site: migne

title: Expositio in Cantica canticorum

author: Gilbertus Foliot

languages: en la

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 202, coll. 1147A–1304D

source_text:
## EPISTOLA NUNCUPATORIA.

*Reverendissimo amplissimoque praesuli domino GULIELMO JUXONO episcopo Londinensi, et summo Angliae Thesaurario, PATRICIUS JUNIUS. S.*

Oblivionem saepenumero, *Amplissime et Reverendissim praesul,* celebriori famae occasionem dedisse, multaque cecidisse, ut ornatiora postea resurgerent, non tantum parietinae desertae, ac neglecta diu rudera, quae vetustate deposita, novam faciem et augustiorem formam induunt: sed ingenii etiam monumenta, quae in dies castigantur, emendatiora eduntur, et studiosorum sedula diligentia primum e situ et pulvere, in lucem ad diem protrahuntur, fidem faciunt, et abunde testantur. Inter ea est pium hoc et elegans decessoris tui scriptum, quod hactenus forte in oblivione sepultum jacuit, ut erudito hoc seculo majore cum splendore e tenebris emergeret, lucemque, quam intra tuos parietes primum hauserat, celeberrimi nominis tui auspiciis denuo aspiceret. Infirmitates ejus seniles, vel saeculi potius in quo vixit, quae in dictione aut materia rariores occurrunt, si pro eximia pietate sua, *Amplissima Dominatio Vestra,* lacinia tantum vestis suae operire, ipsumque una cum Acolutho suo (solum enim sine comite in publicum prodire, neque honestum erat, neque conditio tanti viri patiebatur) patrocinio suo dignari, nostramque hanc opellam in utroque evulgando, benigne interpretari velit; gradum faciet ad majora, quae nomini tuo postea dicari possunt, meque *Amplitudini Tuae* addictissimum, arctiore in posterum observantiae nexu devinciet. Dat. prid. Non. Novembris. Anno MDCXXXVIII.

## GILBERTI PRAEFATIO.

[1147A]Domino et amico suo charissimo Roberto, Dei gratia, Herefordensi episcopo, frater Gillebertus Lundoniensis Ecclesiae minister humilis, in his exerceri quae Dei sunt, et in eisdem fine beatissimo consummari.

Ne tuae, Domine, jussionis vana mihi aut vilis videretur auctoritas, tibi illico direxi librum quem postulasti: librum siquidem, quem in Canticum Canticorum, juvante Domino, nuper edidi, quem nulli hominum, ante te scribendum [cn: 1 | Forte *describendum*.], inspiciendumve commisi. Non enim hic ad laudem, praeconiive gratia, a me conscriptus est, sed ut, quae, Domino docente, didici ea, tenerem memoriter: et haec non, secundum Judaeos, aspernanda viliter, sed intimo sensu legenda humiliter; et eodem quo [1148A] dicta sunt spiritu intelligenda, demonstrarem. Qui cum a te fuerit, attentione plurima ab initio ad finem usque perlectus, multa eum animi alacritate suscepisti, et me meum in hoc studium applicasse, laude, ut audio, plurima commendasti: cui, ut nihil ad perfectionem deesset, Prologum a me aptari postulasti, ut sic operis completio digna foret, cui gratiarum redderetur exhibitio; scriptum quippe est, « Fortis est ut mors dilectio [n: (Cap. VIII, 6)]. » Nam ut mortale nihil est, quod nexum queat mortis elidere; sic possibile nihil est, quod non possit instantia dilectionis obtinere. Haec exinanivit Dominum, humanis illum nexibus alligavit; haec, post crucem et sepulchrum, ad sedes illum perduxit infimas, ut eos hinc eriperet, qui venturum hunc crediderant, [1149A] et diligenter expectabant: haec, quos irae filios, dictante justitia, perfecerat, in libertatem gratiae, misericordia judicium temperante, reformat. Meum mutat ista consilium, ut operi apponam prologum, quod sine prologo explanandum suscepi. Author enim operis extitit Salomon, qui scriptores est imitatus antiquos, qui non prologum praemittendo lectores suos attentos faciunt; sed ipsis rem, de qua acturi sunt, demonstrando, eorum excitant attentionem, et eorum studia, ad agnitionem eorum quae sunt dicta, convertunt. Unde illud Moysis, « In principio creavit Deus coelum et terram: terra autem erat informis, » etc. [n: (Gen. I, 1)]. Et illud Exodi, « Haec sunt nomina filiorum Israel, qui ingressi sunt in Aegyptum cum Jacob [n: (Exod. I, 1)]. » Sic [1149B] totum percurrens Pentateuchum, Judicum et Regum, librosque alios sine prologo scriptos invenies; quibus si prologi adjecti sunt, illos longo post tempore, post adventum Salvatoris, adjectos esse cognoveris. Hos imitans Salomon, ab ipsa statim re de qua est acturus incipit, sciens rem ipsam de qua agitur, utilitatem manifestam habere in se, qua alliciat, vel rationem evidentem, qua concupita despiciat, vel inspectiones theologicas, quibus haec [1150A] a mente rejiciat, et soli illi qui horum conditor et creator est, adhaereat. Tres itaque libros effecit, quos non prologis exornat aut dilatat, « Parabolarum » unum, « Ecclesiasten » alterum, « Sirasirim » hunc tertium. Allicit in « Parabolis » ad haec possidenda, per quae praesens vita munitur, ut necessitati propriae succurratur, in quibus opus est, proximo subveniatur, et indigenti, prout necessitas expetit, tribuatur. In « Ecclesiaste » vero monet, ne his animus implieetur, ne amor his, quae transitoria sunt, inclinetur: sed haec tanquam vana dijudicet, et quae sunt altiora his decernat [cn: 2 | Forte *discernat*.] et appetat. Unde « Sirasirim » (quod « Canticum canticorum » appellatur) consequenter apponens, in quo cuncta praetervolans, divinae majestati assistit, [1150B] hunc, ut sponsum, amplectens, huic totum quod amoris esse potest, ex affectu repraesentans. Animam igitur, vel Ecclesiam, amoris igne succensam, non haec visibilia quaerentem, sed ad invisibilia toto cordis affectu, tota mentis intentione suspirantem, sic inducit, quasi quaerentem Deum, nondum tamen apprehendentem, et ut apprehensum teneat, haec dicentem.

## EXPOSITIO IN CANTICA CANTICORUM.

## CAPUT PRIMUM.

[1149C]

1. *Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

Quae est ista tam inclyta? formae tam elegantis et gratiae? ut summi Regis osculum audacter appetens, dicat, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui? » Nunquid in somnis agit haec anima, fingens sibi quod vult, raptans sese in spem quamdam sine re, inanes formans intus apud se visiones, et jam nunc sperans apprehendere, quod nec laboriosis queat conatibus adipisci? Quo enim ascendit hic spiritus, auri in tantum immemor, et oblitus argenti, lapidem pretiosum non reputans, cuncta quae mundus possidet, suisque possidenda communicat, in tantum respuens, ut haec manu perfectionis sanctae repellens, dicat, Seorsum vos, abstractus a vobis amor meus [1149D] in superna trajectus est, solum illum appetens qui vere solus est, cunctisque suae causam pariter et effectum praestat essentiae, in quem suspirans, sanctique impatiens desiderii, secum agit haec anima, et loquitur dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui: » non enim vana loquitur anima sic inspirata, sed summa. Jam diu rivos sapientiae Salomonis ebibit, ipsumque in « Ecclesiaste » disputantem audivit: olim quidem delicata, et tenera, cum nondum a formis exterioribus ad interiora pervenerat, cum nondum a creatura ad Creatorem ascenderat, [1150C] mundo totis haerebat amplexibus, rebus ipsis visibilibus se totis affectibus alligabat: scholam vero doctrinae spiritualis ingressa, non plebeium magistrum quempiam, sed summum illum in sapientia Salomonem audire meruit, Ecclesiae sanctae lectionem quandam introductoriam instituentem, qua electam quamque animam a mundo avocet; avocatamque et abstractam, illi qui mundo superior est, insolubili charitatis nexu consociet. Videns enim in spiritu summus ille Salomon omnem fere animam in terra quasi fodientem, secularibus se negotiis implicantem, amoremque suum non jam erigentem sursum, sed inferius inclinantem; ut erigeret incurvatam et miseram, de summo contemplationis suae ad ima conversationis humanae descendit, errantem [1150D] revocans, praeceptis illam salutaribus instruens et reformans, et sic demum per quosdam velut ascensionis gradus, ad sanctae contemplationis et amoris summa perducens. Inprimis igitur aetati tenerae promittit magna, dicens, « Parabolae Salomonis ad sciendam sapientiam et disciplinam, et ad intelligenda verba prudentiae, et suscipiendam eruditionem doctrinae [n: (Prov. I, 1 seq.)]. » Blanda suggerit, annectens, « Audiens sapiens sapientior erit, et intelligens gubernacula possidebit. » Sic ipsi non statim mundi, et eorum quae in mundo [1151A] sunt contemptum praedicat, non arctioris vitae ardua et excelsa commemorat; « Prius namque quod animale est, deinde quod spirituale [n: (I Cor. XV, 46)]. » Unde magister optimus, ne statim gravia suadendo, animam quam erudiendam susceperat, in ipsis obtundat initiis, ipsam ad suae velut annos infantiae transigendos, mundo et his quae mundi sunt, uti libere, et in iis jucundari permittit: legem tamen sibi statuens, ne peccando diffluat, nec in usum malitiae convertat et libidinis, quod magno dono magni percepit authoris. Proponit igitur attente jam audienti, Parabolas; et ipsam, quot Parabolis instruit, tot ad bene et honeste vivendum legibus informat et adstringit: quas nimirum Parabolas, si mentis oculo prudens lector attentius introspexerit, [1151B] in ipsis ad conversationem honestam, mundi hujus possessoribus, vitaque communi degentibus, assignatam plenissime vitae formam intelliget. Nam quia « sine fide placere Deo est impossibile [n: (Heb. XI, 6)], » in ipso statim tractatus exordio, fides, et cultus summae divinitatis inculcatur, cum dicitur, « Audi, fili mi, disciplinam patris tui, et ne dimittas legem matris tuae [n: (Prov. I, 8)]. » Patris enim summi disciplina, quam ab ipso plenissime didicit Ecclesia, haec est, « Credere quoniam est, et quod diligentibus se remunerator sit [n: (Heb. XI, 6)], » et quod in fine temporum Filium suum in carnem miserit, et per ipsum promissa impleverit. Lex vero matris Ecclesiae, prima naturalis illa est, Dei digito in hominum cordibus exarata; secunda in tabulis [1151C] conscripta lapideis; tertia, lex Evangelii in Spiritu sancto et gratia ministrata. Legem itaque matris nostrae non dimittere, hoc est, ab unitate Ecclesiae, et summae divinitatis cultu, quem intus gratia inspirante suscepit, non recedere. Caetera vero mandata Decalogi, toto Parabolarum volumine, distinctis radiant locis; quibus, aliisque praeceptis quampluribus, quasi sanctum quoddam seculare proponitur, et secularium vita apto quodam rationis moderamine instituitur; quatenus sic utatur mundo, ut non declinet a Deo; sic permissa et submissa sibi possideat, ut a prohibitis indesinenter abstineat. In prima institutione, cum humanis satisfactum sit desideriis, et homini permissum sit temporalibus uti sobrie, juxta quod ad primum hominem [1151D] divina voce dictum est, « Crescite et multiplicamini, et replete terram, et subjicite eam, et dominamini piscibus maris, et volatilibus coeli, et universis quae moventur super terram [n: (Gen. I, 28)]; » secundae jam institutioni locus est, ut de his quae diu possedit homo, jam nunc audiat quid arbitrandum sit; an ipsis amore sit inhaerendum, an sit ab his amor ad quiddam altius et longe melius erigendus: unde singula quae sub sole sunt, veritatis stylo percurrens Salomon, volumine secundo ait, « Vanitas vanitatum, et omnia vanitas [n: (Eccle. I, 2)]; » quam nimirum vanitatem rebus quibusque transitoriis inesse potenter ostendens, quod nequaquam vanis involvendus est animus, aut vanis amor implicandus, [1152A] animam quam erudiendam susceperat, a vanitate sequestratam, seorsum applicat veritati, dum in ipsius operis fine subjungit, « Adolescentia et voluptas vana sunt [n: (cap. XI, 10)]. » Et paulo post, « Memento Domini Creatoris tui in diebus juventutis tuae, antequam veniat tempus afflictionis, et anni de quibus dicas, non mihi placent [n: (Cap. XII, 1)]. » Et paulo post, in ipso sermonis exitu, « Deum time, et mandata ejus observa: hoc est omnis homo [n: (ibid., 13)]. » Qua verborum compendiosa clausula, quid aliud mentibus hominum, nisi summae ipsius divinitatis timorem, et debiti reverentiam cultus insinuat. Haec enim via est, hic est accessus ad vitam, si timore sancto comprehensus animus declinet semper illicita, et intus amoris [1152B] igne accensa mens, indesinenter accingatur ad bona: homo namque medius in creaturae rationalis ordine positus est, habens Angelum bonum supra se, malum inferius, post hujus elapsum vitae ad alterutrius aequalem, juxta vitae merita, perducendus. Hic itaque, sicut inter hos medius est, sic habet aliquid cum utroque commune, amorem scilicet, cum ipso qui sursum est, timorem cum ipso qui est infra: timent enim mali angeli et contremiscunt, boni vero perfecte diligunt; et sicut ad amorem malus angelus non assurgit, sic ad timorem angeli boni non descendunt, juxta illud, « Perfecta charitas foras mittit timorem [n: (I Joan. IV, 18)]. » Cum itaque bonum angelum solus amor totum rapiat in se, malum vero solus timor deorsum premat; [1152C] non est, praeter hominem, in totius ordine creaturae, in quo timor dilectioni concurrat, in quo sibi duo haec conjuncta conveniant. Homini itaque dicitur, « Deum time, et mandata ejus observa: hoc est omnis homo: » ac si dicatur, Omne hoc, id est, totum hoc, « timere, » scilicet, et amando « mandata servare, » competit homini; ut timendo declinet iram, amando pertingat ad gratiam. Vel si dicatur, « Hoc est omnis homo, » id est, per timorem et amorem fit perfectus homo. Vel, « Hoc est omnis homo, » id est, ad hoc creatus est omnis homo, ab eodem intellectu non discrepat, cum creationis ejus hic modus et causa sit, ut iram sic evitet, et gratiam promereatur.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Haec igitur anima, salutis monita non jam derivata [1152D] procul, sed de ipso fonte, summo, videlicet, Salomone percipiens, jam edocta in Proverbiis, mundana quonam modo possideat; in Ecclesiaste vero, qua ratione jam possessa mente deserat et contemnat; jam nunc in Canticis audit, quomodo a visibilibus ad invisibilia transeat, et authori omnium tota virtute mentis, et plenitudine affectionis inhaereat. Sic a morali disciplina, qua possessa sancte communicat, per rationalem, qua mundana recte dijudicat, sanctam illam et summam ingressa theoriam, jam quae retro sunt oblita penitus, montem illum sanctum verticemque mentis suae conscendens, per medium nebulae et caliginis, sanctum illum Moysen ad contemplationis alta prosequitur; [1153A] ubi secreto manens habitaculo [n: (Exod. XIX, 20, et XX, 21)], non alta tectorum laquearia, non fucata obsequentium latera, non agrorum in immensum continuata jugera, sed ut omnibus affluat abundanter, solum illum expetit qui est omnia, qui lux est et quies animarum, bonorum fons, et origo virtutum, quem apprehendere summum est, et quo perfrui jucundissimum: cujus intus impulsa desiderio, quod sentit exprimit, nec ultra se amplius intra silentii claustra cohibens, vel amantis more, sibi, vel cognatae sibi cuiquam Virtuti coelesti loquitur, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Errat quidem amor saepius in judicio, et dum suo pronus fertur desiderio, quo se cunque verterit, sibi videtur id contemplari quod appetit, et aliud quemlibet [1153B] id in se experiri quod sentit: unde quasi constet aliis, quis ipsum amor trahat et in se velut absorbeat, cum quod intus agit foris exprimit, neminem designat ex nomine, sed discreta quadam indiscretione sic ait, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Quod quidem perfectae mentis arcanum est, et animae jam defaecatae cum coelesti Sponso soliloquium. Age enim, mentis aciem deflecte paululum, et paulisper a summis ad inferiora descende; attende animam adhuc infidelitate constrictam, quae fidei nondum radios illuminata perceperit, Ecclesiae nondum limina contigerit, Sponsum prorsus nesciret; nunquid huic Canticum judicabis recte competere? ut ad Sponsum animarum sanctarum loquatur, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui? » Nunquid [1153C] non esset indecens haec in ejus ore Parabola? Quod si animam attenderis illuminatam quidem fide, sed operibus mortuam, oppressam graviter peccatis et obrutam, longam sibi restem peccati facientem, nec ad bonum illo poenitentiae remedio recurrentem, nunquid huic recte poterit aptari Canticum, ut ore deformis, et horrenda facie, et toto foeda corpore, dicat tamen ad Patrem omnium, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Munita vero fide, et sacramentis imbuta anima, nunc ad virtutis bonum se lege mentis erigens, nunc in peccati lapsu legem quae in membris repugnat, excipiens; huic subjecta vicissitudini lugens, et lugendo vociferans: « O quis me liberabit a corpore mortis hujus? » [1153D] [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Nunquid apte cantabit Canticum, ut lachrymis obducta moestitiae, singultus poenitentiae trahens, dicat, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. »

Quod si progressus paululum, animam superiore quodam gradu consideres, aequali se quadam mediocritate moderantem, ut nec jam peccata quibus damnatio debetur admittat, nec ad virtutis adhuc alta conscendat, habitantem quodammodo cum Lot in Segor, montana nondum attingentem: haec utique quo nondum virtutis summa contingit, eo plus exterioribus delectata, in osculi coelestis appetitum minus fortiter inardescit; ut nec ipsi recte competat quod dictum est, « Osculetur me osculo oris [1154A] sui. » Secretum jam nunc animae spiritualis ingredere, attende animam jam stabilitam gratia, quam spiritus in montana protraxerit, quae jam in excelsis habitare decreverit, quae peccatum, mundo jam devicto, calcaverit, quae post Dominum cum Petro currens jam dixerit, « Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te [n: (Matth. XIX, 27)]; » haec licet ab infidelitatis tenebris, a regno peccati et mortis, ab impulsu tentationis, a torpore mentis longe sit; non tamen praesumit ut audeat, ubi summi Regis osculum, quod nondum forte gustavit, expectat, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui: » sed vel pedum Sanctorum osculo, cum Maria, contenta residet, vel juxta Joannem, « cum amicis Sponsi stat, et gaudio gaudet ad vocem ejus [n: (Joan. III, 29)], » [1154B] quam suavitate plenissimam jam intus audire meruit, et in ipsa specie [cn: 3 | Forte, *spe*.] quadam et futurorum promissione delectari pariter et quiescere. Hinc sextum perfectionis gradum, si jam potes, ascende, quo contemplationis alta amor jam sacratus ingreditur; ubi in monte sibi transfiguratur Dominus, et ab humanis absconsus oculis sanctissimus ille Moyses, coelestium jam conscius secretorum, in ipso divinitatis suavissime requiescit arcano: hic Regem quem diligit in corde suo contemplans anima beatissima, et in Deum, quantum in hac vita fas est, extensa, dulcedine visionis aeternae reficitur, et contemplationis reflectens oculum ad universa quae creata sunt, dum non tam ipsa, quam in [1154C] ipsis summi miratur opificis sapientiam, indicibilemque potentiam, dedignans totum quod creatum est, in ipsam tota colligit, ipsi nexu charitatis et luce contemplationis adstringitur; et dum ejus decori, totum quod in creatura decorum est, non in minimo comparabile conspicit, ad ignem illum invisibilem ignescit et inardescit, et suavi divinitatis aculeo inflictum menti charitatis vulnus experiens, et beatitudinis futurae, et sacratissimae conjunctionis ejus quae creati spiritus ad increatum nexu charitatis insolubili sine fine futura est, quasdam sibi praelibari velut arrhas expostulans, interno; solumque sanctis ac supernis potestatibus audibili sono mentis exclamans, ait, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Amor namque in Deum accensus, charitas est; et [1154D] ejus qui diligitur, intenta mente speculatio, contemplatio est: quae ita sese comitantur, ut amorem contemplatio suscitet, et contemplationem semper amor in anteriora promoveat; ut quo contemplatio supernae lucis radio penetrat, amorem illuc post se trahit; ut sic proficienti animae sit Dominus et illuminatio per contemplationem, et salus vera per charitatem; sicut dictum est, « Dominus illuminatio mea, et salus mea; quem timebo? » [n: (Psal. XXVI, 1.)] Aversa igitur a mundo anima, et ad Christum tota mente conversa, oblita quae retro sunt [n: (Phil. III, 13)], et in anteriora se potenter extendens, mundum subtus se jam deorsum longe conspiciens, in aeternitatem [1155A] totam se rapiens, summa et aeterna Domini Jesu contemplando conspiciens, et instanter amando desiderans, quia tota succumbit amori, et spirituali languet desiderio; plenos tamen nondum sponsi praesumens amplexus, ut suo vel in aliquo satisfiat amori, petit osculum, et vel sibi, vel ad familiarem fortassis angelum mente loquens, spiritualibus spiritualia communicans, amorem aperit suum, et amans ab amore sic exorditur, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Quae quia in praefatiunculae modum dicta sunt, caetera sequenti tomo explicabimus, aspirante Domino, qui vivit, et regnat per omnia secula seculorum. Amen.

*Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

Labore jugi, virtutis exercitatione continua, fidelis [1155B] haec anima eousque perducta est, ut summi Regis aspiret ad osculum, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Inde est, quod nequaquam stylo prolabente currimus, sed velut in summis haerentes stamus, sanctae istius animae occulta simul et perfecta intente rimari cupientes, et imitari. Qua in re, illud primum occurrit, quod ipsa sibi cum Apostolo confidentissime gloriari videtur, ut dicat, « Gloria nostra haec est, testimonium conscientiae nostrae [n: (II Cor. I, 12)]. » Nam quae summae divinitatis expetit osculum, novit proculdubio mundum se habere cor, munda se novit habere labia, honestam faciem, et tanti Regis osculo non indignam: ut videatur sibi recte competere quod dictum est, « Despondi enim vos uni viro, virginem castam [1155C] exhibere casto [n: (II Cor. XI, 2)]: » item alibi, « Ut exhiberet sibi Ecclesiam gloriosam, non habentem maculam, neque rugam [n: (Ephes. V, 27)]: » non habet enim haec ex immunditia « maculam; » non ex duplicitate « rugam; » non pravam ex odio proximi conscientiam; non prodeunt ex corde ejus homicidia, non adulteria, non caetera quae opprimere conscientiam, et hominem solent inquinare: omni namque custodia servat ipsa cor suum, attente per Salomonem audiens, « quoniam ex ipso vita procedit. [n: (Prov. IV, 23)]. » Stat ad januas cordis hujus timor Dei providus et sollicitus, ne vitiis undequaque pateat ad ipsius secreta progressus: stant ad propugnacula cordis hujus severa virtutum agmina, quae non ut dudum, adversus peccata jam dimicant; [1155D] sed de Domino Jesu, jam jam de iis habita victoria, gloriantur: quorum jamdiu pugnam quanto acerbiorem expertae sunt, tanto jucundiori gloria jam triumphant. Stat desuper succincta castitas, quae se carnis immunditiam abstinentiae saxo contrivisse gratulatur. Stat vultu placido, castitati comes humilitas, nil altum sapiens; sed elationem mentis alta semper appetentem, Domini virtute reprimens, et foedam capitis ipsius insaniam, ad petram, qui Christus est, fortiter et prudenter effringens. Sic infidelitatem fides, spes desperatam miseriam, invidiam charitas, simplicitas dolum, malitiam innocentia, falsitatem veritas, et singulae quaeque virtutes opposita sibi vitia, velut [1156A] monstruosa cadavera, ad veritatis saxum jam fortiter allisa, despiciunt. Videas hic antiquam illam carnis concupiscentiam, ad extinctae suae sobolis funera lamentantem; oblectamenta varia, et totum quod exquisitissima tentationis arte potest confici, calice Babylonis aureo circumferentem, hoc viribus, hoc arte tota machinantem, si quatenus infrigidata calefieri, et extincta valeant ad antiquum vitae spiritum suscitari. Illudit ejaculanti sacer ille virtutum chorus, sciens manu Domini percussos Aegyptios ad vitam ultra non revocandos: unde spiritualiter exultans, psalmum sumit et tympanum, carmen illud Moysis plena Domino jucunditate decantans, « Cantemus Domino; gloriose enim magnificatus est: equum et ascensorem dejecit in [1156B] mare [n: (Exod. XV, 1)]. » Ascensor malus, malignus quisque spiritus est; equi mali, vitia pessima; quibus insidentes Angeli mali, quo ferantur impetu manifestum est, cum misere tentatas animas in profundum inferi pertrahunt, et tormentis aeternalibus, divina id agente justitia, subjiciunt.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Hos extinctos sibi gloriatur haec anima, et in virtutum medio residens, iis se jam totam credit, harum prorsus se committit obsequiis; huic et humillime virtus omnis obsequitur, praestans unaquaeque quod suum est. Quis jam percurrat stylo, quis prosequatur eloquio, perfectae huic animae quid decoris eximii virtus unaquaeque conferat, quid admirandae gratiae virtus unaquaeque subministret? Quis ipsius decorem ad plenum exprimat? quam et [1156C] continentia castam, et simplicem innocentia, lenem mansuetudo, misericordia piam, providam circumspectio, temperantia sobriam, discretam prudentia, fortem reddit patientia, et per sacros justitiae tramites, cum multa dirigit reverentia charitas jam perfecta? Ab ipso namque sacri timoris initio, statim gressus in humilitate defigens, hinc impudicitiae castra pertransiens, sicque per virtutes reliquas, ut a Spiritu Dei in mente disponuntur, ascendens in vanitates et insanias falsas non ultra respiciens, superiori jam quodam loco totam se credit amori, et ipsius excellentissimae committit plenitudini. Hic seorsum habitans, non potest non meditari quod diligit; nequit non contemplari, [1156D] quod appetit: desuper immissa siti, in fontem illum vivum inardescit, et dulci pane quotidie lachrymarum reficitur; dum sua in longum protrahi desideria dolet, et lachrymis suffusa conqueritur. Hic illud secum frequenter repetit et revolvit, « Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum: Dissolvi cupio, et esse cum Christo [n: (Phil. I, 21, 23)]. » Et illud, « Heu mihi! quod incolatus meus prolongatus est [n: (Psal. CXIX, 5)]. » Sentire quidem cogitur, et in se experiri compellitur, quid sibi desit a summo, ab aeternitate quam procul sit. Absolutus a carne spiritus vidit manifeste quem diligit, fruitur bono quod appetit, sui dilatione desiderii non torquetur, prorsus dolore non tangitur; amor ibi totus in luce est, totus in gaudio conquiescit: [1157A] amoris vero in praesenti vita fatigatio pulchre describitur, cum dicitur, « Risus dolore miscebitur, et novissima gaudii luctus occupat [n: (Prov. XIV, 13)]. »

In hac quidem vita, fidelis animae risus hic est, quod conscientia munda, corde perfecto, amoris integritate plenissima, se novit in alta prosequi Dominum Jesum, et suae mentis osculum in ejus humana simul et divina porrigere: hic vero risus adhuc dolori commistus est, et hoc gaudium luctus occupat; cum, quem corde sequitur, se nondum apprehendere novit; et quod plus omnibus appetit, id sibi differri considerat. Hinc amantis animae dolor, hinc lachrymae, quibus se per noctes lavat, et suae stratum mentis irrigat; ut jam mundata [1157B] mundetur amplius, et quae pulchra fuerat, longe pulchrior enitescat. His confisa virtutibus anima, hujus sibi decoris conscia, post expugnata jamdiu vitia, post adepta virtutum munera, post diu protracta desideria, amore languens, contemplando se sursum erigens, coelum mente pertransiens in doloris solatium, in quoddam jucunditatis optatae praelibamentum, petit osculum, et exorditur hoc modo Canticum, quod dicitur Canticorum, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Videas indignantem fortassis Angelum, et dicentem: Quid actum est? quae rerum tanta ista est et tam nova mutatio? quid summis ima permista sunt? nunquid coelum sursum est frustra porrectum? homini frustra sedes in fimo constituta? nunquid coelum penetrat [1157C] mens humana? nec coeli plagas solum, sed et coelorum intima, suis jam nequaquam finibus contenta, percurrit? Quod si sibi quoquo modo permissum est, quid hoc est, ut in istud extollat se mens humana fastigium, et potentiae creatricis, verbo cuncta operantis sapientiae, nulli subjectae necessitudini benignitatis, summae, scilicet, et inaccessae divinitatis expetat osculum, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui? » Nunquid Angelus, aut Archangelus, aut de Virtutum numero, de Cherubin, vel Seraphin quicunque spiritus, sic unquam secum tacite vel mente locutus est, ut ejus, cui trementes assistimus, cujus a tot seculis obediendo legationibus deservimus, osculum [1157D] vel peteret unquam, vel speraret? Incarnato quidem Verbo, et in terris humana sua percurrente Domino Jesu, magnum diximus [cn: 4 | Forte *duximus*.], et in oculis nostris hoc mirabile reputavimus, ad pedes ejus admitti mulierculam, quae ipsis infigeret osculum, quos tamen et capillis ante terserat, et suarum abluerat unda lachrymarum [n: (Luc. VII, 38)]. Transfigurante se in monte Domino, et divina sua, quae et semper habuerat, humanis oculis revelante, nunquid amans ille Petrus, aut Joannes charissimus, ipsius osculum majestatis expetere praesumpserunt, qui vocem a magnifica delapsam gloria non ferentes, in terram proni corruerunt [1158A] [n: (Matth. XVII, 2)]. Hinc quoque raptus Apostolus [n: (II Cor. XII, 4)], cui credita sunt arcana coeli, et sancta illa silentii verba revelata, nunquid inter nos alta sapiens in coelum sic posuit os suum, ut seipsum non metiens, humana sua non considerans, summae divinitatis aspiraret ad osculum?

Ascendens quoque in montem Moyses [n: (Exod. XIX)], intra nubem latitans, ad tubae sonitum contremiscens, nunquid hujus osculi se praesentat deliciis, qui carnalem tantum illam et cito abolendam legem, non jam cordibus hominum, sed lapideis tantum supplicat tabulis exarari? Cum, juxta Veritatem, « Nemo inter natos mulierum Joanne Baptista major sit [n: (Matth. XI, 11)], » et cum, juxta eamdem, « Qui in regno coelorum minor est, ipso longe sit major [1158B] [n: (ibid.)]; » humanae satis esse poterat animae, angelus ipsam osculo si vel minimus excepisset. Hujus fortasse zelum, non ex ira vel malitia prodeuntem, virtus aliqua superna temperat, severe judicanti respondens, Non indignandum fore mortalibus, si laqueos optent mortis evadere, et libertatem gloriae filiorum Dei, toto studeant conamine mentis apprehendere. Mortalium namque valde misera conditio est; in mundi medio constituti, infernum subtus, coelum sursum contemplantur; et homini descendere non solum leve est, verum et non cadere difficillimum: ad hoc suo pondere caro prona est, tentationes urgent, maligni spiritus peccatorum funibus pertrahunt, saluti semper humanae, sicut et nostrae jamdiu gloriae, invidentes. Ut vero descensus [1158C] facilis, sic est ascensus ad superna difficilis: in hoc hominum vita est, in hoc pugna animarum, in hoc fervent studia sancte in mundo conversantium, ut peccatorum laqueos evadentes, in nostram se transferant libertatem, et se nobis vitae puritate conforment, summaeque divinitatis amore consocient. De lacu namque miseriae, et de luto faecis egressae, vana mundi deserentes, immo mente calcantes animae, quam pie suscipiendae sunt, quanta a nobis charitate fovendae, ne unquam degenerando respiciant; sed amorem suum in Patrem luminum indesinenter accendant, quousque beatis dona repromissa percipiant? In sanctis itaque constituta desideriis anima, terrena respuens, coelestia nondum [1158D] apprehendens, in amoris sui quoddam velut incentivum, suorum permittatur schematibus uti verborum; praesertim cum osculum, aut amplexus, aut cubile, aut aliquid tale nominans, nil carnale cogitet, nil praesumat indignum, nil meditetur omnino nisi quod sanctum est: [n: (Nam totum quod in osculo misera peccat, et carnalis affectio, ab ejus mente tam longe est, quam ipsa procul a vitio, virtute purificata, secessit.)] Est enim et sanctum osculum, sicut meminit Apostolus, dicens: « Salutate invicem in osculo sancto [n: (Rom. XVI, 16)]. » Et, juxta Veritatem, occurrens Pater revertenti filio, « Misericordia motus, et accurrens cecidit super [1159A] collum ejus et osculatus est eum [n: (Luc. XV, 20)]. » His itaque, quae zelus moverat in Supernis, agente modestia, consopitis, in tractatum sequentem, quae inspirante Domino, sunt dicenda, differemus.

*Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

Ut tomo superiore jam dictum est, est quoddam foedae voluptatis osculum, cujus vel reminisci dedignatur animus in superna jam levatus: Sed est osculum sanctum, cujus meminit Apostolus dicens, « Salutate invicem in osculo sancto, » et veritas in Evangelio, « misericordia motus Pater cecidit super collum filii sui, et osculatus est eum. » Osculum itaque, quoddam reconciliationis est, quoddam congratulationis est, quoddam jucunditatis, et permissae cujusdam et sanctificatae voluptatis. Reconciliationis [1159B] est osculum, cum ante discordes animi in pacem et amicitiae gratiam aliquo mediante revocantur, et confoederationis et conjunctionis animorum, quae fit intrinsecus, signum est osculum quod extrinsecus exhibetur. Osculum vero congratulationis est, cum absentes jamdiu propinquos, et amicos a peregrinatione vel aliunde reversos, ad nos congratulando suscipimus, et interioris gaudii nostri certitudinem, ipso quod foris damus osculo demonstramus. Sponsi vero ad sponsam sanctificatae cujusdam voluptatis est osculum. Est itaque triplex osculum, in quod suspirat ecclesia, et quod sibi dari fidelis anima quaeque desiderat: optat enim ecclesia sancta reconciliationem, optat congratulationem, [1159C] optat et sanctam illam, quae est sine fine futura, jucunditatem. Nondum enim incarnato Verbo, non erat ecclesiae pax ad Deum, quae post hujus elapsum vitae, tota trahebatur in infernum.

Homo namque se totum, in stirpe, scilicet, et propagine, obnoxium aeternae morti constituit, cum authori suo, a quo tot et tanta recenter acceperat, illi (inquam) non volenti solum, et jubenti, sed et minas intentanti, in re minima obedire contempsit. Nam etsi amoris experimentum magnum non sit, si in modico quis obediat; magnum tamen irreverentis animi signum est, summique contemptus indicium, siquis in re modica obedire contemnat: nam juxta Veritatem, « Qui modico fidelis non est, quomodo [1159D] erit fidelis in magno? » [n: (Luc. XVI, 10.)] Quo itaque minus fuit in quo obedire contempsit homo, eo peccatum majus est quod incurrit, et supplicium majus est quod meruit. Nam qui in Judicem offendit aeternum, proculdubio quod meruit in aeternum fuit; nam sine fine poenam irrogat potestas illa judiciaria, quae fine caret: et ut homo de manu Domini bonum sine fine meruit, cum a veritate recessit. Nam ut bonus angelus, primum lux, et postea firmamentum fuit, cum ipsi qui ad Aquilonem sedem cupiebat ponere non consensit [n: (Isa. XIV, 13)]: sic et homo, si tentationi restitisset, hoc ipso contra tentationem et peccatum confirmari meruisset, ut deinceps nec peccare, nec tentari potuisset; sed statuto sibi dierum numero hic innocenter [1160A] exacto, gustato ligno vitae, ad aequalitatem angelorum, ipso qui creaverat et in hoc potenter operante, pervenisset. Sicut igitur aeternum foret obedientiae praemium: sic aequa lance justitiae, supplicium inobedientiae debebatur aeternum; cui post peccatum homo totus obnoxius, ruebat totus in infernum.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Hinc enim propheta ait, « Misericordia et veritas obviaverunt sibi [n: (Psal. LXXXIV, 11)], » quod idem est, ac si dicatur, misericordia et justitia sibi contra se venire coeperunt; nam qui sibi sunt obvii, ex adverso veniunt, et velut in opposita tendunt; sic misericordia et veritas, statim post peccatum, tendere in diversa coeperunt; ad poenas hominem veritas exigebat, de cujus reparatione misericordia [1160B] melius aliquid disponebat. Et fuit haec mirabilis obviatio, justitia hominem ad inferna trahente, illa hominem ad amissa reducere cupiente. Sed invalescente justitia, in poenas homo datus est, miserias, et aerumnas, et mortem gustans in seculo, corruptionem in sepulchro, et post omnia, tenebras in inferno. Cumque magna jam parte satisfactum esset justitiae, punita jamdiu culpa, post annorum multa curricula, pulsanti semper et instanti, plurimum misericordiae tandem locus datus est in excelsis, in ipsius sanctae et summae Trinitatis abditis et occultis; ubi tam mirabiliter, quam pie dispositum est, ut in quo creaverat universa Pater, in ipso perdita restauraret. Hoc consilium [1160C] illud antequam est, de quo propheta ait, « Consilium tuum, Domine, antiquum verum fiat. » Hoc est quod « a seculis absconditum [n: (Col. I, 26)], » vocat Paulus, « sacramentum. » Obedivit itaque Patri Filius, tam quidem mirabilius, tamque sacratius, quam non seniori junior, non majori minor, sed omnipotenti, magno, magnus, immensus, omnipotens, aequalis in omnibus, obedivit; sicut in propheta dictum est, « In capite libri scriptum est de me, ut facerem voluntatem tuam [n: (Psal. XXXIX, 9)]. » Magnus quippe liber est scientiae et sapientiae Dei, in quo cum semper legeris, nullus ejus unquam finis occurrit: interiores ejus paginas solus ejus scriptor inspexit. In hoc et homines, et angeli sine fine proficiunt; et thesaurus ille Dei, quotcunque [1160D] semper haurientibus, nunquam exhauriri poterit: a fine usque ad finem ejus sapientia sola et summa pertingit. In hoc omnes scribuntur homines, et dies formantur, meritaque singulorum comprehensa sunt, et unicuique beatitudo debita expressa continetur.

In hujus libri capite quasi parte praecipua, scriptum est Incarnationis hoc sacramentum, eo quod in cunctis quae mirabiliter operatus est Deus, creando singula, creata conservando, et quae conservat lege mirabili disponendo, nil adeo stupendum est aut mirabile, quam quod seipsum exinanitione sua, ad misericordiae jubentis imperium, affecta videtur injuria. Sed « opera Domini magna sunt, exquisita in omnes voluntates [1161A] ejus [n: (Psal. CX, 2)], et ipsius vera sunt judicia, in semetipsis justificata [n: (Psal. XVIII, 10)]. » Ascendens itaque crucem Deus, et ad clavos manus innocentes expandens, ut locum mortis consecravit ad vitam, sic qui tenebantur in morte revocavit ad vitam. Ejus enim de cruce stillante sanguine petrae fissae sunt, ut corporalis pateret aditus, quo precium illud sacratissimum, angelicis exceptum manibus, perferretur ad inferos; ut ligni vitae fructu communicato, in libertatem vitae recurrerent, qui sub hujus gratiae fide simul et expectatione tenebantur in inferno. Quid ergo est, in quo jam justitia conqueratur? In paradiso lignum positum est, « bonum ad vescendum, pulchrum oculis, aspectuque delectabile; et tulit mulier de fructu illius, et comedit; deditque viro [1161B] suo, qui comedit [n: (Gen. III, 6)]: » et inobedientia sic consummata, ad mortem via parata est: in Ecclesia quoque lignum crucis erectum est, cujus et aspectus horribilis fuit, et gustus amarissimus; fructus ejus erat temporalis illa mors, qua plectebantur rei, qui ob reatus varios addicebantur cruci: ad lignum hoc extendit manus aeterna illa sapientia, et gustavit fructum hunc, non hoc suggerente serpente, aut muliere suadente. Olim quidem serpens hoc fecerat, ut mulier concupiscendo quod non debuit, velut caro, delectaretur; vir in hoc ipsum, quasi sensus rationalis, acquiesceret, sicque viam sibi paraverat, qua immortalium corda illaberetur, et ad se traheret universa: sed [1161C] evacuatur ad crucem totum quod ejus est; serpens Christo nil suggerit; non delectatur hic caro; sensus ipse rationalis in spiritu carnem trahit post se, ad sustinenda dura crucis, et mortis amara degustanda. Virtus igitur in cruce residet; et ipsam eo ascendente qui Dei virtus est et sapientia, in ipsa et virtus et sapientia collocatur. Haec viam virtutis aperit; quae licet arcta sit, tamen ducit ad vitam. Lignum itaque paradisi fructum protulit, quo posset et suggestio suscipi, et concupiscentia a quibusdam quasi blanditiis excitari: crux in Ecclesiae jam sinu posita, fructum utique repraesentat, quem si mente gustaveris, nec intus hoste suggerente, nec carne tibi blandiente, succumbis; verum hostis prima sua congressione vincitur, et ad serviendum spiritui [1161D] caro statim revocatur, et in consummatae virtutis amorem totus homo reducitur. Hic itaque locus est, in quo justitiam misericordia, quae vera pax est, osculatur; hic namque simul utrique satisfactum est, cum et homo, misericordia sic agente, redimitur, et justitiae longe plus quam debebatur exsolvitur; et juxta apostolum, « Quod adversum nos scriptum erat chirographum cruci Christi potenter affigitur, et deletur [n: (Col. II, 14)]. » Chirographum namque sic conscribitur, ut postquam incisum et per partes divisum est, in utraque ipsius parte plena rei gestae memoria teneatur. Haec nostra est cum hoste maligno conditio: nam cum delinquimus, [1162A] culpa penes nos est, ipso stylo perversi operis graviter exarata, quae et hostis antiqui memoria statim excipitur, et firme retinetur impressa; ut si non sit qui redimat, nec qui salvum faciat, praesto sit ei semper quod objiciat: quod quidem chirographum, Christi morte deletum est; per quam et nobis culpa remittitur, et ipsius in nos accusatio jam non timetur.

Sed quid istud est, cum ad poenam homo teneretur aeternam, filius vero Dei mortem tantum temporalem horis quadraginta pertulerit? quomodo justitiae divinae, aeternas ab homine poenas exigenti, in ipsius morte satisfactum est? Sed proculdio satisfactum. Appendantur enim in statera mors ipsa filii Dei, si placet, etiam momentanea, et omnium hominum [1162B] quantumcunque debita mors aeterna; cui dubium est, quin praeponderet ipsa mors unigeniti, licet temporalis, morti, licet aeternae, quorumcunque mortalium? Merito quippe majus est, et natura mirabilius, Deum mori, nulli peccato vel morti obnoxium, quam mori multitudinem quantumcunque mortalium et peccatorum. Inde namque beatus Job, « Utinam appenderentur peccata mea quibus iram merui, et calamitas quam patior, in statera *(Job VI, 2)*. » Job quod est, « dolens, » designare Dominum Jesum, nulli jam dubium est: hic causam nostram ad Patrem agens, velut in cruce positus, ait, « Utinam appenderentur peccata mea; » nostra quidem peccata, quibus iram meruimus, in unitate [1162C] et sacramento corporis et capitis, sua nominans, atque dicens: Utinam attendas, Pater, peccata, quibus iram meruit homo, et calamitatem, id est, poenam quam in cruce patior ego, ad obedientiam tuam factus homo. Nam si utraque consideras (ut vere consideras) poena mea, quasi arena maris, gravior apparebit, id est, poena mea cum obedientia, longe peccatis hominum praeponderabit; et tibi, in expiationem culpae ejus, et praestationem poenae ab ipso debitae, satis erit. Ecclesia itaque sancta, spiritu quo illustrabatur intelligens reconciliationem hanc, per manum mediatoris Domini Jesu dandam esse, inter soliloquia quibus ipsam fovebat spiritus, et accendebat amorem sanctum, intra moras jamdiu continuatae spei, istud amoris Canticum in electorum [1162D] cordibus crebris iterabat suspiriis, ut diceret, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » In osculante vero patrem, a quo filius in hanc gratiam mittebatur, intelligens; ore vero ipso, quod ad osculum de more porrigitur, Filium qui mittebatur, qui os patris est et sapientia, designans; ipso vero osculo, quod osculantium est grata suavitas, Spiritum Sanctum, qui est amborum amor, exprimens; sanctae summaeque Trinitatis fidem, futuram quoque Verbi incarnationem, et per incarnati Verbi sacramenta, plenam hominis cum Deo reconciliationem, tam verissime, quam devotissime profitebatur. Nam quid hac supplicatione sancta devotius? Quid oratione purius [1163A] esse potest? In ipsis statim docetur initiis, qualiter orandum sit, quatenus Altissimo supplicandum: nam « sine fide Deo placere impossibile est [n: (Heb. XI, 6)]; » et quae sine fide est oratio, exaudire non potest. Unde Jacobus ait, « Postulet autem unusquisque in fide, nihil haesitans [n: (Jac. I, 6)]: » orationi namque ad penetrale majestatis excelsae primum fides pandit introitum. Unde quae exaudiri desiderat, a fidei Sacramentis exorditur, ut dicat, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui; » acsi dicat, Quod exaudiri desidero, in hac fide ad postulandum assisto; in ipsa deitatis substantia confiteor unitatem, in ipsa personarum confiteor et adoro Trinitatem. Unitatis est confessio, quod dictum est, « Osculetur; » Trinitatis vero quod et osculans, et os, et osculum [1163B] nominatur. osculans, ipse Pater est: quod ad osculandum porrigitur os ipsum, Filius est: et quod osculantis ore perficitur osculum, Spiritus Sanctus est. Quae quidem veritas, Trinitatis substantiam ipsam nec dissipat, nec distrahit Unitatis. Ipse quidem osculans, nec os suum est quo osculatur, nec ipsum osculum quod ore suo ministratur. Sic et os ipsum, nec est ipse osculans, nec ipsum osculum quod datur. Ipsum quoque osculum, nec est ipse osculans, nec os ipsum a quo est. Absit tamen ut cum osculum dari ab aliquo conspicimus, tres ideo substantias intelligamus: una enim substantia osculantis est; et tam os ipsum, quam osculum, non in alia quidem, sed in ipsa solummodo osculantis substantia est. Sic [1163C] Pater, et Filius, et Spiritus sanctus, cum tres verissime sint Personae, quarum nulla est altera, veritas ista Trinitatis, nihil adimit unitati, aut simplicitati substantiae Dei; sicut nec ipsa simplicitas addit quicquam, vel minuit Personarum Trinitati. Quod vero non satis est in Deo divina credere, nisi et ipsius humilia verissime credantur, exquisitissimo verbo utitur, dicens, « Osculum; » per hoc et incarnandum Verbum, et quae futura erat reconciliationis humanae plenissime designans sacramentum. Quae cum sic dicta sint, in tractatum sequentem, juvante Domino, et spiritum innovemus, et stylum.

*Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

[1163D]Attendimus non unumquempiam justum ab Adamo usque ad Christum; sed omnes in orbe terrarum longe lateque, in quos se gratia Spiritus sancti diffuderat, intellexisse, de semine Adam unum quandoque nasciturum, qui de admisso unius pro omnibus membris suis ipsam quandoque destrueret, et regno tradito Patri, homines Angelis adaequaret. Haec itaque fides, et in spiritu revelatio, Sanctorum inflammabat desideria, et in futura mentes secula protrahebat, ut et hujus vitae moram longam reputarent, qua tanta differebatur expectatio; brevemque quasi priusquam corporalibus hoc intuerentur oculis, finiendam. Hos igitur omnes, quos una regebat fides, et provocabat spes, totam scilicet, pie credentium multitudinem, Salomon (in [1164A] quo sedem sibi sapientia constituerat) ipsa qua illustrabatur luce considerans, ipsam, velut Sponsam, in promissi sibi jamdiu Sponsi desideria positam, sui verba desiderii depromentem inducit hoc modo, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Trina vero repetitione, qua dicitur, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui, » triplex osculum notat, quod se optare demonstrat: primum reconciliationis, ut dictum est: alterum, congratulationis: tertium, illud aeternae jucunditatis. Reconciliationem vero optabat Ecclesia, quae se totam in Adam peccasse cognoverat: et hoc, quia non per alium quam per Unigenitum Patris ipsum, videlicet, Sponsum suum, posse fieri cognoscebat. Optat ut ipsam osculetur Pater, quod est, ut ipsi remittat iram osculo oris, id est incarnatione [1164B] Unigeniti sui, qui et os et Verbum est Patris. Unde et expresse dictum est, osculans Pater; sed osculo Filii; quia cum salvet Pater non sua quidem, sed ipsa Filii sui salvat incarnatione, quos salvat. Quam tamen incarnationem, quia vere operatus est et Pater (cum inseparabilis sit totius operatio Trinitatis) ideo recte, cum osculum oris sit, « osculari » inde dicitur Pater, id est ipsam carnis assumptionem quam non habet in se, hanc tamen in Filio operari.

His itaque de reconciliationis osculo dictis, ad investigandum id quod congratulationis osculum dicitur, juvante Domino, accedamus. Hoc enim et usus habet, et scriptura saepe commemorat. Ait [1164C] enim Isaac filio suo, « Accede ad me, et da mihi osculum, fili mi; et accessit, et osculatus est eum [n: (Gen. XXVII, 26, 27)]. » Legitur etiam de Jacob, quia cum vidisset Leam, et cognovisset eam consobrinam suam esse, « amovit lapidem quo puteus claudebatur, et adaquato grege osculatus est eam, et elevata voce flevit [n: (Gen. XXIX, 10, 11)]. » Laban etiam, « cum audisset venisse Jacob, cucurrit obviam ei, complexusque, et in oscula ruens, duxit in domum suam [n: (ibid., 13)]. » Reverso etiam Jacob de Mesopotamia Syriae, post longam illam peregrinationem legitur, quia « currens Esau obviam fratri suo, amplexatus est eum, stringensque collum ejus, et osculans, flevit [n: (Gen. XXXIII, 4)], » Joseph quoque, « cum amplexatus recidisset in collum [1164D] Benjamin fratris sui, flevit, et osculatus est omnes fratres suos, et ploravit super singulos [n: (Gen. XLV, 14, 15)]. » Prodigum quoque filium, « cum adhuc longe esset, vidit pater ipsius, et misericordia motus est, et accurrens cecidit super collum ejus, et osculatus est eum [n: (Luc. XV, 20)]. » Quibus nimirum omnibus congratulationis intelligitur osculum, quo suorum parentes et propinqui congratulabantur successibus, et intrinsecus applaudebant; gaudium quod fovebant intrinsecus, foris osculo demonstrantes. Hoc vero congratulationis osculum dari sibi sperat et expectat Ecclesia: quod erit die illa novissima, cum vitae merita collocabuntur, et reddet unicuique Dominus Jesus, prout gessit in vita, sive bona, sive mala. Ove namque perdita boni pastoris [1165A] humeris tunc ad caulas reportata, convocabuntur amici ejus et vicini, sancti nimirum angeli, qui voluntatem ejus apud se continua stabilitate custodiunt, et ob hoc amici sunt; quique ipsius visione assidue perfruuntur, et ob hoc, vicini recte nominantur; quibus dicet, « Congratulamini mihi, quia inveni ovem meam quae perierat [n: (Luc. XV, 6)]. » quod et de drachma perdita pari modo dicturus est.

Haec erit congratulatio summa, cum pastori bono, non solum coelestis illa beatorum spirituum applaudet Ecclesia, sed et quae humeris humanitatis ejus reportata erit, de sua restauratione gratulanti sponso, gratulanti etiam virtutum supernarum multitudini, congratulabitur. Implebitur ipsa die, [1165B] quod in historia continetur, manifestans enim se fratribus suis Joseph, « praecepit ut egrederentur cuncti foras, et nullus interesset alienus agnitioni mutuae. Elevavitque vocem cum fletu, et dixit fratribus suis, Ego sum Joseph; et osculatus est eos [n: (Gen. XLV, 1)]. » Alieni erunt ipsa die quibus dicturus est Dominus, « Discedite a me maledicti in ignem aeternum, qui paratus est diabolo et Angelis ejus [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]. » Quibus ea die separatis, manifestabit se Dominus Jesus fratribus suis, dicens, « Ego sum Joseph; » ac si patenter dicat, Ad memoriam revocetis quomodo venditus, et in mortis carcere positus, inde resurgendo prodierim; et jam manifeste cernite quod et sceptra regni habeam, et [1165C] judiciariae potestatis culmen in omnem creaturam a Patre sic donatus obtineam. Hic Sponsae Sponsus, et Sponso Sponsa congratulabitur; et indivisibilis animorum conjunctio perpetua confoederatione solidabitur. Sponso sponsa congratulabitur, quod post infirma carnis, post carcerem, post flagella, post alapas, post sputa, post clavos, post mortem, post sepulchrum, post lapidem magnum admotum, in tantum sublimatus sit, ut in carne assumpta judicet omnem carnem, et omne genu coelestium, terrestrium, et infernorum sibi flectat ad gloriam: ad Sponsam vero congratulatio Sponsi erit, quod in incertum non cucurrerit, in vanum nequaquam pugnaverit; quod triumphata morte, sub pedibus suis conculcato Satan, Ecclesiam sibi, quanto laboriosius, [1165D] tanto et gloriosius, acquisierit; et acquisitam indicibili jam gloria muneraverit, cujus quidem bonus illa die et universis applaudet, et singulis. Quid enim est illa Domini gratiarum actio, qua dicturus est illa die, « Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare [n: (Matth. XXV, 35)], » et caetera in hunc modum, nisi quaedam Judicis ipsius, et Sponsi ad illa interna bona Sponsae suae congratulatio? Sex quippe commatibus distincta est, ipsa numeri perfectio totam bonorum omnium designans plenitudinem; qua in praesenti vita Domino complacet quaeque fidelis anima; qua etiam Sponso suo tota se conformat Ecclesia. Misericordia quippe sunt opera, ut pascatur pauper, et potetur, et vestiatur nudus, et hospes tecto suscipiatur, infirmus visitetur, et [1166A] clausus. Sed nunquid in iis solum beneplacitum est Deo? Nunquid non sibi virtus complacet unaquaeque? Quid enim sancta illa virginitas? quid castitas honoranda? quid Sanctorum parcimonia? quid silentium? quid praedicatio sancta? quid justitia, fortitudo, temperantia, ac prudentia? quid virtutes innumerae, quarum in Scripturis sanctis laus est, quibus in acquirendis sibi continuus et assiduus Sanctorum labor insudat? Quod si in iis Domino beneplacitum, quid est quod in judicio, cum bonis Ecclesiae congratulabitur, haec sola commemorabit Dominus quae corporaliter exhibita? Bona quidem sunt, sed non sola.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Constat itaque, jam dicta verborum clausula omnes animae dotes, Ecclesiae bona generaliter omnia [1166B] comprehendi. Esurit enim Dominus, et sitit: quod tamen dicendo, nulli sanctam Divinitatem subjicimus passioni; ipsius enim Divinitatis summae vita impassibilis est; quantumque vita temporalis passioni subjecta est et obnoxia, tantum vita illa aeterna et increata ab omni prorsus est passione procul et extranea. Ex more tamen Scripturarum esurire dicitur, et sitire; nec uno tantum modo, sed pluribus. Esurit enim Dominus in membris suis, esurit in se. In membris esurit, cum quis suorum corporalis aut spiritualis victus necessitate adducitur: cui nimirum passioni charitas diversis operibus misericordiae subvenit, attenuatum cibo potuque reficiens, spirituali desiderantem spiritualibus [1166C] instruens et aedificans: nam ut fami sitique corporali subvenire pium est; ita et spiritualis victus egestati subvenire piissimum: nam ut veritatis judicio praecellit anima corpori; sic longe melius, longe sanctius est, ipsi quam corpori subvenire. Utrumque tamen bonum, utrumque Domino in gratiarum etiam actionem beneplacitum. Similis est et circa nuditatem inspectio. Alget corpore Dominus, alget et spiritu: corpore, cum frigoris inclementia nullo vestis operimento repellitur; spiritu, cum quis interius nullo virtutis indumento vestitur. Hoc frigus ab Aquilone est, quo corda multorum non infrigidantur solum, sed indurantur [n: (Job XXXVII, 9; Eccli. XLIII, 22)]; de quo propheta, « Ante faciem frigoris ejus quis sustinebit? » *(Psal. CXLVII, [1166D] 17.)* Hanc Christi nuditatem in ejus membris operit, qui destitutum virtute virtutum exemplis informat et instruit. Cui congratulans Dominus in fine dicturus est, « Nudus fui, et operuistis me. » Quonam vero modo peregrinus et hospes in membris suis sit Dominus, palam est; in se vero peregrinus et hospes est apud eos, qui nondum fidem quae in ipsum est, susceperunt: qualibus et ipse ait, « Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos: Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet [n: (Matth. VIII, 30)]; » quia tenebrosa peccantium corda immundi spiritus et fraudulenti possidentes inhabitant; « Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput suum reclinet. » Caput enim Ecclesiae est Christus; et caput Christi, Deus; et apud hos [1167A] reclinat caput Filius hominis, qui ipsum aequalem Patri, coaeternum, et consubstantialem confitentur: quibus Filius ipse, nec recens Deus est, nec alienus (ipsis quippe recens est, qui ipsum aliquando incepisse, et non ab aeterno a Patre genitum esse, protestantur: ipsis vero alienus, qui ipsum non idem in substantia esse cum Patre affirmare conantur). Apud hos hospes est et peregrinus; quibus omnibus per prophetam dicitur, « Muta fiant labia dolosa, quae loquuntur adversus justum iniquitatem, in superbia, et in abusione [n: (Psal. XXX, 19)]. » Apud hos hospes est et peregrinus, pulsans per prophetas, per apostolos, per Scripturas omnes, ut ipsi aperiant; quibus Dominus illa die dicturus est, « Hospes fui, et non collegistis me *(Matth. XXV, [1167B] 43)*, » quia fidem quae in me est, quam praedico, in quam missus sum, non admisistis. Unde datur intelligi, qui sint, qui suscipiant hospitio salvatorem; hi, nimirum qui dogma sanae fidei condigna veneratione suscipiunt, haeresin penitus exsecrantes, et ut columbae simplices, munda tantum grana fidei colligentes; quibus quippe non satis est per fidem tantum salvatorem tecto suscipere, nisi et hunc suscipiant omnimoda charitate et virtute Ipse namque ait, « Ecce, ego sto ad ostium pulsans; si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo, et ipse mecum [n: (Apoc. III, 20)]. » Intrat ad nos Dominus, cum ipsi cordis januam ad credendum aperimus: communi coena reficimur, cum desuper amore concepto, ad [1167C] opus omne bonum, dono gratiae spiritualis extendimur [cn: 6 | Forte *accendimur*.]. Infirmos vero visitare, tam fraterna caritas, quam divina monet auctoritas. Nam quid humanitati plus congruit, quam ut homo homini, frater fratri, validus imbecilli, tum verbi solatio, tum subsidio operis, affectione pia, plenaque mentis compassione subveniat? Quod non solum corporaliter infirmanti [cn: 7 | Forte *infirmat*.], sed aegrotanti spiritualiter exhibendum est. Languor enim spiritus in multis adeo convalescit [cn: 8 | Forte *invalescit*.], ut jam in iis nec confessionis sit vox, nec sensus poenitentis. De iis ait Apostolus, « Quis infirmatur, et ego non infirmor? Quis scandalizatur, et ego non uror? » [n: (II Cor. XI, 29.)] Hi crebro visitandi sunt, et vitae verbo commonendi [1167D] quousque septies oscitando, os suum in confessionem dono septiformis Spiritus aperiant, et ipsis vitae doctoribus, non tantum intus incalescendo, sed et exterioris hominis sui plena dispositione, conformentur. Hinc enim est, quod cum Elias suscitavit mortuum [n: (III Reg. XVII, 21)], expandit se super illum: et Elisaeus dum mortuum suscitavit, « Os suum ori ejus, et oculos oculis, et manus manibus applicat [n: (IV Reg. IV, 34)]. » Ut, sicut ait Apostolus, membra sui corporis omnia quae ante « vasa iniquitatis ad iniquitatem fuerant, » hi qui suscitantur a morte, doctores sanctos imitando, virtuti jam servire compellant De iis ipsa Veritas ait, [1168A] « Non est opus sanis medicus, sed male habentibus [n: (Matth. IX, 12)]. » Horum quidem levioribus morbis, alii gravioribus et diutinis fatigantur. Hi itaque quos peccati vetustas opprimit, quasi quidam animarum carcer includit; quorum assumens in se personam propheta, ait, « Educ de carcere animam meam [n: (Psal. CXLI, 8)]; » et illud, « Infixus sum in limo profundi [n: (Psal. LXVIII, 13)]; » et item, « Funes peccatorum circumplexi sunt me [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 61)]: » quos in lenitatis spiritu visitare, verbo vitae compungere, et abstractos a vitiis virtuti restituere, misericordia longe major est, quam clausos corpore, vinculis pie relaxatis, educere.

Cum sint itaque mandata duo, unum ad dilectionem [1168B] Dei, alterum ad dilectionem proximi pertinens, ex quibus tota lex pendet et prophetae, vitaeque constat humanae perfectio; superius jam dicta clausula totum in se complectitur, quo mandatum utrumque completur. Per haec enim quae Divinitatis intuitu proximis exhibentur, intelligenda sunt omnia, per quae ipsorum cuicunque necessitati subvenimus, spirituali, sive corporali: in passionibus enim, fame, siti, nuditate, penuria tecti, morbo, vinculis, nihil acerbius est: unde per haec, quae fratrem quemlibet angunt vehementius et affligunt, intelligenda prorsus sunt omnia, quibus agente misericordia, divinitatis intuitu, qualibet id exigenti necessitate corporali seu spirituali, subvenimus. In membris enim suis, duobus modis, ut [1168C] dictum est, esurit, et sitit, et alget Dominus, nunc remedium corporale, nunc spirituale desiderans; uno vero modo in se: non enim a nobis hoc solum exigit, ut fratribus necessaria impendamus; vult ut nostra fides et charitas in ipsum principaliter intendatur, et in proximum ab ipso secundario derivetur. Quae itaque spectant ad proximum, haec in membris suis esurit, sitit Dominus, et expostulat: quae vero non ad proximum sunt, sed ob Christi reverentiam observantur, haec ea sunt quae Dominus in seipso esurire dicitur, et sitire, quod ipsi hoc idem est, quod et velle. « Veniens autem Dominus ad ficulneam, esurivit [n: (Matth. XXI, 18)]; » et pendens in cruce, dixit, « Sitio [n: (Joan. XIX, 28)]. » Quid [1168D] esurivit, aut sitiit? nostram proculdubio salutem, nostram fidem, et quae in ipsum est, charitatem, longanimitatem, et continentiam, et virtutes alias, quae licet non intendant in proximum observantur ob Deum: virtutes enim quae in proximum sunt, tam in se, quam in membris suis esurit; has vero quae ad se, in seipso.

Constat itaque jam dicta verborum clausula omnes animae dotes, Ecclesiae bona generaliter omnia, comprehendi. Et hoc congratulationis est osculum in quod suspirat Ecclesia, quod in Spiritu postulat omnis anima, dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Sic ad Patrem loquens, os ejus, juxta hunc [1169A] sensum. Filium nominans et tam ipsius Patris quam Filii osculum, Spiritum sanctum intelligens. Ait enim, « Osculetur me » Pater, id est me dignam osculo, ipse qui creavit, efficiat; et hoc, « Osculo oris sui, » id est per Spiritum sanctum Filii sui, qui os ejus est. Ipse enim Spiritus osculum est quod dat Pater, osculum quod dat Filius; quia vapor est, et procedens ab utroque suavitas: qui sicut ab utroque procedit, sic et Pater ipsum et Filius in beatorum corda diffundit. De ipso enim ait Dominus, « Mittam vobis Spiritum [n: (Joan. XV, 26)]: » et alibi, « Spiritum quem mittit Pater in nomine meo [n: (Joan. XIV, 26)]. » Petit ergo a Patre, per Filium sibi Spiritum dari; ut de ipso gratiarum dona percipiens, in novum quemdam decorem transeat, [1169B] ut in illa die, a Patre per Filium vocem congratulationis audiat, et osculum congratulationis accipiat. Vox enim congratulationis est, qua Dominus illa die dicturus est, « Euge serve bone [n: (Matth. XV, 6)]; » et illa ad Virtutes coelestes, « Congratulamini mihi de ove perdita. Congratulamini de drachma inventa [n: (Luc. XV, 6)]; » ac si dicat, Quis sit, vel quantus Ecclesiae decor, attendite; quot gratiarum donis, quanta virtutum gloria fulgeat, intelligite; quod pro tali ac pro tanta laboraverim, una mecum congaudete. Quae (quaeso) futura est ad vocem hanc toti Ecclesiae pax? quae animarum sanctarum futura est in mente tranquillitas? cum ad hanc Sponsi congratulationem, de sua jam gloria secura, [1169C] non erit amplius quod timeat, quod de caetero perhorrescat. Et haec quidem pax est ista securitas in quam suspirat Ecclesia, ut die illa, qua tremebunt angeli, pertimescent archangeli, Sponsum sibi placatum habeat, et per ejus Spiritum sanctificata, in virtutum sibi decore complaceat; et per osculum Filii, qui Spiritus sanctus est, a Sponso pacem, congratulationem, et dona repromissa percipiat: cujus nos participes efficiat Dominus Jesus, qui est in secula. Amen.

*Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Reconciliationis igitur et congratulationis osculo demonstrato, superest ut voluptatis osculum, juvante Domino, prosequamur. Quod ne delicatis auribus [1169D] molestum forte sit, si in tractandis spiritualibus corporalis cujusdam voluptatis reminiscimur, illud prae oculis habeant, quod epithalamium Sponsi et Sponsae est quod agitur, nuptiale carnem est quod tractatur: nec mirum si in nuptiis, in rerum Sacramento spiritualium, istius osculi fiat mentio; cum ipsa Sponsi et Sponsae carnalis etiam commistio, in Scripturis Sanctis non modicum in spiritualibus explicet Sacramentum. Carnalis enim ista commistio, conjunctionis ejus quae est in Domino Jesu, carnis, scilicet, et verbi, Sacramentum est: Sic et osculum istud Sponsi et Sponsae, jucunditatis ejus quae post tremendum illud judicium, et [1170A] Sponsi coelestis ad bona Sponsae congratulationem, in aeternum futura est, manifesta quaedam demonstratio est. Voluptas enim, quaedam foeda est, quaedam vero sanctissima: et illa quidem sancta est, cujus meminit Propheta, dicens, « Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae; et torrente voluptatis tuae potabis eos [n: (Psal. XXXV, 9)]: » quae quidem voluptas « torrens » dicitur, non quod cito transeat, sed quod abundanter infundat. De hac enim et « Isaias, Non vidit oculus praeter te, Deus, quae praeparasti diligentibus te [n: (Isa. LIV, 4)]. » Juxta quod « Paulus » ait, « Nec oculus vidit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparavit Deus diligentibus se [n: (I Cor. II, 9)]. » Unde et convenienter Propheta ait, « Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae: » [1170B] Ebrietas enim statum mentis immutat, et a se quodammodo alienat; sic in illa gloria mutatio mentis erit non modica. Trahit nos in hac vita quaedam carnis ad parentes, et propinquos, notos, et benevolos, affectio; in illa vita totum hoc absorbebitur; in Deum totus amor extendetur, in illum mens tota se colliget; patrem nesciet, ignorabit et matrem; erga neminem affectione tangetur, nisi quem Christo conformem noverit, quem corpori ejus compaginatum et unitum adverterit: « Tradet enim Dominus Jesus regnum Deo et Patri, » et ipse erit « omnia in omnibus [n: (I Cor. XV, 24, 28)]. » In hac quidem vita, carnis quadam propagatione per patrem matremque traducimur; sicque plures adinvicem quadam inter nos consanguinitate et affectione conjungimur: [1170C] in regeneratione vero, nihil carni debetur, aut sanguini. Quis enim te de pulvere pater eriget? Quae te mater ad vitam de morte perducet? Ad suum reducetur rerum ordo principium. Primus homo de terra creatus est, et mulier de osse ejus formata; sanguinisque profluvio quodam ab iis propagati sunt universi.

Prima igitur hominibus creatio, de terra; secunda, de viro; tertia, de viro et foemina; quarta, in Domino Jesu, non de viro, sed de foemina: in regeneratione vero, sola illa futura est quae in Adam praecessit. Nihil in illa jam erit, quod aut foeminae debeamus, aut viro. Qui de terra formavit Adam, illa die de pulvere eriget universos; ut [1170D] creationi [cn: 9 | Forte *creatori*.] jam totum debeamus, nihil carni. Et sicut Adam soli fuit Domino, totius affectionis et amoris, et in omni bono tam corporali quam spirituali, debitor et obnoxius; sic omnino die illa, nulla nisi Domino quicquam debeamus. Ipse nobis pater, et mater, et frater, et soror futurus est, et in veritate resuscitatae carnis vigor spiritus omnia possidebit; ubique [cn: 10 | Forte *ibique*.] secundum carnem jam pater non erit, aut mater, nec alii omnino secundum carnem propinquitatis gradus esse poterunt. His omnibus felici jam commercio commutatis, ut horum loco quae in carne habuimus, jam et secundum carnem patrem Deum habeamus; ut ipse nobis [1171A] sufficiens voluptas sit, et « omnia in omnibus. » Nam si mentis oculum ad spiritualia deflectas, idem abundantius invenias. Hic enim auro delectatur homo, delectatur argento, et lapide pretioso, affectione pignorum, abundantia frugum et fructuum, subjectione volucrum, jumentorum, et piscium, et quod sibi late patet et subjacet orbis terrarum: haec magna voluptas est; sed imperfectis sensibus, et parum adhuc illuminatis. Fulgor auri perstringit oculum; sed nondum illuminatum. Homini glorificato si aurum porrigas, non ipsum afficis, aut delectas. Glorificatus oculus intuetur interius intuendo creaturam, ipsum qui creaturae praeest, conspicit et contemplatur. Intuenti mihi, corpus quod est foris opponitur, et quod est intus, absconditur: [1171B] non haec hominis glorificati visio est: ipsi, creatorem non abscondit creatura; sed aperit per corpus animam; in hac mentem, in mente memoriam, intellectum, et rationem, virtutes etiam omnes, quas intus mater gratia format, intuetur: nec tantum effectum operis conspicit, sed et manum illam mirabiliter formantem omnia, contuetur. Supernam illam sapientiam, mirabiliter in corporibus, longe in spiritibus mirabilius operantem aspicit; et cum miretur opus, longe plus miratur opificem, potenter omnia continentem. Summum illum et superessentialem Spiritum infusum omni creaturae, immensum miratur, et simplicem; quibusdam esse praestantem, non vitam; aliis vitam, sed insensibilem; aliis sensibilem, sed rationis expertem; aliis [1171C] rationem, sed admistione corporis impeditam; aliis substantiam nulla commistione corporis involutam. In quibus omnibus venustatem venerabilem, et decorem indicibilem considerans, artem tamen ipsam plus in ipso miratur artifice, quam totum hoc quod attendit in ordine creaturae: in quem mentis infigens oculum, velut in profundum maris, avolat; tanta in ipsa divinitate contemplans, quanta nec lingua dicere, nec in praesenti potest mens etiam sancta concipere. Movetur coelum, suo feruntur astra circuitu, planetae suis moventur in circulis, deputatorum sibi movetur aer flatu spirituum, mare terram circumstringens reddit immobilem: in iis animalia formis variis et figuris obambulant, metallorum [1171D] fulgent species, arridet fructuum grata suavitas, et innumerabilium rerum color, odor, atque sapor, sensus mortalium multa sua varietate perstringunt, et est in iis omnibus ordo pulcherrimus, merito ipsius sapientiae sic disponentis universa, laudabilis. Glorificatus vero spiritus formas omnes in materia, decorem totum creaturae mente percurrens, sanctum illud ingreditur summae divinitatis arcanum; ubi rerum omnium causas, omnem denique creaturam, sicut in mente est, et semper vivit, longe plenius inspicit, quam eam, dum sub tempore laberetur, aspiceret. Thesauros itaque sapientiae et scientiae ingrediens, totum quod ornare et beatificare mentem potest, invenit affluenter; ut nil ei jam desit in ulla gratia, sed confidenter [1172A] jam dicat Domino Jesu, « Sufficit mihi gratia tua [n: (II Cor. XII, 9)]. » Nam intra divinitatis undam collectus homo, a magnifica illa gloria mortali ejus absorpto, pace, et tranquillitate, omniumque desiderabilium affluit abundantia. Sic cuique electorum infundente se superessentiali Spiritu illo et increato, ut in omnibus, ipse sit omnia, eo quod omnium appetibilium, et singulis, et universis, ipse in se, et ex se, sit indeficiens sufficientia. Haec sanctorum spes est, haec expectatio, hic ille finis, in quem, cum anima quaeque pervenerit, suum se beatissime cursum jam consummasse laetabitur. Hoc voluptatis est osculum, quod de loco voluptatis quem plantaverat Dominus a principio, dari sibi sancta Ecclesia, dari sibi fidelis anima quaeque desiderat, [1172B] dicens, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Modo itaque mirabili, statim in operis ipso principio meminit finis, dicens, « Osculetur me: » ut illum, ad quem flagrat desiderio, qui rerum omnium initium et finis est, sibi quoque initium esse testetur et finem; ad quem nos perducat Dominus Jesus, cui cum Patre et Spiritu sancto, sit gloria, honor, et imperium in secula seculorum. Amen.

*Osculetur me osculo oris sui.*

Haec sunt verba Sponsae, quibus Sponsum superius allocuta est: verba quae sequuntur Sponsi sunt, quae statim ad illa continuat, dicens:

*Quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino. 2. Fragrantia unguentis optimis.*

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Quae qualiter iis quae sunt dicta cohaereant, videamus. [1172C] Petentem quidem osculum, et in hoc zelo spiritus aestuantem, statim Sponsus advertit: et quia spes quae differtur affligit animam, ne affligat eamdem, et spem ejus in longum protrahendo differat, sic desideranti respondet; fiet quod postulas, « Quia meliora sunt ubera tua vino. » Quod tale est, ac si dicat Sponsus intra se. Tu quidem dilecta mea, tu mihi coelesti connubio sociata, non inutiliter, nec ut sterilis, sed utpote quae filios parere, et hos, ut ad perfectum deducantur, enutrire apta es, ex hoc quod habes ubera rore coelesti foecundata. Haec ita junguntur, ne lectio Spiritus sancti minus sibi cohaerens, et quasi dissuta videatur. Amodo quid significent quae dicta sunt, videamus. Imprimis [1172D] tamen quaerendum est, cur ab uberibus laus Sponsae incipiat? Cur caeterorum, quae laude digna prominent, laudem Sponsus ipse reticeat? Nam cur crinibus ornata facies, cur genae, cur labia, cur oculi, quos columbinos consequenter nominat, non laudantur? et imprimis tota laus Sponsae circa ubera continetur? Quod ideo quidem est, quod cum in Sponsa, ut dictum est, multa Sponso complaceant; quo magis oblectetur nihil est, quam ut ipsa mater fiat, populos enutriat, et rore coelesti foecundata, uberibus Spiritu sancto plenis, filiis innumeris documenta sancta, tanquam lactis alimenta, ministret. Hoc igitur est, in quo Sponsa magis complacet, in quo Sponso magis cordi est, unde magis laudatur, et ab ipso quasi praecontis extollitur. Num ad ubera [1173A] divertamus, et quae sint Ecclesiae ubera, attendamus? Ubera igitur ab ubertate sunt dicta, eo quod in haec magna quaedam copia lactis influit, quam sugimus, quaque alimur, quaque dum annos infantiae transigimus, sustentamur. Haec sicut pectori infixa sunt, sic menti Ecclesiae, quae Sponsa est, duo sunt Testamenta proposita, ut in iis die meditetur ac nocte, et in iis abundantiam lactis colligat, qua innumeros populos alat, enutriat, et ad perfectum usque perducat. Lac enim quoddam dulce, quoddam acidum est; utrumque tamen bonum extat, et sapidum. Quid dulcius est, quam Deum unum credere, ipsumque toto corde, tota anima, tota mente diligere, proximum non laedere, ab homicidio, adulterio, et furto, et falso testimonio, et ab iis omnibus [1173B] quae Lege prohibentur, abstinere? voluntarie vero et malitiose peccantibus, lac acidum Lex ipsa proponit, hoc annectens, « Reddat quis animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, manum pro manu, pedem pro pede, adustionem pro adustione, vulnus pro vulnere, livorem pro livore [n: (Exod. XXI, 23, 24, 25)]. » Quod quidem lac patienti videtur acidum, sed Regi bono, et secundum timorem Dei constituto Principi, lac placidum est, et gustu suavissimum; quia, « pestilente flagellato, stultus sapientior erit [n: (Prov. XIX, 25)]. » Et haec est voluntas Domini, ut unus in populo multos cohibeat, et malitiose peccantes sic puniat, ut Ecclesia Dei multa pace congaudeat, et aliquem filiorum suorum, ob gustum lactis acidum, contristari abhorreat. [1173C] Lactis vero hujus de quo agitur, substantia est, quae resolvitur in butyrum, et in coagulum, in caseum, et serum: haec virtutum gradus enunciant, quibus a minimo ad perfectum ascendendum est. Serum enim, quod sero de lacte colligitur, ipse est timor Domini, de quo dictum est, « Initium sapientiae timor Domini [n: (Psal. CX, 10)]. » Ab hoc in poenitentiam cordis, et confessionem oris, et satisfactionem operis, ascenditur: ut sic per orationum suffragia, per jejunia multa, per eleemosynas late distributas, et cuncta quibus peccata purgantur, in casei firmitatem, quasi virtutum quandam consolidationem, veniatur: et sic facto ad omnes quodam pacis coagulo, ad lata regna charitatis, quae butyro [1173D] designatur, fiat ascensio. Novi quoque Testamenti pagina dulcedine lactis hujus abundanter exuberat, quae catarrhactas coeli nobis apertas insinuat; et quod in deliciis Dei dulcius habebatur, emissum nobis in salutem coelitus esse, demonstrat. Haec Verbum carnem factum, quod est, Deum factum hominem, homini in se homine misericorditer subvenisse, declarat, quae dicta ejus et facta, quae Christus in vita hac mirabiliter gessit, exprimens; regnum quoque ejus, et vitam, quae fine caritura est, bonis omnibus repromittens. Omnem hominem venientem in hunc mundum hujus dulcedine lactis exhilarat. Caeteris tamen lac acidum propinat, dicens, « Vae vobis Scribae et Pharisaei, quia clauditis regnum coelorum ante homines [n: (Matth. XXIII, 13)]. » [1174A] Quo in loco, « Vae, » septies interminans, lac illud innuit, quod vere in dentium stuporem acidum, in fine reprobis omnibus daturus est, dicens, « Ite, maledicti, in ignem aeternum, qui praeparatus est diabolo et angelis ejus [n: (Matth. XV, 41)]. »

His itaque de Sponsae uberibus, in modum praefatiunculae, praelibatis, et illud adjiciendum est, quod sicut humano corpori sic infixa sunt ubera, ut unum partem dexteram, alterum laevam obtineat; sic omnis Scriptura divinitus inspirata, sic quidem monitis et verbis distincta est, ut quaedam laevae Ecclesiae, quaedam ejus dextrae deputatae sint. Habet enim Ecclesia laevam, habet et dextram. Laeva ejus haec vita est, ejus dextra vita quae futura est, quae et aeterna est. Omnes itaque Scripturae, quas vel [1174B] primum, vel Testamentum novum continet, quae sic editae sunt ut vitam hanc praesentem instituant, docentes, qualiter hoc mundo, et iis quae mundi sunt, homo uti debeat, ut vitam hanc absque Dei offensa transcurrat, vitia declinando quae prohibet, virtutes assequendo quas jubet; hae omnes Ecclesiae uberi sinistro deputatae sunt. Uberi vero dextro illae assignatae sunt, quae mundum, et ea quae mundi sunt, spernere, ejus delicias abhorrere, Deum solum diligere, hunc appetere, hinc dissolvi, et esse cum Christo, persuadent. Unde illud, « Ecce electi Dei, carnem domant, spiritum roborant, daemonibus imperant, miraculis coruscant, coelestem patriam moribus et vita praedicant, et ad eam pertingere etiam per tormenta festinant; occidi possunt, flecti nequeunt: » [1174C] et quae hujusmodi sunt, uberi dextro recte competunt. His igitur uberibus ditata Sponsa alit populos, et primis enutritos virtutibus ad summa et perfecta perducit; et ei recte Sponsus applaudit, dicens, « Meliora sunt ubera tua vino. » Vinum vero, cui comparata Sponsae ubera, meliora dicuntur, quid significat, nisi scientias innumeras, quibus se humanus implicat animus, et involvit? adeo ut quae Dei sunt negligat, et ea quae Dei sunt, haec inquirere et investigare contemnat. Has quis enumeret? has quis sub numero comprehendat? Artes quidem septem sunt, quae ideo « liberales » dictae sunt, quod iis homines liberi sua studia impendebant; discentes primo quae sunt elementa loquendi, [1174D] et haec suis tam characteribus, quam nominibus exprimentes; iis sibi junctis aptantes syllabas, et ex syllabis dictiones, et ex dictionibus orationes, formantes: hanc suus labor implicat, in infinitum extendens animum, et nisi primo salutetur in limine, suis male cruciatibus torquens. Logica vero suis relinquatur sudoribus; quae quo proficit amplius apud se, eo sibi dantes operam, plus a Deo avertit. Oratorum vero labor ornatus, tam falsitati deservit, quam iis quae vera sunt; egregie dictum reputant, sive verum sit, sive falsum, quod ornate pronunciatur, et (ut secundum hos loquar) apposite. Haec quo falsitati praestat obsequium, ab eo longe est qui simplex est veritas, sanctam praebens Evangelii et sine fuco scientiam. Quid arithmeticae [1175A] numeros, Musicae consonantias aut dissonantias, geometriae figuras enumerem? in quibus « labor est, et afflictio spiritus [n: (Eccle. I, 17)]: » dicente Sapientia, « Deus creavit hominem rectum, et ipse infinitis miscuit se quaestionibus [n: (Eccle. VII, 30)]. » Porro Astronomia, coelum coluris dividens et parallelis, planetis nomina dans et stellis, motusque singulorum assignans, in eis qui sibi dati sunt circulis, nunc eorundem stationes, nunc progressiones, nunc retrogradationes denotans, omnium denique adaequationes in anno uno philosophico, qui non minus quam quindecim millia annorum continet, suis regulis emetitur. Haec solis, in centum octoginta duobus circulis, aliorumque planetarum circulis sibi deputatis, elevationes, depressiones, [1175B] mediasque stationes attendens, inundationes, exaestuationes, abundantiam, egestatemque, temporaque media distinguit, et quae Deus ante secula certo ordine ventura disposuit, quodammodo praesagire praesumit: haec multo vino mentes inebriat, et cum Dei opera studiose considerat, a Deo deviat, et humilitatem ejus aut certe prorsus ignorat, aut minus amat.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Sunt et artes quae « mechanicae » dicuntur, eae mundi sapientibus usibus quidem necessariae, sed non adeo dignae reputantur; ut agricultura, architectura, lanificium, et textura, sutoria quoque, et cusoria, et fusoria, aliaeque innumerae, quas necessitas, aut jucunditas, aut certe voluptas adinvenit. Hoc vinum est quo potatur, aut certe inebriatur mundus; ut dum quaerit, quod necessitas, aut quod [1175C] jucunditas, aut quod voluptas, aut quod curiositas suggerit, omittat ea quae Dei sunt: et an incarnatus Deus, an passus, an resurrexit, et ascendit, et mortalibus aeterna promiserit, aut prorsus ignorat, aut forte nota despiciat. Sed Sponsae quid de iis Sponsus ait? « Meliora sunt ubera tua vino; » protestans longe fore melius lacte Ecclesiae simpliciter enutriri, quam iis quae dicta sunt, superbe et inutiliter inebriari. Hinc Isaias ait, « Quare appenditis argentum vestrum non in panibus, et laborem vestrum non in saturitate? » [n: (Isa. LV, 2.)] Argentum enim non in panibus expendere, est eloquentiam et laborem in iis consumere, quae Dei notitiam et visionem non dant: de qua ait David, « Satiabor [1175D] cum apparuerit gloria tua [n: (Psal. XVI, 15)]. » Cur vero meliora reputari debent, causam annectit, dicens, Quia sunt « fragrantia unguentis optimis. » Unguenta medicorum arte bene confecta, bene fragrare non dubium est. Horum quaedam pungitiva, quaedam mitigativa, quaedam conservativa sunt. Quaedam enim pungunt, ut sanent; quaedam mitigant ea quae dolent; quaedam conservant, ut a putredine intacta permaneant. Hic spiritualium virtutum effectus est. Poenitentia namque dolet, admisisse quempiam id quod luget: post ejulatum, et confessionem, et satisfactionis opera, spes jam mitigat id quod dolebat: hinc charitas in vitam aeternam, ea quae sunt solidata conservat. « Ubera » ergo Ecclesiae, « meliora sunt, » id est, simplices [1176A] illae doctrinae quae ab uberibus eliciuntur Ecclesiae, potentiores, et ad animae salutem efficaciores sunt « vino, » id est, figmentis omnibus et inventionibus, quae secularis adinvenit sapientia, ut iis, sequentes se, et sibi dantes operam, potet et inebriet: ideoque « fragrantia sunt unguentis optimis, » id est, eo modo fragrantia, quo fragrant unguenta quae sunt optima.

*Oleum effusum nomen tuum.*

Haec Sponsae ad Sponsum est amicabilis et honesta responsio. Gratificavit eam suo nuper Sponsus elogio, dicens: « Meliora sunt ubera tua vino; fragrantia unguentis optimis. » Quae et illi velut gratias agens, hoc ei respondit elogio, dicens, « Oleum effusum nomen tuum, » acsi dicat, si mea laudanda [1176B] sunt ubera, hoc tuo accessit praeconio: quod enim meis profertur uberibus, hoc de tuo est, cujus nomen oleum effusum est. Qua nimirum responsione insinuat, fidem quae in nomine Christi est, omnem fidem transcendere: et sicut oleum, quibuscunque misceatur liquoribus, omnes procul dubio transcendit et supernatat; sic fidem quae Christi nomine signata et fundata, et apostolorum documentis est denunciata, omnibus quae adversus hanc invensionibus jam dictae sunt, vel forte poterunt inveniri, superesse et praevalere: unde et dicitur, « Nomen tuum est ut oleum, » id est, fides quae in nomine tuo est, sic est ut oleum. Quod ut magis exprimat, adjicitur, « Effusum. » Hoc enim oleum toto quidem tempore, quo Verbum caro factum non est, non [1176C] effusum extitit; quo, praevalente peccato, misericordia non obtinente, omne hominum genus inferi tenebris addictum est, et sub maligni dominatione detentum: at postquam satisfactum est irae, venitque tempus plenitudinis et gratiae, oliva illa fructifera, Deus, scilicet, Pater, a quo omnis boni origo est, columbam tanquam olivae ramum ferentem emisit, filiumque suum per hunc incarnari constituit; et oleum de ramo hoc expressum, tam late per mundum effudit, quam latissime incarnatio haec toti mundo multis variisque modis innotuit. Hoc innumeris unctione sua profuit; « Virtus enim de illo exibat, et omnes sanabat [n: (Luc. VI, 19)]. » Hoc innumeros illuminando a coecitatis tenebris ad fidem [1176D] convertit. Hoc coecis visum, surdis auditum, mutis eloquium reddidit, febrem fugavit, et paralytica membra restituit, et mortuos, vitalem illis restituendo spiritum, suscitavit. Hoc suis gressibus maris undas solidavit. Hoc panes duodecim ad novem millia hominum satianda ampliavit.

Quid iis enarrandis immorer? Joannem audiamus dicentem, « Sunt et multa alia quae fecit Jesus; quae si scribantur per singula, nec ipsum arbitror mundum capere eos, qui scribendi sunt, libros [n: (Joan. XXI, 25)], » id est, fidem adhibere eorum multitudini, quae in libris sunt committenda, signorum. Hujus enim effusio olei mundum illuminat. Ecclesiae faciem exhilarat, cibos aptat et praeparat; ut sine hujus admistione, suo vix cibo spiritus satiari praevaleat. [1177A] Nam ut Paulus ait, « Sine fide placere Deo impossibile est [n: (Heb. XI, 6)]. » Si enim sine charitate cuncta quae mundi sunt offeram, me etiam ipsum ita ut ardeam, nihil sum [n: (I Cor. 13)]. Si enim sine charitate id offerens, nihil sum; ergo sine fide id faciens, nihil esse prorsus invenior. In Marco, duo minuta vidua offerens, plus aliis qui magna offerebant dicitur obtulisse [n: (Marc. XII, 44)]; hic per duo minuta, charitatem Dei, et proximi intelligens, in quibus offerens Ecclesia, plus illis offert, qui sine iis sua dantes, multa offerunt et disperdunt. Fides ergo Christi, sine qua nec charitas, nec bonum quodlibet haberi potest, illa est quae cibos animae condit, aptat, et praeparat, ut in fide oblata placeant; et quantumcunque minima, magna tamen [1177B] sunt, et a Deo magnum quidem regnum, scilicet, coelorum obtinentia. Recte ergo dictum est, « nomen » Christi, id est, fidem ejus, in qua nos salvari oportet, « oleum effusum » esse, id est mundo communicatum, et virtutibus approbatum; propter quod sequitur:

*Ideo adolescentulae dilexerunt te.*

Hinc enim amor adolescentularum excitatus est, hinc dilectionis origo extitit. Viderunt enim signa, viderunt et mirabilia quae ei obsequebantur ad nutum; viderunt hominem in infirmitate positum, cuncta quae sunt hominis, praeter peccatum et ignorantiam, continentem, et ea quae super hominem sunt, facientem; motique sunt, ut hunc super hominem [1177C] crederent, quem quadraginta dierum et noctium jejunia sustinentem, aquam deinceps in vinum transmutantem, deinde in monte transfigurantem se, facieque in modum Solis resplendente, in vestimentis etiam candorem nivis exhibentem, cum mortuis colloquia habentem, Patremque de nube testantem, « Hic est filius meus dilectus, qui mihi per omnia complacet; hunc audite [n: (Luc. IX, 35)]; » Sicque novissime manifesta suscepta morte immortalitate de ipsa triumphantem, sicque ad coelos unde venerat redeuntem; quid nisi Deum credere, venerari, et adorare, et super omnia diligere, potuerunt? Hunc itaque « dilexerunt adolescentulae, » id est animae nuper ad fidem conversae: qualem animam fuisse Petri in primis aestimo, cum dixit, [1177D] « Exi a me, quia homo peccator sum, Domine [n: (Luc. V, 8)]. » Piscatus fuerat tota nocte Petrus, et nihil prorsus apprehenderat; in ejus verbo laxavit rete, et multitudinem copiosam apprehendit. Adolescentulus extiterat Petrus, et libenter Dominum audiebat; sed hoc facto firmatus, in adolescentem excrevit, post in juvenem firmissimum, et sic in virum perfectum evasit. De Paulo etiam persecutore quid referam? qui nunc persecutor, nunc adolescentulus effectus est, illustrante eum Domino, et dicente, « Saule, Saule, quid me persequeris? Ego sum Jesus Nazarenus, quem tu persequeris [n: (Act. IX, 45)]. » Ad hanc statim vocem vere conversus est, [1178A] dicens, « Domine quid me vis facere? » [n: (ibid., 6)] Si factus adolescentulus, audivit ab Anania verba quibus excrevit, quibus vir magnus effectus est, et totius Ecclesiae murus, atque defensor, et propagator; sic infinitus credentium numerus, primum accedentes, et ab ipso vitae verbum audientes, in modico primum allecti, deinde verbo plus illecti, ex quo signa et mirabilia intellexerunt, quibus nec resistere, nec contradicere poterunt, id verbo, id opere protestati sunt, nomen hoc solum adorandum esse, et prae cunctis quae sub coelo sunt, diligendum: unde subditur, « Oleum effusum nomen tuum; ideo adolescentulae dilexerunt te. » Sequitur:

3. *Trahe me post te.*

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

[1178B]Attendens itaque Sponsa adolescentularum gloriam, in qua per dilectionem susceptae sunt; secundum quam, quae fuerant adolescentulae, jam reginae censentur; et has considerans in hanc gloriam sublimari non potuisse, nisi traherentur a Patre, expandit sinum, dilatat orationem, orans pro se, ut ipsa in membris suis minimis pertrahatur ad Patrem; optans ut secum omnes occurramus in virum perfectum, et mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi [n: (Ephes. IV, 13)]; unde et subdit quod sequitur, « Trahe me post te. » Sciendum est enim omnes quotquot currimus, in duas partes trahi, unam quae dextra dicitur, alteram quae sinistra. In sinistram trahitur, qui malis semper operibus implicatus, [1178C] in iis vitam consumit. In dextram vero trahitur, cui bonus praeest angelus, ostendens ei bona quae faciat, et his consummandis semper intendat: unde ad Deum loquens, ait, « Post te, » id est, in iis qui tibi placita sunt, in quibus te praeducem habeam, in iis me detine, nec aberrare me, vel alias deflectere me permittas: sic enim scriptum est, « Nemo venit ad me, nisi Pater, qui misit me, traxerit eum [n: (Joan. VI, 44)]. » Ut ergo accedamus ad Deum, Patre trahente opus est, ut nos ipse praeveniat, sic [cn: 11 | Forte *se*.] ducem praebeat, et cum duxerit, ipse suscipiat. Item quoque scriptum legimus, « Et ego si exaltatus fuero a terra, omnia traham ad meipsum [n: (Joan. XII, 32)]. » Christus quidem a terra exaltatus est, cum in crucem est a terra levatus: [1178D] item exaltatus est, cum terram deserens, in coelo est ad dextram Patris collocatus: qua sui consideratione, vel in cruce positi, vel ad dextram Patris elevati, electa quaeque trahit ad se, dum et se vitiis crucifigunt, et terrena non curantes, ad sedentem desuper in alta suspendunt. Alta namque petit, qui trahitur, et levare se super se totus intendit, virtutum montem coram se conspicit, et dum ejus ardua apprehendere nititur, in imo se quandoque conspicit, et miratur. Clamat itaque dicens, « Trahe me post te, » quia de valle hac non ascendo, nisi per te. Quod si porrectam tibi manum Dei senseris, et extractum de valle miseriarum, et de [1179A] luto faecis agnoveris, manum apprehende, tene, deosculare, et dic, « Non dimittam te, nisi benedixeris mihi [n: (Gen. XXXII, 26)]: » Illi gratias habe, qui vere deducet te, ut curras in odore unguentorum suorum: quod per simile dictum agnoveris. Currunt enim canes sagacitate narium, ut feras comprehendant, quae dum fugiunt, odore sui densitatem aeris inficiunt, sicque viam sequentibus, qua comprehendantur, ostendunt.

Relatio quidem ista, daemonum figura est: fugiunt enim qui tentantur, et sunt maligni spiritus, aut mali homines, qui sequuntur, ut fugientes ad mala pertrahant, et occidant, et de eorum mortibus glorientur, et se satient. Sic in mundo perficitur odibilis ista venatio, in qua auctor malitiae spiritus [1179B] cornu suggerit, voce monet, et ad suggerendum quod vult, homines malos spiritusque perversos admittit, et innumeros, tentationi non resistentes, occidit. Dei vero Spiritus longe in contrarium operatur: hic dat velle bonum, dat effectu peragere quod bonum est; dat in iis oblectari quae sursum sunt, et eorum quae sursum sunt incessabiliter odore respergi. Divini Spiritus unctio quidem mirabilis, qui eam, quam perungit, pellem, habilem reddit et consutilem, et ad summi regis ornamentum praestat aptabilem. Hujus unguenti odore perfunditur, qui assidue in lege Domini meditatur, aptans sese, ut quibuscunque resistat noxiis, nullis se addicat peccatis, sanctorum se moribus applicet, hos imitando se sanctificet, et odore perfusus unguentorum [1179C] spiritualium, in his semper gaudeat, securus oblectetur et quiescat. Obsecrat igitur in hunc modum, « Trahe me post te, » id est, Tu, ad quem non venitur nisi per te, mihi funem tui amoris innecte, quo pertrahar ad te, quo alias [cn: 12-13 | *qui alio*.] divertere non sinat me. Ait enim Salomon, quia « funiculus triplex non facile rumpitur [n: (Eccle. IV, 12)]; » quem si membris meis maligni manu innecti permiseris, ut cor meum cogitando mala pertrahat ad se, linguam meam haec loquendo totam inflammet ex se, et corpus meum haec agendo inclinet totum et divertat ad se; quid mihi, nisi ut dicam illud apostoli? « Infelix ego homo: quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Tu mihi, Domine, [1179D] respondeas, « Gratia Dei per Jesum Christum Dominum nostrum [n: (ibid., 25)]. » Haec me tua, Domine, gratia liberet, quia fortis es et potens: in hoc praelio, tu funem ejus de manu potenti fortior eripias; tu hunc abrumpas; tu funiculum tuum triplicem totum membris meis annectas; ut te intus corde sapiam, te et tua lingua denuntiem, et solum ea quae tibi placita sunt, opere devotus adimpleam. Tu volentem me sequi te, a maligno potenter eripias, post te ambulare facias, ut cum ambulavero post te, non in incertum currere incipiam, sed coronam quam promisisti diligentibus te, per te huc [1180A] tractus, apprehendam. Hoc quidem est quod sequitur:

*Curremus in odore unguentorum tuorum.*

Id est, erepti a maligno per te, ad bonum incitati a te, ad summum perducti trahente te, « curremus, » id est tota vita nostra proficiemus; « In odore unguentorum tuorum, » id est, odoramento virtutum spiritualium, quibus tuos tangis, et ungis. Optans itaque bonis [cn: 14 | ILLEGIBLE] dona, eosque ad meliora pertrahi desiderans, ait, « Trahe me post te; » ut me volentem, et currentem, et toto corde desiderantem te, in hoc adjuves, ut beato tandem fine apprehendam te, et cursu bono consummato, secure jam requiescam, et delecter in te. Quia vero quidam nec currunt, nec apprehendere post te cursum volunt, [1180B] hos tua dignetur visitatio, ut lumen eis veritatis aperias, et illuminatos ad te trahas, et dato eis fune charitatis, ad te perducas. Hos magnus ille Paulus significat, qui ante vocationem suam totus post Satan currebat; sed postea, percussus a Domino, prostratus, et illuminatus est, et praedicator mirabilis effectus, fune hoc triplici alligatus, post Deum currens, gladio consummatus est. Sive itaque volentem, et potentem currere, trahas post te ut plus currat, et eo perveniat, quo pervenire non poterat, nisi per te; sive nolentem, et impotentem currere, convertas, sicque data gratia illumines, ut et ipse apprehendat te. In odore bono « unguentorum tuorum, » id est, virtutum spirantium ex te, curremus, tibi referentes gratiam qui [1180C] apprehendisti nos, et laudes referentes in gloria, ad quam nos tuo munere perduxisti. Sequitur;

*Introduxit me Rex in cellaria sua: exultabimus, et laetabimur in te.*

Est edita superius oratio, qua dictum est, « Trahe me post te; curremus in odore unguentorum tuorum. Quae ne videatur inutilis, et sine fructu prolata, consequenter adjungitur, « Introduxit me Rex in cellaria sua. » Ecce enim jam tracta est, tracta quidem, et in ipsa Regis cellaria introducta. Quis vero dignius Rex appellatur, quam qui omnium habens jura regnorum, ea quibus vult, et quando vult, et quamdiu vult, distribuit; et in iis mores hominum considerans, eos aut coronat pro meritis [1180D] aut attendens insolentiam affligit digne pro commissis. Hic vere Deus est, qui uno cuncta regit imperio, qui ea quae sursum sunt, et quae deorsum continet, suum dans singulis esse creaturis, ut sint, et bene sint, et ipse super omnia dominans Deus. Hic est, quem desiderans haec Sponsa, id est anima, vel Ecclesia, tota peccatis purgata, ejus jamdiu flagitavit osculum, ipsum quaerens apprehendere, cujus jam sentit in se desiderium. Quod nimirum, quia summae beatitudini prope est, differtur adhuc, nec datur osculum, donec anima, vel Ecclesia, ex creaturis intelligat, an elegerit dignum. Inde est, quod [1181A] aut per angelum, aut per virtutem aliquam, Sponsa haec in cellaria Regis introducitur, ut ejus aut noscat opes, et ex opibus quis sit, qualisque, quantusque sit is quem desiderat, recognoscat. Quod advertens Sponsa haec, et agens gratias, ait, « Introduxit me Rex in cellaria sua: exultabimus, et laetabimur in te. » Ecce quod in cellariis est, in cellariis exultat: et sunt quidem cellaria divini palatii pars aliqua, opes in se regis continens, et secreta. Regis vero palatium illud est, cujus meminit propheta, dicens, « O Israel, quam magna est domus Dei et ingens! locus possessionis ejus magnus, et non habet consummationem, excelsus, et immensus [n: (Bar. III, 24, 25)]. » Hinc ejus attendamus palatium, quod utique tantum est, quantum [1181B] creatura protenditur. Ejus longum, latum, et altum, omnis emetitur creaturae dimensionem. Quod si mente procedas ulterius, audi Scripturam; ait enim, « Non habet consummationem, excelsus et immensus: » in omni quippe creatura Deus est. Sed nunquid cum creatura consummatus est Deus, ut ubi finem suscipit creatura, ibi finem sortiatur et Deus? Absit hoc, et ab humana procul intelligentia repellatur. Deus enim sicut immensus est, sic infinitus est, et aeternus: quod si infinitus est, non est utique quod finem habeat; sed ubi terminum creaturae constituit, ibi in simplicitate et puritate sua se suscipit: juxta quod in Evangelio testatur veritas, dicens, « Clarifica me pater apud temetipsum, claritate quam habui antequam mundus [1181C] fieret [n: (Joan. XVII, 5)]. » Erat quippe tunc Pater in Filio et Spiritu sancto, erat Filius in Patre et Spiritu sancto, erat et Spiritus sanctus in Patre et Filio, beatam complens Trinitatem, et unam sanctificans in substantia unitatem.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Hoc itaque regis palatium est; et sunt ejus cellaria, mansiones quaedam coelestes, quarum meminit Dominus, dicens, « In domo Patris mei mansiones multae sunt [n: (Joan. XIV, 2)]. » Quae quidem mansiones, coelestium virtutum habitationes diversae sunt, et diversae gloriae, quibus secreto modo suo quem novit Dominus, easdem disponit et ordinat, ut in iis locum gloriae et habitationis suae sanctae constituat. Haec quis discernit et separat? [1181D] horum contubernia quis dividit et dijudicat? Alta quidem est, et intellectu nostro incognita, incomprehensibilis illa omnium virtutum et angelorum inhabitatio, qui nobis invisibiles, stantes et stabiles in tentatione reperti sunt; et corruentibus iis qui mente contra Dominum elati ceciderunt, merito suae constantiae stabiliti, et Deo perpetua charitate conjuncti sunt. Quorum ut nobis nota sunt nomina, sic sunt virtutes incognitae, coelum et terram continentes, cuncta quae fiunt in iis disponentes, vitam justorum moderantes, et quae debentur malis supplicia non ignorantes: quorum numerum scit solus conditor Deus, qui hos creavit ab initio, et eorum perenni fruitur et jucundatur obsequio: horum naturam scit trinitas sancta, scit numerum [1182A] in trinitate persona secunda, Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui cum ad passionem duceretur, ait, « Converte gladium tuum in locum suum. An putas quia non possum rogare Patrem meum, et exhibebit mihi plus quam duodecim legiones angelorum [n: (Matth. XXVI, 52, 53)]. » Quae duodecim legiones septuaginta novem millia, et nongenti, et nonaginta duo, id est octoginta millia, octo minus inveniuntur. Aliorum vero nobis incognitus est numerus, qui inaestimabiles Deo laudes resonant, et iis occupati laudibus non fatigantur, aut deficiunt, sed harum frequentatione laudum potius delectari magis est; ut vel in ejus quam cernunt majestatis amore et agnitione semper proficiant, vel ad perfectum adducti, in eo quod jam diu adepti sunt, [1182B] sine fine stabiles perseverent.

Hae itaque mansiones cellaria sunt, in quibus introductam se dicit haec Sponsa, ostendens se per angelum, aut per virtutem aliquam, harum informari exemplis, ut Deum contemplando, ipsum tota virtute diligat, et ejus laudem sine intermissione foveat, et non in temporalium et transeuntium affluentia delectari se, sed horum potius continua frequentatione ostendat, dicens, « Introduxit me rex in cellaria sua: exultabimus, et laetabimur in te. » Exultare enim, mente gaudere est, et laetari, gaudium quod interius est, signo quod fit extrinsecus, demonstrare. Ut itaque gaudium quod concepisse se nuntiat, Deo totum attribuat, adjungit, [1182C] « In te: » vana est enim simul exultatio, et vana laetitia, nisi quae fundatur in Domino: unde Psalmista ait, « Laetamini, justi, in Domino, et gloriamini omnes recti corde [n: (Psal. XXXI, 11)]. » Itemque Psalmum inchoat, dicens: « Exultate, justi, in Domino; rectos decet collaudatio [n: (Psal. XXXII, 1)]. » Ecce quae laetitia et exultatio, quam laus utique prosequitur et gloriatio, tota quidem ex Deo est, cum Deus toto corde, tota anima, tota mente colligitur, cum cor tuum ad amandum proximum, sicut et ad teipsum, aperitur: et horum omnium remuneratio non in hac vita quaeritur, sed in futura patientissime expectatur: unde et subditur;

*Memores uberum tuorum super vinum.*

Hic vero attendendum est, quod haec exultatio et [1182D] laetitia, tota ex memoria procedit uberum, quae Sponsa, Sponsi ipsius ubera esse confitetur: quod, qua ratione verum sit, considerandum est. Sponsus enim, prima sui responsione Sponsae respondit superius, Non est tua repellenda oratio, quia « meliora sunt ubera tua vino: » unde cum hic, Sponsus Sponsae dicat esse ubera, et in sequenti, Sponsa Sponsi ubera esse profiteatur, illis aut eadem ubera esse necesse est, aut equidem assignare diversa: sed ne moram impedimenta faciant, ubera eadem Sponsi fore testamur, et Sponsae. Haec enim ubera, divina fore testamur eloquia; quae quidem Dei sunt, ab ipso divinitus inspirata: sunt et Ecclesiae, ipsi ad enutriendos et erudiendos populos, ex Dei gratia concessa. Ait igitur haec [1183A] Sponsa: « Exultabimus, et laetabimur in te; memores uberum tuorum, » id est divinorum eloquiorum, quae a te inspirata sunt, et a te mihi dante concessa. « Super vinum, » id est super intelligentiam omnium eloquiorum, quae, ut vinum avertit animos, sic animam avertunt a te, et manibus detinent occupatam. Sequitur:

*Recti diligunt te.*

Quae nimirum adjectio, supradictorum est commendatio. Nullus enim diligit, nisi qui rectus est, nec quis rectus esse potest, et non diligere. Rectus enim est, qui caput ad hoc erigit ad quod creatus est, illuc toto corpore extenditur, unde sibi esse, vivere, sapere, et intelligere, concessum est. Unde hoc cuiquam, nisi a Deo est? Ait enim Psalmus, [1183B] « Scitote quoniam Dominus ipse est Deus; ipse fecit nos, et non ipsi nos [n: (Psal. XCIX, 3)]. » Qui ergo se ad Deum erigit, rectus est, quia illuc procul dubio tendit, unde sibi ista adesse recognoscat: qui vero deorsum flectitur, qui ad mundum inclinatur, caput deorsum figens, pedes sursum erigens, monstro assimilatur, et curvus est; de quo propheta ait, « Miser factus sum, et curvatus sum usque in finem [n: (Psal. XXXVII, 7)], » ejus procul dubio plangens miseriam, qui sic a bono discedens, terminat in morte vitam. Nolens vero in hunc modum nos incurvari Dominus, mulierem in Evangelio decem et octo annis inclinatam, nec valentem sursum respicere, sanatam erexit, de infirma sanam, de curva rectam faciens; seipsum esse ostendens, [1183C] cujus dilectio sanat, et erigit, rectos facit, et suscipit. Sequitur:

4. *Nigra sum, sed formosa, filiae Jerusalem.*

Sponsum suum hactenus Sponsa allocuta est, quae est vel Ecclesia Dei, vel anima quaeque perfecta, jam mundum nauseans, et Deum puro corde contemplans: haec autem expetens osculum, ait, « Osculetur me osculo oris sui. » Quod quia nondum datur, sed in tempus illud defertur, quo post resurrectionem omnium, animae corporibus ipsis coadunatae, in quibus gratum Deo famulatum exhibuerunt, perenni jucundabuntur aeternitate, et simul immortalitate donabuntur. Sed ei a Sponso responsum est: Quod petis osculum, nunc quidem [1183D] non do, sed cum jam Deus erit omnia in omnibus, et fratrum vestrorum impletus erit numerus, tunc me donaturum promitto: ad quem fratrum implendum numerum, te quidem aptam considero; et hoc ideo, quia « meliora sunt ubera tua vino. » Qua exhilarata responsione, iterum ipsum alloquitur, dicens, « Oleum effusum nomen tuum: » et item illud: « Trahe me post te, » ut tuorum uberum adjuta virtute, cum ea multitudine quae deceat te, tandem perveniam ad te. Jam vero edocta quid agendum sit, et quod ejus uberibus populos enutriri oporteat, ut cum iis in salutem ampliata concurrat, prae oculis illud habens, « Melior est obedientia quam victimae, et auscultare, magis quam offerre adipem arietum [n: (I Reg. XV, 22)]; » obedit, et [1184A] humiliata se convertit ad populos, dicens, « Nigra sum, filiae Jerusalem. » Jerusalem vero, civitatem quis esse nesciat, quam prae omnibus elegit Dominus ut in ea doceret, et in ea verba vitae ederet, in ea et ejus finibus miracula operaretur, quibus mundus obstupesceret, et mirabiliter per angelum inchoata in Nazareth, postmodum edita in Bethlehem, et in ea ad ultimum passione sua, et resurrectionis gloria, ascensione quoque, et sancti Spiritus missione, compleret. Hanc vero alloquens, dicit, « Nigra sum et formosa, filiae Jerusalem. » Ejus vero dicit filias, omnes praedicatione Domini Jesu ad ipsum conversas animas; quae vel ipsum corporaliter, vel ejus praedicationem antea per prophetas et justos alios, vel postmodum per apostolos, et eos [1184B] qui fidem iis habuerunt, audire meruerunt: has filias nominat, quasi supplices, quasi parentes, nihil contra Patris gerentes imperium, fidem, ut sibi credita est, observantes, et in hac observanda usque ad vitae terminum, spreta morte qualibet, constantissime perseverantes.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

Quia vero, ut ait Salomon, « Justus prior est accusator sui, de se sumens exordium, ait, « Nigra sum. » Quod quidem testimonium, de se despicabile, plus attenditur, quam commendatione dignissimum. Quis enim Sponsae decor est, si nigra, si fusca, si in visu horrenda Sponso appareat? si quae fugit amor, haec praesentet amplexibus; et quae sequitur, quae jucunde suscipit, his plane carens inveniatur. Attendendum itaque nigredinem hanc [1184C] plus habere formae in se, plus decoris, plus honoris, et honestatis, omni eo quod visus allicit, quod mortalium affectus in se rapit et distrahit: inde enim subditur, « Nigra sum, sed formosa. » Hanc nigredinem, spirituales operantur affectus. Sanctus enim Spiritus hanc inducit nigredinem: ipse Dei amorem infundit cordibus, contemptum dat seculi, caduca dat spernere, amare quae aeterna sunt: ad haec affectus excitat, iis acquirendis laborat, in iis orat, in iis jejunat, in iis corpus assidue macerat, mundumque sibi, et se mundo contemptibilem parat. Hanc sibi nigredinem Dominus noster Jesus Christus affuturam declarat, dicens, Quia « oportet me ire Jerosolymam, et multa pati a senioribus, et [1184D] Scribis, et principibus Sacerdotum, et occidi [n: (Matth. XVI, 21)]. » Quam quidem ejus nigredinem Evangeliorum textus denunciat, exsequens ea quae sustinuit, quae pro homine redimendo pati voluit; quamque novissime mirabiliter resurgendo, et sic in coelos ascendendo, Spiritumque sanctum mittendo, in miram decoris formam transmutavit. Apprehendit et haec nigredo Petrum ejus apostolum, cum Herodes illum quatuor tradens quaternionibus militum, captum detinuit, et vinctum duabus catenis in carcere fortiter alligavit; qui cum in mane producendus esset ad gladium, ipsa nocte edoctus per angelum, omnes pertransivit custodias, portam quoque ferream, quae ultro sibi aperta est, angelo ducente, evadens, « Ad se reversus, dixit: [1185A] Nunc scio vere quia emisit Dominus angelum suum, et eripuit me, etc. [n: (Act. XII, 11.)] » Paulus quoque se haec participare asserens, ait: « In laboribus plurimis, in carceribus abundantius, in plagis super modum, in mortibus frequenter [n: (II Cor. XI, 23)]. » Hanc itaque nigredinem, in Christo qui caput est totius Ecclesiae, et in membris ejus praecipuis, Petro et Paulo idcirco assignavimus, ut hinc constet, quia omnes qui pie volunt in Christo vivere, necesse est ut persecutionem corporalem, qualem isti, vel qualem omnes per mundum late martyres invincibiliter pro Christo passi sunt, sustineant; aut certe spiritualem, qualem plangit apostolus, dicens, « Infelix ego homo! Quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Omnes [1185B] enim nigredo involvit [cn: 15 | f. *obvolvit*, ut infra.], vel qualis ex persecutione corporis est, vel qualis ex impetu animi reluctantis.

Ait ergo Sponsa haec filiabus Jerusalem, quas erudiendas suscepit: filiae Jerusalem, attendite quia « nigra sum, » ad omne quidem periculum, ad omne genus mortis suscipiendum prompta, ad omnem tentationem subeundam parata; ita ut « neque mors, neque vita, neque Angeli, neque Principatus, neque Potestates [n: (Rom. VIII, 38, 39)] » , nec caetera quae sequuntur, quae apostolus connumerat, « eam separare queant a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu. » Tu quoque quae filia Jerusalem dici desideras, me spectando, exemplum me tibi proponendo, sta, accedens ad servitutem Dei, ne [1185C] facile movearis; quia ex hac nigredine indicibilis tibi forma decoris adveniet: sic enim scriptum est, « Nigra sum, sed formosa. » Quae quidem forma hinc primo est, quod ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei homo creatus est; « ad imaginem, » ex ratione; « ad similitudinem, » ex virtutis imitatione. Nam si rationem quis habeat, et virtutem imitari desistat, imago quidem est; sed in qua placere possit, deest similitudo: de qualibus scriptum est, « Videns autem Deus, quod multa malitia hominum esset in terra, et cuncta cogitatio cordis esset intenta ad malum omni tempore; poenituit eum [n: (Gen. VI, 5, 6)], » et delevit, non agnoscens imaginem deformatam, et non admissa similitudine in decorem. [1185D] In tanta vero multitudine hominum quae aquis deleta est, quot erant facies, quae secundum hominem dicebantur pulcherrimae, ex apta Dei compositione! quot caesaries altae! quam profunda pectora! quam operationi patentes scapulae! quot corpora ad usus bonos, si voluissent, composita! quot tibiae! quot manus! quot brachia! in quibus si nil quaereretur, nisi quod extra pulchrum est, non utique involverentur aquis, aut reperentur ad infima. Sed ii omnes obvoluti peccati nigredine, in domum nigram, infernum, scilicet, nigredinis hujusmodi principi deputatam, demersi sunt, inibi experientes, quae sit differentia inter denigratos peccato, et inter [1186A] hos qui pro Christo, passionibus, et his quae passionibus comitantur, adstricti sunt. Hi strident in tenebris; aliorum gloria in luce est: unde et hic dictum est, « Nigra sum, sed formosa. » Ecclesia enim Dei nigra est, vel passione corporis, vel maceratione carnis, et spiritus attritione, quia Christum sequitur, quousque pertingat ad ipsum. Sequitur:

*Sicut tabernacula Cedar, sicut pelles Salomonis.*

Duobus praemissis, duo quoque sunt subjecta. Ei namque quod dictum est, « Nigra sum, » subjungitur id quod dictum est, « sicut tabernacula Cedar: » ei vero quod positum est, « sed formosa, » supponitur id quod dictum est, « sicut pelles Salomonis. » [1186B] Quae sic posita sic intelligamus. Cedar namque filius fuisse Ismael intelligitur [n: (Gen. XXV, 13)], qui postquam adolevit, inter fratres suos habitare dedignatus, sibi solitudinem inhabitandam elegit, erigens sibi tabernacula, quae aeris omnem inclementiam susciperent, et nullam vel aestus vel frigoris enormitatem devitarent. In iis Cancrum aestuantem sustinebat, in iis rigentem frigore Capricornum non metuebat, in iis occursantium sibi quorumlibet impetus sustinebat, et militantium arma confringens, eis et virtute corporis, et tabernaculorum soliditate resistebat. Ait igitur Ecclesia, vel anima quaeque perfecta, se nigram esse sicut tabernacula Cedar, quia, sicut haec nullis poterant occursionibus repugnari; sic et hae, ab amore Dei, et cultu justitiae [1186C] illius, nullis poterant minis, nullis poterant adversantium terroribus, aut flagellis averti: juxta illud beati Pauli, « Scio quod nulla omnino creatura separabit me a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu [n: (Rom. VIII, 39)]. » Sequitur quod jam dictum est, « sicut pelles Salomonis. » Quae quidem pellis, non ovium, non caprarum, non aliquorum omnino animalium intelligenda est; sed ipsa pellis Salomonis; de qua et alibi dictum est, « Pelle et carnibus vestisti me, ossibus et nervis compegisti me [n: (Job X, 11)]. »

Haec itaque pellis est faciem ejus contegens, et cervicem, collum ejus muniens, pectus et brachia, vitalia quoque operiens, et reliqua corporis, quantum [1186D] est, intra se claudens atque concludens. Salomonem vero, quis nesciat regem extitisse ditissimum, cui dedit Dominus cor sapiens et intelligens, in tantum, ut nullus ante eum sibi similis extiterit, quique regna omnia a flumine terrae Philistim, usque terminum Aegypti obtinuerit, offerentia sibi munera, et sibi cunctis diebus vitae suae servientia. Huic quid deesse potuit, quod sibi in victu et vestitus ornatu non obedierit? Summus enim decor, et summa formositas huic affuit; quem. nullo carere quo vita hominum adornari queat, quisquis bene sanus intelligit. Huic ergo pelli, Ecclesia sancta, vel anima quaeque perfecta, recte se comparat, [1187A] dicens, « Formosus sum sicut pellis Salomonis; » quia sicut in iis rebus humanis, nihil hac pelle pulchrius, nihil dignius intelligitur; sic in iis quae ad Deum sunt, nihil sancta Ecclesia, nihil anima perfecta ornatius, aut accuratius invenitur. Quod si quis altius speculationem erigat, potest per hunc Salomonem, magnus ille Salomon intelligi, Dominus noster Jesus Christus, qui in suo sanguine pacavit universa, qui fecit utraque unum, coelestia et terrestria confoederans, ut in coelis sit Deo gloria, et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis. Hujus pelli se conformat Ecclesia, et quaeque fidelis anima, sperans certa spe, ut cum eo sit in beata immortalitate, immortalis futura, et aeterna beatitudine in incorruptione donanda. Unde et sequitur:

[1187B]

## 5.

*Nolite me considerare, quod fusca sim, quia decoloravit me sol.*

Ac si dicat, Nigra quidem sum, innumeris decolorata passionibus, horribilibus affecta tormentis: sed vos quae filiae vultis esse Jerusalem, nolite hoc attendere, nolite passiones meas ante oculos ponere, et has tanquam intolerabiles reputare. Quid Romae in Petro per crucem passa sum, quid per Paulum in gladio, quid per Joannem in dolio, quid per Andream in Achaia, quid per singulos apostolos in mundi locis diversis, denique per Stephanum, per Jacobum in Judaea, quid per Polycarpum, quid per Dionysium, quid per Laurentium, quid per Vincentium, quid per Thebaeam Legionem, quid [1187C] per omnes mundum late martyres, sustinuerim, quomodo in iis decolorata sum, ne attendatis; sed propter quid ista perpessa sum; quem fructum per istam consequar; quam beata donari me gloria certissima spe teneam. Hinc attendite, hinc considerate, quod hanc decolorationem ipse Sol justistitiae fecit in me. Haec pro eo passa sum, qui Sol est justitiae, qui reformabit corpus nostrum configuratum corpori claritatis suae, ut cum eo perenni vivam gloria, et beatitudine perfruar sempiterna. Sequitur:

*Filii matris meae pugnaverunt adversum me, posuerunt me custodem in vineis.*

Nigram se fuisse dicit Ecclesia; unde vero nigredo haec primo contigerit, consequenter ostendit, [1187D] dicens, « Filii matris meae pugnaverunt adversum me. » Hos matris suae filios dicit, ex Abraham, et Isaac, et Jacob stirpe progenitos; qui cum omnes filii hominum toto orbe terrarum, in laevam partem declinarent, ut adorarent idola, et iis sacrificarent, id facere renuerunt, sed potius in fide unius Dei, qui cuncta creaverat, per quem cuncta consistunt, stabiles, immobiliter permanserunt. Hos in hoc, matris suae, id est divinae gratiae, filios fuisse protestatur; quos, mundo perperam declinante, ab ejus revocavit erroribus, et hac in fide stabiles sibi, tanquam filios, conservavit: quibus cum tempus gratiae per prophetas multipliciter revelatum fuisset, et postmodum inter eos, nato de coelis Domino, [1188A] evidenter signis et virtutibus apparuisset, hunc tamen suscipere, huic credere, ejus praedicationi, innumeris licet virtutibus declaratae, fidem adhibere renuerunt: sed in lege per Moysen data stabiles esse decernentes, hunc post signa, et virtutes, et miracula, per manus discipuli sui traditum, apud judicem innocentem accusare, sibique datum accipere, et omnia innocenter sustinentem cruci affigere voluerunt. Hanc vitam resignantes, dati sunt in sensum reprobum, et eam recipientes potestatem acceperunt, ut sint filii Dei: juxta quod in propheta dictum est, « Vocabo non plebem meam, plebem meam, et non dilectam meam, dilectam; et non misericordiam consecutam, misericordiam consecutam. Et erit in hoc loco, ubi dictum [1188B] est eis, non plebs mea vos, ibi vocabuntur filii Dei vivi [n: (Ose. I, 10, et Rom. IX, 25, 26)]. » Hos vero dudum matris gratiae filios, dum adhuc status ille maneret, dum in suspenso forent adhuc prophetiae, cum nondum signa, nondum virtutes declaratae; nunc vero nequaquam filios, sed hostes acerbissimos, et homicidas impuros se dicit impugnasse Sponsa haec; ut capite confracto, confringerentur et membra, et Christo sublato, ut sperabant, de medio ejus ad purum Ecclesia tolleretur.

Hoc in Actibus Apostolorum plane ostenditur, ubi « Exurgens Princeps Sacerdotum, et omnes qui cum illo erant (quae est haeresis Sadducaeorum) repleti sunt zelo; et injecerunt manus in Apostolos, [1188C] et posuerunt eos in custodia publica [n: (Act. V, 17, 18)]; » et his per angelum potenter ereptis, caecis postmodum denuntiaverunt, ne omnino loquerentur in nomine Domini Jesu. Hi vero, divinae gratiae dudum filii, nunc ab offerente se gratia plene reprobi pugnam fecerunt adversum me. Sed novi populi fidem suscipientes, verbumque Dei, Deum verum, et hominem factum confitentes, huic se corde subdentes, me, quae a primo Abel extiti, quae cum Henoch Deum habere promerui, quaeque omnes justos quibus haec gratia revelata est, in me suscepi, me sibi custodem in vineis posuerunt, quas orbe toto longe lateque constituerunt. Hos nimirum vineas dicit Ecclesia sanctas, quas in suo sanguine, qui fidem Christi susceperant, plantaverunt, et in ejus gloriam [1188D] consecraverunt. His praeposita Sponsa haec, dicit, se custodem positam fuisse in vineis: quibus, etsi custodiam quantam potuerit adhibuerit, se eas tamen non custodiisse confitetur. Quod ad opinionem hominum dictum intelligimus: nam qui gladio consummati sunt, qui igne consumpti sunt, qui quae potuit excogitare mundus, suppliciis absumpti sunt, quis hos digne custoditos intelliget? Secundum opinionem hanc, dicit haec Sponsa:

*Vineam meam non custodivi.*

Hoc est, a suscipiendis pro Christo tormentis, non prohibui: quos tamen in vitam aeternam, ubi non sunt pericula, sed solum aeterna gaudia, jam praemisi. Huic consequenter annexum est:

*[1189A]*

## 6.

*Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas, ubi cubes in meridie, ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum.*

Haec enim Sponsa Sponso suo confessa est, quod licet posita custos in vineis, eas vel eam propter unam fidei charitatisque dilectionem, « non custodivit, » id est, a fervore subeundae passionis non compescuit; sed eas exhortando et animando, ad promissa sibi coelorum gaudia certissima spe transmisit. Hinc quo certior efficiatur, et de spe illa nemo sibi dubius habeatur, emittit orationem dicens, « Indica mihi ubi pascas, ubi cubes; » praemisso tamen hoc, « Quem diligit anima mea. » Solet enim mos esse supplicantibus, ut cum dari sibi vel fieri quidquam supplicaverint, praetendant [1189B] aliquid, sive porrigant, unde faciem ejus cui supplicatur, sibi pacatam fore intelligant: unde, quia in donis coelestibus nihil charitate eminentius, nil quod dari possit dilectione charius invenitur, suam quae postulat praetendit dilectionem, dicens, « Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea; » ut quod postulat, postulanti simul, et diligenti non negetur. Quid enim Deo charius? quid animae nostrae dilectione acceptabilius invenitur? Percurras omnia quae in mundo sunt, nil huic comparabile, nil Deo, tam acceptabile quod offeratur, tibi occurret. Mundum enim, et omnia quae mundi sunt, creavit Deus; sed qua de causa? ut esset quidem habitatio hominis: hominem vero hic qua de causa constituit? ut ei [1189C] pareret, et ei ex dilectione animae obediret. Finis igitur et causa creationis rerum hic est, ut Deum tota anima diligamus, illi in omnibus placeamus, ei indivisibiliter adhaereamus: juxta quod dictum est, « Qui conjungitur Domino, unus spiritus est [n: (I Cor. VI, 17)]. »

Haec igitur Sponsa conjuncta Deo, habens omnes, quae sunt et quae futurae sunt, animas conjunctas Deo, illa, quam dictat nobis Paulus Apostolus, unitate, quid rogare Sponsum potest, quod deneget? super quo potest interpellare, quod non exaudiat? Ait ergo, « Tu quem diligit anima mea, indica mihi ubi pascas. » Quod breve verbum, quam late possit extendi intelligimus, si Dominum omnium quae [1189D] longe lateque pascuntur, pastorem recte cognoscimus. Ipse enim ait, « Ego sum Pastor bonus; Pastor [n: (Joan. X, 11)], » inquam, « bonus, » per quem nec ales esurit, per quem nec omnia quae cibo sustentantur alieno esuriunt. Sed quid ad nos de eorum pastu inquirere, qui cum ipso donante pascantur, nec agunt donanti gratias, nec, ut has referre noverint, donantis gratias perceperunt? Homines itaque sunt quos pascit Deus; quibus subdit omnia quae in mundo sunt, oves et boves, universa etiam pecora campi, volucres coeli, et pisces maris. Quorum, quidam haec dona Dei digna gratiarum actione percipiunt; alii vero non attendentes quae sint, aut unde sint, aut qua de causa data sint, haec [1190A] omnia fortuita velut occupatione comprehendunt; nec quis auctor eorum, aut quis dator, ulla ratione cognoscunt. Hos igitur omnes cum pascat Deus, penes eum est, quos aut digne pro sua gratiarum actione remuneret, aut indignos a sua mensa aeterna damnatione rejiciat. Sed quid ad nos ista tractare, cum haec corporalia sint, et haec Sponsa Dei spiritualia? plus intendat inquirere, dicens, « Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi pascas. »

Spirituale igitur pabulum quaerendum est, quo Sponsum pascere dignum sit, et quo pasti, spirituales efficiantur. Panis enim quidam corporalis est, quo corpus alitur; et est panis quo spiritus enutritur. Panis quo corpus alitur, aratro procuratur et sarculo: panis quo spiritus enutritur, desursum [1190B] ministratur e coelo. Est enim panis vitae, Scriptura sancta, a Patre luminum divinitus inspirata; et est panis vitae, virtus unaquaeque perfecta: est panis vitae, corpus Christi, nobis in sacramentum et sanctificationem concessus. Hi panes sunt, quorum meminit propheta, dicens filiabus Sponsae, « Viduam ejus benedicens benedicam, pauperes ejus saturabo panibus [n: (Psal. CXXXI, 15)]. » Sion enim, « specula, » Ecclesia sancta est, de sublimi virtutum specula contemplans assidue Dominum Jesum, et ejus pavide et sollicite praestolans adventum. Hujus pars quaedam, jam cum Domino glorificata gaudet in coelis; quaedam adhuc exilium sustinens, a Domino peregrinatur in terra: juxta partem [1190C] hanc, vidua est, quasi a viro suo, Domino, scilicet, Jesu separata, qui in regionem longinquam abiit, quando cum assumpti corporis veritate coelos penetravit, et in die plenae lunae, id est glorificationis futurae, reversurus. Hanc viduam Dominus benedicens benedicit, modo, scilicet, duplici [cn: 16 | f. *et*.] benedictione; dans ei gratiam in via ne deficiat; dans tandem gloriam in patria, ut a laboribus requiescat. Pauperes vero ipsius panibus reficit, qui pauperes spiritu sunt; qui licet, in peregrinationis suae solatium, temporalia quaedam possideant, ad haec tamen animum non inclinant, sed ad datorem omnium amorem sursum erigunt, et affectum. Hos panibus jam dictis reficit, pane scilicet, scripturarum, [1190D] pane virtutum, pane sacramentorum, pane, scilicet, candidissimo, qui est panis angelorum; de quo dictum est: « Panem angelorum manducavit homo [n: (Psal. LXXVII, 25)]. » Hi panes sunt, quorum sermo meminit Evangelicus, dicens, « Quis vestrum habebit amicum, et ibit ad illum media nocte, dicens, Amice, commoda mihi tres panes; quoniam amicus meus venit ad me, et non habeo quod ponam ante illum [n: (Luc. XI, 4, 5)]. »

Bene amicum suscipit, qui ipsum hoc pane triplici reficere et honorare intendit. Panis itaque scripturarum in iis panibus primus est, eo quod in spirituali profectu primum est, nosse in quem credas, et quem diligas; secundum, illi conformari [1191A] quem amas; tertium, in hoc ipso confirmari, ne respicias, ne recedas. Per scripturas itaque cognoscimus, per virtutem conformamur, confirmamur vero per sacramentum. Pane scripturarum illuminamur ad fidem, ut postmodum confirmemur ad virtutem; unde scriptum est, « Declaratio sermonum tuorum illuminat, et intellectum dat parvulis [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 130)]. » Est enim verbum quod auditur prolatum, et est verbum quod permanet natum: ex declaratione vero verbi quod auditur prolatum, concipitur intellectus et cognitio verbi quod semper permanet natum; hic est Christus Jesus Dominus noster; cujus fides certe concipitur, cum verbum Dei, scriptura sancta, sobrie et fideliter aperitur et exponitur. Scriptum quippe est, quod [1191B] « cognoverunt eum in fractione panis [n: (Luc. XXIV, 35)]. » Evangelica patet historia: Dominus cum discipulis gradiebatur, nec quidem cognoscebatur, qui hospitio ab eis susceptus est, et tandem in fractione panis est cognitus. O beata fractio qua Christus cognoscitur! qua Christus in suorum corde concipitur! Panis itaque scripturarum primus est; quod etiam revelat Dominus, dum faciens miracula, quinque millia hominum, quinque panibus; quatuor vero millia, septem panibus reficere dignatus est. Scriptum namque est, « Cum, acceptis quinque panibus, aspiciens in coelum, benedixit, et fregit, et dedit discipulis suis panes, discipuli autem turbis [n: (Matth. XIV, 19)]. » O admiranda benedictio! quae panes dum frangit, non minuit, auget cum distribuit; [1191C] multiplicat cum in multorum refectione consumit; quod pani corporeo innaturale est, hoc redigit in naturam. Pentateuchum tradidit apostolis, praecipiens ut frangant, et omnibus distribuant, ut omnes saturentur ex iis, et expositorum maneant multae reliquiae: sic et Heptateuchum benedicens, frangi praecepit populis, et ex hoc sportas expositorum quamplures impleri. Huic enim pani natura est, ut cum frangitur, et distribuitur, et in multorum correctione communicatur, augeatur semper; et unde videtur minui, inde potius dilatationem et incrementa suscipiat. Pentateuchum vero, id est quinque libros Mosis, et Heptateuchum, quae sunt quatuor Evangelia, apostolorum epistolae, et Actus [1191D] eorum, quos scribit Lucas, « Paulus etiam apostolus [cn: 17 | Joannis etiam Apocalypsis.]. » Haec suis exhibet Dominus, ut sint haec quasi semina, et multa ex his fruges oriatur, quibus tota cohaerens Deo multitudo pascatur, et plene reficiatur. Virtutum vero panis est, cum ex audito verbo virtutem mente concipimus, et in ea firmi et stabiles permanemus; cum vitiorum dedecus propulsantes, haec mortificamus opere, declinamus sermone, cogitatu formidamus attingere. Sic fit virtuti locus in mente; ut quod ambitio late complectitur, id pro Christo contemnatur: quod incontinentia suggerit, « in castitate perimat [cn: 18 | f. *id castitate perimatur*.]; » quod extollitur per superbiam, id humilitate frangatur; [1192A] et omne late vitium potenti charitatis imperio procul pellatur. Hujus meminit Psalmista dicens, « Fuerunt mihi lacrymae meae panes die ac nocte [n: (Psal. XLI, 4)]. » Nam cum amorem Dei diceret praeferendum saeculo, respondebatur ei, ut hoc manifesto panderetur miraculo; dicebant enim, « Ubi est Deus tuus? » [n: (Ibid.)] Qua audita cordis duritia, ad lacrymas propheta convertitur, pro iis orans ut emolliantur, ut tandem convertantur; has quidem lacrymas pro panibus habens, et sibi refectionem existimans. Meminit ejusdem dicens, « Percussus suum ut foenum, et aruit cor meum; quia oblitus sum comedere panem meum [n: (Psal. CI, 5)]. » Nam nisi panis hic virtutum assidue comedatur, ut eo quis roboretur, falce peccati percutitur, et ejus [1192B] viror decidit, et illico flos ejus emarcescit. Idem namque propheta replicat dicens, « Tota die exprobrabant mihi inimici mei [n: (ibid. 9-10)]; » et quare? « Quia cinerem tanquam panem manducabam, » id est, peccato, quasi virtute oblectabar. Hi panes sunt, quos in alveolo intriverat Habacuc [n: (Dan. XIV, 32)], ut eos deferret messoribus, quem in capillo suo tulit angelus Domini, et in impetu spiritus sui posuit eum in Babylone, ut eos deferret Danieli. Hos enim panes virtutum in cordis sui alveo contriverat ille Daniel; et ibidem, quae, et qualia, et quanta posset virtus experiebatur. Panis hic ille est, qui Eliae fugienti a facie Jesabel, ad caput est positus, in quo sibi dictum est, « Surge, comede; grandis enim [1192C] restat via. Surrexit ergo, et comedit, ambulavitque in fortitudine cibi illius quadraginta diebus, et quadraginta noctibus, usque ad montem Dei Horeb [n: (III Reg. XIX, 7, 8)]. » Hic itaque panis ille est, quem flagitamus quotidie, dicentes, « Panem nostrum quotidianum da nobis hodie [n: (Luc. XI, 3)]; » quia absque hoc pane virtutis et gratiae, ad panem sacramenti quemlibet accedere injustum est, aut pervenire. Hic vero tertius ille sacramenti panis, quem de se, modo mirabili Dominus efficit, quem Ecclesiae suae in vitam communicandum concedit, cui cum quis credendo pariter et edendo non communicaverit, haud dubium, quod vitam aeternam habiturus minime sit.

## 6. (cont.)

Haec itaque de pastu Sponsi dicta sufficiant; quem [1192D] si sic intelligimus, ut vel pastum praebeat, vel pastum ipse suscipiat, nihil refert; cum iis panes hos praedicando distribuit, vel panes eosdem credendo et amando suscipiunt; ipse unus et idem sit, qui pascatur et pascit, et in iis, velut in membris suis fidelibus, delectetur et quiescat. Unde enim subditur, « Ubi pascas, et ubi cubes, » eo quod in his cubile suae quietis habeat, quos aut iis pascit panibus, aut qui eisdem panibus, doctore fideli verbum ministrante, reficiuntur. Hoc enim adjungitur, « In meridie. » Meridies etenim, dies medius dicitur, quo sol lucet ferventius, et dies solito serenior illucescit. Suus itaque unicuique meridies est, cum [1193A] oblitus temporalium, spiritualia jam mente percurrit; et corporalium immemor, ea quae sunt spiritus, mente [cn: 19 | f. *mentis*.] oculis anteponit. Hinc Stoicorum, Epicuraeorum, Peripateticorum dogmata, hinc multa studiosorum figmenta prodierunt, qui summum bonum via sibi nondum propalata, alius sic, alius vero sic statuentes, Christum ducem non habentes, in sua quique meridie erraverunt. At vero Abrahae in convalle Mambre sedenti [n: (Gen. XVIII, 1)], in ostio tabernaculi sui, in fervore diei, ut scriptum est, apparuit Dominus; eique unitatem substantiae, in qua vere est, et trinitatem in personis evidenter ostendens, hunc verae fidei professorem demonstravit. De quo in Evangelio Dominus, « Abraham pater vester exultavit ut videret diem meum: vidit et [1193B] gavisus est [n: (Joan. VIII, 56)]. » Tunc enim diem trinitatis ejus manifeste conspexit, cum ipsum in trinitate personam tertiam, et Deum unum in ipsa trinitate intellexit. Sic enim scriptum est, quod « apparuit Dominus sedenti in tabernaculo [n: (Gen. XVIII, 1)], » in quo unitas substantiae demonstratur: cumque aperuisset oculos, « apparuerunt tres viri » [n: (ibid., 2)]; ecce mysterium Trinitatis. Quibus cum postea dictum sit, « Domine, si inveni gratiam in oculis tuis, ne transeas servum tuum [n: (ibid., 3, etc.)]; » ecce mysterium Unitatis. « Sed afferam pauxillum aquae, et lavate pedes vestros; ponamque buccellam panis, et confortate cor vestrum: postea transibitis: idcirco enim declinastis ad servum vestrum. Qui dixerunt, fac ut locutus es; » ecce mysterium [1193C] Trinitatis. Et post haec, omnia sub mysterio Trinitatis comprehenduntur, usque ad illud, « Revertens veniam ad te tempore isto, vita comite [n: (ibid., 10)]. » Haec nobilis illa meridies est, in qua cubat Dominus, in qua requiescit: sicut et illa Moysi [n: (Exod., 12)], qua in agni sanguine populum Dei de Aegypto educendum intelligit: sicut et haec novissime, qua se Dominus praefigurans apostolis, faciem suam in modum solis, et vestimenta in candore nivis ostendit; etiam vox de coelo sonuit, « Hic est filius meus dilectus, in quo mihi bene complacui [n: (Matth. XVII, 5)]. » De hac ait haec Sponsa, « Indica mihi, quem diligit anima mea, ubi cubes in meridie, » id est quae sit illa meridies, « Ubi cubes, » id est ubi quiescas, et locum tibi quietis et pausationis intimae praeparas; [1193D] « Ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum. » Vagari dicitur, qui non uno mentis suae sensu tenetur, nunc unum approbans, nunc aliud de eadem re sentiens, nec certum sibi quid statuens ut in eo maneat, et sibi credulitatis suae fundamenta constituat. Quod ne sibi contingat, exigit haec a Sponso certiorari, quaenam sibi meditatio placeat, quae de se sentire, vel aliis praedicare debeat, ut in iis perseverans, post greges sodalium suorum non discurrat, nec eorum numerum augeat, qui se Domini sodales bona de eo quaedam sentiendo construunt, alia vero pessime mentiendo contradicunt. Sequitur:

*[1194A]*

## 7.

*Si ignoras te, o pulcherrima inter mulieres, egredere.*

Edocta Spiritu sapientiae Sponsa haec oravit ad Dominum, ut suo hanc doceret Spiritu, ubi pasceret, ubi sibi cubile in meridie eligeret. Postmodum vero paulisper elata spiritu, subjungit quod dictum est, « Ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum. » Unde minas videtur intendere, quod nisi fiat quod postulat, ipsa se alienorum gregi immisceat. Quod attendens Dominus ipsi elatae paululum simul et paulisper iratus effertur [cn: 20 | f. *fertur*.] juxta quod dictum est, « Cum sancto sanctus eris, et cum viro innocente innocens eris; et cum electo electus eris, et cum perverso perverteris [n: (Psal. XVII, 26, 27)]. » Dominus enim, ut sancto sanctus, innocens [1194B] innocenti, electo electus; sic justissime perverso perversus invenitur. Unde dicenti, « Ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum. » Respondet Dominus, « Si ignoras te, o pulchra inter mulieres, egredere. » Attendendum vero est, quod dicitur, « O pulchra inter mulieres! » Hanc enim in Sponsam elegit sibi Dominus, ut cum ipso sit, cum ipso maneat, cum ipso sibi comitatum bonae fidei gerat, nec ab eo unquam cujusquam perversione discedat: pulchra igitur est, quae sic elata est, sic dilecta, ut aliis in muliebri statu permanentibus, ipsa in Reginae thronum electa sit, et super omnes principatum habens, constituta. Sunt autem et hae mulieres, inter quas haec electa est (quarum haec comparatione decora, immo admiranda [1194C] videtur) omnes Ethnicorum animae, Publicanorum, Judaeorum, non sequentium legem, et Christum non confitentium, Christianorum etiam, qui verbis confitentur, nosse se Deum, factis autem negant. Ut hoc ergo sibi in memoriam reducatur, dicitur, « O pulchra inter mulieres, si ignoras te. »

Grande quidem periculum est animae perfectae, vel sponsae electae, ignorare se: hoc quidem ignorare, quod a summo Patre omnium Deo, ex nihilo creata sit, et tamen ad ejus imaginem et similitudinem formata, « Imago » quidem est (ut supra diximus) ex ratione, sciens quid justum sit, quid injustum sit, quid agendum sit, quid declinandum, quod sibi fieri non vult, hoc proximo denegandum, [1194D] et multa hujusmodi: quae omnia observans anima, ejus a quo creata est plene exprimit et observat imaginem. « Similitudo » vero est, cum fide suscepta procedit ulterius, eligens sibi virtutes, quas diligat, quas foveat, quibus ei a quo creata est, jure complaceat, et omnia haec mente et actione collecta, charitate consummata, donet et offerat. Est praeterea quod ad imaginem et similitudinem Dei creata dicitur, quia sic quidem creata est ut nunquam esse desinat; sed in perpetuam aeternitatem manens consistat, perpetuo retinens bonum quod de manu Domini virtute promeruit, aut certe malum, si merita illud exegerint. Est et aliud in quo se ignorare non decet Sponsam, sed ejus perpetuam [1195A] justum est retinere notitiam, quod is qui ante secula Deus semper, et non homo, ob hanc redimendam et reducendam, et in Sponsae dignitatem sibi coaptandam, pro ea factus est homo, mortalis de immortali, passibilis de impassibili, corruptibilis de incorruptibili, et ea quae longa Evangeliorum explicat series passus omnia sustinuit, ut hanc ad Patrem reduceret, et in gloria secum glorificaret. Hanc quis enarret gloriam? quam nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quam praeparavit Deus diligentibus se. Haec si ignorat anima aut Sponsa dilecta, quid restat nisi ut dicatur sibi, « Egredere, » quasi a meo recede collegio, « Et abi post vestigia gregum, » passus illorum quos greges tibi nominas, id est [1195B] dicta eorum et sententias praedica, et undequaque annuntia: et pasce haedos tuos? Ecce quis sibi fructus eveniet, si de bonorum collegio egressa fuerit, si male gradientes audierit, si, quod ipsi praedicant et docent, annuntiaverit. Quis fructus hic? quia pascet « haedos suos, » id est motus carnales, lascivos et foetidos; hos pascet, laxando fraena luxuriae, et vitiis omnibus [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)], ut in eos crescant haedos, quos in sinistra positos die ultima Dominus in supplicium est missurus aeternum. Sequitur:

*Juxta tabernacula pastorum.*

Pastorum quidam boni sunt, qui oves suas ad vitam erudiunt, et, si necessitas exigat, pro iis mori non desistunt: horum exemplar optimum Jesus [1195C] Christus Dominus noster. Sunt et alii, qui commissos sibi greges in mortem prave docendo pertrahunt: et in hoc sibi tabernacula, velut auditoria quaedam in quibus solemniter possint audiri, defigunt. Commotus itaque Sponsus, dat Sponsae elatae eonsilium; ut, si boni pertaesa consilii, tentat effugere, juxta horum tabernacula tentet sibi tentorium figere, et docere, ut quos par reatus ligat in culpa, par quoque torqueat cruciatus in poena. Sequitur:

8. *Equitatui meo in curribus Pharaonis assimilavi te, amica mea.*

Quod amantis est agit hic Sponsus. Quam sibi in Sponsam elegerat, hanc commendavit verbis, delinivit obsequiis, ampliavit promissis. Quae promissa [1195D] suscipiens, dum prono fertur desiderio, paulisper excessit in verbo, dicens, « Ne vagari incipiam post greges sodalium tuorum. » Verbum quidem, quod nec cogitare debuerat, etsi cogitatione praesumptum fuerat, dicendo tamen aperiri fas non erat. Ad verbum hoc paulisper commotus Sponsus, unde gratiae referri debuerant, inde sibi minas intendi designans, moderate responderit, verbum irae dicens, « Si ignoras te, o pulchra, egredere, » et abi, horum vestigia prosequens quos tu tibi pastores nominas; cum quibus quia mihi nulla communio est, a meo tibi recedendum erit collegio. Sponsa [1196A] vero, verbum suum graviter a Sponso suscipi intelligens, ingemiscit, et condolet; et quia verbo offenderat, verbo vel quicquam efferre contremiscit. Quod ubi Sponso, vel interveniente Angelo, vel eo quo scit omnia modo, innotuit, virum oblitus Sponsum induit, dolenti condoluit poenitenti illico commissa remisit, memor ejus quod dictum est, « Confitebor adversum me injustitiam meam Domino, et tu remisisti impietatem peccati mei [n: (Psal. XXXI, 5)]. » Igitur abstersis odiis, ira summota, ut ea quae nunc dicta sunt amoveantur a memoria, et in statum pristinum revocetur haec Sponsa, illam verbo amicabili convenit, verbo quod nondum audire promeruit, dicens, « Amica mea; » sic innuens, sibi jam in te gratum esse totum quod erat a gratia imminutum. [1196B] Ait ergo, « Amica mea, assimilavi te equitatui meo. » Hic vero quis equitatus Sponsi intelligitur, nisi qui pro Sponso fortiter ubique pugnant, et victorias ejus, coelo et aere, terra marique dilatant? Haec Angelorum illa multitudo est, quae primo cum agerentur praelia, cum dixit superba cohors, « Ponam sedem meam ad Aquilonem, et ero similis Altissimo [n: (Isa. XIV, 14)], » suo concorditer adhaesit principi; illi qui se creaverat dans honorem et gloriam, exturbatori resistens, ad omnem ejus confusionem et ignominiam. Hunc itaque de coelo dejectum, ab ea quam dudum sperare poterat gloria, irrevocabiliter alienum in infernum dejicit, loca ei horroris et vastae solitudinis inhabitanda committit, ut nulla eis pateat egressio, nisi quam divina dat [1196C] dispensatio; ut hinc egressio, aut electos probent, aut ad damnationem praescitos apta sibi tentatione praecipitent. Hinc Dominus Jesus, et praecipua ejus membra, Petrus, et Paulus, et apostoli omnes, cunctaque per mundum millia ipso instigante, et in malorum cordibus immittente, cruci, et gladio, aliisque passionibus innumeris addicti sunt, ut horum tentationibus probarentur, et nec ipsa morte devicti, in aeterna gloria susciperentur. Ait enim Joannes, « Cum diabolus jam misisset in cor, ut traderet eum Judas Simonis Iscariotae [n: (Joan. XIII, 2)]: » et Dominus in Job, « Ecce in manu tua est, veruntamen animam illius serva [n: (Job II, 6)]. » Ecce, quod in capite sibi potestas data est, et in membris [1196D] ejus optimis. Nam quae sibi in Job potestas data est, eadem sibi in Petro, et in Paulo, aliisque per mundum electis omnibus, concessa potestas est; ut eos aut morte tentaret, aut carne deprimeret, animas tamen eorum illaesas ipse custodiret. Sic in iis victoriam obtinens equitatus Dei, eamdem et in homines exercuit, eorum fraude contaminatos primo aquis submergens diluvii, postquam civitates peccato additas [cn: 21 | f. *addictas*.] sulphure perdens et igni; postmodum vero in filios Abrahae, saevientem Pharaonem plagis durissimis exercens Dominus, cum necdum resipisceret, in illum, mare cum curribus et equitibus ingressum, ut ambulantes per siccum in [1197A] medio maris filios Israelis apprehenderet, immisso equitatu coelesti, vindictam Domino exercuit, et tam regem ipsum quam principes, currus, et aurigas, et equites, aquis ad locum pristinum ipsorum ministerio reductis, absorbuit; sicque suum populum gloriosa victoria liberavit.

## 7. (cont.)

Hoc itaque est quod Sponsus ait, « Amica mea, assimilavi te equitatui meo, in curribus Pharaonis, » id est, dum angelicus comitatus in subvertendis curribus Pharaonis occuparetur; te illi meo comitatui similem constitui, sic agens pro te, sic pugnans pro te, sic eruens te, tanquam equitatui meo participem semper habere volens te. Juxta quod Judaeis a Domino dictum est, « Erratis, nescientes scripturas, neque virtutem Dei. In resurrectione [1197B] enim, neque nubent, neque nubentur, sed sunt sicut angeli Dei in coelo [n: (Matth. XXII, 29, 30)]. » Quantum vero est, assimilari iis, quorum ea virtus est, ea potestas, quae demonstrata est in Lachish, in exercitu Sennacherib [n: (IV Reg. XIX, 39)], quo minas intendente in Jerusalem factum est, ut ea nocte veniret Angelus Domini, et percuteret de castris Assyriorum centum octoginta quinque millia virorum, ad liberandam Jerusalem. Quod si uno percutiente Angelo, tot hominum millia prostrata sint, quid fieret si totus in terram Dei equitatus insurgeret? nec unum quidem ex reprobis superesse contingeret. Ait enim Dominus, cum eum apprehenderet profana gens, et Petrus ad hunc defendendum [1197C] gladio servum Principis percuteret: « Mitte gladium in vaginam. An putas, quod non possum rogare Patrem meum, et exhibebit mihi, plus quam duodecim legiones angelorum? [n: (Matth. XXVI, 52, 53.)] » Qui quidem numerus octoginta millia continet, octo minus: etiam in defensionem Elisei multa quidem millia missa sunt, quae, orante Eliseo ut aperiret Dominus oculos pueri, ipsi puero sunt demonstrata: sic enim dictum est, « Ecce mons plenus equorum, et curruum igneorum, in circuitu Elisei [n: (IV Reg. VI, 17)]. » Hic itaque equitatus est Dei, in quibus pugnat, quibus sua exercet mysteria [cn: 22 | *Ministeria*.], quibus Sponsam, quam ex hominibus elegit, assimilat, eamque sibi in decore, potestate conformat, et virtute. Ait itaque, « Amica mea, assimilavi te, » id est, in praedestinatione [1197D] mea, jam similem te feci, « equitatui » meo, id est, Angelis meis, quos ad exercendas ultiones meas ad bella mea, ad ea quae hominibus valde videntur gravia, transmitto, ut in curribus Pharaonis nuper ostensum est. Sequitur:

9. *Pulchrae sunt genae tuae, sicut turturis: collum tuum sicut monilia.*

Ait Sponsus ad Sponsam, ut eam deliniat, ipsamque sibi in omnibus pacatam reddat, nec ad haedos suos pascendos aliquatenus resilire permittat, « Assimilavi te, amica mea, equitatui meo, » id est, collegio meo similem te in omnibus in praedestinatione constitui. Quia vero quod praedestinatum [1198A] est, id actu impleri necesse est; ut coelesti digna efficiaris collegio, oportet ut qui in tuo corpore locum genarum obtinent, sic quasi genae turturis sint, et hujus in se volucris quasi similitudinem repraesentent. Hujus enim volucris haec natura est: uni pari jungitur, quo interempto alteri non sociatur: sedet in ramis arborum jam emortuis, foliis fructuque carentibus: ibi gemit, et gemitum pro cantu emittit. Quos itaque in corpore suo velut genas habere haec Sponsa intelligitur, hos genis turturis similes habere praecipitur. Sunt enim genae quae cibum masticant, mandunt, et minuunt, et aptum ut in corpus trajiciatur, efficiunt. Hi, sancti scriptores sunt, qui Dei verbo edocti, scripturas sanctas mente concipiunt, seseque iisdem reficiunt, [1198B] easque in usus Ecclesiae sanctae communicando, ipsam nuptiis habilem, Deoque charam, et aeterno dignam connubio reddunt. Hi se pari junctos intelligunt Jesu Christo Domino nostro, « qui cum in forma Dei esset, non rapinam arbitratus est esse aequalem Deo: sed semetipsum exinanivit, formam servi accipiens, in similitudinem hominum factus, et habitu inventus ut homo [n: (Phil. II, 6, 7)]. » Huic tanquam pari se jungunt, huic adhaerent, hunc diligunt; et cum in coelum jam ab eis sublatus sit, « Nullum aliud nomen sub coelo esse, in quo salvos fieri oporteat homines [n: (Act. IV, 12)], » asseverant et adstruunt. Hi in ramis considentes emortuis, quia quos mundo mortuos, viventes autem Deo considerant, [1198C] in iis oblectantur et quiescunt, quos nec mundanae sapientiae folia vestiunt, nec mundani fructus oblectant, qui cito marcescunt et pereunt. Hi vero gemitum pro cantu emittunt, gementes se eo carere quod appetunt, et Dominum Jesum non apprehendere quem concupiscunt. De iis in unum collectis dictum est, « Beatus cujus in lege Domini voluntas ejus, et in lege ejus meditabitur die ac nocte. Et erit tanquam lignum quod plantatum est secus decursus aquarum, quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo. Et folium ejus non defluet, et omnia quaecunque faciet, prosperabuntur [n: (Psal. I, 1, 2, 3)]. » Haec divinae legis scriptoribus assignantur; sicut ejus doctoribus et praedicatoribus haec quae sequentia sunt, attribuuntur.

[1198D] *Collum tuum sicut monilia.*

Collum enim a colligando dicitur, eo quod capiti corpus colliget, et haec duo in unum convertat. Quo nomine praedicatores et doctores sancti apte cognominantur, qui ea quae a Spiritu Sancto data sunt suscipientes, ipso donante exponentes, ea toti proponunt Ecclesiae, ipsamque suo faciunt capiti cohaerere; quos nimirum esse oportet ut monilia pectori quidem affixa, bonumque his quibus annexa sunt, commonentia. Monile enim affixum pectori, sic ait, sic loquitur; Quam custodiendam suscepi, casta sis, pudica sis, totius honestatis amatrix sis; nesciat te manus adultera, nec quicquam contingat [1199A] te, quo fides Sponso tuo debita laedatur, aut amor in aliquo minuatur. Quae nimirum vox praedicatori et doctori bene convenit, ut castus et honestus sit, et tanquam monile rotundum, rotunditate sua perfectus undique sit, et circumspectus. Haec conservet in se, haec observanda doceat undequaque. Unde monile illud aureum bene resonat, dicens, Praecinguntur lumbi fidelium, dum concupiscentia mala comprimitur, dum iniqua cogitatio cohibetur, dum libidini resistit animus, dum lasciviae denegatur effectus, dum calcatur luxuria, dum avaritia contemnitur et rapina, dum proximi laesio devitatur, dum superbia vincitur, dum invidia superatur. Quae quidem monilia, ut apte a collo dependeant, et firme pectori affixa permaneant, ait Sponsus:

*[1199B]*

## 10.

*Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi.*

Murena, piscis est, sua proceritate decorus, colorisque varietate conspersus. Unde dicuntur murenulae catenae ex auro fabricatae, quae collo circumdatae, protenduntur in longum, et annexae monili hoc immobiliter fasciae pectorali restringunt. Has itaque se proponit Ecclesiae Sponsae suae facturum; quia sicut eorum sensus qui legem dant, vel qui principia dant litterarum, ex quibus Testamentum aut vetus aut novum consurgit, ex divina sunt sapientia; sic et eorum, qui earumdem sunt expositores Scripturarum, sensus, ingenia, et inventio tota, ex ipso sunt: et quibus ipsi Ecclesiam dilatant, aut magnificant, aut corroborant, divini muneris exuberatione procedunt. Quas dicit Sponsus, [1199C] quia eas facturus est ipse sententias, sed « vermiculatas argento; » id est divino decoratas eloquio. Unde innuit, se non tantum sensum quem proferunt expositores illis dare, sed et eloquii fragrantiam, unde placent, unde auditorum conviventia suscipiuntur ministrare [cn: 23 | f *auditoribus convenientia suspiciuntur ministrare*.]. Ait itaque, « Murenulas aureas faciemus tibi, » id est divinas sententias tibi conferemus « vermiculatas, » id est more vermium decoratas, et « argento, » id est divino eloquio, quod prae omnibus metallis dulcius tinnit, exornatas. Notanda vero est ipsa dicendi mutatio, quod cum hucusque Sponsus singulari sit usus eloquio, nunc eidem Sponsae verba faciens plurali numero dicit, « Murenulas aureas faciemus » tibi; sic [1199D] Trinitatis monstrans arcanum, quae totum legem utramque statuit, et utriusque expositoribus gratiam qua id facerent, et complacerent, administravit. Unde sibi speranda est summae jam salutis redintegratio, quam, ne unquam haedis suis pascendis intendat, superius et « amicam » nominat, et hic sua dona promittens, summae sibi et adorandae Trinitatis mysterium jam revelat.

11. *Dum esset Rex in accubitu suo, nardus mea dedit odorem suum.*

Auditis autem Sponsa iis quae a Sponso sibi proposita sunt, scilicet, quod equitatui coelesti assimilata sit; et quod ii qui in ejus corpore instar genarum [1200A] obtinent, turturis similitudinem habere debeant; qui vero instar colli, monilibus assimilentur; audito nihilominus promisso, quod sibi summae Trinitatis manu factae murenulae dandae sint; os suum aperit, et attrahit Sponsa spiritum, nil tamen habens quod offerat, nil quod digne retribuat, nisi solam eam charitatem, qua et ab initio ante Christi incarnationem donata est, et eam qua post ejus adventum et in coelis ascensionem ad ipsum dono mirabili pertractata est. Hanc sperans pretiosam, hanc indignam repulsa reputans, hujus meminit, et illam secum permansuram aeterna stabilitate promittit dicens, « Cum esset Rex in accubitu suo. » Accubitum vero regis nominat, propositum illud mentis divinae, quo Pater Filium suum in terras [1200B] mittere, carnem ex alma virgine Maria sumere, natumque ex ea mundum docere, sanctamque non ferentes doctrinam ipsum cruci affigere, et mori, et post mortem propria virtute resurgere, et post in coelum potenter ascendere, operante haec mirabiliter charitate, Filioque in hoc obediente, Spirituque Sancto in hoc consentiente, disposuit. Quod etsi aeterna lege dispositum est, moram tamen habuit, et ab Eva usque in Adam, et ob Adae offensam, usque ad hanc temporis plenitudinem est dilatum. Jam vero per Christum, gratia et veritas donata est [n: (Joan. I, 17)]; et quod fuerat a Patre dispositum, gratia est operante completum.

Ait itaque, « Cum esset in accubitu suo, » id est, dum ille, quem regem super omnia judicio, Filius, [1200C] scilicet, qui cum Patre, et Spiritu Sancto regit universa; dum ille « esset in suo accubitu, » id est in hoc mentis proposito sine labore conquiesceret, « Nardus mea dedit odorem suum. » Nardus arbor est humilis et odorifera, per quam hos Sponsa designat, quibus ante sui adventum, mysterii et Sacramenti quod operaturus erat, contulit Deus ipse notitiam; qui hunc venturum praedicabant et diligebant, et in hoc, ut ipsum videbant spiritu, sic corporali aspectu videre digni fierent, intimo mentis desiderio aestuabant. Hic aestus charitas, et odor pii desiderii, quo se in ipsum mutuo accendebant Patres sancti. Odor ille est, quem nardum, dum rex in accubitu suo esset, dedisse Sponsa protestatur. [1200D] Hic odor a Patre in mundum, et in mortalium corda primo progressus est, qui indignatus serpenti quod mulierem deceperit, ait: « Quia fecisti haec, maledictus es inter omnia animantia et bestias terrae. Super pectus tuum gradieris, et terram comedes cunctis diebus vitae tuae [n: (Gen. III, 14)]. » Quod, ut dictum est, sic est in eo divina completum sententia. Nam quae supra pectus graditur, a terra nunquam elevatur: quod de ipso verum est, quia eorum corda quos inhabitat, dum in eis dominatur, nunquam a terrenis voluptatibus et cogitationibus elevari, nunquam in lucem virtutum quae de coelo est, exsurgere, sua voluntate permittit; sed eam cunctis diebus [1201A] « comedes, » id est terrenis voluptatibus oblectari, in iis dormire et quiescere, tam falsa persuasione, quam falsus est ipse, compellit. Sed tandem de coelo respexit misericordia; ait enim Deus, « Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius [n: (Gen. III, 15)]; » ac si diceret, Haec tibi credendo elapsa est, ego unam creabo mulierem, quae omne caput tuum conteret, quae initia omnium suggestionum tuarum quas miseris infigis mortalibus, objectu virtutis atteret, nec ad effectum quem suades attingere ulla ratione permittet.

Haec illa beata Maria extitit, quae ab utero sanctificata est, quae ita statim a Spiritu Sancto est vallata, ut nullus eam tentandi, vel sinistrum quidlibet suggerendi, serpenti locus extiterit: si totum quod [1201B] movere mortalium corda consuevit, huic oblatum, huic praesentatum, statim virtutis calcaneo contritum extiterit. Unde inter ipsam et serpentem positae sunt inimicitiae et firmatae, ut quod uni placet, alteri displiceat, quod pars una suadet, altera prorsus abhorreat, nec uno queant articulo voluntates prorsus contrariae convenire. Haec coeli gloriam possidet, omnesque qui suae se devotioni committunt secum perenniter habere gaudet; et hic morantes, et ad illam cor habentes, suis tuetur precibus, nec ejus sint [cn: 24 | f. *sinit*.] suggestionibus aut deflecti, aut certe omnino submitti. Serpens vero latebras inferni circuit, ibi suis loca disponit; hic, his qui a fide exorbitant, qui ea quae mille modis suggerit actu implere non formidant, poenas parat inaestimabiles, [1201C] et luctus exitiales. Hae ergo sunt inimicitiae inter mulierem hanc et serpentem positae, quae etiam sunt inter semen mulieris et semen serpentis firmiter obfirmatae. Nam semen mulieris hujus, ipse Jesus Christus est; semen serpentis, omnes qui non sunt Christi. Hujus primum semen Abel extitit, qui Filio Virginis testimonium, fide, sacrificio, morteque firmavit. Ejus semen Henoch, qui eidem filio testimonium fide vera et ascensione perhibuit. Semen ejus Noe, qui instar ejusdem filii Ecclesiam in diluvio aquarum multarum in ligno salvavit. Semen ejus Sem et Japhet, qui verenda patris non viderunt, sed ea, aversis vultibus, suas velando facies operuerunt. Hic enim Dei Patris, instar Noe, obdormisse dicitur, cum consensit ut ejus filius caperetur, [1201D] et cruci turpiter affixus, in opprobrium ostenderetur; quem vidit et irrisit Cham, maledictus populus Judaeorum: at vero duo fratres, aversis vultibus, haec non viderunt, nec irriserunt; duo, scilicet, populi, unus solis ex Judaeis poenitentibus et conversis, alter ex Gentibus. Hi, quae in cruce gesta sunt venerantes, nil turpe reputant, sed scripturarum pallio operientes, omnia venerantur eadem et adorant. Huic vero semini Abraham condigne adscribitur, cui, in fervore diei sedenti in ostio tabernaculi, Dominus apparuisse legitur, et insigne summae Trinitatis simul et Unitatis mysterium aperuisse: cui postmodum in filio suo Isaac, Dominicae [1202A] passionis mysterium revelatum est, cum ligato ad passionem Isaac, gladius patris, prohibente angelo, ab ejus cervice reducitur, et aries haerens cornibus immolatur. In quo vere pro facto voluntas habenda est, quam solum angelus impedivit, in quam pater, vibrato jam gladio, collo filius extenso consensit. Quibus patriarchis duobus, tertius ille Jacob digne connumeratur, quem dormientem in petra, quae est Christus, scalamque in coelum erectam intuentem, qua ad visitandos electos quidam descendebant angeli, alii jam electos et bene jam diu promeritos, ad superna provehebant; quemque longo squalore laboris attritum, duas Laban filias, id est duas Ecclesias, unam actioni, alteram contemplationi deditas, promeruisse, [1202B] et nolente patre Laban cum iis ad propria remeasse cognoscimus, et in extremis agentem prophetico quidem spiritu, in Juda filio suo de Christo vera prophetantem, haec dixisse non ambigimus. « Juda, te laudabunt fratres tui [n: (Gen. XLIX, 8)]. » In quo, cum multa de passione ejus et resurrectione praedixerit, hoc quoque annectit, « Non auferetur sceptrum de Juda, et dux de femore ejus, donec veniat qui mittendus est, et ipse erit expectatio gentium [n: (ibid., 10)]. » Quod quidem de Christo verum est; nam a primo eorum Rege David, Reges consequenter habuerunt de tribu Judae, vel certe Duces, donec Christum apprehendentes, dicerent, « Non habemus regem nisi Caesarem » [n: (Joan. XIX, 15)]. « Si dimittis hunc, non es amicus Caesaris [1202C] [n: (ibid., 12)]: » adjicientes quoque dixerunt, « Sanguis ejus super nos, et super filios nostros [n: (Matth. XXVII, 25)]. » Quo quidem sanguine consequenter oppressi sunt; et veniente Romano exercitu, sic ferro, fame, pesteque deleti sunt, ut infinita populi ejus millia morerentur; et reliquiae omnes exilio traditae, et sub regibus diversis dispersae, ducibus alienis serviant, vitamque, quae jubentur exhibendo, custodiant.

## 10. (cont.)

Hoc ex Christi morte consecuti sunt, de quo dicitur, « et ipse erit expectatio Gentium: qui stolam suam [n: (Gen. XLIX, 11)], » vestem, scilicet, interiorem, « lavabit vino » albo, scilicet, puro, et defaecato, clarissimo, id est interiori quadam et spirituali [1202D] purificabit intelligentia: « et pallium suum, » vestem scilicet exteriorem, hanc mundabit, « Sanguine uvae; » id est passionis Christi. Christo enim interius servientes arcana ejus mente discutientes, et singula quae de ejus Trinitate et Unitate, de ejus divinitate et assumpta humanitate, de sacramentis etiam Ecclesiae singulis dicuntur, arctius perscrutantes, necesse est ut altiori quadam et supereminenti intelligentia praeemineant. Caeteris vero satis est, si mortem ejus et sanguinem, liberationemque suam confiteantur et credant; de quibus id praemissum est, « Ligans ad vineam pallium suum, et ad vitem, o fili mi, asinam suam [n: (ibid.)]. » Christus enim vitis est, ad quem asina alligata est, [1203A] id est cujus praedicatione, primitiva Judaeorum Ecclesia, quae legem utramque statuit, conversa est. « Ad vineam » vero suam, id est apostolos, Judaeorum Ecclesia, et Gentium est alligata, cum eorum verbis et monitis acquiescens, Christum Dei virtutem et sapientiam, infirma nostra sustinentem, mortem cui erat obnoxia morte sua redimentem, credidit et adoravit. Ad hoc vero semen Moysem pertinuisse quis ambigat? qui primus scripsit, « Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius. » David quoque, et Job, Isaiam, et prophetas omnes quis referat? quorum omnia de adventu Christi testimonia, si quis scribere intenderit, magni sibi curam faciendi voluminis adhibebit. Hi quidem omnes semen beatae virginis esse memorantur; [1203B] quos illa genuit verbo testificantes, corde desiderantes, odoremque bonum, et ejus desiderium sibi invicem et aliis intente ministrantes. Et haec quidem sunt, quae Dilecto suo sancta haec Sponsa commemorat, sanctos hos patres, Christum priusquam in carnem venerit, credidisse, praenuntiasse, et expectatione mirabili desiderasse: nunc procedens ulterius ostendit (postquam in nostra jam venit, et in carne nostra expleto mysterio [cn: 25 | f. *ministerio*.] ob quod venerat, ascendit in coelos) qualiter illic eum prosequatur Ecclesia, cui se connumerat, dicens:

12. *Fasciculus myrrhae dilectus meus mihi, inter ubera mea commorabitur.*

[1203C]Hoc enim tale est ac si dicat, Dilectus meus a me corpore elongatus est, sed a me spiritu non recessit: moram enim mecum facturus est; sed quam moram? illam de qua Dominus ait, « Si quis diligit me, sermonem meum servabit, et Pater meus diligit eum, et ad eum veniemus, et mansionem apud eum faciemus [n: (Joan. XIV, 23)]. » Ecce quod mora ista est mansio Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti, apud Sponsam: in qua Patrem cognoscit. Habet enim ista potentiam calcandi super serpentes et scorpiones, et resistendi omni spiritui non bono in mala trahenti, immo pessima suadenti; habet et sapientiam, qua sapit id facere quod potest; habet et in Spiritu Sancto voluntatem id semper agendi quod bonum est: ut dum semper possit, semper sapiat, [1203D] semper velit id quod honoris, id quod virtutis est, hinc in ea mansionem summae Trinitatis agnoscas. In Apocalypsi quoque Joannes ait, « Ecce sto ad ostium et pulso: si quis audierit vocem meam, et aperuerit januam, introibo ad illum, et coenabo cum illo, et ille mecum [n: (Apoc. III, 20)]. » Quis hanc Sponsam dilecti sui vocem audisse dubitet? quis hanc sibi ostium aperuisse ambigat? quis hanc cum ipso in coena jucundari non intelligat? quis in hac coena Patrem et Spiritum Sanctum Filio considere non aestimet? Coena dives, in qua Spiritus coelestes ministrare non dubium est; cui ille praesidet qui eorum Dominus est. In hanc quae dapes, quae fercula, [1204A] quae xenia ponantur, ex hoc intellige quod ait apostolus, « Spiritualibus spiritualia comparantes [n: (I Cor. II, 13)]: » spiritualia namque sunt quae Sponso suo cum iis assessoribus anteponit Ecclesia.

Anteponitur hic Deo grata humilitas, cum iis quae eam comitantur virtutibus, id est timor Dei, poenitentia, Deo grata confessio, et operis satisfactio sancta. Secundo quodam ordine ponitur ordinata castitas, moderata sobrietas, abstinentia commendabilis, et quae circa haec sunt. Tertium locum obtinet pax, patientia, fraternus amor, et quae transcendit omnia, in Deum charitas, et contemplatio sancta. Hanc in Joanne « coenam » nominat Dominus, quia sicut coenam prandium aliud non sequitur, sic vitae nostrae terminum in iis consummari [1204B] desiderat; ut hunc, timendo, poenitendo, satisfaciendo, caste vivendo, amorem ad omnes habendo, et Deum super omnia diligendo, apprehendamus, ipsoque sine fine perfruamur. Ait itaque Sponsa, « Dilectus meus mihi, » id est mecum, « commorabitur; » ac si dicat, moram facturus est. Et ut locum innuat quo moram faciet, subdit, « Inter ubera mea. » Ubera pectus intra se continent, corporis nostri partem principalem, qua cor continetur, et hepar, et caeterae partes unde virtutes oriuntur quamplurimae, quibus corpus humanum multa ex parte regitur et vegetatur. Ut ergo locum designet ex nomine, ubi Dilectus sibi commoretur, ait, « Inter ubera mea, » id est In medio pectoris mei, ut [1204C] ipse cor meum teneat, amore sui accendat, et quo me ad aliud converti intenderit, hoc extenuet et avertat. Corde namque Deum diligimus, corde charitatem tenemus; quod si charitatem retinemus, justitiam utique, et prudentiam, fortitudinem habemus et temperantiam; nam harum quidem effectus omnium in se charitas retinet. Justitia enim quod suum est unicuique reddit: reddit Deo quod suum est, quod est omnis honor, omnis gloria, omnis creaturae humilis et sancta devotio: reddit proximo, ut eum quantum se diligat, suis commodis quantum sibi propriis invigilet, ejus vero incommodis quantum suis contristetur et doleat: quae quidem in libidinem, et in alios non rectos animi resistens impetus, quid nisi fortitudinis actum gerit, [1204D] et in se implere contendit? Implet vero temperantia, dum in iis omnibus, ne quid nimis sit, ne quid recto minus contemplatur et providet. Attendamus quid de hac Paulus asserat, dicens, « Charitas patiens est, benigna est: Charitas non aemulatur, non agit perperam, non inflatur, non est ambitiosa, non quaerit quae sua sunt, etc. [n: (I Cor. XIII, 4, 5)]. »

Quae si diligenter intendat quis prosequi, hanc viam excellentiorem reperiet, id est eam cui nullis desit virtutis effectus, cui nil constet adimi quo quis ad Deum valeat propinquari. Unde ait apostolus, « Empti estis pretio magno. Glorificate et portate Deum in corpore vestro [n: (I Cor. VI 20)]. » Ait [1205A] itaque Sponsa, quod apud eam Dilectus suus commorabitur, et sibi myrrhae quasi fasciculus erit. Myrrha enim unguentum est, quod manat ex arbore, quae eodem nomine, myrrha nominatur; pares enim nomine sunt, quia pares sunt et qualitate: myrrha enim, arbor est, et amarum quod ex ea decurrit unguentum. Unde mortuorum corpora hoc ipso consperguntur unguento, ne haec aut putredo corrumpat, aut ad haec demolienda vermis accedat: sic corpus Dominicum, myrrha legitur, et aloe fuisse perunctum. Ait ergo haec Sponsa, « Dilectus meus mihi inter ubera mea commorabitur [n: (Joan. XIX, 39)], » et erit mihi quasi fasciculus myrrhae. Quod si ad unguentum referas, tale est ac si dicatur, Erit mihi quasi aliquantula copia myrrhae, quae [1205B] me et a putredine defendat, ne corrumpar; et a morsu vermium, ne demoliar: si ad arborem, planum est ex arbore fieri fasciculum, et hunc habere inter pectus ad eamdem defensionem repositum. Hic enim « myrrhae fasciculus, multa passionis Christi memoria est; qua se quisque ad omnem proximum indesinenter obligari conspicit, et Deo qui pro se talia passus est, quanti sit debitor, intelligit: quam si teneas, si Deum, quocunque te verteris, patientem in cruce conspicias, teipsum a putredine vitiorum, et a morsu vermium, id est tentatione spirituum immundorum hac ipsa contemplatione liberabis. Sequitur:

13. *Botrus cypri Dilectus meus mihi.*

Quia de Sponso loquens haec Sponsa ait, « Inter [1205C] ubera mea mihi dilectus meus commorabitur: et erit mihi quasi myrrhae fasciculus, » quae solam parat amaritudinem; videri poterat ex hoc, quod Christi passio dolori tantum praestaret causam, nullam vero menti conferret laetitiam: unde praemissa amaritudine, quae Christo vere patienti debetur, subdit jucunditatem, quae de ejus morte, cunctis eam venerantibus exhibetur. Nam sicut dolenti justum est ut dolor exhibeatur et compassio; sic mundum liberanti et redimenti vere gaudium debetur et exultatio. Unde ait haec Sponsa, « Botrus cypri dilectus meus mihi. » Cyprus enim, insula vitibus abundans est, botros habens magnitudine sui caeteris incomparabiles, vinum dantes quod gustantes [1205D] innata sibi suavitate laetificat, et dolorem, si quis est ex passione, lenit et mitigat. Christus enim panis est qui confirmat, ipse vinum quod laetificat, et oleum ipse est quod faciem hominis exhilarat, Ait itaque Sponsa haec, quod Dilectus suus botrus cypri factus est; quia sicut botrus nihil aliud est quam multa granorum similium in unum sibi firme juncta collectio, vinum cum premitur abunde praestans, et gustantes undequaque laetificans: sic Christus factus est, multos sibi sua morte connectens, et in fide passionis suae sibi concilians; qui cum exprimuntur, id est quaestionibus et modis aliis pessime excogitatis interrogantur, vinum piae confessionis emittunt, Dominum Jesum confitendo, glorificando, et etiam, si opus est, mortem subeundo; [1206A] solum hunc Deum vivum et verum esse fatentur et cognoscunt: qui si supersunt, exultant gaudio confessores, si consumantur, laeti morte gaudent cum Christo vincente victores.

Utrumque Paulus exprimit dicens, « Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis [n: (Phil. II, 8)]. » Ecce myrrha, cui myrrham, et amaritudinem, et compassionem omnimodam debemus. « Propter quod, et Deus exaltavit eum, et dedit illi nomen quod est super omne nomen: Ut in nomine Jesu omne genu flectatur, coelestium, et terrestrium, et infernorum; et omnis lingua confiteatur, quia Dominus Jesus Christus in gloria est Dei Patris [n: (ibid., 9, 10, 11)]. » De quo quidem gaudio exultans haec Sponsa, ait, « Botrus [1206B] cypri Dilectus meus mihi. » Haerens enim in ligno, terram movit, coelum tenebravit; crucifixus mundum crucifixit. Sic ad se universa pertraxit, et me ejus morti compatientem superfusam gaudio victor exhilaravit. Sequitur:

*In vineis Engaddi.*

## 10. (cont.)

Quod tale est ac si dicatur, patienti Domino Jesu compassa sum, vincenti quoque laeta congaudeo. Ejus namque victoriam, mundus longe lateque resonat, ipsam praedicat, ipsam quoque praedicando resultat, ut patet in vineis Engaddi. Engaddi planities est juxta Jericho, in qua consistunt arbores in modum vineae consitae; ex quibus, dum vulnerantur, defluit balsamum, utile quidem et pretiosum: [1206C] quae quidem planities latitudinem Ecclesiae designat, quae se dignoscitur in quatuor jam mundi partes dilatare. Haec « Engaddi » nominata est, quod est, « fons haedi; » quae sicut designat Ecclesiam, sic fons qui in ea erat, baptismum significat, qui est fons datus Ecclesiae, in quo dum haedi purgantur, ex haedis agni efficiuntur. Virtus in his Christi patet, ubi ex arbore vulnerata fluit balsamum, sicut ex Christo vulnerato fluxit benedictionis oleum, dum dixit, « Pater ignosce illis, nesciunt enim quid faciunt [n: (Luc. XXIII, 34)]. » Quod quidem balsamum oleo admiscetur, ut chrisma fiat sanctissimum. Hoc quidem chrismate fons consecratur Engaddi, qui fons dicitur baptismi; hoc inunguntur haedi, sic transeuntes in populum Dei; hoc denuo confirmantur, [1206D] ne tentet eos Satan, et a veritate convertantur; hoc Ecclesiae et altaria Deo sanctificantur; hoc calix inungitur, quo se totum tradens homini propitiatur Deus; hoc denuo consecrantur Reges, inunguntur Pontifices, ordinantur sacerdotes, Christo sua dona pro populo offerentes, et ei sua reddentes. Hoc itaque est quod ait Sponsa, « Botrus cypri Dilectus meus mihi, » quod patet in « vineis Engaddi, » id est in Ecclesiis toto terrarum orbe dilatatis quae omnes ejus praedicant gloriam, et annuntiant magna cum laude victoriam. Sequitur:

14. *Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea, ecce tu pulchra. Oculi tui columbarum.*

Quo in loco id attendendum est, quod Sponsam suam Sponsus triplici jam magnificavit elogio. dicens, [1207A] « Equitatui meo assimilavi te: » et illo, « Genae tuae ut turturis: » tertium quoque adjiciens, « Collum tuum sicut monilia. » Cui Sponsa quoque trina laude respondet, dicens, « Dum esset rex in accubitu suo: » et illo, « Fasciculus myrrhae Dilectus meus mihi: » et quod sequitur, « Botrus cypri Dilectus meus mihi, in vineis Engaddi. » Unde quia sunt inter eos pacis jam admista colloquia, applaudens Sponsus integritati Sponsae, quam seipsum amasse, et nunc amare, et in futuro se semper amaturum esse, et hoc totum ejus accrescere pulchritudini cognoscit, secure eam commendans, ait, « Ecce tu pulchra es, amica mea; ecce tu pulchra. » Audientes vero pulchritudinem hanc commendari, non hanc attendamus qua mulierculae suos solent [1207B] amatores allicere, qua a castris pudicitiae solent hos qui sibi fidem habuerint, ad immunditiae castra perducere: hanc enim Deum detestari cognovimus per prophetam dicentem, « Dies Domini exercituum super omnem superbum et excelsum, et super omne quod visu pulchrum est [n: (Isa. II, 12, 16)] » : eam quoque persequens, ait, « Auferet Dominus in die illa ornamentum calceamentorum, lunulas, et torques, et monilia, et armillas, et mitras [n: (Cap. III, 18, 19)], » et caetera quae sequuntur; quae nimirum omnia pulchritudini huic corruptibili, et ad corruptionem perducenti, ministrantia sunt, et mentem ab eo quod honestum est, et Deo placitum, avertentia. Illa vero attendenda est pulchritudo, quam facit in mente vera humilitas, timor Dei, poenitentia [1207C] sancta, confessio humilis, satisfactio pro peccatis, pax ad omnes, et vera concordia, castitas moderata, et quae super omnes, in Deum charitas sancta. Hujus meminit propheta, dicens, « Omnis gloria ejus filiae Regis ab intus [n: (Psal. XLIV, 14)], » hoc est ex pulchritudine quae intus est, est omnis gloria animae fidelis, quae Dei filia est; cujus est gloria in « fimbriis aureis, » id est in consummatione virtutum. Fimbria namque vestis consummatio est, quae bene « circumamicta varietate, » id est virtutum omnium varia diversitate adornata memoratur.

Haec quidem attendenda est, in hac Deo beneplacitum est, cujus meminit Scriptura, dicens, « Recogitabo [1207D] tibi omnes annos meos in amaritudine animae meae [n: (Isa. XXXVIII, 15)]. » Haec enim nullum tempus omittit, quin et ipsum, et quae in ipso sunt admissa peccata rememorat: haec quae in infantia, quae in pueritia, quae in adolescentia sunt admissa, deplorat: haec amarissime juventutis excessus accusat; haec virilis roboris enervationem potenter arguit, et se in senectutis inertia quid deliquisse graviter erubescit. Quae quidem erubescentia confundit daemones, fugat infernum, coelum aperit, conciliat angelos, Deum reddit propitium; et cum dicit procidens, « Pater, non sum dignus vocari filius tuus: fac me sicut unum ex mercenariis tuis [n: (Luc. XV, 21)], » stolam primam meretur, et annulum, et calceamenta [1208A] gloriae suis apponi pedibus gloriatur. Sic sic pulchram nominat dicens, « Ecce tu pulchra es, » et pulchram esse replicat, adjiciens, « Ecce tu pulchra. » Quae nimirum replicatio, aliam animae ipsi vel Sponsae futuram esse denotat, quam sic intellectui manifestat. Anima namque vel Sponsa quantumcunque perfecta, hic quidem pulchritudine gaudens, triplex sentit infortunium; a carne unum, quod plangit apostolus dicens, « Infelix ego homo, quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] alterum a proximo; tertium a spiritu quolibet immundo. Hoc manifestatur in Job, quem caro sollicitat, cui non bene consulit uxor, quem amici instinctu maligni spiritus deviare compellunt. Sed huic propheta consulit dicens, « Scuto circumdabit [1208B] te veritas ejus: non timebis a timore nocturno, a sagitta volante in die, a negotio perambulante in tenebris, ab incursu et daemonio meridiano [n: (Psal. XC, 5, 6)]. » Ubi quidem tentatio quaedam manifesta, quaedam occulta, quaedam gravis, quaedam levis esse ostenditur. « Sagitta » namque « in die volans, » manifesta et levis; « daemonium meridianum, » manifesta et gravis; « negotium perambulans in tenebris, » occulta et gravis; « incursus » vero, occulta et levis esse intelligitur. Sed hae tentationes omnes, in ea quae futura est vita non aderunt. Glorificata namque caro tentari non poterit, nec erit in ea quidquam quod resistat spiritui. Nullus in ea spiritus tunc laedetur a proximo; quia tunc completa erit charitas, ut quis diligat proximum sicut seipsum. A [1208C] maligno vero spiritu quae poterit esse vexatio? qui nec praesens aderit, nec ei tentandi bonos, vel ad probationem, licentia jam ulla superesse poterit. Ejus extunc erit in inferno jam mansio, ubi igne ipso torquebitur, quo ardent miseri quos abjecit Deus, qui acquiescendo tentationibus sunt venundati sub peccato. Sequitur:

*Oculi tui columbarum.*

Demonstrata Sponsae pulchritudine, jam quae sit pulchritudinis hujus causa, subnectit: haec enim ejus causa est, quod « oculi ejus columbarum » sunt, id est totus ejus respectus columbinus. Columba namque in pastu gradiens, munda tantum grana colligit, his pascitur, iis sese nutrit: sic et [1208D] haec anima vel Sponsa Dei, dum ad se pascendum neminem dedignans, sed plures audiens, singula quaeque considerat, et quae pure, sancte, vereque dicuntur, haec mente retinet, caetera aspernatur et horret. Columba quoque sine felle est, avem alteram nec rostro laedit, nec ungue lacerat, simplicitatem hujus Sponsae denotans, quae irrationabiliter non irascitur, nec dicto, nec facto quemquam [cn: 26 | f. *laedit*.] sed quantumcunque offensa, sese intra innocentiae suae castra custodit. Gemitum quoque pro cantu habet, quia Domini sui praesentiae adesse desiderans, dum haec sibi denegatur, cuncta sibi abesse deplorans, ingemiscit pariter, et gemitum hunc pro cantu habens, ingemiscendo ait, « Sitivit anima [1209A] mea ad Deum fontem vivum; quando veniam et apparebo ante faciem Dei [n: (Psal. XLI, 3)]. » Gregatim volat, quia in omni eo quod volat, quod se sursum esse desiderat, se nequaquam a grege Domini separari, sed cum iis suscipi, cum his glorificari et beatificari exoptat. Hic quidem oculus columbinus fuisset Evae necessarius, cum « vidit lignum quod bonum esset ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis, aspectuque delectabile, et tulit de fructu illius et comedit, deditque viro suo, et aperti sunt oculi amborum [n: (Gen. III, 6, 7)]. » Tunc cognoverunt se obedientia nudatos, irretitos inobedientia, et malis quibusque praecinctos et obnoxios. Ab ea in Cain oculus minime columbinus processit, indeque per mundum male pervagatus est, et ad concupiscentiam [1209B] mulierum apertus. Ita ut jam pauci sint qui dicant, « Oculus fui caeco, et pes claudo. Pater eram pauperum: et causam quam nesciebam, diligentissime investigabam [n: (Job XXIX, 15, 16)]. » Sequitur:

15. *Ecce tu pulcher es, Dilecte mi, et decorus.*

## 10. (cont.)

Sic amans amanti pari respondet elogio: dicta pulchra ipsum quoque pulchrum protestatur esse, dicens, « Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte mi. » Quod audientes, non attendamus pulchritudinem quae in creaturis est corporalibus, sive incorporalibus. Inest enim pulchritudo quaedam rebus his corporalibus, ex apta partium suarum dispositione proveniens, cum apte pars parti conjungitur, et una sic forma decens ex apta earum conjunctione producitur. [1209C] Maximus quidem est in reptilibus draco, in natatilibus cetus, in volatilibus gryphus, elephas in quadrupedibus, gigas in hominibus: in quibus omnibus, si ipsa attendatur partium dispositio, et partis apta parti conjunctio, forma procul dubio pulcherrima, et summa creatoris sapientia in iis omnibus invenitur. Sic sunt quaedam media, quaedam minima intelliguntur; quae nisi peccatum contraxerint, aut virtus ea divina sibi sananda reservaverit, miram in se pulchritudinem exhibere dignoscuntur. Si itaque magnum illum attendas Adam, a quo genus hominum omne procreatur, si hunc attendas, quis qualisve creatus fuerit, quis ante peccatum extiterit, quis cum ad eum Dominus [1209D] omnia animantia terrae adduxit, et quid ea vocaret, edocuit; hunc mirabili quadam pulchritudine enituisse clarebit: quem sciens Abraham postea misericordiam, per incarnationem Christi et mortem ejus consecuturum, cuncta loca pertransiit, locum illum solum in quo sepultus est Adam sibi sepeliendo elegit, speluncam illam duplicem, quam ab Ephron Hethaeo emit [n: (Gen. XXIII, 19)]; ubi cum suis uxoribus requiescunt Abraham, Isaac, et Jacob, et Adam magnus. Sed nunquid hac pulchritudine dilectus hujus pulcher dicitur? Absit; nam sequitur, « Et decorus. » Unde datur intelligi, ipsum ea pulchritudine pulchrum esse, cui nihil convenit, nihil adjungitur, vel potest adjungi, nisi quod decorum [1210A] est. Non haec pulchritudo fuit Adae, cui si ad tempus peccatum non affuit, adesse tamen potuit, unde et peccavit.

Quod si coelestia corpora attenderis, solem, lunam, et stellas, haec quidem pulchra sunt, quae luce sua mundi tenebras illuminant, ut quae luce carent propria, per haec illuminata resplendeant: sed de iis scriptum est, « Ipsi peribunt, tu autem permanes: et haec ut vestimentum veterascent [n: (Psal. CI, 27)]. » Angelos vero, et usque ad Cherubim et Seraphim ordines perspiciens, supraque tendens aspectum, sola tibi occurret Trinitas sancta, Pater, Filius et Spiritus Sanctus, quorum ea pulchritudo est, quam nec vidit oculus [n: (I Cor. II, 9)], nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quam manifestabit [1210B] Deus iis qui diligunt se. De qua dictum est Moysi, « Non videbit me homo et vivet [n: (Exod. XXXIII, 20)]. » Hic enim viventi videre non conceditur, quod glorificato jam homini, et in veram vitam assumpto, videndum repromittitur, dicente Domino, « Vita aeterna haec est, ut cognoscant te verum Deum, et quem misisti Jesum Christum [n: (Joan. XVII, 3)]. » Haec forma, haec species, haec pulchritudo est, in quam desiderant et angeli prospicere [n: (I Pet. I, 12)]. Haec ea pulchritudo est de qua ait David, « Satiabor cum apparuerit gloria tua [n: (Psal. XVI, 15)]: » qua nobis apparente et se visibiliter exhibente, non est quod quaeramus ulterius, non est quo ulterius refici desideremus, [cn: 27 | f. *De*.] hac itaque pulchritudine dictum est, « Ecce tu pulcher es, dilecte [1210C] mi: » etiam huic pulchritudini, quia nihil est quod cohaereat, quod admisceri valeat, nisi quod honestum, quodque omni gloria dignum creditur, recte adjunctum est, « Et decorus; » ut qui huic quaerit pulchritudini assistere, in virtutis se semper culmine teneat et decore. Sequitur:

*Lectulus noster floridus.*

Ecce quae decorem laudat in Sponso, videtur ejus amore trajecta ipsum ad lectulum evocare, quo ejus perfruatur praesentia, quo ejus oblectatione jucundetur. Ad quod eum tum lecti amoenitate, tum loci jucunditate, videtur allicere, dicens, « Lectulus noster floridus. Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cupressina. » Amoenum enim est, [1210D] in lecto florido quiescere, securum vero sub tignis cedrinis, et laquearibus cupressinis decumbere: et haec quidem vera sunt, sed haec altius attendamus, si haec spiritualiter intelligere procuremus. Hic enim lectulus, non quidem mollitiae locus est, non scurrilitatis obscoenae, sed lectulus attendendus est jucundae quietis in Domino, et perfectae contemplationis in ipso. Contemplatio enim est, cum primum seipsum homo considerat, quis sit, et unde venerit, et ad quid venerit, et investigat, animam sibi rationalem creasse Deum, et hanc corpori suo immisisse, seque sic natum baptismi gratiam suscepisse, et in fide sic excrevisse non ignorat; fide vero edoctus, Dei Filium in carnem venisse, in ipsa mortem [1211A] suscepisse, et ob redimendum hominem die tertia surrexisse, et sic, ut ad vitam ascendat homo, in coelum ascendisse, et sic ad se cuncta pertraxisse, veritate fidei id edocente, non dubitat. Haec attendens, quo se vertat, ignorat; totum quod egit hactenus contemnit; peccata quae admisit infantia, vel juventus, vel aetas altera, lacrymando deplorat; seipsum dejicit; in alterum quemdam hominem sese transformare intendit; et sic lectum Deo, ipse piae sedulaeque contemplationis manu componit. Qui tamen « lectulus » adhuc « floridus » intelligitur. Haec enim contemplationis initia sunt, quae spem dant profectus boni, fructusque maturi, qui tunc inerunt, cum jam mundus deseretur, totus mentis pede conculcabitur, cum jam despicientur cuncta [1211B] quae transeunt, et ea sola diligentur quae semper manent, et immutata consistunt. Sciens igitur haec anima vel Sponsa, florem hunc imitationis bonae dono Dei provenisse, et haec ipsum adventus sui primordia praemisisse, ipsum ad lectulum floridum evocat, ut in eo quiescat, et florem hunc ad perfectionis sanctae maturitatem perducat. Hunc etiam lectulum Sponsi Sponsaeque communem asserit, dum ipsa contemplationem hanc in se suscipit, et hanc ex dono Dei et ejus praesentia provenire cognoscit. Sequitur:

16. *Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia nostra cupressina.*

Haec a securitate persuasio est; nam sicut in lecto florido quiescere amoenum est, sic et sub tecto [1211C] quod tignis cedrinis opertum est, quiescere tutum et securum. Cedrus enim et cupressus imputribilis naturae sunt, corrumpi nesciunt, viriditatem suam conservant pariter et odorem: odore quoque suo serpentes fugant et enecant, et sub iis quiescentibus, securitatem sic parant. Sic ergo tegitur haec domus, in quam a Sponsa invitatur Sponsus. Non hic descendit pluvia, a qua eam protegant cedri et cupressi obumbracula. Hi namque cedri angeli quippe sunt, quibus domus hujus est commissa custodia: de iis namque dictum est, « Nolite scandalizare pusillos hos: dico enim vobis, quod angeli eorum semper vident faciem Patris mei, qui in coelis est » [n: (Matth. XVIII, 10)]. « Laquearia » vero [1211D] quae tignis munimen parant et fortitudinem, quae suam conservant viriditatem, et odorem conservant optimum, quibus serpentes enecantur, hi sunt archangeli sancti, robur parantes angelis, semper virides ea quidem viriditate qua creati sunt, ipsaque qua donati sunt, cum restiterunt dicenti, « Ponam sedem meam ad aquilonem, et ero similis Altissimo [n: (Isa. XIV, 14)]. » Et odor virtutum suarum malignos spiritus enecat, ne bonorum corda perturbent, ne a bonis initiis ad majora consurgant. Attendendum vero, quod cum dicit Sponsa, « Tigna domorum nostrarum cedrina, laquearia cupressina, » illo utatur dicendi genere, quo per partem totum intelligitur: in « lecto » enim, cui potior pars adscribitur, fundamentum ipsius domus, et parietes intelliguntur: in « tignis » [1212A] vero, et « laquearibus, » quae tecti pars potissima sunt, omnia quae tecti sunt adscribuntur. Sequitur:

## CAPUT II.

1. *Ego flos campi, et lilium convallium.*

Sponsus ad quietem evocatus, respondet sic: Me ad quietem evocas, amica mea, Sponsa mea; et ut magis allicias, adjicis, quia « lectulus noster floridus est: » tibi vero responsum hoc do, quod « ego flos campi sum, et lilium convallium. » In quo id attendendum est, quod duo campi sunt, unus coelestis, alter vero terrenus. Coelestis campus quantum coelum porrigitur, tantum et extenditur, quia [1212B] consummationem non habens, magnus est et immensus. Campus hic flores habet, angelos, archangelos, virtutes, dominationes, thronos, principatus, et potestates, cherubim, et seraphin: horum cujusque ordinum multa millia sunt: floribus iis coelum refertum est. His sancti quilibet floribus interesse desiderant; horum interesse contuberniis, gemitibus et suspiriis anhelant. Quorum quidem omnium « flos ego sum: » a me quidem accipiunt quod sunt; a me id habent odoris, quod boni sunt, hi omnes majestati meae indesinenter assistunt; hymnum mihi gloriae concinunt, dicentes, « Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, Dominus Deus omnipotens » [n: (Apoc. IV, 8)]. Me igitur, qui omnes hos odore bono reficio, et his pascendis odorem sufficientem administro, [1212C] quid est, quod adesse me lectulo florido tuo postulas, et vocem, quasi gloriae meae aliquid additura, ingeminas? Quod quidem sic dictum est, non quia Sponsus dedignetur bonis fidelium adesse principiis; sed et haec audiens Sponsa, suo magis inflammetur desiderio, et ipsum, qui totius mundi flos est, et decus, et illuminatio, suo magis adoptet adesse voto. Quod quidem et Sponsus innuit, dicens, « Campi » coelestis « flos ego sum, » sum tamen « et lilium convallium. » Campus itaque terrenus, hic mundus est, quem quidem visitans flos ille superior, se fidelibus lilium exhibuit, et humilem se humilibus dedit et ostendit. In lilio quidem flos est odore dulcissimus, aspectu gratissimus, est et [1212D] ramus foliis condensus; nec quidem odore pascens, nec gustus habens suavitatem, magnam tamen in medicaminibus habens efficaciam. Haec quidem Christo conveniunt; qui quidem a Patre missus, vere lilium in terris apparuit, odoris suavissimi; de quo Paulus ait: « Deo autem gratias, qui semper triumphat nos in Christo Jesu, et odorem notitiae suae manifestat per nos in omni loco: Quia Christo bonus odor sumus Deo in iis qui salvi fiunt, et in iis qui pereunt [n: (II Cor. II, 14, 15)]. » Aspectu vero fuit gratissimus iis qui eum receperunt. Unde Petrus ait: « Domine ad quem ibimus? verba vitae aeternae habes. Et nos credidimus, et cognovimus, quia tu es Christus Filius Dei vivi » [n: (Joan. VI, 71, 72)]. Ramus vero condensus foliis, humanitas ejus [1213A] est, quae quidem in verbis quibus mundum arguit, multis displicuit, quibus opem medicinae salutaris offerre curavit. Hic vero « lilium convallium » est, quia « Deus superbis resistit, humilibus vero dat gratiam [n: (Jac. IV, 6)]. » Desuper etiam dictum est, « Confundantur superbi, quia injuste iniquitatem fecerunt in me [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 78)]. » Dictum vero de humilibus est, « quia valles abundabunt frumento: clamabunt, etenim hymnum dicent [n: (Psal. LXIV, 14)]. »

2. *Sicut lilium inter spinas, sic amica mea inter filias.*

De seipso flos mundi locutus est, dicens, « Ego flos campi. » qui etiam mundo se verum Deum et hominem humilibus profuturum asseruit, dicens, [1213B] « Et lilium convallium. » Nunc vero de Sponsa, quae sibi cordis amore conjuncta est, prosequitur, dicens, Sicut ego lilium inter spinas, in mundo conversatus sum; sic amica mea inter easdem in mundo commorabitur. « Spinas » vero nominat, obtrectationes, objurgationes, et irrisiones, quibus eum mundus male deridendo contempsit: « Spinas » quoque nominat facta eorum et attrectationes, quibus illum cum gladiis et fustibus apprehendentes, illum tanquam latronem et homicidam ad principes adduxerunt, Annam et Caipham: dehinc apud Judicem consputum, colaphis dehonestatum et alapis, spinisque coronatum, condemnari, clavisque configi postulaverunt. Ad spinas has, ad lectum hunc spineum sponsam evocat, quae lectum sibi floridum [1213C] sub tignis cedrinis, et laquearibus cupressinis praeparabat, quae humiliata lectum hunc non recusavit, sed huic similem in Petro sustinuit, in Paulo quoque, caeterisque apostolis, in Stephano, aliisque per mundum multorum martyrum millibus, laeta suscepit. A quibus vero susceperit adnectit, dicens, « Inter filias, » generationes, scilicet, pravas atque perversas, quibus seipsum exhibuit Dominus. Hi tamen eum non cognoverunt; sic quippe scriptum est, « In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt [n: (Joan. I, 11)]: quos « suos, » non affectu, sed sola creatione nominat; siquidem suis manus injicientes eos cruciatibus et tormentis affecerunt: filias quidem praevaricatrices nunc prima creatione nominat, nunc [1213D] affectum filialem cum suis habere designat. Sequitur:

3. *Sicut malus inter ligna sylvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios.*

Reciproca sibi laude respondent Sponsus et Sponsa, et mutuis se reficientibus laudibus, quo plus laudant, eo se plus laudare desiderant. Ait enim haec Sponsa, « Sicut malus inter ligna sylvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios. » Malus enim arbor est, ramos late producens, folia gignens, florem protuberans, et ex floribus fructum malorum ad maturitatem usque producens: qui fructus, sive pomum dicatur, sive malum, coloris exstat eximii, gustus placidi, et odoris, ultra quam dici potest vel queat, egregii. Hoc ipsa arbor, quae « malus » dicitur, onerata, non solum in se decorem suscipit, [1214A] sed et sylvas circumstantes decore vestit, et locum qui circa se est, totum reddit amoenissimum, et inhabitatione sancta dignissimum. Ait itaque haec Sponsa, « Sicut malus inter ligna sylvarum, sic dilectus meus inter filios; » haec volens, per eximii fructus arborem, dilectum sibi unigenitum Dei filium intelligi, qui carnem quam assumpsit, sic gloria et honore vestivit et induit, ut merito prae omnibus sanctis honore et reverentia dignissima habeatur, et praestantissime excolatur. Unde dictum est, « Dominus regnavit, decorem indutus est, indutus est Dominus fortitudinem, et praecinxit se [n: (Psal. XCII, 1)]. » Addit et hoc quod dicitur, « Inter ligna sylvarum; » nam ut arbor coelestis Christus est, sic sunt arbores coelestes sancti quilibet, qui in carne degentes, [1214B] fructus Christo placidos ediderunt. In iis apostoli, sanctique martyres, et omnes simul Sancti connumerantur, qui nil nisi Christum scientes, ipsum gloriosa morte secuti, testimonium veritati perhibentes, gloriosas in coelo jamdudum sedes acceperunt. De his in Psalmis dicitur, « Tunc exsultabunt omnia ligna sylvarum a facie Domini, quia venit; quoniam venit judicare terram [n: (Psal. XCV, 13)]. » Dominus enim hunc mundum judicaturus est; qui in corpore, quondam damnato, et jam mirabiliter glorificato, se visibilem sanctis omnibus in suis suscitatis corporibus, exhibebit; eritque tunc exsultatio lignis sylvarum coelestium, cum se non in incertum cucurrisse, aut in vanum laborasse, certa sui, non solum spiritus, sed et corporis apprehensione [1214C] et glorificatione, cognoverunt. Ligna vero sylvae, per quam bestiae et catuli leonum transeunt ut escam sibi rapiant, tunc nocti suae deputabuntur, et tenebris sempiternis. Hoc itaque est quod ait Ecclesia, « sicut malus, » suis onusta fructibus, « inter ligna sylvarum » admirabili quadam enitescit pulchritudine; « sic dilectus meus, » unigenitus Dei filius, in quem se totum contulit amor meus, indicibili quadam gloria longe exstat eminentior inter omnes sanctos, quos sibi non creatione solum, sed et gratia adoptavit in filios. Sequitur:

*Sub umbra illius quem desideraveram, sedi.*

## CAPUT II. (cont.)

Hic attendendum est, unde umbra perveniat. [1214D] Evenit umbra corporibus his, ex corpore lucifero, et ex corpore umbrifero, et loco in quem umbra dejicitur: horum si quid defuerit, umbra non est. Haec igitur arbor mali, cum inter ligna sylvarum stet, cum ramis distenta sit, et foliis opulenta, ad solem necesse est ut umbram faciat: sub qua consequens est, ut haec Sponsa sedeat et quiescat. Est igitur « umbra, » divinae incarnationis et passionis, resurrectionis quoque et ascensionis, actuum quoque ejus et dictorum crebra meditatio, in quam se toto cordis anhelasse desiderio, ut actu adimpleretur quod a Patre promissum, et prophetica sanctorum Patrum promissione praedictum fuerat, protestatur. Unde Isaias, « Consilium tuum, Domine, antiquum fiat verum [n: (Isai. XXV, 1)]. » Jeremias [1215A] etiam in Threnis id optans, ait, « Spiritus oris nostri Christus Dominus captus est in peccatis nostris: cui diximus, In umbra tua vivemus in gentibus [n: (Thren. IV, 20)]. » Caeteraque sanctorum Patrum exstant oracula, quae sibi facile diligens lector inveniet. Haec igitur umbra est, in qua sedisse se praesens haec Sponsa testatur. Cum enim positiones corporum quatuor sunt, stare, sedere, accumbere, et jacere, sessio illa est, quae ordinandis et disponendis rebus magis apta est, consiliisque dandis, simul et judiciis formandis acceptior. Unde et hujus Scriptura sacra saepe meminit; dicit enim David, « Sedebit Dominus rex in aeternum [n: (Psal. XXVIII, 10)]. » Et illud, « Sedes tua, Domine, in saeculum saeculi [n: (Psal. XLIV, 7)]. » Et quod sequitur; « Dixit Dominus [1215B] Domino meo: Sede a dextris meis [n: (Psal. CIX, 1)]. » In libro quoque Regum, a Michaea propheta dictum est: « Vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum, et omnem exercitum coeli assistentem ei a dextris, et a sinistris [n: (III Reg. XXII, 19)]. » Isaias quoque ait: « Vidi Dominum sedentem super solium excelsum et elevatum: et ea quae sub ipso erant, replebant templum [n: (Isai. VI, 1)]. » Et post omnia ipse Dominus ait, « Cum sederit filius hominis in sede majestatis suae, tunc congregabuntur ante eum omnes gentes [n: (Matth. XXV, 31, 32)]. » His etiam accincta auctoritatibus Ecclesia de se ait, « Sub umbra illius, quem desideraveram, sedi, » ut veniret, vel quam umbram desideraveram, ut affectu adimpleretur, sedi deliberans et desiderans, [1215C] omni in hoc affectu prona, ut mihi Sponsa promissa compleret, nec in immensum mea vota differret. In hac ejus umbra « sedi, » quia mentem meam totam in hoc applicui, ut ipsum vel incarnandum, vel jam forsitan incarnatum, devote susciperem, natum fideliter adorarem, docentem fidei plenitudinem cernerem, ipsum morientem non desperarem, sed resurgente magna fidei certitudine consurgerem, et ascendentem illuc unde venerat, tota mentis intentione prosequerer, et sibi famulatum exhibentibus adhaererem. Sequitur:

*Et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo.*

Ut distat umbra a suo corpore; sic distat istius mali fructus a sua imagine. Malus enim ista, coelestis [1215D] arbor est, coelestis quidem sapientia, ideo in coelis, quia in corde Patris radicata; quae non in coelis solum, sed, cum Patri complacuit, radicem fecit in terra: in terra quidem, quando in cor virginis immaculatae tota divinitatis unda se contulit, et coelestis imber illapsu placido virgineum plane vellus infudit: quae cum in coelo radicata sit, et in terra, fructum quidem profert, dulcedinem quidem ministrantem his qui in coelis sunt, et iis qui sunt in terra. Sed quis hic fructus est? Caro quidem quae de pane mundo in altari sancto, per officium ministri, per virtutem verbi facta est, et ad pascendam Ecclesiam, ne in via forte deficiat, sacratissimo gustu concessa. De quo ait Ecclesia, cui et id donatum est, « Et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo. » [1216A] O beatum guttur, cui haec dulcedo concessa est! ut in homine manens, se supra hominem rapiat, et in terris existens, se illi qui in coelo praesidet adjungens, a dulcedine hac ad illam quae in vita aeterna est, admisceat. Quod quia tantum bonis et sanctis concessum est, ait in electis suis Ecclesia, « Et fructus ejus dulcis gutturi meo. » Nihil enim in vita hac dulcius, quam ab hoc gustu in vitam illam transire, quae fine caret et omni malitia, et ab hac imagine fructus, ad fructum illum pervenire, qui semper nos satiet, et in aeternitate efficiat jucundos. Sequitur:

4. *Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam; ordinavit in me charitatem.*

Inter Sponsum et Sponsam mutua jam diu habita [1216B] sunt colloquia: interpellavit haec, is respondit, haec multis illum commendavit laudibus, et ab ipso laude plurimum commendata est. Unde, quia verbis subjuncta sunt, et dictis similia dicta reposita, ne gignat similitudo fastidium, Sponsa ab hoc modo loquendi temperat, non jam ad Sponsum loquens, sed ad amicos suos verba dirigens, et haec referens, « Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam. » Attendendum vero hoc loco est, vinum in Scriptura sancta, quoddam commendabile esse, quoddam reprobum. Reprobum, ut est illud cujus meminit Moyses, dicens: « De vinea Sodomorum vinea eorum, et de suburbanis Gomorrhae: uva eorum uva fellis, et botri amarissimi. Fel draconum vinum eorum, et venenum aspidum insanabile [n: (Deut. XXXII, 32, 33)]. » [1216C] Vinum enim quod ex hac vinea, vel iis botris, vel uvis istis exprimitur, illud amarissimum est. Hic enim sensus est; Reproborum, qui sanctas Scripturas prave intelligendo, in intellectum deducunt alienum, et oculos in solem indiscrete figendo, ipsi et obscurantur a lumine, et secum alios in errorem pertrahunt condemnatum. Sunt et qui, si amicos ad Scripturas sacras non erigant, quotidianis tamen factis suis et verbis simpliciores corrumpunt, et ipsos nexu triplici alligatos in inferno praeduces ipsi mansiones habere compellunt. De iis Propheta: « Non est qui faciat bonum, non est usque ad unum. Sepulchrum patens est guttur eorum, linguis suis dolose agebant; judica illo Deus: venenum [1216D] aspidum sub labiis eorum [n: (Psal. V, 11, et Psal. XIII, 3)]. » Commendabile est de quo Salomon ait, « Sapientia aedificavit sibi domum, excidit columnas septem. Immolavit victimas suas, miscuit vinum, et proposuit mensam suam. Misit ancillas suas ut vocarent ad arcem, et ad moenia civitatis [n: (Prov. IX, 1, 2, 3)]. » Coelestis enim sapientia sibi « domum construxit, » cum totus in homine Deus apparuit: « excidit » in ea « columnas septem, » quia septiformis in ea spiritus. Mundo gratiam administravit: « immolavit victimas suas, » quia et sua, et suorum passione eamdem domum paravit: « miscuit vinum, » quia divinitatis arcana non capientibus, assumptae humanitatis sacramenta patefecit: « Proposuit mensam suam, » quia Scripturae [1217A] pabula nobis aperiendo praeparavit: « Misit ancillas suas, ut vocarent ad arcem, et ad moenia civitatis quia, ut ait apostolus, Non multi sapientes secundum carnem, non multi potentes, non multi nobiles: sed quae stulta sunt mundi elegit Deus, ut confundat sapientes: et infirma mundi elegit Deus, ut confundat fortia: et ignobilia mundi, et contemptibilia elegit Deus, et ea quae non sunt, ut ea quae sunt destrueret. » [n: (I Cor. I, 26, 27, 28.)]

## CAPUT II. (cont.)

Hae quidem ancillae sunt propter humilitatem et abjectionem suam, per quas Dominus ad « arcem, » id est, vitae aeternae eminentiam, et ad moenia coelestis Jerusalem possidenda commonuit. Hoc vinum est, quod vite illa et ejus palmitibus expressum est, qui ait, « Ego sum vitis, vos palmites *(Joan. XV, [1217B] 5)*. » Hos pater coelestis exprimit, et vinum reddunt optimum; vinum illud de quo David, « Inebriabuntur ab ubertate domus tuae [n: (Psal. XXXV, 9)]. » Hoc vino inebriati sunt Petrus et Paulus, cum unus cruce, alter gladio, Deum Romae testificati sunt. Hoc vino omnes apostoli et martyres ebrii facti sunt, cum omnia quae mundi sunt contemnentes, et velut stercora reputantes, haec abjecerunt, et pura Christum confessione sectantes, cum ipso, et pro ipso, mortem sibi magis eligere, quam cum iis vitam ducere, decreverunt. Ait igitur Ecclesia, « Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam, » id est, apothecam quandam Scripturarum divinarum, qua me a mundo abstraxit, qua me ad ea quae sursum sunt habitaculum habere nunc permittit: unde sequitur, [1217C] « ordinavit in me charitatem. » Ecce quod in Ecclesia charitatem Deus ordinat, sine qua in coelum non ascenditur, sine qua ad Deum nulla ratione pervenitur. « Deus » enim « charitas est [n: (Joan. I, 4, 8)], omnem procul dubio diligens creaturam; quam nisi diligeret, prorsus illa non esset, nec ejus existentiae in creaturis causa vel modus appareret. Hic bonos angelos, et omnes utique virtutes coelestes, in ea qua creatae sunt bonitate persistentes, nec spiritui fallaciae (qui ait, « Ponam sedem meam ad aquilonem, et ero similis Altissimo) [n: (Isai. XIV, 14)] » in ullo adquiescentes, sed altissimae bonitati a qua creatae sunt, firmiter adhaerentes, coelesti donavit gloria: ut qui cum peccare possent, non peccaverunt, [1217D] jam ut omni possibilitate peccandi careant, et vere dicti, « firmamentum, » illi firmiter et insolubiliter adhaereant, diligant, et obediant. Ad hos habens charitatem, ab iis utique diligitur; et haec prima progressio charitatis invenitur. Hic etiam et spiritus malignos diligit, non horum approbans malignitate, qua ab eo aversi sunt; sed quod ab ipso est approbans, quod scientes sunt, quod trementes, quod fortes, quod suae existentiae indesinenter compotes, et summi regis imperio indesinenter obedientes existunt: hoc probat, acceptumque sibi est, suumque sibi retinet, eosdem in omne quod vult ipse confirmat. Hinc est, quod non tentatur Job [n: (Job II, 8)], nisi licentia a summo Patre concessa: cumque sedens in sterquilinio saniem testa raderet, [1218A] prohibitum est Satanae, ne ipsum in anima tentaret: cujus jussa Satana complens, ipsum plene tentatum in corpore, in anima non percussit. Sic quoque cum tentandus esset Achab, legitur dixisse adversario Dominus, « Quis decipiet Achab regem Israel, ut ascendat et cadat in Ramoth Galaad. Egressus est autem spiritus, et stetit coram Domino, et ait, Egrediar, et ero spiritus mendax in ore omnium prophetarum ejus. Et dixit Dominus, Decipies et praevalebis [n: (III Reg. XXII, 20, 21, 22)]: » sicque accepta licentia, a maligno tentatus Achab, interiit. Sic et malos quidem homines diligit Deus, horum quidem reprobans omnino malitiam, sed quod sunt, quod homines sunt, quod disciplinae perceptibiles sunt, quod rationis capaces sunt, haec [1218B] quidem probat et diligit, quia et ab ipso sunt: quod vero iis omnibus in malum utentes sunt, quod ab eo ob quod facti sunt, degenerantes sunt, haec nec probat, nec diligit, quia ab ipso non sunt. Hinc Scripturarum nulla diversitas est; hinc Deo dicitur, « Nihil eorum odisti, Domine, quae fecisti [n: (Sap. XI, 25)]. » Hinc etiam dicit Dominus, « Inimicus ero inimicis tuis, et adversabor adversariis tuis [n: (Exod. XXIII, 22)]. »

Sic in Scripturis, multa quae sibi videntur contraria, reperies: sed hoc intellecto, quod in eadem creatura quaedam diligit Deus, quaedam vero in eadem sunt quae odit, nil contrarium invenies. Judam enim proditorem [n: (Joan. XIII, 2)], cum ei jam diabolus misisset in cor, ut illum traderet, nunquid [1218C] hunc odio persecutus est Deus? [n: (ibid., V, 27.)] Illi quippe panem intinctum tradidit, dicens, « Quod facis, fac citius; » aliaque verba quamplurima, quibus corripi et corrigi potuisset, nisi volens se totum satanae tradidisset. Sic Saulum [n: (Act. IX, 1)], cum spirans minarum et caedis in discipulos Domini, acceptis epistolis iret Damascum, ut summo odio persequeretur Jesum, vidit quidem Dominus, cum circumfulsit eum lux de coelo, cadensque in terram, nihil eorum videre potuit quae hactenus videre consuevit; cui de coelo consilium datum est, ut ingrederetur civitatem, et baptizaretur, et iis quae sibi ab Anania dicerentur, acquiesceret; quibus hic quidem acquievit, et baptizatus, tanto Jesum [1218D] praedicavit altius, quanto non de terra terrenus, sed edoctus de coelo totus coelestis effectus est: quem si antequam vocaretur, mori contingeret, Deus illi causam in qua juste salvaretur, adinveniret.

Omnes itaque bonos et malos diligit Deus; bonos, quia in bonitate persistunt, et proficiunt; malos, quia a bono deficientes, justitiae Dei se causam exhibent, et se qui nolentes ut in aeternum crucientur, dignos efficientes, Deum omnia justo fine concludere comprobent atque convincant. Sic ipse quod fieri jussit, adimplevit: ait enim, « Diligite inimicos vestros; benefacite his qui oderunt vos [n: (Matth. V, 44)]. » Quanta enim sunt bona, quae inimicis suis, et his qui oderunt eum Deus exhibeat, non est qui facile non comprehendat. Sic itaque Deus [1219A] in se charitatem ordinat, Ecclesiam edocens, qualiter in se charitatem ordinatam habere debeat [n: (Joan. I, 4, 19)]. Nam quoniam Deus prior dilexit nos, hic ordo est, ut ipsum primo et praecipue diligamus. « Diligamus » autem « toto corde, et tota anima, et tota mente [n: (Matth. XXII, 37)]: » toto corde diligimus, si nil corde concupiscamus, nil animo volvamus, quod sibi displicere credamus: « tota anima » diligimus, si animam, quae corpus movet, ad nihil actu implendum quod ei displiceat, applicemus: tota mente diligimus, cum quid boni agimus, nihil nostrae devotionis existat quae [cn: 28 | f. *quod*.], nos ad quid aliud quam ad Deum trahat. Hic primus ordo charitatis est [n: (ibid., V, 39)]: secundus ut proximum tanquam seipsum homo diligat. Sed quem [1219B] arbitramur proximum? Haec quaestio antiqua est, et ipsi Domino proposita, et parabola proposita de eo qui incidit in latrones resoluta. Ait enim Dominus: « Accidit, ut sacerdos quidam ascenderet eadem via, et viso illo praeteriit. Similiter et Levita, cum esset secus locum, et videret eum, pertransiit. Samaritanus autem quidam iter faciens, venit secus eum, et videns eum, misericordia motus est. Et appropinquans alligavit vulnera ejus, infundens oleum et vinum. Et imponens illum in jumentum suum, duxit in stabulum, et curam ejus egit. Et altera die protulit duos denarios, et dedit stabulario, et ait, Curam illius habe, et quodcunque supererogaveris, ego cum rediero reddam tibi [n: (Luc. X, 31-36)]. »

Bonus hic Samaritanus ejus dicitur fuisse proximus, [1219C] qui videns illum misericordia motus est, et curam ejus egit. O quanti sumus sacerdotes! O quot Levitae! qui pertranseuntes videmus afflictos, videmus miseros, nec horum alligamus vulnera, infundentes oleum misericordiae, et vinum justitiae! O quot sumus, qui non duos solum habentes denarios, sed multa argenti et auri pondera, nec unum quidem minutum conferimus stabulario, ut curam ejus suscipiat; et pro nobis cum redierit Dominus ipse respondeat! Quem itaque videmus, in afflictum misericordia moveri, quem ejus curam vides gerere, et ejus dolori tanquam proprio condolere et compati, hunc tibi, qui te Deo corde et anima et mente totum credidisti, proximum reputa, et ut [1219D] teipsum ama; quod est, in hoc, in quo « et teipsum ama. » Huic enim Scripturae, qua dicitur, « Diliges Dominum Deum tuum ex toto corde tuo, » illud consonat, quod ait Dominus in Evangelio: « Beati mundo corde, quoniam ipsi Deum videbunt [n: (Matth. V, 8)]; » et item: « De corde exeunt cogitationes malae, homicidia, adulteria, fornicationes, furta, falsa testimonia, blasphemiae: haec sunt quae coinquinant hominem [n: (Matth. XV, 19, 20)]. » Unde et Salomon ait, « Omni custodia serva cor tuum, quia ex ipso vita procedit [n: (Prov. IV, 23)]. » Idem quoque in Proverbiis subjungit: « Sex sunt quae odit Deus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus: [1220A] Oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem, cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum, proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum qui seminat inter fratres discordias [n: (Prov. VI, 16-20)]. » Quem itaque ut teipsum diligis? cui id optas accidere, quod tibi, cui in hoc adjutor existis, quem a malo quod semper est revocas, et ab hoc quantum potes avertis et separas. Quid de patre tibi dicam, vel matre? qui diligendi quidem sunt in eo in quo diliguntur a Deo; in caeteris vero aspernandi. Dilexit Dominus Aegyptios, his bona communicans, quae bonis malisque fecit esse communia, ostendens signa et prodigia, quibus converti potuissent, si animos ad bonum convertibiles [1220B] habuissent. In quibus non proficiens, hos dedit in interitum, ut irent in quod meruerant ipsi supplicium. Docet itaque Deus in quo pater et mater diligi debeat, vel parentes, et affines reliqui; in eo, scilicet, in quo et a Deo diligitur: in caeteris vero quibusdam, in quibus a Deo avertitur, non diligendus quidem est, attamen honorandus; juxta illud, « Honora patrem tuum et matrem, ut sis longaevus super terram [n: (Exod. XX, 12)]. » Multis enim honor impenditur, et ab iis longe ad aliud amor implicatur. Sequitur:

5. *Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis, quia amore langueo.*

## CAPUT II. (cont.)

Haec Sponsa Christi, id est, Ecclesia, vel anima quaeque perfecta, in cellam vinariam Regis introducta, [1220C] et de vino Domini potata, ordinatam in se charitatem ostendit, dicens Angelis, vel Virtutibus coelestibus, vel ipsis Ecclesiae ordinatoribus, « Fulcite me floribus, stipate me malis; quia amore langueo. » Languor hic bonus, languor hic affectabilis est; nullam sibi quaerit exhiberi medicinam, nisi quae ex floribus est, aut certe malis. Hic languor ex ordine charitatis est, cum quis Deum toto corde diligit, tota anima, totis viribus, et eum tota mente perstringit [n: (I Joan. II, 15, 16)]. Hic concupiscentia carnis, hic concupiscentia oculorum non est; non est hic superbia vitae, quae ex mundo est. Haec ad hanc charitatem vere emortua est, et vivit in illa spiritus qui vere vivificat, nec dominatur caro, quae [1220D] vere non prodest: haec sibi subveniri quaerit, sic ut floribus fulciatur, et malis constipetur. Quos flores dabimus? quae mala quaerenda sunt, ut languenti subveniamus? flores quidem odoriferos, odore suo reficientes, et pascentes animas, et confortantes, ut in eo ipso in quo est maneat, et proficiat, nec contepescat quousque illud apprehendat. [cn: 29 | f. *Huic*.] Hic florem violae, candorem lilii, rubentes rosas, et herbarum quarumque flores non marcidos, arborumque omnium quae fructiferae sunt flores si comportaveris, gratus eris, et huic fulciendae, ne forte labatur, in partem alteram cooperaberis. Haec verba sanctorum sunt, quibus de Domino interrogati, [1221A] promptissime responderunt; ea in quibus fidem, humilitatem, patientiam, constantiam, et fortitudinem, pacem et spem, charitatem eam de qua agimus, poteris invenire. Haec, si ab Abel incipias, et ad Abraham lineam justorum recte percurras; si ab ejus sacrificio, Moysen usque pervenias; si a Moyse ad Christum Deum Jesum, Spiritu ducente, pertingas; si a Domino Jesu, in hos qui in orbem ab ipso missi sunt, mentis aciem recte defigas, nihil in horum verbis invenies, nisi quod fidem doceat, spem corroboret, charitatem longe lateque disseminet. Quia vero fructus a flore proveniunt, recte subjungitur, « Stipate me malis, » id est, eorum me fructibus confirmate. Fructus enim eorum opera sunt, quibus fidem verbis adhibuerunt, quibus [1221B] suas Christo passiones dare minime erubuerunt, imo veritatem quam praedicabant, morte fortissima consecraverunt. Hic crucem beato apostolorum principi Petro recte dabis, gladium Paulo, ferventis olei dolium Joanni, Andreae stipitem, Jacobo uni Herodis gladium, perticam alii fullariam, assignabis. Caeterosque percurrens apostolos, et omnes sanctos martyres, morte fortissima pro Christo coronatos ostendens, hanc in languore suo permanentem, his fructibus fortissime constipabis, ne vacillet, ne dubitet, sed a vita hac quam terminari necesse est, ad vitam quae semper est et sine fine, perveniat. Sequitur:

6. *Laeva ejus sub capite meo, et dextera ejus amplexabitur me.*

[1221C]Suos allocuta amicos haec Sponsa, hoc in prece complexa est, ut per eos fulciretur floribus, et constiparetur malis, ne unquam ejus intentio ab amore divinitatis, quo jam languere inceperat, averteretur. Hos itaque pro se velut exauditos exhilarat, dicens: « Laeva ejus sub capite meo, et dextera ejus amplexabitur me: » ac si dicat, Preces vestras pro me exauditas ex hoc intelligo, quod laeva ejus sub capite jam meo est, et jam certe concipio, quod ejus me dextera amplexabitur. Attendendum vero hic est, Dominum laevam pariter habere et dexteram; juxta quod de sapientia Salomon in Proverbiis ait: « Longitudo vitae in dextera ejus, in sinistra vero divitiae et gloria [n: (Prov. III, 16)]. » Caput [1221D] vero Ecclesiae Jesum Christum fore jam nullus ambigit. Nam sicut omnia membra a capite dependent, et inofficiosum membrum est quod ei non deservit: sic quidem fideles omnes a Christo habent quod sunt, quod fideles sunt, quod in fide bene operantes sunt, et in bono opere spem concipientes aeternae vitae, ad quam charitate jam conjuncti sunt. Dei quidem haec dona sunt, beatitudo temporalis, et illa quae jam est angelorum, et nobis aeterna futura est: unde ait Dominus: « Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo, et in terra. Euntes ergo, docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus sancti [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. »

Sensus etiam corporis maxime vigent a capite, quibus membra corporis universa reguntur, utpote [1222A] visus, auditus, odoratus, gustus, et tactus: qui quidem in Christo vigere prae cunctis mortalibus agnoscuntur. Videt enim omne opus quod agimus, audit quod loquimur, quod cogitamus, odorat utique bonum quod mente concipimus; et hoc gustat quod actu adimplemus. Quid vero de tactu commemorem? qui quidem mirabilis est; nam quem tangit, hunc statim mutat in se, mutat in virum alterum, ut ipse fiat alienus a se. Laevam itaque sub capite fore intelligit, qui divitias et hanc gloriam temporalem totam ab eo fore cognoscit [n: (I Reg. 2, 7)]. Dominus enim pauperem facit et ditat, humiliat et sublevat, ut sedeat cum principibus, et solium gloriae teneat. De se enim Dominus ait: « Data est mihi omnis potestas in coelo, et in terra. Euntes ergo [1222B] docete omnes gentes, baptizantes eos in nomine Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti. Amen. » Quod si non solum in coelo, imo in terra omnis sibi potestas data est, constat quidem quod divitiae omnes, et omnis gloria et beatitudo temporalis, quae quidem finem habere dignoscitur, ex illo est, et illa quae in coelo jam diu angelis concessa est, omnibusque suis sine fine concedenda promittitur. Unde recte laeva Dei sub capite Sponsae perhibetur existere, eo quod temporalem hanc prosperitatem et gloriam, nullum nisi ejus dono constat obtinere. In ejus enim typo dicitur, « Per me reges regnant, et legum conditores justa decernunt: per me principes imperant, et potentes decernunt justitiam [n: (Prov. VIII, 15, 16)]. »

[1222C]Quia ergo jam reges saeculi Christo magna ex parte subjecti sunt (quia illi flectitur omne genu regum, praesulum, potentium, et principum) recte ab Ecclesia dicitur, laevam Dei sub « ejus, » id est, Ecclesiae capite consistere, quem suis constat membris haec quidem omnia, prout vult, dispensare. Haec tamen quibusdam dat, qui beneficia ingrate suscipiunt, qui sese in collatis extollunt, qui Deo non habentes gratias, in his quae data sunt iram sibi in diem retributionis aeternae coacervant. Suis vero Deus confert ista fidelibus, ut bonis bona quaeque dispensent, ne in via turpiter egentes deficiant, ut se filios charitatis exhibeant, et hanc gratiam sibi non pro merito dari reputent; sed illam potius, [1222D] quae posthaec suis est exhibenda, requirant. Unde et subditur: « Et dextera ejus amplexabitur me. » Quid enim Dei dextera, nisi ipsa Dei aeternitas reputatur? quae quidem totam amplexatur Ecclesiam, hanc in primis glorificans in patriarchis, prophetis, coronans in apostolis, et martyribus, caetera quoque sua membra digne remunerans; ut nulla omnino pars sit Ecclesiae, quae immunem se ejus gratiae conqueratur. Sequitur:

7. *Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, per capreas, cervosque camporum, ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, quoadusque ipsa velit.*

Hucusque Sponsa verba protraxit plurima, de Sponso quidem loquens, non tamen ad ipsum quod amoris eximii quidem signum est. Mentem enim [1223A] amor incitat, ut si Sponso quandoque loqui vel pudor vel timor non permittat, stimulis tamen amoris accensa, ad seipsum, vel ad alium quemlibet, de ipso verba facere non omittat. Quod dilectus ipse considerans, par amoris indicium exhibet, non ad ipsam jam loquens, sed aliis de ipsa sic faciens verba, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, per capreas cervosque camporum, ne suscitetis eam. » Videt hanc magna jam parte sui amore languidam, a mundi perturbationibus in sinu suo quiescere cupientem, etiam necessaria colloquia fastidientem, Sponsi solius oblectatione hilarem; aliam quoque sui partem considerans languoris hujus nesciam, magna sui parte saeculo obligatam, quae hanc velut emortuam reputans, suae cupit hanc necessitati [1223B] condescendere, sui quoque laboris partem suscipere, languenti miserans, sic ait, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, ne suscitetis eam, » id est, a quiete placida avocetis.

Sed attendenda adjuratio est, qua ait, « per capreas cervosque camporum. » Non enim sine causa est haec adjuratio. Hae quidem bestiae sunt a mundo alienae, ab hominum conversatione sepositae, herbis sese reficientes, munda quidem animalia, quae quidem ruminant, et findunt ungulam. Haec sanctis quaeque conveniunt, qui a carnalibus mente sepositi herba pascuntur viridi, sanctorum, scilicet, doctrina immarcessibili, quam ruminant, id est, semel intellectam saepe ad memoriam revocant; et findunt ungulam, quia intellectis his, aeterna a temporalibus [1223C] separant. Separatim quoque capreolis convenit, ut alta petant, sauciatae dictamum tangant: quod digne sanctis aptatur, coelestia, scilicet, appetere, et si quid offensae est, hoc Christo medicante, sanare. Est et haec cervi natura, cum centenarius est, aut majoris forte numeri, jamjam [cn: 30 | f. *jamque*.] vergit in senium, notat sibi quocunque locorum serpentis habitaculum, ipsumque, ut natura edocet, flatu suo statim foras extrahit, manducat, atque consumit; et [cn: 31 | f. add. *post*.] coenam hanc haustu fontis aquae purioris potus, cornua ponit illico, pellemque mutat et pilos, visumque recuperat, seseque totum reformans diu victurus jamjam effectus juvenis, in vitam pertransit alteram. Quod quidem sanctis aptatur hoc [1223D] modo: vivunt enim sancti, et diu servata virtute, et jam maturata, cum jam vergunt in senium, notant sibi quocunque locorum diri serpentis habitaculum, ubi, scilicet, regnet, ubi habitet, ubi habitantium corda multa sui calliditate dissipet, et a charitate disjungat: sperantes itaque bonam esse virtutum suarum consummationem, si motus hos atterant, si pacem restituant, et restitutam servare doceant; hunc serpentis adeunt locum, et flatu Sancti Spiritus edocti, antiquum hunc serpentem extrahunt, quae seminavit dispergunt, et illum quasi dentibus conterendo manducant, atque consumunt, [1224A] et ad nihilum ejus acta deducunt: et post, liquidi fontis haustu, id est, Domini nostri Jesu Christi charismatibus et doctrinis edocti, in vitam transmigrant aeternam: in qua, in hominem novum transmutati, vita vivunt beata, cui nihil desit, aut nil potest deesse, quod appetit. Adjuratio vero talis haec est, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, per capreas cervosque camporum, ne suscitetis, » id est, sic vobis detur assequi virtutes, quas per capreas et cervos designamus, ut dilectam non suscitetis, quoad ipsa velit.

## CAPUT II. (cont.)

Defiguntur [cn: 32 | f. *Designantur*.] hic tempora actionis et contemplationis. Contemplationis quidem tempora grata sunt et acceptabilia, ut vix quibus haec gratia data est, avelli ab ea possint. Amant enim, et [1224B] amando intelligunt quanta sibi desint, quae contemplando inspiciunt; haec conantur assequi; molestos sibi reputant, per quos vocationem hanc contingit impediri. Sed vox dilecti est quod additur, « Quoadusque ipsa velit. » Unde datur intelligi, quaedam esse tempora in quibus Sponsa velit ab haec vocatione avelli, et inferioribus conformari, ut puta cum fides infirmatur, cum haeresis disseminatur, cum et ipsa in modum canceris jam haeret, et nisi conferantur remedia, totum jam corpus obtinet, et sibi totum possidere jam speret. Unde ait Arius, « Fuit, quando non fuit Filius, » non coaeternam sibi totam fuisse reputans Trinitatem: sed divinam illam generationem, (de qua dictum est, « Generationem ejus quis enarrabit?) [n: (Isai. LIII, 8)], » huic [1224C] humanae generationi nostrae similem sperans; in qua, praecedit qui pater est, et ex eo consequenter est ille qui filius est. Quae nimirum haeresis totum pervagavit orbem, ut in Ecclesia vix quatuor invenirentur episcopi, qui de fide Trinitatis aeternae recte sentirent. Nam, ut de aliis partibus mundi sileam, in Africa sola, quanta hinc mala evenerint, aperiam. Hunericus Genserici filius, qui mortuo patre in regnum successerat, Ariana motus perfidia, trecentos triginta quatuor episcopos catholicos in exsilium trusit, ecclesias eorum clausit, plebem variis suppliciis affecit. Cujus vero Thrasamundus sibi in regno succedens, clausis Catholicorum ecclesiis, ducentos viginti episcopos in Sardiniam [1224D] exsilio relegavit; quibus papa Symmachus quotidiana subsidia ministravit. Aliis quoque mundi partibus, haec haeresis adeo pervagata est, ut totam convocare Ecclesiam, et in unum convenire necesse foret, Deumque effusis precibus efflagitare, ut hac amota peste, veritatem rei de qua agebatur, declararet: qui piis dilectae suae precibus, aliorumque fidelium inclinatus, Arium, cum ad defendendas haeresis suae partes Constantinopolim pervenisset, et ex necessitate ad publica purgatoria divertisset, effusis intimis vitalibus, mortem subire compulit, nec ejus ultra haeresis quisquam defensor [1225A] apparuit, sic quoque contemplatione coeli secreta penetrante, et se in his, quoad potest, occupante, cum jam cessante doctrina, vel haeresis, vel alia forte peccata regnant in subditis, vel necessitati forte proximorum subveniri desideratur in anxiis; tempus est, quo velint descendere contemplantes, et his subvenire qui ab iis sunt subsidia praestolantes. Ordo itaque lectionis hic est: Vox dilecti moi haec est, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, per capreas cervosque camporum, ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, quoadusque velit. » Sequitur:

8. *Ecce ille venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles.*

Haec est assertio Sponsae. Dixerat enim vocem illam qua dictum est, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, [1225B] etc. » vocem dilecti sui esse: hoc nunc asserit. Videns dilectum suum venientem, nec contradicentem his quibus auctorem se fuisse Sponsa testata est, ejus ante sic protestatur adventum, « Ecce ille venit, saliens in montibus, transiliens colles. » Ampla vero hic lectio aperitur, ubi in Scriptura sacra de montibus agitur, et de collibus. Haec enim Scriptura, in montes quidem quosdam malos reputat, quosdam laude dignos affirmat: malos reputat, ut montes Gelboe, ubi ceciderunt qui fortes in Israel videbantur; quos detestatus est David, dicens: « Gelboe, nec ros, nec pluvia super vos descendat [n: (II Reg. I, 21)]. » Gelboe namque, « descensus, » interpretatur, montes significans superbiae atque jactantiae, in quo, quanto plus ascendis, tanto [1225C] plus corruis atque descendis. Unde dictum est, « Omnis mons et collis humiliabitur [n: (Luc. III, 5)]. » In hoc quidem pugnaverunt filii Israel a Deo jam reprobi, Saul et Jonathan, qui elati et a Deo reprobati, populum sequentem se in hostem produxerunt, et una cum corruentibus corruerunt. Unde ait David, « Montes Gelboe, » id est vitiorum, in quibus quo magis ascenditur, eo plus descenditur; « nec ros, nec pluvia, » doctrina coelestis, « super vos descendat, » ubi ceciderunt, qui se in Israel fortes sperantes, infirmitatis sibi conscii corruerunt. Hi mali montes sunt; ab his declinandum esse David ipse commemorat, dicens, « Montes, sicut cera, fluxerunt a facie Domini [n: (Psal. XCXVI, 5)]. » [1225D] Qui enim in saeculo potentes et sublimes, aliis se praeferunt, et quasi sibi impares despiciunt, hi Dominum in ira et igne venientem non conspiciunt; sed ut cera a facie ignis, sic effluunt, atque deficiunt. At vero mons bonus est de quo idem David ait, « Selmon mons Dei, mons pinguis [n: (Psal. LXVII, 15)]. » Selmon enim, « umbra, » interpretatur, Dominum Jesum Christum significans, quem totum obumbravit divinitas; unde subditur: « Mons Dei, mons pinguis; mons coagulatus, mons pinguis. » Non est enim in filiis hominum, cui sic totum se divinitatis unda contulerit, quem tota divinitatis plenitudo corporaliter inhabitaverit: unde et subditur, « Ut quid suspicamini montes coagulatos? » [n: (Psal. V, 17.)] Nullus enim est in filiis hominum, [1226A] in quo sancta divinitas sic humanitati coagulata sit ut una eademque persona, et verus Deus, et verus homo sit: hic enim mons est, in quo beneplacitum est Deo habitare in eo: in eo etenim Dominus habitabit in finem, quod sine fine datur intelligi. Nunquid enim ab humanitate separanda divinitas est? cui tota collata est in coelo et in terra judicandi, tollendi, et auferendi potestas. Hic, ut « Rex regum, et, Dominus dominantium [n: (Apoc. XIX, 16)]; » sic quidem, mons montium dici potest: unde et Isaias ait, « Erit in novissimis diebus praeparatus mons domus Domini [n: (Isai. II, 2)]. » Haec enim domus Domini, quam Deus corporaliter inhabitat Dominus Jesus Christus; et mons domus hujus, ipsa celsitudo divinitatis est; in quam ipse Dominus Jesus [1226B] elevatus est super verticem omnium montium, ad quem omnes gentes confluent, et omnes populi; unde sancti omnes accipiunt, ut montes dicantur. Unde est illud, « Levavi oculos meos in montes [n: (Psal. CXX, 1)]: » et alibi, « Illuminans tu mirabiliter a montibus aeternis [n: (Psal. LXXV, 5)]. » Ipse quidem sua plenitudine montes illuminat, et ipsos in aeternitate constituens, aliis per mundum, ut eorum illustrentur lumine, donat: videns igitur haec Sponsa Sponsum suum venientem, ait, « Ecce venit, saliens in montibus. » A quo monte salit? a corde Patris. In quem montem salit? in cor Virginis sacrae (in qua humanitatem induit, aptans sibi corpus et animam, et mortalem hanc suscipiens sibi vitam) de quo saltum facit in crucem, qua nos redemit: [1226C] saltus ejus inde, in sepulchrum proximus est; in quo quadraginta horis commorans, saltum, inde resurgens, in vitam facit immortalem; in quam, cum apostolis, caeterisque suis quadraginta dies commorans, ad locum unde prodiit, ascendit, ut nos illuc doceret per virtutes ascendere, et hunc nostri cursus finem reputare.

Veniens quoque Dominus, in montibus salire dicitur. Sunt enim montes, doctores Ecclesiae, a montibus aeternis illuminati, qui propter eminentiam scientiae et intellectus recte montes nominantur; in quos saltus facit, cum illos igne suae coruscationis illustrat. Saltum quippe fecit in apostolum Petrum, cum interroganti Domino, « Vos autem, [1226D] quem me esse dicitis? » [n: (Matth. XVI, 15.)] Tacentibus aliis, ille respondit, « Tu es Christus, Filius Dei vivi. » Unde Ecclesiae claves recepit, potestatem etiam ligandi atque solvendi, et totius Ecclesiae principatum, post Christum, sortitus est. Quod vero in ipso, et in aliis saltus fecerit, cum ipsos de resurrectione sua certificavit, cum ipsos die Pentecostes Spiritu sancto clarificavit, cum ipsos in omni interrogatione sua constantes et fortes fecit, cum in speciosa porta claudum ex utero matris suae verbo solo Petrus et Joannes sanarent, cum praedicatione sua Petrus, nunc tria millia, alias vero quinque millia, ad Dominum Jesum converteret, et baptizaret, nulli dubium relinquitur; cum constat, haec opera non hominis solius potentia, sed vera [1227A] Dei praesentia, sic evenisse. Cum ergo constet, eum Ananiae et Saphirae fraudem, nullo praeter Deum revelante, novisse, ipsos etiam ad ejus increpationem expirasse; quis non intelligat, Deum in hunc prosiluisse, ipsumque haec ex mandato volentis peregisse? Cumque Joppae in coenaculo hora sexta Petrus oraret, et caderet in eum mentis excessus, ita ut coelo aperto videret ad se vas magnum, ad modum lintei, quatuor initiis de coelo demitti, in quo erant omnia quadrupedia, et serpentia terrae, et volatilia coeli, et audiret vocem dicentem sibi, « Petre, macta, et manduca [n: (Act. XI, 6)]; et diceret, « Absit a me, Domine, quia numquam manducavi omne commune, et immundum! » et dixisset ei Dominus, « Tu, quae Deus purificavit, communia ne [1227B] dixeris. » Quis in eum non dixerit insiluisse Dominum, cum auditis nuntiis Cornelii, venit Caesaream, et comperiens quod non est personarum acceptor Deus, ipsum, et totam ejus domum, in quam Spiritus sanctus descenderat, baptizavit.

## CAPUT II. (cont.)

In primum igitur apostolorum Petrum, cum saltus his modis et aliis quampluribus constet fecisse Dominum, restat ut iis modis, de aliis omnibus intelligamus, quos in orbem missos, ipsum et praedicasse, et ad eum gentes convertisse, mira operum demonstratione notissimum est. In novissimum enim apostolorum, Paulum, scilicet, saltum dedit, cum ipsum, de coelo emisso lumine, prostratum in terram, nihilque videntem, sic vocavit, « Saule, Saule, [1227C] quid me persequeris? durum est tibi contra stimulum calcitrare [n: (Act. IX, 4-15)]: » qui ad Ananiam missus, visum recepit, et baptizatus est, et in eum insiliente Domino, coram cunctis manifeste se ejus discipulum esse confessus est. In quo quot saltus Deus fecerit, quam mirabiliter extulerit, quam mirabili doctrina elegantem, et omnibus conspicuum effecerit, ejus docent epistolae; et ipsi qui dicuntur, « Actus apostolorum, » manifeste declarant. Ait itaque de eo Sponsa, « Ecce iste venit, saliens in montibus: » annectit quoque quod sequitur, « Transiliens colles. Quod quare sic, videamus. Quod enim de montibus diximus, idem de collibus est dicendum. Colles enim, quidam boni sunt; unde dictum est, « Benedicite, montes et colles, Domino [1227D] [n: (Dan. III, 75)]; » et illud Isaiae, « Elevabitur Dominus super colles [n: (Isa. II, 2)]. » Quidam vero mali; unde in hoc loco dictum est, Dominus in montibus salit, colles vero transilit: ubi namque salit, ibi est; quos vero transilit, non iis moram facit, sed deserit et derelinquit. Qui ergo hi sunt? qui haereses inveniendo magni se faciunt; in his se extollunt, altitudini montium aequari se cupiunt, populos post se convertunt et trahunt; magni se faciunt cum non sint, Deum se habere jactando, cum ab eo procul sint. In iis Arius, in iis Eutyches, in iis haeresiarchae omnes, quos Ecclesia sancta denotat, effugit, atque condemnat: hos quidem transilit Dominus. [1228A] Transilit et hypocritas, qui verbis fatentur se novisse Dominum, factis autem negant. Sic quidem omnes transilit, quos nec fides munit, nec vitae sanctitas honestos facit. Cujus rei causa haec est; quia,

9. *Similis est dilectus capreae, hinnuloque cervorum.*

His quidem animalibus Sponsus adveniens recte assimilatur, tum quia perspicue cuncta Deus intuetur, tum quia in sublimi virtutum culmine commoratur, in iis pascitur, saltus in iis suos emetitur, cernit quoque in quibus serpens antiquus involutus quiescit, vel evolutus spiras protrahit; et haec [cn: 33 | f. *hos*] quidem sic declinat, sicut nulla communicatio Christi ad Belial. Sequitur:

[1228B] *En ipse stat post parietem nostrum.*

Hoc quidem de dilecto promissum est, quia capreae similis est. Visu namque perspicax est, ut qui Patrem videt, et vivendo Patrem cuncta contuetur in Patre; non solum actus operum, sed et affectus cogitationum. Unde nunc omnes monet, ut ad ejus omnes nos muniamus aspectus, cogitando quae bona sunt, quae utilia sunt, quae digna Dei videantur aspectu; et haec eadem actu consequente compleamus. Ait enim, « En ipse stat post parietem nostrum. » Hunc quoque similem dixit esse hinnulo cervorum, id est, antiquorum patrum filium, ex iis corpus habens de virgine sumptum, nulli tamen peccato obnoxium vel mole peccati gravatum; utpote [1228C] cui paternae naturae vis inolevit, ut eum occulta non lateant, serpentes fugiant, venena non laedant. Huic igitur, cui occulta nostra sunt pandenda, cui serpens totus displicet, qui aspernatur omne quod ejus veneno infectum est, aptemus nos, ut quae digna sunt Deo videat, et nihil in nobis serpentis veneno infectum conspiciat, quo sibi a nobis declinare complaceat: « Ecce enim ipse post parietem nostrum stat, despiciens per fenestras. » Qui stare, quidem dicitur, id est optima sui status dispositione immobiliter se habere ad omnia contuenda quae prospicit, cui nec bona nostra quae facimus quid adjiciunt, nec ejus gloriae mala a nobis perpetrata, quid minuunt; sed cuncta se retributioni aeternae quam meruerunt, subjiciunt. Qui quidem [1228D] « post parietem stat; » est enim paries, nostrae conditionis pars ista exterior (qua induimur, qua tegimur, qua innumerae tentationi subjicimur) corpus, scilicet, nostrum, quod ut paries ex lapidibus et coemento construitur, sic nobis apta partium dispositione coaptatur; quod nimirum, quia videt dilectum suum suscepturum esse, vel jam forsitan suscepisse, « nostrum » quidem nominat, ut eum nostrae participem conditionis ostendat. Hic vero Dilectus « post parietem stat, » ut eum, velut ante se positum, libere conspiciat, et quid intus agatur libere per fenestras et cancellos attendat. Fenestrae enim corporis nostri, corporales sensus quinque [1229A] sunt, videlicet visus, auditus, gustus, odoratus et tactus. His quidem quidam utuntur in bonis, et se bonos efficiunt; alii perditissimis moribus ad mala trahentes, sese consequenter pessimos constituunt: de quibus Jeremias ait, « Ascendit mors per fenestras nostras [n: (Jer. IX, 21)]: » quod quidem tunc est, cum oculi peccatoris vident mulierem ad concupiscendum eam; moechatus est enim eam in corde suo: sicque mors ingressa est ad animam per fenestras oculorum. Sed et cum recepit quis auditum vanum, et praecipue falsas scientias dogmatum perversorum, tunc mors per aurium fenestras intrat ad animam. Sicque de caeteris, odoratu, gustu, dictu et tactu: cum his anima quaeque abutens, ad malum se applicat, mors jam per fenestras [1229B] has intrat, et obtinet principatum. Si vero anima intuens ornamentum mundi, et ex pulchritudine creaturarum, conditorem omnium intelligat Deum, et opera ejus miretur, laudetque operum creatorem, ad hanc animam vita per fenestras ingreditur oculorum. Sed et cum auditum inclinat ad verbum Dei, et rationibus scientiae ejus ac sapientiae delectatur, huic per aurium fenestras animae sapientiae lumen ingreditur; de quibus Isaias ait, « Qui sunt hi qui ut nubes volant, et quasi columbae ad fenestras suas? » [n: (Isai. LX 8.)] Videns enim in spiritu apostolorum celsitudinem, eorumque admirans per mundum cursum celerem, ait, « Qui sunt isti, » etc.: simplicitatem vero admirans, et innocentiam, subdit dicens, « Et quasi [1229C] columbae ad fenestras suas, » simplices, scilicet, et innocentes, et in omni visu suo, et auditu, gustu, odoratu et tactu, illam, scilicet, imitantes columbam, quae supra Dominum die qua baptizatus est apparuit

Stans itaque post parietem, dilectus hic per fenestras contemplatur, qua quisque porta quaerat ingredi, ut ait Dominus: « Lata enim est porta, et via spatiosa, quae ducit ad mortem, et multi sunt qui intrant per eam: angusta vero porta est, et arcta via, quae ducit ad vitam, et pauci sunt qui inveniunt eam [n: (Matth. VII, 13, 14)]. » Hos itaque despicit, quasi deorsum laborantes; inspicit, ut eos in suis juvet initiis, et in sua laborantes angustia, [1229D] sponte jam data gratia deducat ulterius, et arctam inchoans viam, jam in latitudine tandem charitatis constitutos, beatam perducat ad gloriam. Latam vero intrantes portam, spatiosamque tenentes viam quae ducit ad perditionem, hortatur, monet, et revocat, per naturalem primo legem, deinde per Scripturam, deinde per patriarchas, per prophetas, hinc per seipsum, deinde per apostolos, et per omnes doctores, ut redeant, ut viam coeptam deserant; ne de viae latitudine gloriantes, tandemque per portam spatiosam intrantes, intrent in tenebras, et horrida perditionis loca, quae hac currentibus via jamjam vere destinata sunt. Haec per fenestras contemplatur dilectus, manifeste, [1230A] scilicet, bonos, et manifeste malos contemplans, nec iis solum contentus, per cancellos prospicit; ait enim: « Despiciens per fenestras, prospiciens per cancellos [n: (I Tim. I, 15)]. » Cancelli enim, arcta foramina quidem sunt, non in modum fenestrae patentia, sed in longum arcte coementariorum sub testudine producta; quibus vidit inspector quos vult, nec tamen ab his videri potest, quia nec id vult.

Qui ergo sunt quos sic conspicit? qui vel mala non male agunt, vel bona non bene peragunt. Mala non male agunt, ut Saulus, et qui sibi similes sunt. Hi enim hujus sectae viros vinctos ad synagogas, et ad judicia pertrahebant: quod quidem malum erat, sed non male fiebat. In hoc enim obsequium se [1230B] praestare creatori, legi deservire, praevaricationem reprimere, aestimantes, zelo quidem bono, non tamen secundum scientiam, aestuabant, et se, injuriam summae Divinitati illatam, digne vindicare credebant. Unde et ipse Paulus ait: « Ecclesiam Dei persecutus sum: sed tamen misericordiam consecutus sum, quia ignorans feci in incredulitate [n: (I Tim. I, 13)]. » Ignoravit siquidem, Deum Patrem habere Filium, et ipsum hunc mundo misisse in remedium: ignorabat hunc esse Christum Jesum. Sciebat circumcisionem Abrahae, et legem Moysi datam esse a Domino, sed hanc ignorabat usque ad tempus Joannis Baptistae in integritate sua perdurasse, tunc autem in se promissa exspirasse: ideoque sibi haec revelata sunt, et quae ignoranter acta [1230C] sunt condonata. Hunc itaque per cancellos aspexit Dominus, videns hunc, et ei miserans, cum quidem de misericordia nihil speraret, sed totus [cn: 34 | f. *minas et cædes.*] « minis et caedis » in malum spiraret. Sunt et qui bona non bene peragunt, qui nimirum fidem habentes, opera fidei exercentes, orant plurimum in plateis, sua pauperibus distribuunt et egenis; sed dum haec faciunt, charitatem quae virtus est operum non habentes, Deumque se assequi his operibus non quaerentes, sed quia totus Deo subditus est mundus, honorari se, et honoribus praefici cupientes, totum perdunt quod agunt, et hoc quod sine charitate distributum est, illud amittunt. Ait enim Paulus, « Si cuncta mea distribuero pauperibus, me etiam ipsum [1230D] ita ut ardeam, charitatem autem non habeam, nihil sum [n: (I Cor. XIII, 3)]. » Idem quoque ait, « Sermo Dei vivus, et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti: et pertingens usque ad divisionem animae et spiritus, compagum quoque et medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis; nec est ulla creatura invisibilis in conspectu ejus *(Hebr IV, 12)*. » Unde quidquid agant, Deo coram sunt, ejus oculos non effugiunt; non solum quid agant, sed quid per hoc intendant, mente concipere non retardat: manifeste bonos et malos videns per fenestram; hos vero qui se occultant, intuens per fenestram; hos vero qui se occultant, intuens per cancellos. Sequitur:

[1231A]

## 10.

*En dilectus meus loquitur mihi.*

Omnes haec Sponsa monuit, ut caveant a dilecto suo, qui venit saliens in montibus, transiliens colles, qui venit capreae, hinnuloque cervorum similis, qui stat post parietem, per fenestras cancellosque conspiciens, quid intus agatur, quod placeat, vel quod sibi displiceat. Nunc vero, quod sibi Sponsus loquatur, insinuat, dicens, « En dilectus meus loquitur mihi. Surge, propera, amica mea, columba mea, formosa mea. » Hanc velut e celso per fenestram sedentem in domo viderat, amorem suum ad Sponsum sancta contemplatione foventem, et meditantem modos quibus suus posset amor in Dilectum indesinenter inardescere: et ut hanc quasi languidam, et hoc ipso languore mundo velut emortuam [1231B] suscitet, resuscitatam denuo novi amoris ignibus inflammet, ait:

*Surge, propera, amica mea, columba mea, formosa mea, et veni.*

Quam tribus hortatur verbis, dicens: « Surge, Propera, Veni; » tribus hanc designat nominibus, dicens, « Amica mea, Columba mea, Formosa mea; » ut amica nominum positio totum leviget, quod verborum fieri urget trina praeceptio. Ait enim, « Amica; » nam ex hoc cognovi te amantem me, quod reliquisti patrem et matrem, fratres et sorores, domum et agros, et secuta es me. Te etiam in Paulo dicentem audivi, « Quis nos separabit a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu? Scio enim, quod neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque principatus, [1231C] neque potestates, neque ulla alia creatura separare nos poterit a charitate Dei [n: (Rom. VIII, 38, 39)]. » Te etiam in Petro protestantem audivi, « Domine, tu omnia nosti, tu scis quia amo te [n: (Joan. XXI, 17)]. » Addit quoque, « Columba mea, » velut avis innocentissima propagandis fetibus intenta, munditia granorum pasta, gemitum pro cantu habens, gregatim volans, bonum, nisi quod est in commune, non reputans, cum ave dissimili nec rostro, nec ungue lacerans, te quidem columbae, quae Christo protestata est in baptismate, similem, quantum potes conformans, et mihi in ejusmodi forma complacens; tu quam juste formosam rationibus istis approbo, Surge. Dicens autem, « Surge, » [1231D] non eo modo protulit, quo peccatori dicitur, Surge. Peccatori namque dicitur, « Surge qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus [n: (Ephes. V, 14)]. » Quod quidem homini dicitur gravibus peccatis involuto, in quibus dormire dicitur, gravi, scilicet, oblectatione quiescere, cui voce sancta dicitur, ut surgat, hoc est, a peccatis quiescat; et exsurgat a mortuis, id est ne in inferno, inter mortuos sibi locum manendi constituat: et cum peccare desieris, et haec, quae tibi placebant jam abhorrere inceperis, tunc « illuminabit te Christus, » id est viam, qua ire te velit, ostendet. Nec hoc [1232A] modo quidem hic Sponsae dicitur, ut surgat, quae jamdiu patrem et matrem, domum et fratres, et caetera quae in mundo habentur, reliquerat, et Christum secuta, dixerat, « Trahe me post te; curremus in odore unguentorum tuorum. »

Quid igitur est Sponsae dicere, ut surgat? Ipsam quidem totam in hoc esse cognoverat, ut amorem ejus meditaretur assidue, qui ipsum a Patre in Virginem sanctam pertraxerat, quemque ex ea genitum mundi mala percurrere, et crucifixum spreta [cn: 35 | f. *superata.*] morte resurgere, ipsumque dehinc ad coelos ascendere, et sequentibus se bona coelestia promisisse, constabat, toto amplecteretur desiderio, optaret voto, jucundaretur soliloquio: huic igitur Dilectus ait, « Surge, » quod est, Excitare ab hac [1232B] quiete tua, ab hac pace tua: Ego quidem sum, qui adjurans filias Jerusalem, dixi, « Ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis Dilectam, quousque ipsa velit. » Jam tu mecum unus spiritus es; quod ego volo velle te non dubito. Ne mori flagites, dum multis prodesse potes, ne pertrahat ad se haec mora periculum; propera, properando venias ad me. Ego sum ille quem diligis; jam foris habes, quem appetis; unde tibi dico, quod venias, ut mecum videas, et opera tua intelligas et, si bona sunt, iis congaudeas.

11. *Jam enim hiems transiit.*

Hiems ea pars anni est, qua nobis lux brevior, noctis vero tenebrae profundiores sunt; qua gelu cuncta perstringuntur [cn: 36 | f. *constringuntur.*], qua hiemali glacie rigent universa, corporibus dominatur humor: haec [1232C] omnia temporis inclementiam denotant, quae jam pertransiisse, et ideo adventus sui tempus opportunum esse testatur. Quae quidem tunc aderat, cum mundum infidelitas undequaque oppresserat, lux fidei paucorum corda irradiabat, malum ab aquilone provenerat, quod corda omnium gelu malitiae infrigidata cohibebat, glaciemque cordium nullo Spiritus sancti calore resolvi, impietas indurata permittebat. In corporibus dominabatur humor, in quibus nulla luxuriae fraena castitatis aut honestatis amor restringebat: sed omnia foedo permisceri concubitu, luxus, et quae luxum comitatur importunitas imperabat. Testatur hoc Adae primi patris inobedientia; testatur et Caini malitia; testatur [1232D] et Lamech [cn: 37 | f. *homicidium.*] « homicida; » testatur etiam hoc saeculorum impuritas, prius aqua, postmodum igne, exceptis octo, deleta. Sequitur:

*Imber abiit et recessit.*

Imber non quaelibet pluvia dicitur, sed tantum hiemalis; diem sibi noctemque fere continuans, quam nec tecta continent [cn: 38 | f. *cohibent.*]; qua flumina ingurgitantur, qua pontes concidunt, excrescentia vada commeantibus iter denegant, et cuncta suo rapientia impetu, deferunt in profundum. Quod quidem infidelitatis congruit tempori: ubi namque fidem deesse contigit ibi omnia bona spiritualia deesse [1233A] contingebat: non erat ibi spes, non charitas, timor Dei nullus, nulla Deo obedientia, nulla reverentia, et totum quod debebat Deo humanitas, Satanae fere persolvebat. Hic imber erat assiduus, doctrina magistrorum nefanda, Jovem magnificans, illi sacra offerens, Apollinem, Mercurium, et Bacchum venerans, Junonem, Dianam, Venerem adorans, et Palladem, et caetera, quae in sacro vel nominasse tractatu pudor erubescit, verecundia denegat: sola vero exponendae sacrae lectionis exponit necessitas. Hic enim imber, fundamentum fidei, parietes spei, et tecta charitatis, evertebat: descendente enim in domum hanc pluvia, simul venerunt et flumina; hac enim infidelitate suscepta, ingurgitatae mentes hominum extra alveos sibi deputatos excreverunt; [1233B] et quibus unius Dei fides, cultus, et reverentia, a Deo Patre, ipsique fidem adhibentibus patribus, donata est, hanc diis pluribus attribuentes, et Deos esse plurimos confitentes; alveum, et sibi ripas deputatas egressi sunt, et secum in profundum inferni infinita hominum millia pertraxerunt. Flaverunt enim venti, quia non defuerunt his flatus spiritus maligni. Pontes eversi sunt, quia Scriptura sancta viluit, quae nobis ad Deum pontem facit. Commeatus viatori non patuit, quia ab hac vita egredienti nullus ad Deum accessus exstitit. Facta enim est, ut ait Dominus, « domus illius ruina magna; » et vero magna, utpote cui nullus ad vitam reditus, nulla cum bonis in aeternum futura communio. Te itaque, quam amicam sentio, quia vis [1233C] quod volo; te, quam columbinis praestantem moribus intelligo, quam mihi conformem, ideoque formosam judico, te evoco, tibi dicens, « Surge, » hoc est, Ab hac contemplatione pacis et quietis qua detineris, egredere; propera, ut meae praeceptionis imperium tuae sub dicto [cn: 39 | f. *subito*, vel, *cum dicto.*] sequatur obeditionis obsequium, « et veni, » ut mecum unius spiritus effecta particeps, mihi congaudeas, qui te meo juvi spiritu ut haec faceres, ut haec mundi scandala moveres: hieme enim submota, amoto imbre qui cuncta turbaverat, terrae faciem flatus dulcior jam perflavit, et aura Sancti spiritus emissa desuper hanc, fide suscepta, sui decoris flore decoravit: hoc est, quod dicitur:

12. *Flores apparuerunt in terra nostra.* [1233D]

Ubi infidelitas imperabat, ibi fides jam regnat; ubi desperata miseria, ibi spes bona se sperat, et gaudet adipisci aeterna; ubi mens frigida, et nullo charitatis igne succensa torpebat; ibi charitas jam suo cuncta disponit imperio, quae deorsum erant sursum erigens, et bonis operibus praesentans omnia creatori bono. Adjecit quoque:

*Tempus putationis advenit.*

Quae nimirum putatio tempus sacrae confessionis ostendit. Putantur enim arbores, et his sarmenta tolluntur inutilia, quae fructus non ferunt; et utiles, si excrescant palmites, ferre impediunt: sic vineae, [1234A] sic arbores aliae ramis abscinduntur inutilibus, ut qui sunt utiles, fiant utiliores, et fructus afferant cultori uberiores. Quod quidem tempori plenitudinis et gratiae recte aptatur. Arbores enim quaedam aridae sunt et emortuae, nec folia producentes, nec fructus; quaedam folia quidem habent, sed non fructus; aliae fructus quidem, sed malos: aliae vero sunt, quibus et folia venustatem praestant, et fructus optimi dignitatem. In his hominum genus omne comprehenditur: harum quidem tres species securis praestolatur et ignis. Quos vero nec folia verborum, nec fructus operum vestiunt, vel si fructus aliquos, hos tamen malos producunt, hos judiciaria securis Domini bene discernens amputat, et igni qui eis deputatus est, judicio quidem justo [1234B] coaptat. Illa vero quibus venustatem folia praestant, et fructus optimi dignitatem, ligna Paradisi sunt, in quibus Deus habitat, quibus inambulat, ad quae Sponsam suam evocat, quae falce putatoria purgat, ut fructus afferant; qui fructus eis in vitam aeternam permaneant. Quae quidem falx putatoria, sacra quidem confessio est, qua seipsum homo considerat, quae gessit in vita cuncta rememorat, seipsum sibi aperit et condemnat, et cui deputatus est, hoc ipsum ore confitens, corde poenitens, lacrymis lavans et abluens, condignum onus poenitentiae suscipiens, et exhibens, lignum fructiferum efficitur, quod secus decursus aquarum plantatur, et fructum afferens gratiae, a Domino jucundissime suscipitur. Est quidem etiam Domino tempus putationis gratissimum, [1234C] quo videt apostolorum gloriam, constantiam omnium per orbem martyrum, qui quidem gravi falce martyrii amputati sunt, et velut inutiles dejecti, ab ipso jam, tanquam altissimi corporis Christi membra, in coelo gloriose suscepti, jam quidem judicant nationes, et regnant in aeternum. Sequitur:

*Vox turturis audita est in terra nostra.*

## 10. (cont.)

Id est, Vox undequaque per mundum praedicatoris audita est in terra jam nostra. Praedicatur enim quilibet, non exquirens prudentiam quae de terra est, nec fabellationes quae prorsus inanes sunt, cantu suo hiemis abcessum, et veris nuntians adventum, gemit hic, pudicitiam amans in altis habitat, [1234D] fugit hominum conversationem, corpore in mundo, mente in coelo permanens: unde Baptista ait, « Genimina viperarum, quis ostendit vobis fugere a ventura ira? Facite ergo fructus dignos poenitentiae: et ne coeperitis dicere, Patrem habemus Abraham [n: (Luc. III, 7, 8)]. » Petrus vero ait: « Poenitentiam agite, et baptizetur unusquisque vestrum in nomine Jesu Christi in remissionem peccatorum; et accipietis donum Spiritus sancti [n: (Act. II, 38)]. » Paulus quoque ait: « Non in commessationibus et ebrietatibus, non in cubilibus et impudicitiis, non in contentione et aemulatione. Sed induamini Dominum Jesum Christum [n: (Rom. XIII, 13, 14)]. » Has vero [1235A] voces turturis, quis enumeret? Solus novit eas, qui vocem format et pectora Deus. Sequitur:

13. *Ficus protulit grossos suos.*

Ficus arbor notissima est quae foliis abundat, fructu replet eum qui eam colit et possidet: haec diversis modis fructus efficit. Nam initiato vere, et jam progresso, paululum fructus primitivos efficit, qui grossi dicuntur, et amari sunt, et ob amaritudinem gustus respuuntur, et inter amara et vilia rejiciuntur: eadem vero temporis aliquantulo processu fructificat, fructum dans suavissimum, et gustui innata dulcedine jucundissimum. Hic fructus est ob quem colitur, ob quem circumfoditur, et ad eam excolendam labor multipliciter exhibetur. Ejus vero cum primitivus fructus abundanter nascitur, [1235B] quia tunc quod in ficu est amaritudinis pene emittitur, spes bona sequentis est, ut quo iste amarior, eo sequens ille dulcior emittatur. De hac ergo ficu dicitur, « Ficus protulit grossos suos. » Haec enim ficus est de qua dicitur in Evangelio: Arborem ficum habebat quidam plantatam in vinea sua, in qua, tribus annis veniens dominus, et in ea fructum non inveniens, ait cultori: « Succide eam: » de qua cultor ait: « Domine, dimitte illam hoc anno, usque dum fodiam circa illam, et mittam stercora [n: (Luc. XIII, 7, 8)]. » Haec quidem Ecclesia dicitur, ad quam tribus annis veniens Dominus (uno, scilicet, anno, eo quidem tempore quod ante legem exstitit; altero, scilicet, quod sub lege fuit; tertio [1235C] quidem, quod sub gratia incepit) fructus quidem non invenit; unde iratus haec verba protulit, « Succide eam. » Nam licet ab ipso creationis exordio, Ecclesia quidem semper exstiterit, toto quidem hoc tempore in paucis adeo exstitit, ut ejus paucitas copiosae multitudini comparata, nulla quidem haberetur, pro nulla reputaretur. Nam toto hoc tempore, si quos justos reperis, caeteraeque multitudini compares, sic erit comparatio, quasi modicum quid infinitae compares multitudini, unde salvator Dominus noster ait: « Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos: Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet [n: (Matth. VIII, 20)]. » Sed haec quidem jam fossa sanctorum monitionibus apostolorum communita, sanctis martyrum exemplis edocta, [1235D] amaritudine martyrii jam spreta, dulces per mundum jam parit fructus: jam ficuum suarum replet dulcedine, quos in passionis suae deflevit amaritudine. Unde subditur

*Vineae florentes dederunt odorem suum.*

Vineae vero Domini et una est, et multae sunt: una enim est Ecclesia, et multae. Una quidem est congregatio omnium fidelium qui ab initio dilexerunt Deum, et qui adhuc diligunt, et qui dilecturi sunt: haec quidem una est, in unitate fidei, et spei, et charitatis permanens: quae quidem tunc apparebit, cum Dominus orbem terrae judicabit, qui regnum a Domino percipient, dicente Domino: « Venite [1236A] benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)], » qui jam tunc erunt liberi a « laqueo venantium, et a verbo aspero [n: (Psal. XC, 3)]. » Laqueus quippe venantium, est tentatio malignorum spirituum, quam miseris tendunt mortalibus, ut eos peccatis illaqueent, et illaqueatos ad mortem deducant: verbum vero asperum (quo nihil in mundo asperius esse potest), illud est quod audituri sunt, « Discedite a me maledicti in ignem aeternum, qui paratus est diabolo, et angelis ejus [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]. » Quam quidem audituri sunt boni, sed protegente eos manu Domini, non timebunt, quia qui liberavit eos a laqueo venantium, ipse quoque liberavit eos a verbo aspero, ut et illud non expavescant, [1236B] sed securi de gloria jam percepta requiescant. Haec quidem illic [cn: 40 | f. *una.*] futura est, quae hic per partes plures dividitur: est enim Ecclesia hic quaedam Hierosolymitana, quaedam Antiochena, quaedam Romana, aliaeque per mundum innumerabiles. Quaeque namque hominum fidelium congregatio, in locis quos sibi elegit Dominus, ibi solemnem constituit orationis domum, in qua orent, in qua deplorent, in qua beneficii gratias exsolvant: et hae quidem vineae sunt, quae florentes odorem dederunt. Bonum enim quod hic agitur, totum in flore est, opinionem quidem bonam emittens ex se; fructum vero parturiet, cum pro bono temporaliter exhibito, mercedem quidem percipiet sempiternam. [1236C] Sequitur:

*Surge, amica mea, speciosa mea, et veni, 14. columba mea in foraminibus petrae, in cavernis maceriae.*

Evocavit jam Dilectus Sponsam, ut veniret ad se: eam quoque septem his propositis invitavit, dicens, « Hiems transiit; abiit imber, et recessit; flores apparuerunt in terra nostra; tempus putationis advenit; vox turturis audita est in terra nostra; ficus protulit grossos suos; vineae florentes dederunt odorem suum. » Quibus omnibus, temporis opportunitas ostensa est ut veniret. Adhuc quoque in eadem perseverans vocatione ad ipsum, repetit dicens, « Surge, amica mea, sponsa mea, et veni, columba mea. » Addit quoque, « In foraminibus [1236D] petrae, in cavernis maceriae. » Quae quidem verba memoriam Dominicae passionis adjiciunt. Quis enim ignoret, de Christo dixisse apostolum, « Petra autem erat Christus [n: (I Cor. X, 4)]. » In hac autem petra foramina esse, quis nesciat, qui Christum clavis affixum cruci fuisse non dubitat? In hac etiam maceriae cavernam inesse, quis nesciat, qui quod legit verum esse non dubitet? Scriptum est enim, « Unus militum lancea latus ejus aperuit, et continuo exivit sanguis et aqua [n: (Joan. XIX, 34)]. » Quod nimirum latus recte maceria nominatur: est enim maceria, conjunctio lapidum sine coemento; et hoc quidem latus, sine coemento humani seminis junctum, [1237A] sanctique Spiritus manu compositum est atque formatum. Veniat igitur Dilecta ad evocantem se sponsum suum, tuta praesidio passionis, munita fidei munimento, veniat e mundo ad hunc qui vicit mundum; veniat e loco doloris et passionis, ad locum ubi dolor non est aut passio, sed pax perennis, et continua exsultatio. Sequitur:

*Ostende mihi faciem tuam.*

Obedit Sponsa Dilecto suo; nescit moram cum vocatur. Sic enim ei dictum est, « Surge, propera, veni ad me; » quae sic vocata surgit illico, properans venit, mora non interveniente assistit. Venit autem operto capite, ne faciem ejus sol exurat, ne candor ejus solis candore degeneret. Assistenti autem Dilectae, et operienti se, dilectus ait, « Ostende [1237B] mihi faciem tuam. » Sponsam enim Dilecto suo revelata facie praesentari, justum est. Nam si Rebecca, ad puteum, cujus nomen, « viventis, » et, « videntis [n: (Gen. XXIV, 65)], » est, conspecto Isaac descendit de camelo, et operuit se pallio (hoc quidem sic factum est, quia nondum sponsa erat, nondum illam acceperat, sed destinatam sibi in domum matris introduxit, et accepit eam uxorem, et in tantum dilexit eam, ut dolorem qui ex morte matris ejus acciderat, temperaret), haec Dilecto suo jamdiu dilecta, Sponso jamdiu desponsata, et amore spirituali et soliloquiis divinis jam cognita, non opus est ut coram Sponso operta appareat, sed revelata facie ipsum contempletur et diligat. « Sermo enim Dei vivus et efficax, et penetrabilior omni gladio [1237C] ancipiti, pertingens usque ad divisionem animae et spiritus, compagum quoque et medullarum, et discretor cogitationum et intentionum cordis; et non est ulla creatura invisibilis in conspectu ejus, omnia autem nuda et aperta sunt oculis ejus [n: (Hebr. IV, 12, 13)]. » Huic igitur quid opus est umbraculo, cui nec flores, nec frondes, nec ligna, nec vestimentum, nec aliquod operculum, impedimento sunt; quin rem a fine principii sui usque ad exitus sui finem speculetur et consideret; quaeque sunt cogitationis, et locutionis, et antiquae consuetudinis et operationis, ipse sibi recte denuntiet? Unde in psalmo ter ipse David ait: « Deus, converte nos [n: (Psal. LXXIX, 4)]: » et item: « Deus virtutum converte [1237D] nos [n: (ibid., 15)]: » tertioque subjungit: « Domine Deus virtutum converte nos [n: (ibid., 20)]. » Opus enim est homini, ut ab iis convertatur quae in cogitatu deliquit; ut convertatur ab eis quae deliquit in verbo; et ab iis quae in opere deliquit et consuetudine; unde post trinam hanc invocationem, subjungit, « Et ostende faciem tuam, et salvi erimus [n: (ibid.)]; » secure enim Dei faciem videre poterimus, cum haec a nobis delicta Deus excusserit, et ipse haec a sui memoria digne invocatus, misericordia id agente, velut evaserit. Sic quoque revelata facie Deus nos videre desiderat, ut nil in nobis se indignum in cogitatu appareat, nil prorsus in verbo quod offendat, nil in actu et opere quod displiceat. Unde ait, « Ostende mihi faciem tuam, » quam dignam [1238A] fecisti ut mihi appareat, jam post longa virtutum studia, post longa osculi mei desideria, ut videam, an quid egeris quod meo sit dignum osculo, quod osculi mei dignum sit remunerari praemio. Sequitur:

*Sonet vox tua in auribus meis.*

## 10. (cont.)

Ubi grata jam facies, ubi nil quod reprehendatur intervenit, datur ulterius progrediendi licentia; ut sicut de facie Dilecti ejus delectatur aspectus, sic sono vocis ejusdem delectetur auditus: unde dicitur, « Sonet vox tua in auribus meis. » Postula quod vis; nihil enim postulabis, nisi quod aequum et justum est, et quod exaudiri dignum est. In quo attendendum est, voces nostras diversis modis in aure sonare Domini. Sonamus enim quandoque sono Deo [1238B] tantum audibili, cum ad ipsum cordis tantum devotione loquimur; sicut de Anna scriptum est, quod « corde tantum loquebatur, tantumque labia illius movebantur, et vox penitus non audiebatur [n: (I Reg. I, 13)]: » erat enim ad Deum tota ejus devotio; unde exaudiri et gratulari meruit, et prophetam magnum Samuelem mundo producere digna exstitit. Voces quoque sono prolatas audibili advertit Deus, si tamen cordis adsit intentio, et ea quae has audibiles reddit devotio; ut non avium more tantum demulceatur auditus, sed humano potius more, cordis interni gemitus exaudiantur. Hinc in Ecclesia psalmi resonant, hinc hymni, hinc dulcem resonat Alleluia melodiam, hinc aliae diversae voces et innumerae, quas in Dei laudem humana promit [1238C] inventio; quas, nimirum, debita si comitetur devotio, Dei auribus insonare et postulata suscipere, dubium non est. Hinc etiam propheta dicit: « Jubilate Deo omnis terra, psalmum dicite nomini ejus, date gloriam laudi ejus [n: (Psal. LXV, 1)]. » Et operis fine, ultimo concludit psalmo: « Laudate Dominum in sanctis ejus: laudate eum in firmamento virtutis ejus: laudate eum in virtutibus ejus: laudate eum secundum multitudinem magnitudinis ejus: laudate eum in sono tubae: laudate eum in psalterio, et cithara: laudate eum in tympano, et choro: laudate eum in chordis, et organo: laudate eum in cymbalis bene sonantibus: laudate eum in cymbalis jubilationis [n: (Psal. 150)]. » Ubi decem vicibus ad [1238D] laudem monens coelestium novem ordines, hominemque eis adjunctum, et parem eis per gratiam factam, ad laudem invitat, dicens, « Omnis spiritus laudet Dominum. » Sequitur:

*Vox enim tua dulcis, et facies tua decora.*

« Vox tua dulcis, » quae me solum confitetur et orat, magnificat et glorificat, mihi de commissis supplicandum aestimat, et post concessam veniam, dari sibi gratiam exoptat et gloriam. « Et facies tua decora, » facies sine macula, facies sine ruga, facies repulsae nescia, et inter amicos suscipi et annumerari dignissima.

15. *Capite nobis vulpes parvulas, quae demoliuntur vineas: nam vinea nostra floruit.*

Moram ignoravit haec Sponsa, a Dilecto suo [1239A] properans ut ad se veniret, evocata, statim surrexit, majestati statim astitit; et quia, ne opprimeretur a gloria, operta venit, audire meruit quod dictum est, « Ostende mihi faciem tuam, » quod est, revelata me facie contemplare; « Et sonet in auribus meis vox tua, » id est, pete quod vis, quam scio nil petituram nisi justa. A Sponso suscepta, meretur intelligere et videre quod promissum est, scilicet, quod « Hiems transiit, imber abiit et recessit; flores apparuerunt in terra; tempus putationis advenit: vox turturis audita est in terra: ficus protulit grossos suos: vineae florentes dederunt odorem suum. » Super iis Sponsum Sponsa gratificat, sciens quod hoc totum ejus opus est; et ipsa laudem et gratiam a Sponso suscipit, quia [1239B] gratia ejus in ipsa vacua non fuit, sed datae ejus gratiae ipsa egregie collaboravit. Jam vero tempus est, ut ipsam de coelestibus erudiat, ut ipsam de iis quae supra se sunt edoceat, ut de communi actione in contemplationem evocata, ea quae contemplabatur intelligat, ne cum illa possederit, ex toto rudis existat. Quod quia sibi agendum est, et in honorem Dilectae suae quodammodo vacandum, admonet sodales suos, ut interim vineas custodiant quae effloruerunt jam, et « florentes odorem dederunt, » ne vulpes eas demoliantur, et labores iis exhibiti ad inane redigantur: hortatur autem sic, « Capite nobis vulpes parvulas. » Loquitur autem ad sodales suos, id est, ad administratorios spiritus; de quibus Paulus ait, « Nonne omnes administratorii [1239C] spiritus, in ministerium missi propter eos, qui haereditatem capient salutis? » [n: (Hebr. I, 14.)] Hi sunt angeli, quibus vita hominum custodienda mandatur; quos vidit Jacob dormiens in lapide. Vidit scalam stantem super terram, et cacumen illius tangens coelum; angelos quoque Dei ascendentes et descendentes per eam; et Dominum innixum scalae [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 12, 13)]; quibus hic Deus loquitur, mandans ut vulpes capiant, qui huic vineae florenti nocere, et ipsam demoliri, et fructus ejus adnullare desiderant: hi vero sunt potestates contrariae, simul a Deo facti reprobi, in malum Ecclesiae indurati, in hoc consistunt, in hoc permanent, suos in hoc successus reputant, si Ecclesiam, [1239D] quam ad Deum tendentem, ipsumque desiderantem, et flore opinionis bonae, sanctum de se odorem jam emittentem, impedire valeat in aliquo, vel aliquatenus perturbare. Quod patet in Job, patet in Joseph, quod declaratum est in Tobia, quos ii omnes in deorsum per adversa trahentes, per bonos impediti sunt angelos, ne consummarent quod inceperant; sed haec omnia in bonum illis cooperari cernentes, posse suum nihil esse conspicerent, nisi quatenus a Deo permitterentur. Bonis igitur angelis id mandatur a Domino quod dictum est, « Capite nobis vulpes parvulas, » id est, Quos ut vulpes errare, omnesque dolo perturbare conspicitis, [1240A] hos capite, hos impedite, nilque eos posse, nisi quod meae placitum est voluntati, perficite. Harum vero vulpium Dominus in Evangelio meminit, dicens: « Vulpes foveas habent, et volucres coeli nidos; Filius autem hominis non habet ubi caput reclinet [n: (Matth. VIII, 20)]. » Dicenti enim sibi, « Magister, sequar te quocunque ieris, » Salvator ait, « Vulpes foveas habent; » ac si dicat, Non te suscipio, non te mihi praedestinatum, sed vulpibus datum intelligo, ut vulpes te lacerent, et volucres coeli, qui sunt spiritus maligni, diripiant te. Idem quoque de Herode minante sibi ait: « Ite, et dicite vulpi illi; ecce ejicio daemonia, et sanitates perficio hodie et cras, et tertia die consummor [n: (Luc. XIII, 32)], ac si dicat, Hoc illi dicite, qui vulpi in escam [1240B] concessus est, Non me occidet; sed ego hodie, et in tempore quousque [cn: 41 | f. *quod usque.*] ad mortem meam futurum est, in omnibus qui morbo gravati sunt, sanitatem perficio; et tunc die tertia consummabor, id est, tunc moriar, et consummata erunt omnia quae potest inimicus homo in me. Harum etiam vulpium meminit David, dicens Domino: « Ipsi vero in vanum quaesierunt animam meam [n: (Psal. LXII, 10)]. » Qui enim Dominum occiderunt, animam ejus perdere quaesierunt, sed in vanum, quia vivit: ecce Dominus Rex in aeternum. « Introibunt in inferiora terrae [n: (Psal. XXVIII, 10)]; » amore enim regni terreni absorbebuntur, et excaecabuntur, ita quod in inferiores partes terrae intrasse videbuntur. Dolentes [cn: 42 | f. *Nolentes*] enim Romanis subjici, contriti sunt in ore [1240C] gladii, et eorum pars maxima vulpibus data, hoc est, malignis spiritibus traditi, ut eos pascant, et eorum quaecunque fiunt voluntati complaceant. Legitur quoque Samson trecentas cepisse vulpes de allophylis, et harum colligasse caudas, ignem quoque lampadarum inter caudas posuisse, et sic eas in labores allophylorum, segetes, et vineas, et oliveta misisse, et omnia consumpsisse [n: (Jud. 15)]. Quod quidem est, quoties Ecclesiae quis doctor Catholicus omnes haereticorum haereses simul colligit, et in medio earum lampadem ignis coelestis, ignem, scilicet, maledictionis aeternae, ponit; sicque eam in labores illorum immittens, quae eorum sunt consumit, et ad nihilum redigit. In quo quidem attendendum [1240D] quod vulpes hae, dum parvulae sunt, capi jubentur; parvulae namque sunt in ipsis tentationum primordiis; et fiunt magnae, cum tentatione crescente, mentes hominum elidunt, et ad actus nefarie persuasos inducunt. Sic enim castitas eliditur. Primo videtur mulier; et crebra visione concupiscitur; post concupiscentiam, allocutione concutitur; post visionem, et concupiscentiam, et allocutionem, titillatione mala excrescente, actus male desideratus impletur, et castitas diu impugnata dejicitur. Sic quoque alitur et nutritur visione cupiditas, dum se non metitur homo « quid debeat, quid faciat [cn: 43 | f. *quid facere debeat.*], » quid fieri juste oporteat; sed se ad ea facienda quae [1241A] sunt ultra se, vel injuste extendat. Sic unum possidens, secundam quaerit unitatem, ut multiplicetur in decuplum: inde quaerens tertiam, hoc agit, hoc quaerit ut multiplicetur in centuplum: cui nisi addatur millenarius, nil actum esse reputat, cum quid sibi deesse non ignorat. Sic infinitum hoc malitiae dedecus, cum numeri multiplicatione contendit, nunquam sibi ponens modum, cum aliquem invenerit, in quem possit excrescere, numerum ampliorem. Unde Salvator ait: « Quia dives difficile intrabit in regnum coelorum. » Et iterum: « Facilius est camelum per foramen acus transire, quam divitem intrare in regnum coelorum [n: (Matth. XIX, 23, 24)]. » Camelus est funis maximus qui habetur in navibus, quo, cum excrescit tempestas, naves [1241B] stare datis anchoris compelluntur; hunc per foramen acus transire facilius est, id est, spretis omnibus per duram mortis passionem emigrare, quam hac evitata in regnum coelorum introire: quod quidem si homini difficile est, Deo facile est et possibile. Multos enim divites, omnia propter hunc reliquisse, et per foramen acus ad ipsum intrasse, cognovimus; quod solius Dei est potentia, et ineffabili misericordia, qui eos ab ore et faucibus imis Satanae eripit, et ad coelestia regna perducit. Sic caeterae virtutes emolliuntur, sic pereunt, vitium sic possidet quod arte maligni comprehensum est. Unde recte dicitur, « Capite nobis vulpes parvulas, » quod est, vulpibus his resistite dum sunt [1241C] parvulae, primos earum motus concutite, ne valeant excrescere, ad me, qui sum petra firmissima, collidite. « Nam vinea nostra floruit, » id est, spem de se bonae operationis emisit, et si defendatur per vos, hanc spem vestram fructu boni operis adimplevit. Sequitur:

16. *Dilectus meus mihi, et ego illi.*

## 10. (cont.)

Vox ista, vox Sponsae est, quae ad Sponsum evocata jam venit; cum qua Dominus miscet colloquia, miscet (ut sic dicam) soliloquia; soli enim Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui sancto, nota sunt haec quae dicuntur, quae Sponsae huic revelantur: unde et ipsa ait, « Dilectus meus mihi » quasi alloquitur; « et ego illi » quasi verba respondeo, vobis autem quae sint haec secreta non revelo. Unaquaeque secreta tenet [1241D] Deus, ne tentemus ingredi, nec quae soli revelat Sponsae, praesumamus aperire; haec omittimus; illi soli cui commendata sunt, nobis cum noluerit aperienda, commendamus. Sequitur:

*Qui pascitur inter lilia. 17. Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae.*

His omissis, his taciturnitati commendatis, quae soli Sponsae loquitur Deus, annectit Sponsa, quid in supernis agat Sponsus, quo jucundetur, quo oblectetur, quo reficiatur, quae illi pastio magis grata habeatur, dicens, « Qui pascitur inter lilia. » Lilia vero haec in hortis et areis coelestibus exorta, tanto magis decore pollent, odore, et suavitate, quanto magis is a quo plantata sunt his interesse [1242A] et eorum aspectu et odore refici delectatur. Hae quidem virtutes coelestes sunt; harum decor et fragrantia coelestis admirabilis est; ut hac ille dicatur pasci, qui solus creat, solus ordinat, solus pascit universa quae creat, atque sustentat. Inter has pasci Dilectus dicitur, ut his conformari studeant qui in terris agentes coelestia jam desiderant, ut palmam castimoniae usque ad angelorum conversationem custodia integritatis evehant; caeteri quoque alieni a vitiis existant, nil mundi hujus sibi vindicantes, ut eos non inflammet libido, non stimulet avaritia, non effeminet lascivia, non sternat ambitio, invidia non maceret, non secularis cura negotii sollicitet, « Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae. » Dictum est, quod inter lilia Dilectus [1242B] pascitur, nunc vero dicendum est, quamdiu inter eadem, aliis non adjunctis sibi ad pascendum commorabitur; hoc enim est quod dicitur, « Inter lilia pascitur; » et inter haec ipsa, aliis sibi non adjunctis, eousque pascetur, donec aspiret dies illa judicii, qua manifeste Deus seipsum ostendet, reddens unicuique juxta opera sua; bonis sine fine bona, malis mala quidem sine fine permansura. Dies quidem Domini recte duo nominantur: unus, quo judicatus est, et de eo dictum est, « Non hunc, sed Barabbam [n: (Joan. XVIII, 40)]: » itemque de eo dictum est, ut « crucifigatur; sanguis ejus super nos, et super filios nostros [n: (Matth. XXVII, 23, 25)]. » Alter, quo totum a morte suscitatum judicabit orbem terrarum, « Judicabit autem omnes in aequitate, et populos [1242C] in veritate sua; » dies quo « lux lunae sicut lux solis erit, et lux solis erit septempliciter, sicut lux septem dierum [n: (Isa. XXX, 26)]. » Hic etiam dies Domini recte dicitur, quo se verum Dominum demonstraturus est, et cuncta eis quae meruerunt redditurum. Cum igitur hic dies aspiraverit, id est, apparere inceperit, tunc de terris collecta lilia, iis quae in hortis coelestibus sunt exorta, consociabit; tunc hominum et angelorum una fiet Ecclesia, cum jam non nubent homines, neque nuptum tradent, sed erunt sicut angeli Dei [n: (Matth. XXII, 30)]: tunc simul pascetur in liliis coelestibus, et in iis quae de terra sumpta sunt, et coelestibus adaequata, et virtute per gratiam operante, ipsorum gloriae facta [1242D] conformia: tunc inclinabuntur umbrae. Tempus quod hic transigimus totum sub quadam vicissitudine transcurrimus, nunc diem horasque diei metientes, nunc noctem et horas ejus totidem recensentes: hanc vero noctem, terrae, corporumque quae in ea sunt umbrae erectae perficiunt: sole enim agente inferius, partes mundi obscurantur superiores, et terra; et multitudine corporum quae in ea sunt sursum umbram jaciente, pallio terrae noctis obducuntur. Sed cum haec dies aspiraverit, in illa sol perpetuo existens ipsam illuminabit, et luce clara fulgebunt sancti in conspectu Altissimi, nec vicissitudinem hanc noctis supervenientis sentient; sed umbrae istae omnes quae noctem hanc faciunt, in inferiores mundi partes inclinatae descendent, et [1243A] noctem illam tenebrosam, jam perpetuo mansuram, damnatis quippe miseris opportunam efficient. Sequitur:

*Revertere, similis esto, dilecte mi, capreae, hinnuloque cervorum super montes Bether.*

Evocata jamdiu Sponsa vocanti se Sponso astitit, ipsum inter lilia coelestia pascentem vidit, id ipsum exoptans sibi suisque audire meruit ut expectet, « donec aspiret dies et inclinentur umbrae: » tunc e terris exorta lilia congregabuntur, et supernis aggregata et assimilata liliis, hoc quidem dono munerabuntur, ut inter ipsa pascatur Sponsus, et in aeternum delectetur, et ipsa illud decantent apostoli, « Bonum certamen certavi, cursum consummavi, fidem servavi [n: (II Tim. IV, 7)]; reposita nobis [1243B] est haec corona justitiae, quam ecce nobis retribuet justus judex. Unde supplex orat, ut revertatur Sponsus, et visitet, et foveat Ecclesiam quae terris laborat; ut labores ejus ipse suscipiat, ipse provehat, et ipse ad perfectum usque perducat, dicens: « Revertere, dilecte mi. » Sequitur, « Similis esto capreae, » id est, incarnationem tuam, qua capreae similis es, id est, perspicue cuncta videns; et qua hinnulo cervorum assimilaris, id est, ex antiquis patribus ut hinnulus mundo mirabiliter editus aestimaris, hanc sibi praesenta, hanc in ejus memoria revoca, ut te laudet, te adoret, te glorificet super omnes montes Bether, nullum tibi in Ecclesia aequalem reputans, sed te super omnes montes qui sunt in Bether, quod est, « Domus Dei, » vel, « Domus [1243C] consurgens, » vel, « Domus vigiliae, » quod totum Ecclesia est, longe sublimiorem, et longe sanctiorem intelligat. Sequitur:

## CAPUT III.

1. *In lectulo meo per noctes quaesivi quem diligit anima mea; quaesivi illum, et non inveni.*

Exoravit haec Sponsa, vel fidelis quaecunque anima. Dilectum suum, ut coelum non deserens, Ecclesiam tamen laborantem in terris respiciat, ejusque labori miseratus condescendat; jam nunc, ut eum facilius pietas moveat, et ad ea quae rogantur inclinari faciat, ipsius annectit verba quibus supplicat: « In lectulo meo per noctes quaesivi quem [1243D] diligit anima mea. » Attendendum vero hoc loco est, quod Salomon rex festivus, et in rebus omnibus opulentus, deliciis quoque deditus (ut mos plerisque regibus est), hanc suam mundo notificet opulentiam, scribens ait: « Sexaginta sunt reginae, et octoginta concubinae, et adolescentularum non est numerus [n: (cap. VI, 7)]. » Ubi vero tot sunt reginae, tot concubinae regiae, et adolescentularum, quae Sponso nutriuntur, nescitur numerus, ibi perfecto luxus exuberat, quo delicate comedentem, et fastidientem communia gustum quis exhilaret; ibi stipendia, quo cultus earum Regi venienti non displiceat, et caetera quaeque quae hunc venientem [1244A] ad amorem pertrahant et alliciant. Quae quisquis es qui audieris, non bonum est ut frangaris animo, ut animum relaxes ad mollia, nec in turpibus oblecteris, nec mentem in his quae dicuntur impedias, sed per haec magis quae dicuntur corporaliter spiritualia intelligas, ut mos est Scripturarum, amorem potius tuum in his quae spiritualia sunt erigas et accendas. Rex enim iste festivus Salomon, magnus ille Rex est, qui est Pater, qui est Filius, qui et Spiritus sanctus est, qui unam, dum currunt secula tribus ordinibus, sibi jungit Ecclesiam; cujus eam partem « prima et praecipua » [cn: 44 | F. *quæ prima et præcipua est.*] reginarum, secundam concubinarum, tertiam adolescentularum designat nominatione. Et quidem reginarum designantur ex nomine, quae jamdiu concurrerunt, quae [1244B] post trahentem ascenderunt, et trahentem hunc comprehendere meruerunt; sic ut cum Apostolo dicant: « Scimus enim quia neque mors, neque vita, neque ulla alia creatura separare nos poterit a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu, Domino nostro [n: (Rom. VIII, 38)]. » Attendas in hoc ordine Eliam, attendas et Eliseum; quorum unus, curru igneo, et equis igneis ad Deum sublatus est; alter, a Jericho in Bethel ascendens, puerorum loci ejus illusione accepta dicentium [n: (III Reg. II, 11)], « Ascende calve, ascende calve, eis maledixit in nomine Domini. Egressique statim ex saltu duo ursi, laceraverunt ex iis quadraginta duos. Ille vero inde ascendit in montem Carmeli [n: (IV Reg. II, 23, 24)]. » Hos itaque duos, aliosque Veteris Testamenti quamplures, [1244C] huic ordini digne attribues, qui nil nisi Deum scientes, ipsumque nasciturum ex virgine praescientes, post ipsum vere cucurrerunt, et ipsum utique comprehenderunt, et regni ejus haeredes effecti, cum ipso gloriantur in aeternum. Quid vero de iis aestimandum est, quos Evangelica meminit pagina, qui Deum in carne praesentem viderunt, ex dictis et factis agnoverunt, solum secuti dixerunt: « Ecce nos reliquimus omnia, et secuti sumus te; quid ergo erit nobis? » [n: (Matth. XIX, 27.)] Quid de Petro? qui dicenti Domino, « Vos autem, quem me esse dicitis? » [n: (Matth. XVI, 15, 16)] confidenter respondit: « Tu es Christus, filius Dei vivi; » quem Dominus vero beatum asserit, quia hoc non a [1244D] carne et sanguine, sed a Patre suo qui in coelis est, sibi revelatum respondit; quem sex commatibus beatum distinguit, dicens: « Tu es Petrus [n: (ibid., 18)], » id est, in fide mei tanquam petra, firmus; et sic Petrus a me tanquam petra nominatus. « Et super hanc petram, » quam me esse intelligo, et in te esse constituo, « aedificabo Ecclesiam meam, » id est, vires sum daturus Ecclesiae, et aedificabo tam firmiter, quod « portae inferi non praevalebunt adversus eam, » id est, spiritus maligni, et hos sequentes divites mali, non nocebunt ei. « Et tibi dabo claves regni coelorum [n: (ibid., 19)], id est, ut nullus intret in regnum coelorum, nisi per fidem et sacramenta, [1245A] quae sunt ex me tibi commissa. Et maledictus erit, id est, fides aut sacramenta suscepta ei non proderunt; cui maledixeris; sicut illa salva erunt cui benedixeris.

Quid de Joanne evangelista dicendum est? qui ait, « Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis: et vidimus gloriam ejus, gloriam quasi Unigeniti a Patre plenum gratiae et veritatis? » [n: (Joan. I, 14.)] Dicendum quidem est, quod et ii, et omnes apostoli, et omnes his non dignitate quidem, sed charitate et operibus assimilati, hi sunt quorum animae in coelum receptae et honoratae, ejus quidem dignitatis sunt, ut a Rege ipso reginae dici mereantur; in quibus ipse sic glorietur, ut dicat, « Sexaginta sunt reginae; » quas nimirum, quotquot [1245B] sunt, sub sexagenario comprehendit numero, dicens eas sexaginta. Sexagenarius quidem ex duobus numeris perfectis constat ductis in se; nam sive sexies decem, aut decies sex, dixeris, unum numerum efficies, scilicet, sexagenarium, et hos duos utrinque numeros assignabis, legis denarium, Evangelii senarium. Hi igitur qui in utroque perfecti sunt, legem implendo et Evangelium, ad numerum recte applicantur sexagenarium.

Hae igitur animae recte reginae dictae sunt, quae Christo recta lege matrimonii conjunctae, ipsi charitatis affectu intimo adhaeserunt, exemplo sui filios ediderunt, juste regni aeterni haeredes; de quibus dictum est, « Genus electum, gens sancta, populus acquisitionis [n: (I Petr. II, 9)]. » Beati vere qui [1245C] coelestium virtutum meruerunt consortes fieri, et ea perfrui charitatis gloria quae nescit defectum. Secundo vero loco, illae numerantur animae quae concubinae dictae sunt; nam, ut ait Apostolus, « Quosdam quidem posuit Deus in Ecclesia, primum apostolos, secundo prophetas, tertio doctores, deinde virtutes, exinde gratias curationum, opitulationes, gubernationes, genera linguarum, interpretationes sermonum [n: (I Cor. XII, 28)]. » In iis forte locum concubinis invenies, quae quidem hae sunt animae, quae Deo licet aliquo jungantur consortio, non illi toto corde, non tota mente, non totis viribus adhaeserunt, nec pares apostolis effectae sunt; nam, ut ait Apostolus, non omnes apostoli, non omnes prophetae constituti sunt. Quibusdam [1245D] enim perfecta gratia datur, quos novit Dominus qui sint; quibusdam imperfecta, aut in uno perfecta, in aliis non perfecta; et hae quidem ex se filios procreant, non quasi matrimonio genitos, aut regni haeredes; sed quibus per misericordiam suam subvenit Dominus, ut in regno suo suscipiantur et alantur, erudiantur, et salvantur. « Adolescentularum vero non est numerus; » adolescentulae namque sunt nuper ad fidem conversae animae, vel certe post admissa peccata plurima ad conversionem: de quibus ignoratur, qualis eorum futura consummatio sit; quas nimirum respicit, et ut suae dona sunt misericordiae, eo modo quo deliberat, pertrahit ad se. Hae sunt itaque distinctiones Ecclesiae, quas [1246A] in sequenti distinguit Salomon dicens, « Sexaginta sunt reginae, » etc., quas ob hoc ad praesens attigimus, ut Sponsam hanc a Sponso evocatam, et coelestibus eloquiis allocutam, et soliloquiis edoctam, hanc illam esse edoceremus, quae reginae nomine a Salomone donata est, cum dictum est, « Sexaginta sunt reginae: » quae vero in terris manet, et concubinarum, et adolescentularum nomine designatur, illam quidem esse, pro qua superior orat Ecclesia, dicens, « Revertere, dilecte mi [n: (cap. II, 17)]. » Ad cujus orationem, ut dilecti majestas facilius inclinetur, et vocem ejus audiat, verba quae plorans effundit adjunguntur: « In lectulo meo per noctes quaesivi quem diligit anima mea. » Lectulus quidem noster est conscientia [1246B] nostra, in qua quidem quiescimus, si nobis bona praesentamus; si mala nobis occurrant et pessima, angustamur quidem et affligimur. Nam quem reprehendit cor suum, et male se peccasse Domino, et ad proximos male se habuisse fatetur, huic nulla quies, sed labor, et afflictio spiritus, et moeroris ampla confusio: unde Propheta ait, « Laboravi in gemitu meo, lavabo per singulas noctes lectum meum [n: (Psal. VI, 7)]. » Laborem quidem intelligit conscientiae, quam et ingemiscere ostendit, et laborare, et per singulas noctes lectum abluere; quae quidem tunc lectum abluit, cum poenitendo se Deum offendisse dolet et ingemiscit: et lavat hunc per singulas noctes, dum per peccata singula, Dei iram se incurrisse plorat: infusam sese lacrymis, cum [1246C] corpus suum, in quo se peccando constravit, lacrymis se rigasse congeminat, dicens, « Lacrymis meis stratum meum rigavi; » quia mentis meae turbatus est oculus a furore, id est, manifesta ira Domini, a praesentia inimicorum meorum, peccatorum, scilicet, inter quae, ab ipso primo peccandi exordio inveteratus vetus et effectus sum, et ab ipsa fere Domini gratia reprobatus; ait enim Isaias, « Coangustatum est stratum, ita ut alter decidat; et pallium breve utrumque operire non potest [n: (Isa. XXVIII, 20)]. » Mens enim humana arcta et angusta est, ut eam malus si spiritus occupaverit, Spiritus Dei deserat; et cum eam Spiritus Dei occupaverit, agente hoc, et melius judicante libero arbitrio, [1246D] malignus ille spiritus juste et prorsus abscedet, quia « pallium, » id est, nostrae creationis mensura et brevitas, « utrumque, » Dei spiritum et malignum, « operire, » id est comprehendere, non potest. Haec igitur per singulas noctes cum quaerat Deum, et dictum sit ei a Domino, « Petite, et accipietis; quaerite, et invenietis; pulsate, et aperietur vobis [n: (Matth. VII, 7)]; » quid est quod ait, « Quaesivi, et non inveni illum? » Hoc quidem est quod diximus, quod nondum haec ad superiora ascendit, dignitatem illam nondum attigit, qua reginae donatae sunt, quarum petitioni nil negatur, quaestioni nil clauditur, pulsationi promptius aperitur: adhuc agit in infimis; unde dicit:

2. *Surgam, et circuibo civitatem: per vicos et plateas [1247A] quaeram quem diligit anima mea: quaesivi illum, et non inveni.*

## CAPUT III. (cont.)

« Surgam, » id est, ab hoc peccati mei onere, simul et sordem meam excutiam; « Et circuibo civitatem, » hanc quidem Ecclesiam magnam, quae modo bonis et malis communis est, si quod in ea videro consilium, et auxilium quod expediat, id executura. Et ut arctius ostendat quid actura sit, annectit, « Per vicos et plateas, » id est, per astrictos ordini, et conjugatos, vel sine conjuge manentes liberos: per hos « quaeram quem diligit anima mea. » Sed licet querula, et quaerendi studiosa sit haec, tamen adjungit, « Quaesivi illum, et non inveni. » Quid igitur?

3. *Invenerunt me vigiles qui custodiunt civitatem.*

[1247B]Qui sunt hi vigiles? angeli quidem, custodes Ecclesiae, quibus haec commissa custodia est, ut sciant et intelligant quid boni, quid mali quis egerit, quae sibi reddenda promeruerit: de quibus in Evangelio Dominus ait, « Videte ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis; dico enim vobis quia angeli eorum in coelis semper vident faciem Patris mei qui in coelis est [n: (Matth. X, 18)]; » quos haec alloquitur, dicens:

*Num quem diligit anima mea, vidistis?*

Hos quidem alloquitur, a quibus palam non accipit ipsa responsum. Nam cum bis totam lustraverit Ecclesiam, et utrobique dixerit, se Dilectum suum non invenisse, quae causa sit cur ipsum non invenerit, [1247C] a vigilibus clam auditura est. Dixit enim, « In lectulo meo per noctes quaesivi quem diligit anima mea: quaesivi illum, et non inveni; » quod est sibi in conscientia ad memoriam reduxisse « noctes, » id est, tenebrosas actiones, quibus Deum offenderat, nec amplius dixisse, vel quid egisse: quod quidem Deo satis ad remissionem peccati non est, hoc ipsum quod feceris in conscientia sola revolvere, nisi hoc quod egeris, studeas corde, ore et opere humiliter emendare. Corde emendas, dum poenites; ore, dum confiteris ei cui deputatus es; opere vero, dum jejunio, disciplina, oratione, eleemosyna, vigiliis et doctrina, quod male actum est, redintegrare desideras. Ait enim beatus Jacobus, « Confitemini ergo alterutrum peccata vestra, et [1247D] orate pro invicem ut salvemini [n: (Jac. V, 16)]. » Hanc sibi legem confessionis edocent beati vigiles, quibus et obedit, et dictam legem confessionis excipit, corde poenitens, ore confitens, quod injungitur opere adimplere desiderans. Sequitur:

4. *Paululum cum pertransissem eos, inveni quem diligit anima mea; tenui eum, nec dimittam, donec introducam illum in domum matris meae, et in cubiculum genitricis meae*

Ecce quantum proficit haec tripartita confessio: haec enim excessus suos corde, et ore, et opere confessa, cum jam « vigiles, » id est, custodes Ecclesiae angelos in Spiritu pertransisset, invenit eum quem diligit anima ejus, Deum, scilicet, quem propitiatorem [1248A] agnovit, a quo sibi peccata remissa, et omnia a memoria aeterna rejecta intelligit. Unde ait, « Tenui illum, » id est, firma charitatis radice adhaesi illi, non eum dimissura, « donec inducam illum in domum matris meae, et in cubiculum genitricis meae; » id est, donec ad eum convertam Synagogam, quae est mater mea, et gentilitatem, quae mea est genitrix. Haec enim Ecclesia sancta, toto orbe terrarum collecta, matrem in fide Judaeam habuit, a qua prima cultum unius Dei habuit, idola respuit, sibi soli sacrificii et holocausti hostias immolavit, legalia praecepta quamplura obtinuit: gentilitatem vero, quia Judaea respuente, ad fidem Christi genitricem habuit, qua docente, fidem ejus plene et omnia sacramenta ejus suscepit. Hunc itaque non [1248B] dimittet, quia non silebit, non a praedicatione, non a contestatione eorum quae Christus docuit, cessabit, donec illum et gentilitas, et Judaea tota suscipiat; et tam ea, quam ipsa quae sursum evocata est, et tam nomine quam reginae dignitate honorata id agente, plene mundo Christi veritas innotescat. Sequitur.

5. *Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, per capreas cervosque camporum, ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, donec ipsa velit.*

Ubi id quod positum est repetitur, ibi recte ejus quod dictum est reminiscitur. Ait Sponsus superius, « Laeva ejus sub capite meo, et dextera illius amplexabitur me [n: (cap. II, 6)]. » Quod quidem Sponso gratum exstitit; probat namque fidem, qua [1248C] bona temporalia quaeque potestati Domini Jesu Christi subjicit: probat et spem, qua se Dei dextera in aeternitate amplectendam proponit. Hic quoque quod dicitur non dimittendum se, donec utriusque praedicatione in mundum perfecte inducatur, ab ipso grate suscipitur; ideoque filiis Jerusalem, ne id impedire praesumant, sub eadem adjuratione praecipitur: « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, ne suscitetis, neque evigilare faciatis dilectam, donec ipsa velit. » De quo, quia quod dedit Dominus id dictum est, ad caetera pertransimus.

6. *Quae est ista, quae ascendit per desertum?*

Sponsa haec, Dei magnificata praesentia, se promissis obligat, non quieturam se, id est, a praedicatione Christi non destituram, donec illum totus [1248D] agnoscat mundus, et illi fiat subditus. Hanc vero, in hac implenda promissione, fixam cernentes filiae Sion, et nunc hos, nunc alios ad fidem convertentem, et cum his ad superna ascendentem, ejus admirantes providentiam, perseverantiam, aiunt, « Quae est ista? » id est, qualis, et quanta est ista! et quanta admiratione dignissima, « quae sic ascendit per desertum? » Desertum locus est quem dignum deseri omnes dijudicant, quem hoc judicio nulli inhabitant, sentes et spinas quas producit abhorrent et metuunt, venenosa quae parturit, haec vehementer effugiunt. Quo quidem nomine mundus hic intelligitur, qui spinas parturit peccatorum, venena suscipit immundorum spirituum, et suscipientes [1249A] haec ad cavernas mittit inferorum. « Quae » igitur « ista est! » id est, qualis, et quanta, quantave admiratione dignissima, quae per hunc mundum, tentationibus infinitis subjectum, et sibi dantes operam tentationibus innumeris subjicientem sibi et revertentem, sibi gradus ponit ascensionis, et eo quaerit ascendere, unde tot millia novimus hactenus descendisse; et inde sibi praemia quaerit acquirere, unde tot hominum millia sibi inferni supplicia vidimus incurrisse. « Quae » igitur « ista haec, » quae regum gloriam calcat, et minas judicum non expavescit, probra non metuit, adulantia despicit, tormenta si adhibeantur ridet, poenam mortis laeta suscipit, et mundum hunc laeta virtutibus comitata transcendit? Magna quidem ista haec, [1249B] quae, si adversis premitur, non frangitur; si laeta suscipit, nequaquam extollitur; sed eamdem se semper in utroque casu exhibens, per hoc desertum fugere, ascendere, et Deo propinquare intendit, unde et subditur:

*Sicut virgula fumi ex aromatibus myrrhae, et thuris, et universi pulveris pigmentarii.*

Fumus eodem tempore partim oritur, partim qui prius fuerat ortus, solet in sublimioribus disparere: sic Ecclesia in quibusdam suis membris semper nova gignitur, in quibusdam, qui prius nati fuerant, semper ad coelestia colligitur. Fumus etenim ex igne natus in alta conscendens, paulatim humanis subtrahit se conspectibus: sic Ecclesia igne, scilicet, sancti Spiritus in amorem Dei accensa, [1249C] ascendere non desinit, donec a terrenis abstracta, ad invisibilia coeli rapiatur: quae non virga, sed « virgula » recte dicitur, quia hic modus ascensionis est, ut ardor compunctionis interdum adeo subtilis sit, ut eum nec ipse comprehendat qui habere meruit, nec discernat ipse cui datus est. Unde non hic virga, sed « virgula » recte dicitur, quia recta et extenuata, agilis quoque compunctio cordis intelligitur, utpote quae ex aromatibus myrrhae et thuris exorta cognoscitur. Myrrha quidem corpora a putredine defendit; thus vero accensum redolet: unde per myrrham, carnis mortificatio; per thus, munditia orationis intelligitur. Ecclesia quidem carnem mortificat, dum voluptates abnegat, et dum ad Deum fervorem orationis emittit, quasi fumum [1249D] aromatum ex thuribulo, id est, corde suo educit, ut Deo suaviter redoleat, et proximum accendat. Et ne mortificationem solummodo praesentet, et orationem, caeterisque destituta virtutibus appropinquet, additur, « Et universi pulveris pigmentarii, » quod est: Ipsa est virgula fumi, non solum ex myrrha et thure exorti, imo qui ex pulvere qui a pigmentario ad bona conficienda pigmenta contunditur et commiscetur, suam sumit substantiam, et Deo praesentatur ad gloriam. Haec vero aromata commemorans, primo myrrham, deinde thus, postea universum pulverem pigmentarium ponit, quia prius est mortificare concupiscentiam carnis, postea offerre Deo placabilia vota cordis, [1250A] et sic cum humilitate in omni virtutum genere excrescere, quibus Deo valeat complacere. Sequitur:

7. *En lectulum Salomonis sexaginta fortes ambiunt ex fortissimis Israel.*

Admirandam decore miraque operis exaltatione Ecclesiam hanc filiae Jerusalem jam praedixerunt, quam nunc pergunt exsequi, ostendentes et magnificantes beatitudinem ad quam tendit, ad quam ascendit, quo trahitur, quo in pulverem redacta pigmentarium, collocari, sublimari, et exaltari jamjam digna videbitur: quam nimirum beatitudinem ostendit, lectulum Salomonis designans, et ejus ferculum, et diadema gloriae, quo die desponsationis suae sublimari prae cunctis dignus habitus [1250B] est. Et de lectulo quidem sic dicitur, « En lectulum Salomonis sexaginta fortes ambiunt. »

## CAPUT III. (cont.)

Per Salomonem vero, qui *pacificus* interpretatur, Christum significari certum est, qui suo cuncta pacificavit sanguine, et in unam redegit rempublicam, quae in coelis sunt, et quae redemit e terra. Ejus vero lectulus est beatitudo, in qua Rex cum sanctis quiescit, ad quam Ecclesia per desertum quotidie ascendit; qui quantis consternatur ornatibus, quanto fulgeat ornatu, quantis deliciarum copiis affluens, quantave charitatis abundantia sit exuberans, norunt ii, quos idem lectulus jam suscipit, quos eadem beatitudine Dominus jam donavit. Hunc quidem « sexaginta fortes ambiunt; » ut enim hujus lectuli castitas inviolata observetur, [1250C] hunc « ambiunt, » id est custodiunt, sexaginta fortes. Sexagenario vero numero praedicatores verbi continentur, qui lege docti et Evangelio, bonos et scientia erudiunt, et ad perfectionem usque perducunt. Senarius enim Evangelio attribuitur; hoc enim numero, Dominus bona bonorum, et mala malorum emetitur, dicens: « Esurivi, et dedistis mihi manducare: sitivi, et dedistis mihi bibere: hospes eram, et collegistis me: nudus, et cooperuistis me; infirmus, et visitastis me; in carcere eram, et venistis ad me [n: (Matth. XXV, 35, 36)]. » Hic itaque recte Evangelio attribuitur, quo si sexies ducatur denarius, sexaginta proficientur. Hi itaque custodes lectuli recte sexaginta deputantur, qui [1250D] quocunque ferantur in verbo Evangelium non transeunt, et a lege non recedunt. Hi vero « fortes » nominantur, fortitudo namque virtus est, quae virtutes sola defendit, judicia custodit, invicta ad labores, fortis ad praelia, pecuniam negligit, avaritiam fugit quae virtutem effeminat (nihil enim tam contrarium fortitudini quam lucro vinci), non tentatur cupiditate, non metu frangitur, quia virtus sibi constat, ut persequatur vitia tanquam virtutis venena; quam, non ut mediocriter exprimat, adjungit, « Ex fortissimis Israel; » fortissimi namque sunt, qui sine debilitate desiderii aeterna contemplantur, carnem vincunt, voluptatibus contradicunt, aspera mundi ferunt, pro aeternis blandimenta spernunt, adversitates superant, finem suum conspiciunt, [1251A] extra laborant, ut intra gaudeant. Sequitur:

8. *Omnes tenentes gladios.*

Dictum est, qui custodiant; nunc vero dicendum est, qualiter hunc muniti lectulum custodiant, « tenentes » quidem « gladios. » Hic armatura doctorum exprimitur, quae ab Apostolo latius demonstratur: ait enim beatus Paulus: « State ergo succincti lumbos vestros in veritate, et induti loricam justitiae, et calceati pedes in praeparatione Evangelii pacis: in omnibus sumentes scutum fidei . . . et galeam salutis assumite, et gladium Spiritus, quod est verbum Dei [n: (Ephes. VI, 14-17)]. Haec quidem armatura doctorum est, quae designatur hoc loco per gladium, qui ejusdem armaturae pars principalis [1251B] est. Gladius enim utrinque secans verbum Dei est, corporalia et spiritualia dividens, umbram a veritate discutiens, « Vivus enim Dei sermo est, et penetrabilior omni gladio ancipiti, pertingens usque ad divisionem animae et spiritus, compagum quoque et medullarum, discretor cogitationum, et intentionum cordis. » Hunc tenent fortes in manibus, id exercentes opere quod vident in meditatione. Scire enim et intelligere non satis reputant, nisi quod intellexerint, id opere adimpleant: multos enim bene monentes male viventes cernimus, qui, quod verbo detestantur, id non verentur agere, et quod verbo « contexunt, » [cn: 45 | F. *contemnunt.*] hoc manibus exercere intelliguntur. Sic Scribae docebant et Pharisaei, [1251C] quorum verbis acquiescere jubet Dominus, opera vero declinare, suosque aliter docere praecipit, dicens, « Sic luceat lux vestra coram hominibus, ut videant opera vestra bona, et glorificent Patrem vestrum qui in coelis est [n: (Matth. V, 16)]. » His itaque gladii tenentur in manibus, qui doctrinam suam piis confirmant operationibus, et confidenter edocent quod ipsi opere adimplent. Sequitur:

*Et ad bella doctissimi.*

Nam ad bella doctus est, qui peccato resistit opere; ad bella doctior, qui ei et opere resistit, et verbo doctrinae; ad bella vero doctissimus, qui ei verbo resistit et opere, et adhibito zelo disciplinae. Innocentes enim tradit exitio, qui eum, cui adhuc latrocinandi spirat affectus, liberat a supplicio; et [1251D] multorum cogitat exitia, qui parcit malis indulta venia; facilitas enim veniae, incentivum est culpae. Sequitur:

*Uniuscujusque ensis super femur suum.*

Multos a bellando cohibet ipsa bellandi impossibilitas, utpote si habeant gladium, manibusque teneant, ipsumque extrahere nequeant, vel difficulter queant: hostis ideo non necatur, et cui poenas meruit, impunis evadit. Ideo subditur, « Uniuscujusque ensis super femur suum, » ut ipsum juvet, et extrahendi facilitas, et hostem cito percutiendi opportunitas. Ensis enim super femur est, cum praedicatione caro propria domatur, ne cum aliis praedicaverit, ipse reprobus efficiatur. Sequitur:

[1252A] *Propter timores nocturnos.*

Vita quae hic agitur, per dies noctesque transigitur: quae hic fiunt opera, quaedam diei, quaedam nocti attribuuntur; diei, quae lucis sunt, nocti, quae tenebrarum. Vita vero quam praestolamur, tota in die, tota in luce futura est: nulla tunc participatio justitiae cum iniquitate, nulla societas luci ad tenebras, nulla conventio Christi ad Belial. Belial cum suis totus horrebit tenebris, et inde sibi nullus jam ad tentandum quocunque modo fideles, nulla ratione patebit egressus; qui, quia nondum hac judicii districtione ligatus est, nunc egreditur; nunc, dum tempus est, noctis opus et tenebrarum modis omnibus inferre satagit et emolitur. Hunc vero repellunt ii fortes, ne forte insidiae tentatoris, securos [1252B] hos et inermes sternant, et de commissa sibi custodia quidquam male deripiant. Sequitur:

9. *Ferculum fecit sibi rex Salomon de lignis Libani. 10. Columnas ejus fecit argenteas, reclinatorium aureum, ascensum purpureum: media charitate constravit propter filias Jerusalem.*

Post lectuli descriptionem, descriptio ferculi recte supponitur. Surgens enim e lecto Rex, ferculo se suscipit, ut de loco feratur ad locum, prout cujusque viderit exoptare negotium. Ait ergo, « Ferculum fecit rex Salomon de lignis Libani. » Libanus vero *candidatio* interpretatur; et ligna Libani cedri sunt et cupressi; quae quidem recta sunt et erecta, comam in altum producentia, immarcessibilia, [1252C] imputribilia, odorem etiam ex se optimum emittentia: de iis fecit sibi Rex ferculum, quo circumferretur, quo ipsum expeteret circumferri negotium. Haec quidem ligna sanctorum designant agmina, quae recta sunt, recta ad Deum meditatione et actione tendentia; et imputribilia, quia hos in aeternitate susceptos nulla attingit corruptio, nulla mortis, aut doloris, aut molestiae cujusquam afficit passio. In iis beatos apostolos, Petrum et Paulum, caeterosque apostolica dignitate sublimatos connumera, qui Dominum per mundum ferunt, qui ejus facta, dicta et promissa mundo testantur et nuntiant. Eosdem quoque columnas reputat argenteas, quos dat Deus praedicatores Ecclesiae, rectitudine justitiae roboratos, ut Ecclesiam suis exemplis sustentent, [1252D] et nitore eloquii, quasi splendore argenti, decorent. Fecit et in hoc reclinatorium aureum, quod quidem sunt praeclarae mentes fidelium auditorum, in quibus, dum gaudium coeleste praemonstravit, quasi reclinatorium ex auro sapientiae composuit; Sapientia enim « pretiosior est cunctis opibus, et omnia quae desiderantur huic non valent comparari [n: (Prov. III, 15)]. » Ad hoc vero quia multa tribulatione pervenitur, et sanguinis effusione ascenditur, additum est: « Ascensum fecit purpureum; » illuc enim per martyrium, quod purpura designatur, unusquisque evehitur; vel certe Christi passione, quae purpura pretiosior est, per quam in Ecclesiam et in coelum introitur; ingressus [1253A] ad gloriam sacramento passionis aperitur. Demonstrato ferculo, ostensis columnis, et reclinatorio, ascensu quoque purpureo, restat ut et area ferculi demonstretur, quam sic ostendit: « Media, » id est, area quae in medio ferculi est; hanc « charitate constravit: » bene praerogativa charitatis elucet; nam si apostolus es, ad ferculum pertines; si martyr es, pertines ad eumdem; si virgo es, virginitatis in ipso merito praefulges: quod si iis meritis non aequaris, et tamen diligis, in hoc quidem ferculo recte susciperis; media namque charitate constrata sunt, ut in ejus medio sedeat quicunque credit et amat. Quod quidem additum est « propter filias Jerusalem, » id est, propter eas, quae tempore juniores, merito inferiores existunt; quae, si summis [1253B] non aequantur, a ferculo tamen hoc alienae non sunt, quae in charitate servantur. Sequitur:

*Egredimini, et videte, filiae Sion, regem Salomonem.*

## CAPUT III. (cont.)

Dictum est de lectulo, et de custodia ejus; dictumque de ferculo, et ornatu ipsius; restat ut dicatur de regno, et gloria ejus; quod prosequitur, dicens: « Egredimini, et videte, filiae Sion, regem Salomonem, in diademate quo coronavit eum mater sua. » Per regem vero Salomonem, Christus (ut jam dictum est) intelligitur, qui crucem super humeros vexit, et per hanc sibi regna jam terrae cuncta subjecit. Ad hunc itaque videndum, omnes quaecunque « filiae Sion, » id est, speculae coelestis [1253C] filiae esse desiderant, qui sibi locum in coelestibus praeparari tota devotione cordis exoptant, Scriptura praesens excitat ut egrediantur, et post suam egressionem videant regem Salomonem in diademate quo coronatus est [n: (Gen. IV, 8)]. Non autem hortatur egredi, ut Cain foras egressus est, et consurgens adversus fratrem suum in eum machinatus est. O miserum Cain, nec ulli miserandum, qui metam innocentiae transgressus, qui fraternae pietatis oblitus, latam mundo parricidii viam aperuit, et innocentem perimens, sese nocentem mundo declaravit [n: (Gen. XXXIV, 1)]; nec quidem ut Dina de tabernaculo patris egressa est, ut videret mulieres regionis illius; quam agentem curiose, et ad ea levantem oculos quae imitari non licebat, videt Sichem filius [1253D] Hemor, et adamavit, et dormivit cum illa, vi opprimens virginem; cujus ultionem mors ipsa Sichem, et patris ejus Hemor, et omnium qui mares in civitate reperti sunt, et ipsa civitatis depopulatio protestatur. Egressiones enim istae malae sunt; nec ad hoc scribuntur, ut eas imitari fas sit, sed ut scripta caveantur, cogitatu pariter et actu declinentur. Bonae vero egressiones plurimae sunt; ut de qua dixit Dominus Abrahae, « Egredere de terra tua, et de cognatione tua, et de domo patris tui, et veni in terram quam monstrabo tibi: faciamque te in gentem magnam, et benedicam tibi, et magnificabo nomen tuum, erisque benedictus. Benedicam [1254A] benedicentibus tibi, et maledicam maledicentibus tibi; et in te benedicentur universae cognationes terrae [n: (Gen. XII, 1, 2, 3)]. » Quae quidem impleta est ab Abraham obediendo, et jam nunc a Domino, vere quae sunt promissa complendo. De Jacob quoque dictum est, quod egressus de Bersabe pergebat Haram [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 10)], ibique capiti suo supponens lapidem magnum, vidit visionem, et audivit Dominum dicentem sibi: « Et benedicentur in te, et in semine tuo cunctae tribus terrae: » quam nimirum egressionem bonam fuisse, ipse sequentis operis demonstrat effectus.

De beato quoque Petro legitur, quod cum egressus fuisset atrium in quo Christus judicabatur, cantavit gallus, et flevit amare: quae nimirum egressio [1254B] designat, ipsum a negatione, qua ter Dominum negaverat, jamjam alienatum esse, et ejus ex cordis amaritudine profusas lacrymas, data desuper venia, in coelo jam esse susceptas. Cum sit ergo quaedam misera, et a Deo longe recedens, quaedam felix, et ad Deum, quoad fieri potest, poenitentiae et amoris passibus accedens egressio; quanam « Aaron » [cn: 46 | F. *earum.*] filiabus Sion consulitur egredi, ut Regem gloriae in diademate suo contemplari valeant et intueri? non ea utique qua Cain egressus est, qua fratrem occidit, et seipsum interfici promeruit: nec ea qua Dina, curiositatem secuta, alienigenas videre voluit, et seipsam alienigenae commisceri, et virginitatis suae damna incurrisse, condoluit: nec ea qua [1254C] spiritus a facie Domini egrediens, ait: « Egrediar, et ero spiritus mendax in ore omnium prophetarum ejus [n: (III Reg. XXII, 22)], » et interficiam Achab: sed ea quam secuti Abraham et Jacob, Petrus et Paulus, Deo familiares, et amici facti sunt ejus. Egrediendum est igitur de castris infidelitatis et ignominiae, de castris vani timoris et impoenitentiae, de castris invidiae et malitiae, de castris impudicitiae et omnis immunditiae, ut his egressi, castra virtutum omnium introeamus, in quibus regem summum videre, sibique complacere mereamur. Sequitur:

*In diademate quo coronavit illum mater sua in die desponsationis illius, et in die laetitiae cordis ejus.*

Sancta mater summi Regis hujus virgo beata est [1254D] illa Maria, quam salutavit angelus, quam prae omnibus elegit Dominus, quam obumbravit Spiritus sanctus, cujus laus omne superat eloquium, de qua quidquid dicatur, minus est ejus laude quod dicitur, huic succumbunt eloquia, veniam postulant, quantumcunque digne lata praeconia, nil dici posse fatentur, quo ejus augeantur vel aequentur merita. Haec Regem istum diademate coronavit, quia iste Rex in ea, et de ea carnem assumpsit, in qua de diabolo, et morte qua premebatur mundus, gloriose triumphavit. Ejus enim caro est, qua mulier illum circumdedit, quem ex ea natum sanctissime virgo pannis involvit, et in praesepio reclinavit. [1255A] Hic, quem de coelo stella monstravit, quae ad ipsum adorandum et honorandum muneribus, reges ab Oriente protraxit; hic qui sapientia, aetate, et gratia apud Deum et homines proficit; hic qui in baptismo crimina nostra purgavit; hic qui mundo miraculis enituit; hic quem suis brachiis crux sancta portavit; hic de sepulcro surrexit, et quadragesimo die videntibus populis, coelos ascendit, et die suprema cunctos palam judicabit; ad hunc ergo videndum, quae filiae Sion esse cupiunt, invitantur, ut de castris vitiorum egressae, ad castra virtutum ingressae, dicant cum apostolo Thoma, « Dominus meus, Deus meus [n: (Joan. XX, 28)]; » et ipsum in novissimo die videant et attendant, quia, « haec est vita aeterna, ut videant te verum Deum, et [1255B] quem misisti Jesum Christum [n: (Joan. XVII, 3)]. » Hoc quidem diademate coronavit eum mater sua in die desponsationis illius: huic enim Deo Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui sancto Virgo beata vere desponsata est, cum eam Matrem Filii Dei agnoscentes, vera sibi charitate conjunxerunt, et tota sibi amoris plenitudine desponsaverunt. Hinc quidem laetitia cordi Virginis incedit, hinc se beatam asseruit, dicens: « Magnificat anima mea Dominum, et exsultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo [n: (Luc. I, 46, 47)]. » Accita ad vitae finem haec Sponsa, ne transeuntibus his implicetur et illaqueetur, admonita ne jamjam speret adventurum quod dicitur, ut jam Sponsus videatur, ut corporaliter attrectetur, Sponsus quod [1255C] supra dictum est repetit, dicens:

## CAPUT IV.

1. *Quam pulchra es amica mea, quam pulchra es! oculi tui columbarum.*

De quo, quia donante Domino, jam quod occurrit diximus, nunc tacemus, id attentare volentes quod adjectum est:

*Absque eo quod intrinsecus.*

Dixit quidem dilectam suam oculis columbae similem; quod ne perversius intelligatur, adjecit, « Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet; » columba namque, si mundis pascitur, si sine felle est, si rostro vel ungue non lacerat, si gemitum pro cantu habet, si gregatim volat, ad haec motu quodam naturali ducitur; ad haec nullo timore Dei, astringitur, [1255D] sed intra haec innata quadam lege naturae coarctatur: anima vero dilecta Deo, si in his se columbae assimilat, intus sibi in mente est, quo ei dissimilis invenitur. Columba namque si mundis pascitur, pastum quaerit, non Deum: anima si mundis pascitur, Deum quaerit, non pastum. Columba si felle caret, id naturae est; si sine ira se regit anima, id gratiae. Si gemitum pro cantu habet, non dolet quidem, sed cantum, ut sibi donatum est, modulatur: si gemit anima, ipsam Dei praesentiam sibi adesse, et in ea gloriari, deprecatur. « Magna enim » (ut beatus Gregorius testatur) « est gloria aperti oris; sed longe incomparabilis est gloria occultae remunerationis: » pulchrum est hoc quod extra cernitur; sed longe et incomparabiliter [1256A] pulchrius id ad quod invisibiliter pervenitur: pulchra est conversatio exterior; sed pulchrius illibatum cordis desiderium, quo beatitudo appetitur, et conscientia mundatur. Hoc igitur in anima dilecta Deo latet, intrinsecusque in columba penitus ignoratur. Sequitur:

*Capilli tui sicut greges caprarum.*

Attendendum vero quod haec commendatio numero septenario comprehenditur, ut intelligas, quae de ea dicuntur spiritualiter dici, et spiritualiter debere intelligi: nam ut de oculis dictum est, sic et de capillis intelligendum est. Capilli enim de corpore sunt, et ornatum praestant faciei; praeciduntur aliquando, et ornatum confert ipsa praecisio: si hos abesse contigerit, faciei deformitas apparebit. Hi [1256B] ergo sunt fideles populi, quorum frequentia adornatur Ecclesia; qui coelestia, quae audierint, ad memoriam revocando, ruminant, sic in sublime quaerentes pabula, et munditia fidei contemplantes aeterna: qui nimirum praeciduntur, cum se aut in actione, aut in contemplatione peccasse quoquo modo confitentur; et ornatum faciei ista praecisio praestat, quia redintegratio et reformatio spiritus est vera confessio. Vel si subtilitas meditationum in capillis intelligatur, haec capreis recte comparatur, quae et ad excelsa tendit, et si temporali astringitur necessitate, non tamen recedit ab aeternorum intentione. Sequitur:

*Quae ascenderunt de monte Galaad.*

[1256C]Galaad *acervus testimonii* interpretatur, multitudo, videlicet, martyrum, qui pro fide Christi mortui, testes sunt veritatis. Vel, « Galaad, » ipse Christus est, in quo multitudo martyrum una est. De monte hoc capreae ascenderunt, quia sancti imitantes ejus mortem, ad superna ascenderunt Sequitur:

2. *Dentes tui sicut greges tonsarum, quae ascenderunt de lavacro, omnes gemellis fetibus, et non est sterilis inter eas.*

« Dentes, » divini verbi doctores et expositores sunt: hi cibum his quos edocent, molunt et incorporant, qui dicta Domini fideliter intelligentes et docentes, haec in eorum animarum substantiam trajiciunt, vitamque jam fide susceptam servant [1256D] atque comminuunt. Hi gregi tonsarum ovium comparati, de lavacro dicuntur ascendere, qui in baptismo, vellere peccati deposito, viam virtutis arripiunt, populos post se trahunt, et ex gentibus et Judaeis unum populum Christianum constituunt: vel ipsos hinc fide, hinc opere perfectos reddentes, gemellis ipsos ditant fructibus et exornant. Unde nulla in his sterilis invenitur, a quibus verbi suscepta praedicatio opere diligenter adimpletur. Sequitur:

3. *Sicut vitta coccinea, labia tua; et eloquium tuum dulce.*

Labia dentes operiunt, verba proferunt, et quae a lingua et dentibus intus formantur, prolata foris exaudibilia reddunt. Qui igitur dentes, ii quoque labia sunt, quae intus formant, foris in lucem proferunt; [1257A] et, ut cuncta quae dixerint attentius audiantur, haec Dominica passione colorant, et mellifluae humilitatis dulcedine, ut reddant gustui spirituum sapida, collaborant. Unde et hic sequitur, « Eloquium tuum dulce. » Sequitur:

*Sicut fragmen mali punici, ita genae tuae, absque eo quod intrinsecus latet.*

Malum punicum Ecclesia est, qua quot fideles continet, tot sub uno cortice grana tenet. Hujus genae sunt Ecclesiae diversae locis diversis fidelium devotione constitutae. Quibus enim sancta ejus placet humanitas, et huic ab his Ecclesia consecratur: aliis sancta Trinitas cordi est, cui locus devotissimi sanctificatur. Hae igitur genae sunt, in caput unum concurrentes, Dominum scilicet, Jesum Christum, [1257B] qui Deus in personis trinus est, et unus humanitate, caput omnium et principium, quae sunt, et quae fuerunt, et quae futura sunt. Hae tamen genae sic sunt. « ut fragmen mali punici: » nam ut in fragminibus mali punici grana sunt, a granis partis alterius diversa; sic et in his locis fidelium diversae devotiones sunt, una illic majestatem Dei adorante et sequente, altera istic humanitatem ejus et humilitatem devotissime prosequente, nulla tamen occulta Dei quae adhuc incognita manent, plene comprehendente. Unde et hic subditur, « Absque eo quod intrinsecus latet; » nam quod nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, hoc penes se Deus continet, revelaturus cum volet. Sequitur:

[1257C]

## 4.

*Sicut turris David collum tuum, quae aedificata est cum propugnaculis: mille clypei pendent ex ea, omnis armatura fortium.*

Demonstratis his partibus, oculis, et capillis, dentibus, labiis, atque genis, sequitur colli constructio, cujus continua est, his quae sunt memorata compositio. Ait igitur, collum hoc esse sicut turrim David: turris enim a David in Jerusalem est composita, jacula repellens hostium, nullas formidans machinas inimicorum; haec doctorum praedicatio sublimis est et inexpugnabilis; quae, dum vera praedicat, nulla adversantium sibi falsitate repellitur; dum coruscat miraculis, vera esse ipsa rei demonstratione comprobatur. Haec itaque propugnacula [1257D] sunt, cum quibus haec turris aedificata est, Scripturae sanctae quibus suam vere astruit veritatem: et « mille clypei, » id est, mille protectiones, quibus eorum qui contra se arguunt, repellit et reprimit pravitatem: hae quidem protectiones a praedicatione sancta dependent, quia quod in patriarchis sanctum est, quod in prophetis nobile, [cn: 47 | F. *notabile.*] quod in miraculis insigne, totum Evangelio contestatur, et ejus approbat veritatem, cum ea quae superest fortium armatura. Hanc vero fortium armaturam quis exprimat? Quis eam, quae omne transcendit eloquium, verbo digne comprehendat? [1258A] Quis enim Petri constantiam, quis Pauli fortitudinem, quis Joannis dilectionem, quis sanctorum omnium virtutem eloqui digne sufficiat? quibus haec armatura procedit [cn: 48 | F. *præcedit.*], et vera haec esse quae praedicantur affirmat. Sequitur:

5. *Duo ubera tua sicut duo hinnuli capreae gemelli, qui pascuntur in liliis. 6. Donec aspiret dies, et inclinentur umbrae.*

Haec sunt ubera quae sugimus, a quibus incrementa suscipimus, ut Christo Regi placeamus, duo Testamenta, quorum unum praeparatorium est, alterum consummans. Praeparatorium est quod a Moyse datum est, in quo de Christo promittit ea quae de ipso in Novo jam Testamento videmus impleta; prima enim prophetia haec exstitit, qua Dominus [1258B] ad serpentem ait: « Inimicitias ponam inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius: ipsa conteret caput tuum, et tu insidiaberis calcaneo ejus [n: (Gen. III, 15)]. » Beatam igitur virginem exprimens, cujus calcaneo, extremae scilicet parti, qua terram « videbat » [cn: 49 | F. *calcabat.*] serpens insidians, ne praevaleret in morsu, ipso ejus calcaneo conquassatus est. Primum ejus semen, Adam docente, Abel justus apparuit, qui agnum offerens, Christi passionem praemonstravit, et ipsam confitens, innocens in ea et martyr occubuit. In semine hoc Seth « numerabilis » [cn: 50 | F. *numerabimus.*] et Henoch, Noe quoque mundum ligno salvantem, et Abraham filio suo non parcentem, ipsumque Moysem sic dicentem: « Prophetam [1258C] suscitabit vobis Deus de medio fratrum vestrorum, similem mei, et ponet verba sua in ore ipsius, loqueturque ad eos omnia quae praeceperit illi. Qui autem verba ejus quae loquetur in nomine Dei, audire noluerit, ipse ultor existet [n: (Deut. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. » Quae et contestans Isaias, ait, « Ecce virgo concipiet, et pariet Filium [n: (Isa. VII, 14)]. » Jeremias in id ait, « Faciet Dominus novum super terram, et mulier circumdabit virum [n: (Jer. XXXI, 22)]. » Quod affirmans Ezechiel, ait, « Porta haec clausa erit, et non aperietur, et vir non transiet per eam, eritque clausa Principi [n: (Ezech. XLIV, 2)]. » Aitque Daniel, « cum venerit Sanctus sanctorum, cessabit in vobis unctio [n: (Dan. IX, 24)]. » Sic totum percurrens Testamentum Vetus, illud in promissis, in holocaustis, [1258D] in sacrificiis, in eo Testamenti Novi praeparatorium quoddam poteris invenire. Novum vero Testamentum est quod audimus, quod legimus, quod Christo auctore contestamur, quo jam statum habente, vetus interiit, nisi quod hujus veritati testimonium fidele perhibuit. Haec sunt ubera, « ut duo hinnuli capreae, » quae cum velis comprehendere statim a te fugient, et vides hos in alta conscendere: alta enim justorum mysteria hominis non capit intellectus, nec fides habet meritum, cui humana ratio praebet experimentum. Sequenda ergo in his fides est, et humana ratio, in confessione [1259A] Trinitatis et Unitatis veritate, in Incarnationis mysterio et Passionis sacramento, in eo quod offerimus altaris dono, tota conticeat, et quod fides praedicat, hoc veneretur, et diligat (haec enim « pascuntur in liliis, » id est, fidem accipiunt ab iis sanctorum conventibus, qui sicut lilia, Deo assistunt, et ab eo splendorem gloriae sempiternae percipiunt) donec illis assistamus, cum dies judicii aspiraverit, et umbrae hae igorantiae, quae nos ad praesens impediunt, ex toto fuerint evacuatae. Sequitur:

*Vadam ad montem myrrhae, ad collem thuris.*

In laudem Ecclesiae decurso praesenti septenario, ne moram faciat, membris in caeteris hoc exsequendo, agit quod amantis est, videre desiderat [1259B] quod amat, ei praesens adesse quam tanta laude magnificat. Unde ait, « Vadam ad montem myrrhae, et ad collem thuris, » id est, praesens ipse visitabo Ecclesiam, quae mons myrrhae est, et collis thuris. Mons vero myrrhae, altitudo est mortificationis; de qua ait Apostolus, « Mortificate membra vestra quae sunt super terram: fornicationem, immunditiam, libidinem, concupiscentiam malam, et avaritiam, quae est simulacrorum servitus [n: (Col. III, 5)]. » Haec vero mortificat Ecclesia, considerando quae sursum sunt, ubi nil est aut esse potest eorum quae dicta sunt. Collis vero thuris, humilitas est orationis, qua se Ecclesia in alta suspendit, et velut e thuribulo cordis, quasi fumus thuris ascendit. His [1259C] enim virtutibus Ecclesia, vel fidelis quaeque anima mundatur in mortificatione vitii, reluctans in oratione, lacrymis se abluens, ut lotis sordibus, Sponso pulchra appareat; cujus conatum ipse adjuvat, et opus suum in ea laudans, dicit:

7. *Tota pulchra es, amica mea, et macula non est in te.*

Et haec quidem causa est cur vadam, quia tu « tota pulchra es, et macula non est in te, » cujus plene describit plenitudinem [cn: 51 | F. *pulchritudinem.*], novissime ponens quod primum est: ad hanc namque spiritualem pulchritudinem primum est, ut in baptismi lavacro, vel sanguinis effusione maculae deleantur: deinde virtutes spirituales quae Deo complacent, assumantur, ut ad illam in capite et in membris [1259D] suis ornata pie desiderans Sponsus accedat, et in ipsa mansio sibi sancta complaceat. Unde ait:

8. *Veni de Libano, sponsa mea, veni de Libano, veni: coronaberis de capite Amana, de vertice Sanir et Hermon, de cubilibus leonum, de montibus pardorum.*

Libanus namque, « Candidatio, » interpretatur; unde et haec luce virtutum perfusa, ut ad Deum veniat, evocatur, utpote cui ter dicitur, « Veni, » ad ipsum fide perfecta, spe exhilarata, approximet, et cum eo aeterna claritatis plenitudine refecta congaudeat: quod quidem gaudium annotatur, cum dicitur, Coronaberis de capite Amana; » quae [1260A] quidem corona de cacumine Amana, de vertice Sanir et Hermon effecta comprobatur. « Amana » namque mons Ciliciae est, qui, « Inquietus, » vel, « Turbulentus, » dicitur, homines designans seculi, qui ex avaritia et cupiditate rerum transeuntium, inquieti semper inveniuntur et turbidi. « Sanir » mons in Judaea est, qui, « Fetor, » interpretatur, hos significans, quorum corpora luxuriarum agitantur incendiis, et foedantur. « Hermon » vero Judaeae mons, qui et, « Anathema, » interpretatur, hos significat, qui per superbiam elati adeo efferuntur, ut iis nulla communio cum Domino sit, qui ait, « Deus superbis resistit, humilibus autem dat gratiam [n: (Jac. IV, 6)]. » Quid ergo est, coronam dilectae suae ex his cacuminibus confici, nisi eos qui [1260B] faeculenta rerum cupiditate turbati fuerant et subversi, ad Christum plene converti; et quorum corpora luxuriae distrahebant innumerae, Christum solum amplecti et diligere; qui etiam aliis omnibus se praeferebant, hos etiam usque ad mortem se pro Christo humiliari, et dicere, « Mihi vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum [n: (Phil. I, 21)]. » His ergo coronatur Ecclesia et sublimatur; hos uno complectens verbo, subjungit, et dicit: « De cubilibus leonum, et de montibus pardorum. » Hi namque montes cubilia, id est, loca in quibus leones conquiescunt. « Leones » namque dicuntur maligni spiritus, qui in iis recubant in quibus vitia praedicta jam regnant. « Montes » vero pardorum hi sunt, [1260C] in quibus virtus vitio permista est, gaudetque quae vocatur hypocrisis, vitio pallio virtutis operto, ab omnibus honorari. His itaque, qui montes pardorum fuerant, et leonum cubilia, ad Deum mente pura conversis, pardis, scilicet, puritatem amplectentibus, leonibus vero simplicitatem et humilitatem diligentibus, corona sponsae praeparatur, quae sibi signum victoriae, eo quod mundum vicerit, jamjam esse demonstratur. Sequitur:

9. *Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa, vulnerasti cor meum.*

## 4. (cont.)

Ecclesia quae summi Regis hujus sponsa jure dicitur, ejus sanguine acquisita, duarum partium divisione consistit; una, quae jam perfecta est; altera, nondum perfecta. Illa perfecta est quae vias vitae [1260D] jamdudum ingressa est, quae dudum abiit in consilio bonorum, et in eorumdem via stetit, et in cathedra prudentiae sedem sibi firmavit. Haec Aegypto suas dudum dimisit tenebras, persecutionem Pharaonis evasit, hunc persequentem in mediis undis exstinctum vidit, quia potestatem ejus evacuatam baptismatis undis agnovit. Haec in deserto secuta Moysem, magnalia Dei conspexit, et de ore ejus prolata verba legis ipsius audire promeruit, quae quidem usque eo tenuit, quousque Dominum ad Moysem et ad populum dicentem audivit: « Prophetam suscitabo vobis de medio fratrum vestrorum similem tui; et ponam verba mea in ore ejus, [1261A] loqueturque ad eos omnia quae praecepero illi. Qui autem verba ejus, quae loquetur in nomine meo, audire noluerit, ego ultor existam [n: (Deut. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. » In hac recte connumerem patres Veteris Testamenti omnes, patriarchas, et prophetas; in Testamento Novo apostolos, martyres, et confessores: hi quidem Deo omnes conjuncti sunt, et coadunati: ut sint unus cum eo spiritus, quod est, cum eo unius spiritus; id enim volunt quod vult, et nolunt hoc quod non vult: ita ut nulla in eis sit discordia, quos ipse secum sumpsit in gloria. His recte annumerem Dei electos, in carne viventes, carnis tamen, quantum fas est, nescios, et Dei Spiritu Deo dudum « munitos [cn: 52 | F. *unitos.*], » quibus « vivere Christus est, et mori lucrum » ; Deo dicentes assidue: [1261B] Trahe nos post te, ut in odore unguentorum tuorum perveniamus ad te; haec quidem perfecta est. At illa imperfecta est, quae fidem nuper suscepit, sed nondum opera Dei adimplevit: cognovit quidem Dominum, quia bonus est, sed bonitatis ejus opera nondum assecuta, dicit cum Propheta, « Quid enim mihi est in coelo? et a te quid volui super terram? » [n: (Psal. LXXII, 25.)] Nondum reliquit domum, nec patrem, nec matrem; nondum Christum pauperem pauper ista secuta. Alii, relicto patre, et matre, parentibus, et filiis, domibus, et agris, Christum quidem sequuntur, plene tamen assequi non merentur: instat quidem caro, quae ad carnis illecebras, et opera ejus innumera, in carne [1261C] manentem incitat et invitat: instat et adversarius, qui carnis hanc suasionem adjuvat, poenitentiae longa promittens tempora, et post expleta vota Deum si offensus est, ut pium et placabilem Judicem posse per lacrymas ad veniam facile revocari. Unde et plangit dicens: « Oh! quis me liberabit de corpore mortis hujus? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Ad exacta itaque recurrit tempora, infantiam, pueritiam, adolescentiamque considerans, juventutem, et aetatem virilem, senectutemque dijudicans, singula quibus Deum offendit damnans, seipsam etiam poenitentia cordis, et confessione oris, et satisfactione operis, per abstinentiam et disciplinam, per orationem et eleemosynam, per vigilias et doctrinam, mundans et purgans, coelestem ad se misericordiam evocans; peccatis [1261D] remissis, quo peccavit altius, eo nunc ardet amplius, dicens, « Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa; » ac si dicat: O Deo digne desponsata per opera, quae Dei sponsa juste diceris, mea tamen soror es, quibus Pater unus est Deus per creationem, una mater Ecclesia per generationem; apud Sponsum multa potes, pro sorore quod potes exhibeas; vulnus amoris, quod te imitando pertuli, quaeso ut amplifices, charitatem in me dilates, et me ad perfectum illud in quo gaudes, interventione sancta perducas. Sequitur:

*In uno oculorum tuorum.*

Oculi Ecclesiae duo sunt, unus actionis, alter [1262A] contemplationis; unus quo intuetur proximum, alter quo videt Deum; unus quo intuetur proximi necessaria, alter quo Deum rimatur, et secreta coelestia. In eo igitur oculo, qui ad proximum est, qui ad ejus necessaria dirigitur, non sibi postulat, ut consulatur; sed in eo quo videt Deum, quo contemplatur aeternitas [cn: 53 | F. *æternitatem.*], quo secreta quae latent hominem in carne viventem, intelligit quae sit latitudo, quae longitudo, quae sublimitas, et quod profundum. Nam quia Deus charitas est, eademque quae Dei est, longitudo charitatis est; et sicut ab aeterno Deus est, sic ab aeterno exstitit charitas, et sicut in aeternum Deus, sic in aeternum charitas in suas permansura est creaturas: haec quidem longitudo Dei est. Quia vero non est major dilectio, quam ut [1262B] animam suam quis ponat pro amicis suis: ejus in hoc exstitit latitudo, quod animam pro amicis suis posuit, ut quos inimicos habuerat, in unitatem converteret fidei, charitatis, et pacis. Sublime vero Dei in hoc est, quod omne quod est, ex Deo est; corporalia quidem, Deo partes connectente ex quibus sunt; spiritualia vero, Deo vitam iis conferente, qua vivunt, qua sapiunt, qua rerum omnium existentiam mirabili mentis apertione intelligunt: haec tamen finita sunt, ultra quae nihil nisi Deum intelligas. Hoc vero sublime Dei est; a quo descendit in Virginem, a quo descendit in crucem, ut vel sic per se hominem, omnes qui ipsum hominem confiterentur et crederent, mortis ejus virtute reficeret. [1262C] Profundum vero, illud inferni est, in quod descendit, ut illos inde eriperet, in quibus matris suae semen ipse recognosceret: sicut in principali et prima prophetia a Domino dictum est: « Ponam inimicitias inter te et mulierem, et semen tuum et semen illius; » omnes semen illius esse intelligens, qui de ejus semine nasciturum aut natum crederent, qui expers peccati mundum a peccato eriperet. Sequitur:

*Et in uno crine colli tui.*

Quod est, In unitate crinium colli tui; qui crines sunt ut crinis unus. Crines enim sunt, qui a capite descendunt in corpus, ornantes faciem, collumque tegentes; qui omnes sic astricti unitate junguntur, ut unus esse crinis videantur. Hi sanctorum singulae [1262D] personae sunt, qui cum omnes a Deo sint, in tanta in ipsum charitate et contemplatione intendunt, ut omnes quasi unus videantur; juxta illud, « Multitudinis autem credentium erat cor unum et anima una [n: (Act. IV, 32)]: » huic ergo multitudini desiderans haec pars interesse, ait, « Vulnerasti cor meum; » non mortis quidem vulnere, quod quidem lethale esse perhibetur, sed vulnere quo vita in Deum concipitur, alitur, atque perficitur. Hoc ergo vulnere plus vulnerari appetens, et hac luce qua videtur Deus, plus illuminari desiderans, bis ait, « Vulnerasti cor meum, soror mea sponsa, vulnerasti cor meum, » tertium sibi apponi vulnus [1263A] desiderans, in quo non spe pendeat, sed ejus quam desiderat apprehensione rei congaudeat. Sequitur:

10. *Quam pulchrae sunt mammae tuae, soror mea sponsa! pulchriora sunt ubera tua vino, et odor unguentorum tuorum super omnia aromata.*

Haec digna sororis est a sorore commendatio; ait enim: O quae sponsa Dei digne dici meruisti, quae tamen te mihi sororem esse non abnuisti, « quam pulchrae sunt mammae tuae! » id est, doctrina uberum tuorum quam pulchra est ad consolationem infirmorum, et sustentationem parvulorum? Et has mammas repetitione laudis manifestat, dicens, « Pulchriora sunt ubera tua vino, et odor unguentorum tuorum super omnia aromata. » De quibus, [1263B] quia quod dedit Dominus ostendimus, haec ad tempus repetere supersedemus. Sequitur:

11. *Favus distillans labia tua, sponsa.*

Perseverat adhuc soror in laude sponsae, dicens: « Favus distillans labia tua, sponsa » Christi. Favo nil dulcius est; et de eloquiis divinis dicitur: « Quam dulcia faucibus meis eloquia tua! super mel ori meo [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 103)]. » Favus enim mel in cera est, id est, spiritualis eloquiorum sensus in littera, a cera, quae ut littera est, distillans spiritualem intellectum, allegoricum, sive moralem, vel anagogicum. Vel quia cuncta divina eloquia incarnationem Domini nostri Jesu Christi praedicant, in qua diversae naturae conjunctae sunt, ut mel in cera, quae patet, absconditum est, ut [cn: 54 | F. *ita.*] in carne divinitas. [1263C] Ideo stillanti favo labia hujus sponsae comparantur, quae divinae incarnationis testimonia non tacere comprobantur.

*Mel et lac sub lingua tua.*

Nam qui ejus praedicant incarnationem, mel et lac sub lingua habent, Deum in dulcedine mellis pronuntiantes, hominem vero innocentem, in lacte quod de terra colligitur, testificantes. Mel namque de coelo est, quia de rore coelesti apes virgo suscipit, conceptum in cera colligit; sic et conceptum Dei Filium de coelo mater virgo concepit, conceptum carne induit, indutum lactis alimonia refocillavit, sicque vitam mundo ex se ipsa repraesentavit. Merito ergo haec sub lingua habere dicuntur, qui haec [1263D] meditantes corde, linguaque testantes, ista memoriter tenent, et praedicantes annuntiant.

*Et odor vestimentorum tuorum sicut odor thuris.*

Vestimenta corpus contegunt, a frigore defendunt, et si lautiora sint, ornatum praebent, et gratiam conferunt possidenti. Hoc animabus virtutes conferunt, sine quibus nudae sunt, et expositae frigoribus quae veniunt ab aquilone, ubi sedem sibi posuit, qui cuncta infrigidare curavit: sed ab hoc frigore animae illae tutae sunt, quae mundum jam reliquerunt, quae Christum arctius secutae audire meruerunt: « Venite ad me, qui laboratis et onerati estis, et ego reficiam vos [n: (Matth. XI, 28.)]: » quos [1264A] quidem bene reficit, dum eis mundum spernere, et Deum quaerere, et in iis tota mente praecipit inhaerere. Vestita quidem anima fide recta, vestita humilitate et poenitentia, vestita confessione et satisfactione omnimoda, cum jam bene sperat de venia, et se omnimoda vestit charitate, et se, quantum potest, in hac exercens sollicitudine, jam vestimentis utitur in quibus Deo placitum est, quorum odor optimus est, et suavis fragrantia, « sicut odor thuris. » Thus quidem igni appositum, odorem ex se dat suavissimum: sic virtutes igni charitatis admistae, bonum hic populis largiuntur exemplum, et gratum Domino dant honorem, et odorem suavissimum. Sequitur:

*[1264B]*

## 12.

*Hortus conclusus soror mea sponsa, hortus conclusus, fons signatus.*

Laude pulchra sororem extulit; oculos ejus et unitatem crinium collaudavit; uberum decorem, et unguentorum odorem, labia, linguamque, cum vestimentorum odore commendavit; jam locum designat ubi talia reponuntur: reponuntur quidem in horto concluso; nec concluso quidem, sed et item concluso. Qui quidem hortus bis conclusus, ipsa esse intelligitur, cui sic dicitur: « Hortus conclusus soror mea sponsa. » Hortus enim dicitur locus amoenus, quo flores redolent, quo diversorum generum vernant areolae, quo balsamo pigmenta et thymiamata respondent, quo fructiferarum arborum quarumlibet umbracula suavem quiescere volenti sedem praestant et habitaculum. Hujusmodi hortus [1264C] Ecclesia est, quae jam a Deo suscepta est, vel in proximo jam suscipienda praeparatur, quae Deo virtutem operum bonorum, sanctitatis etiam speciem (quae balsamo vel aliis speciebus designatur) et umbram qua se Dominus exhibeat, in qua requiescat et oblectetur, seipsam praesentare non tardat. Haec quidem hortus conclusus est. Qua clausura? Claustro quidem fidei; nam illam vera fides undique claudit et munit, ita ut in nulla ejus parte ostium aut foramen hostis inveniat, quo ad illam, tentando, vel aliquatenus oppugnando, accedat: quae item « hortus conclusus » dicitur; sed qua conclusione? ostendit dicens, « Fons signatus; » ac si dicat: Fide clausa es, nec solum fide, sed etiam [1264D] baptismate; baptisma namque suscepit Ecclesia, qui est fons signatus, in nomine Patris, Filii, et Spiritus sancti. Quod ubicunque digne servatum reperit inimicus, fugit, evanescit, et, ut a facie ignis cera, sic quidem liquescit. Sequitur:

13. *Emissiones tuae paradisus malorum punicorum, cum pomorum fructibus.*

« Emissiones » verba sunt bona, et opera, quibus Ecclesia gignit et nutrit martyres, et ad coelum transmittit; alios sancte viventes proximis in exemplum proponit, et sic malorum punicorum fructus emittit. Malum punicum sub rubeo cortice multitudinem granorum claudit, fructus ejus dulciter reficit: [1265A] sic qui pro Christo sanguinem fundunt, congregant sibi multitudinem virtutum: alii qui in pace viventes, bona operantur, proximos instruunt, et reficiunt; et utrique odorem virtutum, tanquam paradisum suavitatis, emittunt: « Paradisus » enim Graece, Latine « Hortus, » vel « irrigatio » dicitur. In nobis vero paradisus est, cum animatur, et vivificatur anima virtutibus, et infusione sancti Spiritus, fructificans plantariis virtutum, in quo principaliter lignum vitae constituit Deus, id est, pietatis radicem; ea est enim vitae nostrae substantia, si Deo debitum cultum deferamus; justus ergo in paradiso maneat, ut contra aestus corporis, et ardorem carnis refrigeretur virtutum umbraculis, et earum tueatur adjumentis; quod est, « cum pomorum [1265B] fructibus. » Mala namque punica sunt, qui hinc suo sanguine laureati discedunt: illi vero fructus, qui solum poma dicuntur, sunt ii qui licet martyres non dicantur, Deum tamen honestate vitae, et verae fidei confessione, prosequuntur. Sequitur:

*Cypri cum nardo. 14. Nardus et crocus, fistula et cinnamomum, cum universis lignis Libani, myrrha et aloe, cum omnibus primis unguentis.*

Hoc ad illud retrahitur quod dictum est, « Emissiones tuae paradisus malorum punicorum: » nec solum mala punica emittuntur a te; imo « cypri cum nardo, » et caetera quae sequuntur, emissiones tuae sunt. Cyprus arbor aromatica est, semine candido, [1265C] et odoris boni, quod in oleo coquitur, et inde unguentum fit quod cyprus dicitur, quo etiam principes inunguntur, ut se aliis in alta virtutibus extollant; et sin cum nardo [cn: 55 | F. *simul nardo*.] quae humilis est, et herba redolens, et calens, charitatemque significans: hoc innuens, ut princeps quantumcunque aliis virtute emineat, semper eis charitate, quae nardo designatur, adhaereat. « Nardus et crocus. » Crocus aurei coloris est, divinam designans sapientiam, quam necesse est ut princeps observet, illud prae oculis habens: « Quanto major es, humilia te in omnibus *(Sirac III, 20)*; » et illud: « Qui se humiliat exaltabitur, et qui se exaltat humiliabitur [n: (Luc. XIV, 31)]. » -- « Fistula et cinnamomum. » Fistula quidem, quae et cassia dicitur, arbor est aromatica, [1265D] sed parva, robusti corticis, et purpurei, quae ad curandas viscerum molestias valet, quae pro sui brevitate, inter herbas odoriferas a quibusdam reputatur: quae humiles spiritu significat, qui Dominicae passionis memores, ad patiendum pro Domino sunt parati. Cinnamomum vero arbor brevis est, sed odorifera et dulcis, cinerei coloris, ad medicinae valens usum, fistulae duplo praestans; illos significans, qui se infirmos reputant, quorum humilitas apud Deum laudem habet et dulcedinem. Et bene post fistulam purpuream cinnamomum cinerei coloris ponitur, quia per recordationem Dominicae passionis, nobis oritur despectus nostrae virtutis. [1266A] « Cum universis lignis Libani. » Sicut enim fistula et cinnamomum, humiles sanctorum cogitationes; sic et ligna Libani, quae alta et robusta sunt, sublimes demonstrant sanctorum actiones et orationes. « Myrrha et aloe cum universis lignis Libani. » Myrrha et aloe sunt continentia carnis, et castimonia, quae putredinem luxuriae mortificant. Myrrha vero corpus imputribile reddit: sic amaritudo et patientia animas muniunt contra carnales concupiscentias, atque defendunt. Species enim aromatum, honor et profectus diversarum virtutum, quae in sanctis sunt. Ex his speciebus, prima et praecipua fiunt unguenta, quae sanant corpora; bene ergo virtutes animarum designant, quibus congregatis, confectis, bonus odor egreditur, et sanitas [1266B] reparatur. Sequitur:

15. *Fons hortorum, puteus aquarum viventium quae fluunt impetu de Libano.*

Sororis a sorore laus ita repetitur, « Fons hortorum, puteus aquarum viventium. » Ipsa enim est, in qua est fons hortorum omnium, id est, Spiritus sanctus, qui Deus hortos irrigat, et in germina producit, et flores, et fructus, et semina, quibus placent, et pro quibus excoluntur, habere facit. Ex ipso namque Scriptura est, quae aquam sapientiae generans reficit, nec manare desistit; quae bene « hortorum » dicitur, quia illorum specialiter est, in quibus virtutes oriuntur, quae superficie tenus est fons, puteus in profundo. Scriptura enim in quibusdam [1266C] locis aperta est, et intellectu facile capitur: in aliis vero obscura, et nisi exposita, non intelligitur. Aquae tamen quae labuntur, viventes sunt, id est, homines, pro quibus datae sunt, si intelligantur, ad vitam utique perducentes: unde dictum est, « Fluminis impetus laetificat civitatem Dei: sanctificavit tabernaculum suum Altissimus. « Quae fluunt cum impetu de Libano [n: (Psal. XLV, 5)]: » quae de Libano coelesti, id est, candore spiritualium et coelestium virtutum effluunt; « cum impetu, » id est impetuose, decurrunt. Magno enim impetu decurrunt in Moysem, qui primordia mundi descripsit, et Deo locutus est tempore quo nullus restiterat [cn: 56 | F. *astiterat*.] homo; magno in prophetas, qui Deum praedixerunt futurum hominem, cum ipse [1266D] jam non esset homo; magno in David, qui sic omnia percurrit mysteria, ut in his nil intactum relinquatur; impetu magno in apostolos, qui mundum denuo innovantes, vitam nobis praedicant, et praedicunt aeternam. Sequitur:

16. *Surge aquilo, et veni auster, perfla hortum meum, et fluant aromata illius.*

Sex distinctam commatibus Sponsae suae laudem Sponsus hucusque audivit, quam se nunc approbare confirmat, dicens, « Surge aquilo. » Imperat enim Deus omni virtuti coelesti, tam illi quae in coelis creata, et ab ipso per elationem mentis reproba facta est, quam ipsis quae cum eo steterunt, [1267A] et ipsi firma charitatis radice conjunctae sunt. Venturus itaque in hortum suum Dominus, ut nil sibi triste occurrat, nilque quo offendatur inveniat, aquiloni potenter praecipit ut surgat, ut ab eo loco longe se faciat, exteras adeat nationes, infrigidet eas, et sibi reddat consimiles. Austro vero praecipit, ut ad hortum suum veniat, et molli flatu suo hunc hortum perflet, sic ut illius fluant aromata, et fiat et placeat Deo habitatio sancta. Ait ergo, « Surge aquilo, » quod est, Recede; nulla mihi tecum societas est, nulla participatio lucis ad tenebras. Veniat meus Spiritus ille, qui meorum colla emolliat, qui petram in aquam convertat; qui Samuelem innocentem juvenem totius populi judicem constituat; qui puerum cytharistam David regem, psalmos [1267B] spiritu prophetiae canentem faciat, qui Danielem juvenem judicem senum, innocentis liberatorem, Amos quoque rusticum ruborum moros distinguentem prophetis ipso spiritu prophetiae coaptet; veniat ille, qui (ut ad moderna recurram tempora) Petrum piscatorem, et Paulum persecutorem, totius Ecclesiae doctores constituat, Matthaeum Telonarium evangelistam, et Mariam Magdalenam praeconem gratiae et resurrectionis, habere voluit; qui (ut hanc memorem a qua inchoata sunt haec omnia) Mariam virginem puram, sanctam, et intactam, in θεοτόκον, hoc est Dei genitricem, consecravit. Hoc igitur hortum meum perflante, « Fluant ejus aromata, » id est, Quae ab aquilone flante constricta erant aromata, id est virtutes Dei et dona, fluent, [1267C] stillabunt, et cunctis fient manifesta, quae hactenus delituerunt. Sequitur:

*Veniat dilectus meus in hortum suum, et comedat fructus pomorum suorum.*

Audito verbo quo facta sunt universa, cui contradicere non est fas, statim discedit aquilo, sanctus adest Spiritus, quo veniente fluunt ejus aromata, et odorem emittunt suavissimum, quem Deo placiturum sperans haec Sponsa, ait: « Veniat dilectus meus in hortum suum. » Non est in horto quod obsit, quod visu, quod odoratu, quod gustu displicere jam possit; veniat ergo in hortum suum, « ut comedat fructum pomorum suorum, » id est, ut poma, quae sunt fructus sui, « comedat, » id est, sibi incorporet, et in corpus suum trajiciat. Haec ergo [1267D] totius deprecatio Ecclesiae generalis est, ut Sponsus in hortum suum, id est, ipsam Ecclesiam spirituali quadam gratia veniat, ligna ejus et herbas ejus, et aromatizantes ejus areolas visitet, et decerpat, diversorum generum poma degustet, quae tot quidem sunt, quot in Ecclesia Dei diversae sunt observantiae, constitutiones, consuetudinesque diversae: haec enim pomorum diversitas, diversarum per mundum Ecclesiarum denotat virtutes, a se quidem in aliquo dissidentes, in Sponsi tamen obsequium procul dubio concurrentes. Poma namque sunt fructus quicunque teneri corticis habentur, quibus optat Sponsa Sponsum suum pasci, id est, omni virtutum genere, quo stant et ministrant Ecclesiae, delectari. [1268A] Haec sicut est Ecclesiae deprecatio generalis, sic esse potest unicuique animae fideli oratio singularis, ut in ipsam, quae ejus hortus esse dignoscitur, veniat, et earum quae in ea sunt virtutum varietate se reficiat. Sequitur:

## CAPUT V.

1. *Veni in hortum meum, soror mea sponsa; messui myrrham meam cum aromatibus meis.*

Retentis desiderio respondet Sponsus, et ea quae petebat, se jam fecisse testatur, dicens: « Veni in hortum meum. » Et quia soror sororem alloquens, diu usa est hoc nomine, « Soror, » ut se conformet ei, eodem sibi respondet vocabulo, dicens, « Soror mea sponsa, » quasi meo mihi sanguine conjuncta et sociata. « Soror, » quia nobis unus [1268B] est Pater, Deus, et una mater, Ecclesia, quae nos suis reficit sacramentis. Ait itaque, « Soror mea sponsa, » ego in hortum meum jamdudum veni, et adventus mei signum istud adhibui, « Messui myrrham meam, id est, Quadam falce mortis praescidi in hac vita, et in cellaria aeternae beatitudinis perduxi, martyres amara passos pro me, vel etiam alios omnes, qui carnem cum vitiis et concupiscentiis crucifixerunt: « Cum aromatibus meis, » hoc est, cum omnibus illis qui fama bonorum operum sunt insignes, et ideo multa veneratione digni et celebres. Hanc quidem myrrham messuit, cum Abel primum martyrem de manu Cain suscepit: hanc quoque messuit, cum Noe, et Abraham, et omnes, quos matris suae semen esse cognovit, a maledicto eripuit. [1268C] Sequitur:

*Comedi favum cum melle meo; bibi vinum meum cum lacte meo.*

Favus in cera mel continet, qui cum sumitur, dulcedine magna sumentem replet: sic cum obscuri praedicator verbi dulcedinem quae in ipso continetur exprimit, Deo quidem complacet, et in eo quantum Deus oblectatur, assumitur, et incorporatur. « Bibi vinum meum cum lacte meo. » Praedicator obscuri verbi complacet, expressa ejus dulcedine; sic et verbi praedicator quod obscurum non est, ejus hilaritate et admista dulcedine complacet, et in ejus corpus assumitur. Sequitur:

*Comedite, amici, et bibite, et inebriamini charissimi.*

[1268D]Invitatus ad hortum deliciarum Sponsus, in eo deliciis usus est, melle quo pastus est, et vino quod bibit: jam nunc, ne suas epulas solus habere videatur, ne solus his perfrui intelligatur, charitatis exercet opus, et amicos suos, virtutes scilicet coelestes, ad easdem invitans, ait, « Comedite amici, » id est, iisdem quibus ego deliciis reficiamini vos quos ab antiquo sensi amicos; et « inebriamini charissimi, » vos quos ego charos habui, cum creavi; et charissimos, cum in charitatis meae gratia confirmavi: « Inebriamini, » id est, omnis sollicitudinis immemores, vino jucunditatis hilares efficiamini. Sequitur:

2. *Ego dormio, et cor meum vigilat.*

[1269A]Venit invitatus ad hortum suum Dominus; melle pastus est, vinoque potus est; quae quidem refectio somni incitamentum est. Unde et [cn: 57 | F. *ut*.] eumdem locum quietis esse, et non operationis laboriosae demonstret, ait Sponsus, « Ego dormio. » Quae quidem dormitio in Abraham completa est; cui post sacrificium dormienti sic ait Dominus, « Scito praenoscens, quod peregrinum futurum sit semen tuum in terra non sua; et subjicient eos servituti, et affligent quadringentis annis. Verumtamen gentem cui servituri sunt, ego judicabo: et posthaec egredientur cum magna substantia. Tu autem ibis ad patres tuos in pace, sepultus in senectute bona. Generatione autem quarta revertentur huc: necdum enim completae sunt iniquitates Amorrhaeorum, [1269B] usque ad praesens tempus [n: (Gen. XV, 13-16)]. » Ecce seni dormienti quam vigilanti corde locutus est Dominus, cui futura in posterum post quadringentos annos, manifeste praedixit [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 12)]. Dormivit et Dominus in Jacob, cujus capiti lapide supposito, vidit scalam stantem super terram, cacumine coelum attingentem, et angelos Dei ascendentes, et descendentes per eam. Ecce quam huic vigili corde locutus est Dominus, ostendens sibi angelos ascendentes, qui bonos, qui virtute deservierant, illique per gratiam operam dederant, Domino, scalae desuper innixo, praesentabant; et descendentes alios, qui involutos peccatis ab iis per gratiam eriperent, et erigerent, et praesentatos [1269C] Domino, cum aliis unum corpus efficerent. Dormivit et Sponsus in Joseph, et corde, id est, anima qua cordis sedes est, plenissime vigilavit [n: (Gen. XXXVII, 7)]: vidit enim se et fratres suos in agro colligare manipulos, suumque sursum stare manipulum, fratrumque manipulos suum circumstantes adorare manipulum. Itemque vidit solem, et lunam, et stellas undecim adorare se [n: (ibid., 11)]. Quorum intelligentiam patri fratribusque Sponsus aperuit; dixerunt enim fratres: « Nunquid rex noster eris? aut subjiciemur ditioni tuae? » [n: (Ibid., 8.)] Modo simili dixit et pater, « Num ego, et mater tua, et fratres tui adorabimus te super terram? » [n: (Ibid., 10.)] Dormit etiam in quibusdam Dominus, et in aliis corde vigilat, cum iis visionis conservat memoriam, aliis [1269D] ejus praebet intelligentiam [n: (Gen. XL)]. Viderunt enim ministri Pharaonis somnia, quae dicentes Joseph, utrique sui somnii intelligentiam perceperunt. Unus enim in locum suum restitutus est [n: (Gen. XLI)]; alter suspensus periit. Dormivit et Pharao, et vigil corde septem boves pingues pascentes in palude, aliasque septem foedas confectasque macie eas devorare, quarum mira erat species et corporum habitudo, conspexit. Spicas quoque tenues et uredine percussas, aliarum septem spicarum devorasse pulchritudinem, se vidisse testatus est. Cui cum in corde vigilavit ad intelligentiam, qui sibi septem annorum futuram copiam; et septem annorum inediam [1270A] declaravit. Dormivit quoque in Nabuchodonosor Sponsus, qui cum videret visionem, ei nec ad memoriam, nec ad intelligentiam revelata est; quae nimirum Danieli ex corde vigili patefacta est, cum diceret: « Tu rex videbas, et ecce quasi statua grandis. Hujus caput erat ex auro optimo, pectus autem et brachia de argento [n: (Dan. II, 31, 32)]. » Sic quidem ei somnium revelavit, et consequenter ei mysterium et intelligentiam ejus ostendit. Tale igitur est quod dicitur, « Ego dormio, » id est, quos volo dormire facio; dum vero sensus sopitur exterior, mens interior libere quae corde vigili Deus providet haec contemplatur. Quod si ad passionem referas, tale est quod dicitur, « Ego dormio, » id est, in cruce mortis laborem sustinens, deinceps a [1270B] morte quiesco. « Cor » tamen « meum, » id est, Dei sapientia, cui cor meum sedes est, ipsa « vigilat, » id est, vigilanter omnia conservat, ordinat, atque disponit. Sequitur:

*Vox dilecti mei pulsantis, aperi, soror mea, amica, columba mea, immaculata mea.*

Dum dormit in horto Sponsus, post moram longam ne secreta ejus improbe videantur, haec ipsa inquirere, sponso in eodem loco sub amicorum custodia relicto, in suum se receptat habitaculum haec sponsa. Hunc tamen corde meditans, hunc quaerens, seque praeparans, ut venienti sibi digne possit occurrere, et venienti placita praeparare. Sponsus vero post moram a somno excitatus, hanc abcessisse, suique sollicitam esse cognoscens, hoc [1270C] agit quod amantis est, hanc sequitur, clausum reperiens ostium, ad hoc pulsat, dicens: « Aperi mihi, soror mea; » ac si dicat, Venientem ad te me suscipe; habitaculum quaerenti in te, non me respuas; sed oris ostium, cordis habitaculum in te mihi studeas aperire, qui te solam quaerens desidero invenire, quae « soror mea, amica mea, immaculata mea, columba mea es. » In quibus declarandis nominibus immorari opus non est, cum ex jam dictis facile queant intelligi. Opus tamen est, ut attendamus quantum velit audiri, qui eam tot affectuosis nominibus ad se voluit evocari. Sequitur:

*Quia caput meum plenum est rore, et cincinni mei guttis noctium.*

[1270D]Causam cur sibi Sponsus aperiri postulat, his verbis ostendit, dicens: « Quia caput meum plenum est rore. » Sic enim se non sub tecto, sed in horto recubuisse, et obdormiisse demonstrat; hortus enim, ut dictum est, tectum non habet; nullum sub tecto suscipit, sed in hoc quiescenti sanctarum praebent arborum umbracula sancta remedium. Unde ait, hic ego de nocte obdormiens, caput plenum rore reporto, et cincinnos guttis noctium: *Ros etenim de nocte venit, de nocte subintrat*
*Herbas, et quanto distenditur illa tenore*
*Hanc sequitur, summoque sedens in vertice guttam*
*Efficit, et pluviae quamdam sic efficit umbram*.

[1271A]Hic ros est, quo revirescunt herbae, quo plantaria germinant, quo terrae foecunditas aperitur, et jucunditas cunctis in commune copiose diffunditur. Volens igitur Sponsus, Sponsam suam hoc rore perfundi, volens, ipsam his guttis, quae de nocte, id est, citra conscientiam hominum formantur, adimpleri, sibi postulat aperiri, dicens: « Aperi mihi; » causamque subjiciens, ait: « Quia caput meum plenum est rore. Caput enim Christi Deus est, cui omnis plenitudo sapientiae et scientiae inesse dignoscitur, quem, qui Christum suscipiunt, in se quidem habere, et ejus dona, cognoscuntur; et « guttis noctium, » id est, virtutibus coelestibus, quae illis de nocte, id est, homine nondum existente, aut earum conscientiam habente, collatae [1271B] sunt. Sequitur:

3. *Exspoliavi me tunica mea, quomodo induar illa? lavi pedes meos, quomodo inquinabo illos?*

Audiens Sponsa vocem pulsantis Sponsi, et ad se ingredi cupientis, rore quem inferre cupit Sponsus, guttisque noctium nondum intellectis, expavescit, et non respondens Sponso, sibi loquitur, sibique verba facit, dicens, « Exspoliavi me tunica mea, quomodo induar illa? » Putans enim, se ad conversationem pristinam et antiquam revocari, et ob necessitatem proximi mundanis hisce negotiis implicari timens, et conquerens, nec tamen Sponso respondens, sibi ait, « Exspoliavi me tunica mea, » id est, conversatione antiqua privata sum, et ad Christum in baptismate conversa sum, huic bonorum [1271C] praedicatione connexa sum: illam quonam modo jam induam? in quonam modo complectar quod nesciam? unde ait, « Lavi pedes meos, quomodo inquinabo illos? » Ejus quidem pedes, affectiones suae sunt, quas lavit credendo, exhortationibus sanctorum acquiescendo, Paulum audiendo, qui ait, « Non in commessationibus et in ebrietatibus, non in cubilibus et impudicitiis, non in contentione et aemulatione. Sed induimini Dominum Jesum Christum [n: (Rom. XIII, 13, 14)]. » Has quonammodo inquinabo? qualiter ab eis recedendo, me ad mores saeculi quos abjeceram, inclinabo? Ad actionem quidem saeculi redire metuendum est, quae sine peccato diu administrari non potest. Sequitur:

[1271D]

## 4.

*Dilectus meus misit manum suam per foramen, et venter meus intremuit ad tactum ejus.*

Excusatione apud se reverenter praemissa, nec tamen Sponso responsione facta, quid sibi dilectus fecerit, consequenter ostendit, dicens: « Dilectus meus misit manum suam per foramen, et venter meus intremuit ad tactum ejus. » Unde beatus Gregorius sic ait, « Larga est misericordia Dei, quae omnibus post peccata conversis aeque januam vitae aperit, ut mysteria patriae coelestis cognoscant, noscendo sitiant, sitiendo currant, currendo perveniant. » Haec secreta visitationis supernae senserat [1272A] ille, qui ait, « Sitivit anima mea ad Deum vivum [n: (Psal. XLI, 3)]: » et beatus Paulus dicens, « Cupio dissolvi, et esse cum Christo [n: (Phil. I, 23)]. » Beatus etiam Ambrosius hinc ait, foramen nostrum, id est, quo videmus opera Christi, oculus, scilicet, mentis, per quem Christus intrat, quo ipsum Deum esse vere cognoscimus, quo ipsi cum Propheta jucundissime decantamus, « Mirabilia testimonia tua, Domine, ideo scrutata est ea anima mea [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 119)]. » Itemque illud, « Testimonia tua credibilia facta sunt nimis [n: (Psal. XCII, 5)]. » Quae quidem testimonia, ejus mira sunt opera, quae, cunctis admirantibus, gessit in carne. Hinc paralyticos restituens, leprosos mundans, mortuos suscitans, omnesque denique curans aegritudines, [1272B] verbo solo, quo cuncta creata sunt et manent in aeternum. Quae videns mundus, et admirans testimonia, vera esse perhibuit; quae si falsa forent, nullum perciperent ex falsitate virtutis effectum. Unde ait, « Venter meus, » id est, Ego totus venter effectus, intremui et expavi. Venter namque osse caret, firmitate nulla participat, quod intromittitur hoc recipit, et decoctum reddit: sic et nostra humanitas, divinis non obsistens operibus, tota contremit, Deum factum hominem expavescit; quae tamen desuper data sunt, haec ore cognoscit, corde diligit, et donis Spiritus sancti attacta, contremiscendo, ait, « Venter meus intremuit ad tactum ejus. Attacta vero, quid egerit demonstrat, dicens:

*[1272C]*

## 5.

*Surrexi, ut aperirem dilecto meo: manus meae stillaverunt myrrham.*

« Surrexi, » id est, a me peccatorum onus quo aggravabar excussi. Unde dictum est, « Surge qui dormis, et exsurge a mortuis, et illuminabit te Christus [n: (Ephes. V, 14)]. » Surgens, quoque alios, ut surgerent, commonui: his in me boni operis exemplar ostendi, et ostium, quo ad dilectum ingrederentur, aperiens, manibus eis meis myrrham primam stillavi, et digitis meis myrrham probatissimam. Myrrha vero, qua mortuorum corpora inunguntur, et a putredine et corruptela defenduntur, mortificationem carnis designat, qua bene spiritus inungitur, dum per continentiam salutarem, quae fit [1272D] per jejunia, per abstinentiam, per vigilias, et caetera hujusmodi, caro a luxuriae illecebris revocatur, et beato continentiae fine decoratur: hanc se suis manibus stillasse, id est, in cunctis suis operibus demonstrasse perhibet, dicens, « Manus meae stillaverunt myrrham. » Ideoque « primam » adjicit, quia quae prima ab arbore defluit, haec efficacius a corruptela corpora custodit. Hanc vero se stillasse demonstrat, ut in parcimoniae studiis se plurimum invigilasse ostendat. Sequitur:

*Et digiti mei pleni myrrha probatissima.*

Quo in loco virtutem « discerptionis » [cn: 60 | F. *discretionis*] aperit: per digitos enim, discretio demonstratur: [1273A] quia [cn: 61 | F. *quod*.] post digiti tactu tangitur, id certa quadam ratione mentis intelligitur. Unde ne ad hanc castitatis custodiam modus excedatur, adjectum est, « Digiti mei pleni myrrha probatissima. » Probata quidem myrrha est cum uxore, probatior cum vidua continente, probatissima cum virgine sancta permanente. Sequitur:

6. *Pessulum ostii mei aperui dilecto meo.*

Ne solum in castitatis continentia accessus ad dilectum demonstretur, hoc adjicitur: « Ostii mei aperui pessulum, » id est, taciturnitatem oris, qua hucusque detinebar, amovi, et os meum aperui, et attraxi spiritum, et quia mandata tua desiderabam, ea quae mihi servanda mandasti, quaeque a tuis omnibus mandari et custodiri voluisti, haec [1273B] aperui, haec ut servarentur commonui, ut sic ad Sponsum accederent, et complacerent dilecto meo. Sequitur:

*At ille declinaverat, atque transierat.*

Dictum est, hanc surrexisse ut aperiret, ac aptasse manus, id est, opera, ut praedicaret; hanc continentiam cunctis monuisse, ut sic Sponso accederent, sicque possulum ostii amovisse, ut Christo cuncti cohaererent, et ipsum sic possiderent. « At ille declinaverat, » ne apprehensus teneretur; « atque transierat, » id est, quod de eo dici potest aut promitti, longe superans, in amoenitatem illam se receperat, quam nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, quae praeparat ipse diligentibus se. Quod quidem sic agitur, ut [1273C] nec torpens anima eum desistat quaerere, nec laborans eum plene se aestimet comprehendisse. Sequitur:

*Anima mea liquefacta est ut locutus est.*

Transierat hic dilectus; sed ecce, de more suo, jam redit. Pulsaverat, aperiri sibi postulabat, cumque ad aperiendum sibi Sponsa consurgeret, ipse pertransiit, nec inveniri se etiam a quaerente permisit. Interioris hominis hic actus est; hic enim Deum quandoque quaerit, et non invenit. Invenitur etiam cum piger hunc quaerere jam desistit. Ecce enim Sponsa haec jam surrexit, pessulum ut aperiret jam tenuit, non invento qui pulsabat, secum stupens astitit; sed stupentem et mirantem Deus [1273D] hanc considerans, ne eam sua diu affligat absentia, redit ut hanc consoletur, ut suo haec alloquio exhilaretur. Signa igitur sui adventus haec sunt. Ut ad ignem cera, ad solem candida nix liquescit, sic ad adventum Sponsi sui haec Sponsa liquefacta est, et a sua, quam jam in se pigritia et duritia collegerat, immutata. Sic enim ait, « Anima mea liquefacta est, » id est, de dura et impoenitenti, poenitens; de impatienti, compatiens; de immisericordi, misericors; de omni vitiorum statu, quae in me experiri jam coeperam, in contrarium virtutis statum pertransiens, liquefio, et Deo jam juncta congaudeo. Sic quidem, cum peccata plangit propria, cum [1274A] aliena deplorat incommoda, vel commissa, cum statum plangit hujus miseriae, cui ex necessitate subjicitur, sic cum dilationem plangit futurae gloriae, ad quam non ex voto suscipitur, liquitur quidem, dicens, « Anima mea liquefacta est. » Haec quidem sunt quatuor flumina Paradisi, quibus se lavant fideles animae, quibus se purgant, quibus peccata abluunt, virtutes enutriunt, et in conspectu divinae majestatis, sine macula et ruga digne et munde assistunt. Suam vero dicit animam, omnes qui ab Adam usque in finem, nasciturum, vel natum ex Virgine Christum, Dei Filium, mundumque morte sua redempturum, crediderint; quas omnes, ob unitatem fidei, velut unam nominans, ait, « Anima mea liquefacta est. » Subdit vero, « Ut locutus [1274B] est. »

Quod ut diligentius attendatur, illud beati Pauli considerandum est; ait enim, « Multifariam multisque modis olim Deus loquens Patribus in prophetis. Novissime diebus istis locutus est nobis in Filio [n: (Hebr. I, 1, 2)]. » Hic quidem in prophetis « multifariam » locutus est, id est, per multa verba magna enim multiplicitas sententiarum, quas per eos Dominus locutus est, non poterat paucis explicari: contracta namque brevitas obscuritatem gignit, quae nimirum obscuritas intelligentiam non admittit. « Multisque modis, » per ipsos locutus est; nunc quidem historice, nunc allegorice, nunc tropologice, nunc anagogice verba commiscens. « Novissime vero locutus est nobis in Filio *(Matth. [1274C] IV, 17)*, » quem de sinu Patris emissum, per matris viscera prolatum, mundus audivit docentem et dicentem: « Poenitentiam agite, appropinquavit enim regnum coelorum [n: (Matth. V, 3)]. » Item illud, « Beati pauperes spiritu, quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. » Beati mites, beati qui lugent, beati qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam, beati misericordes, beati mundo corde, beati pacifici, beati qui persecutionem patiuntur propter justitiam, ipsorum enim est regnum coelorum. Viderunt et opera mira dictu, venientem ad se leprosum, cui dixit Jesus: « Mundare [n: (Matth. VIII, 3)], » et confestim mundata est lepra ejus [n: (ibid., 13)]: dicentem etiam centurioni: « Vade, et sicut credidisti, fiat tibi [1274D] [n: (ibid., 14)]: » et sanatus est puer ejus in illa hora; tangentem socrum Simonis febricitantem, quae statim sanata est. Viderunt etiam omnes malignos spiritus ejicientem verbo, et universos caecos, mutos, surdos, et claudos, et omnes male habentes, curantem; sic vero loquentem, signisque sequentibus verba firmantem, et, ut mortis et vitae Dominus crederetur, mortuos suscitantem, seque ipsum morti datum, ac in sepulcro repositum, suscitantem, et hanc resurrectionem suis in se [cn: 62 | F. add. *credentibus*.] in aeterna vita repromittentem, quid nisi mirari, stupescere, et credere, et adorare potuerunt? Ab ipso vero audientes, quod in die ultimo cuncta ad judicium [1275A] adducturus est, et bonis dicturus, « Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)]. » Esurivi enim, et sitivi, nudus, et hospes fui, infirmus, et in carcere, et in his omnibus juvistis me. Quid nisi liquefieri potuerunt, sic ut sua venderent, et omnia pauperibus erogarent, seque ipsos illis darent, atque subjicerent, ut sic Evangelium adimplerent. Recte ergo haec omnis anima liquefacta est, ut Dilectus locutus est. Nihil enim est quod Pater plus Filio diligat, cui sua voce in Baptismo testimonium perhibet, dicens, « Hic est Filius meus dilectus [n: (Matth. III, 17)], » quem prae omnibus qui in mundo sunt, diligo, eo quod ipsum in omni cogitatu, verbo, et opere, per omnia justum invenio. [1275B] Sequitur:

*Quaesivi, et non inveni illum.*

Anima haec, vel Sponsa Dei testificata est, quod ipsa ad vocem Dilecti liquefacta est; unde possit intelligi, se ipsum comprehendisse, et ex amica hac locutione suis finem laboribus invenisse. Quod ne quis corde concipiat, adnectit, dicens, « Quaesivi, et non inveni illum. » Omnes enim electae animae hunc quaerunt; ejus praesentiae [cn: 62* | F. add. *una cum*.] suis suscitatae corporibus assistere cupiunt; quod quia nondum est, sed certissime futurum repromittitur, ait, « Quaesivi, » id est, omnium eorum resuscitationem petii, et omnium laborum quibus Deum quaerimus, et ad ipsum anhelamus, imponi fidem desideravi. Hunc quidem optavi, nec tamen inveni, [1275C] quia usque ad diem praefinitum a Patre ejus erit exspectatio, et omnium certa remuneratio. Scriptum tamen est, « Omnis qui petit, accipit, et qui quaerit, invenit, et pulsanti aperietur [n: (Matth. VII, 8)]. » Quod quidem tale est, Omne tempus quo vivimus, quo currimus, Deo praesens est; est enim aeternitas, praesentarius status omnium eorum quae fuerunt, quae sunt, vel quae futura sunt, cum itaque Dominus in medio circuli residens, uno tueatur intuitu, quae fuerunt, quae sunt, et quae futura sunt, sibi cuncta haec praesentia judicantur, a quo uno intuitu, perspicue contuentur. Ait itaque, « Omnis qui petit, accipit, » id est, omnis qui in veritate postulat aeternam sibi vitam dari, et qui quaerit sibi [1275D] incorruptionem Sanctorum dari, et qui pulsat in hoc multiplicatis precibus, ut in illa detur sanctorum sibi gloria suscipi; ille quidem, cum illa dies aderit, hoc accepturus, hoc inventurus, et in illam gloriam vere introducendus est, de qua dictum est, « Volo, Pater, ut ubi ego sum, illic sit et minister meus [n: (Joan. XVII, 24)]. » Sequitur:

*Vocavi, et non respondit mihi.*

Clamat utique ad Deum omnis anima electa, dicens, « Deus, in adjutorium meum intende [n: (Psal. LXIX, 2)], » ut si quando tentat qui malignus est, ei vestra obstet gratia, ne ad effectum peccati perducat, quod ipso instigante conceptum est. Addit [1276A] etiam, « Domine, ad adjuvandum me festina [n: (ibid.)], » ac si dicat, Tu, Deus, qui nos, dum tentamur, adjuvando protegis, festina ut nos ad illum perducas statum, quo nos nec ejus suggestio movere possit, nec ad malum ulla ejus tentatio inclinare: quod quidem tunc fiet, cum omnis electorum multitudo angelis Dei associabitur, et nec nubent, nec nuptui tradent, sed ut angeli Dei sic erunt. Sequitur:

7. *Invenerunt me custodes qui circumeunt civitatem; percusserunt me, et vulneraverunt me, tulerunt pallium meum mihi custodes murorum. 8. Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, si inveneritis Dilectum meum, ut nuntietis ei quia amore langueo.*

## 5. (cont.)

Dixit, quia non inventus est quem quaesivit, nec respondit ei qui vocatus est. Unde jure dici poterat [1276B] et aestimari, quod eam Sponsus suo reliquerat consilio, et transeuntibus occupandam jure permiserit; quod removet dicens, « Invenerunt me custodes civitatis. » Civitas Dei Ecclesia sancta est; qui in ea regnat, qui omnia ejus jura disponit, huic ipse custodes adhibet, qui eam et peccare, et per latam viam quae multos ducit ad mortem, ingredi prohibeant, et arctam viam virtutum, quam pauci norunt, eam arripere, et per portam strictam intrare, quousque ad aeternam vitam perveniat, diligenter edoceant. Hi custodes Ecclesiae sunt, quos suo Spiritu Dominus edocet, quos spiritu sapientiae et intellectus, spiritu consilii et fortitudinis, scientiae et pietatis, et spiritu timoris amplius replet; et hunc per Ecclesiam jubet diffundere, ut Deum cujus hic [1276C] Spiritus est, secure queant apprehendere. Hi vero, quibus haec animarum est commissa custodia, attendentes hanc animam, vel hanc animarum multitudinem quaerentem Deum, et in hoc ipso laborantem, ut inveniat, hanc misericorditer, hanc devote suscipiunt. His vitae verba praedicant, in his si qua supersunt peccata, mortificant, et in eo quem susceperunt, jam divinitatis amore amplius et acrius inflammant. Hoc itaque est quod dicitur, « Invenerunt me custodes civitatis: percusserunt me, et vulneraverunt me. » Illa enim verba bene percutiunt, quae peccata occidunt; et illa bene vulnerant, quae amorem Dei jam conceptum, amplius inardescere faciunt, et magnificant. « Tulerunt pallium [1276D] meum mihi custodes murorum. » Custodes Ecclesiarum Praelatos earum jam diximus. Qui sint vero custodes murorum ejus, jam dicendum est. Dictum enim est, muro tuo inexpugnabili circumcinge nos, Domine, et armis potentiae tuae protege nos semper. Haec enim civitas muro cingitur, qui ne suffodiatur alicubi, custodia opus est, ne si hosti ingressus alicubi pateat, qui intus est secure jam minus dormiat. Hic itaque murus Ecclesiae, fides est, quae si alicubi interrupta patuerit, quies inhabitanti cuique civi jam minus erit. Sed hanc cives coelestes, Angeli, scilicet, Dei, custodiunt, in hoc dantes operam, ne illam perforet Sathan, ne in aliqua [1277A] parte fidei Ecclesiam scandalizari aut perturbari permittant. Hi itaque sunt custodes Ecclesiae, angeli, scilicet, Dei, ipsam quidem circumeuntes et circumvallantes, et dantes operam, ne fides in aliqua sui parte rumpatur, et spes in aliquo minuatur, et Dei charitas, quae virtus suprema est, infrigidata corrumpatur. Hi vero custodes pallium Ecclesiae tollunt, fidem in ea firmantes, spem roborantes, charitatem in ea radicantes, ut nihil jam sit, terrena haec quaeque despicere, dum soli Christo possit adhaerere. Et hoc quidem est quod dicit, « Tulerunt pallium meum custodes murorum. » Pallium quidem exterius operimentum est, id est, tota haec terrena substantia, quae propter Ecclesiam creata est: hac Ecclesia se protegit, se munit. [1277B] Hanc vero totam deserit atque contemnit, cum jam Deo dari et appropinquari se conspicit. Orat ergo dicens, « Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, » id est, Virtutes coelestes, quae hujus miseriae participes in nullo estis, quae soli Jerusalem coelesti totum debetis quod estis, quod sapitis, quod nos protegitis; « Si inveneritis Dilectum meum » (quod quidem certum est quod invenietis), « ut nuntietis ei, quia amore langueo, » id est, a terrenis omnibus ejus amore conquiesco. Sequitur:

9. *Qualis est Dilectus tuus ex Dilecto, o pulcherrima mulierum? Qualis est Dilectus tuus ex Dilecto, quia sic adjurasti nos? 10. Dilectus meus candidus et rubicundus, electus ex millibus.*

[1277C]Adjuratae filiae Jerusalem ut amorem languentis hujus Dilecto nuncient, ne errent, ne amorem forte datum alteri, praesentent alteri, sciscitantur quo signo suum cognoscant Dilectum, ne ab eis in incertum deferatur amoris nuncium. Dicunt itaque, « O pulcherrima mulierum! » Quam quidem dicunt pulcherrimam, quia nihil est spiritualis pulchritudinis, quo anima in hac vita Deo placere possit, quod non habeat Ecclesia in se, quod non repraesentet ex se. Illam non curat pulchritudinem de qua ait Salomon, « Fallax gratia, et vana est pulchritudo [n: (Prov. XXXI, 30)]: » illam vero quae sequitur, « Mulier timens Dominum, ipsa laudabitur [n: (ibid.)]: » hanc suscipit, hanc Domino offerre non ambigit. Innumerae quidem virtutes sunt quae ex timore, [1277D] multae quae ex amore proveniunt; quas quidem omnes si numeres, has in Ecclesia nobile quidem munus, quod Deo praesentari dignum sit, invenies. Hanc ergo digne sic nominat, « O pulcherrima mulierum! Qualis est Dilectus tuus? » Quo signo nobis elucidas, ut agnoscamus illum quem diligis, et agnoscamus Patrem ejus a quo missus est, quem et tu diligis. Quod quia valde divinum est, et utriusque naturae in Christo capacissimum, geminat interrogationem suam, dicens item, « Qualis est Dilectus tuus ex Dilecto, quia sic adjurasti nos? Dilectus meus candidus et rubicundus. » Haec Dilecti descriptio est, quam sub [cn: 63 | F. *binario*.] duodenario comprehendit numero, [1278A] dicens, « Dilectus meus candidus et rubicundus; » in quo geminam in Christo Jesu Domino nostro comprehendit naturam: unam, quae divina est; alteram, quae est humana. Divinam quidem comprehendit, dicens, « Candidus est: » humanam vero, addens, « Et rubicundus. » Divina quidem natura candidus est, nil sibi admistum retinens; non nigrum quid, aut rufum, aut aliquid medio colore coloratum: sed ipse candidus, immo candor ipse, in omnes creaturas suas dispergens se: et cum in omnibus luceat, nihil sibi minuit, sed totus integer ipse manet in se. Sic itaque candidus est, quia vere Deus est, vere lux est, vere simplex bonum est, quod per sua cuncta diffusum est, et in se manens unum bonum simplex est. Hic vero naturam diu [1278B] miseratus humanam, post annorum plura millia descendit in Virginem, et ex ipsa sumens carnem, sibique creans animam, homo factus venit in mundum, de mundo sibi quosdam eligens, quibus ipse dixit, « Non vos me elegistis, sed ego elegi vos [n: (Joan. XV, 16)], prius per se, post per illos, postmodum mundum edocens, virtutes faciens, quibus cum mundus contraire non posset, ejus in mortem machinatus est crucem, corpus ejus in sepulchro deposuit, a quo, cum voluit, resurrexit, et ad consolandos discipulos in terris postmodum quadraginta dies exstitit, et cunctis qui aderant videntibus, coelum postmodum potenter ascendit. Hic in cruce positus, quia suo sanguine, cujus rubor color [1278C] est, mundum redemit, merito rubicundus dictus est; ita ut in ejus memoriam et laudem Sponsa dicat, « Dilectus meus candidus, et rubicundus, » addat etiam, « Electus ex millibus. » Ad hoc enim solus ille ex omnium hominum millibus eligi debuit et potuit, qui culpas hominum tergeret, qui culpas hominum non haberet, sed esset ut agnus innocens, qui mundi peccata tolleret, et innocentia sua noxas omnium in se credentium evacuaret; de quo David, « Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum; diffusa est gratia in labiis tuis [n: (Psal. XLIV, 3)]; » de quo Isaias, « Quis est iste qui venit de Edom, tinctis vestibus de Bozra? » [n: (Isa. LXIII, 1.)] Sequitur:

11. *Caput ejus aurum optimum. Comae ejus sicut [1278D] elatae palmarum, nigrae quasi corvus.*

Incipit a capite ejus commendatio, quod auro comparatur. Nam sicut aurum optimum cunctis concupiscibilibus pretiosius est; ita et Deus omnibus quae concupisci et desiderari possunt, pretiosior occurrit. « Comae ejus sicut elatae palmarum. » Elatae palmarum partes in palma superiores dicuntur; hae vero victoriae signum praeferebant; has enim ferentes victores, quasi in bello se partem supremam, id est, victoriam obtinuisse declarabant. Comae ergo ejus capiti adhaerentes, et ornatum capiti praebentes, fideles sunt, Deo in omnibus obedientes, mandata ejus servantes, et quod dicto [1279A] praedicant, facto id adimplentes, sicque in pugna vitae hujus, victoriam se palmae obtinuisse gratulantes. Sequitur, « Nigrae quasi corvus, » quia ii etsi virtute proficiant, nigros se ut corvos fore protestantur. Sequitur:

12. *Oculi ejus sicut columbae super rivulos aquarum, quae lacte sunt lotae, et resident juxta fluenta plenissima.*

Id est, viri spirituales, qui ad videnda ejus mysteria perspicaces et acuti sunt, sunt « sicut colombae quae lacte sunt lotae. » Lac quidem quo has lavari oportet, rationabilis sensus est sine dolo; unde dictum est, « Sicut modo geniti infantes, rationabile sine dolo lac concupiscite. » [n: (I Petr. II, 2.)] « Et [1279B] resident juxta fluenta plenissima, » id est, juxta antiquorum Patrum scripta plenissima, quibus nihil nisi veritas edocetur, et simplicitas per omnia commendatur. Sequitur:

13. *Genae illius sicut areolae aromatum consitae a pigmentariis.*

Genarum quidem multiplex usus est; hae quidem cibum suscipiunt, molunt, et in corpus trajiciunt. Hic quoque verecundiae locus est, ad quem sanguis egreditur, dum se minus juste dixisse aliquid vel fecisse quis verecundatur. His verba formantur quae Christum edocent, et illi credere, illum corde sequi et opere nos oportere praemonstrant. « Areolae » vero quae « a pigmentariis, » iis, scilicet, qui pigmentorum [1279C] vires dignoscunt, « consitae sunt, » Scripturae sunt Prophetarum et doctorum, quas cum suscipimus, cum in corda nostra trajicimus, cum haec avidis auditoribus enunciamus, quid nisi corporis Christi genae efficimur, id per omnia caventes, ne quid dicamus aut faciamus quod erubescat verecundia, et haec fide et opere impleamus, quo auditorum ad Christum cura crescat, et intelligentia. Sequitur:

*Labia ejus lilia distillantia myrrham primam.*

Quod est, Hi labia ejus recte dicendi sunt, qui sunt ut lilia stillantia primam myrrham. Labia quidem coelestia Deo recte suavitatem odoris stillantia, ea sunt Angelorum agmina, quae cum primis agminibus [1279D] a Virtute superna, quae Deus est, creata sunt, et illis peccantibus, et pari cum Deo potestate regnare volentibus, id [cn: 64 | F. *spr* (TRUNCATED ON THE PLATE — not illegible; confirmed in both copies)] expreverunt, et se Deo, a quo creati sunt, in omni humilitate et obedientia devoventes, superbiam et inobedientiam, quae prima exstiterunt peccata, mentis suae pedibus calcaverunt. Haec quidem myrrha prima exstitit, quia prima mortificatio peccati illa fuit; et omnes, qui eo modo peccata mortificare suadent, recte Dei dicuntur labia, et quod ei cordi est, suadentia. Sequitur:

14. *Manus illius tornatiles aureae, plenae hyacinthis.*

## 5. (cont.)

[1280A]Per ejus manus recte opera debere intelligi, manifestum est. Cum enim auro nil pretiosius, nil charius esse intelligatur, recte manus ejus aureae, id est, omni pretiosiores opere intelliguntur. Quae enim iis opera comparentur? Surdos fecit audire, mutos loqui, caecis visionem reddidit, paralyticos curavit, leprosos mundavit, mortuos suscitavit, mari et ventis imperavit, daemones effugavit, se quoque jam mortuum suscitavit, suis se post mortem demonstravit, et sic in coelum victor manifestus ascendit. Nulla his chariora, nulla pretiosiora sunt; quae quidem et tornatiles recte dicuntur. In operationibus nulla tornatura facilior: sedet enim qui torno efficit, et incompositam quamcunque materiam sic torno componit, sic explicat, ut quod nunc rude [1280B] erat et incompositum, hoc aptissimae reddat formae jam levigatum: huic leprosus offerebatur, et verbo uno curabatur; offerebatur mortuus, et uno verbo curatus abibat vivus. Recte ergo manus ejus « tornatiles, » id est, leviter curantes, intelliguntur, quae solo sic verbo cuncta operantur, ut nunc esse melius quam fuerant advertantur. Unde et additur, « plenae hyacinthis. » Hyacinthus enim lapis est, cujus color coeli est quando serenum est. Ut haec igitur omnia de coelo esse intelligas, et in terris coeli virtutem non ambigas, adjunctum est, « plenae hyacinthis, » id est, plenae coelestibus operibus bonis. Huic concordat quod sequitur:

*Venter ejus eburneus, distinctus sapphiris.*

Venter ea pars nostri corporis est, quae levius [1280C] suscipit laesionem; unde et hic eam Domini naturam significat, humanam, scilicet, qua laedi, qua infirmari, qua cruci quoque affligi potuit, ut de eo dictum est, « Vere languores nostros ipse tulit, et dolores nostros ipse portavit [n: (Isa. LIII, 4)]. » Qui tamen venter hic dicitur « eburneus, » ut ejus firmitas quae ex passione suscepta est, demonstraretur; est enim ebur solidissimum, candidissimum, et veniente tempore, de candido fit rubicundum. Quae quidem omnia Christo competunt; ejus enim candor castitatis incomparabilis exstitit, cui nullus in filiis hominum aequari potuit, testante Psalmista, qui ait, « Speciosus forma prae filiis hominum [n: (Psal. XLIV, 3)]. » Est et in ea firmitas, quae corrumpi non [1280D] potuit; unde ejus anima descendente ad inferos, ipsa impediri non potuit, quia nullum in ea, quo teneretur, peccatum fuit: caro quoque in sepulchro post mortem nil pertulit, quia utrimque peccatum abfuit, quo et corruptela, et animae calumnia possit adjici. Unde Psalmista, « Non derelinques animam meam in inferno; nec dabis sanctum tuum videre corruptionem [n: (Psal. XV, 10)]. » Quod vero longo haec tempore rubicunda efficitur, [cn: 65 | f. *martyrum notat passiones*.] martyrium notat passionis, qui ipsum imitantes, longo post tempore ad supplicium sua corpora tradiderunt, et jam in aeternum cum ipso vivere meruerunt. Quae quidem Sapphiris distincta est, id est, horum [1281A] coelestibus martyriis [cn: 66 | F. *adornatur*.] adornatum. Sequitur:

15. *Crura illius columnae marmoreae, quae fundatae sunt super bases aureas.*

Hoc praedicatoribus recte aptatur, qui per mundum currunt, qui Christi nomen evehunt, recte existentes et solidi, et in omni sua praedicatione basibus aureis, id est, locutionibus propheticis confirmati. Ab auro sicut incipit, sic in auro consummatur, ut prudens lector habeas quod vere de Christo intelligas. Sequitur:

*Species ejus ut Libani, electus ut cedri.*

Libanus sylva magna est, prope Jordanem incipiens, seseque in altum, in longum quoque usque ad Oceanum Orientalem extendens: praecipuae ejus [1281B] arbores, cupressus, et cedrus sunt; quorum folia albicantia silvae nomen praestant, ut Libanus dicatur; est enim Libanus, « Candidatio. » In hac habitationes speciosae sunt et delectabiles; ita ut si quis in eas perveniat, nulla sibi redeundi cura sit, aut cum hominibus habitatione delectetur. Haec Deo species attribuitur, qui candor est animarum, et omnium oblectatio virtutum, ad quem qui pervenerit, nulla sibi ad humana redeundi voluntas est, nulla in anima praeteritorum recordatio. Quare? quia ipse est « electus ut cedri. » Cedri quippe, Libani arbores sunt, in longum sursum erectae, mirabiliter et nobiliter comatae, imputribiles, odoriferae, corrosiones vermium non timentes. Ad hanc gloriam qui pervenit, satis illi est hac ipsa gloria [1281C] honorari. Sequitur:

16. *Guttur illius suavissimum, et totus desiderabilis: talis est Dilectus meus, et ipse est amicus meus, filiae Jerusalem.*

Quid hoc gutture, nisi Novi Testamenti emissio, designatur? Praecessit enim Vetus, quo dictum est: « Reddet homo animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente [n: (Exod. XXI, 24)], » et caetera quae sequuntur. Novo vero quid dictum est? « Si quis percusserit te in maxilla una, praebe ei maxillam alteram: et ei qui vult tecum judicio contendere, et tunicam tuam tollere, dimitte ei et pallium. Et quicunque angariaverit te mille passus, vade cum eo et alia duo. Qui petit a te, da ei [n: (Matth. V, 39, 40, 41)]. » Quid hoc dulcius? quid [1281D] suavius esse potest? Totum vero Testamentum Novum si consideres, nil nisi quod dulce est et desiderabile prorsus invenies. His dictis, sequitur, « Talis est Dilectus meus, et ipse est amicus meus, filiae Jerusalem. » Sequitur:

17. *Quo abiit Dilectus tuus, o pulcherrima mulierum? Quo declinavit Dilectus tuus, et quaeremus eum tecum?*

Audito praeconio Dilecti hujus, quo eum Sponsa sua per singula membra commendat, filiae quoque Jerusalem hunc commendabilem reputant, et amoris sibi nuncium praesentari fore dignum aestimant. [1282A] Unde ne currant in incertum, hoc modo sciscitantur a Sponsa, « Quo abiit Dilectus tuus? » et quia « abire, » longe recedere, potest intelligi (quod quidem mirum videretur, qui haec pulcherrima mulierum est), ideo corrigendo ingeminant, « Quo declinavit Dilectus tuus, » id est, quo ad tempus abscessit? Hoc tuum forte negotium, ut aliquos forte convertat tibique associet, teque ibi ubi nondum es dilatari faciat, atque cognosci. Quod cum noverimus, quaeremus eum tecum, sibique tui amoris munus offerre curabimus. Sequitur:

## CAPUT VI.

1. *Dilectus meus descendit in hortum suum ad areolam aromatum, ut pascatur in hortis, et lilia colligat.*

[1282B]Hic hortus Dilecti, est multitudo beata fidelium, totum illi sinum suae mentis aperiens, illum tota virtute diligens et contemplans, hunc ampliori cordis affectione complectens, ita ut pro illo etiam mori lucrum sibi reputet, et ejus sustinere supplicia non contemnat. Hoc in numero numerabis Abel, qui prius Dominum sua morte suscepit, virgo pariter et martyr existens, sacerdotem et hostiam in se sacerdos pariter et hostia, confitens virgo pariter et martyr, hostia et sacerdos occubuit. Annumerabis et Henoch, quem Deus de mundo tulit; et quia secum ambulavit, in se vitam habere promeruit. Noe quoque, quem mundo perdito Deus in ligno salvavit. Abraham quoque, et generosam ejus progeniem. Ipsum quoque Moysen, qui Dominum [1282C] manifeste confitens, ait, « Prophetam suscitabo vobis de medio fratrum vestrorum similem tui; et ponam verba mea in ore ejus, loqueturque ad illos omnia verba quae praecepero illi. Qui autem verba ejus, quae loquetur in nomine meo audire noluerit, ego ultor existam [n: (Deut. XVIII, 18, 19)]. » Horum in medio beatam attendes supremam virginum, spem seculorum, Mariam, in areola aromatum, cum sancto ejus custode Joanne confidentem, habentem in dextra hujus aromaticae areolae consistentes sibi Petrum et Paulum, Andream et Jacobum, caeterosque omnes, qui suo sibi sanguine testimonium perhibentes, odorem mundo suavissimum ediderunt, et ad vitam morte sua mortuos reduxerunt. Haec [1282D] quidem aromatum areola est, quam mente plus intelligis, quam verbo possis edoceri, quae suo quidem sanguine, et poenis quae nequeunt enarrari, Christum meruit confiteri. Hic [cn: 67 | F. *fragrant*.] fragrascunt balsama, redolent pigmenta, et odorem suavissimum thymiamata quaeque respergunt. Huc quandoque divertit Dilectus, ut in his pascatur hortis, id est, gloriosa horum omnium testificatione reficiatur, et haec vere lilia, suo vere digna contubernio, colligat, id est, in summa pace et beatitudine constituat. Quam nimirum Ecclesiam Dominus aliquando seorsum visitare dicitur, ut martyrii [cn: 68 | F. *palma utriusque sexus hominibus indulta, præ cæteris se aliquid promeruisse intelligantur*.] palmam in utriusque sexus hominibus multum prae [1283A] caeteris a se aliquid promeruisse intelligatur; caetera vero universalis Ecclesia, per mundum longe lateque dispersa, ac numero longe major, et merito minor advertatur. Sequitur:

2. *Ego Dilecto meo, et Dilectus meus mihi, qui pascitur inter lilia.*

Haec vox Sponsae est, quae dicit, se Dilecto suo, et Dilectum sibi commiscere soliloquia, quae ut occulta sunt, sic dimittimus, nec aliis quoque modo communicamus. Sequitur:

3. *Pulchra es, amica mea, suavis et decora sicut Jerusalem: terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata.*

Haec quidem ex parte jam dicta sunt: nam quod de Sponsae hujus pulchritudine occurrit, id memoratum [1283B] est. Restat ut de ejus suavitate, quod docebit Dominus id etiam dicamus. Non corporalis ista suavitas est, aliquos palpatione oblectans et alliciens, sed magis spiritus; unde et Domino dictum est, « Tu, Domine, suavis et mitis [n: (Psal. LXXXV, 5)]. » Sic et ista suavis, quae laesa non remurmurat, sibi illata patienter sustinet; unde patientiae decorem obtinet, ut coelestis illa Jerusalem, cui in terris pax nulla data est, et jam in coelis assumpta, multa pacis plenitudine requiescit; quia « terribilis est ut castrorum acies ordinata. » Acies enim ordinata castrorum est, cum qui pugnaturi sunt, toto suo collecto robore, loco apto armati consistunt, et hinc habent a dextris et a sinistris conglobatas pugnatorum [1283C] acies, quae venientibus obsistant, et illorum irruentes impetus, priusquam veniatur ad bella, armorum virtute confringant; quae quidem hostibus terrorem incutit, ideoque haec in summa pace quiescit. Sequitur:

4. *Averte oculos tuos a me; quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt.*

Sponsus ecce suam Sponsam pulchram esse memoravit, suavem et decoram, utpote quae Sponso complaceat: hanc etiam terribilem, ut nullum timeat adversantis hostis occursum, ut secura consistat; hanc ipsum ideo multa parte contemplantem, in secreta Deitatis jamjam introire desiderantem, et gloriae plenitudinem, quam suis promittit Dominus, habere jam sperantem, pulchre corripit, [1283D] dicens, « Averte oculos tuos a me, » id est, sublimis gloriae meae pulchritudinem ne quaeras apprehendere; « Quia ipsi me avolare fecerunt, » id est, ultra hominum sensum ascendere, et incomprehensibilem adhuc homini demonstrare, quia nec oculus vidit, nec auris audivit, nec in cor hominis ascendit, ante communem hominum resurrectionem, et cum suis spiritibus coadunationem, velle cuiquam ostendere. Sequitur:

*Capilli tui sicut grex caprarum, quae apparuerunt de Galaad. 5. Dentes tui sicut grex ovium quae ascenderunt de lavacro, omnes gemellis fetibus, et sterilis non est in eis. 6. Sicut cortex mali punici, sic genae tuae, absque occultis tuis.*

Haec eadem superius dicta sunt, et exposita; quae [1284A] item dici superfluum est et onerosum. Sequitur:

*Sexaginta sunt reginae, et octoginta concubinae, et adolescentularum non est numerus.*

Hoc etiam, quia, docente Domino, superius explicavimus, item explicare supersedemus, et ad ea quae sequuntur, intendimus. Sequitur:

8. *Una est columba mea, perfecta mea, una est matris suae, electa genitrici suae.*

Quae quidem reciproca laus est. Laudantem enim se Sponsam, Sponsus digna laude commendat, dicens, « Una est columba mea. » Quae quomodo dicatur columba, quanam ratione perfecta intelligatur, ex iis, quae superius dicta sunt, attendes. Una vero hic dicitur, quia quemadmodum ex multis granis acervus unus, ex multis racemis botrus [1284B] unus, ex multitudine pecorum grex apte unus dicitur; sic et haec una Ecclesia, una Dei Sponsa, ex animarum omnium multitudine intelligitur, quae ad Deum in unitate fidei vocatae sunt, vel vocabuntur, in unitate spei roborantur, in charitate non ficta Deo jam firmatae sunt, vel firmabuntur. Quae cum una sit, « una » tamen « matris suae, » id est, una ad similitudinem matris suae, coelestis, scilicet, Jerusalem, quam hujus esse matrem Sponsus asserit, quae sicut ex multitudine spirituum coelestium constat, et una Deo charitate conjuncta una est; sic istam ex infinita animarum multitudine collectam unam esse, et in hoc matri suae similem et conformem esse intelligit, quo se a Deo nequaquam separat, [1284C] sed ei quem diligit, firma se charitate adstringit. Unde sequitur, « Electa genitrici suae, » id est, electa ad modum genitricis suae. Haec vero genitrix, eadem quae et ejus mater est: diversitate tamen verborum, diversa denotat; matrem hanc nominans, quia ex diversitate spirituum constat, et una est, et haec ex animarum diversitate collecta, similiter in unitate consistit: genitricem vero, quia hanc sibi Deus, reproba spirituum parte damnata, sibi electam statuit, et confirmavit; et similiter Ecclesiam, reproba hominum multitudine damnata, hanc sibi elegit, participemque suae sibi gloriae esse constituit. Sequitur:

*Viderunt eam filiae, et beatissimam praedicaverunt: reginae et concubinae, et laudaverunt eam.*

[1284D]Dictum est, quod coelestis Jerusalem, Ecclesia, scilicet, quae ex beatis spiritibus constat, mater sit Ecclesiae quae ex animabus constat, et e terris est; et quod haec ad ejus similitudinem a Deo sit electa in gloriam. Unde, si quaeratur quo testimonio hoc verum sit, vel qua ratione comprobetur, adjicitur haec responsio, Quia viderunt eam filiae Sion, illam, scilicet, coelestem Jerusalem, quae mater est hujus Ecclesiae quae de terris est, et quae a Deo assumpta est, et electa in gloriam; viderunt eam reginae, viderunt et concubinae, et eam beatissimam praedicaverunt, cordis oculis contemplantes eam, beatissimos spiritus, quosdam quidem assistentes majestati secretorum conscios, alios et officiosissime ministrantes, alios laboriose per mundi climata discurrentes, [1285A] et Dei voluntatem in omnibus, et per omnia nunciantes, et effectu complentes. Hanc sibi, « reginae, » qui summus in Ecclesia ordo esse dignoscitur; et « concubinae, » qui post eas proximus est, una cum filiabus Sion attendentes, vere beatissimam praedicaverunt, et omni dignam laude commendaverunt. Et hoc totius Ecclesiae quae in terris est testimonium, non est qui verum esse abnuat, qui ei recte contradicat. Sequitur:

9. *Quae est ista quae progreditur quasi aurora consurgens, pulchra ut luna, electa ut sol, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata?*

Quo quis amore trahitur, ad id cito convertitur, ad id mente revocatur. Sponsus igitur amoris sibi [1285B] conscius, et quanta admiratione digna sit Sponsa quam elegit, non ignarus, ut eamdem cunctis admirabilem ostendat, ad ipsam conversus, ait, « Quae est ista quae progeditur quasi aurora consurgens? » Aurora dicitur, quasi hora aurea, quae Solem praeveniens solem affuturum denunciat, et finem tenebris auri more rutilans affuturum praemonstrat: quod in primitiva Ecclesia exstitisse, quis nesciat; qui primos illos patres Christi ortum praevenisse, qui verus est Sol justitiae, ipsumque suo praevenisse testimonio scriptura revelante, non ignorat? Abel enim justum gladio fratris occubuisse, Christique passionem sua passione demonstrasse; Henoch a Domino translatum esse; Noe, mundum diluente diluvio, ligno salvatum esse; Abraham quoque [1285C] in multis Dominum praefigurasse, quis ambigat? Hi nimirum, et omnes ejus testamenti Patres, aurora quidem exstiterunt, in quibus consurgens Ecclesia, verum Solem qui Christus est, nasciturum, et ab eo plenius illuminandum esse praemonstravit. Nato vero Domino, accidit hoc quod scriptum est, « In propria venit, et sui eum non receperunt. Quotquot autem receperunt eum, dedit eis potestatem filios Dei fieri [n: (Joan. I, 11, 12)]. » Qui filii Dei facti, et luce ejus illuminati, luxerunt quidem ut luna, non luce propria, sed luce aliena: unde additur, « Pulchra ut luna. » Luna enim unde lucet, a sole accipit, mundumque ampliori lumine quam aurora perfundit: sic consurgens Ecclesia [1285D] prius ut aurora, deinde ut luna, tertio vero ut sol, electa plenum mundo lumen ministravit.

## CAPUT VI. (cont.)

Decursis namque mirabilibus, quae Christo nascente exstiterunt, peractisque miraculis quae Christo praedicanti testimonium perhibuerunt, visisque signis quae in ejus morte, et post mortem apparuerunt, potenter surrexit Ecclesia: In primis patribus, aurora; in secundis, ut luna; jam vero pleno refecta lumine, ut sol, electa apparuit, pleno radians lumine, et lucem cunctis sua praestans claritate; in quo dicitur, « Electa ut sol. » Ex omnibus enim creaturis, quae a Deo corporaliter creatae sunt, nulla ad hoc electa est, ut oculus esset mundi, mundoque lucem et illuminationem praestaret undique, excepta solis sola substantia, quae sola nos [1286A] circuit, calefacit, et beneficiis nos auget et munit. In hunc quoque modum haec Sponsa electa est, quae ut mundo lucem praestaret spiritualem, et sublatis tenebris quibus mundus involvebatur, lucem sibi fidei per apostolos, sanctosque martyres, omnesque fidei doctores largiretur atque conferret. Quae cum tota post resurrectionem conveniet, terribilis ut castrorum acies ordinata apparebit. Sedente enim Domino in illa die, et judicii dictante sententiam: « Venite, benedicti Patris mei; possidete regnum quod vobis paratum est ab origine mundi [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)], » sic illa terribilis et admirabilis apparebit, ut hosti non det aditum accedenti ad se; sed sicut acies, manu Domini ordinata, suos sibi contineat, alienos omnes sui Domini virtute repellat. [1286B] Beatus tamen Gregorius in hoc ait, « Aurora noctem interiisse nunciat, nec tamen claritatem diei ostentat; sed dum illam pellit, hanc suscipit, lucem tenebris permistam tenet. » Igitur qui in hac vita veritatem sequitur, aurora est, quia agit quaedam quae lucis sunt, non tamen caret reliquiis tenebrarum. Cum ergo lex peccati cum lege mentis contendit, adhuc aurora est, quia lux quae emicuit nondum tenebras funditus pressit, et quia lux carnis legem mentis percutit, et e contra inter se vicissim lux et umbra confligit: dies erit cum umbra peccati non remanebit, cum internum lumen perfecte claruerit. Ecclesia igitur quam Sponsus admiratur, merito aurorae comparatur, quia peccati [1286C] tenebras deserens, ad lucem aeternitatis erumpit, et cognitione fidei in lucem justitiae permutatur, sicut aurora a tenebris in lucem vertitur; fides lux est, nox infidelitas. Ecclesia igitur aeterna appetens, superna claritate et luce justitiae fulgescit, et quasi aurora consurgit, quia derelicta pravitate seculi, sese in novi luminis fulgorem convertit. Sequitur:

10. *Descendi in hortum nucum, ut viderem poma convallium, et inspicerem si floruisset vinea, et germinassent mala punica.*

Totam superius Sponsus allocutus Ecclesiam, nunc ad eam partem convertitur, quae hic est, quae tentationi subjecta est; quae dum descendit pluvia, veniunt flumina, venti fiant et irruunt in domum [1286D] ejus, tanto fortiori indiget auxilio, quanto turbine crebriore concutitur. Ad hanc itaque descendens, ait, « Descendi in hortum nucum, » etc. Hortus vero (ut dictum est) locus est seorsum positus, herbis salutiferis, et salubribus arboribus consitus, quem post labores invisere, et spiritu recreari dulce est. Qui quidem locus hic positam designat Ecclesiam, quae quomodo seorsum sit posita, designat Isaias, dicens, « Sicut exaltantur coeli a terra, sic exaltatae sunt viae meae a viis vestris, et cogitationes meae a cogitationibus vestris [n: (Isa. LV, 9)]. » Per has quidem vias et cogitationes, cogitationes et opera Ecclesiae designat, quae quantum coelum distat a terra, sic ab omni pravorum intentione longe remota est. Hic vero hortus nucum arboribus consitus [1287A] est; quae quidem diversae sunt. Nux enim quaedam colurna, quaedam avellana, quaedam castanea, quaedam amygdalina, quaedam pinea, quaedam Libyca, quae muscata dicitur, quaedam Gallicana, quae in vulgari sola nux dici consuevit. Quid istae nuces significant? Corda utique sanctorum, quae quidem interius, nuclei dulcedinem, id est, spiritus utilitatem praeferunt; exterius vero carnis utilitatem ostendunt, quae adeo dura est, ut de ea dictum sit, « Habemus hunc thesaurum absconditum in vasis fictilibus [n: (II Cor. IV, 7)]. » Et item de ea dictum est, « Scio quod neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque principatus, nec ulla alia creatura, separare nos poterit a charitate Dei, quae est in Christo Jesu Domino nostro [n: (Rom. VIII, 38)]. » Ad [1287B] hunc itaque hortum nucum descendit, ut earum nucleos confirmet interius, et earumdem corpora exterius passioni subjiciat, reponens ei praemia vitae, quae nulli deerunt morienti pro se. Descendit etiam ut videat poma convallium; non enim hortus iste solis nucibus consitus est, immo ex arboribus quae poma afferunt. Poma enim dicuntur fructus omnes qui molli teguntur cortice, hos significantia confessores, qui amore Dei intus ferventes, ipsum exterius confitentes, mercedem a Deo in aeterna beatitudine recipiunt, quamvis martyribus non aequentur. Ad hos igitur descendit, qui ipsum in martyrii sublimitate prosequuntur, et ad hos qui in humilitatis convalle manentes, ipsum subsequi similiter morte non tardant: sed parcit eis Dominus, [1287C] volens ut aeternam beatitudinem voluntate solum, non etiam sua comparata morte recipiant. Descendit et ad nuper plantatas vineas, ut inspiciat si floreant, si spem fructus ex se dent, si in fide perseverent, et aliis accedendi, credendi, et perseverandi exemplo praestito, nomen ejus amplificent: quod idem de malis exoptat punicis, scilicet, ut germinent, et aliis ex germinando passionis pro Christo subeundae fortiter exempla praebeant, et ejus, quam expectant, remunerationis praemia compromittant. Sequitur:

11. *Nescivi: anima mea conturbavit me propter quadrigas Aminadab.*

Sponsam suam Dominus praecedentibus verbis [1287D] admonuit, ei quod quaereret intimavit, eique cursus sui finem seipsum proposuit; frustra enim currimus, si non apprehendimus, si non ipsum quem quaerimus, invenimus. Ei vero dura proposita sunt, quae formidat caro, ad quae contremiscit; sed ad haec spiritus Dei munere roboratur, accingitur, leve reputans omne quod patitur, dum de retributionis suae munere gloriatur. Quod quidem audiens Synagoga, stat, stupet, et contremiscit, et in se tandem reversa, ait, « Nescivi, » id est, tantam gratiam et dona spiritus tibi collata ignoravi; ideoque, « anima mea conturbavit me, » quia in tenebris aberravi, « propter quadrigas Aminadab. » Aminadab iste Judae abnepos fuisse legitur [n: (I Par. II, 10)], qui sui nominis interpretatione, Christum significat; Aminadab [1288A] enim, « Spontaneus populi mei, » interpretatur; ipse enim totius populi caput exstitit, in cujus ortu Angelus ad pastores ait: « Nolite timere; ecce enim evangelizo vobis gaudium magnum, quod erit omni populo: quia natus est vobis hodie Salvator, qui est Christus Dominus [n: (Luc. II, 10, 11)]. » Iste vero spontaneus ejus exstitit; sponte enim natus, sponte per angelos et virtutibus magnis demonstratus, sponte miraculis decoratus, sponte traditus, sponte in mortem datus; quae cum omnia sponte pertulerit, recte et populi, et ejus spontaneus, nominatur. Cujus quidem quadrigae, sunt quatuor Evangelia, quae per mundum trahuntur, dum praedicantur populis, et creduntur, et omni veneratione digna suscipiuntur. Quod contemplans [1288B] Synagoga, conturbatur, falsum esse desperans quod sic a cunctis corde suscipitur, magnifice honoratur, quod nec exquisitis tormentis, nec aliquo genere mortis eliditur. Sanctus vero Ambrosius duas denotat quadrigas. Iram enim, cupiditatem, voluptatem, et timorem unius quadrigae rotas facit; alteri vero prudentiam, temperantiam, fortitudinem, et justitiam assignat: his rotis tunc vitae spiritus inest, cum bonus eas rector dirigit, hos stringens, hos monens, hos revocans, hos incitans. Hi quidem equi subjecti jugo fidei, adstricti charitatis vinculo, justitiae fraenis, retinaculis sobrietatis. Sequitur:

12. *Revertere, revertere, Sulamitis: revertere, revertere, ut intueamur te.*

[1288C]Synagoga confitente tarditatem, Ecclesia consolando respondet, « Revertere, » etc. Dicitur Sulamiti ut revertatur, quia Synagogae in fine mundi fides ab Ecclesia offeretur, quae sub infidelitate captiva tenebatur. Et quater reverti monetur, quia Judaei per quatuor mundi partes dispersi, in fine colligentur; unde ei dicitur, « Revertere, revertere, Sulamitis, » quae captiva vel despecta sub prophetis tenebaris, « revertere, revertere, » ut in ea qua sumus libertate, « intueamur te. » Sequitur:

## CAPUT VII.

1. *Quid videbis in Sulamite, nisi choros castrorum?*

Vox Sponsi haec est. Ecce Ecclesia monente Synagogam, [1288D] Sponsus gaudens, dare se promittit effectum, dicens, « Quid videbis in Sulamite, nisi choros castrorum? » Chori namque castrorum sunt qui in procinctu virtutum tanquam in castris constituti, contra diabolum dimicant, et Deo muniente, et opem sua virtute ferente, superant. Tunc enim castra militantium in Sulamite videbuntur, quando pro fide, quam modo impugnat, praeliabitur, et eamdem praedicantibus Henoch et Elia, veram, et eam in qua salvari oporteat fore asserens, morte sua contestabitur. Sequitur:

2. *Quam pulchri sunt gressus tui in calceamentis, filia Principis!*

Laudat ecce Sponsus Sponsam, incipiens a gressibus: unde et hanc commendans, ait: « Quam [1289A] pulchri sunt gressus tui in calceamentis, filia Principis! » Hanc quidem quae in primis suis patribus « filia Principis, » id est, Dei super omnia principantis exstitit, duodena laude commendat, a gressibus incipiens, per media progrediens, et ejus laudem uberum foecunditate consummans; ait itaque, O quae nunc in conversatione tua filia vocari Principis digna es, quae etiam in primis tuis patribus, ejus dici filia digne promeruisti, « quam pulchri » nunc « sunt gressus tui! » Ad Deum enim nunc eisdem accedis gressibus, quibus apostoli accesserunt; Dei Filium, a Patre missum in carnem, ipsumque in eadem carne pro omnium salute mortem obiisse, et post triduum resurrexisse, et sic, habita victoria, in coelum ascendisse, confitens, pro illo stas, illi [1289B] testimonium perhibes, pro ipso mori non recusas. Valde ergo pulchri sunt gressus tui, quibus ad Deum ambulas; et hoc, « in calceamentis. » Fiunt namque calceamenta de coriis mortuorum animalium; unde per haec, exempla sanctorum intelliguntur: Patrum, apostolorum, scilicet, et omnium martyrum, quia coria sibi detrahi, et ab animabus corpora subtrahi, Christum confitendo, perpessi sunt. His igitur aequaris, his aequalis efficeris, qui, fide certa suscepta, pro ea dimicas, et apostolorum gloria coronari pro ea contendendo elaboras. Sequitur:

*Juncturae femorum tuorum sicut monilia, quae fabricata sunt manu artificis.*

[1289C]Femina vel femora quibus gradimur, et [cn: 69 | F. *gressus*.] egressus aptamus, haec duo sunt, Testamentum scilicet Vetus et Novum: horum junctura concordia Testamentorum est, de qua ait, « Junctura femorum tuorum sicut monilia. » Monilia quidem a monendo dicta sunt, eo quod ubi collo suspenduntur, et pectoribus apponuntur, monent quidem haec gerentem, ne ad sinum suum manum mittat alienam, sed ei cui desponsata est, fidem conservet intemeratam. Monent et quemlibet, ne ubi haec suspensa viderit, illuc amore trahatur, aut quocunque casu illuc amore rapiatur, ne forte deprehensus in hoc, adulterii reus habeatur. Unde duo Testamenta merito monilia nominantur, quae nos Deum timere monent, et venerari, et toto [1289D] corde, tota anima, et totis viribus hunc diligere, et mente firma meditari. Monent etiam, ut proximos diligamus, nec quicquam eis quod recte displicere debeat, machinemur aut faciamus. In his duo Testamenta sunt et concordant, quae etiam fidem, sicut vere est, sic roborant; et sicut credimus, sic esse confirmant. Haec etiam « manu artificis fabrefacta sunt, » id est, per Filium, qui manus Patris est, et summus omnium artifex, hominibus edicta sunt, atque conscripta. Sequitur:

3. *Umbilicus tuus crater tornatilis, nunquam indigens poculis.*

Umbilicus quidem in medio ventris est, quamdam [1290A] ejus partem subter se habens, quamdam vero desuper. Hic autem umbilicus infirmitas nostrae mortalitatis est, cujus pars quaedam deorsum est, altera vero desursum. Deorsum illa est, de qua dicitur: « Omnis caro foenum, et omnis gloria ejus quasi flos agri. Exsiccatum est foenum, et cecidit flos [n: (Isa. XL, 6, 7)]. » De qua ait David: « Mane sicut herba transeat, mane floreat, et transeat: vespere decidat, induret, et arescat [n: (Psal. LXXXIX, 6)]. » Transit etiam mane infantiae, pueritiae, adolescentiae nostrae; transit et flos juventutis nostrae, transit et [cn: 70 | F. *vesper*.] vespere senectutis nostrae: in quo quidem homo decidit in morte, indurat in cadavere, arescit in pulvere. Illa vero desursum est, cujus beatus Paulus meminit, dicens: « Seminatur in [1290B] corruptione, surget in incorruptione: seminatur in ignobilitate, surget in gloria: seminatur in infirmitate, surget in virtute: seminatur corpus animale, surget spirituale [n: (I Cor. XV, 42, 43)]. » Hic igitur umbilicus, ut crater tornatilis est: levissima enim operatio est quae torno fit; et levissima Dei operatio, quae in omnium fiet resurrectione. Nam ut Habacuc levissime levavit angelus, et posuit in Babylone; sic cibum Danieli deferens, ipsumque in Judaea reposuit [n: (Dan. XIV, 35)]: sic erit in resurrectione, cum ad vocem angeli, ad tubae clangentis sonitum, mortui resurgent illico incorrupti, qui quidem digni fuerunt corruptela. Haec itaque pars est infirmitatis nostrae quae torno operationis divinae leviter efficietur, quae crater dicitur tornatilis, qui [1290C] nec hic indiget poculis, nec in futuro aliquatenus indigebit. Hic igitur magna eorum gloria futura dicitur, quae tunc et corporaliter videbitur, et apparebit. Sequitur:

*Venter tuus sicut acervus tritici, vallatus liliis.*

Venter ea pars corporis est, quae quod in eam mittitur, id suscipit; et quod in ea potest cooperari substantiae, id retinet, eo corpus fovet, auget, et provehit, caetera repellit et respuit. Unde per hunc sancta hujus synagogae memoria intelligitur, quae comprehendit omnia, et haec tantum quae sancta sunt, et aeternae vitae cooperantia, illucque gressus dirigentia, haec amat, haec custodit, et in his proficit: caetera ut vana et inutilia respuit et [1290D] emittit. Unde et dicitur: « Venter tuus sicut acervus tritici. » In acervo namque tritici, vitae quaedam cooperantia sunt, quaedam aliter se habent: de his vero quae cooperantur ad vitam, subditur, quod acervus hic « vallatur liliis, » id est, Patrum eruditur exemplis, et coelestium spirituum, qui vere lilia sunt, edocetur documentis. Sequitur:

4. *Duo ubera tua, sicut duo hinnuli gemelli capreae. 5. Collum tuum sicut turris eburnea.*

Hoc de uberibus synagogae conversae, sicut et de uberibus Ecclesiae supra dictum est, intelligitur; sicut et quod de collo sequitur, « Collum tuum sicut turris eburnea: » hic tamen additur, « eburnea, » [1291A] ut et nitor demonstretur praedicationis, et firmitas, qua Christum vere praedicant, et hoc sua morte confirmant. Sequitur:

*Oculi tui sicut piscinae in Hesebon, quae sunt in porta filiae multitudinis.*

Demonstrato collo, pervenitur ad oculos; de quibus hic dicitur, quia ii sunt « sicut piscinae in Hesebon. » Hesebon vero, « cingulus moeroris, » interpretatur. « Oculi » vero, id est, qui arcana fidei contemplantur, et haec conversae jam synagogae videnda et credenda demonstrant, hi sunt « sicut piscinae in Hesebon: » Hesebon enim, sive castellum sit, sive civitas, in ipso suo introitu piscinas habebat, in quibus introeuntium corpora lavari poterant et purgari, ut sic fides haberetur ingressis, [1291B] se nil mali machinaturos, quod loco foret adversum, vel aliquatenus obfuturum. Sic et hi, qui conversae huic synagogae vias vitae praeparant, et ostendunt, aliis ad eam convertendis viam vitae praevident et ostendunt, et ut ficte non subeant, Baptismum vane non suscipiant, nec adversari machinentur in dolo his in quibus jam regnat Christus, atque suum jam continet principatum. Hoc igitur est quod dicitur, « quae sunt in porta filiae multitudinis, » id est, in ingressu castelli vel civitatis, ubi multitudo est gentium, cui jam praedicatur Dei verbum, et hoc suscipiunt in secula seculorum. Hoc enim Simon Magus ille ficte fecit, Baptismum ficte suscepit, fidei sacramenta ficte cognovit, quibus omnibus postea doctorem Ecclesiae Petrum a Christo institutum acriter [1291C] impugnavit. Unde ne hanc in conversione sua, cum haec dabitur, similis inquietet impugnatio, dicitur huic, quod ei erunt oculi praevidentes sibi, sicut in portis Hesebon praevidebatur civitati. Haec vero multitudo recte, « cingulus moeroris, » dicitur; quia undique moerore cincta est. Hinc se Deo peccasse luget, inde, ne peccet, item lacrymas timoris habet; hinc sibi quaeritur deesse quem diligit, et praemia sibi deesse quae quaerit et appetit. Hoc igitur moerore cincta, recte Hesebon dicitur, quae his et aliis, quae dat compunctio, lacrymis circumdata recte conqueritur. Sequitur:

*Nasus tuus sicut turris Libani, quae respicit contra Damascum.*

[1291D]Naso deputantur Ecclesiae, quae virtutum fragrantiam in Ecclesia prope sentiunt, et foetorem vitiorum in ea a longe discernendo cognoscunt. Hi in Libano, qui candorem Ecclesiae designat, velut turris existunt, qui in Ecclesia Dei prae aliis nomen praelationis officiumque suscipiunt, et in Damascum respiciunt. Damascus enim Syriae metropolis est, ubi Cain Abel interfecisse legitur; unde mala multa illata sunt Israeli, ubi regnat infidelitas, et peccatum valde grassatur. Contra hunc Ecclesia Dei valde respicit, attente considerans, si quis sit, quem sibi possit eripere, et ereptum diabolo, ad Christum queat convertere. Sequitur:

5. *Caput tuum ut Carmelus: et comae capitis tui sicut purpura Regis vincta canalibus.*

## CAPUT VII. (cont.)

[1292A]Carmelus mons est, in quo ascendens Elias pluviam septem annis clausam, sibi a Deo dari abundanter obtinuit, Christum certe significans, quem confitentes, et quae de eo dicuntur vera esse asserentes, oramus ad Patrem, ut nobis gratiarum suarum dona emittat, per quae suae nos placitos voluntati efficiat. Hic vero Carmelus, « mons, » sive, « scientia circumcisionis, » interpretatur; quod Christo recte competit; ipse enim circumcisionis initium et finis exstitit. Ipse enim hanc Abrahae (qui diem ejus vidit et gavisus est) et ejus domui injunxit, coitum sibi vetitum, et caetera quaeque inhonesta et superflua cujusque membri, membri hujus austera praecisione interdixit. Ipse quoque hanc suscepit in se, et hanc in se consummatam esse [1292B] praedixit: sanguinis enim ejus, tam in cruce, quam in hac circumcisione, effusio, populo gratiae sufficiens correctio est, ut a vitiis abstineant, motusque pravos, non illa austeritate sacramenti, sed fidei solius et sancti baptismatis susceptione corrigant et emendent. Hujus vero capitis comae sunt, de quibus subjungitur: « Comae capitis tui sicut purpura Regis vincta canalibus. » Comae quidem capitis sunt quae caput adornant, faciem decorant, et capiti semper inhaerentes, id multa sui specie obvianti cuilibet honorabile reddunt, et omni veneratione dignissimum. Per has quidem hos intelligimus, qui summo Regi Christo, indissolubili amoris vinculo toto corde inhaerentes, ab ipso nunquam dividi, nec principatu, nec aliqua id agente potestate, potuerunt; [1292C] sed per omnia, quae adinveniri poterant, tormenta, ipsi vere adhaerere, et dici comae inseparabiles meruerunt. Et comae quidem capitis, ut purpura Regis vincta canalibus. Canales quidem sunt emissiones gratiarum Dei, quas modis pluribus in suos quos eligit, ipsosque martyrii gratia dignos efficit ipse et suscipit. In his itaque canalibus hae comae sunt, et iis quidem conjunctae sunt, nescientes ab iis disjungi, sed magis in his accepto liquore aliquo coelesti, fiant ut purpura Regis vincta canalibus rubicunda, Christo quidem in cruce passo conformata, et ipsi jam conformes in gloria. Sequitur:

6. *Quam pulchra es et quam decora, charissima, [1292D] in deliciis!*

Post eorum commendationem quae dicta sunt, laudem subjungit synagogae, quae jam Ecclesia effecta est, dicens, Quando sic se habent quae jam dicta sunt, ergo valde « pulchra es » in virtutis opere, et « decora » in ejusdem contemplatione; chara nobis per conversionem, per virtutis executionem charior, Deo in perventione « charissima; » unde subdit, « in deliciis, » id est, in his quae dicta sunt, quae Deus perhibet esse delicias, et in his tanquam deliciis oblectatur. Sequitur:

7. *Statura tua assimilata est palmae, et ubera tua botris.*

Hujus incepit a gressibus commendatio; junctura quoque feminum, umbilicus, et venter commendata [1293A] sunt; ubera, et collum, nasus, oculique, cum capite, et comis, descripta sunt. Quod ne videatur absonum, ejusque staturae nimis in se contractae dissonum, adjicit de statura, dicens, quod haec assimilata est palmae, sursum, scilicet, porrecta, in imo stricta et aspera, in coelum brachiis expansa et dilatata, fructum faciens suavissimum, qui conjunctus botris qui vineae fructus est, coenam reddit opulentam, et ipsam fructu vineae jucundissimam. Sequitur:

8. *Dixi: Ascendam in palmam, et apprehendam fructus ejus: et erunt ubera tua sicut botri vineae, et odor oris tui sicut malorum.*

Hoc quidem Sponsus ait, quod ipse in palmam ascendet; quod quidem impletum fuisse credimus, [1293B] cum ipse lignum crucis ascendit. Cui quidem et hoc datum est, ut sicut ipse hanc ascendendo super omnia victor exstitit, ita et haec super omnia ligna sylvarum juste principatum obtinuit, et recte dici palma promeruit; unde et ei decantatur, super omnia ligna sylvarum, tu sola fuisti digna sustinere Regem seculorum et Dominum. « Et apprehendam fructus ejus. » Hic hujus palmae fructus exstitit, immortalitas, impassibilitas, aeterna quoque jucunditas: hos ejus fructus Christus in cruce percepit. Nam quia humiliavit se, factus in cruce obediens Patri usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis, exaltavit illum Pater, ut in nomine ejus omne genu flectatur, coelestium, terrestrium, et infernorum, [1293C] et omnis lingua confiteatur, quod ipse est in gloria Patris, ad quam nisi per ipsum nemo pervenit. « Et erunt ubera tua sicut botri vineae. » Ubera sunt quibus parvulorum alitur et nutritur infantia; quae dicta sunt prophetarum, quibus longe ante temporibus passio Christi prophetata est, multisque eorundem praeconiis adnunciata. Quae quidem ubera nunc botri vineae effecta sunt, nunc ipsum fructum ostendentia quem prophetabant, tunc demum cum Christus in cruce passus est, effectum quem personabant demonstrantia. « Et odor oris tui sicut malorum. » Odor enim crucis, antequam eam Christus ascenderet, erat horribilis; sed postquam Christus vitae dator ascendit, odores ejus omnes suavissimi facti sunt, atque, ut malorum odores, gratissimi; [1293D] unde et Paulus ait: « Christi bonus odor sumus Deo in iis qui salvi fiunt, et in iis qui pereunt [n: (II Cor. II, 15)]. » Sequitur:

9. *Guttur tuum sicut vinum optimum, dignum Dilecto meo ad potandum, labiisque et dentibus illius ad ruminandum. Ego Dilecto meo, et ad me conversio ejus.*

Dignam laude jamdiu hanc commendavit Sponsus, ab imo incipiens et ad summa progrediens; quod gratum habens Sponsa respondet: « Guttur tuum sicut vinum optimum, dignum Dilecto meo ad potandum, labiisque et dentibus illius ad ruminandum. » Ostendit itaque laudem, quam de ea Sponsus ipse personuit, eam esse, quam dignum est ut ab ipso Sponso potetur, et in ejus corpus transjecta, [1294A] memoriter teneatur; et hoc est quod dicitur, « labiis et dentibus ruminandum. » In lege enim [n: (Levit. XI, 3)], animal quod non ruminat, immundum habetur, et hoc quod ruminat, mundum procul dubio reputatur: nam qui bona quae audit vel legit, ad memoriam revocat, et haec dentibus ruminando, vel labiis pronunciando, denunciat, mundum esse animal perhibetur. Unde et hanc munditiam Sponso inesse perhibens, hortatur ut laudem hanc ad memoriam revocet, et eam laude hac dignam deputet atque dijudicet. Quod quidem et futurum esse denunciat, dicens, « Ego dilecto meo, et ad me conversio ejus; » ac si dicat, Ego memoria Dilecti mei digna sum, et ipse, ut a me in memoria habeatur, dignissimus: ego enim Patrem diligo, unigenitum [1294B] ejus Filium veneror et adoro, his Spiritum Sanctum in omnibus aequalem judico. Patris opera, quae pro me redimendo gessit, intelligo; in his Filii obedientiam recognosco, et per advenientem in me ejus Spiritum, ipsum ad me conversum, ejusque dona suscipio. Ait itaque, Ego Dilecto meo digna et chara sum: ipse enim pro me exinanivit seipsum, puerum faciens et parvulum; cui decantat Ecclesia illud Isaiae: « Parvulus natus est nobis, et Filius datus est nobis [n: (Isai. IX, 6)]. » Exinanivit etiam se factus obediens Patri usque ad mortem; et quam mortem? eam quae crucis erat, quae indignissima putabatur, qua coelum homini negabatur, terra subtrahebatur, aquae remedium non praestabatur, [1294C] et extinctus in aere lacerandus avibus committebatur:

*His merito charus, meritis his charus habendus.*

« Ad me » quoque « ejus conversio » est: nam quod genus mortis exhorream, cum Dei Filium talia pro me passum intelligam? nullum equidem. In Stephano namque lapidem, in Jacobo gladium, Romae in beato Petro crucem, in ejus consorte beato Paulo gladii molesta, sustinui; fervens oleum in Joanne, in Andrea crucis amara, pertuli, et in apostolis, et in omnibus per mundum late martyribus, quae poterant excogitari tormenta, praesentavi. Sequitur:

10. *Veni, Dilecte mi, egrediamur in agrum.*

Demonstrata charitate qua Christo unitur Ecclesia, [1294D] ipsum secure invocat, optans, ut ad se diligentem ipse quoque veniat, et diligentem se conspiciat, et an vera sint quae de eo sunt dicta, perspiciat. Ait itaque, « Veni, Dilecte mi, » quem usque ad mortem diligo, qui Ecclesiae discedens promisisti, dicens: « Ecce ego vobiscum sum usque ad consummationem seculi. » [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 20.)] « Veni, egrediamur in agrum. » Campus locus est late patens, sylvas, et loca sylvis carentia continens, hinc spinis obsessus, inde loca non spinosa, sed tamen inculta demonstrans, mundum designans hunc, qualis fuit, cum in ipsum Adam post peccatum trajectus est, et est ei sententia dicta, « Quia comedisti de ligno, ex quo praeceperam tibi ne comederes, maledicta terra in opere tuo: in laboribus comedes ex ea cunctis [1295A] diebus vitae tuae. Spinas et tribulos germinabit tibi, et comedes herbam terrae [n: (Gen. III, 17)]. » Hic vero ager dictus est, postquam vomere et cultro terrae agressus faciem hanc horribilem deposuit, culturae respondit, cultoresque suos bonis fructibus exhilaravit. Ager vero dictus est ex hoc, quod agi coepit vomere, cultroque dejici, et (ut cultoribus mos est) sic in eodem loco subverti, ut apta sit suscipiendo semini, et eidem propagando, foecundari. Ad hunc igitur invitat agrum Sponsa suum Sponsum, dicens, « Veni, » id est, ut accessum habeam ad te, hoc consenti. « Egrediamur, » Tu de indicibili tuae majestatis abscondito assumpta carne egredere, id est, manifeste appare; egoque tecum de occultis meis, de immunditiis meis, de infidelitate [1295B] penitus egressa, te corde credens, te confitens, te humiliter adorans, tibi inseparabiliter adhaerens, tecum in agrum hunc venire parata sum, ut attendamus, an bene cultus sit, an huic verbi semina commendanda, et sit de eo spes ulla boni praestolanda. Sequitur:

*Commoremur in villis.*

Fiunt quidem habitationes in agris, ut dictum est de campo Sennaar, in quo civitas Babylon a filiis Noe constructa est [n: (Gen. XI, 2)]; fiunt oppida; fiunt et villae: in civitate divites, in oppidis potentes habitant; in villis vero minorum et humiliorum mansio est, quae tanto Deo gratior est, quanto humilior est, tanto magis acceptabilis est, quanto virtutis et doctrinae perceptibilis est. Hic Sponso moram facere, [1295C] et se Sponso commorari exoptat, ubi sancti sui corporis et sanguinis est consecratio, ubi peccatorum in baptismate fit ablutio, ubi delictorum quotidiana confessio, et fidelium populorum crebra Domino fit oblatio: hinc decimarum, hinc aliorum quoque munerum frequens largitio, et in exitu suo sacra Domini recognitio, et ipsorum ad aeternam beatitudinem transmigratio. Sequitur:

11. *Mane surgamus ad vineas: videamus si floruit vinea, si flores fructus parturiunt.*

## CAPUT VII. (cont.)

Ille beatus est, cujus a Domino vinea mane visitatur. Nam vinea cujusque praesens haec vita est; et mane unicuique est vitae praesentis inchoatio. Sunt vero quidam quos mane, id est, ab ipso vitae [1295D] exordio, visitat Deus, dirigit, et magnificat, et quod ex eis magni futuri sint fructus miraculorum, etiam exhibitione demonstrat; « Videamus si floruit vinea. » Ad hos Dilectum invitat Sponsa, ut cum his maneat, et hos florere faciat, et flores fructus parturientes ipse custodiat. Hi quidem nostri sunt in Deo profectus: nam ut vinea primo folia, deinde florem, inde fructum producit; sic in his quae Dei sunt, qui hunc videre et habere solliciti sunt, initiatio quaedam est a malo aversio; magnus enim profectus est, ad ea quae Dei sunt felix conversio. Summum vero in his est eorum quae Dei sunt, Deo placita dilectio, et in his opere beata completio. Unde et subditur:

*Si floruerint mala punica.*

[1296A]In malis quidem punicis amor indicatur martyrii. Majorem quidem dilectionem nemo habet, quam ut animam suam ponat quis pro amicis suis. Hunc quidem, cum omnes suos videre moneat, hos tamen praecipue, qui martyrii flagrant amore, qui vitam suam pro Christo ponere, et per mortem sursum ascendere desiderant, speciali quadam visitatione monet attendere. Unde et ait:

*Ibi dabo tibi ubera mea.*

Quae sunt haec ubera quae Sponso datura est Sponsa cum sic venerit, et Ecclesiam sic visitaverit? Ubera quidem ea pars corporis sunt, qua filios suos alit Ecclesia, qua ipsorum infantiam protrahit, et ipsos in robur juvenile producit; et cum in hoc robur excreverint, sibi, martyrioque quod desiderant, [1296B] ipsique ob quem desiderant, derelinquit. Ait igitur, « Ibi dabo tibi ubera mea, » id est, omnes mentis meae sinus aperiam, ut a te intelligam, quid cuique ordini dicendum sit, qualiter ordo quisque monendus, ut ad te veniat teque in aeternum possideat. Sequitur:

*Mandragorae dederunt odorem. In portis nostris omnia poma: nova et vetera, Dilecte mi, servavi tibi.*

Vocato Dilecto suo ut ad Ecclesiam veniat, ut illam visitet, et quae eum videre desiderat, istud adnectit, dicens, Ad hoc quidem quod expeto, difficilem te invenire non ambigo, quia mandragoras in portis nostris odorem tui jam dedisse intelligo. Mandragoras quidem Prophetas nominat, quae humani corporis formam retinent, et membrum quodque [1296C] corporis humani quod morbus occupat de membro simili, raso sibi pulvere curat. Haec quoque sterilem foecundam efficit, et multa medicinae prodest arte laborantibus: unde haec Prophetas exprimit, qui humanitatem Christi, et ea quae in homine gessit, exprimunt; et hoc in portis nostris, id est, Scripturis quae nostrae jam effectae sunt, exclamare et prophetare non desinunt. Haec quidem omnia poma, quae prophetae novi recentesque praedixerunt; « et vetera, » antiqua, scilicet, quae ab Adam usque nunc dicta sunt, tibi reservavi, quia sunt in te complenda, et ipso operis effectu demonstranda. Sequitur:

## CAPUT VIII.

1. *Quis mihi det te fratrem meum sugentem ubera [1296D] matris meae, ut inveniam te foris, et deosculer te, et jam me nemo despiciat. 2. Apprehendam te, et ducam in domum matris meae: ibi me docebis, et dabo tibi poculum ex vino condito, et mustum malorum granatorum meorum.*

Haec Sponsa de adventu Sponsi sui sollicita, jamdiu orans exoptavit, dicens, « Veni, Dilecte mi; Egrediamur in agrum; » et quod oravit, certo affuturum praedixit, quia hoc mandragorae praelocuti sunt, hoc omnes prophetae praedixerunt. Ergo de hoc quod certo futurum est, jam quaerit, dicens: « Quis mihi det te fratrem meum, » id est, tam dignus erit ut te fratrem meum mihi visibiliter ostendat, te in corporali forma mihi fratrem meum [1297A] demonstret. Antiquum enim est, et auditu cognitum, Deum Patrem omnium me inter caetera creasse, et mihi patrem inter caetera exstitisse, et me inter creaturas, ipsum semper quasi Patrem invocasse: sed quod ipse mihi frater sit, novum est et inauditum a seculis, et tamen mundo propagandum. Missus est enim Gabriel angelus ad Mariam, dicens, « Ave, gratia plena; Dominus tecum. Spiritus Sanctus superveniet in te, et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi. Ideoque quod nascetur ex te sanctum, vocabitur Filius Dei [n: (Luc. I, 28, 35)]. » Ecce quod Dei Filius, ex Virgine sancta natus, baptismo sancto regenitus, verae Ecclesiae filius effectus est, et nobis omnibus frater esse incepit, qui nobis ante omnia Pater exstitit. Unde post resurrectionem, [1297B] ait, « Ite, nunciate fratribus meis, ut eant in Galilaeam; ibi me videbunt [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 10)]. » Unde, ut quem Deum Patrem hucusque dixeram, jam fratrem mihi nomino; ideoque fratrem, quia sugentem ubera matris meae, Mariae, scilicet; quae ex hoc quod mater ejus effecta est, omnium digne mater est qui ipsum invocant, et ejus sibi opem in quacunque necessitate implorant. Per hanc quidem Dei Filius foris inventus est, id est, in hac forma corporali, quam de novo assumpsit, et in ipsa mundo apparuit, et in hac ab eo (ut dictum est) osculum sibi reconciliationis assumpsit; unde ait, « Et jam me nemo despiciat. » Antequam enim reconciliationis osculum Deus homini [1297C] porrexisset, homo et angelis, et daemonibus, sibi etiam ipsi despectibilis habebatur, qui totus in Infernum possidendus trahebatur. At postquam morte unigeniti reconciliatus est, Infernum deserens, regionem Paradisi possidere coepit et coeli, et extunc nec coeli possessoribus despectui habitus est, nec Inferni. Ait enim ipsa, « Apprehendam te, » id est, firmissimo amplexu tenebo te: non minis, non verberibus, non omni mortis genere amovebor aut avellar a te: et sic inducam te « in domum matris meae, » coelestis, scilicet, Jerusalem, quae erudit me, et exemplum mihi dilectionis ostendit, qua semper adhaeream tibi, et amoveri nequeam a te; et inducam te in « cubiculum genitricis meae, » id est, antiquum illud amoris habitaculum, quo te semper [1297D] tenuit genitrix mea, id est, antiquissima de patriarchis et prophetis, aliisque fidelibus exorta collectio, et, quae nunquam a te avelli potuit, sacra congregatio. « Ibi tu docebis me, » quia tunc erimus omnes docibiles Dei. Et nos quid tibi dabimus? « Poculum ex vino condito, » amorem, scilicet, sempiternum; qui tot modis formatus est, quod modis vina formari solent ex diversis speciebus; « Et mustum malorum granatorum meorum, » id est, passionem martyrum meorum, qui sibi sic in amoris dulcedine juncti sunt, ut sibi mala junguntur in malis, et nullis a te potuerunt malis averti. Sequitur:

3. *Laeva ejus sub capite meo; et dextera illius amplexabitur me. 4. Adjuro vos, filiae Jerusalem, ne suscitetis, [1298A] neque evigilare faciatis Dilectam, donec ipsa velit.*

Haec quia jam dicta sunt, non repetimus, sed ubi dicta sunt, studiosis legenda committimus. Sequitur:

5. *Quae est ista, quae ascendit de deserto, deliciis affluens, innixa super Dilectum suum?*

Amans amantem se facile respicit, et quae format amor, facile sibi verba transfundit. Unde quia ex jam dictis diligentis se Sponsae facile denotatur affectus, Sponsus ei subito responsum praestat amoris, quaerens et sciscitans, quae illa est: non quod ignoret eam, sed ut neminem ignorare permittat. Qualis sit, et quanta, quantaque admiratione dignissima, quae sic de deserto ascendit? Mundum [1298B] hunc desertum nominans, quem plures ut patriam inhabitare conantur, et suo fraudati conamine, hinc ad inferna descendunt, et sic, quae sit eis patria destinata, cognoscunt. Hoc desertum est locus iste, quem Dominus ascendendo deseruit, cum multis videntibus in coelum elevatus ascendit. Quare sequitur, haec ipsa « potens in deliciis, » quibus affluens, quasque Domino summe placere intelligens, ei fide recta, spe robusta, charitate fervida quaerit assistere, et haec sibi ab ipso data praesentare. Hoc vero est quod ait, Quae, quantique meriti haec est, quae deserto hoc mundo, scilicet, quem Deus hinc ascendendo deseruit, qui aliis descensionis locus esse consuevit, locum sibi faciens ascensionis, in alta prosilit, virtutum delicias praesentans [1298C] Deo, quas sibi ab ipso collatas esse cognoscit? Altius vero beatus Gregorius, aspiciens super haec, ait, Ecclesia verborum Dei deliciis affluens, de praesenti deserto ad superiora ascendit. Deliciis affluere est, in amore Dei epulis Scripturarum satiari. Deliciis ergo affluens ascendit, quia nos mysticis intelligentiis pastos, ad superna quotidie sublevat, in cujus verbis tot sunt deliciae, quot sunt diversitates spiritualis intelligentiae. Modo nos pascit historia, reficit moralis allegoria, aliquando suspendit contemplatio ad altiora. Anima his deliciis affluens, mystico intellectu reficitur, in quo praesens obscuritas fulgore diei subsequentis illuminatur, ut etiam in hac corruptione in intellectum illius [1298D] veri luminis erumpat, et verborum deliciis pasta, praegustando discat, quid de pabulo veritatis esuriat. Sequitur:

*Sub arbore malo suscitavi te: ibi corrupta est mater tua: ibi violata est genitrix tua.*

Dictum est, quod ista deliciis affluens, super Dilectum suum innixa est: jam, quod illi inniti potuerit et debuerit, consequenter demonstratur. Ait enim, « Sub arbore malo suscitavi te, » id est, a morte revocavi te; sub arbore malo quidem constitutam, id est, peccato obnoxiam, quod arbore malo contractum est. Dicunt enim vetitam illam arborem, a qua homo in Paradiso abstinere jussus est, malum fuisse, et lignum illud quod bonum esset ad vescendum, et pulchrum oculis, aspectuque delectabile, [1299A] in concupiscentiam mulieri devenisse; quae de illo tulit, viroque porrexit, seque ream inobedientiae, posterosque, constituit. Ab hoc quidem inobedientiae malo Sponsus iste crucem sustinens, omnes eripuit, ideoque seipsam sub malo, id est, sub peccato quod ex malo contractum est, positam suscitasse et redemisse confitetur. Quod ne modicum aestimetur, adjungit, « Ibi corrupta est mater tua; ibi violata est genitrix tua; » matrem vocans generationem omnem, quae ab Adam ad Abraham usque protracta est: genitricem vero illam nominans, quae ab Abraham usque ad Christum, arctiori quadam mandatorum lege constricta est, per hos edocens omnes humana generatione procreatos, delicto huic obnoxios; nisi eos aut Spiritus, antequam [1299B] nascerentur, sanctificaret, utpote sanctam Virginem quae Dei constituta est habitaculum, Joannem Baptistam, et Jeremiam, quos sanctificatos ab utero cognoscimus, aut eis suo Deus sacramento subveniret. Quod si quis altius curat inspicere, tractatum relegat, quem supra de reconciliationis osculo disseruimus, et quae nobis, dictante Domino, donata sunt, exposuimus. Sequitur.

6. *Pone me ut signaculum super cor tuum, ut signaculum super brachium tuum.*

Quia liberavi te a morte quam meruisti, per mortem crucis meae; ideo tibi consequenter injungo, ut me, id est, meam dilectionem, qua homo [1299C] pro te factus sum, qua pro te crucifixus sum, qua humiliavi me, ut de morte quam merueras eruerem te, ponas semper ut signaculum, id est, ut memoriale quoddam, super cor tuum, id est, in corde tuo; ut in omni eo quod agere disposueris, hanc semper attendas dilectionem, ne quid effectu complere praesumas, nisi id huic dilectioni cohaerere conspicias. Idem et de brachio subjungit, « Ut signaculum super brachium tuum. » Haec enim si cohaerentia sunt, cor deliberans, et brachium id quod corde deliberatur exsequens. Quae si ambo memoriale hujus dilectionis teneant, ab omni se opere, quod huic non convenit dilectioni, cohibebunt. Sic cor muniens et brachia, hoc quod alias dictum est, persuadet: alias namque dictum est, « Sex sunt quae [1299D] odit Dominus, et septimum detestatur anima ejus: Oculos sublimes, linguam mendacem, manus effundentes innoxium sanguinem, cor machinans cogitationes pessimas, pedes veloces ad currendum in malum, proferentem mendacia testem fallacem, et eum qui seminat inter fratres discordias [n: (Prov. VI, 16, 17, 18, 19)]. » Quae quidem omnia, si dilectionem Dei habeas, si hanc in corde tuo et in brachio, ut memoriale defigas, longe fient a te, nec est quod in modico impediant te.

*Quia fortis est ut mors dilectio*

Mors quidem fortis est, quia reges exterminat, tyrannos dejicit, divites spoliat, omne denique [1300A] quod in mundo vivit rapit ad se, uno communi fine cuncta terminans, et universa concludens: sic et Christi vera dilectio fortis quidem est, Christo quaeque adversantia respuens, non exhorrens gladium, non timens carcerem, vincula non metuens, omne quod excogitari potest supplicii [cn: 71 | F. suppl. *genus*] libens in se suscipiens, haec non tormenta reputans, sed ut suae salutis adjumenta venerans et adorans. Excogitavit mundus bestias, excogitavit ardentes laminas, rotas excogitavit et cochleas; quae tamen omnia superavit et vicit charitas manens in horum cordibus, quos expugnabat malignitas. Unde non ut mors fortis, sed ipsa morte fortior est ista dilectio, quae in eam irruente morte manet integra, et per eam praemia consequi meretur aeterna. Sequitur:

[1300B] *Et dura sicut infernus aemulatio.*

Ut dilectio commendatur, sic improbatur aemulatio; aemulatio enim dicitur invida charitatis imitatio. Quidam enim videntes martyres honorari, et sanctos ab omnibus confessores venerari, invidentes iis honoribus, et eosdem cupientes, se quasi sequaces martyrum et ipsorum imitatores praeferebant, et sic se martyres, aut quasi martyres aestimabant: quorum studia Sponsus ipse sic improbat, dicens, « Dura sicut infernus aemulatio. » Nam sicut Infernus, quos rapit hos trahit, nec eorum quemquam extrahi a se permittit; sic istorum dura est conditio, quae sic coadunatur inferno, bonum sibi tantum simulans dolo malo. Sequitur:

## CAPUT VIII. (cont.)

[1300C] *Lampades ejus lampades ignis atque flammarum. 7. Aquae multae non potuerunt exstinguere charitatem, nec flumina obruent illam.*

Haec charitatis commendatio est, quae est vera Dei dilectio; ejus enim lampades ignis, sunt corda scilicet, sanctorum, in modum formata lampadum, quae hinc stricta, superius vero dilatata sunt, et in spiritualis ignis habitaculum praeparata. Qui quidem ignis, semper ignis est, semper calefaciens, et in dilectione Dei cor semper accendens; aliquando ignis cum flamma, quando non solum ardet et accendit, immo lucet in opere, et quod intus agit, manifestat in re; ita quidem, quod aquae multae non possunt hanc charitatem extinguere: hanc enim dilectionem tribulationes nullae, nullae vexationum [1300D] adinventiones possunt extinguere; quia quo mala multiplicantur, in Deum hinc constat ipsum excrescere, quia « flumina non obruent illum, » id est, mala malis aggregata in nullo Dei gratiae praevalebunt. Sequitur:

*Si dederit homo omnem substantiam domus suae pro dilectione, quasi nihil despiciet eam.*

Haec consummata laus ejus est: nam si totum quod temporaliter acquiritur homo dederit, ut hanc sibi charitatem acquirat, eam totam substantiam quasi nil despiciet, et nil sibi dedisse videbitur, quia charum et amabile est quod acquiritur. Sequitur:

[1301A]

## 8.

*Soror nostra parva, et ubera non habet. Quid faciemus sorori nostrae in die quando alloquenda est.*

A Sponso Sponsa commendata est, et quod ab eo de morte redempta sit, commonuit, et quod hoc memoriale cordis habeat, edocta; edocta quoque quod charitas vincat omnia; ipsa quidem omnia grata habet et suscipit; et jam de charitate commonita, quaestionem annectit, dicens, « Soror nostra parva, et ubera non habet. » Venit sibi in mentem, quod ait Apostolus, « Cum plenitudo Gentium intraverit, tunc omnis Israel salvus fiet [n: (Rom. XI, 25, 26)]. Hujus itaque synagogae reminiscitur, quae ad praesens in tenebris ambulat, Christum negat, quae de illo dicuntur et creduntur, haec blasphemat. [1301B] Hanc itaque sanctum apostolum in novissimis convertendam, et Eliam, et Henoch ad hos convertendos a Christo reservatos praesciens, hanc propter conversionem futuram sororem nominans, ex charitate sic ait, « Soror nostra parva, et ubera non habet: » parva quidem fide, spe minima, in charitate jam nulla. Haec ubera non habet, nulla in se doctrinae retinacula continet; quae propter se facta sunt, haec negat et reticet. Hanc ergo ad fidem in novissimo venturam praesciens, a Sponso sic quaerit, « Quid faciemus sorori nostrae, in die quando alloquenda est? » Quid dicemus? Illam quomodo commonebimus? Quae illi verba salutis dabimus? Ad haec interrogata sic respondet Sponsus:

*[1301C]*

## 9.

*Si murus est, aedificemus super eum propugnacula argentea: si ostium est, compingamus illud tabulis cedrinis.*

Eorum enim qui convertendi sunt, quidam sunt ut murus, magnam habentes in se scientiam, literarum quoque notitiam, et ob hoc quoque muri, contra se impugnantes, duritiam; quibus ait Sponsus, ut aedificentur super eos propugnacula argentea, id est, divinarum scripturarum eis dentur testimonia, et autoritatum quibus praemunimur; his donentur insignia, quibus hi jam muniti Ecclesiae verae sunt defensores et tutela. « Si vero ostium est, compingamus illud tabulis cedrinis. » Ostium vero sunt hi, per quos quidam intrant, quidam vero exeunt: qui quidem minores sunt scientia, [1301D] minus quidem eruditi scripturis, quibus non summa proponenda sunt, et intellectu difficilia, sed tabulae compingendae sunt cedrinae, id est, leves Scripturae proponendae; ut est ea tabula quam pinxit Dominus, dicens, « Beati pauperes spiritu: quoniam ipsorum est regnum coelorum. Beati mites: quoniam ipsi possidebunt terram. Beati qui lugent: quoniam ipsi consolabuntur. Beati, qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam; quoniam ipsi saturabuntur [n: (Matth. V, 3 et seq.)]. » Quae quidem tabula cedrina est, imputribilis, scilicet, et sententias proferens incontaminatas, veras et infringibiles. Aliaeque tabulae his similes, quae his propositae, ipsos in veritate suscepta adjuvare poterunt et confirmare. Sequitur

*[1302A]*

## 10.

*Ego murus: et ubera mea sicut turris; ex quo facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens.*

Audito Dilecti responso, quo Sponsam monet, ut et conversae synagogae propugnacula proponat argentea, et ad defensionem Ecclesiae propugnatores mittat idoneos, ipsa congratulanter ait, « Ego murus, » me quoque ipsam opponam ictibus; et ubera mea, praelati, scilicet, Ecclesiarum, quos mea ob hoc ubera nomino, quod meo eos lacte nutrio, hi mecum erunt Ecclesiae firma et inexpugnabilis defensio, et mecum aeternae vitae incontradicibilis acquisitio; eo quod reddita jam mihi sorore mea quae perierat, « Facta sum coram eo quasi pacem reperiens. » Tunc enim vere pax reperta erit, cum nullus eorum qui praesciti sunt ad vitam jam deerit, [1302B] sed omnes suos Ecclesia intra se jam continens, summa prosperitate gaudebit. Sequitur:

11. *Vinea fuit pacifico in ea, quae habet populos: tradidit eam custodibus.*

Consummata jam laude cantici hujus, et consummata plenitudine Sponsae hujus, cum sibi synagoga, quam sororem nominat, ad fidem conversa erit, et ad fidem Gentium plenitudo intraverit, de se tota jam Sponsa loquitur, dicens, « Vinea fuit pacifico. » Ego quidem cum plenitudine Gentium jam vocata, cum synagoga jam ad fidem conversa, exstiti vinea pacifico, id est, Jesu Christo Domino nostro, qui pacificavit omnia quae in terra sunt, et quae in coelo. « In ea quae habet populos, » id est, in multitudine Gentium, quae tota a Deo creata est, sed [1302C] non tota ad vitam praeordinata; « Multi enim sunt vocati, pauci vero electi [n: (Matth. XX, 16)]. » Ego vero cum omnium electorum, Judaeorum et Gentium multitudine, vinea fui pacifico, electos sibi fructus faciens, dignos ab eo suscipi, dignos Deo Patri praesentari. Quam quidem vineam dicit pacificum tradidisse custodibus: nam pars Ecclesiae quae ab Adam usque ad Christum exstitit, Patriarchis, et Prophetis, et Legis sanctae Doctoribus custodienda commissa est. Quae vero a Christo usque in finem seculi futura est, apostolis sanctis, et martyribus, aliisque honore pollentibus erudienda, concessa est. Sequitur:

[1302D] *Vir affert pro fructu ejus mille argenteos. 12. Vinea mea coram me est. Mille tui pacifici, et ducenti his qui custodiunt fructus ejus.*

Hanc quidem vineam pacificus excoluit, plantavit, et secuit, et ad florem, fructumque perduxit; quae non in amaritudinem conversa est, nec labruscas fecit, sed elegantes uvas, et Deo Patri praesentari dignissimas. Unde hic dicitur, « Vir affert pro fructu ejus mille argenteos. » Quis iste vir est? Vir ille bonus, cujus meminit David, dicens, « Vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum, et in via peccatorum non stetit, et in cathedra pestilentiae non sedit. Sed in lege Domini voluntas ejus, et in lege ejus meditabitur die ac nocte [n: (Psal. I, 1, 2)]. » Hic solus, vir dici dignissimus, fructus suscipit Ecclesiae, [1303A] offertque Deo Patri, a quo, ad remunerandam Ecclesiam, mille suscipit argenteos, quos affert, ut ditetur Ecclesia, et se bene fructificasse congaudeat. Per mille vero argenteos vitam denotat aeternam, ejusque beatitudinem infinitam, qua suos remunerabit Dominus, cum eos praesentaverit Patri, et his in coelestibus sedes collocaverit. Hanc vero beatitudinem numero millenario comprehendi designat, quae quarta unitas est: prima enim unitas, unitas ipsa est; secunda, denarius; tertia, centenarius; quarta, millenarius; post hunc in infinitum numerus extenditur, habens millenarium sibi semper radicem et unitatem. Bene ergo per hunc, infinitas; et per argentum, beatitudinis excellentia demonstratur; de hac enim dictum est, « Eloquia [1303B] Domini, eloquia casta: argentum igne examinatum, probatum terrae, purgatum septuplum [n: (Psal. XI, 7)]. » Quia quae Dominum praedicant eloquia, castitatem in se continentia sunt, nullam in se haeresin, nullam prorsus incontinentiam admittentia, sed sunt in se velut argentum igne sancti Spiritus examinatum, quo nihil dulcius tinnit eloquio, nihil animae plus sapidum; quo nil a terra probatius, quo nil igne septiformis spiritus purgatius invenitur: de qua responsum hoc Patris accipit, « Vinea mea coram me est, » id est, Omnis haec electorum multitudo mihi complacet, in omni cogitatu et opere mecum est, quam tu mihi per pacificos mille significas, et per ducentos, qui custodiunt fructus ejus. Hi namque perfecti illi sunt, qui ab Adam usque ad [1303C] Christum universitatem hanc verbis erudierunt, exemplis custodierunt, et meritis ornaverunt. Centum vero qui supersunt, sunt ii qui a Christo usque in finem seculi electae illi multitudini praefuerunt: hi Deo Patri praesentantur, et in aeterna beatitudine, cum his quibus praefuerant coronantur. Sequitur:

13. *Quae habitas in hortis, amici auscultant: fac me audire vocem tuam.*

Haec Sponsi est ultima commonitio, qua Sponsam de laude sua commonet, dicens, « Quae habitas in hortis, fac me audire vocem tuam. » Haec quidem jam in hortis Judaea primatum obtinens, ipsam jam fide conversam retinens, hanc praeceptis vitae erudiens, [1303D] gentilitatis quoque multitudinem plene possidens, in hortis virtutum plane residens, virtutes omnes quae Domino suave redolent in se continens, bene in hortis Ecclesiarum habitare dicitur, et ut ab ea laus Domino proferatur, monitis coelestibus exposcitur, cum dicitur Quae habitas in hortis Ecclesiarum, [1304A] fac me audire vocem tuam, ut a cunctis Ecclesiis laus mea resonet, et ab omni laus mea cum gratiarum actione resultet. « Amici » enim « auscultant; » Angeli namque, et omnes cum his virtutes angelicae, Christo cum his fidelis amicitiae ab initio virtute conjunctae, exspectant et auscultant gloriam remunerationis meae, quam jam sperant in gloria laudis tuae. Sequitur:

14. *Fuge Dilecte mi, et assimilare capreae hinnuloque cervorum super montes aromatum.*

Haec est Ecclesiae ultima responsio, qua respondet Sponsa Dilecto suo, dicens, « Fuge, Dilecte mi. » Hanc Sponsus de laude commonet, hortatur ut laudem personet, non quod velit, quod nunc cantica laudis incipiat, sed exspectata communi omnium resurrectione, [1304B] cum Sponsus in nube venerit, cum ejus adventum angelus clara voce personuerit, dicens, « Ecce Sponsus venit, Exite obviam ei [n: (Matth. XXV, 6)]; » cum ad [cn: 72 | F. *resuscitandum*.] resurgendum omnes tuba lugubris insonuerit, et Judex stipatus Angelis, in sede suae majestatis sederit, et ei, nullo excepto, mundus occurrerit, et horrendam in reprobos sententiam tulerit, et dederit electis suis omnibus sententiam quam dicturus est, « Venite, benedicti Patris mei, possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi. » Tunc quidem Ecclesiae cum sanctis omnibus personabit laus et gratiarum actio, qualis audita non est a seculo, cunctique ejus laudis participes in secula benedicentur a Domino. Quod quia diligenti se Sponsae praemonstratum est, ideo non [1304C] indignando, sed moram hanc patienter sustinendo, sic respondet, « Fuge, Dilecte mi, » quod est, a nostris te conspectibus ad praesens abstrahe; in hoc similis assistens capreae hinnuloque cervorum, quae munda quidem animalia sunt, et a conspectibus hominum se in jugis montium continentia. Quos quidem montes, ubi iste cervorum hinnulus habitat, ut a caeteris montibus discernat, addit, « aromatum. » Montes enim aromatum sunt sancta angelorum agmina, virtutumque omnium coelestium habitacula, a quibus spirant omnes aromatizantes gratiae, quas certum est Domino complacere. His Dominus de se vitae diffundit balsamum, ut eo peruncti jam vivant in aeternum: cui nimirum unctioni, Ecclesia se participem [1304D] fieri desiderans, et ad hanc semper in his quae dicta sunt suspirans, osculum sibi dari sanctissimae jucunditatis expetiit, et jam nunc quod illud sit acceptura post paululum cum tota sui plenitudine, certissima Sponsi sui promissione certificata conquiescit.

english:
## DEDICATORY EPISTLE.

*To the most reverend and most ample prelate, the lord WILLIAM JUXON, bishop of London and Lord High Treasurer of England, PATRICK YOUNG. Greeting.*

That oblivion has full often, *most Ample and [sic: Reverendissim] Prelate,* given occasion for a more renowned fame, and that many things have fallen in order that they might afterwards rise again more adorned, is a thing to which assurance is given and abundant witness borne not only by deserted ruined walls and by rubble long neglected, which, laid low by age, put on a new face and a more august form: but by the monuments of genius also, which are day by day corrected, are published in more emended form, and by the sedulous diligence of the studious are drawn forth, first out of mould and dust, into the light and into the day. Among these is this devout and elegant writing of thy predecessor, which until now has perhaps lain buried in oblivion, that in this learned age it might emerge from the darkness with a greater splendour, and might look again, under the auspices of thy most celebrated name, upon the light which it had first drunk in within thy walls. His aged infirmities, or rather those of the age in which he lived, which occur here and there in phrasing or in matter: if, out of your singular piety, *Your most Ample Lordship* be willing to cover them with but the hem of your own garment, and to deem him worthy of your patronage together with his *Acoluthus* (for to go forth into public alone, without a companion, was neither seemly, nor did the condition of so great a man allow it), and kindly to interpret this our small labour in publishing the two, you will make a step toward greater things, which may hereafter be dedicated to thy name, and will bind me, most devoted to *Thy Amplitude,* by a closer bond of observance for the time to come. Given the day before the Nones of November. In the year MDCXXXVIII.

## GILBERT'S PREFACE.

[1147A]To his lord and most dear friend Robert, by the grace of God bishop of Hereford, brother Gilbert, humble minister of the Church of London: to be exercised in those things which are God's, and in the same to be consummated with a most blessed end.

Lest the authority of thy command, my lord, should seem to me empty or cheap, I have straightway sent thee the book which thou didst ask for: the book, that is, which with the Lord's help I lately put forth upon the Song of Songs, and which I entrusted to no man before thee, either to be copied or to be looked into. For it was not written by me for praise, nor for the sake of a public commendation, but that I might hold in memory the things which, the Lord teaching, I had learned: and that I might show that these things are not, after the manner of the Jews, to be cheaply despised, but to be read humbly with the inmost understanding, and to be understood in the same spirit in which they [1148A] were spoken. And when it had been read through by thee with the utmost attention from beginning to end, thou didst receive it with much alacrity of mind, and, as I hear, didst commend with much praise that I had applied my zeal to this study: and, that nothing might be wanting to its perfection, thou didst ask that a Prologue be fitted to it by me, so that the completion of the work might be worthy, and to it a rendering of thanks be made; for it is written, « Love is strong as death [n: (Cap. VIII, 6)]. » For as there is nothing mortal that can break the bond of death, so there is nothing possible that the urgency of love cannot obtain. This it was that emptied the Lord, and bound him with human bonds; this it was that, after the cross and the sepulchre, led him down to the lowest seats, that he might snatch thence those who had believed that he would come, [1149A] and were diligently awaiting him: this it is that reforms into the liberty of grace those whom, at the dictate of justice, it had made sons of wrath, mercy tempering judgment. This changes my purpose, so that I set a prologue to a work which I undertook to expound without a prologue. For the author of the work was Solomon, who imitated the ancient writers, who do not make their readers attentive by prefixing a prologue, but by showing them the matter of which they are about to treat arouse their attention, and turn their zeal toward the recognition of the things that are said. Whence that saying of Moses: « In the beginning God created heaven and earth: but the earth was without form, » [var: Vulg. *inanis et vacua*, "void and empty"] etc. [n: (Gen. I, 1)]. And that of Exodus: « These are the names of the sons of Israel, who entered into Egypt with Jacob [n: (Exod. I, 1)]. » So, [1149B] running through the whole Pentateuch, thou wilt find the books of Judges and of Kings, and the others besides, written without a prologue; and if prologues have been added to them, thou wilt recognize that they were added long afterwards, after the coming of the Saviour. Imitating these, Solomon begins straightway from the very matter of which he is about to treat, knowing that the matter itself which is handled has in itself either a manifest usefulness, by which it may allure, or an evident reason, by which one may despise the things coveted, or theological considerations, by which one may cast these [1150A] from the mind, and cleave to him alone who is the founder and creator of them. Three books therefore he made, which he does not adorn or enlarge with prologues: one, of « Parables »; another, « Ecclesiastes »; this third, « Sirasirim ». In the « Parables » he allures men to the possessing of those things by which the present life is furnished, that a man's own necessity may be relieved, that in the things wherein there is need his neighbour may be succoured, and that to the indigent there be given as necessity requires. But in « Ecclesiastes » he warns that the mind be not entangled [sic: implieetur] in these things, that love be not bent toward the things which are transitory: but that it judge them as vain, and decide upon and desire the things that are higher than these. Whence, adding « Sirasirim » next in order (which is called the « Song of songs »), in which, flying past all things, the soul stands beside the divine majesty, [1150B] embracing him as a bridegroom, and presenting to him out of her affection all that love can be. The soul, therefore, or the Church, kindled with the fire of love, not seeking these visible things but sighing after the invisible with the whole affection of the heart and the whole intention of the mind, he thus brings in: as one seeking God, yet not yet apprehending him, and, that she may hold him as apprehended, saying these things.

## EXPOSITION ON THE SONG OF SONGS.

## CHAPTER ONE.

[1149C]

1. *Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

Who is this, so renowned? of form and grace so elegant? that, boldly seeking the kiss of the highest King, she says, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth? » Is this soul acting in a dream, feigning for herself what she wills, snatching herself away into some hope without substance, forming empty visions within herself, and even now hoping to apprehend what she could not obtain by laborious endeavours? For whither has this spirit ascended, so unmindful of gold and so forgetful of silver, accounting the precious stone as nothing, so spurning all that the world possesses and imparts to its own to be possessed, that, thrusting these away with the hand of holy perfection, she says: Stand apart, you; my love, withdrawn from you, [1149D] has been carried over into the things above, seeking him alone who alone truly is, and who furnishes to all things alike the cause and the effect of their being; sighing after whom, and impatient of holy desire, this soul communes with herself, and speaks, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: » for a soul so inspired speaks not vain things, but the highest. Long since has she drunk up the streams of Solomon's wisdom, and heard him disputing in « Ecclesiastes »: for once indeed, dainty and tender, when she had not yet come from outward forms to inward things, when she had not yet ascended from the creature to the Creator, [1150C] she clung to the world with all her embraces, and bound herself with all her affections to the very things that are seen: but having entered the school of spiritual doctrine, she was accounted worthy to hear no common master, but that Solomon supreme in wisdom, appointing for holy Church a certain introductory lesson, by which he might call away every elect soul from the world, and might join her, once called away and drawn apart, to him who is above the world, by the indissoluble bond of charity. For that supreme Solomon, seeing in the spirit that almost every soul was as it were digging in the earth, entangling herself in secular business, and no longer lifting her love upward but bending it lower; in order that he might raise up the bowed and wretched one, came down from the height of his own contemplation to the depths of human converse, calling back [1150D] the wanderer, instructing and reforming her with saving precepts, and so at length, by certain steps as it were of ascent, leading her through to the heights of holy contemplation and of love. First of all, therefore, he promises great things to the tender age, saying, « The parables of Solomon: to know wisdom and discipline, and to understand the words of prudence, and to receive the instruction of doctrine [n: (Prov. I, 1 seq.)]. » He suggests winning things, adding, « A wise man hearing shall be wiser, and he that understandeth shall possess governments. » Thus he does not at once preach to her contempt of the world and of the things that are in the world, [1151A] nor rehearse the hard and lofty matters of a straiter life; « for first that which is animal, then that which is spiritual [n: (I Cor. XV, 46)]. » Whence the best of masters, lest by urging weighty things at once he should blunt at the very beginnings the soul which he had taken up to be instructed, permits her, as though for the passing of her years of infancy, to use freely the world and the things that are of the world, and to take delight in them: yet appointing her a law, that she flow not away in sinning, nor turn to the use of malice and of lust what she has received by the great gift of a great author. He sets forth, therefore, to her who now listens attentively, the Parables; and with as many Parables as he instructs her, with so many laws does he inform and bind her to living well and honourably: which Parables indeed, if a prudent reader shall look into them more attentively with the eye of the mind, [1151B] he will understand that within them there is assigned most fully, for an honourable converse, a form of life for the possessors of this world and for those who pass their days in the common life. For because « without faith it is impossible to please God [n: (Heb. XI, 6)], » in the very opening of the treatise faith and the worship of the highest Godhead are inculcated, when it is said, « Hear, my son, the discipline of thy father, and forsake not the law of thy mother [n: (Prov. I, 8)]. » For the discipline of the highest Father, which the Church has most fully learned from him, is this: « To believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder to them that love him [n: (Heb. XI, 6)], » [var: Vulg. *inquirentibus se*, "to them that seek him"] and that in the end of the times he sent his Son in the flesh, and through him fulfilled his promises. But of the law of our mother the Church, the first is that natural law, engraved by the finger of God on the hearts of men; the second, that written upon tablets [1151C] of stone; the third, the law of the Gospel, ministered in the Holy Spirit and in grace. To forsake not the law of our mother, therefore, is this: not to withdraw from the unity of the Church, and from the worship of the highest Godhead, which she received inwardly by the inspiration of grace. But the remaining commandments of the Decalogue shine forth in distinct places throughout the whole volume of the Parables; and by these, and by very many other precepts besides, there is set forth as it were a certain secular holiness, and the life of secular men is ordered by a fit governance of reason; so that a man may so use the world as not to turn aside from God, and so possess the things permitted and made subject to him as unceasingly to abstain from the things forbidden. In the first instruction, since satisfaction has been made to human desires, and it has been permitted to man to use temporal things soberly, according to what was said to the first man [1151D] by the divine voice, « Increase and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and rule over the fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and all things that move upon the earth [n: (Gen. I, 28)]; » there is now place for a second instruction, that concerning the things which man has long possessed he may now hear what judgment is to be made: whether he is to cleave to them with love, or whether love is to be raised from them to something higher and far better: whence Solomon, running through with the pen of truth each several thing that is under the sun, says in the second volume, « Vanity of vanities, and all is vanity [n: (Eccle. I, 2)]; » and mightily showing that this vanity is present in all transitory things, that the mind is by no means to be wrapped up in vain things, nor love to be entangled in vain things, [1152A] he sets apart from vanity the soul which he had taken up to be instructed, and applies her separately to truth, when at the end of that same work he adds, « Youth and pleasure are vain [n: (cap. XI, 10)]. » And a little after, « Remember thy Lord thy Creator in the days of thy youth, before the time of affliction come, and the years of which thou shalt say, they please me not [n: (Cap. XII, 1)]. » And a little after, in the very close of the discourse, « Fear God, and keep his commandments: this is every man [n: (ibid., 13)]. » By which compendious close of words, what else does he instil into the minds of men but the fear of that highest Godhead, and the reverence of the worship that is owed. For this is the way, this is the access to life, if the mind, seized with holy fear, always turn aside from unlawful things, and the mind, kindled within with the fire of love, [1152B] be unceasingly girded for good things: for man has been set midway in the order of the rational creature, having the good Angel above him, the evil one below, and, when this life has slipped away, he is to be brought to an equality with the one or the other according to the merits of his life. He therefore, as he is midway between these, so has something in common with each: love, namely, with him who is above, fear with him who is below: for the evil angels fear and tremble, but the good love perfectly; and as the evil angel does not rise up to love, so the good angels do not come down to fear, according to that saying, « Perfect charity casteth out fear [n: (I Joan. IV, 18)]. » Since, therefore, love alone wholly carries the good angel into itself, while fear alone presses the evil one downward, [1152C] there is not, apart from man, in the order of the whole creation, any in whom fear runs together with love, in whom these two meet joined to one another. To man, therefore, it is said, « Fear God, and keep his commandments: this is every man: » as if it were said, All this, that is, the whole of this, namely, « to fear, » and by loving « to keep the commandments, » belongs to man; that by fearing he may turn aside wrath, and by loving may attain to grace. Or if it be said, « This is every man, » that is, through fear and love a man is made perfect. Or, « This is every man, » that is, unto this every man is created, this does not differ from the same understanding, since this is the manner and the cause of his creation: that he should so escape wrath, and merit grace.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

This soul, therefore, receiving the admonitions of salvation not now drawn off [1152D] from afar, but from the fountain itself, that is, from the highest Solomon; taught already in the Proverbs in what manner she may possess worldly things, and in Ecclesiastes by what reasoning she may now forsake and despise in her mind the things she has possessed; hears now at last in the Songs how she may pass over from things visible to things invisible, and cleave to the author of all with the whole strength of her mind and the fullness of her affection. Thus, from the moral discipline by which she holily shares what she possesses, through the rational, by which she rightly judges of worldly things, having entered upon that holy and highest *theoria*, having now utterly forgotten the things that are behind, climbing that holy mountain and the summit of her own mind, she follows through the midst of the cloud and the darkness that holy Moses to the heights of contemplation; [1153A] where, abiding in a secret dwelling [n: (Exod. XIX, 20, et XX, 21)], she seeks not lofty panelled ceilings, nor the painted flanks of attendants, nor acres of fields stretched out beyond measure, but, that she may abound plentifully in all things, seeks him alone who is all things, who is the light and the rest of souls, the fount of good things and the origin of virtues, whom to apprehend is the highest thing, and whom to enjoy the most delightful: and being driven within by desire of him, she utters what she feels, and no longer restraining herself within the cloisters of silence, speaks, after the manner of a lover, either to herself or to some heavenly Virtue akin to her, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Love indeed errs rather often in judgment, and while it is borne headlong by its own desire, whithersoever it has turned itself it seems to itself to behold the thing it desires, and that any other person too [1153B] experiences in himself what it feels: whence, as though it were plain to others who it is that love draws and as it were absorbs into itself, when she utters outwardly what she does within, she designates no one by name, but with a certain discreet indiscretion so says, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » This indeed is the secret of a perfect mind, and the soliloquy of a soul now cleansed with the heavenly Bridegroom. Come then, turn aside the edge of thy mind a little, and for a short while come down from the highest things to the lower; consider a soul still bound fast by unbelief, one who has not yet been enlightened to receive the rays of faith, has not yet touched the thresholds of the Church, and knew nothing at all of the Bridegroom: wilt thou judge that the Song rightly belongs to her? that she should speak to the Bridegroom of holy souls, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth? » Would not [1153C] this Parable be unseemly in her mouth? But if thou consider a soul enlightened indeed by faith, yet dead in works, grievously oppressed and overwhelmed by sins, making for herself a long rope of sin, and not running back to the good by that remedy of penance: can the Song rightly be fitted to her, that, misshapen of mouth, and of horrid face, and foul in all her body, she should nevertheless say to the Father of all, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » But a soul fortified by faith and imbued with the sacraments, now raising herself by the law of the mind to the good of virtue, now, in the lapse into sin, taking upon her the law that fights back in her members; subject to this alternation, mourning, and in her mourning crying aloud: « O who shall deliver me from the body of this death? » [1153D] [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Will she fitly sing the Song, that, overcast with the tears of sadness and drawing the sobs of penance, she should say, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. »

But if, advancing a little, thou consider a soul upon a certain higher step, governing herself by a kind of even moderation, so that she neither now admits the sins for which damnation is due, nor yet climbs to the heights of virtue, dwelling in a manner with Lot in Segor, not yet reaching the mountains: she assuredly, in proportion as she does not yet touch the summits of virtue, is the more delighted by outward things, and burns less strongly in the desire of the heavenly kiss; so that neither to her does that rightly belong which was said, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his [1154A] mouth. » Enter now at last the secret place of the spiritual soul; consider a soul now established in grace, whom the spirit has drawn out into the mountains, who has now determined to dwell on the heights, who, the world being now overcome, has trodden sin underfoot, who, running after the Lord with Peter, has now said, « Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee [n: (Matth. XIX, 27)]; » she, though she be far from the darkness of unbelief, from the reign of sin and of death, from the assault of temptation, from the torpor of the mind, does not yet presume so far as to dare, where she awaits the kiss of the highest King, which perhaps she has not yet tasted, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth: » but either she sits content, with Mary, with the kiss of the holy feet, or, according to John, « she stands with the friends of the Bridegroom, and rejoiceth with joy at his voice [n: (Joan. III, 29)], » [1154B] which voice, most full of sweetness, she has now been accounted worthy to hear within, and in a certain appearance and promise of things to come alike to be delighted and to rest. From hence ascend, if now thou canst, to the sixth step of perfection, by which a love now consecrated enters the heights of contemplation; where the Lord is transfigured upon the mountain for her, and that most holy Moses, hidden from human eyes, now privy to the heavenly secrets, rests most sweetly in the very hidden place of the Godhead: here the most blessed soul, contemplating in her heart the King whom she loves, and stretched out toward God as far as in this life is lawful, is refreshed by the sweetness of the eternal vision; and, turning back the eye of contemplation upon all things that have been created, while she wonders not so much at them as at [1154C] the wisdom of the highest Maker in them, and at his unspeakable power, disdaining all that is created, gathers herself wholly into that wisdom, and is bound fast to it by the bond of charity and by the light of contemplation; and while she sees that all that is comely in the creature is not in the least degree comparable to his comeliness, she takes fire and burns toward that invisible fire, and, experiencing the wound of charity inflicted upon her mind by the sweet sting of the Godhead, and demanding that there be foretasted for her certain pledges, as it were, both of the blessedness to come and of that most sacred conjunction of the created spirit with the uncreated, which shall be without end in an indissoluble bond of charity, with an inward; and crying out with a sound of the mind audible to the holy and supernal powers alone, she says, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » For love kindled toward God is charity; and [1154D] the beholding, with intent mind, of him who is loved is contemplation: and these so accompany one another that contemplation stirs up love, and love always advances contemplation toward the things before; so that whither contemplation penetrates by the ray of the supernal light, thither it draws love after it; so that to the soul thus advancing the Lord is both illumination through contemplation, and true salvation through charity; as it is said, « The Lord is my illumination, and my salvation; whom shall I fear? » [n: (Psal. XXVI, 1.)] The soul, therefore, turned away from the world and converted to Christ with her whole mind, forgetting the things that are behind [n: (Phil. III, 13)], and stretching herself mightily toward the things before, beholding the world now far down beneath her, snatching herself wholly into eternity, [1155A] beholding by contemplation the highest and eternal things of the Lord Jesus, and by urgent love desiring them, because she wholly succumbs to love and languishes with spiritual desire; yet not presuming upon the full embraces of the bridegroom, that her love may be satisfied at least in something, asks a kiss, and, speaking in mind either to herself or perhaps to a familiar angel, imparting spiritual things to the spiritual, opens her love, and, loving, so begins from love, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » And since these things have been said in the manner of a little preface, we shall expound the rest in the following tome, the Lord breathing upon us, who lives and reigns for all ages of ages. Amen.

*Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

By unremitting labour, by continual exercise of virtue, this faithful [1155B] soul has been brought so far that she aspires to the kiss of the highest King, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Hence it is that we by no means run on with a gliding pen, but stand as though clinging upon the heights, desiring earnestly to search out and to imitate the things at once hidden and perfect of this holy soul. In which matter this first occurs, that she seems most confidently to glory in herself together with the Apostle, so as to say, « Our glory is this, the testimony of our conscience [n: (II Cor. I, 12)]. » For she who seeks the kiss of the highest Godhead knows beyond doubt that she has a clean heart, knows that she has clean lips, an honourable face, and one not unworthy of the kiss of so great a King: so that there seems rightly to belong to her what was said, « For I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you a chaste virgin [1155C] to a chaste one [n: (II Cor. XI, 2)]: » [var: Vulg. *Christo*, "to Christ"] and again elsewhere, « That he might present to himself a glorious Church, not having spot, nor wrinkle [n: (Ephes. V, 27)]: » for this soul has no « spot » from uncleanness, no « wrinkle » from duplicity, no depraved conscience from hatred of a neighbour; there proceed from her heart no murders, no adulteries, none of the other things that are wont to weigh down the conscience and are wont to defile a man: for with all watchfulness she keeps her own heart, hearing attentively through Solomon, « for from it life proceedeth. [n: (Prov. IV, 23)]. » At the doors of this heart stands the fear of God, provident and solicitous, lest on every side a way of approach to its secret places lie open to the vices: at the bulwarks of this heart stand the stern battalions of the virtues, which do not now, as of late, fight against sins; [1155D] but glory in the Lord Jesus, the victory over them being even now obtained: and by how much the bitterer the battle they long experienced, by so much the more joyful is the glory in which they now triumph. Above stands chastity girt up, which rejoices that she has crushed the uncleanness of the flesh upon the rock of abstinence. With placid countenance stands humility, the companion of chastity, minding nothing lofty; but repressing by the Lord's power the elation of mind that ever seeks high things, and bravely and prudently dashing the foul madness of its head against the rock, which is Christ. Thus faith despises unbelief, hope despairing misery, charity envy, simplicity guile, innocence malice, truth falsehood, and each several virtue despises the vices opposed to it, as [1156A] monstrous corpses now mightily dashed against the rock of truth. Here thou mayest see that ancient concupiscence of the flesh lamenting at the funerals of her extinguished offspring; carrying round in the golden cup of Babylon her various allurements, and all that can be contrived by the most exquisite art of temptation, plotting this by force, this by all her craft, to see whether the things grown cold may be warmed, and the things extinguished may be raised up to their ancient spirit of life. That sacred choir of the virtues mocks her as she casts her darts, knowing that the Egyptians, smitten by the hand of the Lord, are not to be called back to life any more: whence, exulting spiritually, it takes up psalm and timbrel, singing out that song of Moses with full gladness to the Lord, « Let us sing to the Lord; for he is gloriously magnified: the horse and the rider he hath cast into [1156B] the sea [n: (Exod. XV, 1)]. » The evil rider is every malignant spirit; the evil horses are the worst vices; and with what violence the evil Angels who sit upon them are borne along is manifest, when they drag down souls wretchedly tempted into the depth of hell, and subject them to eternal torments, the divine justice bringing it about.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

This soul glories that these are extinguished for her, and, sitting in the midst of the virtues, now entrusts herself wholly to them, and commits herself utterly to their services; and to her every virtue does service most humbly, each furnishing what is its own. Who could now run through with the pen, who could set forth in speech, what comeliness each several virtue confers upon this perfect soul, what admirable grace each several virtue supplies? Who could express her comeliness to the full? whom [1156C] continence renders chaste, and innocence simple, meekness gentle, mercy devout, circumspection provident, temperance sober, prudence discreet, patience brave; and whom charity, now perfected, directs with much reverence along the sacred paths of justice? For from the very beginning of holy fear, straightway planting her steps in humility, thence passing through the camps of unchastity, and so ascending through the remaining virtues as they are disposed in the mind by the Spirit of God, looking no longer upon vanities and false madnesses, she now entrusts herself wholly to love in a certain higher place, and commits herself to its most excellent fullness. Here, dwelling apart, she cannot but meditate upon what she loves; she cannot but contemplate [1156D] what she desires: with a thirst sent upon her from above, she takes fire toward that living fountain, and is daily refreshed with the sweet bread of tears; while she grieves that her desires are drawn out to such length, and, suffused with tears, makes her complaint. Here she frequently repeats and turns over with herself that saying, « To me to live is Christ, and to die is gain: I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ [n: (Phil. I, 21, 23)]. » And that other, « Woe is me! that my sojourning is prolonged [n: (Psal. CXIX, 5)]. » She is indeed forced to feel, and compelled to experience in herself, what she lacks of the highest, and how far off she is from eternity. A spirit released from the flesh has seen manifestly him whom it loves, enjoys the good it desires, is not tormented by the deferring of its desire, is touched by no grief at all; there love is wholly in the light, wholly rests in joy: [1157A] but the weariness of love in the present life is beautifully described, when it is said, « Laughter shall be mingled with sorrow, and mourning taketh hold of the ends of joy [n: (Prov. XIV, 13)]. »

In this life indeed the laughter of a faithful soul is this: that with a clean conscience, with a perfect heart, with a most full integrity of love, she knows that she follows the Lord Jesus into the heights, and that she reaches out the kiss of her mind toward his human things and his divine alike: yet this laughter is still mingled with sorrow, and mourning takes hold of this joy; since she knows that she has not yet apprehended him whom she follows with her heart, and considers that what she desires above all things is deferred from her. Hence the sorrow of the loving soul, hence the tears with which she washes herself through the nights, and waters the bed of her mind; that, being already cleansed, [1157B] she may be cleansed yet more, and that she who had been fair may shine forth far fairer. The soul, trusting in these virtues, conscious of this her comeliness, after vices long since stormed, after the gifts of the virtues obtained, after desires long drawn out, languishing with love, raising herself upward by contemplation, passing through heaven in her mind, asks a kiss for the solace of her grief, for a certain foretaste of the gladness she longs for, and thus begins the Song which is called of Songs, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Thou mayest perhaps see an Angel indignant, and saying: What has been done? what is this so great and so new a change of things? why have the lowest been mingled with the highest? has heaven been stretched out above in vain? has a seat in the dunghill been appointed for man in vain? does the human mind penetrate [1157C] heaven? and does it, by no means content now with its own bounds, run through not only the regions of heaven, but the inmost parts of the heavens? But if in any way this has been permitted her, what is this, that the human mind should exalt itself to such a height, and should seek the kiss of the creating power, of the wisdom that works all things by a word, of a goodness subject to no constraint, that is, of the highest and inaccessible Godhead, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth? » Has any Angel, or Archangel, or any spirit of the number of the Virtues, of the Cherubim or the Seraphim, ever so spoken with himself, silently or in mind, as either ever to ask or to hope for the kiss [1157D] of him beside whom we stand trembling, and whose embassies we have served by obeying for so many ages? When the Word was made flesh, and the Lord Jesus was passing through his human affairs upon earth, we called it a great thing, and accounted it a marvel in our eyes, that a poor woman was admitted to his feet, to fix a kiss upon those feet which she had nevertheless first wiped with her hairs and washed with the flood of her tears [n: (Luc. VII, 38)]. When the Lord transfigured himself upon the mountain, and revealed to human eyes his divine things, which he had always had, did that loving Peter, or the most beloved John, presume to seek the kiss of his majesty, who, not bearing the voice that came down from the magnificent glory, fell prone to the earth [1158A] [n: (Matth. XVII, 2)]. The Apostle too, caught up hence [n: (II Cor. XII, 4)], to whom the secrets of heaven were entrusted, and those holy words of silence revealed, did he, minding lofty things among us, so set his mouth in heaven that, not measuring himself, not considering his own human estate, he aspired to the kiss of the highest Godhead?

Moses too, going up into the mountain [n: (Exod. XIX)], hiding within the cloud, trembling at the sound of the trumpet, does he present himself to the delights of this kiss, who begs that that merely carnal law, soon to be abolished, be engraved not now upon the hearts of men, but only upon tablets of stone? Since, according to the Truth, « no one among those born of women is greater than John the Baptist [n: (Matth. XI, 11)], » and since, according to the same, « he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is far greater than he [1158B] [n: (ibid.)]; » it could have been enough for the human soul if even the least angel had received her with a kiss. This one's zeal perhaps, as proceeding not from anger or from malice, some supernal virtue tempers, answering him as he judges severely, that mortals are not to be resented if they desire to escape the snares of death, and strive with the whole effort of the mind to apprehend the liberty of the glory of the sons of God. For the condition of mortals is very wretched: set in the midst of the world, they behold hell beneath and heaven above; and for man not only is it easy to descend, but it is most difficult not to fall: to this the flesh is prone by its own weight, temptations press, malignant spirits drag him down with the ropes of sins, ever envying human salvation, as they have long envied our glory also. But as the descent [1158C] is easy, so is the ascent to the things above difficult: in this lies the life of men, in this the battle of souls, in this glow the endeavours of those who live holily in the world: that, escaping the snares of sins, they may pass over into our liberty, and conform themselves to us by purity of life, and join themselves with us in the love of the highest Godhead. For souls that have come forth out of the pit of misery and out of the mire of dregs, forsaking the vain things of the world, nay treading them underfoot in mind: with what devotion are they to be received, with how great a charity are they to be cherished by us, lest they ever look back and degenerate, but may unceasingly kindle their love toward the Father of lights, until they receive the gifts promised to the blessed? A soul, therefore, set in holy desires, spurning earthly things, not yet [1158D] apprehending the heavenly, let her be permitted to use the figures of her own words as a kind of incentive to her love; especially since, when she names a kiss, or an embrace, or a couch, or anything of the sort, she thinks nothing carnal, presumes nothing unworthy, meditates nothing at all save what is holy: [nt: ( For all that a wretched woman sins in a kiss, and carnal affection, is as far from her mind as she herself, purified by virtue, has withdrawn far from vice. )] For there is also a holy kiss, as the Apostle mentions, saying: « Salute one another with a holy kiss [n: (Rom. XVI, 16)]. » And, according to the Truth, the Father running to meet his returning son, « being moved with mercy, and running up, fell upon [1159A] his neck and kissed him [n: (Luc. XV, 20)]. » These things, therefore, which zeal had stirred up among the Supernal Ones, being lulled to rest by the working of modesty, we shall defer to the treatise following the things that are to be said, the Lord inspiring us.

*Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

As has already been said in the tome above, there is a certain kiss of foul pleasure, which a mind now lifted up to the things above disdains even to remember: But there is a holy kiss, which the Apostle mentions, saying, « Salute one another with a holy kiss, » and the truth in the Gospel, « the Father, being moved with mercy, fell upon the neck of his son, and kissed him. » A kiss, therefore, is of one sort a kiss of reconciliation, of another a kiss of congratulation, of another a kiss of gladness and of a certain permitted and sanctified pleasure. It is a kiss of reconciliation [1159B] when minds before at discord are called back, through some mediator, into peace and the favour of friendship; and the kiss that is shown outwardly is the sign of that confederation and conjunction of minds which is made within. But it is a kiss of congratulation when we receive with congratulation kinsmen long absent, and friends returned from pilgrimage or from elsewhere, and show the certainty of our inward joy by the very kiss that we give outwardly. But the kiss of the Bridegroom to the Bride is a kiss of a certain sanctified pleasure. There is therefore a threefold kiss, for which the church sighs, and which every faithful soul desires to be given her: for the holy church longs for reconciliation, longs for congratulation, [1159C] and longs also for that holy gladness which shall be without end. For while the Word was not yet incarnate, there was no peace of the church with God, which, after this life had slipped away, was drawn wholly into hell.

For man made himself wholly liable to eternal death, that is, in his stock and in his offspring, when he scorned to obey his author, from whom he had lately received so many and so great things, him (I say) who not only willed and commanded, but even held out threats, in a matter most trifling. For although it be no great proof of love if a man obey in a small thing, yet it is a great sign of an irreverent mind, and a token of the utmost contempt, if a man scorn to obey in a small matter: for according to the Truth, « He that is not faithful in a little, how [1159D] shall he be faithful in a great matter? » [n: (Luc. XVI, 10.)] By how much the less, therefore, was the thing in which man scorned to obey, by so much the greater is the sin that he incurred, and the greater the punishment that he deserved. For he who offends against an eternal Judge, without doubt what he deserved was unto eternity; for that judicial power which lacks an end inflicts a punishment without end: and as man deserved good without end at the hand of the Lord, when he departed from the truth. For as the good angel was first light, and afterwards a firmament, when he did not consent to him who desired to set his seat toward the North [n: (Isa. XIV, 13)]: so man too, if he had resisted the temptation, would by that very fact have deserved to be confirmed against temptation and sin, so that thereafter he could neither have sinned nor have been tempted; but, the number of days appointed him being here innocently [1160A] fulfilled, and the tree of life tasted, he would have come to an equality with the angels, he who had created him working mightily in this also. As, therefore, the reward of obedience would have been eternal, so, by the even scale of justice, an eternal punishment was owed to disobedience; and to it man, after his sin, being wholly liable, fell wholly into hell.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

For hence the prophet says, « Mercy and truth have met each other [n: (Psal. LXXXIV, 11)], » which is the same as if it were said, mercy and justice began to come each against the other; for they that meet each other come from opposite sides, and tend as it were in contrary directions; so mercy and truth, straightway after the sin, began to tend in different ways: truth was exacting man for punishment, while mercy [1160B] was disposing something better for his repair. And this was a wonderful meeting, justice dragging man to the lower regions, and the other desiring to bring man back to the things he had lost. But as justice prevailed, man was given over to punishments, tasting miseries and hardships and death in the world, corruption in the sepulchre, and after all things, darkness in hell. And when satisfaction had now been made to justice in great part, the fault having been long punished, after many courses of years, place at length was given on high to mercy, which was ever knocking and pressing hard, in the hidden and secret places of that holy and highest Trinity itself; where it was disposed as wonderfully as devoutly, that in him in whom the Father had created all things, in him he should restore the things that were lost. This counsel [1160C] is that before [cj: *antequam*; read *antiquum*, "ancient"], of which the prophet says, « Let thy ancient counsel, O Lord, be made true. » This is that which, « hidden from the ages [n: (Col. I, 26)], » Paul calls a « sacrament. » The Son therefore obeyed the Father, and so much the more wonderfully and the more sacredly, in that it was not a younger obeying an elder, not a lesser a greater, but one almighty, great, himself great, immeasurable, almighty, equal in all things, who obeyed; as it is said in the prophet, « In the head of the book it is written of me, that I should do thy will [n: (Psal. XXXIX, 9)]. » For great is the book of the knowledge and wisdom of God, in which, though thou shouldst read for ever, no end of it ever comes: its inner pages he alone who wrote it has looked upon. In this both men and angels advance without end; and that treasure of God, however many [1160D] be for ever drawing from it, can never be drained: from end to end his wisdom alone and highest reaches. In this all men are written, and the days are formed, and the merits of each are comprehended, and the blessedness due to every one is contained expressly.

In the head of this book, as in its chief part, is written this sacrament of the Incarnation, in that among all the things which God has wonderfully wrought, in creating each thing, in conserving what he has created, and in disposing by a wonderful law the things he conserves, nothing is so astonishing or so wonderful as that, by his own self-emptying, at the command of commanding mercy, he seems to have been visited with injury to himself. But « the works of the Lord are great, sought out according to all his [1161A] wills [n: (Psal. CX, 2)], and his judgments are true, justified in themselves [n: (Psal. XVIII, 10)]. » God therefore, ascending the cross, and spreading out his innocent hands to the nails, as he consecrated the place of death unto life, so those who were held in death he called back to life. For as his blood dripped from the cross the rocks were cleft, that a bodily entrance might lie open by which that most sacred price, received by angelic hands, might be borne down to the lower world; that, the fruit of the tree of life being shared, they might run back into the liberty of life who were held in hell under the faith and at once the expectation of this grace. What is there, then, of which justice may now complain? In paradise a tree was set, « good to eat of, fair to the eyes, and delightful to behold; and the woman took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave to her [1161B] husband, who did eat [n: (Gen. III, 6)]: » and disobedience being thus consummated, the way to death was prepared: in the Church too the tree of the cross was set up, whose aspect was horrible and whose taste most bitter; its fruit was that temporal death by which the guilty were punished, who for divers crimes were condemned to the cross: to this tree that eternal wisdom stretched out its hands, and tasted this fruit, with no serpent suggesting it, nor woman persuading. Once indeed the serpent had done this: that the woman, coveting what she ought not, should be delighted, as the flesh is; that the man, as it were the rational sense, should acquiesce in the same; and so it had prepared for itself a way by which it might glide into the hearts of the immortal, and draw all things to itself: but [1161C] at the cross all that is his is made void; the serpent suggests nothing to Christ; here the flesh is not delighted; the rational sense itself, in the spirit, draws the flesh after it, to endure the hard things of the cross and to taste the bitter things of death. Virtue, therefore, resides in the cross; and, since he ascended it who is the virtue and wisdom of God, both virtue and wisdom are placed in it. This opens the way of virtue, which, although it be narrow, yet leads to life. The tree of paradise, then, put forth a fruit by which both the suggestion might be received, and concupiscence be aroused by certain enticements as it were: the cross, now set in the bosom of the Church, assuredly presents a fruit which, if thou shalt taste it in the mind, thou dost not succumb, neither with the enemy suggesting within, nor with the flesh enticing thee; but the enemy is conquered in his first encounter, and the flesh is at once called back to serve the spirit, [1161D] and the whole man is brought back into the love of consummated virtue. This, then, is the place in which mercy, which is true peace, kisses justice; for here satisfaction is made to both at once, since both man is redeemed, mercy so working, and to justice far more is paid than was owed; and, according to the Apostle, « The handwriting that was written against us is mightily nailed to the cross of Christ, and blotted out [n: (Col. II, 14)]. » For a handwriting is so drawn up that, after it has been cut and divided into parts, in each part of it the full record of the transaction is retained. Such is our condition with the malignant enemy: for when we sin, [1162A] the fault is with us, gravely engraved by the very pen of the perverse deed, and it is straightway taken up by the memory of the ancient enemy, and firmly retained as impressed there; so that, if there be none to redeem, none to save, there may always be at hand for him something to lay to our charge: which handwriting indeed has been blotted out by the death of Christ, through which both the fault is remitted to us, and his accusation against us is no longer feared.

But what is this, since man was held to an eternal punishment, but the Son of God bore only a temporal death for forty hours? how was satisfaction made, in his death, to the divine justice, which exacted eternal punishments from man? But [sic: *proculdio*] satisfaction was made. For let there be weighed in the balance the very death of the Son of God, momentary if you please, and the eternal death of all men, [1162B] however much it be owed; to whom is it doubtful that the death of the only-begotten, though temporal, outweighs the death, though eternal, of whatsoever mortals? For deservedly it is a greater thing, and by nature more wonderful, that God should die, who is liable to no sin nor to death, than that a multitude however great of mortals and sinners should die. For hence blessed Job says, « Would that my sins, whereby I have deserved wrath, and the calamity that I suffer, were weighed in a balance *(Job VI, 2)*. » That Job, which is « sorrowing, » designates the Lord Jesus, is now doubtful to none: he, pleading our cause before the Father, as set upon the cross, says, « Would that my sins were weighed; » naming as his own, indeed, our sins, whereby we have deserved wrath, in the unity [1162C] and sacrament of the body and the head, and saying: Would that thou wouldst consider, Father, the sins whereby man has deserved wrath, and the calamity, that is, the punishment which I suffer upon the cross, made man unto obedience to thee. For if thou consider both, as truly thou dost consider, my punishment, like the sand of the sea, will appear the heavier, that is, my punishment together with obedience will far outweigh the sins of men; and it will be enough for thee, for the expiation of his fault and for the discharge of the punishment owed by him. Holy Church, therefore, understanding by the spirit with which she was enlightened that this reconciliation was to be given through the hand of the mediator, the Lord Jesus, amid the soliloquies with which the spirit cherished her and kindled her holy love, within the delays of a hope long continued, repeated this Song of love in the hearts of the elect [1162D] with frequent sighs, so as to say, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Understanding, indeed, in him who kisses, the Father, by whom the Son was sent for this grace; and designating, in the mouth itself, which after the usual manner is put forth for a kiss, the Son who was sent, who is the mouth and the wisdom of the Father; and expressing, in the kiss itself, which is the pleasing sweetness of those who kiss, the Holy Spirit, who is the love of both: she professed, as most truly as most devoutly, the faith of the holy and highest Trinity, and the incarnation of the Word that was to come, and, through the sacraments of the incarnate Word, the full reconciliation of man with God. For what is more devout than this holy supplication? What can be purer [1163A] than this prayer? In the very beginnings we are at once taught how prayer is to be made, and in what measure supplication is to be offered to the Most High: for « without faith it is impossible to please God [n: (Heb. XI, 6)]; » and the prayer that is without faith he cannot hear. Whence James says, « But let every one ask in faith, nothing wavering [n: (Jac. I, 6)]: » for it is faith that first opens the entrance for prayer into the inner sanctuary of the exalted majesty. Whence she who desires to be heard begins from the Sacraments of faith, so as to say, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth; » as if she said: In that I desire to be heard, I stand forward to ask in this faith; in the very substance of the deity I confess unity, in the same I confess and adore the Trinity of persons. It is a confession of unity, that which was said, « Let him kiss; » but of the Trinity, that one who kisses, and a mouth, and a kiss [1163B] are named. The one who kisses is the Father himself: the mouth itself which is put forth for kissing is the Son: and the kiss which is completed by the mouth of him who kisses is the Holy Spirit. Which truth indeed neither dissipates the very substance of the Trinity, nor tears asunder that of the Unity. He indeed who kisses is neither his own mouth by which he kisses, nor the kiss itself which is ministered by his mouth. So too the mouth itself is neither he who kisses, nor the kiss itself which is given. The kiss also itself is neither he who kisses, nor the mouth itself from which it is. Yet far be it that, when we see a kiss given by someone, we should therefore understand three substances: for the substance of him who kisses is one; and both the mouth itself and the kiss are not indeed in another, but only in that very substance of him who kisses. So [1163C] the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, since they are most truly three Persons, of whom none is the other: this truth of the Trinity takes nothing away from the unity, or from the simplicity of the substance of God; even as that simplicity itself neither adds anything to, nor lessens, the Trinity of the Persons. But because it is not enough to believe divine things concerning God, unless his humble things also be most truly believed, she uses a most exquisite word, saying, « A kiss; » designating most fully by this both the Word that was to be incarnate, and the sacrament of human reconciliation that was to come. And since these things have been thus said, let us, the Lord helping, renew both our spirit and our pen for the treatise following.

*Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

[1163D]We observe that it was not any one just man from Adam down to Christ, but all men throughout the world far and wide, into whom the grace of the Holy Spirit had poured itself, who understood that from the seed of Adam one would at some time be born who, out of the trespass of one, would at some time destroy that same thing on behalf of all his members, and, the kingdom being handed over to the Father, would make men equal to the Angels. This faith, then, and this revelation in the spirit, kindled the desires of the Saints and drew their minds forward into the ages to come, so that they reckoned the delay of this life long, by which so great an expectation was deferred, and short as well, as though it were to be ended before they should behold this with bodily eyes. All these, therefore, whom one faith governed and hope urged on, that is, the whole multitude of those who believe devoutly, Solomon (in [1164A] whom wisdom had established a seat for herself), regarding them by that very light with which he was illumined, brings in, as a Bride, set in longings for the Bridegroom long since promised her, uttering the words of her desire in this manner: « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » By the threefold repetition, in which it is said, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth, » he marks a threefold kiss which she shows that she desires: the first of reconciliation, as has been said; the second of congratulation; the third, that of everlasting gladness. Reconciliation the Church desired, she who had learned that she had wholly sinned in Adam; and this, because she knew that it could be brought about by no other than by the Only-begotten of the Father himself, that is, by her Bridegroom. She desires that the Father kiss her, which is, that he remit his anger to her by the kiss of his mouth, that is, by the incarnation [1164B] of his Only-begotten, who is both the mouth and the Word of the Father. Whence it is also expressly said that the Father kisses, but with the kiss of the Son; because when the Father saves, he saves those whom he saves not indeed by his own incarnation, but by that of his Son. Yet since the Father also truly wrought that incarnation (seeing that the working of the whole Trinity is inseparable), therefore rightly, since it is a kiss of the mouth, the Father is thereupon said to « kiss », that is, to work in the Son that very assumption of flesh which he does not have in himself.

These things, then, having been said concerning the kiss of reconciliation, let us come, with the Lord's help, to the searching out of that which is called the kiss of congratulation. For usage has it so, and Scripture often calls it to mind. For Isaac says [1164C] to his son, « Come near to me, and give me a kiss, my son; and he came near, and kissed him [n: (Gen. XXVII, 26, 27)]. » It is read also of Jacob that, when he had seen Leah and had known that she was his cousin, « he removed the stone with which the well was closed, and, the flock being watered, he kissed her, and lifting up his voice he wept [n: (Gen. XXIX, 10, 11)]. » Laban also, « when he had heard that Jacob had come, ran to meet him, and embracing him and rushing into kisses, led him into his house [n: (ibid., 13)]. » Of Jacob too, when he had returned from Mesopotamia of Syria after that long sojourning, it is read that « Esau, running to meet his brother, embraced him, and clasping his neck and kissing him, wept [n: (Gen. XXXIII, 4)], » Joseph likewise, « when in his embrace he had fallen back upon the neck [1164D] of Benjamin his brother, wept, and kissed all his brethren, and lamented over each one [n: (Gen. XLV, 14, 15)]. » The prodigal son too, « when he was yet far off, his father saw him, and was moved with mercy, and running to him fell upon his neck, and kissed him [n: (Luc. XV, 20)]. » By all which, without doubt, is understood the kiss of congratulation, by which the parents and kinsfolk of their own congratulated them upon their successes and applauded them inwardly, showing outwardly by the kiss the joy which they cherished within. And this kiss of congratulation the Church hopes and expects to be given to her: which will be on that last day, when the merits of life shall be set forth, and the Lord Jesus shall render to each according as he has done in life, whether good or evil. For when the lost sheep has then been carried back to the folds on the shoulders [1165A] of the good shepherd, his friends and neighbours will be called together, the holy angels, to be sure, who keep his will with them in unbroken steadfastness, and for this reason are friends; and who enjoy his vision without ceasing, and for this reason are rightly named neighbours; to whom he will say, « Congratulate me, because I have found my sheep which was lost [n: (Luc. XV, 6)]. » which he is to say in like manner of the lost drachma as well.

This will be the highest congratulation, when not only shall that heavenly Church of blessed spirits applaud the good shepherd, but she also who shall have been carried back upon the shoulders of his humanity will offer her congratulation to the Bridegroom, who rejoices over her restoration, and to the multitude of the supernal virtues, which rejoices likewise. There will be fulfilled on that very day [1165B] what is contained in the history: for Joseph, making himself known to his brethren, « commanded that all should go forth out of doors, and that no stranger should be present at their mutual recognition. And he lifted up his voice with weeping, and said to his brethren, I am Joseph; and he kissed them [n: (Gen. XLV, 1)]. » Strangers will they be on that day to whom the Lord is to say, « Depart from me, ye cursed, into the everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his Angels [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]. » When these have been separated on that day, the Lord Jesus will make himself known to his brethren, saying, « I am Joseph; » as if he should plainly say: Call back to memory how, being sold and set in the prison of death, I came forth thence by rising again; and now behold openly that I both possess the sceptres of the kingdom and, [1165C] being thus endowed by the Father, hold the summit of judiciary power over every creature. Here the Bridegroom will congratulate the Bride, and the Bride the Bridegroom; and the indivisible joining of their minds will be made solid in a perpetual covenant. The Bride will congratulate the Bridegroom, because after the infirmities of the flesh, after the prison, after the scourges, after the buffets, after the spittle, after the nails, after death, after the sepulchre, after the great stone rolled to it, he has been so far exalted that in the flesh he took upon him he judges all flesh, and bends to his glory every knee of things heavenly, earthly, and infernal. But the Bridegroom's congratulation toward the Bride will be, that she has not run at uncertainty, that she has by no means fought in vain; that, death being triumphed over and Satan trodden down beneath his feet, he has gained the Church for himself the more gloriously by how much the more laboriously, [1165D] and has already endowed her, so gained, with unspeakable glory: of which indeed the good one will on that day applaud both all and each. For what is that giving of thanks by the Lord, in which he is to say on that day, « I was hungry, and ye gave me to eat [n: (Matth. XXV, 35)], » and the rest in this manner, if not a certain congratulation of the Judge himself and Bridegroom upon those inward goods of his Bride? For it is divided into six clauses, the very perfection of the number designating the whole fullness of all goods; by which in the present life every faithful soul pleases the Lord; by which also the Church wholly conforms herself to her Bridegroom. For the works are mercy: that the poor man be fed, and given drink, and the naked clothed, and the guest received under a roof, the sick visited, and [1166A] the imprisoned. But is God well pleased in these alone? Is not every several virtue pleasing to him? For what of that holy virginity? what of honourable chastity? what of the frugality of the Saints? what of silence? what of holy preaching? what of justice, fortitude, temperance, and prudence? what of the virtues beyond number, whose praise is in the Holy Scriptures, in the acquiring of which the continual and unremitting labour of the Saints sweats? But if the Lord is well pleased in these, what is it that in the judgment, when he shall congratulate the Church upon her goods, the Lord will call to mind these alone which were bodily performed? They are indeed goods, but not the only ones.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

It stands, therefore, that in the clause of words already spoken all the endowments of the soul, all the goods of the Church generally, [1166B] are comprehended. For the Lord hungers and thirsts: yet in saying this we subject the holy Godhead to no suffering; for the life of that supreme Godhead itself is incapable of suffering; and by as much as temporal life is subject and liable to suffering, by so much is that eternal and uncreated life utterly far from and a stranger to all suffering. Yet after the manner of the Scriptures he is said to hunger and to thirst; and not in one way only, but in several. For the Lord hungers in his members, and he hungers in himself. In his members he hungers, when any one of his own is brought to the necessity of bodily or spiritual food: which suffering charity relieves, to be sure, with the various works of mercy, refreshing with food and drink him who is wasted, and with spiritual things instructing [1166C] and building up him who desires the spiritual: for as it is a devout thing to relieve bodily hunger and thirst, so it is most devout to relieve the want of spiritual food as well: for as by the judgment of truth the soul excels the body, so it is far better, far holier, to relieve her than the body. Yet both are good, both are well pleasing to the Lord, even unto thanksgiving. Like is the consideration concerning nakedness also. The Lord is cold in body, and he is cold in spirit: in body, when the harshness of the cold is driven off by no covering of clothing; in spirit, when a man is clothed within by no garment of virtue. This cold is from the North wind, by which the hearts of many are not only chilled but hardened [n: (Job XXXVII, 9; Eccli. XLIII, 22)]; of which the prophet says, « Before the face of his cold who shall stand? » *(Psal. CXLVII, [1166D] 17.)* This nakedness of Christ in his members he covers, who forms and instructs by the examples of the virtues the man destitute of virtue. To whom the Lord, congratulating him, is to say at the end, « I was naked, and ye covered me. » But in what manner the Lord is a stranger and a guest in his members is plain; while in himself he is a stranger and a guest among those who have not yet received the faith which is in him: to such as these he himself also says, « The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head [n: (Matth. VIII, 30)]; » because unclean and deceitful spirits, possessing them, dwell in the darkened hearts of sinners; « but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. » For the head of the Church is Christ; and the head of Christ is God; and with those [1167A] the Son of man lays his head who confess him equal to the Father, coeternal, and consubstantial: to whom the Son himself is neither a recent God nor an alien one (for to those he is recent who protest that he once began, and was not begotten of the Father from eternity; and to those he is alien who attempt to affirm that he is not the same in substance with the Father). Among these he is a guest and a stranger; to all of whom it is said by the prophet, « Let the deceitful lips be made dumb, which speak iniquity against the just, in pride and in abuse [n: (Psal. XXX, 19)]. » Among these he is a guest and a stranger, knocking by the prophets, by the apostles, by all the Scriptures, that they may open to him; to whom the Lord is to say on that day, « I was a guest, and ye took me not in *(Matth. XXV, [1167B] 43)*, » because the faith which is in me, which I preach, unto which I was sent, ye did not admit. Whence it is given us to understand who they are that receive the Saviour into their lodging: those, without doubt, who receive the teaching of sound faith with worthy veneration, utterly execrating heresy, and, simple as doves, gathering only the clean grains of faith; for whom indeed it is not enough to receive the Saviour under their roof by faith only, unless they receive him also with charity and virtue of every kind For he himself says, « Behold, I stand at the door knocking; if any man shall hear my voice, and open the gate, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me [n: (Apoc. III, 20)]. » The Lord enters in to us when we ourselves open the gate of the heart to believing: we are refreshed by a common supper when, love having been conceived from above, we are stretched out toward [1167C] every good work by the gift of spiritual grace. But to visit the sick, both brotherly charity and divine authority admonish us. For what is more fitting to humanity than that man should relieve man, brother brother, the strong the weak, both with the solace of a word and with the help of a work, with devout affection and full compassion of mind? And this is to be shown not only to him who is sick in body, but to him who is ailing spiritually. For in many the languor of the spirit so gathers strength that in them there is now neither the voice of confession nor the feeling of one repenting. Of these the Apostle says, « Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not burned? » [n: (II Cor. XI, 29.)] These are to be visited often, and admonished with the word of life, [1167D] until, gaping seven times, they may open their mouth unto confession by the gift of the sevenfold Spirit, and may be conformed to the very teachers of life, not only by growing warm within, but also by the full ordering of their outward man. For hence it is that when Elias raised up the dead man [n: (III Reg. XVII, 21)], he spread himself over him; and Elisha, when he raised up the dead man, « applies his own mouth to his mouth, and his eyes to his eyes, and his hands to his hands [n: (IV Reg. IV, 34)]. » So that, as the Apostle says, those who are raised from death, by imitating the holy teachers, may now compel all the members of their body which before had been « vessels of iniquity unto iniquity [var: Vulg. *arma iniquitatis*, "weapons of iniquity" (Rom. VI, 13)], » to serve virtue Of these the Truth itself says, [1168A] « The healthy have no need of a physician, but they that are ill [n: (Matth. IX, 12)]. » Some of these indeed are wearied by lighter sicknesses, others by heavier and long-lasting ones. And so these, whom the oldness of sin oppresses, a certain prison of souls, as it were, shuts in; whose person the prophet takes upon himself when he says, « Bring my soul out of prison [n: (Psal. CXLI, 8)]; » and that other word, « I am stuck fast in the mire of the deep [n: (Psal. LXVIII, 13)]; » and again, « The cords of sinners have wrapped me about [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 61)]: » and to visit these in a spirit of gentleness, to prick them with the word of life, and, drawing them away from vices, to restore them to virtue, is a far greater mercy than to bring out those shut up in body by devoutly loosing their chains.

Since therefore there are two commandments, one pertaining to the love [1168B] of God, the other to the love of one's neighbour, on which the whole law hangs and the prophets, and in which the perfection of human life consists, the clause spoken above embraces in itself the whole by which either commandment is fulfilled. For by those things which are shown to our neighbours with a regard to the Godhead are to be understood all things by which we relieve any necessity whatever of theirs, spiritual or bodily: for among sufferings there is nothing more bitter than hunger, thirst, nakedness, want of shelter, sickness, chains: whence by these things, which press and afflict any brother more vehemently, are to be understood absolutely all things by which, at the working of mercy, with a regard to the Godhead, we relieve any bodily or spiritual necessity that demands it. For in his members, in two ways, as [1168C] has been said, the Lord hungers and thirsts and is cold, desiring now a bodily, now a spiritual remedy; but in himself in one way only: for he does not require this alone of us, that we bestow on our brethren what is needful; he wills that our faith and charity be directed principally upon himself, and be derived from him secondarily upon our neighbour. Those things, then, which have regard to our neighbour, these the Lord hungers and thirsts for in his members, and demands; but those which are not toward our neighbour, but are kept for reverence of Christ, these are they which the Lord is said to hunger and thirst for in himself, since with him this is the same thing as to will. « And the Lord, coming to the fig tree, hungered [n: (Matth. XXI, 18)]; » and hanging on the cross he said, « I thirst [n: (Joan. XIX, 28)]. » What [1168D] did he hunger or thirst for? Our salvation, beyond doubt, our faith, and the charity which is toward him, long-suffering, and continence, and the other virtues which, although they do not reach toward our neighbour, are kept for God's sake: for the virtues which are toward our neighbour he hungers for both in himself and in his members; but these which are toward himself, in himself alone.

It stands, therefore, that in the clause of words already spoken all the endowments of the soul, all the goods of the Church generally, are comprehended. And this is the kiss of congratulation for which the Church sighs, which every soul asks in the Spirit, saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Thus she speaks to the Father, his mouth, according to this [1169A] sense. Naming the Son, and understanding by the kiss both of the Father himself and of the Son the Holy Spirit. For she says, « Let him kiss me, » that is, let the Father, he who created me, make me worthy of the kiss; and this, « With the kiss of his mouth, » that is, through the Holy Spirit of his Son, who is his mouth. For that Spirit is himself the kiss which the Father gives, the kiss which the Son gives; because he is a vapour, and a sweetness proceeding from both: who, as he proceeds from both, so both the Father and the Son pour him forth into the hearts of the blessed. For of him the Lord says, « I will send you the Spirit [n: (Joan. XV, 26)]: » and elsewhere, « The Spirit whom the Father sends in my name [n: (Joan. XIV, 26)]. » She asks therefore of the Father that the Spirit be given her through the Son, so that, receiving from him the gifts of graces, she may pass over into a certain new comeliness, [1169B] that on that day she may hear from the Father through the Son the voice of congratulation, and receive the kiss of congratulation. For it is the voice of congratulation by which the Lord is to say on that day, « Well done, good servant [n: (Matth. XV, 6)]; » and that word to the heavenly Virtues, « Congratulate me over the lost sheep. Congratulate me over the drachma that is found [n: (Luc. XV, 6)]; » as if he should say: Consider what the comeliness of the Church is, and how great; understand with how many gifts of graces, with how great a glory of virtues she shines; rejoice together with me that I have laboured for one such and so great. What (I ask) will be the peace of the whole Church at this voice? what will be the tranquillity of holy souls in mind? when at this congratulation of the Bridegroom, now secure concerning her own glory, [1169C] there will be nothing more for her to fear, nothing at which for the rest she should shudder. And this peace indeed is that security for which the Church sighs, that on that day, on which the angels shall tremble and the archangels be greatly afraid, she may have her Bridegroom appeased toward her, and, sanctified by his Spirit, may be pleasing to herself in the comeliness of the virtues; and through the kiss of the Son, which is the Holy Spirit, may receive from the Bridegroom peace, congratulation, and the gifts promised: of which may the Lord Jesus make us partakers, who is unto the ages. Amen.

*Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

The kiss of reconciliation, therefore, and the kiss of congratulation having been set forth, it remains that we pursue, with the Lord's help, the kiss of pleasure. And lest this be perhaps troublesome to delicate ears, [1169D] if in treating of spiritual things we call to mind a certain bodily pleasure, let them have this before their eyes: that it is an epithalamium of the Bridegroom and the Bride that is being enacted, that it is a nuptial [sic: *carnem*] that is being handled: nor is it a wonder if in a marriage, in the Sacrament of spiritual things, mention be made of this kiss; since the carnal commingling itself of Bridegroom and Bride unfolds in the Holy Scriptures no small Sacrament among things spiritual. For that carnal commingling is a Sacrament of that joining which is in the Lord Jesus, namely of flesh and of the Word: so also that kiss of the Bridegroom and the Bride is a certain manifest showing forth of that gladness which, after that dreadful judgment and [1170A] the heavenly Bridegroom's congratulation upon the goods of the Bride, is to be forever. For pleasure is of one sort foul, and of another most holy: and that indeed is holy of which the Prophet makes mention, saying, « They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house; and thou shalt give them to drink of the torrent of thy pleasure [n: (Psal. XXXV, 9)]: » which pleasure indeed is called a « torrent », not because it passes quickly away, but because it pours itself in abundantly. For of this also « Isaias says, The eye hath not seen, besides thee, O God, what things thou hast prepared for them that love thee [var: Vulg. *expectantibus te*, "them that wait for thee"] [n: (Isa. LIV, 4)]. » According to which « Paul » says, « Neither hath the eye seen, nor hath it ascended into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him [n: (I Cor. II, 9)]. » Whence the Prophet also fittingly says, « They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house: » [1170B] for drunkenness changes the state of the mind and in a manner estranges it from itself; so in that glory there will be no small change of the mind. In this life a certain affection of the flesh draws us toward parents and kinsfolk, acquaintances and well-wishers; in that life all this will be swallowed up; the whole of love will be stretched out toward God, the whole mind will gather itself into him; she will not know a father, she will be ignorant of a mother also; she will be touched with affection toward no one save him whom she has known to be conformed to Christ, whom she has perceived to be joined and united to his body: « for the Lord Jesus shall deliver up the kingdom to God and the Father, » and he himself shall be « all things in all [n: (I Cor. XV, 24, 28)]. » In this life indeed we are carried down by a certain propagation of the flesh through father and mother; and thus many of us are joined to one another by a certain kinship of blood and affection among ourselves: [1170C] but in the regeneration nothing is owed to flesh or to blood. For what father shall raise thee up out of the dust? What mother shall lead thee through from death to life? The order of things shall be led back to its own beginning. The first man was created out of the earth, and the woman formed out of his bone; and by a certain flowing forth of blood all men were propagated from them.

The first creation, therefore, of men was out of the earth; the second, out of a man; the third, out of a man and a woman; the fourth, in the Lord Jesus, not out of a man, but out of a woman: but in the regeneration that alone will be which went before in Adam. There will now be nothing in it which we shall owe either to a woman or to a man. He who formed Adam out of the earth will on that day raise up all men out of the dust; so that [1170D] we may now owe the whole to our creation, nothing to the flesh. And as Adam was debtor and bound to the Lord alone for the whole of his affection and love, and in every good, bodily as well as spiritual, so altogether on that day let us owe anything to none but the Lord. He will be to us father and mother and brother and sister, and in the truth of the flesh raised again the vigour of the spirit shall possess all things; there will now be nowhere a father according to the flesh, or a mother, nor will there be able to be any other degrees whatever of kinship according to the flesh. All these things having now been exchanged in a happy commerce, so that in place of those which we had in the flesh we may now have God as father even according to the flesh; that he himself may be for us [1171A] a sufficient pleasure, and « all things in all. » For if thou turn the mind's eye toward spiritual things, thou wilt find the same more abundantly. For here man is delighted with gold, he is delighted with silver and with precious stone, with the affection of his children, with the abundance of crops and fruits, with the subjection of birds and beasts and fishes, and with this, that the round world lies open and subject to him far and wide: this is a great pleasure, but to senses imperfect and as yet little enlightened. The glitter of gold dazzles the eye, but the eye not yet enlightened. If thou hold out gold to a glorified man, thou dost not move or delight him. The glorified eye gazes inwardly: in gazing upon the creature it beholds and contemplates him who presides over the creature. To me as I gaze, the body which is without is set in my way, and what is within is hidden: [1171B] such is not the vision of a glorified man: for him the creature does not hide the Creator, but opens the soul through the body; in the soul it opens the mind, in the mind the memory, the understanding, and the reason, and all the virtues also which grace the mother forms within: nor does he behold only the effect of the work, but he also gazes upon that hand which wondrously forms all things. He beholds that supernal wisdom working wondrously in bodies, and far more wondrously in spirits; and while he wonders at the work, he wonders far more at the workman, who mightily holds all things together. He wonders at that highest and superessential Spirit poured into every creature, immeasurable and simple; granting to some to be, not to live; to others life, but without sense; to others sense, but devoid of reason; to others [1171C] reason, but hindered by the admixture of the body; to others a substance wrapped in no commingling of body. And considering in all these a venerable loveliness and an unspeakable comeliness, he wonders nevertheless at the art itself more in the artificer than at the whole of this which he observes in the order of the creature: fixing the mind's eye upon whom, he flies away as into the deep of the sea, contemplating in the Godhead itself such things as neither the tongue can tell nor even a holy mind can conceive in the present life. The heaven is moved, the stars are borne in their circuit, the planets are moved in their circles, the air is moved by the blowing of the spirits appointed to it, the sea, binding the earth about, renders it unmoved: in these the living creatures walk about in varied forms and figures, the kinds of metals [1171D] gleam, the pleasing sweetness of fruits smiles upon us, and the colour, smell, and taste of things beyond number strike the senses of mortals with their great variety, and in all these there is a most beautiful order, praiseworthy by the merit of that wisdom which so disposes all things. But the glorified spirit, running through in mind all the forms in matter and the whole comeliness of the creature, enters that holy secret place of the highest Godhead; where it looks upon the causes of all things, and at last upon the whole creation, as it is in the mind and ever lives, far more fully than it would look upon it while it slipped away under time. And so, entering into the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, it finds in overflowing measure all that can adorn and beatify the mind; so that nothing is now lacking to it in any grace, but it says confidently [1172A] now to the Lord Jesus, « Thy grace is sufficient for me [var: Vulg. *sufficit tibi gratia mea*, "my grace is sufficient for thee"] [n: (II Cor. XII, 9)]. » For man, gathered within the wave of the Godhead, his mortal part having been swallowed up by that magnificent glory, overflows with peace and tranquillity and with an abundance of all things desirable. So, that superessential and uncreated Spirit pouring himself into each of the elect, that in all he himself may be all things, in that he is in himself and from himself the unfailing sufficiency of all things that can be desired, both for each and for all. This is the hope of the saints, this their expectation, this that end at which, when any soul has arrived, it will rejoice that it has now most blessedly completed its course. This is the kiss of pleasure which, out of the place of pleasure which the Lord had planted from the beginning, the holy Church desires to be given her, which every faithful soul desires to be given her, [1172B] saying, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » And so in a wondrous manner, at the very beginning of the work she makes mention at once of the end, saying, « Let him kiss me: » so that she may bear witness that he toward whom she burns with desire, who is the beginning and the end of all things, is beginning and end for her also; to whom may the Lord Jesus lead us, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit be glory, honour, and dominion unto the ages of ages. Amen.

*Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth.*

These are the words of the Bride, with which she addressed the Bridegroom above: the words which follow are the Bridegroom's, which he joins on to those at once, saying:

*For thy breasts are better than wine. 2. Fragrant with the best ointments.*

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

Let us see how these things cohere with those that have been said. [1172C] The Bridegroom marks at once her who asks the kiss and burns with this zeal of spirit: and because hope that is deferred afflicts the soul, lest it afflict her and, by drawing out her hope at length, defer it, he answers her thus as she desires: what thou askest shall be done, « For thy breasts are better than wine. » Which is as if the Bridegroom should say within himself: Thou indeed, my beloved, thou who art joined to me in a heavenly wedlock, not uselessly, nor as one barren, but as one who art fit to bear sons and to nourish them that they may be brought to perfection, from this, that thou hast breasts made fruitful by the heavenly dew. These things are joined thus, lest the reading of the Holy Spirit should seem less coherent with itself, and as it were unstitched. Henceforth let us see what the things that have been said signify. Yet first [1172D] it must be asked: why does the praise of the Bride begin from the breasts? Why does the Bridegroom himself keep silence about the praise of the other things which stand out as worthy of praise? For why is the face adorned with tresses not praised, why the cheeks, why the lips, why the eyes, which he afterwards calls dove-like? and why is the whole praise of the Bride contained first of all about her breasts? This indeed is so because, whereas in the Bride, as has been said, many things please the Bridegroom, there is nothing in which he takes more delight than that she herself should become a mother, should nourish peoples, and, made fruitful by the heavenly dew, should minister with breasts full of the Holy Spirit holy teachings, as it were the nourishment of milk, to sons beyond number. This, then, is that in which the Bride pleases him more, in which she is more at the Bridegroom's heart, whence she is the more praised, and is extolled by him as with [sic: *praecontis*]. Shall we turn aside to the breasts, [1173A] and consider what the breasts of the Church are? The breasts (*ubera*), then, are so called from plenty (*ubertas*), because into them there flows a certain great store of milk, which we suck, and by which we are fed, and by which we are sustained while we pass through the years of infancy. As these are fixed in the breast, so to the mind of the Church, who is the Bride, two Testaments are set forth, that she may meditate upon them day and night, and gather in them an abundance of milk with which she may feed peoples beyond number, may nourish them, and lead them through even to perfection. For some milk is sweet, some sour; yet each stands good and full of savour. What is sweeter than to believe one God, and to love him with the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole mind, not to harm one's neighbour, to abstain from murder, adultery, and theft, and false witness, and from all those things [1173B] which are forbidden by the Law? But to those who sin willingly and maliciously the Law itself sets forth sour milk, adding this: « Let a man render soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burning for burning, wound for wound, bruise for bruise [n: (Exod. XXI, 23, 24, 25)]. » Which milk indeed seems sour to him who suffers, but to a good King, and to a Prince established according to the fear of God, it is a soothing milk and most sweet to the taste; because, « when the pestilent man is scourged, the fool will be the wiser [n: (Prov. XIX, 25)]. » And this is the will of the Lord, that one man in the people restrain many, and so punish those who sin maliciously that the Church of God may rejoice in much peace, and may shrink from having any of her sons made sorrowful by the sour taste of the milk. [1173C] But the substance of this milk of which we treat is that which is resolved into butter, and into curd, into cheese, and whey: these declare the degrees of the virtues, by which one must ascend from the least to the perfect. For the whey (*serum*), which is gathered late (*sero*) from the milk, is itself the fear of the Lord, of which it is said, « The beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord [n: (Psal. CX, 10)]. » From this there is an ascent into repentance of heart, and confession of mouth, and satisfaction of work: so that thus, through the suffrages of prayers, through many fastings, through alms widely distributed, and through all the things by which sins are purged, one may come to the firmness of the cheese, as it were to a certain consolidating of the virtues: and thus, a certain curd of peace having been made toward all, an ascent may be made to the broad realms of charity, which is designated by the butter. [1173D] The page of the New Testament also overflows abundantly with the sweetness of this milk, which hints to us that the floodgates of heaven are opened, and shows that what was held sweeter among the delights of God has been sent forth to us from heaven unto salvation. It declares that the Word made flesh, that is, God made man, has mercifully come to the aid of man in himself as man, setting forth his sayings and deeds, which Christ wondrously performed in this life; promising also his kingdom, and the life which will be without end, to all the good. It gladdens every man coming into this world with the sweetness of this milk. To the rest, however, it gives sour milk to drink, saying, « Woe to you, Scribes and Pharisees, because you shut the kingdom of heaven before men [n: (Matth. XXIII, 13)]. » [1174A] In which place, threatening « Woe » seven times, he hints at that milk, sour indeed to the setting of the teeth on edge, which he is to give at the end to all the reprobate, saying, « Go, ye cursed, into the everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels [var: Vulg. *Discedite a me*, "Depart from me"; and *paratus* for *praeparatus*] [n: (Matth. XV, 41)]. »

These things, therefore, concerning the breasts of the Bride having been tasted beforehand by way of a little preface, this also must be added: that as the breasts are so fixed in the human body that one holds the right side, the other the left, so all Scripture divinely inspired is so divided by its warnings and words that certain things are appointed to the left hand of the Church, certain things to her right. For the Church has a left hand, and she has a right also. Her left hand is this life, her right the life which is to come, which is also eternal. And so all the Scriptures which either [1174B] the first or the New Testament contains, which have been so published as to order this present life, teaching how a man ought to use this world and the things which are of the world, so that he may run through this life without offence to God, turning aside from the vices which it forbids and pursuing the virtues which it commands, all these are appointed to the left breast of the Church. But to the right breast are assigned those which persuade us to despise the world and the things which are of the world, to shrink from its delights, to love God alone, to long for him, to be dissolved hence and to be with Christ. Whence that saying, « Behold the elect of God: they tame the flesh, they strengthen the spirit, they command demons, they flash with miracles, they preach the heavenly fatherland by their manners and their life, and hasten to reach it even through torments; they can be slain, they cannot be bent: » [1174C] and things of this kind rightly belong to the right breast. Enriched, therefore, with these breasts, the Bride feeds peoples, and leads those nourished in the first virtues to the highest and perfect things; and rightly does the Bridegroom applaud her, saying, « Thy breasts are better than wine. » But the wine, in comparison with which the Bride's breasts are called better, what does it signify but the sciences beyond number in which the human mind entangles and wraps itself? so much so that it neglects the things which are God's, and scorns to seek out and search into those things which are God's. Who could number these? who could comprehend them under a number? The arts indeed are seven, which are for this reason called « liberal », because free men spent their studies upon them; learning first what are the elements of speech, [1174D] and expressing these both by their characters and by their names; joining these to one another, fitting syllables together, and forming words out of syllables, and speeches out of words: its own labour entangles this art, stretching the mind out into the infinite, and, unless it be greeted first upon the threshold, racking it grievously with its torments. But let logic be left to its own sweats; the more it advances with itself, the more it turns away from God those who give their labour to it. But the adorned labour of orators serves falsehood as much as it serves those things which are true; they reckon that excellently said, whether it be true or false, which is uttered ornately and (to speak after their manner) aptly. In so far as this yields obedience to falsehood, it is far from him who is simple truth, offering the holy knowledge of the Gospel and without paint. Why should I enumerate the numbers [1175A] of arithmetic, the consonances or dissonances of music, the figures of geometry? in which « there is labour, and affliction of spirit [n: (Eccle. I, 17)]: » since Wisdom says, « God created man upright, and he himself hath mingled himself with questions beyond number [n: (Eccle. VII, 30)]. » Furthermore astronomy, dividing the heaven by colures and parallels, giving names to the planets and to the stars, and assigning the motions of each in the circles which are given them, noting now their stations, now their progressions, now their retrogradations, and at length measuring out by its own rules the equalizations of them all in one philosophical year, which contains not less than fifteen thousand years. This, observing the elevations, the depressions, [1175B] and the middle stations of the sun in one hundred and eighty-two circles, and of the other planets in the circles appointed to them, distinguishes floods, tides, plenty and want, and the middle seasons, and presumes in a manner to foretell the things which God before the ages disposed to come in a fixed order: this inebriates minds with much wine, and while it studiously considers the works of God, it wanders away from God, and either is utterly ignorant of his humility, or loves it less.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

There are also the arts which are called « mechanical », which by the wise men of this world are indeed reckoned necessary for use, but not so far worthy; such as agriculture, architecture, the working of wool and weaving, the shoemaker's craft too, and the smith's and the founder's, and others beyond number, which necessity, or pleasantness, or at any rate pleasure has found out. This is the wine with which the world is given drink, or rather is made drunk; so that while it seeks what necessity, or what [1175C] pleasantness, or what pleasure, or what curiosity suggests, it passes over the things which are God's: and whether God was made flesh, whether he suffered, whether he rose again and ascended and promised eternal things to mortals, it is either utterly ignorant, or perhaps despises what it knows. But what does the Bridegroom say to the Bride concerning these things? « Thy breasts are better than wine; » declaring that it is far better to be nourished simply by the milk of the Church than to be proudly and uselessly made drunk with the things which have been named. Hence Isaias says, « Why do you spend your silver not upon bread, and your labour not unto fullness? » [n: (Isa. LV, 2.)] For to spend silver not upon bread is to consume eloquence and labour upon those things which do not give the knowledge and the vision of God: of which David says, « I shall be satisfied [1175D] when thy glory shall appear [n: (Psal. XVI, 15)]. » But why they ought to be reckoned better, he adds the cause, saying, Because they are « fragrant with the best ointments. » That ointments well compounded by the art of physicians should smell well is not to be doubted. Of these some are piercing, some soothing, some preserving. For some pierce, that they may heal; some soothe the things which are painful; some preserve, that they may remain untouched by rottenness. This is the effect of the spiritual virtues. For penitence grieves that one has committed that which it laments: after the wailing, and the confession, and the works of satisfaction, hope now soothes that which was painful: hence charity preserves unto eternal life the things which have been made solid. The « breasts » therefore of the Church « are better, » that is, those simple [1176A] teachings which are drawn out from the breasts of the Church are mightier and more effectual unto the soul's salvation than the « wine, » that is, than all the figments and inventions which secular wisdom has found out, that with them it may give drink to and inebriate those following it and giving their labour to it: and therefore « they are fragrant with the best ointments, » that is, fragrant in that manner in which those ointments are fragrant which are the best.

*Thy name is oil poured out.*

This is the Bride's friendly and honourable answer to the Bridegroom. The Bridegroom lately gratified her with his commendation, saying: « Thy breasts are better than wine; fragrant with the best ointments. » And she, as though giving him thanks, answered him with this commendation, saying, « Thy name is oil poured out, » as if she should say: if my breasts are to be praised, [1176B] this has come to them from thy proclaiming; for what is brought forth from my breasts is from thine, whose name is oil poured out. By which answer she doubtless hints that the faith which is in the name of Christ transcends every faith: and that, as oil, with whatever liquids it be mingled, without doubt transcends them all and floats above them, so the faith which is signed and founded in the name of Christ, and proclaimed by the teachings of the apostles, remains above and prevails over all the inventions [sic: *invensionibus*] against it which have already been named, or which perhaps may yet be found: whence it is also said, « Thy name is as oil, » that is, the faith which is in thy name is thus as oil. And that she may express this the more, there is added, « Poured out. » For this oil was not poured out during the whole time in which the Word was not [1176C] made flesh; in which, sin prevailing and mercy not obtaining, the whole race of men was made over to the darkness of hell and held under the dominion of the evil one: but after satisfaction had been made to wrath, and the time of fullness and of grace had come, that fruitful olive tree, namely God the Father, from whom is the origin of every good, sent forth the dove bearing as it were the branch of the olive, and appointed his Son to be made flesh through this branch; and the oil pressed out from this branch he poured forth as widely through the world as this incarnation was made known most widely to the whole world in many and various ways. This profited men beyond number by its anointing; « for virtue went out from him, and healed all [n: (Luc. VI, 19)]. » This, by enlightening them, turned men beyond number from the darkness of blindness to faith. [1176D] This restored sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, put fever to flight, and restored the paralysed limbs, and raised the dead, restoring to them the breath of life. This made solid the waves of the sea beneath his steps. This multiplied twelve loaves to satisfy nine thousand men.

Why should I linger in the telling of these things? Let us hear John, saying, « There are also many other things which Jesus did; which if they were written every one, I think the world itself could not hold the books that should be written [n: (Joan. XXI, 25)], » that is, could not give credence to the multitude of the signs which were to be committed to books. For the pouring out of this oil enlightens the world. It gladdens the face of the Church, it fits and prepares her food; so that without the mingling of this, the spirit can scarcely prevail to be satisfied with its own food. [1177A] For as Paul says, « Without faith it is impossible to please God [n: (Heb. XI, 6)]. » For if without charity I should offer all the things which are of the world, and even myself, so that I burn, I am nothing [n: (I Cor. 13)]. For if, offering that without charity, I am nothing, then doing it without faith I am found to be utterly nothing. In Mark, the widow offering two mites is said to have offered more than the others who were offering great things [n: (Marc. XII, 44)]; here by the two mites understanding the love of God and of one's neighbour, in which the Church, when she offers, offers more than those who, giving their own without these, offer much and waste it. The faith of Christ, therefore, without which neither charity nor any good whatever can be had, is that which seasons, fits, and prepares the food of the soul, so that things offered in faith may please; and however small they be, they are nevertheless great, [1177B] and obtain from God a kingdom truly great, namely of the heavens. Rightly therefore has it been said that the « name » of Christ, that is, his faith, in which we must be saved, is « oil poured out, » that is, communicated to the world and approved by virtues; wherefore there follows:

*Therefore the maidens have loved thee.*

For hence was the love of the maidens stirred up, hence arose the beginning of their loving. For they saw the signs, they saw also the wonders which obeyed him at a nod; they saw a man set in weakness, holding all the things that are man's save sin and ignorance, and doing those things which are above man; and they were moved to believe him above man, [1177C] whom they saw sustaining fasts of forty days and nights, then changing water into wine, then transfiguring himself on the mountain, with his face shining in the manner of the Sun, showing also in his garments the whiteness of snow, holding converse with the dead, and the Father bearing witness out of the cloud, « This is my beloved Son, who is pleasing to me in all things; hear him [var: Vulg. *Hic est Filius meus electus, ipsum audite* (Luc. IX, 35); the wording *dilectus* and *qui mihi per omnia complacet* answers rather to Matt. XVII, 5, *in quo mihi bene complacui*] [n: (Luc. IX, 35)]; » and so at the last, having undergone a manifest death, triumphing in immortality over that death itself, and so returning to the heavens whence he had come; what could they do but believe him God, venerate and adore him, and love him above all things? Him therefore « the maidens have loved, » that is, the souls lately converted to the faith: and such a soul I judge Peter's to have been at the first, when he said, [1177D] « Depart from me, because I am a sinful man, O Lord [n: (Luc. V, 8)]. » Peter had fished the whole night, and had taken absolutely nothing; at his word he let down the net, and took a copious multitude. Peter had been a little youth, and gladly heard the Lord; but strengthened by this deed he grew up into a youth, afterwards into a most steadfast young man, and so came forth into a perfect man. And of Paul the persecutor what shall I relate? who at one moment a persecutor, at the next was made a little youth, the Lord enlightening him and saying, « Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest [n: (Act. IX, 45)]. » At this voice he was straightway truly converted, [1178A] saying, « Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? » [n: (ibid., 6)] If [cj: *Si*; read *Sic*, "So"] made a little youth, he heard from Ananias the words by which he grew up, by which he was made a great man, and the wall and defender and propagator of the whole Church; so an unnumbered multitude of believers, coming to him at the first and hearing from him the word of life, drawn at first by a little, then enticed more by the word, from which they understood the signs and wonders which they will be able neither to resist nor to gainsay, protested, by word and by work, that this name alone is to be adored, and to be loved before all things which are under heaven: whence there is added, « Thy name is oil poured out; therefore the maidens have loved thee. » There follows:

3. *Draw me after thee.*

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

[1178B]The Bride therefore, marking the glory of the young maidens, in which they were received through love; according to which they who had been young maidens are now accounted queens; and considering that these could not have been raised into this glory unless they were drawn by the Father, opens her bosom, enlarges her prayer, praying for herself, that she in her least members may be drawn to the Father; wishing that we may all together meet with her unto a perfect man, and the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ [n: (Ephes. IV, 13)]; whence also she subjoins that which follows, « Draw me after thee. » For it must be known that all of us, as many as run, are drawn in two directions: the one which is called the right, the other which is called the left. He is drawn to the left who, always entangled in evil works, [1178C] consumes his life in them. But he is drawn to the right over whom a good angel presides, showing him the good things that he should do, and to the finishing of these let him always be intent: whence, speaking to God, she says, « After thee, » that is, in those things which are pleasing to thee, in which I may have thee as my leader before me, in those things keep me, and suffer me neither to stray nor to be turned aside elsewhere: for so it is written, « No man comes to me, unless the Father, who sent me, draw him [n: (Joan. VI, 44)]. » [var: Vulg. *Nemo potest venire ad me*, "No man can come to me"] That we may therefore approach to God, there is need of the Father drawing, that he himself may go before us, may so present himself as leader, and, when he has led, may himself receive us. Likewise also we read it written, « And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself [n: (Joan. XII, 32)]. » Christ indeed was lifted up from the earth when he was raised from the earth upon the cross: [1178D] likewise he was lifted up when, forsaking the earth, he was set in heaven at the right hand of the Father: and by the consideration of himself thus, whether set upon the cross or raised to the right hand of the Father, he draws every chosen soul to himself, while they both crucify themselves to their vices and, caring not for earthly things, hang themselves upon him who sits above on high. For he who is drawn seeks the heights, and wholly intends to lift himself above himself; he beholds before him the mountain of the virtues, and while he strives to lay hold of its steep places, he beholds himself at times in the depth, and wonders. And so he cries out, saying, « Draw me after thee, » because out of this valley I do not ascend save by thee. But if thou shalt have felt the hand of God stretched out to thee, and shalt have recognized thyself drawn out of the valley of miseries and out of [1179A] the mire of dregs, lay hold of the hand, hold it, kiss it, and say, « I will not let thee go, unless thou bless me [n: (Gen. XXXII, 26)]: » have thanks to him who will truly lead thee forth, that thou mayest run in the odor of his ointments: which thou wilt recognize by a like saying. For dogs run by the keenness of their nostrils, that they may take wild beasts, which, while they flee, infect the thickness of the air with their scent, and so show to those that follow the way by which they may be taken.

That comparison indeed is a figure of the demons: for they who are tempted flee, and there are malignant spirits, or evil men, that follow, in order to drag the fleeing into evils, and to slay them, and to glory in their deaths, and to sate themselves. So is that hateful hunt accomplished in the world, in which the spirit that is the author of malice [1179B] sounds the horn, admonishes with his voice, and, in order to suggest what he wills, admits evil men and perverse spirits, and slays innumerable men who do not resist temptation. But the Spirit of God works far otherwise: he gives the good will, gives to carry through in effect that which is good; gives to take delight in the things which are above, and to be sprinkled unceasingly with the odor of the things which are above. Wonderful indeed is the anointing of the divine Spirit, who renders the skin which he anoints supple and fit for the stitching, and makes it apt for the adornment of the supreme King. With the odor of this ointment is he drenched who assiduously meditates in the law of the Lord, fitting himself so that he may resist whatever things are hurtful, may give himself over to no sins, may apply himself to the manners of the saints, may sanctify himself by imitating them, and, drenched with the odor of spiritual [1179C] ointments, may always rejoice in them, may securely take his delight, and rest. He entreats therefore in this manner, « Draw me after thee, » that is, Thou, to whom none comes save by thee, knit for me the rope of thy love, whereby I may be drawn to thee, whereby it may not suffer me to turn aside elsewhere. For Solomon says that « a threefold cord is not easily broken [n: (Eccle. IV, 12)]; » and if thou shalt have suffered this to be knit to my members by the hand of the malignant one, so that by thinking evil things it drag my heart to itself, by speaking these things inflame my whole tongue out of itself, and by doing these things bend my whole body and turn it aside to itself; what is there for me, save that I say that word of the apostle? « Unhappy man that I am: who shall deliver me from the body of this death? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] Do thou, O Lord, [1179D] answer me, « The grace of God by Jesus Christ our Lord [n: (ibid., 25)]. » Let this thy grace, O Lord, deliver me, because thou art strong and mighty: in this battle do thou, being the stronger, snatch his rope out of his mighty hand; do thou break it asunder; do thou knit thy whole threefold cord to my members; that I may inwardly savor thee in my heart, may proclaim thee and thy things with my tongue, and may devoutly fulfil in work those things only which are pleasing to thee. Do thou mightily snatch me, willing to follow thee, from the malignant one; make me to walk after thee, that when I have walked after thee I may not begin to run at uncertainty, but may lay hold of the crown which thou hast promised to them that love thee, being drawn hither [1180A] by thee. This indeed is that which follows:

*We will run in the odor of thy ointments.* [var: Vulg. *in odorem*, "to the odor"]

That is, being snatched from the malignant one by thee, stirred to the good by thee, brought to the highest by thy drawing, « we will run, » that is, we shall go forward our whole life long; « In the odor of thy ointments, » that is, in the fragrance of the spiritual virtues, wherewith thou touchest and anointest thine own. And so, wishing gifts to the good, and desiring that they be drawn to better things, she says, « Draw me after thee; » that thou mayest help me, who am willing, and running, and desiring thee with my whole heart, in this, that at length by a blessed end I may lay hold of thee, and, the good course being finished, may now rest secure and be delighted in thee. But because certain men neither run nor will to take up the course after thee, [1180B] let thy visitation deign to visit these, that thou mayest open to them the light of truth, and draw them, being enlightened, to thee, and, a rope of charity being given them, bring them through to thee. These that great Paul signifies, who before his calling ran wholly after Satan; but afterwards, being struck by the Lord, he was laid low and enlightened, and made a wonderful preacher, and, bound by this threefold cord, running after God, was consummated by the sword. Whether therefore thou drawest after thee one willing and able to run, that he may run the more, and may arrive there whither he could not arrive save by thee; or convertest one unwilling and unable to run, and dost so enlighten him by the grace given, that he too may lay hold of thee. In the good odor « of thy ointments, » that is, of the virtues breathing forth from thee, we will run, rendering thanks to thee who [1180C] hast laid hold of us, and rendering praises in the glory to which thou hast brought us by thy gift. There follows;

*The King brought me into his cellars: we will exult, and be glad in thee.*

A prayer has been set forth above, in which it was said, « Draw me after thee; we will run in the odor of thy ointments. Lest it should seem useless and uttered without fruit, there is consequently added, « The King brought me into his cellars. » For behold, she is now drawn, drawn indeed, and brought into the very cellars of the King. But who is more worthily called King than he who, having the rights of all kingdoms, distributes them to whom he wills, and when he wills, and as long as he wills; and, considering in these the manners of men, either crowns them according to their merits, [1180D] or, marking their insolence, afflicts them worthily for the things they have committed. This truly is God, who rules all things by one command, who contains the things which are above and the things which are below, giving to each of his creatures its own being, that they may be, and be well, and himself God ruling over all things. This is he whom this Bride desires, that is, the soul, or the Church, wholly purged of sins, whose kiss she has this long while demanded, seeking to lay hold of him whose desire she already feels within her. Which indeed, because it is near to the highest blessedness, is still deferred, nor is the kiss given, until the soul, or the Church, may understand from the creatures whether she has chosen one who is worthy. Hence it is that [1181A] either by an angel or by some virtue this Bride is brought into the cellars of the King, that she may either know his riches, and from his riches recognize who he is, and of what sort and how great is he whom she desires. Which this Bride observing, and giving thanks, says, « The King brought me into his cellars: we will exult, and be glad in thee. » Behold, she who is in the cellars exults in the cellars: and the cellars indeed are some part of the divine palace, containing within themselves the riches of the king, and his secret things. But the palace of the King is that of which the prophet makes mention, saying, « O Israel, how great is the house of God, and vast! great is the place of his possession, and it has no consummation, high and immeasurable [n: (Bar. III, 24, 25)]. » [var: Vulg. *finem*, "end"] Hence let us consider his palace, which is assuredly as great as [1181B] the creation reaches. Its length, its breadth and its height measure out the whole dimension of the creature. But if thou shouldst go further in mind, hear the Scripture; for it says, « It has no consummation, high and immeasurable: » for God is indeed in every creature. But is God consummated together with the creature, so that where the creature receives its end, there God also should obtain his end? Far be this, and let it be driven far from human understanding. For God, as he is immeasurable, so is he infinite and eternal: and if he is infinite, there is assuredly nothing whereby he should have an end; but where he appoints the boundary of the creature, there he receives himself in his own simplicity and purity: according to which the Truth testifies in the Gospel, saying, « Glorify me, Father, with thyself, with the glory which I had before the world [1181C] was made [n: (Joan. XVII, 5)]. » For then was the Father in the Son and the Holy Spirit, the Son was in the Father and the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit also was in the Father and the Son, filling up the blessed Trinity, and sanctifying one unity in substance.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

This therefore is the palace of the king; and its cellars are certain heavenly mansions, of which the Lord makes mention, saying, « In my Father's house there are many mansions [n: (Joan. XIV, 2)]. » Which mansions indeed are the diverse habitations of the heavenly virtues, and of diverse glory, which he disposes and orders in that secret manner of his own which the Lord knows, so that in them he may establish the place of his glory and of his holy habitation. Who discerns and separates these? [1181D] who divides and gives judgment upon their fellowships? High indeed, and unknown to our understanding, is that incomprehensible indwelling of all the virtues and angels, who, invisible to us, were found standing and stable in temptation; and, when those fell headlong who, lifted up in mind against the Lord, fell away, they were made stable by the merit of their own constancy, and were joined to God by perpetual charity. Whose names, as they are known to us, so are their powers unknown, holding together heaven and earth, disposing all the things that are done in them, moderating the life of the just, and not ignorant of the punishments which are due to the wicked: whose number God the Creator alone knows, who created them from the beginning, and enjoys and takes delight in their unceasing obedience: their nature the holy Trinity knows, their number the second person [1182A] in the Trinity knows, our Lord Jesus Christ, who, when he was being led to his passion, said, « Turn thy sword into its place. Dost thou think that I cannot ask my Father, and he will present me more than twelve legions of angels [n: (Matth. XXVI, 52, 53)]. » Which twelve legions are found to be seventy-nine thousand, and nine hundred, and ninety-two, that is, eighty thousand less eight. But the number of the others is unknown to us, who sound forth praises beyond estimation to God, and, being occupied in those praises, are not wearied, nor do they fail, but rather it is the more a delight to be delighted by the frequenting of these praises; so that either they may always go forward in the love and the knowledge of that majesty which they behold, or, being brought to perfection, may [1182B] persevere without end, stable in that which they have long since attained.

These mansions therefore are the cellars, into which this Bride says that she has been brought, showing that by an angel, or by some virtue, she is formed by their examples, so that, contemplating God, she may love him with all her strength, and may cherish his praise without intermission, and may show that she takes her delight not in the affluence of temporal and passing things, but rather in the continual frequenting of these; saying, « The king brought me into his cellars: we will exult, and be glad in thee. » For to exult is to rejoice in mind, and to be glad is to show by an outward sign the joy which is within. Therefore, that she may attribute wholly to God the joy which she announces that she has conceived, she adds, [1182C] « In thee: » for vain alike is exultation, and vain is gladness, save that which is founded in the Lord: whence the Psalmist says, « Be glad, ye just, in the Lord, and glory, all ye upright of heart [n: (Psal. XXXI, 11)]. » And likewise he begins a Psalm, saying: « Exult, ye just, in the Lord; praise becomes the upright [n: (Psal. XXXII, 1)]. » Behold what gladness and exultation, which praise assuredly and glorying follow after, is wholly from God, when God is gathered up with the whole heart, the whole soul, the whole mind, when thy heart is opened to loving thy neighbor, even as thyself: and the recompense of all these things is not sought in this life, but is most patiently awaited in the life to come: whence also there is subjoined;

*Mindful of thy breasts above wine.*

Here truly it must be attended to, that this exultation and [1182D] gladness proceeds wholly from the memory of the breasts, which the Bride confesses to be the breasts of the Bridegroom himself: and by what reason this is true must be considered. For the Bridegroom, in the first answer of his, answered the Bride above, Thy prayer is not to be repelled, because « thy breasts are better than wine: » whence, since here the Bridegroom says that the breasts are the Bride's, and in what follows the Bride professes that the breasts are the Bridegroom's, either these must of necessity be the same breasts, or diverse ones must indeed be assigned: but lest hindrances make delay, we testify that the breasts will be the same, both the Bridegroom's and the Bride's. For these breasts we testify to be the divine oracles; which indeed are God's, divinely inspired by him: and they are the Church's, granted to her out of the grace of God for the nourishing and instructing of the peoples. This [1183A] Bride therefore says: « We will exult, and be glad in thee; mindful of thy breasts, » that is, of the divine oracles, which have been inspired by thee, and granted to me by thy giving. « Above wine, » that is, above the understanding of all those oracles which, as wine turns men's minds away, so turn the soul away from thee, and detain it occupied in their hands. There follows:

*The upright love thee.*

Which addition indeed is the commendation of the things said above. For no one loves save he who is upright, nor can any man be upright and not love. For he is upright who raises his head to that for which he was created, who is stretched out with his whole body thither whence it has been granted him to be, to live, to be wise, and to understand. Whence is this to any man, save from God? For the Psalm says, [1183B] « Know ye that the Lord himself is God; he made us, and not we ourselves [n: (Psal. XCIX, 3)]. » He therefore who raises himself to God is upright, because without doubt he tends thither whence he acknowledges these things to be present to him: but he who is bent downward, who is inclined to the world, fixing his head downward and raising his feet upward, is likened to a monster, and is crooked; of whom the prophet says, « I am made wretched, and I am bowed down even to the end [n: (Psal. XXXVII, 7)], » bewailing without doubt the wretchedness of him who, thus departing from the good, ends his life in death. But the Lord, not willing that we should be bent down in this manner, healed and raised up the woman in the Gospel who for eighteen years was bowed down and unable to look upward, making her whole from being sick, and upright from being crooked; showing that it is he himself [1183C] whose love heals and raises up, makes upright and receives. There follows:

4. *I am black, but beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem.*

Hitherto the Bride has addressed her Bridegroom, she who is either the Church of God, or any perfected soul, now loathing the world and contemplating God with a pure heart: but she, seeking the kiss, says, « Let him kiss me with the kiss of his mouth. » Which, because it is not yet given, but is deferred to that time in which, after the resurrection of all, the souls, united together with the very bodies in which they rendered a service pleasing to God, shall be gladdened with a perpetual eternity, and shall together be endowed with immortality. But it was answered her by the Bridegroom: The kiss which thou askest I do not indeed [1183D] give now, but when God shall be all in all, and the number of your brethren shall be filled up, then I promise that I will give it: and for the filling up of that number of the brethren I judge thee indeed apt; and this for this reason, because « thy breasts are better than wine. » Cheered by which answer, she addresses him again, saying, « Thy name is oil poured out: » and likewise that other, « Draw me after thee, » that, helped by the strength of thy breasts, with such a multitude as befits thee, I may at length come through to thee. But now, being taught what is to be done, and that the peoples must be nourished by her breasts, so that, being enlarged unto salvation, she may run together with them, having before her eyes that word, « Obedience is better than victims, and to hearken, rather than to offer the fat of rams [n: (I Reg. XV, 22)]; » she obeys, and, [1184A] being humbled, turns herself to the peoples, saying, « I am black, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. » But who does not know Jerusalem to be that city which the Lord chose before all others, that in it he might teach, and in it bring forth the words of life, and in it and in its borders work the miracles at which the world should be astounded, and might wonderfully fulfil what had been begun by an angel in Nazareth, brought forth afterwards in Bethlehem, and in that city at the last by his passion, and by the glory of his resurrection, by his ascension also, and by the sending of the Holy Spirit. But addressing this city, she says, « I am black and beautiful, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. » [var: Vulg. *sed*, "but"] But she calls its daughters all the souls converted to him by the preaching of the Lord Jesus; which deserved to hear either him bodily, or his preaching, beforehand through the prophets and other just men, or afterwards through the apostles, and those [1184B] who had faith in them: these she names daughters, as being suppliant, as being obedient, doing nothing against the command of the Father, keeping the faith as it was committed to them, and, in the keeping of it even to the term of life, most constantly persevering, and despising death of whatever kind.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

But because, as Solomon says, « The just man is first the accuser of himself, taking the beginning from herself, she says, « I am black. » Which testimony indeed, despicable as concerning herself, is attended to more than what is most worthy of commendation. For what comeliness has the Bride, if she appear to the Bridegroom black, if dark, if horrible in the look? if she whom love flees should present herself to embraces; and she whom love follows, whom it joyfully receives, should plainly be found lacking these things. It must therefore be attended to, that this blackness [1184C] has in itself more of form, more of comeliness, more of honor and of seemliness, than all that which allures the sight, which snatches to itself and distracts the affections of mortals: for thence there is subjoined, « I am black, but beautiful. » This blackness spiritual affections work. For the Holy Spirit brings in this blackness: he pours the love of God into hearts, gives contempt of the world, gives to spurn the things that fall away, and to love the things which are eternal: to these things he rouses the affections, labors for the acquiring of them, prays in them, fasts in them, in them assiduously macerates the body, and prepares the world to be contemptible to itself, and itself to be contemptible to the world. Our Lord Jesus Christ declares that this blackness shall be present to him, saying, That « I must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders, and [1184D] the Scribes, and the chief of the Priests, and be slain [n: (Matth. XVI, 21)]. » Which blackness of his the text of the Gospels announces, setting out the things which he sustained, which he willed to suffer for the redeeming of man; and which at the last, by wonderfully rising again, and by so ascending into the heavens, and by sending the Holy Spirit, he changed into a wondrous form of comeliness. This blackness laid hold of Peter also, his apostle, when Herod, delivering him over to four quaternions of soldiers, kept him taken, and, bound with two chains, held him fast in the prison; who, when in the morning he was to be brought forth to the sword, that very night being taught by an angel, passed through all the guards, and, the angel leading, escaping also the iron gate which was opened to him of its own accord, « Coming to himself, said: [1185A] Now I know truly that the Lord has sent forth his angel, and delivered me, etc. [n: (Act. XII, 11.)] » Paul also, asserting that he has part in these things, says: « In very many labors, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often [n: (II Cor. XI, 23)]. » This blackness therefore we have assigned to Christ, who is the head of the whole Church, and to his chief members, Peter and Paul, for this reason, that from it it may be established that all who godly will to live in Christ must of necessity sustain bodily persecution, such as these, or such as all the martyrs far and wide through the world have unconquerably suffered for Christ; or at the least a spiritual one, such as the apostle bewails, saying, « Unhappy man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] For blackness [1185B] enfolds all men, whether such as is from the persecution of the body, or such as is from the assault of the mind that struggles against it.

This Bride therefore says to the daughters of Jerusalem, whom she has taken up to be instructed: ye daughters of Jerusalem, attend, because « I am black, » prompt indeed for every peril, for the taking up of every kind of death, prepared for the undergoing of every temptation; so that « neither death, nor life, nor Angels, nor Principalities, nor Powers [n: (Rom. VIII, 38, 39)] » [var: Vulg. *neque virtutes*, "nor virtues"], nor the rest which follow, which the apostle enumerates, « can separate her from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus. » Thou also, who desirest to be called a daughter of Jerusalem, by looking upon me, by setting me before thee as an example, stand fast, drawing near to the service of God, lest thou be [1185C] easily moved; because out of this blackness an unspeakable form of comeliness shall come to thee: for so it is written, « I am black, but beautiful. » Which form indeed is first from this, that man was created to the image and likeness of God; « to the image, » from reason; « to the likeness, » from the imitation of virtue. For if a man have reason, and cease to imitate virtue, he is indeed an image; but the likeness in which he might be able to please is wanting: of such men it is written, « But God, seeing that the malice of men was great upon the earth, and that all the thought of their heart was bent upon evil at all times, it repented him [n: (Gen. VI, 5, 6)], » and he blotted them out, not recognizing the image deformed, and the likeness not admitted into comeliness. [1185D] But in so great a multitude of men as was blotted out by the waters, how many faces there were which after the manner of man were called most fair, out of the fitting composition of God! how many lofty heads of hair! how deep the breasts! how open for work the shoulders! how many bodies framed for good uses, had they willed it! how many legs! how many hands! how many arms! in which, if nothing were sought save that which is outwardly fair, they would surely not have been enfolded in the waters, nor found in the lowest places. But all these, wrapped about with the blackness of sin, were plunged into a black house, namely, hell, allotted to the prince of blackness of this kind, therein experiencing what the difference is between those blackened by sin, and [1186A] those who for Christ are bound fast by sufferings, and by the things which accompany sufferings. These gnash in the darkness; the glory of the others is in the light: whence also it is here said, « I am black, but beautiful. » For the Church of God is black, whether by the suffering of the body, or by the maceration of the flesh, and the wearing down of the spirit, because it follows Christ, until it may reach through to him. There follows:

*As the tents of Cedar, as the skins of Solomon.*

Two things having been set before, two also are subjoined. For to that which was said, « I am black, » there is subjoined that which was said, « as the tents of Cedar: » but to that which was set down, « but beautiful, » there is placed beneath that which was said, « as the skins of Solomon. » [1186B] Which being so set down, let us so understand them. For Cedar is understood to have been the son of Ismael [n: (Gen. XXV, 13)], who, after he had grown up, disdaining to dwell among his brethren, chose for himself a solitude to be inhabited, raising for himself tents which should take upon them all the inclemency of the air, and should avoid no excess either of heat or of cold. In them he sustained the burning Crab, in them he did not fear the Goat stiff with cold, in them he sustained the assaults of whatsoever men came against him, and, breaking the arms of them that warred, he withstood them both by the strength of his body and by the solidity of his tents. The Church therefore, or any perfected soul, says that she is black as the tents of Cedar, because, as these could be beaten back by no onsets, so neither could these women be turned away from the love of God and from the worship of his justice [1186C] by any threats, by any terrors of adversaries, or by any scourges: according to that word of blessed Paul, « I know that no creature at all shall separate me from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus [n: (Rom. VIII, 39)]. » There follows that which has now been said, « as the skins of Solomon. » Which skin indeed is to be understood not of sheep, not of goats, not of any animals at all; but the very skin of Solomon; of which it is also said elsewhere, « Thou hast clothed me with skin and flesh, thou hast put me together with bones and sinews [n: (Job X, 11)]. »

This therefore is the skin which covers his face and his neck, fencing his throat, his breast and his arms, covering also the vital parts, and shutting in and closing within itself the rest of the body, so far as [1186D] it goes. But who does not know that Solomon was a most wealthy king, to whom the Lord gave a wise and understanding heart, so far that none before him was like to him, and who obtained all the kingdoms from the river of the land of the Philistines even to the border of Egypt, they offering gifts to him, and serving him all the days of his life. What could be lacking to him, which did not obey him in food and in the adornment of clothing? For the highest comeliness and the highest beauty was present to him; whom. whosoever is well in his wits understands to lack nothing whereby the life of men may be adorned. To this skin therefore holy Church, or any perfected soul, rightly compares herself, [1187A] saying, « I am beautiful as the skin of Solomon; » because as among those human things nothing is understood to be fairer than this skin, nothing more worthy; so among those things which are toward God nothing is found more adorned or more exact than holy Church, than the perfect soul. But if any man raise his contemplation higher, by this Solomon may be understood that great Solomon, our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his own blood made peace over all things, who made both one, confederating the heavenly things and the earthly, that in the heavens there may be glory to God, and on earth peace to men of good will. To this skin the Church conforms herself, and every faithful soul, hoping with a sure hope that she may be with him in blessed immortality, being about to be immortal, and to be endowed with eternal blessedness in incorruption. Whence also there follows:

[1187B]

## 5.

*Do not consider me, that I am dark, because the sun has discolored me.*

As if she should say, I am indeed black, discolored by innumerable sufferings, afflicted with horrible torments: but you who will to be daughters of Jerusalem, do not attend to this, do not set my sufferings before your eyes, and do not reckon them as intolerable. What I suffered at Rome in Peter by the cross, what through Paul by the sword, what through John in the cauldron, what through Andrew in Achaia, what through the several apostles in the diverse places of the world, then through Stephen, through James in Judea, what through Polycarp, what through Dionysius, what through Laurence, what through Vincent, what through the Theban Legion, what [1187C] through all the martyrs far and wide through the world, how in these things I was discolored, do not attend; but for what cause I endured these things; what fruit I may obtain through that cause; with what blessed glory I hold by most certain hope that I shall be endowed. Hither attend, hither look, that the Sun of justice [sic: *justistitiae*] himself wrought this discoloring in me. These things I suffered for him who is the Sun of justice, who shall reform our body, configured to the body of his brightness, that I may live with him in perpetual glory, and enjoy everlasting blessedness. There follows:

*The sons of my mother have fought against me, they have set me a keeper in the vineyards.*

The Church says that she was black; but whence this blackness first befell her she consequently shows, [1187D] saying, « The sons of my mother have fought against me. » These she calls the sons of her mother, begotten of the stock of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob; who, when all the sons of men in the whole round of the earth turned aside to the left part, to adore idols and to sacrifice to them, refused to do this, but rather remained stable and immovable in the faith of the one God, who had created all things, through whom all things subsist. These she testifies to have been in this the sons of her mother, that is, of divine grace; whom, when the world was wrongly turning aside, she called back from its errors, and kept stable to herself in this faith, as sons: to whom, when the time of grace had been manifoldly revealed through the prophets, and afterwards, the Lord being born from the heavens among them, [1188A] had evidently appeared by signs and mighty works, yet they refused to receive him, to believe him, to give faith to his preaching, though it was declared by innumerable mighty works: but decreeing to be stable in the law given through Moses, they willed, after the signs, and the mighty works, and the miracles, to accuse him before the judge, betrayed by the hand of his own disciple, though he was innocent, and to receive him when he was given to them, and, though he bore all things innocently, to fasten him to the cross. Resigning this life, they were given over into a reprobate sense, and they who received it received power to be the sons of God: according to that which is said in the prophet, « I will call her that is not my people, my people, and her that is not my beloved, beloved; and her that has not obtained mercy, one that has obtained mercy. And it shall be in this place, where it was said [1188B] to them, You are not my people, there they shall be called the sons of the living God [n: (Ose. I, 10, et Rom. IX, 25, 26)]. » But this Bride says that these, long since the sons of the mother, grace, while that state still remained, while the prophecies were as yet in suspense, when the signs were not yet, the mighty works not yet declared; but now by no means sons, but most bitter enemies and unclean murderers, assailed her; that, the head being broken, the members also might be broken, and, Christ being taken away, as they hoped, out of the midst, his Church might be utterly taken away.

This is plainly shown in the Acts of the Apostles, where « the Prince of the Priests rising up, and all who were with him (which is the heresy of the Sadducees) were filled with zeal; and they laid hands upon the Apostles, [1188C] and put them in the public ward [n: (Act. V, 17, 18)]; » and, when these had been mightily delivered by an angel, they afterwards gave charge to the blind, that they should by no means speak in the name of the Lord Jesus. But these, long since the sons of divine grace, now wholly reprobate as toward the grace that offered itself, made war against me. But they of the new people, receiving the faith, and confessing the Word of God, true God and made man, subjecting themselves to him with the heart, set me, who from the first Abel have stood forth, who with Henoch deserved to have God, and who have taken up into myself all the just to whom this grace was revealed, set me a keeper for themselves in the vineyards, which they established throughout the whole world far and wide. These vineyards the Church calls holy, which they who had received the faith of Christ planted in their own blood, and consecrated unto his glory. [1188D] Set over these, this Bride says that she was set a keeper in the vineyards: over which, although she applied as much keeping as she could, yet she confesses that she did not keep them. Which we understand to be said with regard to the opinion of men: for they who were consummated by the sword, who were consumed by fire, who were destroyed by such punishments as the world could devise, who shall understand these to have been worthily kept? According to this opinion, this Bride says:

*I have not kept my vineyard.*

That is, I did not forbid them from the taking up of torments for Christ: whom nevertheless I have already sent before into eternal life, where there are no perils, but only eternal joys. To this there is consequently annexed:

*[1189A]*

## 6.

*Show me, thou whom my soul loves, where thou feedest, where thou liest down in the midday, lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions.*

For this Bride has confessed to her Bridegroom that, although set as keeper in the vineyards, she « did not keep » them, or her, for the sake of the one love of faith and of charity; that is, she did not restrain them from the fervor of undergoing suffering; but, by exhorting and encouraging them, she sent them over with most certain hope to the joys of the heavens promised to her. Hence, that she may be made the more certain, and that no one may be held doubtful in himself concerning that hope, she sends forth a prayer, saying, « Show me where thou feedest, where thou liest down; » having nevertheless set this before, « Whom my soul loves. » For it is wont to be the custom with suppliants, that when they have besought that anything be given or done for them, they hold out [1189B] something, or offer something, whereby they may understand that the face of him to whom supplication is made will be at peace toward them: whence, because among the heavenly gifts nothing is found more eminent than charity, nothing that can be given dearer than love, she holds out that love of hers which she asks for, saying, « Show me, thou whom my soul loves; » that what she asks may not be denied to one who asks and at the same time loves. For what is dearer to God? what is found more acceptable than the love of our soul? Run through all the things which are in the world: nothing comparable to this, nothing so acceptable to God that it might be offered, will meet thee. For God created the world, and all the things which are of the world; but for what cause? that it might indeed be a habitation for man: but for what cause did he here establish man? that he might [1189C] obey him, and out of the love of his soul be obedient to him. The end therefore and the cause of the creation of things is this, that we may love God with the whole soul, may please him in all things, may cleave to him indivisibly: according to that which is said, « He who is joined to the Lord is one spirit [n: (I Cor. VI, 17)]. » [var: Vulg. *adhaeret*, "cleaves"]

This Bride therefore, joined to God, having all souls, both those which are and those which shall be, joined to God in that unity which Paul the Apostle sets forth to us, what can she ask of the Bridegroom which he should deny? concerning what can she intercede which he should not hear? She says therefore, « Thou whom my soul loves, show me where thou feedest. » Which short word, how widely it may be extended we understand, if we rightly acknowledge the Lord to be the shepherd of all the things which [1189D] are fed far and wide. For he himself says, « I am the good Shepherd; the Shepherd [n: (Joan. X, 11)], » I say, « good, » through whom not even the bird hungers, through whom not even all the things which are sustained by another's food hunger. But what is it to us to inquire concerning the feeding of those who, though they are fed by his giving, neither render thanks to the giver, nor, so as to know how to render them, have received the thanksgivings of the giver? Men therefore are they whom God feeds; to whom he subjects all the things which are in the world, sheep and oxen, all the beasts of the field also, the birds of the air, and the fishes of the sea. Of whom certain men receive these gifts of God with a worthy giving of thanks; but others, not attending to what they are, or whence they are, or for what cause they were given, grasp all these things [1190A] as by a chance occupation; nor do they by any reasoning know who is the author of them, or who the giver. Since therefore God feeds all these, it lies with him which of them he may worthily reward according to their giving of thanks, or which, being unworthy, he may cast away from his table by eternal damnation. But what is it to us to handle these matters, since these are bodily things, and this Bride of God spiritual? let her intend to inquire further, saying, « Show me, thou whom my soul loves, where thou feedest. »

A spiritual pasture therefore must be sought, wherewith it is worthy that the Bridegroom should feed, and being fed with which they may be made spiritual. For there is a certain bodily bread, wherewith the body is nourished; and there is a bread wherewith the spirit is fed. The bread wherewith the body is nourished is procured by the plow and the hoe: the bread wherewith the spirit is fed is ministered from above [1190B] out of heaven. For there is a bread of life, Holy Scripture, divinely inspired by the Father of lights; and there is a bread of life, every perfected virtue: there is a bread of life, the body of Christ, granted to us for a sacrament and a sanctification. These are the breads of which the prophet makes mention, saying to the daughters of the Bride, « Blessing I will bless her widow, I will satisfy her poor with breads [n: (Psal. CXXXI, 15)]. » For Sion, « a watchtower, » is holy Church, from the lofty watchtower of the virtues assiduously contemplating the Lord Jesus, and fearfully and anxiously awaiting his coming. A certain part of her, already glorified with the Lord, rejoices in the heavens; a certain part, still sustaining exile, is a pilgrim from the Lord upon the earth: according to [1190C] this part she is a widow, as though separated from her husband, the Lord, namely, Jesus, who went away into a far country when he pierced the heavens with the truth of the body he had assumed, and is to return in the day of the full moon, that is, of the glorification to come. This widow the Lord blessing blesses, namely, with a twofold blessing; giving her grace in the way, that she may not fail; giving her at length glory in the fatherland, that she may rest from her labors. But he refreshes with breads those poor of his who are poor in spirit; who, although for the solace of their pilgrimage they possess certain temporal things, yet do not incline their mind to these, but raise up their love and their affection to the giver of all things. These he refreshes with the breads already named, namely, with the bread of the scriptures, [1190D] the bread of the virtues, the bread of the sacraments, the bread, namely, most white, which is the bread of angels; of which it is said: « Man ate the bread of angels [n: (Psal. LXXVII, 25)]. » These are the breads of which the Gospel discourse makes mention, saying, « Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at midnight, saying, Friend, lend me three loaves; because a friend of mine has come to me, and I have not what to set before him [n: (Luc. XI, 4, 5)]. »

Well does he receive a friend, who intends to refresh and to honor him with this threefold bread. The bread of the scriptures therefore is the first among these breads, for this reason, that in spiritual advancement the first thing is to know in whom thou believest and whom thou lovest; the second, to be conformed [1191A] to him whom thou lovest; the third, to be confirmed in this very thing, that thou look not back, that thou go not back. Through the scriptures therefore we come to know, through virtue we are conformed, but through the sacrament we are confirmed. By the bread of the scriptures we are enlightened unto faith, that afterwards we may be confirmed unto virtue; whence it is written, « The declaration of thy words gives light, and gives understanding to little ones [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 130)]. » For there is a word which is heard when uttered, and there is a word which abides as born: but from the declaration of the word which is heard uttered, there is conceived the understanding and knowledge of the Word which always abides born; this is Christ Jesus our Lord; whose faith is surely conceived when the word of God, Holy Scripture, is soberly and faithfully opened and expounded. For it is written, that [1191B] « they knew him in the breaking of bread [n: (Luc. XXIV, 35)]. » The Gospel history lies open: the Lord was walking with the disciples, and was not indeed known, who was received by them into their lodging, and at length was known in the breaking of bread. O blessed breaking, whereby Christ is known! whereby Christ is conceived in the heart of his own! The bread of the scriptures therefore is the first; which the Lord also reveals, when, working miracles, he deigned to refresh five thousand men with five loaves; but four thousand with seven loaves. For it is written, « When, having taken five loaves, looking up to heaven, he blessed, and broke, and gave the loaves to his disciples, but the disciples to the multitudes [n: (Matth. XIV, 19)]. » O wonderful blessing! which, while it breaks the loaves, does not diminish them, and increases them when it distributes them; [1191C] multiplies them when it consumes them in the refreshing of many; and what is against the nature of bodily bread, this it brings back into nature. He handed over the Pentateuch to the apostles, commanding that they break it, and distribute it to all, that all may be satisfied from it, and that many fragments of the expositors may remain: so also, blessing the Heptateuch, he commanded it to be broken for the peoples, and from this that very many baskets of the expositors be filled. For this bread has such a nature, that when it is broken, and distributed, and communicated in the correction of many, it is always increased; and whence it seems to be diminished, thence rather it receives enlargement and increase. But the Pentateuch, that is, the five books of Moses, and the Heptateuch, which are the four Gospels, the epistles of the apostles, and their Acts, [1191D] which Luke writes, « Paul also the apostle. » These things the Lord sets forth to his own, that they may be as seeds, and that many fruits may arise from them, whereby the whole multitude cleaving to God may be fed, and fully refreshed. But it is the bread of the virtues, when from the word we have heard we conceive virtue in the mind, and remain firm and stable in it; when, driving off the disgrace of the vices, we mortify them in work, turn aside from them in speech, and dread to touch them in thought. Thus is place made for virtue in the mind; so that what ambition widely embraces, that is despised for Christ; what incontinence suggests, « let it slay in chastity; » what is exalted through pride, that is broken by humility; [1192A] and every vice that is spread abroad is driven far off by the mighty command of charity. Of this the Psalmist makes mention, saying, « My tears have been bread to me day and night [n: (Psal. XLI, 4)]. » For when he said that the love of God was to be preferred to the world, it was answered him that this should be laid open by a manifest miracle; for they said, « Where is thy God? » [n: (Ibid.)] Which hardness of heart being heard, the prophet turns to tears, praying for them that they may be softened, that at length they may be converted; having these tears indeed for breads, and reckoning them his refreshment. He makes mention of the same, saying, « I am smitten [sic: *suum*] as hay, and my heart is withered; because I forgot to eat my bread [n: (Psal. CI, 5)]. » For unless this bread of the virtues be assiduously eaten, so that a man be strengthened by it, he is smitten by the sickle of sin, and his [1192B] greenness falls away, and straightway his flower withers. For the same prophet repeats, saying, « All the day my enemies reproached me [n: (ibid. 9-10)]; » and why? « Because I ate ashes as bread, » that is, I was delighted with sin as though with virtue. These are the breads which Habacuc had crumbled in the little trough [n: (Dan. XIV, 32)], that he might carry them to the reapers, whom the angel of the Lord carried by his hair, and in the vehemence of his spirit set him in Babylon, that he might carry them to Daniel. For that Daniel had crushed these breads of the virtues in the trough of his heart; and there he made trial what things, and of what sort, and how great, virtue could do. This bread is that which was set at the head of Elias fleeing from the face of Jezabel, in which it was said to him, « Arise, eat; for a great [1192C] way remains. He arose therefore, and ate, and walked in the strength of that food forty days, and forty nights, unto the mount of God, Horeb [n: (III Reg. XIX, 7, 8)]. » This therefore is that bread which we demand daily, saying, « Give us this day our daily bread [n: (Luc. XI, 3)]; » because without this bread of virtue and of grace it is unjust for any man to approach to, or to attain to, any bread of the sacrament. But this third is that bread of the sacrament, which the Lord makes of himself in a wonderful manner, which he grants to his Church to be communicated unto life, and with which if any man shall not have communicated by believing and equally by eating, there is no doubt that he will by no means have eternal life.

## 6. (cont.)

Let these things, then, that have been said concerning the pasturing of the Bridegroom suffice; and if we so understand him [1192D] that he either furnishes pasture or himself receives pasture, it makes no difference; when he distributes these loaves to them by preaching, or they receive the same loaves by believing and loving; let him be one and the same who is pastured and pastures, and in them, as in his faithful members, is delighted and takes his rest. For hence it is added, « Where thou feedest, and where thou liest down, » in that he has the couch of his own rest in those whom he either feeds with these loaves, or who are refreshed by the same loaves, a faithful teacher ministering the word. For this too is joined on, « At midday. » For midday is called the middle of the day, in which the sun shines more fervently, and the day dawns brighter than is its wont. Each one, therefore, has his own midday, when, [1193A] forgetful of temporal things, he now runs over spiritual things in his mind; and unmindful of bodily things, sets the things that are of the spirit before his eyes in his mind. Hence came forth the dogmas of the Stoics, of the Epicureans, of the Peripatetics, hence the many fictions of studious men, who, the way not yet laid open to them, laying down the highest good one in this fashion and another in that, and not having Christ for their leader, each erred in his own midday. But to Abraham, sitting in the valley of Mambre [n: (Gen. XVIII, 1)], in the door of his tabernacle, in the heat of the day, as it is written, the Lord appeared; and, plainly showing him the unity of substance, in which he truly is, and the trinity in persons, he made him a professor of the true faith. Of whom the Lord in the Gospel: « Abraham your father rejoiced that he might see my day: he saw it and [1193B] was glad [n: (Joan. VIII, 56)]. » For then he manifestly beheld the day of his trinity, when he understood him in the trinity to be the third person, and one God in that same trinity. For thus it is written, that « the Lord appeared to one sitting in the tabernacle [n: (Gen. XVIII, 1)], » in which the unity of substance is shown: and when he had opened his eyes, « three men appeared » [n: (ibid., 2)]; behold the mystery of the Trinity. And since it was afterward said to them, « Lord, if I have found grace in thy eyes, pass not by thy servant [n: (ibid., 3, etc.)]; » behold the mystery of Unity. « But I will fetch a little water, and wash ye your feet; and I will set a morsel of bread, and strengthen ye your heart: afterward ye shall pass on: for therefore have ye turned aside to your servant. Who said, Do as thou hast spoken; » behold the mystery [1193C] of the Trinity. And after these things, all things are comprehended under the mystery of the Trinity, as far as that word, « Returning I will come to thee at this time, life accompanying [n: (ibid., 10)]. » This is that noble midday in which the Lord lies down, in which he rests: as also that of Moses [n: (Exod., 12)], in which he understands that the people of God is to be led out of Egypt in the blood of the lamb: as also this most recent one, in which the Lord, prefiguring himself to the apostles, showed his face after the manner of the sun, and his garments in the whiteness of snow; and a voice also sounded from heaven, « This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased [n: (Matth. XVII, 5)]. » Of this the Bride says, « Show me, thou whom my soul loves, where thou liest down in the midday, » that is, what that midday may be, « Where thou liest down, » that is, where thou restest, and preparest for thyself a place of rest and of inmost repose; [1193D] « Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions. » He is said to wander who is not held by one judgment of his own mind, now approving one thing, now thinking another about the same matter, and settling nothing certain for himself in which he may abide and establish for himself the foundations of his belief. That this may not befall her, she requires to be made certain by the Bridegroom what meditation may please him, what things she ought to think concerning him, or to preach to others, so that persevering in these she may not run about after the flocks of his companions, nor increase the number of those who set themselves up as the Lord's companions by thinking certain good things of him, while in other things they contradict him by lying most wickedly. There follows:

*[1194A]*

## 7.

*If thou know not thyself, O most beautiful among women, go forth.*

Taught by the Spirit of wisdom, this Bride prayed to the Lord, that he would teach her by his Spirit where he pastured, where he chose himself a couch at midday. But afterward, being for a little while lifted up in spirit, she subjoins what has been said, « Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions. » Whence she seems to hold out threats, that unless what she asks be done, she will mingle herself with the flock of strangers. Marking this, the Lord is carried a little way, and for a little while, into anger against her who was lifted up, according to what is said, « With the holy thou wilt be holy, and with the innocent man thou wilt be innocent; and with the elect thou wilt be elect, and with the perverse thou wilt be perverted [n: (Psal. XVII, 26, 27)]. » For the Lord, as he is found holy to the holy, innocent [1194B] to the innocent, elect to the elect, so most justly is he found perverse to the perverse. Whence to her saying, « Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions. » The Lord answers, « If thou know not thyself, O beautiful one among women [var: Vulg. *pulcherrima*, "most beautiful"], go forth. » But it is to be marked what is said, « O beautiful one among women! » For the Lord chose her for himself as Bride, that she might be with him, might abide with him, might bear herself in his company in good faith, and might never depart from him through any man's perversion: beautiful therefore is she who has been so lifted up, so beloved, that while the rest remain in the estate of women, she herself has been chosen unto the throne of a Queen, and appointed to hold princedom over them all. And these women, among whom she has been chosen (in comparison with whom she seems comely, nay to be wondered at [1194C]), are all the souls of the Heathen, of Publicans, of Jews not following the law and not confessing Christ, and of Christians also, who confess in words that they know God, but deny it by their deeds. That this therefore may be brought back to her memory, it is said, « O beautiful one among women, if thou know not thyself. »

It is indeed a great peril for a perfect soul, or for a chosen bride, to be ignorant of herself: to be ignorant, namely, of this, that she was created out of nothing by the highest Father, the God of all, and yet formed to his image and likeness. She is indeed « Image » (as we said above) by reason, knowing what is just, what is unjust, what is to be done, what to be shunned, and that what she does not wish to be done to herself is to be denied to her neighbor, [1194D] and many things of this kind: all which things the soul observing, fully expresses and keeps the image of him by whom it was created. But she is « Likeness » when, faith having been received, she proceeds further, choosing for herself virtues which she may love, which she may cherish, by which she may rightly please him by whom she was created, and, all these being gathered in mind and in deed and perfected by charity, may give and offer them. There is moreover this, that she is said to be created to the image and likeness of God, because she was so created that she never ceases to be, but abides and stands fast unto perpetual eternity, forever retaining the good which by virtue she has merited from the Lord's hand, or else the evil, if her deserts have required it. There is another thing also in which it does not become the Bride to be ignorant of herself, but it is just to keep perpetual [1195A] knowledge of it: that he who before the ages was ever God and not man, for the sake of redeeming her and leading her back and fitting her to himself in the dignity of a Bride, was for her sake made man, mortal from immortal, passible from impassible, corruptible from incorruptible, and, having suffered those things which the long series of the Gospels unfolds, bore all, that he might lead her back to the Father, and glorify her with himself in glory. Who shall tell out this glory? which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it ascended into the heart of man, which God hath prepared for them that love him. If the soul or the beloved Bride is ignorant of these things, what remains but that it be said to her, « Go forth, » as if to say, withdraw from my company, « And go after the steps of the flocks, » the steps of those whom thou callest thy flocks, that is, [1195B] preach their sayings and their opinions, and proclaim them on every side: and feed thy kids? Behold what fruit will come to her, if she shall have gone out from the company of the good, if she shall have listened to those who walk ill, if she shall have proclaimed what they themselves preach and teach. What fruit is this? that she will feed « her kids, » that is, carnal motions, wanton and fetid; these she will feed by loosening the reins to luxury and to all the vices [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)], so that they may grow into those kids whom, set on the left hand, the Lord on the last day will send into eternal punishment. There follows:

*Beside the tabernacles of the shepherds.*

Some shepherds are good, who train their sheep unto life, and, if necessity require it, do not cease to die for them: the best exemplar of these is Jesus [1195C] Christ our Lord. There are others also, who by teaching perversely drag the flocks committed to them into death: and for this they fix tabernacles for themselves, as it were certain lecture-halls in which they may solemnly be heard. Being moved, therefore, the Bridegroom gives counsel [sic: *eonsilium*] to the Bride who was lifted up; that, if wearied of good counsel she tries to flee, she may try to pitch her tent for herself beside the tabernacles of these men, and to teach, so that those whom an equal guilt binds in fault an equal torment may also rack in punishment. There follows:

8. *To my company of horse in the chariots of Pharaoh have I likened thee, my friend.*

The Bridegroom does here what belongs to a lover. Her whom he had chosen for himself as Bride he commended with words, soothed with attentions, enlarged with promises. And she, receiving these promises, [1195D] while she is borne along by headlong desire, went a little too far in a word, saying, « Lest I begin to wander after the flocks of thy companions. » A word indeed which she ought not even to have thought, and which, even if it had been presumed in thought, it was yet not lawful to open by speaking. The Bridegroom, moved for a little while at this word, marking that whence thanks ought to have been returned, thence threats were held out against him, answered with moderation, speaking a word of anger, « If thou know not thyself, O beautiful one, go forth, » and go, following the steps of those whom thou callest to thyself shepherds; and since I have no communion with them, thou wilt have to withdraw from my company. But the Bride, [1196A] understanding that her word was heavily taken by the Bridegroom, groans and grieves; and because she had offended by a word, she trembles to utter anything at all by a word. And when this became known to the Bridegroom, whether by an Angel intervening, or in that way by which he knows all things, forgetting the husband he put on the Bridegroom, he grieved with her that grieved, and to her that repented he at once forgave what she had committed, mindful of that which is said, « I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord, and thou hast forgiven the impiety of my sin [n: (Psal. XXXI, 5)]. » Therefore, hatreds being wiped away and anger removed, that the things now said might be taken away from memory and this Bride recalled to her former state, he accosts her with a word of friendship, a word which she had not yet deserved to hear, saying, « My friend; » thus signifying that all that had been diminished from grace is now pleasing to him in thee. [1196B] He says therefore, « My friend, I have likened thee to my company of horse. » But here what company of horse of the Bridegroom is understood, save those who fight bravely everywhere for the Bridegroom, and spread his victories abroad in heaven and in air, by land and by sea? This is that multitude of Angels which, when battles were first waged, when the proud cohort said, « I will set my seat toward the North, and I will be like the Most High [var: Vulg. *exaltabo solium meum … sedebo in monte testamenti, in lateribus aquilonis*] [n: (Isa. XIV, 14)], » clung with one accord to its own prince, giving honor and glory to him who had created it, and resisting the disturber, unto all his confusion and ignominy. Him therefore, cast down from heaven, irrevocably estranged from that glory which he was lately able to hope for, he casts down into hell, and commits to him places of horror and of vast solitude to be inhabited, so that no going forth lies open to them save such as the divine [1196C] dispensation grants; so that hence a going forth, they may either prove the elect, or hurl headlong those foreknown unto damnation by a temptation fitted to them. Hence the Lord Jesus, and his chief members, Peter and Paul and all the apostles, and all the thousands throughout the world, at his instigation and by his sending it into the hearts of the wicked, were given over to the cross and to the sword and to other passions innumerable, that they might be proved by the temptations of these, and, not overcome even by death itself, might be received into eternal glory. For John says, « When the devil had now put it into the heart, that Judas the son of Simon Iscariot should betray him [n: (Joan. XIII, 2)]: » and the Lord in Job, « Behold he is in thy hand, but yet save his life [n: (Job II, 6)]. » Behold, that power was given him in the head, and in his best members [1196D]. For the power which was given him in Job, that same power was granted him in Peter, and in Paul, and in all the other elect throughout the world; that he might either tempt them with death, or press them down in the flesh, yet himself keep their souls unharmed. So the company of horse of God, obtaining victory in these, exercised the same also upon men, first drowning in the waters of the flood those defiled by their deceit, afterward destroying with brimstone and with fire the cities given over to sin; but later, when the Lord was plaguing with hardest strokes the Pharaoh raging against the sons of Abraham, and he still did not come to his senses, upon him, who had entered the sea with chariots and horsemen, that he might seize the sons of Israel walking through the dry ground in [1197A] the midst of the sea, the heavenly company of horse being sent in, it executed vengeance for the Lord, and swallowed up both the king himself and the princes, the chariots and the charioteers and the horsemen, the waters being brought back to their former place by their ministry; and so it freed his people by a glorious victory.

## 7. (cont.)

This therefore is what the Bridegroom says, « My friend, I have likened thee to my company of horse, in the chariots of Pharaoh, » that is, while the angelic company was occupied in overthrowing the chariots of Pharaoh, I appointed thee like to that company of mine, so acting for thee, so fighting for thee, so rescuing thee, as one willing always to have thee a partaker of my company of horse. According to what was said by the Lord to the Jews, « You err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection [1197B] they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, but they are as the angels of God in heaven [var: Vulg. *erunt*, "shall be"] [n: (Matth. XXII, 29, 30)]. » But how great a thing it is to be likened to those whose virtue is that virtue, whose power is that power, which was shown at Lachish, in the army of Sennacherib [n: (IV Reg. XIX, 39)], when, as he held out threats against Jerusalem, it came to pass that in that night the Angel of the Lord came and struck of the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and eighty-five thousand men, for the delivering of Jerusalem. But if by one Angel striking so many thousands of men were laid low, what would happen if the whole company of horse of God rose up against the earth? it would not come about that even one of the reprobate should be left. For the Lord says, when the profane nation was seizing him, and Peter, to defend him, [1197C] struck with the sword the servant of the Prince: « Put up thy sword into the scabbard [var: Vulg. at this place *converte gladium tuum in locum suum*; the words printed are those of Joan. XVIII, 11]. Dost thou think that I cannot ask my Father, and he will give me more than twelve legions of angels? [n: (Matth. XXVI, 52, 53.)] » Which number indeed contains eighty thousand, eight less: and for the defence of Eliseus also many thousands indeed were sent, which, when Eliseus prayed that the Lord would open the eyes of his servant, were shown to the servant himself: for thus it was said, « Behold the mountain full of horses and of fiery chariots round about Eliseus [n: (IV Reg. VI, 17)]. » This therefore is the company of horse of God, in whom he fights, by whom he works his mysteries, to whom he likens the Bride whom he chose out of men, and conforms her to himself in comeliness, in power, and in virtue. He says therefore, « My friend, I have likened thee, » that is, in my predestination [1197D] I have already made thee like « to the company of horse » of mine, that is, to my Angels, whom I send forth to execute my vengeances, to my wars, to those things which seem to men exceedingly grievous, as was lately shown in the chariots of Pharaoh. There follows:

9. *Beautiful are thy cheeks, as the turtledove's: thy neck as necklaces.*

The Bridegroom says to the Bride, that he may soothe her and render her at peace with him in all things, and may not allow her in any degree to spring back to the feeding of her kids, « I have likened thee, my friend, to my company of horse, » that is, in predestination I have appointed thee like in all things to my company. But because what has been predestined [1198A] must needs be fulfilled in act, in order that thou mayest be made worthy of the heavenly company, it behoves that they who hold the place of cheeks in thy body should be as it were the cheeks of a turtledove, and should present in themselves as it were the likeness of that bird. For the nature of this bird is this: it is joined to one mate, and when he is slain it is not coupled to another: it sits upon the branches of trees now dead, lacking leaves and fruit: there it moans, and sends forth a moan instead of a song. Those therefore whom this Bride is understood to have in her body as cheeks, these she is bidden to have like to the cheeks of the turtledove. For the cheeks are those parts which chew the food, and champ it and lessen it, and make it fit to be passed into the body. These are the holy writers, who, taught by the word of God, conceive Holy Scripture in their mind, and refresh themselves with the same, [1198B] and by imparting it to the uses of holy Church render her fit for the nuptials, and dear to God, and worthy of the eternal wedlock. These understand themselves to be joined as to a mate to Jesus Christ our Lord, « who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man [n: (Phil. II, 6, 7)]. » To him as to a mate they join themselves, to him they cleave, him they love; and since he has now been taken up from them into heaven, they affirm and maintain « that there is no other name under heaven in which men must be saved [n: (Act. IV, 12)]. » These, sitting upon dead branches, because those whom they consider dead to the world but living to God, [1198C] in them they take delight and rest, those whom neither the leaves of worldly wisdom clothe, nor worldly fruits delight, which quickly wither and perish. But these send forth a moan instead of a song, moaning that they lack that which they long for, and do not lay hold of the Lord Jesus whom they desire. Of these gathered into one it is said, « Blessed is he whose will is in the law of the Lord, and in his law he shall meditate day and night. And he shall be like the tree which is planted beside the running waters, which shall bring forth its fruit in its season. And its leaf shall not fall off, and all things whatsoever he shall do shall prosper [n: (Psal. I, 1, 2, 3)]. » These things are assigned to the writers of the divine law; as those which follow are attributed to its teachers and preachers.

[1198D] *Thy neck as necklaces.*

For *collum*, the neck, is so called from *colligando*, binding together, in that it binds the body to the head, and turns these two into one. By which name preachers and holy teachers are aptly named, who, receiving those things which are given by the Holy Spirit and expounding them by his gift, set them before the whole Church, and make her cleave to her head; who assuredly ought to be as necklaces fixed upon the breast, admonishing of the good those to whom they are attached. For a necklace fixed upon the breast speaks thus, says thus: Whom I have undertaken to guard, be thou chaste, be modest, be a lover of all honesty; let no adulterous hand know thee, nor let anything touch [1199A] thee whereby the faith owed to thy Bridegroom may be injured, or love in any point diminished. Which voice assuredly well befits the preacher and the teacher, that he be chaste and honest, and, like a round necklace, perfect on every side by his roundness, and circumspect. Let him keep these things in himself, let him teach everywhere that they are to be observed. Whence that golden necklace rings out well, saying: The loins of the faithful are girded, when evil concupiscence is repressed, when wicked thought is restrained, when the mind resists lust, when effect is denied to wantonness, when luxury is trodden down, when avarice and rapine are contemned, when injury of a neighbor is avoided, when pride is conquered, when envy is overcome. And that these necklaces may fitly hang from the neck, and remain firmly fixed upon the breast, the Bridegroom says:

*[1199B]*

## 10.

*We will make thee golden murenulae.*

The *murena* is a fish, comely in its length, and sprinkled over with a variety of color. Whence chains wrought of gold are called *murenulae*, which, set about the neck, are stretched out at length, and, joined to the necklace, bind it immovably to the breast-band. These therefore he sets forth that he will make for the Church his Bride; because as the understanding of those who give the law, or who give the first principles of letters, out of which either the Old or the New Testament arises, is from the divine wisdom, so also the understanding, the talents, and the whole invention of those who are the expositors of the same Scriptures are from him: and the things by which they enlarge, or magnify, or strengthen the Church proceed from the overflowing of the divine gift. The Bridegroom speaks of them [1199C] because he himself will make them, namely those sentences, but « vermiculated with silver, » that is, adorned with the divine eloquence. Whence he signifies that he gives them not only the understanding which the expositors put forth, but that he also ministers the fragrance of eloquence, whereby they please, whereby they are received into the fellowship of their hearers. He says therefore, « We will make thee golden *murenulae*, » that is, we will confer upon thee divine sentences, « vermiculated, » that is, adorned after the manner of worms, and set off « with silver, » that is, with the divine eloquence, which rings more sweetly than all metals. But the very change of speech is to be marked, that whereas hitherto the Bridegroom has used the singular in his speech, now, framing his words to the same Bride, he speaks in the plural number, « We will make golden *murenulae* » for thee; thus [1199D] showing the secret of the Trinity, which established the whole of both laws, and administered to the expositors of both the grace whereby they might do this and be pleasing. Whence the restoring of the highest salvation is now to be hoped for by her, whom, lest she ever give heed to the feeding of her kids, he both names above « friend, » and here, promising his own gifts, now reveals to her the mystery of the highest and adorable Trinity.

11. *While the King was in his repose, my spikenard gave forth its odor.*

Now when the Bride had heard those things which were set before her by the Bridegroom, namely, that she had been likened to the heavenly company of horse; and that they who in her body hold the place of cheeks [1200A] ought to have the likeness of the turtledove; and that they who hold the place of the neck should be likened to necklaces; having heard nonetheless the promise, that *murenulae* made by the hand of the highest Trinity are to be given her; the Bride opens her mouth and draws in the spirit, having yet nothing that she may offer, nothing that she may worthily render in return, save only that charity with which she was endowed from the beginning, before the incarnation of Christ, and that with which, after his advent and his ascension into the heavens, she was drawn to him by a marvellous gift. Hoping this to be precious, reckoning this unworthy of repulse, she makes mention of it, and promises that it will abide with her in eternal stability, saying, « When the King was in his repose. » And by the King's repose she names that purpose of the divine mind by which the Father disposed to send his Son into the lands, [1200B] to take flesh of the kindly virgin Mary, and that he, born of her, should teach the world, and that they who did not bear his holy doctrine should affix him to the cross, and that he should die, and after death rise again by his own power, and afterward ascend mightily into heaven, charity marvellously working these things, and the Son obeying herein, and the Holy Spirit herein consenting. And although this was disposed by eternal law, yet it had delay, and from Eve unto Adam, and on account of Adam's offence, it was deferred unto this fullness of time. But now through Christ grace and truth has been given [var: Vulg. *gratia et veritas per Jesum Christum facta est*, "grace and truth was made by Jesus Christ"] [n: (Joan. I, 17)]; and what had been disposed by the Father was completed by the working of grace.

He says therefore, « When he was in his repose, » that is, while he whom king above all things by judgment, the Son, [1200C] namely, who with the Father and the Holy Spirit rules all things; while he « was in his repose, » that is, was resting without labor in this purpose of his mind, « My spikenard gave forth its odor. » The spikenard is a lowly and odorous tree, by which the Bride designates those to whom, before his advent, God himself conferred knowledge of the mystery and of the Sacrament which he was to work; who preached and loved him that was to come, and who burned with the inmost desire of the mind for this, that as they saw him in the spirit, so they might be made worthy to see him with bodily sight. This burning is charity, and the odor of holy desire, by which the holy Fathers kindled one another toward him. It is that odor which the Bride declares that the spikenard gave, while the king was in his repose. [1200D] This odor went forth first from the Father into the world and into the hearts of mortals, who, being indignant at the serpent because he had deceived the woman, said: « Because thou hast done these things, thou art cursed among all living things and beasts of the earth. Upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life [n: (Gen. III, 14)]. » Which, as it was said, was so fulfilled in him by the divine sentence. For what goes upon its breast is never lifted from the earth: which is true of him, because the hearts of those whom he inhabits, while he lords it in them, he never permits of his own will to be lifted from earthly pleasures and thoughts, never to rise up into the light of the virtues which is from heaven; but « thou shalt eat » it all the days [1201A], that is, he compels them to be delighted with earthly pleasures, to sleep and rest in them, by a persuasion as false as he himself is false. But at length mercy looked down from heaven; for God says, « I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed [n: (Gen. III, 15)]; » as if he should say: This woman by believing thee has slipped away, I will create one woman who shall crush thy whole head, who by the opposing of virtue shall wear away the beginnings of all thy suggestions which thou fixest in wretched mortals, and will in no wise permit them to reach the effect thou urgest.

This was that blessed Mary, who was sanctified from the womb, who was straightway so walled about by the Holy Spirit that no place was left to the serpent of tempting her, or of suggesting anything sinister: if [cj: *si*; read *sic*, "so"] all that [1201B] is wont to move the hearts of mortals, offered to her, presented to her, was straightway crushed by the heel of virtue. Whence between her and the serpent enmities have been set and made firm, so that what pleases the one displeases the other, what the one party urges the other utterly abhors, nor can wills wholly contrary agree upon one point. She possesses the glory of heaven, and rejoices to have with her perpetually all who commit themselves to her devotion; and those who tarry here, and have their heart toward her, she guards with her prayers, nor are they to be turned aside by his suggestions, or indeed to be wholly made subject. But the serpent goes about the lurking-places of hell, and there disposes places for his own; here, for those who stray from the faith, who do not fear to fulfil in act the things which he suggests in a thousand ways, he prepares punishments beyond reckoning, [1201C] and deadly griefs. These then are the enmities set between this woman and the serpent, which are also firmly established between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. For the seed of this woman is Jesus Christ himself; the seed of the serpent, all who are not Christ's. The first seed of her was Abel, who confirmed his testimony to the Son of the Virgin by faith, by sacrifice, and by death. Her seed was Henoch, who bore testimony to the same son by true faith and by his ascension. Her seed was Noe, who, after the pattern of the same son, saved the Church in the flood of many waters in the wood. Her seed were Sem and Japheth, who did not look upon their father's shame, but covered it with faces turned away, veiling their own faces. For here God the Father, after the pattern of Noe, is said to have fallen asleep, when he consented that his son should be seized, [1201D] and, shamefully affixed to the cross, should be exposed to reproach; whom Cham saw and mocked, the accursed people of the Jews: but the two brothers, with faces turned away, did not see these things, nor mock them; two peoples, namely, the one of Jews only, penitent and converted, the other of the Gentiles. These, venerating the things done upon the cross, reckon nothing base, but covering them with the cloak of the scriptures, they venerate and adore them all. And to this seed Abraham is worthily ascribed, to whom, sitting in the door of his tabernacle in the heat of the day, the Lord is read to have appeared, and to have opened at once the signal mystery of the highest Trinity and of the Unity: to whom afterward, in his son Isaac, the mystery of the Lord's [1202A] passion was revealed, when, Isaac being bound for the passion, the father's sword, the angel forbidding, is drawn back from his neck, and the ram caught by the horns is offered. In which the will is truly to be held for the deed, which the angel alone hindered, and to which the father consented, the sword being now brandished, the neck stretched out, the son. With these two patriarchs that third, Jacob, is worthily numbered, whom we know as sleeping upon the stone, which is Christ, and beholding the ladder raised into heaven, by which certain angels were descending to visit the elect, while others were carrying up to the heights those already elect and now long well-deserving; and whom, worn down by the long squalor of toil, we know to have earned the two daughters of Laban, that is, the two Churches, the one given to action, the other to contemplation, [1202B] and, his father Laban being unwilling, to have returned with them to his own place; and, as he was at his last and prophesying by a prophetic spirit true things concerning Christ in his son Judah, we do not doubt that he said these words. « Judah, thee shall thy brethren praise [n: (Gen. XLIX, 8)]. » In which, when he had foretold many things concerning his passion and resurrection, he adds this also, « The sceptre shall not be taken away from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he come that is to be sent, and he shall be the expectation of the nations [n: (ibid., 10)]. » Which indeed is true of Christ; for from David their first King they had Kings in succession from the tribe of Judah, or at least Leaders, until, seizing Christ, they said, « We have no king but Caesar » [n: (Joan. XIX, 15)]. « If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend [1202C] [n: (ibid., 12)]: » and adding they said also, « His blood be upon us, and upon our children [n: (Matth. XXVII, 25)]. » By which blood they were consequently overwhelmed; and when the Roman army came they were so destroyed by sword, by famine, and by pestilence, that countless thousands of that people died; and all the remnants, given over to exile and scattered under divers kings, serve foreign rulers, and guard their life by performing what they are commanded.

## 10. (cont.)

This they obtained from the death of Christ, of whom it is said, « and he shall be the expectation of the Gentiles: who his robe [n: (Gen. XLIX, 11)], » that is, his inner garment, « shall wash with wine, » white, namely, and pure and clarified, most clear, that is, he shall purify it by a certain interior and spiritual [1202D] understanding: « and his cloak, » namely the outer garment, this he shall cleanse « with the blood of the grape; » that is, with the passion of Christ. For those who serve Christ inwardly, discussing his hidden things in mind, and searching out more closely the several things which are said of his Trinity and Unity, of his divinity and his assumed humanity, and of the several sacraments of the Church, must needs excel by a certain higher and supereminent understanding. But for the rest it is enough if they confess and believe his death and blood and their own deliverance; concerning whom this was set down before, « Tying his cloak [var: Vulg. *pullum suum*, "his colt"] to the vineyard, and his she-ass, O my son, to the vine [n: (ibid.)]. » For Christ is the vine to which the she-ass is tied, [1203A] that is, by whose preaching the primitive Church of the Jews, which established both laws, was converted. But « to the vineyard » of his, that is, to the apostles, the Church of the Jews and of the Gentiles has been tied, when, acquiescing in their words and admonitions, it believed and adored Christ, the power and wisdom of God, bearing our infirmities, redeeming by his own death the death to which it was liable. But who would doubt that Moses belonged to this seed? who first wrote, « I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed. » And who could recount David also, and Job, Isaiah, and all the prophets? whose testimonies concerning the advent of Christ, if any man should undertake to write them, would lay upon himself the care of making a great volume. All these indeed are recorded to be the seed of the blessed virgin; [1203B] whom she bore, testifying by word, desiring in heart, and earnestly ministering the good odor and the desire of him to one another and to others. And these indeed are the things which this holy Bride recounts to her Beloved: that these holy fathers believed Christ before he came into flesh, foretold him, and desired him with a marvellous expectation. Now, proceeding further, she shows (after he has now come into what is ours, and, the mystery for which he had come being fulfilled in our flesh, has ascended into the heavens) how the Church, in whose number she reckons herself, follows him thither, saying:

12. *A little bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me, he shall abide between my breasts.*

[1203C]For this is as if she should say: My Beloved has been removed far from me in body, but has not departed from me in spirit: for he will make a stay with me; but what stay? that of which the Lord says, « If any man love me, he will keep my word, and my Father loveth him [var: Vulg. *diliget*, "will love"], and we will come to him, and will make our abode with him [n: (Joan. XIV, 23)]. » Behold that this stay is the abiding of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, with the Bride: in which she knows the Father. For she has the power of treading upon serpents and scorpions, and of resisting every spirit that is not good, drawing her into evils, nay urging the worst things; she has also wisdom, whereby she has the savor to do what she can; she has also in the Holy Spirit the will always to do that which is good: so that, while she can always, is always wise, [1203D] always wills that which is of honor, that which is of virtue, thou mayest hence acknowledge in her the abode of the highest Trinity. In the Apocalypse also John says, « Behold I stand at the door and knock: if any man shall hear my voice, and open the gate, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me [n: (Apoc. III, 20)]. » Who would doubt that this Bride heard the voice of her beloved? who would question that she opened the door to him? who would not understand that she is made glad with him at the supper? who would not judge that at this supper the Father and the Holy Spirit sit together with the Son? A rich supper, at which it is not doubtful that the heavenly Spirits minister; over which he presides who is their Lord. What banquets, what dishes, [1204A] what gifts are set out at it, understand from this which the apostle says, « comparing spiritual things with spiritual [n: (I Cor. II, 13)]: » for spiritual are the things which the Church sets before her Bridegroom with those assessors.

Here is set first the humility that is pleasing to God, with those virtues which accompany it, that is, the fear of God, penitence, confession pleasing to God, and the holy satisfaction of work. In a certain second order are set ordered chastity, moderate sobriety, commendable abstinence, and the things which are about these. The third place is held by peace, patience, brotherly love, and that which transcends all, charity toward God, and holy contemplation. This the Lord in John names a « supper, » because as no other meal follows supper, so he desires that the end of our life be consummated [1204B] in these things; that we may lay hold of him by fearing, by repenting, by making satisfaction, by living chastely, by having love toward all, and by loving God above all things, and may enjoy him without end. The Bride says therefore, « My Beloved to me, » that is, with me, « shall abide; » as if she should say, he will make a stay. And that she may signify the place where he will make his stay, she adds, « Between my breasts. » The breasts contain within themselves the chest, the principal part of our body, in which the heart is contained, and the liver, and the other parts whence very many powers arise, by which the human body is in great part ruled and quickened. That therefore she may designate by name the place where the Beloved may abide with her, she says, « Between my breasts, » that is, In the midst of my breast, that [1204C] he himself may hold my heart, and kindle it with love of himself, and that whatever shall seek to turn me to another thing, this he may weaken and turn away. For with the heart we love God, with the heart we hold charity; and if we retain charity, we assuredly have justice and prudence, fortitude and temperance; for charity retains in itself the effect of all these. For justice renders to each what is his own: it renders to God what is his, which is all honor, all glory, and the humble and holy devotion of every creature: it renders to a neighbor this, that one love him as much as oneself, that one watch over his advantages as much as over one's own, and be saddened and grieve at his disadvantages as much as at one's own: and this, resisting lust and the other impulses of the mind which are not right, what does it bear but the act of fortitude, [1204D] and strive to fulfil that act in itself? But temperance fulfils it, while in all these things it considers and provides that nothing be too much, that nothing be less than right. Let us mark what Paul asserts concerning it, saying, « Charity is patient, is kind: Charity envieth not, dealeth not perversely, is not puffed up, is not ambitious, seeketh not her own, etc. [n: (I Cor. XIII, 4, 5)]. »

And if any man should diligently seek to pursue these things, he will find this the more excellent way, that is, the way to which no effect of virtue is lacking, from which it is established that nothing is taken away whereby one might be able to be brought near to God. Whence the apostle says, « You are bought with a great price. Glorify and bear God in your body [n: (I Cor. VI 20)]. » The Bride says [1205A] therefore that her Beloved will abide with her, and will be to her as a bundle of myrrh. For myrrh is an ointment which flows from a tree, which is named by the same name, myrrh; for they are equal in name because they are equal also in quality: for myrrh is a tree, and also the bitter ointment which runs down from it. Whence the bodies of the dead are sprinkled with this very ointment, lest either rottenness corrupt them, or a worm come to destroy them: so the Lord's body is read to have been anointed with myrrh and aloes. This Bride says therefore, « My Beloved to me shall abide between my breasts [n: (Joan. XIX, 39)], » and he will be to me as a bundle of myrrh. And if thou refer this to the ointment, it is as if it were said, He will be to me as some little store of myrrh, which [1205B] may defend me both from rottenness, lest I be corrupted, and from the biting of worms, lest I be destroyed: if to the tree, it is plain that a bundle is made from a tree, and that she has this laid up within her breast for the same defence. For this « bundle of myrrh is the great memory of the passion of Christ; by which each man sees himself bound unceasingly to every neighbor, and understands how great a debtor he is to God, who suffered such things for him: and if thou hold it, if thou behold God, whithersoever thou turn thyself, suffering upon the cross, thou wilt free thyself by this very contemplation from the rottenness of vices and from the biting of worms, that is, from the temptation of unclean spirits. There follows:

13. *A cluster of Cyprus is my Beloved to me.*

Because this Bride, speaking of the Bridegroom, says, « Between [1205C] my breasts my beloved shall abide with me: and he will be to me as a bundle of myrrh, » which prepares bitterness only, it could be seen from this that the passion of Christ furnished cause for grief alone, but conferred no gladness upon the mind: whence, the bitterness being set first which is owed to Christ truly suffering, she adds the delight which from his death is shown to all who venerate it. For as it is just that grief and compassion be shown to one who grieves, so to him who frees and redeems the world joy and exultation are truly owed. Whence this Bride says, « A cluster of Cyprus is my beloved to me. » For Cyprus is an island abounding in vines, having clusters incomparable to the rest in their greatness, giving a wine which gladdens those who taste it [1205D] by the sweetness inborn in it, and soothes and mitigates grief, if there be any from suffering. For Christ is the bread which strengthens, he himself the wine which gladdens, and he himself is the oil which maketh glad the face of man, This Bride says therefore that her Beloved has been made a cluster of Cyprus; because as a cluster is nothing else than a gathering of many like grains firmly joined together into one, yielding wine abundantly when it is pressed, and gladdening on every side those who taste it: so has Christ been made, binding many to himself by his death, and reconciling them to himself in the faith of his passion; who, when they are pressed out, that is, when they are questioned with tortures and with other means most wickedly devised, send forth the wine of holy confession, by confessing and glorifying the Lord Jesus, and even, if need be, by undergoing death; [1206A] they confess and acknowledge that he alone is the living and true God: and if they survive, they exult with joy as confessors; if they are consumed, glad in death they rejoice as victors with Christ conquering.

Paul expresses both, saying, « Christ was made obedient for us unto death, even the death of the cross [var: Vulg. *humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque ad mortem*, without *pro nobis*] [n: (Phil. II, 8)]. » Behold the myrrh, to which we owe myrrh, and bitterness, and compassion of every kind. « For which cause God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name which is above every name: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; and that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father [n: (ibid., 9, 10, 11)]. » Exulting indeed in this joy, this Bride says, « A cluster [1206B] of Cyprus is my Beloved to me. » For cleaving to the wood, he moved the earth, he darkened heaven; crucified, he crucified the world. So he drew all things to himself, and as victor he gladdened me, who suffer with his death, and overflowed me with joy. There follows:

*In the vineyards of Engaddi.*

## 10. (cont.)

Which is as much as if it were said: with the Lord Jesus suffering I have suffered together, and with him conquering I too gladly rejoice. For the world resounds far and wide with his victory, proclaims it, and by proclaiming it echoes it back, as appears in the vineyards of Engaddi. Engaddi is a plain beside Jericho, in which stand trees planted after the manner of a vineyard; from which, when they are wounded, there flows down balsam, useful indeed and precious: [1206C] which plain indeed signifies the breadth of the Church, which is known to spread itself now into the four parts of the world. This is named « Engaddi, » which is, « the fountain of the kid; » and as it signifies the Church, so the fountain which was in it signifies baptism, which is the fountain given to the Church, in which, while kids are cleansed, out of kids lambs are made. The power of Christ appears in these things, where from the wounded tree flows balsam, just as from the wounded Christ flowed the oil of blessing, when he said, « Father, pardon them, for they know not what they do [n: (Luc. XXIII, 34)]. » [var: Vulg. *dimitte illis: non enim sciunt*, "forgive them: for they know not"] Which balsam indeed is mingled with oil, that a most holy chrism may be made. With this chrism indeed the fountain of Engaddi is consecrated, which is called the fountain of baptism; with this the kids are anointed, thus passing over into the people of God; with this they are again confirmed, [1206D] lest Satan tempt them, and they be turned away from the truth; with this churches and altars are sanctified to God; with this the chalice is anointed, wherein God, delivering himself wholly to man, is made propitious; with this again kings are consecrated, bishops anointed, priests ordained, offering to Christ his own gifts on behalf of the people, and rendering to him what is his. This therefore is what the Bride says, « A cluster of Cyprus is my Beloved to me, » which appears in « the vineyards of Engaddi, » that is, in the churches spread abroad through the whole globe of lands, which all proclaim his glory, and announce his victory with great praise. There follows:

14. *Behold thou art beautiful, my friend, behold thou art beautiful. Thine eyes are those of doves.*

In which place this is to be observed, that the Bridegroom has already magnified his Bride with a threefold commendation. saying, [1207A] « I have likened thee to my company of horsemen: » and that other, « Thy cheeks as a turtledove's: » adding also a third, « Thy neck as jewels. » To whom the Bride also answers with a threefold praise, saying, « While the king was at his repose: » and that other, « A bundle of myrrh is my Beloved to me: » and that which follows, « A cluster of Cyprus is my Beloved to me, in the vineyards of Engaddi. » Whence, because there are now discourses of peace mingled between them, the Bridegroom, applauding the integrity of the Bride, whom he knows that he himself has loved, and now loves, and will in time to come always love, and knows that all this increases her beauty, commending her confidently, says, « Behold thou art beautiful, my friend; behold thou art beautiful. » But hearing this beauty commended, let us not attend to that beauty by which little women are wont to allure their [1207B] lovers, by which they are wont to lead those who have put their trust in them from the camp of chastity to the camp of uncleanness: for we have learned that God detests this, through the prophet saying, « The day of the Lord of hosts upon everyone that is proud and lofty, and upon everything that is beautiful to the sight [n: (Isa. II, 12, 16)] » : and pursuing it further, he says, « The Lord will take away in that day the ornament of shoes, the little moons, and the chains, and the necklaces, and the bracelets, and the bonnets [n: (Cap. III, 18, 19)], » and the rest that follow; all which without doubt are things that minister to this corruptible beauty, and to that which leads to corruption, and that turn the mind away from what is honourable and pleasing to God. But that beauty is to be attended to which true humility makes in the mind, the fear of God, holy [1207C] penance, humble confession, satisfaction for sins, peace toward all, and true concord, temperate chastity, and that which is above all, holy charity toward God. Of this the prophet makes mention, saying, « All the glory of the King's daughter is from within [n: (Psal. XLIV, 14)], » that is, from the beauty which is within is all the glory of the faithful soul, which is the daughter of God; whose glory is in « golden borders, » that is, in the consummation of the virtues. For the border is the finishing of the garment, which is well recorded as « clothed round about with variety, » that is, adorned with the varied diversity of all the virtues.

This indeed is to be attended to, in this is God well pleased, of which Scripture makes mention, saying, « I will recount [1207D] to thee all my years in the bitterness of my soul [n: (Isa. XXXVIII, 15)]. » For this omits no time, but that it calls to mind both the time itself and the sins committed in it: this bewails what was committed in infancy, what in boyhood, what in adolescence: this most bitterly accuses the excesses of youth; this powerfully convicts the enervating of manly strength, and grievously blushes that it has failed in something in the sluggishness of old age. Which blushing indeed confounds the demons, puts hell to flight, opens heaven, wins over the angels, renders God propitious; and when, falling down, it says, « Father, I am not worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of thy hired servants [n: (Luc. XV, 21)], » it earns the first robe, and the ring, and it glories that the shoes [1208A] of glory are set upon its feet. So, so does he name her beautiful, saying, « Behold thou art beautiful, » and he repeats that she is beautiful, adding, « Behold thou art beautiful. » Which repetition without doubt denotes that there is to be another for the soul itself or for the Bride, which he thus makes plain to the understanding. For the soul or the Bride, however perfect, here indeed rejoicing in beauty, feels a threefold misfortune; one from the flesh, which the Apostle laments, saying, « Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] another from a neighbour; a third from any unclean spirit. This is made manifest in Job, whom the flesh solicits, whom his wife counsels not well, whom his friends, at the prompting of the malignant spirit, compel to go astray. But the prophet counsels him, saying, « His truth shall compass [1208B] thee with a shield: thou shalt not be afraid of the terror of the night, of the arrow that flieth in the day, of the business that walketh about in the dark, of invasion, and of the noonday devil [n: (Psal. XC, 5, 6)]. » Where indeed some temptation is shown to be manifest, some hidden, some grievous, some light. For « the arrow » « that flieth in the day, » is manifest and light; « the noonday devil, » manifest and grievous; « the business that walketh about in the dark, » hidden and grievous; but « invasion » is understood to be hidden and light. But all these temptations will not be present in that life which is to come. For the glorified flesh will not be able to be tempted, nor will there be in it anything that resists the spirit. No spirit therein shall then be hurt by a neighbour; because then charity will be complete, so that each may love his neighbour as himself. But from [1208C] the malignant spirit what vexation shall there be able to be? who will neither be present, nor will there be able to remain to him any license at all of tempting the good, even for their testing. From then on his dwelling will be in hell, where he will be tormented by that very fire with which burn the wretched whom God has cast away, who by consenting to temptations have been sold under sin. There follows:

*Thine eyes are those of doves.*

The beauty of the Bride having been shown, he now subjoins what the cause of this beauty is: for this is its cause, that « her eyes are those of doves, » that is, that her whole regard is dove-like. For the dove, walking in her pasture, gathers only clean grains, feeds on these, nourishes herself with them: so also [1208D] this soul or Bride of God, while, disdaining no one for her own feeding, but hearing many, she considers each single thing, and what is said purely, holily, and truly, these things she keeps in mind, the rest she spurns and shudders at. The dove too is without gall, she neither hurts another bird with her beak, nor tears it with her claw, denoting the simplicity of this Bride, who is not angered unreasonably, nor anyone by word, nor by deed, but however greatly offended, keeps herself within the camp of her own innocence. She has groaning too instead of song, because, desiring to be present at the presence of her Lord, while this is denied her, bewailing that all things are wanting to her, she groans withal, and having this groaning instead of song, in groaning she says, « My soul [1209A] hath thirsted for God the living fountain; when shall I come and appear before the face of God [n: (Psal. XLI, 3)]. » [var: Vulg. *ad Deum fortem vivum*, "unto the strong living God"] She flies in flocks, because in all that she flies, in that she desires to be aloft, she chooses by no means to be separated from the Lord's flock, but to be taken up with them, to be glorified and made blessed with them. This dove-like eye would indeed have been necessary to Eve, when « she saw the tree that it was good to eat of, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to behold, and she took of the fruit thereof and did eat, and gave to her husband, and the eyes of them both were opened [n: (Gen. III, 6, 7)]. » Then they knew themselves stripped of obedience, ensnared in disobedience, and girt about with all manner of evils and liable to them. From her there proceeded in Cain an eye by no means dove-like, and thence it wandered wickedly through the world, and was opened to the concupiscence [1209B] of women. So that now there are few who say, « I was an eye to the blind, and a foot to the lame. I was the father of the poor: and the cause which I knew not, I searched out most diligently [n: (Job XXIX, 15, 16)]. » There follows:

15. *Behold thou art beautiful, my Beloved, and comely.*

## 10. (cont.)

Thus the lover answers the lover with an equal commendation: being called beautiful, she declares that he too is beautiful, saying, « Behold thou art beautiful, my beloved. » Hearing which, let us not attend to the beauty which is in creatures corporeal or incorporeal. For a certain beauty is present in these corporeal things, arising from the fitting disposition of their parts, when part is fitly joined to part, and so one comely form is produced from their fitting conjunction. [1209C] The greatest indeed among creeping things is the dragon, among swimming things the whale, among flying things the griffin, the elephant among four-footed beasts, the giant among men: in all of which, if the disposition of the parts itself be attended to, and the fitting conjunction of part to part, a form beyond doubt most beautiful, and the highest wisdom of the Creator, is found in them all. So there are some middling, and some are understood to be least; which, unless they have contracted sin, or the divine power has reserved them to itself to be healed, are known to display in themselves a wondrous beauty. If therefore thou attend to that great Adam, from whom the whole race of men is begotten, if thou attend to him, who and of what sort he was created, who he was before sin, who he was when the Lord [1209D] brought to him all the living things of the earth, and taught him what he should call them; it will be clear that he shone with a certain wondrous beauty: and Abraham, knowing that Adam would afterward obtain mercy through the incarnation of Christ and his death, passed through all places, and chose for his own burial that place alone in which Adam was buried, that double cave which he bought from Ephron the Hethite [n: (Gen. XXIII, 19)]; where with their wives rest Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the great Adam. But is the beloved of this one called beautiful with this beauty? Far from it; for there follows, « And comely. » Whence it is given to be understood that he is beautiful with that beauty to which nothing is fitting, nothing is joined, or can be joined, save what is [1210A] comely. This beauty was not Adam's, in whom, if for a time sin was not present, yet it could be present, whence also he sinned.

But if thou attend to the heavenly bodies, the sun, the moon, and the stars, these indeed are beautiful, which with their own light illumine the darkness of the world, so that the things which lack light of their own, being illumined by these, may shine again: but of them it is written, « They shall perish, but thou remainest: and these shall grow old as a garment [n: (Psal. CI, 27)]. » [var: Vulg. *omnes sicut vestimentum*, "all of them as a garment"] But looking upon the angels, and the orders even up to the Cherubim and Seraphim, and stretching thy gaze above them, the holy Trinity alone will meet thee, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, whose beauty is that which neither eye has seen [n: (I Cor. II, 9)], nor ear heard, nor has it ascended into the heart of man, which God will make manifest [1210B] to those who love him. [var: Vulg. *quae praeparavit Deus*, "which God hath prepared"] Of which it was said to Moses, « Man shall not see me and live [n: (Exod. XXXIII, 20)]. » For here it is not granted to the living to see what is promised to be seen by the man already glorified and taken up into the true life, the Lord saying, « This is life eternal, that they may know thee the true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent [n: (Joan. XVII, 3)]. » [var: Vulg. *solum Deum verum*, "the only true God"] This is the form, this the fairness, this the beauty, into which the angels also desire to look [n: (I Pet. I, 12)]. This is that beauty of which David says, « I shall be satisfied when thy glory shall appear [n: (Psal. XVI, 15)]: » which appearing to us and showing itself visibly, there is nothing that we should seek further, there is nothing wherewith we should desire to be further refreshed; with this beauty therefore it was said, « Behold thou art beautiful, my beloved: » [1210C] to this beauty also, because there is nothing that cleaves to it, nothing that can be mingled with it, save what is honourable, and what is believed worthy of all glory, there is rightly joined, « And comely; » so that he who seeks to stand by this beauty may always hold himself upon the summit of virtue and in comeliness. There follows:

*Our little bed is flowery.*

Behold, she who praises comeliness in the Bridegroom seems, pierced through by love of him, to call him to the little bed, that she may fully enjoy his presence, that she may be gladdened by delight in him. To which she seems to entice him both by the pleasantness of the bed and by the delightfulness of the place, saying, « Our little bed is flowery. The beams of our houses are of cedar, our panelled ceilings of cypress. » For it is pleasant [1210D] to rest on a flowery bed, and safe indeed to lie down beneath beams of cedar and panelled ceilings of cypress: and these things indeed are true, but let us attend to them more deeply, if we take care to understand them spiritually. For this little bed is not indeed a place of softness, not of obscene buffoonery, but the little bed to be attended to is that of delightful rest in the Lord, and of perfect contemplation in him. For contemplation is when a man first considers himself, who he is, and whence he has come, and to what he has come, and searches out, and is not ignorant, that God created for him a rational soul, and sent this into his body, and that he, being so born, received the grace of baptism, and so grew up in faith; and being taught by faith, he does not doubt, the truth of faith teaching it, that the Son of God came into flesh, underwent death [1211A] in it, and rose on the third day for the redeeming of man, and thus, that man might ascend to life, ascended into heaven, and thus drew all things to himself. Attending to these things, he knows not whither to turn himself; he despises all that he has done hitherto; he bewails with tears the sins which infancy, or youth, or another age committed; he casts himself down; he purposes to transform himself into some other man; and thus he himself makes ready a bed for God with the hand of devout and diligent contemplation. Which « little bed » nevertheless is still understood to be « flowery. » For these are the beginnings of contemplation, which give hope of good advancement and of ripe fruit, which will then be present, when the world shall now be forsaken and wholly trodden under the foot of the mind, when now all things [1211B] that pass away shall be despised, and those alone loved which always abide and stand unchanged. Knowing therefore, this soul or Bride, that this flower of good imitation has come forth by the gift of God, and that he himself has sent these things before as the first beginnings of his coming, she calls him to the flowery little bed, that he may rest in it, and bring this flower through to the ripeness of holy perfection. She asserts also that this little bed is common to the Bridegroom and the Bride, while she herself receives this contemplation within her, and knows that it comes forth from the gift of God and from his presence. There follows:

16. *The beams of our houses are of cedar, our panelled ceilings of cypress.*

This is a persuasion drawn from safety; for as it is pleasant to rest on a flowery bed, so also it is safe and secure to rest beneath a roof [1211C] that is covered with beams of cedar. For the cedar and the cypress are of an incorruptible nature, they know not how to be corrupted, they preserve alike their greenness and their scent: by their scent too they put serpents to flight and kill them, and thus provide safety for those resting beneath them. Thus therefore is this house roofed, into which the Bridegroom is invited by the Bride. No rain comes down here, from which the overshadowings of cedar and cypress should protect it. For these cedars are indeed the angels, to whom the keeping of this house is committed: for of them it was said, « Scandalize not these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels always see the face of my Father, who is in heaven » [n: (Matth. XVIII, 10)]. [var: Vulg. *Videte ne contemnatis unum ex his pusillis*, "See that you despise not one of these little ones"] But « the panelled ceilings » [1211D] which furnish the beams with defence and strength, which preserve their own greenness, and preserve a most excellent scent, by which serpents are killed, these are the holy archangels, furnishing strength to the angels, ever green with that greenness indeed in which they were created, and with that very greenness with which they were endowed when they withstood him who said, « I will set my seat toward the north, and I will be like the Most High [n: (Isa. XIV, 14)]. » And the scent of their virtues kills the malignant spirits, lest they disturb the hearts of the good, lest they rise from good beginnings to greater things. But it must be observed that when the Bride says, « The beams of our houses are of cedar, the panelled ceilings of cypress, » she uses that manner of speaking by which the whole is understood through a part: for in « the bed, » to which the better part is ascribed, the foundation of the house itself and the walls are understood: but in « the beams » [1212A] and « the panelled ceilings, » which are the chief part of the roof, all that belongs to the roof is ascribed. There follows:

## CHAPTER II.

1. *I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys.*

The Bridegroom, called to rest, answers thus: Thou callest me to rest, my friend, my Bride; and that thou mayest allure me the more, thou addest that « our little bed is flowery: » but this answer I give thee, that « I am the flower of the field, and the lily of the valleys. » In which this is to be observed, that there are two fields, one heavenly, the other earthly. The heavenly field extends as far as heaven reaches, because, [1212B] having no ending, it is great and measureless. This field has flowers: angels, archangels, virtues, dominations, thrones, principalities, and powers, cherubim, and seraphim: of each of these orders there are many thousands: with these flowers heaven is filled. All the saints desire to be among these flowers; with groans and sighs they pant to be in their company. Of all whom indeed « I am the flower: » from me indeed they receive what they are; from me they have this of fragrance, that they are good; all these stand unceasingly before my majesty; they sing together a hymn of glory to me, saying, « Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God almighty » [n: (Apoc. IV, 8)]. Me therefore, who refresh all these with good fragrance, and supply fragrance sufficient for their feeding, [1212C] what is it that thou demandest that I be present at thy flowery little bed, and that thou redoublest thy voice, as though about to add something to my glory? Which indeed was said thus, not because the Bridegroom disdains to be present at the good beginnings of the faithful; but that the Bride, hearing these things, may be the more inflamed with her own desire, and may the more choose by her own prayer that he be present, who is the flower of the whole world, and its comeliness, and its illumination. Which the Bridegroom too indeed intimates, saying, « Of the field, » the heavenly one, « I am the flower, » yet I am « also the lily of the valleys. » The earthly field, therefore, is this world, which that higher flower, visiting it, showed himself to the faithful as a lily, and gave and showed himself humble to the humble. In the lily indeed there is a flower most sweet in scent, most pleasing to the sight, and there is also [1212D] a stem thick with leaves; feeding not indeed by scent, nor having sweetness of taste, yet having great efficacy in medicines. These things indeed befit Christ; who, sent by the Father, truly appeared on earth as a lily of most sweet scent; of whom Paul says: « But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus, and manifests the odour of his knowledge by us in every place: For we are a good odour to Christ unto God in them that are saved, and in them that perish [n: (II Cor. II, 14, 15)]. » [var: Vulg. *Christi bonus odor*, "the good odour of Christ"] But he was most pleasing to the sight of those who received him. Whence Peter says: « Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. And we have believed, and have known, that thou art the Christ the Son of the living God » [n: (Joan. VI, 71, 72)]. But the stem thick with leaves is his humanity, [1213A] which indeed, in the words by which he reproved the world, displeased many, to whom he took care to offer the help of a saving medicine. But he is « the lily of the valleys, » because « God resists the proud, but to the humble he gives grace [n: (Jac. IV, 6)]. » From above too it was said, « Let the proud be confounded, because they have done iniquity unjustly against me [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 78)]. » But of the humble it was said, « that the valleys shall abound with corn: they shall cry out, yea they shall sing a hymn [n: (Psal. LXIV, 14)]. »

2. *As the lily among thorns, so is my friend among the daughters.*

The flower of the world has spoken of himself, saying, « I am the flower of the field. » who also declared to the world that he, true God and man, would profit the humble, saying, [1213B] « And the lily of the valleys. » But now he goes on concerning the Bride, who is joined to him by the love of the heart, saying: As I, a lily among thorns, have lived in the world; so my friend shall dwell among the same in the world. But he names as « thorns » the detractions, upbraidings, and mockeries by which the world despised him with wicked derision: he names as « thorns » also their deeds and handlings, by which, seizing him with swords and clubs, they led him as a robber and a murderer to the chief men, Annas and Caiaphas: and thereafter, before the Judge, spat upon, dishonoured with blows of the fist and with buffets, and crowned with thorns, they demanded that he be condemned and fastened through with nails. To these thorns, to this thorny bed, he calls the bride, who was preparing for herself a flowery bed [1213C] beneath beams of cedar and panelled ceilings of cypress, who, humbled, did not refuse this bed, but endured one like it in Peter, and in Paul too, and the rest of the apostles, in Stephen, and in the other many thousands of martyrs throughout the world, and received it gladly. But from whom she received it he adds, saying, « Among the daughters, » that is, generations depraved and perverse, to whom the Lord showed himself. Yet these did not know him; for so it is written, « He came unto his own, and his own received him not [n: (Joan. I, 11)]: whom he names « his own, » not by affection, but by creation alone; since indeed, laying hands upon his own, they afflicted them with torments and tortures: he now names the transgressing daughters by the first creation, and now [1213D] signifies that they have a filial affection along with his own. There follows:

3. *As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons.*

The Bridegroom and the Bride answer one another with reciprocal praise, and, refreshing themselves with mutual praises, the more they praise, the more they desire to praise. For this Bride says, « As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons. » For the apple tree is a tree that puts forth branches widely, brings forth leaves, swells with blossom, and out of the blossoms brings forth the fruit of apples even to ripeness: which fruit, whether it be called *pomum* or *malum*, is of surpassing colour, of pleasant taste, and of a fragrance excellent beyond what can be or could ever be told. Laden with this, the tree itself, which is called « the apple tree, » not only takes on comeliness in itself, [1214A] but also clothes the surrounding woods with comeliness, and renders the whole place about it most pleasant, and most worthy of a holy habitation. This Bride says therefore, « As the apple tree among the trees of the woods, so is my beloved among the sons; » wishing by the tree of surpassing fruit that the only-begotten Son of God, beloved of her, be understood, who so clothed and arrayed with glory and honour the flesh which he assumed, that deservedly, before all the saints, it is held most worthy of honour and reverence, and is most excellently venerated. Whence it was said, « The Lord hath reigned, he is clothed with comeliness, the Lord is clothed with strength, and hath girded himself [n: (Psal. XCII, 1)]. » He adds also this which is said, « Among the trees of the woods; » for as Christ is a heavenly tree, so all the saints are heavenly trees, who, living in the flesh, [1214B] brought forth fruits pleasing to Christ. Among them the apostles, and the holy martyrs, and all the Saints together are numbered, who, knowing nothing save Christ, following him by a glorious death, bearing witness to the truth, have long since received glorious seats in heaven. Of these it is said in the Psalms, « Then shall all the trees of the woods rejoice before the face of the Lord, because he cometh; for he cometh to judge the earth [n: (Psal. XCV, 13)]. » For the Lord is to judge this world; who in a body once condemned and now wondrously glorified will show himself visible to all the saints in their own raised bodies; and there will then be rejoicing for the trees of the heavenly woods, when by a sure apprehension [1214C] and glorification of themselves, not only of the spirit but of the body also, they have known that they did not run at uncertainty, nor labour in vain. But the trees of that wood through which the beasts and the whelps of lions pass to snatch food for themselves will then be assigned to their own night, and to everlasting darkness. This therefore is what the Church says: « as the apple tree, » laden with its own fruits, shines out « among the trees of the woods » with a certain wondrous beauty; « so my beloved, » the only-begotten Son of God, upon whom my love has bestowed itself wholly, stands far more eminent with a certain unspeakable glory among all the saints, whom he has adopted to himself as sons not by creation alone, but by grace also. There follows:

*Under the shadow of him whom I had desired, I sat.*

## CHAPTER II. (cont.)

Here it must be observed whence a shadow comes. [1214D] A shadow comes to these bodies from a light-bearing body, and from a shadow-casting body, and from the place upon which the shadow is thrown: if any of these be lacking, there is no shadow. This tree of the apple therefore, since it stands among the trees of the woods, since it is spread wide with branches and rich with leaves, must needs cast a shadow against the sun: beneath which it follows that this Bride sits and rests. The « shadow, » therefore, is the frequent meditation upon the divine incarnation and passion, upon the resurrection also and the ascension, and upon his acts and words; into which she protests that she panted with the whole desire of her heart, that there might be fulfilled in deed what had been promised by the Father, and foretold by the prophetic promise of the holy Fathers. Whence Isaias, « Let thy ancient counsel, O Lord, be made true [n: (Isai. XXV, 1)]. » [var: Vulg. *cogitationes antiquas fideles*, "ancient faithful designs"] Jeremias [1215A] too, desiring this in the Lamentations, says, « The breath of our mouth, Christ the Lord, is taken in our sins: to whom we said, Under thy shadow we shall live among the nations [n: (Thren. IV, 20)]. » And there stand the other oracles of the holy Fathers, which a diligent reader will easily find for himself. This therefore is the shadow, in which this present Bride bears witness that she has sat. For whereas the postures of bodies are four, to stand, to sit, to recline, and to lie, sitting is that which is more fit for ordering and disposing affairs, and more acceptable at once for giving counsels and for forming judgments. Whence Holy Scripture too often makes mention of it; for David says, « The Lord shall sit as king for ever [n: (Psal. XXVIII, 10)]. » And that other, « Thy throne, O Lord, is for ever and ever [n: (Psal. XLIV, 7)]. » [var: Vulg. *Sedes tua, Deus*, "Thy throne, O God"] And that which follows; « The Lord said [1215B] to my Lord: Sit thou at my right hand [n: (Psal. CIX, 1)]. » In the book of Kings too it was said by the prophet Micheas: « I saw the Lord sitting upon a high throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on the right hand and on the left [n: (III Reg. XXII, 19)]. » [var: Vulg. *super solium suum*, "upon his throne"] Isaias too says: « I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up: and the things that were beneath him filled the temple [n: (Isai. VI, 1)]. » And after all these the Lord himself says, « When the son of man shall sit upon the seat of his majesty, then shall all nations be gathered together before him [n: (Matth. XXV, 31, 32)]. » Girt about with these authorities also, the Church says of herself, « Under the shadow of him whom I had desired, I sat, » that he might come, or, which shadow I had desired, that it might be fulfilled in affection, I sat deliberating and desiring, [1215C] wholly bent in this affection, that he might fulfil to me, being his Bride, the things promised, and might not put off my prayers to an immeasurable while. In this his shadow « I sat, » because I applied my whole mind to this, that I might devoutly receive him, whether about to be incarnate or perhaps already incarnate, might faithfully adore him born, might behold him teaching the fullness of faith, might not despair of him dying, but might rise up with him rising again in great certainty of faith, and might follow him ascending thither whence he had come, with the whole intent of my mind, and might cleave to those who render him service. There follows:

*And his fruit is sweet to my throat.*

As a shadow stands apart from its own body; so the fruit of that apple stands apart from its own image. For this apple tree is a heavenly [1215D] tree, the heavenly wisdom indeed, in the heavens for this reason, that it is rooted in the heart of the Father; which not in the heavens only, but, when it pleased the Father, made a root in the earth: in the earth indeed, when the whole flood of divinity betook itself into the heart of the immaculate Virgin, and the heavenly shower with a gentle gliding-down utterly drenched the virgin fleece: which, since it is rooted in heaven and in earth, brings forth indeed a fruit that ministers sweetness to those who are in the heavens, and to those who are on earth. But what is this fruit? The Flesh indeed which from clean bread upon the holy altar, by the office of the minister, by the power of the word, has been made, and granted in a most sacred tasting for the feeding of the Church, lest perchance it faint by the way. Of which the Church says, to whom this too has been given, « And his fruit is sweet to my throat. » [1216A] O blessed throat, to which this sweetness has been granted! that, abiding in man, it may snatch itself above man, and being on earth, joining itself to him who presides in heaven, may mingle itself, from this sweetness, with that which is in life eternal. And because this has been granted only to the good and the holy, the Church says in her elect, « And his fruit is sweet to my throat. » For nothing in this life is sweeter than to pass from this tasting into that life which lacks end and all malice, and to come from this image of the fruit to that fruit which may always satisfy us, and make us joyful in eternity. There follows:

4. *The king hath brought me into the wine cellar; he hath set charity in order in me.* [var: Vulg. *Introduxit me in cellam vinariam*, without the king]

Between the Bridegroom and the Bride mutual discourses have now long been held: [1216B] she interposed, he answered, she commended him with many praises, and was herself much commended with praise by him. Whence, because words have been joined to words, and sayings like to sayings set down in return, lest likeness beget weariness, the Bride refrains from this manner of speaking, no longer speaking to the Bridegroom, but directing her words to her friends, and reporting these things, « The king hath brought me into the wine cellar. » But it must be observed in this place that some wine in Holy Scripture is commendable, and some reprobate. Reprobate, as is that of which Moses makes mention, saying: « Their vine is of the vineyard of Sodom, and of the suburbs of Gomorrha: their grape is a grape of gall, and their clusters most bitter. Their wine is the gall of dragons, and the incurable venom of asps [n: (Deut. XXXII, 32, 33)]. » [1216C] For the wine which is pressed out from this vineyard, or from those clusters, or from those grapes, is that most bitter wine. For this is the sense; of the reprobate, who, understanding the Holy Scriptures perversely, draw them into an alien meaning, and, fixing their eyes upon the sun without discretion, are themselves darkened by the light, and drag others with them into condemned error. There are also those who, though they do not raise their friends up to the Holy Scriptures, yet by their daily deeds and words corrupt the simpler sort, and they themselves compel them, bound with a threefold knot, to have foremost dwellings in hell. Of these the Prophet: « There is none that doeth good, there is not so much as one. Their throat is an open sepulchre, with their tongues they have dealt deceitfully; judge thereby, O God: the venom [1216D] of asps is under their lips [n: (Psal. V, 11, et Psal. XIII, 3)]. » [var: Vulg. *judica illos*, "judge them"] Commendable is that of which Solomon says, « Wisdom hath built herself a house, she hath hewn out seven pillars. She hath slain her victims, she hath mingled her wine, and set forth her table. She hath sent her handmaids to call to the tower, and to the walls of the city [n: (Prov. IX, 1, 2, 3)]. » For the heavenly wisdom, for herself, « constructed a house, » when God wholly appeared in man: « she hewed out » in it « seven pillars, » because the sevenfold spirit is in it. She administered grace to the world: « she slew her victims, » because by her own passion and by that of her own she prepared that same house: « she mingled wine, » because to those not grasping the secrets of the divinity she laid open the sacraments of the assumed humanity: « She set forth her table, » because she prepared for us the pastures of Scripture [1217A] by opening them: « She sent her handmaids, to call to the tower, and to the walls of the city because, as the Apostle says, Not many are wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble: but the foolish things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the wise: and the weak things of the world hath God chosen, that he may confound the strong: and the base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and the things that are not, that he might bring to nought the things that are. » [n: (I Cor. I, 26, 27, 28.)]

## CHAPTER II. (cont.)

These indeed are handmaids on account of their humility and lowliness, through whom the Lord admonished us to possess « the tower, » that is, the eminence of eternal life, and the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem. This is the wine which was pressed out from that vine and its branches, who says, « I am the vine, you the branches *(Joan. XV, [1217B] 5)*. » These the heavenly Father presses out, and they yield the best wine; that wine of which David says, « They shall be inebriated with the plenty of thy house [n: (Psal. XXXV, 9)]. » With this wine were Peter and Paul inebriated, when the one by the cross, the other by the sword, bore witness to God at Rome. With this wine all the apostles and martyrs were made drunk, when, despising all things that are of the world, and reckoning them as dung, they cast them away, and following Christ with a pure confession, they resolved rather to choose death for themselves with him and for him, than to lead a life together with those things. The Church says therefore, « The king hath brought me into the wine cellar, » that is, into a certain storehouse of the divine Scriptures, by which he drew me away from the world, by which he now permits me to have my dwelling among the things that are above: whence there follows, [1217C] « he hath set charity in order in me. » Behold that God sets charity in order in the Church, without which there is no ascending into heaven, without which there is no coming to God by any reasoning. For « God » is « charity [n: (Joan. I, 4, 8)], loving beyond doubt every creature; which unless he loved, it would not be at all, nor would there appear any cause or manner of its existence among creatures. He endowed with heavenly glory the good angels, and all the heavenly powers whatsoever, persisting in the goodness in which they were created, and to the spirit of deceit (who says, « I will set my seat toward the north, and I will be like the Most High) [n: (Isai. XIV, 14)] » in no way consenting, but firmly cleaving to the most high goodness by which they were created: so that they who, though they could sin, did not sin, [1217D] may now lack all possibility of sinning, and, being truly called « the firmament, » may cleave to him firmly and indissolubly, and love him, and obey him. Having charity toward these, he is assuredly loved by them; and this is found to be the first progression of charity. He also loves even the malignant spirits, not approving their malignity, by which they are turned away from him; but approving what is from himself, that they are knowing, that they are trembling, that they are strong, that they are unceasingly in possession of their own existence, and stand unceasingly obedient to the command of the highest King: this he approves, and it is acceptable to him, and he retains what is his own for himself, and confirms these same in all that he himself wills. Hence it is that Job is not tempted [n: (Job II, 8)] save by license granted from the highest Father: and when, sitting on the dunghill, he scraped the corrupt matter with a potsherd, [1218A] it was forbidden to Satan that he should tempt him in his soul: and Satan, fulfilling his commands, having fully tempted him in the body, did not strike him in the soul. So too, when Ahab was to be tempted, the Lord is read to have said to the adversary, « Who shall deceive Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth Galaad. And a spirit went forth, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt deceive, and thou shalt prevail [n: (III Reg. XXII, 20, 21, 22)]: » and thus, license being received, Ahab, tempted by the malignant one, perished. So too God loves even evil men, wholly reproving indeed their malice, but that they are, that they are men, that they are capable of discipline, that they are capable of reason: these things indeed [1218B] he approves and loves, because they too are from him: but that they use all these things for evil, that they degenerate from that for which they were made, these things he neither approves nor loves, because they are not from him. Hence there is no discrepancy of the Scriptures; hence it is said to God, « Thou hast hated none of the things which thou hast made, O Lord [n: (Sap. XI, 25)]. » Hence also the Lord says, « I will be an enemy to thy enemies, and I will be adverse to thy adversaries [n: (Exod. XXIII, 22)]. » [var: Vulg. *affligam affligentes te*, "I will afflict them that afflict thee"]

Thus in the Scriptures thou wilt find many things that seem contrary to one another: but when this is understood, that in the same creature God loves certain things, while there are in that same creature certain things which he hates, thou wilt find nothing contrary. For Judas the traitor [n: (Joan. XIII, 2)], when the devil had already put it into his heart that he should betray him, did God [1218C] pursue him with hatred? [n: (ibid., V, 27.)] For he handed him the dipped bread, saying, « What thou dost, do quickly; » and very many other words besides, by which he might have been rebuked and corrected, had he not willingly given himself wholly over to Satan. So Saul [n: (Act. IX, 1)], when, breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, he was going to Damascus with letters received, that he might persecute Jesus with the utmost hatred, the Lord indeed looked upon, when a light from heaven shone round about him, and falling to the earth he could see none of those things which he had been wont to see until then; to whom counsel was given from heaven, that he should enter the city, and be baptized, and consent to those things which should be said to him by Ananias; to which he indeed consented, and being baptized, he preached Jesus [1218D] the more loftily in proportion as he was made, not earthly from the earth, but wholly heavenly, being taught from heaven: and if it had befallen him to die before he was called, God would have found out for him a cause in which he might justly be saved.

God therefore loves all, both good and evil; the good, because they persist in goodness and advance; the evil, because, falling away from good, they present themselves as a matter for the justice of God, and, unwilling as they are to be tormented for ever, making themselves worthy of it, they prove and demonstrate that God concludes all things with a just end. Thus he himself has fulfilled what he commanded to be done: for he says, « Love your enemies; do good to them that hate you [n: (Matth. V, 44)]. » For how great are the good things which God shows to his enemies, and to those who hate him, there is no one who does not easily comprehend. Thus therefore God [1219A] sets charity in order in himself, teaching the Church how she ought to have charity set in order in herself [n: (Joan. I, 4, 19)]. For since God first loved us, this is the order, that we love him first and chiefly. And « let us love » him « with the whole heart, and the whole soul, and the whole mind [n: (Matth. XXII, 37)]: » we love with the whole heart, if we covet nothing in our heart, revolve nothing in our mind, which we believe displeases him: we love « with the whole soul, » if we apply the soul, which moves the body, to the fulfilling in act of nothing that displeases him: we love with the whole mind, when we do anything good, and there exists nothing of our devotion which draws us to anything other than to God. This is the first order of charity [n: (ibid., V, 39)]: the second, that a man love his neighbour as himself. But whom [1219B] do we judge to be our neighbour? This question is ancient, and was put to the Lord himself, and was resolved by the parable put forth concerning him who fell among robbers. For the Lord says: « It happened that a certain priest went up by the same way, and having seen him passed by. In like manner also a Levite, when he was near the place, and saw him, passed on. But a certain Samaritan, being on his journey, came near him, and seeing him, was moved with mercy. And drawing near he bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine. And setting him upon his own beast, he brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And the next day he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou shalt spend over and above, I, when I return, will repay thee [n: (Luc. X, 31-36)]. » [var: Vulg. *descenderet*, "went down"]

This good Samaritan is said to have been his neighbour, [1219C] who seeing him was moved with mercy, and took care of him. O how many priests are we! O how many Levites! who passing by see the afflicted, see the wretched, and do not bind up their wounds, pouring in the oil of mercy and the wine of justice! O how many are we who, having not two pence only, but many weights of silver and gold, do not bestow even one mite upon the host, that he may take charge of him; and that the Lord himself may answer for us when he shall return! Whom therefore we see moved with mercy toward one afflicted, whom thou seest bearing care of him, and grieving with and suffering with his pain as with his own, him do thou, who hast entrusted thyself wholly to God with heart and soul and mind, reckon thy neighbour, and love as [1219D] thyself; which is, in this, in which « love also thyself. » For with this Scripture, in which it is said, « Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, » that agrees which the Lord says in the Gospel: « Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God [n: (Matth. V, 8)]; » and likewise: « From the heart come forth evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies: these are the things that defile a man [n: (Matth. XV, 19, 20)]. » Whence Solomon too says, « With all watchfulness keep thy heart, because life proceeds from it [n: (Prov. IV, 23)]. » The same also subjoins in the Proverbs: « There are six things which God hates, and the seventh his soul detests: [1220A] Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises most wicked thoughts, feet swift to run into evil, a deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discords among brethren [n: (Prov. VI, 16-20)]. » Whom therefore dost thou love as thyself? him for whom thou desirest that to befall which thou desirest for thyself, to whom thou standest as a helper in this, whom thou callest back from the evil which is everlasting, and from this, so far as thou canst, thou turnest and separatest him. What shall I say to thee of a father, or of a mother? who indeed are to be loved in that in which they are loved by God; but in the rest to be spurned. The Lord loved the Egyptians, imparting to them the good things which he made common to good and evil alike, showing signs and wonders by which they might have been converted, if they had had minds capable of being turned [1220B] to good. And profiting nothing in them, he gave them over to destruction, that they might go into the punishment which they had themselves deserved. God therefore teaches in what a father and a mother ought to be loved, or kinsfolk, and the rest of one's relations; namely, in that in which each is loved by God also: but in certain other things, in which one is turned away from God, he is indeed not to be loved, yet nevertheless to be honoured; according to that saying, « Honour thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest be long-lived upon the earth [n: (Exod. XX, 12)]. » For honour is paid to many, and far from them love is entwined with something else. There follows:

5. *Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples, for I languish with love.*

## CHAPTER II. (cont.)

This Bride of Christ, that is, the Church, or any perfected soul, having been brought into the wine-cellar of the King, [1220C] and given the Lord's wine to drink, shows charity set in order within her, saying to the Angels, or to the heavenly Virtues, or to the very ordainers of the Church, « Stay me up with flowers, compass me about with apples; for I languish with love. » This languor is good, this languor is to be desired; it seeks that no medicine be applied to it save that which is of flowers, or assuredly of apples. This languor is from the ordering of charity, when a man loves God with his whole heart, with his whole soul, with all his strength, and grasps him with his whole mind [n: (I Joan. II, 15, 16)]. Here the concupiscence of the flesh, here the concupiscence of the eyes, is not; here there is not the pride of life, which is of the world. She, for this charity, is truly dead, and in her lives the spirit which truly quickens, nor does the flesh bear rule, which [1220D] truly profits nothing: she seeks to be succoured, so that she may be stayed up with flowers, and compassed about with apples. What flowers shall we give? what apples are to be sought, that we may succour her that languishes? Fragrant flowers indeed, refreshing by their odour, and feeding souls, and strengthening them, that she may abide in that very thing wherein she is, and advance, and not grow lukewarm until she lay hold of it. Here, if thou bring together the flower of the violet, the whiteness of the lily, the reddening roses, and the unwithered flowers of every herb, and the flowers of all trees that are fruitful, thou shalt be welcome, and shalt work together, on the other part, toward the staying up of her, lest perchance she slip. These are the words of the saints, wherewith, being questioned concerning the Lord, [1221A] they answered most readily; those in which thou shalt be able to find faith, humility, patience, constancy, and fortitude, peace and hope, and that charity of which we treat. These, if thou begin from Abel, and rightly run through the line of the just as far as Abraham; if from his sacrifice thou come as far as Moses; if from Moses, the Spirit leading, thou reach unto Christ Jesus God; if from the Lord Jesus thou rightly fix the mind's edge upon those who were sent by him into the world: thou shalt find nothing in the words of these save what may teach faith, strengthen hope, and sow charity far and wide. But because fruits come forth from the flower, it is rightly subjoined, « Compass me about with apples, » that is, strengthen me with their fruits. For their fruits are their works, by which they lent credence to their words, by which [1221B] they in no wise blushed to give their sufferings to Christ, nay rather consecrated by a most valiant death the truth which they preached. Here thou shalt rightly give the cross to Peter, the blessed prince of the apostles, the sword to Paul, the cauldron of boiling oil to John, the stake to Andrew; to the one James thou shalt assign the sword of Herod, to the other the fuller's pole. And running through the rest of the apostles, and showing all the holy martyrs crowned for Christ by a most valiant death, thou shalt most strongly compass her about with these fruits as she abides in her languor, that she waver not, that she doubt not, but may come from this life which must needs be ended, to the life which is always and without end. There follows:

6. *His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.*

[1221C]This Bride, having addressed her friends, embraced this in her prayer, that through them she might be stayed up with flowers, and compassed about with apples, that her intent might never be turned away from the love of the Godhead, wherewith she had already begun to languish. And so she gladdens them, as men heard on her behalf, saying: « His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me: » as if she should say, From this I understand that your prayers for me have been heard, in that his left hand is now under my head, and now assuredly I conceive that his right hand shall embrace me. But here it is to be noted that the Lord has alike a left hand and a right; according to what Solomon says of wisdom in the Proverbs: « Length of life is in her right hand, and on the left riches and glory [n: (Prov. III, 16)]. » [var: Vulg. *longitudo dierum*, "length of days"] But that Jesus Christ is [1221D] the head of the Church no one now doubts. For as all the members depend from the head, and that member is without office which does not serve it: so indeed all the faithful have from Christ that they are, that they are faithful, that they are working well in faith, and in good work conceiving hope of eternal life, to which they are already joined by charity. These indeed are the gifts of God: temporal blessedness, and that which is already the angels', and shall be eternal for us: whence the Lord says: « All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. »

The senses of the body also are strong chiefly from the head, by which all the members of the body are governed, namely [1222A] sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch: which indeed are acknowledged to be strong in Christ beyond all mortals. For he sees every work that we do, he hears what we speak; what we think, he assuredly smells, the good which we conceive in the mind; and this he tastes which we fulfil in act. But what shall I recount of touch? which indeed is wonderful; for whom he touches, him he straightway changes into himself, changes into another man, so that he himself becomes a stranger to himself. He therefore understands the left hand to be under the head, who knows that riches and all this temporal glory are from him [n: (I Reg. 2, 7)]. For the Lord makes poor and makes rich, he humbles and lifts up, that a man may sit with princes, and hold the throne of glory. For of himself the Lord says: « All power is given to me in heaven and in earth. Going therefore [1222B] teach ye all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen. » But if not only in heaven, nay rather in earth also, all power has been given to him, it is certain indeed that all riches, and all glory and temporal blessedness, which is known to have an end, is from him; and that also which in heaven has long since been granted to the angels, and is promised to be granted without end to all his own. Whence rightly is the left hand of God declared to be under the head of the Bride, in that it is certain that none obtains this temporal prosperity and glory save by his gift. For in his figure it is said, « By me kings reign, and the founders of laws decree just things: by me princes rule, and the mighty decree justice [n: (Prov. VIII, 15, 16)]. »

[1222C]Because therefore the kings of the world are now in great part subject to Christ (since to him is bowed every knee of kings, of prelates, of the mighty, and of princes), it is rightly said by the Church that the left hand of God rests under « her » head, that is, under the head of the Church; and it is certain that he dispenses all these things to his members as he wills. Yet these things he gives to some who receive the benefits ungratefully, who exalt themselves in what is bestowed, who, having no thanks to God, heap up for themselves wrath in the things that are given, against the day of eternal retribution. But God confers these things on his own faithful, that they may dispense all good things to the good, that they fail not on the way, being shamefully in want; that they may show themselves sons of charity, and may reckon that this grace is not given them for merit; but may rather seek that [1222D] which is to be shown hereafter to his own. Whence also it is subjoined: « And his right hand shall embrace me. » For what is the right hand of God reckoned to be, save the very eternity of God? which indeed embraces the whole Church, glorifying her first of all in the patriarchs and the prophets, crowning her in the apostles and the martyrs, and worthily rewarding also her other members; so that there is no part at all of the Church which may complain that it is untouched by his grace. There follows:

7. *I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes, and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, until she herself will.*

Thus far the Bride has drawn out very many words, speaking indeed of the Bridegroom, yet not to him, which is a sign of exceeding love. For love so stirs the mind [1223A] that, if at any time either shame or fear does not permit her to speak to the Bridegroom, yet, kindled by the goads of love, she does not omit to make words concerning him, to herself or to any other whatsoever. Which the beloved himself considering, shows a like token of love, no longer speaking to her, but making words to others concerning her, thus: « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir her not up. » He sees her, now in great part of herself languid with love, desiring to rest in his bosom away from the world's disturbances, loathing even necessary conversations, glad in the delight of the Bridegroom alone; and considering also that other part of herself which knows nothing of this languor, bound in great part of itself to the world, which, reckoning her as one dead, desires her to condescend to its own necessity [1223B] and to take up a part of its labour also: pitying her that languishes, he thus says, « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir her not up, » that is, that you call her not away from her peaceful rest.

But the adjuration must be attended to, wherein he says, « by the roes and the harts of the fields. » For this adjuration is not without cause. These indeed are beasts estranged from the world, set apart from the converse of men, refreshing themselves with herbs, clean animals indeed, which chew the cud and divide the hoof. All these things suit the saints, who, set apart in mind from carnal things, are fed with green herb, that is, with the unfading doctrine of the saints, which they chew, that is, once it is understood they often call it back to memory; and they divide the hoof, because, these things being understood, they separate eternal things from temporal [1223C]. Separately also it belongs to roebucks that they seek the heights, and, when wounded, touch dittany: which is worthily fitted to the saints, namely to seek heavenly things, and, if there be any hurt, to heal it with Christ as physician. This too is the nature of the hart: when he is a hundred years old, or perchance of greater number, and now inclines to old age, he marks for himself in whatever place the serpent's dwelling, and, as nature teaches, straightway draws it forth with his breath, eats it, and consumes it; and having drunk down this supper with a draught from a spring of purer water, he straightway lays aside his horns, and changes his hide and his hair, and recovers his sight, and, reforming his whole self, made young again and now to live long, he passes over into another life. And this is fitted to the saints in this [1223D] way: for the saints live, and, their virtue long kept and now ripened, when they already incline to old age, they mark for themselves in whatever place the dread serpent's dwelling, namely where he reigns, where he dwells, where by his great craft he scatters the hearts of those that dwell there, and severs them from charity: hoping therefore that the consummation of their virtues will be good if they wear down these commotions, if they restore peace, and teach men to keep it when restored; they approach this place of the serpent, and, taught by the breath of the Holy Spirit, they draw forth this ancient serpent, they scatter what he has sown, and, grinding him as it were with their teeth, they eat and consume him, [1224A] and bring his deeds to nothing: and afterwards, by the draught of a clear spring, that is, taught by the graces and the doctrines of our Lord Jesus Christ, they pass over into eternal life: in which, changed into the new man, they live a blessed life, to which nothing is lacking, or nothing can be lacking, that it desires. But such is this adjuration: « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, » that is, so may it be granted you to attain the virtues which we signify by the roes and the harts, that you stir not up the beloved, until she herself will.

## CHAPTER II. (cont.)

Here the times of action and of contemplation are fixed. The times of contemplation indeed are pleasing and acceptable, so that they to whom this grace is given can scarcely be torn away from it. For they love, and [1224B] by loving they understand how many things they lack which they behold in contemplating; these they strive to attain; and they reckon those troublesome to them through whom it comes about that this calling is hindered. But it is the voice of the beloved that is added, « Until she herself will. » Whence it is given to understand that there are certain times in which the Bride may wish to be torn away from this calling, and to be conformed to lower things: as for instance when faith is weakened, when heresy is sown abroad, when it already clings after the manner of a canker, and, unless remedies be applied, it already takes hold of the whole body, and hopes now to possess the whole for itself. Whence Arius says, « There was, when the Son was not, » reckoning that the whole Trinity was not co-eternal with itself: but supposing that divine generation (of which it is said, « Who shall declare his generation?) [n: (Isai. LIII, 8)], » to be like to this [1224C] human generation of ours; in which he who is father goes before, and from him consequently is he who is son. Which heresy assuredly ranged over the whole world, so that scarcely four bishops could be found in the Church who thought rightly concerning the faith of the eternal Trinity. For, to be silent of the other parts of the world, I will disclose how great evils came of this in Africa alone. Huneric the son of Genseric, who on his father's death had succeeded to the kingdom, moved by the Arian perfidy, thrust three hundred and thirty-four catholic bishops into exile, closed their churches, and afflicted the people with divers punishments. And Thrasamund, succeeding him in the kingdom, when the churches of the Catholics were closed, banished two hundred and twenty bishops into exile in Sardinia [1224D]; to whom Pope Symmachus ministered daily supplies. In other parts of the world also this heresy so ranged abroad that it was needful to call together the whole Church, and to come together into one, and to entreat God with poured-out prayers, that, this pest being removed, he would declare the truth of the matter that was in question: and he, inclined by the devout prayers of his beloved and of the other faithful, compelled Arius, when he had come to Constantinople to defend the parts of his heresy and had of necessity turned aside to the public privies, to undergo death, his inmost vitals being poured out; nor did any defender of his heresy appear [1225A] thereafter. So too, when contemplation is penetrating the secret things of heaven and busying itself in them so far as it can, if, teaching having now ceased, either heresy or perchance other sins reign among those in subjection, or if perchance it is desired that succour be brought to the need of neighbours in their distresses: it is the time in which contemplatives should wish to come down, and to succour those who are awaiting help from them. The order of the reading, therefore, is this: This is the voice of the beloved [sic: *moi*], « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, until she will. » There follows:

8. *Behold, that one cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills.* [var: Vulg. *iste*, "this one"]

This is the Bride's assertion. For she had said that that voice by which it was said, « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, [1225B] etc. » was the voice of her beloved: this she now asserts. Seeing her beloved coming, and not gainsaying those things whereof the Bride testified that he was the author, she thus proclaims his coming beforehand, « Behold, that one cometh, leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills. » But here a broad reading is opened up, where in Holy Scripture there is treatment of mountains and of hills. For this Scripture reckons some mountains evil, and affirms some worthy of praise: it reckons those evil, as the mountains of Gelboe, where they fell who seemed strong in Israel; which David cursed, saying: « Gelboe, let neither dew nor rain descend upon you [n: (II Reg. I, 21)]. » [var: Vulg. *veniant*, "let there come"] For Gelboe is interpreted « descent, » signifying the mountains of pride and of boasting, whereon, the more thou ascendest, so much the [1225C] more thou fallest and descendest. Whence it is said, « Every mountain and hill shall be brought low [n: (Luc. III, 5)]. » On this indeed there fought the children of Israel, already reprobate before God, Saul and Jonathan, who, being lifted up and reprobated by God, led forth against the enemy the people that followed them, and fell together with those that fell. Whence David says, « Mountains of Gelboe, » that is, of vices, on which the more one ascends, the more one descends; « let neither dew nor rain, » that is, heavenly doctrine, « descend upon you, » where they fell who, hoping themselves strong in Israel, fell conscious to themselves of their weakness. These are evil mountains; David himself recalls that they are to be turned away from, saying, « The mountains, like wax, melted at the presence of the Lord [n: (Psal. XCXVI, 5)]. » [1225D] For they who, being powerful and exalted in the world, prefer themselves to others, and look down on them as though unequal to themselves, these do not behold the Lord coming in wrath and in fire; but as wax before the face of fire, so they melt away and fail. But there is a good mountain of which the same David says, « Selmon, the mountain of God, a fat mountain [n: (Psal. LXVII, 15)]. » For Selmon is interpreted « shadow, » signifying the Lord Jesus Christ, whom the Godhead wholly overshadowed; whence it is subjoined: « The mountain of God, a fat mountain; a curdled mountain, a fat mountain. » For there is none among the sons of men on whom the flood of the Godhead has so wholly bestowed itself, whom the whole fulness of the Godhead has inhabited bodily: whence also it is subjoined, « Why suspect ye curdled mountains? » [n: (Psal. V, 17.)] For there is none among the sons of men, [1226A] in whom the holy Godhead is so curdled together with the humanity that one and the same person is both true God and true man: for this is the mountain in which it hath pleased God to dwell therein: for in it the Lord shall dwell unto the end, which is given to be understood as without end. For is the Godhead to be separated from the humanity? on whom is bestowed all power in heaven and in earth of judging, of taking up, and of taking away. He, as « King of kings, and, Lord of lords [n: (Apoc. XIX, 16)]; » so indeed may be called the mountain of mountains: whence also Isaias says, « In the last days the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be prepared [n: (Isai. II, 2)]. » For this house of the Lord, which God inhabits bodily, is the Lord Jesus Christ; and the mountain of this house is the very loftiness of the Godhead; into which the Lord Jesus himself [1226B] is lifted up above the top of all mountains, to whom all nations shall flow together, and all peoples; whence all the saints receive it that they are called mountains. Whence is that saying, « I have lifted up my eyes to the mountains [n: (Psal. CXX, 1)]: » and elsewhere, « Thou enlightening wonderfully from the everlasting mountains [n: (Psal. LXXV, 5)]. » He indeed by his own fulness enlightens the mountains, and, establishing them in eternity, grants them to others throughout the world, that these may be illumined by their light: seeing therefore her Bridegroom coming, this Bride says, « Behold, he cometh, leaping upon the mountains. » From what mountain does he leap? from the heart of the Father. Into what mountain does he leap? into the heart of the holy Virgin (in whom he put on humanity, fitting to himself a body and a soul, and taking to himself this mortal life), from which he makes a leap onto the cross, whereby he redeemed us: [1226C] his leap from thence is next into the sepulchre; wherein tarrying forty hours, and rising thence, he makes a leap into immortal life; into which, tarrying forty days with the apostles and the rest of his own, he ascended to the place whence he came forth, that he might teach us to ascend thither by the virtues, and to reckon this the end of our course.

The Lord also, in coming, is said to leap upon the mountains. For the mountains are the doctors of the Church, illumined from the everlasting mountains, who by reason of the eminence of their knowledge and understanding are rightly named mountains; upon whom he makes his leaps, when he lights them up with the fire of his flashing. For he made a leap into the apostle Peter, when, the Lord asking, « But whom [1226D] do you say that I am? » [n: (Matth. XVI, 15.)] and the others being silent, he answered, « Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. » Whence he received the keys of the Church, and the power also of binding and of loosing, and obtained the primacy of the whole Church after Christ. But that he made leaps into him and into the others, when he assured them of his resurrection, when on the day of Pentecost he made them bright with the Holy Ghost, when he made them steadfast and strong under every questioning of them, when at the beautiful gate Peter and John healed by a word alone the man lame from his mother's womb, when by his preaching Peter converted and baptized unto the Lord Jesus now three thousand, and at another time five thousand, is left in doubt to none; since it is certain that these works came about thus not by the power of man alone, but by the true [1227A] presence of God. Since therefore it is certain that he knew the fraud of Ananias and Sapphira, none but God revealing it, and that they also expired at his rebuke; who would not understand that God leapt forth into him, and that he accomplished these things at the command of him who willed them? And when at Joppa in the upper room at the sixth hour Peter was praying, and there fell upon him an ecstasy of mind, so that with heaven opened he saw let down to him from heaven a great vessel, after the manner of a linen sheet, by four corners, in which were all four-footed beasts, and creeping things of the earth, and fowls of the air, and he heard a voice saying to him, « Peter, kill and eat [n: (Act. XI, 6)]; and he said, « Far be it from me, Lord, because I have never eaten anything common and unclean! » and the Lord said to him, « That which God hath purified, call not thou [1227B] common. » Who would not say that the Lord leapt into him, when, the messengers of Cornelius being heard, he came to Caesarea, and finding that God is not a respecter of persons, baptized him and all his house, upon which the Holy Ghost had descended.

## CHAPTER II. (cont.)

Since therefore it is certain that the Lord made his leaps into Peter, the first of the apostles, in these ways and in very many others, it remains that in those same ways we understand it of all the rest, who, being sent into the world, both preached him and converted the nations to him, as is most well known by the wondrous showing forth of their works. For into the last of the apostles, namely Paul, he gave a leap, when, a light being sent forth from heaven, he thus called him, cast down upon the earth and seeing nothing, « Saul, Saul, [1227C] why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the goad [n: (Act. IX, 4-15)]: » who, being sent to Ananias, received his sight, and was baptized, and, the Lord leaping into him, openly confessed before all that he was his disciple. How many leaps God made into him, how wondrously he raised him up, how choice he made him by a wondrous doctrine and conspicuous to all, his epistles teach; and those which are called « The Acts of the Apostles » plainly declare it. And so the Bride says of him, « Behold, this one cometh, leaping upon the mountains: » she joins also what follows, « Skipping over the hills. Why this is so, let us see. For what we have said of the mountains, the same must be said of the hills. For some hills are good; whence it is said, « Bless the Lord, ye mountains and hills [1227D] [n: (Dan. III, 75)]; » and that of Isaias, « The Lord shall be exalted above the hills [n: (Isa. II, 2)]. » [var: Vulg. *et elevabitur super colles*, of the mountain, not of the Lord] But some are evil; whence in this place it is said that the Lord leaps upon the mountains, but skips over the hills: for where he leaps, there he is; but with those over whom he skips he makes no stay, but forsakes and abandons them. Who then are these? they who make themselves great by inventing heresies; in these they exalt themselves, they desire to be made equal to the height of the mountains, they turn peoples after them and draw them; they make themselves great when they are not, boasting that they have God, when they are far from him. Among these is Arius, among these Eutyches, among these all the heresiarchs whom the holy Church marks out, shuns, and condemns: over these indeed the Lord skips. [1228A] He skips over the hypocrites also, who in words confess that they have known the Lord, but in deeds deny him. So indeed he skips over all whom neither faith fortifies, nor the holiness of life makes honourable. The cause of this thing is this; because,

9. *The beloved is like to a roe, and to a young hart.* [var: Vulg. *dilectus meus*, "my beloved"]

To these animals the coming Bridegroom is rightly likened, both because God beholds all things clearly, and because he tarries on the lofty height of the virtues, is fed among them, measures out his leaps among them, and discerns also in whom the ancient serpent lies coiled at rest, or uncoiled draws out his folds; and these indeed he turns aside from, even as there is no fellowship of Christ with Belial. There follows:

[1228B] *Behold he standeth behind our wall.*

This indeed is promised of the beloved, because he is like to a roe. For he is keen of sight, as one who sees the Father, and, living the Father, beholds all things in the Father; not only the acts of works, but also the affections of thoughts. Whence she now admonishes all, that we all fortify ourselves for his gaze, by thinking what things are good, what are useful, what may seem worthy of the sight of God; and that we fulfil these same things by a consequent act. For he says, « Behold he standeth behind our wall. » Him also she said to be like to a young hart, that is, a son of the ancient fathers, having from them a body taken from a virgin, yet liable to no sin nor weighed down by the mass of sin; inasmuch as [1228C] the force of his Father's nature has grown up in him, so that hidden things are not concealed from him, that serpents flee him, that poisons do not harm him. To him therefore, to whom our hidden things must be laid open, to whom the serpent is wholly displeasing, who spurns everything that is infected with his poison, let us fit ourselves, that he may see what things are worthy of God, and may behold nothing in us infected with the serpent's poison, whereby it might please him to turn aside from us: « For behold he standeth behind our wall, looking down through the windows. » [var: Vulg. *respiciens*, "looking in"] Who is said indeed to stand, that is, by the most excellent disposition of his state to hold himself unmovably for the beholding of all things which he looks upon; to whom neither do the good things which we do add anything, nor do the evils perpetrated by us diminish anything of his glory; but all things subject themselves to the eternal retribution which they have deserved. Who indeed [1228D] « standeth behind the wall; » for the wall is that outward part of our condition (wherewith we are clothed, wherewith we are covered, whereby we are subjected to numberless temptation), namely our body, which, as a wall is built of stones and mortar, so is fitted to us by a fit disposition of its parts; which assuredly, because she sees that her beloved is about to take it up, or perhaps has already taken it up, she names indeed « our, » that she may show him a partaker of our condition. But here the Beloved « standeth behind the wall, » that he may freely behold it, as though set before him, and freely mark through the windows and the lattices what is done within. For the windows of our body are the five bodily senses [1229A], namely sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. Some indeed use these unto good things, and make themselves good; others, drawing them by most abandoned habits toward evil things, consequently make themselves most wicked: of whom Jeremias says, « Death is come up through our windows [n: (Jer. IX, 21)]: » which indeed is then, when the eyes of the sinner see a woman to lust after her; for he has committed adultery with her in his heart: and thus death has entered in to the soul through the windows of the eyes. But also when a man receives vain hearing, and especially the false sciences of perverse teachings, then death enters in to the soul through the windows of the ears. And so of the rest, of smell, of taste, of speech and of touch: when any soul abuses these, and applies itself to evil, death now enters through these windows [1229B], and gains the primacy. But if the soul, beholding the adornment of the world, and from the beauty of creatures understanding God the founder of all, wonders at his works, and praises the creator of the works, unto this soul life enters through the windows of the eyes. But also when it inclines its hearing to the word of God, and is delighted with the reasonings of his knowledge and of his wisdom, to this soul the light of wisdom enters through the windows of the ears; of whom Isaias says, « Who are these that fly as clouds, and as doves to their windows? » [n: (Isai. LX 8.)] For seeing in spirit the loftiness of the apostles, and wondering at their swift course through the world, he says, « Who are those, » etc.: but wondering at their simplicity and innocence, he subjoins, saying, « And as [1229C] doves to their windows, » that is, simple and innocent, and in all their sight, and hearing, taste, smell and touch imitating that dove which appeared above the Lord on the day whereon he was baptized

So then, standing behind the wall, this beloved contemplates through the windows by which gate each man seeks to enter, as the Lord says: « For wide is the gate, and broad the way that leadeth to death, and many there are who go in thereat: but narrow is the gate, and strait the way that leadeth to life, and few there are that find it [n: (Matth. VII, 13, 14)]. » [var: Vulg. *ad perditionem*, "to destruction"] These therefore he looks down upon, as labouring below; he looks in upon them, that he may help them in their beginnings, and that those labouring in their own strait, [1229D] grace being now freely given, he may lead further on, and, beginning the narrow way, may bring them, set at length in the breadth of charity, to blessed glory. But those entering the wide gate, and holding the broad way which leadeth to destruction, he exhorts, admonishes, and calls back, first by the natural law, then by Scripture, then by the patriarchs, by the prophets, hence by himself, then by the apostles, and by all the doctors, that they may return, that they may forsake the way begun; lest, glorying in the breadth of the way, and at length entering through the broad gate, they enter into darkness, and the dreadful places of perdition, which are even now truly destined for those running by this way. These things the beloved contemplates through the windows, contemplating [1230A] namely the manifestly good and the manifestly evil; and not content with these alone, he looks forth through the lattices; for he says: « Looking down through the windows, looking forth through the lattices [n: (I Tim. I, 15)]. » For lattices are narrow openings, not lying open after the manner of a window, but drawn out narrowly lengthwise by the masons under the vault; through which the beholder sees whom he wills, nor yet can he be seen by them, because neither does he will it.

Who then are they whom he thus beholds? they who either do evil things not evilly, or perform good things not well. They do evil things not evilly, as Saul, and they that are like him. For these dragged the men of this sect bound to the synagogues and to the tribunals: which indeed was evil, but was not done evilly. For in this, deeming that they were rendering [1230B] obedience to the creator, serving the law, and repressing transgression, they burned with a zeal indeed good, yet not according to knowledge, and believed that they were worthily avenging an injury brought upon the supreme Godhead. Whence Paul himself says: « I persecuted the Church of God: but yet I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief [n: (I Tim. I, 13)]. » For he was ignorant that God the Father had a Son, and that he had sent him into the world for a remedy: he did not know that this was Christ Jesus. He knew that the circumcision of Abraham and the law of Moses had been given by the Lord, but he did not know that this had lasted in its integrity until the time of John the Baptist, and that then the things promised in it had expired: and therefore these things were revealed to him, and the things done [1230C] in ignorance were forgiven. Him therefore the Lord looked upon through the lattices, seeing him and pitying him, when indeed he hoped nothing of mercy, but breathed wholly « threatenings and slaughter » unto evil. There are also those who perform good things not well, who assuredly, having faith and exercising the works of faith, pray much in the streets, distribute their goods to the poor and the needy; but while they do these things, not having the charity which is the virtue of works, and not seeking to attain God by these works, but, because the whole world is subject to God, desiring to be honoured and to be set over honours, they lose all that they do, and that which has been distributed without charity, that they forfeit. For Paul says, « If I shall distribute all my goods to the poor, and myself also [1230D] so that I burn, but have not charity, I am nothing [n: (I Cor. XIII, 3)]. » [var: Vulg. *nihil mihi prodest*, "it profiteth me nothing"] The same also says, « The word of God is living, and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged sword: and reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; nor is there any creature invisible in his sight *(Hebr IV, 12)*. » Whence whatsoever they do, they are before God, they do not escape his eyes; nor is he slow to conceive in mind not only what they do, but what they intend thereby: seeing the manifestly good and evil through the window; but [d: those who hide themselves, beholding through the window; but] those who hide themselves, beholding through the lattices. There follows:

[1231A]

## 10.

*Behold my beloved speaketh to me.*

This Bride has admonished all to beware of her beloved, who cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping over the hills, who cometh like to a roe and to a young hart, who standeth behind the wall, beholding through the windows and the lattices what is done within, what pleases him, or what displeases him. But now she intimates that the Bridegroom speaks to her, saying, « Behold my beloved speaketh to me. Arise, make haste, my friend, my dove, my beautiful one. » He had seen her sitting in the house as it were on high at a window, cherishing her love toward the Bridegroom by holy contemplation, and pondering the ways in which her love might burn unceasingly toward the Beloved: and that he may stir her up, as one languid and by that very languor as it were dead to the world [1231B], and, once raised up, may kindle her anew with the fires of a new love, he says:

*Arise, make haste, my friend, my dove, my beautiful one, and come.*

Whom he exhorts with three words, saying: « Arise, Make haste, Come; » and whom he designates with three names, saying, « My friend, My dove, My beautiful one; » that the friendly setting of the names may lighten all that the threefold command of the words urges to be done. For he says, « Friend; » for from this I knew thee loving me, that thou hast left father and mother, brothers and sisters, house and fields, and hast followed me. Thee also have I heard saying in Paul, « Who shall separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus? For I know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, [1231C] nor powers, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God [n: (Rom. VIII, 38, 39)]. » Thee also have I heard protesting in Peter, « Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee [n: (Joan. XXI, 17)]. » He adds also, « My dove, » as a most innocent bird, intent upon the propagating of its young, fed on the cleanness of grains, having a moan instead of a song, flying in flocks, reckoning nothing good save what is in common, tearing at a bird unlike itself neither with beak nor with claw: thee indeed, conforming thyself as far as thou canst to the likeness of that dove which bore witness to Christ in his baptism, and pleasing me in such a form; thou whom by these reasons I justly approve as beautiful, Arise. But in saying, « Arise, » [1231D] he did not utter it in that manner in which it is said to a sinner, Arise. For to a sinner it is said, « Arise, thou that sleepest, and rise up from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee [n: (Ephes. V, 14)]. » Which indeed is said to a man wrapped in grievous sins, in which he is said to sleep, that is, to rest in a grievous delight; to whom it is said with a holy voice that he arise, that is, that he rest from sins; and that he rise up from the dead, that is, that he set not for himself a place of abiding in hell, among the dead: and when thou shalt have ceased to sin, and hast begun now to abhor these things which pleased thee, then « Christ shall enlighten thee, » that is, he will show the way by which he wills thee to go. Nor indeed is it in this [1232A] way said here to the Bride that she arise, who long since had left father and mother, house and brothers, and the rest of the things that are had in the world, and, having followed Christ, had said, « Draw me after thee; we will run in the odour of thy ointments. » [var: Vulg. *Trahe me: post te curremus*, "Draw me: we will run after thee"]

What then is it to say to the Bride that she arise? He had known that she was wholly given to this, that she meditated assiduously upon his love, which had drawn him from the Father into the holy Virgin; and that him whom, born of her, it was certain to have run through the evils of the world, and, crucified, to have risen again with death despised, and thereafter to have ascended into the heavens, and to have promised heavenly goods to those that follow him, she embraced with her whole desire, longed for with a vow, and delighted in with soliloquy: to her therefore the Beloved says, « Arise, » which is, Rouse thyself from this [1232B] rest of thine, from this peace of thine: I indeed am he who, adjuring the daughters of Jerusalem, said, « That you stir not up, nor make the Beloved to awake, until she herself will. » Now thou art one spirit with me; I do not doubt that thou willest what I will. Beg not to die, while thou canst profit many, lest this delay draw peril to itself; make haste, that by hastening thou mayest come to me. I am he whom thou lovest; already thou hast without the one whom thou desirest; wherefore I say to thee, that thou come, that thou mayest see with me, and understand thy works, and, if they are good, rejoice together in them.

11. *For now the winter is past.*

Winter is that part of the year in which the light is shorter for us, but the darkness of the night deeper; in which all things are bound fast with frost, in which all things are stiff with wintry ice, and moisture has dominion over bodies: all these things [1232C] mark the inclemency of the season, and he testifies that it has now passed away, and that therefore the time of his coming is opportune. Which indeed was present then, when unbelief had oppressed the world on every side, when the light of faith shone upon the hearts of few, when evil had come forth from the north wind, which held in the hearts of all, chilled with the frost of malice; and hardened impiety permitted the ice of hearts to be melted by no warmth of the Holy Spirit. Moisture had dominion in bodies, in which no love of chastity or of honour restrained the reins of luxury: but luxury, and the importunity that accompanies luxury, commanded that all things be mingled in foul intercourse. This the disobedience of Adam the first father bears witness to; the malice of Cain also bears witness; and Lamech « the murderer » [1232D] bears witness; this also the impurity of the ages bears witness to, blotted out first by water, afterwards by fire, eight excepted. There follows:

*The rain is gone and departed.*

Not every rain is called *imber*, but only the wintry; joining almost day and night together, which not even roofs keep out; by which rivers are swollen, by which bridges fall down, and the rising fords deny the way to travellers, and, snatching all things away by their onrush, bear them down into the deep. Which indeed agrees with the time of unbelief: for where it happened that faith was lacking, there it came about that all spiritual goods were lacking [1233A]: there was no hope there, no charity, no fear of God, no obedience to God, no reverence, and almost all that mankind owed to God, it paid to Satan. This rain was unceasing: the unspeakable teaching of the masters, magnifying Jupiter, offering him sacrifices, venerating Apollo, Mercury, and Bacchus, adoring Juno, Diana, Venus, and Pallas, and the rest, which shame blushes even to have named in a sacred treatise, and modesty forbids: but the necessity alone of expounding the sacred reading sets them forth. For this rain overthrew the foundation of faith, the walls of hope, and the roofs of charity: for when the rain descended upon this house, the floods came also together with it; for this unbelief being received, the flooded minds of men swelled beyond the channels appointed for them; [1233B] and they to whom the faith, worship, and reverence of the one God was given by God the Father, and by the fathers who gave him credence, attributing this to many gods, and confessing that there are many Gods, went forth from the channel and the banks appointed them, and drew with them into the deep of hell countless thousands of men. For the winds blew, because the blasts of the malignant spirit were not wanting to them. The bridges were overthrown, because Holy Scripture, which makes for us a bridge to God, became cheap. No passage lay open to the traveller, because for him going forth from this life there was no access to God. For there was made, as the Lord says, « a great fall of that house; » and truly great, inasmuch as for it there is no return to life, no communion with the good to come for ever. Thee therefore, whom I perceive to be my friend, because thou willest [1233C] what I will; thee, whom I understand to excel in dove-like manners, whom I judge conformed to me, and therefore beautiful, thee I call forth, saying to thee, « Arise, » that is, Come forth from this contemplation of peace and quiet wherein thou art held; make haste, that the compliance of thy obedience may follow at a word upon the command of my precept, « and come, » that, made a partaker of one spirit with me, thou mayest rejoice together with me, who helped thee by my spirit that thou shouldest do these things, that thou shouldest remove these scandals of the world: for the winter being removed, and the rain removed which had troubled all things, a sweeter breath has now blown over the face of the earth, and the breeze of the Holy Spirit, sent forth from above, has adorned it, when faith was received, with the flower of its own comeliness: this is what is said:

12. *The flowers have appeared in our land.* [1233D]

Where unbelief commanded, there faith now reigns; where there was despairing misery, there good hope hopes for itself, and rejoices to attain eternal things; where the mind was cold and grew numb, kindled by no fire of charity, there charity now orders all things by its own command, raising upward the things that were below, and by good works presenting all things to the good creator. He added also:

*The time of pruning is come.*

Which pruning assuredly shows forth the time of holy confession. For trees are pruned, and from them the useless shoots are taken away, which bear no fruits, and which, if they grow out, hinder the useful branches from bearing: so vines, [1234A] so other trees are cut free of useless branches, that those which are useful may become more useful, and may bring forth richer fruits for the husbandman. Which indeed is rightly fitted to the time of fulness and of grace. For some trees are dry and dead, bringing forth neither leaves nor fruits; some indeed have leaves, but not fruits; others indeed fruits, but bad ones: and others there are to which the leaves lend beauty, and the best fruits their worth. In these the whole race of men is comprehended: of these indeed the axe and the fire await three kinds. But those whom neither the leaves of words nor the fruits of works clothe, or who, if they bring forth any fruits, yet bring forth bad ones, these the judicial axe of the Lord, discerning well, cuts off, and by a just judgment [1234B] fits them to the fire that is appointed for them. But those to which the leaves lend beauty, and the best fruits their worth, are the trees of Paradise, in which God dwells, among which he walks, unto which he calls forth his Bride, and which he cleanses with the pruning-hook, that they may bring forth fruits; which fruits may remain for them unto life eternal. Which pruning-hook indeed is holy confession, wherein a man considers himself, calls to mind all that he has done in his life, opens and condemns himself to himself; and, confessing this very thing with his mouth to him to whom he is appointed, repenting with his heart, washing and cleansing it with tears, taking up and rendering a worthy burden of penance, he is made a fruitful tree, which is planted beside the running waters, and, bringing forth the fruit of grace, is most joyfully received by the Lord. The time of pruning also is most pleasing to the Lord, [1234C] wherein he sees the glory of the apostles, the constancy of all the martyrs throughout the world, who indeed were cut off by the heavy pruning-hook of martyrdom, and cast down as useless, and, received gloriously by him in heaven as members of the most high body of Christ, do now judge the nations, and reign for ever. There follows:

*The voice of the turtle has been heard in our land.*

## 10. (cont.)

That is, The voice of the preacher has been heard on every side throughout the world in the land now ours. For anyone is preached [cj: *Praedicatur*; read *Praedicator*, "a preacher"], not seeking out the prudence which is of the earth, nor the little fables which are utterly empty, announcing by his song the departure of winter and the coming of spring; he moans here, and, loving chastity, he dwells on high, [1234D] he flees the converse of men, remaining in body in the world, in mind in heaven: whence the Baptist says, « Offspring of vipers, who hath shewed you to flee from the wrath to come? Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of penance: and begin not to say, We have Abraham for our father [n: (Luc. III, 7, 8)]. » But Peter says: « Do penance, and be every one of you baptized in the name of Jesus Christ unto the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost [n: (Act. II, 38)]. » Paul also says: « Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ [n: (Rom. XIII, 13, 14)]. » But these [1235A] voices of the turtle, who could number them? He alone knows them, God, who forms the voice and the hearts. There follows:

13. *The fig tree hath put forth her green figs.*

The fig is a most well-known tree, which abounds in leaves, and fills with fruit him who tends and possesses it: it produces its fruits in divers ways. For when spring is begun, and now a little advanced, it produces its first fruits in small measure, which are called green figs, and are bitter, and by reason of their bitterness are spat out by the taste, and are cast aside among bitter and worthless things: but the same tree, with some little advance of time, bears fruit, giving a most delightful fruit, and most pleasant to the taste by its inborn sweetness. This is the fruit for the sake of which it is tended, for the sake of which it is dug about, and for the cultivating of which labour is manifoldly bestowed. But when its first fruit is born abundantly, [1235B] because then almost all the bitterness that is in the fig is sent forth, there is good hope of that which follows, that the more bitter this one is, the sweeter that which follows may be sent forth. Of this fig therefore it is said, « The fig tree hath put forth her green figs. » For this is the fig tree of which it is said in the Gospel: A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, to which the lord coming for three years, and finding no fruit on it, said to the dresser: « Cut it down: » of which the dresser said: « Lord, let it alone this year, until I dig about it, and dung it [n: (Luc. XIII, 7, 8)]. » This indeed is said to be the Church, to which the Lord coming for three years (in one year, namely, that time which was before the law; in the second, namely, that which was under the law; in the third [1235C] indeed, that which began under grace) found no fruit; whence, being angered, he uttered these words, « Cut it down. » For although from the very beginning of creation the Church has indeed always existed, yet through all this time it existed in so few that its fewness, compared with the copious multitude, would be held as nothing, and reckoned for nothing. For in all this time, if thou find any just men, and compare them with the rest of the multitude, the comparison will be as if thou shouldst compare some small thing with an infinite multitude; whence our Lord and Saviour says: « The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head [n: (Matth. VIII, 20)]. » But this tree, now dug about, fortified by the admonitions of the holy apostles, taught by the holy examples of the martyrs, [1235D] the bitterness of martyrdom being now despised, now brings forth sweet fruits throughout the world: now it fills with the sweetness of its figs those whom it bewailed in the bitterness of its passion. Whence it is subjoined

*The vines in flower have yielded their sweet smell.*

But of the vineyards of the Lord there is one, and there are many: for the Church is one, and many. One indeed is the congregation of all the faithful who from the beginning loved God, and who love him still, and who shall love him: this indeed is one, abiding in the unity of faith, and of hope, and of charity: which indeed shall then appear, when the Lord shall judge the world, they who shall receive the kingdom from the Lord, the Lord saying: « Come, [1236A] ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)], » who then shall already be free from the « snare of the hunters, and from the sharp word [n: (Psal. XC, 3)]. » For the snare of the hunters is the temptation of malignant spirits, which they stretch out for wretched mortals, that they may ensnare them in sins, and lead the ensnared to death: but the sharp word (than which nothing in the world can be sharper) is that which they shall hear, « Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, which was prepared for the devil and his angels [n: (Matth. XXV, 41)]. » Which indeed the good also shall hear, but, with the hand of the Lord protecting them, they shall not fear, because he who freed them from the snare of the hunters, he also freed them from the sharp word, so that they may not dread it either, [1236B] but may rest secure in the glory already received. This indeed is what shall be there hereafter, which here is divided into many parts: for here there is a certain Church of Jerusalem, a certain Church of Antioch, a certain Church of Rome, and others innumerable throughout the world. For every congregation of faithful men, in the places which the Lord has chosen for himself, has there established a solemn house of prayer, in which they may pray, in which they may lament, in which they may render thanks for benefit: and these indeed are the vines which in flower have yielded their sweet smell. For the good that is done here is wholly in flower, sending forth from itself a good report; but it shall bring forth fruit when for the good rendered in time it shall receive an everlasting reward. [1236C] There follows:

*Arise, my friend, my fair one, and come, 14. my dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hollows of the wall.* [var: Vulg. *in caverna maceriae*, "in the hollow of the wall," singular]

The Beloved has now called forth the Bride, that she might come to him: he has invited her also by these seven things set forth, saying, « The winter is past; gone is the rain, and departed; the flowers have appeared in our land; the time of pruning is come; the voice of the turtle has been heard in our land; the fig tree hath put forth her green figs; the vines in flower have yielded their sweet smell. » By all which the opportuneness of the time was shown, that she should come. And still persevering in the same calling of her to himself, he repeats, saying, « Arise, my friend, my bride, and come, my dove. » He adds also, « In the clefts [1236D] of the rock, in the hollows of the wall. » Which words indeed add the memory of the Lord's passion. For who is ignorant that the apostle said of Christ, « And the rock was Christ [n: (I Cor. X, 4)]. » But that there are clefts in this rock, who would not know, who doubts not that Christ was fastened to the cross with nails? That there is also a hollow in this wall, who would not know, who doubts not that what he reads is true? For it is written, « One of the soldiers with a spear opened his side, and immediately there came out blood and water [n: (Joan. XIX, 34)]. » Which side assuredly is rightly named a wall: for a wall is a joining of stones without mortar; and this side indeed was joined without the mortar of human seed, [1237A] and was composed and formed by the hand of the Holy Spirit. Let the beloved Bride therefore come to her bridegroom who calls her forth, safe in the protection of the passion, fortified with the fortification of faith; let her come out of the world to him who overcame the world; let her come from the place of grief and of suffering to the place where there is no grief or suffering, but perennial peace, and continual exultation. There follows:

*Shew me thy face.*

The Bride obeys her Beloved; she knows no delay when she is called. For thus it was said to her, « Arise, make haste, come to me; » and she, being thus called, arises straightway, comes hastening, and stands by with no delay intervening. But she comes with her head covered, lest the sun burn her face, lest her whiteness be made base by the whiteness of the sun. But to the Bride standing by and covering herself, the Beloved says, « Shew [1237B] me thy face. » For it is just that the Bride be presented to her Beloved with unveiled face. For if Rebecca, at the well whose name is « of the living » and « of the seeing [n: (Gen. XXIV, 65)], » on seeing Isaac came down from the camel and covered herself with a cloak (which indeed was done thus because she was not yet a bride, and he had not yet received her, but brought her, destined for himself, into his mother's house, and took her to wife, and loved her so greatly that he tempered the grief which had befallen him from his mother's death): for this one, long since beloved of her Beloved, long since betrothed to the Bridegroom, and now known by spiritual love and by divine soliloquies, there is no need that she should appear veiled before the Bridegroom, but with unveiled face let her contemplate and love him. « For the word of God is living and effectual, and more piercing than any two-edged [1237C] sword, reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart; and there is no creature invisible in his sight, but all things are naked and open to his eyes [n: (Hebr. IV, 12, 13)]. » What need therefore has he of a covering, to whom neither flowers, nor leaves, nor trees, nor garment, nor any covering are a hindrance, but that he may look upon and consider a thing from the end of its beginning even to the end of its issue; and rightly declare to himself whatever belongs to thought, and to speech, and to ancient habit and to work? Whence in the psalm David himself says three times: « O God, convert us [n: (Psal. LXXIX, 4)]: » and again: « O God of hosts, convert [1237D] us [n: (ibid., 15)]: » and a third time he subjoins: « O Lord God of hosts, convert us [n: (ibid., 20)]. » For it is needful for a man that he be converted from those things wherein he has offended in thought; that he be converted from those wherein he has offended in word; and from those wherein he has offended in deed and in habit; whence after this threefold invocation he subjoins, « And shew thy face, and we shall be saved [n: (ibid.)]; » for we shall be able to see the face of God securely, when God shall have shaken these offences from us, and he himself, being worthily invoked, shall have as it were let them go from his own memory, mercy bringing this to pass. So also God desires to see us with unveiled face, that nothing in us may appear in thought unworthy of him, nothing at all in word that may offend, nothing in act and deed that may displease. Whence he says, « Shew me thy face, » which thou hast made [1238A] worthy to appear to me, now after long pursuits of the virtues, after long desires of my kiss, that I may see whether thou hast done anything that is worthy of my kiss, that is worthy to be rewarded with the prize of my kiss. There follows:

*Let thy voice sound in mine ears.*

## 10. (cont.)

Where the face is now pleasing, where nothing intervenes that might be reprehended, licence is given of advancing further; that as the sight is delighted by the face of her Beloved, so the hearing may be delighted by the sound of the voice of the same: whence it is said, « Let thy voice sound in mine ears. » Ask what thou wilt; for thou wilt ask nothing, except what is fair and just, and what is worthy to be heard. Wherein it is to be noted that our voices sound in the ear of the Lord in divers ways. For sometimes we sound with a sound audible to God [1238B] alone, when we speak to him with the devotion of the heart only; as it is written of Anna, that « she spoke in her heart only, and her lips only were moved, and her voice was not heard at all [n: (I Reg. I, 13)]: » for her whole devotion was toward God; whence she deserved to be heard and to give thanks, and stood forth worthy to bring forth to the world the great prophet Samuel. God gives heed also to voices uttered with audible sound, if yet the intention of the heart be present, and the devotion which renders these audible; that the hearing may not be soothed only after the manner of birds, but rather after the manner of men, that the groanings of the inner heart may be heard. Hence in the Church the psalms resound, hence the hymns, hence the Alleluia resounds its sweet melody, hence other voices divers and innumerable, which human [1238C] invention puts forth unto the praise of God; which, assuredly, if due devotion accompany them, there is no doubt that they sound in the ears of God and obtain what is asked. Hence also the prophet says: « Sing joyfully to God, all the earth, sing ye a psalm to his name, give glory to his praise [n: (Psal. LXV, 1)]. » And at the end of the work, he concludes with the last psalm: « Praise ye the Lord in his holy places: praise ye him in the firmament of his power: praise ye him in his mighty acts: praise ye him according to the multitude of his greatness: praise ye him with the sound of trumpet: praise ye him with psaltery and harp: praise ye him with timbrel and choir: praise ye him with strings and organs: praise ye him on well-sounding cymbals: praise ye him on cymbals of joy [n: (Psal. 150)]. » Where, admonishing unto praise ten times over, he invites [1238D] to praise the nine orders of the heavenly ones, and man joined to them and made equal to them through grace, saying, « Let every spirit praise the Lord. » There follows:

*For thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely.*

« Thy voice is sweet, » which confesses and prays to me alone, magnifies and glorifies, judges that supplication is to be made to me for the things she has committed, and, after pardon granted, longs that grace and glory be given to her. « And thy face comely, » a face without spot, a face without wrinkle, a face that knows no repulse, and most worthy to be received and numbered among friends.

15. *Catch us the little foxes that destroy the vineyards: for our vineyard hath flourished.*

This Bride knew no delay: called forth by her Beloved, [1239A] who urged that she should come to him, she straightway arose, straightway stood before his majesty; and because she came covered, lest she should be overwhelmed by the glory, she deserved to hear what was said, « Shew me thy face, » which is, With face unveiled, contemplate me; « And let thy voice sound in mine ears, » that is, Ask what thou wilt, thou of whom I know that she will ask nothing but what is just. Received by the Bridegroom, she deserves to understand and to see what was promised, namely, that « The winter is past, the rain has gone away and departed; the flowers have appeared in the land; the time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtle has been heard in the land: the fig tree hath put forth her green figs: the vines in flower have yielded their sweet smell. » For these things the Bride gives thanks to the Bridegroom, knowing that all this is his work; and she herself receives praise and grace from the Bridegroom, because [1239B] his grace in her was not void, but she herself laboured excellently together with the grace given her. But now it is time that he instruct her concerning heavenly things, that he teach her concerning those things which are above her, that, called forth from common action into contemplation, she may understand the things she was contemplating, lest, when she has possessed them, she should stand forth wholly untaught. And because this is to be done by him, and he must in a manner be at leisure for the honour of his Beloved, he admonishes his companions that meanwhile they guard the vineyards which have now flowered, and « in flower have yielded their sweet smell, » lest the foxes destroy them, and the labours bestowed on them be brought to nothing: and he exhorts thus, « Catch us the little foxes. » But he speaks to his companions, that is, to the ministering spirits; of whom Paul says, « Are they not all ministering [1239C] spirits, sent to minister for them who shall receive the inheritance of salvation? » [n: (Hebr. I, 14.)] These are the angels, to whom the life of men is committed to be guarded; whom Jacob saw as he slept upon the stone. He saw a ladder standing upon the earth, and the top thereof touching heaven; the angels also of God ascending and descending by it; and the Lord leaning upon the ladder [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 12, 13)]; to whom here God speaks, commanding that they catch the foxes, who desire to harm this flowering vineyard, and to destroy it, and to bring its fruits to nothing: but these are the adverse powers, made by God at the same time and reprobate, hardened unto the harm of the Church; in this they stand, in this they abide, in this they reckon their successes, if it be able in anything to hinder the Church, [1239D] her that tends toward God, and desires him, and by the flower of good report now sends forth from herself a holy odour, or in some measure to disturb her. Which is plain in Job, is plain in Joseph, which was declared in Tobias, whom all these, as they drew them downward through adversities, were hindered by the good angels from accomplishing what they had begun; but, seeing that all these things wrought together unto good for them, they might perceive that their own power was nothing, save in so far as they were permitted by God. To the good angels therefore that is commanded by the Lord which was said, « Catch us the little foxes, » that is, Those whom you behold wandering like foxes, and disturbing all men by guile, [1240A] catch these, hinder these, and bring it to pass that they can do nothing except what is pleasing to my will. But the Lord makes mention of these foxes in the Gospel, saying: « The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head [n: (Matth. VIII, 20)]. » For to him who said to him, « Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou shalt go, » the Saviour says, « The foxes have holes; » as if he should say, I receive thee not; I understand thee not to be predestined to me, but given to the foxes, that the foxes may tear thee, and the birds of the air, who are the malignant spirits, may rend thee. The same also he says of Herod threatening him: « Go, and tell that fox; behold, I cast out devils, and do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I am consummated [n: (Luc. XIII, 32)], as if he should say, Tell this to him who has been given over to the fox for food, [1240B] He shall not slay me; but I, to day, and in the time that is to be until my death, perfect health in all who are weighed down by disease; and then on the third day I shall be consummated, that is, then I shall die, and all things shall be consummated which the enemy man is able to do against me. Of these foxes also David makes mention, saying to the Lord: « But they have sought my soul in vain [n: (Psal. LXII, 10)]. » For they who slew the Lord sought to destroy his soul, but in vain, because he lives: behold the Lord is King for ever. « They shall go into the lower parts of the earth [n: (Psal. XXVIII, 10)]; » for by the love of an earthly kingdom they shall be swallowed up, and blinded, so that they shall seem to have entered into the lower parts of the earth. For grieving to be made subject to the Romans, they were crushed by the edge [1240C] of the sword, and the greatest part of them was given to the foxes, that is, they were delivered to the malignant spirits, that these might feed upon them, and that whatsoever is done might be pleasing to their will. It is read also that Samson took three hundred foxes from the Philistines, and bound their tails together, and set the fire of lamps between the tails, and so sent them into the labours of the Philistines, the standing corn, and the vineyards, and the oliveyards, and consumed all things [n: (Jud. 15)]. Which indeed is, as often as some Catholic doctor of the Church gathers together at once all the heresies of the heretics, and places in the midst of them the lamp of heavenly fire, that is, the fire of eternal malediction; and so, sending it into their labours, consumes what is theirs, and brings it to nothing. Wherein indeed it is to be noted [1240D] that these foxes are bidden to be caught while they are little; for they are little in the very first beginnings of temptations; and they become great when, as the temptation grows, they dash down the minds of men, and lead them into acts wickedly persuaded. For thus is chastity dashed down. First a woman is seen; and by frequent seeing she is coveted; after the coveting, there is a shaking by converse; after the seeing, and the coveting, and the converse, as the evil titillation grows, the act evilly desired is fulfilled, and chastity long assailed is cast down. So also covetousness is fed and nourished by sight, while a man measures not himself, « what he owes, what he does, » what it behoves to be justly done; but stretches himself, even unjustly, to the doing of those things which [1241A] are beyond him. So, possessing one thing, he seeks a second unit, that he may be multiplied tenfold: then, seeking a third, he does this, he seeks this, that he may be multiplied a hundredfold: to which, unless a thousandfold be added, he reckons that nothing has been done, since he is not ignorant that something is wanting to him. So this boundless disgrace of malice strives with the multiplication of number, never setting a measure to itself, so long as it has found some larger number into which it may grow. Whence the Saviour says: « That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. » And again: « It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven [n: (Matth. XIX, 23, 24)]. » The camel is the greatest rope that is had in ships, by which, when the tempest grows, ships [1241B] are compelled to stand fast with anchors cast; for this to pass through the eye of a needle is easier, that is, all things being despised, to depart through the hard suffering of death, than, this being avoided, to enter into the kingdom of heaven: which indeed, if it is difficult for man, is easy and possible for God. For we have known many rich men to have left all things for his sake, and to have entered to him through the eye of a needle; which is of the power of God alone, and of his ineffable mercy, who snatches them from the mouth and the lowest jaws of Satan, and leads them through to the heavenly kingdoms. So are the other virtues softened, so do they perish, so does vice possess what has been seized by the craft of the malignant one. Whence it is rightly said, « Catch us the little foxes, » which is, Resist these foxes while they are [1241C] little, shake their first motions, lest they be able to grow, dash them against me, who am the most firm rock. « For our vineyard hath flourished, » that is, it has sent forth from itself the hope of good working, and if it be defended by you, it has fulfilled this your hope with the fruit of good work. There follows:

16. *My Beloved to me, and I to him.*

## 10. (cont.)

This voice is the voice of the Bride, who, being called forth, has now come to the Bridegroom; with whom the Lord mingles conversations, mingles (that I may so speak) soliloquies; for to the Father alone, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, are these things known which are spoken, which are revealed to this Bride: whence she herself also says, « My Beloved to me » as though he speaks to me; « and I to him » as though I answer words, but to you I reveal not what these secrets are. God keeps each of his secrets, [1241D] lest we attempt to enter in, nor let us presume to open what he reveals to the Bride alone; these things we pass over; to him alone to whom they have been committed we commit them, since he has not willed that they be opened to us. There follows:

*Who feedeth among the lilies. 17. Until the day breathe, and the shadows decline.*

These things being passed over, these being committed to silence, which God speaks to the Bride alone, the Bride adds what the Bridegroom does in the heights, wherein he is gladdened, wherein he is delighted, wherein he is refreshed, what pasture is held more pleasing to him, saying, « Who feedeth among the lilies. » But these lilies, sprung up in the heavenly gardens and courts, are so much the mightier in comeliness, in odour, and in sweetness, as he by whom they were planted is the more delighted to be present among them [1242A] and to be refreshed by the sight and the odour of them. These indeed are the heavenly virtues; their comeliness and heavenly fragrance is wonderful; so that he is said to be fed by this, who alone creates, alone orders, alone feeds all things which he creates, and sustains them. The Beloved is said to be fed among these, that those who, living on earth, already desire heavenly things may study to be conformed to them, that by the keeping of integrity they may bear up the palm of chastity even unto the converse of angels; and that the rest also may stand forth strangers to vices, claiming nothing of this world for themselves, that lust may not inflame them, that avarice may not goad them, that wantonness may not unman them, that ambition may not lay them low, that envy may not waste them, that the secular care of business may not make them anxious, « Until the day breathe, and the shadows decline. » It has been said that the Beloved is fed [1242B] among the lilies; but now it must be said how long he will abide among the same, others not being joined to him for the feeding; for this is what is said, « He is fed among the lilies; » and among these same, others not being joined to him, he shall be fed until that day of judgment breathe, in which God shall manifestly shew himself, rendering to every one according to his works; to the good, good things without end, to the evil, evil things indeed that shall abide without end. Two days indeed of the Lord are rightly named: one, in which he was judged, and of him it was said, « Not this man, but Barabbas [n: (Joan. XVIII, 40)]: » and likewise of him it was said, that « he be crucified; his blood be upon us, and upon our children [n: (Matth. XXVII, 23, 25)]. » The other, in which he shall judge the whole world raised up from death, « And he shall judge all men in equity, and the peoples [1242C] in his truth; » the day in which « the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days [n: (Isa. XXX, 26)]. » This also is rightly called the day of the Lord, in which he is to shew himself the true Lord, and to render to them all things which they have deserved. When therefore this day shall have breathed, that is, shall have begun to appear, then shall he join the lilies gathered from the earth to those which have sprung up in the heavenly gardens; then shall there be made one Church of men and of angels, when men shall now not marry, nor give in marriage [var: Vulg. *neque nubentur*, "nor be given in marriage," passive], but shall be as the angels of God [n: (Matth. XXII, 30)]: then shall he be fed at once among the heavenly lilies, and among those which have been taken from the earth, and made equal to the heavenly, and, by virtue working through grace, made [1242D] conformable to their glory: then shall the shadows decline. The whole time which we here pass we run through under a certain alternation, now measuring the day and the hours of the day, now reckoning up the night and its hours as many: but this night the upraised shadows of the earth, and of the bodies which are in it, bring to pass: for when the sun moves below, the upper parts of the world are darkened, and the earth; and as the multitude of bodies which are in it casts its shadow upward, they are drawn over with the cloak of the night of the earth. But when this day shall have breathed, the sun abiding perpetually in it shall illuminate it, and the saints shall shine with clear light in the sight of the Most High, nor shall they feel this alternation of the oncoming night; but all those shadows which make this night, declining into the lower parts of the world, shall descend, and [1243A] shall make that dark night, now to abide perpetually, meet indeed for the damned and wretched. There follows:

*Return: be like, my beloved, to a roe, and to a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.*

The Bride, long since called forth, stood by the Bridegroom who called her, saw him feeding among the heavenly lilies, and, longing for that very thing for herself and for hers, deserved to hear that she should wait, « until the day breathe and the shadows decline: » then shall the lilies sprung from the earth be gathered together, and, joined and made like to the lilies above, shall be endowed with this gift, that the Bridegroom may be fed among them, and be delighted for ever, and that they themselves may sing that word of the apostle, « I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith [n: (II Tim. IV, 7)]; there is laid up for us [1243B] this crown of justice, which behold the just judge shall render to us. Whence she suppliantly prays that the Bridegroom may return, and visit, and cherish the Church which labours on the earth; that he himself may take up her labours, himself advance them, and himself lead them through even unto perfection, saying: « Return, my beloved. » There follows, « Be like to a roe, » that is, thy incarnation, whereby thou art like to a roe, that is, seeing all things clearly; and whereby thou art likened to a young hart, that is, art reckoned to have been brought forth to the world wondrously from the ancient fathers as a young hart: this present to her, this call back into her memory, that she may praise thee, adore thee, glorify thee above all the mountains of Bether, reckoning none equal to thee in the Church, but understanding thee to be far more sublime and far more holy than all the mountains which are in Bether, which is, « The house of God, » or, « The house [1243C] rising up, » or, « The house of the watch, » all which is the Church. There follows:

## CHAPTER III.

1. *In my little bed through the nights I sought him whom my soul loves; I sought him, and found him not.*

This Bride, or any faithful soul whatsoever, has entreated. Her Beloved, that, not deserting heaven, he may nevertheless look upon the Church labouring on the earth, and, taking pity, condescend to her labour; now already, that mercy may the more easily move him, and make him to be inclined to the things which are asked, she adds the words of the same wherewith she supplicates: « In my little bed through the nights I sought him whom [1243D] my soul loves. » But it is to be noted in this place, that Solomon, a festive king, and opulent in all things, given also to delights (as is the custom with most kings), makes known this his opulence to the world, and writing says: « There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and of young maidens there is no number [n: (cap. VI, 7)]. » But where there are so many queens, so many royal concubines, and the number of the young maidens who are nourished for the Bridegroom is not known, there [sic: *perfecto*] luxury abounds, wherewith one may gladden a taste that eats daintily and disdains common things; there are stipends, whereby their adornment may not displease the King at his coming, and all other things which may draw and allure him at his coming [1244A] to love. Which things, whosoever thou art that shalt hear them, it is not good that thou be broken in mind, that thou relax thy mind to soft things, nor that thou take delight in base things, nor that thou entangle thy mind in these things which are said, but rather that through these things which are said bodily thou understand spiritual things, as is the custom of the Scriptures, and that thou rather raise up and kindle thy love in those things which are spiritual. For this festive king Solomon is that great King, who is the Father, who is the Son, who is also the Holy Ghost, who, while the ages run their course, joins to himself one Church in three orders; of which he designates that part, « the first and chief, » by the name of queens, the second by that of concubines, the third by that of young maidens. And indeed they are designated by the name of queens who have long since run together, who [1244B] have ascended after him that draws, and have deserved to lay hold of him that draws; so that with the Apostle they may say: « For we know that neither death, nor life, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord [n: (Rom. VIII, 38)]. » [var: Vulg. *Certus sum enim*, "For I am sure"] Consider in this order Elias, consider Eliseus also; of whom the one was taken up to God in a fiery chariot and with fiery horses; the other, going up from Jericho to Bethel, having received the mockery of the boys of that place saying [n: (III Reg. II, 11)], « Go up, thou bald head, go up, thou bald head, cursed them in the name of the Lord. And there came forth immediately two bears out of the forest, and tore of them two and forty. But he went up from thence to mount Carmel [n: (IV Reg. II, 23, 24)]. » These two therefore, and very many others of the Old Testament, [1244C] thou wilt worthily attribute to this order, who, knowing nothing but God, and foreknowing that he should be born of a virgin, truly ran after him, and assuredly laid hold of him, and, being made heirs of his kingdom, glory with him for ever. But what is to be thought of those whom the page of the Gospel commemorates, who saw God present in the flesh, knew him from his words and deeds, and, following him alone, said: « Behold we have left all things, and have followed thee: what therefore shall we have? » [n: (Matth. XIX, 27.)] What of Peter? who, when the Lord said, « But whom do you say that I am? » [n: (Matth. XVI, 15, 16)] confidently answered: « Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God; » whom indeed the Lord declares blessed, because he answered that this was revealed to him not by [1244D] flesh and blood, but by his Father who is in heaven; whom he distinguishes as blessed in six clauses, saying: « Thou art Peter [n: (ibid., 18)], » that is, in the faith of me firm as a rock; and so named by me Peter, as it were a rock. « And upon this rock, » which I understand to be myself, and appoint to be in thee, « I will build my Church, » that is, I am about to give strength to the Church, and I will build so firmly that « the gates of hell shall not prevail against it, » that is, the malignant spirits, and the evil rich men who follow them, shall not hurt it. « And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven [n: (ibid., 19)], that is, that none may enter into the kingdom of heaven, save through the faith and the sacraments [1245A] which have been committed to thee from me. And he shall be accursed, that is, the faith or the sacraments received shall not profit him; whom thou shalt have cursed; as those things shall be safe for him whom thou shalt have blessed.

What is to be said of John the evangelist? who says, « The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us: and we saw his glory, the glory as it were of the Only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth? » [n: (Joan. I, 14.)] It is indeed to be said, that both these, and all the apostles, and all who are made like to these not indeed in dignity, but in charity and in works, these are they whose souls, received into heaven and honoured, are of such dignity that they deserve to be called queens by the King himself; in whom he so glories that he says, « There are sixty queens; » whom assuredly, how many soever [1245B] they be, he comprehends under the number of sixty, calling them sixty. The number sixty indeed consists of two perfect numbers multiplied into each other; for whether thou say six times ten, or ten times six, thou wilt make one number, namely sixty, and thou wilt assign these two numbers on either side, the ten of the law, the six of the Gospel. These therefore who are perfect in both, by fulfilling the law and the Gospel, are rightly applied to the number sixty.

These souls therefore are rightly called queens, who, joined to Christ by the right law of matrimony, have clung to him with the inmost affection of charity, and have brought forth sons by their example, justly heirs of the eternal kingdom; of whom it is said, « A chosen generation, a holy nation, a purchased people [n: (I Petr. II, 9)]. » Truly blessed are they who [1245C] have deserved to be made partakers of the heavenly virtues, and to enjoy that glory of charity which knows no failing. But in the second place are numbered those souls which are called concubines; for, as the Apostle says, « God indeed hath set some in the Church, first apostles, secondly prophets, thirdly doctors, after that miracles, then the graces of healings, helps, governments, kinds of tongues, interpretations of speeches [n: (I Cor. XII, 28)]. » In these perhaps thou wilt find a place for the concubines, which indeed are those souls which, though they be joined to God by some fellowship, have not cleaved to him with the whole heart, not with the whole mind, not with all their strength, nor have been made equal to the apostles; for, as the Apostle says, not all are appointed apostles, not all prophets. For to some [1245D] perfect grace is given, and the Lord knows who they are; to some imperfect, or perfect in one thing, not perfect in others; and these indeed beget sons from themselves, not as though begotten in matrimony, or heirs of the kingdom; but such as the Lord succours through his mercy, that they may be received in his kingdom and nourished, instructed, and saved. « But of young maidens there is no number; » for the young maidens are souls lately converted to the faith, or at least brought to conversion after very many sins committed: concerning whom it is not known what their consummation shall be; whom assuredly he regards, and, as they are the gifts of his mercy, in the manner which he determines, draws to himself. These therefore are the distinctions of the Church, which [1246A] Solomon distinguishes in what follows, saying, « There are sixty queens, » etc., which we have touched upon for the present for this cause, that we might teach that this Bride, called forth by the Bridegroom, and addressed with heavenly words, and taught by soliloquies, is that one who was endowed by Solomon with the name of queen, when it was said, « There are sixty queens: » but that she who remains on the earth, and is designated by the name both of concubines and of young maidens, is indeed that one for whom the Church above prays, saying, « Return, my beloved [n: (cap. II, 17)]. » To whose prayer, that the majesty of the beloved may the more easily be inclined, and may hear her voice, the words which she pours forth weeping are joined: « In my little bed through the nights I sought him whom my soul loves. » Our little bed indeed is our conscience, [1246B] in which we rest, if we present good things to ourselves; if evil things and the worst meet us, we are indeed straitened and afflicted. For him whose own heart reproves him, and who confesses that he has sinned grievously against the Lord, and has borne himself ill toward his neighbours, for him there is no rest, but labour, and affliction of spirit, and a broad confusion of grief: whence the Prophet says, « I have laboured in my groaning, I will wash my bed through each several night [n: (Psal. VI, 7)]. » He understands indeed the labour of conscience, which he shews both to groan, and to labour, and to wash the bed through each several night; which indeed then washes the bed, when in repenting it grieves and groans that it has offended God: and it washes it through each several night, while through each several sin it bewails that it has incurred the wrath of God: poured out in tears, when [1246C] it redoubles that it has watered with tears its own body, whereon it laid itself low by sinning, saying, « I have watered my couch with my tears; » because the eye of my mind is troubled with fury, that is, with the manifest wrath of the Lord, by the presence of mine enemies, that is, of my sins, among which, from the very first beginning of sinning, I have grown inveterate and been made old, and have been well-nigh reprobated from the very grace of the Lord; for Isaias says, « The bed is straitened, so that one must fall out; and a short cloak cannot cover both [n: (Isa. XXVIII, 20)]. » For the human mind is narrow and strait, so that if an evil spirit occupy it, the Spirit of God forsakes it; and when the Spirit of God has occupied it, this working, and free will judging better, [1246D] that malignant spirit shall justly and utterly depart, because the « cloak, » that is, the measure and brevity of our creation, « both, » the Spirit of God and the malignant one, is not able to « cover, » that is, to comprehend. Since therefore she seeks God through each several night, and it has been said to her by the Lord, « Ask, and you shall receive [var: Vulg. *et dabitur vobis*, "and it shall be given to you"]; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you [n: (Matth. VII, 7)]; » what is it that she says, « I sought, and found him not? » This indeed is what we have said, that she has not yet ascended to the higher things, has not yet attained that dignity wherewith the queens were endowed, to whose petition nothing is denied, to whose seeking nothing is closed, to whose knocking it is opened the more readily: as yet she acts among the lowest things; whence she says:

2. *I will rise, and will go about the city: by the streets and the broad ways [1247A] I will seek him whom my soul loves: I sought him, and found him not.*

## CHAPTER III. (cont.)

« I will rise, » that is, from this burden of my sin, and at the same time I will shake off my filth; « And I will go about the city, » this great Church indeed, which now is common to the good and to the evil, that if I shall see in it any counsel, and any help that may profit, I may follow it out. And that she may shew more closely what she is about to do, she adds, « By the streets and the broad ways, » that is, by those bound to an order, and the married, or the free who remain without a spouse: through these « I will seek him whom my soul loves. » But although she is querulous, and zealous in seeking, yet she adds, « I sought him, and found him not. » What then?

3. *The watchmen who keep the city found me.*

[1247B]Who are these watchmen? Angels indeed, the guardians of the Church, to whom this guardianship has been committed, that they may know and understand what good, what evil any one has done, and what he has deserved to have rendered to him: of whom the Lord says in the Gospel, « See that you despise not one of these little ones; for I say to you, that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father who is in heaven [n: (Matth. X, 18)]; » whom she addresses, saying:

*Have you seen him whom my soul loves?*

These indeed she addresses, from whom she does not openly receive an answer. For when she has twice surveyed the whole Church, and in both places has said that she has not found her Beloved, what the cause may be why she has not found him, [1247C] she is to hear secretly from the watchmen. For she said, « In my little bed through the nights I sought him whom my soul loves: I sought him, and found him not; » which is that she has brought back to memory in her conscience the « nights, » that is, the dark deeds wherewith she had offended God, and has said nothing further, nor done anything: which indeed is not enough with God for the remission of sin, to turn over in conscience alone that very thing which thou hast done, unless thou study humbly to amend by heart, by mouth and by work that which thou hast done. Thou amendest by heart, while thou repentest; by mouth, while thou confessest to him to whom thou art assigned; but by work, while by fasting, discipline, prayer, alms, watchings and teaching thou desirest to restore what was ill done. For blessed James says, « Confess therefore your sins one to another, and [1247D] pray one for another, that you may be saved [n: (Jac. V, 16)]. » This law of confession the blessed watchmen teach her, whom she both obeys, and she receives the said law of confession, repenting in heart, confessing with mouth, desiring to fulfil in work what is enjoined. There follows:

4. *When I had a little passed by them, I found him whom my soul loves; I held him, and I will not let him go, till I bring him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me*

Behold how much this threefold confession profits: for she, having confessed her excesses by heart, and by mouth, and by work, when she had now passed by the « watchmen, » that is, the angels who guard the Church, in the Spirit, found him whom her soul loves, God, namely, whom she acknowledged [1248A] as her propitiator, by whom she understands that her sins have been remitted to her, and all things cast out from the eternal memory. Whence she says, « I held him, » that is, I clave to him with the firm root of charity, not about to let him go, « till I lead him into my mother's house, and into the chamber of her that bore me; » that is, till I convert to him the Synagogue, which is my mother, and the gentile world, which is she that bore me. For this holy Church, gathered from the whole world, had Judaea for her mother in faith, from whom first she had the worship of the one God, rejected idols, offered to him alone the victims of sacrifice and of holocaust, and obtained very many precepts of the law: but she had the gentile world for her that bore her unto the faith of Christ, since Judaea rejected it, and by her teaching she received fully his faith and all his sacraments. Him therefore she will not [1248B] let go, because she will not be silent, she will not cease from preaching, not from the testifying of the things which Christ taught, until both the gentile world and all Judaea receive him; and, both she, and that one who has been called forth on high and honoured as much by the name as by the dignity of a queen, bringing this to pass, the truth of Christ may be fully made known to the world. There follows.

5. *I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, by the roes and the harts of the fields, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, until she herself will.*

Where that which was set down is repeated, there is rightly a calling to mind of that which was said. The Bridegroom said above, « His left hand is under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me [n: (cap. II, 6)]. » Which indeed stood forth pleasing to the Bridegroom; for it proves the faith whereby [1248C] she subjects all temporal goods to the power of the Lord Jesus Christ: it proves also the hope whereby she sets forth that she is to be embraced in eternity by the right hand of God. Here also, that it is said that she is not to let him go, until by the preaching of both he be perfectly brought into the world, is gratefully received by him; and therefore it is enjoined to the daughters of Jerusalem, under the same adjuration, that they presume not to hinder it: « I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor make the beloved to awake, until she herself will. » Of which, since what the Lord has given has been said, we pass on to the rest.

6. *Who is she that goeth up by the desert?*

This Bride, magnified by the presence of God, binds herself by promises that she will not rest, that is, that she will not desist from the preaching of Christ, until the whole [1248D] world acknowledge him, and be made subject to him. But the daughters of Sion, discerning her fixed in the fulfilling of this promise, and converting now these, now others to the faith, and ascending with them to things above, marvelling at her providence and her perseverance, say, « Who is she? » that is, of what sort and how great is she! and how most worthy of wonder, « who thus goeth up by the desert? » The desert is a place which all judge worthy to be deserted, which by this judgment none inhabit; the briars and thorns which it produces they abhor and fear; the venomous things which it brings forth, these they vehemently flee. By which name indeed this world is understood, which brings forth the thorns of sins, receives the venoms of unclean spirits, and sends those who receive [1249A] these things to the caverns of hell. « Who » therefore « is she! » that is, of what sort, and how great, and how most worthy of wonder, who through this world, subject to infinite temptations, and subjecting to itself with innumerable temptations those who give it their labour, and turning them back, sets for herself the steps of her ascent, and seeks to ascend from thence whence we know that so many thousands have hitherto descended; and seeks to acquire rewards for herself from thence, whence we have seen so many thousands of men incur for themselves the punishments of hell. « Who » therefore « is this she, » who treads down the glory of kings, and dreads not the threats of judges, fears not reproaches, despises flatteries, laughs at torments if they be applied, joyfully receives the penalty of death, and joyfully, accompanied by the virtues, transcends this world? Great indeed is this she, [1249B] who, if she is pressed by adverse things, is not broken; if she receives joyful things, is by no means lifted up; but shewing herself always the same in either case, purposes through this desert to flee, to ascend, and to draw near to God, whence also it is subjoined:

*As a little rod of smoke of the aromatical spices of myrrh, and of frankincense, and of all the powder of the perfumer.*

Smoke at the same time partly rises, and partly, that which had risen before, is wont to disappear in the higher regions: so the Church in certain of her members is ever begotten anew, in certain of them, who had been born before, is ever gathered to heavenly things. For smoke born of fire, mounting on high, withdraws itself little by little from human sight: so the Church, kindled by fire, namely of the Holy Spirit, unto the love of God, [1249C] ceases not to ascend, until, drawn away from earthly things, she be caught up to the invisible things of heaven: who is rightly called not a rod, but a « little rod, » because this is the manner of the ascent, that the ardour of compunction is sometimes so subtle that neither does he himself comprehend it who has deserved to have it, nor does he himself discern it to whom it has been given. Whence here not a rod, but a « little rod, » is rightly said, because there is understood a compunction of heart straight and attenuated, and nimble also, inasmuch as it is known to have arisen from the aromatical spices of myrrh and frankincense. Myrrh indeed defends bodies from putrefaction; but frankincense, when kindled, gives forth fragrance: whence by myrrh is understood the mortification of the flesh; by frankincense, the cleanness of prayer. The Church indeed mortifies the flesh, while she denies pleasures, and while she sends forth to God the fervour of prayer, she draws out as it were the smoke [1249D] of spices from the censer, that is, from her own heart, that she may smell sweetly to God, and kindle her neighbour. And lest she should present mortification only, and prayer, and draw near destitute of the other virtues, it is added, « And of all the powder of the perfumer, » which is: She herself is the little rod of smoke, arisen not only from myrrh and frankincense, but rather one which takes its substance from the powder which is pounded and mingled by the perfumer for the making of good perfumes, and is presented to God for glory. But in commemorating these spices, she sets first myrrh, then frankincense, afterwards all the powder of the perfumer, because it is first to mortify the concupiscence of the flesh, afterwards to offer to God the acceptable vows of the heart, [1250A] and so with humility to grow in every kind of virtue, whereby she may be able to please God. There follows:

7. *Behold sixty valiant ones of the most valiant of Israel surround the little bed of Solomon.*

The daughters of Jerusalem have already declared this Church to be wonderful in comeliness and in the marvellous exaltation of her work, whom they now proceed to set forth, shewing and magnifying the beatitude to which she tends, to which she ascends, whither she is drawn, whither, reduced into the powder of the perfumer, she shall now presently be seen worthy to be set, to be raised on high, and to be exalted: which beatitude assuredly he shews, designating the little bed of Solomon, and his litter, and the diadem of glory, wherewith on the day of his espousal he was held worthy to be exalted above all [1250B]. And of the little bed indeed it is thus said, « Behold sixty valiant ones surround the little bed of Solomon. »

## CHAPTER III. (cont.)

But it is certain that by Solomon, who is interpreted *peaceable*, Christ is signified, who pacified all things by his own blood, and brought back into one commonwealth the things which are in heaven, and those which he redeemed from the earth. But his little bed is the beatitude in which the King rests with the saints, to which the Church daily ascends through the desert; with how great adornments it is spread, with how great ornament it shines, flowing with how great abundance of delights, and overflowing with how great abundance of charity, they know whom that same little bed already receives, whom the Lord has already endowed with that same beatitude. This indeed « sixty valiant ones surround; » for that the chastity of this little bed may be kept inviolate, [1250C] sixty valiant ones « surround » it, that is, guard it. But in the number sixty are contained the preachers of the word, who, taught by the law and by the Gospel, instruct the good also with knowledge, and lead them through even unto perfection. For the number six is attributed to the Gospel; for by this number the Lord measures out the good things of the good, and the evil things of the evil, saying: « I was hungry, and you gave me to eat: I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink: I was a stranger, and you took me in: naked, and you covered me; sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me [n: (Matth. XXV, 35, 36)]. » This therefore is rightly attributed to the Gospel, whereby, if ten be multiplied six times, sixty will be produced. These guardians of the little bed are therefore rightly reckoned sixty, who, [1250D] whithersoever they be carried in word, pass not beyond the Gospel, and depart not from the law. But these are named « valiant, » for fortitude is that virtue which alone defends the virtues, keeps judgments, unconquered in labours, valiant in battles, neglects money, flees the avarice which unmans virtue (for nothing is so contrary to fortitude as to be overcome by gain), is not tempted by covetousness, is not broken by fear, because virtue is consistent with itself, so that it pursues vices as the poisons of virtue; which, that he may not express it in a middling way, he subjoins, « Of the most valiant of Israel; » for they are most valiant who without weakness of desire contemplate eternal things, conquer the flesh, gainsay pleasures, bear the hard things of the world, despise blandishments for the sake of eternal things, overcome adversities, look upon their end, [1251A] labour without, that they may rejoice within. There follows:

8. *All holding swords.*

It has been said who they are that guard; but now it must be said in what manner, being fortified, they guard this little bed, « holding » indeed « swords. » Here the armour of the doctors is expressed, which is more fully shewn by the Apostle: for blessed Paul says: « Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of justice, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace: in all things taking the shield of faith . . . and take unto you the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God [n: (Ephes. VI, 14-17)]. This indeed is the armour of the doctors, which is designated in this place by the sword, which is the principal part [1251B] of the same armour. For the sword cutting on both sides is the word of God, dividing bodily things and spiritual, shaking the shadow away from the truth, « For the word of God is living, and more piercing than any two-edged sword, reaching unto the division of the soul and the spirit, of the joints also and the marrow, a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. » This the valiant hold in their hands, practising in work that which they see in meditation. For they reckon it not enough to know and to understand, unless they fulfil in work that which they have understood: for we discern many who admonish well and live ill, who fear not to do that which they detest in word, and are understood to practise with their hands that which they « weave together » in word. So did the Scribes and Pharisees teach, [1251C] to whose words the Lord bids us give assent, but to turn aside from their works, and he charges his own to teach otherwise, saying, « So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven [n: (Matth. V, 16)]. » By these therefore are swords held in their hands, who confirm their doctrine by pious works, and confidently teach what they themselves fulfil in work. There follows:

*And most learned in wars.*

For he is learned in wars who resists sin by work; more learned in wars, who resists it both by work and by the word of teaching; but most learned in wars, who resists it by word and by work, and by the zeal of discipline applied. For he delivers the innocent to destruction who frees from punishment him in whom the desire of robbing still breathes; and [1251D] he plots the destruction of many who spares the evil by granting pardon; for easiness of pardon is an incitement to fault. There follows:

*Every man's sword upon his thigh.*

The very impossibility of warring restrains many from warring, as if they have a sword, and hold it in their hands, and cannot draw it, or can do so only with difficulty: the enemy therefore is not slain, and he escapes unpunished from him at whose hands he has deserved punishment. Therefore it is subjoined, « Every man's sword upon his thigh, » that both the ease of drawing it and the opportunity of quickly striking the enemy may help him. For the sword is upon the thigh, when by preaching one's own flesh is tamed, lest, when he has preached to others, he himself be made a castaway. There follows:

[1252A] *Because of fears in the night.*

The life which is lived here is passed through days and nights: of the works which are done here, some are attributed to the day, some to the night; to the day, those which are of the light, to the night, those which are of the darkness. But the life which we await shall be wholly in the day, wholly in the light: there shall then be no participation of justice with iniquity, no fellowship of light with darkness, no agreement of Christ with Belial. Belial with his own shall wholly bristle with darkness, and thence no going forth, in whatsoever manner, to tempt the faithful shall now lie open to him by any reason; who, because he is not yet bound by this strictness of judgment, now goes forth; now, while there is time, he busies himself and strives to bring in by all means the work of the night and of the darkness. But these valiant ones drive him back, lest perchance the snares of the tempter lay these low, [1252B] secure and unarmed, and evilly snatch away anything from the guardianship committed to them. There follows:

9. *King Solomon made himself a litter of the wood of Lebanon. 10. He made the pillars thereof of silver, the reclining-place of gold, the going up of purple: the middle parts he paved with charity because of the daughters of Jerusalem.*

After the description of the little bed, the description of the litter is rightly subjoined. For the King, rising from the bed, takes himself to the litter, that he may be borne from place to place, according as he shall see the business of each to require. He says therefore, « King Solomon made a litter of the wood of Lebanon. » But Lebanon is interpreted *a whitening*; and the woods of Lebanon are cedars and cypresses; which indeed are straight and upright, putting forth their foliage on high, unfading, [1252C] incorruptible, sending forth also from themselves a most excellent odour: of these the King made himself a litter, wherein he might be carried about, whereto business should require him to be carried about. These woods indeed designate the ranks of the saints, which are straight, tending straight to God in meditation and in action; and incorruptible, because no corruption touches these when they are received into eternity, no suffering of death, or of grief, or of any trouble whatsoever affects them. Among these number the blessed apostles, Peter and Paul, and the rest raised on high with apostolic dignity, who bear the Lord through the world, who testify and announce to the world his deeds, his words and his promises. The same also he reckons pillars of silver, whom God gives as preachers to the Church, strengthened with the rectitude of justice, that they may sustain the Church by their examples, [1252D] and adorn her with the brightness of eloquence, as with the splendour of silver. He made also in this a reclining-place of gold, which indeed are the illustrious minds of the faithful hearers, in whom, while he shewed beforehand the heavenly joy, he composed as it were a reclining-place out of the gold of wisdom; for Wisdom is « more precious than all riches, and all the things that are desired are not to be compared with her [n: (Prov. III, 15)]. » But because to this one comes by much tribulation, and ascends by the shedding of blood, it is added: « He made the going up of purple; » for thither each one is borne up by martyrdom, which is designated by the purple; or assuredly by the passion of Christ, which is more precious than purple, through which there is an entrance into the Church and into heaven; the entry [1253A] to glory is opened by the sacrament of the passion. The litter being demonstrated, the pillars shewn, and the reclining-place, and the going up of purple also, it remains that the floor of the litter also be demonstrated, which he shews thus: « The middle parts, » that is, the floor which is in the middle of the litter; this he « paved with charity: » well does the prerogative of charity shine forth; for if thou art an apostle, thou belongest to the litter; if thou art a martyr, thou belongest to the same; if thou art a virgin, thou shinest forth in it by the merit of virginity: but if thou art not equalled to these merits, and yet thou lovest, thou art rightly received in this litter; for the middle parts have been paved with charity, that whosoever believes and loves may sit in the midst of it. Which indeed was added « because of the daughters of Jerusalem, » that is, because of those who are younger in time, and stand forth inferior in merit; who, if they are not [1253B] equalled to the highest, yet are not strangers to this litter, being kept in charity. There follows:

*Go forth, and see, ye daughters of Sion, king Solomon.*

## CHAPTER III. (cont.)

It has been said concerning the little bed, and concerning the keeping of it; and it has been said concerning the litter, and the adorning of it; it remains that it be said concerning the kingdom, and the glory thereof; which he pursues, saying: « Go forth, and see, ye daughters of Sion, king Solomon in the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him. » But by king Solomon, Christ (as has already been said) is understood, who bore the cross upon his shoulders, and through it has now subjected to himself all the kingdoms of the earth. To see him, therefore, the present Scripture stirs up all, as many as desire to be « daughters of Sion, » that is, daughters of the heavenly [1253C] watch-tower, who with the whole devotion of the heart long that a place be prepared for them in the heavens, that they may go forth, and after their going forth may see king Solomon in the diadem wherewith he was crowned [n: (Gen. IV, 8)]. But it does not exhort them to go forth as Cain went forth abroad, and rising up against his brother plotted against him. O wretched Cain, and to be pitied by none, who having overstepped the bound of innocence, who having forgotten brotherly affection, opened to the world the broad way of parricide, and slaying the innocent, declared himself guilty to the world [n: (Gen. XXXIV, 1)]; nor indeed as Dina went forth from her father's tent, that she might see the women of that region; whom, as she was busying herself curiously, and lifting up her eyes to those things which it was not lawful to imitate, Sichem the son of [1253D] Hemor saw, and loved her, and slept with her, oppressing the virgin by force; and the vengeance of this the very death of Sichem, and of his father Hemor, and of all the males who were found in the city, and the laying waste of the city itself, bears witness. For these goings forth are evil; nor are they written to this end, that it should be lawful to imitate them, but that, being written, they may be guarded against, and shunned alike in thought and in deed. But good goings forth are very many; as that of which the Lord said to Abraham, « Go forth out of thy land, and from thy kindred, and out of thy father's house, and come into the land which I shall shew thee: and I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and I will magnify thy name, and thou shalt be blessed. I will bless [1254A] them that bless thee, and I will curse them that curse thee; and in thee shall all the kindreds of the earth be blessed [n: (Gen. XII, 1, 2, 3)]. » Which indeed was fulfilled by Abraham in obeying, and even now by the Lord, in truly fulfilling the things that were promised. Of Jacob also it is said, that going forth from Bersabe he was journeying to Haram [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 10)], and there, putting a great stone under his head, he saw a vision, and heard the Lord saying to him: « And in thee and in thy seed shall all the tribes of the earth be blessed: » and that this going forth was doubtless a good one, the very issue of the work that followed shews.

Of blessed Peter also it is read, that when he had gone forth from the hall in which Christ was being judged, the cock crew, and he wept bitterly: which going forth [1254B] doubtless signifies that he was even now estranged from the denial by which he had thrice denied the Lord, and that the tears poured forth from the bitterness of his heart, pardon being granted from above, were now received in heaven. Since therefore there is a certain going forth that is wretched, and departs far from God, and a certain one that is happy, and draws near to God, so far as may be, with the steps of penitence and of love; by what « Aaron » is it counselled to the daughters of Sion to go forth, that they may be able to contemplate and behold the King of glory in his diadem? Not surely by that whereby Cain went forth, whereby he slew his brother, and deserved to be slain himself: nor by that whereby Dina, following curiosity, wished to see those of another race, and grieved that she herself had been mingled with one of another race, and had incurred the loss of her virginity: nor by that whereby [1254C] the spirit going forth from the face of the Lord said: « I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets [n: (III Reg. XXII, 22)], » and I will slay Achab: but by that which Abraham and Jacob, Peter and Paul followed, and were made familiars of God, and his friends. We must go forth therefore from the camp of unbelief and of ignominy, from the camp of vain fear and of impenitence, from the camp of envy and of malice, from the camp of unchastity and of all uncleanness, that having gone forth from these, we may enter the camp of all the virtues, in which we may deserve to see the highest King, and to be pleasing to him. There follows:

*In the diadem wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the joy of his heart.*

The holy mother of this highest King is that blessed virgin [1254D] Mary, whom the angel saluted, whom the Lord chose before all, whom the Holy Ghost overshadowed, whose praise surpasses all speech, of whom, whatsoever be said, that which is said is less than her praise; to her all utterances succumb, they ask pardon, and, however worthily the praises be uttered, they confess that nothing can be said whereby her merits may be increased or equalled. She crowned this King with a diadem, because this King took flesh in her and of her, in which he gloriously triumphed over the devil, and over the death by which the world was pressed down. For it is her flesh wherewith the woman compassed him, whom, born of her, the virgin most holily wrapped in swaddling bands, and laid in the manger. [1255A] This is he whom the star from heaven shewed forth, which drew kings from the East to adore him and to honour him with gifts; this is he who advances in wisdom, and age, and grace with God and men; this is he who in baptism purged our crimes; this is he who shone forth to the world by miracles; this is he whom the holy cross bore in its arms; this is he who rose from the sepulchre, and on the fortieth day, while the peoples looked on, ascended the heavens, and on the last day shall openly judge all; to see him therefore they who desire to be daughters of Sion are invited, that, having gone forth from the camp of the vices and entered the camp of the virtues, they may say with the apostle Thomas, « My Lord, my God [n: (Joan. XX, 28)]; » [var: Vulg. couples the two titles, "my Lord and my God"] and may see him and attend upon him in the last day, because, « this is life everlasting, that they may see thee the true God, and [1255B] Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent [n: (Joan. XVII, 3)]. » [var: Vulg. reads that they may know thee the only true God] With this diadem indeed his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals: for to this God, Father, and Son, and Holy Ghost, the blessed Virgin was truly espoused, when, acknowledging her the Mother of the Son of God, they joined her to themselves in true charity, and espoused her to themselves with the whole fulness of love. Hence indeed joy enters into the heart of the Virgin, hence she declared herself blessed, saying: « My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour [n: (Luc. I, 46, 47)]. » This Bride, being summoned to the end of life, lest she be entangled and ensnared in these passing things, and admonished not to hope that what is spoken of is even now about to come, so that the Bridegroom should now be seen, should be bodily handled, the Bridegroom repeats what [1255C] was said above, saying:

## CHAPTER IV.

1. *How beautiful art thou, my friend, how beautiful art thou! thine eyes are those of doves.*

Concerning which, because by the Lord's gift we have already said what came to hand, we are now silent, wishing to attempt that which has been added:

*Besides that which within.*

He has indeed called his beloved like in her eyes to a dove; and lest this be understood too perversely, he added, « Besides that which lieth hid within; » for the dove, if she feeds on clean things, if she is without gall, if she tears not with beak or claw, if she has groaning instead of song, if she flies in flocks, is led to these things by a certain natural motion; to these things she is bound by no fear of God, [1255D] but is confined within them by a certain inborn law of nature: but the soul beloved of God, if in these things she likens herself to the dove, has within her in the mind that whereby she is found unlike her. For the dove, if she feeds on clean things, seeks food, not God: the soul, if she feeds on clean things, seeks God, not food. If the dove lacks gall, that is of nature; if the soul governs herself without anger, that is of grace. If she has groaning instead of song, she does not indeed grieve, but modulates her song as it has been given her: if the soul groans, she prays that the very presence of God may be with her, and that she may glory in it. « For great » (as blessed Gregory testifies) « is the glory of the open mouth; but far incomparable is the glory of the hidden recompense: » beautiful is this which is discerned without; but far and incomparably [1256A] more beautiful is that to which one comes invisibly: beautiful is the outward converse; but more beautiful is the unspotted desire of the heart, whereby blessedness is sought, and the conscience is cleansed. This therefore lies hid in the soul beloved of God, and within the dove is utterly unknown. There follows:

*Thy hairs are as flocks of goats.*

But it is to be noted that this commendation is comprised in the number seven, that thou mayest understand that the things which are said of her are said spiritually, and ought to be spiritually understood: for as it has been said of the eyes, so also it is to be understood of the hairs. For the hairs are of the body, and afford adornment to the face; sometimes they are cut off, and the very cutting confers adornment: if it should happen that they are wanting, a deformity of the face will appear. These [1256B] therefore are the faithful peoples, by whose throng the Church is adorned; who, by recalling to memory the heavenly things which they have heard, ruminate upon them, thus seeking their pasture on high, and contemplating things eternal in the cleanness of faith: who doubtless are cut off, when they confess that they have in any way sinned either in action or in contemplation; and this cutting affords adornment to the face, because true confession is the restoring and reforming of the spirit. Or if the subtlety of meditations be understood in the hairs, this is rightly compared to roes, which both tends to lofty things, and, if it is bound by temporal necessity, yet does not withdraw from the intention of things eternal. There follows:

*Which came up from mount Galaad.*

[1256C]Galaad is interpreted *a heap of testimony*, that is, the multitude of martyrs, who, having died for the faith of Christ, are witnesses of the truth. Or, « Galaad » is Christ himself, in whom the multitude of martyrs is one. From this mount the roes have come up, because the saints, imitating his death, have ascended to things on high There follows:

2. *Thy teeth as flocks of shorn sheep, which came up from the washing, all with twin young, and there is not one barren among them.*

« The teeth » are the doctors and expounders of the divine word: these grind the food for those whom they teach, and incorporate it, who, faithfully understanding and teaching the sayings of the Lord, pass these over into the substance of their souls, and keep [1256D] and break small the life already received by faith. These, compared to a flock of shorn sheep, are said to come up from the washing, who in baptism, the fleece of sin being laid aside, seize upon the way of virtue, draw the peoples after them, and out of Gentiles and Jews constitute one Christian people: or, rendering them perfect on this side by faith, on that by work, they enrich and adorn them with twin fruits. Whence none among them is found barren, by whom the preaching of the word received is diligently fulfilled in work. There follows:

3. *As a scarlet fillet, thy lips; and thy speech is sweet.*

The lips cover the teeth, they utter words, and the things which are formed within by the tongue and the teeth, being brought forth without, they render audible. They therefore who are the teeth are also the lips, which bring forth into the light without the things they form within; [1257A] and, that all the things they have said may be heard more attentively, they colour these with the Lord's passion, and labour together, with the sweetness of honey-flowing humility, that they may render them savoury to the taste of spirits. Whence here also there follows, « Thy speech is sweet. » There follows:

*As a piece of a pomegranate, so are thy cheeks, besides that which lieth hid within.*

The pomegranate is the Church, which holds as many grains under one rind as it contains faithful. The cheeks of this are the divers Churches established in divers places by the devotion of the faithful. For to whom his holy humanity is pleasing, by these a church is consecrated to it: to others the holy Trinity is at heart, to whom the place of a most devout man is sanctified. These therefore are the cheeks, running together into one head, namely the Lord Jesus Christ, [1257B] who is God threefold in persons, and one in humanity, the head and beginning of all things, which are, and which have been, and which are to be. Yet these cheeks are thus. « as a piece of a pomegranate: » for as in the pieces of a pomegranate there are grains, differing from the grains of the other part; so also in these places of the faithful there are divers devotions, the one there adoring and following the majesty of God, the other here most devoutly pursuing his humanity and humility, yet none of them fully comprehending the hidden things of God which as yet remain unknown. Whence here also it is subjoined, « Besides that which lieth hid within; » for that which neither eye hath seen, nor ear hath heard, nor hath ascended into the heart of man, this God keeps with himself, about to reveal it when he will. There follows:

[1257C]

## 4.

*Thy neck is as the tower of David, which is built with bulwarks: a thousand bucklers hang upon it, all the armour of valiant men.*

These parts having been shewn, the eyes, and the hairs, the teeth, the lips, and the cheeks, there follows the construction of the neck, whose framing is continuous with those things which have been mentioned. He says therefore that this neck is as the tower of David: for a tower was built by David in Jerusalem, repelling the darts of foes, fearing no engines of enemies; this is the preaching of the doctors, lofty and impregnable; which, while it preaches true things, is repelled by no falsehood of them that oppose it; while it flashes with miracles, it is proved to be true by the very demonstration of the thing. These therefore are the bulwarks [1257D] with which this tower is built, the holy Scriptures by which it truly builds up its own truth: and « a thousand bucklers, » that is, a thousand protections, by which it repels and represses the depravity of those who argue against it: these protections indeed hang from the holy preaching, because that which is holy in the patriarchs, that which is noble in the prophets, that which is notable in the miracles, all bears witness to the Gospel, and approves its truth, together with that armour of valiant men which remains. But who could express this armour of valiant men? Who could worthily comprehend in a word that which transcends all speech? [1258A] For who would suffice worthily to utter the constancy of Peter, who the fortitude of Paul, who the love of John, who the virtue of all the saints? by whom this armour goes forth, and affirms that these things which are preached are true. There follows:

5. *Thy two breasts are as two young roes that are twins, which feed among the lilies. 6. Till the day breathe, and the shadows decline.*

These are the breasts which we suck, from which we receive our increase, that we may please Christ the King, the two Testaments, of which the one is preparatory, the other consummating. That is preparatory which was given by Moses, in which it promises concerning Christ those things which we now see fulfilled concerning him in the New Testament; for this was the first prophecy, wherein the Lord [1258B] says 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 [n: (Gen. III, 15)]. » Setting forth therefore the blessed virgin, at whose heel, that is, at her outermost part, whereby the serpent lying in wait « saw » the earth, the serpent, that he might not prevail in his bite, was crushed by that very heel of hers. Her first seed, by Adam's teaching, appeared as Abel the just, who, offering a lamb, foreshewed the passion of Christ, and confessing it, fell therein innocent and a martyr. In this seed Seth « the numerable » and Henoch, Noe also saving the world by wood, and Abraham not sparing his own son, and Moses himself saying thus: « A prophet [1258C] shall God raise up to you of the midst of your brethren, like unto me, and he shall put his words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that he shall command him. But he that will not hear his words, which he shall speak in the name of God, he himself shall be the avenger [n: (Deut. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. » [var: Vulg. has God himself speaking in the first person throughout, "I will raise them up a prophet … I will be the avenger," and "like to thee"] And Isaias, bearing witness to this, says, « Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son [n: (Isa. VII, 14)]. » Jeremias says thereto, « The Lord shall make a new thing upon the earth, and a woman shall compass a man [n: (Jer. XXXI, 22)]. » [var: Vulg. puts the verb in the perfect, "the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth"] Ezechiel affirming this says, « This gate shall be shut, and it shall not be opened, and a man shall not pass through it, and it shall be shut to the Prince [n: (Ezech. XLIV, 2)]. » And Daniel says, « when the Holy of holies shall have come, the anointing shall cease among you [n: (Dan. IX, 24)]. » [var: Vulg. at this place says rather that the Holy of holies may be anointed, and knows nothing of an anointing that ceases] Thus running through the whole Old Testament, thou wilt be able to find in it, in its promises, in its holocausts, [1258D] in its sacrifices, a certain preparation for the New Testament. But the New Testament is that which we hear, which we read, which we attest with Christ as its author, and, this now having its standing, the old perished, save that it bore faithful witness to the truth of this one. These are the breasts, « as two young roes, » which, when thou wouldst grasp them, will straightway flee from thee, and thou seest them climb up on high: for the understanding of man does not take in the lofty mysteries of the just, nor has faith any merit, for which human reason affords proof. Faith therefore is to be followed in these things, and let human reason wholly hold its peace in the confession [1259A] of the Trinity and in the truth of the Unity, in the mystery of the Incarnation and the sacrament of the Passion, in that gift of the altar which we offer, and let it venerate and love that which faith preaches (for these « feed among the lilies, » that is, they receive faith from those assemblies of the saints who, like lilies, stand before God, and receive from him the splendour of everlasting glory) until we stand with them, when the day of judgment shall have breathed, and these shadows of *igorantiae*, which for the present hinder us, shall have been wholly done away. There follows:

*I will go to the mountain of myrrh, to the hill of frankincense.*

The present seven having been run through in praise of the Church, lest he make delay in pursuing this through the remaining members, he does that which belongs to a lover: he desires to see [1259B] what he loves, and to be present with her whom he magnifies with so great praise. Whence he says, « I will go to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense, » that is, I myself will visit the Church in person, which is the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense. But the mountain of myrrh is the height of mortification; of which the Apostle says, « Mortify your members which are upon the earth: fornication, uncleanness, lust, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is the service of idols [n: (Col. III, 5)]. » And the Church mortifies these things by considering the things that are above, where there is nothing, nor can be, of those things which have been named. But the hill of frankincense is the humility of prayer, whereby the Church raises herself on high, and, as from the censer of the heart, ascends like the smoke of frankincense. For by these [1259C] virtues the Church, or every faithful soul, is cleansed in the mortification of vice, striving in prayer, washing herself with tears, that, her filth being washed away, she may appear beautiful to the Bridegroom; whose endeavour he himself assists, and, praising his own work in her, he says:

7. *Thou art all beautiful, my friend, and there is not a spot in thee.*

And this indeed is the cause why I should go, because thou art « all beautiful, and there is not a spot in thee, » whose fulness he fully describes, setting last that which is first: for unto this spiritual beauty the first thing is that in the washing of baptism, or in the shedding of blood, the spots be blotted out: then that the spiritual virtues which please God be taken on, so that the Bridegroom, piously desiring her adorned in her head and in her members, [1259D] may come to her, and that a holy dwelling in her may please him. Whence he says:

8. *Come from Libanus, my bride, come from Libanus, come: thou shalt be crowned from the head of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards.*

For Libanus is interpreted « a whitening; » whence she also, flooded with the light of the virtues, is called forth to come to God, inasmuch as to her it is thrice said, « Come, » that, perfected in faith and gladdened in hope, she may draw near to him, and, refreshed with the eternal fulness of brightness, may rejoice together with him: which joy indeed is noted, when it is said, Thou shalt be crowned from the head of Amana; » which [1260A] crown indeed is proved to be made from the summit of Amana, from the top of Sanir and Hermon. For « Amana » is a mountain of Cilicia, which is called « Restless, » or, « Turbulent, » designating the men of the world, who, out of avarice and desire of passing things, are always found restless and troubled. « Sanir » is a mountain in Judea, which is interpreted « Stench, » signifying those whose bodies are stirred by the burnings of luxuries, and are defiled. But « Hermon » is a mountain of Judea, which is also interpreted « Anathema, » and signifies those who, lifted up through pride, are so carried away that they have no communion with the Lord, who says, « God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble [n: (Jac. IV, 6)]. » What then is it, that the crown of his beloved is made out of these summits, unless that they who [1260B] had been troubled and overthrown by the filthy desire of things are fully converted to Christ; and that they whose bodies innumerable luxuries were tearing asunder embrace and love Christ alone; that they also who preferred themselves to all others are humbled even unto death for Christ, and say, « For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain [n: (Phil. I, 21)]. » By these therefore the Church is crowned and exalted; and embracing them in one word, he subjoins and says: « From the dens of lions, and from the mountains of leopards. » For these mountains are dens, that is, places in which lions take their rest. For malignant spirits are called « lions, » which lie down in those in whom the aforesaid vices now reign. But the « mountains » of leopards are those [1260C] in which virtue is mingled with vice, and that which is called hypocrisy rejoices to be honoured by all, the vice being covered with the cloak of virtue. And so, these who had been mountains of leopards and dens of lions being converted to God with a pure mind, the leopards, that is, embracing purity, and the lions loving simplicity and humility, a crown is prepared for the bride, which is now shewn to be for her a sign of victory, in that she has overcome the world. There follows:

9. *Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my bride, thou hast wounded my heart.*

## 4. (cont.)

The Church, which is rightly called the bride of this highest King, purchased by his blood, consists in a division of two parts; one which is already perfect, the other not yet perfect. That one is perfect which has long since entered [1260D] upon the ways of life, which long ago went in the counsel of the good, and stood in the way of the same, and established for itself a seat in the chair of prudence. This one long ago left its darkness behind in Egypt, escaped the persecution of Pharao, and saw him, as he pursued, extinguished in the midst of the waves, because it knew that his power was made void by the waters of baptism. This one, following Moses in the desert, beheld the great works of God, and deserved to hear the words of his law brought forth from his mouth, which indeed it held so long, until it heard the Lord saying to Moses and to the people: « I will raise you up a prophet of the midst of your brethren, like to thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, [1261A] and he shall speak to them all that I shall command him. But he that will not hear his words, which he shall speak in my name, I will be the avenger [n: (Deut. XXVIII, 18, 19)]. » In this I would rightly count together all the fathers of the Old Testament, the patriarchs and the prophets; in the New Testament the apostles, the martyrs, and the confessors: these indeed are all joined and united to God, so that they are one spirit with him, that is, of one spirit with him; for they will that which he wills, and will not that which he wills not: so that there is no discord in them, whom he has himself taken with him into glory. To these I would rightly number the elect of God, living in the flesh, yet knowing nothing of the flesh, so far as is lawful, and long since « fortified » for God by the Spirit of God, to whom « to live is Christ, and to die is gain » ; saying continually to God: [1261B] Draw us after thee, that in the odour of thy ointments we may come to thee; this one indeed is perfect. But that one is imperfect which has lately received the faith, but has not yet fulfilled the works of God: it has indeed known the Lord, that he is good, but, not yet having attained the works of his goodness, it says with the Prophet, « For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what have I desired upon earth? » [n: (Psal. LXXII, 25.)] It has not yet left house, nor father, nor mother; not yet has this poor one followed the poor Christ. Others, having left father and mother, kinsfolk and children, houses and fields, do indeed follow Christ, yet do not deserve to attain him fully: the flesh presses hard, which stirs up and invites the one abiding in the flesh [1261C] to the allurements of the flesh and to its innumerable works: the adversary too presses hard, who assists this persuasion of the flesh, promising long times for penitence, and that, after the desires have been fulfilled, God, if he has been offended, being a merciful and appeasable Judge, can easily be recalled to pardon by tears. Whence also it laments, saying: « Oh! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? » [n: (Rom. VII, 24.)] And so it runs back over the times that are past, considering infancy, boyhood, and adolescence, judging youth and manhood and old age, condemning each single thing wherein it offended God, cleansing and purging itself also by penitence of heart, and confession of mouth, and satisfaction of work, by abstinence and discipline, by prayer and alms, by vigils and teaching, calling down the heavenly mercy upon itself; its sins [1261D] being forgiven, the more deeply it sinned, the more abundantly it now burns, saying, « Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my bride; » as if it should say: O thou worthily espoused to God by works, who art justly called the bride of God, yet thou art my sister, since to us God is one Father by creation, and the Church one mother by generation; with the Bridegroom thou canst do much: shew for a sister what thou canst; the wound of love which I have borne in imitating thee, I beseech thee to enlarge, to spread charity wide in me, and by thy holy intercession to bring me through to that perfection wherein thou rejoicest. There follows:

*In one of thine eyes.*

The eyes of the Church are two, one of action, the other [1262A] of contemplation; one wherewith it looks upon its neighbour, the other wherewith it sees God; one wherewith it looks upon the needs of its neighbour, the other wherewith it searches out God and the heavenly secrets. In that eye therefore which is toward its neighbour, which is directed to his needs, it does not ask that regard be had to itself; but in that wherewith it sees God, wherewith eternity contemplates [cj: *aeternitas*; read *aeternitatem*, "wherewith eternity is contemplated"], wherewith it understands the secrets which lie hidden from a man living in the flesh, what is the breadth, what the length, what the height, and what the depth. For because God is charity, and the length of charity is the same as that which is God's; and as God is from eternity, so from eternity charity has existed, and as God is unto eternity, so unto eternity charity shall abide toward his creatures: this indeed is the length of God. But because there is no greater love than that [1262B] a man lay down his soul for his friends: his breadth stood forth in this, that he laid down his soul for his friends, that those whom he had had as enemies he might convert into the unity of faith, of charity, and of peace. But the height of God is in this, that everything which is, is from God; corporeal things indeed, God knitting together the parts of which they consist; spiritual things, God conferring upon them the life whereby they live, whereby they have understanding, whereby by a wonderful opening of the mind they understand the existence of all things: yet these are finite, beyond which thou wouldst understand nothing save God. And this is the height of God; from which he came down into the Virgin, from which he came down upon the cross, that thus at least, being himself man, he might restore by the power of his death all who should confess and believe him to be man. [1262C] But the depth is that of hell, into which he descended, that he might snatch thence those in whom he might recognize the seed of his mother: as was said by the Lord in the chief and first prophecy: « I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed; » understanding all to be her seed who should believe that he was to be born, or was born, of her seed, who, being without part in sin, should snatch the world from sin. There follows:

*And in one hair of thy neck.*

That is, In the unity of the hairs of thy neck; which hairs are as one hair. For the hairs are those which come down from the head upon the body, adorning the face and covering the neck; which are all so bound and joined in unity that they seem to be one hair. These are the several [1262D] persons of the saints, who, since they are all from God, strain toward him in such great charity and contemplation that they all seem as one; according to that saying, « And the multitude of believers had but one heart and one soul [n: (Act. IV, 32)]: » this part therefore, desiring to have part in this multitude, says, « Thou hast wounded my heart; » not indeed with the wound of death, which is declared to be deadly, but with that wound whereby life is conceived unto God, is nourished, and is perfected. Desiring therefore to be more wounded with this wound, and desiring to be more enlightened with this light wherewith God is seen, it says twice, « Thou hast wounded my heart, my sister, my bride, thou hast wounded my heart, » desiring that a third wound [1263A] be laid upon it, wherein it may not hang in hope, but may rejoice in the apprehension of that thing which it desires. There follows:

10. *How beautiful are thy breasts, my sister, my bride! thy breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the odour of thy ointments above all spices.*

This is a worthy commendation of a sister by a sister; for it says: O thou who hast deserved to be worthily called the bride of God, who yet hast not denied that thou art a sister to me, « how beautiful are thy breasts! » that is, how beautiful is the teaching of thy breasts for the consolation of the weak, and the sustaining of little ones? And it makes these breasts manifest by a repetition of praise, saying, « Thy breasts are more beautiful than wine, and the odour of thy ointments above all spices. » Concerning which, [1263B] because we have shewn that which the Lord gave, we forbear for the time to repeat these things. There follows:

11. *A dropping honeycomb, thy lips, O bride.*

The sister still perseveres in the praise of the bride, saying: « A dropping honeycomb, thy lips, O bride » of Christ. Nothing is sweeter than a honeycomb; and of the divine words it is said: « How sweet are thy words to my palate! more than honey to my mouth [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 103)]. » For a honeycomb is honey in wax, that is, the spiritual sense of the words in the letter, dropping from the wax, which is as the letter, the spiritual understanding, allegorical, or moral, or anagogical. Or because all the divine words preach the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, in which divers natures are joined, as honey is hidden in the wax which lies open, so the divinity in the flesh. [1263C] Therefore the lips of this bride are compared to a dropping honeycomb, which are proved not to keep silence concerning the testimonies of the divine incarnation.

*Honey and milk are under thy tongue.*

For they who preach his incarnation have honey and milk under the tongue, proclaiming God in the sweetness of honey, and testifying to the innocent man in the milk which is gathered from the earth. For honey is from heaven, because the virgin bee receives it from the heavenly dew, and gathers what she has conceived into the wax; so also the virgin mother conceived from heaven the conceived Son of God, clothed him conceived with flesh, refreshed him clothed with the nourishment of milk, and thus presented life to the world out of herself. Deservedly therefore are they said to have these things under the tongue, who, [1263D] meditating on them in the heart and testifying to them with the tongue, hold them by memory, and in preaching announce them.

*And the odour of thy garments is as the odour of frankincense.*

Garments cover the body, defend it from cold, and if they are more elegant, afford adornment, and confer grace upon the possessor. This the virtues confer upon souls, without which they are naked, and exposed to the colds which come from the north wind, where he has set his seat who has taken care to chill all things: but from this cold those souls are safe which have now left the world, which, following Christ more closely, have deserved to hear: « Come to me, you that labour and are burdened, and I will refresh you [n: (Matth. XI, 28.)]: » whom [1264A] indeed he well refreshes, while he commands them to spurn the world, and to seek God, and to cleave to these things with the whole mind. The soul indeed clothed with right faith, clothed with humility and penitence, clothed with confession and with satisfaction of every kind, when it now hopes well of pardon, and clothes itself with charity of every kind, and, exercising itself in this solicitude as much as it can, now uses garments in which it is pleasing to God, whose odour is best, and the fragrance sweet, « as the odour of frankincense. » Frankincense indeed, set upon the fire, gives forth from itself a most sweet odour: so the virtues, mingled with the fire of charity, bestow here a good example upon the peoples, and give pleasing honour to the Lord, and a most sweet odour. There follows:

*[1264B]*

## 12.

*A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride, a garden enclosed, a fountain sealed up.*

With beautiful praise she has extolled her sister; she has praised her eyes and the unity of her hairs; she has commended the comeliness of her breasts, and the odour of her ointments, her lips and her tongue, together with the odour of her garments; now she designates the place where such things are laid up: they are laid up indeed in a garden enclosed; and not merely enclosed, but enclosed again. Which garden, twice enclosed, is understood to be she herself, to whom it is thus said: « A garden enclosed, my sister, my bride. » For a garden is called a pleasant place, where flowers give forth their scent, where little beds of divers kinds grow green, where pigments and incenses answer to the balsam, where the shade of any fruit-bearing trees affords a sweet seat and dwelling to one who wishes to rest. A garden of this kind [1264C] is the Church, which has now been received by God, or is being prepared to be received in the near future, which does not delay to present to God the virtue of good works, the appearance also of holiness (which is designated by the balsam or by the other spices), and the shade wherein the Lord may shew himself, in which he may rest and take delight, and to present her very self. This indeed is a garden enclosed. By what enclosing? By the bar of faith indeed; for true faith shuts her in and fortifies her on every side, so that in no part of her does the enemy find a door or an opening whereby he may come to her, by tempting or by in any degree assaulting her: who is again called « a garden enclosed; » but by what enclosing? she shews it, saying, « A fountain sealed up; » as if she should say: Thou art shut in by faith, and not by faith only, but also [1264D] by baptism; for the Church has received baptism, which is the fountain sealed up, in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. And wheresoever the enemy finds this worthily kept, he flees, he vanishes, and, as wax before the face of the fire, so indeed he melts away. There follows:

13. *Thy sendings forth are a paradise of pomegranates, with the fruits of apples.*

« The sendings forth » are good words and works, whereby the Church begets and nourishes martyrs, and sends them over to heaven; others, living holily, she sets forth as an example to their neighbours, and thus sends forth the fruits of pomegranates. The pomegranate shuts up under a red rind a multitude of grains, and its fruit sweetly refreshes: [1265A] so they who pour out their blood for Christ gather to themselves a multitude of virtues: others who, living in peace, work good things, instruct their neighbours and refresh them; and both send forth the odour of the virtues, as it were a paradise of sweetness: for « Paradise » in Greek is in Latin called « a Garden, » or « an irrigation. » But there is a paradise in us, when the soul is animated and quickened by the virtues, and by the infusion of the Holy Ghost, bearing fruit in the nurseries of the virtues, in which God has chiefly set the tree of life, that is, the root of piety; for that is the substance of our life, if we render to God the worship that is due; let the just man therefore abide in paradise, that against the heats of the body and the burning of the flesh he may be cooled by the shade of the virtues, and be guarded by their helps; which is, « with the fruits of [1265B] apples. » For pomegranates are they who depart hence crowned with their own blood: but those fruits which are called only apples are they who, although they are not called martyrs, yet follow after God with honesty of life and with the confession of the true faith. There follows:

*Cyprus with spikenard. 14. Spikenard and saffron, sweet cane and cinnamon, with all the trees of Libanus, myrrh and aloes, with all the chief ointments.*

This is drawn back to that which was said, « Thy sendings forth are a paradise of pomegranates: » not pomegranates only are sent forth by thee; nay rather « cyprus with spikenard, » and the rest that follow, are thy sendings forth. The cyprus is an aromatic tree, with a white seed [1265C] and of good odour, which is boiled in oil, and thence is made an ointment which is called cyprus, wherewith princes also are anointed, that they may lift themselves above others in lofty virtues; and but if with the spikenard [cj: *sin*; read *sit*, "and let it be with the spikenard"], which is lowly, and a herb fragrant and warming, and signifying charity: intimating this, that a prince, however much he excel others in virtue, should always cleave to them in the charity which is designated by the spikenard. « Spikenard and saffron. » Saffron is of a golden colour, designating the divine wisdom, which it is needful that a prince observe, having that before his eyes: « The greater thou art, humble thyself in all things *(Sirac III, 20)*; » and that other: « He that humbleth himself shall be exalted, and he that exalteth himself shall be humbled [n: (Luc. XIV, 31)]. » -- « Sweet cane and cinnamon. » The sweet cane indeed, which is also called cassia, is an aromatic tree, [1265D] but small, of a sturdy and purple bark, which avails for the curing of the troubles of the bowels, and which, by reason of its shortness, is reckoned by some among the odoriferous herbs: it signifies the humble in spirit, who, mindful of the Lord's passion, are prepared to suffer for the Lord. But cinnamon is a short tree, yet odoriferous and sweet, of an ashen colour, availing for the use of medicine, surpassing the sweet cane twofold; signifying those who reckon themselves weak, whose humility has praise and sweetness with God. And well is the cinnamon of ashen colour set after the purple sweet cane, because through the remembrance of the Lord's passion there arises in us a despising of our own virtue. [1266A] « With all the trees of Libanus. » For as the sweet cane and the cinnamon shew the humble thoughts of the saints, so also the trees of Libanus, which are tall and sturdy, shew the lofty actions and prayers of the saints. « Myrrh and aloes with all the trees of Libanus. » Myrrh and aloes are the continence of the flesh, and chastity, which mortify the rottenness of luxury. But myrrh renders the body incorruptible: so bitterness and patience fortify and defend souls against carnal concupiscences. For the kinds of spices are the honour and the advancement of the divers virtues which are in the saints. Out of these kinds are made the first and chief ointments, which heal bodies; well therefore do they designate the virtues of souls, which being gathered together and compounded, a good odour goes forth, and health [1266B] is restored. There follows:

15. *The fountain of gardens, the well of living waters which flow with force from Libanus.*

The praise of a sister by a sister is thus repeated, « The fountain of gardens, the well of living waters. » For she it is in whom is the fountain of all the gardens, that is, the Holy Ghost, who, being God, waters the gardens, and brings them forth into buds, and makes them to have flowers, and fruits, and seeds, whereby they please, and for the sake of which they are cultivated. For from him is Scripture, which, begetting the water of wisdom, refreshes, and does not cease to flow; which is well called « of the gardens, » because it belongs especially to those in whom the virtues arise; which is a fountain as far as the surface, a well in the deep. For Scripture in certain [1266C] places is open, and is easily taken in by the understanding: but in others it is obscure, and unless it be expounded it is not understood. Yet the waters which glide down are living, that is, they assuredly lead to life the men for whom they were given, if they be understood: whence it is said, « The stream of the river maketh the city of God joyful: the most High hath sanctified his own tabernacle. « Which flow with force from Libanus [n: (Psal. XLV, 5)]: » which flow out from the heavenly Libanus, that is, from the whiteness of spiritual and heavenly virtues; « with force, » that is, they run down forcibly. For with great force they run down upon Moses, who described the first beginnings of the world, and spoke with God at a time when no man had withstood; with great force upon the prophets, who foretold that God would be man, when he [1266D] was not yet man; with great force upon David, who so ran through all the mysteries that nothing in them is left untouched; with great force upon the apostles, who, renewing the world afresh, preach life to us, and foretell life eternal. There follows:

16. *Arise, O north wind, and come, O south wind, blow through my garden, and let the aromatical spices thereof flow.*

Thus far the Bridegroom has heard the praise of his Bride, distinguished by six clauses, which he now confirms that he approves, saying, « Arise, O north wind. » For God commands every heavenly power, both that which was created in the heavens and was made reprobate by him through the elation of its mind, and those which stood with him, [1267A] and are joined to him by the firm root of charity. And so the Lord, about to come into his garden, that nothing sad may meet him, and that he may find nothing whereby he may be offended, powerfully commands the north wind to arise, to take itself far from that place, to go to foreign nations, to chill them, and to render them like unto itself. But he commands the south wind to come to his garden, and with its soft breath to blow through this garden, so that its aromatical spices may flow, and that a holy habitation may be made and may please God. He says therefore, « Arise, O north wind, » which is, Depart; I have no fellowship with thee, no participation of light with darkness. Let that Spirit of mine come, who may soften the necks of my own, who may turn the rock into water; who may appoint Samuel, an innocent youth, judge of the whole people; who may make David, the boy harper, a king, singing psalms [1267B] in the spirit of prophecy; who may fit Daniel, a youth, to be the judge of elders, the deliverer of the innocent, and Amos also, a countryman distinguishing the mulberries of brambles, to be among the prophets by that same spirit of prophecy; let him come who (that I may come back to modern times) may appoint Peter the fisherman and Paul the persecutor doctors of the whole Church, who willed to have Matthew the publican for an evangelist, and Mary Magdalen for a herald of grace and of the resurrection; who (that I may make mention of her from whom all these things were begun) consecrated Mary, a virgin pure, holy, and untouched, into θεοτόκον, that is, the Mother of God. Therefore, when he blows through my garden, « Let its aromatical spices flow, » that is, The spices which had been bound fast by the blowing of the north wind, that is, the virtues and gifts of God, shall flow, [1267C] shall drop down, and shall be made manifest to all, which hitherto lay hid. There follows:

*Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat the fruits of his apples.* [var: Vulg. has the singular, "the fruit of his apples"]

The word being heard whereby all things were made, which it is not lawful to gainsay, straightway the north wind departs, the holy Spirit is present, and at his coming its aromatical spices flow, and send forth a most sweet odour; and this Bride, hoping that it will please God, says: « Let my beloved come into his garden. » There is nothing in the garden that may hinder, nothing that can now displease by sight, by smell, or by taste; let him come therefore into his garden, « that he may eat the fruit of his apples, » that is, that he may « eat » the apples which are his fruits, that is, incorporate them into himself, and pass them over into his own body. This therefore [1267D] is the general prayer of the whole Church, that the Bridegroom may come by a certain spiritual grace into his garden, that is, into the Church herself, and may visit her trees and her herbs and her spice-bearing beds, and pluck of them, and taste apples of divers kinds, which are indeed as many as there are divers observances, constitutions, and divers customs in the Church of God: for this diversity of apples denotes the virtues of the divers Churches throughout the world, differing indeed from one another in something, yet without doubt running together into the service of the Bridegroom. For apples are whatsoever fruits are held to be of a tender rind, whereon the Bride desires her Bridegroom to feed, that is, to be delighted with every kind of virtue whereby the Churches stand and minister. [1268A] As this is the general prayer of the Church, so it can be the particular prayer of every faithful soul, that he may come into her, who is discerned to be his garden, and refresh himself with the variety of those virtues which are in her. There follows:

## CHAPTER V.

1. *I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have reaped my myrrh with my spices.*

The Bridegroom answers those who are held back by desire, and testifies that he has already done the things which she was asking, saying: « I am come into my garden. » And because a sister, addressing a sister, has long used this name, « Sister, » that he may conform himself to her, he answers her with the same word, saying, « My sister, my bride, » as though joined and allied to me by my own blood. « Sister, » because we have one [1268B] Father, God, and one mother, the Church, which refreshes us with her sacraments. He says therefore, « My sister, my bride, » I long since came into my garden, and I have applied this sign of my coming, « I have reaped my myrrh, that is, With a certain sickle of death I have cut them off in this life, and have led them into the storehouses of eternal blessedness: the martyrs who suffered bitter things for me, or even all the others, who have crucified the flesh with its vices and concupiscences: « With my spices, » that is, with all those who are marked out by the report of good works, and therefore worthy of much veneration and renowned. This myrrh indeed he reaped, when he received Abel the first martyr from the hand of Cain: this also he reaped, when he snatched Noe, and Abraham, and all whom he knew to be the seed of his mother, from the curse. [1268C] There follows:

*I have eaten the honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk.*

The honeycomb holds honey within wax, and when it is taken, it fills him who takes it with great sweetness: so when the preacher of an obscure word expresses the sweetness which is contained in it, he pleases God indeed, and in so far as God is delighted in him, he is taken up and incorporated. « I have drunk my wine with my milk. » The preacher of an obscure word pleases, when its sweetness has been expressed; so also the preacher of a word which is not obscure pleases by its gladness and by the sweetness mingled with it, and is taken up into his body. There follows:

*Eat, friends, and drink, and be inebriated most dear ones.*

[1268D]The Bridegroom, invited to the garden of delights, has used the delights in it, the honey wherewith he was fed, and the wine which he drank: now therefore, lest he seem to keep his banquet to himself alone, lest he be thought to enjoy these things alone, he performs the work of charity, and inviting his friends, that is, the heavenly virtues, to the same, he says, « Eat friends, » that is, be refreshed with the same delights as I, you whom from of old I have perceived to be friends; and « be inebriated most dear ones, » you whom I held dear, when I created you; and most dear, when I confirmed you in the grace of my charity: « Be inebriated, » that is, forgetful of all anxiety, be made glad with the wine of joyfulness. There follows:

2. *I sleep, and my heart watcheth.*

[1269A]The Lord came, being invited, to his garden; he was fed with honey, and drank wine; which refreshment indeed is an incitement to sleep. Whence also, that he may show that same place to be one of rest, and not of laborious working, the Bridegroom says, « I sleep. » Which sleep indeed was fulfilled in Abraham; to whom, sleeping after the sacrifice, the Lord thus said, « Know beforehand that thy seed shall be a stranger in a land not their own, and they shall bring them under bondage, and afflict them four hundred years. Nevertheless the nation which they shall serve, I will judge: and after this they shall come out with great substance. But thou shalt go to thy fathers in peace, and be buried in a good old age. And in the fourth generation they shall return hither: for as yet the iniquities of the Amorrhites are not complete, [1269B] even to the present time [n: (Gen. XV, 13-16)]. » Behold with how watchful a heart the Lord spoke to the sleeping old man, to whom he plainly foretold things that should come hereafter, after four hundred years [n: (Gen. XXVIII, 12)]. The Lord slept also in Jacob, under whose head a stone was set, and he saw a ladder standing upon the earth, touching heaven with its top, and the angels of God ascending and descending by it. Behold with how watchful a heart the Lord spoke to this man, showing him angels ascending, who were presenting to the Lord, leaning upon the ladder from above, the good, who had served him by virtue and had given him their labour through grace; and others descending, who should snatch out from them by grace such as were wrapped in sins, and raise them up, and, when they had been presented [1269C] to the Lord, should make them one body with the rest. The Bridegroom slept also in Joseph, and watched most fully in the heart, that is, in the soul wherein is the seat of the heart [n: (Gen. XXXVII, 7)]: for he saw himself and his brethren binding sheaves in the field, and his own sheaf standing upright, and his brethren's sheaves standing round about and adoring his sheaf. And likewise he saw the sun, and the moon, and eleven stars adoring him [n: (ibid., 11)]. The understanding of these things the Bridegroom opened to his father and to his brethren; for the brethren said: « Shalt thou be our king? or shall we be subject to thy dominion? » [n: (Ibid., 8.)] In like manner the father also said, « Shall I and thy mother and thy brethren adore thee upon the earth? » [n: (Ibid., 10.)] The Lord sleeps also in certain men, and in others he watches in heart, when for some he preserves the memory of the vision, and to others [1269D] he affords the understanding of it [n: (Gen. XL)]. For the ministers of Pharao saw dreams, and telling them to Joseph, both of them received the understanding of their own dream. For the one was restored to his place [n: (Gen. XLI)]; the other, being hanged, perished. Pharao also slept, and, watchful in heart, he beheld seven fat oxen feeding in the marsh, and seven others, foul and wasted with leanness, devouring them, whose appearance and habit of body was wonderful. He testified also that he had seen thin ears, and stricken with blight, devour the beauty of seven other ears. For whom, when he watched in heart unto understanding, who declared to him the abundance of seven years to come; and the famine of seven [1270A] years. The Bridegroom slept also in Nabuchodonosor, who, when he saw the vision, it was revealed to him neither unto memory nor unto understanding; which indeed was laid open to Daniel out of a watchful heart, when he said: « Thou, O king, sawest, and behold as it were a great statue. The head thereof was of the finest gold, but the breast and the arms of silver [n: (Dan. II, 31, 32)]. » Thus indeed he revealed the dream to him, and consequently showed him its mystery and the understanding of it. Such then is that which is said, « I sleep, » that is, whom I will I make to sleep; but while the outward sense is lulled, the inward mind freely contemplates those things which God provides with a watchful heart. But if thou refer it to the passion, such is that which is said, « I sleep, » that is, enduring on the cross the labour of death, thereafter I rest from [1270B] death. « The heart » however « that is mine, » that is, the wisdom of God, to which my heart is the seat, this same « watcheth, » that is, it watchfully preserves, orders, and disposes all things. There follows:

*The voice of my beloved knocking, open, my sister, friend, my dove, my undefiled.* [var: Vulg. *Aperi mihi, soror mea, amica mea*, "Open to me, my sister, my friend"]

While the Bridegroom sleeps in the garden, after a long delay, lest she herself should seem shamelessly to search into his secrets, this bride betakes herself into her own dwelling, the bridegroom being left in that same place under the guard of his friends. Yet meditating upon him in her heart, seeking him, and preparing herself, that she may be able worthily to meet him when he comes to her, and to make ready things pleasing to him when he comes. But the Bridegroom, roused from sleep after the delay, knowing that she had gone away and was anxious for him, does that [1270C] which belongs to a lover: he follows her, and finding the door shut, he knocks at it, saying: « Open to me, my sister; » as if he should say, Receive me coming to thee; reject me not, who seek a dwelling in thee; but be earnest to open to me the door of thy mouth, the dwelling of thy heart within thee, I who, seeking thee alone, desire to find thee, who art « my sister, my friend, my undefiled, my dove. » There is no need to linger in setting forth these names, since from what has already been said they may easily be understood. Yet there is need that we consider how much he wills to be heard, who willed her to be called to him by so many names of affection. There follows:

*For my head is full of dew, and my locks of the drops of the nights.*

[1270D]The cause why the Bridegroom asks that it be opened to him, he shows by these words, saying: « For my head is full of dew. » For thus he shows that he lay down and fell asleep not under a roof, but in the garden; for the garden, as has been said, has no roof; it receives none under a roof, but to him who rests in it the holy shades of the holy trees afford a remedy. Whence he says, here I, falling asleep by night, bring back my head full of dew, and my locks with the drops of the nights: *For dew cometh by night, by night it stealeth beneath*
*the grasses, and with what continuance that one is stretched out*
*it followeth her, and, sitting upon the topmost crown, a drop*
*it maketh, and thus maketh a certain shadow of rain*.

[1271A]This is the dew whereby the grasses grow green again, whereby the plantings sprout, whereby the fruitfulness of the earth is opened, and gladness is plenteously poured abroad upon all in common. The Bridegroom therefore, willing that his Bride be steeped in this dew, willing that she herself be filled with these drops, which are formed by night, that is, apart from the knowledge of men, asks that it be opened to him, saying: « Open to me; » and adding the cause, he says: « For my head is full of dew. For the head of Christ is God, in whom all the fulness of wisdom and knowledge is known to dwell, whom they that receive Christ are known to have in themselves indeed, and his gifts also; and « with the drops of the nights, » that is, with the heavenly virtues, which were conferred [1271B] upon them by night, that is, when man did not yet exist, nor had any knowledge of them. There follows:

3. *I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them?*

The Bride, hearing the voice of the Bridegroom knocking and desiring to come in to her, the dew which the Bridegroom desires to bring in, and the drops of the nights, being not yet understood, is affrighted, and, not answering the Bridegroom, speaks to herself, and makes her words to herself, saying, « I have put off my garment, how shall I put it on? » For thinking that she is called back to her former and ancient manner of life, and fearing to be entangled in these worldly affairs for her neighbour's necessity, and complaining, yet not answering the Bridegroom, she says to herself, « I have put off my garment, » that is, I have been stripped of my ancient manner of life, and have been converted to Christ in baptism, and have been knit to him by the [1271C] preaching of good men: in what manner shall I now put that on? in what manner shall I embrace what I know not? whence she says, « I have washed my feet, how shall I defile them? » Her feet indeed are her affections, which she washed by believing, by acquiescing in the exhortations of the saints, by hearing Paul, who says, « Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and impurities, not in contention and envy. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ [n: (Rom. XIII, 13, 14)]. » In what manner shall I defile these? how, by departing from them, shall I bend myself to the manners of the world which I had cast away? It is indeed to be feared to return to the action of the world, which cannot long be carried on without sin. There follows:

[1271D]

## 4.

*My beloved put his hand through the hole, and my belly trembled at his touch.*

Her excuse having been reverently made beforehand within herself, yet no answer having been made to the Bridegroom, she next shows what her beloved had done for her, saying: « My beloved put his hand through the hole, and my belly trembled at his touch. » Whence blessed Gregory thus says, « Bountiful is the mercy of God, which alike opens the gate of life to all who are converted after their sins, that they may know the mysteries of the heavenly country, and by knowing may thirst, by thirsting may run, by running may arrive. » These secrets of the heavenly visitation he had felt [1272A] who says, « My soul hath thirsted after the living God [n: (Psal. XLI, 3)]: » and blessed Paul, saying, « I desire to be dissolved, and to be with Christ [n: (Phil. I, 23)]. » Blessed Ambrose also says hereupon, our hole, that is, that whereby we see the works of Christ, namely, the eye of the mind, through which Christ enters, whereby we truly know him to be God, whereby we ourselves most joyfully sing with the Prophet, « Wonderful are thy testimonies, O Lord, therefore hath my soul sought them [n: (Psal. CXVIII, 119)]. » And likewise that, « Thy testimonies are become exceedingly credible [n: (Psal. XCII, 5)]. » Which testimonies indeed are his wonderful works, which, while all marvelled, he wrought in the flesh. Hence restoring paralytics, cleansing lepers, raising the dead, and finally healing all sicknesses, [1272B] by his word alone, whereby all things were created and abide for ever. Which things the world seeing, and marvelling at the testimonies, declared them to be true; and if they were false, they would receive from falsehood no effect of power. Whence she says, « My belly, » that is, I, made wholly belly, trembled and was afraid. For the belly lacks bone, it has no share in firmness, what is let into it, this it receives, and renders it digested: so also our humanity, not withstanding the divine works, trembles wholly, and is affrighted that God has been made man; yet the things which have been given from above, these it acknowledges with the mouth, loves with the heart, and, being touched by the gifts of the Holy Spirit, trembling, it says, « My belly trembled at his touch. But being touched, she shows what she did, saying:

*[1272C]*

## 5.

*I arose up to open to my beloved: my hands dropped with myrrh.*

« I arose up, » that is, I shook off from me the burden of sins wherewith I was weighed down. Whence it is said, « Rise, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten thee [n: (Ephes. V, 14)]. » Rising, I also admonished others, that they should rise: to these I showed in myself the pattern of a good work, and, opening the door whereby they might enter in to the beloved, I dropped upon them with my hands the first myrrh, and with my fingers the most approved myrrh. But myrrh, wherewith the bodies of the dead are anointed, and are guarded from rottenness and corruption, signifies the mortification of the flesh, wherewith the spirit is well anointed, while by that saving continence which is wrought [1272D] through fastings, through abstinence, through watchings, and other things of this kind, the flesh is called back from the allurements of luxury, and is adorned with the blessed end of continence: she declares that she has dropped this with her own hands, that is, has shown it forth in all her works, saying, « My hands dropped with myrrh. » And therefore she adds « the first, » because that which flows first from the tree, this the more effectually keeps bodies from corruption. But she shows that she has dropped this, that she may show that she has watched very greatly in the pursuits of frugality. There follows:

*And my fingers were full of the most approved myrrh.*

In which place she opens the virtue of « tearing apart » [cj: *discerptionis*; read *discretionis*, "of discretion"]: for by the fingers discretion is shown: [1273A] because after it is touched by the touch of the finger, that is understood by a certain sure reasoning of the mind. Whence, lest in this guardianship of chastity the measure be exceeded, it is added, « My fingers full of the most approved myrrh. » Myrrh indeed is approved with a wife, more approved with a continent widow, most approved with a holy virgin abiding so. There follows:

6. *I opened the bolt of my door to my beloved.*

Lest the approach to the beloved should be shown to lie in the continence of chastity alone, this is added: « Of my door I opened the bolt, » that is, I removed the silence of the mouth, wherewith until now I was held back, and I opened my mouth, and drew in the spirit, and because I desired thy commandments, those things which thou hast commanded me to keep, and which thou hast willed to be commanded and kept by all thine, these [1273B] I opened, these I admonished men to keep, that so they might approach the Bridegroom, and be pleasing to my beloved. There follows:

*But he had turned aside, and was gone.*

It has been said that she arose that she might open, and fitted her hands, that is, her works, that she might preach; that she admonished all to continence, that so they might approach the Bridegroom, and thus removed the *possulum* of the door, that all might cleave to Christ, and so possess him. « But he had turned aside, » lest, being laid hold on, he should be held; « and was gone, » that is, far surpassing what can be said or promised of him, he had withdrawn himself into that delightfulness which neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man, which he himself prepares for them that love him. Which indeed is so done, that [1273C] neither may a sluggish soul cease to seek him, nor may one that labours reckon that she has fully comprehended him. There follows:

*My soul melted when he spoke.*

This beloved had gone; but behold, after his manner, he now returns. He had knocked, he was asking that it be opened to him, and when the Bride rose up to open to him, he himself passed by, and did not suffer himself to be found even by her that sought him. This is the act of the inward man; for he sometimes seeks God, and does not find him. He is found also when the slothful man has now ceased to seek him. For behold this Bride has now risen, she has now held the bolt that she might open, and, not finding him who was knocking, she stood amazed within herself; but God, [1273D] beholding her amazed and marvelling, lest his absence long afflict her, returns to console her, that she may be gladdened by his speech. These therefore are the signs of his coming. As wax melts at the fire, and white snow at the sun, so at the coming of her Bridegroom this Bride was melted, and was changed from that sloth and hardness which she had already gathered in herself. For thus she says, « My soul melted, » that is, from hard and impenitent, penitent; from impatient, compassionate; from unmerciful, merciful; passing from every state of the vices, which I had already begun to feel in myself, into the contrary state of virtue, I melt, and, being now joined to God, I rejoice together with him. Thus indeed, when she bewails her own sins, when [1274A] she laments the hurts of others, or their misdeeds, when she bewails the state of this misery, to which she is subjected of necessity, thus when she bewails the delay of the glory to come, into which she is not received according to her desire, she is indeed melted, saying, « My soul melted. » These indeed are the four rivers of Paradise, wherein the faithful souls wash themselves, wherein they cleanse themselves, wherein they wash away sins, nourish virtues, and stand in the sight of the divine majesty, without spot and wrinkle, worthily and purely. But by her soul she means all who from Adam even unto the end shall have believed that Christ, the Son of God, was to be born, or was born, of the Virgin, and would redeem the world by his death; all of whom, for the unity of faith, naming them as it were one, she says, « My soul melted. » But she subjoins, « When [1274B] he spoke. »

That this may be the more diligently considered, that saying of blessed Paul is to be weighed; for he says, « In manifold wise and in many manners God of old speaking to the Fathers in the prophets. Last of all in these days he hath spoken to us in the Son [n: (Hebr. I, 1, 2)]. » Here indeed he spoke « in manifold wise » in the prophets, that is, through many words; for the great manifoldness of the sentences which the Lord spoke through them could not be unfolded in few: for a contracted brevity begets obscurity, and that obscurity indeed does not admit of understanding. « And in many manners, » he spoke through them; now indeed historically, now allegorically, now tropologically, now anagogically, mingling his words. « But last of all he hath spoken to us in the Son *(Matth. [1274C] IV, 17)*, » whom, sent forth from the bosom of the Father, brought forth through the womb of his mother, the world heard teaching and saying: « Do penance, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand [n: (Matth. V, 3)]. » And likewise that, « Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. » Blessed are the meek, blessed are they that mourn, blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, blessed are the merciful, blessed are the clean of heart, blessed are the peacemakers, blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. They saw also works wonderful to tell: a leper coming to him, to whom Jesus said: « Be thou made clean [n: (Matth. VIII, 3)], » and forthwith his leprosy was cleansed [n: (ibid., 13)]: saying also to the centurion: « Go, and as thou hast believed, so be it done to thee [1274D] [n: (ibid., 14)]: » and his servant was healed in that hour; touching Simon's mother-in-law sick of a fever, who was straightway healed. They saw him also casting out all malignant spirits by his word, and healing all the blind, the dumb, the deaf, and the lame, and all that were ill at ease; and speaking thus, and confirming his words with signs following, and, that he might be believed the Lord of death and of life, raising the dead, and raising himself, who had been given over to death and laid in the sepulchre, and promising this resurrection to his own in himself in life eternal: what could they do but marvel, be astonished, and believe, and adore? And hearing from him that on the last day he will bring all things to judgment, [1275A] and will say to the good, « Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)]. » For I was hungry, and I thirsted, I was naked, and a stranger, sick, and in prison, and in all these things you helped me. What could they do but be melted, so that they sold their own goods, and bestowed all upon the poor, and gave their very selves to them, and made themselves subject, that so they might fulfil the Gospel. Rightly therefore has every such soul melted, when the Beloved spoke. For there is nothing that the Father loves more than the Son, to whom he bears witness by his own voice at his Baptism, saying, « This is my beloved Son [n: (Matth. III, 17)], » whom above all that are in the world I love, in that I find him in every thought, word, and work, just in all things. [1275B] There follows:

*I sought him, and found him not.*

This soul, or the Bride of God, has testified that she was melted at the voice of the Beloved; whence it might be understood that she had comprehended him, and had from this friendly speech found an end to her labours. Lest anyone conceive this in his heart, she adds, saying, « I sought him, and found him not. » For all the elect souls seek him; they desire, being raised again in their bodies, to stand by his presence; and because this is not yet, but is most certainly promised as to come, she says, « I sought, » that is, I asked the raising again of them all, and I desired that faith [cj: *fidem*; read *finem*, "an end"] be set to all the labours wherein we seek God, and pant after him. Him indeed I longed for, yet I did not find him, [1275C] because until the day appointed by the Father there shall be the waiting for him, and the certain reward of all. Yet it is written, « Every one that asketh, receiveth: and he that seeketh, findeth: and to him that knocketh, it shall be opened [n: (Matth. VII, 8)]. » Which indeed is thus: All the time wherein we live, wherein we run, is present to God; for eternity is the present state of all those things which have been, which are, or which are to come, since therefore the Lord, sitting in the midst of the circle, beholds with one glance the things which have been, which are, and which are to come, all these are judged present to him, by whom in one glance they are clearly beheld. He says therefore, « Every one that asketh, receiveth, » that is, every one who in truth asks that eternal life be given him, and who seeks that the incorruption [1275D] of the Saints be given him, and who knocks for this with multiplied prayers, that it may be granted him to be received into that glory of the saints; he indeed, when that day shall be at hand, is to receive this, to find this, and to be truly brought into that glory, of which it is said, « I will, Father, that where I am, there also may my minister be [n: (Joan. XVII, 24)]. » [var: Vulg. *ut ubi sum ego, et illi sint mecum*, "that they also may be with me"] There follows:

*I called, and he did not answer me.*

Assuredly every elect soul cries to God, saying, « O God, come to my assistance [n: (Psal. LXIX, 2)], » that if at any time he that is malignant tempts, your grace may withstand him, lest he bring to the effect of sin that which was conceived at his instigation. He adds [1276A] also, « O Lord, make haste to help me [n: (ibid.)], » as if he should say, Thou, O God, who protectest us by helping while we are tempted, make haste to bring us to that state wherein neither his suggestion may be able to move us, nor any temptation of his to bend us to evil: which indeed shall then come to pass, when all the multitude of the elect shall be joined to the angels of God, and they shall neither marry, nor be given in marriage, but shall be as the angels of God. There follows:

7. *The keepers that go about the city found me; they struck me, and wounded me, the keepers of the walls took away my cloak from me. 8. I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my Beloved, that you tell him that I languish with love.*

## 5. (cont.)

She has said that he whom she sought was not found, nor did he whom she called answer her. Whence it might rightly be said [1276B] and reckoned that the Bridegroom had left her to her own counsel, and had by right suffered her to be seized by those passing by; which she removes, saying, « The keepers of the city found me. » The city of God is holy Church; he who reigns in her, who disposes all her rights, himself sets keepers over her, who may forbid her both to sin and to enter by the broad way which leads many to death, and may diligently teach her to lay hold of the narrow way of the virtues, which few know, and to enter by the strait gate, until she come to eternal life. These are the keepers of the Church, whom the Lord teaches by his Spirit, whom he fills more abundantly with the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and of fortitude, of knowledge and of piety, and with the spirit of fear; and he bids them pour this abroad throughout the Church, that they may securely lay hold of God, whose [1276C] Spirit this is. But these, to whom this guardianship of souls has been committed, marking this soul, or this multitude of souls, seeking God, and labouring in this very thing, that she may find him, receive her mercifully, receive her devoutly. To these they preach the words of life, in these they mortify whatever sins remain, and in him whom they have received they now kindle them more fully and more keenly with the love of the Godhead. This therefore is what is said, « The keepers of the city found me: they struck me, and wounded me. » For those words strike well which slay sins; and those wound well which make the love of God already conceived to burn more fully, and magnify it. « The keepers of the walls took away my cloak [1276D] from me. » We have already said that the keepers of the Churches are their Prelates. But who are the keepers of her walls, must now be said. For it has been said, Gird us about with thy impregnable wall, O Lord, and protect us always with the arms of thy power. For this city is girt with a wall, and lest it be undermined anywhere, there is need of a guard, lest, if an entrance lie open anywhere to the enemy, he who is within sleep the less securely. This wall of the Church, therefore, is faith, and if it anywhere lie open where it has been broken through, there will now be the less rest for every citizen dwelling therein. But the heavenly citizens, namely, the Angels of God, keep this, bestowing their labour upon this, that Satan pierce it not, that they suffer not the Church to be scandalized or troubled in any [1277A] part of the faith. These therefore are the keepers of the Church, namely, the angels of God, going about her indeed and encompassing her with a rampart, and bestowing their labour that faith be not broken in any part of itself, and that hope be not lessened in anything, and that the charity of God, which is the highest virtue, be not corrupted by growing cold. But these keepers take away the cloak of the Church, establishing faith in her, strengthening hope, rooting charity in her, so that it is now nothing to despise all these earthly things, while she is able to cleave to Christ alone. And this indeed is what she says, « The keepers of the walls took away my cloak. » The cloak indeed is an outward covering, that is, all this earthly substance, which was created for the Church's sake: with this the Church protects herself, fortifies herself. [1277B] But she forsakes and despises the whole of it, when she now sees herself given to God and drawing near to him. She prays therefore, saying, « I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, » that is, ye heavenly Virtues, who are in nothing partakers of this misery, who owe wholly to the heavenly Jerusalem alone what you are, what you savour, that you protect us; « If you find my Beloved » (which indeed it is certain that you will find), « that you tell him, that I languish with love, » that is, for love of him I rest from all earthly things. There follows:

9. *What manner of one is thy Beloved from the Beloved, O most beautiful of women? What manner of one is thy Beloved from the Beloved, that thou hast so adjured us? 10. My Beloved is white and ruddy, chosen out of thousands.*

[1277C]The daughters of Jerusalem, being adjured to announce to the Beloved the love of her that languishes, lest they err, lest they present to one the love perchance given to another, inquire by what sign they may know her Beloved, lest the message of love be borne by them into uncertainty. They say therefore, « O most beautiful of women! » And they call her most beautiful, because there is nothing of spiritual beauty whereby a soul in this life may please God, which the Church has not in herself, which she does not represent out of herself. She cares not for that beauty of which Solomon says, « Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain [n: (Prov. XXXI, 30)]: » but that which follows, « The woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised [n: (ibid.)]: » this she takes up, this she doubts not to offer to the Lord. Innumerable indeed are the virtues which spring from fear, [1277D] and many which spring from love; and if thou shouldst number them all, thou wilt find these in the Church a noble gift indeed, such as is worthy to be presented to God. Worthily therefore she thus names her, « O most beautiful of women! What manner of one is thy Beloved? » By what sign dost thou make it clear to us, that we may know him whom thou lovest, and may know his Father by whom he was sent, whom thou also lovest. And because this is exceedingly divine, and most capacious of both natures in Christ, she doubles her question, saying again, « What manner of one is thy Beloved from the Beloved, that thou hast so adjured us? My Beloved is white and ruddy. » This is the description of the Beloved, which she comprehends under the number twelve, [1278A] saying, « My Beloved is white and ruddy; » wherein she comprehends the twofold nature in Christ Jesus our Lord: the one, which is divine; the other, which is human. The divine indeed she comprehends, saying, « He is white: » but the human, adding, « And ruddy. » In his divine nature indeed he is white, retaining nothing mingled with himself; nothing black, nor red, nor anything coloured with a middle colour: but he himself is white, nay rather whiteness itself, spreading himself abroad into all his creatures: and though he shine in all, he diminishes nothing of himself, but he himself remains whole and entire in himself. Thus therefore he is white, because he is truly God, is truly light, is truly the simple good, which is diffused through all things that are his, and, remaining in itself, is one simple good. But he, having long [1278B] pitied human nature, after many thousands of years came down into the Virgin, and taking flesh from her, and creating for himself a soul, being made man he came into the world, choosing out of the world certain men for himself, to whom he himself said, « You have not chosen me: but I have chosen you [n: (Joan. XV, 16)], teaching the world first by himself, afterwards by them, and thereafter working mighty works; and since the world could not withstand them, it contrived the cross for his death, and laid his body in the sepulchre, from which, when he willed, he rose again, and thereafter remained on earth forty days to console his disciples, and thereafter, while all that were present beheld, he mightily ascended into heaven. He, being set upon the cross, because he redeemed the world by his blood, whose colour is red, [1278C] is deservedly called ruddy; so that in his memory and praise the Bride says, « My Beloved is white, and ruddy, » and adds also, « Chosen out of thousands. » For to this he alone out of the thousands of all men ought and was able to be chosen, who should wipe away the faults of men, who should not have the faults of men, but should be as an innocent lamb, who should take away the sins of the world, and by his innocence do away the guilt of all that believe in him; of whom David says, « Comely in form above the sons of men: grace is poured abroad in thy lips [n: (Psal. XLIV, 3)]; » of whom Isaias says, « Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozra? » [n: (Isa. LXIII, 1.)] There follows:

11. *His head is the finest gold. His locks are as [1278D] the topmost boughs of palm trees, black as a raven.*

The commendation begins from his head, which is compared to gold. For as the finest gold is more precious than all things desirable; so also God is found more precious than all things which can be coveted and desired. « His locks are as the topmost boughs of palm trees. » The topmost boughs of palm trees are the higher parts in the palm; and these bore before them the sign of victory; for the victors carrying them declared that they had obtained, as it were in war, the uppermost part, that is, the victory. His locks therefore, cleaving to the head and affording adornment to the head, are the faithful, obedient to God in all things, keeping his commandments, and fulfilling in deed what they [1279A] preach in word, and thus rejoicing that in the battle of this life they have obtained the victory of the palm. There follows, « Black as a raven, » because these, although they advance in virtue, protest that they are black as ravens. There follows:

12. *His eyes as doves upon brooks of waters, which are washed with milk, and sit beside the fullest streams.*

That is, spiritual men, who are clear-sighted and keen to see his mysteries, are « as *colombae* which are washed with milk. » The milk indeed wherewith these must be washed is the reasonable sense without guile; whence it is said, « As newborn babes, desire the rational milk without guile. » [n: (I Petr. II, 2.)] « And [1279B] they sit beside the fullest streams, » that is, beside the fullest writings of the ancient Fathers, wherein nothing but truth is taught, and simplicity is commended in all things. There follows:

13. *His cheeks are as beds of aromatical spices set by the perfumers.*

The use of the cheeks indeed is manifold; for these receive food, grind it, and pass it into the body. This also is the place of shamefastness, to which the blood comes forth, when a man is ashamed that he has said or done something less justly. By these are formed the words which teach Christ, and show beforehand that we ought to believe in him, and to follow him in heart and in work. But the « beds » which « by the perfumers, » namely, by those who discern the [1279C] powers of the perfumes, « are set, » are the Scriptures of the Prophets and of the doctors, which when we take up, when we pass them into our hearts, when we utter them to eager hearers, what are we made but the cheeks of the body of Christ, taking heed in all things to this, that we say or do nothing at which shamefastness should blush, and that we fulfil these things in faith and in work, whereby the care of the hearers toward Christ may grow, and their understanding. There follows:

*His lips are lilies dropping the first myrrh.*

Which is, These are rightly to be called his lips, who are as lilies dropping the first myrrh. The heavenly lips indeed rightly dropping to God the sweetness of odour, these are the hosts of Angels, which were created with the first hosts [1279D] by the supernal Power, which is God, and, when those sinned and willed to reign with power equal to God's, they *expreverunt* it, and, devoting themselves to God, by whom they were created, in all humility and obedience, they trampled under the feet of their mind pride and disobedience, which were the first sins. This indeed was the first myrrh, because that was the first mortification of sin; and all who in that manner persuade men to mortify sins are rightly called the lips of God, and lips persuading that which is dear to his heart. There follows:

14. *His hands are turned and golden, full of hyacinths.*

## 5. (cont.)

[1280A]That by his hands works ought rightly to be understood, is manifest. For since nothing is understood to be more precious than gold, nothing dearer, rightly are his hands golden, that is, understood to be more precious than every work. For what works could be compared with these? He made the deaf to hear, the dumb to speak, he restored sight to the blind, he cured the paralytic, he cleansed the lepers, he raised the dead, he commanded the sea and the winds, he put the demons to flight, he raised also himself when already dead, he showed himself to his own after death, and thus, a manifest victor, ascended into heaven. Nothing is dearer than these, nothing more precious; and these indeed are rightly called turned as well. Among workings no turning is easier: for he who works by the lathe sits, and whatever unshaped matter there is, he so composes it by the lathe, so unfolds it, that what now [1280B] was rough and unshaped, this, being now smoothed, he renders into a most fitting form: to him a leper was offered, and by one word was cured; a dead man was offered, and, cured by one word, went away alive. Rightly therefore are his hands understood « turned, » that is, curing lightly, which so work all things by a word alone, that they are now perceived to be better than they had been. Whence also it is added, « full of hyacinths. » For the hyacinth is a stone whose colour is that of the sky when it is clear. Therefore, that thou mayest understand all these things to be of heaven, and mayest not doubt of the power of heaven upon earth, there is joined, « full of hyacinths, » that is, full of heavenly good works. With this agrees that which follows:

*His belly is of ivory, set with sapphires.*

The belly is that part of our body which more lightly [1280C] receives injury; whence here it signifies that nature of the Lord, the human, namely, wherein he could be hurt, wherein he could be made weak, wherein he could also be afflicted with the cross, as it was said of him, « Truly he hath borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows [n: (Isa. LIII, 4)]. » Which belly nevertheless is here called « of ivory, » that the firmness of it, which was taken up out of the passion, might be shown; for ivory is most solid, most white, and, as time comes on, from white becomes ruddy. All which things indeed befit Christ; for his whiteness of chastity stood forth incomparable, to which none among the sons of men could be made equal, the Psalmist bearing witness, who says, « Fair in form above the sons of men [n: (Psal. XLIV, 3)]. » There is in it also a firmness which could not [1280D] be corrupted; whence, when his soul descended to the lower regions, it could not itself be hindered, because there was in it no sin whereby it might be held: his flesh also in the sepulchre after death suffered nothing, because on either side sin was absent, whereby both corruption and a charge against the soul might be added. Whence the Psalmist, « Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption [n: (Psal. XV, 10)]. » But that this is made ruddy after a long time notes the martyrdom of the passion, since they who imitate him have after a long time delivered up their bodies to punishment, and have now deserved to live with him for ever. Which indeed is set with sapphires, that is, adorned [1281A] with the heavenly martyrdoms of these. There follows:

15. *His legs are pillars of marble, which are founded upon bases of gold.*

This is rightly fitted to the preachers, who run through the world, who lift up the name of Christ, being rightly upright and solid, and in all their preaching confirmed upon bases of gold, that is, upon the sayings of the prophets. As it begins from gold, so it is consummated in gold, that thou, prudent reader, mayest have what thou shouldst truly understand concerning Christ. There follows:

*His fairness is as of Libanus, chosen as the cedars.*

Libanus is a great wood, beginning near the Jordan, and stretching itself on high, in length also as far as the Eastern Ocean: its chief [1281B] trees are the cypress and the cedar, whose whitening leaves furnish the name of the wood, so that it is called Libanus; for Libanus is, « a whitening. » In it the dwellings are fair and delightful, so that if any come into them, he has no care of returning, nor is delighted with dwelling among men. This fairness is attributed to God, who is the whiteness of souls, and the delight of all the virtues, unto whom he that has come has no will of returning to human things, no remembrance in his soul of things past. Wherefore? because he himself is « chosen as the cedars. » For the cedars are trees of Libanus, raised upward in length, wonderfully and nobly tressed with foliage, incorruptible, odour-bearing, not fearing the gnawings of worms. He that has come to this glory, it is enough for him to be honoured [1281C] by this glory itself. There follows:

16. *His throat most sweet, and he wholly desirable: such is my Beloved, and he is my friend, ye daughters of Jerusalem.*

What is designated by this throat, unless the sending forth of the New Testament? For the Old went before, wherein it was said: « A man shall render soul for soul, eye for eye, tooth for tooth [n: (Exod. XXI, 24)], » and the rest which follow. [var: Vulg. *reddet animam pro anima*, without a subject "man"] But in the New what has been said? « If any man shall strike thee on the one cheek, offer him the other cheek: and to him that will contend with thee in judgment, and take away thy coat, let go to him thy cloak also. And whosoever shall force thee one mile, go with him other two. Give to him that asketh of thee [n: (Matth. V, 39, 40, 41)]. » [var: Vulg. *in dexteram maxillam tuam, praebe illi et alteram*, "on thy right cheek"] What is sweeter than this? what [1281D] can be more delightful? But if thou consider the whole New Testament, thou wilt find nothing at all but what is sweet and desirable. These things being said, there follows, « Such is my Beloved, and he is my friend, ye daughters of Jerusalem. » There follows:

17. *Whither is thy Beloved gone, O most beautiful of women? whither has thy Beloved turned aside, and we will seek him with thee?*

The proclamation of this Beloved being heard, wherein his Bride commends him through his several members, the daughters of Jerusalem also account him worthy of commendation, and esteem that it will be worthy that a message of love be presented to him. [1282A] Whence, lest they should run in uncertainty, they inquire of the Bride in this manner, « Whither is thy Beloved gone? » and because « to go away » can be understood as to withdraw far off (which indeed would seem a wonder, since she is this most beautiful of women), therefore, correcting themselves, they redouble it, « Whither has thy Beloved turned aside, » that is, whither has he departed for a time? This is perchance thy business, that he may perchance convert some and join them to thee, and cause thee to be enlarged and to be known there where thou art not yet. And when we have learned this, we will seek him with thee, and will take care to offer him the gift of thy love. There follows:

## CHAPTER VI.

1. *My Beloved is gone down into his garden, to the bed of aromatical spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.*

[1282B]This garden of the Beloved is the blessed multitude of the faithful, opening to him the whole bosom of its mind, loving and contemplating him with its whole strength, embracing him with a fuller affection of the heart, so that it accounts it gain to die even for him, and does not scorn to endure torments for his sake. In this number thou shalt reckon Abel, who first received the Lord by his own death, being alike virgin and martyr, confessing in himself the priest and the victim, himself alike priest and victim, alike virgin and martyr, he fell, victim and priest. Thou shalt number also Enoch, whom God took from the world; and because he walked with him, he deserved to have life in himself. Noah also, whom, the world being destroyed, God saved in the wood. Abraham also, and his noble offspring. Moses himself also, who, manifestly [1282C] confessing the Lord, says, « I will raise up to you a prophet from the midst of your brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all the words which I shall command him. But he that will not hear his words, which he shall speak in my name, I will be the avenger [n: (Deut. XVIII, 18, 19)]. » [var: Vulg. *suscitabo eis de medio fratrum suorum*, "unto them, from the midst of their brethren"] In the midst of these thou shalt behold the blessed and highest of virgins, the hope of the ages, Mary, in the bed of aromatical spices, trusting with John her holy guardian, having on the right of this aromatic bed, standing by her, Peter and Paul, Andrew and James, and all the rest, who, bearing witness to him by their own blood, gave forth to the world a most sweet odour, and by their own death brought back the dead to life. This [1282D] indeed is the bed of aromatical spices, which thou understandest with the mind more than thou couldst be taught by word, which by its own blood, and by pains that cannot be told out, deserved to confess Christ. Here the balsams grow fragrant, the pigments give forth their scent, and all the incenses sprinkle abroad a most sweet odour. Hither at times the Beloved turns aside, that he may feed in these gardens, that is, may be refreshed by the glorious testimony of all these, and may gather these true lilies, truly worthy of his fellowship, that is, may establish them in the highest peace and blessedness. Which Church assuredly the Lord is said sometimes to visit apart, that the palm of martyrdom in men of either sex may be understood to have deserved of him something far beyond [1283A] the rest; but that the remainder, the universal Church, scattered far and wide through the world, may be observed to be far greater in number, and less in merit. There follows:

2. *I to my Beloved, and my Beloved to me, who feedeth among the lilies.*

This is the voice of the Bride, who says that she and her Beloved exchange soliloquies, she with him and he with her; which, as they are hidden, so we let them go, nor do we in any manner communicate them to others. There follows:

3. *Thou art beautiful, my friend, sweet and comely as Jerusalem: terrible as an ordered line of battle of the camp.*

These things indeed have already been said in part: for what occurs concerning the beauty of this Bride, that has been recorded. [1283B] It remains that we say also of her sweetness that which the Lord shall teach. That sweetness is not bodily, delighting and alluring some by touch, but rather of the spirit; whence it was said to the Lord also, « Thou, O Lord, art sweet and mild [n: (Psal. LXXXV, 5)]. » So also is she sweet, who, being hurt, murmurs not again, and patiently bears what is brought upon her; whence she obtains the comeliness of patience, like that heavenly Jerusalem, to whom on earth no peace was given, and who, being now taken up into heaven, rests in a great fulness of peace; because « she is terrible as an ordered line of battle of the camp. » For an ordered line of battle of the camp is when they who are about to fight, their whole strength being gathered, stand armed in a fitting place, and have on this side and on that, on the right and on the left, the massed lines of fighters, [1283C] which withstand those that come, and by the strength of arms break their onrushing assaults before it comes to the battle; which indeed strikes terror into the enemy, and therefore rests in the highest peace. There follows:

4. *Turn away thy eyes from me, for they have made me fly away.*

Behold, the Bridegroom has recorded that his Bride is beautiful, sweet and comely, as one who is pleasing to the Bridegroom; her also terrible, so that she fears no encounter of an opposing enemy, so that she stands secure; her therefore, contemplating him in great part, desiring now and now to enter into the secret places of the Godhead, and hoping now to have the fulness of glory which the Lord promises to his own, he beautifully rebukes, [1283D] saying, « Turn away thy eyes from me, » that is, seek not to lay hold of the beauty of my sublime glory; « for they have made me fly away, » that is, to ascend beyond the sense of men, and to show myself as yet incomprehensible to man, because neither hath eye seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it ascended into the heart of man, to will [cj: *velle*; read *nolle*, "not to will"] to show it to any one before the common resurrection of men, and their conjoining with their own spirits. There follows:

*Thy hair is as a flock of goats, which have appeared from Galaad. 5. Thy teeth as a flock of sheep which have come up from the washing, all with twin fruits, and there is none barren among them. 6. As the rind of a pomegranate, so are thy cheeks, besides that which lieth hid within thee.*

These same things have been said above, and expounded; which [1284A] to say again is superfluous and burdensome. There follows:

*There are sixty queens, and eighty concubines, and of young maidens there is no number.*

This also, because, the Lord teaching us, we have explained above, we forbear to explain again, and turn our attention to those things which follow. There follows:

8. *One is my dove, my perfect one, one is she of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her.*

Which indeed is a reciprocal praise. For the Bridegroom commends with worthy praise the Bride who praises him, saying, « One is my dove. » In what manner she is called a dove, by what reason she is understood to be perfect, thou shalt observe from those things which have been said above. But she is here called one, because, as out of many grains one heap, out of many berries one bunch, [1284B] out of a multitude of cattle one flock is fitly called one; so also this one Church, one Bride of God, is understood out of the multitude of all the souls which have been called, or shall be called, to God in the unity of faith, which are strengthened in the unity of hope, which are already established, or shall be established, unto God in charity not feigned. And though she be one, yet is she « one » « of her mother, » that is, one after the likeness of her mother, namely the heavenly Jerusalem, which the Bridegroom asserts to be the mother of this one; and as that consists of a multitude of heavenly spirits, and, joined to God in one charity, is one, so he understands this one to be gathered out of an infinite multitude of souls and to be one, and in this to be like and conformed to her mother, in that she in no wise separates herself from God, [1284C] but binds herself with firm charity to him whom she loves. Whence there follows, « The chosen of her that bore her, » that is, chosen after the manner of her that bore her. But this bearer is the same as is also her mother: yet by the diversity of the words he denotes diverse things; naming her mother, because she consists of a diversity of spirits, and is one, and this one, gathered out of a diversity of souls, likewise stands fast in unity: but her that bore her, because God, the reprobate part of the spirits being condemned, established and confirmed her chosen unto himself; and in like manner the Church, the reprobate multitude of men being condemned, he chose unto himself, and appointed her to be a partaker of his own glory with him. There follows:

*The daughters saw her, and declared her most blessed: the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.*

[1284D]It has been said that the heavenly Jerusalem, the Church, namely, which consists of blessed spirits, is the mother of the Church which consists of souls, and is from the earth; and that this one has been chosen by God unto glory after the likeness of that one. Whence, if it be asked by what testimony this is true, or by what reason it is proved, this answer is added, Because the daughters of Sion saw her, that heavenly Jerusalem, namely, which is the mother of this Church which is from the earth, and which has been taken up by God, and chosen unto glory; the queens saw her, the concubines also saw her, and declared her most blessed, contemplating her with the eyes of the heart, those most blessed spirits, some indeed standing by the majesty and privy to its secrets, others most dutifully ministering, others laboriously running through the regions of the world, [1285A] and announcing the will of God in all things and through all things, and fulfilling it in effect. Her the « queens, » which is discerned to be the highest order in the Church, and the « concubines, » which is next after them, beholding together with the daughters of Sion, truly declared most blessed, and commended as worthy of all praise. And this testimony of the whole Church which is on earth, there is none who denies it to be true, none who rightly contradicts it. There follows:

9. *Who is she that goeth forth as the dawn rising, beautiful as the moon, chosen as the sun, terrible as an ordered line of battle of the camp?*

By whatever love a man is drawn, to that he is quickly turned, to that he is called back in mind. The Bridegroom therefore, conscious [1285B] of his own love, and not ignorant how great admiration the Bride whom he has chosen is worthy of, that he may show her admirable to all, turning to her, says, « Who is she that goeth forth [sic: *progeditur*] as the dawn rising? » It is called *aurora*, as it were *hora aurea*, the golden hour, which, going before the Sun, announces that the sun is about to come, and, glowing red after the manner of gold, shows beforehand that an end is about to come to the darkness: and who knows not that this existed in the primitive Church; who, scripture revealing it, is not ignorant that those first fathers went before the rising of Christ, who is the true Sun of justice, and went before him by their own testimony? For who would doubt that just Abel fell by his brother's sword, and by his own passion showed forth the passion of Christ; that Enoch was translated by the Lord; that Noah, when the deluge was washing the world away, was saved by wood; that Abraham also [1285C] prefigured the Lord in many things? These assuredly, and all the Fathers of that testament, stood forth as the dawn, in whom the rising Church showed beforehand that the true Sun, who is Christ, was to be born, and that she was to be more fully illumined by him. But when the Lord was born, that came to pass which is written, « He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, he gave them power to be made the sons of God [n: (Joan. I, 11, 12)]. » Who, being made sons of God, and illumined by his light, shone indeed as the moon, not with their own light, but with a light not their own: whence it is added, « Beautiful as the moon. » For the moon receives from the sun that whence it shines, and floods the world with a fuller light than the dawn: so the rising Church, [1285D] first as the dawn, then as the moon, but thirdly as the sun, being chosen, ministered full light to the world.

## CHAPTER VI. (cont.)

For, the wonders having been run through which came to pass at the birth of Christ, and the miracles being finished which bore witness to Christ preaching, and the signs being seen which appeared in his death and after his death, the Church powerfully arose: in the first fathers, the dawn; in the second, as the moon; but now, refreshed with full light, she appeared as the sun, chosen, radiant with full light, and furnishing light to all by her own brightness; wherein it is said, « Chosen as the sun. » For of all the creatures which were bodily created by God, none has been chosen for this, that it should be the eye of the world, and furnish light and illumination to the world on every side, save the substance of the sun alone, which alone [1286A] goes about us, warms us, and increases and fortifies us with benefits. In this manner also has this Bride been chosen, that she might furnish spiritual light to the world, and, the darkness being taken away wherein the world was wrapped, might bestow and confer upon it the light of faith through the apostles, and the holy martyrs, and all the doctors of the faith. Who, when she shall come together whole after the resurrection, will appear terrible as an ordered line of battle of the camp. For when the Lord sits in that day, and pronounces the sentence of judgment: « Come, ye blessed of my Father; possess the kingdom which has been prepared for you from the origin of the world [n: (Matth. XXV, 34)], » [var: Vulg. *possidete paratum vobis regnum a constitutione mundi*, "from the foundation of the world"] so terrible and admirable will she appear, that she gives no entrance to the enemy that approaches her; but, like a line of battle ordered by the hand of the Lord, keeps her own to herself, and by the power of her Lord drives off all strangers. [1286B] Yet blessed Gregory says upon this, « The dawn announces that the night has perished, nor yet does it display the brightness of the day; but while it drives away the one, it takes up the other, and holds a light mingled with darkness. » Therefore he who in this life follows the truth is the dawn, because he does certain things which are of the light, yet is not without the leavings of darkness. When therefore the law of sin contends with the law of the mind, it is still the dawn, because the light which has shone forth has not yet wholly pressed down the darkness, and because the light of the flesh [cj: *lux carnis*; read *lex carnis*, "the law of the flesh"] strikes the law of the mind, and on the contrary light and shadow strive with one another by turns: it will be day when the shadow of sin shall not remain, when the inward light shall have shone perfectly. Therefore the Church whom the Bridegroom admires is deservedly compared to the dawn, because, forsaking the [1286C] darkness of sin, she breaks forth into the light of eternity, and by the knowledge of faith is changed into the light of justice, as the dawn is turned from darkness into light; faith is light, unbelief is night. Therefore the Church, seeking eternal things, glows with the supernal brightness and with the light of justice, and rises as the dawn, because, having left behind the depravity of the world, she turns herself into the splendour of a new light. There follows:

10. *I went down into the garden of nuts, to see the apples of the valleys, and to look whether the vineyard had flourished, and the pomegranates had budded.*

The Bridegroom, having above addressed the whole Church, now turns to that part of her which is here, which is subject to temptation; which, while the rain descends, the floods come, the winds arise and beat upon her house, [1286D] needs help so much the stronger as it is shaken by the more frequent whirlwind. Coming down therefore to her, he says, « I went down into the garden of nuts, » and so forth. But a garden (as has been said) is a place set apart, planted with health-bearing herbs and wholesome trees, which after labours it is sweet to visit and to be refreshed in spirit. Which place indeed designates the Church that is set here, and how she is set apart Isaias designates, saying, « As the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts [n: (Isa. LV, 9)]. » By these ways and thoughts he designates the thoughts and works of the Church, which is as far removed from every intention of the wicked as the heaven is distant from the earth. But this garden is planted [1287A] with trees of nuts; which indeed are diverse. For one nut is the hazel, another the filbert, another the chestnut, another the almond, another the pine-nut, another the Libyan, which is called the nutmeg, another the Gallic, which in the common tongue is wont to be called simply the nut. What do these nuts signify? The hearts, assuredly, of the saints, which indeed within display the sweetness of the kernel, that is, the profit of the spirit; but without they show the profit of the flesh, which is so hard that of it it was said, « We have this treasure hidden in earthen vessels [n: (II Cor. IV, 7)]. » [var: Vulg. *habemus autem thesaurum istum*, without "hidden"] And again of it it was said, « I know that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the charity of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord [n: (Rom. VIII, 38)]. » [var: Vulg. *Certus sum enim quia*, "I am sure that"] To [1287B] this garden of nuts therefore he goes down, that he may strengthen their kernels within, and subject the bodies of the same without to suffering, laying up for it the rewards of life, which shall be lacking to none that dies for him. He goes down also that he may see the apples of the valleys; for that garden is not planted with nuts alone, but rather with trees which bear apples. For all fruits which are covered with a soft rind are called apples, and these signify the confessors, who, burning within with the love of God, and confessing him without, receive their reward from God in eternal blessedness, although they are not made equal to the martyrs. To these therefore he goes down, who follow after him in the sublimity of martyrdom, and to these who, abiding in the valley of humility, are likewise not slow to follow after him by death: but the Lord spares them, [1287C] willing that they receive eternal blessedness by their will alone, and not also by a death of their own procuring. He goes down also to the newly planted vineyards, that he may look whether they flourish, whether they give of themselves the hope of fruit, whether they persevere in faith, and, an example of approaching, of believing, and of persevering being set before others, enlarge his name: which same thing he desires concerning the pomegranates, namely, that they bud, and by their budding afford to others examples of bravely undergoing suffering for Christ, and pledge the rewards of that recompense which they look for. There follows:

11. *I knew not: my soul troubled me because of the chariots of Aminadab.*

The Lord in the foregoing words admonished [1287D] his Bride, made known to her what she should seek, and set himself before her as the end of her course; for in vain do we run, if we do not lay hold, if we do not find him whom we seek. But hard things have been set before her, at which the flesh is afraid, at which it trembles; but for these the spirit is strengthened and girded by the gift of God, accounting light all that it suffers, while it glories in the gift of its own recompense. Which indeed the Synagogue hearing, stands, is amazed, and trembles, and, returning at length to herself, says, « I knew not, » that is, I was ignorant of so great grace and of the gifts of the spirit conferred upon thee; and therefore, « my soul troubled me, » because I wandered astray in darkness, « because of the chariots of Aminadab. » This Aminadab is read to have been the great-great-grandson of Juda [n: (I Par. II, 10)], who by the interpretation of his own name signifies Christ; for Aminadab [1288A] is interpreted, « The willing one of my people; » for he himself stood forth as the head of the whole people, at whose birth the Angel said to the shepherds: « Fear not; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, that shall be to all the people: for this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord [n: (Luc. II, 10, 11)]. » But he stood forth as the willing one of that people; for willingly was he born, willingly shown forth by angels and by great powers, willingly adorned with miracles, willingly betrayed, willingly given unto death; and since he bore all these things willingly, rightly is he named the willing one both of the people and of him. Whose chariots indeed are the four Gospels, which are drawn through the world, while they are preached to the peoples, and are believed, and are received as worthy of all veneration. Beholding which [1288B] the Synagogue is troubled, despairing that that can be false which is thus received in the heart by all, is magnificently honoured, and is crushed out neither by exquisite torments nor by any kind of death. But Saint Ambrose notes two chariots. For anger, cupidity, pleasure, and fear he makes the wheels of one chariot; but to the other he assigns prudence, temperance, fortitude, and justice: in these wheels there is then the spirit of life, when a good driver guides them, restraining these, admonishing these, recalling these, urging these on. These horses indeed are subject to the yoke of faith, bound fast with the bond of charity, with the bridles of justice, with the reins of sobriety. There follows:

12. *Return, return, O Sulamitess: return, return, that we may behold thee.*

[1288C]The Synagogue confessing her slowness, the Church answers by way of consolation, « Return, » and so forth. It is said to the Sulamitess that she return, because at the end of the world faith will be offered by the Church to the Synagogue, which was held captive under unbelief. And she is admonished four times to return, because the Jews, scattered through the four parts of the world, will be gathered together at the end; whence it is said to her, « Return, return, O Sulamitess, » thou who wast held captive or despised under the prophets, « return, return, » that in that liberty wherein we are we may « behold thee. » There follows:

## CHAPTER VII.

1. *What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess, but the companies of the camps?*

This is the voice of the Bridegroom. Behold, the Church admonishing the Synagogue, [1288D] the Bridegroom, rejoicing, promises that he will give the effect, saying, « What shalt thou see in the Sulamitess, but the companies of the camps? » For the companies of the camps are they who, set as it were in camps in the array of the virtues, fight against the devil, and, God fortifying them and bringing help by his own power, overcome. For then shall the camps of them that war be seen in the Sulamitess, when she shall do battle for the faith which now she assails, and, when Henoch and Elias preach the same, asserting it to be true and to be that wherein one must be saved, she shall bear witness to it by her own death. There follows:

2. *How beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O daughter of the Prince!*

Behold, the Bridegroom praises the Bride, beginning from her steps: whence also, commending her, he says: « How [1289A] beautiful are thy steps in shoes, O daughter of the Prince! » Her indeed, who in her first fathers stood forth as the « daughter of the Prince, » that is, of God who has princedom over all things, he commends with a twelvefold praise, beginning from her steps, advancing through the middle parts, and consummating her praise with the fruitfulness of her breasts; and so he says, O thou who now in thy conversation art worthy to be called the daughter of the Prince, who also in thy first fathers didst worthily deserve to be called his daughter, « how beautiful » now « are thy steps! » For now thou drawest near to God by those same steps by which the apostles drew near; confessing that the Son of God was sent by the Father into flesh, and that he in that same flesh underwent death for the salvation of all, and after the third day rose again, and thus, the victory being won, ascended into heaven, thou standest for him, thou bearest [1289B] witness to him, thou dost not refuse to die for him. Exceedingly beautiful therefore are thy steps, wherewith thou walkest unto God; and this, « in shoes. » For shoes are made of the hides of dead animals; whence by these are understood the examples of the saints: of the Fathers, namely, of the apostles, and of all the martyrs, because, in confessing Christ, they endured that their hides be drawn off them, and their bodies be withdrawn from their souls. To these therefore thou art made equal, to these thou art made a peer, who, having received a sure faith, dost fight for it, and dost labour to be crowned with the glory of the apostles by contending for it. There follows:

*The joints of thy thighs are as* monilia, *which are wrought by the hand of a craftsman.*

[1289C]The thighs, whether called *femina* or *femora*, wherewith we walk and frame our goings forth, are these two, namely the Old Testament and the New: the joining of these is the concord of the Testaments, whereof he says, « The joining of thy thighs is as *monilia*. » *Monilia* indeed are so called from *monere*, to admonish, in that, when they are hung upon the neck and set upon the breast, they admonish her that wears them not to let a stranger's hand come to her bosom, but to keep her faith undefiled to him to whom she is betrothed. They admonish any man also, that where he sees these hung, he be not drawn thither by love, nor by any chance be carried thither by love, lest perchance, being taken in this, he be held guilty of adultery. Whence the two Testaments are deservedly named *monilia*, which admonish us to fear God, and to venerate him, and to love him with the whole [1289D] heart, the whole soul, and all our strength, and to meditate upon him with a firm mind. They admonish also that we love our neighbours, and contrive not nor do to them anything which ought rightly to displease. In these the two Testaments are, and are in concord, which also so strengthen faith as it truly is; and they confirm it to be even as we believe. These also « are wrought by the hand of a craftsman, » that is, through the Son, who is the hand of the Father, and the highest craftsman of all, they were declared to men and written down. There follows:

3. *Thy navel is a turned bowl, never wanting cups.*

The navel indeed is in the middle of the belly, having a certain [1290A] part of it beneath itself, and a certain part above. But this navel is the infirmity of our mortality, one part whereof is below, and the other above. That part is below whereof it is said: « All flesh is grass, and all the glory thereof as the flower of the field. The grass is dried up, and the flower is fallen [n: (Isa. XL, 6, 7)]. » Whereof David says: « In the morning let him pass away as grass; in the morning let him flourish, and pass away: in the evening let him fall, grow hard, and wither [n: (Psal. LXXXIX, 6)]. » The morning also of our infancy, of our childhood, of our youth passes away; the flower of our young manhood passes away; the evening also of our old age passes away: wherein indeed a man falls down in death, grows hard in the corpse, withers in the dust. But that part is above whereof blessed Paul makes mention, saying: « It is sown in [1290B] corruption, it shall rise in incorruption: it is sown in dishonour, it shall rise in glory: it is sown in weakness, it shall rise in power: it is sown a natural body, it shall rise spiritual [n: (I Cor. XV, 42, 43)]. » This navel therefore is as a turned bowl: for that working is lightest which is done by the lathe; and lightest is the working of God, which shall be wrought in the resurrection of all. For as an angel most lightly lifted up Habacuc, and set him in Babylon; so, carrying food to Daniel, he set him back again in Judea [n: (Dan. XIV, 35)]: so shall it be in the resurrection, when at the voice of the angel, at the sound of the trumpet blowing, the dead shall rise again forthwith incorrupt, who indeed were worthy of corruption. This therefore is that part of our infirmity which shall be lightly wrought by the lathe of the divine working, which is called a turned bowl, which [1290C] neither here wants cups, nor in the time to come shall in any measure want them. Here therefore their glory is said to be about to be great, which shall then also be seen bodily, and shall appear. There follows:

*Thy belly is as a heap of wheat, set about with lilies.*

The belly is that part of the body which receives whatever is put into it; and whatever in it can work together for its substance, that it retains, and therewith cherishes the body, increases and advances it, but drives off and spits out the rest. Whence by this is understood the holy memory of this synagogue, which comprehends all things, and these only which are holy, and which work together unto eternal life, and direct the steps thither, these she loves, these she keeps, and in these she goes forward: the rest, as vain and unprofitable, she spits out and [1290D] sends away. Whence also it is said: « Thy belly is as a heap of wheat. » For in a heap of wheat some things work together unto life, and some are otherwise: but of those which work together unto life it is subjoined, that this heap « is set about with lilies, » that is, is trained by the examples of the Fathers, and is taught by the instructions of the heavenly spirits, who are truly lilies. There follows:

4. *Thy two breasts, as two twin fawns of a roe. 5. Thy neck as a tower of ivory.*

This is understood of the breasts of the converted synagogue, as it was said above also of the breasts of the Church; as also that which follows concerning the neck, « Thy neck as a tower of ivory: » yet here is added, « of ivory, » [1291A] that both the brightness of their preaching may be shown, and the firmness wherewith they truly preach Christ, and confirm this by their own death. There follows:

*Thy eyes as the fishpools in Hesebon, which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude.*

The neck being shown, we come to the eyes; of which it is here said, that they are « as the fishpools in Hesebon. » But Hesebon is interpreted, « a girdle of mourning. » But the « eyes, » that is, they who contemplate the secret things of faith, and show them to the synagogue now converted, to be seen and to be believed, these are « as the fishpools in Hesebon: » for Hesebon, whether it be a fortress or a city, had at its very entrance fishpools, wherein the bodies of those entering could be washed and cleansed, so that trust might thus be had in those who had gone in, [1291B] that they would contrive no evil which should be against the place, or in any measure hurtful to it. So also these, who prepare and show the ways of life to this converted synagogue, provide beforehand and show the way of life to others who are to be converted to her, and that they enter not feignedly, that they receive not Baptism in vain, nor contrive in guile to set themselves against those in whom Christ now reigns, and now holds his own princedom. This therefore is that which is said, « which are in the gate of the daughter of the multitude, » that is, at the entrance of the fortress or the city, where there is a multitude of nations, to whom the word of God is now preached, and they receive it unto ages of ages. For that Simon Magus did this feignedly, feignedly received Baptism, feignedly came to know the sacraments of faith, with all which he afterward sharply [1291C] assailed Peter, the doctor of the Church appointed by Christ. Whence, lest a like assault disquiet her in her conversion, when it shall be given, it is said to her that she shall have eyes providing beforehand for herself, as at the gates of Hesebon provision was made beforehand for the city. But this multitude is rightly called « a girdle of mourning, » because on every side it is girded with mourning. On this side she mourns that she has sinned against God; on that side, lest she sin, she likewise has tears of fear; on this side she complains that he whom she loves is lacking to her, and that the rewards which she seeks and desires are lacking to her. Girded therefore with this mourning, she is rightly called Hesebon, who, surrounded with these and with other tears which compunction gives, rightly makes her complaint. There follows:

*Thy nose is as the tower of Libanus, which looks toward Damascus.*

[1291D]To the nose are assigned those of the Church who perceive near at hand the fragrance of the virtues in the Church, and who know the stench of the vices in her by discerning it from afar. These stand as a tower in Libanus, which designates the whiteness of the Church, who in the Church of God receive before others the name and office of prelacy, and who look toward Damascus. For Damascus is the mother city of Syria, where Cain is read to have slain Abel; whence many evils were brought upon Israel, where unbelief reigns, and sin rages exceedingly. Against this the Church of God looks earnestly, attentively considering whether there be any whom she may snatch away for herself, and, when he has been snatched from the devil, may be able to turn to Christ. There follows:

5. *Thy head as Carmel: and the hairs of thy head as the purple of the King bound in the channels.*

## CHAPTER VII. (cont.)

[1292A]Carmel is a mountain, going up into which Elias obtained that the rain, shut up for seven years, should be given him abundantly by God, signifying assuredly Christ, whom confessing, and asserting the things which are said of him to be true, we pray to the Father that he send forth upon us the gifts of his graces, whereby he may make us pleasing to his will. But this Carmel is interpreted « a mountain, » or, « the knowledge of circumcision; » which rightly befits Christ, for he himself stood forth as the beginning and the end of circumcision. For he himself enjoined this upon Abraham (who saw his day and was glad) and upon his house, and by the austere cutting of this member forbade the intercourse unlawful to him, and all other dishonourable and superfluous things of every member. He also took this upon himself, and foretold that it was consummated [1292B] in himself: for the shedding of his blood, as well upon the cross as in this circumcision, is a sufficient correction for the people of grace, that they abstain from vices, and correct and amend their depraved motions, not by that austerity of the sacrament, but by the receiving of faith alone and of holy baptism. But the hairs of this head are they of whom it is subjoined: « The hairs of thy head as the purple of the King bound in the channels. » The hairs of the head indeed are those which adorn the head, make the face comely, and, ever cleaving to the head, by the great fairness of themselves render it honourable to whomsoever meets it, and most worthy of all veneration. By these indeed we understand those who, cleaving with the whole heart to Christ the highest King in an indissoluble bond of love, could never be divided from him, neither by princedom, nor by any power that wrought it; [1292C] but through all the torments that could be devised deserved truly to cleave to him, and to be called inseparable hairs. And the hairs of the head indeed are as the purple of the King bound in the channels. The channels indeed are the sendings forth of the graces of God, which in many manners he [sends] into his own whom he chooses, and he himself both makes them worthy of the grace of martyrdom and takes them up. And so these hairs are in these channels, and are indeed joined to them, not knowing how to be sundered from them, but rather, some heavenly liquor being received in these, they become ruddy as the purple of the King bound in the channels, conformed indeed to Christ who suffered upon the cross, and now conformed to him in glory. There follows:

6. *How beautiful art thou, and how comely, dearest, [1292D] in delights!*

After the commendation of those things which have been said, he subjoins the praise of the synagogue, which has now been made the Church, saying, Since the things which have now been said stand thus, therefore thou art exceedingly « beautiful » in the work of virtue, and « comely » in the contemplation of the same; dear to us through thy conversion, dearer through the carrying out of virtue, « dearest » to God at thy arrival; whence he subjoins, « in delights, » that is, in those things which have been said, which God declares to be delights, and in these, as in delights, he takes his pleasure. There follows:

7. *Thy stature is likened to a palm tree, and thy breasts to clusters.*

The commendation of her began from her steps; the joining of her thighs also, her navel, and her belly have been commended; [1293A] her breasts, and her neck, her nose, and her eyes, together with her head and her hairs, have been described. Lest this should seem ill-sounding, and out of tune with her stature as too much drawn together into itself, he adds concerning her stature, saying that it is likened to a palm tree, stretched upward, namely, narrow and rough below, spread out and widened toward heaven with its arms, bearing a most sweet fruit, which, joined to the clusters which are the fruit of the vine, renders the supper rich, and the supper itself most delightful by the fruit of the vine. There follows:

8. *I said: I will go up into the palm tree, and will take hold of the fruits thereof: and thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine, and the odour of thy mouth as of apples.*

This indeed the Bridegroom says, that he himself will go up into the palm tree; which indeed we believe to have been fulfilled, [1293B] when he went up upon the wood of the cross. To which indeed this also was granted, that as he himself, by going up upon it, stood forth victor over all things, so it also justly obtained princedom over all the trees of the woods, and deserved rightly to be called a palm; whence also it is sung to it: above all the trees of the woods, thou alone wast worthy to bear the King of the ages and the Lord. « And I will take hold of the fruits thereof. » This was the fruit of this palm: immortality, impassibility, and eternal delight also: these fruits of it Christ received upon the cross. For because he humbled himself, being made obedient upon the cross to the Father unto death, even the death of the cross, the Father exalted him, that in his name every knee should bow, of those in heaven, on earth, and under the earth, [1293C] and every tongue confess that he himself is in the glory of the Father, whereunto none comes save through him. « And thy breasts shall be as the clusters of the vine. » The breasts are those wherewith the infancy of little ones is fed and nourished; and these are the sayings of the prophets, whereby long before those times the passion of Christ was prophesied, and announced by many proclamations of the same. Which breasts indeed are now made the clusters of the vine, now showing the very fruit which they prophesied, and only then, when Christ suffered upon the cross, showing forth the effect which they sounded out. « And the odour of thy mouth as of apples. » For the odour of the cross, before Christ ascended it, was horrible; but after Christ the giver of life ascended, all its odours were made most sweet, and, as the odours of apples, most pleasing; [1293D] whence Paul also says: « We are the good odour of Christ unto God in them that are saved, and in them that perish [n: (II Cor. II, 15)]. » There follows:

9. *Thy throat as the best wine, worthy for my Beloved to drink, and for his lips and his teeth to chew upon. I to my Beloved, and his turning is toward me.*

The Bridegroom has now long commended her as worthy of praise, beginning from the lowest and advancing to the highest; which the Bride, holding it acceptable, answers: « Thy throat as the best wine, worthy for my Beloved to drink, and for his lips and his teeth to chew upon. » And so she shows that the praise which the Bridegroom himself has sounded out concerning her is such as it is worthy that it be drunk by the Bridegroom himself, and, passed over into his body, [1294A] be held in memory; and this is that which is said, « for the lips and the teeth to chew upon. » For in the law [n: (Levit. XI, 3)], an animal which does not chew the cud is held unclean, and that which chews the cud is beyond doubt accounted clean: for he who calls back to memory the good things which he hears or reads, and declares them by chewing them with the teeth, or by uttering them with the lips, is affirmed to be a clean animal. Whence also, affirming that this cleanness is in the Bridegroom, she exhorts him to call this praise back to memory, and to account and adjudge her worthy of this praise. And that this shall indeed come to pass she declares, saying, « I to my beloved, and his turning is toward me; » as if she should say, I am worthy of the memory of my Beloved, and he most worthy to be held in memory by me: for I love the Father, I venerate and adore his [1294B] only-begotten Son, I judge the Holy Spirit equal to these in all things. I understand the works of the Father which he wrought for my redeeming; in these I acknowledge the obedience of the Son, and through his Spirit coming into me I receive him turned toward me, and his gifts. And so she says, I am worthy of my Beloved and dear to him: for he emptied himself for me, making himself a child and a little one; to whom the Church sings that saying of Isaias: « A little one is born to us, and a Son is given to us [n: (Isai. IX, 6)]. » He emptied himself also, being made obedient to the Father unto death; and what death? that which was of the cross, which was accounted most unworthy, whereby heaven was denied to a man, the earth was withdrawn from him, the remedy of water was not afforded, [1294C] and, being dead, he was committed in the air to be torn by the birds:

*By these deservedly dear, by these merits to be held dear.*

« His turning » also is « toward me: » for what kind of death should I shudder at, when I understand that the Son of God suffered such things for me? None indeed. For in Stephen I endured the stone, in James the sword, at Rome in blessed Peter the cross, in his partner blessed Paul the troubles of the sword; the boiling oil in John, in Andrew the bitter things of the cross, I bore; and in the apostles, and in all the martyrs far and wide throughout the world, I presented the torments that could be devised. There follows:

10. *Come, my Beloved, let us go forth into the field.*

The charity being shown wherewith the Church is united to Christ, [1294D] she confidently calls upon him, desiring that he himself also come to her who loves him, and behold her loving him, and look through whether the things which have been said of him are true. And so she says, « Come, my Beloved, » whom I love even unto death, who at thy departing didst promise to the Church, saying: « Behold I am with you even to the consummation of the world. » [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 20.)] « Come, let us go forth into the field. » A plain is a place lying open far and wide, containing woods and places lacking woods, on this side beset with thorns, on that showing places not thorny yet untilled, designating this world, such as it was when Adam was cast over into it after his sin, and the sentence was spoken to him, « Because thou hast eaten of the tree whereof I had commanded thee that thou shouldst not eat, cursed is the earth in thy work: in labours shalt thou eat of it all the [1295A] days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee, and thou shalt eat the herb of the earth [n: (Gen. III, 17)]. » [var: Vulg. *quia audisti vocem uxoris tuae*, "because thou hast hearkened to the voice of thy wife"] But this was called a field, after that, being assailed by the ploughshare and the coulter of the earth, it laid aside this horrible face, answered to husbandry, and gladdened its husbandmen with good fruits. And it is called *ager* from this, that it began to be driven, *agi*, by the ploughshare, and to be cast down by the coulter, and (as is the custom of husbandmen) so to be turned over in the same place, that it may be fit for receiving the seed, and be made fruitful for the propagating of the same. To this field therefore the Bride invites her Bridegroom, saying, « Come, » that is, consent to this, that I may have access to thee. « Let us go forth: » Do thou go forth, the flesh being assumed, out of the unspeakable hidden place of thy majesty, that is, appear manifestly; and I, having gone forth wholly with thee out of my hidden places, out of my uncleannesses, out of unbelief, [1295B] believing thee with the heart, confessing thee, humbly adoring thee, cleaving to thee inseparably, am ready to come with thee into this field, that we may consider whether it be well tilled, whether the seeds of the word are to be entrusted to it, and whether any hope of good is to be looked for from it. There follows:

*Let us abide in the villages.*

Dwellings indeed are made in fields, as was said of the plain of Sennaar, wherein the city of Babylon was built by the sons of Noe [n: (Gen. XI, 2)]; towns are made; villages also are made: in the city the rich dwell, in the towns the powerful; but in the villages is the abode of the lesser and the more humble, which is so much the more pleasing to God as it is more humble, and so much the more acceptable as it is the more capable of virtue and of doctrine. Here she desires that the Bridegroom make his stay, [1295C] and that she abide with the Bridegroom, where there is the consecration of his holy body and blood, where the washing away of sins is made in baptism, where there is the daily confession of offences, and the frequent oblation of the faithful peoples is made to the Lord: hence the frequent bestowal of tithes, hence of other gifts also, and at their going forth the holy acknowledgment of the Lord, and their passing over to eternal blessedness. There follows:

11. *In the morning let us rise up to the vineyards: let us see if the vineyard has flourished, if the flowers bring forth fruits.*

## CHAPTER VII. (cont.)

He is blessed whose vineyard is visited in the morning by the Lord. For the vineyard of each one is this present life; and the morning is for each one the beginning of the present life. But there are certain ones whom in the morning, that is, from the very [1295D] outset of life, God visits, directs, and magnifies, and whom he shews even by manifestation to be such that from them great fruits of miracles are to come; « Let us see if the vineyard has flourished. » To these the Bride invites the Beloved, that he may abide with them, and make these to flourish, and himself keep the flowers that bring forth fruits. These indeed are our advances in God: for as a vineyard produces first leaves, then the flower, thence the fruit; so in the things that are God's, for those who are solicitous to see and to have him, a certain initiation is the turning away from evil; for a great advance is a happy conversion to the things that are God's. But the highest thing in these is the love, pleasing to God, of the things that are God's, and the blessed completion of them in work. Whence also it is subjoined:

*If the pomegranates shall have flourished.*

[1296A]In pomegranates indeed the love of martyrdom is signified. Greater love indeed hath no man, than that one lay down his soul for his friends. Him indeed, though she admonishes all her own to see, yet these especially, who burn with the love of martyrdom, who desire to lay down their life for Christ and through death to ascend upward, she admonishes by a certain special visitation to give heed. Whence also she says:

*There will I give thee my breasts.*

What are these breasts which the Bride is about to give to the Bridegroom when he shall so have come, and shall so have visited the Church? The breasts indeed are that part of the body wherewith the Church nourishes her sons, wherewith she draws out their infancy, and brings them forth into the strength of youth; and when they have grown up into this strength, she leaves them to themselves, and to the martyrdom which they desire, and [1296B] to him for whose sake they desire it. She says therefore, « There will I give thee my breasts, » that is, I will open all the folds of my mind, that I may understand from thee what is to be said to each order, in what manner each order is to be admonished, that it may come to thee and possess thee for ever. There follows:

*The mandrakes have given a smell. In our gates are all apples: the new and the old, my Beloved, have I kept for thee.*

Having called her Beloved to come to the Church, to visit her, and she who desires to see him, she adds this, saying: For that indeed which I long for, I doubt not that I shall find thee difficult [cj: *difficilem*; read *non difficilem*, "not difficult"], because I understand that the mandrakes in our gates have already given thy odour. The mandrakes indeed she names the Prophets, which keep the form of a human body, and which heal whatever member [1296C] of the human body a disease occupies, from a like member, by powder scraped for the purpose. This also makes the barren woman fruitful, and profits those who suffer by much art of medicine: whence this expresses the Prophets, who express the humanity of Christ, and the things which he wrought in man; and this in our gates, that is, in the Scriptures which have now been made ours, they cease not to cry out and to prophesy. These indeed are all the apples, which the new and recent prophets foretold; « and the old, » the ancient, namely, which have been spoken from Adam until now, have I kept for thee, because they are to be fulfilled in thee, and to be shewn by the very accomplishment of the work. There follows:

## CHAPTER VIII.

1. *Who shall give me thee for my brother, sucking the breasts [1296D] of my mother, that I may find thee without, and kiss thee, and that now no man despise me. 2. I will take hold of thee, and lead thee into my mother's house: there thou shalt teach me, and I will give thee a cup of spiced wine, and new wine of my pomegranates.*

This Bride, solicitous concerning the coming of her Bridegroom, has long since in prayer greatly desired it, saying, « Come, my Beloved; Let us go forth into the field; » and what she prayed for she foretold would assuredly be at hand, because the mandrakes have spoken this beforehand, this all the prophets have foretold. Therefore concerning this which shall certainly come to pass, she now asks, saying: « Who shall give me thee for my brother, » that is, [who] will be so worthy as to shew thee to me visibly as my brother, to demonstrate thee to me in bodily form as [1297A] my brother. For it is ancient, and known by hearing, that God the Father of all created me among the rest, and stood forth as a father to me among the rest, and that I among the creatures have always called upon him as a Father: but that he himself should be a brother to me is new and unheard of from the ages, and yet is to be spread abroad to the world. For the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, saying, « Hail, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God [n: (Luc. I, 28, 35)]. » Behold that the Son of God, born of the holy Virgin, born again by holy baptism, was made a son of the true Church, and began to be a brother to us all, who before all things stood forth to us as Father. Whence after the resurrection [1297B] he says, « Go, tell my brethren that they go into Galilee; there they shall see me [n: (Matth. XXVIII, 10)]. » Whence it is that him whom hitherto I had called God the Father, I now name my brother; and therefore brother, because sucking the breasts of my mother, namely of Mary; who, from this that she was made his mother, is worthily the mother of all who call upon him, and implore his help for themselves in whatsoever necessity. Through her indeed the Son of God was found without, that is, in this bodily form, which he newly took, and in it appeared to the world, and in this he received to himself from him (as has been said) the kiss of reconciliation; whence she says, « And now let no man despise me. » For before God had held out to man the kiss of reconciliation, [1297C] man was held despicable both to the angels and to the demons, and even to his own self, who was being dragged wholly into Hell to be possessed. But after he was reconciled by the death of the Only-begotten, forsaking Hell, he began to possess the region of Paradise and of heaven, and from thenceforth he was held in contempt neither by the possessors of heaven, nor by those of Hell. For she herself says, « I will take hold of thee, » that is, I will hold thee with a most firm embrace: not by threats, not by stripes, not by every kind of death shall I be removed or torn away from thee: and thus will I bring thee « into my mother's house, » namely of the heavenly Jerusalem, which instructs me, and shews me the example of that love whereby I may always cleave to thee, and may not be able to be removed from thee; and I will bring thee into « the chamber of her that bore me, » that is, that ancient dwelling-place of love, wherein [1297D] she that bore me has ever held thee, that is, that most ancient gathering sprung from the patriarchs and the prophets and the other faithful, and that holy congregation which could never be torn away from thee. « There thou shalt teach me, » because then shall we all be taught of God. And what shall we give thee? « A cup of spiced wine, » namely everlasting love; which is formed in so many ways, as wines are wont to be formed from divers kinds; « And new wine of my pomegranates, » that is, the passion of my martyrs, who are so joined to one another in the sweetness of love, as apples are joined to one another among apples, and by no evils could they be turned away from thee. There follows:

3. *His left hand is under my head; and his right hand shall embrace me. 4. I adjure you, daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, [1298A] nor make the Beloved to awake, until she herself will.*

Because these things have already been said, we do not repeat them, but where they were said, we commit them to the studious to be read. There follows:

5. *Who is she that goeth up from the desert, flowing with delights, leaning upon her Beloved?*

One that loves easily looks back upon one that loves him, and the words which love forms it easily pours over to itself. Whence, because from the things already said the affection of the Bride that loves him is easily marked, the Bridegroom straightway affords her a response of love, asking and inquiring who she is: not that he is ignorant of her, but that he may permit no one to be ignorant. Of what sort is she, and how great, and how most worthy of wonder, who thus goeth up from the desert? Naming this world [1298B] a desert, which very many strive to inhabit as a fatherland, and, cheated of their endeavour, descend from hence to the places below, and thus come to know what fatherland is destined for them. This desert is that place which the Lord deserted by ascending, when, in the sight of many, he was lifted up and ascended into heaven. Wherefore it follows, that this same one is « mighty in delights, » flowing with which, and understanding that they please the Lord in the highest degree, she seeks to stand by him with right faith, strong hope, fervent charity, and to present to him these things given to her by himself. But this is what he says: Who, and of how great merit, is she who, this world being deserted, namely which God deserted by ascending from hence, which for others has been wont to be a place of descent, making for herself a place of ascent, leaps forth on high, presenting to God the delights [1298C] of the virtues, which she knows to have been conferred upon her by him? But blessed Gregory, looking more deeply upon these things, says: The Church, flowing with the delights of the words of God, ascends from the present desert to things above. To flow with delights is, in the love of God, to be filled with the banquets of the Scriptures. Flowing therefore with delights she ascends, because daily she lifts us up, fed with mystical understandings, to things on high; in whose words there are as many delights as there are diversities of spiritual understanding. Now history feeds us, moral allegory refreshes us, sometimes contemplation suspends us toward higher things. The soul flowing with these delights is refreshed with mystical understanding, in which the present obscurity is illuminated by the brightness of the day that follows, so that even in this corruption it may break forth into the understanding of that [1298D] true light, and, fed with the delights of the words, may learn by foretasting what it hungers for of the food of truth. There follows:

*Under the apple tree I raised thee up: there thy mother was corrupted: there she that bore thee was violated.*

It has been said that she, flowing with delights, is leaning upon her Beloved: now it is consequently shewn that she could and ought to lean upon him. For he says, « Under the apple tree I raised thee up, » that is, I called thee back from death; thee set indeed under the apple tree, that is, liable to the sin which was contracted by the apple tree. For they say that that forbidden tree, from which man in Paradise was bidden to abstain, was an apple tree, and that that wood, which was good for food, and beautiful to the eyes, and delightful to behold, [1299A] came to be a concupiscence to the woman; who took of it, and held it out to the man, and made herself, and her posterity, guilty of disobedience. From this evil of disobedience indeed this Bridegroom, bearing the cross, snatched all; and therefore he confesses that he raised up and redeemed her, placed under the apple, that is, under the sin which was contracted from the apple. And that this be not esteemed a small thing, he adds, « There thy mother was corrupted; there she that bore thee was violated; » calling mother the whole generation which was drawn out from Adam even to Abraham: but naming her that bore thee that generation which, from Abraham even to Christ, was bound by a certain stricter law of commandments, teaching by these that all begotten by human generation are liable to this offence; unless either the Spirit sanctified them before [1299B] they were born, as the holy Virgin who was made the dwelling-place of God, John the Baptist, and Jeremiah, whom we know to have been sanctified from the womb, or God succoured them by his sacrament. But if anyone cares to look more deeply, let him read again the treatise which we discoursed above concerning the kiss of reconciliation, and wherein we set forth the things which were granted to us, the Lord dictating. There follows.

6. *Set me as a seal upon thy heart, as a seal upon thy arm.*

Because I freed thee from the death which thou didst deserve, through the death of my cross; therefore I consequently enjoin upon thee, that me, that is, my love, whereby I was made man [1299C] for thee, whereby I was crucified for thee, whereby I humbled myself that I might rescue thee from the death which thou hadst deserved, thou set always as a seal, that is, as a certain memorial, upon thy heart, that is, in thy heart; that in everything which thou shalt have purposed to do thou attend always to this love, that thou presume not to fulfil anything in act, unless thou see it to cleave to this love. The same also he subjoins concerning the arm, « As a seal upon thy arm. » For if these are things cleaving together, the heart deliberating, and the arm executing that which is deliberated by the heart. And if both of these hold the memorial of this love, they will restrain themselves from every work which suits not this love. Thus fortifying the heart and the arms, he urges that which has been said elsewhere: for elsewhere it is said, « Six things there are which [1299D] the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that deviseth most wicked thoughts, feet that are swift to run into evil, a deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren [n: (Prov. VI, 16, 17, 18, 19)]. » All which things indeed, if thou hast the love of God, if thou fix it in thy heart and in thy arm as a memorial, shall be made far from thee, nor is there anything wherein they may hinder thee in the least.

*For love is strong as death*

Death indeed is strong, because it destroys kings, casts down tyrants, despoils the rich, and finally snatches to itself everything [1300A] that lives in the world, ending all things by one common end, and shutting up the universe: so also the true love of Christ is indeed strong, rejecting whatever things are adverse to Christ, not shuddering at the sword, not fearing the prison, not dreading chains, willingly taking upon itself every torment that can be devised, reckoning these things not as torments, but venerating and adoring them as helps to its own salvation. The world devised wild beasts, devised burning plates, devised wheels and screws; yet charity, abiding in the hearts of those whom malignity was assailing, overcame and conquered all these things. Whence this love is not strong as death, but is stronger than death itself, which remains whole while death rushes upon it, and through it deserves to obtain eternal rewards. There follows:

[1300B] *And emulation is hard as hell.*

As love is commended, so emulation is disapproved; for emulation is said to be an envious imitation of charity. For certain men, seeing the martyrs honoured, and the holy confessors venerated by all, envying those honours, and desiring the same, put themselves forward as though followers of the martyrs and imitators of them, and thus esteemed themselves martyrs, or as it were martyrs: whose zeal the Bridegroom himself thus disapproves, saying, « Emulation is hard as hell. » For as Hell drags those whom it snatches, nor permits any of them to be drawn out from it; so hard is the condition of these men, which is thus made one with hell, feigning good for itself only with evil guile. There follows:

## CHAPTER VIII. (cont.)

[1300C] *His lamps are lamps of fire and of flames. 7. Many waters could not quench charity, neither shall the floods overwhelm it.*

This is the commendation of charity, which is the true love of God; for its lamps of fire are the hearts, namely, of the saints, formed after the manner of lamps, which are narrow here below, but widened above, and prepared for a dwelling-place of the spiritual fire. Which fire indeed is always fire, always warming, and always kindling the heart in the love of God; sometimes fire with flame, when it not only burns and kindles, but rather shines in work, and manifests in deed what it does within; in such wise indeed, that many waters cannot quench this charity: for no tribulations, no devices [1300D] of vexations can quench this love; because, the more evils are multiplied, the more it is certain that it grows up hence into God, because « the floods shall not overwhelm it, » that is, evils heaped upon evils shall in nothing prevail against the grace of God. There follows:

*If a man shall give all the substance of his house for love, he shall despise it as nothing.*

This is the consummate praise of it: for if a man shall give the whole of that which is temporally acquired, that he may acquire this charity for himself, he will despise that whole substance as nothing, and will seem to himself to have given nothing, because that which is acquired is dear and lovely. There follows:

[1301A]

## 8.

*Our sister is little, and hath no breasts. What shall we do to our sister in the day when she is to be spoken to.*

The Bride has been commended by the Bridegroom, and he has admonished her that she was redeemed by him from death, and she has been taught that she should have this memorial of the heart; taught also that charity conquers all things; she indeed holds all things pleasing and receives them; and now, admonished concerning charity, she adds a question, saying, « Our sister is little, and hath no breasts. » There comes to her mind what the Apostle says, « When the fulness of the Gentiles shall have come in, then all Israel shall be saved [n: (Rom. XI, 25, 26)]. She calls to mind therefore this synagogue, which for the present walks in darkness, denies Christ, and blasphemes the things which are said and believed concerning him. [1301B] Foreknowing therefore that she is to be converted in the last times [by] the holy apostle, and that Elias and Henoch have been reserved by Christ for the converting of these, and naming her sister on account of the conversion to come, she thus says out of charity, « Our sister is little, and hath no breasts: » little indeed in faith, least in hope, and now none at all in charity. She hath no breasts, she contains in herself no bands of doctrine; the things which were done for her sake, these she denies and keeps silent about. Foreknowing therefore that she shall come to the faith at the last, she thus asks of the Bridegroom, « What shall we do to our sister, in the day when she is to be spoken to? » What shall we say? How shall we admonish her? What words of salvation shall we give her? To these questions the Bridegroom thus answers:

*[1301C]*

## 9.

*If she be a wall, let us build upon it bulwarks of silver: if she be a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar.*

For some of those who are to be converted are as a wall, having in themselves great knowledge, and also acquaintance with letters, and on this account also the hardness of a wall against those that assail them; to whom the Bridegroom says that bulwarks of silver be built upon them, that is, that the testimonies of the divine Scriptures be given them, and of the authorities wherewith we are fortified; that the ensigns be granted to these, whereby these, now fortified, are the defenders and the safeguard of the true Church. « But if she be a door, let us join it together with boards of cedar. » But the door are those through whom some enter, and some go out: who indeed are lesser in knowledge, [1301D] less instructed in the Scriptures, to whom the highest things are not to be set forth, nor things difficult of understanding, but boards of cedar are to be joined together, that is, light Scriptures are to be set forth; as is that board which the Lord painted, saying, « Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek: for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice; for they shall have their fill [n: (Matth. V, 3 et seq.)]. » Which board indeed is of cedar, that is, incorruptible, and bringing forth sentences undefiled, true and unbreakable. And other boards like to these, which, set before them, will be able to help and to confirm them in the truth received. There follows

*[1302A]*

## 10.

*I am a wall: and my breasts are as a tower; since I am become in his presence as one finding peace.*

The answer of the Beloved being heard, wherein he admonishes the Bride both to set forth bulwarks of silver for the converted synagogue, and to send fit defenders for the defence of the Church, she gratefully says, « I am a wall, » I too will set myself against the blows; and my breasts, namely the prelates of the Churches, whom I name my breasts for this cause, that I nourish them with my milk, these shall be with me the firm and unassailable defence of the Church, and with me the incontestable acquiring of eternal life; in that, my sister who had perished being now restored to me, « I am become in his presence as one finding peace. » For then shall peace truly be found, when none of those who were foreknown unto life shall any longer be lacking, [1302B] but the Church, now holding all her own within herself, shall rejoice in the highest prosperity. There follows:

11. *There was a vineyard to the peaceable one in that which hath peoples: he delivered it to keepers.*

The praise of this canticle being now consummated, and the fulness of this Bride being consummated, when the synagogue, which she names her sister, shall have been converted to the faith for her, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall have entered into the faith, the Bride now speaks of herself entire, saying, « There was a vineyard to the peaceable one. » I indeed, now called with the fulness of the Gentiles, with the synagogue now converted to the faith, have stood forth a vineyard to the peaceable one, that is, to Jesus Christ our Lord, who has made peace with all things that are in earth, and that are in heaven. « In that which hath peoples, » that is, in the multitude of the Gentiles, which was wholly created by God, but [1302C] not wholly foreordained unto life; « For many are called, but few chosen [n: (Matth. XX, 16)]. » But I, with the multitude of all the elect, of Jews and of Gentiles, was a vineyard to the peaceable one, making for him chosen fruits, worthy to be received by him, worthy to be presented to God the Father. Which vineyard indeed she says the peaceable one delivered to keepers: for that part of the Church which stood forth from Adam even to Christ was committed to the Patriarchs, and the Prophets, and the Doctors of the holy Law, to be kept. But that which shall be from Christ even to the end of the world was granted to the holy apostles, and to the martyrs, and to others excelling in honour, to be instructed. There follows:

[1302D] *A man bringeth for the fruit thereof a thousand pieces of silver. 12. My vineyard is before me. A thousand are thine, O peaceable one, and two hundred for them that keep the fruits thereof.*

This vineyard indeed the peaceable one tended, planted, and pruned, and brought through to flower and to fruit; which was not turned into bitterness, nor brought forth wild grapes, but choice grapes, and most worthy to be presented to God the Father. Whence here it is said, « A man bringeth for the fruit thereof a thousand pieces of silver. » Who is this man? That good man whom David calls to mind, saying, « The man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, and hath not stood in the way of sinners, and hath not sat in the chair of pestilence. But his will is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he shall meditate day and night [n: (Psal. I, 1, 2)]. » [var: Vulg. opens the verse with a beatitude, "Blessed is the man who hath not walked…"] He alone, most worthy to be called a man, receives the fruits of the Church, [1303A] and offers them to God the Father, from whom, for the rewarding of the Church, he receives a thousand pieces of silver, which he brings, that the Church may be enriched, and may rejoice together that she has borne fruit well. But by the thousand pieces of silver he denotes eternal life, and its infinite beatitude, wherewith the Lord shall reward his own, when he shall have presented them to the Father, and shall have set seats for them in the heavenly places. But he signifies that this beatitude is comprehended by the number of a thousand, which is the fourth unity: for the first unity is unity itself; the second, the ten; the third, the hundred; the fourth, the thousand; after this the number is extended to infinity, having always the thousand for its root and unity. Well therefore by this is infinity shewn, and by the silver, the excellence of beatitude; for concerning this it is said, « The words [1303B] of the Lord are chaste words: silver tried by the fire, proved of the earth, purified seven times [n: (Psal. XI, 7)]. » Because the words which preach the Lord contain chastity in themselves, admitting in themselves no heresy, no incontinence at all, but are in themselves as silver tried by the fire of the Holy Spirit, than which no utterance rings sweeter, nothing is more savoury to the soul; than which nothing is found more proved from the earth, nothing more purified by the fire of the sevenfold Spirit: concerning which she receives this answer of the Father, « My vineyard is before me, » that is, All this multitude of the elect is pleasing to me, it is with me in every thought and work, which thou signifiest to me by the thousand peaceable ones, and by the two hundred, who keep the fruits thereof. For these are those perfect ones who from Adam even to [1303C] Christ instructed this whole body with words, kept it with examples, and adorned it with merits. But the hundred that remain are those who from Christ even to the end of the world presided over that elect multitude: these are presented to God the Father, and are crowned in eternal beatitude with those over whom they had presided. There follows:

13. *Thou that dwellest in the gardens, the friends hearken: make me hear thy voice.*

This is the last admonition of the Bridegroom, wherewith he admonishes the Bride concerning his praise, saying, « Thou that dwellest in the gardens, make me hear thy voice. » She indeed, now holding the primacy in the gardens of Judaea, now holding her converted in the faith, instructing her with the precepts of life, [1303D] fully possessing also the multitude of the Gentiles, plainly residing in the gardens of the virtues, containing in herself all the virtues which smell sweetly to the Lord, is well said to dwell in the gardens of the Churches, and, that praise may be brought forth by her to the Lord, is entreated with heavenly admonitions, when it is said, Thou that dwellest in the gardens of the Churches, [1304A] make me hear thy voice, that my praise may resound from all the Churches, and that from every one my praise may ring back again with thanksgiving. For « the friends » « hearken; » for the Angels, and all the angelic powers with them, joined to Christ together with these from the beginning by the virtue of faithful friendship, await and hearken to the glory of my rewarding, which they already hope for in the glory of thy praise. There follows:

14. *Flee my Beloved, and be thou like to the roe and to the fawn of the harts upon the mountains of spices.*

This is the last answer of the Church, wherewith the Bride answers her Beloved, saying, « Flee, my Beloved. » The Bridegroom admonishes her concerning praise, and exhorts her to sound forth praise, not that he wills that she should now begin the canticles of praise, but the common resurrection of all being awaited, [1304B] when the Bridegroom shall have come in a cloud, when an angel with a clear voice shall have sounded forth his coming, saying, « Behold the Bridegroom cometh, Go ye forth to meet him [n: (Matth. XXV, 6)]; » when the mournful trumpet shall have sounded for all to rise again, and the Judge, thronged about with Angels, shall have sat on the seat of his majesty, and the world, none excepted, shall have run to meet him, and he shall have borne a dreadful sentence upon the reprobate, and shall have given to all his elect the sentence which he is to speak, « Come, ye blessed of my Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. » Then indeed shall the praise and thanksgiving of the Church with all the saints sound forth, such as has not been heard from the beginning of the world, and all that partake of her praise shall be blessed by the Lord unto the ages. And because this was shewn beforehand to the Bride that loves him, therefore, not [1304C] with indignation, but bearing this delay patiently, she thus answers, « Flee, my Beloved, » which is: withdraw thee for the present from our sight; in this standing like to the roe and to the fawn of the harts, which are indeed clean animals, and keep themselves from the sight of men upon the ridges of the mountains. Which mountains indeed, where this fawn of the harts dwells, that he may distinguish them from the other mountains, he adds, « of spices. » For the mountains of spices are the holy hosts of the angels, and the dwellings of all the heavenly powers, from which breathe forth all the aromatic graces, which it is certain are pleasing to the Lord. Upon these the Lord pours forth from himself the balsam of life, that, anointed therewith, they may now live for ever: of which anointing assuredly the Church, desiring to be [1304D] made partaker, and always sighing after it in the things which have been said, has sought that the kiss of most holy delight be given to her; and now, made certain by the most sure promise of her Bridegroom that she shall receive it after a little while with the whole of her fulness, she rests.

license_source: Public Domain Mark 1.0

license_translation: CC BY-NC 4.0

license_apparatus: CC BY-NC 4.0