by silver, because it resounds beautifully like it with a tinkling sound. Whence St. Gregory, St. Thomas, Bede and others give these little bracelets to doctors, because just as through the neck from the head to the rest the power of sensation flows, so from the head Christ to the people through doctors the heavenly doctrine is derived. But this neck ought to be enclosed and fortified with ornaments marked with the image of doves, because the Holy Spirit ought to encircle the neck, and the throats of doctors as it were truly to inflate as his trumpet. Let therefore this neck be golden in charity, fervor and zeal, and silvery in the brightness of eloquence. Moreover, obedience and religious life suggest to the doctor great force and efficacy of doctrine, eloquence, zeal and spirit: for the obedient man is ruled through his superior, and is moved by God, and by his spirit, as his voice and instrument. Whence the ancient doctors of the Church were for the most part religious, namely of the four Latin ones three, to wit St. Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory; and the same number of the Greeks, to wit St. Basil, St. Gregory of Nazianzus, St. John Chrysostom. Such also were St. Bernard, St. Thomas, St. Bonaventure and many others. See Jerome Platus, lib. II On the Good of the Religious State, cap. XXV, 30 and seq. Again, the charism of obedience has as its almost proper gift the grace of miracles: for God uses the obedient as His instruments, and those most closely joined to Him, for the conversion of souls, and therefore through them, when it is necessary, He works miracles. There are many examples in the Lives of the Fathers, in Cassian and St. Gregory, book I of the Dialogues, chapter XII, and book II, chapter VII. Finally, the little murex shells are beautiful rites and ceremonies, both the rites of the Church and those of individual orders, which adorn them wonderfully. Anagogically, the little murex shell is the golden crown prepared in heaven for teachers, religious, and the obedient, which is golden through the glory of the soul, silvery through the glory of the body. Whence St. Thomas is depicted with a golden torque hanging from his neck, because in the heavens he is adorned with this golden crown of the little murex shell. Hence also after death he appeared from the heavens as if adorned with gems and a torque, as Father Ribadeneira relates in his Life near the end.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. All these things already mentioned belong to the Blessed Virgin above all others. That is proper to her, that fruitfulness did not harm, but adorned her virginity, just as silver adorns golden little murex shells. Again, the golden little murex shell hanging from the neck of the Blessed Virgin was her Son Christ the Lord, a little child hanging from her neck and sucking, and in turn instilling into her the gold of charity and the silver of humility. Finally, Rupert says: The little murex shells, he says, are the conversations of the saints golden to the senses, silvery in the brightness of eloquence. "We shall therefore make for you little murex shells of truth, ornaments of blessing and thanksgiving, blessing and giving thanks, because thus I have done for you; so that there is no place where the voice of this praise is not heard, a sonorous voice, a lofty praise, which celebrating your name continually surrounds you, and in a certain way hangs from your neck." Thus Rupert.
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WHILE THE KING WAS AT HIS TABLE (Aquila: at his reclining, Symmachus: anabklisai, that is at his rest, or cessations) HIS, MY SPIKENARD GAVE FORTH ITS ODOR. — That is to say, While my spouse, who is King Christ, was at his nuptial table, I the bride entered to him and brought spikenard ointment, and anointed him with it, by whose odor he was wonderfully refreshed. While, that is as long as, as the Hebrew, Septuagint and St. Gregory have it, that is to say, As long as the king reclined at the banquet, my spikenard gave forth its odor. By reclining he understands not a bed, but the nuptial table, at which the spouse with the bride reclines; in Hebrew it is mesab, that is a circle or orb: for formerly tables were circular, so that they could hold more, and so that they might be near to each other, and converse more conveniently with each one. The dining couches, therefore, in which in the time of Solomon the guests, as if lying down, but leaning on their elbows at the table, reclined around the table in a circle; hence triclinium was called, as it were the dining room of three couches. For the sake of propriety and the sequence of the drama, Origen rightly notes, in homily 2 out of four, that the bride, after the address of the spouse's companions already recounted, by which they praised her wonderfully, having entered into the triclinium, there offered to the spouse a wall and table gift, namely having poured spikenard ointment over him, and having delighted the spouse with its odor, and she recounts this to his companions after the spouse's departure; whence she speaks of him in the third person, saying: "While the king was," etc.,
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. First, some understand by the reclining the throne of divinity, which is his majesty and eternity: for in this, as in his throne, God sits and rests from eternity; hence in Hebrew it is called mesab, that is, a circle: for this, returning into itself in a circular manner, and therefore lacking beginning and end, is a hieroglyphic of eternity, which has neither beginning nor end. Thus the sense will be, as if to say, The Son of God resting in the bosom of the Father from eternity, and dwelling in the seat and triclinium of his majesty with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and enjoying there the most blessed and most complete rest, deigned to look down from that lofty seat of his to our humility and benefit, according to what is said in Psalm 101:18: "He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition, etc. Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: the Lord from heaven upon the earth hath looked: that he might hear the groans of the fettered: that he might release the sons of the slain." For as if our spikenard gave forth its fragrance before the king while reclining, when the humility of prayers and supplications, and also of tears, groans and sighs, poured forth by pious men to God for the salvation of the human race, reached even to the ears of God, and bent him to have mercy, so that he sent his son from the heavens to the earth; thus Titelmannus. So also St. Bernard, sermon 42: "The reclining of the king," he says, "is the bosom of the Father, because the Son is always in the Father. And do not doubt that this king is merciful, to whom the eternal reclining is the lodging of paternal Kindness. Deservedly the cry of the humble ascends to him, who is the fountain of piety, the dwelling, to whom familiar sweetness, to whom substantial, or rather consubstantial goodness is: to whom therefore all that is, is from the Father, so that nothing at all in royal majesty, except the paternal, is suspected by the trembling of the humble." But more strictly others everywhere understand by the reclining the incarnation of the Word, and his whole economy and conversation in the flesh: for this was as it were a nuptial banquet in which Christ feasted with the faithful, and celebrated nuptials as it were with the Church, as is evident from the parable of the king's son inviting all to his nuptials, Matthew 22:3 et seq. This likewise is rightly called a reclining, the Hebrew mesab, that is, a circuit, both because the life of Christ was a circle of most holy actions, virtues, mysteries; and because Christ went about in a circle and returned, ascending into heaven to the Father from whom he had descended sent to earth; and finally because Christ went about Judea preaching the kingdom of God, and calling all to it as it were to his nuptial banquet of eternal happiness. Whence Christ preaching in the Synagogue, Luke 4:16, took that theme from Isaiah, chapter 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me: wherefore he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he hath sent me to heal the contrite of heart, to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of retribution. And when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister, and sat down (behold the reclining), etc. And he began to say to them: This day is fulfilled this scripture in your ears." Thence the spikenard of the Church, namely the faith of the hearers, gave forth its fragrance. For, as Luke adds, verse 22: "And all gave testimony to him: and wondered at the words of grace that proceeded from his mouth." This is therefore, as also in the whole Canticle, a prophecy concerning the incarnation of Christ and his economy, for the bride first and primary here is the humanity of Christ, whose bridegroom is the Word, or the Son of God, who assuming it to himself in the incarnation espouses it, and through it the Church, and each faithful and holy soul, as I said in the Proem, chapter II: wherefore the past tenses here are to be understood as future, as is done among the prophets, as if to say, When the king shall be in the reclining of his flesh, my spikenard shall give forth its fragrance. The meaning therefore is, as Hortolanus says: From the time when in His humanity as in His semicircle our King's divinity appeared to us, from the time when the Synagogue of the Nazarenes was established, and when invited me, the Church of the faithful, to a banquet with provisions drawn from the storehouse of Isaiah, I listen attentively to Him as the wisest teacher of truth, faith and salvation, I believe in, venerate and proclaim Him, the Son of David and the Son of God, the King of Israel and the most eagerly awaited Messiah. I believe sincerely and publicly profess that He alone by His word is able to heal the sick, however desperate, and to recall the dying to life, to exclude and overcome demons from the possessed. With these testimonies, I and my companions, as from garments fragrant with the ointment of faith, drawn from the ivory treasuries, present the King teaching in the Synagogues of Judaea and in the temple of Jerusalem, and performing wonderful things with great glory and the admiration of all, and we delight in Him wonderfully, which the royal Psalmist once celebrated with these verses: "Myrrh, and stacte, and cassia perfume all thy garments, from the ivory houses: out of which the daughters of kings have delighted thee in thy honour," Psalm 44:9. Now in order that I may distribute this reclining of the Bridegroom in particular: First, Cassiodorus, Bede, Aponius and St. Ambrose in Psalm 118, discourse 3, understand by it the incarnation of Christ. Hear Cassiodorus, and from him Bede: "The spikenard gave the Church an odor, because, when the Son of God appeared in the flesh, the Church grew in the fervor of heavenly virtues: not because even before the incarnation it did not have men spiritual and devoted to God, but because without any doubt then it bound itself with closer study of virtues, when it knew that the entrance to the kingdom of heaven was open to all who lived rightly, as soon as the bonds of the flesh were loosed." The second reclining of Christ was when He Himself went about preaching through villages and cities, and reclined with sinners and others, that He might save them. Again, the reclining of Christ was on the wood of the cross, concerning which, Psalm 95:10: "Say ye among the nations that the Lord hath reigned" from the wood as from a royal throne; likewise rest in the sepulcher: thus Justus and Anselm. Hear Anselm: "I ought rightly to love Christ, because He gave me spikenard, namely virtues; and this, while He was in His reclining, that is in His passion and resurrection, namely because He suffered and rose again, therefore He gave me virtues, which gave their odor, that is befitting to Him, namely a good reputation." The third reclining of Christ was in death, for Christ by dying overthrew the kingdom of death, of the devil and of sin, and conferred upon us the kingdom of life, of grace and of God. Thus Origen, Theodoret and St. Jerome, book I Against Jovinian, as if to say: After the passion and death of Christ, the spikenard, that is the virtue of the Church, gave a greater odor than before; for from it flowed the fortitude of martyrs, the angelic purity of virgins, the holiness of confessors, the perfection of anchorites: thus Philo of Carpathus: "Thus the grateful and mindful Bride cries out to the Bridegroom: My spikenard hath given its odor of sweetness, that is, Thou hast given me the sweetness of ointments, namely the efficacy of martyrs and illustrious deeds, honor and glory. For the spikenard gave its odor, that is martyrdom, and Thy death or passion exhorted the martyrs to suffer for Thee; for Thou also hast suffered for us." The fourth reclining was of the resurrection, when rising from the sepulcher He reclined in glorious flesh, and triumphed over death and hell. Thus Justus, Anselm, and St. Gregory, 35 Morals 13, who says: "For indeed with the King placed in His reclining, the spikenard gives its odor, while, with the Lord resting in His blessedness, the virtue of the saints in the Church administers to us great grace of sweetness." The fifth reclining of Christ is in heavenly glory, whereby He sits at the right hand of God, as King of kings and Lord of lords; thus St. Gregory, Rupert, Bernard and St. Augustine, book I On the Trinity, chapter 8: then indeed the spikenard of the Church gave its odor through prayer, by which, the apostles and faithful praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit, obtained the same, and filled with it they proclaimed the name and fame of Christ everywhere. Hear St. Gregory: "The King entered His reclining, when" is poured out in the nostrils of the Lord of Hosts. For no odor is so pleasing to God, to angels and to men, as this humility of the faithful. Thus Rupertus, and St. Bernard, sermon 42, whom hear: "Good," he says, "is the odor of humility, which ascending from this valley of tears, spreading around the neighboring regions, sprinkles even the royal couch with grateful sweetness. Spikenard is a humble herb, which those who have investigated the powers of herbs more carefully report to be also of a warm nature; and therefore by this I seem to myself not inconveniently to understand in this place the virtue of humility, but one that burns with the vapors of holy love. Which indeed I say for this reason, because there is a humility which truth begets in us, and has no warmth: and there is a humility which charity forms and inflames: and this indeed consists in affection, that in knowledge;" and below: "But the humility of the Bride, like spikenard, spreads its odor, burning with love, flourishing in devotion, fragrant in reputation." The same St. Bernard adds that the Bride was here corrected and chastised by the Bridegroom concerning her defects, and then her spikenard gave the sweetness of odor, when her humility bore this correction modestly and humbly, and received it as it were a paternal gift. Secondly, spikenard denotes faith: for this humbly captivates the intellect in obedience to God revealing mysteries which surpass all human understanding. Whence St. Ambrose in Psalm 118, sermon 1: "Now," he says, "faith is fragrant, and therefore the Church says: My spikenard has given its odor; and she says, expecting reward with confidence, the ointment of grace is fragrant, from which the Virgin gave birth, and the Lord Jesus assumed the sacrament of the Incarnation." To this is added Justus Orgelitanus, who understands by spikenard the profession and preaching of faith, because the Church everywhere spread the odor, that is, the fame of Christ suffering and rising. Thirdly, spikenard is bitter penance, says Aponius: for this is the daughter of humility, and smells most sweetly in the nostrils of God. Whence, as it were to the letter, St. Mary Magdalene exposed this passage by her deed, when as a sign of penance she anointed the feet of Jesus reclining at table in the house of Simon; and again she brought an alabaster box of precious spikenard ointment, and poured it on the head of Jesus reclining in her house. Wherefore Origen, Nyssenus, Bede and Aponius apply this passage to Magdalene. From penance therefore a dish most pleasing to God is prepared, such as Magdalene brought to Christ, not so much when from the broken alabaster the spikenard ointment flowed, as when she poured out her melted soul through her eyes. Wherefore St. Bernard, sermon 30 in the Canticles, calls the tears of the penitent the wine of angels: "Because in them is the odor of life, the taste of grace, the flavor of pardon, the joy of reconciliation." Fourthly, spikenard is humble prayer and supplication; whence the Arabic translator renders for spikenard frankincense, which is a symbol of prayer: "Until," he says, "the king comes returning, my frankincense has given forth the odor of sweetness from the bundle of stacte, which I have with me for the son of my brother." Hear St. Bernard, sermon 42: "You can most fittingly apply this saying to the primitive Church, if you remember those days in which, the Lord having been taken up where He was before, and sitting at the right hand of the Father, in that His ancient, noble and glorious place, the disciples were gathered together in one place, persevering in prayer with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and His brethren. Does it not seem to you that truly at that time the spikenard of the small and trembling Bride gave its odor? Finally, when there came suddenly a sound from heaven as of a mighty wind coming, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting, Acts 2:2, it was made clear to all remaining in the place how pleasing was the odor of humility, and how acceptable it was, to which soon so abundant and glorious a recompense was given in return." Fifthly, spikenard is any virtue whatsoever, and the complex of all virtues and good works; for, as St. Bernard says, sermon 71: "Morals have their colors and their odors." Thus Cassiodorus, Origen, St. Gregory, Bede and others. Moreover, for "her fragrance," the Septuagint has "the fragrance of him," that is, of himself, namely of the king the bridegroom, by which it is signified that all the virtue of the Church, all its beauty, all its merit flows from Christ. Hear Origen: "But if it be read, as some copies have it: My spikenard gave forth its fragrance, something even more divine is found, so that this ointment of spikenard, with which the bridegroom was anointed, appears to have brought back not only its own fragrance, which naturally belongs to spikenard, but the very fragrance of the bridegroom himself to the bride; so that in that with which she anointed him, she received the fragrance of the bridegroom through the gift of the ointment itself, and this is what she seems to say: My spikenard, with which I anointed the bridegroom, has returned to me, and has brought me the fragrance of the bridegroom, and as if overcoming its own natural fragrance, before the sweetness of the bridegroom himself it has brought me its suavity." Whence Origen gathers that she who anoints Christ with the spikenard of devotion, of preaching, of holy deeds, through this very anointing receives the fragrance of Christ and breathes it forth, namely the grace of the Holy Spirit, and the greater fragrance of spiritual doctrine, as well as of the holiness of life. But Gregory of Nyssa explains "of himself," that is, of Christ, thus, as if the bride were saying: From all the virtues which I behold in myself, which all together as it were make many species of aromatics into one spikenard ointment, I attain to the knowledge of the most perfect virtue of God, and the same I communicate to those and breathe forth. But Theodoret thus, as if: From these virtues of mine I have attained knowledge of God, but by smell only, that is, a thin and meager knowledge. Finally, three Fathers in Theodoret thus, as if: My virtues, which are as it were the spikenard of God, exhibit to me the form of God through nature inaccessible, whose form and mark I bear, as his image and likeness; wherefore while I represent his likeness in my conduct, I represent him in myself as an exemplar in an image.
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. All things already said are adapted to the soul, the name of the Church being changed to the name of the soul. Add that the holy soul is a reclining place, that is a seat and throne, indeed heaven and temple, in which Christ reclines and rests: thus Nyssenus and Anselmus. Again, by spikenard Christ himself can be understood, just as he himself is called shortly after a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of Cyprus. Whence the Septuagint translates, my spikenard gave forth its odour abroo, that is of itself, namely of the bridegroom (although some read abris, that is he his own). And the Syrian, following them in the customary manner, with the king in his reclining place my spikenard gave forth its odour. Thus the sense will be, as if to say, In the reclining place, that is at the nuptial table, where unguents, flowers, spikenard, myrrh, and cluster of Cyprus abound, nothing smells sweet to me except the bridegroom Christ; before him I despise all other delights. Thus Theodoret, who also gives the reason why Christ is called spikenard: "He names spikenard," he says, "Christ, because he was anointed with that precious spikenard, whose odour filled the whole house, which signifies the entire world; for the service exhibited to the Lord by pious men has filled the orb of the earth with the sweetness of faith." Thus also Origen, Psellus, Sanchez and others. Spikenard therefore is a humble but fragrant herb, rough but warm and medicinal, representing Christ's humility, but sweet-smelling; and his passion, but burning with charity, and healing all the soul's ailments. Whence Honorius of Autun: "Christ," he says, "was spikenard in being born, myrrh in dying, a cluster in rising again."
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The King of glory was in his resting place, that is, he lay for nine months in the womb of the Blessed Virgin, when he assumed flesh from her; and then spikenard, that is, the virtue and humility of the Blessed Virgin, gave forth its fragrance. "For what," says St. Bernard, serm. 42, "is otherwise meant by my spikenard gave forth its fragrance, than that my humility pleased? Not my," he says, "wisdom, not my nobility, not my beauty, which were nothing to me, but that which alone was in me, humility, gave forth its fragrance, that is, its accustomed fragrance. By its accustomed manner does humility please God; by its accustomed manner indeed, and from custom the Most High Lord regards humble things, and therefore when the king was in his resting place, that is, in his exalted dwelling, there too the fragrance of humility ascended: He dwelleth on high, it says, and looketh on the low things in heaven and on earth." Psalm CXII, 5. Again, "when the king was in his resting place," that is, when the Son of God was in the bosom of the Father, he perceived the fragrance of spikenard, that is, the humility of the Blessed Virgin, and attracted by it he descended into her womb and became man. "Humility," says Rupert, "is the rest of the mind, and he who has found this has without doubt found the rest of his soul. I have sought this rest in all things, and the king, perceiving where he sensed the fragrance of this spikenard from me, perceived, I say, that he could rest here in the sweetness of a quiet soul, that is, a humble one, and he descended from that resting place of his, and rested in my tabernacle. Here he rested, here he dwelt for all nine months; and he whose Lord he was became the son of his own handmaid."
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A BUNDLE OF MYRRH IS MY BELOVED TO ME, HE SHALL ABIDE BETWEEN MY BREASTS. — In Hebrew ילין ialin, that is, he shall pass the night, as if to say, At night, when sad thoughts, base fantasies, and the temptations of the demon press in most heavily, as the sole and certain remedy for all things, I shall use this bundle of myrrh of the sufferings of Christ, by it I shall disperse all things, by its odor and meditation I shall put to flight and overcome all things. In Greek it is abiologisai, that is, he shall take a hall, or dwelling and stable and perpetual abode. The sense is, as if to say, Just as women carry myrrh of good odor in the breast for the sake of comforting the heart and head: so I carry in my breast my spouse uniquely beloved to me, of whom no forgetfulness shall ever creep upon me, because he himself is my love, my odor, my strength, who strengthens my heart and head, and gladdens my whole soul. The Septuagint, a binding of stacte, or drops, my kinsman to me, shall dwell in the midst of my breasts; St. Ambrose in Psalm CXVIII, sermon 3: "A binding of drops my kinsman, a cluster of Cyprus my brother to me, rests in the midst of my breasts; spikenard of Cyprus my kinsman in the vineyards of Engaddi;" Aquila, a bundle of myrrh. For kinsman in Greek is adelphidos, which St. Ambrose renders now brother, now kinsman; St. Jerome in the version of Origen, fraternal; others, daughter's son, or grandson. For Christ was born of the Synagogue, (namely of the Jews) which is the sister of the Church, whose voice is introduced here. Rightly therefore the Church here calls Christ the son of her sister, that is of the Synagogue. The word kinsman and fraternal signifies the same thing; Our text and Symmachus, my beloved; the fifth edition, my companion. Hear Origen, homily 2 from the four: "My kinsman to me smells of a drop, and this not diffused, nor as it pleases scattered, but bound and constricted, so that namely his odor may be made denser and more vehement. And here, he says, when he is such, he dwells in the midst of my breasts and remains, and makes his rest and abode in the place of my breast." Myrrh, according to Pliny, lib. XII, cap. XV, is a small shrub in Arabia, smaller than the frankincense tree, and grows in height to about five cubits. It is agreed among the authors who have written about this matter, that it is rough, thorny, with prickly leaves, with a hard and twisted trunk, from whose wound flows a tear, bitter to the taste with bitterness, which has an excellent power of binding, drying and cleansing. All which things are so apt for depicting the austerity of life, that nothing more apt could be brought forth. Hence the Latin and Greek myrrha is derived from the Hebrew מור mor, that is myrrh and bitterness, because myrrh is bitter. Furthermore the myrrh tree produces a juice or liquid, which is likewise called myrrh, and it is twofold: the first is that which the tree itself sweats forth spontaneously, which is called stacte, that is a drop, and this is the best and most fragrant myrrh; the second, which is drawn out by an incision of the tree. Again myrrh signifies the leaves and twigs of myrrh: wherefore a bundle of myrrh properly seems to signify a bundle made of leaves, or small branches or flowers of myrrh bound and gathered together. The Hebrew צרור tseror, and more the Greek apodesmos tes staktes, that is a binding of stacte, or drops, denotes a little bag or olfactory box, in which stacte or condensed liquid is contained. Whence the Nyssene, homily 3, thus explains: "My kinsman to me is a binding, which I suspend from the neck over the breast, by which I provide a good odor to the body." Hence also the Syrian renders it, a purse, or bag of myrrh who loves me.
The First Sense Properly Adapted, Concerning Christ and the Church. The Bride, seeing her Bridegroom the King in his reclining, that is, in the Incarnation, Passion, Cross and Death, which he willingly underwent for his Bride, seized with admiration at such great love, exclaims: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me," that is to say, I shall always remember the myrrh, that is, the love of this my Bridegroom, who so willingly endured such bitter things for me; I shall be grateful to him, I shall love him, and in return I shall not shrink from undergoing any bitter things for him, but shall desire and seek them; his bitter and difficult commands, indeed even his rebukes and sharp words, nay even scourges and blows I shall willingly take up and embrace. Whence this was the common voice, sense and spirit of the martyrs: I desire to undergo death, the cross, wild beasts, fires, racks and all manner of torments out of love for Christ, who suffered and was crucified so much for me, so that I may repay pain with pain, love with love, not equally, but as much as I am able. For one does not live in love without pain. Whence St. Ignatius, in his epistle to the Romans, says: "My love is crucified;" and St. Paul: "God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: by whom the world is crucified to me, and I to the world," Gal. VI, 14. For this reason Christ, about to go to the cross, left himself as it were a bundle of myrrh to the Church, perpetually to be seen and venerated in the Eucharist, so that this might be to her as it were a token and image of his Passion and Cross. Whence Christ, instituting the Eucharist, says: "This is my body which is given for you: do this for a commemoration of me," Luke XXII, 19, that is to say, In the reception of the Eucharist, and after it, deeply think, meditate, consider how much I have done and suffered for love of you, so that you in turn may love me in return. And Paul: "As often as," he says, "you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice: you shall show the death of the Lord until he come," I Cor. XI, 25: for the body of Christ consecrated under the species of bread separately from the blood, which is consecrated in the chalice, vividly represents the separation of blood and soul (for the soul is in the blood, as Scripture says) from the body, that is, the death of Christ on the cross: hence also the Magi offered to the Child Christ gold, frankincense and myrrh: Gold to the King, frankincense to God, and myrrh to him who was to be buried, as Juvencus says, that is to say, We offer to Christ gold, so that we may profess that he is our King, to whom as subjects we pay gold as it were a tribute; we offer frankincense, so that we may profess that he is our God, for frankincense is burned to God; we offer finally myrrh, so that we may profess that we believe he will die for us on the cross and be buried: for the bodies of the dead were anointed with myrrh, so that they might remain uncorrupted. Thus Theodoret: "Myrrh," he says, "indicates the death of the Bridegroom, and the sweetness which from it comes to the Bride." Whence Philo of Carpathus says that the Church is here signified by a bundle of myrrh, that she is espoused to Christ through the blood and water which flowed from his side. Myrrh therefore is a symbol of Christ, first, because it represents his sorrows and Passions: for the whole life of Christ was a bundle of myrrh, that is, continuous bitterness, and a collection of labors and sorrows. Second, because myrrh surpasses other aromatic trees in the sweetness of its odor: so also Christ surpasses angels, men and all creatures in the sweetness of his love and grace, according to that which he himself says of himself, Eccles. XXIV, 20: I "as myrrh chosen have given a sweet odor." Third, myrrh preserves bodies uncorrupted: so the Passion of Christ inspires incorruptibility in minds and bodies, while through the remembrance of him, his merits and grace, the mind of all the faithful overcomes all corruptions of concupiscence, and their bodies shall rise from death to immortality on the day of judgment. As a symbol of this, the body of Christ after death was anointed with myrrh and aloe by Joseph of Arimathaea, Matt. XXVII, 59. Fourth, myrrh comforts the heart and gladdens the head: much more does the passion of Christ do both. Hence the bride says, between the breasts; the Septuagint, in the midst of my breasts he shall dwell, that is to say, In my heart, and in its most intimate depths (for the heart is situated between the breasts) the passion of Christ shall remain constantly fixed, and like myrrh most efficacious shall imbue and soak my heart, so that its power may spread from the heart into all the senses, powers and members, and strengthen them for all the struggles of love, for all the labors of virtue, for every kind of death and martyrdom for my Christ to be undergone generously and cheerfully. For from the heart proceed life, vigor and the vital spirit into all the senses, powers and members. Wherefore when the myrrh of Christ's passion occupies the heart, through it the power spreads into all the powers of the soul. Thus therefore it comes to pass that Christ dwells in us, that we put on Christ, that we are conformed to Him; for Christ is as it were the soul of our heart, and, as Jeremiah says: "The Spirit of our heart, Christ the Lord, was taken captive in our sins: to whom we said, In thy shadow we shall live among the nations," Lamentations IV, 20. Whence Paul says: "I am nailed to the cross with Christ. And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me," Galatians II, 20. Just as therefore wool is soaked with oil, as Columella says in book VII, chapter IV, that is, is imbued with oil, dipped, stained; and just as bread is soaked with wine, when it imbibes the power and juice of wine in a morsel, which the Italians significantly call inzuppare: so precisely the heart of the saints is soaked with the sorrows and passions of Christ, and imbibes their power, which it then transmits into all the powers and senses of the soul, so that all breathe and exhale the crucified Christ. Symbolically, Origen, homily 2 from the four, by the bundle, or, as he himself reads from the Septuagint, the binding of myrrh, understands the body and flesh of the incarnate Word: "It seems," he says, "that the binding and bond is to the soul the body, into which binding, a drop (stacte) in Christ of divine power and sweetness is bound." The Godhead therefore, bound to the body, is as it were a drop or stacte bound in a bundle, or confined in a box. So also Theodoret: "The binding," he says, "he calls a drop, because he himself descended like rain upon fleece, and like drops dripping upon the earth, Psalm LXXI, 6; and by the prophets also he was called a drop. There shall be of a drop of this people, Jacob shall be gathered together," Micah V, 7 (according to the Septuagint). Moreover St. Ambrose, sermon 3 on Psalm CXVIII, reading, the binding of a drop, thus expounds it, that is to say, Christ bound himself to flesh with the cords of charity: "The Lord Jesus," he says, "receiving a body, bound himself with the bonds of charity, and not only bound himself to our members and natural sufferings, but also to the cross." Furthermore the Chaldean renders: "At that time the Lord said to Moses: Go and descend, for thy people have corrupted themselves; let me alone, that I may consume them. Then Moses returned, and sought mercy from the face of the Lord, and the Lord remembered the obedience of Isaac, who had been bound by his father on the mountain Moriah upon the altar; and the Lord turned from his wrath, and caused his majesty to dwell in the midst of them as before." This exposition is Jewish and Jewish, yet it serves the Christian and genuine exposition already assigned. For the binding of Isaac for his immolation was a type of the binding and immolation of Christ on the cross, and that on the same mountain Moriah: for a part and hill of it is the mountain of Calvary, on which Christ was crucified. the struggles of love, for all the labors of virtue, for every kind of death and martyrdom for my Christ to be undergone generously and cheerfully. For from the heart proceed life, vigor and the vital spirit into all the senses, powers and members.
The Second Sense, Partial, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. A pious soul keeps the passion of Christ, as a bundle of myrrh in her breast and heart, so that by it she may strengthen her heart and gladden her head, for undertaking with joy and fortitude all the labors and sorrows of virtue, and all the adversities of this life, in imitation and love of Christ. Thus St. Bernard, sermon 43: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he shall abide between my breasts. Formerly a king, now beloved: formerly in a royal couch, now between the breasts of the bride. Great is the virtue of humility, to which even the majesty of divinity so readily inclines itself. Quickly the name of reverence has been changed into the word of friendship; and he who was far off has in a short time been made near. A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me. Myrrh is a bitter thing, hard and rough, signifying tribulations. Foreseeing that it threatens her on account of her beloved, she speaks of it with gladness, confident that she will bear all things manfully. They went, it says, rejoicing from the presence of the council, because they were counted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus, Acts v, 41." He then adds why it is called a bundle, not a bundle of sticks: "For this reason indeed she does not say a bundle of sticks, but a beloved bundle, because she accounts whatever labor and sorrow may threaten as light in comparison with love for him. Well a bundle, because a little child is born to us, Isaiah cap. IX, vers. 6. Well a bundle, because the sufferings of this time are not worthy to be compared with the glory to come, which shall be revealed in us, Romans cap. VIII, vers. 18. For that which, it says in II Corinthians, cap. IV, vers. 17, is at present momentary and light in our tribulation, works out for us above measure in the sublimity of eternal weight of glory. There will therefore be for us at some time a great heap of glory, which now is a bundle of myrrh. Is it not a bundle whose yoke is sweet and whose burden is light? Not because it is light in itself (for neither is the harshness of suffering light, nor the bitterness of death), but yet light to one who loves. And therefore he does not say merely: A bundle of myrrh is my beloved; but to me, he says, whom I love, it is a bundle. Whence also he calls it beloved, showing that the force of love overcomes the trouble of all bitternesses, and because love is strong as death." Thus St. Elzear, count of Ariano, through this bundle of myrrh arrived at an immovable gentleness and tranquility of mind: for when he was harassed in various and frequent ways by insults, calumnies, mockeries, injuries, etc., even by his own servants, he would immediately turn over in his mind the reproaches, calumnies, injuries, and torments inflicted upon Christ, nor did he cease from this meditation until his mind rested tranquilly in the imitation of this patience; by which it came about that he gave no sign of pain or anger, and seemed to lack bile, and to be without bitterness: thus his Life has it among the works of Suerius. By the same bundle St. Francis, St. Elizabeth, and many others arrived at such humility, patience and holiness. Again, a bundle of myrrh is the continual mortification which the life and passion of Christ teach us, which was nothing other than continuous mortification: for this washes away all corruption of concupiscence, heals all the wounds of the soul, and strengthens it for all good. Myrrh, says Galen, in book VII of Simple Medicines, purges the chest and lungs, binds, concocts and disperses; stacte warms those who are chilled. More fully Dioscorides, in book I, chapter LXVII: "Myrrh," he says, "warms, concocts, produces flavor, etc., is swallowed for old cough, pains of the sides and chest, for flux of the belly and dysentery, disperses chills, polishes the roughness of the windpipe; it expedites a dull voice, kills worms of the belly, is chewed against foul breath of the mouth, stabilizes the gums and teeth, glues wounds of the head, heals broken ears and exposed bones, cleanses impetigos with vinegar, soothes long-lasting drippings, fills ulcers of the eyes, removes white spots, disperses dimness, smooths roughness." The passion of Christ and mortification in soul and spirit effect the same and more; whence there is no more efficacious remedy against temptations of lust, anger, pride, sloth, envy, etc., as perpetual experience confirms. Wherefore Gregory of Nyssa, in homily 3, thinks it is signified here that the soul which has Christ crucified bound in its heart cannot sin in any member or sense: "That soul," he says, "which has received the good odor of Christ, and has made its heart a binding of this incense, so prepares itself that all the pursuits of life, as it were the members of some body, burn with the spirit which flows from the heart, with no iniquity in any member of the body cooling the love of God." And Origen, homily 2 from the four: "The binding of the drop," he says, "is understood as the constriction of the dogmas of continence, and the knotted character of divine sentences; for the reasons of faith are bound to one another, and bound by the bonds of truth." And three Fathers in Theodoret: "It is," they say, "the bond and preservation of the drop of divine grace which has been communicated to me, my beloved: for through faith," he says, "received, he guards spiritual things, and preserves the gifts of the Church, and confirms and strengthens the faithful, lest they depart from the truth." And St. Gregory: "The bodies of the dead," he says, "are accustomed to be preserved with myrrh, lest they rot. We apply myrrh to bodies lest they rot, while we restrain our members in imitation of Christ, through their mortification from the rottenness of lust, lest, while we leave them without this seasoning, dissolved by rottenness, we make them food for eternal worms. But why does the bride call her beloved not myrrh, but a bundle of myrrh, except that, while the holy mind considers the life of Christ in every part, it gathers together virtues resisting against all vices from his imitation; from which it fashions for itself a bundle of myrrh, by which it washes away the rottenness of its flesh forever." Mortification therefore, and austerity of life purifies the soul, sanctifies it, and makes it wonderfully pleasing and acceptable to God, because it makes it like Christ crucified. Wherefore God is accustomed to reward it abundantly with his charisms. To pass over other things, read the Lives of the Saints, and you will find that they shone forth only in great and frequent miracles, those who were of austere life, such as were St. Martin, St. Anthony, St. Hilarion, St. Benedict, St. Romuald, St. Bernard, St. Dominic, St. Francis, St. Ignatius, St. Francis Xavier. Therefore the passion of Christ dwells between the breasts, that is, in the heart of the holy soul. Symbolically, between two breasts, that is, first, between the New and Old Testament: for each predicts and proclaims the passion and cross of Christ, says Philo of Carpathus. Second, between the breasts, that is, between the doctors who preach Christ crucified, says Justus Orgelitanus. Third, St. Gregory: "Two breasts," he says, "are the love of God and of neighbor. Hear him: "He (the bridegroom Christ crucified) is said to dwell well between the breasts, because in the love of God and neighbor the holy dwelling of Christ is built. For the holy soul, while it loves God in such a way that it does not despise its neighbor, and pursues the love of neighbor in such a way that it does not diminish the divine, undoubtedly places breasts in its breast, by which embracing Christ, it nourishes him. For as if nourished by breasts, Christ is strengthened, while he delights in this twofold love, so that he may adhere more strongly." Finally, St. Bernard, sermon 43, takes the two breasts to mean congratulation and compassion, according to that saying of Paul, Rom. XII, 15: "Rejoice with them that rejoice, weep with them that weep. Since truly, being occupied amid adversities and prosperities, he knows that dangers are not lacking in either case, he wishes to have his beloved in the middle of such breasts of his, by whose continual protection against both he is fortified, so that neither joyful things may exalt him, nor sad things cast him down." St. Bernard then adds, and so he earnestly commends this bundle of myrrh to all by his example: "You also, if you are wise, will imitate the prudence of the bride, and will not suffer this bundle of myrrh so dear to be torn away from the principal place of your heart, even for an hour, always retaining in memory all those bitter things which he endured for you and turning them over in assiduous meditation, so that you too may be able to say: A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts. And I, brothers, from the beginning of my conversion, on account of the heap of merits which I knew were lacking to me, have taken care to gather this bundle for myself and to place it between my breasts, collected from all the anxieties and bitternesses of my Lord, namely first those infantile necessities; then the labors which he endured in preaching, the fatigues in traveling about, the vigils in praying, the temptations in fasting, the tears in suffering with, the snares in conversing; finally the perils from false brethren, the revilings, the spittings, the blows, the mockeries, the reproaches, the nails, and things of this sort, which the evangelical forest is known to have produced most abundantly for the salvation of our race." And after many other things which he adds to this matter, he concludes thus: "I have said that to meditate on these is wisdom, in these I have established for myself the perfection of justice, in these the fullness of knowledge, in these the riches of salvation, in these the abundance of merits. From these there comes to me at times the healthful drink of bitterness, from these again the sweet unction of consolation. These raise me up in adversities, in prosperities they restrain me, and between the joys and sorrows of present life, walking the royal way, they provide me safe guidance on both sides, driving back the evils threatening from either direction. These reconcile me with the judge of the world." Thus far St. Bernard, piously, wisely and pathetically.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin standing at the cross, offered her Son Christ crucified, as a bundle of myrrh, with her whole heart to God the Father in holocaust for the redemption of the whole world, just as Abraham offered his Isaac. The same, after the death of Christ and his ascension, bearing his torments bound to her heart, nay engraved upon it, was constantly ruminating with the highest sense of sorrow, love and devotion: nor did she merely ruminate, but in fact imitated him, bravely enduring all the persecutions of the Jews and all adversities, and constantly applying herself to tears, compunction and mortification, by which she therefore merited to obtain wonderful graces and gifts of God, as she herself revealed to St. Bridget. For this reason she frequently and most devoutly visited Calvary and the places of Christ's passion: for she herself felt most vehemently all the torments of Christ by suffering with him, which Christ endured by suffering, and that not once as Christ did, but throughout her whole life. For she loved Christ far more than herself. Whence she would far rather have suffered all the torments of Christ herself than to see Christ suffering them. Therefore she was many times a martyr, according to that prophecy of St. Simeon to her: "And thy own soul a sword shall pierce," Luke cap. II, 35: thus Rupert.
1:13
You ask, what is cyprus? First, the Rabbis and from them the Zurich Bible, from similarity of sound, think it to be caphura, or camphor. Now camphor is a gum of a certain tree born in India of such great size and height that a hundred men can be hidden under its shade. Matthiolus recounts the powers and properties of camphor in Dioscorides, book I, chapter LXXV. Now authors relate three memorable things about this gum. They say that camphor burns in water; then they report that it becomes moist with moisture, if placed in fresh and warm bread; finally they say that, unless it is carefully preserved, it sometimes vanishes even from sealed cases. Which three things assuredly suit the bridegroom exceedingly, so that not undeservedly the cluster of cyprus is called. For in this spiritual cataclysm of the human race, whereby the winter waters, both flowing from their source and bursting forth by perverse will, have overwhelmed the world and extinguished the fire of charity, he himself standing and raised up in the midst of the flood, is nourished by the waves themselves as by oil, and like a burning lamp emits the flame of charity, which rivers cannot overwhelm. Thus John the Carmelite. Again, R. Abraham by the cluster of cyprus understands the dates of the palm, which are most delicious. Second, that the clusters of cyprus are grapes born in the island of Cyprus, or vines brought from Cyprus into Judea, St. Gregory, Cassiodorus, Bede, Anselm, Rupert, St. Bernard, Titelmann and others hold. For Cypriot wine, equally as Cretan (commonly called malmsey) is excellent, strong and distinguished, as Pliny testifies, book XIV, chapters I and VII. And this sense suits Christ our bridegroom aptly, who as a most fat and delicious cluster of the most precious and distinguished wine, pressed and expressed in the winepress of bitter passion, poured forth the blood of the grape, as most precious, so also most abundantly, and gave it to drink to his bride the Church, by whose drinking even now she herself is vivified and refreshed, gladdened and made drunk. To this is added the Chaldean, who by the cluster of cyprus understands wine accepted from the grapes of Engedi, which the Hebrews entering into the holy land poured out to God: "They went, he says, to the vineyards of Engedi, and took from them clusters of grapes, and pressed wine from them, and poured out from it upon the altar, a fourth part of a hin for each ram." Third, Justus of Orgelitanus by cyprus understands cypress, or cupressus, or cyparissus, whose foliage exhibits a certain appearance of clusters. But cyprus is one thing, cupressus another, as is evident from Pliny, Dioscorides, Galen, Theophrastus and others. Fourth, Origen, Theodoret, Gregory of Nyssa, and Philo of Carpathus explain the cluster of cyprus as a cluster of flowering, that is still flowering, and not swollen with fruit, namely grapes: for κυπριάζω indeed means I flourish, and κυπρισμός means flowering. But the Hebrew כופר copher, and the Latin and Greek cyprus signify nothing of the sort. Fifth, others by cyprus understand balsam. Thus Aponius, Bede, St. Bernard, Honorius, Hailgrin, Sotomayor, Sanchez and others. They prove first, because balsam is most fragrant, and proper to Judea in the vineyards of Engedi. Whence St. Jerome in chapter XXVII of Ezekiel: "Balsam, he says, which is born in the vineyards of Engedi;" and in the Epitaph of Paula: "She beheld the vineyards of balsam in Engedi." Second, because Ecclesiasticus, following Solomon in his manner, compares Christ to balsam, Ecclesiasticus chapter XXIV, 21: "As balsam, he says, not mixed is my odor." Third, because the tree or shrub producing balsam is similar to the vine, as Pliny testifies, book XII, chapter XXV: "Its seed, he says, is nearest to wine in taste." And a little before: "This is more similar to the vine than to the myrtle, it is said to be planted from shoots, recently bound like a vine, it fills the hills in the manner of vineyards." But it is objected, first, that nowhere is balsam called copher, or cyprus. Second, that balsam does not have clusters or grapes; but from an incision of the shrub that most fragrant liquid flows forth, which is called opobalsamum. Sotomayor responds that the cluster of cyprus is the same as a branch of balsam. But the Hebrew אשכול escol, and the Latin and Greek botrus, signify a grape, not a branch: yet balsam is mentioned here in the vineyards of Engedi. One might say more probably that the cluster of cyprus is called the liquid flowing forth from the balsam shrub when incised, which congeals and grows warm like a cluster. Third, that Pliny, Dioscorides, Galen and even Josephus the Hebrew, book V On the Jewish War, chapter IV, distinguish cyprus from balsam. I say therefore: "Cyprus," says Pliny, lib. XII, cap. XXIV, "is a tree in Egypt with leaves of the jujube, seed of coriander, with a white and fragrant flower." And, as Philo of Carpathus says in cap. IV of the Canticles, verse 13: "Cyprus is a small shrub with a white flower, with hair hanging down like ringlets, most fragrant, with a leaf of the olive; from this is made an ointment named cyprinum, most useful for many things, and it has leaves, flowers, fruits and branches most useful. This best grows in Ascalon of Judaea and in Canopus of Egypt." Cassiodorus in the same place: "Cyprus," he says, "is an aromatic tree, having seed similar to coriander, that is, white and somewhat shining, which is cooked in oil, and from it is expressed that which is called cyprus; whence a royal ointment is prepared." But Dioscorides, lib. I, cap. IV, describing cyprus, gives it these virtues: "It loosens the spiracles of the veins, provokes urine against stones, and water over the skin; it is most usefully drunk; it is a remedy against the bites of scorpions; bathed for the blockages and constrictions of the womb, it is beneficial; it drives out the menses. Against ulcers of the mouth, even if they eat away and devour, its flour is efficacious; it is well added to warming poultices and to the thickening of ointments." And Galen, lib. VII of Simple Medicines: "Cyprus," he says, "its roots especially are useful, heating equally and drying without acrimony. Therefore they are wonderfully beneficial for ulcers which, on account of excessive moisture, admit a scar with difficulty; for they have something also astringent; wherefore they are also suitable for ulcers of the mouth. Indeed, they must be testified to have some cutting power, by which they are suited to those troubled by stone, and they provoke urine and the menses." Matthiolus adds in the same place an image of cyprus, in which clearly at the top of the cyprus small leaves are seen to arise with seed, like a cluster or raceme. Moreover, that cyprus is the same shrub as Italian privet, the opinion of various authorities teaches, as Pliny in lib. XXIV, cap. X, where he asserts that privet is the same tree which in the East is called cyprus. And Galen, lib. VII of Simple Medicines: "Cyprus," he says, "or privet leaves, etc., have something digestive and astringent. Therefore some foment burns with a decoction of them. They are also used against fiery inflammations and carbuncles. For they dry without trouble and bite. Indeed, even for ulcerations arising spontaneously in the mouth, aphthae, and the very aphthae of children, chewed they are accommodated." Dioscorides hints at the same thing, lib. I, cap. CVII: "Privet," he says, "is a tree with leaves of the olive similar around the branches, etc., with a white fragrant flower." And soon after he adds: "Cyprinum oil, which is made from it, fragrant, heats and softens the nerves;" where he insinuates that cyprinum oil is ligustricum, and consequently that privet is cyprus. But Ruellius asserts this very thing expressly, lib. I Distinct. cap. XCIV, and Matthiolus in the place of Dioscorides already cited. Where also in the manner of an idea or form of privet or cyprus, he exhibits an image to be viewed, in which clearly are to be seen clusters, or grapes of privet or cyprus, similar to grapes which are born in the vine. And he adds: "It produces white and mossy flowers, and clustered flowers and black fruit." Whence the Arabic for cluster of cyprus translates, raceme of flowers: for such is in privet. Hence also Theophrastus, lib. IX Hist. plant. cap. VII, asserts that cyprinum, or ligustricum ointment is most fragrant. But Rembert Dodoens in De stirpibus, pemptade 6, lib. II, cap. XIII, although he distinguishes privet from cyprus, in that privet loses its leaves in winter, but cyprus remains green with perpetual foliage, nevertheless asserts it to be very similar to it; but privet is called by the Greeks φιλλυρέαν, concerning which Dioscorides: "Phyllyrea," he says, "is a tree similar in size to cyprus, with leaves of the olive darker and broader: it has fruit similar to lentisk, black, somewhat sweet, cohering in clusters;" and such altogether is privet. Moreover, the Syriac Dictionary asserts that copher, that is cyprus, is a certain tree, whose dried fronds, and reduced to powder and mass, render the hands, hair, and other parts of the body purple. The same thing thinks Peter Belon, an eyewitness, lib. II Observat. cap. LXXIV, where he says that Solomon's cyprus is a shrub, which the Arabs call alkanna or henna; the Greeks call scenna, which similar to privet grows abundantly in Cairo of Egypt. This, he says, the Turks and Mauritanians carefully preserve on account of the grace of the flowers (which dense and closed present the appearance of clusters), and the sweet odor similar to musk. Whence the Turkish emperor collects from it annually a tax of more than eighteen thousand ducats: for this custom has prevailed, that all women stain their hands, feet, and part of their hair with red or yellow, and men their nails with red color with the powder of alkanna. Note. Although the cypress is similar to privet, and in Judæa it was most fragrant, and bearing fruit, namely clusters of remarkable size and flavor, as is evident from this passage and from chapter IV, 13. Hence cypress is called from the Hebrew כופר copher, that is expiation, namely of foul odor, in that its odor refreshes man and drives away foul smells, as Marinus says in his Lexicon. Copher therefore, or cypress, is a shrub of the cypress tree, which St. Jerome testifies to be fragrant, and to flower like a flowering grape, from which cypress oil is made, which they likewise call cypress, most fragrant and most healthful, according to Pliny, book XXIII, chapter IV. This was more truly the case in the age of Solomon, when Judæa flourished in the excellence and abundance of all things: for then it was a land flowing with milk and honey, which now is seen to be rough, barren and stony. Wherefore cypress and other aromatic trees, which by Solomon's art and care being cultivated produced excellent fruit, have now either dried up, or degenerated from their original goodness, as is evident concerning balsam, which once Judæa alone possessed, now utterly knows not. For Solomon had vineyards, both near Jerusalem and in Engaddi. For there were vineyards, and vines, and cypresses, and balsams of the finest quality, which he himself by his industry in cultivating them made far more excellent. Furthermore, our Delrio probably understands by the clusters of cypress the most delicate grapes of Engaddi, which from the neighboring aromatic cypress trees drew to themselves the cypress flavor, and exhibited it to the taster: for it is the property of vines and grapes to acquire to themselves the flavor according to the roots of the shrubs or herbs growing near, as experience shows, and Pliny teaches, book XV, chapter XVI. Thus therefore the clusters growing in Engaddi near the cypresses, drawing in the flavor and odor of cypress, displayed it, and on that account were held in esteem, just as today in Italy and elsewhere the muscatel grapes. With these therefore most fragrant and most flavorful grape clusters, the bride compares her most beloved bridegroom. Thus Delrio.
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. The bride says: Just as my bridegroom Christ, on account of the passion which He underwent for me, is to me a bundle of myrrh, bitter but fragrant, which continually dwells between the breasts, that is, in my heart, and is remembered by me: so likewise He is as a cluster of cypress, because in the manner of it He is most pleasant to me in smell and taste. For just as copher, or cypress, expels foul odours, so Christ by His passion and grace expels the foul odours of sins: כופר copher in Hebrew is the same as expiation; whence some translate it, a cluster of expiation, or of redemption of iniquity, or of price, or of propitiation. For copher signifies all these things, as if to say: My beloved on account of His passion is to me the beloved of bitter myrrh; but this bitterness is covered, expiated and sweetened by the fruit of our redemption acquired through it, which He merited and obtained for Himself and for us. Thus Cassiodorus, Bede, Rupert, Anselm and St. Bernard. Whence Honorius of Autun says that Christ was spikenard in the Incarnation, a bundle of myrrh in the Passion, a cluster of cypress in the Resurrection. Moreover, a cluster of cypress flowers is a gathering and condensation of cypress flowers: just as grape seeds are condensed in a bunch of grapes; yet this is called a cluster rather than a flower, because a cluster signifies the multitude and condensation of the flowers, that is, of the gifts of the soul and glorious body of Christ, namely impassibility, brightness, agility, subtlety, and likewise the liberation of the fathers from limbo, the ascension into heaven, the sending of the Holy Spirit, the preaching of the apostles, the conversion of the gentiles and the other charisms of the Holy Spirit, which Christ from heaven conferred upon the Church, confers and will confer until the day of judgment, nay, throughout all eternity. This sense is favoured by the interpretation of names; for κύπρος, that is, cypress, is the same as beautiful, or beauty. But what is more beautiful than the Resurrection and the glorious body? Again, Engedi in Hebrew can be translated as fountain, or eye of happiness: but what is happier than heavenly beatitude, in which the blessed see the essence of God with the eyes of the mind and all good? Moreover, this cluster of cypress is said to be "in the vineyards of Engedi," to signify that this cluster is most excellent, both in itself and in the vicinity of balsam and other aromatic trees, whose power and virtue was wafted upon it, as Origen notes, homily 2 from the four, Cassiodorus, Bede, Aponius, St. Bernard, sermon 44, St. Jerome in Ezekiel XXVII. For balsam, which surpasses all aromatics in the sweetness of its odour, as well as in the salubrity of its liquid, according to the testimony of Pliny, was formerly born nowhere except in Engedi: for Engedi is a city and region near Jericho and the Dead Sea, in the tribe of Judah toward the west, breathing forth a most pleasant odour from the abundance of fragrant trees, especially balsam: whence it was also called Asasonthamar, that is, the city of palms, because it abounds in palms and balsams. Thus St. Jerome, Tradition in Genesis chapter XIV, and from him Adrichomius in the Description of the Holy Land. But balsam, most fragrant, which heals bodies that are ill-affected, and preserves the dead from corruption, most aptly denotes the Resurrection of Christ, immortality, salvation and eternal glory, which He confers upon His elect. Whence St. Ambrose in Psalm CXVIII, sermon 3: "Engedi," he says, "is a place in Judaea, in which opobalsamum is produced; if you seek the interpretation, it signifies temptation in Latin. In those vineyards there is a tree; if anyone pricks it, it emits an ointment: this is the fruit of the tree; if the wood is not cut, it does not so fragrant and smell sweet; but when it has been pricked by the hand of the craftsman, then it distils a tear: just as Christ also, crucified on that tree of temptation, weeps over the people, that He might wash away our sins, Hebrews V, 7, and from the bowels of His mercy poured forth ointment, saying: Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do, Luke XXIII, 34. The fountain therefore pricked in the wood is the lance, and there came out of it blood and water, John XIX, 34, sweeter than all ointment, an offering acceptable to God, pouring forth throughout the whole world the odour of sanctification, and as balsam from a tree, so virtue went out from His body." And after some things to the same effect: "He moved the earth, and clung to the wood; He covered the heaven with darkness: He crucified the world, and was crucified: He bowed His head, and the word went forth: He was emptied, and filled all things: God descended, man ascended, the Word was made flesh, John I, 14, that flesh might claim for itself the throne of the Word at the right hand of God, John XIX: a wound was inflicted, and ointment flowed forth: the scarab was heard, and God was recognized." So also Bede, taking the balsam which is born in the vineyards of Engaddi to mean the charisms of the Holy Spirit: "And the bridegroom, he says, is in the vineyards of Engaddi: because the Lord himself appearing in the flesh is full of the Holy Spirit, and he himself bestows his gifts upon believers." And he adds that Christ is spikenard, a bundle of myrrh, and a cluster of cypress: "because a devout woman first anointed the Lord reclining at supper with spikenard; then the disciples wrapped the crucified one in linen anointed with myrrh for burial; and after this he himself distributed spiritual gifts to the faithful with the joy of the resurrection soon to come." Again, Engaddi is the same as the fountain of the kid; whence it signifies baptism, by which all kids, that is sinners and sins, are washed away: thus Cassiodorus, Bede, Aponius, Anselm, Rupert, Philo of Carpathus, and St. Gregory, whom hear: "In Engaddi balsam is produced, which with the oil of pontifical blessing is made chrism, by which the gifts of the Holy Spirit are expressed. Engaddi is interpreted as the fountain of the kid: but the kid was of old sacrificed for sins. What therefore is signified by the fountain of the kid, but the baptism of Christ? in which while the body is immersed, the soul is washed, and through faith in him who endured death for sinners, the human soul believes itself to be cleansed from all sins." And St. Bernard, sermon 44: "In faith and gentleness he will make him holy, and will give him not oil, but balsam in the vineyards of Engaddi. For there is no doubt that from the fountain of the kid flow forth better charisms, whose unction certainly turns kids into lambs, and transfers sinners from the left to the right, abundantly indeed already anointed beforehand with the unction of mercy, so that where sins abounded, grace may abound even more." And above after the beginning of the sermon: "Therefore he calls the vineyards of Engaddi the people of the Church, which has the liquid of balsam, the spirit of gentleness, in which it gently cherishes the tenderness of the little ones still in Christ, and consoles the sorrows of the penitent. But if any brother be overtaken in some fault, an ecclesiastical man, who has already received this spirit, will take care to instruct such a one forthwith in the same spirit of gentleness, considering himself, lest he too be tempted. In this type all those who are to be baptized, the Church has been accustomed to anoint even bodily with material oil."
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. Christ is a cluster of Cyprus to the holy soul in the meditation and imitation of His passion and resurrection, and especially in the reception of the Holy Eucharist, which is the memorial of His passion. For in it the blood of Christ is drunk under the species of wine. Whence Zacharias IX, 17, calls the Eucharist "the grain of the elect, and wine springing forth virgins." It itself therefore is like a cluster of Cyprus: first, because it contains the blood of Christ, as a cluster pressed in the winepress of the cross; second, because it itself is the most delightful food, which inebriates the soul with heavenly delights, graces and joys; third, because through it we shall rise to blessed and immortal life, as Christ says, John VI, 55. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 44: "If the beloved in myrrh, much more in the sweetness of a cluster. Therefore my Lord Jesus is myrrh to me in death, a cluster in resurrection, He has tempered Himself to me most healthfully in drink, in tears, in measure. He died for our sins, and rose again for our justification, Rom. IV, 25, that being dead to sins we may live to justice. Therefore you, if you have drunk sins, you have drunk bitterness: but if now you have breathed again in hope of life with a holier life, the bitterness of myrrh has been changed for you into wine, which gladdens the heart of man," Psalm CIII, 15. Second, the same St. Bernard, taking by a cluster of Cyprus the finest wine, which is born in the island of Cyprus, by it understands the fervor and zeal of justice: "For indeed, he says, if you love the Lord Jesus with your whole heart, your whole soul, your whole strength, could you by any means bear with equanimity if you saw His injuries and contempt? Not at all: but immediately seized by the spirit of judgment, and the spirit of fervor, and as one mighty made drunk with wine, filled with the zeal of Phinehas, you will say with David: My zeal has consumed me, because my enemies have forgotten your words; and with the Lord: The zeal of your house has eaten me up. This wine is therefore the most fervent zeal, pressed from the cluster of Cyprus, and the cup inebriating with the love of Christ." And after some things: "A cluster of Cyprus is my beloved to me in the vineyards of Engaddi, that is, the zeal of justice of the love of my beloved is to me in the affections of piety." Third, Nyssenus, Origen, Theodoret and Philo, who by a cluster of Cyprus understand a cluster flowering, not yet producing grapes, by it understand Christ, who to those beginning exhibits a certain sweetness of odor, by which they may make progress, so that to those already mature He may provide the wine of love and fervor. Hear Nyssenus, homily 3: "Jesus born as a child in those who received Him, makes diverse progress in wisdom and age and grace; it is not the same in all, but according to the manner in which He is, insofar as he who receives Him is fit, such does He appear either as an infant, or as one making progress, or as perfect, fittingly to the nature of a cluster, which is not always seen on the vine in the same form, but changes form with time, flowering, perfect, mature, made wine. The vineyard therefore professes to its fruit, that it is not yet mature and ripe for wine, but awaits the fullness of times; yet not as if wholly lacking the enjoyment of delights. For through the flower it signifies a certain hope of future grace: but a certain hope of grace is the enjoyment for those who through patience await." And that "in the vineyards of Engaddi," that is, in a fertile place where vines strike deep roots, that is in deep thought and meditation, which supplies the juice of piety to the soul, by which it may grow, and from flower may pass into the fruit of virtue and charity. Hear also Origen, homily 2 from four: "The divine Word, in those in whom the true vine is made, does not suddenly produce mature and sweet clusters; nor suddenly from them is made sweet wine and gladdening the heart of man, but first it produces only the sweetness of odor in the flower. But this cluster flowering is remembered to be in the vineyards of Engaddi, which is interpreted the eye of temptation, so that the grace of its fragrance may be sent into the beginnings of the soul, so that after this it may be able to suffer the bitterness of tribulations and temptations, which are stirred up to believers on account of the word of God, and thus finally it provides the sweetness of its maturity." Whence Origen adds that the flower of Cyprus has the power of heating. Christ therefore is a cluster of Cyprus to those whom He sets on fire with the fire of charity: these in Engaddi, that is in the fountain of temptation do not succumb, but overcome it strongly. Hence Philo Carpathius by a cluster understands the faithful themselves of Christ: "A cluster, he says, while it matures, brings pleasure to those beholding it: thus those who had begun to believe in Christ, not yet receiving mature fruit, are compared to a flowering cluster; but when they now taste the mature cluster, clothed in true faith of Christ and charity, they begin to be perfect, and are called by the name of bride." Fourth, Aponius, interpreting cypress as sadness and sorrow, asserts that Christ is a cluster of cypress to sinners, while He instills in them the spirit of compunction and sorrow for sins, that He may raise them to the blessedness promised to those who mourn, Matthew V, 5: "Blessed," He says, "are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted." For these are in Engaddi, that is in the fountain of the kid, because in the fountain of tears they wash away the stinking kids of crimes. Tropologically, in Engaddi, that is in the fountain of temptation, is found a cluster of cypress, that is Christ, because in temptation and tribulation the grace and consolation of Christ flourish and abound, by whose fragrance and strength the soul afflicted by tribulations is wonderfully refreshed and strengthened, according to that of the Psalmist: "According to the multitude of my sorrows in my heart, thy comforts have given joy to my soul," Psalm XCIII, 19. Thus Theodoret: "Placed in temptations," he says, "and assailed by many, she says: I feel thy sweetness." Where therefore we are tempted by the enemy, there we are gladdened by Christ; where divine temptation, there divine consolation; where the cross, there refreshment. For Christ promised and merited this to His followers. Whence Paul: "For as," he says, "the sufferings of Christ abound in us: so also by Christ doth our consolation abound," II Corinthians I, 5. Hence "we glory in tribulations," says the same, Romans V, 3, and we desire and seek them, because we know that hidden manna lies concealed in them, more of divine honey than of human gall.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. Christ on the cross was to the Blessed Virgin a bundle of myrrh; but in the resurrection a cluster of cypress, when appearing to her first He wiped away all the sorrow of His passion, and converted it into the joy of exultation. Thus Rupert: "Therefore," he says, "my beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh, because He was about to die; and He was a cluster of cypress, because He was about to rise, and dies no more. A cluster, I say, of cypress, namely of the land or island, bringing forth very sweet clusters and the best wine; because it is not any wine, but the best wine of resurrection, and this in the vineyards of Engaddi, that is of the fountain of the kid: for this is what Engaddi means." He adds the reason: "Why therefore have I said thus? For this reason indeed, because this beloved of mine came not to call the just, but sinners, that they might rise in the first resurrection, who had been dead through sin; and this in the fountain of the kid, in the fountain of baptism, in the laver of regeneration, by which those who are regenerated become sheep, who had been kids; they become holy, who had been liable to sins."
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BEHOLD THOU ART FAIR, MY LOVE, BEHOLD THOU ART FAIR. — The Septuagint, behold thou art comely, my neighbor (Symmachus, companion); St. Ambrose, good. The Chaldean: "When the children of Israel did the will of their king, he in his word praised them in the assembly of holy angels, and said: How fair are thy works, my daughter! My beloved congregation Israel in the time when thou doest my will, and laborest in the words of my law." As to the sequence of the drama, the bridegroom in his reclining at table, beholding the bride entering to him, and perceiving the fragrance of her spikenard, and then departing, but listening behind the wall, and hearing her among her companions so commending the bridegroom, saying: "A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts. A cluster of cypress is my beloved to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi," could not restrain himself from returning to her and repaying her the exchange of love, and praising her beauty. Marveling therefore at her, he says again: "Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair," by which doubling, as well as by the demonstrative adverb behold, he signifies that her beauty is singular and admirable. For just as the bride had celebrated the twofold beauty of the bridegroom, namely the passion in the bundle of myrrh, and the resurrection in the cluster of cypress: so in turn the bridegroom returns and repays the twofold beauty of the bride. Thus Theodoret. Moreover, beauty is the proper dowry of women and brides: hence they are so fond of ornament and eager for adornment. Hence the poet Anacreon: "Nature," he says, "gave horns to the bull, hooves to the horse, swiftness to the hare, the gaping mouth of teeth to the lion, swimming to fishes, flying to birds, prudence to men. What to women? beauty in place of shields and spears, Which iron and fire strike, Which she flashes with a fair countenance."
The First Sense, Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. Christ praises the beauty of the Church, and by repeating it, signifies that it is twofold, indeed manifold, namely internal and external, which flows forth from the internal: the internal is situated in a bundle of myrrh and a cluster of cypress, that is in continual meditation and imitation of the passion and resurrection of Christ; the external truly in spikenard, that is in humility and external modesty, which breathes forth its pleasant fragrance to all, according to that Psalm 44:14: "All the glory of the king's daughter is within, clothed round about with varieties of gold." Thus Cassiodorus, Bede and Philo of Carpathus, who place the internal beauty of holiness in a pure and holy conscience, the external in honest and holy conversation. For true beauty is situated in internal beauty, from which the external flows forth; otherwise the external and added beauty is paint, not adornment. He adds the reason for love, saying, my beloved; the Septuagint, my neighbor; Symmachus, my companion; the Hebrew רעיתי raiati, that is my table-companion, who lives with me and feeds at my table. Plato, in the dialogue On Love, teaches that beauty is grace and charm, which draws the eyes and souls of those beholding it to love of itself, whence it is called in Greek κάλλος, which calls all to itself, that is invites and summons. This is true among men, for there beauty is the cause of love; but not with God: there on the contrary love and friendship is the cause of beauty. For God loves men, not because they are beautiful; but by loving them he makes them beautiful, so that they may be worthy of his love. For the love of God is the principle and cause of all good and beauty. For God is himself the essential, immense and incomprehensible beauty; and because it overflows, hence from his immense goodness he pours it forth into men and other creatures, and the more so, the more they are near and close to him: those therefore who draw near to God, these partake of his beauty; and those who are nearer, partake more; and those who are nearest, partake most. For the soul is like a mirror: if it approaches beautiful things, it receives a beautiful form and image in itself; but if deformed things, a deformed one. Thus Psellus in Theodoret, whom hear: "Since vice cast out from behind, the soul purified by the Word has received the circle of the sun in itself, and shone forth together with the light which appeared in it, therefore the Word says to it: Thou hast become beautiful, thou who hast drawn near to my light, drawing by the drawing near the dispensation of beauty. Behold, says he, thou art beautiful, my near one. Then when he had restrained himself, and contemplated her as it were in a certain approach of beauty, again he repeats the same prayer: Behold thou art beautiful; but before indeed he called her near, here however her who is known from the appearance of eyes: For thine eyes are doves." To this is added St. Ambrose in Psalm 118, sermon 3: "Since, says he, the Church had known the mystery, and preached the Lord Jesus crucified for the redemption of the whole world, she deserves to hear: Behold thou art good, thou who callest me good; and thou thyself art good who hast seen the beauty of my glory, and thou thyself art fair and comely. What is it for Christ to say: Thou art good, thou art comely, except that Gospel word: Be of good heart, daughter, thy sins are forgiven thee?" Now the bride had placed the bridegroom as a bundle of myrrh between her breasts, that is in her heart: from his beauty therefore she became beautiful, from his brightness she became bright. Anagogically, the beauty of the Church is twofold: first, in the present life through grace: for grace is itself the charm of the soul, because it makes it a sharer in the divine nature, equal to the angels, like Christ, the friend and daughter of God. For grace is the highest participation of God and of his immense holiness and beauty. Second, in the future life through glory: for this is the beauty not of wayfarers, but of the blessed and angels. Thus Origen, homily 3 out of 4: "Fair, says he, is this Church, when it is near to Christ, and when it imitates Christ. But that he repeated: Behold thou art fair, can pertain to the future age, where now not only by imitation, but by its own perfection it is fair and beautiful, and there he says her eyes are doves." Truly St. Augustine, Preface in Psalm 44: "The highest beauty, says he, is justice, because as the beauty of the body is the just proportion and harmony of all members among themselves, with a certain sweetness of color: so the beauty of the soul is justice, by which it assigns to all the powers of the soul and members of the body what is their own, and thus makes man throughout composed and comely, as appeared in original justice, which Adam had before sin, and more in the justice of Christ and the Blessed Virgin." And Clement of Alexandria, book III of the Pedagogue, chapter XII: "The best beauty, says he, is the beauty of the soul, when it has been adorned by the Holy Spirit, and inspired by those things which arise from him, by joys, justice, prudence, fortitude, temperance, love of good things, and shame, than which no color more brilliant has ever been seen." And the Blessed Isidore of Pelusium, book III, letter 31 to Lampetius the Bishop, where among other things he has thus: "As the norm of bodily beauty is the apt proportion of members: so also the extreme line of spiritual beauty consists in the moderation of virtues," etc.
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. Beyond what has already been said, first, St. Gregory assigns a twofold beauty of the soul, a twofold charity, namely of God and of neighbor: "Twice beautiful, he says, does the bridegroom call the bride: because to whom he gives the love of God and neighbor, he imparts to her a twofold beauty, in which he delights, and which he praises." Second, the soul is beautiful in a twofold way, first, in action; Second, the soul is beautiful in a twofold way, first, in action; second, in contemplation: thus three Fathers according to Theodoret. Third, the just man is beautiful in a twofold way, first, . Third, the just man is beautiful in a twofold way, first, in the beauty and holiness of the soul; second, of the body, according to that concerning the virgin: "That she may be holy both in body and in spirit," 1 Cor. VII, 34: thus Justus and Anselm. Fourth, St. Fourth, St. Bernard, sermon 45, interprets the twofold beauty as penance and humility, by which lost innocence is recovered. For St. Bernard holds that the bride, reclining in the embrace of the bridegroom, was reproved by him for her defects, but she pleased him with her nard, that is, with humility and humble confession, whence he here celebrates the beauty of the bride. "For indeed, he says, correction followed presumption, amendment followed correction, recompense followed amendment. The beloved is present, the master is removed, the king departs, dignity is put off, reverence is put on. For pride yields where affection prevails. And just as once Moses spoke to the Lord as a friend to a friend, and the Lord answered: so now between the Word and the soul, as if between two neighbors, a most familiar conversation is held." And after some intervening words: "The beauty of the soul is humility. I do not say this of myself, since the Prophet said it first: Thou shalt sprinkle me with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed, Psalm L, 9: signifying humility by a humble herb and one that purges the breast. With this the king and prophet, after a grave fall, trusts to be washed, and thus to recover a certain snowy whiteness of innocence."
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was wonderfully beautiful, both in body, and far more in soul and mind. St. The Blessed Virgin was wonderfully beautiful, both in body, and far more in soul and mind. St. Bernard assigns a twofold beauty to the Blessed Virgin, supreme innocence and supreme humility. For after the words already cited, he adds: "But in one who has sinned gravely, even if humility is to be loved, it is not to be admired. But if someone retains innocence, and nevertheless joins humility to it, does he not seem to you to possess a twofold beauty of soul? Holy Mary did not lose her holiness, and she was not without humility; and therefore the king desired her beauty, because she joined humility to innocence. Finally, he says, he regarded the humility of his handmaid, Luke I, 48. Therefore blessed are those who keep their garments clean, namely of simplicity and innocence; if however they also add the beauty of putting on humility. Truly he will hear what is found in such a one: Behold thou art fair, my love, behold thou art fair." Again, Rupert interprets the twofold beauty of the Blessed Virgin as virginity and motherhood of God. See what is said on Proverbs XXXI, 25, to those words: "Strength and beauty are her clothing." Finally, Hugh of St. Victor in a sermon Again, Rupert interprets the twofold beauty of the Blessed Virgin as virginity and motherhood of God. See what is said on Proverbs XXXI, 25, to those words: "Strength and beauty are her clothing." Finally, Hugh of St. Victor in a sermon on the Assumption, which is found at the end of vol. II, takes the twofold beauty of the Virgin as virginity and humility: "O what a union, he says, the wholly beautiful unites to himself the wholly beautiful. I am wholly beautiful, and thou art wholly beautiful. I through nature, and thou through grace. I am wholly beautiful, because all that is beautiful is in me. Thou art wholly beautiful, because nothing that is base is in thee. Beautiful in body, beautiful in mind. In body thy beauty is made by the integrity of virginity: in mind the virtue of humility displays thee beautiful. Thou art therefore wholly beautiful, snowy in body, sincere in mind." And with some words interjected: "Nor was any other fitting for such a one, nor could any other be found with such a one. O worthy of the worthy, fair of the fair, pure of the incorrupt, exalted of the Most High, mother of God, bride of the eternal King."
Thine eyes are doves. Doves are a symbol of love, faith, and conjugal chastity; for in dovecotes the male dove applauds only his own dove, and seeks no other. Whence the Poet: Let doves joined together be thy example in love. Male and wholly female conjugal union.
First Sense in Totality, Concerning Christ and the Church. The beauty of man is seen most of all in the face and eyes; for in the eyes shine forth the heart and soul, and all the affections of the soul. Whence St. Augustine in Psalm XLI: "The eyes," he says, "are members of flesh and windows of the mind." And Cicero, book III of On Oratory: "The face is the image of the soul, and the eyes are its indices." The Bridegroom therefore praises the beauty of the Bride chiefly from her eyes, namely that she has them not like those of a fox, not like those of a wolf, not like those of a vulture, that is, not oblique, fraudulent, and feigned, not envious and rapacious, not wandering about looking for prey; but like those of a dove, that is, first, simple, bright, ingenuous; second, modest, thus Origen; third, straight, for doves do not look obliquely, but straight; fourth, loving and lovable, for doves do not gaze fiercely, but gently and lovingly; fifth, peaceful and meek: thus Bede: "Your eyes, like doves," he says, "that is, the eyes of your heart are simple and pure, and wholly free from all duplicity of deceiving and feigning. Again, your eyes like doves, because your senses are endowed with spiritual understanding. Again, the beloved of Christ has eyes like doves, because she who truly loves him inwardly is not inflamed by the appetite for external things after the manner of a kite, nor does she meditate harm against any living creature: which is said to be the gentleness of doves, which contemplates all things that come before it with a simple, mild and humble heart." And St. Bernard, sermon 45: "Your eyes like doves. Now," he says, "you do not walk in great things, nor in things wonderful above you: but like the simplest of birds you are content with simpler things, nesting in the clefts of the rock, dwelling in my wounds, and willingly beholding with a dove's eye those things which are of me alone, incarnate and suffering." The Septuagint translates, your eyes περιστεραί, that is doves, in the nominative plural, as if to say: Your eyes are so beautiful, bright, and lovable, that they seem to be not so much dove-like, as doves themselves: you therefore bear doves in your eyes, because whatever is beautiful and lovable in doves, this you exhibit and represent in your eyes, such as first, modesty and chastity; second, that in love it grieves instead of singing; third, that it flees from putrid, filthy and foul things; fourth, that it builds its nests for itself in rocks; fifth, that it delights in waters, and dwells beside rivers. Hear St. Gregory: "The eyes of the Bride are rightly said to be those of doves; because while she grieves in temporal things, and is snatched away to eternal desires, she keeps her senses in simplicity, and abhors carnal lusts. For the dove grieves in love instead of singing. And the holy soul is well compared to a dove: because while the reprobate rejoice and are glad in the love of the world, the elect mind is worn away in heavenly desire, because it fears lest it lose what it loves, while it is delayed." He then adds: "Moreover, by the eyes of doves the preachers of the Church can be understood, who preserve the simplicity which they preach, and despising visible things, pant after eternal things with great groanings." And Psellus in Theodoret: "You are endowed," he says, "with joyful eyes of a dove, when you turn your eyes away from error, and direct them toward me your Creator. But he mentions the eyes of a dove, so as to signify the pure gaze of the virgin. For she has eyes so pure that she may behold most purely the most beautiful Bridegroom." Symbolically, Hugh, book I of the Institutes of Monastic Life, chapter III, by the two eyes of the dove understands memory and intellect: "It has," he says, "two eyes, right and left, memory and intellect: in this it foresees the future, in that it weeps for the past. Our fathers closed these eyes in Egypt, because they did not understand the works of God, nor were they mindful of the multitude of his mercy." Anagogically, Origen by the two eyes understands the Son and the Holy Spirit, by which the soul will see in heaven, and by that vision will be made blessed: "In the future age," he says, "where the soul is now not only by imitation, but by its own perfection beautiful, he says her eyes are doves, so that by the two eyes of doves two are understood to be the Son of God and the Holy Spirit." Mystically, St. Gregory, Anselm and others understand by the eyes of the Church the doctors and preachers, to whom Honorius of Autun adapts the seven doves as seven gifts, that is, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit: "For the dove," he says, "nests in rock, nourishes alien chicks, chooses pure grain, lacks gall, does not harm with its beak, dwells near flowing waters, flies in flocks. Thus the Church builds in rock, that is in Christ, by faith and works; it nourishes those alien from the word of God by word and example, chooses pure teachings from the books of gentiles or heretics, lacks the malice of envy, harms no one by detraction, dwells near the flowing waters of the Scriptures, so that it may escape the attacks of hawks, that is of demons, and labors to draw many with itself to joys." He then adapts this to prophets and apostles: "The eyes of one dove, that is of the Church, before the advent of Christ, were the prophets, who foresaw for her the eternal light, Christ: whence they were also called seers. The eyes of the other dove, namely of the Church after the advent of Christ, from the same people were the apostles, who led her to the true light, Christ. Therefore the bridegroom says: O my beloved, to whom I have revealed all the secrets of my Father, because I have healed thee with the spikenard of my flesh, redeemed thee with the myrrh of my death, made thee drunk with the cluster of my resurrection, behold in my presence thou art beautiful in faith, behold before men thou art beautiful in works; because thy eyes, that is thy overseers, are simple as the eyes of doves, namely both the prophets and apostles, doctors of the Church. For eyes lead a man, lest he stumble on a stone: thus doctors lead the Church to life, lest she stumble on the law of God written in stone."
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. The dove is a symbol of innocence, and therefore the Saints are called doves, says St. Basil in Psalm XXVIII. Whence St. Chrysostom, homily 4 On the Patience of Job: "There was a man in the land of Hus named Job," he says, "a dove in the midst of hawks, a sheep in the midst of wolves, a star in the midst of clouds, a lily in the midst of thorns, and a shoot of justice in a city of iniquity." Now the eyes of the dove especially denote the sincere and upright intention of the holy soul: for the dove has a straight gaze, as I said, not oblique. For the eye, first, aims at that toward which it then directs the hands and feet, so that they may tend the same way; but the eyes of the dove are wholly fixed on what they behold: thus the holy soul, first, wholly aims at God as its end, and then directs all its steps and actions toward him. Second, just as an eye aiming at something receives its image into itself and becomes assimilated to it: thus the soul aiming at God imbibes his form and becomes divine, and as it were an earthly god. Third, just as the eye immediately beholds the thing it aims at, admitting no medium whatsoever: thus the soul, aiming at God, ought to behold him alone, not comforts, not honors, nor anything else intermediate: for whatever is intermediate impedes the vision and intention toward God. Fourth, just as the eye can behold many things at once arranged laterally or circularly: thus the soul in its work can intend many ends of virtues, as for example it might say: I wish to pray, fast, study, give alms, so that I may make satisfaction to God for my sins: which is an act of penance; likewise so that I may please God my love: which is an act of charity; moreover so that I may honor God: which is an act of religion; to these things, so that I may succor the need of my neighbor: which is an act of mercy, etc. And the more ends of virtues it intends, the better and more meritorious is the work: because this act, although as elicited it be one, nevertheless, as commanded, is manifold, because it is commanded by as many virtues as there are intentions in it. This is what Christ says: "If thy eye be single, thy whole body shall be lightsome," Luke XI, 34. For intention gives primary goodness to a work, and therefore if a work be in itself indifferent, good intention will make it good and like to itself. And Zacharias, cap. IX, 1: "The eye of the Lord is upon man, and upon all the tribes of Israel," that is to say, the Lord is the object toward which the eye and intention of all those who are true Israelites, that is servants and worshippers of God, aims. To this pertains the version of the Chaldean, and how right are thy works, and thy occupations like the young of doves, which are pure, so that they may be offered upon my altar. For the intention of pleasing God and worshipping and honoring him in any work offers it to God and makes it as it were a holocaust. Hence it is noted by the eyes of the dove: for the dove was a victim which God demanded for himself as a holocaust, Leviticus cap. I. Indeed the Syrians did not dare to touch, kill and eat white doves, but religiously honored them in honor of Semiramis, the first queen of the Assyrians, into whom they fabled she was changed after death. Whence Tibullus, lib. I, eleg. 7: "Why should I tell how the untouched white dove, sacred to the Palestinian Syrian, flies frequently through cities?" See Eusebius, lib. VIII De Praeparat. cap. VII.
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The dove is an image of the Holy Spirit. The eyes of the dove therefore signify the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, that is, the fullness of graces by which the Blessed Virgin excelled all men and angels. "Nor is it," says Rupertus, "a new thing that these seven gifts are called eyes; for even in the prophet Zacharias they are signified by the same seven eyes, which are in one stone, Christ. These eyes of mine are thy eyes, the eyes of doves, the eyes of all graces. Thou hast been made a partaker of all graces, from the time when thou didst receive me in thy chaste womb, upon whom rest all the aforesaid gifts of the Holy Spirit, as it is said in Isaiah, and in whom dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily."
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BEHOLD THOU ART FAIR, MY BELOVED, AND COMELY. — The Chaldean: How fair is the majesty of thy holiness: because in the time in which thou dwellest among us, thou dost willingly receive our prayers.
The First Sense Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. It is as it were an amoebean song, in which praise is alternating and reciprocal, such as exists between lovers. The bridegroom had praised the beauty of the bride; now she herself modestly, bashfully and reverently reflects all praise back upon the bridegroom, and confesses that she has received from him all her beauty, that is, the remission of sins, justice, grace, purity, and the efficacy of acting well and meriting, as if to say, as the Hortolanus says: I hear my extraordinary praises from you, O bridegroom, with blushing; but I judge you alone most worthy of them: for if there is anything in me of beauty and justice (which I feel is how scanty it is), it is a gratuitous gift, and poured forth and bestowed upon me from the inexhaustible fountain of your beauty and justice and goodness. For you alone by yourself are beautiful, and now especially having resumed your immortal body are you comely and excellent; nay rather you yourself are beauty, placed outside the range of all beautiful things, the refulgence of paternal glory and the expressed image of the substance, by participation in which whatever things are beautiful seem rather to be similar to beauty than to be called beautiful. Thus also St. Gregory, Cassiodorus, Bede, Justus, Anselm, Rupert, who say that Christ is beautiful in his divinity, comely in his humanity. And St. Bernard, sermon 45, says that he is beautiful in nature, comely in grace: "How beautiful you are to your angels, Lord Jesus, in the form of God, in the day of your eternity, in the splendors of the saints born before the morning star, splendor and figure of the substance of the Father, and indeed perpetual, and in no way adulterated brightness of eternal life! How comely you are to me, my Lord, in this very position of your comeliness! For where you emptied yourself, where you divested yourself of the unfailing light of natural rays, there piety shone forth more, there charity blazed forth more, there grace radiated more abundantly. How brightly do you rise to me, star out of Jacob, Numbers 24:17, how luminous a flower do you come forth from the root of Jesse, Isaiah 11:10, how joyful a light in darkness did you visit me, rising from on high! How remarkable and wonderful even in the highest virtues in your conception by the Spirit, in your birth from the Virgin, in the innocence of your life, in the flowing of your teaching, in the flashing of your miracles, in the revelations of your sacraments! How finally, glowing after your setting, Sun of Justice, do you rise from the heart of the earth, how beautiful in your robe at last, King of Glory, as you receive yourself into the heights of the heavens! How should not all my bones say for all these things: Lord, who is like unto you?" Most excellently St. Augustine, Preface to Psalm 44: "To us, he says, now believing, let the bridegroom beautiful appear everywhere. Beautiful is God the Word with God, beautiful in the womb of the virgin, where he did not lose his divinity and took on humanity. Beautiful the Word born as an infant, for even when he was an infant, when he nursed, when he was carried in hands, the heavens spoke, angels sang praises, a star directed the Magi, he was adored in the manger, nourished by the meek. Beautiful therefore in heaven, beautiful on earth, beautiful in the womb, beautiful in the hands of his parents, beautiful in miracles, beautiful in scourges, beautiful inviting to life, beautiful not caring for death, beautiful laying down his soul, beautiful receiving it, beautiful on the wood, beautiful in the tomb, beautiful in heaven, beautiful in the intellect." Finally Christ was most beautiful both in soul and body, as being formed by the Holy Spirit, according to that: "Fair in beauty above the sons of men," Psalm 44:3. Hence in the face of Christ something celestial shone forth, nay the majesty of divinity radiated, as St. Jerome teaches in Matthew chapter 9. Wisely Tertullian, book On the Adornment of Women, chapter 2: "Beauty, he says, is not to be accused, as the happiness of the body, as an addition of divine forming, as a certain urbane garment of the soul." Whence also the Nyssene, Catechetical Oration, chapter 6, says that man was created by God beautiful in face and appearance, as an image of the exemplar of beauty, namely of God most beautiful. But true beauty consists far more in the soul than in the body. For, as St. Augustine says, tract. 32 in John: "As the soul makes comeliness in the body, so God in the soul." And soon after: "Therefore the comeliness of the body is the soul, the comeliness of the soul is God." Ennodius in the Life of St. Epiphanius Bishop of Ticinum: "Beauty, he says, in the very light of the corporeal body, was an index of the soul." And soon after he adds that such a priest ought to be: "That the brightness of the limbs surpass the light." Indeed even Seneca, epistle 60: "Virtue, he says, is great comeliness, and consecrates its own body."
Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and a Holy Soul. St. Gregory of Nyssa explains it thus, as if to say: "Behold, thou art fair, my cousin, and comely. For since nothing else appears to me to be fair, but I have turned away from all things which before were esteemed as fair goods; no longer does my judgment go astray concerning the good, so that I should think anything else besides thee to be good and fair, not any human honor, not glory, not worldly splendor, not power: for these things are indeed smeared over with the appearance of good to those who look to sense, but they are not what they are thought to be. For how could that be fair which in no way endures? For what is honored in this world has its essence in the mere estimation of those who think it to be. But thou art truly fair, not only fair, but the very essence of fairness itself, always such as thou art, in no way flourishing in time, nor again casting off thy flower in time, but extending thy form and beauty together with eternal life, to which the name was given of benignity and charity toward men." And St. Bernard, sermon 45, teaches that here is described how the Word of God, namely Christ, and the soul converse and speak sweetly to one another in the mind spiritually: "And indeed the tongue of the Word," he says, "is the favor of his condescension; but of the soul, the fervor of devotion, etc. To the Word therefore to say to the soul: Thou art fair, and to call her beloved; is to infuse that whence she both loves and presumes to be loved. But to the Word itself in turn to name the beloved, and to confess her fair; to ascribe to her what is loved and what is loved, without fiction and fraud, and to marvel at his condescension, and to be amazed at his grace. Since indeed his beauty is his love; and therefore greater, because it goes before. Therefore from the very marrow of the heart, and with the most intimate voices of affections, it cries out to itself so much more and more ardently that it must be loved, the more it first felt itself loving before being loved. Thus the utterance of the Word is the infusion of a gift, the response of the soul with thanksgiving is admiration. And therefore she loves more, because she feels herself overcome in loving; and therefore she marvels more, because she recognizes herself anticipated. Whence she is not content to say once that he is fair, unless she repeat and comely, designating by that repetition the eminence of comeliness."
Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin, as she especially notes the mystery of the divinity and incarnation of the Word accomplished in herself, and thus more than others admired the beauty of Christ God and man; whence Rupert introduces her speaking thus sweetly with Christ: "He truly venerates in me that I am mother and virgin; I in him adore that he is God and man. I say therefore: Behold thou art fair, my beloved, and comely. Thou sayest to me: Behold thou art fair; and I say to thee: Behold thou art fair. From the fact that I have been made fair, from that thou who hast always been fair, hast been made more fair. For truly in thee thou hast increased thy beauty, in that being God thou didst deign to become man. Hence thou art fair and comely: so fair that thou art the very substance of fairness; so comely that thou art the very comeliness of humanity. Truly therefore thou sayest to me: Behold thou art fair, and I say to thee: Behold thou art fair, because thou art my fairness. That therefore I am fair, all of this is to be attributed to thee. For it is not the beauty of the rod of the flower, but the flower of the rod." And William the Little, as if to say: Because thou art fair according to thy divinity, comely according to thy humanity. Thou art not only man, but also God; and therefore William says: "I am not only mother, but also virgin; because to thy eternal divinity humanity has been joined in time, and to my virginity fecundity has not succeeded, but has been added. For just as a mere man cannot have a virgin mother, so God made man cannot have a mother unless she be a virgin."
Our bed is flowering. It is fitting that a beautiful bridegroom and a beautiful bride have a beautiful bed and a beautiful house; he assigns both here, saying that the bed and couch are furnished with beautiful and fragrant herbs and flowers, and the house consists of cedar beams and cypress planks. OUR BED IS FLOWERING,—in Hebrew רעננה raanana, that is, green, that is, covered with green herbs and flowers, and therefore verdant, flowering and flourishing; the Septuagint for אף aph, that is, also, seem to have read אל el, that is, to; whence they translate πρὸς κλίνην ἡμῶν σύσκιον, that is, to our shady bed, namely you have come, or come; thus the Vaticanus codex reads, Nyssenus, Psellus and three Fathers in Theodoret, as if to say: You, O Christ my bridegroom, who love the shadows of herbs and flowers, come to our bed furnished with these and shady. Or, you, O Christ, who, as God, are immense light, yet as man, you have veiled this light with the shadow of your body, so that we might behold it, otherwise inaccessible, as it were through a crack, indeed through a shadow, and therefore you are called shady; come to this bed flourishing with flowers and foliage and likewise shady, lest the heat of the sun, that is, of persecution, as it discolors me, so also discolor you. But the genuine Septuagint reading seems to be the one that Origen has, homily 2 of two, Theodoret and St. Ambrose in Psalm CXVIII sermon 4, namely: κλίνη ἡμῶν σύσκιος, that is, our shady bed. For thus the Hebrew and Vulgate have it. St. Ambrose, however, for σύσκιος with diastole, reads προσκλίνη with systole; whence he translates, our dark reclining. Tacitly the bride, who by wandering through gardens and vineyards had felt the heat of the sun, and remembered herself discolored by it, invites the bridegroom into the house and bed, so that there in peace and quiet, separated from crowds and persecutions, they might live a pleasant and delightful life in mutual conversation, companionship and cohabitation, such as those live who have chosen the lot of Mary Magdalene and the contemplative life: but the bridegroom soon calls the bride away from this quiet to the labors of preaching and the conversion of souls, namely from contemplation to action, from peace to war, from tranquility to persecutions, from leisure to business, from home to fields and plains, so that he might increase her virtue, merits and glory. Whence he adds: "I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys." Thus Bede and St. Bernard, sermon 46, who says the bride here indicates to the bridegroom that his bridal chamber is adorned, and thus tacitly invites him to it.
First Sense Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. You ask who is the green and flowering bed in which Christ and the Church rest. Some answer first that it is the humanity of Christ: for in this, as in a bed, but veiled and covered with flesh, both the most brilliant divinity of the Word and the hope of the Church rest. Thus Nyssenus, three Fathers in Theodoret, Psellus and Alanus, whom hear: "The bed of Christ is said to be the flesh, which he assumed for two uses of a bed. In a bed man labors in infirmity, rests in health. Similarly Christ in human flesh labored in human infirmities before the passion, rested in the same flesh after the resurrection. And he said elegantly: Our bed is flowering, because the flesh of Christ, which previously flourished in life, flowered through death, but reflowered through resurrection. Whence it is said in Psalm XXVII: And my flesh has reflowered." Second, Theodoret understands by the bed the Sacred Scripture, which flourishes with various meanings as it were with flowers, whose seeds the holy soul receiving in itself brings forth the spirit of salvation. This bed is said to be shady, because protected by the grace of the Spirit, and defended from the heat of sin; for what was to Israel the pillar of cloud, this to us is the aid of the Spirit. Thus Theodoret. Third, Gislerius understands by the bed faith formed by charity, and therefore verdant and flowering with good works: for through this God is in us, and we in turn rest in God. For the intellect of man seeks the true in natural opinion, conjecture and argumentation as it were in a roof, but in an anxious, fallacious and false manner; but the intellect of a faithful man seeks the true in divine faith, and there as in a bed finds the true, indeed God. Faith is called a bed, diminutively, because a bed, that is, full knowledge, peace and happiness will be in the beatific vision. Hence the Septuagint call this bed shady and dark, because faith is obscure. "For we see now through a mirror in an enigma: but then face to face," I Cor. XIII, 12. Fourth, the bed of the Church is the whole life and good and pure conscience of the faithful, whose flowers are any virtues: for in these both Christ and the Church rest as it were in a bed peacefully, to rest more widely in the same in eternal happiness; wherefore there the faithful and blessed souls will be a bed adorned with every gift, both of grace and of glory, most pleasant both to themselves and to Christ. To this the Chaldean Version points, in the time when you dwell in our beloved bed, our sons are many upon the earth, and we grow and multiply like a tree which is planted beside a fountain of waters, whose leaf is beautiful, and its fruit is abundant.
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. The bed of Christ and the holy soul is a chaste mind, holy and devoted to the study of virtues, which brings forth the flowers and fruits of all good works; wherefore it is beautiful through the ornaments of virtues, and fragrant through examples of holy actions. This bed is shady, as the Septuagint translates it, because the holy mind dwells secure under the shadow of Christ dwelling within it, lest it be burned either by the heat of temptation, or by the cold of torpor, or by the excessive warmth of fervor; wherefore it says to Him confidently: "In thy shadow we shall live among the nations," Lamentations IV, 20. For only the holy mind fixed in Christ possesses true rest; because the mind devoted to desires is tossed about by their heats, and is agitated by a thousand winds of disturbances, according to that: "But the wicked are like the raging sea, which cannot rest, and its waves cast up mire and dirt. There is no peace to the wicked, saith the Lord," Isaiah, chapter LVII, verse 21: thus St. Ambrose, On Isaac and the Soul, chapter IV: "Where, he says, does Christ and the Church rest, except in the works of His people? Finally, where there is immodesty, where there is pride, where there is iniquity, there, saith the Lord Jesus, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head," Matthew VIII, 20. The bed of Christ therefore is chastity, humility, patience, prayer, temperance and especially charity: for by this Christ associates the soul to Himself as a bride, and loves it, and in turn is loved by it, according to that saying of Christ: "If any one love me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him," John XIV, 23. Secondly, Origen, homily 2 from two, reading: Our bed is shady, understands by that the body, in which the soul rests as in a bed, while it is pure and chaste, and wooded by the density of good work. Thirdly, St. Ambrose in Psalm CXVIII, 4, reading: "Our reclining place is shady," by it judges three things to be denoted, namely the grace of Christ, the cross and the hope of future glory, which like a shadow protect us from the heat of temptations: "With reason, he says, he signifies a shady reclining place, because virtue of the Most High overshadows those established in the Church. David sought to protect himself by this shadow, lest the sun burn him by day, or the moon by night. This shadow is ministered by spiritual grace, fleeing the torrid heat of this age and the summer of the world. A shady reclining place therefore are Christ and the Church, to which the eternal rest of God the Father breathes. In this shadow therefore let us rest, wearied by the heats of our sins. If any have been burned by lust, let the cross of the Lord cool them, in which He reclined Himself, that He might take upon Himself our offences; if any have been wearied by guilt, let Jesus receive them in His bosom, and cherish them with a soft embrace. Whence I dare to say that the flesh of Christ is the reclining place of the Church." Fourthly, St. Gregory and Cassiodorus very aptly understand by the bed the rest and sweetness of the contemplative soul, which is devoted and intent upon God alone as upon her spouse. "What, says St. Gregory, do we understand by the bride's bed, except the rest of leisure? For the mind, which singularly loves her spouse Christ, as much as it can, is free from all the cares of the world, and accumulates within virtues by which she may please her spouse. While she despises all things that are temporal, she makes for herself a bed with her spouse in the peace of victory, where the more quietly she rests, the more flowers she finds, by which she may show herself beautiful to her spouse." To this St. Bernard adds, sermon 46, who understands by the bed monasteries, in which religious persons, bidding farewell to the world, serve God alone. For indeed many things in the Canticles properly belong to the faithful soul, not beginning and imperfect, but advancing and tending toward perfection, so that it may unite itself wholly to God (for this is the Bride of Christ): such as religious persons are, as I said in the Preface from St. Bernard and Bellarmine. But hear Bernard here: "In the Church, he says, I consider the bed in which one rests to be the cloisters and monasteries, in which one lives in quiet from the cares of the world and the anxieties of life. And this bed is shown to be flowery, when the conversation and life of the brethren, sprinkled as it were with the flowers of the examples and institutions of the Fathers like certain sweet-smelling things, shines forth." He then adds that the bed in which Christ rests is obedience: "Otherwise, he says, the bridegroom will not sleep with you in one bed, especially that one which you have sprinkled for him with the flowers of obedience, with hemlock and nettles of disobedience." Whence rising up against the disobedient in his prayers: "I marvel greatly, he says, at the impudence of some who are among us, who, when they have all disturbed us by their singularity, irritated us by their impatience, despised us by their contumacy and rebellion, nevertheless dare to invite the Lord with all the earnestness of prayers to so foul a bed of their concupiscence, with all purity."\n\nHe finally sets forth the manner in which we ought to prepare and adorn this bed for Christ: "Truly, he says, first indeed cleanse your conscience from all defilement of anger, and disputation, and murmuring, and envy, and whatever is altogether known to be opposed either to the peace of the brethren or to obedience to the elders, hasten to eliminate from the dwelling of your heart. Then also surround yourself with flowers of whatever good deeds and praiseworthy studies, and the fragrances of virtues, that is, whatever things are true, whatever things are modest, whatever things are just, whatever things are holy, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good repute, if there be any virtue, if there be any praise of discipline; these think upon, in these exercise yourself. To such things you will safely call the bridegroom: for when you have introduced him, you will be able to say truly also, that our bed is flowery, with conscience indeed redolent of piety, but of peace, but of gentleness, but of justice, but of obedience, but of cheerfulness, but of humility."\n\nAnagogically, Philo of Carpathus reading it, understands our reclining in the shadow through it as the passage from death to immortality: "For when, he says, they incline toward death, he repays eternal life for temporal death. For henceforth you will be our shadow and protection, cries the bride, according to that: He will overshadow you with his shoulders, and you shall hope under his wings. And: Under the shadow of your wings protect me. For to you alone is our refuge and protection. You are our shadow, you are our defense, you are our sure salvation and life. Let us say with David: Even if I walk in the midst of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me." Psalm XXII, 4.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin.\n\nThe bed in which Christ rested for nine months and as it were slept was the womb of the Blessed Virgin, says William the Little; and from it, with the seal of virginity preserved, says Rupert, that beautiful flower came forth, of which Isaiah sings, chapter XI, 1 and 2: "There shall come forth a rod out of the root of Jesse, and a flower shall rise up out of his root: and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him."\n\nSymbolically, Aponius understands by the bed the sepulcher of Christ, which is called flowery on account of the aromatics made from flowers, with which Mary Magdalene and her companions anointed the body of Christ. William the Little adds that the bed, that is the sepulcher of Christ, is called flowery because Christ rose from it on the third day in glory: for then the flesh of Christ as it were reflowered. Therefore our flowery bed, that is, with your flesh reflowering, O Christ, will bloom with the flowers of new resurrection, according to that: "My flesh has reflowered: and with my will I will confess to him," Psalm XXVII, 7.\n\nFifthly, Cassiodorus understands by the bed the peace and tranquility of the Church, in which while it rejoices, it is more freely devoted to vigils, fastings, prayer, contemplation, and thus flourishes in all good works, and therefore it is the bed of Christ and of holy souls most adorned and most pleasant with every gift, both of grace and of glory, as much to itself as to Christ. The bed of the soul, says Honorius, is a good conscience, in which, as in a bed, the soul rests secure with Christ, when it exercises itself in prayer and reading, and melts in the love of God, and it is flowery when it offers to others examples of good life. This sense is very apt.
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The Septuagint: "The beams of our houses are cedars, our coffered ceilings are cypresses," that is to say, Our house is beautiful and excellent, being framed with cedars and coffered with cypresses. For cypress, the Chaldean, Vatablus, and those versed in Hebrew render it, firs. Cedar, says Vatablus, which does not feel decay, and fir, which resists weight, signify the word of God. But the Hebrew word for fir is called ברוש berose: here however it is ברותים berotim, which is not found elsewhere; here however it is rendered by the Septuagint equally as by our version, cypress, to which certainly more credence should be given than to the more recent translators. For coffered ceilings, in Greek it is πατνώματα, that is, lacunae, or lacunaria and coffered ceilings; whence coffered dining halls are called, which Servius calls, the ceiling of frameworks; the Belgians and Gauls say, lambris and lambrissé, that is, coffered and cofferwork. Whence Seneca, book XIV, epistle 91, writes that the luxury of the ancients made the coffered ceilings of dining halls revolving, and so constructed them that now one appearance and now another would succeed, and as many times the ceiling changed as the courses were changed, as happens from time to time in scenes and comedies. Thus also laquear, says the Sipontine from Servius, is a diminutive from lacus; for lacus is a flat beam in buildings, from which lacunar is made, and by antistrophe laquear; and coffered ceilings were wont to be carved and gilded by the wealthy, as we see done at Rome in the Temple of the Blessed Virgin across the Tiber, and in others. Although therefore some understand by coffered ceilings the great beams which connect one wall to another, and by beams the spaces between beams, which are inserted transversely into these beams, into which boards are driven, and which Vitruvius calls metopa, nevertheless the contrary is more true, namely that by beams here are understood the beams and the whole flooring, and by coffered ceilings the vaulted arrangements of boards, by which the beams and timbers are adorned, so that the flooring becomes as it were a ceiling: for these are called lacunaria, because through the spaces between beams or the intervals of timbers, into which they are inserted, they exhibit a certain appearance of lacunae. According to the letter, it alludes grammatically to the house of God, or the temple built by Solomon from cedar and cypress wood, III Kings VII, 3 and 4, which represented the basilicas and temples of Christians, to be built from the same and similar excellent trees. Whence the Chaldean renders it, Solomon the prophet said: How beautiful is the house of the Sanctuary of the Lord, which has been built by my hands from cedar beams! but more beautiful is the house of the sanctuary, which is to be built in the days of the king of the Messiah, whose beams shall be from cedars, which are in the paradise of delights, and its timbers shall be from firs, and from junipers, and from pines.
The First Sense Properly Understood, Concerning Christ and the Church. You will ask what are the cedar beams and cypress ceilings of the Church. First, William the Little holds them to be the body and members of Christ, which was a house, indeed a temple of divinity: for although this in itself would be corruptible, yet it was cedar and cypress, that is incorruptible, or imperishable from the hypostatic union with the Word, according to that: "My flesh shall rest in hope, and Thou wilt not suffer Thy holy one to see corruption," Psalm XV, 10. Second, Theodoret and from him Gislerius, just as by the bed he understands faith, so fittingly by the beams and ceilings, that is by the house, he understands Holy Scripture: for in it are contained the dogmas of faith like beams, say three Fathers with Theodoret, and precepts like coffers mutually connected and fitted together; and these are at the summit of the house, because Holy Scripture was dictated from heaven, as the word of God, and therefore is incorruptible and eternal like cedar and cypress, and confers eternal life upon its followers, namely eternal houses in the heavens, II Cor. V, 1. Hear Theodoret: "Cedar excels in incorruptibility, cypress in fragrance. Both indeed can be found in divine Scripture, which is to us not only a bed, but also a house and a table and food; nor does it only suggest the sweetness of fragrance, but also promises incorruptibility, and truth, and immortality." Third, others more fittingly and genuinely understand by the beams of houses, that is of particular churches, the clergy, the prelates and doctors of them, who by their writings and teachings defend the house of God from heretics, as from poisonous serpents, and from corruptions of the word of God. They are of cedar, because their works are upright, their mind steadfast, their life uncorrupted, their morals imperishable, their name of good odor, their doctrine puts demons to flight, and preserves souls from the putrefaction of vices. The ceilings are the just and pious subjects, who abstain from mortal sins: these depend from those beams, and like a certain vault of heaven adorned with glittering signs, they themselves shine forth as cypress, uncorrupted in their manner of living, and not returning to the vomit like a dog, nor yielding to the decay of the old man. Thus St. Gregory, Theodoret, Aponius, Bede, Haymo, Anselm and St. Ambrose, sermon 4 on Psalm CXVIII. Whence St. Bernard, sermon 46, holds that by this verse all states of the Church are denoted, namely of monks in the flowery bed, of prelates and princes in cedar beams, of clergy and faithful people in cypress ceilings. To this Origen adds, homily 3 out of four, who understands by beams bishops, by cypress trees priests: "And beams, he says, are called cedars, in which both stronger strength and the odor of sweetness are present, by which he designates a bishop both solid in works and fragrant in the grace of doctrine. Similarly also he called the ceilings cypress, so that by this he might designate that priests ought to be full of the virtue of incorruptibility and the odor of the knowledge of Christ." And St. Gregory: "Cedar, he says, which represses and puts to flight serpents, signifies the more sublime saints, cypress the simpler." Whence presently understanding by beams preachers, by ceilings peoples: "Beams, he says, sustain the roof, ceilings indeed fill and adorn the house. Thus in the holy Church good preachers carry divine Scripture in heart and mouth, which they expand to the faithful as a roof and preach, so that, while the Church is instructed by heavenly preaching, it may receive protection, by which it is guarded from the rains of temptations. Cedar moreover and cypress are said to be imperishable beams. By which all the elect are well figured, because while they pursue temporal things with no desire, they become eternal, in that they are fixed in mind on eternal things." Bede adds that the ceilings are affixed to the beams and hang from them: "Because it is necessary, he says, that whoever in the holy Church desires to shine forth sublime in virtues, should cling with all their mind to the sayings and examples of the highest Fathers, by which they are suspended from earthly ambition." To this also is added Philo of Carpathus, who understands by cedar beams the prophets of the Church; by cypress coffered ceilings, the apostles: "For," says he, "just as the delight and ornament of a house are its coffered ceilings, so the apostles are to the Church." Hear St. Bernard, sermon 46: "Moreover," he says, "understand the houses of the common people as assemblies of Christians, whom those who are placed in sublimity, namely Christian princes of both orders, as it were with beams strengthen the walls with just laws imposed firmly, lest each living by his own law or will, as walls inclined and ramparts thrust down, should dissent from themselves, and thus the entire structure of the building falling should be scattered. But the coffered ceilings which hang firmly from the beams and ornament the houses remarkably, I think designate the well-instituted and gentle and disciplined manners of the clergy, and the offices rightly administered. For how shall the orders of clerics and their administrations stand, if they are not sustained by the benefit and munificence of princes as it were by beams, and protected by their power?" He then assigns the reason why the beams are cedar, but the coffered ceilings cypress: "And cedar indeed, because it is incorruptible, and moreover fragrant, and a wood of lofty height, sufficiently indicates what sort of men ought to be assumed in place of beams. Therefore it is necessary that those who are ordained over others be strong and steadfast, and not only that, but long-suffering in hope, and lifting up the mind to the heights of things above, who also spreading everywhere the good odor of their faith and conversation, are able to say with the Apostle: For we are the good odor of Christ to God in every place, II Cor. II, 15. Cypress likewise, a wood equally of good odor and similarly incorruptible, demonstrates that incorruptible life and faith ought also to be in anyone of the clergy, so that he may deservedly be assigned to the ornament and decoration of the house as a coffered ceiling. For it is written: Holiness becometh thy house, O Lord, unto length of days, Psalm XCII, 5. Finally Honorius of Autun: "A house," he says, "built by craftsmen with cedar and cypress beams, are cloisters instructed by holy Fathers with rules and honest institutions. Cedar beams are superiors and abbots redolent with sanctity, who by word and example fortify others, and extinguish the worms of crimes by mortifying themselves. But cypress coffered ceilings are monks and all religious, whose examples of sanctity ornament the temple of God, and bearing the burdens of others by prayer. And just as cypress when cut does not grow green again, whence also it was accustomed to be carried before the bier of the dead: so they never return to worldly things, and always as it were behold death present, and by vows and manners desire to be built together into the dwelling place of God." Thus Honorius.
The Second Partial Sense, Concerning Christ and the Holy Soul. First, cedar beams of the soul are solid virtues, namely the four cardinal virtues, that is, prudence, justice, temperance, and fortitude, as Honorius says; likewise constant purity and chastity of mind, as Nyssenus says. For cedar commends incorruptibility by eternity, as Pliny testifies. Cypress coffered ceilings are the external ornaments of virtues, such as modesty, reverence, silence, and all external composition and beauty of morals, according to that saying of the Apostle: "Let all things be done honestly, and in order," I Corinthians XIV, 40; and: "We provide for things good not only before God, but also before men," II Corinthians VIII, 21. But most especially in cedar beams and cypress coffered ceilings, as being incorruptible, is noted the virtue of constancy in hard and adverse circumstances, and consequently of fortitude, patience and perseverance, by which as it were we endure like beams, and sustain all burdens and weights imposed upon us. Whence Bede concerning cypress: "In that," he says, "it is apt for healing the sufferings of bodies, and that it does not lose the beauty of its foliage by any impulse of winds, it expresses constancy, and the action of those who adorn the Church with the ornaments of higher virtues." And St. Ambrose, sermon 4 on Psalm CXVIII: "The soul," he says, "knows not corruption, which flourishes with vigorous members, always sustains the heights of justice and the other virtues with patient magnanimity, and therefore does not flow away, nor does it fail; because there is nothing in it that is cracked and slack, nothing mobile, nothing slippery, from which any defect of speech could flow forth." Second, cedar beams, as Hailgrinus says and Delrio from him, are virtues and graces, without which there is no salvation; and these, through humility with deep roots, grow in branches immensely, are ignorant of putrefaction, like cedar. Coffered ceilings are the divisions of administrations and of those graces which are for the adornment of the soul, although they are not necessary for the salvation of individuals, such as prophecies, kinds of tongues, virtues, healings, discernment of spirits, and the like, which if they do not adhere strongly to the beams, like loosened coffered ceilings easily decay; and they are cypress, because although these graces in their lower aspect, as they are exhibited to neighbors, ought to be spread and dilated, yet they ought always to tend upward in a cone, and to tend toward that one thing, and to be narrowed like cypress; which truly is one, just as one thing is truly necessary for us. Moreover, just as cypress is free from decay, because, as Vitruvius says, lib. II, cap. XIX, there is in it a certain bitter taste, which defends it from decay, and drives away the worms that generate it: so likewise the cause of virtue and constancy is penance, austerity and mortification, which does not allow the soul to fall into concupiscences (for these are the decay and putrefaction of the soul). Hence Dioscorides writes similar things concerning cedar, lib. I, cap. LXXXVIII, namely that by similar bitterness it defends itself from decay, and corpses from corruption, and therefore it is called by some "the life of the dead." To this pertains that saying: "Where there is rigor, there is vigor." Third, beams are the grace of God, and its various kinds and modes; coffered ceilings are our actions, by which the grace of God cooperating we adorn it with these as it were, and it in turn far more greatly adorns and gilds the works themselves, because it renders them supernatural, divine, pleasing to God, and meritorious of eternal reward. Fourth, the beams of the soul are its very powers and strengths: for from these, as it were from beams, the soul itself is as it were framed and joined together; the coffered ceilings are the virtues of the soul's powers, which adorn and strengthen them, so that from them may arise the spiritual house of the soul, in which Christ the bridegroom may rest as in his bridal chamber. Hear St. Bernard, sermon 46, who thus advises and persuades the soul: "For the temple of God is holy, which you are, I Cor. III, 17. Take care therefore, brethren, of this spiritual building, which you are, lest perhaps when it shall have begun to advance to higher things, it should waver and fall, if it shall not be supported and bound together with strong timbers: take care, I say, to give it imperishable and immovable beams, namely the chaste fear of the Lord, that which endures forever and ever: patience, concerning which it is written: For the patience of the poor shall not perish unto the end, Psalm IX, 19: also long-suffering, which under any weight of structure persisting inflexibly, extends into the infinite ages of blessed life, the Saviour speaking in the Gospel: He that shall persevere unto the end, he shall be saved, Matt. X, 22. But above all things especially charity, which never fails, because strong is, it says, love as death, hard as hell is jealousy, Cant. VIII, 6. Strive therefore to lay these beams beneath and bind other beams, equally precious and beautiful, such as shall be at hand, into a work of coffered ceiling for the adornment of the house, namely the word of wisdom or knowledge, prophecy, the grace of healings, the interpretation of speeches, and other such things, which are known to be more aptly suited to adornment than to be necessary for salvation." Where by beams he understands the virtues necessary for salvation, by coffered ceilings those not necessary, and he asserts that from both kinds the house of the mind is to be built for each one. Anagogically, in heaven, both soul and body with all their powers, senses and members will be cedarwood and cypress, that is incorruptible, eternal, fragrant, glorious.
The Third Principal Sense, Concerning Christ and the Blessed Virgin. The Blessed Virgin was as it were a house, temple and heaven of cedarwood and cypress, in which the Word dwelt. Hear Alanus: "These houses are understood to be the body of Christ and the body of the Virgin, the beams of the houses the substance of bodies, which are said to be cedarwood, that is incorruptible. For cedar is incorruptible; just as we believe the body of Christ was not resolved by decay: whence it is read, Psal. XV, 10: 'Thou wilt not suffer thy holy one to see corruption': so it is probable that the body of Mary is free from the corruption of decay. Whence St. Augustine in a sermon On the Assumption of the Virgin: 'Not only, he says, the flesh which Christ assumed, but also the flesh from which he assumed it, we believe to have been assumed into heaven.' Whence also in a prayer that has been published it is read: 'Nor yet could she be pressed down by the bonds of death,' etc. And unless she rose again, why is it said of her: 'Mary has been assumed into heaven?'" "Our coffered ceilings are of cypress." The coffered ceilings which adhere to the beams signify the infirmities of the bodies, which adhered to the bodies of Christ and the Virgin, which are elegantly called cypress, because cypress is wont to be applied to bodies which are burned, and wonderful fragrance is given off from them. Thus the infirmities, which pertain to death, both in the Virgin and in Christ through the patience which they had in infirmities, give off a more wonderful fragrance. Thus Alanus. See what I have said concerning cedar and cypress, Eccli. XXIV, 17, to those words: "As a cedar have I been exalted in Libanus, and as a cypress on mount Sion."
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
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… The usage of the Hebrew Bible (Gen. 24, 43; Ex. 2, 8; Cant. 1, 2 and 6, 7; Ps. 68 [67], 26; Prov. 30, 18-19) gives the noun 'almāh the sense of a young unmarried woman, who must be supposed intact, as the Septuagint understood, before any interested …
Douay-Rheims (Challoner) · Vulgata Clementina · original Douay-Rheims (Douay 1609-10), transcription by EEBO-TCP (CC0) · La Sacra Bibbia, tradotta dalla Volgata da Antonio Martini (1769-1781) (LaParola (laparola.net), Martini OSIS text, Public domain (LaParola's electronic edition marks it 'Dominio pubblico')). Public domain.