site: migne

title: Liber Judith

author: Anselm of Laon and his school

languages: en la

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 113, coll. 731D–740B

source_text:
## PROLOGUS HIERONYMI IN LIBRUM JUDITH.

[n: ( Vide inter opera beati Hieronymi, tom. VIII. )]

## PRAEFATIO.

[0731D]

[n: (RAB. expos. in lib. Judith, tom. III.)] Quaeritur quo tempore quibusve regibus historia Judith fuerit, etc., *usque ad* nisi forte dicatur quod Cambyses qui gentes finitimas impugnasse, et Aegyptum superasse dicitur, cum regnum Assyriorum atque Persarum unum esset, aliquem regem nomine Arphaxat in Media repugnantem vicerit, atque suo imperio subjugaverit.

## CAPUT PRIMUM.

VERS. 1.-- « Arphaxat. » [n: (RAB., ubi supra. )] Mystice, per Arphaxat superbi exprimuntur, quorum conatus et labor qui per vastum tumoris et elationis agitur facile in potestatem Nabuchodonosor, id est diaboli cadit: ipse est enim rex super omnes filios [0732D] superbiae: « Quam appellavit. » Quae Mediae provinciae metropolis est, quam Deiocus Medorum rex condidit, sed Arphaxat mirabiliter amplificavit, sicut Daniel propheta, secundum Josephum sub Dario rege in eadem civitate Mediae mausolaeum valde praeclarum constructum mira arte posuit, quod quacunque die cernitur eadem constructum putatur, quia sic pulchritudo nova et materia solida. Ibi usque hodie reges Persarum atque Medorum sepeliuntur et cui haec cura committetur sacerdos Judaeus est.

« In gloria. » Hi in curribus et hi in equis, etc. Sed Deus currum Pharaonis et exercitum ejus projecit in mare: ergo qui gloriatur, in Domino glorietur.

VERS. 6.-- « In campo magno. » [n: (RAB., ubi supra. )] Nominibus locorum, etc., *usque ad* et demum victorias ad Chaldaeos vel Assyrios concesserint.

[0733A] « Tunc exaltatum est. » Cum diabolus perditorum multitudinem suae voluntati subjicit, elevatur cor ejus, propriae illud assignans virtuti, non divinae permissioni: et eo magis ardescit ad plurimorum perditorum destructionem, quo se videt quibusdam praevalere per pravam suggestionem, unde sequitur.

« Et misit ad omnes. » [n: (RAB., ibid.)] Diabolus per diversas provincias legatos mittit, etc., *usque ad* unde: « Omnes uno animo contradixerunt, etc. »

VERS. 12.-- « Tunc indignatus Nabuchodonosor. » Diabolus propria superbia excaecatus, arrogat sibi imperium totius orbis, contendens ut abstractos a cultu pietatis, consortes suae faciat impietatis: qui de potentia regni exsultans, ait: « Ascendam in coelum, et ponam sedem meam in Aquilonem, et [0733B] similis ero Altissimo. » Et in Evangelio: « Haec omnia tibi dabo, si cadens adoraveris me. »

## CAPUT II.

VERS. 7.-- « Tunc Holofernes. [n: (RAB., in lib. Judith, tom. III.)] Holofernes ille principes gentium, qui Ecclesiam persecuti sunt significat, etc., *usque ad* ut omnes adorent draconem, qui bestiae talem dedit potestatem.

VERS. 12.-- « Cumque pertransisset. » [n: (ID., ibid.)] Per diversas provincias, et nomina locorum, quae in historia continentur, personarum distinctiones et graduum, et dignitatum, designantur, ex quibus diabolus vindicat sibi aliquam partem, nec pugnae formidat difficultatem, sed grandis potentiae grandem [0733C] certat efficere ruinam.

VERS. 13.-- « Praedavitque omnes. » Scientiae utilitatem auferens, et caetera quibus servire debuerant Deo: et in usum servitii sui convertens: resistentes occidit in ore gladii, quia quos flectere ad consensum nequit, corporaliter occidit.

VERS. 17.-- « Descendit in campos. » Damascus potus sanguinis interpretatur, in qua principes gentium exprimuntur, qui sitiunt sanguinem fidelium: maxime in tempore messis, id est, in consummatione saeculi debacchante per latitudinem orbis furore Antichristi.

## CAPUT III.

VERS. 1.-- « Tunc miserunt, » etc. Potentes saeculi et voluptatum amatores, qui principem mundi [0733D] student reconciliare sibi, ut mortis periculum et voluptatis, detrimentum evadere possint; de quibus dicitur: « Qui vult esse amicus hujus saeculi, inimicus Dei constituitur. » In his enim sollicitudo hujus saeculi, et fallacia divitiarum suffocat verbum, et fructum non facit, hi enim secundum nomina harum provinciarum superbia extolluntur, vanitatem sequuntur: terram duabus viis ingrediuntur, et coetum lugentium vel luxuriae suae poenas luentium in inferno sociabuntur: ubi ad calorem nimium transibunt ab aquis nivium, « et vermis eorum non morietur, et ignis non exstinguetur. »

## CAPUT IV.

VERS. 13.-- *Memores estote.* Per exempla sanctorum [0734A] corroborat, unde Job [n: (Cap. XII)]: *Instauras testes contra me,* et Paulus ad Hebraeos fidei virtutem laudans patrum copiosa induxit exempla, qui per fidem vicerunt regna, operati sunt justitiam.

## CAPUT V.

VERS. 5.-- « Tunc Achior dux, » etc. Quasi princeps haereticorum quilibet idololatriae deditus, qui de divinis operibus et miraculis cognovit quae saepe aliis dicit, quamvis fidem catholicam perfecte non didicerit, et Christi baptismate renatus non sit. Vel per Achior haeretici designantur, qui licet per omnia viam veritatis non teneant, tamen in doctrina sua multa vera praedicant, quae nostrae fidei concordant. Hi contra Ecclesiam catholicam pugnant, sed ratione superati veritatem omnino non celant, haeretici [0734B] enim bona malis permiscent; quia si semper mala dicerent, latere non possent; sicut qui veneni poculum porrigit, labrum calicis melle tangit, ut quod dulce est, primo sentiatur, ne quod mortiferum est timeatur. Aliquando tamen correcti salvantur, sicut Achior videns victoriam Judith, consociatus populo Dei circumcidit carnem praeputii sui: leprosi quoque evangelici haereticos exprimunt, qui dum rectis prava inserunt, quasi colorem sanum maculis aspergunt.

## CAPUT VI.

VERS. 10.-- « Porro filii Israel descendentes de Bethulia venerunt. » Filii: doctores Ecclesiae ad arborem ligatum solvunt, cum catechumenos suos, [0734C] nec persecutorum rabiem, nec mortem pertimescere docent. Quasi ad arborem ligatum solvunt, cum a formidine crucis mentem pavidam eruunt, et ad patiendum instruunt, hoc autem melius fit, si (exemplo Oziae et Carmin qui confortantes Achior, preces devotas cum omni populo Domino effuderunt) magistri Ecclesiae cum caeteris fidelibus auditores suos Domino commendaverint devotis precibus, ut ejus dono habeatur, quod humana infirmitas non meretur.

VERS. 19.-- « Et fecit ei coenam magnam. » Expleto jejunio facit, qui animam diu languidam, et pane verbi Domini egentem, evangelica doctrina et dapibus virtutum reficit. Huic convivio advocantur omnes presbyteri, ut eorum exhortationibus et exemplis corroborentur neophyti ad fidem accipiendam [0734D] vel conservandam.

## CAPUT VII

VERS. 7.-- « Erant tamen non longe a muris fontes. » Sicut in libro Regum Philisthiim fabros ferrarios auferunt, ne faciant Hebraeis aut lanceam, aut gladium. Et descendit omnis Israel ad Philisthiim, ut exacueret vomerem, et ligonem et securim, et sarculum. Hoc enim maxime diabolus studet, ut doctrinae fluenta et virtutum arma auferat, et sic nequitiam suam in interitum servorum Dei velociter expleat: hinc principes gentium et Julianus apostata non solum divinam, sed et humanam Christianis interdicunt philosophiam.

VERS. 12.-- « Tunc ad Oziam congregati. » Carnales [0735A] qui dicunt « Domine, Domine, cor autem eorum longe est a me [n: (Matth. VII, XV)]. » Sunt enim in sagena Domini et boni et mali pisces, usque ad littus futuri judicii, qui praesentis vitae incommoda graviter ferentes, malunt praesentibus uti deliciis, quam coelestia bona sibi in futuro reservari, qui magistros suos importunis quaerimoniis affligunt, et sibi ad luxum saeculi assentire cogunt, unde sequitur:

VERS. 23.-- « Et hos quinque dies, » etc. Quinque dies quinque sensus corporis, quibus praesens vita ducitur, quasi quinque dierum inducias doctor iners expetit, qui corporale vitium solatium auditoribus indiscrete promittit, quasi in potestate sua sit summi datoris magnificentia, cum magis tempus tribuendi, et modus, in dantis quam accipientis potestate [0735B] consistat: si enim praesentis vitae negatur solatium, subditos deserunt, ut cedentes persecutionibus, corporale devitent supplicium. Hanc conventionem nostra Judith, id est Ecclesia, respuit et contemnit.

## CAPUT VIII.

VERS. 1.-- « Et factum est cum, » etc., sequitur « Filia Merari. » Id est amaritudinis. Ecclesia enim per amaritudinem et tribulationem ad futurae vitae gaudia generatur: ubi Dominum laudabit in aeternum. Quod enim quindecim generatione progenita narratur, significat quod Ecclesia per hebdoadem legis et ogdoadem evangelii, de patriarchis et apostolis est edita, et ad coelestem gratiam ascensura; unde hic numerus graduum in Psalterio ponitur, [0735C] futurae ad coelos ascensionis figurativus, quo sancti venientes merito dicunt, « Ecce nunc benedicite Domino. »

VERS. 2.-- « Et vir ejus fuit Manasses, » etc. Manasses interpretatur obliviosus vel necessitas, cui Judith conjugio copulata quasi decalogo legis vel ritibus gentilium obnoxia. Sed veniente Christo et luce Evangelii clarescente in mundo, omnis illa observantia cessit, et quasi vilis collectio messis velociter transiit; unde Apostolus: « Ubi venit fides, jam non sumus sub paedagogo. Omnes enim filii Dei estis per fidem in Christo Jesu [n: (Gal. III)]. » Et ad Romanos ait: « Mortificati estis legi per corpus Christi Jesu, ut sitis alterius qui ex mortuis resurrexit [n: (Rom. VII)]. » Et vir Manasses, Christus Ecclesiae sponsus. [0735D] Bene Manasses dicitur, quia nos facit oblivisci calamitatis pristinae per consolationem vitae futurae. Hic in tempore messis hordeaceae, id est collectionis plebis Judaicae, cum mitteret apostolos suos praedicare et manipulos credentium congregare: venit aestus persecutionis super caput ejus, id est super divinitatem ejus. « Caput enim Christi Deus [n: (II Cor. II)]. » Inde enim maxime scandalizabantur Judaei, quod dicebat se esse Filium Dei. Unde, « Facis teipsum Deum [n: (Joan. X)]. » Et alibi: « Quia Filium Dei se fecit [n: (Ibid. XIX)]. » Passus est Jesus in gente sua, et sepultus in horto. Hujus sponsa ablato sponso, jejunio, et orationi operam dat, usque ad consummationem saeculi, nec erroribus haereticis dignatur pollui. [0736A] Cui vir suus reliquit divitias spiritualis sapientiae et virtutis: et familiam, id est gentium multitudinem, aggregavit.

VERS. 7.-- « Cui vir suus reliquerat divitias multas. » Ex veteris legis et ex philosophiae instructione, moralisque disciplinae, multiplices opes ad Christum veniens attulit Ecclesia; unde et Paulus se ad pedes Gamaliel nutritum gloriatur, et Moyses omni sapientia Aegyptiorum eruditus legitur.

VERS. 12.-- « Non est iste sermo. » Cum afflicti sumus, nec tempus, nec modum praescribere Domino debemus, sed magis arbitrio ejus cuncta relinquamus. Unde quidam patrum in oratione sua dixisse legitur: « Fili Dei, fili Dei, sicut scis, et sicut vis, miserere mei [n: (Matth. VI)]. » Regnum tantum Dei [0736B] quaerere debemus, et omnia adjicientur. Praesens vita sit fidelibus in usu, futura in fructu. Sit res temporalis in itinere, desideretur aeterna in perventione.

VERS. 28.-- « Et dixerunt. » Quaecunque loquitur Ecclesia in confessione fidei in doctrina religionis, laudabilia et irreprehensibilia sunt, haec singulos fideles orando praemonet, si quisque sicut probavit verum esse quod docet, ita operibus implet: unde subditur:

VERS. 30.-- « Et dixit illis Judith. » Judith, id est Ecclesia, commendat praesbyteris portam, id est castrorum Dei sollicitam custodiam, ut pervigili et solerti cura contra hostium insidias semper parati assistant et orationibus muniti.

## CAPUT IX.

[0736C]

VERS. 1.-- « Quibus abscedentibus. » Postquam ad presbyteros locuta est, oratorium ingreditur Judith, quia sollicitudo sanctorum post praedicationis obsequium, redit ad cordis sui secretum, ut ibi compleat purae ascensionis incensum: secundum illud, Cum oraveris, intra in cubiculum tuum.

VERS. 2.-- « Domine Deus. » Bene in oratione actum Simonis commemorat, qui cum fratre Levi stuprum sororis in alienigenas vindicavit. Futurum enim erat, ut Holofernes qui in Judith voluit explere immunditiam libidinis, gladio feriretur ultionis.

VERS. 9.-- « Respice castra. » Sicut luxuriosos luxuriosis comparat, ita nunc superbis superbos, Assyrios, [0736D] scilicet Aegyptiis; quia sicut potentia divina est in illis, ita manifestari potest et his subversis, quia idem Dominus, eadem potentia, eadem justitia.

## CAPUT X.

VERS. 2.-- « Abstulit a se cilicium, et exuit se vestimentis viduitatis suae, » etc. Quia sancta Ecclesia aliquando pro peccatis suis, poenitentiae gerit affectum: sed tamen spe remissionis et futuri praemii exhilarat animum.

VERS. 4.-- « Ut incomparabili decore. » Quia justum est, ut qui Dei fervet amore, omnibus habeatur dignus honore, unde: « Astitit regina a dextris tuis in vestitu deaurato, circumdata varietate [n: (Psal. XLIV)]. »

[0737A]VERS. 5.-- « Et panes et caseum. » Haec omnia Abra pro dispensatione dominae suae observat. Justum est enim, ut qui non novit moderamina vitae suae tenere, non subito fiat rector alienae.

« Dixeruntque, » etc. Sub dominatione saecularium principum libere manere permiserunt. Sicut Trajanus licet inprimis Christi Confessores persecutus sit, Plinio secundo admonente, levioribus decretis edictum suum temperavit. Aelius quoque Adrianus per Quadratum discipulum apostolorum, et Aristidem Atheniensem virum, de Christiana religione eruditus, ad Munitium Fundanum proconsulem Asiae epistolam misit, ut nemini liceret Christianum sine criminis objectione aut probatione damnare.

## CAPUT XI.

[0737B]

VERS. 4.-- « Et dixit illi Judith: Sume verba, » etc. [n: (AUG., serm. 229 de temp.)] Species custodit quae blanditur, etc., *usque ad* sed sopor tibi quem ferias praeparavit.

VERS. 17.-- « Missa sum. » Prima via salutis fuit gentibus, praedicatores Evangelii gratanter recipere et fidem praebere, et per eorum doctrinam ad agnitionem veritatis venire.

## CAPUT XII.

VERS. 19.-- « Et accepit. » Non inquinatur cibis gentilium aut superstitione. Ecclesia enim inter gentes habitans, idololatria non polluitur, sed his quae devotio fidelium per obedientiam praeparat, utitur, [0737C] unde: « Meus cibus est ut faciam voluntatem ejus qui misit me Patris [n: (Joan. IV)]. »

## CAPUT XIII.

VERS. 4.-- « In lecto. » Nefandae securitatis, qua se impune peccare confidit; unde: « Impius cum in profundum peccatorum venerit, contemnit [n: (Prov. XVIII)]. »

VERS. 11.-- « Caput Holofernis. » Recordationem confecti belli sollicite jubet memorari, unde: « Sobrii estote et vigilate [n: (I Petr. V)].

VERS. 13.-- « Custodibus murorum. » Id est doctoribus, qui verbo et exemplo Ecclesiam muniunt, et ad vitam aeternam introducunt, de quibus dicitur: « Super muros tuos Jerusalem constitui custodes [n: (Isa. LXI)]. » Vel angelicis spiritibus, qui nobis in [0737D] custodiam missi, malignos spiritus excludunt.

« Aperite portas. » Id est devotionem cordis, unde dicitur: « Qui habet aures audiendi audiat, quid Spiritus dicat ecclesiis [n: (Apoc. I)]. » Secundum illud: « Beatus qui causam suam loquitur in aure audientis [n: (Eccl. XXV)]. » Dominus virtutem populo suo dabit, cum quo scilicet, apicem coelestis regni ascendit, unde: « Nemo ascendit in coelum nisi qui descendit de coelo [n: (Joan. III)]. »

VERS. 16.-- « Illa autem ascendens. » Ad coelestia dogmata sermonem convertens, et ad laudandum Deum pro beneficiis suis auditores attollens.

VERS. 18.-- « Et interfecit. » De quo: « Ipsa conteret caput, etc. [n: (Gen. II)]. » Et in Evangelio: « Dabo [0738A] vobis potestatem calcandi super serpentes et scorpiones et super omnes virtutes inimici [n: (Luc. X)]. »

VERS. 19.--Et ecce, » etc. Scitote quanta sit malignitas, quanta fraus inimici nostri, quanta pietate a nobis superatus sit, quos Dominus illaesos ab omni fraude et erroris contaminatione custodit, ut his inspectis Conditori et Redemptori nostro gratias agatis, unde: « Sobrii estote et vigilate [n: (I Petr. V)]. » Et: « Timeo ne sicut serpens seduxit Evam astutia sua, ita et sensus nostri corrumpantur [n: (II Cor. II)]. » Et item: « Confortamini in Domino et in potentia virtutis ejus: et induite vos arma Dei [n: (Ephes. VI)]. »

VERS. 25.-- « Quia hodie nomen tuum, » etc. Laus Ecclesiae non recedet de ore hominum, qui memores sunt studii et operum ejus, quae per dilectionem Dei [0738B] et proximi praesentes tribulationes secura sustinet, fide plena et spe firma, attendens eminentiam coelestium praemiorum, ubi sociabitur beatitudini angelorum.

VERS. 29.-- « Videns autem Achior. » Per Achior principem Ammonitarum pagani vel haeretici designantur, qui videntes Ecclesiae fidem hostium superasse ferocitatem, nimio pavore concutiuntur et superbiam suam humiliantes Ecclesiam venerantur; et sequaces suos errorem relinquere et fide liberi sese sociare hortantur; unde Isaias: « Venient ad te curvi filii eorum qui te humiliaverunt, et adorabunt vestigia pedum tuorum omnes qui detrahebant tibi [n: (Isa. LX)]. »

## CAPUT XIV.

[0738C]VERS. 13.-- « Tunc ingressus. » Duces persecutorum deos suos contra Ecclesiam poscentes auxilium, inveniunt eos propria foeditate spurcissimos et omni virtute destitutos, unde fugae se commendantes relinquunt ea in quibus temporaliter confidebant. « Non est enim prudentia, non est sapientia nec consilium contra Deum; » unde Hieremias ait: « Non fugiet velox et non salvabitur fortis, » etc. [n: (Hier. XLVI)].

## CAPUT XV.

VERS. 3.-- « Videntes itaque, » etc. Gedeon contra Madianitas pugnaturus, non hastam, non clypeum, sed tubas et lampades tulit, praefigurans Evangelii praecones, quibus non est colluctatio adversus carnem et sanguinem, sed contra spiritualia [0738D] nequitiae in coelestibus, etc, et pugnant praedicationis voce et miraculorum fulgore.

« Omnis itaque. » Ad praedicationem verbi Dei ex singulis gentibus et provinciis probatae personae et viribus accinctae ad malitiam Domini veniunt; unde Isaias: « Ecce isti de longe venient, et ecce illi ab Aquilone et mari [n: (Isa. XLIX)], » etc.

VERS. 13.-- « Per dies autem. » Qui universum praesentis vitae tempus significant, quo populus Dei de hoste triumphans spiritualiter exspoliat; unde de Ecclesia dicitur: « Confidit in ea cor viri sui, et spoliis non indigebit [n: (Prov. XXXI)]. »

VERS. 14.-- « Porro autem. » Sic populus Dei ab Aegypto recedens, ipsam spoliavit, unde tabernaculum [0739A] construxit. Sic reges justi sub Testamento Veteri quae hostibus abstulerunt, in ministerio templi consecraverunt.

VERS. 15.-- « Juvenibus. » Quia tunc neque nubent neque nubentur, quia resurgent omnes in virum perfectum, in mensuram aetatis plenitudinis Christi. Unde in resurrectione Domini, juvenis coopertus stola candida angelus apparuit.

## CAPUT XVI.

VERS. 12.-- « Horruerunt. » Notare debet lector, utrum opinio vera sit, quod Cambyses filius Cyri a plerisque iste Nabuchodonosor dictus sit, qui Persis, Medis, et Assyriis imperavit.

VERS. 16.-- « Adonai Domine. » Unum de decem nominibus apud Hebraeos significans, quod Dominus [0739B] creaturae dominetur. Et notandum, quod ubicunque bis ponitur, Dominus: primum nomen, tetragrammaton est, et proprie ad Deum pertinet, et ineffabile dicitur: secundum commune, quod convenit hominibus. Et bene Adonai Dominus filius Dei dicitur: quia Deus et homo, Dominus et Deus, quod omnibus dominetur vel ab omnibus timeatur.

VERS. 21.-- « In carnes eorum. » Quas amaverunt, [0740A] de quibus nascitur fetor vermium. Caro et sanguis vermes creat: quia delectatio carnalis, cui sal continentiae non resistit, poenam aeternam generat luxuriosis; unde: « Vermis eorum non morietur, et ignis non exstinguetur [n: (Isa. LXVI)]. »

VERS. 22.-- « Et factum est. » Adepta victoria de hostibus suis, quisque electus ab omni labe purgatus, properat in supernam Dei civitatem, ubi vera visio pacis, ubi reddit vota sua conditori.

VERS. 28.-- « Centum quinque, etc. Pro aeterna beatitudine centenarius numerus a laeva transit in dextram.

« Abram suam. » Abram carnalium conversationem, quae semper timori obnoxia est in libertatem gratiae et ad securitatem charitatis ducendo et exhortando [0740B] perducit, ut non timore, sed amore serviat.

VERS. 29.-- « Luxitque illam omnis populus diebus septem. » Electi Dei per omne tempus, quod septem diebus evolvitur, propter peregrinationem praesentis Ecclesiae, in dolore et gemitu non affliguntur ex desperatione, sed futurae vitae recordatione, juxta illud: « Flevimus, dum recordaremur Sion [n: (Psal. CXXXVI)]. »

english:
## THE PROLOGUE OF JEROME ON THE BOOK OF JUDITH.

[n: ( Vide inter opera beati Hieronymi, tom. VIII. )]

## PREFACE.

[0731D]

[n: (RAB. expos. in lib. Judith, tom. III.)] It is asked at what time and under what kings the history of Judith took place, etc., *as far as* unless perhaps it be said that Cambyses, who is said to have assailed the neighbouring nations and to have overcome Egypt, since the kingdom of the Assyrians and of the Persians was one, overcame some king named Arphaxat resisting him in Media, and subdued him to his own empire.

## CHAPTER ONE.

VERS. 1.-- « Arphaxat. » [n: (RAB., ubi supra. )] Mystically, by Arphaxat the proud are expressed, whose endeavour and labour, which is carried on through the vastness of swelling and of elation, falls easily into the power of Nabuchodonosor, that is, of the devil: for he himself is king over all the sons [0732D] of pride: « Which he named. » Which is the metropolis of the province of Media, which Deiocus king of the Medes founded, but Arphaxat wondrously enlarged, even as Daniel the prophet, according to Josephus, under king Darius set in that same city of Media a mausoleum exceedingly famous, built with wondrous art, which, on whatever day it is beheld, is thought to have been built on that same day, because its beauty is thus fresh and its material solid. There unto this day the kings of the Persians and of the Medes are buried, and he to whom this charge shall be committed is a Jewish priest.

« In glory. » These in chariots and these in horses, etc. But God cast the chariot of Pharao and his army into the sea: therefore he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

VERS. 6.-- « In the great plain. » [n: (RAB., ubi supra. )] By the names of places, etc., *as far as* and at length they yielded the victories to the Chaldeans or the Assyrians.

[0733A] « Then was it exalted. » When the devil subjects the multitude of the lost to his own will, his heart is lifted up, ascribing that to his own power, not to the divine permission: and he burns the more hotly for the destruction of very many lost ones, the more he sees himself prevailing over certain men through depraved suggestion, whence follows.

« And he sent to all. » [n: (RAB., ibid.)] The devil sends legates through the several provinces, etc., *as far as* whence: « All with one mind contradicted, etc. »

VERS. 12.-- « Then Nabuchodonosor being indignant. » The devil, blinded by his own pride, arrogates to himself the empire of the whole world, striving that, having drawn men away from the worship of piety, he may make them partakers of his own impiety: who, exulting over the power of his kingdom, saith: « I will ascend into heaven, and I will set my seat in the north, and I will be like [0733B] the Most High. » [var: Vulg. Isa. 14:13–14 *In caelum conscendam, super astra Dei exaltabo solium meum… sedebo in monte testamenti, in lateribus aquilonis*, "I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God… in the sides of the north"] And in the Gospel: « All these things will I give thee, if falling down thou wilt adore me. »

## CHAPTER II.

VERS. 7.-- « Then Holofernes. [n: (RAB., in lib. Judith, tom. III.)] That Holofernes signifieth the princes of the nations who persecuted the Church, etc., *as far as* that all should adore the dragon, who gave such power to the beast.

VERS. 12.-- « And when he had passed through. » [n: (ID., ibid.)] By the several provinces, and by the names of the places which are contained in the history, the distinctions of persons and of degrees and of dignities are designated, out of which the devil claims for himself some part, nor does he dread the difficulty of the battle, but strives to work a great [0733C] ruin of a great power.

VERS. 13.-- « And he plundered all. » Taking away the profit of knowledge, and the other things by which they ought to have served God: and turning them to the use of his own service: he [the devil] slays them that resist with the edge of the sword, because those whom he cannot bend to consent, he slays bodily.

VERS. 17.-- « He went down into the plains. » Damascus is interpreted a draught of blood, in which are expressed the princes of the nations, who thirst for the blood of the faithful: chiefly in the time of harvest, that is, in the consummation of the age, when the fury of Antichrist rages through the breadth of the world.

## CHAPTER III.

VERS. 1.-- « Then they sent, » etc. The mighty of this world and the lovers of pleasures, who study to reconcile to themselves the prince of the world [0733D], that they may escape the peril of death and the loss of pleasure; of whom it is said: « He who willeth to be a friend of this world is made an enemy of God. » [var: Vulg. Jas 4:4 *quicumque ergo voluerit amicus esse saeculi hujus*, "whosoever therefore will be a friend of this world"] For in these the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choketh the word, and it maketh no fruit, for these, according to the names of these provinces, are lifted up with pride, they follow vanity: they enter the earth by two ways, and they shall be joined to the company of them that mourn, or that pay the penalties of their own luxury, in hell: where they shall pass from the snow waters to excessive heat, « and their worm shall not die, and the fire shall not be quenched. »

## CHAPTER IV.

VERS. 13.-- *Be ye mindful.* By the examples of the saints [0734A] [Eliachim] strengthens them, whence Job [n: (Cap. XII)]: *Thou renewest witnesses against me,* and Paul to the Hebrews, praising the power of faith, brought in copious examples of the fathers, who by faith conquered kingdoms, wrought justice.

## CHAPTER V.

VERS. 5.-- « Then Achior the leader, » etc. As it were a prince of heretics, anyone given over to idolatry, who has learned of the divine works and miracles which he often tells to others, although he has not perfectly learned the catholic faith, and has not been born again by the baptism of Christ. Or by Achior heretics are designated, who, although they hold not in all things the way of truth, yet in their teaching preach many true things which agree with our faith. These fight against the catholic Church, but, overcome by reason, they do not conceal the truth at all, for heretics [0734B] mingle good things with bad; because if they always spoke evil things, they could not lie hid; as he who offers a cup of poison touches the rim of the chalice with honey, that what is sweet may first be perceived, lest what is deadly be feared. Sometimes, however, being corrected they are saved, as Achior, seeing the victory of Judith, being joined to the people of God, circumcised the flesh of his foreskin: the lepers of the Gospel also express heretics, who, while they insert crooked things among right ones, as it were sprinkle a sound colour with spots.

## CHAPTER VI.

VERS. 10.-- « Moreover the children of Israel coming down from Bethulia came. » The children: the teachers of the Church loose him that is bound to the tree, when they teach their catechumens [0734C] to dread neither the rage of persecutors nor death. They loose him as it were bound to the tree, when they pluck the fearful mind from the dread of the cross, and instruct it unto suffering, and this is better done if (by the example of Ozias and Carmin, who, comforting Achior, poured out devout prayers with all the people to the Lord) the masters of the Church with the rest of the faithful commend their hearers to the Lord with devout prayers, that by his gift that may be had which human weakness does not deserve.

VERS. 19.-- « And he made him a great supper. » He makes it when the fast is fulfilled, who refreshes with evangelical doctrine and with the banquets of the virtues a soul long languishing and lacking the bread of the word of the Lord. To this banquet all the priests are called, that by their exhortations and examples the neophytes may be strengthened for receiving [0734D] or for keeping the faith.

## CHAPTER VII

VERS. 7.-- « Yet there were fountains not far from the walls. » As in the book of Kings the Philistines take away the ironsmiths, lest they should make for the Hebrews either a spear or a sword. And all Israel went down to the Philistines, to sharpen the ploughshare and the mattock and the axe and the hoe. For this above all the devil is eager, that he may take away the streams of doctrine and the arms of the virtues, and so may swiftly accomplish his wickedness unto the destruction of the servants of God: hence the princes of the nations and Julian the apostate forbid Christians not only divine but also human philosophy.

VERS. 12.-- « Then being gathered together unto Ozias. » Carnal men [0735A] who say « Lord, Lord, but their heart is far from me [n: (Matth. VII, XV)]. » For there are in the net of the Lord both good and bad fishes, even to the shore of the judgement to come, who, bearing heavily the discomforts of the present life, had rather use present delights than that heavenly goods be reserved for them in the time to come, who afflict their masters with importunate complaints, and force them to consent to the luxury of the world, whence follows:

VERS. 23.-- « And these five days, » etc. Five days, the five senses of the body, by which the present life is led, as it were a truce of five days the sluggish teacher demands, who without discrimination promises his hearers a bodily vice [cj: *vitium*; read *vitae*, "the bodily solace of life"] for a solace, as though the magnificence of the highest Giver were in his own power, whereas rather the time of bestowing, and the manner, consists in the power of the giver rather than of the receiver [0735B]: for if the solace of the present life is denied, they forsake their subjects, that, yielding to persecutions, they may avoid bodily punishment. This compact our Judith, that is, the Church, rejects and despises.

## CHAPTER VIII.

VERS. 1.-- « And it came to pass when, » etc., there follows « The daughter of Merari. » That is, of bitterness. For the Church is begotten through bitterness and tribulation unto the joys of the life to come: where she shall praise the Lord for ever. For that she is recounted as brought forth by fifteen generation [cj: *quindecim*; read *quindecima*, "in the fifteenth generation"] signifies that the Church, through the hebdomad of the law and the ogdoad of the Gospel, was brought forth out of the patriarchs and the apostles, and is to ascend unto the heavenly grace; whence this number of steps is set in the Psalter, [0735C] figurative of the ascent to the heavens that is to come, coming whereunto the saints deservedly say, « Behold now bless ye the Lord. »

VERS. 2.-- « And her husband was Manasses, » etc. Manasses is interpreted forgetful, or necessity, to whom Judith joined in wedlock is as it were subject to the decalogue of the law or to the rites of the Gentiles. But when Christ came and the light of the Gospel grew bright in the world, all that observance gave way, and passed swiftly by like a paltry gathering of harvest; whence the Apostle: « When faith came, we are no longer under a pedagogue. For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus [n: (Gal. III)]. » And to the Romans he saith: « You are become dead to the law by the body of Christ Jesus, that you may belong to another, who is risen again from the dead [n: (Rom. VII)]. » And the husband Manasses, Christ the spouse of the Church. [0735D] Well is he called Manasses, because he makes us forget our former calamity through the consolation of the life to come. He, in the time of the barley harvest, that is, of the gathering of the Jewish people, when he was sending his apostles to preach and to gather the sheaves of them that believe: there came the heat of persecution upon his head, that is, upon his divinity. « For the head of Christ is God [n: (II Cor. II)]. » For thereat above all were the Jews scandalized, that he said himself to be the Son of God. Whence, « Thou makest thyself God [n: (Joan. X)]. » And elsewhere: « Because he made himself the Son of God [n: (Ibid. XIX)]. » Jesus suffered among his own nation, and was buried in a garden. His spouse, her bridegroom being taken away, gives her labour to fasting and to prayer, even unto the consummation of the age, nor does she deign to be defiled with heretical errors. [0736A] To her, her husband left the riches of spiritual wisdom and of virtue: and he gathered a household, that is, the multitude of the nations.

VERS. 7.-- « To whom her husband had left great riches. » Out of the instruction of the old law and of philosophy, and of moral discipline, the Church coming to Christ brought manifold wealth; whence also Paul glories that he was brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and Moses is read to have been instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians.

VERS. 12.-- « This is not the word. » When we are afflicted, we ought to prescribe to the Lord neither the time nor the manner, but rather let us leave all things to his judgement. Whence a certain one of the fathers is read to have said in his prayer: « Son of God, son of God, as thou knowest, and as thou wilt, have mercy on me [n: (Matth. VI)]. » The kingdom of God alone [0736B] ought we to seek, and all things shall be added. Let the present life be to the faithful in use, the life to come in fruit. Let the temporal thing be upon the journey, let the eternal be desired at the arrival.

VERS. 28.-- « And they said. » Whatsoever things the Church speaks in the confession of faith, in the teaching of religion, are praiseworthy and blameless, of these things she forewarns the several faithful by praying, if each one, even as he has proved that to be true which he teaches, so fulfils it in works: whence is subjoined:

VERS. 30.-- « And Judith said to them. » Judith, that is, the Church, commends to the priests the gate, that is, the careful keeping of the camp of God, that with watchful and diligent care they may stand ready always against the ambushes of the enemy, and fortified with prayers.

## CHAPTER IX.

[0736C]

VERS. 1.-- « They being departed. » After she had spoken to the priests, Judith enters the oratory, because the solicitude of the saints, after the service of preaching, returns to the secret place of its own heart, that there it may complete the incense of a pure ascent: according to that, When thou shalt pray, enter into thy chamber.

VERS. 2.-- « Lord God. » Well in her prayer does she call to mind the deed of Simon, who with his brother Levi avenged upon strangers the ravishing of their sister. For it was to come to pass that Holofernes, who wished to fulfil upon Judith the uncleanness of lust, should be smitten with the sword of vengeance.

VERS. 9.-- « Look upon the camp. » As she compares the lustful to the lustful, so now the proud to the proud, the Assyrians, [0736D] namely, to the Egyptians; because as the divine power is in those, so can it be made manifest also by these being overthrown, because the same Lord, the same power, the same justice.

## CHAPTER X.

VERS. 2.-- « She took away from herself the haircloth, and put off the garments of her widowhood, » etc. Because holy Church sometimes bears the affection of penance for her sins: but nevertheless with the hope of remission and of the reward to come she makes glad her mind.

VERS. 4.-- « That with incomparable beauty. » Because it is just that he who is fervent with the love of God be held worthy of honour by all, whence: « The queen stood at thy right hand in gilded clothing, surrounded with variety [n: (Psal. XLIV)]. »

[0737A]VERS. 5.-- « And loaves and cheese. » All these things Abra observes for the dispensing of her mistress. For it is just that he who knows not how to keep the governance of his own life should not suddenly be made ruler of another's.

« And they said, » etc. Under the dominion of secular princes they permitted [the Church] to remain free. As Trajan, although at the first he persecuted the confessors of Christ, at the admonition of Pliny the Second tempered his edict with lighter decrees. Aelius Adrianus also, instructed concerning the Christian religion by Quadratus a disciple of the apostles, and by Aristides an Athenian, sent a letter to Munitius Fundanus proconsul of Asia, that it should be lawful for no man to condemn a Christian without the charging or the proving of a crime.

## CHAPTER XI.

[0737B]

VERS. 4.-- « And Judith said to him: Take the words, » etc. [n: (AUG., serm. 229 de temp.)] The beauty which allures keeps guard, etc., *as far as* but slumber hath prepared for thee [him] whom thou mayest strike.

VERS. 17.-- « I am sent. » The first way of salvation for the Gentiles was, gladly to receive the preachers of the Gospel and to yield them faith, and through their teaching to come to the knowledge of the truth.

## CHAPTER XII.

VERS. 19.-- « And she took. » [Judith] is not defiled by the foods of the Gentiles or by superstition. For the Church, dwelling among the Gentiles, is not polluted by idolatry, but uses those things which the devotion of the faithful prepares through obedience, [0737C] whence: « My food is that I do the will of him who sent me, the Father [n: (Joan. IV)]. » [var: Vulg. John 4:34 has no *Patris*; it continues *ut perficiam opus ejus*, "that I may perfect his work"]

## CHAPTER XIII.

VERS. 4.-- « On the bed. » Of a nefarious security, whereby he trusts that he sins unpunished; whence: « The wicked man, when he is come into the depth of sins, contemneth [n: (Prov. XVIII)]. »

VERS. 11.-- « The head of Holofernes. » [Judith] carefully bids the remembrance of the finished war be called to mind, whence: « Be ye sober and watch [n: (I Petr. V)].

VERS. 13.-- « To the keepers of the walls. » That is, to the teachers, who fortify the Church by word and by example, and lead her in unto eternal life, of whom it is said: « Upon thy walls, O Jerusalem, I have set watchmen [n: (Isa. LXI)]. » Or to the angelic spirits, who, sent for our [0737D] keeping, shut out the malignant spirits.

« Open ye the gates. » That is, the devotion of the heart, whence it is said: « He that hath ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches [n: (Apoc. I)]. » [var: Vulg. Apoc. 2:7 *Qui habet aurem, audiat*, "he that hath an ear, let him hear"] According to that: « Blessed is he who speaketh his cause in the ear of one that heareth [n: (Eccl. XXV)]. » The Lord will give strength to his people, with whom, namely, he ascends the summit of the heavenly kingdom, whence: « No man hath ascended into heaven, but he who descended from heaven [n: (Joan. III)]. »

VERS. 16.-- « But she going up. » Turning her discourse to the heavenly doctrines, and lifting up her hearers to praise God for his benefits.

VERS. 18.-- « And she slew. » Whereof: « She shall crush the head, etc. [n: (Gen. II)]. » And in the Gospel: « I will give [0738A] you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and upon all the powers of the enemy [n: (Luc. X)]. » [var: Vulg. Luke 10:19 *Ecce dedi vobis potestatem*, "Behold I have given you power", and *super omnem virtutem inimici*, "upon all the power of the enemy"]

VERS. 19.--And behold, » etc. Know ye how great is the malice, how great the deceit of our enemy, with how great goodness he has been overcome by us, whom the Lord keeps unhurt from all deceit and from the contamination of error, that, these things being looked upon, ye may give thanks to our Maker and Redeemer, whence: « Be ye sober and watch [n: (I Petr. V)]. » And: « I fear lest, as the serpent seduced Eve by his subtilty, so also our senses be corrupted [n: (II Cor. II)]. » [var: Vulg. 2 Cor. 11:3 *corrumpantur sensus vestri*, "your senses be corrupted"] And again: « Be ye strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power: and put ye on the arms of God [n: (Ephes. VI)]. » [var: Vulg. Eph. 6:11 *armaturam Dei*, "the armour of God"]

VERS. 25.-- « Because to-day thy name, » etc. The praise of the Church shall not depart from the mouth of men, who are mindful of her zeal and of her works, who through the love of God [0738B] and of her neighbour bears secure the present tribulations, full of faith and firm in hope, looking to the eminence of the heavenly rewards, where she shall be joined to the beatitude of the angels.

VERS. 29.-- « And Achior seeing. » By Achior the prince of the Ammonites are designated the pagans or the heretics, who, seeing that the faith of the Church has overcome the fierceness of the enemy, are shaken with exceeding dread and, humbling their own pride, venerate the Church; and they exhort their own followers to forsake error and, being free by faith, to join themselves; whence Isaias: « The children of them that humbled thee shall come bowed down to thee, and all that slandered thee shall adore the steps of thy feet [n: (Isa. LX)]. »

## CHAPTER XIV.

[0738C]VERS. 13.-- « Then he went in. » The leaders of the persecutors, asking help of their own gods against the Church, find them most filthy with their own foulness and destitute of all power, whence, betaking themselves to flight, they leave the things wherein they trusted for a time. « For there is no prudence, there is no wisdom nor counsel against God; » [var: Vulg. Prov. 21:30 *Non est sapientia, non est prudentia, non est consilium contra Dominum*, "against the Lord"] whence Jeremias saith: « The swift shall not flee and the strong shall not be saved, » etc. [n: (Hier. XLVI)]. [var: Vulg. Jer. 46:6 *Non fugiat velox, nec salvari se putet fortis*, "let not the swift flee away, nor let the strong think to save himself"]

## CHAPTER XV.

VERS. 3.-- « And so they seeing, » etc. Gedeon, about to fight against the Madianites, took not a spear, not a shield, but trumpets and lamps, prefiguring the heralds of the Gospel, whose wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual things [0738D] of wickedness in the heavenly places, etc, and they fight with the voice of preaching and with the brightness of miracles.

« And so all. » Unto the preaching of the word of God there come out of the several nations and provinces persons approved and girded with strength unto the malice [cj: *malitiam*; read *militiam*, "unto the warfare"] of the Lord; whence Isaias: « Behold these shall come from afar, and behold these from the north and from the sea [n: (Isa. XLIX)], » etc.

VERS. 13.-- « And for days. » Which signify the whole time of the present life, in which the people of God, triumphing over the enemy, spoils him spiritually; whence it is said of the Church: « The heart of her husband trusteth in her, and he shall have no need of spoils [n: (Prov. XXXI)]. »

VERS. 14.-- « But moreover. » So the people of God, departing from Egypt, spoiled her, whereof it built [0739A] the tabernacle. So the just kings under the Old Testament consecrated to the ministry of the temple the things which they took away from the enemy.

VERS. 15.-- « To the young men. » Because then they shall neither marry nor be given in marriage, because all shall rise again unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the age of the fulness of Christ. Whence in the resurrection of the Lord an angel appeared, a young man covered with a white robe.

## CHAPTER XVI.

VERS. 12.-- « They were struck with horror. » The reader ought to note whether the opinion be true, that Cambyses the son of Cyrus was by very many called this Nabuchodonosor, who ruled over the Persians, the Medes and the Assyrians.

VERS. 16.-- « Adonai Lord. » One of the ten names among the Hebrews, signifying that the Lord [0739B] has dominion over the creature. And it is to be noted that wherever it is twice set down, Lord: the first name is the tetragrammaton, and properly pertains to God, and is called ineffable: the second is common, which belongs to men. And well is Adonai the Lord called the Son of God: because he is God and man, Lord and God, in that he has dominion over all or is feared by all.

VERS. 21.-- « Into their flesh. » Which they loved, [0740A] whereof is born the stench of worms. Flesh and blood create worms: because carnal delight, which the salt of continence does not withstand, begets eternal punishment for the lustful; whence: « Their worm shall not die, and the fire shall not be quenched [n: (Isa. LXVI)]. »

VERS. 22.-- « And it came to pass. » Victory being obtained over his enemies, each elect one, purged from every stain, hastens into the heavenly city of God, where is the true vision of peace, where he renders his vows to his Maker.

VERS. 28.-- « A hundred and five, etc. For eternal beatitude the number of a hundred passes from the left hand into the right.

« Her Abra. » [The Church], by leading and by exhorting, brings Abra, the manner of life of carnal men, which is always subject to fear, through into the liberty of grace and to the security of charity, [0740B] that she may serve not by fear, but by love.

VERS. 29.-- « And all the people mourned for her seven days. » The elect of God, through all the time which is unrolled in seven days, on account of the pilgrimage of the present Church, are afflicted in grief and groaning not out of despair, but out of the remembrance of the life to come, according to that: « We wept, when we remembered Sion [n: (Psal. CXXXVI)]. »

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