Under the parable of a boiling pot is shewn the utter destruction of Jerusalem: for which the Jews at Babylon shall not dare to mourn.
Ierusalem manie wayes chasticed of God, and not amended, 11. shal at last be melted like a brasse potte: 15. and shal not dare to mourne for the death of her dearest.
1And the word of the Lord came to me in the ninth year, in the tenth month, the tenth day of the month, saying:E il Signore parlommi l'anno nono, il decimo mese, ai dieci del mese, dicendo:AND the word of our Lord was made to me, in the ninth yeare, in the tenth moneth, the tenth day of the moneth, saying:Et factum est verbum Domini ad me in anno nono, in mense decimo, decima die mensis, dicens: 2Son of man, write thee the name of this day, on which the king of Babylon hath set himself against Jerusalem to day.Figliuolo dell'uomo, prendi memoria di questo giorno, perchè oggi il re di Babilonia si e piantato dinanzi a Gerusalemme.Sonne of man, write thee the name of this day, wherin the king of Babylon is confirmed against Ierusalem to day.Fili hominis, scribe tibi nomen diei hujus, in qua confirmatus est rex Babylonis adversum Jerusalem hodie. 3And thou shalt speak by a figure a parable to the provoking house, and say to them: Thus saith the Lord God: Set on a pot, set it on, I say, and put water in it.E dirai a questa casa di contumaci una maniera d'allegoria, e parlerai loro con questa parabola: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Prendi una caldaia, prendila, io dico, e mettivi dell'acqua,And thou shalt speake by a prouerbe to the exasperating house a parable, and shalt say to them: Thus saith our Lord God: Set thou a potte, st it, I say, and put water into it.Et dices per proverbium ad domum irritatricem parabolam, et loqueris ad eos: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Pone ollam; pone, inquam, et mitte in eam aquam. 4Heap together into it the pieces thereof, every good piece, the thigh and the shoulder, choice pieces and full of bones.Gettavi dentro pezzi di carne tutta scelta, la coscia, e la spalla, le parti ottime, e piene di ossa:Heape together the peeces therof into it, euerie good part, the thigh and the shoulder, the chosen thinges and ful of bones.Congere frusta ejus in eam, omnem partem bonam, femur et armum, electa et ossibus plena. 5Take the fattest of the flock, and lay together piles of bones under it: the seething thereof is boiling hot, and the bones thereof are thoroughly sodden in the midst of it.Prendi carne di bestie grassissime, e metti ancora una massa di ossa sotto la caldaia: ella bollirà a scroscio, e si cuoceranno dentro di lei anche le ossa.Take the fattest beast, and lay together pyles of bones also vnder it: the seething therof is boyling hotte, and the bones therof are throughly sodden in the middes therof.Pinguissimum pecus assume, compone quoque strues ossium sub ea: efferbuit coctio ejus, et discocta sunt ossa illius in medio ejus.
6Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, to the pot whose rust is in it, and its rust is not gone out of it: cast it out piece by piece, there hath no lot fallen upon it.Per questo dice il Signore Dio: Guai alla città sanguinaria, caldaia, che è tutta ruggine, e la ruggine non si è partita da lei: getta via (la carne) a pezzi, un pezzo dietro all'altro; non si dia luogo alla sorte.Therfore thus saith our Lord God: Wo to the citie of bloud, to the potte, whose rustines is in it, and the rustines therof is not gone out of it: by her partes, and by her partes cast her out, there hath no lotte fallen vpon her.Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Væ civitati sanguinum, ollæ cujus rubigo in ea est, et rubigo ejus non exivit de ea ! per partes et per partes suas ejice eam: non cecidit super eam sors. 7For her blood is in the midst of her, she hath shed it upon the smooth rock: she hath not shed it upon the ground, that it might be covered with dust.Perocché in mezzo a lei è il sangue, cui ella sparse: sopra tersissima pietra ella lo sparse, non lo sparse sulla terra, onde possa essere dalla polvere ricoperto;For her bloud is in the middes of her, she hath shed it vpon the most cleare rocke: she shed it not vpon the ground, that it might be couered with dust.Sanguis enim ejus in medio ejus est; super limpidissimam petram effudit illum: non effudit illum super terram, ut possit operiri pulvere. 8And that I might bring my indignation upon her, and take my vengeance: I have shed her blood upon the smooth rock, that it should not be covered.Ond'io sopra di lei cader facessi la mia indegnazione, e facessi vendetta: il sangue di lei ho sparso sopra tersissima pietra, onde non resti celato.That I might bring mine indignation in vpon her, and might reuenge with vengeance: I gaue her bloud vpon the most clere rocke, that it might not be couered.Ut superinducerem indignationem meam, et vindicta ulciscerer, dedi sanguinem ejus super petram limpidissimam, ne operiretur. 9Therefore thus saith the Lord God: Woe to the bloody city, of which I will make a great bonfire.Per questo il Signore Dio parla così: Guai alla città sanguinaria, della quale io farò un gran fuoco.Therfore thus saith our Lord God: Wo to the citie of bloud, whose bonefire I wil make great.Propterea hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Væ civitati sanguinum, cujus ego grandem faciam pyram ! 10Heap together the bones, which I will burn with fire: the flesh shall be consumed, and the whole composition shall be sodden, and the bones shall be consumed.Metti le une sopra l'altre le ossa, alle quali io darò fuoco: le carni si consumeranno, e tutto quello, che entra nella caldaia, si struggerà, e si sfarineranno le ossa.Heape together the bones, which I wil burne with fire: the flesh shal be consumed, and al the composition shal be sod, and the bones shal drie away.Congere ossa, quæ igne succendam: consumentur carnes, et coquetur universa compositio, et ossa tabescent.
11Then set it empty upon burning coals, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may be melted: and let the filth of it be melted in the midst thereof, and let the rust of it be consumed.Dopo di ciò tu porrai la caldaia vuota sopra i carboni, affinchè si arroventi il rame, e si liquefaccia, onde si strugga il suo sudiciume, e si consumi la ruggine:Set it also vpon hote burning coles emptie, that the brasse therof may waxe hote, and be melted: and let the filth of it be melted in the middes therof, & let the rust therof be consumed.Pone quoque eam super prunas vacuam, ut incalescat, et liquefiat æs ejus, et confletur in medio ejus inquinamentum ejus, et consumatur rubigo ejus. 12Great pains have been taken, and the great rust thereof is not gone out, not even by fire.Con fatica grande, e sudore non se le potè toglier la ruggine, neppur a forza di fuoco.There hath bene sweating with much labour, and the exceding rust therof is not gone out, no not by fire.Multo labore sudatum est, et non exivit de ea nimia rubigo ejus, neque per ignem. 13Thy uncleanness is execrable: because I desired to cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filthiness: neither shalt thou be cleansed, before I cause my indignation to rest in thee.Degna d'esecrazione è la tua immondezza; perocché io volli mondarti, e tu non ti se' mondata dalle tue lordure: e neppure ti monderai, fino a tanto che io abbia sfogato sopra di te il mio sdegno.Thine vncleannes is exectable: because I would clense thee, and thou art not clensed from thy filthines: yea neither shalt thou be clensed, before I make myne indignation to cease in thee.Immunditia tua execrabilis, quia mundare te volui, et non es mundata a sordibus tuis: sed nec mundaberis prius, donec quiescere faciam indignationem meam in te. 14I the Lord have spoken: it shall come to pass, and I will do it: I will not pass by, nor spare, nor be pacified: I will judge thee according to thy ways, and according to thy doings, saith the Lord.Io il Signore ho parlato: Verrà il tempo, e io farò: non darò indietro, né perdonerò, né mi placherò: secondo le tue vie, e secondo i tuoi ritrovamenti io ti giudicherò, dice il Signore.I the Lord haue spoken: It shal come, and I wil doe it: I wil not passe, nor spare, nor be pacified: according to thy wayes, and according to thine inuentions wil I iudge thee, saith our Lord.Ego Dominus locutus sum: veniet, et faciam: non transeam, nec parcam, nec placabor: juxta vias tuas, et juxta adinventiones tuas judicabo te, dicit Dominus.
15And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:E il Signore parlommi, dicendo:And the word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et factum est verbum Domini ad me, dicens: 16Son of man, behold I take from thee the desire of thy eyes with a stroke, and thou shalt not lament, nor weep; neither shall thy tears run down.Figliuolo dell'uomo ecco, che io repentinamente ti tolgo quel, che più amano gli occhi tuoi, e non ti batterai il petto, né piangerai, né darai libero corso alle tue lagrime.Sonne of man, behold I take from thee the thing that thine eyes desire in a plague: and thou shalt not lament, nor weepe: neither shal thy teares runne.Fili hominis, ecce ego tollo a te desiderabile oculorum tuorum in plaga: et non planges, neque plorabis, neque fluent lacrimæ tuæ. 17Sigh in silence, make no mourning for the dead: let the tire of thy head be upon thee, and thy shoes on thy feet, and cover not thy face, nor eat the meat of mourners.Sospirerai in segreto, non menerai duolo, come si usa pei morti: tien legata alla testa la tua corona, e avrai a' tuoi piedi i calzari, né ti coprirai con velo la faccia, e non mangerai de' cibi, usati da que', che sono in dolore.Sigh holding thy peace, thou shalt not make the mourning of the dead: let thy crowne be tyed round about thee, and thy shoes shal be on thy feete, neither shalt thou couer thy face with a cloth, neither shalt thou eare the meates of mourners.Ingemisce tacens: mortuorum luctum non facies: corona tua circumligata sit tibi, et calceamenta tua erunt in pedibus tuis: nec amictu ora velabis, nec cibos lugentium comedes. 18So I spoke to the people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening: and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.Io adunque riferii ciò al popolo la mattina, e si morì alla sera la mia moglie: e al mattino feci come m'avea comandato il Signore.I spake therfore to the people in the morning, and my wife died at euen: and I did in the morning as he had commanded me.Locutus sum ergo ad populum mane, et mortua est uxor mea vespere: fecique mane sicut præceperat mihi. 19And the people said to me: Why dost thou not tell us what these things mean that thou doest?E disse a me il popolo: Perchè non dichiari tu a noi, che voglian dire le cose, che tu ti fa?And the people sayd to me: Why doest thou not tel vs what these thinges signifie, that thou doest?Et dixit ad me populus: Quare non indicas nobis quid ista significent quæ tu facis ? 20And I said to them: The word of the Lord came to me, saying:Ed io dissi loro: Il Signore mi ha parlato, dicendo:And I sayd to them: The word of our Lord was made to me, saying:Et dixi ad eos: Sermo Domini factus est ad me, dicens: 21Speak to the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord God: Behold I will profane my sanctuary, the glory of your realm, and the thing that your eyes desire, and for which your soul feareth: your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword.Parla alla casa d'Israele: Queste cose dice il Signore Dio: Ecco, che io profanerò il mio santuario, la gloria del vostro impero, e quello, che più amano gli occhi vostri, e quello, per cui sta in sollecitudine l'anima vostra: i figli vostri, e le figlie, che voi lasciaste, periranno di spada.Speake to the house of Israel: Thus sayth our Lord God: Behold I wil pollute my sanctuarie, the pride of your empire, and the thing that your eyes desire, and vpon which your soule quaketh for feare: your sonnes, and your daughters, which you haue left, shal fal by the sword.Loquere domui Israël: Hæc dicit Dominus Deus: Ecce ego polluam sanctuarium meum, superbiam imperii vestri, et desiderabile oculorum vestrorum, et super quo pavet anima vestra: filii vestri et filiæ vestræ quas reliquistis, gladio cadent.
22And you shall do as I have done: you shall not cover your faces, nor shall you eat the meat of mourners.E farete come ho fatt'io, non vi cuoprirete con velo la faccia, e non mangerete i cibi usati da que', che sono in dolore.And you shal doe as I haue done: your faces with a clothe you shal not couer, and the meates of mourners you shal not eate.Et facietis sicut feci: ora amictu non velabitis, et cibos lugentium non comedetis: 23You shall have crowns on your heads, and shoes on your feet: you shall not lament nor weep, but you shall pine away for your iniquities, and every one shall sigh with his brother.Porterete le corone su' vostri capi, e a' piedi i calzari: non vi batterete il petto, e non piangerete; ma vi consumerete a motivo delle vostre iniquità, e ognun di voi sospirerà rivolto al proprio fratello.You shal haue crownes on your heades, & shoes on your feete: you shal not lament nor weepe, but you shal pine away in your iniquities, and euerie one shal groane toward his brother.coronas habebitis in capitibus vestris, et calceamenta in pedibus: non plangetis, neque flebitis, sed tabescetis in iniquitatibus vestris, et unusquisque gemet ad fratrem suum. 24And Ezechiel shall be unto you for a sign of things to come: according to all that he hath done, so shall you do, when this shall come to pass: and you shall know that I am the Lord God.Ed Ezechiele sarà un segno per voi, secondo quello, che egli ha fatto, farete voi quando ciò accaderà: e conoscerete, ch'io sono il Signore Dio.And Ezechiel shal be nvto you for a portending signe: according to al thinges, that he hath done, shal you doe when this shal come: and you shal know that I am the Lord God.Eritque Ezechiel vobis in portentum: juxta omnia quæ fecit, facietis cum venerit istud: et scietis quia ego Dominus Deus. 25And thou, O son of man, behold in the day wherein I will take away from them their strength, and the joy of their glory, and the desire of their eyes, upon which their souls rest, their sons and their daughters.E tu figliuolo dell'uomo, ecco, che in quel dì, in cui io torrò loro quello, che li fa forti, quel, che è loro consolazione, e loro gloria, e quel, che più amano gli occhi loro, e quello, in cuj le anime loro confidano, e torrò loro i figliuoli, e le figlie:And thou sonne of man, behold in the day, wherin I wil take away from them their strength, and the ioy of dignitie, and the desire of their eyes, whervpon their soules rest, their sonnes and daughters.Et tu, fili hominis, ecce in die qua tollam ab eis fortitudinem eorum, et gaudium dignitatis, et desiderium oculorum eorum, super quo requiescunt animæ eorum, filios et filias eorum:
26In that day when he that escapeth shall come to thee, to tell thee:In quel dì quando un fuggitivo giungerà a te, recandotene la novella,In that day when one fleing shal come to thee, to tel thee:in die illa, cum venerit fugiens ad te ut annuntiet tibi: 27In that day, I say, shall thy mouth be opened to him that hath escaped, and thou shalt speak, and shalt be silent no more: and thou shalt be unto them for a sign of things to come, and you shall know that I am the Lord.In quel giorno, io dico, aprirai tu la bocca col fuggitivo, e parlerai, e non istarai più in silenzio; e sarai per essi un segno: e voi conoscerete, che io sono il Signore.in that day, I say, shal thy mouth be opened with him that fleeth, and thou shalt speake, and shalt be silent no more: and thou shalt be vnto them for a portending signe, and you shal know that I am the Lord.in die, inquam illa, aperietur os tuum cum eo qui fugit, et loqueris, et non silebis ultra: erisque eis in portentum, et scietis quia ego Dominus.
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Year of the World 3414, Year before Christ 590.
Usher
Month; January 30, the year of the world 3414. (Usher)
Worthington
Ezechiel was then in Mesopotamia, and when the news of the siege commencing on that very day, should arrive; it would make a great impression upon the people, so that they would have confidence in him, (Calmet) as the certainty of the prediction would appear, 4 Kings 25:1. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Pot, to denote Jerusalem: the flesh boiled and consumed in the fire with the bones, would shew the future dismal condition of its chiefs and inhabitants. (Haydock)
The hardened Jews turned such things to ridicule, Ezechiel 11:3.
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Calmet
Choice. Hebrew, "the choice of the bones," or the finest pieces separated from the bones, as the Septuagint and the sequel seem to require. (Calmet)
Calmet
The bones might serve to burn, ver. 5. (Haydock) See St. Jerome. (Vatable, etc.) (Calmet)
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The, etc. Literally, "its boiling has grown hot;" the citizens suffer terribly.
Bones. Hebrew hatsamim, (Haydock) may denote the more solid meat.
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Rust: the inveterate malice of the city, ver. 12.
Calmet
Upon it. Hurl the pieces of meat out of the pot, without any choice. (Calmet)
Haydock
All the people shall feel my indignation, the rich as well as the poor, ver. 13. (Haydock)
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She hath. Septuagint, "I have let it corrupt upon. I have not," etc., (ver. 8.; Haydock) as if God spoke. The Jews had committed murder without fear. They had naturally a horror for blood, and the law ordered even that of beasts to be covered, Leviticus 17:13. Now innocent blood cries for vengeance, Genesis 4:10. The punishment shall be as visible as the crime, ver. 8.
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And the. Hebrew, "put in the seasoning and the bones," etc.
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Haydock
Thy. Hebrew, "In thy crime there is design," or malice. This rendered the Jews so hateful (Calmet) and irreclaimable. (Haydock)
Haydock
God had given them abundant instructions (Calmet) and graces; but all was contemned. (Haydock)
Worthington
When the fire of tribulation does not amend sinners, they are sentenced to hell fire. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Stroke; pestilence, or sudden death. This would make the loss of a dear wife still more afflicting. Yet such distress will fall upon the whole nation, (Calmet) and misery shall increase so much, that a private loss will be almost forgotten. (Haydock)
Seneca
Curae leves loquuntur, graviores silent. (Seneca, Troad.)
Worthington
When a loss is foreseen, it is more easily borne. Private calamities sink in public ones. (Worthington)
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Haydock
Silence, for such manifold calamities, if thou canst screen thyself from the enemy, who will otherwise take offence, as he has brought them on. (Haydock)
Sanctius
Dead. Priests were allowed to mourn only for father or mother, and their unmarried brothers and sisters, Leviticus 21:1. Ezechiel (xliv. 25.) adds, Son and daughter. Many think the wife must also be understood, as she is nearer than a brother. The reasons for these prohibitions did not then subsist, as no sacrifice could be offered in Chaldea; and therefore God here specifies what the prophet was not to do, (Calmet) though lawful on other occasions. (Sanctius)
Haydock
Tire. Literally, "crown," bandage, (Calmet) or parchment, on which parts of the law were written. Septuagint, "Let (Roman edition adds, not) the hair of thy head be curled (or ruffed; sumpeplegmenon) upon thee." (Haydock)
St. Jerome
It was usually cut in mourning. (St. Jerome)
Feet. They were bare, at funerals, and in times of sorrow, 2 Kings 15:30.
Calmet
Face, like David. Hebrew, "the upper lip," which mourners and lepers covered, Leviticus 13:45. (Calmet)
Mourners. Feasts were prepared by the relations, (Josephus, Jewish Wars 2:1.) and friends sent some food, but no delicacies, to those who mourned, Leviticus 5:9.
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Calmet
Profane, or esteem it no more, (Haydock) but abandon it to the Gentiles. (Calmet)
Haydock
Feareth to lose; or on which it rests, ver. 25. (Haydock)
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Calmet
No more, if thou darest to speak before the Chaldeans, ver. 17. Reserve thy tears and lamentations for that time. (Calmet)
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Ieremie in Babylon saw vvhat vvas done the same time in Ierusalem, and therfore is bid, ••to write the day, v. 2. that therby the certaintie of his prophecie may appeare. For the verie same day Nabuchodonosor layde siege to Ierusalem. 4. Reg. 25. v. 1.
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VVhen sinners are not amended by fire of tribulation; God after that they are parted frō this vvorld, punisheth them euerlastingly.
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The suddaine death of nere freindes causeth more sorow, then if it were feared before: yet the prophet was commanded not to shew sorow for the suddaine death of his wife, to signifie that the great calamitie of euerie one would take away the particular 〈…〉 for the lode priuate freindes.
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Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 2.8
… Such indeed as they see to have no power against them they ever keep down with roughness of rigid censure, never admonish them gently, but, forgetful of pastoral kindness, terrify them with the rights of domination. Such the divine voice rightly upbraids through the prophet, saying, But with austerity and power did ye rule them (
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John Cassian † AD 435 The Conferences of John Cassian 6.11
… “set it empty upon burning coals, that it may be hot, and the brass thereof may be melted; and let the filth of it be melted in the midst thereof. Great pains have been taken, and the great rust thereof is not gone out, no not even by fire. Thy uncleanness is execrable: because I desired to cleanse thee, and thou art not cleansed from thy filthiness.”
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Pope St Gregory I the Great † AD 604 The Book of Pastoral Rule 3.13
… Lead, also, is the heaviest of metals. He, then, is found as lead in the furnace who, even when placed in the midst of tribulation, is not raised above earthly desires. Hence, again, it is written, She hath wearied herself with much labour, and her exceeding rust went not out from her, not even by fire (
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 40.1
… Jeremiah is sent from Jerusalem to the Euphrates (a river in Mesopotamia), and leaves his girdle to be marred in the Chaldæan camp, among the Assyrians hostile to his people. Ezekiel is told to eat bread made of mingled seeds and sprinkled with the dung of men and cattle. He has to see his wife die without shedding a tear.
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St Jerome † AD 420 The Letters of St. Jerome 123.13
… There is “a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing.” Owing to the near approach of the captivity Jeremiah is forbidden to take a wife. In Babylon Ezekiel says: “my wife is dead and my mouth is opened.”
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St John Chrysostom † AD 407 Homilies on First Thessalonians 1
… Thou badest me, he says, eat upon dung, and I ate upon it. Thou badest me, and I shaved my head. Thou badest me, and I lay upon one side. Thou badest me go out through a hole in the wall, bearing a burden, and I went out. Thou tookest away my wife, and badest me not mourn, and I did not mourn, but bore it with fortitude. (
St Jerome † AD 420 Against Jovinianus 1.33
… For that is the true temple of God, and that is the Holy of Holies, which is consecrated to the Lord by pure virginity. On the other hand, Ezekiel, who was kept captive in Babylon, who saw the storm approaching from the north, and the whirlwind sweeping all before it, says,
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1. IN THE NINTH YEAR, — namely from the captivity of Jehoiachin. Thus all the Hebrews, namely in the 9th year of the reign of Zedekiah. Note: On the same day on which Nebuchadnezzar began to besiege Jerusalem, namely in the 9th year, on the 10th day of the tenth month, as is clear from IV Kings XXV, 1, on that same day, I say, this is revealed to Ezekiel existing in Babylon. Whence he commands the day to be noted, so that afterwards, when the Jews in Babylon learn from letters from those in Jerusalem that it was done thus, they may know that Ezekiel is a true Prophet: and that this happens not by chance, but by God's providence against Jerusalem. Thus St. Jerome. This is what he adds:
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2. WRITE FOR YOURSELF THE NAME OF THIS DAY, — as if to say, Note and record this day in Babylon, because on this very day Jerusalem began to be besieged by the Chaldeans. Thus St. Jerome.
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3. SET THE POT ON THE FIRE — that is to say, Jerusalem is the pot: preach concerning it, and in it the citizens are to be burned by the Chaldaeans, as is explained in verses 6 and 10. This therefore is the parable of the pot, which he also set forth in chapter XI, 3. Thus the Lacaenae women would strike pots through the city running about in the just causes of their kings, so that in this way they might signify the city bereft of a king, lacking courage, just as those pots were empty. Thus Pierius, hieroglyphics LVI. Moreover, Eucherius in Spiritual Forms, chapter VIII: The pot, he says, since it is a receptacle of seasonings which pertain to human sustenance, in the sacred Scriptures is accustomed to be taken for offspring or progeny: for, just as from the pot is taken what serves for sustenance; so from the human vessel is brought forth generation, which is propagated through many ages of men. CHOSEN, AND FULL OF BONES, — that is to say, the choicest members, which are accustomed to be full of bones, as if of supports. The Septuagint translates: Leg and arm with flesh separated from bones. But this version does not sufficiently accord with the Hebrew. 5. ARRANGE ALSO A HEAP OF BONES UNDER IT. — Septuagint: Kindle bones under them. Bones therefore here are in place of wood, and when they burn with wood, they cook the flesh. These signify that the slaughter of the innocent is the cause of the siege, and their bones pursue them, and in turn, as it were, kindle their bones under the pot, placed in the pot. Thus Vatablus, R. David and others. For thus he explains himself in verse 10: "Heap up bones (under the pot) which I will kindle with fire: the flesh shall be consumed, and the bones (which are in the pot with the flesh) shall waste away," that is, shall be dissolved and as it were liquefied, where he distinguishes between the bones which are outside under the pot, and the bones which are inside in the pot: for he kindles those so that these may waste away. Hence also, explaining the parable in verse 6, he says: "Woe to the city of blood," etc. Otherwise Prado, "under it," that is within the pot, place bones at the bottom under the flesh. And this is probable: for bones scarcely burn, even when with wood. It signifies moreover that the princes, in the first place, as if in the bottom of the pot, are to feel the fire of siege and destruction. Thus Maldonatus and R. Solomon. ITS COOKING HAS BOILED OVER, — that is to say, The pressure of the siege has so prevailed, that being thoroughly cooked, that is, overcooked, even the bones, though hardest and unfit for cooking, that is, the strongest and most mighty of the Jews have been consumed by famine, sword, plague, or scattered. "It has boiled over," that is, it shall now boil over. Whence in Hebrew it is: Make its boilings to boil.
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6. WOE TO THE CITY OF BLOOD! — Woe to Jerusalem filled with slaughters, even of the innocent, and with crimes, and infamous! See chapter XXII, 2. Here the Prophet explains the parable. RUST, — burning, namely the filth of burned flesh, which adheres to the pot, not foam, as Vatablus and R. David wish, who translate and explain, that is to say, This pot boiled for a long time, but it was not skimmed, that is, it was not purged of crimes. But foam from fire, boiling water, is immediately dispersed and vomited forth: and the Hebrew חלאתה chelata signifies rust, not foam, as is evident in verse 11. Rust is impiety and obstinacy. To this the Apostle alludes in Hebrews XII, 1, when he says: "Laying aside every burden, and the sin that surrounds us," Oecumenius and Vatablus think it refers here, for "surrounds" they themselves translate, clinging tenaciously: as if the Apostle compares us and our bodies to a pot; but sin and concupiscence to burning, or to the filth of burned flesh, which thus cannot be rubbed off, without some residue remaining and adhering to the pot. For rust in metals is contracted by rust, in pots by burning, dry and red, gradually consuming pots and metals, named from the color: for the ancients called robum, red. PIECE BY PIECE, AND PIECE BY PIECE CAST IT OUT: NO LOT FELL UPON IT. — Vatablus, empty the pot piece by piece or in fragments, that is to say, Remove each fragment, and cast it out, so that you may signify that the corpses of the citizens are not all at once, and at the same time, but successively, and one by one (so that no survivor remains) one after another to be cast out without lot, that is, without selection. Again, without lot, that is, they shall not be killed by lot, as sometimes happens, so that the tenth or hundredth, upon whom the lot falls, is punished; as we read was done in the Theban martyrs; but all gradually without discrimination by famine, sword, plague shall be consumed or taken captive. Thus Apollinaris, St. Jerome, Maldonatus and others.
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7. FOR HIS BLOOD, — namely of the Prophets and innocent little ones shed by Manasseh and others, filled Jerusalem like a pot to the brim, as in IV Kings XII, 16. Hence by the law and penalty of retaliation, they likewise within the walls, in the city as in a pot enclosed, shall be boiled down, burned, consumed by the Babylonian siege. Allegorically, on account of the blood of Christ shed, Jerusalem like a pot enclosed and set on fire was destroyed by Titus. Anagogically, the pot is the round world, which at the end of the world shall be consumed by fire, so that all its filth and crimes committed in it shall be burned and expiated. Thus St. Jerome. Tropologically, the pot always boiling and burning is an evil conscience, which always seethes, both with evil desires and with pains and anguishes. For as St. Jerome says: "As many are the vices, so many are the torments of the soul." And St. Ambrose: "The impious man is himself a punishment to himself, the just man is his own glory." And St. Bernard: "Nothing in this life is more laborious than to seethe with earthly desires; and nothing more peaceful than to desire nothing of this world." IN THE MIDST OF IT IS, — that is to say, His blood, that is the slaughter and crime of it is openly exposed and manifest to all. See chapter XXII, 6 and 13; whence it follows: UPON THE MOST POLISHED STONE HE POURED IT OUT. — Vatablus, upon an eminent stone, namely the hills were in the valley of Ennom, and elsewhere, and these were rocky, where they slew the innocent. Our translator renders it better, "most polished." For not a lofty place is signified, but a stony and smooth one, and without dust, where namely dust could not absorb and cover the blood. Whence explaining further he adds: HE POURED IT NOT UPON THE EARTH, THAT IT MIGHT BE COVERED WITH DUST, — that is to say, Jerusalem did not hide her slaughters, blood and corpses, but made them openly and publicly, and exposed them. Thus Christ was slain by the same on the rock of Golgotha. Thus St. Jerome and Theodoret. Who also adds: The blood, he says, not poured upon the earth and absorbed by it, but cast upon a smooth stone, which is continually preserved so that it may accuse those who dared to shed it. Thus Abimelech slew 70 brothers upon one stone, Judges IX, 5; because he wished the traces and memory of blood to remain. Thus the parricide sought glory and name from parricide, just as Herostratus set fire to the temple of Diana, so that by this deed he might celebrate and perpetuate his name from sacrilege. Mystically St. Gregory, book XV of the Morals, chapter XIX: "Blood," he says, "is poured upon the most polished stone, when the malice of a bloody mind rages in the affliction of a just soul."
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8. THAT I MIGHT BRING UPON HER MY INDIGNATION. — The word that does not signify an end, but a consequence, that is to say, Thence it came to pass and followed, that I brought upon her my indignation. Whence in Hebrew it is: That I might kindle my wrath. Wherefore: I HAVE GIVEN (that is, I will give) HER BLOOD UPON A POLISHED STONE, — that is to say, I also in turn shall openly and publicly punish her; as she sinned openly, so shall she be punished by me openly. Otherwise Maldonatus, that is to say, "That I might bring upon her," that is, for this reason I permitted that the blood which she shed should not fall upon the earth, but upon a stone, so that seeing it, I might take vengeance against her and my indignation: "I have given" therefore "her blood," which she shed, "upon a polished stone," that is, I permitted that it should not fall upon the earth, but upon a stone, lest it be covered with dust. 9. WHOSE I WILL MAKE A GREAT PYRE. — In Hebrew, Also I will make a great pyre, that is to say, Jerusalem shed much blood: thus also I will send upon her great punishment and burning.
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10. HEAP ON THE BONES. — The Hebrew and Chaldean, Multiply wood, kindle fire, that thou mayest make a great pyre. Our translator better for עצים etsim, that is wood, reads עצמים atsamim, that is bones. For he explains the parable of the pot and bones, of which verse 5. AND LET ALL THE COMPOSITION BE COOKED, — namely the mixture of meats in the pot. Whence the Septuagint translates, the broth shall be diminished, or the broth itself of the meats; Vatablus, the seasoning seasoned, that is to say, As meat is seasoned with aromatics, that it may become more savory: thus Jerusalem seasoned with afflictions, so that God's justice, equally as the enemies, may take delight from them, as from well-seasoned food. Thus R. David. Again Maldonatus and others translate: I will cook a decoction of pigments, that is I will cook them down, as apothecaries are accustomed to cook their drugs and pigments, until namely all things are consumed, and a third something results. THE BONES (in the pot, that is the princes in Jerusalem) SHALL WASTE AWAY, — that is by the heat and burning of affliction, namely by famine, plague and sword they shall be consumed; the Chaldean translates: His strong men shall go mad.
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11. SET IT ALSO UPON BURNING COALS EMPTY, THAT IT MAY BE HOT, AND THE BRASS THEREOF MAY BE MELTED, — that is to say, the flesh being removed and consumed, the brass of the pot itself shall melt in the fire, and the pot with its rust shall be consumed, that is, the citizens being slain, the city Jerusalem itself shall be consumed by fire. Symbolically St. Gregory adapts this to Rome laid waste by the Lombards, hom. 18 in Ezech. at the end: "The bones," he says, "are the magistrates and the powerful; the flesh is the people. For since the senate, he says, is lacking, the people have perished; and yet in the few who remain, sorrows and groans are multiplied daily, now Rome burns empty. For now the pot itself is consumed, in which formerly flesh and bones were consumed, because after men have failed, even the walls fall." 12. HER RUST DID NOT GO OUT, NEITHER BY FIRE, — the malice of the Jews is not scraped away by fire. This is what Jeremiah says in cap. VI, 29: "The bellows have failed, the lead is consumed in the fire, the founder hath laboured in vain; for their malices are not consumed." Allegorically St. Jerome, that is to say, the malice of Jerusalem is not purged through Christ, who was wearied in it, grew hot, and sweated blood, or rather through Titus laying it waste and burning it. 13. UNTIL I CAUSE MY INDIGNATION TO REST UPON THEE, — that is to say, until I pour out my fury upon thee, slay thee and lay thee waste; thus let my indignation cease. Secondly, and better, that is to say, until I shall have exhausted and satisfied all my wrath, until I shall have poured out all the arrows of my vengeance upon thee; so that they, and likewise my wrath upon thee, may rest and be buried. See what is said cap. XVI, 42. 14. IT SHALL COME, — now the vengeance is at hand and the day of vengeance decreed. Whence the Hebrew has בא baa, that is, it comes. Wherefore Maldonatus reads less correctly, come, that is to say, come now, and I shall accomplish in thee what I have spoken. I SHALL NOT PASS BY, — I shall not pass over what I have threatened. R. David, I shall not go back, that is, I shall not depart from my sentence; the Septuagint, I shall not delay.
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16. I TAKE FROM THEE THE DESIRE OF THINE EYES. — This is the second part of the chapter, in which he passes from the siege to the destruction of the city, and foreshadows it through another parable, namely through the death of his wife: "I take" therefore "from thee the desire of thine eyes," that is, thy wife who is gracious and beloved, for because he who loves a thing often fixes his eyes upon it; hence the desire of the eyes signifies a beloved thing, namely: "Where the eye is, there is love; where the hand is, there is sorrow." WITH A PLAGUE. — That is, as the Hebrew has it, a violent death, namely, suddenly by disease, or rather by chance and force inflicted, for it signifies that Jerusalem is to be suddenly destroyed by force from the Chaldeans. For unforeseen death and destruction afflict and strike down more, for arrows foreseen wound less. AND THOU SHALT NOT MOURN, — do not mourn, do not weep. For these things which are to come signify God's commandment; wherefore they are to be expounded by the imperative mood. 17. SIGH IN SILENCE, — Groan in secret, so that no one may hear thee groaning. Otherwise the Chaldean and the Hebrews translate it, namely: From groaning be silent, that is to say, I do not even permit thee to groan. But our version and the Septuagint translate better; for in verse 23, explaining the parable, he says: "Every one shall mourn to his brother," that is, in silence he shall flee. LET THY CROWN BE BOUND UPON THEE. — "Crown," that is, a band by which priests crown their turban as it were, and fit it to the head; or certainly he calls a crown the very round turban itself, which like a crown crowns and encircles the head, such as were the mitres and tiaras of priests, and now are the turbans of the Turks: for these are called in Hebrew peer, that is, the ornament and glory of the head; and they had certain ribbons or bands by which they were bound to the head. For Ezekiel was a priest, and therefore he wore a mitre as a crown. Or finally he calls a crown the hair itself, namely the hair arranged in a circle or cut short or rather bound together: thus the Septuagint; for they translate: Thy hair was bound upon thee, as St. Jerome and Theodoret read it. But the Roman edition of the Septuagint reads to the contrary: Thy hair shall not be bound upon thee. The sense is, that is to say, do not mourn, nor after the manner of those mourning put off the hair, the turban or band crowning it, and remove thy shoes, so that thou mayest walk with bare head and feet; nor shalt thou cover thy face, or cover it with a garment, as those in mourning do. Thus St. Jerome. Thus the Greeks of old and the Romans in a funeral put off crowns. Hear St. Jerome to Heliodorus in the Epitaph of Nepotian: "They set forth," he says, "innumerable men, and especially Pericles, and Xenophon the follower of Socrates; of whom one, having lost two sons, discoursed crowned in the assembly," to show that he did not grieve, nor mourn. "The other, when he heard while sacrificing that his son had been slain in war, is said to have put off his crown: and to have put the same crown back upon his head, after he found that he had fallen fighting bravely in the battle." But concerning these things more fully and more hereafter. Note here the rite of mourning the dead, which was customary among the Jews. First, they put off crowns and their usual garments, and put on mourning clothes. Thus the Gentiles put aside the insignia of magistracy in mourning, as Tacitus relates in book III in the Funeral of Germanicus. The Chinese do the same even now, who when one of theirs dies, mourn in such a way that they completely renounce magistracy for some years, and live at home in silence. That they changed their rings is clear from Suetonius, who, when Augustus died, relates that some decreed: "On the day of the funeral, golden rings are to be put on, and iron ones to be taken up." Livy, book XXXIV: "What else," he says, "in mourning than to put off purple and gold?" Ovid, book VIII of the Metamorphoses, concerning Althea, when she beheld her brothers slain: Who with lamentation and sad cries filled the city, and changed her gilded garments for black ones. To this belongs the epigram of C. Cilnius Maecenas on the Floralia, which is in Isidore, book X, chapter XXXII: Mourning thee, my life, I seek neither emeralds, nor beryl, O Flaccus, nor shining bright pearls: Nor rings polished by Tyrian file, nor jasper stones. And indeed among the Romans in the public mourning of princes there was a cessation of business: the consuls sat in the common seat in the senate, the fasces were carried before them inverted, they avoided all joyful things, they abstained from public affairs. Tacitus says, in book III in the Funeral of Germanicus: "But these reports, when the death was heard, so inflamed them, that before the edict of the magistrates, the forum was deserted by the cessation of business, houses were closed, silence and groaning were everywhere." Secondly, the Jews in mourning put on shoes and walked barefoot: hence God commands Ezekiel to walk shod, so that he may not mourn the death of his wife while shod. Thirdly, they covered the mouth, as if they were cutting off voice and breathing in mourning for him who had lost both in death. Thus among the Romans, if the dead man had left surviving children, indeed the sons went forth at the funeral with veiled heads, but the daughters with uncovered heads, as Plutarch teaches in the Roman Problems, problem 14. Moreover they cut off their hair and laid it upon the breast of the dead man. This was done at the funeral of Virginia, daughter of Virginius, as Dionysius of Halicarnassus relates, book XI. And Ovid says in book III of the Metamorphoses, concerning the sisters of Narcissus: The Naiad sisters mourned, and placed the shorn locks upon their brother. Fourthly, they abstained from banquets. Paul, in the book of Sentences, chapter XXI: "He who mourns," he says, "ought to abstain from banquets." Cicero to Atticus, book XII, at the death of Tullia: "Since," he says, "I must refrain from banquets, I prefer to be seen doing this by law rather than by grief." Indeed they abstained even from the hearth. Juvenal, Satires 3: Then we groan over the city's disasters, then we hate the fire. Where the old Interpreter: "Nor do we permit a fire to be made within the house, which those in mourning are accustomed to observe." NOR THE FOODS OF MOURNERS,—that is to say, From the funeral feast or from the obsequies thou shalt not eat. By all these things he signifies that in the death and fall of Jerusalem the neighbors shall not make mourning, but shall rejoice; and Jerusalem shall have none to condole with her and to console her: indeed the calamity shall be so great and the sorrow so common to all, that no one shall be touched even by the grief and death of his dearest brother. Thus Theodoret. Similar is Jeremiah XVI, 5. See the things said there.
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18. AND HIS WIFE DIED, — as God had foretold in verse 16. AND I DID IN THE MORNING AS HE HAD COMMANDED ME, — that is, I crowned my head, put on my shoes, and gave no sign of mourning. Morally, learn here that wise and godly men, such as the Prophets were, ought not to mourn and lament excessively over disasters, whether private or public, and whatever miseries of this life; but rather in these things to resign themselves and conform themselves to the divine will which sends or permits them: especially because the mind of the wise man, fixed in heaven and in God, esteems all sublunary things, whether good or evil, as small and worthless, as they truly are, in respect to heavenly and infernal things. Add further: The wise man knows that all mortal things are condemned to death: he knows that after sin the human race has been given over to these miseries: he knows that from all ages there have been such overturnings of kingdoms, disasters and slaughters. Therefore he sees nothing here that is new which he should marvel at and grieve over; especially since this grief and sadness is useful neither to himself nor to others (for by it he cannot prevent the disasters that are to be brought, nor recall and restore those that have been brought), but rather is harmful and injurious, and increases and doubles the calamity itself, Ecclesiasticus XXX, 24: "Put away sadness far from thee; for sadness hath killed many, and there is no profit in it." Cassian, book IX On the Institutes of Renunciation, chapter XII, says: "All sadness, except that which is undertaken either for salutary penance, or for the study of perfection, or for the desire of future things, is to be rejected equally as worldly sadness, which brings death, and is to be utterly driven out from our hearts as the spirit of fornication or avarice." Seneca considers whatever feeds sorrow to be a mime, that is, a thing worthy of ridicule. The same, epistle 77: "Anticipated, he says, evils come with a gentle blow; therefore the wise man accustoms himself to future evils, and what others make light by suffering for a long time, he makes light by thinking about for a long time." Servius Sulpicius consoling Cicero concerning the death of his daughter Tullia: "There is, he says, no sorrow which the length of time does not diminish and soften." And Sophocles: "Time, he says, is an easy god," who softens and mitigates all things, and heals all troubles. This wise medicine prescribes. Anaxagoras, having heard of the death of his son at Troy: "I knew, he said, that I had begotten a mortal. I knew that I was sending him to a deadly war, not to a banquet." Certainly, says Cicero, book III of the Tusculan Disputations: "This is outstanding and divine wisdom, to have thoroughly perceived and considered human affairs; to marvel at nothing when it happens; to believe that nothing can fail to happen before it does happen." Seneca, epistle 86: "Our Demetrius, he says, calls a secure life, and one without any assaults of fortune, a dead sea. To have nothing by which you are roused, by whose announcement and assault you test the firmness of your mind; but to lie in undisturbed ease, is not tranquility, but sluggishness. That Stoic Atticus used to say: I would rather fortune have me in her camps than in her delights. I am tormented, but bravely, it is well." And in the book On Providence, before the middle: "Nothing, he says, seems to me more unfortunate than he to whom nothing adverse ever happens; for it is not permitted to him to test himself. The gods have judged ill of him; he has seemed unworthy to be conquered at some time by fortune, which shuns the most cowardly." And below: "I judge you miserable, because you were never miserable, you passed through life without an adversary." Cicero, III Tusculan Disputations: "No mortal is there whom pain and disease do not touch; many children are to be buried, again to be born; death is the end of all. Earth must be returned to earth, then life must be measured out to all like crops. Thus necessity commands the bearing of the human condition, as if it forbade struggling against God." Euripides at the end of the Phoenissae: "Why, he says, do I lament these things, and vainly bewail them? Whatever God sends, a mortal must bear." Hermes, Bishop and martyr, disciple of St. Paul, in the book which is inscribed the Shepherd, which is cited and approved by Dorotheus, Damasus and other Fathers, in the fifth vision, tenth commandment, relates that an angel appeared to him in the form of a shepherd, and among other things said to him: "Sadness is the most wicked of all spirits, and the worst for the servants of God, and destroys and crushes all spirits, and crushes the Holy Spirit; and the prayer of a sad man does not have the power to ascend to the altar of God: for just as wine mixed with vinegar does not have the same sweetness, so also sadness mixed with the Holy Spirit does not have the same pure prayer." Finally, the Psalmist, in Psalm LXXVI, 3: "My soul refused to be comforted; I remembered God, and was delighted." Whence Nemesius, in his book On the Nature of Man, chapter XIX: "Whoever," he says, "has wholly devoted himself to the contemplation of things in these sorrows, will be moved by nothing whatsoever, since he has separated himself from those things which are done in the life of men, and has joined himself with God, according to that passage in Psalm XXXVI, 4: 'Be delighted in the Lord.' And Cassian, in book IX of his Institutes, chapter XIII: "We shall be able to expel this most pernicious passion of sadness in this way," he says, "if we lift up our mind by the hope of future things and by the contemplation of promised blessedness." Do you wish for examples of constancy in public calamity, and those of the gentiles? Antiochus, driven by L. Scipio beyond the Taurus mountain from the boundaries of his empire, when he had lost Asia as a province and the nations neighboring it, said that he gave thanks to the Roman people, because, freed from an excessively great burden of administration, he made use of modest boundaries of his kingdom. Wisely Solon thought that no one, while still living, ought to be called blessed, because we are subject to fickle fortune right up to the last day of fate. Therefore death completes the designation of human happiness. When he saw one of his friends grieving heavily, he led him to the citadel and urged him to cast his eyes around through all the parts of the buildings of his subjects. When he observed that this was done: "Consider now with yourself," he said, "that many sorrows have been and are now under these roofs, and will be in the ages to come; and cease to weep for the misfortunes of mortals as if they were your own." By this consolation he demonstrated that cities are lamentable fields sown with human calamities. He also said: "If forced into one place, they had brought together their evils, it would come to pass that they would prefer to carry their own home rather than to bear their portion from the entire heap of miseries." From which he concluded that we ought not to judge those things which we suffer by chance as of supreme and intolerable bitterness. Thus Valerius Maximus, book VII, chapter II. But we have more illustrious and more constant believers. King Hezekiah, hearing from Isaiah that his treasures and descendants were to be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans: "Good," he said, "is the word of the Lord which he hath spoken; let there be peace and truth in my days." Irene, deprived of empire by Nicephorus, her servant: "I," she said, "count it acceptable to God that He placed me, an orphan and unworthy, at the helm of the Empire; but that He now permits me to be deprived of it, I ascribe to my sins. In all good things, however, and in all evils, let the name of the Lord be blessed." Thus Paul the Deacon, book XXIII of Roman History. Pope Pius II, hearing that his army in Picenum had been destroyed by the enemy, unmoved: "It will be ours now to conquer," he said, "we who have been conquered. Fortune of war is with us; for those whom she favors first, she abandons afterwards." Ferdinand, king of Aragon and Naples, stripped of his kingdom by the French, and having received meanwhile a new defeat, at Semeneriam bore himself almost as if he had conquered: he complained only that he had been deceived in his opinion, and doubted nothing of fortune, which by many portents had already entirely despaired of his return to kingdom and homeland. Henry VI, king of England, deprived of his kingdom by Edward his rival, and thrown into chains, and moreover with his son slain, gave thanks to God, because He had given him this Purgatory in life, by which he might expiate his sins. Polydorus is witness, book XXIV. Do you wish for private examples, and those proper to this place, namely of those who bore the death of wives, sons, and their own with an even and strong spirit? Hear the pagans. L. Aemilius had two sons, one of whom preceded his father's triumph by his own funeral four days before; the other, seen in the triumphal chariot, expired after the third day; which misfortune Aemilius bore with such strength of spirit that, speaking to the people about the things done by him, he said: "When in the greatest prosperity of your happiness, Quirites, I feared lest fortune might devise something evil, I prayed to the gods that, if anything adverse were threatening the Roman people, they would turn it all upon my house. Wherefore things are well; for by granting my prayers they acted so that you might rather grieve for my misfortune than I might groan for yours." Thus Valerius Maximus, book V, chapter X. The Lacaenian woman, when she heard that her son, whom she loved dearly, had been killed in battle, said: "For this reason I bore him, that there might be one who would not hesitate to meet death for his country." Plutarch is witness in the Apophthegms. Learn therefore to beget children in such a way that you remember that by nature they are both to be received and to be returned at the same moment of time by law. A certain Athenian, Elpinices, was mourning his daughter lifeless in an unseemly manner, prostrate on the ground and crying out. "What funeral rites shall I perform for you, daughter? What shall I bury with you?" Sextus the Philosopher came upon him and said: "You will have given the greatest gift to your daughter if you mourn with moderation." Thus Philostratus in the Lives of the Sophists. Amasis said to a certain man deprived of his son: "If you were not sad when your son did not yet exist, neither ought you to grieve now, when he no longer is." Quirinus the sophist, when his friends came to console him concerning the death of his son, said: "When, I ask, shall I appear more of a man than now?" Sensing that grief is indeed bitter, but that this would make the praise of fortitude shine more brightly. Thus Philostratus. When Herodes the sophist was mourning excessively the premature death of Polus, and wished to yoke chariots and horses for him as if he were about to ascend, and even to prepare a banquet, Demonax came to him and said: "Behold, I bring you a letter from Polus." When Herodes was cheered and asked what he wanted: "He accuses you, he said, of delaying to come to him." Signifying that Polus would not return to him, but that it was right to prepare a chariot if he wished to follow the deceased. Horatian Pulvillus, when as pontiff he was dedicating a temple to Jupiter Optimus Maximus on the Capitol, and while holding the doorpost during the recitation of the solemn words, heard that his son had died; and he did not remove his hand from the doorpost, lest he interrupt the dedication of so great a temple, nor did he turn his face from public religion to private grief; lest he appear to have acted more as a father than as a pontiff. Q. Martius, king and colleague of the elder Cato in the consulship, lost his son of the greatest piety, of great promise, and which was no small addition to calamity, his only son. And when he saw himself overthrown and overturned by his death, he so restrained his grief by the height of his wisdom that he went directly from the funeral pyre to the senate house and summoned the senate which by law ought to be held that day. Pericles, the leading man of the Athenians, within four days was deprived of two remarkable young sons, and on those very days, both maintaining his former bearing in countenance and in speech not broken in any way, he addressed the assembly. Moreover, he even endured to wear his head crowned in the customary manner: so that he would take away nothing from the old custom on account of domestic sorrow. Not without reason, therefore, did a mind of such strength ascend to the name of Olympian Jupiter. Xenophon, as far as the Socratic discipline is concerned, the next degree of happy and blessed eloquence after Plato, when he was performing a solemn sacrifice, learned that his elder son by name Gryllus had fallen at Mantinea in battle, and for this reason did not think the established worship of the gods ought to be omitted; but was content merely to remove the crown, which, when he inquired how he had died, and heard that he had perished fighting most bravely, he replaced upon his head: testifying to the deities to whom he was sacrificing that he felt greater pleasure from the virtue of his son than bitterness from his death. Thus Valerius Maximus, book V, chapter X. Hear St. Jerome to Heliodorus, while he consoles him in the death of his nephew Nepotian: "Why should I recall, he says, the Roman leaders, by whose virtues, as by certain stars, Latin histories shine? Pulvillus dedicating the Capitol, ordered his son, who was suddenly reported dead, to be buried in his absence. L. Paulus entered the city in triumph for seven days amid the funerals of his two sons. I pass over the Maximi, Catos, Galli, Pisones, Bruti, Scaevolas, Metelli, Scauri, Marii, Grassi, Marcellos, and Aufidii, whose virtue in mourning was no less than in wars; and whose bereavements Cicero explained in the book of Consolation, lest I seem to have sought rather the deeds of others than our own. Although these things too have been briefly said to the reproach of our own; if the faithlessness of the infidels does not show that faith is superior." Finally, mourning, wailing, and funeral weeping were forbidden to the Romans by the laws of the Twelve Tables. But these are exiles, if they are compared with the moderation, strength and equanimity of the faithful. St. Job, deprived at the same time of both goods and all his children, did not groan, did not accuse God or men: but resigning himself to God, he blessed him: "The Lord, he said, gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord." Equal to him in virtue, though inferior and weaker in sex, was St. Paula the Roman, as St. Jerome says in her Epitaph, when the loss of her property and the ruin of her entire patrimony was announced to her: "What, she said, doth it profit a man if he gain the whole world?" And: "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, naked shall I return. As it pleased the Lord, so it is done." St. Bernard was unwilling that St. Malachy be mourned when dead at Cloisters; thus indeed he writes in his Life: "And truly what reason has it to mourn Malachy immoderately, as if his death were not precious, as if it were not more sleep than death, as if it were not the harbor of death and the gate of life? Malachy our friend sleeps, and shall I mourn? This mourning sustains itself by custom, not by reason. If the Lord has given sleep to his beloved, and such a sleep in which is the inheritance of the Lord, the children as reward, the fruit of the womb, what of these seems to call for tears? Shall I then weep for him who has escaped weeping? He exults, he triumphs, he is brought into the joy of his Lord, and shall I mourn him? I desire these things for myself, I do not begrudge them to him." Equally noble, indeed more noble were the mothers of the martyrs. The mother of the seven Maccabees, II Maccabees VII, St. Symphorosa and St. Felicity, likewise mothers of seven sons and heroines: who in the death of their sons died for God and exulted, and incited them to embrace death, both by countenance, and by words, and by examples. Such also was St. Sophia, mother of three little daughters, Faith, Hope and Charity, who formed them while still prepubescent for martyrdom, and inflamed them: truly a martyr threefold and fourfold. See the martyrdoms of these in the Lives of the Saints, 1 August. See also St. Gregory of Nyssa in the oration which is titled: That we ought not to grieve over the death of those who have fallen asleep in faith.
24:21
21. BEHOLD I WILL PROFANE (I will desecrate through the Chaldeans the temple, which is) THE PRIDE (that is the glory, loftiness and magnificence: for thus we call proud cities and buildings glorious, splendid and renowned) OF YOUR EMPIRE (the Chaldean and Septuagint, of your strength, that is that concerning which you are proud as if invincible, and which is) THE DESIRE OF YOUR EYES (that is most beloved to your eyes, whose aspect namely you delight in most): AND THAT UPON WHICH YOUR SOUL FEARS, — that is, fears lest it perish, be laid waste, be burned. The Hebrew, the indulgence of your soul, that is a thing which you love so, as indulgent parents love their children. He explains the parable. For by the wife of Ezekiel he signified the temple, which was to the Jews in the highest delights. It could secondly be that the desire of your eyes, and that upon which your soul fears, be referred to wives, or rather to sons, whom they loved most tenderly, slain, so that as if explaining he adds: "And your sons, and your daughters, whom you have left, shall fall by the sword." Whence the Septuagint translates, whom your souls spare. WHOM YOU HAVE LEFT, — in Jerusalem. For he was speaking to the Jews dwelling in Babylon.
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22. AND YOU SHALL DO AS I HAVE DONE, that is to say: Just as it was not permitted to me to mourn my dead wife: so neither shall it be permitted to you to mourn Jerusalem and friends, nor to give signs of mourning, which follow, and of which I spoke in verse 17; because the Chaldeans, both those with whom you dwell in Babylon as captives and subjects, and those who shall besiege Jerusalem, violating your wives, and dashing your little ones against the rocks, will not permit you to shed tears, or to groan. Whence each one shall groan most in secret in his heart, as to his brother; namely silently within himself, and one looking upon another. Otherwise Maldonatus: You will not be able, he says, after your manner to mourn the death of your sons and brothers; because you are in captivity, where you cannot conveniently observe your rites, nor even mourn conveniently. 23. YOU SHALL HAVE CROWNS. — By crowns he calls round caps, such as the Turks wear; or hair cut round in the manner of a crown; or Abyssinian bands, with which the more noble wrapped their head or cap in the manner of a crown. 24. AND EZEKIEL SHALL BE TO YOU A PORTENT. — The Chaldean, a sign, namely of future things. He speaks from the person of God, so that he may persuade more effectively.
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25. I WILL TAKE AWAY THEIR STRENGTH FROM THEM. — He describes the temple, first, that it was most fortified both by its situation and by God's protection, III Kings, VIII; second, that by its beauty and ornament it would refresh all and affect them with joy; third, that by its dignity and majesty of divine presence it would be venerable to all nations. Therefore the temple was to the Jews a refuge in war, joy at home, glory abroad: as now is our temple, and the Eucharist, which is as it were the temple of God, namely the Word made flesh, bread covered with the species, as Prado says. Note therefore here six illustrious epithets of the temple used by the Jews and to be imitated by Christians. For first, they call it "their strength," as if confessing that all their vigor consists in the temple and in the worship of God; second, they call it "their pride" and "their glory"; third, "the joy of their dignity," in Hebrew, of their glory, that is, in which they most greatly rejoice and glory; fourth, "their desire"; fifth, "that upon which" they trust and "rest"; sixth, "that upon which the soul" of them fears, as the soul of Heli feared upon the ark of the covenant: whence hearing it captured, struck by disturbance and terror he fell backward. And truly it is to be feared by the faithful when temples and sacred things are overthrown: for then certain ruin of the commonwealth is imminent, as we have seen in the iconoclasm of Belgium. UPON WHICH THEIR SOULS REST. — In Hebrew, the elevation of their soul, that is to which they lift up their soul, that is in which they hope and trust. Others translate it, the burden of their soul, that is their anxiety, concerning which, namely, lest it be profaned, they are most anxious. For as burden weighs down the body, so anxiety weighs down and depresses the soul.
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26. ON THAT DAY WHEN HE COMES, — namely the messenger from Jerusalem, who shall escape from its destruction, shall announce it to be laid waste, which happened after three years, as appears from chapter XXXIII, 22; then speak: these things have been predicted by you and now fulfilled; and again you shall be silent, nor shall you speak timidly and fearfully through parables and riddles, as you did before, because the Jews would not believe you; but freely, openly and boldly you shall reprove their sins, so that they may recognize you as a Prophet, and on account of these things acknowledge themselves justly to be laid waste. For you will say: Behold you see the destruction of the city has already happened as I predicted: but you were unwilling then to believe me; be unwilling therefore also henceforth to believe me, and correct the crimes; which I have so often chastised, and on account of which this destruction I predicted would befall you. 27. AND YOU SHALL BE TO THEM A PORTENT, — they will acknowledge you to have been and to be a portent, and to portend future things, now instructed by experience and by their own misfortune.
Machine translation from the Latin, not reviewed.
24:2
… 9, 7; Mic. 3, 8; Ezek. 2, 2; 3, 12; 8, 13; 11, 5, 24; Zech. 7, 12; II Sam. 23, 2; Eccl. 39, 8; 48, 27; II Esdr. 14, 21, 25, 40-44); who orders him to speak or to write (Ex. 17, 14; 34, 27; Deut. 31, 19; Is. 8, 1; 30, 8; Hab. 2, 2; Dan. 8, 26; 12, 4; Ezek. 24, 2; in a special way Jer. 36) and to set forth only what God wills (Deut. 18, 15-22; Jer. 23, 16; 20, 7-9, 15, 19; 14, 14; Ezek. 13, 3-17; Mic. 3, 5-8; Zech. 7, 12; cf. II Sam. 7, 1 ff.), …
24:3
Māšāl (v.), which is rendered only approximately by "proverb," means similitude, comparison, parable, a brief sententious saying that serves to inculcate a truth or a principle of moral and practical order: it is the parable more properly so called (Ezek. 17, 2; 24, 3), the similitude and the example, the saying of popular use (more precisely proverb: I Kings 5, 12; Job 13, 12; Prov. 1, 1.6; 10, 1; 25, 1; 26, 7.9), the witty and sarcastic mot (Ezek. …
24:17
Agape (Ἀγάπη "love, charity" in the New Testament)
A certain dependence of the a. on Jewish funerary banquets may be admitted (II Sam. 3, 32; Jer. 16, 5, 7; Tob. 4, 17-18; cf. Hos. 9, 4 and Ezek. 24, 17, 22; for New Testament times: Flavius Josephus, Ant. …
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.