title: Coll. 6

title_alt: On the gift of fortitude, second collation

source_text:
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### COLLATIO VI.
#### *De dono fortitudinis collatio secunda.*

### Summarium

*Introductio,* 1. — *Repetitio et applicatio textus,* 2-4. — *Divisio argumenti trimembris,* 5. — Pars I. B. Virgo protulit pretium nostrae redemptionis ut fortis et sancta. *Triplex sanctitas eius. Primo, sanctitas pudicitiae incorruptae,* 6. — *Secundo, sanctitas obedientiae promptae,* 7. — *Tertio, sanctitas benevolentiae plenae,* 8. — *Figurae Virginis sex, tres in historia, tres in verbis; hae significant sex proprietates amoris divini,* 9-11. — *Imitari debemus in his B. Virginem, sed non Evam; increpatio peccati, speciatim luxuriae; cavendum a mulieribus,* 12-14. — Pars II. Ipsa persolvit illud ut fortis et pia. *Obtulit sub cruce Filium ad solvendum pretium mundi,* 15. — *De B. Virginis pietate; haec est triplex,* 16. — *Persolvit pretium primo pietate venerationis divinae; hinc super omnes est laudabilis; reprehenditur impietas hominum,* 17. — *Secundo, pietate compassionis ad Christum; compassio cum Christo,* 18. 19. — *Tertio, pietate miserationis ad mundum; B. Virgo mater pia Christianorum; commendatur pietas omnibus,* 20. 21. — Pars III. Ipsa possidet illud ut fortis et strenua. *Strenua fuit tripliciter: primo, viriliter pugnans conterendo caput serpentis,* 22. — *Secundo, nobiliter triumphans de diabolo, ut Iudith de Holoferne,* 23. — *Tertio, sublimiter regnans, ut Esther coronata,* 24.

1. *Mulierem fortem quis inveniet*[^p483-3]? etc. — *Ora pro nobis, quia mulier sancta es.* Verbum ultimum fuit verbum sacerdotum ad Iudith; et potest esse verbum nostrum ad Virginem gloriosissimam, quae plena est sanctitate et gratia, ut oret pro nobis ad obtinendam gratiam et sapientiam: *sapientiam ad cognoscendam veritatem,* et *gratiam ad faciendam veritatem.* Ista duo debemus petere a Deo. Ad hoc venimus ad sermonem, ut intellectum bonum habeamus et affectum poenitentiae reportemus. Sed indigemus prece ad hoc; et quia sumus hebetes et tardi, ideo indigemus suffragio Virginis gloriosae, ut per eius suffragium imploremus divinum auxilium, quod possimus aliquid dicere etc.

2. *Mulierem fortem* etc. In sero tangebamus verbum illud, quod est Salomonis ad Virginem gloriosam, in quo commendat eam a tribus: primo, a *spiritualis fortitudinis robore;* secundo, a *supernaturalis conceptus fecunditate;* et tertio, a *salutaris consilii discretione*[^p483-4]. — Et recte coniunguntur ista tria: quia robur *fortitudinis* spiritualis initium fuit supernaturalis conceptus, et donum *consilii* fuit quasi complementum, quia illa Virgo, quae debebat concipere Christum, Dei Filium, *Dei virtutem et Dei sapientiam*[^p483-5], debuit esse *fortis* et *sensata: fortis* virtute et *sensata* per sapientiam. Et ideo Sapiens, volens explicare de conceptu Virginis, praemittit de spiritu fortitudinis et subiungit de dono consilii; quia illa, super quam debuit requiescere *spiritus sapientiae et intellectus, spiritus consilii et fortitudinis, spiritus scientiae et pietatis et spiritus timoris Domini*[^p483-6], debuit esse repleta spiritu septiformi donorum Spiritus sancti, specialiter vero spiritu *fortitudinis* et *consilii.*

3. In hoc autem, quod dicit: *Procul et de ultimis finibus pretium eius,* intelligitur Virgo gloriosa commendari a *supernaturali conceptus fecunditate.* Hoc non habeo ex me, sed Bernardus[^p483-7] dicit: «Si nostra

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et omnium salus, si innocentiae restitutio posita est in manu mulieris; necesse est, ut fortis mulier quaeratur, quae ad tantum opus est necessaria»; et subdit: «Non de terra, non de caelo propinquo, sed *a summo caelo egressio eius*». — *Procul igitur et de ultimis finibus pretium eius.* Hoc est pretium, de quo dicit Apostolus[^p484-1]: *Empti estis pretio magno; portate et glorificate Deum in corpore vestro.* Quod pretium illud sit *magnum,* dicit Apostolus Petrus: *Non corruptibilibus auro vel argento redempti estis de vana vestra conversatione paternae traditionis, sed pretioso sanguine quasi Agni immaculati et incontaminati.* Hoc debuit esse pretium magnum, quo redimi debebat totus mundus et totum genus humanum; quia homo satisfacere non potuit, quia nullus homo potuit valere omnes homines, nec creatura aliqua. Nihil fuit sufficiens ad redimendum totum genus humanum, nisi haberet humanam naturam et naturam super omnem creaturam; ergo oportuit, quod haberet naturam divinam et humanam.

4. Illud pretium ubi invenietur? Certe nusquam nisi in utero Virginis gloriosae. Unde Isaias[^p484-2]: *Ecce, Virgo concipiet et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen eius Emmanuel.* — *Emmanuel* interpretatur *nobiscum Deus.* Non decebat Virginem habere filium nisi Deum, nec Deum habere matrem nisi Virginem. Pretium illud non potuit inveniri nisi in Virgine. *Procul et de ultimis finibus* est, quia in ipso coniunctum est *summum* cum *infimo,* et *primum* cum *ultimo.* Pretium illud *procul* est, quo redimitur totum genus humanum; quia redimitur *infimum,* ideo est *summum;* quia redimitur *ultimum,* ideo est *primum.* Homo inter creaturas ultimo creatus est[^p484-3].

5. *Procul et de ultimis finibus pretium eius;* et cuius *eius?* Huius mulieris Virginis benedictae est pretium, per quod regnum caelorum obtinere valeamus; sive est *eius,* id est ex ea *sumtum,* per eam *solutum* et ab ea *possessum:* ex ea *sumtum* in incarnatione Verbi; per eam *solutum* in redemptione generis humani; et ab ea *possessum* in assecutione gloriae paradisi. Ipsa pretium illud *protulit, solvit* et *possedit:* ergo est eius ut *originantis,* ut *persolventis* et ut *possidentis.* Mulier ista *protulit* pretium illud ut *fortis* et *sancta; solvit* ut *fortis* et *pia;* et *possedit* ut *fortis* et *strenua.*

6. Dico primo, quod pretium illud *protulit,* scilicet Deum et hominem. Protulit Virgo benedicta ut mulier *fortis* et *sancta,* sanctitate, dico, *pudicitiae incorruptae,* sanctitate *obedientiae promptae* et sanctitate *benevolentiae plenae.* — Primo, dico, protulit pretium illud Virgo benedicta ut *fortis* et *sancta* sanctitate *pudicitiae incorruptae.* Unde in Ecclesiastico[^p484-4]: *Gratia super gratiam mulier sancta et pudorata;* et Angelus dixit: *Ave, gratia plena,* quia *sancta* et *pudorata: sancta* carne et *pudorata* mente. Apostolus: *Mulier innupta et virgo cogitat quae Domini sunt, ut sit sancta corpore et spiritu.* Super illud: *Missus est Angelus Gabriel* etc., dicit Bernardus[^p484-5]: «*Missus est Gabriel ad Virginem,* qualem describit Apostolus, *mente et corpore sanctam,* nec de novo nec fortuitu inventam, sed a saeculo electam, ab Altissimo praecognitam et sibi praeparatam, ab Angelis servatam, a Patriarchis praesignatam, a Prophetis promissam». Ad istam Virginem mitti debuit Gabriel tanquam paranymphus. Haec sola placuit Altissimo. Item Bernardus[^p484-6]: «Virgo regia, gemino mentis decore praefulgida civium in se provocavit aspectus, ita ut et Regis animum in sui concupiscentiam inclinaret et caelestem nuntium ad se de supernis adduceret».

7. Secundo protulit Virgo benedicta illud pretium ut *fortis* et *sancta* sanctitate *obedientiae promptae.* Unde in Ecclesiastico[^p484-7]: *Fundamenta aeterna supra petram solidam, et mandata Dei in corde mulieris sanctae.* Ecclesia debuit fundari; ideo oportuit iacere fundamenta, scilicet mandata Dei, et oportuit, quod in aliqua persona essent collocata. Non potuit hoc esse nisi in Virgine gloriosa; Psalmus: *Fundamenta eius in montibus sanctis; homo natus est in ea, et ipse fundavit eam Altissimus.* Dicit: *Mandata Dei in corde mulieris sanctae,* id est Virginis gloriosae. Non fuit otiosa, non fuit sciens et non faciens, sed fuit obediens. Ideo in corde eius fuerunt fundata ista mandata Dei. Dicitur in Evangelio[^p484-8]: *Omnis, qui audit verbum Dei et facit, similis est ei qui aedificat domum suam supra firmam petram; qui autem audit et non facit, similis est ei qui aedificat super arenam.* — Primo oportuit invenire personam, in qua mandata Dei collocarentur, scilicet mulierem fortem. Haec fuit Virgo gloriosa. Unde in Luca[^p484-9]: *Extollens vocem quaedam mulier de turba, dixit ei: Beatus venter, qui te portavit, et ubera, quae suxisti. Et dixit Iesus: Quinimmo, beati qui audiunt verbum Dei et custodiunt illud.* — Non solum ipsa beata est, quae ipsum concepit et lactavit, sed etiam qui eam sequuntur. Et qui sunt illi? Qui

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audiunt verbum Dei et implent illud. Eva, transgressa mandatum Dei, destruxit domum, quam Deus nobis praeparavit ad salutem; sed mulier sapiens aedificavit domum et reparavit salutem nostram.

8. Tertio protulit pretium illud Virgo benedicta ut *fortis* et *sancta* sanctitate *benevolentiae plenae.* Unde Gabriel Angelus dixit ei[^p485-1]: *Benedicta tu in mulieribus* etc. *Spiritus sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te sanctum vocabitur Filius Dei.* Augustinus: Spiritus sanctus amor est, et quamquam detur cum donis suis, non est donum, a quo non possit separari, nisi donum amoris. Cum ceterae virtutes communes sint bonis et malis; dilectio Dei et proximi propria est bonis et piis; ipsa sola est, quae sanctificat. *Supervenit Spiritus sanctus,* quia additur amor amori, ut metas aliorum transcenderet. Unde dicit Hugo[^p485-2]: «Quia amor Dei in mente Virginis singulariter ardebat, ideo in carne mirabilia faciebat». — Dicitur in Exodo: *Quod rubus ardebat et non comburebatur,* id est, Virgo gloriosa, Filium Dei et lucem proferens, per ignem divini amoris lucem mundo dedit et corrupta non fuit. Amor caritatis a corruptione conservat. *Ideoque et quod nascetur ex te,* per amorem illibatum et impollutum, *vocabitur Filius Dei.* Sicut ex amore viri cum muliere nascitur filius carnalis; ita ex amore Virginis cum Deo natus est Dei Filius.

9. Sed praecessit figura in *rubo et igne,* quam vidit Moyses; figura in *virga et flore Aaron*[^p485-3]; figura in *vellere et rore* Gedeonis; et praecessit figura in *forti muliere* et *eius pretio,* quam desideravit Salomon; figura in *femina* et *viro,* quia dicit Ieremias[^p485-4]: *Mulier circumdabit virum.* Illud totum consummatum est in Virgine gloriosa. Unde Bernardus: «Quod monstratum est Moysi in rubo et igne, Aaron in virga et flore, Gedeoni in vellere et rore; hoc aperte praevidit Salomon in forti muliere et eius pretio; apertius praecinuit Ieremias de femina et viro; apertissime Isaias declaravit de Virgine et eius filio: et tandem exhibuit Gabriel Virginem salutando».

10. Tanguntur hic historiae. Prima historia est in *rubo et igne,* ubi exprimitur mysterium incarnationis. Secunda historia est in *virga Aaron,* quae praecisa et sicca in noctis unius spatio fronduit, floruit et fructum protulit. Tertia historia est, quod Gedeon petiit a Domino, quod *ros* cadens totus in *vellere* esset, et area remaneret sicca; et implevit concham rore. — Tria alia verba sunt Salomonis, Ieremiae et Isaiae. Verbum Salomonis est de *forti muliere* et eius pretio. Verbum Ieremiae de *muliere et viro: Novum,* inquit[^p485-5], *faciet Dominus super terram; mulier circumdabit virum.* Verbum Isaiae de *Virgine et eius filio: Ecce,* inquit, *Virgo concipiet et pariet filium, et vocabitur nomen eius Emmanuel. Et hoc vobis signum* etc.

11. Quis fecit, quod Virgo conciperet? Certe Spiritus sanctus, qui est amor *fervens, fecundus, impollutus, virilis, incorruptus* et *deificus.* Quod sit amor *fervens,* significatur nobis in *rubo et igne.* Quod sit amor *fecundus,* significatur in *virga* Aaron, quae in noctis spatio fronduit, floruit et fructum protulit. Quod sit amor *impollutus,* significatur in *vellere* completo, quia ros vellus non inquinavit, sed mundavit. Quod sit amor *virilis,* significatur nobis in *muliere et viro,* quia *mulier circumdedit virum,* id est ex omni parte cinxit. Quod sit amor *incorruptus,* significatur nobis in *Virgine, quae concepit filium.* Quod sit amor *deificus,* significatur nobis in *Virgine pariente Deum.* — Pretium illud pretiosissimum est. Propter hoc dicit Isaias[^p485-6]: *Pretiosior erit vir auro, et homo mundo obrizo.* Hoc dicit de Christo, qui nos pretiosos fecit.

12. Omnis, qui vult esse sanctus, debet sequi Virginem gloriosam in sanctitate *pudicitiae incorruptae, obedientiae promptae* et *benevolentiae plenae.* Et sicut sequendo Virginem gloriosam efficimur pretiosi et sancti, ita sequendo Evam efficimur mali et viles. Unde in Proverbiis[^p485-7]: *Pretium scorti vix est unius panis; mulier autem viri pretiosam animam capit.* Eva stulta, pro esu unius pomi te et virum tuum et omnes nos vendidisti! O fili Evae!

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cave, ne sis imitator Evae; sed pro quacumque delectatione animam tuam das; imitator es Evae. *Quid prodest homini, si universum mundum lucretur, detrimentum autem animae suae patiatur? Aut quam commutationem dabit homo pro anima sua?* Pro toto, quod Deus creavit, non darem animam meam. Christus sanguinem suum dedit pro anima tua redimenda, et pro peccato vendis te et animam tuam!

13. Scitis, quid accidit per peccatum? Pretiosissimus fit vilissimus. Unde in Ecclesiastico[^p486-1]: *Mulier fornicaria quasi stercus conculcabitur in via.* Clericus igitur et sacerdos fornicarius quid est? Certe abominatio Domino. Fugite igitur concupiscentias et sequimini Virginem, quae credidit Gabrieli Archangelo, non mulierem, quae credidit serpenti. Salomon secutus est mulieres fatuas, ideo luget et dicit in Ecclesiaste[^p486-2]: *Inveni mulierem amariorem morte, quae laqueus est venatorum, et sagena cor eius, vincula sunt manus illius. Qui placet Deo effugiet eam, qui autem peccator est capietur ab ea. Laqueus* est aspicientibus, *sagena* concupiscentibus et consentientibus, et *vincula* contingentibus.

14. Dico primo, quod est *laqueus* aspicientibus; unde scribitur[^p486-3]: *Speciem mulieris alienae multi admirati, reprobi facti sunt.* Legitur de beato Bernardo, quod soror eius venit eum videre, ornata pulcherrimo ornatu; ipse spuit in faciem eius et fugit ab ea. Illa impatiens quaesivit, quare hoc faceret; respondit: «quia in meretriceo ornatu venis ad capiendum animas et portas diabolum tecum». Ideo dicit: *Laqueus est venatorum,* id est diaboli, qui per eam capit animas; quia *qui viderit mulierem ad concupiscendum eam, iam moechatus est eam in corde suo*[^p486-4]. — Item, est *sagena* concupiscentibus et consentientibus. Unde in Ecclesiastico[^p486-5]: *Propter speciem mulieris multi perierunt.* Difficile est *ignem portare in sinu, ut non comburantur vestimenta.* — Item, *manus mulieris sunt vincula* contingentibus, quia stricte tenet, quod non potest homo ab ea separari. Unde Apostolus[^p486-6]: *Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere.* — *A vestimento procedit tinea, et a muliere iniquitas viri.* — Si volumus esse pretiosissimi, debemus adhaerere pretio mulieris fortissimae, Virginis incorruptae, obedientissimae et amantissimae. Illa mulier, scilicet Eva, nos a paradiso expellit et vendit; ista nos reducit et emit. — Protulit igitur pretium illud ut mulier *fortis et sancta.*

15. Secundo, *persolvit* istud pretium ut mulier *fortis et pia,* scilicet quando Christus passus est in cruce ad persolvendum pretium istud, ut nos purgaret, lavaret et redimeret; tunc beata Virgo fuit praesens, acceptans et concordans voluntati divinae. Et placuit ei, quod pretium uteri sui offerretur in cruce pro nobis. Unde in Ioanne[^p486-7]: *Stabant iuxta crucem Iesu mater eius et soror matris eius, Maria Cleophae, et Maria Magdalena. Cum vidisset ergo Iesus matrem et discipulum stantem, quem diligebat; dicit matri suae: Mulier, ecce filius tuus,* scilicet, qui tradetur in pretium redemptionis generis humani; ac si diceret: oportet, te carere me, et me carere te — et tu ipsa sicut sancta ipsum concepisti, et sicut pia eum offers — placeat tibi, Virgo, quod genus humanum redimo et Deum placo. Et ne destituta esset, dixit discipulo: *Ecce, mater tua;* hominem virginem dedit Virgini.

16. Audiamus aliquid de pietate eius. Haec est spes nostra, quae persolvit pretium istud, ut pia pietate *venerationis divinae;* secundo, pietate *compassionis ad Christum;* et tertio, pietate *miserationis ad mundum,* et praecipue ad populum christianum.

17. Primo, dico, persolvit pretium istud ut *fortis et pia pietate venerationis divinae.* Unde in Proverbiis[^p486-8]: *Fallax gratia et vana est pulcritudo, mulier timens Dominum, ipsa laudabitur.* Nullus autem est, qui posset reddere honorem subtractum Deo nisi Christus. Et beata Virgo est venerativa et restaurativa honoris Deo subtracti, et mater consentiens, quod Christus in pretium offerretur. Ergo *laudabitur.* Laudata fuit Anna, quia obtulit Samuelem; unde dicitur de ipsa[^p486-9]: *Abiit in viam suam mulier et comedit, vultusque illius non sunt amplius in diversa mutati.* Ipsa obtulit filium ad serviendum; sed beata Virgo obtulit filium suum ad sacrificandum. — Abraham, voluisti offerre filium tuum, sed obtulisti arietem! sed Virgo gloriosa filium suum obtulit. — Laudatur vidua paupercula, quia obtulit

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totum, quod habuit; sed haec mulier, scilicet Virgo gloriosa, misericordiosissima, pia et Deo devota obtulit totam substantiam suam. — In hoc reprehenditur impietas hominum, qui non reddunt grates Deo de hoc quod acceperunt. Tot bona recepisti a Deo, scilicet praebendas et alia; si aliquid facis pro Deo, videtur tibi magnum. Sed si te et omne, quod habes, pro Deo des, nihil est. Beata Virgo solvit pretium illud fortis et pia pietate venerationis divinae. Pietas principaliter consistit in cultu Dei[^p487-1].

18. Secundo persolvit pretium illud Virgo gloriosa, *fortis et pia pietate compassionis ad Christum.* Dicitur in Ioanne[^p487-2]: *Mulier, cum parit, tristitiam habet, quia venit hora eius.* Propter parturitionem habet mulier dolorem, scilicet antecedentem ad partum. Sed beata Virgo non habuit dolorem antecedentem partum; quia non concepit ex peccato, sicut Eva, cui maledictio data est; sed habuit dolorem post partum. Unde peperit, antequam parturiret. In cruce parturivit; unde in Luca[^p487-3]: *Et tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius.* In aliis mulieribus est dolor corporis, in ista est dolor cordis; in aliis est dolor corruptionis, in ista est dolor compassionis et caritatis. Unde invitat nos ad considerandum dolorem ipsius in Ieremia: *Omnes,* inquit, *qui transitis per viam; attendite et videte, si est dolor sicut dolor meus.*

19. Iste dolor debet transverberare mentes omnium. Christus propter te mortuus est, nonne debes ei compati? Beata Virgo compatiebatur ei maxime; sed ex altera parte placebat ei, quod pro nobis traderetur. Nullus scit, quantum valet compassio Christi. Nihil est, quod tantum exstinguit tentationes et elationem, quam quod mens custodiatur in compassione doloris Christi. Venit tempus passionis Christi; et aliqui *rursus* sunt *crucifigentes sibimetipsis Filium Dei*[^p487-4], scilicet quantum in ipsis est. Summa crudelitas iniquitatis christianae est, quod qui lotus es sanguine Christi peccando iterum crucifigis ipsum, quantum in te est.

20. Tertio persolvit beata Virgo pretium illud sicut mulier *fortis et pia pietate miserationis ad mundum,* et specialiter ad populum christianum. Isaias[^p487-5]: *Nunquid oblivisci potest mulier infantem suum, ut non misereatur filio uteri sui? Et si illa oblita fuerit, ego tamen non obliviscar tui.* Hoc dicitur de Christo. — Et potest intelligi hic, quod totus populus christianus de utero Virginis gloriosae sit productus; quod significatur nobis per mulierem de latere viri formatam, quae significat Ecclesiam. Unde in Genesi[^p487-6]: *Immisit Dominus soporem in Adam; cumque obdormisset tulit unam de costis eius* et fecit mulierem *et adduxit eam ad Adam.* Et dixit Adam, quod esset *virago, quia de viro sumta est. Hoc,* inquit, *os ex ossibus meis, et caro de carne mea.* Et dixit Dominus[^p487-7]: *Propter hoc relinquet homo patrem et matrem* et filios et filias, *et adhaerebit uxori suae.* Et Apostolus dixit: *Sacramentum hoc magnum est; ego autem dico, in Christo et in Ecclesia.* — Et quare, eo dormiente, tulit unam de costis eius? Nonne potuit facere hoc, ipso vigilante? Hoc est mysteriale. Nunquid formata est Ecclesia de latere Christi, donec Christus obdormivit in cruce? Et de latere eius refluxit *sanguis et aqua*[^p487-8], id est Sacramenta, per quae renascitur Ecclesia. De costa Adam formata est Eva, quae ei copulata est in coniugium. Sicut homo formatus est de terra virginea, sic Christus de Virgine gloriosa. Et sicut de latere Adae dormientis formata est mulier, ita Ecclesia de Christo in cruce pendente. Et sicut de Adam et Eva formatus est Abel et successores sui, sic de Christo et Ecclesia totus populus christianus. Et sicut Eva mater est Abel et omnium nostrum, ita populus christianus habet matrem Virginem.

21. O quam piam matrem habemus! Configuremus nos matri nostrae et sequamur eius pietatem. Tantum compassa est animabus, quod damnum temporale et passionem corporalem nihil reputavit. Ita propter salutem animae nostrae placeat nobis crucifigere corpus nostrum. Dicitur in Matthaeo[^p487-9]: *Cum esset Iesus in domo Simonis leprosi, venit mulier habens alabastrum unguenti, et fregit alabastrum et infudit unguentum super caput Iesu. Et impleta est domus ex odore unguenti. Videntes hoc discipuli, murmuraverunt quidam ex eis dicentes: Ut quid perditio haec? Potuit enim venumdari multo et dari pauperibus. Et dixit Iesus: Ut quid molesti estis huic mulieri? Bonum opus operata est in me; nam semper pauperes habetis vobiscum, me autem non semper habetis.* Magdalena typum gerit poenitentium; fregit alabastrum unguenti ex pietate, quam habuit ad Christum. Et nos ad universalem Ecclesiam et ad animam poenitentem debemus habere pietatem. Et sicut Magdalena offendendo perdidit Deum; ita, quando ungebat pedes Christi et caput, invenit ipsum. — Videte, quod quilibet vestrum habeat illud unguentum, ut pie afficiatur ad Deum et poeniteat et a peccato sibi caveat. Compatiuntur aliqui carni suae, non animae. Unde

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in Threnis[^p488-1]: *Manus mulierum misericordium coxerunt filios suos.* Talis non est similis Virgini neque Christo. *Filios coquit* qui animae suae non compatitur, sed eam exponit incendio concupiscentiarum et tormentorum infernalium. De tali muliere dicitur: *Melior est iniquitas viri quam mulier benefaciens;* non potes nimis affligere corpus. Non demus corpus nostrum peccato. *Empti* sumus *pretio magno*[^p488-2]. *Nolite fieri servi hominum* neque daemonum neque peccatorum. Si redemissem servum aliquem, non darem eum pro nihilo. — Patet modo, quomodo Virgo gloriosa pretium illud *protulit* sicut *fortis et sancta* et *persolvit* sicut *fortis et pia.*

22. Tertio, *possidet* pretium illud in caelo glorificatum, quia *fortis et strenua,* viriliter *pugnans,* nobiliter *triumphans* et sublimiter *regnans.* — Primo, dico, beata Virgo possidet pretium illud, quia fortis et strenua tanquam *viriliter pugnans.* In Genesi[^p488-3]: *Dixit Dominus ad serpentem: Ponam inimicitias inter te et mulierem et semen tuum et semen illius; ipsa conteret caput tuum, et tu insidiaberis calcaneo eius.* Bernardus de Virgine gloriosa dicit: «Caput serpentis antiqui ipsa contrivit, dum omnimodam maligni suggestionem tam de carnis illecebra quam de mentis superbia ad nihilum deduxit». — Non permittas, quod serpens intret in cor tuum per suggestionem; quia dicit Gregorius[^p488-4], quod quando caput serpentis intraverit in aliquod foramen, tunc de facili totum corpus intrat. Propter hoc dicit Psalmus: *Beatus, qui tenebit et allidet parvulos suos ad petram,* id est primos motus ad Christum; et tunc habebit pacem. Qui vult defendere terram suam timet sibi, ne hostis intret in terram; quia qui confinia terrae in fortitudine tenet meditullium securius possidet.

23. Secundo possidet beata Virgo istud pretium, quia fortis et strenua *nobiliter triumphans,* quod significatur in Iudith[^p488-5], ubi dicitur: *Una mulier Hebraea fecit confusionem in domo Nabuchodonosor.* Iudith amputavit caput Holoferni, et omnes sui fugerunt. In Evangelio dicitur: *Tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius;* et Iudith interfecit Holofernem proprio gladio. — Quomodo igitur Iudith signat Virginem gloriosam? Vide novum testamentum et vetus. Sacer Simeon: *Tuam ipsius animam pertransibit gladius,* id est dolor vivus. Unde? Certe de passione Christi. Quis intulit passionem Christo? Iudaeus, paganus, Pilatus. Isti fuerunt *instrumenta;* sed quis *movebat* eos ad hoc? Certe diabolus faciebat gladium, unde transfigebatur anima Virginis; et ipsa curata est, et diabolus victus. Diabolus voluit escam carnis Christi habere; sed Deitas adhaesit gutturi eius tanquam hamus[^p488-6]; clavum infixit in tempus Sisarae. Qui destruxit exercitum Madianitarum nobiliter triumphavit. — Igitur ad eius exemplum non permittamus nos vinci.

24. Tertio possidet beata Virgo illud pretium, quia fortis et strenua *sublimiter regnans.* Unde in Esther[^p488-7] dicitur, quod Esther invenit gratiam coram Assuero prae cunctis mulieribus, et posuit diadema in caput eius et fecit eam reginam. Beata Virgo propter suam sanctitatem, pietatem et sublimitatem habuit *coronam de lapide pretioso.* Quis est iste lapis? Certe Christus. Unde beatus Petrus[^p488-8]: *Ecce, mittam in fundamento lapidem pretiosum.* Coronata est lapide isto beata Virgo in carne; videns in *carne* corpus Christi glorificatum, videns in *spiritu* animam eius glorificatam et in *mente* eius Divinitatem. Coronatus est primo Christus, et ipsa post. Unde in Cantico[^p488-9]: *Egredimini, filiae Sion, et videte regem Salomonem in diademate, quo coronavit eum mater sua in die desponsationis illius et in die laetitiae cordis eius,* id est in carne et mente, quia induit primo carnem, passus et postea glorificatus est; et tota Ecclesia coronata est per ipsum. Unde in Apocalypsi: *Signum magnum apparuit in caelo;*

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*mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus eius, et in capite eius corona stellarum duodecim.* — Istam coronam habebimus, si volumus Virginem gloriosam imitari. Unde scribitur[^p489-1]: *Beatus vir, qui suffert tentationem, quoniam, cum probatus fuerit, accipiet coronam vitae;* et in Apocalypsi: *Esto fidelis usque ad mortem, et dabo tibi coronam vitae;* quam nobis praestare dignetur qui cum Patre etc.

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### COLLATION VI.
#### *On the gift of fortitude, second collation.*

### Summarium

*Introduction,* 1. — *Repetition and application of the text,* 2-4. — *The threefold division of the argument,* 5. — Part I. The Blessed Virgin brought forth the price of our redemption as valiant and holy. *Her threefold holiness. First, the holiness of unspoiled chastity,* 6. — *Secondly, the holiness of ready obedience,* 7. — *Thirdly, the holiness of full goodwill,* 8. — *Six figures of the Virgin, three in histories, three in words; these signify the six properties of divine love,* 9-11. — *In these we ought to imitate the Blessed Virgin, but not Eve; the rebuke of sin, and especially of lust; women are to be guarded against,* 12-14. — Part II. She paid it as valiant and loving. *Beneath the cross she offered her Son to pay the price of the world,* 15. — *On the Blessed Virgin's piety; it is threefold,* 16. — *She paid the price first by the piety of divine veneration; hence she is praiseworthy above all; the impiety of men is reproved,* 17. — *Secondly, by the piety of compassion toward Christ; compassion with Christ,* 18. 19. — *Thirdly, by the piety of mercy toward the world; the Blessed Virgin the loving mother of Christians; piety is commended to all,* 20. 21. — Part III. She possesses it as valiant and vigorous. *She was vigorous in three ways: first, fighting manfully by crushing the serpent's head,* 22. — *Secondly, triumphing nobly over the devil, as Judith over Holofernes,* 23. — *Thirdly, reigning on high, as Esther crowned,* 24.

1. *Who shall find a valiant woman*[^p483-3]? etc. — *Pray for us, for thou art a holy woman.* This last word was the word of the priests to Judith; and it can be our word to the most glorious Virgin, who is full of holiness and grace, that she may pray for us to obtain grace and wisdom: *wisdom for the knowing of truth,* and *grace for the doing of truth.* These two we ought to ask of God. For this we have come to the sermon, that we may have a good understanding and may carry back a disposition of repentance. But we need prayer for this; and because we are dull and slow, we therefore need the intercession of the glorious Virgin, so that through her intercession we may implore the divine help, that we may be able to say something, etc.

2. *Who shall find a valiant woman,* etc. Yesterday evening we touched on that word, which is Solomon's concerning the glorious Virgin, in which he commends her from three things: first, from *the strength of spiritual fortitude;* secondly, from *the fruitfulness of a supernatural conceiving;* and thirdly, from *the discernment of saving counsel*[^p483-4]. — And rightly are these three joined together: because the strength of spiritual *fortitude* was the beginning of the supernatural conceiving, and the gift of *counsel* was as it were its completion; for that Virgin, who was to conceive Christ, the Son of God, *the power of God and the wisdom of God*[^p483-5], had to be *valiant* and *of good sense: valiant* by power and *of good sense* through wisdom. And therefore the Wise Man, wishing to unfold the Virgin's conceiving, sets the spirit of fortitude before it and adds the gift of counsel after it; because she, upon whom there had to rest *the spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, the spirit of knowledge and of piety, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord*[^p483-6], had to be filled with the sevenfold spirit of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, and especially with the spirit of *fortitude* and of *counsel.*

3. But in this, that he says: *Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her,* the glorious Virgin is understood to be commended from *the fruitfulness of a supernatural conceiving.* This I do not have of myself, but Bernard[^p483-7] says: "If our

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salvation and the salvation of all, if the restoring of innocence, is placed in a woman's hand; it is necessary that a valiant woman be sought, who is needful for so great a work"; and he adds: "Not from the earth, not from the near heaven, but *her going forth is from the highest heaven*." — *Far therefore and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her.* This is the price of which the Apostle says[^p484-1]: *You are bought with a great price; glorify and bear God in your body.* That this price is *great,* the Apostle Peter says: *You were not redeemed with corruptible things, as gold or silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers, but with the precious blood as of a lamb unspotted and undefiled.* This had to be a great price, by which the whole world and the whole human race was to be redeemed; because man could not make satisfaction, since no man could be worth all men, nor could any creature. Nothing was sufficient to redeem the whole human race, unless it had a human nature and a nature above every creature; therefore it was necessary that it should have a divine nature and a human one.

4. Where shall that price be found? Surely nowhere save in the womb of the glorious Virgin. Whence Isaiah[^p484-2]: *Behold, a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel.* — *Emmanuel* is interpreted *God with us.* It was not fitting that the Virgin should have a son unless he were God, nor that God should have a mother unless she were a Virgin. That price could not be found save in the Virgin. It is *far and from the uttermost coasts,* because in him the *highest* is joined with the *lowest,* and the *first* with the *last.* That price is *far,* by which the whole human race is redeemed; because the *lowest* is redeemed, therefore it is the *highest;* because the *last* is redeemed, therefore it is the *first.* Man was created last among the creatures[^p484-3].

5. *Far and from the uttermost coasts is the price of her;* and whose is *her?* The price is this woman's, the blessed Virgin's, the price by which we may be able to obtain the kingdom of heaven; or it is *hers,* that is, *taken* from her, *paid* through her, and *possessed* by her: *taken* from her in the incarnation of the Word; *paid* through her in the redemption of the human race; and *possessed* by her in the attaining of the glory of paradise. She *brought forth* that price, *paid* it and *possessed* it: therefore it is hers as of one *originating,* as of one *paying out* and as of one *possessing.* This woman *brought forth* that price as *valiant* and *holy;* she *paid* it as *valiant* and *loving;* and she *possessed* it as *valiant* and *vigorous.*

6. I say first, that she *brought forth* that price, namely God and man. The blessed Virgin brought it forth as a woman *valiant* and *holy* — holy, I say, with the holiness *of unspoiled chastity,* with the holiness *of ready obedience* and with the holiness *of full goodwill.* — First, I say, the blessed Virgin brought forth that price as *valiant* and *holy* with the holiness *of unspoiled chastity.* Whence in Ecclesiasticus[^p484-4]: *Grace upon grace is a holy and modest woman;* and the Angel said: *Hail, full of grace,* because *holy* and *modest: holy* in flesh and *modest* in mind. The Apostle: *The unmarried woman and the virgin thinketh on the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit.* Upon that word, *The Angel Gabriel was sent* etc., Bernard says[^p484-5]: "*Gabriel was sent to a Virgin* such as the Apostle describes, *holy in mind and body,* found neither newly nor by chance, but chosen from eternity, foreknown by the Most High and prepared for himself, guarded by the Angels, foreshown by the Patriarchs, promised by the Prophets." To that Virgin Gabriel had to be sent as a bridal envoy. She alone pleased the Most High. Likewise Bernard[^p484-6]: "The royal Virgin, resplendent with the twofold beauty of mind, drew upon herself the gaze of the citizens above, so that she both inclined the King's heart to a longing for her and drew down to herself the heavenly messenger from on high."

7. Secondly, the blessed Virgin brought forth that price as *valiant* and *holy* with the holiness *of ready obedience.* Whence in Ecclesiasticus[^p484-7]: *Everlasting foundations upon a solid rock, and the commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman.* The Church had to be founded; therefore it was necessary to lay foundations, namely the commandments of God, and it was necessary that they should be placed in some person. This could not be save in the glorious Virgin; the Psalm: *The foundations thereof are in the holy mountains; a man is born in her, and the Highest himself hath founded her.* He says: *The commandments of God in the heart of a holy woman,* that is, of the glorious Virgin. She was not idle, she was not one who knew and did not do, but she was obedient. Therefore these commandments of God were founded in her heart. It is said in the Gospel[^p484-8]: *Every one that heareth the word of God and doeth it, is like to him that buildeth his house upon a firm rock; but he that heareth and doeth not, is like to him that buildeth upon the sand.* — First it was necessary to find a person in whom the commandments of God might be placed, namely a valiant woman. This was the glorious Virgin. Whence in Luke[^p484-9]: *A certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, said to him: Blessed is the womb that bore thee, and the paps that gave thee suck. And Jesus said: Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep it.* — Not only is she blessed who conceived him and gave him suck, but also those who follow her. And who are they? Those who

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hear the word of God and fulfil it. Eve, by transgressing the commandment of God, destroyed the house which God had prepared for us unto salvation; but the wise woman built the house and repaired our salvation.

8. Thirdly, the blessed Virgin brought forth that price as *valiant* and *holy* with the holiness *of full goodwill.* Whence Gabriel the Angel said to her[^p485-1]: *Blessed art thou among women,* etc. *The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore also the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.* Augustine: The Holy Spirit is love, and although he is given with his gifts, there is no gift from which he cannot be separated except the gift of love. Whereas the other virtues are common to the good and the wicked, the love of God and of neighbour is proper to the good and the pious; it alone is that which sanctifies. *The Holy Spirit cometh upon her,* because love is added to love, that she might pass beyond the bounds of others. Whence Hugh says[^p485-2]: "Because the love of God burned in the Virgin's mind in a singular way, therefore in her flesh it did wonders." — It is said in Exodus: *The bush burned and was not consumed;* that is, the glorious Virgin, bringing forth the Son of God and the light, gave light to the world through the fire of divine love and was not corrupted. The love of charity preserves from corruption. *And therefore also that which shall be born of thee,* through a love unstained and unpolluted, *shall be called the Son of God.* As from the love of a man with a woman a fleshly son is born, so from the love of the Virgin with God the Son of God was born.

9. But there went before it the figure in *the bush and the fire,* which Moses saw; the figure in *the rod and the flower of Aaron*[^p485-3]; the figure in *the fleece and the dew* of Gideon; and there went before it the figure in *the valiant woman* and *her price,* whom Solomon desired; the figure in *the woman* and *the man,* because Jeremiah says[^p485-4]: *A woman shall compass a man.* All that was fulfilled in the glorious Virgin. Whence Bernard: "What was shown to Moses in the bush and the fire, to Aaron in the rod and the flower, to Gideon in the fleece and the dew — this Solomon plainly foresaw in the valiant woman and her price; more plainly Jeremiah foretold it of the woman and the man; most plainly of all Isaiah declared it of the Virgin and her son: and at last Gabriel presented her by his greeting of the Virgin."

10. Here histories are touched upon. The first history is in *the bush and the fire,* where the mystery of the incarnation is expressed. The second history is in *the rod of Aaron,* which, cut off and dry, in the space of a single night put forth leaves, blossomed and brought forth fruit. The third history is that Gideon asked of the Lord that the falling *dew* should be wholly in *the fleece,* and that the floor should remain dry; and he filled a bowl with the dew. — Three other words are Solomon's, Jeremiah's and Isaiah's. Solomon's word is of *the valiant woman* and her price. Jeremiah's word is of *the woman and the man: The Lord,* he says[^p485-5], *hath created a new thing upon the earth; a woman shall compass a man.* Isaiah's word is of *the Virgin and her son: Behold,* he says, *a Virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel. And this shall be a sign unto you,* etc.

11. Who brought it about that the Virgin should conceive? Surely the Holy Spirit, who is love *fervent, fruitful, unpolluted, manly, uncorrupted* and *deifying.* That he is *fervent* love is signified to us in *the bush and the fire.* That he is *fruitful* love is signified in *the rod* of Aaron, which in the space of a night put forth leaves, blossomed and brought forth fruit. That he is *unpolluted* love is signified in *the fleece* left whole, because the dew did not stain the fleece but cleansed it. That he is *manly* love is signified to us in *the woman and the man,* because *the woman compassed the man,* that is, girded him on every side. That he is *uncorrupted* love is signified to us in *the Virgin who conceived a son.* That he is *deifying* love is signified to us in *the Virgin bringing forth God.* — That price is most precious. For this reason Isaiah says[^p485-6]: *A man shall be more precious than gold, and man than the finest of gold.* This he says of Christ, who made us precious.

12. Everyone who wishes to be holy ought to follow the glorious Virgin in the holiness *of unspoiled chastity, of ready obedience* and *of full goodwill.* And as by following the glorious Virgin we are made precious and holy, so by following Eve we are made evil and cheap. Whence in Proverbs[^p485-7]: *The price of a harlot is scarce one loaf; but the woman catcheth the precious soul of a man.* Foolish Eve, for the eating of one apple thou hast sold thyself and thy husband and all of us! O son of Eve!

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beware lest thou be an imitator of Eve; but if for any pleasure whatever thou givest thy soul, thou art an imitator of Eve. *What doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, but suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul?* For all that God has created I would not give my soul. Christ gave his blood to redeem thy soul, and for a sin thou sellest thyself and thy soul!

13. Do you know what happens through sin? The most precious becomes the cheapest. Whence in Ecclesiasticus[^p486-1]: *A woman that is a fornicator shall be trodden upon as dung in the way.* What then is a cleric and a priest who is a fornicator? Surely an abomination to the Lord. Flee therefore concupiscences and follow the Virgin, who believed Gabriel the Archangel, not the woman who believed the serpent. Solomon followed foolish women, and therefore he laments and says in Ecclesiastes[^p486-2]: *I have found a woman more bitter than death, who is the hunters' snare, and her heart is a net, and her hands are bands. He that pleaseth God shall escape from her; but he that is a sinner shall be caught by her.* She is a *snare* to those who look, a *net* to those who lust and consent, and *bands* to those who touch.

14. I say first, that she is a *snare* to those who look; whence it is written[^p486-3]: *Many, admiring the beauty of another man's wife, have become reprobate.* It is read of blessed Bernard that his sister came to see him, adorned with the most beautiful adornment; he spat in her face and fled from her. She, indignant, asked why he did this; he answered: "because in a harlot's adornment thou comest to take souls, and thou carriest the devil with thee." Therefore he says: *She is the hunters' snare,* that is, the devil's, who through her takes souls; because *whosoever shall look on a woman to lust after her, hath already committed adultery with her in his heart*[^p486-4]. — Likewise, she is a *net* to those who lust and consent. Whence in Ecclesiasticus[^p486-5]: *For the beauty of a woman many have perished.* It is difficult *to carry fire in one's bosom and not have one's garments burnt.* — Likewise, *a woman's hands are bands* to those who touch, because she holds so tightly that a man cannot be separated from her. Whence the Apostle[^p486-6]: *It is good for a man not to touch a woman.* — *From garments cometh a moth, and from a woman the iniquity of a man.* — If we wish to be most precious, we ought to cleave to the price of the most valiant woman, the Virgin unspoiled, most obedient and most loving. That woman, namely Eve, drives us out of paradise and sells us; this one leads us back and buys us. — She brought forth therefore that price as a woman *valiant and holy.*

15. Secondly, she *paid* that price as a woman *valiant and loving,* namely when Christ suffered on the cross to pay out that price, that he might cleanse us, wash us and redeem us; then the blessed Virgin was present, accepting and consenting to the divine will. And it pleased her that the price of her womb should be offered on the cross for us. Whence in John[^p486-7]: *There stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalen. When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son* — namely, he who shall be handed over as the price of the redemption of the human race; as if he said: it is fitting that thou lack me, and that I lack thee — and thou thyself, as holy, didst conceive him, and, as loving, dost offer him — let it please thee, O Virgin, that I redeem the human race and appease God. And lest she be left destitute, he said to the disciple: *Behold thy mother;* he gave a virgin man to the Virgin.

16. Let us hear something of her piety. This is our hope, who paid that price, as loving, by the piety *of divine veneration;* secondly, by the piety *of compassion toward Christ;* and thirdly, by the piety *of mercy toward the world,* and chiefly toward the Christian people.

17. First, I say, she paid that price as *valiant and loving, by the piety of divine veneration.* Whence in Proverbs[^p486-8]: *Favour is deceitful and beauty is vain; the woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.* Now there is no one who could render back to God the honour taken from him except Christ. And the blessed Virgin is one who venerates and restores the honour taken from God, and a mother consenting that Christ should be offered as the price. Therefore *she shall be praised.* Anna was praised because she offered Samuel; whence it is said of her[^p486-9]: *The woman went her way, and ate, and her countenance was no more changed into divers looks.* She offered her son to serve; but the blessed Virgin offered her Son to be sacrificed. — Abraham, thou didst wish to offer thy son, but thou didst offer a ram! but the glorious Virgin offered her own Son. — The poor widow is praised, because she offered

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all that she had; but this woman, namely the glorious Virgin, most merciful, loving and devoted to God, offered her whole substance. — In this the impiety of men is reproved, who do not render thanks to God for what they have received. So many good things hast thou received from God, namely prebends and other things; if thou doest anything for God, it seems to thee a great matter. But if thou shouldst give thyself and all that thou hast for God, it is nothing. The blessed Virgin paid that price as valiant and loving, by the piety of divine veneration. Piety consists chiefly in the worship of God[^p487-1].

18. Secondly, the glorious Virgin paid that price as *valiant and loving, by the piety of compassion toward Christ.* It is said in John[^p487-2]: *A woman, when she is in labour, hath sorrow, because her hour is come.* Because of childbearing a woman has pain, namely a pain going before the birth. But the blessed Virgin had no pain going before the birth; because she did not conceive out of sin, as Eve did, on whom the curse was laid; but she had pain after the birth. Whence she gave birth before she travailed. She travailed on the cross; whence in Luke[^p487-3]: *And thy own soul a sword shall pierce.* In other women the pain is of the body, in her it is of the heart; in others it is a pain of corruption, in her it is a pain of compassion and charity. Whence she invites us to consider her sorrow, in Jeremiah: *All you,* he says, *that pass by the way, attend and see if there be any sorrow like to my sorrow.*

19. That sorrow ought to pierce through the minds of all. Christ died for thee — oughtest thou not to suffer with him? The blessed Virgin suffered with him most of all; but on the other side it pleased her that he should be handed over for us. No one knows how much compassion for Christ avails. There is nothing that so extinguishes temptations and pride as that the mind be kept in compassion for the sorrow of Christ. The time of Christ's passion has come; and some are *again crucifying to themselves the Son of God*[^p487-4], namely so far as in them lies. It is the height of the cruelty of Christian iniquity, that thou who art washed in the blood of Christ shouldst by sinning crucify him again, so far as in thee lies.

20. Thirdly, the blessed Virgin paid that price as a woman *valiant and loving, by the piety of mercy toward the world,* and especially toward the Christian people. Isaiah[^p487-5]: *Can a woman forget her infant, so as not to have pity on the son of her womb? And if she should forget, yet will not I forget thee.* This is said of Christ. — And it can be understood here that the whole Christian people has been brought forth from the womb of the glorious Virgin; which is signified to us by the woman formed from the side of the man, who signifies the Church. Whence in Genesis[^p487-6]: *The Lord cast a deep sleep upon Adam; and when he was fast asleep, he took one of his ribs,* and made a woman, *and brought her to Adam.* And Adam said that she was *woman, because she was taken out of man. This,* he says, *is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.* And the Lord said[^p487-7]: *Wherefore a man shall leave father and mother* and sons and daughters, *and shall cleave to his wife.* And the Apostle said: *This is a great sacrament; but I speak in Christ and in the Church.* — And why, while he slept, did he take one of his ribs? Could he not have done this while he was awake? This is a mystery. Was the Church formed from the side of Christ until Christ fell asleep on the cross? And from his side flowed *blood and water*[^p487-8], that is, the Sacraments, through which the Church is reborn. From Adam's rib Eve was formed, who was joined to him in marriage. As man was formed from virgin earth, so Christ from the glorious Virgin. And as from the side of the sleeping Adam the woman was formed, so the Church from Christ hanging on the cross. And as from Adam and Eve Abel and his successors were formed, so from Christ and the Church the whole Christian people. And as Eve is the mother of Abel and of us all, so the Christian people has the Virgin for its mother.

21. O what a loving mother we have! Let us conform ourselves to our mother and follow her piety. So greatly did she suffer with souls, that she counted temporal loss and bodily suffering as nothing. So, for the salvation of our soul, let it please us to crucify our body. It is said in Matthew[^p487-9]: *When Jesus was in the house of Simon the leper, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment, and she broke the alabaster box and poured out the ointment on the head of Jesus. And the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. The disciples, seeing this, some of them murmured, saying: To what purpose is this waste? For this might have been sold for much and given to the poor. And Jesus said: Why do you trouble this woman? She hath wrought a good work upon me; for the poor you have always with you, but me you have not always.* Magdalen bears the figure of penitents; she broke the alabaster box of ointment out of the piety which she had toward Christ. And we too ought to have piety toward the universal Church and toward the penitent soul. And as Magdalen by offending lost God, so, when she anointed the feet and the head of Christ, she found him. — See that each one of you has that ointment, so that he may be lovingly disposed toward God and may repent and beware of sin. Some have compassion on their flesh, not on their soul. Whence

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in the Lamentations[^p488-1]: *The hands of the pitiful women have sodden their own children.* Such a one is not like the Virgin nor like Christ. He *cooks his children* who has no compassion on his own soul, but exposes it to the burning of concupiscences and of the torments of hell. Of such a woman it is said: *Better is the iniquity of a man than a woman doing a good turn;* thou canst not afflict the body too much. Let us not give our body to sin. We are *bought with a great price*[^p488-2]. *Become not the bondslaves of men,* nor of demons, nor of sins. If I had redeemed some slave, I would not give him away for nothing. — It is now plain how the glorious Virgin *brought forth* that price as *valiant and holy* and *paid* it as *valiant and loving.*

22. Thirdly, she *possesses* that price glorified in heaven, because she is *valiant and vigorous,* manfully *fighting,* nobly *triumphing* and sublimely *reigning.* — First, I say, the blessed Virgin possesses that price, because she is valiant and vigorous as one *fighting manfully.* In Genesis[^p488-3]: *The Lord said to the serpent: I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.* Bernard says of the glorious Virgin: "She crushed the head of the ancient serpent, when she brought to nothing every suggestion of the evil one, both of the enticement of the flesh and of the pride of the mind." — Do not allow the serpent to enter into thy heart by suggestion; for Gregory says[^p488-4] that when the serpent's head has entered into some hole, then the whole body easily enters. For this reason the Psalm says: *Blessed is he that shall take and dash his little ones against the rock* — that is, the first motions against Christ; and then he shall have peace. He who wishes to defend his land fears for himself, lest the enemy enter into the land; because he who holds the borders of the land in strength possesses the interior more securely.

23. Secondly, the blessed Virgin possesses that price, because she is valiant and vigorous, *triumphing nobly,* which is signified in Judith[^p488-5], where it is said: *One Hebrew woman hath made confusion in the house of Nabuchodonosor.* Judith cut off the head of Holofernes, and all his men fled. In the Gospel it is said: *Thy own soul a sword shall pierce;* and Judith slew Holofernes with his own sword. — How then does Judith signify the glorious Virgin? Look at the New Testament and the Old. Holy Simeon: *Thy own soul a sword shall pierce,* that is, a living sorrow. Whence? Surely from the passion of Christ. Who brought the passion upon Christ? The Jew, the pagan, Pilate. These were the *instruments;* but who *moved* them to it? Surely the devil was making the sword by which the Virgin's soul was pierced through; and she was healed, and the devil was overcome. The devil wished to have the flesh of Christ as food; but the Godhead clung to his throat like a hook[^p488-6]; she drove a nail into the temple of Sisara. He who destroyed the army of the Madianites triumphed nobly. — Therefore, after her example, let us not allow ourselves to be overcome.

24. Thirdly, the blessed Virgin possesses that price, because she is valiant and vigorous, *reigning on high.* Whence in Esther[^p488-7] it is said that Esther found favour before Assuerus above all women, and he set the diadem upon her head and made her queen. The blessed Virgin, because of her holiness, her piety and her exaltation, had *a crown of precious stones.* What is that stone? Surely Christ. Whence blessed Peter[^p488-8]: *Behold, I lay in the foundation a precious stone.* With that stone the blessed Virgin was crowned in the flesh, seeing in the *flesh* the body of Christ glorified, seeing in the *spirit* his soul glorified and in his *mind* the Godhead. Christ was crowned first, and she afterwards. Whence in the Canticle[^p488-9]: *Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart* — that is, in flesh and in mind, because he first put on flesh, suffered and afterwards was glorified; and the whole Church is crowned through him. Whence in the Apocalypse: *A great sign appeared in heaven:*

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*a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars.* — We shall have that crown, if we are willing to imitate the glorious Virgin. Whence it is written[^p489-1]: *Blessed is the man that endureth temptation, for when he hath been proved, he shall receive the crown of life;* and in the Apocalypse: *Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life* — which may he vouchsafe to grant us who with the Father, etc.

---

la: Prov. 31, 10. — Seq. locus est Iudith 8, 29. Subinde respicitur Luc. 1, 28: Ave, gratia plena.

en: Proverbs 31:10. — The following passage is Judith 8:29. Thereafter Luke 1:28 is alluded to: *Hail, full of grace.*

la: Cfr. collat. praeced. n. 2.

en: Cf. the preceding collation, n. 2.

la: Epist. I. Cor. 1, 24.

en: First Epistle to the Corinthians 1:24.

en: Isaiah 11:2 and 3.

la: Homil. 2. super *Missus est* n. 5. Textus originalis quaedam alio modo exhibet et plura interserit. Allegatur in fine Ps. 18, 7.

en: Homily 2 on *Missus est,* n. 5. The original text presents some things otherwise and inserts more. At the end Psalm 18:7 is cited.

la: Epist. I. Cor. 6, 20. — Seq. locus est I. Petr. 1, 18. et 19. — De redemptione generis humani vide supra Breviloq. p. IV. c. 1. seqq. et III. Sent. d. 20. q. 3. seq.

en: First Epistle to the Corinthians 6:20. — The following passage is I Peter 1:18 and 19. — On the redemption of the human race see above, Breviloquium, part IV, c. 1 ff., and III Sentences, d. 20, q. 3 f.

la: Cap. 7, 14. Cfr. Matth. 1, 23, ubi post *Emmanuel* additur: quod est interpretatum *nobiscum Deus.*

en: Chapter 7:14. Cf. Matthew 1:23, where after *Emmanuel* there is added: which being interpreted is *God with us.*

la: Cfr. Gen. 1, 26. seqq.

en: Cf. Genesis 1:26 ff.

la: Cap. 26, 19. — Seq. locus est Luc. 1, 28; tertius I. Cor. 7, 34.

en: Chapter 26:19. — The following passage is Luke 1:28; the third is I Corinthians 7:34.

la: Homil. 2. n. 4: *Missus est,* inquit [Luc. 1, 26. et 27], *Angelus ad Virginem:* virginem carne, virginem mente, virginem professione, virginem denique, qualem etc.

en: Homily 2, n. 4: *He was sent,* he says [Luke 1:26 and 27], *as an Angel to a Virgin* — a virgin in flesh, a virgin in mind, a virgin by profession, a virgin in short, such as etc.

la: Homil. 2. super *Missus est* n. 2: His [virginitate et humilitate] nimirum Virgo regia, gemmis ornata virtutum geminoque mentis pariter et corporis decore praefulgida, specie sua et pulcritudine sua in caelestibus cognita, caeli civium etc.

en: Homily 2 on *Missus est,* n. 2: By these [virginity and humility] indeed the royal Virgin, adorned with the gems of the virtues and resplendent alike with the twofold beauty of mind and of body, known in the heavenly places by her form and her loveliness, of the citizens of heaven etc.

la: Cap. 26, 24. — Seq. locus est Ps. 86, 1. et 5.

en: Chapter 26:24. — The following passage is Psalm 86:1 and 5.

la: Matth. 7, 25. et 26. Vulgata paulo aliter legit.

en: Matthew 7:25 and 26. The Vulgate reads a little differently.

en: Chapter 11:27 and 28.

la: Luc. 1, 28-35. — De sententia August. (B omittit *Augustinus*) cfr. Enarrat. in Ps. 103. serm. 1. n. 9; Serm. 95. n. 7; II. de Diversis Qq. ad Simplician. q. 1. n. 8. seqq.; XV. de Trin. c. 18. n. 32. seqq., et Prosperi Aquitani sententiae ex August. (inter opera August.) n. 7: Dilectio Dei et proximi propria et specialis virtus est piorum atque Sanctorum, cum ceterae virtutes et bonis et malis possint esse communes. — Libr. III. Sent. d. 27. a. 1. q. 4. et d. 34. p. II. a. 1. q. 1. ad 1. ostenditur, quod aliquando Spiritus S. datur cum suis donis, aliquando non.

en: Luke 1:28-35. — On the opinion of Augustine (B omits *Augustinus*) cf. Enarration on Psalm 103, sermon 1, n. 9; Sermon 95, n. 7; book II of the Miscellany of Questions to Simplicianus, q. 1, n. 8 ff.; book XV of On the Trinity, c. 18, n. 32 ff., and the Sentences of Prosper of Aquitaine drawn from Augustine (among the works of Augustine), n. 7: The love of God and of neighbour is the proper and special virtue of the pious and of the Saints, whereas the other virtues can be common both to the good and to the wicked. — In book III of the Sentences, d. 27, a. 1, q. 4, and d. 34, p. II, a. 1, q. 1, ad 1, it is shown that sometimes the Holy Spirit is given with his gifts, and sometimes not.

la: In libello de B. Mariae virginitate, c. 2: Nam quia in corde, quo amor Spiritus sancti singulariter ardebat, ideo in carne eius virtus Spiritus sancti mirabilia faciebat. — Seq. locus est Exod. 3, 2. Quod per *rubum* Maria figuretur, docent Gregor. Nyss., Mystica Interpretatio vitae Moysi (Migne, Patrol. Graec. Lat. tom. 44. col. 331); Theodoret., Qq. in Exod. 3, interrog. 6; Eucherius, libr. Formular. spiritualis intelligentiae, c. 4, quem sequitur Raban., XIX. de Universo, c. 6; Bernard., Serm. in Dominica infra octavam assumt. B. M. V. n. 5. Gregor., XXVIII. Moral. c. 1. n. 8. intelligit, per ipsum figurari incarnationem Christi, de quo vide supra in Hexaëm. collat. 3. n. 13. et collat. 11. n. 15.

en: In the little book on the virginity of the Blessed Mary, c. 2: For because in the heart, in which the love of the Holy Spirit burned in a singular way, therefore in her flesh the power of the Holy Spirit did wonders. — The following passage is Exodus 3:2. That Mary is figured by *the bush* is taught by Gregory of Nyssa, Mystical Interpretation of the Life of Moses (Migne, Patrologia Graeca-Latina, vol. 44, col. 331); Theodoret, Questions on Exodus 3, question 6; Eucherius, book of Formulae of Spiritual Understanding, c. 4, whom Rabanus follows, book XIX of On the Universe, c. 6; Bernard, Sermon on the Sunday within the octave of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, n. 5. Gregory, book XXVIII of the Morals, c. 1, n. 8, understands the incarnation of Christ to be figured by it, on which see above in the Hexaëmeron, collation 3, n. 13, and collation 11, n. 15.

la: Cfr. Num. 17, 3. seqq., et Hebr. 9, 4. Serm. 245. in Appendice serm. August. (alias 3. de Tempore) n. 5. ostenditur, quod virga Aaron Deiparam figuravit. — De vellere Gedeonis vide Iudic. 6, 37. seqq. et Ps. 71, 6. Origen., Homil. 8. in Iudic. n. 4; Hieron., Epist. 9. ad Paulam et Eustochium de assumtione B. M. V. (inter opera Hieron.) n. 5; August. et Cassiodor. in Ps. 71, 6. docent, rore et vellere significari incarnationis Christi mysterium (*ros* Christus, *vellus* Maria). Vide etiam Raban., Allegor. in S. Scriptur. sub nominibus *virga* et *vellus.*

en: Cf. Numbers 17:3 ff., and Hebrews 9:4. In Sermon 245 in the Appendix to the sermons of Augustine (elsewhere 3, On the Season), n. 5, it is shown that the rod of Aaron figured the Mother of God. — On the fleece of Gideon see Judges 6:37 ff. and Psalm 71:6. Origen, Homily 8 on Judges, n. 4; Jerome, Letter 9 to Paula and Eustochium on the assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary (among the works of Jerome), n. 5; Augustine and Cassiodorus on Psalm 71:6 teach that by the dew and the fleece the mystery of Christ's incarnation is signified (the *dew* Christ, the *fleece* Mary). See also Rabanus, Allegories on Sacred Scripture, under the words *rod* and *fleece.*

la: Cap. 31, 22: Femina circumdabit virum. — Verba Bernardi sumta sunt ex Homil. 2. super *Missus est* n. 11.

en: Chapter 31:22: *A woman shall compass a man.* — Bernard's words are taken from Homily 2 on *Missus est,* n. 11.

la: Cap. 31, 22: Creavit Dominus novum super terram; femina etc. — Seq. locus est Isai. 7, 14; tertius Luc. 2, 12: Et hoc vobis signum: Invenietis infantem etc.

en: Chapter 31:22: *The Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth; a woman* etc. — The following passage is Isaiah 7:14; the third is Luke 2:12: *And this shall be a sign unto you: You shall find the infant* etc.

en: Chapter 13:12.

la: Cap. 6, 26. — Seq. locus est Matth. 16, 26.

en: Chapter 6:26. — The following passage is Matthew 16:26.

la: Cap. 9, 10: Omnis mulier, quae est fornicaria etc. — Inferius respicitur Gen. 3, 1. seqq. (de serpente seducente Evam).

en: Chapter 9:10: *Every woman that is a fornicator* etc. — Below, Genesis 3:1 ff. is alluded to (on the serpent seducing Eve).

en: Chapter 7:27.

la: Eccli. 9, 11. — De B. Bernardo ejusque sorore Humbelina, quae ex modo, quo Bernardus ipsam arguebat, conversa est, cfr. S. Bernardi vitae primae (auctore Gulielmo) I. c. 6. n. 30. et vitae secundae (auctore Alano), c. 7. n. 22. His locis dicitur: Cumque venisset [soror in saeculo nupta et saeculo dedita] quasi visura venerabilem fratrem suum, et adesset cum comitatu superbo et apparatu, ille detestans et exsecrans eam tanquam rete diaboli ad capiendas animas, nullatenus acquievit exire ad videndum eam. Quod audiens illa, confusa et compuncta vehementer... tota in lacrymas resoluta: «Et si peccatrix sum, inquit, pro talibus Christus mortuus est... Et si despicit frater meus carnem meam, ne despiciat servus Dei animam meam. Veniat, praecipiat; quidquid praeceperit, facere parata sum». Hanc ergo promissionem tenens, exiit ad eam cum fratribus suis frater eius etc.

en: Ecclesiasticus 9:11. — On blessed Bernard and his sister Humbelina, who was converted by the manner in which Bernard rebuked her, cf. the first Life of St Bernard (by William), book I, c. 6, n. 30, and the second Life (by Alan), c. 7, n. 22. In these places it is said: And when she had come [a sister married in the world and given over to the world] as though to see her venerable brother, and was present with a proud retinue and equipage, he, detesting and execrating her as the devil's net for the taking of souls, would by no means consent to go out to see her. Hearing which, she, confounded and vehemently pricked in conscience... wholly dissolved in tears: "And if I am a sinner," she said, "it was for such that Christ died... And if my brother despises my flesh, let not the servant of God despise my soul. Let him come, let him command; whatever he shall command, I am ready to do." Holding therefore to this promise, her brother went out to her with his brethren, etc.

en: Matthew 5:28.

la: Cap. 9, 9. — Deinde respicitur Prov. 6, 27: Nunquid potest homo abscondere ignem in sinu suo, ut vestimenta illius non ardeant?

en: Chapter 9:9. — Then Proverbs 6:27 is alluded to: *Can a man hide fire in his bosom, and his garments not burn?*

la: Epist. I. Cor. 7, 1. — Seq. locus est Eccli. 42, 13: De vestimentis enim procedit etc.

en: First Epistle to the Corinthians 7:1. — The following passage is Ecclesiasticus 42:13: *For from garments cometh* etc.

la: Cap. 19, 25. et 26. Ibid. v. 27. locus seq.

en: Chapter 19:25 and 26. The following passage is ibid., v. 27.

en: Chapter 31:30.

la: Libr. I. Reg. 1, 18. Ibid. v. 11: Dabo eum Domino omnibus diebus vitae eius. — Subinde respicitur Gen. 22, 9. seqq. (de Abraham) et Marc. 12, 41. seqq., Luc. 21, 1. seqq. (de vidua).

en: Book I of Kings 1:18. Ibid., v. 11: *I will give him to the Lord all the days of his life.* — Thereafter Genesis 22:9 ff. is alluded to (on Abraham) and Mark 12:41 ff., Luke 21:1 ff. (on the widow).

la: Vide supra collat. 3. n. 5.

en: See above, collation 3, n. 5.

la: Cap. 16, 21. — Subinde respicitur Gen. 3, 16: Mulieri quoque dixit: Multiplicabo aerumnas tuas et conceptus tuos, in dolore paries filios.

en: Chapter 16:21. — Thereafter Genesis 3:16 is alluded to: *To the woman also he said: I will multiply thy sorrows and thy conceptions; in sorrow shalt thou bring forth children.*

la: Cap. 2, 35. — Seq. locus est Thren. 1, 12.

en: Chapter 2:35. — The following passage is Lamentations 1:12.

en: Hebrews 6:6.

en: Chapter 49:15.

la: Matth. 19, 5. Cfr. Marc. 10, 7. et Gen. 2, 24. — Seq. locus est Eph. 5, 32. Cfr. supra pag. 406, nota 7.

en: Matthew 19:5. Cf. Mark 10:7 and Genesis 2:24. — The following passage is Ephesians 5:32. Cf. above, page 406, note 7.

la: Cap. 26, 6. seqq. Cfr. Marc. 14, 3. seqq. et Ioan. 12, 2. seqq., ex quibus verba textus sunt composita.

en: Chapter 26:6 ff. Cf. Mark 14:3 ff. and John 12:2 ff., out of which the words of the text are composed.

la: Cap. 4, 10. — Seq. locus est Eccli. 42, 14. Applicatio huius loci fit secundum modum loquendi Scholasticis familiarem, quo *mulier* metaphorice intelligitur pro *carne, vir* autem pro *parte animae superiore;* cfr. II. Sent. lit. Magistri d. XXIV. c. 6. seqq. et ibi Comment. p. II. a. 1. q. 1. seqq.

en: Chapter 4:10. — The following passage is Ecclesiasticus 42:14. The application of this passage is made according to a manner of speaking familiar to the Scholastics, by which *woman* is understood metaphorically for *the flesh,* and *man* for *the higher part of the soul;* cf. II Sentences, the letter of the Master, d. XXIV, c. 6 ff., and the Commentary there, p. II, a. 1, q. 1 ff.

la: Epist. I. Cor. 6, 20: Empti enim estis pretio magno. Seq. locus ibid. 7, 23.

en: First Epistle to the Corinthians 6:20: *For you are bought with a great price.* The following passage is ibid., 7:23.

la: Cap. 3, 14. et 15. — Sententia Bernardi habetur in Homil. 2. super *Missus est* n. 4.

en: Chapter 3:14 and 15. — Bernard's opinion is found in Homily 2 on *Missus est,* n. 4.

la: Haec sententia colligi potest ex I. Moral. c. 36. n. 53; XVII. c. 32. n. 51. et XXXII. c. 19. n. 33. In his locis docet, primae suggestioni tanquam capiti serpentis esse resistendum, ne serpens se totum in cor constituat per peccatum. Idem insinuat August., Enarrat. in Ps. 103. serm. 4. n. 6. seqq. — Seq. locus est Ps. 136, 9. Cfr. in hunc locum Hilar., August. et Cassiodorum.

en: This opinion can be gathered from book I of the Morals, c. 36, n. 53; book XVII, c. 32, n. 51, and book XXXII, c. 19, n. 33. In these places he teaches that the first suggestion is to be resisted as the head of the serpent, lest the serpent establish itself wholly in the heart through sin. Augustine hints at the same thing, Enarration on Psalm 103, sermon 4, n. 6 ff. — The following passage is Psalm 136:9. Cf. on this passage Hilary, Augustine and Cassiodorus.

la: Cap. 14, 16. — Seq. locus est Luc. 2, 35.

en: Chapter 14:16. — The following passage is Luke 2:35.

la: Secundum Gregor., XXXIII. Moral. c. 9. n. 14-17. et II. Homil. in Evang. homil. 25. n. 8. — In seqq. propositionibus (in quibus aliquid videtur excidisse) respicitur Iudic. 4, 21, ubi narratur, quod Iahel, uxor Haber, «ingressa abscondite et cum silentio posuit supra tempus capitis eius [Sisarae] clavum percussumque malleo defixit in cerebrum usque ad terram; qui soporem morti consocians defecit et mortuus est»; et c. 7, ubi de victoria, quam Gedeon reportavit ex Madianitis (cfr. supra in Hexaëm. collat. 19. n. 13.). Isidor., Comment. sive Qq. in lib. Iudic. c. 2. ait: Ista [Ecclesia, quae significatur per Iahel] palo, id est clavo, Sisaram hostem interficit, id est, ligni crucis acumine et virtute diabolum interimit etc. Cfr. Petr. Lombard. in Ps. 82, 10: Fac illis sicut Madian et Sisarae etc.

en: According to Gregory, book XXXIII of the Morals, c. 9, nn. 14-17, and book II of the Homilies on the Gospels, homily 25, n. 8. — In the propositions that follow (in which something seems to have dropped out) Judges 4:21 is alluded to, where it is related that Jahel, the wife of Haber, "going in secretly and with silence, set a nail upon the temple of his [Sisara's] head, and striking it with a hammer drove it through his brain fast into the ground; and so joining deep sleep to death he fainted away and died"; and c. 7, on the victory which Gideon won over the Madianites (cf. above in the Hexaëmeron, collation 19, n. 13). Isidore, in the Commentary or Questions on the book of Judges, c. 2, says: She [the Church, who is signified by Jahel] slays Sisara the enemy with a stake, that is, with a nail — that is, she destroys the devil by the sharpness and power of the wood of the cross, etc. Cf. Peter Lombard on Psalm 82:10: *Do to them as to Madian and to Sisara,* etc.

la: Cap. 2, 17: Et adamavit eam rex plus quam omnes mulieres, habuitque gratiam et misericordiam coram eo super omnes mulieres, et posuit diadema regni in capite eius fecitque eam regnare in loco Vasthi. — Inferius respicitur Ps. 20, 4: Posuisti in capite eius coronam de lapide pretioso.

en: Chapter 2:17: *And the king loved her more than all the women, and she had favour and kindness before him above all the women, and he set the royal crown on her head, and made her queen instead of Vasthi.* — Below, Psalm 20:4 is alluded to: *Thou hast set on his head a crown of precious stones.*

la: Epist. I. 2, 6, ubi respiciens haec verba Isai. 28, 16. ipsa paulo aliter profert; cfr. supra pag. 373, nota 5.

en: First Epistle 2:6, where, looking back to these words of Isaiah 28:16, he brings them forward a little differently; cf. above, page 373, note 5.

la: Cap. 3, 11. — Seq. locus est Apoc. 12, 1.

en: Chapter 3:11. — The following passage is Apocalypse 12:1.

la: Iac. 1, 12. — Seq. locus est Apoc. 2, 10.

en: James 1:12. — The following passage is Apocalypse 2:10. ---

translators_notes:
**★ Page span — closed positively at BOTH ends, and BOTH ends are shared leaves.** Collatio VI runs
**pp. 483–489**, twenty-four numbered paragraphs — the longest span in this work so far, seven leaves
against c1–c5's five or six. It **opens mid-leaf on p. 483**, under the display heading `COLLATIO VI.`
with the subtitle *De dono fortitudinis collatio secunda.* and its full-width Summarium, standing
below Collatio V's closing two paragraphs; and it **closes mid-leaf on p. 489**, in both columns above
the `COLLATIO VII.` display heading, its last four lines running left-column-then-right across the
head of the leaf. The volume index lists Collatio VI at 483 and Collatio VII at 489. **Both are
heading pages and both are shared** — a third consecutive span shared at both ends, and a fourth,
fifth and sixth consecutive index page (473, 479, 483, 489) proved to be a heading page rather than a
first-owned page. The in-place subtitle on p. 483 was read against the index's title and **agrees.**
⚠ p. 489's running head already reads `DE DONIS SPIRITUS S. COLLATIO VII.` although Collatio VI's
conclusion occupies the top of the leaf — the same asymmetry p. 483 showed for Collatio VI, and the
reason the span was fixed from the `COLLATIO VII.` display heading on the band and never from the head.

**A runover WAS received, and a forward hand-off IS made.** `bon-don-c5` forwarded p. 483 nn. 3–7 and
named two of them by content; **all five are transcribed here** and its nn. 1 and 2 are Collatio V's
and are not. c5's hand-off was correct in both particulars it named: n. 3 is
`Prov. 31, 10. — Seq. locus est Iudith 8, 29…`, anchoring at ¶ 1's *Mulierem fortem quis inveniet* ³,
and n. 4 is `Cfr. collat. praeced. n. 2.`, anchoring at ¶ 2's *salutaris consilii discretione* ⁴ —
but a hand-off tells you which notes are yours, never where they land, and nn. 5, 6 and 7 were
re-derived off the band (¶ 2's *Dei sapientiam,* ¶ 2's *timoris Domini,* ¶ 3's *Bernardus*).
**⚠ Hand-off to `bon-don-c7`: p. 489 nn. 2, 3, 4 and 5 belong to Collatio VII and are NOT transcribed
here** — only n. 1 (`Iac. 1, 12. — Seq. locus est Apoc. 2, 10.`) anchors in Collatio VI, at ¶ 24's
*Unde scribitur* ¹. c7 must pick p. 489 up at n. 2 and must not re-derive its own p. 489 numbering
from 1. Its first two notes are visible on the leaf: n. 2 is
`Prov. 31, 10. — Seq. locus est Iob 28, 12. et 13.` and n. 3 is `Iob 28, 18.`; nn. 4 and 5 stand in
the right block and read `Prov. 31, 13.` and `Cfr. supra collat. 5. et 6.`

**⛔ The heading-anchor question was not reopened, per the frozen rule.** `COLLATIO I.` was settled at
10× on p. 457 as carrying **no** apparatus anchor. Nothing on p. 483 was searched for one, and nothing
turned up incidentally: `COLLATIO VI.` carries nothing after the period, and the first anchor in this
chunk's part of the leaf is body-anchored, standing at ¶ 1's *Mulierem fortem quis inveniet* ³.

**Summarium.** Rendered, not trimmed, per the standing rule. It crosses the gutter, so it was read
from two full-width crops (rows 0.255–0.375 and 0.365–0.485), never from a column band. **The
Summarium and the body agree:** the synopsis ends at `24.` and the body's numbered paragraphs run
1–24 with no gap (p. 483 = 1–3 · p. 484 = 3–7 · p. 485 = 7–12 · p. 486 = 12–17 · p. 487 = 17–21 ·
p. 488 = 21–24 · p. 489 = 24). The c6/c14 short-Summarium mechanism has still not fired in this work;
the body is counted every time. The header garbles to `SuMMARiUM` in the raw and was found by
content, as the frozen convention requires. Every one of the Summarium's own numerals was settled on
the plate; the raw garbled two of them (`16.` as `IG.` and `17.` as `17.'`).

**Apparatus — 49 entries, all read off 450 dpi footer bands, both blocks on every leaf, none from a
whole-page read.** Per printed page: **p. 483 = 5** (of the seven the leaf carries) **· p. 484 = 9 ·
p. 485 = 7 · p. 486 = 9 · p. 487 = 9 · p. 488 = 9 · p. 489 = 1** (of the leaf's five; see the hand-off
above). Five leaves out of seven carry exactly nine notes, which is the densest and most regular
register this work has produced.

**Block splits vs. anchor splits, stated separately per page.** Three of the seven leaves carry a
footer entry that spans the two blocks, and on those the block split is not a count of whole notes at
all:

- **p. 483** — the shared opening leaf. Of this chunk's five, the block split is **1 / 4** and the
  anchors **1 / 4**, and here alone they coincide: n. 3 prints and anchors in the left column, nn. 4–7
  print and anchor on the right. The leaf's full block split is 3 / 4, since nn. 1 and 2 (Collatio V's)
  print on the left.
- **p. 484** — block **4½ / 4½**, anchors **3 / 6**. n. 5 is a long Bernard citation that **begins in
  the left block and finishes in the right**; it is rendered joined. nn. 4, 5 and 6 all anchor in the
  right column although n. 4's opening prints on the left.
- **p. 485** — block **1½ / 5½**, anchors **2 / 5**. n. 2 — the long editorial note on the *rubus* as a
  figure of Mary, with seven patristic witnesses — **begins in the left block and consumes most of it**
  before running over into the right; it is rendered joined. nn. 1 and 2 anchor in the left column,
  nn. 3–7 on the right.
- **p. 486** — block **2½ / 6½**, anchors **6 / 3**. n. 3 — the Humbelina *exemplum* from the two Lives
  of St Bernard — spans both blocks and is rendered joined. ⭐ This leaf inverts the usual asymmetry:
  six of the nine anchor in the **left** column, because ¶¶ 13 and 14 are dense with scriptural
  citation while ¶¶ 15–17 in the right column are largely narrative.
- **p. 487** — block **5 / 4**, anchors **4 / 5**: n. 5 prints in the left block but anchors in the
  **right** column (¶ 20's *Isaias* ⁵ stands at the foot of the left column and its continuation on the
  right, and the note is set with the left block).
- **p. 488** — block **5½ / 3½**, anchors **5 / 4**. n. 6 — the long Gregory/Jahel/Isidore note —
  spans both blocks and is rendered joined.
- **p. 489** — the shared closing leaf. This chunk's single note prints and anchors in the **left**
  column. The leaf's full block split is 3 / 2.

**★★★ A FOURTH GUTTER-FAILURE MECHANISM: A FADED LEAF STARVES `colcrop`'s FIXED INK THRESHOLD.**
This is new, it is not any of the three already recorded, and it is the most dangerous so far because
it produces the *blown-out* signature on a leaf with nothing structurally unusual about it at all.
`measure_gutter`'s `thresh=110` counts a pixel as ink only below that grey value. On pp. 486 and 487
the scan is markedly lighter than its neighbours — mean row ink of 13–50 px against p. 484's 100–300
— so almost nothing crosses the threshold, the "lowest-ink run" swallows most of the search window,
and the tool returns a plausible-looking number on a 400+ px run. **Every one of a dozen row windows
agreed with itself and all of them were wrong**, which is exactly the failure the three-step method's
step (2) is designed to catch and does not: window consensus is worthless when the threshold, not the
window, is the broken input. Raising the threshold and re-profiling settles it instantly and the
answer is stable across 140/160/180:

- **p. 486**: default **1296 on a 436 px run**; at thresh 140–180 all ten windows return **1388** on
  runs of 59–63 px. The default is **92 px wrong** and lands inside the right column.
- **p. 487**: default **1330 on a 404 px run**; at thresh 140–180 the windows cluster **1170–1179**,
  runs 55–62 px, adopted **1174**. The default is **156 px wrong.**

**The tell is the run width, again — but the remedy is the threshold, not the window.** Add to the
three-step method: when every window blows out together, check the leaf's ink density before touching
the windows again. **Gutters measured in c6:** 483 = 1174 (confirming c5's) · 484 = **1391** ·
485 = **1166** · 486 = **1388** · 487 = **1174** · 488 = **1396** · 489 = **1176**. Note in passing
that odd/even alternation held cleanly across all seven leaves here; that is an observation, not a
predictor — the parity model stays retired, and every one of these seven was measured, not inferred.

**⚠ Four Quaracchi digits corrected against the raw, and one of them was settled by sense.**
- **p. 485 n. 2** reads `Hexaëm. collat. 11. n. 15.`; the raw gives `13`. **Confirmed independently:**
  `bon-hex-c11` ¶ 15 is the paragraph comparing the Son to a *flame, as in the bush of Moses,* which is
  precisely what the note is documenting; ¶ 13 is the twelve modes of generation and has no bush in it.
- **p. 488 n. 3** reads `Cap. 3, 14. et 15.` (raw `13`) — Genesis 3:14-15 is the *Ponam inimicitias*
  the body quotes.
- **p. 488 n. 4** reads `I. Moral. c. 36. n. 53` and `XVII. c. 32. n. 51` (raw `33` and `31`).
- **p. 488 n. 5** reads `Seq. locus est Luc. 2, 35.` (raw `33`) — Simeon's sword, quoted in ¶ 23.
All four are the **3/5 class**, and none of the 1/4 class fired on this span. The raw also garbled
`I. Cor. 7, 34.` to `7, 3i` (p. 484 n. 4), `Eccli. 42, 13` to `i2, 13` (p. 486 n. 6),
`collat. 3. n. 5.` to `n. S.` (p. 487 n. 1) and `Cap. 19, 25.` to `19, 2S.` (p. 486 n. 7); those are
glyph noise rather than digit substitution, but they are logged because the distinction is only
visible on the plate. **Never adopt a digit from the raw.**

**⭐ The `Libr. <roman>. <ch>, <v>` genre trait did NOT fire on this span — a negative worth
recording.** Eight attestations stand from c2–c5. c6 has two citations that look like the shape and
are not: p. 485 n. 1's `Libr. III. Sent. d. 27.` and p. 486 n. 9's `Libr. I. Reg. 1, 18.` both name
their book, so `build-citations.py`'s barrier is not engaged and nothing is at risk. **The cousin
shape DID fire once more:** p. 488 n. 8 is `Epist. I. 2, 6` — I Peter 2:6, with the book named only in
the body (*Unde beatus Petrus*) and not in the note. That is its **third** attestation (c4 p. 474 n. 3,
c5 p. 482 n. 6, c6 p. 488 n. 8). It still produces **no ledger record rather than a wrong one**, so
nothing is mis-bound; the note's primary citation is simply invisible to the index. Transcribed as
printed. ⚠ Distinguish it from p. 483 n. 5, p. 484 n. 1, p. 486 n. 6 and p. 488 n. 2, which read
`Epist. I. Cor. …` and DO name the book.

**⚠ Two footer notes set on one line did not recur here.** The mechanism is attested three times
(c3 p. 472 n. 3, c4 p. 477 nn. 6/7, c5 p. 481 nn. 3/4) and every footer block on all seven of this
chunk's leaves was read **by numeral, never by line**, per the standing rule; on this span each
numeral happened to open its own line. The rule stands regardless.

**Register.** *Fortitudo* → **fortitude** and *fortis* (in and around the Douay *mulierem fortem*) →
**valiant**, both carried forward from c5 without change. *Pietas* → **piety**, with *pius* →
**loving** where it qualifies the Virgin in the paired formula *fortis et pia* (rendered "valiant and
loving") and *impietas* → **impiety**; this follows c3's decision to keep one visible English root for
the gift, and c6 needs it more than any chunk so far, since Part II turns on *pietas* through six
consecutive paragraphs. *Strenua* → **vigorous** (new here; the word appears only in Part III's
formula *fortis et strenua*). ⭐ **The open register question is now three members wide** — c2's
*donum pietatis* as "the gift of godliness" against c3's and c6's "piety," and c5's and c6's
"fortitude" — and it is still to be settled once for the whole work at the c9 close, not chunk by
chunk.
✅ **SETTLED AT THE WORK-CLOSE GATE, 2026-08-29 (Wilson's ruling): *pietas* → "piety" EVERYWHERE**,
body prose and inside scripture quotations alike. c2's four sites moved to match this chunk and c3;
"fortitude" stands. See repo `CLAUDE.md` § SEPTEM DONIS.

**Marginalia** (Quaracchi's editorial outline, trimmed from the body, body order): Introductio. ·
Repetitio. · Explicatio textus. · Continuatur et confirmatur. · Continuatur. · Divisio argumenti. ·
Pars I. Pretium protulit. · Triplex sanctitas. · Prima. · Secunda. · Applicatio. · Tertia. · Figura
Virginis prima. · Aliae figurae. · Tres in historia. · Tres in verbis. · Significant tres proprietates
amoris. · Imitanda Virgo. · Non Eva. · Reprobatur peccatum. · Cavendum a mulieribus. · Exponitur locus
Scripturae. · Monitio. · Pars II. Pretium persolvit. · Sub cruce. · Triplex Virginis pietas. · Pietas
prima. · Virgo laudabilis. · Impietas hominum. · Secunda. · Compassio cum Christo commendatur. ·
Tertia. · Maria nostra pia mater. · Expositio. · Commendatur pietas compassionis. · Exsecratur
oppositum. · Pars III. Pretium possidet. · Est strenua tripliciter. · Primo, ut pugnans. · Monitio. ·
Secundo, ut triumphans. · Figura eius Iudith. · Tertio, ut regnans. · Figura eius Esther.

**Zero `[?]` flags.** Every ambiguous reading on this span was settled on the plate or, in the one
case of `Hexaëm. collat. 11. n. 15`, on the plate and then confirmed against the corpus.