Cap. 18, Vers. 1-25
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/18/q/bon-sap-c18
----------------------------------------
### Chapter XVIII.

#### Secondly, on the punishments inflicting death.

*But to thy saints.* After he has treated of the punishments preceding death, here he treats of the *punishments inflicting death;* and first, of the *extermination of their firstborn* in Egypt, namely in this chapter; secondly, of *their overthrow* in the Red Sea, namely in the last chapter.

#### On the extermination of the firstborn in Egypt.

In the first is touched first the *commendation* of the *Hebrews,* whom they were oppressing; secondly, through their deliverance, the *worthy punishing* of the *Egyptians* who were oppressing them: *For they indeed were worthy* etc.; thirdly, after the deliverance of the Hebrews, a *grievous temptation,* namely in the desert: *Touched.*

#### First, the commendation of the Hebrews.

About the *commendation* four things are touched: first, the *showing of the divine benefit;* secondly, for the showing of the benefit, the *giving of thanks: And because they also;* thirdly, for the continuance of the benefit, *supplication: And that there might be;* fourthly, the *hearing of the supplication,* there: *Therefore.*

(Vers. 1.). *But to thy saints* etc. So were the Egyptians in darkness; *but* (*autem*), for *sed; to thy saints;* namely to the Israelites, according to that of Leviticus, the eleventh: « Be ye holy »; *there was a very great light,* because there was the exterior, *bodily* light; whence Exodus, the tenth: « Wheresoever the children of Israel dwelt, there was light »; likewise the *interior, spiritual* light; whence the Gloss: « *To thy saints,* that is, to the Israelites, whom faith and the pureness of conscience illuminated »; the first to the Thessalonians, the fifth: « You are all the children of light »; likewise the *higher, heavenly* light; John, the first: « That was the true light, which enlighteneth every man » etc.; likewise Malachias, the fourth: « Unto you that fear my name the sun of justice shall arise ». *And their voice indeed,* namely of the Saints, *voice* of human conversation or of divine praise, the enemies *heard,* namely the Egyptians; *but did not see their shape,* namely on account of the hindering darkness.

**But on the contrary:** Because one who is in darkness can see him who is in the lumen, and not the converse.

It must be said that this is true, unless there is a hindrance in his *eye,* or in the *medium* itself. But there there was a hindrance in the *eye* of those seeing, because they had been struck as it were with a certain blindness, and in the *medium,* because the darkness there was dense and palpable.

*And because they also,* that is, even, *themselves,* namely the Saints, *had not suffered through the same things*, « that is, the same plagues », according to the Gloss; *they magnified thee,* namely by praising; Luke, the first: « My soul doth magnify the Lord »; Ecclesiasticus, the forty-third: « Who shall magnify him as he is from the beginning »?

(Vers. 2.). *And they that before had been wronged,* namely by Pharao oppressing and scourging them, as is clear from Exodus, the first. *Because they were not hurt,* namely by the plagues inflicted by God, *they gave thanks to thee;* Isaias, the fifty-first: « Joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of praise ». *And that there might be a difference,* namely between themselves and the Egyptians; *they asked thee, God*, or: *they prayed thee, God,* according to that of the Psalm: « Judge me, O God, and distinguish my cause from the nation that is not holy », as Abraham also asked that the just should not be given up like the impious, Genesis, the eighteenth. Or: *a difference,* namely a distance; this was afforded to the Israelites when « the Angel, removing, stood between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel », as is clear from Exodus, the fourteenth.

(Vers. 3.). *Therefore,* namely because, the benefit being afforded, they were grateful, they prayed by conferring; *they had a burning pillar of fire,* namely by night, as is clear from Exodus, the thirteenth; *for a guide of the way which they knew not,* namely through the desert, *and a sun without hurt,* along the way; *a sun,* I say, *of good entertainment,* supply: one showing it at the end of the way; *thou gavest; without hurt,* I say, by day, and this with the pillar of the cloud tempering the heat of the sun, as is clear in the same place and above, the tenth: « She was to them for a covert by day, and for the light of stars by night », so that they came to a place in which they could fittingly lodge and pitch their tents; Isaias, the fourth: « The Lord will create upon every place of mount Sion, and where he is called upon, a cloud by day »; and after: « and it shall be for a shade in the daytime from the heat ».

#### Secondly, the worthy punishing of the Egyptians.

*For they indeed were worthy.* Here is shown the *worthy punishing of the Egyptians* who were oppressing the Israelites; and first is touched, as it were by way of epilogue, *the punishment of all in common;* secondly, *specially of those slain: When they thought;* thirdly, *specially of the living and waking: There sounded;* fourthly, *of the living sleeping: For while quiet.*

(Vers. 4.). *For they indeed were worthy,* namely the Egyptians, supply: *to be deprived of light,* as regards the privation of sense, *and to suffer the prison of darkness,* as regards the privation of motion; *who kept shut up* etc., by not permitting them to go out from the land of Egypt; Exodus, the fifth: « I know not the Lord, neither will I let Israel go ». *Thy holy children,* namely the Israelites believing in thee; John, the first: « He gave them power to be made the sons of God,

to them that believe in his name »; *by whom was beginning,* namely through the preparation of that people for the receiving of the Law, because it had not yet been given; *the incorrupt lumen of the law to be given to the world.* It is to be noted that the law is sometimes called *lumen,* because it illuminates the understanding; Proverbs, the sixth: « The commandment is a lamp, and the law a light »; *incorrupt,* because it purifies the affection, or preserves it from corruption, according to that of the Psalm: « The word of the Lord, tried by fire, proved of the earth, purged sevenfold ».

*When they thought* etc. Here first is touched *the striking of the firstborn* of Egypt; secondly, *the foreknowledge of the striking: For that;* thirdly, *the escape of the Hebrews: But there was received by the people;* fourthly, *the reason of the escape: For secretly.*

(Vers. 5.). *When they thought,* namely the Egyptians, *to kill the babes of the just,* that is, of the Hebrews, not only with a simple thought, but also with one proceeding into deed, as is clear from Exodus, the first. *And one son,* namely Moses, *being cast forth,* namely by his mother, *and set free,* namely by the daughter of Pharao, as is clear from Exodus, the second. *Unto the carrying-across of them,* that is, the punishing of the Egyptians; or: *unto the carrying-across of them,* that is, of the Hebrews, that is, that he might lead them out of Egypt through Moses set free. *Thou tookest away a multitude of their sons,* that is, the whole body of the firstborn, Exodus, the twelfth. *And together,* that is, at once, *them,* namely the Egyptians their parents, *thou destroyedst in a mighty water,* namely by drowning them in the Red Sea, Exodus, the fourteenth: « There did not so much as one of them remain », and the fifteenth: « They sunk as lead in the mighty waters ».

(Vers. 6.). *For that; for* (*enim*), for *sed; night,* namely in which the firstborn were slain, *was known before by our fathers,* namely by Abraham and others; whence Genesis, the fifteenth: « Know thou beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own » etc.; or by the Israelites themselves in Egypt, Moses foretelling it to them, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth. *That truly,* that is, with certitude, *knowing to what oaths they had trusted,* that is, to how firm promises of God; Genesis, the twenty-second: « By my own self have I sworn, saith the Lord »; likewise to the Hebrews, the sixth: « That by two immutable things » etc.; *they might be of better courage,* namely in awaiting the fulfilment of the oath.

(Vers. 7.). *But there was received* etc., namely in that night, or, according to the Gloss: « The law of the phase », in that night, as it were for a great benefit, *by thy people,* namely the Israelite people, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth, where it is said: « And they did » etc.; *the health indeed of the just,* for through it the Israelites were saved from the exterminating Angel, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth; *but of the unjust,* namely of the Egyptians, *the extermination,* that is, the slaying by the exterminating Angel, in the same place.

(Vers. 8.). *For as thou didst hurt our adversaries*, namely by slaying them for their sins, *so also calling us forth,* supply: to better things, namely to faith and the receiving of the Law; Deuteronomy, the thirty-second: « As the eagle enticing her young to fly » etc., *thou didst magnify us,* namely by magnificently delivering us from that extermination.

(Vers. 9.). *For secretly,* namely for fear of the Egyptians, according to the Gloss; *they were offering sacrifice,* namely by immolating the pasch, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth. *The just children,* namely the sons, *of good men,* namely of the Israelites, together with their fathers themselves, on account of which they merited to be delivered, the firstborn of the Egyptians being slain. *And the law of justice,* namely given in the same place, concerning the immolation of the phase, which was *just,* because it signified the justification to be wrought through the death of Christ; likewise it was called *law,* because it bound to its own observance for its own time. *They ordered in concord,* that is, they received it concordantly and purposed to fulfil it and fulfilled it; whence in the Psalm: « Gather ye together his saints to him, who set his covenant before sacrifices ». *Alike,* that is, with equanimity, *that the just should receive both good* *and evil,* that is, prosperous and adverse things, namely themselves; repeat: they ordered, whatever God should will to bring upon them; Job, the second: « If we have received good things at the hand of the Lord, why should we not endure evil »? Likewise Luke, the sixteenth: « Thou didst receive good things in thy lifetime, and likewise Lazarus evil things ». *The praises of the fathers,* that is, instituted and celebrated by the fathers, *singing,* that is, devoutly singing, namely God

by praising him both for evil things, namely of punishment, and for good things, namely of grace, or of fortune, or of nature; in the Psalm: « His praise shall be always in my mouth »; *always,* that is, not only in prosperity, but also in adversity.

*But there sounded* etc. Here is touched the punishment of the Egyptians *living and waking,* namely the mourning for the death of their firstborn; and first is touched *the matter of the mourning;* secondly, *the usefulness of those mourning: But with like punishment;* thirdly, *the cause of the universality: So all alike;* fourthly, *the effect following: For of all* etc.

(Vers. 10.). So I said that they were singing *the praises of the fathers; but there sounded,* namely strongly through the whole land of Egypt, *an ill-according cry of the enemies,* that is, a cry of the Egyptians horrible to hear; Exodus, the twelfth: « There arose a great cry in Egypt »; *and a lamentable mourning was heard,* that is, weeping with mourning; and there was the *cry* of the voice and the *weeping* of the eyes and the *mourning* of the hands; *lamentable,* I say, *the mourning for the bewailed children,* that is, about the children or for the children whom they mourned, according to that of Jeremias, the sixth: « Make thee mourning as for an only son, a bitter lamentation ».

(Vers. 11.). *But with like punishment,* that is, with the loss of his firstborn, *the servant was afflicted with the master,* in one house; *and the common man suffered things like the king,* namely in the whole kingdom of Egypt, Exodus, the twelfth: « He struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharao, who sat on his throne, unto the firstborn of the captive woman that was in the prison »; Isaias, the twenty-fourth: « And it shall be as with the people, so with the priest; and as with the servant, so with his master ».

(Vers. 12.). *So all alike,* that is, the greater and the lesser and the middling, namely king Pharao and the other masters and their servants; *had innumerable dead,* all the firstborn, *dead,* I say, *with one name of death,* namely with one kind, because by a divine plague. And he says well: *all,* because « there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead », as is had in Exodus, the twelfth. *Neither* etc. And I said well: *innumerable; for neither were the living sufficient to bury,* namely the dead; Jeremias, the sixteenth: « Both the great and the little shall die, and they shall not be buried » etc. *Because in one moment,* namely in one hour of the night, *what was the more noble offspring of them,* that is, the whole body of the firstborn, who excel the other sons in dignity, *was exterminated,* that is, slain by the exterminating Angel, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth.

(Vers. 13.). *For of all,* as if to say: and deservedly were the firstborn slain thus; *for of all,* that is, for all the plagues brought on before, *not believing,* namely the Egyptians, *on account of the benefits*, namely those done them in the relaxing of the several plagues, as is clear from Exodus, the seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth and twelfth. *Then, when first there was the extermination of the firstborn,* namely in the last plague, *they pledged that they were the people of God,* that is, they promised to do the commandment of God, which concerned the letting go of the children of Israel; for then they let them go, as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth. Or: *they pledged* etc., that is, they promised to believe in the God of the Hebrews, if they were delivered; Isaias, the twenty-sixth: « Lord, in distress they have sought after thee »; in the Psalm: « When he slew them, then they sought him ».

*For while quiet* etc. After he has determined of the affliction of those waking for the death of the firstborn, here he treats of *the affliction of those sleeping;* and first is touched *the cause* of the affliction; secondly, *the punishment: Then suddenly.*

(Vers. 14. 15.). I said well: *Then, when first there was the extermination; for* (*enim*), for *quia* ("because"); *while quiet silence held* *all things; silence,* namely of the night, which is given for resting, as the day for working; whence the first to the Thessalonians, the fifth: « They that sleep, sleep in the night ». *And the night was in the midst of her course,* that is, when it was the middle of the night; whence Exodus, the twelfth: « And it came to pass at midnight »; and this on account of unforeseenness. — *Thy almighty word, O Lord*, that is, thy ordinance and command; whence to the Hebrews, the fourth: « The word of God is living and effectual », namely on account of the impossibility of resisting, *leaping down from heaven; leaping* he says on account of the swiftness, *from heaven,* that is, in the exterminating Angel, *from the royal thrones,* namely thine, that is, from the fellowship of the Angels, in whom thou reignest and sittest; in the Psalm: « Thou that sittest upon the cherubims ». Or: *leaping from heaven,* namely sent by thee, who sittest in heaven: « For they are all ministering spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation », to the Hebrews, the first; *there came a fierce,* that is, an implacable, *conqueror,* namely of the Egyptians on account of their obstinacy; *into the midst

of the land of destruction,* that is, into the land of Egypt, to be exterminated by the death of the firstborn; *he leapt forth,* namely suddenly.

(Vers. 16.). *A sharp sword,* that is, about to fulfil the office of a sharp sword through the slaying of the firstborn; to the Hebrews, the fourth: « The word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword »; likewise to the Ephesians, the sixth: « The sword of the spirit, which is the word of God ». *A sharp sword,* then, on account of its ready facility in harming, *carrying thy unfeigned command,* that is, not feigned, but thy true commandment and power, because « there is no power but from God », to the Romans, the thirteenth. The *command,* then, is called *unfeigned* on account of the divine authority, *and standing,* on account of the immovableness of the sentence. *He filled all things with death,* that is, the whole land of Egypt with dead firstborn. « For there was not a house wherein there lay not one dead », as is clear from Exodus, the twelfth. He says therefore: *He filled all things* etc., on account of the universality of this plague.

But *it is objected,* because in Exodus, the twelfth, it is said: « I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn » etc.; therefore he was not standing: therefore it is ill said here: *And standing* etc.

But it must be said that this *standing,* of which he speaks here, is opposed to *withdrawal* from the land of Egypt, not to motion through the land itself. Hence he means to say that the Angel, executing the word or the commandment given concerning the slaying of the firstborn, stood in the land of Egypt, so that outside Egypt no one was slain; but he does not mean to say that he did not pass through Egypt from house to house.

*And standing on the earth he reached even to heaven,* that is, he seemed to reach, namely on account of the inevitability, namely lest any one should escape; in the Psalm: « If I ascend into heaven, thou art there ». Or: *even to heaven* etc., he says this because that Angel was contemplating in heaven while ministering on earth, according to that saying of Bede: « Within God they run, whithersoever they are sent »; likewise Matthew, the eighteenth: « Their Angels », namely the ministering ones, « in heaven always see », through contemplation, « the face of my Father » etc.

But *allegorically* there is described here the coming of Christ into the flesh, who is called the *almighty word* of God by the eternal generation, according to that of John, the first: « In the beginning was the Word »; but to have come *from heaven, from the royal thrones,* by the temporal assumption of flesh; in the Psalm: « His going out is from the end of heaven »; *in the midst of the silence of the night,* on account of the fitness of the time; to the Galatians, the fourth: « But when the fulness of the time was come » etc. The first silence was under the law of *nature,* and this on account of the ignorance of infirmity; the second, under the law of *Moses,* and this on account of the despair of health; the third, under the law of *grace,* and this on account of the attaining of salvation. *As a fierce conqueror* etc., namely on account of the overthrowing of the demons; Luke, the eleventh: « When a strong man armed keepeth his court, those things are in peace which he possesseth; but if a stronger than he come upon him » etc. *Into the midst of the land of destruction,* that is, in the midst of the world, on account of the position of the land in which he was born; in the Psalm: « He hath wrought salvation in the midst of the earth ». *To have carried with him the command of God,* on account of the Godhead co-omnipotent with the Father; John, the first: « And the Word was God », namely, of whom he afterwards adds: « And the Word was made flesh »; likewise Matthew, the last: « All power is given to me » etc. *To have filled all things with death,* on account of the consummation of all things in his death, according to that of John, the nineteenth: « It is consummated ». *Standing on the earth to have reached heaven,* because his soul, in the state of a wayfarer, had the continual fruition of God; John, the third: « No man hath ascended into heaven, but he that descended from heaven, the Son of man who is in heaven ».

(Vers. 17.). *Then suddenly,* namely in the very hour of the slaying, *visions of evil dreams,* that is, of terrible ones, *troubled them,* namely sleeping; the Gloss: « So that neither to the waking nor to the sleeping should rest be given ». *And unlooked-for fears,* that is, sudden ones, *came upon,* namely them; Job, the seventh: « Thou wilt frighten me with dreams, and terrify me with visions »; Job, the fourth: « In the horror of a vision by night, when deep sleep is wont to hold men, fear seized upon me ».

(Vers. 18.). *And one thrown elsewhere,* namely than another, *half dead,* that is, at the extremity of his life; *showed the cause of the death of which he was dying,* namely by indicating it to others as he could, namely on account of the hardness of a heart rebelling against the God of the Hebrews and against Moses, his servant; to the Romans, the second: « According to thy hardness and impenitent heart ».

(Vers. 19.). *For the visions,* namely of the dreams, *that troubled them, foreshowed these things,* namely the cause of their death. *Lest they should perish not knowing why they suffered evils,* and so be excused of impenitence on account of ignorance; Isaias, the twenty-eighth: « Vexation alone shall make you understand what you hear »; Gregory: « The eyes which fault closes, punishment opens ».

#### Thirdly, the grievous temptation of the Hebrews.

*Touched* etc. Here is added the grievous temptation of the Hebrews in the desert after their deliverance; and first is shown the *peril* on the part of those tempted; secondly, the *manner of the deliverance* on the part of the Pontiff: *For hastening* etc.; thirdly, the *cause* or *delivering* power on the part of the pontifical adornment: *In the robe* etc.; fourthly, the *effect that followed,* on the part [so printed: *parte a* for *a parte*] of the exterminating Angel: *But to these* etc.

(Vers. 20.). *But it touched* etc. So were the Egyptians punished, and not they only; *but* (*autem*), for *sed; it touched then; then* is taken broadly, so that the sense is: *Then,* namely at that time when, having gone out of Egypt, they were journeying through the desert, *it touched the just also,* namely the children of Israel. He says *touched,* because it did not last long nor was it in all, *the temptation of death,* that is, leading to death. *And there was made a disturbance of the multitude in the wilderness,* namely against Moses and Aaron, so that they fled to the tabernacle of the Lord, as is clear from Numbers, the sixteenth. *But thy wrath did not long continue;* Habacuc: « When thou art angry, thou wilt remember mercy ».

*For hastening* etc. Here he touches the threefold *manner of their deliverance,* namely *by praying devoutly;* secondly, *by recalling the promises* of the fathers: *But he overcame;* thirdly, by *interposing himself in person: For when now in heaps.*

(Vers. 21.). He says therefore: *For hastening* etc. I said well that *thy wrath did not long continue; for a blameless man, hastening,* namely Aaron; whence Numbers, the sixteenth: « And when Aaron had heard this, and had run to the midst of the multitude, which the burning fire was now destroying » etc.; *hastening,* in this is intimated the fervour of the heart; *blameless,* the holiness of conversation; *to make deprecation for the peoples* etc. For such a one God hears, and not sinners; whence John, the ninth: « God doth not hear sinners »; Gregory: « When one who displeases is sent to intercede, the mind of the angry one is provoked to worse things »; *to make deprecation for the peoples; deprecation* is properly for the removing of evils, but *prayer* for the obtaining of goods, though commonly the one is set for the other. *Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer* etc. Prayer is called a *shield* by reason of protection; Ezechiel, the twentieth [so printed; the passage is Ezech. 22:30]: « I sought among them for a man that might set up a hedge, and stand in the gap before me ». It is called *of his service,* because he was bound to this service by reason of the pontifical office; whence to the Hebrews, the fifth: « For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men »; and afterwards there follows: « He ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins ».

It is to be noted that the *shield* can spiritually be called *faith;* whence to the Ephesians, the sixth: « In all things taking the shield of faith ». Likewise, *the word of God;* whence Proverbs, the thirtieth: « Every word » of the Lord, or « of God, is fire tried; he is a buckler to them that hope in him ». Likewise, *prayer;* whence here: *Bringing forth the shield of his service, prayer.* Likewise, *equity;* whence above, the fifth: « He will take equity for an invincible shield ». Likewise, *almsgiving;* whence Ecclesiasticus, the twenty-ninth: « Better than the shield of the mighty, and better than the spear, it shall fight for thee against thy enemy ». Likewise, *patience;* the second of Kings, the first: « There was cast away the shield of the valiant » etc. Likewise, *obedience,* of which the first of Machabees, the fourteenth: « This is the golden shield of Simon, of a thousand pounds ».

*And by incense,* that is, the offering of incense, *alleging deprecation,* that is, bringing it forth by alleging; Numbers, the sixteenth: « He put on incense, and standing between the dead and the living, he made deprecation for the people ». And it is to be noted that *prayer* is set for the remission of sin, *deprecation* for the removal of the scourge, *incense* for the reconciliation of the offended judge. *Hastening,* I say, *the man* etc., *withstood the wrath,* that is, the divine striking. *And put an end to the necessity,* that is, to the inevitable human affliction. *Showing,* namely by deed, not only by word, *that he was thy servant,* according to that of John, the tenth: « The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep »; Ecclesiasticus, the forty-fifth: « He chose him out of all men living, to offer sacrifice to God, incense » etc. On the contrary the Lord complains of evil prelates in Ezechiel, the thirteenth: « You have not gone up to face the enemy, nor have you set up a wall for the house of Israel ».

(Vers. 22.). *But he overcame the throngs,* that is, the disturbed people, by dividing and penetrating them, *not by strength of body,* as Samson the Philistines, Judges, the fifteenth; *nor by the armour of power,* namely by powerful and strong armour, as David Goliath, the first of Kings, the seventeenth; the first of Machabees, the third: « The success of war is not in the multitude of the army ». But *with a word,* namely of devout prayer, *he subdued him that was harassing them,* namely the Angel exterminating the people, which he reckoned his own harassment, according to that: « Who is weak, and I am not weak? » etc., the second to the Corinthians, the eleventh. *The oaths of the Fathers and the covenant,* that is, the promise made to the Fathers of giving them the land of promise for an inheritance; Genesis, the twelfth: « To thy seed will I give this land »; *calling to mind,* namely in his prayer.

(Vers. 23.). *For when* etc., as if to say: I said well that *he overcame the throngs* etc.; *for when the dead were now fallen down in heaps one upon another,* that is, when the dead lay in heaps one upon another; *he stood between,* that is, he stood between the living and the dead; whence Numbers, the sixteenth: « He stood between the dead and the living ». *And cut off the assault,* namely of the fire consuming them; to the Hebrews, the eleventh: « They quenched the violence of fire »; *and divided the way which led to the living,* namely by setting himself against the fire in the middle of the way, lest the fire should pass from the dead to the living.

*For in the robe* etc. Here is touched *the cause of the deliverance,* and first on the part of *the pontiff;* secondly, on the part of the exterminating *Angel: But to these.*

(Vers. 24.). *For in the robe* etc., as if to say: therefore he was able to do the aforesaid things; *for in the robe of the poderis,* that is, the hyacinth *tunic* reaching to the ankles, « at the hem of which were little bells and pomegranates », Exodus, the twenty-eighth. Or according to Josephus, the *whole* pontifical vesture, inner and outer — *poderis* is a linen garment descending to the feet, whence it is named from *podos* in Greek, which in Latin sounds *pedis* ("of the foot"), whence *poderis,* as it were clinging to the feet — is understood by *the robe of the poderis,* which seems the truer from what follows. *In the robe,* I say, *of the poderis, which he wore,* namely Aaron, *was the whole world,* namely described, namely in *sign,* because, as the Gloss says, « the Hebrews assign the *fine linen* to the earth, because it is produced from the earth; the *purple* to the sea, because it is dyed from its shells; the *hyacinth* to the air on account of the likeness of colour; the *scarlet* to fire and the ether, namely that the Pontiff might pray for the whole world; since the world consists of earth, water, fire and air ».

But according as it is expounded of the hyacinth *tunic* only, it is asked: how was the whole world described in it? For since it was wholly of hyacinth, no part of the world seems to be described in it except the air alone.

But it must be said that, although *the body of the tunic* was of hyacinth, yet at *its extremities* there were some things of purple and fine linen and hyacinth and scarlet, as the pomegranates and the like. — The *girdle* represented the ocean, because it girds the whole earth. But the *superhumeral* and the *two stones* which were upon it, covering either shoulder, represented the two hemispheres, or the sun and the moon. The *pomegranates* and *little bells* placed below, the lightnings and thunders; *the twelve stones of the rational,* the twelve months, or the twelve parts of the zodiac. The *rational,* the divine providence and disposition. The *mitre* with the hyacinth fillet, the heaven. The *plate* on the forehead of the Pontiff and the *name of God* written there, that all things which are in it are governed by the will of God.

*And the great things of the parents,* that is, names of great authority, *were graven in the four rows of the stones;* for in the *rational* there were four rows of precious stones; on each were inscribed the several names of the twelve Patriarchs, as is clear from Exodus, the twenty-eighth, as also on the foundations of Jerusalem the names of the twelve Apostles are said to be inscribed, Apocalypse, the twenty-first. *And thy magnificence was graven upon the diadem of his head,* that is, the magnificent name of God, the tetragrammaton, that is, of four letters, which are: Iod, He, Vau, He, which signify the principle of life of the passion of Christ.

(Vers. 25.). *But to these,* namely to the sacred ornaments, *he that was exterminating gave place,* namely the Angel or the fire, ceasing not on account of those ornaments, but

on account of what they signified, namely on account of the ornament to come, that is, the sacrifice of the high Pontiff, namely Christ, according as the Gloss touches it. *And was afraid of these,* that is, he acted as if he feared, namely by departing; and I said well: *To these he gave place* etc.; *for the temptation alone of wrath,* that is, its beginning, not its consummation, *was sufficient,* namely for the correction of the people, namely with the intercession of the Pontiff.

---