Cap. 16, Vers. 1-29
by St. Bonaventure
Source text: Public Domain Mark 1.0. English translation/apparatus/encoding: CC BY-NC 4.0, Wroot Press.
https://bonaventure.wrootpress.com/browse/16/d/16/q/bon-sap-c16
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### Chapter XVI.

#### *Secondly is determined the penalty of the punishment of the culpable.*

*For these things and the like to these* etc. After he has treated, from the thirteenth chapter, of the merit of fault as regards the heavier punishments ordained to the condemnation of the impious, here he treats of the *penalty of punishment,* and first of the punishments *preceding death,* namely in this chapter and the seventeenth; secondly, of the punishments *inflicting death,* namely in the eighteenth and nineteenth chapter.

#### First are treated the two punishments preceding death.

In the first, first he treats of the punishment *of sense,* namely of the sending of plagues, namely in this chapter; secondly, of the punishment *of loss,* namely of the withdrawal of light, in the seventeenth chapter.

#### On the twofold punishment of sense.

In the first, first of the punishment inflicted through *animate* things; secondly, of the punishment inflicted through *inanimate* things: *For denying thee.*

#### The first punishment of sense, inflicted through animate things.

In the first, first is touched the *punishing* of the Egyptians through vile and noxious animals; secondly, by contrast, the *consolation* of the Hebrews through delightful animals: *Instead of which* etc.; thirdly, their *deliverance* from the noxious animals: *For indeed;* fourthly, the *reason* of the aforesaid punishing and deliverance: *But in this.*

(Vers. 1.). *For these things,* namely because most miserable they worshipped idols, or for the sins of idolatry, *and the like to these,* that is, for other sins of idolatry like to the aforesaid, *they suffered torments worthily;* to the Ephesians, the fifth: « For these things the wrath of God cometh upon the children of unbelief »; Deuteronomy, the twenty-fifth: « According to the measure of the sin shall the measure also of the stripes be ». For there ought not to be the disgrace of fault without the comeliness of justice or of vengeance, according to Augustine. *And by a multitude of beasts,* namely laying waste their land, as of flies, locusts and frogs and such; *they were destroyed,* that is, grievously afflicted, and perhaps some of them slain; above, the twelfth: « By these things which they worshipped, thou gavest them the greatest torments »; Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: « I will send the teeth of beasts upon them ».

*Instead of which torments* etc. Here is touched the *consolation of the Israelites,* and first is set down the *manner* of the consolation; secondly, the *cause: That they;* thirdly, the *swiftness: But these;* fourthly, the *opportuneness of the hastening: For it behoved* etc.

(Vers. 2.). *Instead of which torments,* that is, in place of which torments, as if by contrast; *thou didst well dispose thy people,* namely the Israelite people, which was his « peculiar people », as is had in Deuteronomy, the seventh. *To whom,* that is, to which people, *thou gavest the concupiscence of their delight,* that is, the coveted delightful thing; « for desire, if it be fulfilled, delighteth the soul », as is had in Proverbs, the thirteenth. *A new taste,* for food of a new taste, *preparing for them as food the ortygometra,* and that bird, namely the quail, is called ortygometra, as they say, from the land of Ortygia, in which it was first seen and from there brought away; or *preparing as foods* etc.; and then, according to some, the plural is set here for the singular, when he says: *preparing as foods for them the ortygometra,* that is, the quail, according to that of the Psalm: « They asked, and the quail came » etc.; Exodus, the sixteenth: « It came to pass in the evening, and the quail coming up covered the camp »; likewise Numbers, the eleventh: « And the wind of the Lord going out, taking quails up beyond the sea, brought them » etc. But it is not necessary that the plural be set for the singular, because it can be glossed thus: *as foods,* that is, in place of foods.

(Vers. 3.). *That they indeed,* namely the children of Israel, *coveting food,* namely of the flesh of Egypt, Exodus, the sixteenth, *by means of those things,* namely the quails, *which were shown to them,* namely for desiring, *and sent,* namely for eating, *might be turned away even from necessary concupiscence,* that is, very urgent, that is, so that they might no longer desire the flesh of Egypt and the return into Egypt; in the Psalm: « They coveted concupiscence in the desert »; likewise Numbers, the eleventh: « The people burned with the desire of flesh », although it is said in Ecclesiasticus, the eighteenth: « Go not after thy concupiscences, and turn away from thy will ». *But these,* namely the children of Israel, *being made needy in a short time,* that is, in a little time, because their neediness lasted but little; for God came quickly to their aid, according to that of Isaias, the sixty-fifth: « Before they call, I will hear »; *needy,* that is, lacking food; *had tasted a new food,* that is, an unaccustomed one, or one of unaccustomed birds.

(Vers. 4.). *For it behoved* etc., as if to say: and rightly was it so done; *for it behoved,* that is, it was opportune, *upon them,* namely the Egyptians, *without excuse indeed,* namely of the fault for which they were being punished; to the Romans, the first: « So that they are inexcusable »; likewise in the same, the second: « Wherefore thou art inexcusable, O man »; *destruction to come,* namely the penalty of slaying punishment from the supreme judge, to their oppression; Job, the eighteenth: « Let his confidence be rooted out of his tabernacle, and let destruction tread upon him like a king »; likewise Proverbs, the twenty-ninth: « The man that with a stiff neck despiseth him that reproveth him, sudden destruction shall come upon him ». *Upon them,* I say the Egyptians, *exercising tyranny,* that is, cruel rule over the children of Israel, by oppressing them with hard works, as is clear from Exodus, the first and the fifth, and by drowning their boys in the river, as is clear from Exodus, the first. *But to these,* namely the Israelites, *only to show,* supply: it behoved; *how their enemies were destroyed,* so that thus, having seen their punishment, they might be corrected, according to that of Proverbs, the nineteenth: « The pestilent man being scourged, the fool shall be wiser »; likewise in the same, the twenty-first: « When a pestilent man is punished, the little one will be wiser ».

*For indeed* etc. Here first is shown the *gravity of the danger;* secondly, the *swiftness of the deliverance: But not for ever;* thirdly, the *strength* or power *of the deliverer: For he that.*

(Vers. 5.). He says, then: *For indeed,* as if: I said well: *but to these only to show* etc.; *for indeed* (*etenim*), for *quia* ("because"); *when upon these,* namely the children of Israel, *the fierce rage of beasts came,* namely from the offence of the supreme judge, whom they had offended by murmuring against him, as is clear from Numbers, the twenty-first: « The Lord sent among the people fiery serpents ». *By the bitings of perverse serpents,* because they were efficacious for harming, *they were destroyed,* namely some of them; whence the first to the Corinthians, the tenth: « Murmur ye, as some of them murmured and perished by the serpents ».

(Vers. 6.). *But not for ever,* that is, without end, so that eternal punishment would be continued with the temporal, as in Herod, Acts, the twelfth. *Thy wrath*

that is, the effect of thy wrath, not the affection of thy mind, according to that: « I am the Lord, and I am not angry »; *endured,* namely in the children of Israel; Habacuc, the third: « When thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy ». *But for correction,* not for condemnation, *in a short time,* that is, in a little time, *they were troubled,* that is, afflicted, namely outwardly, and thence *troubled* inwardly; Isaias, the fifty-fourth: « For a small moment have I forsaken thee etc., in a moment of indignation have I hid my face a little while from thee, and with everlasting mercy have I had mercy on thee »; Jeremias, the thirtieth: « But thee I will not make an utter end of, but I will chastise thee in judgment, that thou mayest not seem to thyself innocent ». *Having a sign of salvation;* the Gloss: « The brazen serpent set up for a sign, by the sight of which they were healed », as is clear from Numbers, the twenty-first. *For the remembrance of the commandment of thy law,* namely of keeping it, according to that of the Psalm: « And are mindful of his commandments to do them », as a negligent boy is beaten, that he may repeat his lesson and make it firm.

(Vers. 7.). And I said well: *having a sign,* not a cause; *for he that was turned,* namely either inwardly by penance to God, or outwardly to the brazen serpent for looking on it; *not by that which was seen*, namely with the bodily eye, *was he healed,* that is, not by the brazen serpent; *but by thee, the Saviour of all,* signified by the said serpent; John, the third: « As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up »; as also the dead child could not be raised by the staff of Eliseus, which he did not obey in this, but by Eliseus himself, as is had in the fourth of Kings, the fourth.

*But in this thou didst show* etc. Here is subjoined the *reason of the aforesaid punishing and deliverance,* namely the showing of divine justice and mercy, and first, on the part of the punished Egyptians, the showing of *divine justice;* secondly, on the part of the delivered Hebrews, the showing of *divine mercy* and certain other causes: *But thy children.*

(Vers. 8.). *But in this,* namely in the affliction of the Egyptians and the easy deliverance of the Israelites, *thou didst show,* that is, thou didst will to show, although they did not see; whence they cannot complain except of the blindness of their own eyes, as if the shining sun were shown to someone blear-eyed, and he did not see it, according to Augustine; *to our enemies,* namely the Egyptians; for the wicked are enemies of the just, namely actively, not passively, because, namely, they hate the just, although they are loved by them; *thou didst show,* I say, *that thou art he,* namely alone, *who deliverest from all evil;* in the Psalm: « Many are the afflictions of the just; but out of them all will the Lord deliver them ».

**On the contrary:** Why are many not delivered from evil?

It must be said that it is to be understood thus: he delivers all who are delivered, as that of John, the first: « Enlighteneth every man » etc., namely who is enlightened.

(Vers. 9.). *For them,* namely the Egyptians who did not worship thee, *the bitings of locusts and of flies killed; of locusts,* Exodus, the tenth; and *of flies,* Exodus, the eighth; *killed,* literally some of them, although it is not read there expressly. *And there was found no healing for their soul,* namely of the Egyptians, as there was for the children of Israel from the serpents; in the Psalm: « There is no health in my flesh, because of thy wrath » etc.; Jeremias, the thirtieth: « Thy bruise is incurable, thy wound is very grievous ». *Because they were worthy,* namely their merits requiring it, *by such things,* namely by vile animals, *to be destroyed;* whence Augustine on John: « The Lord could have tamed the proud people of Pharao with bears and lions, but he sent flies and the vilest things, that their pride might be tamed ». For the same reason men too are afflicted with fleas; whence Augustine: « Why dost thou puff thyself up, human pride? Resist the fleas, that thou mayest sleep ».

*But thy children* etc. Here is shown the manifold *reason of the deliverance* of the Hebrews; but that he may proceed in order, first he repeats their *deliverance;* secondly, the *manifold reason of the deliverance: For thy mercy.*

(Vers. 10.). *But thy children,* that is, the Israelites; Exodus, the fourth: « Israel is my firstborn »,

*thy children,* I say, by faith, according to that of John, the first: « He gave them power to be made the sons of God, to them that believe in his name »; *not even the teeth of venomous dragons overcame,* that is, of fiery serpents; Deuteronomy, the eighth: « Who was thy leader in the great and terrible wilderness, wherein there was the serpent burning with his breath, and the scorpion and the dipsas ». He speaks here of the good, who are sons of God, not of the wicked.

*For thy mercy;* now here is shown the *manifold reason of the deliverance of the Israelites,* of which the first was the *piety of God;* the second, the *danger of despair: For in the remembrance;* the third, the *power of the divine word: For neither herb;* the fourth, the *showing of the divine piety: For it is thou, O Lord;* the fifth, *human frailty: But a man* etc.

I said well: *but thy children,* that is, the Israelites, *not even the teeth of venomous dragons,* that is, the bitings of fiery serpents, *overcame; for thy mercy,* that is, the effect of thy mercy, *coming healed them;* in the Psalm: « If I said: My foot is moved: thy mercy, O Lord, assisted me »; Jeremias, the thirty-third: « I will close thy scar and give thee health »; « for he woundeth and cureth », Job, the fifth.

(Vers. 11.). *For in the remembrance of thy words,* that is, through the remuneration of thy commandments, *they were destroyed,* namely some of them, *and were quickly healed,* or *saved*, namely *others* doing penance, having seen the death or punishment of the others; according to that of the Psalm: « When he slew them », that is, some of them, « then they sought him », that is, the others doing penance. Or: the same *were destroyed,* that is, were grievously punished, *and were quickly healed, lest into deep,* that is, profound, *falling,* that is, falling within, *forgetfulness,* namely of despair, namely on account of the delay of help and remedy, *they should not be able to use thy help,* that is, of thy delivering grace, they themselves, I say, having become unworthy of thy mercy on account of despair; Proverbs, the eighteenth: « The impious man, when he is come into the depth of sins, contemneth »; in the Psalm: « They forgot God, who saved them » etc.

(Vers. 12.). And I said well: *in the remembrance of thy words; for indeed* (*etenim*), for *quia* ("because"); *neither herb,* that is, a potion made from herbs, which is taken within by drinking; *nor mollifying plaster,* that is, a plaster which is laid on outside at the place of the pain; *healed them,* namely from the bitings of the serpents. *But thy word, O Lord,* that is, the commandment about making and looking at the brazen serpent, Numbers, the twenty-first; *which,* namely the word, *healeth all things,* namely which are healed; whence here there is an *accommodated distribution;* in the Psalm: « He sent his word and healed them ». Or: *the Word,* uncreated, that is, the Son, of whom John, the first: « In the beginning was the Word »; this Word, according to the Gloss, « cures bodies and heals souls from the spiritual beasts »; Matthew, the fourth: « Healing every disease and every infirmity ».

(Vers. 13.). *For it is thou, O Lord.* I said well that *thy word healeth all things; for it is thou, O Lord,* namely the Creator of all, *who hast power of life and death,* that is, of quickening and of killing, according to that of the first of Kings, the second: « The Lord killeth and maketh alive » etc.; likewise Ecclesiasticus, the eleventh: « Death and life are from God ».

**But on the contrary:** Because it is said above, the first: « God made not death ».

I respond: it must be said that, although God is not the meritorious nor the efficient cause of death; yet as regards the privation itself he has power over death, because, although he is not the *cause of evils,* yet he has *power over evils,* because out of them he knows how, and is able, to draw forth goods.

To that which is objected, that death is not from God; it must be said that in death there is the *privation* of life, which is nothing, and therefore it has no *efficient* cause, but rather a *deficient* one; likewise, there is in it a *penal affliction,* which is something and is from God, who justly inflicts it on sinners by the merit of their sins.

*And leadest down to the gates of death,* that is, to the last moment of life, *and bringest back again,* namely by healing, as is clear in Ezechias, Isaias, the thirty-eighth.

(Vers. 14.). *But a man* etc., as if to say: thus thou canst kill and make alive; *but* (*autem*), for *sed;* *a man* can kill himself, but not make alive, and this is what he says: *but a man,* namely the sinner, called *homo* from *humus* ("earth"); *killeth indeed,* that is, certainly, *through malice,* of fault, *his own soul*, on account of which it is said in the Psalm: « He that loveth iniquity hateth his own soul »; for he is the murderer of himself; for sin is a two-edged sword, for it kills body and soul; Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-first: « All iniquity is like a two-edged sword ». *And when the spirit is gone forth,* namely from the body by death, *it shall not*

*return,* namely into the body in the present age; Job, the tenth: « Before I go, and return no more, to a land that is dark » etc.; likewise the second of Kings, the fourteenth: « We all die, and like waters that return no more, we fall down into the earth ».

**But on the contrary:** Because it is said in the Psalm: « His spirit shall go forth, and he shall return into his earth ».

It must be said that *this* is understood of the return to the land of its natural dwelling and of the body by *nature;* but *that of the Psalm,* of the return into his earth according to the *justice of retribution,* and this by *divine power.*

*Neither shall he call back,* namely the man, *the soul,* separated from the body, *that is received,* in its place, namely in glory, or in punishment; Ecclesiasticus [so printed; the passage is Eccles. 11:3], the eleventh: « Wheresoever the tree shall fall, whether to the south or to the north, there shall it be ».

(Vers. 15.). *But thy hand,* that is, thy power, as much in the present as in the future, as much in life as in death; *it is impossible to escape;* Job, the tenth: « There is none that can deliver out of thy hand »; therefore it is said in the Psalm: « Whither shall I go from thy spirit, and whither shall I flee from thy face »? « For the hand of the Lord is not shortened », nay, it is most long and contains the whole, according to that of the Psalm: « In thy hand, O Lord, are all the ends of the earth ».

#### The second punishment of sense, inflicted through inanimate things.

*For denying* etc. Here he treats of the punishments inflicted on the Egyptians through *inanimate things;* and first is touched the *punishing of the Egyptians;* secondly, by contrast, the *consolation of the Israelites: Instead of which… of Angels;* thirdly, the *reason of the punishing of the Egyptians: But snow* etc.; fourthly, the *reason of the consolation of the Israelites: Therefore even then.*

In the first he sets down the *meritorious cause* of the punishing of the Egyptians; secondly, the *manner and form: And which was wonderful* etc.; thirdly, the *diversity* according to more and less: *For at one time.*

(Vers. 16.). *For denying* etc. I said well: *it is impossible to escape thy hand; for the impious, denying to know thee,* that is, the Egyptians, namely Pharao with his servants; *denying,* I say, *by word,* whence Exodus, the fifth: « I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go »; and *by deed,* those of whom it is said to Titus, the first: « They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny him ». *By the strength of thy arm,* that is, by thy strong power; Exodus, the fifteenth: « Who is like to thee, among the strong, O Lord » etc.; *were scourged;* Exodus, the sixth: « I will bring them out of the prison of the Egyptians with an outstretched arm »; Exodus, the fifteenth: « Thy right hand hath slain the enemy »; *by strange waters; and* (*et*), for *id est* ("that is"); *by hail,* for hail is as it were congealed water, *and by rains,* which are as it were flowing waters, *they suffered persecution;* Exodus, the ninth: « Pharao, seeing that the rain and the hail had ceased »; *and by fire,* that is, falling at the same time, *consumed;* Exodus, the ninth: « The hail and fire mixed with it drove on together »; likewise in the Psalm: « He gave them hail for their rain, a burning fire in the land ».

(Vers. 17.). I said well: *by fire* with *hail; for that which was wonderful;* namely that a contrary was not destroyed by a contrary, since it is written in Ecclesiasticus, the third: « Water quencheth a flaming fire »; whence there follows: *In water, which extinguisheth all things,* namely things on fire, *the fire had more force,* that is, it acted more strongly with the water. *For the world is an avenger,* that is, an instrument of vengeance; *an avenger,* I say, *the world, of the just,* that is, avenging the just; whence above, the fifth: « The whole world shall fight with him against the unwise ». By the aforesaid text he intimates that the punishing of the Egyptians was done not according to the order of nature, but according to the order of the divine justice avenging the Israelites on the Egyptians, who had oppressed them, Exodus, the first; the Gloss: « It is no wonder that hail and fire are borne mixed together, because all things consent to the will of the Creator ».

(Vers. 18.). *For at one time,* as if to say: he did not always act uniformly; *enim* ("for"), for *sed* ("but"); *at one time the fire was mitigated,* namely until the animals of those who feared the words of Moses were called back or brought back from the fields; Exodus, the ninth: « Send and gather together thy cattle and all that thou hast in the fields », or field; and after: « He that feared the word of the Lord among Pharao's servants made his servants and his cattle flee into houses ». *It was mitigated,* I say, *that the animals might not be burnt which were sent to the impious,* that is, the beasts of burden divinely given them. And not only on account of this, *but* also, *that they themselves seeing,* the aforesaid interruption, *might know,* namely through it, *that by the judgment of God,* not by a natural event,

*they suffered persecution.* Likewise, according to the Gloss, « that they might know that every creature is ready to avenge the injury of the Creator »; in the Psalm: « The Lord shall be known when he executeth judgments », who, as Bernard says, is not known when he suffers injuries. And it is to be noted that the Lord punished the Sodomites by fire, Genesis, the nineteenth, without mitigation, and this because there were none good among them; but the Egyptians by fire with mitigation, because the children of Israel, who were good, were in Egypt.

(Vers. 19.). *And at another time,* namely when the animals had been called back, *in water above its power,* its natural power namely, because by miracle, *the fire burned on every side,* namely through the whole land of Egypt, *to destroy the wicked* *nation of the land,* that is, the Egyptians, who were an earthly nation, not a heavenly one; against which the first to the Corinthians, the fifteenth: « As we have borne the image of the earthly, let us bear also the image of the heavenly ».

*Instead of which* etc. Here, concerning the consolation of the Israelites, first is touched the *showing of the benefit;* secondly, the *reason of the showing: For thy sustenance*.

(Vers. 20.). *Instead of which,* namely evils, that is, in place of which evils by contrast, *with the food of Angels,* that is, manna, which had been prepared by Angels; *thou didst nourish thy people* etc.; whence in the Psalm: « Man ate the bread of Angels »; or because it prefigured the food of Angels, namely « the living bread, which came down from heaven », John, the sixth. *Thou didst nourish,* I say, *thy people,* namely the children of Israel; for with this food he nourished them, « until they reached the borders of the land of promise », as is had in Exodus, the sixteenth. *And bread prepared,* that is, refreshment, *from heaven,* namely the aërial heaven, coming down, according to that of the Psalm: « He rained down manna upon them to eat, and gave them the bread of heaven »; *thou gavest them without labour.*

**On the contrary:** Because it is said in Numbers, the eleventh: « The people went about, and gathering it, ground it in a mill, or beat it in a mortar, boiling it in a pot, and making cakes thereof of the taste as of bread tempered with oil ».

I respond: *without labour* of acquiring through agriculture, but not without labour of preparing. But we have labour in acquiring and preparing; Genesis, the third: « In the sweat of thy face ».

*Having in it all delight,* that is, the effect of every delighting food, by making a like delight in the one eating; *and the sweetness of every taste,* that is, every sweet taste; for it so tasted to each one as he willed, as Gregory says in the sixth of the *Morals*.

**But on the contrary:** It is said in Numbers, the eleventh, that it had a taste « as of bread tempered with oil ».

It must be said that by its own nature it had a determinate taste, most sweet, namely like the taste « of flour with honey »; but by divine grace it had diverse tastes, namely according to the diversity of desires, as the Gloss touches on that of the first to the Corinthians, the tenth: « All did eat the same spiritual food ».

**But on the contrary:** Because, if it had the taste desired by anyone whatever, then they would not have desired the flesh of Egypt, nor would their soul have loathed the manna as a very light food, although the opposite is read in Numbers, the twenty-first.

It must be said, according to the Gloss: The good found the best taste there, but the wicked loathed it. Or it must be said that they required in food not only the delight of taste as regards the palate, but also of colour as regards the sight, and of odour as regards the smell. Jerome: Birds are cooked before the rich in their own vapours, that they may be refreshed by the sight and the savour, as the delicate are in wine, although it is said in Proverbs,

the twenty-third: « Look not upon the wine when it is yellow, when the colour thereof shineth in the glass » etc.

(Vers. 21.). *For thy sustenance,* that is, thy power of sustaining, *and thy sweetness*, that is, the power of delighting, *which thou hast towards thy children,* namely by sustaining them through the substance of the food and delighting them through the taste of the same food, *thou didst show* etc.; in the Psalm: « Thou hast provided in thy sweetness for the poor, O God »; *thou didst show,* I say, by bestowing on them the aforesaid food, sustaining and delighting. *And serving,* namely the aforesaid food or bread, *the will of every one,* namely of those eating, *it was turned to what each one willed,* that is, to what taste; for it had, as has been said, one taste determined by nature, but various ones by divine grace.

*Mystically* by the manna Christ under the Sacrament of the altar was fittingly signified, first because he is the bread of angels, namely of priests, according to that of Malachias, the second: « He is the angel of the Lord of hosts ». — Secondly, because it is prepared from heaven, that is, because it is consecrated by heavenly power; John, the sixth: « I am the living bread, which came down from heaven »; in the Psalm: « Thou hast prepared their food, for so is its preparation ». — Thirdly, because those eating of it are refreshed according to their desire, that is, devotion, according to that of the Psalm: « Thou hast given him his heart's desire »; likewise in the Psalm: « He brought them their desire, they were not defrauded of that which they craved ». — Fourthly, because with it the dew of grace comes down and is given, as the dew also came down with the manna, as is had in Numbers, the eleventh. And therefore this bread is called *eucharistia;* eucharistia is interpreted *good grace.* — Fifthly, because, as the manna appeared like « white coriander seed », so Christ too is received under a white cloud; Apocalypse, the fourteenth: « Behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one sitting like to the Son of man ». — Sixthly, because it was gathered on six days, and not on the Sabbath, so Christ in the present is received under the Sacrament, but in the future Sabbath, of which Isaias, the sixty-sixth: « There shall be sabbath after sabbath », he will be seen openly; the first to the Corinthians, the thirteenth: « But then face to face »; likewise the first of John, the third: « We shall see him as he is ». — Seventhly, because until the entrance into the land of promise they were nourished in the desert with that food through forty years, so until the end of the world the faithful of the Church are nourished in the desert of this world, according to that of Matthew, the twenty-eighth: « Behold, I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world ».

*But snow* etc. Here is touched the *reason of the affliction* of the Egyptians: first on the part *of the punished;* secondly, on the part *of those for whom they were punished: But this*; thirdly, on the part *of God punishing: For the creature.*

(Vers. 22.). He says, then: *But snow* etc. So it was said that *the fire had more force in water; but snow and ice,* that is, hail, *endured the force of fire,* that is, the heat, which is its quality of active power. *And melted not,* that is, were not liquefied; whence Exodus, the ninth: « The Lord rained hail upon the land of Egypt; and the hail and fire mixed with it drove on together »; *that they might know,* namely the Israelites, *that the fruits of the enemies,* that is, of the Egyptians, *the burning fire destroyed,* namely through heat; *flashing in the hail and rain,* namely through brightness. « The flax and the barley were hurt, because the barley was green, and the flax was now bolled », Exodus, the ninth.

(Vers. 23.). *But this again* etc. It is to be known that the *ly* *hoc* can be of the ablative case, so that it is expounded thus: *hoc* for *hôc* ("by this"); or of the nominative, so that it is read thus: *but this again,* supply: was done, *that the just might be nourished,* namely the children of Israel. *The fire* *even forgot its own power,* namely by not destroying the fruits of the land of the just, as is clear from Exodus, the ninth, where it is read that « only in the land of Gessen, where the children of Israel were, the hail fell not ». So too the fire forgot the force of its power when it did not hurt the three just youths in the furnace, as is clear from Daniel, the third.

(Vers. 24.). *For thy creature*, namely whatever it be, *serving thee the maker,* that is, thy will, by which thou madest all things, according to that of the Psalm: « Whatsoever he would, he hath done »; *is enkindled,* that is, is vehemently moved and stirred up, *unto torment,* of punishing, *against the unjust,* that is, thy

enemies. *And is made gentler,* that is, harmless or innocuous, *for doing good on behalf of those who trust in thee,* that is, on behalf of the just; for creatures obey those obedient to God — as is clear from Josue, the tenth, where it is read how the sun stood still at the command of Josue — and rebel against those who rebel; whence above, the fifth: « The whole world shall fight with him against the unwise ».

*Therefore* etc. Here is touched the *reason of the consolation* of the Israelites: first, the *recognition of the divine benefit;* secondly, the *showing of divine worship: For that which by fire;* thirdly, the *avoiding of ingratitude: For the hope of the ungrateful* etc.

(Vers. 25.). *Therefore,* namely because the creature serves the Creator, *even then,* namely when the children of Israel were fed with manna in the desert, *into all things,* that is, into the taste of all desired things, *transformed,* namely the creature itself, namely the manna; *to thy grace, the nurse of all,* that is, to thy gratuitous good will, so that it be understood of the *uncreated* grace; Baruch, the fourth: « You have grieved Jerusalem that nursed you »; *they served*, that is, obeyed; the Gloss: « Let sinners here be confounded, because, while the other creatures serve their Maker, they resist him. Hence they are scourged by the concord of all creatures ». *They served,* I say, *the will,* to be fulfilled namely, *of those who were desired by thee,* namely loved with a special love, as the children of Israel; Deuteronomy, the seventh: « The Lord thy God hath chosen thee, to be his peculiar people of all peoples that are upon the earth ».

(Vers. 26.). *That thy children might know,* namely the Israelites, according to that of Exodus, the fourth: « Israel is my firstborn »; Isaias, the first: « I have brought up children »; *whom thou lovedst, O Lord,* namely with eternal and temporal love; Malachias, the first: « I have loved you, saith the Lord ». *They might know,* I say, *that not the fruits of birth,* that is, not natural fruits, born of the earth, according to that of Genesis, the first: « Let the earth bring forth » etc.; *nourish men,* namely inasmuch as they are men, that is, according to that by which they differ from beasts, namely according to the rational power or part of the soul. *But thy word,* that is, created, that is, thy commandment; Matthew, the fourth: « Not in bread alone doth man live » etc. Or: *the Word,* uncreated, that is, the Son, of whom John, the seventeenth: « Thy word is truth »; in the same, the fourteenth: « I am the way, and the truth, and the life »; *preserveth them that have believed in thee;* Deuteronomy, the eighth: « The Lord gave thee manna for thy food, which neither thou nor thy fathers knew, to show thee that not in bread alone doth man live, but in every word that proceedeth from the mouth of God ».

(Vers. 27.) *For that which could not be destroyed by fire,* namely the manna, because it hardened at the fire, so that cakes were made of it, as is clear from Numbers, the eleventh; *being warmed by a little ray of the sun, presently melted,* that is, was liquefied, as is clear from Exodus, the sixteenth. Hence it was needful that it be gathered in the morning.

(Vers. 28.). *That it might be known to all,* namely through this sign, *that we ought to prevent the sun,* that is, the rising of the sun, *for thy blessing,* supply: to be obtained, that is, for receiving and gathering the manna, lest after the rising of the sun it should be liquefied by the heat of the sun; so, for obtaining the blessing of grace, one ought to prevent the sun by watching in the morning, according to that of Proverbs, the eighth: « They that in the morning early watch for me shall find me »; in the Psalm: « In the morning I will stand before thee, and will see » etc. *And at the rising of the light,* that is, as soon as the light rises, or towards the east, where the light rises, *to adore thee,* namely for the reception of the manna itself; towards the east, I say, because, as Damascene says, everything better is to be ascribed to God; hence, because the east is the better part of the heaven, therefore one must adore towards the east, according to that of the Psalm: « Who mounteth above the heaven of heavens, to the east ».

And it is to be noted that in this, that the manna melted at the rising of the sun, it was signified, according to the Gloss, that at the rising of Christ the old sacrament would cease, because « the end of the Law is Christ », to the Romans, the tenth.

(Vers. 29.). *For the hope of the ungrateful* etc. So I said that it *melted* by the heat *of the sun,* and this in sign of this, that *the hope of the ungrateful shall melt* etc. Or thus: I said well that we ought *to adore at the rising of the light* etc., for the reception of the aforesaid benefit, and this to avoid ingratitude, which is very harmful. *For the hope of the ungrateful,* namely of any impious man whatever, or specially « of the Jewish people », according to the Gloss, *as the winter's ice;* the Gloss: « Bound by the cold of unbelief », according to that of Ecclesiasticus, the forty-third: « The cold north wind blew, and the water was congealed into crystal »; *shall melt,* that is, shall be liquefied, that is, shall be dissolved by the heat of the sun of justice in the day of judgment, either particular or universal; in the Psalm: « As wax melteth before the fire, so let the sinners perish at the presence of God ». *Shall melt,* I say, as regards the punishment *of loss,* namely by losing all goods, whatever it had or hoped for, namely the goods of grace and of glory; *and shall perish utterly,* that is, shall perish doubly, that is, shall suffer torment in body and soul, and this as regards the punishment *of sense. Shall perish utterly,* I say, *as unprofitable water,* that is, useless, which is poured out or thrown upon the earth; so the ungrateful man too, as useless, shall be thrown into hell, according to that of Matthew, the twenty-fifth: « The unprofitable servant cast ye out into the exterior darkness ». *The hope of the ungrateful* therefore *shall melt and perish utterly* etc.; whence above, the fifth: « The hope of the impious is as dust, which is blown away with the wind »; likewise Bernard: « Ingratitude is a burning wind, drying up the fountain of piety, the dew of mercy, the streams of grace ».

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