title: Liber Exodus

source_edition: Migne, Patrologia Latina, vol. 113, coll. 183A–296C

source_text:
Hebraice VEELLE SEMOTH ( ואלה שמות ), id est, HAEC SUNT NOMINA; Graece ΕΞΟΔΟΣ, id est EXITUS.

## PROTHEMATA IN EXODUM.

[0183A]

[n: (RAB.)] In Pentateucho excellit Exodus, in quo pene omnia sacramenta quibus Ecclesia instruitur, figuraliter exprimuntur. Per corporalem enim exitum filiorum Israel de Aegypto corporalis noster exitus de Aegypto spirituali signatur. Per mare Rubrum, et Pharaonis submersionem atque Aegyptiorum, baptismi mysterium et spiritualium hostium interitus. Per typici agni immolationem, et Hebraeorum liberationum, veri Agni passio et nostra redemptio. De coelo datur manna, et aqua de petra. *Hic est panis qui de coelo descendit [n: (Joan. VI)]* et doctrina Christi. In monte dantur praecepta atque judicia populo Dei, ut supernis subjiciamur disciplinis. [0183B] Tabernaculum, et vasa ejus construuntur, cultus et sacrificia imperantur, quibus Ecclesiae ornatus et spiritualia sacrificia significantur. Mystica unctio et thymiamata conficiuntur, quibus sanctificatio spiritus et orationis odoramenta commendantur. Hinc Paulus ait: *Omnes eamdem escam spiritualem manducaverunt, et omnes eumdem potum spiritualem biberunt,* etc.

[n: (I Cor. X.)] Hinc quoque Joannes: *Facta sunt haec,* inquit, *ut Scriptura impleretur: Os non comminuetis ex eo [n: (Joan. XIX)]*.

[n: (BED.)] *Veelle Semoth* ( ואלה שמות ) Hebraice: ἒξοδος Graece: *exodus, exitus* vel *egressus* Latine.

## CAPUT PRIMUM.

VERS. 5.-- *Erant igitur omnes animae eorum qui [0183C] egressi sunt de femore Jacob, septuaginta,* etc. Septuaginta animae, id est, septuaginta discipuli, cum Jacob, id est, Christo, ingrediuntur in Aegyptum, id est, mundum, missi scilicet ad praedicandum. Aliter, septuaginta animae Aegyptum ingressae, mystice in numero remissionis accipiuntur, ut huic scilicet saeculo, quod per Aegyptum figuratur, post tanta peccata detur remissio peccatorum.

VERS. 6, 7.-- *Quo mortuo,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Exod. )] Sic postquam verus Joseph pro omnibus gustavit mortem, et destruxit eum qui mortis imperium habebat, multiplicatus est populus fidelium. Nisi enim in terra granum mortuum fuisset, solum mansisset.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 1, in Exod.)] Si moriatur in te Joseph, [0183D] id est, mortificationem Christi in te suscipias, et mortifices membra tua peccato, multiplicantur in te filii Israel, sensus scilicet boni et spirituales. Si enim sensus carnis mortificentur, sensus animae crescunt, et morientibus in te vitiis, virtutes augentur, te terra et multiplicat in operibus bonis, quae per officium corporis ministrantur. Paulum multiplicaverat terra, qui dicebat: *Permanere autem [0184A] in carne magis necessarium est propter vos.* Dum enim manet in terra, id est in carne sua, multiplicatur credendo Ecclesia, acquirendo populum Deo, et ab Hierusalem usque ad Illyricum Evangelium praedicando.

VERS. 8-10.-- *Surrexit interea rex novus super Aegyptum,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Allegorice.* Hic est diabolus, qui *dixit in corde suo: Non est Deus;* qui genti suae, id est apostatis angelis, dicit: *Ecce populus filiorum Israel,* eorum scilicet qui possunt mente Deum videre, potentior est nobis: *Venite, opprimamus eum sapienter.* Sentit diabolus quia magnus sit populus Israel, et fortior ipso, quia saepe congressus est, saepe superatur. Scit Jacob luctatum esse, et adjutorio angeli obtinuisse contra adversarium, et invaluisse [0184B] cum Deo. Aliorum quoque sanctorum luctas sensit, spiritualia certamina pertulit: timet ne quando eveniat bellum, et consentiant adversariis ejus, et divictis eis [devicto eo] discedant de terra sua. Videtur mihi ex his quae patriarchis et prophetis de adventu Christi indicata fuerant, quia sentit venturum qui exuat principatus ejus et potestates, cum fiducia triumphet eos et affligat in ligno crucis.

[n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] In Chronicis Eusebii et Hieronymi legimus, etc., *usque ad* et in mari Rubro periit, multi Pharaones fuerunt.

*[n: (ORIG. homil. 1.)] Moraliter.* Primum requirere volo quis est rex in Aegypto qui scit Joseph, et qui nescit. Dum enim ille regnaret qui sciebat Joseph, non dicuntur [0184C] afflicti filii Israel, neque in luto et latere consumpti; neque masculi eorum necati, et feminae vivificatae; sed cum coepit regnare, qui non noverat Joseph. Si Dominus regit nos, et sensus mentis vel animae nostrae illuminatur a Deo, memorans Christum resurrexisse a mortuis, in Aegypto, id est in carne nostra, spiritus noster regnum cum justitia tenet, et filios Israel, id est sensus rationabiles vel virtutes, in luto et latere non consumit, nec curis terrenis atterit. Si horum memoriam sensus noster perdiderit, Christum nescierit: tunc sapientia carnis, quae est inimica Deo, succedit in regnum; alloquitur gentem suam, id est corporeas voluptates, et vitiorum ducibus ad consilium vocatis, deliberat contra filios Israel, quomodo circumveniantur, opprimantur [0184D] luto, et latere affligantur; mares exponant, feminas alant, aedificent civitates Aegyptii et civitates munitas. Nec putandum est divinos libros Aegyptiorum gesta narrare sine causa: sed quae *scripta sunt ad nostram doctrinam scripta sunt [n: (Rom. XV)]*, ut qui haec audis, si forsitan baptizatus es et annumeratus inter filios Israel, et suscepisti in te Dominum regem, et post haec volueris declinare et opera [0185A] saeculi agere, actus terrae et lutea explere ministeria: scias quia surrexit in te rex alius, qui nescit Joseph, rex Aegypti; ipse te cogit ad opera sua, et laterem operari et lutum; ipse, superappositis magistris et compulsoribus, ad opera terrena flagellis agit, ut aedifices illi civitates; per saeculum discurrere facit maris, et terrae elementa pro cupiditate turbare: forum litibus pulsare et pro exiguo terrae cespite propinquos jurgiis fatigare; castitati insidiari, decipere innocentiam, domi foeda, foris crudelia, intra concientiam flagitiosa committere; in hujusmodi scito te regi Aegypti militare, quod est mundi hujus spiritu agi.

VERS. 11-13.-- *Praeposuit itaque eis,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Diabolus, convocata gente sua, opprimere cupit [0185B] rationabilem sensum, qui nunc figuraliter dicitur Israel: praeficit magistros operum, qui cogant eos discere opera carnis, secundum illud psalmi CV: *Commisti sunt inter gentes, et didicerunt opera eorum.* Docet aedificare civitates Pharaoni. Phitom, quae significat *os defectionis,* vel *abyssi;* et Ramesses, quae est *commotio tineae,* et On, id est Heliopolis, quae dicitur civitas solis. Deficit os, cum mendacium loquitur a veritate et probationibus. Ille ab initio mendax fuit, et ideo tales civitates vult sibi aedificari: *os abyssi,* quia abyssus perditionis ejus est locus; alia ejus civitas est *commotio tineae:* qui enim eum sequitur, ibi thesaurizat ubi tinea demolitur, et fures effodiunt et furantur [n: (Matth. VI)]. Civitatem quoque Solis aedificat, falso nomine *transfigurans se [0185C] in angelum lucis.* In his occupat mentes, quae factae sunt ut videant Deum. Prospicit tamen imminere sibi bella et maturum gentis suae exitium; ideo dicit, Gens Israel valet super nos, utinam et nos sentiat valere super se: ut scilicet cogitationes, et concupiscentias malas, quas immittit, non suscipiam sed jacula ignita scuto fidei repellam, et in omnibus quae suggesserit, dicam: *Vade retro, Satana: scriptum est enim: Dominum Deum tuum adorabis, et illi soli servies [n: (Matth. IV)]*. Sed et hoc quod dicit, Ne forte accidat nobis bellum, et consentiant hi cum adversariis nostris, ex propheticis vocibus praevidet sibi venturum bellum, et derelinquendum se a filiis Israel, et quod consentiant adversario ejus, et adjiciantur ad [0185D] Dominum. Hoc est quod Jeremias ait [n: (cap. XVII)]. *Clamavit perdix, congregavit quae non peperit, fecit divitias, et non in judicio: in dimidio dierum ejus derelinquent eum, et in novissimis suis erit stultus.* Intelligit ergo perdicem se, quae non peperit, congregasse; et quod hi, quos sine judicio congregavit, relinquent eum, et sequentur Christum, qui genuit. Ipse stultus remanebit, cum ad factorem suum et parentem universa creatura confugerit; ideo indignatur, dicens: Ne expugnantes nos exeant de terra nostra. Non vult nos exire de terra sua, ut semper portemus imaginem terreni: ne eo relicto fugiamus ad eum qui praeparavit regnum coelorum, relinquentes imaginem terreni, et suscipientes imaginem coelestis. Ideo statuit magistros operum, qui artes suas [0186A] doceant, et nos artifices malitiae faciant. Et quia sunt multi magistri malitiae, quos praefecit Pharao, qui imperant, exigunt, extorquent terrena opera: ideo Christo veniente fecit alios doctores contra illos pugnantes, qui subjicientes omnes principatus eorum, et potestates, et virtutes, defendant a violentia filios Israel, et doceant Israelitica opera, et mente videre Deum; relinquere opera Pharaonis, exire de terra Aegypti, Aegyptios mores et totum veterem hominem cum actibus suis exuere, et induere novum, qui secundum Deum creatus est.

[n: (ISID.)] Israel populum Christianum, Pharao diabolum significat: qui luti et lateris imponit gravissimum jugum, servitutem scilicet terreni et lutulenti operis; admistis paleis, id est, levibus et irrationabilibus [0186B] factis: ut omnibus onere peccatorum oppressis, nemo sit qui regnum ejus disperdat aut vincat.

VERS. 15.-- *Dixit autem rex Aegypti obstetricibus,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 2.)] Haec non solum in mundo, qui Aegyptus spiritualiter dicitur, sed in unoquoque nostrum deprehendimus: princeps hujus mundi non vult vivificari masculos, sed feminas; in femina caro et affectus carnis designatur: vir autem rationabilis est sensus, et intellectualis est spiritus, qui potest coelestia capere, Deum intelligere, quae sursum sunt quaerere. Hunc odit princeps Aegypti et necari cupit; cupit autem quae carnis sunt, vivere, et quae ad materiam pertinent corporalem, hae non solum vivere, sed augeri et excoli: vult enim ut omnes carnalia sapiant, temporalia et quae sunt super terram quaerant; nemo [0186C] levet ad coelum oculos; nemo requirat unde huc venerit; nemo patriam paradisum recordetur. Cum ergo videris homines in voluptatibus vitam ducere, luxu fluitare, conviviis et impudicitiis operam dare, scito quia in his rex Aegypti masculos necat, et vivificat feminas. Si vero unum de mille ad Deum converti, oculos sursum erigere, aeterna quaerere, odisse delicias et luxuriam, amare continentiam: istum quasi masculum necari cupit Pharao, persequitur, mille machinis oppugnat; odit tales, vivere in Aegypto non sinit. Inde est quod in hoc mundo servi Dei habentur contemptui, expositi contumeliis; inde in eos odia et persecutiones concitantur.

## CAPUT PRIMUM. (cont.)

*Obstetricibus. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)]* Iste etiam obstetrices corrumpere nititur. *Quarum una vocabatur Sephora,* [0186D] id est, *passer; altera Phua,* scilicet *rubens* vel *verecunda;* per has necari mares et vivificari feminas quaerit: sed et timebant obstetrices Deum, et non sicut praecepit eis, fecerunt. Obstetrices docuerunt ante nos quamdam rationabilis eruditionis formam tenere. Obstetrices enim medicae sunt, et tam masculos nascentes quam feminas fovent. Eruditio ergo communis est rationabilis scientia, et ad omnem pene pervenit sensum, omnes instruit et fovet. Si quis in ea virilis animi fuerit, qui velit coelestia quaerere, divina sectari, velut medicatus et fortis, per has eruditiones ad divirorum intelligentiam paratior veniret. Est enim una, velut *passer,* quae celsiora docet, et rationabilis doctrinae pennis in altum provocat; [0187A] *altera, rubens* vel *verecunda,* moralis est, mores componit, verecundiam docet et honestatem. Mihi tamen (quia dicit Scriptura de his quod *timuerunt Deum, et non fecerunt juxta praeceptum regis Aegypti* ) videntur utriusque Testamenti figuram servare, et Sephora, quae *passer* interpretatur, legi, quae spiritualis est, convenire: Phua vero, quae *rubens* vel *verecunda,* indicare Evangelia, quae Christi sanguine rubent, et per universum mundum passionis cruore rutilant. Ab his ergo animae quae nascuntur in Ecclesia, velut obstetricibus medicantur, quia de Scripturis cuncta eruditionis medicamina conferuntur. Tentat tamen Pharao per has necare masculos, cum studiosis in divinis Scripturis haereses et prava dogmata suggerit. Sed stat immobile fundamentum [0187B] Dei. Timent enim obstetrices Deum, id est, timorem Dei docent, qui est initium sapientiae. Sic competentius aptatur quod sequitur, quia timebant obstetrices Deum, fecerunt sibi domos. Quod secundum litteram, nullam consequentiam habet: non enim propterea domus fit, quia timetur Deus. Si autem videas quomodo Scripturae Novi et Veteris Testamenti timorem Dei docentes domos Ecclesiae faciant, et totum orbem domibus orationis impleant, rationabiliter scriptum videbitur. Sic ergo istae obstetrices, quia timent Deum, id est, timorem Dei docent, non faciunt praeceptum regis Aegypti, sed vivificant masculos, nec tamen dicitur quia paruerunt feminas vivificantes. Ego autem confidenter dico, non vivificant feminas. Neque enim vitia aut [0187C] luxuria in Ecclesia docentur, aut peccata nutriuntur, quod vult Pharao cum vivificari feminas jubet, sed sola virtus excolitur et nutritur. Verum haec ad unumquemque referamus. Si times Deum, non facias praeceptum regis Aegypti: ille enim praecipit ut in deliciis vivas, praesentia concupiscas; tu, si times Deum, et exhibes officium obstetricis, animae tuae si conferre cupis, vivificas masculos, id est, interiorem hominem, qui in te est, medicaris et foves, et per actus et intellectus bonos vitam acquiris aeternam.

VERS. 16-21.-- *Si masculus fuerit,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] *Allegorice.* Jubet Pharao masculos occidi, feminas vivere: sic diabolus, ne possit robur fidei praevalere, interfectis virtutibus, vult vitia vivere, fortesque et viriles animi sensus, quibus divina sapimus, id est, [0187D] rationem, prudentiam, constantiam, innocentiamque, et fidem nititur occidere; et quod femineum, imbecillum, fragile et pronum est ad vitia, cupit superesse, id est, ambitionem, violentiam, libidinem, iracundiam, et his similia, quae feminarum figura sunt.

VERS. 19.-- *Quae responderunt,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Gen., tom. III.)] Quaeritur utrum talia mendacia approbata sint auctoritate divina, etc., *usque ad* quorum autem jam conversatio in coelis est, non eos aestimo linguae modum circa veritatem falsitatemque exemplo obstetricum debere informare.

[n: (GREG., Moral., lib. XXXVIII, cap. 2, 3.)] Summopere cavendum est mendacium, etc., *usque ad* parcendo [0188A] enim conatae sunt infantium vitam tegere, mentiendo, suam.

[n: (AUG., in lib. de Locutionibus in Exod., tom. III.)] Et quia timuerunt obstetrices Deum, etc., *usque ad* ut ad ipsam domum faciendam pertinere videatur, quod consequenter a Laban merces statuenda proponitur.

VERS. 22.-- *Praecepit ergo Pharao,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 2.)] Aegyptii, quibus hic praecepit Pharao ut feminas tantum vivificent, oderant masculos. Oderunt enim virtutes, vitia nutrierunt. Nunc quoque insidiantur Aegyptii, si nascatur masculus Hebraeis, ut statim interficiant, nisi caveant, observent et occultent. Refert Scriptura quod de tribu Levi aliquis genuit masculum, et vidit infantem esse elegantem [0188B] et occultavit eum. Ne ergo justitiam nostram faciamus coram hominibus, sed clauso ostio oremus Patrem nostrum in occulto, et nesciat sinistra quid faciat dextera, ne diripiatur ab Aegyptiis, invadatur, fluctibus submergatur. Si facio eleemosynam quia est opus Dei, masculum genero; sed si laudem ab hominibus quaero, et non occulto, rapitur ab Aegyptiis, in flumen mergitur, et tanto labore tantoque studio Aegyptiis masculum genui.

*Quidquid feminini [n: (HIERON., in Ecclesiasten., c. 3)]*. Ubicunque in Scripturis femina legitur et sexus fragilior, ad materiae intelligentiam transferamus. Unde et Pharao non vult masculos nasci, sed feminas, quae materiae sunt vicinae, et contrario nullus sanctorum nisi perraro feminas genuisse narratur. Solusque [0188C] Salphaat, qui in peccatis mortuus est, omnes filias genuit: Jacob unius filiae pater est, et ob ipsam periclitatur.

## CAPUT II.

VERS. 1-5.-- *Egressus est,* etc. [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] Hinc Josephus ait: Metuens autem Amram ne captus regiae irae succumberet, etc., *usque ad* sive educere, ut est Moses de flumine eductus.

*Alleg.* Parentes Mosi, quorum fidem et opera lex naturalis decorabat [n: (ID., ibid.)], *usque ad* ipsa quoque docetur erubescere idola colere.

*Vir de domo,* etc. [n: (DIOD.)] Non sine oeconomia pater Moseos praetermittitur: nam et Christus, cujus typum gerebat Moses, sine patre est.

[0188D]VERS. 2.-- *Et videns,* etc. [n: (CHRYSOST., hom. 54 in Act. apost.)]. Mirabile est quod non per ea quae videntur securitatis esse, sed plane per contraria, omnia pro nobis fiunt. Jussit Pharao in flumen projici pueros; nisi projecti fuissent pueri, non fuisset servatus Moses: quando servabatur, non erat in honore; quando expositus est, tunc factus in honore est. Minatus est illi Judaeus, dicens: *Nunquid me occidere tu vis?* et hoc illi profuit ut philosopharetur in solitudine ac secure viveret.

*[n: (ORIG., hom. 2.)] Allegorice.* Pharaonis filia est Ecclesia de gentibus congregata, cui per prophetam dicitur: *Obliviscere populum tuum, et domum patris tui, quia concupivit rex speciem tuam [n: (Psal. XLIV)]*. [0189A] Haec est ergo quae exivit de domo patris, et venit ad aquas, ut lavaretur a peccatis quae contraxerat in domo patris: et statim viscera misericordiae suscepit, et miserta est infantis; haec veniens in paludem, invenit Mosen jacentem expositum a suis, et fecit eum nutriri. Nutritur apud suos, ibi agit infantiam; fortior factus ducitur ad eam, adoptatur in filium. Moses legem significat. Veniens ergo Ecclesia ad aquas baptismi, suscepit legem intra tibin conclusam, et bitumine linitam. Tibin ergo est tegminis genus ex papyro contextum, et virgis vel ex cortice arborum formatum. Jacebat ergo lex clausa intra hujusmodi tegmina, pice et bitumine linita, vilibus scilicet et tetris Judaeorum sensibus; sordebat oblita usque quo Ecclesia veniret ex gentibus, et assumeret [0189B] eam de luteis et palustribus locis, intra sapientiae aulas et regalia tecta. Infantiam tamen apud suos transigit: apud illos enim qui eam spiritualiter non intelligunt, parvula est, et infans, et lactantium habens cibos: cum ad Ecclesiam venit, fortior est Moses et validior; amoto enim velamine litterae, perfectus in lectione ejus cibus invenitur. Mercedem nutrimentorum accipit a filia Pharaonis, apud quam lex nascitur et nutritur. Sed quid est quod Synagoga accipit ab Ecclesia? Puto illud quod Moses dicit: *Ego in non gentem in aemulationem vos inducam: in gentem insipientem, in iram vos concitabo.* Synagoga ergo de Ecclesia hanc mercedem accipit ut ultra idola non colat: videns enim gentiles ita ad Deum conversos, ut ultra idola nesciant, erubescit ultra [0189C] idola colere. Nos quoque, si Pharaonem habuimus patrem, si nos in operibus malis genuit, cum venerimus ad aquas, assumamus legem Dei: non nobis sordeant litterae velut tegmen obscurum; quae parva ejus sunt et lactantia comedamus; quae perfecta sumamus, et intra cordis tecta regalia collocemus. Grandem et validum habemus Mosen: nihil de eo parvum, nihil vile sentiamus, sed totum magnificum, totum egregium, totum elegans: totum enim magnum est, quod spirituale est, et sublimis intelligentiae.

VERS. 6-8.-- *Cernensque in ea parvulum,* etc. [n: (THEOD.)] *Mystice.* Hoc illi potissimum circumcisio prodere potuit, nondum enim Aegyptii tale mysterium admiserant, licet succedente tempore ad Hebraeorum [0189D] imitationem circumcisionis legem observaverint. Unde Jeremias: *Considerabo omnes praeputium circumsecantes, Aegyptios et filios Edom. [n: (Jer. IX)]*.

[n: (ISID.)] Moses, id est Christus, ad flumen lavacri et aquam baptismi a fidelibus invenitur, etc., *usque ad* et eum religiosa observatione suscipientes tuentur.

VERS. 9-11.-- *Adultumque tradidit,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Refert Josephus quod filia Pharaonis adultum Mosen ad patrem suum adduxit, cui ille coronam suam imposuit, quam statim Moses projecit, quoniam ibi sculptum simulacrum vidit. Unde sacerdos qui ibi aderat, voluit interficere eum, dicens quia Aegyptus esset subvertenda per ipsum sicut ex oraculo daemonum [0190A] acceperat. Sed Pharaonis filia liberavit eum. Cum autem perfectae esset aetatis, missus est a Pharaone contra Aethiopes. Cumque sciret per deserta serpentibus plena se profecturum, tulit ibides, id est ciconias Aegyptiacas, castraque metatus proferebat eas, ut serpentes devorarent et fugarent: sicque exercitus securus transigebat noctem. Cum ergo venisset ad civitatem quam expugnaturus erat, adamavit eum Aethiopum regina, et secundum condictum, civitatem ei tradidit, et nupsit: inde est quod Aaron et Maria jurgati sunt adversus Mosen propter Aethiopissam uxorem.

VERS. 12.-- *Cumque circumspexisset huc atque illuc.* [n: (Aug. Quaest. in Exod. )] De hoc facto Mosi satis disputavimus in illo opere, quod de vita patriarcharum [0190B] adversus Faustum scripsimus, utrum indoles in eo laudabilis fuerit, qua hoc peccatum admiserit, sicut uber terra ante utilia semina quadam herbarum inutilium ferocitate laudatur: an ipsum factum justificandum sit? Quod ideo non videtur, quia nullam adhuc legitimam potestatem gerebat, nec divinitus acceptam, nec humana societate ordinatam: et tamen, sicut Stephanus ait in Actibus apostolorum, putabat intelligere fratres suos, quod per eum Deus daret salutem illis, ut per hoc testimonium videatur Moses jam divinitus admonitus (quod Scriptura eo loco tacet) hoc audere potuisse.

[n: (ISID.)] *Allegorice.* Moses, id est Christus, Aegyptium, id est diabolum nobis in hac peregrinatione injuriosum, nos defendendo occidit, et in arena [0190C] obruit occisum. Latet enim in eis qui stabile non habent fundamentum. Ecclesiam vero in petra aedificat, et eos qui verbum ejus audiunt et faciunt prudenti viro comparat, qui aedificavit domum suam supra firmam petram. Alios vero stulto comparat, qui supra arenam aedificat.

VERS. 13.-- *Et egressus die altero,* etc. In hoc Moses figuram Christi gessit, qui duorum populorum discordiam in se angulari lapide pacificare studuit. Qui injuriam fecit et reconciliatorem contempsit, Judaicus est, qui praedicationem Christi reconciliantis repulit, et credentis populi hostis perstitit. Unde Joan. IX: *Tu discipulus illius sis, nos discipuli Mosi.*

VERS. 14-21.-- *Timuit Moses,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Si sic [0190D] divulgatum est verbum hoc. Duo sunt in hac locutione attendenda, quia pendet scilicet sententia et sic dimissa est, deinde quia verbum pro facto posuit.

VERS. 22.-- *Quae peperit,* etc. *Allegorice.* Christus Ecclesiam de gentibus sibi copulavit, quae munere Spiritus septiformis una est in fide catholica. Unde: *Una est columba mea;* quae gignit filium, qui vocatur *advena,* et alterum qui *Dei adjutorium:* advenae enim sunt sancti super terram, sed Dei adjutorio nunquam carent.

VERS. 23-25.-- *Post multum vero temporis,* etc Postquam Moses in terra Madian duxit uxorem, mortuus est rex Aegypti: quia cum Christus in orbe [0191A] terrarum gentes ad fidem convertit, destructus est principatus diaboli.

*Ingemiscentes.* Nisi moriatur in te rex Aegypti, non cognoscis te opprimi servitute Aegypti, et operibus luti et lateris; nec corde ingemiscis, nec vociferaris ad Dominum ut liberet te.

## CAPUT III.

VERS. 2, 3.-- *Apparuitque ei.* [n: (ISID.)] *Allegorice.* Erat flamma in rubro, et non cremabatur. Rubus, spinae peccatorum Judaeorum: flamma in rubo, verbum Dei, id est lex data illi populo. Sed et flamma rubum non comburit, quia lex data peccata eorum non consumit. Alii in rubo flammante Ecclesiam intelligunt, quae persecutionibus inflammatur, quae [0191B] loquente ad se Domino non crematur. Quod Dominus Mosi in rubo apparuit, ostendit quia in Ecclesia apparet fidelibus, nec alibi. Aiunt Hebraei ideo in rubo Deum apparuisse Mosi, ne possent sibi inde idolum sculpere Judaei. Semper enim Deus idololatriae occasionem recidit.

[n: (GREG. lib. XXII Moral., cap. 20.)] Moses admistus Aegyptiis quasi vigilabat mundo, ideo vocem Domini non audiebat: sed exstincto Aegyptio, postquam in desertum fugit, dum illic quadraginta annis degit, a terrenis tumultibus obdormivit, et ideo divinam vocem percepit. Cum enim mens ab exterioribus sopitur, verbum Dei penetrat veracius. Aurem quippe cordis turba terrenarum cogitationum perstrepens claudit. Non enim perfecte homo sufficit ad utraque [0191C] divisus, quia si exterius auditum aperit, interius obsurdescit.

VERS. 4.-- *Cernens autem Dominus,* etc. [n: (GREG., praef. in Moral., c. 2.)] Angelus qui Mosi apparuisse describitur, modo Dominus, modo angelus memoratur: angelus, quia exterius loquendo servit; Dominus, quia interius praesidens loquendi efficaciam tribuit. Cum enim loquens ab interiore regitur, et per obsequium angelus, et per inspirationem Dominus memoratur.

*Vocavit eum de medio,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. XXVIII Moral., c. 5.)] Saepe simul et terrenis et coelestibus substantiis per angelos loquitur Deus: sicut hic cum ignem rubumque sociavit, atque aliud superius, aliud inferius junxit. Quod tunc solum agitur, cum aliquod [0191D] magnum ex conjunctione signatur. Nam per succensum rubum Mosen alloquens, ostendit quia doctor populi fieret, qui et legis flammam perciperet, et peccati spinam non vitaret: ut quod ex illo populo exiret, qui igne deitatis carnis nostrae peccata quasi rubi spinam acciperet, et inconsumptam humanitatis substantiam in ipsa divinitatis flamma servaret.

VERS. 5-7.-- *Solve calceamentum,* etc. [n: (THEOD.)] Duas ob res jubet calceamenta solvere: primo, ut ipsum magis ac magis religiosum ac reverentem reddat, ut cum tremore mandata ejus accipiat; tum etiam eruditur qua ratione sacerdotes in tabernaculo Dei ministrent: nudis enim pedibus sacerdotale munus obibant.

[0192A] [n: (ISID.)] Quia nullus scilicet digne consistere, vel Deum videre potest, nisi cuncta terrena et mortalia deponat. Aliter, veterum consuetudo erat ut si sponsus sponsam repudiaret, in signum repudii discalcearetur. Ideo Moses discalceari jubetur, nec ad Ecclesiam, quae in rubo significatur, quasi sponsus accedat calceatus; hoc enim Christo servandum, qui verus est sponsus. De quo Joannes ait: « Cujus non sum dignus solvere corrigiam calceamenti [n: (Joan. I)].

VERS. 6.-- *Ego sum Deus,* etc. [n: (HILAR. lib. IV de Trinitate.)] Non aliter loquendum de Deo est quam ut ipse ad intelligentiam nostram de se locutus est. Angelus Dei est, qui in igne de rubo apparuit: et de rubo in igne Deus loquitur; habes dispensationem [0192B] in angelo, quia in angelo officium est, non natura; habes in naturae nomine Deum, quia angelus Dei Deus est.

VERS. 7.-- *Vidi afflictionem,* etc. [n: (GREG., Moral. )] Sparsis foris mentibus ad seipsum redire cuique difficile est: quia prava itinera semel captos tanto delectabiliter tenent, quanto quod libuerit, non licet. Quia cum disciplinae munus non obviat, nulla retributionis prospicitur poena quae terreat. Sed clausis oculis cordis praecipitatur anima, et tanto securius mala temporalia penetrat, quanto durius bona aeterna desperat. Sed ista reproborum nequitia electorum vitam, quasi grana a paleis, separat, et dum affligit, expedit: quia dum violenta ingerit, festinare ad superna compellit; quod in Israelitico [0192C] populo, Mose vocante et Pharaone saeviente, signatur. Moses enim ad vocandum missus est, cum Pharao duris operibus urgeret ut alius vocando traheret, alius saeviendo impelleret, ut plebs in servitio turpiter fixa, vel vocata, vel impulsa moveretur; hoc quotidie agitur dum praedicatis coelestibus praemiis saevire in electos reprobi permittuntur: ut quos Aegyptus, id est vita praesens, oppressit blandiens, adjuvet premens; ut dum Deus provocat, cruciatus impellat.

VERS. 8-13.-- *Et educam de terra,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 32.)] Rudi populo de praesenti vita aliquid promittendum fuit, ut posset in futuro robustius solidari. Si enim parva non acciperet, magna non crederet. Deus ergo largiendo terrena suadet et coelestia, [0192D] ut percipiens quod videbat, speraret quod non videbat.

*In terram bonam et spatiosam, in terra quae fluit lacte,* etc. [n: (Ibid.)] Praesens prosperitas aliquando datur, ut ad meliorem vitam provocet, aliquando ut in aeternum plenius damnet. Hinc Israelitis terra Chanaan promittitur, ut quandoque ad aeterna speranda provocentur: quia rudis populus promissionibus non crederet, nisi a promissore aliquid in vicino perciperet. Non ergo solum spe ad res, sed rebus quandoque ad spem trahitur. Unde psal. CIV: *Et dedit illis regiones gentium, et labores populorum possederunt, ut custodiant justificationes ejus, et legem requirant.*

[0193A]VERS. 14-16.-- *Qui est, misit me ad vos,* etc. Mittitur Moses ad Pharaonem puniendum et tandem occidendum: missa est lex ad diabolum destruendum.

Hieronymus, scribens ad Marcellam de decem nominibus Dei, sexto loco ponit nomen *ehieh* ( אהיה ), quod in Exodo legitur: *Qui est, misit me ad vos.* Deus enim solus, qui exordium non habet, verae essentiae nomen tenet: quod per angelum dictum est Mosi nomen ejus quaerenti, quia in ejus comparatione qui vere est, quia incommutabilis est, quasi non sunt quae mutabilia sunt; quod enim dicitur, fuit, non est: et quod dicitur, erit, nondum est. Deus autem tantum est, qui non novit fuisse, vel futurum esse. Solus autem Pater cum Filio et Spiritu sancto [0193B] vere est. Cujus essentiae comparatum nostrum esse, non est; unde et dicimus: Vivit Deus, quia essentia divina vita vivit, quam mors non habet.

VERS. 17-20.-- *Ad terram fluentem lacte et melle,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 4 in Exod.)] Utrum hoc spiritualiter accipere debemus, quia secundum proprietatem non haec erat terra quae data est Hebraeis? An modus locutionis est, qua ubertas et suavitas terrae laudatur?

VERS. 21.-- *Non exibitis,* etc. [n: (AUG., ibid.)] Quod mandavit Dominus Hebraeis ut acciperent ab Aegyptiis vasa argentea et aurea, et vestem, atque addidit, *et praedabimini eos,* mandati hujus non potest esse injustum judicium. Mandatum enim Dei est, de quo non judicandum, sed obtemperandum fuit. Ipse [0193C] enim novit quam juste mandaverit, ad servum pertinet obedienter facere quod mandavit.

VERS. 22.-- *Vasa argentea.* Argentum et aurum ab Aegyptiis petimus, unde tabernaculum Deo fabricemur, cum poetas et philosophos legimus, ut divinam Scripturam sapientius et facundius exponamus.

## CAPUT IV.

VERS. 2-5.-- *Quid est quod,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] Moses, Judaicus populus; virga, Divinitatis potestas; serpens, Christi mortalitas: quia enim per serpentem mors, per serpentem mortalitas signatur. Vel quia scriptum est Matth. X: *Estote prudentes sicut serpentes;* [0193D] et quia summa prudentia, id est Dei sapientia, incarnata est: recte ejus mortalitas in serpente figuratur. Unde Joan. IV: *Sicut exaltavit Moses serpentem in deserto, ita exaltari oportet Filium hominis.* Moses virgam tenuit: quia Judaicus populus ante Redemptoris adventum in Dei potestate confisus est; in terram projecit, quia per patriarchas et prophetas Deum incarnandum nuntiavit; virga in colubrum vertitur, quia Christus Deus in se permanens, mortalis est in homine factus. Sed et Moses colubrum conspiciens pertimuit, et fugit, quia Judaicus populus dum Christum mortalem vidit, Deum credere expavit. Cui jubetur ut caudam teneat, quia populus qui modo credere recusat, in extrema corporis Dominici parte, id est, posteriore tempore Ecclesiae, [0194A] scilicet in fine mundi, sese ad fidem colliget; colubri caudam tenens, quia eum quem mortalem ante despexerat, in ultima parte Ecclesiae Redemptorem suum confitebitur. Mox serpens in virgam redit, quia ut Judaicus populus in Christum crediderit, mox ad judicium in potestate divinitatis suae apparebit: ut jam serpens virga sit: quia qui in terra homo despectus est, de coelo veniens super angelos videbitur Deus.

[n: (ISID.)] Serpens persuasit homini mortem. Mors ergo a serpente; virga in serpente, Christus in morte. Expavit Moses et fugit: mortuo enim Christo expaverunt discipuli a spe in qua fuerunt recedentes. Apprehendit caudam, id est posteriora, et factus est virga: quia primo occisus, postea patratis omnibus, [0194B] ad id quod fuerat resurgendo reversus est, ubi per vitam morte consumpta, nihil in eo serpentis apparuit. Vel cauda serpentis, finis saeculi, quia sic mortalitas Ecclesiae per lubrica tempora volvitur; alii eunt, alii veniunt per mortem, tanquam per serpentem, per quem mors seminata est: sed in fine saeculi, tanquam cauda, redimus ad manum Dei, et apprehensi reparabimur, et novissima inimica morte destructa, resurgentes in dextera Dei virga regni erimus.

VERS. 6, 8.-- . . . *Mitte manum tuam,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] Quidam asserunt illud portentum contigisse ut ostenderetur justo non esse legem positam. Licet deinde leges sanciat, quo pacto morbus leprae sit examinandus, et immundus pronuntiandus, tamen pleraeque [0194C] leges ita feruntur, quasi stultis et infantibus dentur. Adeo nostrae infirmitati se accommodat Deus!

[n: (ISID.)] Manus alba, id est immunda, albor enim in cute lepra est, non candor. Ipsa enim haereditas Dei, id est populus, foras ab eo missus factus est immundus. Unde psal. LXXIII: *Ut quid avertis manum tuam et dexteram tuam,* etc. Sed revocata est manus in sinum, et reversa est ad colorem suum: sic plebs Judaica, alienata a sinu Dei, foras immunda remansit; sed revocata, redibit ad pristinum colorem, cum agnoverit Salvatorem. *Caecitas enim ex parte contigit in Israel [n: (Rom. XI)]*.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *Sume aquam,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] Aqua populum significat; unde Apoc. XVII: *Aquas, quas vidisti, populi sunt et gentes.* Populus ergo vertitur in [0194D] sanguinem, id est, in sanguinis Christi fidem.

VERS. 10.-- *Obsecro, Domine,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. in Exod. )] Quod ait Moses ad Dominum: *Precor, Domine, non sum eloquens ante hesternum neque ante nudiustertianum diem, neque ex quo coepisti loqui famulo tuo,* intelligitur credere posse fieri Dei voluntate subito eloquentem, cum dicit: *neque ex quo coepisti loqui famulo tuo,* tanquam ostendens fieri potuisse ut qui ante hesternum et nudiustertianum diem eloquens non fuisset, repente fieret ex quo cum illo Dominus loqui coepit.

[n: (ORIG. homil. 3 in Exod.)] Dum esset Moses in Aegypto, et erudiretur omni sapientia Aegyptiorum, non erat gracili voce, nec tardus lingua, nec profitebatur [0195A] se ineloquentem. Erat enim, quantum ad Aegyptios, sonorae vocis et eloquentiae incomparabilis. Ubi autem Dei vocem audivit, et eloquia Domini suscepit, sentit vocem suam gracilem, et exilem tardamque, et impeditam linguam, et se pronuntiat mutum, cum incipit cognoscere verum Verbum, quod erat in principio apud Deum [n: (Joan. I)]: mutis enim animalibus quamvis indoctus homo comparetur, eloquens videbitur; si vero eruditis et eloquentibus, stultus et mutus. At si quis Dei verbum et divinam respiciat sapientiam multo amplius quam apud nos pendens, apud Deum mutum se animal profitebitur. Unde psal. LXXII: *Ut jumentum actus sum apud te.* Quia igitur in id intelligentiae profecit, ut se cognosceret, quod est magna pars sapientiae, [0195B] remuneravit eum divina dignatio dicens: *Aperiam os tuum,* etc. Beati quorum os Deus aperit ut loquantur. Unde psal. LXXX: *Dilata os tuum, et ego implebo illud.* Similiter Paulus dicit ad Ephes. VI: *Ut detur mihi sermo in apertione oris mei.* Eorum ergo qui vera loquuntur, os Deus aperit: eorum qui loquuntur mendacium, falsum testimonium, scurrilitates, turpitudines, susurronum quoque et detractorum, et eorum qui otiosa loquuntur, diabolus aperit os. De Juda refertur Joan. XIII, *quia introivit in illum Satanas, et misit in cor ejus ut traderet eum.* Os ergo ejus aperuit, ut loqueretur cum Pharisaeis, quomodo eum traderet accepta pecunia. Non est autem parvae gratiae discernere os quod aperit Deus, et quod aperit diabolus. Aperit etiam Deus aures [0195C] sanctorum ad audienda verba divina; unde: Dominus aperiet mihi aurem. Aperit oculos, sicut aperuit oculos Agar, et vidit puteum aquae vivae; unde Eliseus: *Aperi, Domine, oculos pueri tui, ut videat, quia plures sunt nobiscum [n: (IV Reg. VI)]*. Auris vero quae per eruditionem Domini aperitur, aliquando aperta est, aliquando clausa; unde: Ne recipias auditum vanum [n: (Eccli. XLV)]. Si dicuntur vana, profana, turpia, qui novit eruditionem Domini, claudit aurem et dicit: *Ego autem sicut mutus, qui non aperuit os suum, et sicut surdus non audiebam [n: (Psal. XXXVII)]*. Si vero ad utilitatem animae pertinent quae dicuntur, si de Deo sermo est, si mores docet, ad virtutes invitat, vitia resecat, aures pateant et tota animae janua. Notandum autem quia summa moderatione [0195D] usa est lex ut diceret: *Non recipies auditum vanum;* non dixit, Non audies; sed, *Non recipies.* Nam vana saepe audimus: Marcion enim et Valentinus, et omnes contra Creatorem disputantes, vana loquuntur; frequenter tamen audimus ut contradicamus, sed non recipimus, quia illorum os diabolus aperit. Dignetur Dominus aperire os nostrum, ut possimus contradicentem revincere, et obturare os quod diabolus aperit.

VERS. 11.-- *Quis fecit os hominis?* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 8.)] Sunt qui Deo calumnientur, vel potius Scripturae Veteris Testamenti quia dixit Deus quod fecerit mutum. Quid ergo dicunt de Christo aperte dicente Joan. X: *Ego veni, ut qui non vident videant; [0196A] et qui vident, caeci fiant.* Quis autem nisi insciens crediderit aliquid homini secundum vitia corporalia posse accidere quod Deus nolit? Sed eum juste totum velle nemo ambigit.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Perge igitur,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] *Allegorice.* Quod dicit Dominus ad Mosen: *Sed nunc vade tu, et ego aperiam os tuum et instruam te quae locuturus es,* apparet non tantum instructionem oris, sed etiam ipsam apertionem ad Dei gratiam pertinere. Non enim ait, Aperi os tuum, et ego instruam te; sed utrumque promittit, aperiam, et instruam. In psalmo autem LXXX: *Dilata os tuum, et ego adimplebo illud.* Ubi significat in homine voluntatem accipiendi quod Deus donat volenti, ut ad voluntatis exordium pertineat, *Dilata os tuum,* ad Dei autem [0196B] gratiam, *et implebo illud.*

VERS. 14.-- *Iratus Dominus in Moysen, ait,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 10 in Exod.)] Videtur tanquam diffidenti non dedisse plenissimam facultatem, etc., *usque ad* cujus figuram gerat velut medius Moses inter Deum et Aaron, et Aaron inter Mosen et populum.

VERS. 15-18.-- *Et ego ero in ore tuo et in ore illius,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Non solum Mosi promittitur aperiri os a Domino, sed et Aaron. Dicitur enim: Ego aperiam os tuum et os illius, et instruam vos quae faciatis.

VERS. 19.-- *Dixit ergo Dominus,* etc. [n: (AUG., Locut. in Gen., tom. III.)] Post dies autem multos mortuus est rex Aegypti. Dixit autem Dominus ad Mosen in [0196C] Madian: *Vade, perge in Aegyptum,* etc. Multa in his verbis notanda sunt genera locutionis. Primo enim inquit: *Vade, perge in Aegyptum,* tanquam non sufficeret alterum, deinde, *mortui sunt omnes qui quaerebant animam tuam,* cum solum regem Aegypti Scriptura mortuum dixerit: de quo solo antea dictum fuerat quod Mosen quaerebat occidere: an ipse post alios inimicos ultimus mortuus est? Quod si ita est, non locutio, sed sensus est.

VERS. 20.-- *Tulit ergo Moyses,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 12 in Exod.)] Quod dictum est, quia Moses uxorem et infantes suos imposuit super vehiculum, ut in Aegyptum iret: postea vero Jethro socer ejus illic cum eis occurrit, cum eduxisset populum de Aegypto; intelligendum est, post illam, quae ab angelo [0196D] futura erat, interfectionem, Mosi vel infantis uxorem reversam fuisse cum parvulis. Nam quidam putaverunt propter hoc angelum terruisse, ne ad impedimentum ministerii divinitus impositi femineus sexus comitaretur.

VERS. 21-23.-- *Ego indurabo cor ejus. [n: (AUG., Serm. 88.)]* Quid est, *ego indurabo cor ejus,* nisi cum abfuerit gratia mea, obduret illum nequitia sua? Sicut quoties nimio frigore constringitur aqua, solis calore superveniente resolvitur; et discedente sole iterum obduratur: ita peccatorum frigore refrigescit charitas multorum, et velut glacies obdurantur; et cum calor divinae misericordiae supervenerit, resolvuntur. Hoc in Pharaone cognoscimus, a quo [0197A] quoties flagella remota sunt, se contra Deum obduratus erexit; quoties afflictus est, supplicavit. Non est ergo iniquitas in Deo. Unde non tam potentia quam patientia Dei Pharaonem fecit obdurari. Quam rem etiam circa vernaculos nostros solemus exercere, quibus frequenter peccantibus indulgemus, dicentes: Ego talem te feci, ego tibi parcendo proterviam tuam negligentiamque nutrivi.

## CAPUT IV. (cont.)

VERS. 24.-- *Occurrit ei Dominus,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 11 in Exod.)] Alia littera: *Et factum est in via ad refectionem, obviavit ei angelus, et quaerebat eum occidere: et assumpto Sephora calculo circumcidit praeputium filii sui, et procidit ad pedes ejus et dixit: Stetit sanguis circumcisionis infantis mei, et recessit ab eo propter hoc quod dixit: Stetit sanguis [0197B] circumcisionis.* Primum quaeritur quem volebat angelus interficere, etc., *usque ad* magno nisi fallor sacramento.

VERS. 25, 26.-- *Sponsus sanguinum tu,* etc. Secundum historiam, mater gentilis admirans novitatem rei, potuit dicere Mosi: *Sponsus sanguinum tu mihi es;* quasi, ritus tuae gentis cogit me fundere sanguinem filii mei, quod aliis gentibus non est moris. Mystice autem Sephora Ecclesiam de gentibus significat, quae praeputium filii sui, id est gentilis populi, acutissima petra, id est Spiritus sancti doctrina, vel illa petra de qua dicitur II Cor. X: *Petra autem erat Christus,* exspoliat, ut mundetur ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus: *Et exuat veterem hominem cum actibus suis [n: (Col. III)]*. Stat [0197C] enim sanguis circumcisionis quando corruptibile hoc induet incorruptionem.

VERS. 27-31.-- *Dixitque Dominus,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 32.)] Occurrit Aaron Moysi, et exivit de Aegypto. Sed interest ubi occurrat Mosi, cujus os aperiendum est a Domino: occurrit autem in montem Dei. Merito os ejus aperitur, qui occurrit in montem Dei. Petrus, Jacobus et Joannes in monte et transfiguratum Dominum Jesum videre meruerunt, et Mosen et Eliam cum ipso in gloria. Tu quoque, nisi ascenderis montem Dei, et ibi occurreris Mosi, id est nisi excelsum legis ascensum ascenderis, nisi spiritalis intelligentiae cacumen invaseris, non est ostium apertum a Domino. Si in humili loco litterae steteris, non occurristi Mosi in montem Dei; non [0197D] os tuum aperuit Deus, neque instruxit quae te oporteat loqui; nisi Aaron Moysi in monte occurrisset, nisi ejus sensum vidisset arduum, non ei loqueretur verba Dei, neque virtutem signorum tradidisset, neque participem tanti mysterii concivisset.

## CAPUT V.

VERS. 1.-- . . . . . *Dimitte populum meum. [n: (ORIG., hom. 3 in Exod.)]* Non vult Moses ut populus in Aegypto positus serviat Deo, sed ut exeat in desertum, et ibi serviat. Dum enim quis in tenebrosis saeculi actibus manet, et in negotiorum obscuritate versatur, non potest servire Deo. *Non enim potestis servire Deo et mammonae [n: (Matth. VI)]*. Exeundum est [0198A] ergo de Aegypto: relinquendus est mundus, non loco, sed animo, si volumus servire Domino. Inde Joannes ait: *Filioli, nolite diligere mundum, neque ea quae in mundo sunt [n: (I Joan. II)]*.

VERS. 2.-- *Qui est Dominus?* Superbiam diaboli exprimit, qui subdi Deo contemnens, ait: *Similis ero Altissimo [n: (Isa. XIV)]*; et quasi de Domini nativitate dubitans, dicit:

*Si Filius Dei es, dic ut lapides isti panes fiant [n: (Matth. IV)]*. Postea vero quasi coacte daemones clamaverunt: *Quid venisti ante tempus torquere nos? Scimus quia es Filius Dei [n: (Matth. VIII)]*. Post tormenta sciunt, quae ante scire noluerant. Pharao quoque verberatus pro se supplicari ad Dominum rogat. *Quis est dominus, ut audiam vocem ejus?* etc. Vides [0198B] quid agit cruda superbia; videbitis paulo post quantum proficit in flagellis: quantum melior verberatus efficitur; qui modo dicit, Nescio Dominum, verberatus dicturus est: Orate pro me Dominum. Nemo ergo ita ineruditus sit divinae disciplinae, ut flagella divina perniciem putet et poenalem interitum. Ecce etiam Pharao durissimus proficit verberatus: ante enim verbera Dominum nescit, verberatusque pro se rogat supplicari; et proficiens in poenis, scit agnoscere cur puniatur. *Nescio,* ait, *Dominum.* In Evangelio verberatus emendat hanc vocem, quia daemones clamaverunt: *Scimus te quis sis: tu es Filius Dei vivi.* Post flagella etiam Israel dimittet, et etiam urgebit exire. *Nulla enim societas luci ad tenebras, nulla pars fideli cum infideli [n: (II Cor. VI)]*.

[0198C]VERS. 3.-- *Deus Hebraeorum vocavit nos,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Exod. )] Quaeritur quomodo populo dicatur, etc., *usque ad* ut justum judicium consequatur.

[n: (ORIG.)] *Moraliter.* Iter tridui de Aegypto proficiscimur, si ita nos ab omni inquinamento animae, et corporis, ac spiritus conservemus, ut integer spiritus noster, et anima, et corpus, in diem Christi servetur.

[n: (ORIG.)] Tridui iter proficiscimur de Aegypto, si rationabilem, moralem, naturalem sapientiam, de rebus mundialibus auferentes, ad instituta divina convertimus. Tridui iter de Aegypto proficiscimur, si purificantes in nobis dicta, facta vel cogitata (tria sunt enim haec per quae homines peccare possunt), [0198D] efficiamur mundi corde, ut Deum videre possimus. Princeps vero Aegypti ubi videt se vehementius urgeri ut dimittat populum Dei, secundo loco cupit impetrare ut non longius abeant, ne totum triduum proficiscantur, dicens: *Ne longe abeatis.* Non vult longe a se fieri populum Dei. Vult enim, si non in facto, vel in sermone peccent; si non in sermone, vel in cogitatione. Non vult ut totum triduum a se proficiscantur. Vult in nobis vel unum diem, videlicet, in aliis duos, in aliis totum triduum possidere. Beati illi qui ab eo totum triduum recedunt.

*Viam trium dierum in solitudinem, et sacrificemus Deo,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] Viam trium dierum ambulamus exeuntes de Aegypto, ut ad locum perveniamus ubi [0199A] immolare debemus Domino. Haec via Christus est, qui ait Joan. XIV: *Ego sum via, veritas et vita.* Qui enim confessus fuerit Christum ore, et crediderit corde quod Deus illum suscitavit tertia die, salvus erit, perveniens ad locum in quo immoletur sacrificium laudis.

[n: (STRAB.)] *Viam trium dierum,* etc. Tertia mansione, postquam transierunt mare Rubrum, pervenerunt Ethan, qui locus etiam Mara vocatur, propter amaras aquas. Vel trium dierum, id est, trium mensium, quia tertio mense postquam de Aegypto exierunt, pervenerunt Sina, ubi sacrificaverunt, et legem acceperunt, ubi erectum est et tabernaculum.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 3 in Exod.)] Nunc quoque Moses, quem habemus nobiscum (habemus enim Mosen et [0199B] prophetas), id est, lex Dei vult te educere de Aegypto, si audias eam; vult te longe facere a Pharaone, eruere de opere luti et palearum: si tamen audias, et spiritualiter intelligas; non vult te in carnis et tenebrarum actibus permanere, sed exire ad eremum, ad locum scilicet perturbationibus et fluctibus saeculi vacuum, et ad quietem silentii. Verba enim sapientiae in silentio et quiete discuntur. In hoc loco poteris Domino immolare legem Dei, et virtutem divinae vocis agnoscere. Ideo cupit Moses te ejicere de fluctibus negotiorum et strepitu populorum, et de Aegypto, id est de tenebris ignorantiae, ut legem Dei audias et lucem scientiae capias.

VERS. 4-8.-- *Quare, Moses et Aaron, sollicitatis,* [0199C] etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Dum secum est populus, et lutum aut laterem operatur, dum in paleis occupatur, non putat esse perversum, sed recte incedere. Si vero dicat, Volo ire dierum trium viam, et servire Domino, perverti populum dicit per Mosen et Aaron. Hodie quoque si Moses et Aaron, id est propheticus et sacerdotalis sermo animam sollicitet ad servitutem Dei, exire de saeculo, renuntiare omnibus quae possidet, attendere legi et verbo Dei: continuo audies unanimes et amicos Pharaonis dicentes: Videte quomodo seducuntur homines, et pervertuntur adolescentes, ne laborent, ne militent, ne agant aliquid quod prosit, relictis rebus necessariis ineptias sectantur et otium. Quid est servire Deo? Laborare nolunt et otii occasiones quaerunt: haec erant tunc [0199D] verba Pharaonis, haec et nunc amici ejus loquuntur, nec solum verbis, sed et verberibus persequuntur. Flagellari jubet scribas Hebraeorum, paleas non dari, opus exigi; haec passi sunt patres, et nunc Dei populus patitur. Qui se ex integro principi hujus mundi tradiderunt, prospere agunt; omnia, ut putant, feliciter eveniunt: servis autem Dei etiam victus parvus et humilis non succedit. Hae sunt enim paleae quae dabantur a Pharaone; unde quidam fatigati dicunt ad Pharaonem: Quid tu affligis populum tuum? Superati enim verberibus a fide cadunt, et confitentur se esse Pharaonis populum, non enim omnes qui ex Israel, hi sunt Israelitae.

VERS. 9-13.-- *Opprimantur operibus et expleant [0200A] ea,* etc. *Mystice.* Ex quo loqui coepit Moses ad Pharaonem magis affligitur populus Dei: ex quo in animam sermo Dei pervenit, diabolus acrius insurgit, et majora vitia immittit. Prius enim quam sermo Dei veniret, qui argueret vitia, in pace durabant, at ubi venit, turbatio magna consurgit.

VERS. 14-20.-- *Flagellatique sunt qui,* etc. Filii Israel gravius attriti sunt, postquam de Aegypto egredi statuerunt; quia qui mundo et pravis operibus renuntiare volunt, saevioribus tentationibus a diabolo impugnantur.

VERS. 21.-- *Videat Dominus,* etc. [n: (GREG. l. XXIX, Moral., cap. 14.)] Cum lux divina cor humanum illustrat, *usque ad* quasi fetere se in oculis Pharaonis [0200B] dolet.

*Quoniam fetere,* etc. *[n: (ORIG. Hom. 3.)] Allegorice.* Verum dicunt, quamvis nesciant, sicut Caiphas, qui ait: *Expedit ut unus moriatur pro populo [n: (Joan. XVIII)]*; quid diceret nesciebat. Sicut enim Apostolus ait: *Christi bonus odor sumus, aliis in vitam, aliis in mortem,* ita propheticus sermo suavis odor est credentibus; dubiis vero et incredulis, et qui fatentur se populum Pharaonis, odor exsecrabilis efficitur. Ipse quoque Moses dicit Domino: Ex quo locutus sum cum Pharaone, afflixisti populum tuum; quia antequam sermo Dei audiatur, non est tribulatio, vel tentatio: sed ubi signum belli tuba praedicationis ostenderit, tribulationum pugna consurgit. Ex quo ergo loqui coepit Moses et Aaron ad Pharaonem, [0200C] affligitur populus Dei. Ex quo in animam tuam sermo Dei prolatus est, certamen intra te virtutibus contra vitia suscitatur, quae prius intra te in pace durabant. Sed ubi facere coepit sermo Dei cujusque discrimen, turbatio magna consurgit, et sine foedere nascitur bellum: quia injustitia justitiae non convenit, nec sobrietati ebrietas, vel veritati mendacium. Ideo non turbemur si videmur odor exsecrabilis Pharaoni. Exsecratio enim vitii dicitur virtus. Sed sicut stetit Moses ante Pharaonem, stemus et nos; non flectamur, *succincti lumbos in veritate, et calceati pedes in praeparatione Evangelii pacis [n: (Ephes. VI)]*. Stamus autem confidenter, Dominum deprecamur, ut statuat pedes nostros supra firmam petram, ne moveantur pedes nostri. Stemus autem, id est, [0200D] obsistamus, secundum illud I Petr. V: *Cui resistite fortes in fide: ut cito conteratur Satanas sub pedibus nostris.* Quanto enim nos constanter et fortiter stamus, tanto Pharao infirmius. Si autem infirmi vel dubii esse coeperimus, validior fiet. Cum enim elevaret Moses manus, vincebatur Amalec; cum quasi lassas dejiceret, invalescebat. Nos ergo in virtute crucis Christi extollamus brachia, et levemus in oratione sanctas manus, ut Dei auxilium mereamur. Hinc Jacobus ait: *Resistite diabolo et fugiet a vobis [n: (Jac. III)]*. Agamus ergo ut non solum fugiat, sed conteratur sub pedibus nostris exstinctus in profundo abyssi.

Nos autem si recedamus de Aegypto vitiorum, [0201A] fluctus saeculi tanquam iter solidum evadimus per Jesum Christum.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *Domine, cur afflixisti populum istum?* [n: (AUG.)] Non sunt haec verba contumaciae vel indignationis, sed inquisitionis et orationis, sicut ex his apparet quae Dominus respondit. Non enim arguit infidelitatem ejus, sed quid sit facturus aperuit.

## CAPUT VI.

VERS. 3-6.--. . . *Et nomen meum Adonai non indicavi eis.* Sicut tibi. Per successiones enim aetatum crevit divinae cognitionis augmentum. Apparuit Dominus Abrahae; locutus est facie ad faciem cum Mose; David vero ait psalm. CXVIII: *Super senes intellexi,* etc. Apostoli Dei Filium praesentem cernebant, et quidquid volebant, interrogabant, quibus [0201B] etiam dicitur Lucae II: *Multi reges et prophetae,* etc.

VERS. 7, 8.-- *De ergastulo Aegyptiorum.* Ergastulum et ergasterium, id est operatorium: scilicet ubi rei ad opera facienda religabantur.

VERS. 9-11.-- *Non acquieverunt ei,* etc. Nota Dei clementiam: non creditur a filiis Israel, et tamen monere non cessat. Contemnitur a Pharaone, et longanimiter exspectat.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Ecce filii,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 16 in Exod.)] LXX. *Ecce ego gracili voce sum et quomodo exaudiet me Pharao.* Non videtur tamen propter multitudinem populi excusare se de vocis gracilitate, sed etiam propter unum hominem: mirum si tam gracilis vocis fuit, ut nec ab uno posset audiri. An [0201C] forte regius fastus non permittebat eos de proximo loqui.

VERS. 14-19.-- *Isti sunt principes,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 15.)] Volens Scriptura originem Moysi demonstrare, quod ejus actio expetebat, a primogenito Jacob, id est Ruben, coepit; inde ad Simeon, inde ad Levi: ultra progressum non est, quia ex Levi Moses. Hi autem commemorantur, qui jam memorati fuerant in illis septuaginta quinque in quibus Israel intraverat in Aegyptum. Non enim primam, vel secundam, sed tertiam tribum, id est Leviticam, voluit Deus esse sacerdotalem.

VERS 20.-- *Accepit autem Amram uxorem Jochabed,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Amram interpretatur *pater excelsus,* qui significat Christum; Jochabed, *Dei gratia,* [0201D] quae significat Ecclesiam: Ex Christo et Ecclesia nascitur Moses, id est lex spiritualis, et Aaron, scilicet verum sacerdotium.

*Accepit autem,* etc. Haec de tribu Juda fuit, soror Naason, qui fuit princeps tribus Judae in deserto: nondum enim praeceptum erat ut quisque, de tribu sua uxorem acciperet. Ideo autem hae tribus, id est Levitica et regalis, jam tunc conjungebantur, ut intelligeretur Christus rex et sacerdos futurus ex eis.

VERS. 21-26.-- *Filii quoque Isaar,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Quaeritur cur Core, quem pro iniquitate terra vivum absorbuit, in genealogia justorum scriptus sit? Sed haereticos cum catholicis in Ecclesia significat futuros

[0202A]VERS. 27-30.-- *Iste Moyses.* [n: (STRAB.)] Hoc ex suo addit Esdras, qui omnem bibliothecam post captivitatem Babylonicam, cunctis libris a Nabuchodonosor succensis reparavit; vel ipse Moses de se tanquam de alio loquitur.

## CAPUT VII.

VERS. 1-6.-- *Dixitque Dominus ad Moysen: Ecce constitui te dominum,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 17 in Exod., tom III.)] Notandum quod cum ad populi mitteretur, non ei dictum est: Ecce dedi te Deum populo, et frater tuus erit tuus propheta; sed, frater tuus loquetur tibi ad populum. Dictum est etiam *erit os tuum, et tu illi in his quae ad Deum;* non dictum est, *tu illi Deus.* Pharaoni autem dicitur Moses datus deus, et secundum analogiam propheta Mosi est datus [0202B] Aaron, sed ad Pharaonem. Hic insinuatur nobis ea loqui prophetas Dei quae audiunt ab eo; nihilque aliud esse prophetam Dei, nisi enuntiatorem verborum Dei hominibus, qui Deum vel non possunt, vel non merentur audire.

[n: (GREG. hom. 8 super Ezech.)] Aliquando Deus nuncupative, aliquando essentialiter dicitur. Nuncupative, ut hic: *Constitui te deum Pharaonis.* Et alibi: *Applica illum ad deos.* Et alibi: *Deus stetit in synagoga deorum,* etc. Essentialiter sicut hic: *Ego sum Deus Abraham, Deus Isaac, et Deus Jacob,* quod volens Paulus discernere ait: *Ex quibus Christus secundum carnem natus est, qui est Deus benedictus in saecula.* Nuncupative enim dicitur Deus inter omnia, essentialiter autem super omnia; ut ergo ostenderet [0202C] Christum naturaliter Deum, non tantum Deum, sed Deum super omnia esse memoravit. Justus enim quilibet Deus est, sed inter omnia, quia nuncupative: Christus autem super omnia, quia naturaliter Deus.

[n: (AUG. Quaest. 18 in Exod.)] Assidue dicit Deus, etc. *usque ad indurabo,* id est, quam durum sit demonstrabo.

VERS. 7, 8.-- *Erat autem Moses octoginta annorum,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Propter circumcisionem scilicet, quae octava die celebrari jussa est: eamdem enim significationem habet octogenarius quam et octonarius infra eum minor. *Erat autem Moses octoginta annorum.* Quando Moses et Aaron locuti sunt ad Pharaonem, Moses erat octogenarius, Aaron vero [0202D] octoginta trium annorum: quia lex per praedicatores ad gentes oblata circumcisionem spiritualem docuit, et ipsi perfecte mundari studebant, et sic fidem sanctae Trinitatis praedicabant.

VERS. 9.-- *Cum dixerit vobis Pharao,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 19 et 20.)] Hic non erat opus voce, pro cujus gracilitate videbatur Mosi datus Aaron, sed virga erat projicienda ut draco fieret. Cur hoc ergo Moses ipse non fecit, nisi quia mediatio Aaron inter Mosen et Pharaonem magnae fidei figuram gerit. Hoc quoque notandum quod scriptum est: *Projecit Aaron virgam suam:* forte si dixisset projecit virgam, nulla quaestio esset; quod vero addit *suam,* cum eam Moses dederit, non frustra forsitan dictum est. An [0203A] erat utrique illa virga communis, ut cujuslibet eorum diceretur, verum diceretur?

[n: (STRAB.)] Virga Mosi Christum significat, qui ex regali stirpe carnem sumpsit. Unde eadem virga in colubrum conversa, omnes virgas maleficorum devoravit, quia mors Christi mortem nostram consumpsit.

[n: (ORIG. hom. 4 in Exod.)] Apostolus dicit I Cor. XIV: *Aemulamini spiritualia dona magis autem ut prophetetis.* Tentemus et nos aemulationem bonorum suscipere, a Domino vero plenitudinem muneris exspectare. Pro hoc enim dicitur psal. LXXX: *Aperi os tuum et implebo illud;* pro illo vero: *Punge oculum, et producit lacrymam; punge cor, et producit sensum.* Puto ergo quod Moses ad Aegyptum veniens, et virgam ferens, [0203B] qua castigat et verberat Aegyptum decem plagis, lex Dei sit, qua mundum decem plagis, id est decem mandatis decalogi, corripiat et emendet. Virga qua haec geruntur, et Aegyptus subigitur, et Pharao superatur, crux Christi est, per quam mundus et princeps mundi superatur, id est diabolus, cum principibus et potestatibus. Virga projecta fit draco vel serpens, et devorat Aegyptiorum magorum serpentes. Serpens vero pro sapientia vel prudentia poni solet; unde Matth. X: *Estote prudentes sicut serpentes,* etc. Et Gen. III: *Serpens erat prudentior cunctis animalibus,* etc. Crux ergo Christi, cujus praedicatio stulta videbatur, quam Moses, id est lex, continet [n: (secundum illud Joan. V: De me enim ille scripsit )], postquam in terram projecta est, id est ad fidem hominum venit, [0203C] conversa est in sapientiam, et in tantam quae omnem sapientiam Aegyptiorum, id est hujus mundi, devoraret. Intuere enim quomodo stultam Deus fecit sapientiam hujus mundi, postquam manifestavit Christum crucifixum esse Dei virtutem et sapientiam: et universus jam mundus comprehensus est ab eo, qui dixit I Cor. III: *Comprehendam sapientes in astutia eorum.*

VERS. 10.-- *Tulitque Aaron,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Gen., tom. V.)] Tulitque virgam coram Pharaone, etc., *usque ad: Ero mors tua, o mors,* etc.

*Quae versa est in colubrum.* Lex Mosi quasi insipida erat ut virga, sed versa in colubrum, id est in spiritualem intelligentiam, potabilis effecta est et [0203D] delectabilis.

VERS. 11.-- *Vocavit autem Pharao sapientes,* etc. Sciendum quia vel diabolicis figmentis spectantium oculos deludebant, ut res in sua natura manentes aliud viderentur; vel, secundum Augustinum, daemones, quamvis mali naturam suam non amiserunt: ideo dum per incantationem eorum malefici aliquid efficere conantur, discurrunt per mundum, et subito semina eorum, de quibus hoc agitur, afferunt. Sicque ex illis, permittente Deo, novas rerum species producunt.

*Similiter.* In prima plaga dicit cum aqua vertitur in sanguinem; et in secunda, cum ranae ebulliunt; et in tertia cum ciniphos ingruunt; in quarta, cum [0204A] cynomyia educitur; in quinta, cum manus Domini fit super pecora Aegyptiorum, dicuntur similia.

VERS. 12.-- *Dracones.* Apo tou δέρκειν dicuntur, id est *videre,* quia vident acutius caeteris animalibus.

*Sed devoravit,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 21.)] Si dictum esset, Absorbuit draco Aaron virgas eorum, intelligeretur verus draco Aaron phantastica figmenta non absorbuisse, sed virgas, etc., *usque ad* Deus vero solus creator est verus, qui causas ipsas et rationes seminarias rebus inseruit.

VERS. 13, 14.-- *Induratumque,* etc. Induravit Deus cor Pharaonis, quia diabolum ita induravit post peccatum, ut poenitentiae compunctione nunquam emolliatur, sicut in Job XLI dicitur: *Cor ejus indurabitur quasi lapis.*

[0204B]VERS. 15, 16.-- *Vade ad eum mane, ecce egredietur,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 4.)] Primo quidem non intrat Moses ad Pharaonem, sed occurrit ei exeunti ad aquas; postea vero intrat; post haec nec intrat, sed accersitus accedit: quia sive nobis in verbo Dei et assertione religionis certamen est cum Pharaone, sive obsessas ab eo animas eripere conamur, et est in nobis in disputatione luctamen, non prima fronte ingredi debemus ad ultima quaestionum loca, sed occurrendum est nobis adversario, et ad aquas suas, id est, auctoritates gentium philosophorum, ut ipsos primo arguamus et errasse doceamus; deinde ingrediendum ad interiora certaminis. Dicit enim Dominus: *Nisi quis prius alligaverit fortem, non potest [0204C] intrare in domum ejus et vasa ejus diripere [n: (Marc. XII)]*. Prius ergo ligandus est fortis et quaestionum vinculis constringendus, et ita introeundum ad diripienda vasa, et liberandas animas quas deceptione et fraude possederat. Quod cum saepius fecerimus, et steterimus contra ipsum, succincti scilicet lumbos in veritate, et stantes in Domino, et viriliter agentes, artifex antiquus et callidus victum se simulabit et cedere, ut negligentiores nos faciat ad certamen. Poenitentiam quoque simulabit, deprecabitur nos discedere, sed non longe: vult nos aliqua parte sibi esse vicinos. Sed nisi ab eo longius recedamus, et mare transeamus, et dicamus cogitatione, locutione, et opere: Quantum distat ortus ab occidente, tantum fecit a nobis iniquitates nostras, [0204D] salvi esse non possumus. Oremus ergo misericordiam Dei, ut et nos eripiat de terra Aegypti, de potestate tenebrarum, et Pharaonem cum exercitu suo tanquam plumbum demergat in aqua vehementissima. Nos autem liberati cum gaudio et exsultatione hymnum cantemus Domino. Gloriose enim honorificatus est, etc.

[n: (ISID.)] Plagae in Aegypto corporaliter gestae sunt, sed in nobis spiritualiter geruntur. Aegyptus enim saeculi forma est.

VERS. 17-19.-- *Aquam fluminis,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Aqua in sanguinem versa mundanam sapientiam significat, in qua omnis qui manserit necatur, sicut in sanguine piscis. Mundana enim sapientia stultum [0205A] putat Deum pro hominibus mori; huic ergo quicunque adhaeserit vivere non poterit.

[n: (ORIG.)] Aqua fluminis vertitur in sanguinem, cui Hebraeorum pueros tradiderant necandos, ut auctoribus sceleris poculum redderet sanguinis: et cruorem polluti gurgitis, quem parricidali caede maculaverant, potando sentirent. Allegorice quoque aquae Aegypti erratica et lubrica philosophorum dogmata sunt, quos parvulos sensu et intelligentia deceperunt: at ubi crux Christi lumen veritatis ostendit, necis suorum in poenas et reatum sanguinis exiguntur. Unde: *Omnis sanguis qui effusus est super terram, requiretur a generatione hac [n: (Matth. XXIII)]*.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *Quae versa est in sanguinem,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Primum praeceptum de colendo uno Deo: [0205B] Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me: prima plaga, aqua in sanguinem versa. Compara primum praeceptum primae plagae: aqua, de qua generantur omnia, significat unum Deum, ex quo omnia; sanguis, carnem mortalem. Aqua ergo versa est in sanguinem, quia *commutaverunt gloriam Dei incorruptibilis in similitudinem imaginis corruptibilis hominis,* et haec quidem commutatio fit in corde impiorum.

*In sanguinem,* etc. Quia qui in rerum causis carnaliter sentiunt, hujusmodi correptionibus arguuntur, ut ex qualitate poenarum agnoscant suum errorem.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *Et induratum est cor Pharaonis. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 22.)]* Videtur propterea cor Pharaonis induratum fuisse, quia incantatores Aegyptiorum [0205C] similia fecerunt. Sed sequentia docent quanta fuerit illa obduratio, etiam cum incantatores defecerunt.

VERS. 24, 25.-- *Foderunt autem,* etc. Quia gentilitas confusa de meditatione saecularis philosophiae, cum videt nihil vitale nec salubre esse in illa, studet investigando circumquaque quaerens haustum sapientiae, nec invenit, donec perveniat ad eum qui ait: Qui sitit, veniat ad me et bibat [n: (Joan. VII)].

## CAPUT VIII.

VERS. 2-6.-- *Ecce ego percutiam omnes terminos tuos ranis,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Tria sunt genera ranarum: unum fluviale et vocale, alterum ejus quae calamita dicitur, de qua fertur quod si in os latrantis canis [0205D] projicitur, statim obmutescit; tertium ejus quae rubeta dicitur, eo quod in vepribus agat.

[n: (ORIG.)] Ranae significant carmina poetarum, quae inani et inflata modulatione, velut ranarum sonis et cantibus, mundo deceptionis fabulas intulerunt: ad nihil enim animal illud utile est, nisi quod sonum vocis improbis et importunis clamoribus reddit.

[n: (RAB.)] Secundum praeceptum: *Non accipies nomen Dei tui in vanum.* Nomen Dei veritas est: ipse enim ait: *Ego sum veritas.* Qui loquitur veritatem, de Deo loquitur; *qui* enim *loquitur mendacium, de suo loquitur.* Veritatem enim loqui est rationabiliter loqui: vanitatem loqui, strepere est. Secundum ergo [0206A] praeceptum est de dilectione veritatis, cui contraria est dilectio iniquitatis. Loquitur veritas, perstrepit vanitas. Huic contraria est secunda plaga, ranarum abundantia, quarum loquacitas vanitatem significat. Amatores veritatis non accipiunt nomen Dei in vanum, quia a veritate in vanitatem non recedunt. Qui autem veritati contradicunt, et vanitate decepti decipiunt, ranae sunt, taedium inferentes auribus, non cibum mentibus. Audi homines rationabiliter loquentes psal. XVIII: *Non sunt loquelae neque sermones quorum non audiantur voces eorum.* Audi ranas: *Vana locuti sunt unusquisque ad proximum suum,* etc.

VERS. 7-9.-- *Fecerunt autem malefici,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 23.)] Quaeritur unde, si jam ubique [0206B] factum erat. Sed similis quaestio est, unde aquam in sanguinem verterint, si jam tota aqua Aegypti in sanguinem versa fuerat? Sed intelligendum est regionem ubi filii Israel habitabant, talibus plagis non fuisse percussam, et inde potuerunt incantatores haurire aquam, quam in sanguinem verterent, vel ranas educere ad ostentationem magicae potentiae; quanquam potuerunt etiam, postquam illa compressa sunt, facere: sed Scriptura narrando conjunxit quod postea fieri potuit.

VERS. 10-14.-- *Qui* respondit: *Cras.* [n: (THEOD.)] Pharao cum scire vellet an Moysi et Aaron preces aliquid apud Deum valerent (illos enim per noctem quiescere existimabat), ait: *Cras,* ut ipsemet ad fluvium profectus, videret an ranae cessassent. [0206C] Quamobrem Deus, ut Mosi crederetur, non tantum eo ipso tempore quo Moses constituerat, ranas cessare fecit, sed et eas quae in terra erant interire jussit, ut ne easdem rediisse existimarent.

VERS. 15.-- *Videns autem Pharao,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 24.)] Hic apparet non ideo tantum Pharaonem obduratum quod incantatores similia fecerunt, etc., *usque ad* non dixit munera, vel praemia, sed judicia tua.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Extende virgam,* etc. *Mystice.* Moses virga castigans Aegyptum legem significat, quae mundum decem plagis mandatorum corripit. Virga quoque per quam Aegyptus corrigitur, et Pharao superatur, crux Christi est, per quam mundus vincitur et diabolus superatur vel triumphatur. Virga projecta fit serpens, qui sapientiam significat, secundum [0206D] illud Matth. X: *Estote prudentes sicut serpentes,* etc. Virga serpentes magorum devoravit, et crux Christi, cujus praedicatio videtur stultitia, omnem sapientiam mundi superat. Unde: *De me enim ille scripsit [n: (Joan. V)]*. Virga in terram projecta versa est in serpentem, quia cum mysterium crucis ad fidem hominum venit, sapientiam mundi stultam fecit.

*Et sint sciniphes,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Hoc animal pennis suspenditur per aera volitans, sed ita subtile et minutum, ut oculi visum, nisi acute cernentis, effugiat. Corpus tamen cum insederit, acerbissimo terebrat stimulo, ut quem volantem videre quis non valet, sentiat stimulantem. Hoc ergo animal arti dialecticae [0207A] comparatur, quae minutis et subtilibus verborum stimulis animas terebrat, et tanta calliditate circum venit, ut deceptus nec videat nec intelligat unde decipiatur.

[n: (RAB.)] *Moraliter.* Tertium praeceptum: *Memento diem sabbati sanctificare.* Quo insinuatur vacatio et tranquillitas mentis, quam bona conscientia facit. Ibi sanctificatio, quia ibi Spiritus Dei. Unde: *Super quem requiescet Spiritus meus nisi super humilem et quietum?* etc. [n: (Isa. LXVI)]. Inquieti ergo a Spiritu sancto resiliunt, provocatores rixarum, amatores calumniarum, nec admittunt quietem sabbati spiritualis. Esto ergo mansuetus, non sit tumultus in corde tuo, volitantibus per corruptionem phantasmatibus et pungentibus te. Audi Deum dicentem psal. XLV: *Vacate et [0207B] videte quoniam ego sum Deus.* Tu per inquietudinem vacare non vis, et caecatus exigis videre quod non potes. Attende enim contrariam plagam: sciniphes nati sunt in terra Aegypti de limo, muscae scilicet minutissimae inquietissimae, inordinate volantes, in oculos ruentes, et negantes hominibus requiem; dum abiguntur, redeunt; sic phantasmata inquietorum. Praeceptum tene, plagam cave.

VERS. 18.-- *Erantque sciniphes.* Sanguis est doctrina philosophorum: ranae, figmenta poetarum; sciniphes, sophismata dialecticorum: quae omnia mundum deceperunt.

VERS. 19.-- *Digitus Dei est hic,* etc. [n: (ISID. ex Aug. ep. 119.)] In tertio signo magi deficiunt, dicentes: *Digitus Dei est:* qui typum haereticorum et animositatem [0207C] habuerunt. Unde: *Sicut Jamnes et Mambres restiterunt Moysi, ita et hi resistunt veritati, homines mente corrupti, reprobi circa fidem,* etc. [n: (II Tim. III)]. Hi autem qui per mentis corruptionem inquieti fuerunt, in tertio signo defecerunt, fatentes sibi adversum Spiritum sanctum, qui erat in Mose. Tertio enim ponitur loco Spiritus, qui est digitus Dei: qui sicut placatus requiem praestat mitibus et humilibus corde, ita iratus immites et superbos per inquietudinem exagitat, quam muscae gravissimae significaverunt, sub quibus magi defecerunt, dicentes: *Digitus Dei est hic,* ne intelligant unde decipiantur.

[n: (STRAB.)] Notandum quia tertio signo victi sunt magi, quia omnis perfidia et mundana sapientia, vel philosophia, fide Trinitatis vincitur. Cum enim [0207D] philosophiam invenerint, et de machina totius mundi disputaverint, ad cognitionem Trinitatis pervenire nequiverunt. Per digitum Spiritus sanctus intelligitur, non quod minor sit Patre et Filio, sed quia in digito plurimae divisiones sunt, et per Spiritum sanctum datur divisio gratiarum.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 25 in Exod., tom. III.)] Quod dixerunt magi ad Pharaonem, etc., *usque ad,* quamvis de Filio non tacuerunt.

VERS. 20.-- *Haec dicit Dominus,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Quartum praeceptum: *Honora patrem tuum et matrem tuam.* Huic contraria est quarta plaga, scilicet cynomyia, id est, canina musca: caninum est parentes non agnoscere; unde catuli eorum caeci nascuntur.

[0208A]VERS. 21.-- *Omne genus muscarum.* [n: (ISID.)] *Mystice.* Quarto loco Aegyptus muscis percutitur. Musca autem insolens et inquietum animal est, in qua insolentes curae carnalium desideriorum figurantur. Aegyptus vero muscis percutitur, quia corda eorum qui saeculum diligunt, desideriorum inquietudinibus feriuntur. LXX: *cynomyiam,* id est, muscam caninam, posuerunt: per quam canini mores significantur, in quibus humanae mentis voluptas, et libido carnis arguitur. Potest etiam forensis eloquentia hominum significari per muscam caninam, qui velut canes alterutrum se lacerant.

[n: (PROCOP.)] Deus non magnis belluis utitur in expugnanda Aegypto, sed contemptissimarum bestiolarum et insectorum ministerium accersit: ne scilicet [0208B] illarum potentiae ascriberetur effectus. Abjectis illis et infirmis bestiolis tribuit vires inexpugnabiles, adeo ut desperet Aegyptus se posse illis bestiolis resistere, et clamitet: *Digitus Dei hic est:* Nam manum Dei non feret universus mundus conglobatus.

[n: (ORIG.)] Cynomyia haereticorum [ *Al.,* Cynicorum] secta, qui ad reliquas deceptionis suae improbitates, voluptatem et libidinem summum praedicant bonum. Quoniam igitur per haec singula prius deceptus est mundus, merito adveniens sermo et lex Dei hujusmodi correptionibus arguit, ut ex qualitate poenarum qualitates proprii cognoscant erroris.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *Faciamque mirabilem,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 26.)] Hoc in prioribus signis intelligendum est [0208C] factum esse, ut terra in qua habitabat populus Dei nullis talibus plagis vexaretur. Opportunum autem fuit ut ibi hoc aperte poneretur; unde jam incipiunt signa, quibus magi similia non conati sunt facere. Pro certo est enim quia ubique fuerant sciniphes in regno Pharaonis, non autem fuerant in terra Gessen vel Gesen: ibi conati sunt magi similia facere, nec potuerunt: quousque ergo deficerent, nihil de illius terrae separatione dictum est, sed ex quo coeperunt ea fieri quae illi nec auderent conari.

VERS. 24, 25.-- *Et venit musca gravissima,* etc. [n: (AUG., ibid.)] Musca pro multitudine muscarum posita. Nescio enim quomodo per loquendi consuetudinem imbutis sensibus hominum: saepe plus videtur quod singulariter, quam quod pluraliter, dicitur; [0208D] verbi gratia: Est illic miles, quam sunt milites illic; est illic piscis, plus significat quam sunt illic pisces.

VERS. 26-31.-- *Abominationes.* Perversi abominantur bona Aegyptii, id est, cives hujus saeculi abominantur oves, id est, simplicitatem bonorum. Sicut enim boni abominantur mala, ita mali bona. Unde abominantur boni virum impium, et impii eos qui in recta sunt via.

[n: (AUG. Quaest. 28.)] In eremum dicebat Moyses se velle ire ubi Aegyptii non viderent abominationes suas. Hoc autem intelligendum est mystice significari, quod de pastoribus diximus, qui erant Aegyptiis abominabiles: et ideo separatam terram Israelitae [0209A] receperunt in Aegypto. Sic enim sacrificia Israelitarum abominationes sunt Aegyptiis, sicut iniquis vita justorum.

*[n: (STRAB.)] Historice.* Aegyptii abominantur oves et eas adorant propter Jovem Ammonem, qui cum capite arietino pingitur. Item: bovem colunt Aegyptii, qui consecratus est Api, sicut vacca Isidi. Apis enim erat maximum numen Aegyptiorum, qui semel in anno certo tempore apparebat sacerdotibus eorum. Illi vero cum hymnis et laudibus eum prosequentes, quasi lymphatici prophetabant.

[n: (GREG., lib. XVIII Moral., c. 28, tom. II.)] Aegyptus muscis percutitur, etc., *usque ad Vacate et videte, quoniam ego sum Deus.*

VERS. 32.-- *Et ingravatum est,* etc. *(AUG., quaest. [0209B] 29.)* Cum ablata esset locusta, dictum est de Pharaone: *Ingravavit Pharao cor suum etiam in hoc tempore, et noluit dimittere populum.* Certe nunc non dictum est, Ingravatum est cor Pharaonis, sed *ingravavit Pharao cor suum.* Sic utique in omnibus plagis. A voluntate hominis est origo vitiorum. Moventur autem causis corda hominum, alia sic, alia vero sic, etiam non diversis causis, saepe diverso modo, secundum proprias qualitates, quae ex voluntatibus veniunt.

## CAPUT IX.

VERS. 1-6.-- *Dixit autem Dominus ad Moysen,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] Primi inter jumenta computantur equi, qui sunt mendaces seu falsi ad salutem. Deinde jumenta [0209C] immunda, quae nec ungulas findunt, nec ruminant, currui tamen junguntur. Deinceps cameli, qui quamvis propter ruminationem quasi mundi reputentur, tamen quia eorum ungula non sulcatur, censentur immundi. Verumtamen partim mundae partim immundae conditionis cameli perhibentur. Caeterum quia haec plaga, ut parum noxia propter vilitatem immundorum animalium credebatur, transit ad boves, dehinc ad placidissimum animalium, ovem.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 4.)] Quinto loco animalium nece vel pecudum Aegyptus verberatur. In quo vecordia vel stultitia mortalium arguitur, qui tanquam irrationabilia pecora cultum et vocabulum Dei imposuerunt figuris, non solum hominum sed pecudum ligno et lapidibus impressis: Ammonem Jovem in ariete [0209D] venerantes, Anubim in cane, Apim in tauro, et caetera portenta deorum, quae Aegyptus miratur, ut quibus cultum credebant esse divinum, in his viderent miserandum supplicium.

[n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] Quintum praeceptum est: *Non moechaberis,* etc., *usque ad* attende plagam: si pecus es, saltem mori time.

VERS. 7.-- *Ingravatumque est,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 30.)] Si pecora Israelitarum morerentur, videretur causa competens quare cor ejus gravaretur ad contemptum Dei, tanquam si magi ejus pecora Israelitarum occidissent; sed unde debuit ad timendum vel credendum moveri, ingravatum est, et illa ingravatio etiam hucusque progressa est.

[0210A]VERS. 8.-- *Tollite plenas,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 31.)] Alia littera: *Sumite plenas manus vobis favillae de fornace, et asperget Moyses,* etc. Superiora signa virga fiebant, quam non Moyses, sed Aaron extendebat super aquam, vel ad terram percutiebat. Nunc vero interpositis duobus signis, de cynomyia scilicet et mortibus pecorum, ubi nec Aaron nec Moyses aliquid manu operantur, dicitur ut Moyses favillam spargat in coelum; ambo jubentur sumere, sed ille spargere non in terram sed in coelum: tanquam Aaron (qui datus erat ad populum) terram percutere deberet, vel in aquam sive in terram manum extendere; Moyses vero, qui erat in his quae ad Dominum, favillam jubetur spargere. Quid duo illa superiora signa, ubi nec Moyses nec Aaron aliquid [0210B] manu operantur? Quid sibi vult ipsa diversitas? Neque enim nihil.

[n: (RAB.)] Sextum praeceptum: *Non occides;* sexta plaga, pustulae in corpore, vesicae bullientes et scatentes, incendia vulnerum et favillae fornacis. Ardent enim homicidae ira, insania. Si posses videre animas homicidarum, plus plangeres eas quam putrescentia corpora ulceratorum.

VERS. 9-12.-- *[n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Vulnera et vesicae* cum fervore in sexto verbere producuntur. In ulceribus dolosa purulentaque malitia arguitur; in vesicis tumens et inflata superbia: in fervore, ira et furoris insania.

VERS. 13-15.-- *Induravitque Dominus cor,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Nota quia in sexta plaga non dicitur, [0210C] Induratum est cor Pharaonis, sed aliquid terribilius additur; scriptum est enim *quia induravit Dominus cor Pharaonis,* etc. Rursus in septima cum grando et ignis Aegyptum vastat, induratur quidem cor Pharaonis, sed non a Domino. In octava vero, ubi locusta producitur, dicitur Dominus indurare cor Pharaonis. Et in nona cum tenebrae palpabiles fiunt, tandem vero cum, exstinctis primogenitis, Israelitae discessissent, ita dicitur: *Et induravit Dominus cor Pharaonis regis Aegypti et servorum ejus, et insecutus est eos.* Sed et cum Moyses de terra Madian ad Aegyptum mittitur et praecipitur ei facere prodigia, additur: *Facies ea in conspectu Pharaonis: Ego autem indurabo cor Pharaonis,* etc. Hinc primum [0210D] dictum est a Domino: *Ego indurabo cor Pharaonis,* etc. Secundo quoque, enumeratis principibus, Israel dicitur: *Ego indurabo cor Pharaonis,* etc. Non frustra facta est ista varietas, ut nunc dicatur Dominus indurasse cor Pharaonis, nunc sponte esse induratum. Video Paulum tanquam intelligentem quid differat, induratum esse cor Pharaonis, et indurasse Dominum cor Pharaonis dicere Rom. II: *An divitias bonitatis ejus, et patientiae et longanimitatis contemnis? Ignoras quoniam benignitas Dei ad poenitentiam te adducit,* etc. Hic sine dubio eum qui sponte induratus est, culpat. Alibi vero, velut quaestionem super hoc proponens, dicit: *Ergo cui vult miseretur, et quem vult indurat,* etc. Addit etiam his: *O homo, tu qui es qui respondeas Deo [n: (Rom. IX)]*. Per quod de [0211A] eo qui a Domino dicitur induratus, non tam quaestionis solutione, quam apostolica auctoritate respondit, pro incapacitate auditorum, sicut alibi ait [n: (II Cor. XII)]: *Et audivit arcana verba, quae non licet homini loqui.* Unde in sequentibus eum qui non tam studiorum merito quam sciendi cupiditate secretioribus se quaestionibus curiosius [curiosus] immergit, deterret dicens Rom. IX: *O homo, quis es qui respondeas Deo.*

[n: (RAB.)] Septimum praeceptum: *Non furaberis;* septima plaga, grando in fructibus. Nemo enim habet injustum lucrum sine justo damno. Dum furaris, acquiris vestem, amittis fidem: lucrum visibile, damnum invisibile: lucrum de tua caecitate, damnum de Domini nube. Qui enim malo desiderio forinsecus [0211B] furantur, de judicio intrinsecus grandinantur, et ager cordis eorum devastatur.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Idcirco autem posui te,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 32.)] Haec verba Apostolus posuit, etc., *usque ad* ad eorum utilitatem ergo Pharao est servatus.

VERS. 18.-- *En pluam cras,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Hucusque per errorum suorum figuras mundo supplicia temperantur: post haec veniunt verbera de supernis.

VERS. 19-21.-- *Mitte ergo jam nunc,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 35 in Exod., tom. III.)] Hoc non tam indignanter quam misericorditer praemonere videtur Deus, etc., *usque ad* quoniam mortem pecorum minatus est Deus, quamvis id Scriptura tacuerit.

[n: (PROCOP.)] Caeterum providentia divina factum est [0211C] ne jumenta interirent omnia. Nam opus erat jumentis quae traherent currus quibus Pharao postmodum insecuturus erat fugientes, ut eos in solitudine trucidaret. Verum divina providentia aliter totum gubernavit negotium.

VERS. 22.-- *Extende manum,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] Admonendus est hoc loco lector, Mosem non juberi omnia miranda facere virga, sed saltem quaedam: quaedam quoque praedicere, ut culices et jumentorum interitum: quaedam manuum ministerio peragere, ut dum accipit fuliginem de camino et grandinem concitat. Sed quae horum est causa? Ne vulgus opinetur magica superstitione virgam esse factam, et ipsi mirificos illos effectus assignarent.

VERS. 23-29.-- *Extenditque Moyses virgam,* etc. [0211D] [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Illud quoque notandum, quod quaedam verbera inferre dicitur Aaron Pharaoni vel Aegypto, quaedam Moses, quaedam vero ipse Dominus. In prima enim plaga, ubi aquas vertit in sanguinem, elevat Aaron virgam et percutit aquam. In secunda percutit aquas et educit ranas. In tertia extendit manum et percutit virga pulverem terrae et fiunt sciniphes. In quarta dicitur Dominus fecisse, ut veniret cynomyia. In quinta quoque cum exstinguuntur pecora, dicitur fecisse verbum hoc. In sexta vero Moses aspergit favillam, et fiunt ulcera et vesicae. In septima elevat manum in coelum et fiunt voces et grando scilicet, etc. In octava similiter extendit manus in coelum, et Dominus inducit ventum, et adducit [0212A] locustas. Sed et in nona extendit manum in coelum, et fiunt tenebrae et caligo. In decima vero finis et perfectio totius operis ministratur a Domino. Sicut enim dicitur: *Et Dominus percussit omne primogenitum in terra Aegypti.*

[n: (IDEM.)] Est alia observanda differentia: in prima enim plaga cum aqua vertitur in sanguinem, nondum dicitur Mosi ut intraret ad Pharaonem, sed, *vade in occursum ejus,* etc. In secunda vero, constanter et fideliter ministrata prima, dicitur ad eum: *Intra ad Pharaonem,* etc. In tertia vero sciniphes inferuntur, magi cedunt confitentes, quia *digitus Dei est hic.* In quarta vero vigilare jubetur Moses mane, et stare contra Pharaonem procedentem ad aquas, cum cynomyia replentur Aegyptiorum domus. [0212B] In quinta cum pecora delentur, ad Pharaonem intrare jubetur. In sexta contemnitur Pharao, nec dicitur quod intraverint Moses et Aaron ad eum, quia facta sunt ulcera et vesicae cum fervore etiam super maleficos, et non poterant resistere Mosi. In septima vigilare jubetur valde mane, et stare contra Pharaonem, cum grandinem et ignem producit et voces. In octava intrare praecipitur ad eum cum locusta producitur. In nona rursus contemnitur Pharao, et Mosi [Moses] praecipitur ad coelum extendere manus, ut fiant tenebrae palpabiles: nec intrat, sed vocatur ad Pharaonem. Similiter in decima, cum primitiva delentur, et cogitur cum festinatione exire de Aegypto.

*Et Dominus dedit tonitrua,* etc. [n: (ID., homil., 4.)] [0212C] Vide temperamentum divinae correctionis: non cum silentio verberat, sed dat voces, et doctrinam coelitus mittit, per quam possit mundus castigatus culpam suam agnoscere. Dat grandinem per quam tenera vastantur adhuc nascentia vitiorum. Dat et ignem, sciens esse spinas et tribulos quos debebat depasci, de quo dicit Dominus Luc. XII: *Ignem veni mittere in terra [n: (Luc. XII)]*. Per hunc ignem incentiva voluptatis et libidinis consumuntur.

[n: (IDEM.)] Sunt alia multa observanda, in quibus divina indicatur sapientia. Primo enim non flectitur Pharao cum aqua in sanguinem vertitur. In secundo parum molliri videtur: *Vocavit enim Moysem et Aaron, dicens: Orate pro me Dominum,* etc. In tertio [0212D] magi cedunt, dicentes: *Digitus Dei est hic,* etc. In quarto per cynomyiam verberatus, dicit: *Euntes immolate Domino Deo,* etc. In quinto, ubi neces pecudum esse dicuntur, non cedit, sed amplius induravit. Similiter in sexto super plaga ulcerum. In septimo vero, cum grandine vastatur et ignibus, *vocavit Moysen et Aaron, dicens: Peccavi etiam nunc, Dominus justus, ego autem et populi mei iniqui,* etc. In octavo cum locustis urgeretur, festinanter vocavit Mosen et Aaron dicens: *Peccavi ante Dominum Deum vestrum et in vos. Suscipite peccatum meum, etiam nunc orate ad Dominum Deum vestrum.* In nono, cum tenebris suffunditur, vocat Mosen et Aaron, dicens: *Ite et servite Domino Deo vestro.* In decimo, cum primitiva exstinguuntur, vocat eos nocte et dicit: [0213A] *Surgite, exite de populo meo, vos et filii Israel,* etc. Et adjungit: *Benedicite autem et me.* Non possunt haec explicari nisi eodem spiritu quo gesta sunt, quia, secundum Apostolum [n: (I Cor. XIV)], spiritus prophetarum prophetis subjectus est; non ergo quibuscunque ad explanandum dicta prophetarum, sed prophetis dicuntur esse subjecta.

## CAPUT IX. (cont.)

VERS. 30-35.-- *Novi autem quod,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 35 in Exod.)] De fragore coeli et grandine exterritus erat Pharao. Unde rogabat Mosen ut oraret pro eo, confitens iniquitatem suam et populi sui. Sed Moses alium timorem quaerebat. Facile enim est poenam timere: sed non est hoc Deum timere, illo scilicet pietatis timore, de quo Jacob dicit: *Nisi Deus patris mei Abraham, et timor Isaac adfuisset [0213B] mihi, nunc me inanem dimisisses [n: (Gen. XXXI)]*.

## CAPUT X.

VERS. 1-3-- . . . *Ego enim induravi cor ejus,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 36 in Exod.)] Haec non ita dixit tanquam opus habeat Deus cujusquam malitia, sed sic intelligendum est ac si diceret: Ego patiens fui super eum et servos ejus, ut non eos auferrem, ut ordine superveniant signa mea super eos; quia enim patientia Dei obstinatior fiebat malus animus, pro eo quod patiens in eo fui, dicitur, *ingravavi cor ejus.* Plagae Aegyptiorum eruditio est filiorum Israel, ne similiter indurentur, et similia patiantur. Multato pestilente sapientior erit parvulus.

[n: (ORIG.)] Possunt decem plagae quibus Aegyptus per [0213C] Israelitas verberatur, Romani regni comparari temporibus, quia haec in figura nostri facta sunt. Christianus et Israeliticus populus unius Dei est, una utriusque causa subdita fuit, Synagoga Aegyptiis, Ecclesia Romanis. Persecuti sunt Aegyptii, persecuti sunt et Romani. Ibi decies contradicitur Mosi, hic decem edicta contra Christum. Diversae ibi plagae Aegyptiorum, diversae hic calamitates Romanorum. Ibi primum sanguis de puteis et fluminibus manat, hic prima sub Nerone plaga, ut ubique morientium sanguis esset, vel morbis in Urbe corruptus, vel bellis in orbe profusus. Ibi secunda plaga, ranae in penetralibus, inedia pene habitatores exstinxit: hic sub Domitiano satellites effrenati, jussu cruenti [0213D] principis, et inopia pene omnes Romanos cives dispersit. Ibi tertia plaga sciniphes, musculae saevissimae, quae media aestate per loca squalida gregatim volant, capillisque hominum setisque pecudum urente morsu inferuntur: hic tertia plaga sub Trajano Judaeos excitavit, qui cum ante dispersi, quasi non essent, quiescerent, repentino calore permoti, grassati sunt. Praeterea multae urbes iisdem temporibus corruerunt terrae motu. Ibi quarta plaga, muscae caninae, alumnae putredinis, vermium matres; hic sub Marco Antonio lues multis infusa provinciis, Italiam et urbem Romam, exercitumque Romanorum per diversa hiberna dispersum, morte dissolutum, putredini et vermibus dedit. Ibi quinta plaga, pecorum et jumentorum: hic sub Severo persecutore civilibus [0214A] bellis propria viscera et adjumenta reipublicae, id est, plebes provinciarum et legiones militum, comminutae sunt. Ibi sexta plaga, vesicae turgentes ulceraque manantia: hic plaga quae post Maximini persecutionem fuit, qui specialiter episcopos et clericos, omissa turba populari, Ecclesiarum primates cruciari imperaverat, intumescens crebro ira et perfidia non per vulgi caedem, sed per vulnera morientium principum et potentium exaltata est. Ibi septima plaga, coacta in aere grando, quae hominibus et jumentis fuit exitio: hic sub Gallo et Volusiano, qui Decio persecutori successerunt, pestis infusa est per omnia spatia Romani regni, et omne prope genus humanum dedit neci. Ibi octava correctio, excitatae undique locustae: hic excitatae undique [0214B] gentes Romanum orbem caedibus et incendiis vastaverunt. Ibi nona plaga, tenebrae tractabiles, plus periculi comminantes quam facientes: hic Aureliano persecutore decernente, diris turbinibus terribile fulmen sub ipsius pedibus ruit, ostendens quid faceret tantus ultor, nisi patiens esset; quanquam intra sex menses tres interfecti sunt imperatores, Aurelianus, Tacitus et Florianus. Ibi decima et ultima plaga, primogenitorum interfectio: hic omnium perditio idolorum, quae primitus facta in primis amabant. Ibi rex potentiam Dei probavit, et sensit, et timuit, et populum Dei liberum dimisit: hic quoque haec omnia fecit, et etiam credidit.

[n: (IDEM.)] Ibi populus Dei non est ad servitutem retractus, nec hic postea ad idololatriam coactus. Ibi [0214C] Aegyptiorum vasa pretiosa Hebraeis tradita sunt: hic Ecclesiae Christianorum pretiosa paganorum templa cesserunt.

[n: (IDEM.)] Aegyptiis post decem plagas dimissos Hebraeos persequentibus maris irruit interitus: nos quoque peregrinantes persecutio gentilium manet, donec mare Rubrum, id est ignem judicii, Christo duce et judice transeamus. Qui vero Christianos persequuntur, cum rege suo Antichristo, in stagno ignis aeterni submergentur.

VERS. 4-12.-- *Ecce ego inducam cras locustam,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Octavum praeceptum: *Falsum testimonium non dices:* octava plaga, locusta, animal scilicet dente noxium. Falsus enim testis nocet mordendo et consumit mentiendo. Unde: *Si mordetis [0214D] et consumitis, videte ne ab invicem consumamini [n: (Gal. V)]*.

*[n: (ORIG.)] hom. 4 in Exod.)* Puto per hoc genus plagae dissidentis semper, a se et discordantis humani generis inconstantiam confutari. Locusta enim, cum regem non habeat, secundum Scripturam, ordinatum ducit exercitum: homines vero, cum rationales facti sunt, neque se regere ordinate potuerunt, neque Dei regentis patienter moderamina pertulerunt.

[n: (STRAB.)] Per locustam, quae regem non habet, significatur temeritas illorum qui, licet diversis poenis multati, semper in duritia sua manent, tanquam nullum habeant rectorem.

[0215A] *Locustam.* [n: (ISID.)] Locustae pro mobilitate levitatis accipiuntur tanquam vagae et salientes animae pro voluptate saeculi.

VERS. 13-18.-- *Et extendit Moses virgam.* [n: (RAB.)] Quaedam prodigia fiunt per Mosen, quaedam per Aaron, quaedam vero per ipsum Dominum; ut cognoscamus in quibusdam per sacrificia sacerdotum et obsecrationes pontificum nos esse purgandos, quos Aaron persona designat: in quibusdam per scientiam legis emendandos, quod Mosi designat officium. In difficilioribus autem ipsius Domini virtute egemus.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXXI, Moral., cap. 20)]. Exhibitae coelitus Aegypti plagae, etc., *usque ad* cum vanis laudibus quorumdam jam quasi fortium opera enervant.

[0215B]VERS. 19, 20.-- *Non remansit ne una quidem,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Beneficium certe Dei commemoravit Scriptura, quod abstulit locustas, et prosecuta dixit indurasse Dominum cor Pharaonis, beneficio scilicet suo et patientia, qua ille fiebat obstinatior dum ei parceretur: sicut omnia mala corda hominum patientia Dei male utendo durescunt.

VERS. 21.-- *Extende manum,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Tertio dicitur ad Mosen: *Extende manum tuam in coelum,* ut fieret etiam plaga tenebrarum. Nunquam autem dictum est ad Aaron ut extenderet manus in coelum. Quod ergo dictum est ad Mosen: *Extende manum tuam super terram Aegypti, et ascendat locusta super terram,* credo id significari, etiam minus posse qui plus potest; non autem continuo cui minora conceduntur, [0215C] posse majora.

[n: (ORIG.)] Nona plaga tenebrae sunt, ut mentis eorum caecitas arguatur, vel ut intelligant divinae dispensationis et providentiae obscurissimas esse rationes. *Posuit* enim Deus *tenebras latibulum suum [n: (Psal. XVII)]*: quas illi audacter et temere perscrutantes, et alia ex aliis asserentes, in crassas et palpabiles errorum tenebras devoluti sunt.

[n: (STRAB.)] Per tenebras insipientia eorum [Judaeorum] ostenditur, qui affligebantur et ignorabant ad quem finem eorum poenae devenirent. Etiam vel per tenebras arcanum divini judicii significatur, quo justos misericorditer salvat, impios juste condemnat.

[0215D]VERS. 24-29.-- *Oves tantum,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Locutionibus in Exod., l. 52.)] Graecus habet, *praeter oves et boves relinquite,* et est inusitata locutio, nisi post distinctionem inseratur, *relinquite;* et subaudiatur, ista, ut sit sensus: Ite praeter oves et boves, et relinquite ista. Solet enim talis eclipsis fieri crebro in locutionibus Scripturarum.

[n: (RAB.)] Nonum praeceptum: *Non concupisces uxorem proximi tui:* nona plaga, densae tenebrae. Est enim quaedam moechia etiam in appetendo uxorem alienam quando cuivis non sufficit sua, etiam alienam tentare. Vere densae sunt tenebrae; nihil enim tam dolet patiens, nihil tam nolit pati faciens: qui hoc facit vere caecatur furore horribili.

## CAPUT XI.

[0216A]

VERS. 2.-- *Dices ergo omni plebi,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 94 in Exod., tom. III.)] Non debet hinc quisque exemplum sumere, etc., *usque ad* ut nec isto damno ferirentur, qui aliis plagis percussi non erant.

*Ut postulet vir,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XXVIII Moral., cap. 17.)] Mentes usui vitae carnalis inhaerentes, etc., *usque ad* major fortitudo spiritus nuntiatur.

VERS. 3, 4.-- *Dabit autem Dominus gratiam populo suo coram Aegyptiis,* etc. Qui scilicet habitabant cum Hebraeis in terra Gessen, et pro ipsis novem plagis laesi non erant, ideoque eos diligebant: decima plaga afflicti sunt, cum discessissent Hebraei ab eis.

[0216B]VERS. 5, 6.-- *Et morietur omne primogenitum,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 4)] Ad ultimum primitivorum infertur interitus, in quo fortassis est aliquid supra nostram intelligentiam, quod commissum ab Aegyptiis videatur in Ecclesiam primitivorum, quae ascripta est in coelis. Unde etiam exterminator angelus ad hoc ministerium mittitur, qui parcit illis tantum qui utrosque postes agni sanguine signatos habuerunt. Delentur iterum primogenita Aegyptiorum: sive eos principatus et potestates, et mundi hujus rectores tenebrarum dicamus, quos adventu suo Christus traduxit, id est captivos duxit et captivavit, cum in ligno crucis triumphavit: sive auctores et inventores falsarum religionum, quas Christi veritas cum suis exstinxit auctoribus. Principatus, et potestates, [0216C] et rectores tenebrarum harum, primogenita sunt Aegyptiorum quod [ *Al.,* qui] in ultima plaga, cum scilicet finis mundi advenerit cum separabit oves ab haedis, grana a paleis, damnabuntur, amissa vagandi et tentandi licentia.

[n: (ORIG.)] *Moraliter.* Anima, dum in hoc mundo in erroribus vivit, ignorantia veritatis, in Aegypto posita est: si appropinquare coepit lex Dei, aquas in sanguinem convertit, id est fluidam et lubricam juventutis vitam convertit ad sanguinem Veteris vel Novi Testamenti. Deinde educit lex ex ea vanam et inanem loquacitatem adversum Dei providentiam, ranarum querelae similem. Purgat etiam malignas cogitationes ejus, et sciniphum mordacitati similes calliditatis aculeos discutit. Libidinum quoque morsus [0216D] cynomyiae spiculis similes depellit: stultitiamque et intellectum pecudibus similem per quam *homo, cum in honore esset, non intellexit, sed comparatus est jumentis insipientibus,* etc. [n: (Psal. XLVIII.)] Arguit ulcera peccatorum, arrogantiae tumorem, et fervorem furoris exstinguit. Adhibet post haec voces filiorum tonitrui, id est evangelicas et apostolicas doctrinas, et castigationem grandinis, ut luxuriam voluptatesque coerceat; et simul ignem poenitentiae, ut dicat: *Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis [n: (Luc. XXIV)]*? Nec non locustarum ab ea subducit exempla, quibus depascantur omnes inquieti et turbidi motus ejus, ut discat omnia secundum ordinem facere. Ubi vero sufficienter fuerit castigata pro moribus, cum auctorem [0217A] verberum senserit, confitens quia *digitus Dei est,* et parum agnitionis acceperit: tunc praecipue gestorum suorum tenebras videt et errorum caliginem, et tunc merebitur ut exstinguantur in ea primogenita Aegypti. Omnis enim anima cum ad supplementum aetatis venerit, et velut naturalis lex coeperit in ea jura sua defendere, primos motus secundum desiderium carnis producit, quos ex concupiscentiae vel irae fomite vis incentiva commoverit. Unde quasi privilegium singulare de Christo propheta dicit: *Butyrum et mel manducabit; priusquam faciat aut proferat maligna, eliget bonum [n: (Isa. VII)]*; quoniam priusquam sciat puer bonum aut malum, resistet malitiae, ut eligat quod bonum est. David autem de se dicit: *Delicta juventutis meae et ignorantias [0217B] meas ne memineris [n: (Psal. XXIV)]*. Quia ergo hi primi animae motus secundum carnem prolati in peccatum ruunt, merito in morali loco primogenita Aegyptiorum primitiva ponuntur, quia exstinguuntur si reliquae vitae conversatio emendatiorem dirigat cursum. Sic ergo in anima, quam lex divina ab erroribus susceptam castigat, primogenita Aegyptiorum delentur, nisi post haec omnia in infidelitate perdurans, nolit jungi Israeliticae plebi, ut exeat de profundo et evadat incolumis, sed in iniquitate permaneat, et descendat tanquam plumbum in aquam validissimam. Iniquitas enim, secundum Zachariam [n: (ZAC. V)], sedet super talentum plumbi: et ideo qui permanet in iniquitate, tanquam plumbum demergitur in profondum.

[0217C]VERS. 7.-- *Apud omnes,* etc. [n: (AUG. in libro Locutionum. )] Elegantissima locutio est: per canem quippe extremum significavit, vel hominum, vel pecorum: ita commendavit quanta in Hebraeis quies futura esset, Aegyptiis acerba orbitate clamantibus.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *Non audiet vos Pharao,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 40 in Exod.)] Tanquam opus fuerit Pharaonis inobedientia ut signa illa multiplicarentur: quae utiliter fiebant ad terrendum populum Dei, atque ipsa discretione ad pietatem informandum. Sed hoc Dei fuit, malitia illius cordis bene utentis, non Pharaonis Dei patientia male abutentis.

## CAPUT XII.

[0217D]VERS. 2-4.-- *Mensis iste,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Hic est Aprilis, qui apud Hebraeos Nisam, apud Macedones Ξανθικός dicitur, et dicitur Aprilis quasi aperilis, quia tunc aperitur terra proferendis virgultis herbis ac floribus: vel Aprilis a Venere, quasi Aphroditis; Venus enim Graece *Aphrodite* dicitur. Hunc Hebraei primum habent, quia XV Kalendarum ejus prima dies saeculi fuit: quarta decima vero, dies secunda; tertia decima, tertia: duodecima, quarta: qua sol et luna condita sunt, et tunc primum aequinoctium fuit; sol enim in oriente, luna in occidente, sphaeram mundi ex aequo dividebant.

[n: (STRAB.)] Hic est Nisan, secundum Hebraeos, in quo factus est mundus, cujus plenilunium post aequinoctium [0218A] vernale semper est attendendum: in quo populus Israel a servitute Aegypti liberatur, et genus humanum sanguine Christi a potestate diaboli eripitur. Decima die mensis tollitur agnus, quarto decimo immolatur: quia in lege passio Christi figuratur, Evangelii gratia coruscante impletur; denarius enim, propter decalogum, legem significat; quaternarius vero, quatuor evangelia.

VERS. 5, 6.-- *Erit autem,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 42 in Exod., tom. III.)] Movere potest illa locutio, etc., *usque ad* quid illo praecepto figuratum sit.

*Juxta quem ritum,* etc. *Allegorice.* Quia de justis et peccatoribus Christus carnem assumpsit, ut nemo de venia desperaret. Vel quia Christus Judaeis haedus erat, dicentibus: *Hic homo peccator est (Joan. [0218B] IX)*, nobis autem agnus absque macula. Vel quia *in similitudine carnis peccati* apparuit et *pro peccato mortuus est, cum peccatum non haberet [n: (I Petr. II)]*.

[n: (STRAB.)] Decima die Aprilis Hierosolymam venit, sequenti vero die exceptus est a turbis cum ramis palmarum et divinis laudibus. Tribus reliquis custoditus est a Judaeis usque ad quartam decimam diem, id est, usque ad quintam feriam, qua cum apostolis coenavit, et post traditus est.

VERS. 7.-- *Et sument de sanguine ejus,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 22 in Evang., tom. II.)] Sanguis ponitur, quando non solum ore corporis, sed etiam ore cordis hauritur, etc., *usque ad* quia crucem passionis ejus in fronte portamus.

VERS. 8.-- *Et edent carnes,* etc. [n: (GREG., ibid.)] [0218C] Nocte agnum comedimus, etc., *usque ad* de fermento enim laudem immolat, qui Deo sacrificium de rapina parat.

*Cum lactucis,* etc. [n: (GREG., ibid.)] Lactucae agrestes valde amarae sunt, etc., *usque ad* ut dispensari omnia per Spiritus sancti potentiam sciat.

VERS. 9-11.-- *Caput cum pedibus,* etc. *[n: (GREG., ibid.)] Caput Christi Deus [n: (I Cor. XI)]*. Caput ergo agni vorare, etc., *usque ad* nemo in hujus vitae itinere torpeat, ne in patria locum perdat.

[n: (GREG. NYSS., de Vita Mosis. )] Illis rerum involucris monet ut per haec aenigmata considerare et intelligere velimus transitum quemdam esse hanc vitam nostram. Nam postea quam ingressi ad eam sumus, necessitate quadam ad exitum semper compellimur, [0218D] ad quem paratos nos esse vult manibus et pedibus reliquoque ad iter apparatu. Ne igitur spinis in hoc arduo vivendi itinere pedes laedantur, non nudis pedibus, sed durioribus calceis communiti itinerare debemus. Spinae autem, quae pedibus infixae non solum retinent retardantque, verum etiam enecant, peccata sunt, a quibus durities calceorum defendit, continens videlicet, tenuis ac dura vita, quae debilitat atque frangit spinarum acumina, quibus a parvo tenuique principio ad anteriora, usque peccata sic ingrediuntur, ut poenitus occidant. Ad hanc vitam faciendam talaris vestis et effusa, id est voluptuosa et vitiosa vivendi ratio, quae latissime patet, impedimento est: quare cingulo quodam trahenda [0219A] est et coarctanda, ne huc atque illuc circumfluat. Cingulus vero modestia est et diligens vivendi ratio, quae nos monet ad necessitatem, non ad voluptatem, rebus uti. Baculus quo feras repellimus, et nonnunquam sustentamur, spes est. Ex igne autem solum cibus nobis propositus est, quoniam fides, quae per cibum illum significatur, ardentissima esse debet, nihil humidum aut labile possidens.

*Phase.* Hebraice est *Pesach* פסח , Graece Πάσχα, id est, *transitus;* quia a filiis Israel ex Aegypto migrantibus primum celebratum est: nobis quoque migrandum est de transitoriis ad aeterna, de terrenis ad coelestia.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *In cunctis diis,* etc. Ferunt Hebraei quia omnia idola Aegypti confracta sunt nocte [0219B] illa et templa, vel motu terrae, vel fluminis Nili inundatione. Allegorice vero nobis egredientibus ex Aegypto errorum idola corruunt, et omnis perversorum dogmatum cultura quatitur.

VERS. 14-17.-- *Habebitis autem hanc diem,* etc. *[n: (AUG., in Exod. quaest. 43, tom. III.)] Et facietis diem hunc in progenies vestras legitimum, aeternum* vel *aeternalem;* quod Graece dicitur αἰὼνιον, non sic accipiendum est, etc., *usque ad* omni tempore praesentis vitae simplicitas servanda, malitia cavenda.

VERS. 18-20.-- *Primo mense quarta decima,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] *Mystice.* Vespera quarti decimi diei primi mensis, in quo Pascha celebratur, et agni immolatio perficitur, depositionem veteris hominis significat, et initium novi, qui in baptismo Christi mortem [0219C] figurante inchoatur. Unde: *Quicunque baptizati sumus in Christo Jesu, in mortem ipsius baptizati sumus,* etc. [n: (Gal. III)]. A vespera ergo quarti decimi diei primi mensis usque ad vesperam vicesimi primi integram, scilicet septimanam, azyma jubemur [jubentur] comedere, quia a perceptione baptismi usque ad finem vitae simpliciter et sine dolo debemus vivere. Unde Petrus: *Deponentes omnem malitiam et omnem dolum et simulationem, sicut modo geniti infantes,* etc. [n: (I Petr. II)].

VERS. 21.-- *Seniores.* Nota quod non pueris, non juvenibus, mandata Dei primo communicat, sed senioribus, quia in senibus est sapientia, et in multo tempore prudentia.

VERS. 22.-- *Fasciculumque hyssopi,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] [0219D] Hyssopus herba est humilis, nascens in petris, purgans pectus et pulmonem: et significat veram humilitatem, cujus exemplum Christus nobis in semetipso praebuit. Fasciculum ergo hyssopi sanguine tingimus, quando, memores humilitatis Christi, eum imitari studemus.

*Tingite in sanguine,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 46 in Exod.)] Quaeritur quem sanguinem dicat juxta ostium, cum illius agni sanguinem velit intelligi, cujus immolatione Pascha fit. An praecipit eo modo consequenter fieri, quamvis hoc tacuerit, ut idem agnus juxta ostium occidatur? An, quod est credibilius, ideo dixit *ex sanguine qui est juxta ostium,* quia ille qui liniturus est, vas ipsum in quo sanguinem excepit, [0220A] juxta ostium positurus est, ut ad manum habeat dum tingit.

VERS. 23-29.-- *Et non sinet percussorem,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Utrum percussor bonus angelus an malus fuerit, non necesse est inquiri: quicunque enim fuit, praecepto Domini obedivit. Sciendum tamen quod tales pestes mali angeli facere solent, permissione Dei.

Decimum praeceptum est: *Non concupisces rem proximi tui,* etc. Huic contraria est decima plaga, mors primogenitorum. Alio praecepto furtum prohibetur, quo et rapina damnatur: pejus enim est eripere violenter quam latenter. Auferre ergo volens aperte vel occulte praeceptum suum habet: concupiscere autem rem proximi, etiamsi justa successione [0220B] quaeras, non licet. Qui enim volunt res alienas tanquam juste possidere, et haeredes quaerunt morientibus illis esse. Cum laudas rem relictam quasi jure possidentem, Deus damnat injuste cupientem. Qui enim quaeris ab aliquo haeres fieri, non vis ut habeat haeredes, in quibus nihil charius primogenitis est. Jure ergo in primogenitis tuis puniris, qui cupiendo res alienas, quasi juris umbram perquiris, et, quae meliora sunt, cordis primogenita perdis. Primogenita quidem fides est. Nemo enim bona facit, in quo fides non praecessit. Omnia opera bona sunt filii spirituales, sed inter hos primogenita fides. Quisquis ergo rem occulte cupis alienam, interius fidem perdis. Servis enim non charitate, sed fraude, velut amans eum quem mori desideras, ut succedas.

[0220C]VERS. 30-33.-- *Neque enim erat domus,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 44 in Exod.)] Cum primogeniti tantum morerentur, quomodo nulla erat domus in qua non esset mortuus? An et hoc divinitus fuerat procuratum, ut in omnibus domibus essent primogeniti, in quibus percuterentur Aegyptii, etiam qui habitabant in terra Gessen? Hominum quippe erant hic, vel animalium, non terrae; id est, homines et animalia primogenita moriebantur, occulto et angelico percussu: non aliquid in terra vel in coelo factum erat, sicut rana, vel locusta, vel tenebrae. A talibus enim plagis cum terra Gessen fuisset aliena, perveniebat beneficium ad Aegyptios qui in ea cum Hebraeis morabantur: hac vero omnes percussi sunt.

VERS. 34.-- *Conspersam farinam,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] [0220D] *Mystice.* Sine fermento proficiscuntur filii Israel de Aegypto; ut exeuntes de hoc saeculo abjiciamus fermentum malitiae et nequitiae, et epulemur in azymis sinceritatis et veritatis.

VERS. 35, 36.-- *Et petierunt,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 45.)] Hoc jam factum fuerat ante mortes primogenitorum. Sed nunc per recapitulationem repetitur, nam narratum est quando factum est. Modo enim quomodo posset fieri ut in tanto luctu ista accommodarentur: nisi forte quis dicat etiam ista plaga non fuisse percussos Aegyptios qui cum Hebraeis habitabant.

*Vasa aurea,* etc. Haec doctrinas significant, quae ex ipsa consuetudine gentium non inutili studio discuntur; vel animas pretiosas ex gentibus, tanquam [0221A] vasa aurea et argentea; cum vestibus, id est, corporibus: quae se adjungunt populo Dei, ut semel de hoc saeculo tanquam de Aegypto liberentur.

VERS. 37-45.-- *Profectique sunt,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 5 in Exod.)]. Qui de Aegypto parat proficisci, qui cupit obscuros mundi actus et errorum tenebras relinquere, primo ei ex Ramesse proficiscendum est, quae interpretatur *commotio tineae.* Si vis venire in hoc ut Deus sit tibi dux, et sequatur petra, quae escam spiritalem et potum tribuat, exi de Ramesse, ne thesaurizes ubi tinea exterminat, et fures effodiunt, etc.

*Si vis perfectus esse, vade et vende omnia quae habes, et da pauperibus, et habebis thesaurum in coelo, et veni, sequere me [n: (Matth. VI)]*, hoc est proficisci de Ramesse, et sequi Christum.

## CAPUT XII. (cont.)

[0221B] *De Ramesse in Socoth,* etc. [n: (ORIG. ibid.)] Videamus quis sit castrorum locus ad quem venitur. De Ramesse venerunt in Socoth, quod interpretatur *tabernacula.* Cum ergo, relinquens Aegyptum, discusseris tineas totius corruptelae, et vitiorum incitamenta rejeceris, habitabis in tabernaculis, quibus scilicet nolumus exspoliari sed supervestiri. Habitatio autem tabernaculorum expeditum indicat esse eum qui festinat ad Deum. Sed nec in hoc standum est: movenda sunt etiam castra de Socoth, et festinandum est in Othon, quod interpretatur *signa eis,* quia hic scilicet audies quod Deus antecedat eos per diem in columna nubis, et per noctem in columna ignis; non hoc in Ramesse, nec in Socoth, quae secunda sunt castra. Tertia sunt in quibus fiunt signa divina: hoc [0221C] erat triduum ad quod festinabant Moses et Aaron, et contradicebat Pharao dicens: *Non eatis longius.* Nolebat ad locum signorum pervenire filios Israel, ut possent tertii diei frui mysteriis. Unde Ose. VI: *Resuscitabit nos Deus post biduum, et in die tertia resurgemus, et vivemus in conspectu ejus.* Prima dies nobis Christi passio; secunda, qua in infernum descendit; tertia, qua resurrexit: ideo in tertia die antecedebat eos per diem in columna nubis; per noctem vero, in columna ignis. *Necessarium est ergo ut qui baptizantur in Christo, in morte ipsius baptizentur, et cum ipso sepeliantur, et die tertia resurgant, quos scilicet secum suscitavit et fecit consedere in coelestibus [n: (Rom. VI)]*.

*Sexcenta fere millia,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 47.)] Quaeritur [0221D] utrum ad tantum numerum pervenerunt Hebraei per eos annos in Aegypto, etc., *usque ad* id est, post mortem Joseph dura servitute oppressi sunt.

VERS. 46-51.-- *Nec illius,* etc. Os Christi in cruce non est confractum, quia videntes eum jam mortuum, non fregerunt ejus crura: vel robur divinitatis in carne per blasphemiam non corrumpitur, quia non est purus homo, sed verus Deus.

## CAPUT XIII.

VERS. 2-8.-- *Sanctifica mihi omne primogenitum,* etc. Quia occidi omnia primogenita Aegyptiorum in liberatione vestra.

VERS. 9-12.-- *Et erit quasi signum,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 48 in Exod.)]. Quid est quod ait cum de pascha [0222A] praecipit, etc., *usque ad* alioquin gratia jam non esset gratia.

VERS. 13-15.-- *Omne autem primogenitum hominis,* etc. [n: (CYRILL.)] Primogenita hominum redimi jubet, ut homicidium vetet: qui omnia ut incorruptibilia essent, creavit.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXVII Moral., cap. 1.)] Asinus immunditiam, ovis innocentiam significat. Asini ergo primogenitum ove mutare, est immundae vitae primordia innocentiae simplicitate convertere, ut postquam peccator illa egit quae ut immunda Dominus respuit, ea jam agendo proferat quae Dei sacrificio imponat. Omnes enim in peccato nati sumus, et ex carnis delectatione concepti, culpam originalem nobis contraximus. Unde etiam voluntate nostra peccatis [0222B] implicamur. Sed et qui post malitiam carnis ad innocentiam convertitur cordis, primogenitum asini mutat ove, malitiam scilicet prioris vitae. Qui enim qualis prius fuit desinit esse, et apprehensa carnis munditia innocentiam custodit, in oblationem Dei primogenitum asini ove mutavit.

VERS. 16.-- *Et quasi appensum.* Hoc male intelligentes Judaei, pictatia vel phylacteria capitibus circumligabant, in quibus decem verba scripta ante oculos habebant.

VERS. 17.-- *Igitur cum emisisset,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. XXIV Moral. cap. 13)]. Saepe conversi in ipso aditu suae conversionis tranquillitatem carnis, dona prophetiae, praedicamenta doctrinae, signorum miracula vel gratiam curationum accipiunt. Postea duris tentationum [0222C] probationibus fatigantur, a quibus liberos se esse credebant: quia si in principio tentationum amaritudo pulsaret, facile ad vitia redirent, a quibus non longe recesserunt. De Aegypto ergo exeuntibus e vicino bella subtrahuntur: quia relinquentibus saeculum quaedam prius tranquillitas ostenditur, ne in ipsa teneritudine et inchoatione turbati, ad hoc quod reliquerant, redeant: prius ergo suavitatem securitatis sentiunt, prius pacis quiete nutriuntur; post cognitam vero dulcedinem tanto tolerabilius tentationum certamina sustinent quanto in Deo altius cognoverunt quae ament.

VERS. 18-20.-- *Non eos duxit Deus,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 49)]. Hic ostenditur omnia fieri debere quae consilio recte fieri possunt, ad evitanda ea quae [0222D] adversa sunt, etiam cum Deus apertissime adjutor est [n: (Epist. ad Dam., tom. I)].

*Et armati ascenderunt filii,* etc. [n: (HIERON.)] Aquila, qui non contentiosus, ut putant, sed studiosus verbum interpretatur ad verbum, ubi LXX posuerunt, *quinta autem generatione ascenderunt filii Israel de terra Aegypti,* transtulit, *et armati ascenderunt filii Israel de terra Aegypti,* licet pro eo quod nos *armati* diximus, secundum Graeci sermonis ambiguitatem *instructi* vel *muniti* propter supellectilem quo Aegyptios exspoliaverunt, possit intelligi. Sed ubi LXX, *quinta generatione* posuerunt, qui Hebraeorum libros diligenter inspexerunt, non quinta, sed quinque, scriptum afferunt, ut sit sensus: quinque autem ascenderunt [0223A] filii Israel de terra Aegypti; quod quia minus videbatur intelligi, adjuncta generatio est. Aquila vero, et in caeteris, et in hoc praecipue loco, proprie transtulisse dicitur, sicut synagogarum consonant universa subsellia.

*[n: (AUG., quaest. 53.)] Quinta autem progenie,* etc. Utrum progeniem in centum annis vult computare, etc., *usque ad* Naason genuit Salmon.

VERS. 21-22.-- *Dominus autem praecedebat eos,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Cum a te tertiae diei mysterium fuerit receptum, incipiet te deducere Deus et viam salutis ostendere.

[n: (GREG.)] In igne terror, in nube visionis lene blandimentum. Dies, vita justi; nox, peccatoris. Unde Ephes. V: *Fuistis aliquando tenebrae, nunc autem [0223B] lux in Domino,* etc. In die per nubem columna monstrata est, et in nocte per ignem; quia omnipotens Deus et blandus justis, et terribilis apparebit impiis. Hos ad judicium veniens, per lenitatis mansuetudinem mulcet, illos per justitiae districtionem terret. Aliter columna nubis in eremo populum praeibat, et splendore ignis non in die, sed in nocte radiabat: quia Christus conversationis suae exemplo ducatum sequentibus praestans, de justitia sua confidentibus nulla luce claruit; peccatorum vero tenebras agnoscentibus, igne sui amoris infulsit. Christus nubes et columna, quia rectus, et firmus, et fulciens infirmitatem nostram; quia nocte lucens, per diem non lucens, *ut qui non vident, videant; et qui vident, caeci fiant [n: (Joan. IX)]*. Christi quoque sacramentum [0223C] tanquam in die manifestum est in carne velut in nube: in judicio vero tanquam in terrore nocturno; quia tunc erit magna tribulatio, tanquam ignis lucebit justis, et ardebit injustis.

## CAPUT XIV.

VERS. 2.-- *Phihahiroth, quae est inter Magdalum,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 5 in Exod.)] Videamus quae via praecipitur eligenda. De Othon, inquit, conversi, iter facite inter Epauleum et Magdalum, quod est contra Beelsephon, etc. Epauleum *ascensio tortuosa,* Magdalum *turris,* Beelsephon *ascensio speculae,* vel *habens speculam,* interpretatur. Credebat forsitan quod ostenderet Deus planum iter et molle, sed ascensio est et tortuosa. Non enim proclive iter est quo tenditur ad virtutes, sed ascenditur anguste et difficulter. [0223D] Unde Matth. VII: *Arcta est enim et angusta via quae ducit ad vitam.* Est ergo iter quo inceditur *ascensio tortuosa,* et *ascensio speculae* vel *habens speculam.* Ascensio ad actus pertinet, specula ad fidem; ostenditur ergo quia et in actibus et in fide multa est difficultas, multus labor: multae enim tentationes nobis occurrunt, multa offendicula, volentibus agere quae Dei sunt. Deinde in fide multa invenies tortuosa, plurimas quaestiones, objectiones haereticorum, contradictiones infidelium: hoc ergo iter agendum est sequentibus Dominum. Sed et turris est in hoc itinere, de qua dicitur Luc XIV: *Quis vestrum volens turrim aedificare, non prius sedens computat sumptus, si habet unde perficiat?* Ista est [0224A] ergo turris ex his ardua et excelsa virtutibus; quod videns Pharao dicit: Errant isti. Apud Pharaonem, qui Deum sequitur errare dicitur, quia iter sapientiae tortuosum, multas habens difficultates et anfractus. Si confitearis unum Patrem invisibilem, et unum unigenitum ejus Jesum Christum, et unum Spiritum sanctum, tortuosum, difficile et incredibile videtur hoc in infidelibus. Si dicis Deum majestatis crucifixum filium hominis esse, qui de coelo descendit: tortuosa videntur haec et difficilia; qui audit (nisi eum fide audiat), dicit quia errant isti. Sed tu fixus esto in hac fide, sciens quia Deus ostendit tibi hanc viam fidei, qui ait: Tollentes de Othon castra, collocate inter Epauleum et Magdalum.

[0224B] *Fuisset.* [n: (ORIG.)] Fugiens Aegyptum venis ad ascensionem operis et fidei, et ad aedificium turris: venis ad mare, et occurrunt tibi fluctus tentationum. Unde II Tim. III: *Qui enim volunt pie vivere in Christo, persecutionem patiuntur,* quia tentatio vita nostra est super terram. Sed si Moysen, id est legem Dei, sequeris, Aegyptus te insectatur. Sed vide quid fiet: *Levavit,* inquit, *angelus Domini, qui antecedebat castra Israel, et abiit post illos. Elevavit et columnam nubis a facie eorum, et stetit post illos, et intravit inter castra Aegyptiorum et Israel.* Haec columna nubis populo Dei efficitur murus: Aegyptiis imponit tenebras; non transfertur columna ignis ad Aegyptios, ut videant lucem: sed nubis, ut in tenebris maneant, quia dilexerunt tenebras, non [0224C] lucem. Et tu ergo si ab Aegyptiis recedas, si de potestate daemonum fugias, vide quanta tibi praeparantur auxilia, dummodo in fide fortis permaneas: nec Aegyptiorum equitatus et quadrigae perterreant, nec reclames contra Dei legem, id est Moysen, dicens: *Tanquam non essent sepulcra in Aegypto, ita eduxisti nos.*

VERS. 11-12.-- *Forsitan non erant sepulcra,* etc? [n: (ORIG., homil. 5 in Exod.)] Haec fatiscentis in tentatione animi verba sunt: beatus est qui sic tentationes excipit ut nulla ei cogitatio ambiguitatis obrepat. Petro etiam dicitur Matth. XIII: *Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti?* Tentationis et fragilitatis haec verba sunt. Alioquin falsum est, melius est enim in eremo mori quam Aegyptiis servire. Qui enim in [0224D] eremo moritur, hoc ipso quod separatus est ab Aegyptiis, id est rectoribus tenebrarum et e potestate Satanae, habuit aliquem profectum, etiamsi ad integrum non potuit pervenire. Melius est enim perfectam vitam quaerenti in itinere mori, quam nec proficisci. Unde eorum videtur falli opinio, qui dum arduum et periculosum iter virtutis exponunt, nec incipiendum judicant. Melius est enim in itinere mori, quam inter Aegyptios necari et falsis atque amaris fluctibus obrui.

VERS. 13-14.-- *Aegyptios enim quos nunc,* etc. *[n: (AUG. quaest. 5 in Exod.)] Sicut enim vidistis Aegyptios hodie, non apponetis amplius videre eos in aeternum tempus.* Quomodo autem sunt accipienda haec ververba, [0225A] cum viderint postea Israelitae Aegyptios? An quia isti qui tunc videbant, non eos ulterius viderunt, quia et illi mortui sunt qui sequebantur, et isti omnes quisque die mortis suae? Nam posteri eorum viderunt posteros illorum. An, non eos videbitis sicut hodie, intelligendum est, non sicut hodie persequentes et inimicos, ut nulla sit quaestio nec de aeterno tempore quod hic posuit, quia etsi videbunt se utrique tempore resurrectionis, non sic ut hodie.

VERS. 15-17.-- *Quid clamas ad me?* etc. [n: (GREG.)] Voces apud aures Dei non faciunt verba nostra, sed desideria. Aeternam enim vitam si ore petimus, nec corde desideramus, clamantes tacemus: si vero corde desideramus, ore tacemus, tacentes clamamus. [0225B] Unde in eremo cum populus vocibus perstreperet, et Moses a strepitu verborum taceret, silens auditur, et dicitur ei: *Quid clamas ad me?* In desiderio enim clamor secretus non pervenit ad aures humanas, divinas replet.

[n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] Nulla vox Moysi auditur, et Dominus dicit: *Quid clamas ad me?* Velim scire quomodo sancti clamant sine voce ad Deum. Apostolus ad Gal. IV, dicit: *Quia dabit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in cordibus nostris clamantem: Abba, Pater.* Et addit: *ipse Spiritus interpellat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus.* Et iterum Rom. VIII: *Qui autem scrutatur corda, scit quid desideret spiritus.* Sic ergo postulante Spiritu sancto per silentium clamor sanctorum auditur. Jubetur Moses virga percutere mare, [0225C] ut ingredienti populo Dei cedat, et aquae quae timebantur, dextra laevaque murus effectae, non solum perniciem nesciant, sed etiam munimen exhibeant. Soliditatem recipit liquor, et solum maris arescit in pulverem: bonitatem Creatoris intellige, si voluntati ejus obtemperes, si legem ejus sequaris, elementa tibi contra naturam servire compellit. Audivi a majoribus traditum quod singulis tribubus singulae aquarum divisiones factae sunt, et propria unicuique via. Idque ostenditur ex eo quod dicitur psalmo CXXXV: *Qui divisit mare Rubrum in divisiones,* etc. Et alibi, psal. LXVII: *Ibi Benjamin minor in stupore. Principes Juda, duces eorum, principes Zabulon et principes Nephthali:* proprius unicuique tribui enumerari videtur ingressus. Apostolus [0225D] baptismum in Mose consummatum dicit in nube et in mari, ut qui baptizaris in Christo, in aqua et in Spiritu, scias te insectari Aegyptios et ad servitium revocare, rectores scilicet mundi, et spirituales nequitias, quibus ante servisti. Sed tu descendis in aquam, et evadis incolumis et novus ascendis peccatorum sordibus ablutus, paratus ad cantandum novum canticum. Aegyptii insequentes merguntur in abyssum, et si rogare videntur Jesum ne eos iterum mergat in abyssum.

[n: (ID.)] Aliter, si Aegyptum fugias, id est ignorantiae tenebras, si sequaris Mosen, id est Dei legem, occurrat autem mare, id est, contradicentium fluctus, percute et tu obluctantes undas virga, id est, verbo [0226A] legis et vigilantia Scripturarum; iter tibi disputando per adversarios pande, et cedent undae victori, mirantibusque et stupore defixis qui ante contradicebant, legitimis disputationum lineis rectum fidei iter secabis, et in tantum doctrinae verbo proficies, ut auditores tui, quos tu in verba legis erudisti, jam contra Aegyptios, velut fluctus maris, insurgent, nec solum impugnent, sed et superent et exstinguant. Exstinguit enim Aegyptum, qui non agit opera tenebrarum, qui non carnaliter, sed spiritualiter vivit; qui cogitationes sordidas vel corde expellit, vel omnino non recipit, secundum illud Eph. VI: Assumentes scutum fidei, ut possitis omnia maligni ignita jacula exstinguere. Hoc ergo modo possumus etiam Aegyptios hodie videre mortuos, et ipsum [0226B] Pharaonem, si tanta fide vivamus, ut Deus conterat Satanam sub pedibus nostris velociter per Jesum Christum.

VERS. 19-20.-- *Tollensque se angelus Dei,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Angelus, qui *nuntius* interpretatur, significat doctores, qui nobis praecepta vitae annuntiant, et cum nube, id est scientia Scripturarum castra Israel, id est Ecclesiam praecedunt, quia cum scientia Scripturarum praesident. Supervenientibus Aegyptiis retrorsum abit, quia tempore persecutionis opponent se pro subjectis. Nubes vero tenebrosa erat Aegyptiis, lucida Hebraeis.

VERS. 21-31.-- *Tota nocte,* etc. Quia toto tempore hujus vitae, quam nox significat, Spiritus sancti gratia aquas baptismi fidelibus meabiles facit, [0226C] ut de spirituali Aegypto in terram promissionis transeant: hostium vero suffocat exercitum.

[n: (ISID.)] Mare Rubrum baptismum Christi sanguine consecratum significat; hostes a tergo sequentes cum rege moriuntur, quia peccata praeterita in baptismo delentur, et diabolus suffocatur: premunt Aegyptii usque ad mare, et peccata usque ad baptismum. Post transitum maris Rubri cantat populus submersis hostibus infidelibus, et fideles de lavacro ascendentes, exstinctis peccatis, hymnum decantant dicentes: *Cantemus Domino, gloriose enim,* etc.

## CAPUT XV.

VERS. 1.-- *Tunc cecinit Moyses,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 6 in Exod.)] Multa cantica legimus in Scripturis, [0226D] sed hoc primum omnium est quod, Aegyptiis et Pharaone submerso, post victoriam cantatur. Mos enim sanctorum est, ubi adversarius vincitur (quia sciunt non sua virtute, sed Dei gratia victoriam factam), hymnum Deo glorificationis offerre. Accipiunt tamen canentes tympana in manibus, sicut de Maria et Aaron refertur. Et tu ergo, si mare Rubrum transieris, si Aegyptios submergi videris, et Pharaonem praecipitari in abyssum, potes hymnum Deo gratanter canere, et dicere: *Cantemus Domino gloriose,* etc. Dignius autem hoc dices, si habueris in manu tympanum, id est, si carnem tuam crucifixeris cum vitiis et concupiscentiis.

*Gloriose enim,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Non sufficit, *glorificatus [0227A] est;* aliud est enim glorificari, aliud gloriose glorificari. Cum enim Christus carnem pro nobis suscepit, glorificatus est, qui venit quaerere quod perierat, non tamen gloriose, quia non habebat speciem neque decorem; glorificatus est cum venit ad crucem, et pertulit mortem; unde Joan. XVII: *Pater, venit hora, glorifica Filium tuum,* etc. Erat ergo et gloria passio crucis, ubi et glorificatus, non gloriose quidem, sed humiliter; unde Phil. II: *Humiliavit semetipsum, factus obediens usque ad mortem, mortem autem crucis.* Et Sap. II: *Morte turpissima condemnemus eum.* In his ergo glorificatus est de se humiliter, non gloriose; unde Lucae XXIV: *Quia oportebat pati Christum, et sic intrare in gloriam suam.* Cum venerit in gloria Patris, et angelorum [0227B] judicare terram, et verum Pharaonem, id est diabolum, interficiet spiritu oris sui, cum refulgebit in majestate Patris: tunc gloriose glorificabitur, cum omnes honorificabunt Filium sicut honorificant Patrem.

*Magnificatus est, equum et ascensorem dejecit in mare,* etc. In signis Aegypti. Sed gloriose magnificatus est, quia Pharaonem et exercitum ejus submersit. Vel magnificatus est, miracula ante passionem faciendo, praedicando, in cruce moriendo: sed gloriose magnificatus est, cum resurrexit victor victo diabolo, spoliato inferno.

*Equum,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Homines qui nos insequuntur equi sunt; et omnes qui in carne nati sunt, figuraliter equi sunt, et habent ascensores suos. Sunt quos [0227C] Dominus ascendit, et circumeunt omnem terram; de quibus dicitur Habac. III: *Equitatus tuus salus.* Alios ascendit diabolus et angeli ejus. Judas equus erat, et cum ascensorem habuit Dominum, de equitatu salutis erat: cum caeteris enim apostolis missus aegrotis salutem et languentibus praestitit sanitatem; ubi diabolo se substravit, qui post buccellam in eum intravit, equus Satanae factus, et illius habenis ductus contra Dominum equitavit. Omnes ergo persecutores equi sunt hinnientes, sed habent angelos malos, quibus aguntur ascensores, et ideo feroces sunt. Si videris persecutorem tuum nimis saevientem, scito quia ab ascensore pungitur, et ideo saevus est et truculentus.

VERS. 2.-- *Iste Deus meus,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Hic ergo [0227D] et Deus erit meus et Deus patris mei. Pater noster qui nos fecit et genuit, Christus est, qui dixit Joan. XVI: *Vado ad Patrem meum,* etc. Si ergo agnoscam quod Deus meus sit, glorificabo eum; si etiam quod patris mei, exaltabo eum: altior enim intellectus est quomodo Christus, ut unius Dei constringat et uniat veritatem, Deum suum dicit, quem natura Patrem novit.

VERS. 3.-- *Dominus quasi vir pugnator,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Alia littera: *Dominus conteret bella.* Amos IX: *Dominus nomen est illi.* Non modo pugnas visibiles conterit, sed eas etiam quae nobis sunt adversus *principatus, et potestates, et rectores tenebrarum harum.--Dominus* enim *nomen est illi,* et non est [0228A] ulla creatura cujus Dominus non sit. Quadrigas Pharaonis et exercitum ejus projecit in mare: electos ascensores, ternistratores demersit in mare Rubrum. Pharao, velut potentior in malitia, et regnum nequitiae tenens, quadrigas agit: non illi satis est unum equum ascendere, sed plures simul agit, et torto verbere cogit. Quos cum videris in luxuria turpiores, in crudelitate saeviores, in avaritia tetriores, scito de quadrigis esse Pharaonis, quas currui suo subjugat: in ipsis fertur et volitat per apertos scelerum campos, effusis habenis. Sunt alii ascensores electi, scilicet ad malitiam.

[n: (ORIG.)] Ternistratores ideo dicuntur, quia triplex est hominibus peccandi via. In facto enim, in dicto et in cogitatione peccant. Ideo ternistratores per [0228B] singulos dicuntur, quia istas tres in nobis possident vias peccandi, et semper speculantur et agunt insidiis, ut aut ille ex misero homine sermonem malum eliciat, aut ille iniquum opus extorqueat, aut ille cogitationem pessimam rapiat. Denique semen verbi Dei ubi cadit et deperit, triplex describitur locus, secus viam, in spinis, in petrosis. Econtrario terra bona affert triplicem fructum, sexagesimum, centesimum, tricesimum [n: (Matth. XIII)]. Triplex enim est etiam bene agendi via, quia vel opere, vel cogitatione, vel verbo aliquid boni agitur; unde ait Apostolus I Cor. III: *Qui aedificat supra fundamentum argentum, aurum, lapides pretiosos,* triplicem bonorum indicans viam; viam malorum dicens ligna, fenum, stipulam. Isti ergo ternistratores sunt angeli [0228C] nequam, qui in his viis observant, ut quemlibet agant in peccatum; quos immerget Dominus in mari Rubro, et ignitis fluctibus tradet in die judicii, et poenarum pelago teget.

VERS. 5, 6.-- *Descenderunt in profundum quasi lapis.* [n: (ORIG.)] Quia scilicet tales non erant lapides de quibus suscitarentur filii Abrahae, sed qui amarent profundum et liquidum elementum, id est amaram et fluxam praesentium voluptatem. Unde de ipsis dicitur: *Demersi sunt quasi plumbum in aqua validissima.* Peccatores graves sunt, et iniquitas super talentum plumbi legitur sedere: inde iniqui merguntur in profundum quasi plumbum, sancti vero ambulant super aquas, quia leves sunt, [0228D] et peccati pondere non gravantur. Christus super aquas ambulavit, qui vere peccatum non fecit: ambulavit et Petrus, sed paululum dubitavit; habuit enim aliquid plumbi, propter quod dicitur ei Matth. XIV: *Modicae fidei, quare dubitasti?* Omnes ergo per ignem salvantur, ut si forte de specie plumbi quidquam fuerit admissum, ignis decoquat et resolvat, ut efficiantur omnes aurum optimum, quia aurum terrae illius optimum quam habituri sunt sancti; et sicut fornax probat aurum, ita homines justos tribulatio. Veniendum est ergo omnibus ad conflatorium. Sedet enim Deus et conflat, et purgat filios Juda. Si quis multa opera bona et parum iniquitatis attulerit, illud parum tanquam igne resolvitur et purgatur, et totum remanet aurum purum. [0229A] Si quis plus plumbi attulerit, plus exuritur, ut amplius decoquatur; ut et si parum, tamen aliquid auri purgati resideat; qui vero totus plumbeus venit, demergitur *quasi plumbum in aqua validissima.*

VERS. 7-10.-- *Misisti iram tuam,* etc. [n: (AUG. quaest. 55 in Exod.)] Alia littera: *Misisti spiritum tuum et cooperuit eos mare,* etc. Ecce jam quinto commemoratur Spiritus Dei, etc., *usque ad* Scriptura tantummodo jubens sine adjutorio gratiae.

VERS. 11.-- *Quis similis tui,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] Non simulacris gentium comparat Deum, nec daemonibus qui sibi falso nomen deorum asciscunt, sed dicit illos deos qui per gratiam et participationem Dei appellantur, secundum illud psal. LXXXI: [0229B] *Ego dixi: Dii estis.* Et ibid.: *Deus stetit in synagoga deorum.* Sed hi quamvis capaces sint Dei, et hoc nomine per gratiam donari videantur, nullus ei similis in potentia vel natura; quod autem dicitur, *similes ei erimus,* similitudo haec non ad naturam, sed ad gratiam revocatur, sicut pictura est similis ei cujus imago in ipsa exprimitur, quantum ad gratiam, sed longe dissimilis quantum ad substantiam. Illa enim species carnis est, et decor vivi corporis; ista colorum fucus, et cera tabulis sensu carentibus superposita. Nullus ergo in diis similis Domino, invisibilis scilicet, incorporeus, incommutabilis, sine initio et sine fine. Nullus creator omnium nisi Pater creans omnia per Filium, et in Spiritu sancto omnia sanctificans.

[0229C]VERS. 12, 13.-- *Extendisti,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Monet me quod ait: *Extendisti dexteram tuam et devoravit eos terra,* quasi ut devorarentur a terra, causa fuerit quod dexteram extendit. Si consideres quomodo exaltatus Dominus in cruce tota die extendit manum ad populum non credentem, sed contradicentem, et quomodo infidelem populum qui clamavit: *Crucifige, crucifige eum [n: (Joan. XIX)]*, mors iniquitatis oppressit, invenies quomodo *extendit dexteram, et devoravit eos terra.* Non tamen omnino desperandum. Si enim qui devoratus est, resipiscat, potest evomi sicut Jonas. Omnes nos aliquando terra devorabat et in inferni penetralibus retinebat: ideo Christus descendit non solum ad terras, sed etiam ad inferiora terrae: et ibi invenit nos devoratos, et [0229D] sedentes in umbra mortis; inde educens nos non solum terrae, ne iterum devoremur, sed regnum praeparat coelorum.

[n: (ORIG.)] Impios etiam hodie terra devorat, qui semper de terra cogitant, terrena faciunt, de terra loquuntur, litigant, terram desiderant, in ea spem suam ponunt, ad coelum non respiciunt, futura non cogitant, judicium Dei non metuunt, nec promissa ejus desiderant; talem cum videris, dicite quia devoravit eum terra: et si quem videris luxuriae et voluptatibus corporis deditum, in quo nil animus valet, sed totum libido possidet, dicito quia devoravit eum terra.

## CAPUT XV. (cont.)

VERS. 14, 15.-- *Ascenderunt,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Audierunt [0230A] gentes et iratae sunt, dolores apprehenderunt habitatores Philisthiim, etc. Quantum ad historiam, nullum de his gentibus interfuisse mirabilibus constat: quomodo ergo terrore territae vel iratae Philisthiim, et Moabitae, et Edom, et reliquae quas enumerat, nationes? Sed, spiritualiter, invenies quia Philisthiim, id est *cadentes poculo;* et Edom, scilicet *terrenus,* trepidant: et eorum principes cursitant et pavent constricti doloribus, cum vident regna sua, quae in inferno sunt, penetrata ab eo qui descendit in inferiora terrae, ut eriperet eos qui possidebantur a morte. Hinc timent et tremunt, quia senserunt magnitudinem brachii ejus; hinc etiam tabuerunt habitatores Chanaan, id est *mutabiles* et *mobiles,* cum viderunt moveri regna sua, et [0230B] alligari fortem. Veniat ergo super eos timor, et tremor: tremunt et timent daemones crucem Christi, in qua triumphati sunt, et exuti principatus eorum et potestate. Timor ergo et tremor cadent super eos, cum in nobis signum crucis fideliter fixum viderint, et magnitudinem brachii quod Dominus expandit in cruce, sicut dicit Isa. LXV: *Tota die expandi manus meas ad populum non credentem,* etc. Non te aliter timebunt, nec tremor tuus irruet super eos, nisi viderint in te crucem Christi, ut dicas: *Mihi autem absit gloriari, nisi in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi [n: (Gal. VI)]*.

VERS. 15, 16.-- *Fiant immobiles quasi lapis,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Fieri tanquam lapidem non est natura esse lapidem. Non enim fieret nisi quod non erat. Hoc [0230C] propter illos diximus qui malae naturae Pharaonem vel Aegyptios dicunt fuisse, nec ex libertate arbitrii in hoc esse deductos; et qui creatorem Deum accusant, tanquam saevum, qui homines vertat in lapides: non dixit: Fiant tanquam lapides et tacuit, sed tempus statuit et mensuram dominationis, scilicet *donec pertranseat populus tuus.* Prior populus qui fuit ante nos, factus est tanquam lapis durus et incredulus, non ut lapidis natura maneat, sed donec pertranseat populus quem Dominus acquisivit. Unde Rom. XI: *Caecitas enim ex parte contigit in Israel, donec plenitudo gentium intraret, et tunc Israel salvus fieret;* qui per incredulitatem factus est tanquam lapis, unde Matth. III: *Potens est enim Deus de lapidibus istis suscitare filios Abrahae.* Sed [0230D] cum creator sit omnium, quomodo acquisisse dicitur quod suum esse dubium non est? Dicitur enim in cantico Deuteronomii: *Nonne hic ipse Dominus Deus tuus, qui fecit et creavit te, et acquisivit te? [n: (Deut. XXXII.)]* Videtur enim unusquisque illud acquirere quod non fuit suum. Unde haeretici de Salvatore dicunt quia non erant sui quos acquisivit: dato enim pretio mercatus est homines quos Creator fecerat, et certum esse aiunt unumquemque emere quod suum non est. Apostolus enim ait I Cor. VII: *Pretio empti estis.* Sed audi Prophetam: *Peccatis vestris venundati estis, et pro iniquitatibus vestris dimisi matrem vestram [n: (Isa. L)]*. Dei ergo creaturae omnes sumus, sed peccatis suis [0231A] quisque venditur, et a Creatore discedit. Dei ergo sumus, secundum quod ab eo creati sumus: effecti vero servi diaboli, secundum quod peccatis nostris venundati sumus. Veniens autem Christus redemit nos servientes diabolo, cui nos peccando vendidimus, et ita videtur suos recepisse, quos creavit; et alienos acquisisse, qui alienum dominum peccando acquisierant. Sed recte nos redemisse dicitur, qui pro pretio nostro sanguinem suum dedit. Sed quid tale ut nos mercaretur diabolus dedit? Homicidium pecunia diaboli est, ille enim ab initio homicida est: fecisti homicidium, diaboli pecuniam accepisti. Idem dicendum est de adulterio, sacrilegio, furto, falso testimonio et hujusmodi: hac pecunia enim emit et efficit sibi servos omnes qui de hujusmodi [0231B] censu ejus quantumcunque susceperint.

VERS. 17.-- *Introduces eos et plantabis,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Non vult nos Dominus in Aegypto plantare, nec in dejectis et humilibus locis, sed in monte haereditatis suae. De hac plantatione Propheta dicit psal. LXXIX: *Vineam de Aegypto transtulisti, ejecisti gentes et plantasti eam: dux itineris fuisti in conspectu ejus, et plantasti radices ejus, et replevit terram. Operuit montes umbra ejus, et arbusta ejus cedros Dei.* Advertis quomodo plantat Deus et ubi? Non plantat in vallibus, sed in montibus, in excelsis et in sublimibus locis. Quos enim educit de Aegypto, id est saeculo ad fidem, non vult iterum in humilibus locare, sed conversationem eorum sublimem esse, et in montibus habitare et in excelsis, non per terram [0231C] repere. Non ultra vult vineam suam in humili dejectos habere fructus, sed palmites sursum duci, in alto locari, traduces fieri: et traduces non in humilibus arboribus, sed in excelsis et in altissimis cedris Dei, prophetis scilicet et apostolis: quibus si nos adjungamur, vitis quam transtulit Deus de Aegypto, et per ramos eorum nostri palmites diffundantur, et ipsis innexi traduces efficiamur charitatis ad invicem vinculis nexi, fructum plurimum afferemus. *Nam omnis arbor quae non facit fructum bonum excidetur et in ignem mittetur [n: (Matth. III)]*.

*Firmissimo habitaculo tuo,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] In praeparata habitatione quam praeparasti, Domine. Vide clementis bonitatem Domini: non vult te inducere ad laborem, non vult ut ipse facias tibi habitaculum; [0231D] jam te ad praeparatam inducet habitationem. Unde Joan. IV: *Alii laboraverunt, et vos in labores eorum introistis.*

*Sanctuarium tuum,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Sanctimonium tuum, Domine,* etc. Sanctimonium dicitur tabernaculum Dei, vel templum, eo quod sanctificat accedentes. Hebr. IX hoc non dicitur manu hominum factum, sed manu Dei: propter te ergo Deus et plantat et aedificat; agricola efficitur et structor, ne tibi aliquid desit. Unde Apostolus I Cor. III: *Dei agricultura, Dei aedificatio estis.* Quid est ergo hoc sanctimonium non manu hominum, sed Dei praeparatum. Prov. IX: *Sapientia aedificavit sibi domum,* id est, carnem Christi, non manu hominis, id est, non [0232A] opere humano: templum carnis aedificatur in Virgine, sed lapis sine manibus excisus crevit, et factus est mons magnus [n: (Dan. II)]: hoc est sanctimonium carnis assumptae, et sine manibus et sine opere hominum de monte humanae naturae et substantia carnis excisum.

VERS. 18.-- *Dominus regnabit,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Domine, qui regnas in saeculum et in saeculum et adhuc.* Quoties dicitur *in saeculum,* longitudo quidem temporis, sed esse aliquis finis indicatur; et si in aliud saeculum dicitur, aliquid longius indicatur, sed tamen finis ponitur: et quoties saecula saeculorum nominantur, fortasse, licet ignotus nobis, tamen a Deo statutus aliquis terminus indicatur. Quod vero hic addidit *et adhuc,* nullum sensum termini [0232B] alicujus aut finem relinquit: quodcunque enim cogitaveris, in quo finem putes consistere, semper dicit tibi sermo propheticus, *et adhuc;* velut si tibi dicat, Putas in saeculum saeculi Dominum regnaturum, et adhuc putas in saecula saeculorum: et adhuc, et quodcunque dixeris de regni ejus spatiis, semper dicit tibi propheta, *et adhuc.*

VERS. 19.-- *Filii autem Israel,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Et tu si *filius es Israel, potes ambulare per siccum in medio maris.* Si fueris in medio nationis pravae et perversae, sicut lumen solis in medio peccatorum incedens, non te infundet humor peccati, et per hunc mundum transeuntem nulla libidinis unda resperget, nullus cupiditatis aestus verberabit. Qui Aegyptus est, et sequitur Pharaonem, vitiorum fluctibus [0232C] mergitur. Qui vero sequitur Christum, et sicut ille ambulavit, ambulat, aqua ei fit murus dextra laevaque. Ipse autem media via incedit, per siccum non declinat ad dexteram neque ad sinistram, usquequo exeat ad libertatem, et hymnum victoriae Domino canat dicens: *Cantemus Domino,* etc.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *Tympanum.* [n: (STRAB.)] Secundum Hieronymum est genus tubae in summo habens stipulam vel fistulam; per quam vocem reddit sonoram. Chorus, secundum eumdem, pellis simplex cum duabus cicutis; per alteram inspiratur, per alteram sonum reddit: per utrumque ergo angusta intelligentia veteris legis designatur. Quam enim breve sit et minimum inde ostenditur, quia manu mulieris portatur. Secundum Cassiodorum tympanum est pellis extensa [0232D] inter duo ligna: per quod maceratio carnis designatur. Chorus autem est multitudo simul canentium et dicitur chorus quasi coaevorum cantus. Quod ergo in choro aequaliter omnes voces resonant, per eum charitas significatur, qua omnes in Christo unum sumus. Quicunque ergo Deo in jubilum laudes reddit, in choro, hoc est in charitate, hoc agat, et in tympano, id est in mortificatione carnis. Unde psal. CL: *Laudate eum in tympano et choro,* etc.

VERS. 22.-- *Tulit autem Moses Israel,* etc. Baptizati per mundum quasi per desertum post transitum maris Rubri ducuntur, nondum habentes promissam patriam, sed sperantes et exspectantes per patientiam, [0233A] dum laboriosa et periculosa tentatione fatigantur. Sed ne revertantur corde in Aegyptum, nec ibi Christus deserit: nam et illa columna non recedit.

## CAPUT XV. (cont.)

VERS. 23, 24.-- *Et venerunt,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 6 in Exod.)] Post transitum maris Rubri, post choros et tympana, post triumphales hymnos, venitur ad Mara, *aquam* scilicet *amaram,* quam populus bibere non poterat; venitur ad periculum sitis. Sed clamavit Moses ad Dominum, et ostendit ei lignum, quo dulcis facta est aqua, et ibi posuit Deus illi justitias et judicium; ubi scilicet amaritudo, ubi sitis, et, quod gravius est, in abundantia aquarum, alius non erat locus dignior et aptior. Praeterea quod dicit, *ostendit illi lignum Deus,* et misit illud in aquam, et facta est dulcis, quasi non [0233B] posset sine ligno aquam facere dulcere Deus, aut Moses lignum nesciret. Sed si lex secundum litteram accipiatur, amara est et ipsa Mara. Quid enim tam amarum quam ut puer octavo die circumcisionis vulnus accipiat, et rigorem ferri tenera patiatur infantia? Amarum est enim poculum legis, populus Dei, non qui in Mose baptizatus est in nube et in mari, sed qui in spiritu et aqua non possit bibere et gustare, nec hostiarum ferre amaritudinem, nec sabbati observantiam. Sed si Deus ostendat lignum quod mittatur in hanc amaritudinem, dulcis fit aqua legis et potabilis. Prov. III: *Sapientia lignum vitae est in omnibus amplectentibus eam.* Si ergo lignum sapientiae Christi missum fuerit in lege, ostendens quomodo debeat intelligi circumcisio, [0233C] sabbatum, lex leprae et hujusmodi, amaritudo legis vertitur in dulcedinem intelligentiae spiritualis, ut populus bibere possit qui idola reliquit et ad Deum confugit. Si audiat legem de sacrificiis docentem, continuo refugit et bibere non potest. In hanc ergo amaritudinem, id est litteram legis, posuit Deus justitias et testimonia, velut scilicet in vasculo quodam sapientiae suae et scientiae thesauros concludit [condidit]. Unde: *Habemus thesaurum istum in vasis fictilibus [n: (II Cor. III)]*. Ut ergo possit haec aqua bibi, ostendit Deus lignum quod mittatur in eam, ut qui biberit non moriatur, non sentiat amaritudinem. Si quis ergo sine ligno vitae, id est, sine mysterio crucis, sine fide Christi, sine intelligentia spirituali biberit, amaritudine morietur. Unde: *Littera occidit,* [0233D] id est, aqua Mara, si bibatur non mutata et in dulcedinem versa.

VERS. 25-27.-- *Qui ostendit ei,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 57 in Exod.)] Genus ligni erat istam habens vim: an quolibet ligno facere poterat Deus, qui tanta mirabilia faciebat? Videtur tamen significare quod dictum est, *ostendit ei,* tanquam jam tale esset; nisi forte locus erat ubi ligna omnino non inveniebantur, ut hoc ipsum esset divini adjutorii, quod ei Dominus lignum ostendit, ubi nullum erat, et per lignum aquas dulces fecit, praefigurans gloriam et gratiam crucis. Sed in tali etiam ligno quis nisi creator et demonstrator laudandus est.

*Ibi constituit ei praecepta. [n: (ORIG., hom. 7 in Exod.)]* [0234A] Quare addidit: Postquam *posuit illi Deus justitias et judicia, ibi tentabat eum dicens: Si audieris vocem Domini Dei tui.* Videtur exponere quare justificationes et judicia dedit, ut scilicet tentaret eos si audirent vocem Domini Dei, et mandata ejus custodirent. Nam quantum ad priorem populum, quid eis boni aut perfecti murmurantibus et contradicentibus mandaretur, qui paulo post, mirabilium Dei obliti, ad idola convertuntur? Dantur ergo praecepta in quibus tententur; unde: *Dedi vobis praecepta et justificationes non bonas in quibus non vivent [n: (Ezech. XX)]*. Tentati enim in praeceptis non inveniuntur fideles, ideo inventum est eis mandatum esse ad mortem quod erat ad vitam. Idem enim, si servetur, vitam; si non servetur, mortem generat. Non servantibus ergo dicuntur [0234B] mandata non bona, et in quibus non vivant. Sed admisto ligno crucis, in dulcedinem versa, et spiritualiter intellecta, et servata sunt mandata vitae. *Cunctum languorem quem posui in Aegypto, non inducam super te.* Videtur dicere quod si quis servet mandata nullam aegritudinem patiatur, id est nec febres, nec alios dolores corporeos. Sed omnino Job justissimus, et omni pietate plenus, a capite usque ad pedes repletur ulcere pessimo. Sed justi non habent illas infirmitates quas Aegyptii. Aegyptus est mundus: diligere ergo mundum et quae in mundo sunt, Aegyptius languor est; observare menses, tempora, stellarum cursibus adhaerere, servire carni, luxuriae operam dare et deliciis vacare, Aegyptius languor est.

[0234C] *Venerunt autem,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Non ante in Elim ducitur populus, ubi erant duodecim fontes aquarum, quibus nil inerat amaritudinis, sed amoenitas plurima ex densitate palmarum: sed prius ductus est ad aquas salsas et amaras, quibus per lignum a Domino monstratum dulcoratis, venitur ad fontes. Si historiam solam sequamur, non multum nos aedificat scire ad quem locum primo venerint, ad quem secundo. Primo autem ducitur populus ad litteram legis, a qua dum permanet in amaritudine sua, recedere non potest. Cum ergo per lignum vitae fuerit indulcorata, et spiritualiter intellecta, de Veteri Testamento transit ad Novum, et ad duodecim apostolicos fontes, ubi reperiuntur arbores septuaginta palmarum. Non enim soli duodecim apostoli [0234D] fidem Christi praedicaverunt, sed et alii septuaginta, per quos palmas victoriae Christi mundus agnovit. Non sufficit ergo populo Dei aquam Mara bibere, quamvis indulcoratam per lignum vitae; solum Vetus Testamentum non sufficit ad bibendum, veniendum est enim ad Novum, de quo sine scrupulo et difficultate potatur. Judaei etiam nunc apud Mara sunt, id est ad aquas amaras: nondum enim ostendit eis Deus lignum de quo dulcescunt, quia *nisi crediderint, non intelligent [n: (Isa. VII)]*.

## CAPUT XVI.

VERS. 2.-- *Et murmuravit omnis congregatio Israel,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 7 in Exod.)] O ingratus [0235A] populus! desiderat Aegyptum, qui Aegyptios vidit exstinctos; et carnes Aegypti, qui Aegyptiorum carnes videt et piscibus datas et volatilibus! Murmurat adversus Mosen, imo Deum; sed primo ignoscitur, et secundo et fortassis tertio: sed si non desinant, sed persistant, audi quid sequitur, in libro Numerorum refertur [n: (Num. XXI)], et idem Apostolus retexit dicens [n: (I Cor. X)]: *Neque murmuraveritis, sicut quidam eorum murmuraverunt, et a serpentibus perierunt. Scripta sunt haec propter nos, in quos fines saeculorum devenerunt.* Sed si non desinimus murmurare et conqueri contra Deum, incurremus simile offensionis periculum vel exemplum. Cum enim de coelesti intemperie, fructuum infecunditate, imbrium raritate, et de prosperitate aliorum et aliorum improsperitate [0235B] causamur, contra Deum murmuramus. Sed haec primo ignoscuntur, in persistentes graviter vindicantur, quia mittentur in eos serpentes, id est, immundis et veneficis spiritibus tradentur, qui occultis morsibus penetralia cordis depascantur.

[n: (ORIG.)] Propter correctionem legentium indicatur populi peccatum: quia murmuraverit et ingratus fuerit beneficiis divinis, cum coeleste manna susceperit. Secundo mense, quinta decima die mensis, quod non sine ratione scriptum est. Recordare de legibus paschae quae dicta sunt [n: (Num. IX)], et invenies ibi hoc esse tempus quod statuitur ad secundum pascha faciendum his qui immundi in anima fuerint, vel occupati negotiis peregrinis. Qui non fuerant immundi anima, vel non longe peregrinabantur, [0235C] quarta decima die primi mensis fecerunt pascha; longe vero peregrini, et immundi, secundum pascha in hoc tempore faciunt, in quo manna de coelo descendit. In die quo primum pascha fit, non descendit manna, sed in quo secundum: primum pascha populi Judaici est; secundum, nostrum. Nos enim fuimus in anima immundi, qui *colebamus idola; et peregrini, et longinqui fuimus, hospites et peregrini testamentorum Dei,* etc. [n: (Eph. II.)] Sed datur manna de coelo, non in die quo primum pascha fit, sed quo secundum: *Panis enim qui de coelo descendit [n: (Joan. VI)]* non venit ad illos qui primam solemnitatem celebrabant, sed ad nos, qui suscepimus secundam. *Etenim pascha nostrum immolatus est Christus, qui verus homo panis de coelo descendit [n: (I Cor. V.)]* Videamus [0235D] interim quid in hac die gestum monstretur: Quarta decima die mensis secundi murmuravit populus, etc.

VERS. 3.-- *Sedebamus super ollas,* etc. Greges ovium habebant et armenta boum, de quibus comedere poterant; sed desiderio piscium et avium, quibus Aegyptus abundat, aestuabant.

VERS. 4.-- *Ecce pluam,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 8 in Exod.)] Vellem primo super hanc scripturam cum Judaeis habere sermonem, quibus credita sunt eloquia Dei, quid illis videatur de eo quod dicit: *Sex diebus continuis colligetis, die autem sexta duplum.* Apparet ergo sextum diem nominari qui ante sabbatum ponitur; sabbatum autem septimus dies est. [0236A] Quaero ergo qua die coepit manna dari? et volo comparare Dominicam nostram cum sabbato Judaeorum. Ex Scriptura enim apparet quia die Dominica primum datur manna, sex diebus continuis collectum; septima, quae est sabbatum, cessatur. Quia ergo in die Dominica pluit Deus manna, et non in sabbato, intelligant Judaei jam tunc praelatam esse Dominicam nostram suo sabbato; et indicatum est quod non in ipso Dei gratia ad eos descenderit de coelo, et panis coelestis, qui est sermo Dei, ad eos non pervenerit; unde Ose. III: *Diebus multis sedebunt filii Israel sine rege, sine principe, sine hostia, sine sacrificio, sine sacerdote.* In nostra autem Dominica semper Dominus pluit manna, id est coelestia verba quae nobis laeta sunt. Illi infelices suspirant etiam [0236B] manna sicut patres eorum, et non merentur accipere; non enim possunt manducare quod est minutum sicut semen coriandri, et candidum sicut pruina. Nihil enim in verbo Dei minutum, subtile et spirituale sentiunt, sed totum pingue et crassum. *Incrassatum est enim cor populi hujus.* Interpretatio quoque nominis hujus hoc sonat. Manna enim interpretatur *Quid est hoc?* Ipsa vis nominis ad discendum invitat, ut cum audis legem Dei recitari, inquiras semper et dicas doctoribus, *Quid est hoc?* Tu ergo si vis manducare manna, et suscipere verbum Dei, scito minutum esse et valde subtile, sicut semen coriandri: habet enim aliquid oleris quo nutrire et recreare possit infirmos. *Infirmus enim olus manducat [n: (Rom. XIV)]*. Habet enim aliquid et rigoris, et ideo ut pruina; [0236C] candoris autem et dulcedinis plurimum. Quid est candidius, splendidius eruditione divina? quid dulcius, suavius eloquiis Dei, quae sunt super mel et favum?

*Panes.* Manna scilicet: locutio est qua panis pro alimento ponitur; amat autem Scriptura pluraliter magis *panes* quam singulariter dicere *panem.*

*Ut tentem.* Tentatio ista probatio est, non ad peccatum seductio; nec ideo probantur, ut Deus non noverit: sed ipsos ipsis ostendit quo humiliores fiant ad petendum adjutorium et ad noscendam Dei gratiam.

VERS. 5.-- *Die autem sexto,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 7.)] In die sexto duplum colligatur in repositione, quantum sufficiat etiam sabbato. Sexta dies, haec [0236D] vita in qua nunc sumus, unde in sex diebus fecit Deus hunc mundum; in hac ergo die tantum reponere debemus, quantum sufficiat in futuro. Si quid enim hic boni operis acquiras, si quid justitiae, misericordiae et pietatis recommendas, hoc tibi in futuro erit cibus. Qui enim acquirit hic decem talenta [n: (Luc. XIX)], ibi accipiet decem civitates, et *quae seminaverit homo, haec et metet [n: (Gal. VI)]*. Divites hujus saeculi ea recondunt quae in hoc saeculo, imo cum hoc saeculo corrumpuntur: bona autem recondita permanent usque in crastinum. Scriptum est autem. *Qui infideles fuerunt, servaverunt de manna, et ebullierunt ex eo vermes et computruit;* quod autem pro die sabbati reponebatur, permansit integrum. Et tu [0237A] ergo si propter praesentem vitam et amorem saeculi thesaurizas, continuo vermes ebulliunt, de quibus dicitur Isa. LXVI: *Vermis eorum non moritur;* hos generat avaritia et divitiarum caeca cupiditas his qui habent pecuniam, et videntes in necessitate fratres suos, claudunt viscera sua ab eis. Unde Apostolus [n: (I Tim. VI)] praecipit *divitibus non sublime sapere, neque sperare in incerto divitiarum,* etc.; nec aliunde fiunt vermes in nobis, nisi ex manna, id est verbo Dei. Unde Joan. XV: *Nisi venissem et locutus eis fuissem,* etc. Post susceptum ergo verbum Dei si quis peccat, efficitur ipsum verbum vermis, qui ejus conscientiam semper fodiat et arcana pectoris rodat.

VERS. 6.--[n: (ORIG.)] *Vespere scietis,* etc. *Ad vesperam [0237B] scietis quia ego Dominus; mane autem videbitis majestatem Domini.* Respondeant mihi Judaei quomodo ad vesperam cognoscitur Dominus, et mane videatur majestas ejus? Ubi agnitus est ad vesperam, et ejus majestas visa est mane? Sed non intelligitur hoc nisi in Evangelio [n: (Matth. XXVIII)], in quo vespere sabbati qui *lucescit in prima sabbati venit Maria Magdalene et altera Maria ad sepulcrum, et invenerunt lapidem revolutum a monumento, terrae motum factum,* et monumenta aperta esse, et centurionem et custodes sepulcri dicentes: *Vere hic Filius Dei erat.* Agnitus est in hac vespera Dominus, quia ipse Dominus erat: agnitus est in virtute resurrectionis, et mane gloria ejus visa est. Cum venissent aliae mulieres prima sabbati valde mane, invenerunt angelos [0237C] cum ingenti claritate sedentes ad sepulcrum, et dicentes: *Non est hic, sed surrexit a mortuis. Venite et videte locum,* etc. [n: (Luc. XXIV.)] Visa est ergo majestas ejus mane, quia et per angelos resurrectio nuntiata est.

VERS. 7-11.-- *Nos vero quid sumus,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 59 in Exod., tom. III.)] Non tantum se valere quantum Deum voluerunt, etc., *usque ad* Spiritum sanctum Deum esse monstravit subjungens, Act. V: *Non hominibus mentitus es, sed Deo.*

VERS. 12-13.-- *Vespere comedetis carnes* [n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] Moraliter intelligere possumus quod unicuique nostrum mane est et initium diei, tempus quo primum illuminamur et ad lucem fidei accendimur. In hoc tempore carnes verbi non possumus [0237D] edere, id est, perfectae doctrinae capaces nondum sumus; sed post longa exercitia, post profectum plurimum, cum jam proximi sumus ad vesperam, id est perfectionis fidem, tunc solidioris cibi capaces efficimur. Festinemus ergo manna suscipere, quod prout vult quisque saporem reddit in ore. Unde Matth. IX: *Fiat tibi secundum fidem tuam.* Et tu ergo, si verbum Dei quod in Ecclesia praedicatur, tota fide et devotione suscipias, fiat tibi quodcunque desideras. Si tribularis, consolatur te, dicens: *Cor contritum et humiliatum Deus non spernit [n: (Psal. L)]*; si laetaris pro spe futura, cumulat tibi gaudia, dicens: *Laetamini in Domino et exsultate, justi [n: (Psal. XXXI)]*; si iracundus es, dicit: *Desine ab ira, et derelinque [0238A] indignationem [n: (Psal. XXXVI)]*; si in doloribus sis, sanat te, dicens: *Dominus sanat languores tuos omnes [n: (Matth. IV)]*; si paupertate consumeris, consolando dicit: *Dominus allevat de terra inopem, et de stercore erigit pauperem [n: (Psal. CXII)]*. Si quis tamen infideliter suscipit, nec comedit, sed abscondit, vermes ex eo ebulliunt. Nec turberis si ad hoc ducitur verbum Dei, ut putetur fieri vermis; ipse enim ait: *Ego sum vermis, et non homo [n: (Psal. XXI)]*. Sicut enim ipse est qui fit aliis in ruinam, aliis autem in resurrectionem [n: (Luc. II)]; ita et ipse est qui in manna fidelibus dulcedo mellis, infidelibus vermis efficitur. Ipse est enim sermo Dei qui iniquorum mentes arguit et correctionum spiculis conscientiam terebrat. Ipse est enim qui efficitur eis quibus aperit Scripturas [0238B] ignis, qui dicunt: *Nonne cor nostrum ardens erat in nobis?* etc. [n: (Luc. XXIV.)] Aliis ignis est, quibus cremat spinas de terra mala, id est, malas cogitationes in corde consumit; et ideo peccatoribus neque vermis arguens unquam moritur, neque ignis exurens exstinguitur: justis autem et fidelibus permanet dulcis et suavis. Unde dicitur psal. XXXIII: *Gustate et videte,* etc.

## CAPUT XVI. (cont.)

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Alia littera: *Vespere manducabitis carnes, et mane replebimini panibus.* Dicant Judaei quae consequentia sit, ut vespere carnes sine panibus comedant, aut mane panes sine pulmento? quid in hoc divini muneris, quid temperamenti gratiae coelestis ostenditur? Hoc est, in quo agnoscere Deum possunt, qui carnes in vespera sine panibus comedunt, [0238C] et majestatem Dei apparere dicunt, si rursum panes sine carnibus comedantur? servent sibi ista, his qui acquiescentes vobis, in coturnicibus putant agnosci Deum; nos autem, quibus in fine ad vesperam mundi Verbum est caro factum, in illa tantum carne agnosci dicimus Deum, quem suscepit ex Virgine: has enim Verbi Dei carnes neque mane neque meridie quis manducavit, sed ad vesperam: adventus enim Domini in carne ad vesperam factus est, sicut et Joannes dicit: *Pueri, novissima hora est [n: (I Joan. II)]* .-- *Mane,* inquit, *replebimini panibus.* Nobis ergo panis Verbum Dei est: *Ipse est panis vivus qui de coelo descendit, et dat vitam mundo [n: (Joan. VI)]*. Sed quod dicit mane dari hunc panem, cum incarnatus sit ad vesperam, sic intelligendum [0238D] est quod ad vesperam mundi et prope finem Dominus venerit; sed adventu suo, cum sit sol justitiae, novum mane credentibus restauravit; novum, scilicet scientiae lumen, in quo replentur panibus, qui susceperunt praecepta ejus. Nec mireris quia verbum dicitur et caro Dei, et panis, et lac dicitur et olera, et pro mensura credentium, et possibilitate sumentium diverse nominatur. Vel post resurrectionem mane factam credentes replevit panibus, quia libros legis et prophetarum prius ignotos ad instructionem Ecclesiae concessit, et ipse fit panis in Evangelio, caeteri vero libri legis et prophetarum vel historiarum plures panes dicantur, quibus repleantur credentes ex gentibus. Unde: *Ascendent in montem, et [0239A] bibent vinum, unguento ungentur.* Sic ergo competenter carnes ad vesperam accipimus et panibus mane replemur: quia nec poteramus mane carnem edere, nondum enim erat tempus; nec meridie, vix enim angeli edunt carnes meridie et illi fortassis ordini meridianum tempus conceditur.

*Et mane.* Nono die quando Christus, sol justitiae, adventu suo credentibus reparavit perdita.

[n: (ISID.)] Per volucrum escas figuratur praedicatio divinitus missa, quae transcurrit per verba sonantia, quasi per aerem volatilia pennata, quibus per fidem pascuntur, qui ad patriam coelestem proficiscuntur. Vel veteris legis eloquia, quae plebem carnalem tanquam carne alebat per verba divinitus missa, quasi per volatilia. Unde et vespere datur, quia [0239B] cuncta carnaliter illis concessa finem erant habitura. Manifesto autem lumine fidei datur manna, quod est Christus, *panis* scilicet *vivus qui de coelo descendit [n: (Joan. VI)]*, qui per nubes evangelicas universo orbi pluitur: non jam murmuranti et tentati Synagogae, sed credenti et speranti Ecclesiae.

VERS. 14.-- *In similitudinem pruinae super terram.* Pruina Christum significat: manna enim Dominica die primum datum est, et Christus Dominica die resurrexit.

*Tusum.* Id est mundissimum. Sicut enim frumentum, vel milium, vel aliud tale in mortariolo pilo teritur et folliculis exuitur, sic corpus Christi per tribulationem passionis et pilo crucis mortalitate exutum est. Vel minutum manna subtilitas coelestis [0239C] doctrinae, quae pilo tunditur ut litteralis sensus exuatur.

VERS. 15.-- *Man hu. [n: (GREG., lib. XXVII Moral., cap. 7.)]* Quid per manna filiis Israel desuper datum, nisi admiratio supernae dulcedinis designatur? Dulcis enim cibus, qui de supernis accipitur; *man hu* vocatur, quod interpretatur *Quid est hoc?* quod dicimus quando cernimus quod nescientes admiramur. Supernum igitur manna anima percipit, cum per vocem compunctionis elevata novam speciem aeternae refectionis obstupescit, ut divina dulcedine repleta jure respondeat *Quid est hoc?* quia dum ab infima cogitatione suspenditur, ea quae de supernis conspicit et insolite miratur. Et cum per hanc vocem torporis nostri surditas rumpitur, vetustae vitae usus [0239D] mutatur, ut anima, superno spiritu afflata, et in supremis appetat quod contempserat, et contemnat in infimis quod appetebat.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Juxta numerum animarum vestrarum,* etc. [n: (AUG., locutio 78.)] Saepe Scriptura homines animas appellat, a parte totum: non facile autem carnes pro hominibus, sed carnem; sicut psal. LV: *Non timebo quid faciat caro;* quod apertius in psalmo eodem ait, *quid faciat mihi homo.* Non autem diceret, secundum numerum carnium vestrarum, sicut dixit, *secundum numerum animarum vestrarum.*

VERS. 18, 19.-- *Juxta id quod edere poterant,* etc. Quia in praesenti vita quilibet debet discere quantum [0240A] potest, ne quid indiscussum relinquat, ne cum non possit, discere incipiat.

VERS. 20.-- *Sed dimiserunt quidam ex eis usque mane,* etc. Principium alterius vitae, in qua non licebit vacare doctrinae, sed manna computrescet, et vermibus scatebit, id est, poenam eis aeternam generabit.

VERS. 21.-- *Cumque incaluisset sol, liquefiebat.* Quia tunc omnis Scripturae intellectus patebit, quia *nunc videmus per speculum in aenigmate, tunc autem videbimus facie ad faciem [n: (I Cor. XIII)]*.

VERS. 22.-- *Cibos duplices.* Necessaria scilicet animae et corpori. Nam in septima, quae mortuorum aetas intelligitur, scilicet nullus erit operandi locus.

VERS. 23-32.-- *Requies sabbati,* etc. Audiendo verbum Dei et faciendo, vel bene vivendo et aliis misericordiam [0240B] praestando. Quod reponebatur pro sabbato non corrumpebatur, quia bona pro futura requie facta, in futura vita manent integra. Alioquin ebulliebant vermes et computrescebat quod servabatur: qui enim propter praesentem vitam et amorem saeculi thesaurizant, illis ebullit vermis qui non morietur.

VERS. 33, 34.-- *Et repone coram,* etc. [n: (AUG. quaest. 61 in Exod.)] Quaeri potest ubi Aaron reponeret ante Dominum, quando nec ullum tabernaculum fuit, nec arca testamenti jam fuerat constituta. An forte de futuro, ideo dixit *repone,* ut intelligatur tunc ante Dominum posse reponi, quando futura arca erat? An potius ante Dominum dictum est, quod fit ipsa devotione offerendi, in quocunque loco [0240C] poneretur? Ubi enim non est Deus? Sed quod adjungit: *Et reposuit Aaron ante tabernaculum ad reservandum,* priorem magis sensum asserit. Hoc enim modo Scriptura dixit per prolepsim, quod post factum est cum esse coepit tabernaculum testimonii.

VERS. 35, 36.-- *Filii autem Israel comederunt manna quadraginta annis,* etc. *(AUG., ibid., quaest. 62.* Alia littera: *Filii autem Israel ederunt manna quadraginta annis,* etc., *usque ad* noverat enim Deus quid desiderarent et ex quo genere carnis satiaret eos.

*Comederunt manna quadraginta annis.* Corpus Christi, scilicet Verbum Dei, quod percipimus nunc in aenigmate, tunc autem facie ad faciem [n: (I Cor. 13)].

*Donec venirent in terram habitabilem,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 63 in Exod., tom. III.)] Alia littera: *Quousque [0240D] venirent in partem Phoenicis.* Per repetitionem exponit quam terram dixit habitari, etc., *usque ad* multarum enim terrarum, locorum, fluminum et urbium nomina certis causis mutavit antiquitas.

## CAPUT XVII.

VERS. 1, 2.-- *Igitur profecta omnis multitudo filiorum Israel,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod.)] Omnes qui volunt pie vivere in Christo persecutionem patiuntur, ab hostibus impugnantur: agensque iter hujus vitae semper debet esse paratus et stare in castris. Unde profecta est omnis synagoga filiorum Israel de deserto Sin secundum castra sua per verbum Dei. Est una quidem Synagoga Domini. sed in quatuor castris dividitur, qui describuntur in Numeris [0241A] circa tabernaculum Domini posita. Armatus ergo in castris Domini militans ne implices te saecularibus negotiis, et in castris Domini semper excubias agas, ut de te dicatur quia profectus es per verbum Domini de deserto Sin, et venis in Raphidim. Sin autem *tentatio* interpretatur; Raphidim *sanitas judicii:* qui bene exit de tentatione, venit ad sanitatem judicii. In die enim judicii sanus erit. Unde Apoc. II: *Qui vicerit, dabo ei de ligno vitae quod est in paradiso Dei mei.* Venit ergo ad sanitatem judicii qui bene disponit sermones suos in judicio.

*Sin.* Hic specialiter Sin una mansio accipitur ex his quinque quae fuerunt a mari Rubro usque ad montem Sina, quas Josephus nominatim describit. Generaliter enim omne desertum illud Sin vocatur [0241B] sicut et Raphidim.

*Castrametati sunt in Raphidim. [n: (HIERON. de Loc. Hebr., tom. III.)]* Est locus in deserto juxta montem Horeb. Sciendum est autem quod omnis eremus usque ad montem Sinai Sin vocatur, et ex tota provincia etiam locus unius mansionis nomen accepit, sicut et Moab tam urbis quam provinciae nomen est. In hac solitudine quinque sunt mansiones, Zuph, et eremus Sin, Alus, Depheca, Raphidim. Unde bene dicitur quia *profecta est omnis multitudo filiorum Israel de eremo Sin per mansiones suas juxta os Domini, et venerunt in Raphidim.* Unde patet plures mansiones unius regionis vocabulo demonstrari.

VERS. 3, 4.-- *Sitivit ergo ibi populus,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra )]. Alia littera: *Sitivit,* inquit, *populus aquam, [0241C] et murmurabat adversus Moysen.* Suffecit dicere quia *sitivit,* quid opus fuit addere *aquam?* Non est superflua adjectio. Sunt ergo diversae sites, et quisque habet propriam. Qui boni sunt, esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam [n: (Matth. V)]. Alii quoque dicunt: *Sitivit anima mea ad te, Deus [n: (Psal. XLI)]*. Qui vero sunt peccatores patiuntur non sitim aquae, non famem panis, sed audiendi verbum Dei. Sitivit ergo populus aquam, qui debuit sitire justitiam. Sed Deus eruditor infantium, magister insipientium, corrigit culpas et emendat errores, dicens ad Moysen ut sumat virgam, et percutiat petram, et educat aquas. Vult enim eos jam de petra bibere et proficere, et ad interiora mysteria venire. Murmuraverunt enim adversus Moysen, ideo jubet Dominus ut ostendat eis petram [0241D] de qua bibant. Si quis enim est qui legens Moysen, murmurat adversus eum, et displicet ei lex secundum litteram, quia in multis non videtur habere consequentiam, ostendit ei Moyses petram, quae est Christus, ut inde bibat et sitim reficiat. Sed haec petra non dat aquas nisi percussa, percussa vero fontes producit: percussus enim Christus, et in cruce mactatus, Novi Testamenti fontes produxit. Unde Zach. VIII: *Percutiam pastorem, et dispergentur oves gregis.* Nisi enim fuisset percussus, et exisset sanguis et aqua de latere ejus, omnes sitim verbi Dei pateremur. Unde: *Bibebant autem de spiritali, consequente eos petra: petra autem erat Christus [n: (I Cor. X)]*.

[n: (ISID.)] Sitiens populus pro aqua murmuravit contra [0242A] Moysen: ideo jubet Deus ut ostendat eis petram ex qua bibant. Si quis autem legens Moysen murmurat adversus eum, et displicet ei littera legis, ostendit ei Moyses petram, quae est Christus, et ducit ad ipsam, unde bibat et sitim reficiat.

VERS. 5.-- *Antecede populum,* etc. Non solum Moyses ducit populum ad aquas, sed et seniores populi. Non enim sola lex Christum annuntiat, sed et prophetae et patriarchae et omnes majores natu.

*Et virgam,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 64 in Exod.)] Aaron, non Moyses, legitur flumen virga percussisse. Moyses enim eadem virga mare divisit, non flumen. Quid ergo sibi vult: *Accipe virgam in qua percussisti flumen?* An forte mare appellavit flumen? et quaerendum est exemplum hujus locutionis? An quod Aaron [0242B] fecit, Moysi potius attributum est, quia per Moysen jubebat Deus quae faceret Aaron, et in hoc auctoritas, in illo ministerium? Unde: *Erit tibi ad populum, tu autem illi in his quae ad Deum.*

VERS. 6, 7.-- *Percutiesque petram.* Christum, qui in cruce a Judaeis percussus est: cui accessit virga, id est, lignum passionis, ut fidelibus remaneret aqua.

VERS. 8.-- *Venit autem Amalec,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Amalec fuit filius Ismael, a quo Amalecitae, qui et Ismaelitae sunt: ipsi sunt Saraceni. Interpretatur autem *bibens* vel *lambens sanguinem,* et significat diabolum, qui sanctos de Aegypto exeuntes, et ad terram promissionis tendentes, semper impugnat, et animarum sanguinem bibere desiderat.

[0242C] [n: (ORIG., hom. II in Exod.)] Describitur bellum cum Amalecitis factum. Antequam manducaret panem de coelo, et biberet aquam de petra, non dicitur pugnasse populus; sed dicitur ad eum: *Dominus pugnabit pro vobis, et vos tacebitis.* Est ergo quando Dominus pugnat pro nobis, nec permittit tentari supra id quod possumus, nec impares viribus sinit ad fortem venire congressum. Job quoque certamen tentationis suae jam perfectus implevit; et tu ergo cum coeperis manducare manna, panem coelestem verbi Dei, et bibere aquam de petra, cumque ad interiora doctrinae spiritualis accesseris, exspecta pugnam, praepara te ad bellum.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *Dixitque Moyses ad Josue,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Alia littera: *Dixit Moyses ad Jesum: [0242D] Elige tibi viros,* etc. Hucusque beati nominis Jesu nunquam facta est mentio. Hic primum vocavit Moyses Jesum, et dixit ei: *Elige viros tibi ipsi.* Moyses vocat Jesum, lex invocat Christum, ut eligat sibi viros potentes de plebe: non poterat Moyses eligere, sed solus Jesus, qui ait Joan. XV: *Non vos me elegistis, sed ego vos elegi [n: (Matth. XII)]*. Ipse est electorum dux et potentium princeps. Ipse confligit cum Amalec. Ipse enim intrat in domum fortis, et alligat fortem, et vasa ejus diripit.

*Ego stabo in vertice collis.* [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Ascendit, inquit, Moyses non in verticem montis, sed in verticem collis. Servabatur enim ei tunc ascendere in verticem montis cum ascensurus erat [0243A] Jesus, et cum ipso Moyses et Elias, et ibi transformandus in gloria. Nunc ergo velut nondum glorificatus de transformatione Jesu, non ascendit in verticem montis, sed in verticem collis. Et cum elevaret Moyses manus, superabat Israel. Moyses elevat manus, non extendit; Jesus, qui totum mundum, exaltatus in cruce, complexus est, dicit: *Extendi manus ad populum non credentem [n: (Isa. LXV)]*. Elevare manus, hoc est actus levare ad Deum, ut non habeat actus dejectos et humi jacentes, sed Deo placitos et ad coelum erectos. Elevat ergo manus qui thesaurizat in coelo. Ubi enim thesaurus, ibi oculus, ibi manus. Elevat manus qui dicit: *Elevatio manuum mearum sacrificium vespertinum [n: (Psal. CXL)]*. Si ergo eleventur actus nostri, vincitur Amalec: unde Isa. [0243B] XXXV: *Remissas manus et genua debilia erigite.* Si servat populus legem, elevat Moyses manus, et adversarius vincitur. Si non servat legem, invalescit Amalec. Quia igitur nobis pugna est adversus principes et potestates mundi hujus rectores tenebrarum, si vis vincere, eleva manus, id est, actus, conversatio tua non sit in terris, sed in coelis. Eleva et tu manus in coelum ad Deum, imple mandatum Apostoli: *Sine intermissione orate [n: (I Thess. V)]*; et tunc fiet quod scriptum est, quia sicut ablingit vitulus in campis herbam virentem, ita ablinget populus hic populum qui super terram est; ubi inducitur quia populus Dei non tam manum et armis quam voce et lingua pugnabat, et oratione inimicos prosternebat. Eleva ergo actus, insta orationi: haec Christiani pugna [0243C] est, quae superat inimicum. Puto autem per hanc figuram duos populos significari, quorum unus ex gentibus elevat manus Moysi, et in sublime tollit ea quae scripsit et intelligentiam eorum, ut sic vincat; alius vero, id est, Judaicus populus, non elevat manus Moysi a terra, nec altum aliquid nec sublime in eo intelligit, et sic ab adversariis vincitur.

*Habens virgam Dei,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 65.)] Nunc virga Dei dicitur, quae primum dicta est Aaron, postea dicitur Moysi. Sicut dicitur spiritus Eliae qui est Spiritus Dei, cujus particeps Elias dicitur; et Dei justitia, quae nostra est. Unde: ignorantes Dei justitiam, volentes suam statuere [n: (Rom. X)], id est, [0243D] tanquam a se sibi praeparatam.

VERS. 11.-- *Cumque levaret Moyses manus,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Quia cum lex mystice intelligitur, passio Christi spiritualiter pensatur, diabolus vincitur et fugatur. Cum autem remittuntur manus, id est, praecepta legis minus studiose exercentur, hostis victor insequitur.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Sumentes igitur lapidem,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 33 in Evang.)] Moyses sedit in lapide, etc., *usque ad* quos etiam juste illa damnat, ipse misericorditer liberat.

VERS. 14.-- *Delebo enim,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] In hoc significat quod omnipotens Deus per legem (quam significat Moyses, et de Christo pronuntiat) deleat [0244A] memoriam spiritualium hostium. Unde psal. XIX: *Periit memoria eorum cum sonitu.*

VERS. 15, 16.-- *Aedificavitque Moyses altare,* etc. Omnes diaboli victores in cordibus suis debent aras fidei aedificare, in qua spirituales hostias offerant.

## CAPUT XVIII.

VERS. 1-4.-- *Cumque audisset Jethro,* etc. Quod Moyses liberaturus filios Israel dimisit uxorem et filios, quos postea in deserto recepit, significat quia praedicatores cum mittuntur ad opus praedicationis, debent se a sollicitudine temporali exonustare: cum vero postea ad episcopatum vel ad aliam dignitatem assumuntur, tunc pro sibi subjectis sollicitudinem [0244B] tam in spiritualibus quam temporalibus gerere debent.

VERS. 5-11.-- *Venit ergo Jethro,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod.)] Alia littera: *Post haec venit ad montem Dei Moyses, et Jethro sibi occurrenti exiit obviam de castris, nec duxit eum ad montem Dei, sed ad tabernaculum suum.* Non enim poterat sacerdos Madian ascendere in montem Dei, sed nec in Aegyptum descendere, nec uxor Moysi, sed nunc ad eum venit cum filiis. Non enim poterat descendere in Aegyptum, et subire agones Aegyptiorum, nisi athleta probabilis, et qui in agone contendens ab omnibus se abstinet. Moyses, quia magnus et potens athleta, descendit in Aegyptum ad agones et exercitia virtutum; Abraham et Jacob quoque, qui [0244C] ipso nomine athleta est, cum descendisset in Aegyptum, factus est sicut stellae coeli in multitudine. Aliis in contrarium cedit descendisse in Aegyptum. Scio Hieroboam fugientem a Salomone descendisse in Aegyptum, et scidisse et corrupisse populum Dei; quia descendens in Aegyptum accepit a Susachim rege uxorem Tethimenem uxoris ejus sororem.

VERS. 12-15.-- *Obtulit ergo Jethro,* etc. *[n: (AUG. in Locutionibus, locut. 85.)] Et sumpsit Jethro socer Moysi holocausta,* etc. *Sumpsit* pro *obtulit,* posuit: an forte sensus est, non locutio, ut ea sumpsisse intelligatur obtulisse; quamvis Moyses non legatur sacrificasse, nec Aaron, nec quisquam Hebraeorum qui educti sunt de terra Aegypti: sed tamen superius dictum est quod altare constituit Moyses. Jethro autem [0244D] legimus sacerdotem fuisse Madian, id est gentis Madian. Mirum est autem si ad ejus adventum coepit sacrificare Moyses, et non potius ipse qui sacerdos erat.

*Veneruntque,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Alia littera: *Venerunt,* inquit, *presbyteri Aaron, et omnis Israel manducare panem cum socero Moysi in conspectu Dei.* Non omnes manducant panem in conspectu Dei, sed qui presbyteri sunt, qui seniores, id est, qui perfecti sunt, in meritis probati, qui sive manducant, sive bibunt, ad gloriam Dei faciunt. Omne ergo quod faciunt sancti, in conspectu Dei faciunt: peccator a conspectu Dei fugit. Adam postquam peccavit, fugit a conspectu Domini, et interrogatus respondit: [0245A] *Audivi, Domine, vocem tuam, et abscondi me, quia eram nudus [n: (Gen. III)]*. Cain exivit a facie Domini, quia indignus erat conspectu Domini. Propterea qui pleniorem scientiam Dei accipiunt, si malum faciunt, coram Deo faciunt. Unde psal. I: *Tibi soli peccavi,* etc. Qui malum coram Deo facit, continuo poenitet, et dicit, *Peccavi.* Qui discedit a conspectu Dei, nescit converti et peccatum poenitendo purgare. Hoc ergo interest inter malum coram Deo facere, et a conspectu Dei discedere.

[n: (ORIG.)] Non frustra venit Jethro ad Moysen, nec frustra manducavit panem cum senioribus populi in conspectu Dei; dat Moysi consilium probabile et utile, ut eligat viros, et constituat principes populi Deum colentes, potentes et odientes superbiam. Tales enim [0245B] oportet esse qui superbi non sint, et superbiam oderint; id est, ut non solum ipsi absque vitio sint, sed in malis oderint vitia: non homines dico, sed vitia.

*Coram Deo,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 66.)] Quaeritur ubi, quandoquidem nec tabernaculum fuit, nec arca testamenti, quae postea sunt instituta? neque hoc de futuro dictum accipere possumus, sicut dictum est de manna, quod positum est in vase, scilicet aureo. Ergo id ante Deum debemus accipere factum, quod in honorem Domini factum est.

VERS. 16-18.-- *Ostendam praecepta,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 67.)] Quaeri potest quomodo hic Moyses dixit, etc., *usque ad* juste judicare non posset.

VERS. 19, 20.-- *Sed audi verba mea,* etc. *(ID., [0245C] quaest. 68.)* Prima quaestio est cur Deus famulum suum, etc., *usque ad* quo fit tanto plenior quanto in superna et aeterna liberius extenditur.

*Esto tu populo,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 69.)] Quod vero adjungit, etc., *usque ad* sed unde hoc probari possit ignoro.

VERS. 21-23.-- *Provide autem,* etc. Ad custodiam humilitatis ab alienigena instruitur, ne, qui tot arcana Dei ab ipso Deo discebat, extolleretur, et putaret se humano consilio non egere. Praefigurabatur etiam quod doctrina gentium Judaeorum scientiam et superbiam superaret; et quae in lege deerant, fideles ex gentibus complenda suggererent, et spiritualem intellectum ad legem Dei afferrent. Sciebat quoque Moyses quia hunc populum lex audiret, et [0245D] faceret quaecunque diceret, legis quoque diminutio suggerente Evangelio fieret.

*Et constitue,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11.)] Ordinabis, inquit, eos tribunos et centuriones, et indicabunt populum omni hora, verumtamen, quod gravius fuerit referent ad te. Audient principes populi et presbyteri plebis, qui debent omni hora populum judicare, semper et sine intermissione sedere in judicio, dirimere lites, et reconciliare dissidentes, in gratiam revocare discordes. Discat unusquisque ex Scripturis sanctis officium suum. Moyses, inquit, ut sit in his quae ad Deum sunt, et verbum Dei edisserat populis. Caeteri vero principes, quos appellavit tribunos, quia tribui praesunt, vel centuriones, vel quinquagenarii [0246A] qui praesunt minoribus judiciis, quae ad singulos pertinent dirimentes. Quam figuram etiam in futuro saeculo servandam puto. Unde Matth. XIX: *Cum sederit filius hominis super thronum majestatis suae, sedebitis et vos super sedes duodecim,* etc. Vides ergo quia non solum Dominus judicat, cui omne judicium dedit Pater [n: (Joan. V)], sed constituit principes qui judicent de minoribus causis; verbum autem quod gravius fuerit, referant ad ipsum. Ideo dicit Dominus de quodam, Matth. V: *Quia reus erit concilii;* de alio autem, Matth. XII: *Reus erit gehennae ignis.* Sed et de omni verbo otioso dicuntur reddere rationem. Et ideo non dixit quia Deo praestabimus rationem, sicut de perjurio. *Reddes autem Domino juramenta tua.* Matth. XII: *Regina* quoque *austri [0246B] surget in judicio cum viris generationis hujus, et condemnabit eam.* Ecce aliud genus judicii, Matth. XIII: *Qui habet aures audiendi, audiat:* haec enim omnia umbra sunt coelestium et imago futurorum.

[n: (IDEM.)] Sicut scriptum est Eccle. I: *Non satiabitur oculus visu, nec auris auditu,* nec nos satiari possumus considerando quae scripta sunt, quibus nos aedificet, quantis nos modis instruat. Cum enim conspicio quod Moyses propheta Deo plenus, cui Deus facie ad faciem loquebatur [n: (Exod. XXXIII)], consilium accepit a Jethro socero sacerdote Madian, admiratione nimia obstupesco. Audivit enim Moyses vocem soceri sui, et fecit quaecunque dixit ei. Non dixit, Quia Deus mihi loquitur quid agere debeam, quomodo ab homine consilium accipiam, et ab homine [0246C] gentili, alieno a populo Dei? et non quis dicat, sed quid dicatur auscultat. Nos ergo si invenimus aliquid sapienter a gentilibus dictum, non cum auctoris nomine spernamus et dicta; nec quia legem Dei tenemus, convenit nobis tumere superbia et spernere prudentium verba; sed omnia probantes, quod bonum est teneamus. Qui autem hodie populis praesunt, non dico si jam eis aliqua a Deo revelata sunt: sed si in scientia legis aliquid meriti habent, consilium dedignantur inferioris, etiam sacerdotis, nedum laici, nedum gentilis: sed Moyses, qui erat mansuetus super omnes homines [n: (Num. XII)], accepti consilium inferioris, ut principibus daret formam humilitatis, et signaret imaginem futuri sacramenti. Sciebat quandoque futurum ut gentiles bonum [0246D] consilium proferrent, apud Moysen bonum et spiritualem intellectum afferentes ad legem, et audiret eos lex faciens omnia quae dicerent. Non enim potest facere lex sicut Judaei dicunt, quia infirmatur lex in carne, id est in littera, et nihil potest secundum litteram. Nihil enim ad perfectum adduxit lex [n: (Hebr. VII)]. Secundum hoc autem consilium quod nos afferimus ad legem, possunt omnia spiritualiter fieri, et sacrificia offerri, quae modo carnaliter non possunt; potest lex leprae spiritualiter servari. Sicut ergo intelligimus, sentimus et consilium damus, omnia facit lex: secundum litteram vero non omnia, sed pauca.

VERS. 24.-- *Moyses fecit omnia quae ille suggesserat,* [0247A] etc. Vir Deo familiaris, sapientissimus, non erubescens a minori et gentili doceri, formam doctoribus praebuit, ne a quibuslibet erubescant erudiri.

VERS. 26, 27.-- *Quidquid autem gravius erat,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 88.)] Alii: *Verbum autem grave referebant super Moysen:* sic enim habet Graecus sermo, quod Latini interpretati sunt, *ad Moysen.* Illa sane locutione ipsa etiam cura figuratur, qua dictum est *super Moysen,* velut onus significatur ei impositum. *Verbum* autem *grave* dictum est pro quaestione gravi.

## CAPUT XIX.

VERS. 1, 2.-- *Mense tertio,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Alia littera: *Mensis autem tertii exitus filiorum Israel de terra [0247B] Aegypti: hac die venerunt in eremum Sina, et profecti sunt ex Raphidim, et venerunt in eremum Sina, et applicuit ibi Israel contra montem. Et Moyses ascendit in montem Dei, et vocavit eum Dominus de monte dicens: Haec dices domui Jacob, et nuntiabis filiis Israel,* etc. Et paulo post: *Descende et contestare populo, et purificabis illos hodie et cras, et lavent vestimenta sua, et sint parati in diem tertiam. Tertia enim die descendet Dominus in montem Sina coram omni populo.* Hoc die reperitur dari lex, quae in tabulis lapideis scripta est digito Dei, sicut sequentia docent. Dies autem iste tertius apparet tertii mensis ab exitu filiorum Israel de Aegypto; ex quo die pascha fecerunt, id est, agnum immolaverunt et ederunt, qui fuit quartus decimus primi mensis, usque ad [0247C] istum quo lex datur, dies quinquaginta numerantur, septemdecim scilicet primi mensis, reliqui ab ipso quarto decimo. Deinde omnes triginta secundi mensis, qui fiunt quadraginta septem et tertius tertii mensis qui a solemnitate occisi agni quinquagesimus est; ac per hoc in ista umbra futuri secundum agni immolati diem festum; quia quinquagesimo die lex data est, scripta digito Dei. Ita in ipsa veritate Novi Testamenti a festivitate immolati Agni Jesu Christi quinquaginta dies numerantur, ubi Spiritus sanctus de altissimis datus sit, qui est digitus Dei.

*In die hac,* etc. Quadragesima scilicet septima die postquam egressi sunt de Aegypto, prima die, scilicet Junii, pervenerunt ad montem Sina, ibique peractis duobus diebus quibus sanctificati sunt, tertio, [0247D] id est quinquagesimo, legem acceperunt: et haec est Pentecostes.

[n: (RAB.)] In Sina una mansio fuit, sed inter omnes maxima. Ibi enim lex accepta, tabernaculum erectum. Ibi Exodus et maxima pars Levitici omnesque libri legis pene conscripti sunt.

VERS. 3.-- *Moyses autem,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. VI Moral., cap. 27.)] Alia littera: *Moyses autem ascendit in montem, et Dominus descendit ad eum.* Mons altitudo contemplationis est, in quem ascendimus, ut ad ea quae ultra infirmitatem nostram sunt intuendo sublevemur. Sed Dominus descendit, quia, sanctis multum proficientibus, parvum aliquid de se aperit.

VERS. 4, 5.-- *Alas aquilarum.* Vocat doctrinas [0248A] duorum Testamentorum, quae nos ab infimis ad coelestia portant.

VERS. 6.-- *Eritis mihi in regnum sacerdotale,* etc. Membra scilicet summi sacerdotis in regnum coelorum venturi.

VERS. 7-9.-- *Exposuit omnes sermones,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] Notandum quod lex non incautis vel nescientibus ingeritur: sed expositis praemiis quae debentur servantibus, et beneficiis praeteritis quae jam experti sunt, et mirabilibus cum sponte se legi servandae devoveant, lex petentibus datur: ut secundum promissionem suam, quasi voti rei, qui violaverint, judicentur, nec de violentia sibi illata causentur.

VERS. 10.-- *Vade ad populum,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Descende [0248B] et protestare populum, et purifica illum hodie et cras, et lavent vestimenta sua, et sint parati in diem tertium,* etc. Qui vult venire ad verbum Dei, audiat quod praecipit Dominus: Sanctificatus venire debet et lotis vestibus. Si enim sordida attuleris vestimenta, dicetur tibi Matth. XXII: *Amice, quomodo huc intrasti non habens vestem nuptialem?* Nemo ergo potest audire verbum Dei, nisi prius sanctificatus, id est sanctus corpore et spiritu et lotis vestibus: ingressurus est enim paulo post ad coenam nuptialem, manducaturus de carnibus agni, et potaturus poculum salutis. Nemo intrat ad coenam hanc sordidis vestibus; unde Eccle. IX: *In omni tempore sint vestimenta tua munda.* Lota sunt enim semel vestimenta tua gratia baptismatis. II Cor. VII: *Purificatus es corpore, mundatus [0248C] ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus.* Act. XI: *Quae ergo Deus mundavit, tu immunda ne feceris.* Audi sanctificationis genus: ne accesseris, inquit, ad mulierem hodie et crastino, ut die tertio audias verbum Dei; hoc est quod ait Apostolus I Cor. VII: *Bonum est homini mulierem non tangere,* salvo tamen infirmis remedio nuptiali. I Cor. VII: *Sed quia tempus breve est, superest ut qui habent uxores, sint tanquam non habentes.*

*Sanctifica illos,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Qui ad conspectum Dei desiderat venire, sanctificet se fide et conversatione, et lavet vestimenta, id est opera hodie et cras, in praesenti scilicet et in futuro, ut ad gloriam resurrectionis perveniat, quam tertius dies insinuat.

VERS. 11.-- *In die enim tertia,* etc. Hac die data [0248D] est lex in tabulis lapideis scripta digito Dei, hic est tertius dies tertii mensis ab exitu filiorum Israel de Aegypto. A die ergo quo pascha fecerunt, id est quarto decimo primi mensis, usquequo lex data est, quinquaginta dies numerantur, decem et septem scilicet primi mensis, reliqui a quarto decimo, et omnes triginta secundi, qui sunt quadraginta septem, et tertius tertii mensis, qui est ab occisione agni quinquagesimus: sicut a passione Christi, usquequo datur Spiritus sanctus, quinquaginta dies numerantur. digitus enim Dei Spiritum sanctum significat.

[n: (ISID., Quaest. in Exod., cap. 28, tom. V.)] Quinquagesimo die post pascha lex Moysi data est etc., *usque ad* vel quia veritatem legis infidelibus per caliginem [0249A] dixit, *ut videntes non videant, et audientes nos intelligant [n: (Isa. VI)]*.

VERS. 12.-- *Cavete,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Prius prohibet populum in montem ascendere, mortemque minatur: nunc jubet ut clangente buccina ascendant in montem, humanam scilicet compescens audaciam, et ad obediendum invitans: quia ad praedicationis vocem debemus nos ad superna erigere, nec sacramentorum investigatione sponte praesumere, sed Dei vocationem sequi.

VERS. 13.-- *Buccina.* Quasi vocina: a voce, vel a vocando, vel a bucca

VERS. 14-17.-- *Cumque lavissent vestimenta sua,* etc. Non sufficit ad virtutem contemplationis emundare opera poenitentiae lacrymis, nisi sequatur castitas [0249B] mentis et corporis. Unde Matth. V: *Beati mundo corde,* etc. Et Sap. I: *In malevolam animam non introibit sapientia.*

VERS. 18, 19.-- *Totus autem mons Sinai fumabat,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. VI Moral., cap. 27.)] Legem daturus Dominus in igne fumoque descendit, etc., *usque ad* vincunt quod sunt.

[n: (ID., lib. II Moral., cap. 2.)] Sacra eloquia in exordio narrationum qualitates exprimunt, terminosque causarum aliquando a positione loci, aliquando a positione corporis, aliquando a qualitate aeris, etc., *usque ad* punituri autem Sodomam vespere venisse memorantur.

VERS. 20-25.-- *Descenditque Dominus,* etc. [n: (ID., lib. V Moral., cap. 26.)] Moyses ascendit, etc., *usque [0249C] ad* eum aliquatenus balbutiendo resonamus.

## CAPUT XX.

VERS. 2.-- *Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus. [n: (ORIG., hom. 8 in Exod.)]* Qui contemnit praesens saeculum, scilicet Aegyptum, et per verbum Dei translatus non invenitur quia ad futurum saeculum festinet, de eo dicit Deus: *Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus,* etc. Non ad illos tantum qui de Aegypto profecti sunt, sed ad eos qui ultra Aegyptiis non serviunt, de Aegypto educti de domo servitutis [n: (Psal. LXXX)]. Negotia saeculi, actus carnis, domus servitutis est: sicut relinquere saecularia, et secundum Deum vivere, domus libertatis est. Unde Joan. VIII: *Si permanseritis in sermone meo, agnoscetis veritatem, et [0249D] veritas liberabit vos.* Ergo Aegyptus est domus servitutis; Judaea et Hierusalem, domus liberalitatis. Unde Gal. IV: *Quae sursum est Hierusalem, libera est.* Sicut ergo terrena Aegyptus filiis Israel domus dicitur servitutis ad comparationem Judaeae et Hierusalem, quae eis est domus libertatis: ita ad comparationem coelestis Hierusalem, quae est mater libertatis, totus mundus et quae in eo sunt, domus dicitur servitutis: et quia de paradiso libertatis per peccatum ventum est ad servitutem mundi, primus sermo decalogi de libertate est: *Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus qui eduxi te terra Aegypti,* etc.; hanc vocem in Aegypto audire non poteris. Et si tibi injungatur ut facias pascha, accingas lumbos, accipias sandalia [0250A] in pedibus, virgam teneas in manu, et azyma cum amaritudine comedas. Sed nec in prima mansione, nec in secunda, nec in tertia, nec cum transieris mare Rubrum, etiamsi ad mare veneris, et fuerit tibi amaritudo in dulcedinem versa, nec in Elim, ubi erant duodecim fontes aquarum et septuaginta arbores palmarum, etiamsi Raphidim praeterieris caeterosque profectus ascenderis, nondum idoneus judicaris, sed cum veneris ad montem Sina. Vix ergo mereberis aliquando suscipere praecepta libertatis, et audire: *Ego sum Dominus Deus tuus, qui eduxi te de terra Aegypti, de domo servitutis.* Hic tamen non est sermo mandati, sed quis sit qui mandat ostendit. Primum mandatum ergo est: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me.*

[0250B] [n: (AUG. quaest. in Exod.)] Quaeritur quomodo decem praecepta legis dividenda sint? etc., *usque* nisi ad id quod dictum est: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me?*

[n: (ISID.)] Dat Deus Moysi legem innocentiae nostrae, et agnitionis suae, quae in decem verbis consistit, scripta in tabulis lapideis digito Dei. Tria sunt quae pertinent ad dilectionem et cognitionem Trinitatis, septem ad dilectionem proximi, quibus humana societas non laeditur. Primum pertinet ad Deum Patrem: *Dominus Deus tuus Deus unus est,* ut hoc audiens unum Deum colas Patrem, et in multos fictos deos fornicationem non effundas. Secundum ad Filium: *Non assumes nomen Domini Dei tui in vanum;* id est, non putes creaturam esse Christum Dei Filium, quia omnis creatura vanitati subjecta est, sed [0250C] aequalem Patri, Deum de Deo, lumen de lumine.

VERS. 3.-- *Non habebis deos alienos,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Primum mandatum est: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me;* et sequitur: *Non facies tibi idolum, neque ullam similitudinem,* etc. Haec omnia quidam simul putant esse unum mandatum: quod si ita computetur, non complebitur numerus decem mandatorum. Est ergo primum mandatum: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me,* etc. Secundum, *Non facies tibi idolum, neque ullam similitudinem,* etc. Incipiamus ergo a primo mandato: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me.* Si dixisset, Non sunt, absolutior sermo videretur; sed quia dicit, *Non erunt,* non negavit quia sint, sed ne illi sint, cui haec praecepta dantur, inhibuit. Hinc Paulum sumpsisse puto I Cor. VIII: *Si quidem [0250D] sunt qui dicuntur dii sive in coelo, sive in terra.* In aliisque locis invenies deos nominari sicut ibi: *Rex magnus super omnes deos,* et *Deus Deo locutus est,* etc. De dominis idem Apostolus dicit: *Sive throni, sive dominationes,* etc. [n: (Col. I.)] Dominationes vero non aliud sunt quam ordo quidam dominorum et multitudo. In quo videtur sensum legis aperire Apostolus; ac si dicat: Licet sint domini multi, qui aliis gentibus dominentur, et dii multi qui ab aliis colantur: sed tamen unus Deus est nobis, et unus est Dominus. Unde Deut. XXXII: *Cum divideret Excelsus gentes et separabat filios Adam, statuit terminos gentium secundum numerum angelorum Dei.* Angelos ergo, quibus gentes commisit Excelsus, dominos [0251A] vel deos appellat Scriptura: deos quasi a Deo datos, et dominos a Domino potestatem sortitos. Unde eis dicitur psal. LXXXI: *Ego dixi: Dii estis et filii Excelsi omnes. Vos autem sicut homines moriemini, et sicut unus de principibus cadetis;* imitantes scilicet diabolum, qui princeps omnium factus est ad ruinam. Unde constat quod exsecrabiles fecit eos praevaricatio, non natura. Tibi ergo, o Israel, qui pars Dei et funiculus ejus es, *non erunt,* inquit, *tibi dii alii praeter me:* quia vere Deus, unus est Deus, et vere Dominus, unus est Dominus; caeteris vero ab ipso creatis contulit hoc nomen non natura, sed gratia. Non haec tantum dicuntur ad Israel secundum carnem, imo ad te qui Israel effectus es mente Deum videndo, et circumcisus corde, non [0251B] carne; si tamen ita agas ut dignus sis esse pars Dei, et in funiculo haereditatis ejus metiri: alioquin exemplo tibi sint qui ad hoc vocati fuerant ut essent pars Dei, et exigentibus peccatis dispersi sunt per omnes gentes, et educti de domo servitutis jam non Aegyptiis solis, sed omnibus gentibus serviunt. *Qui enim peccat, servus est peccati [n: (Joan. V)]*.

VERS. 4.-- *Non facies,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Non facies tibi ipsi idolum, neque omnem similitudinem,* etc. Aliud sunt idola, aliud dii. De diis enim dicit Apostolus, I Cor. VIII: *Si quidem sunt dii multi, et domini multi,* etc. De idolis vero, *quia nil est idolum in mundo;* de similitudinibus autem non addidit, quia nil sunt. Hic autem dicitur: *Non facies tibi idolum, neque similitudinem omnem.* Aliud est ergo facere [0251C] idolum, aliud similitudinem. Verbi causa, si quis in auro et argento, ligno vel lapide, faciat speciem quadrupedis, vel serpentis, vel avis, et statuat adorandum, non idolum sed similitudinem facit. Qui vero facit quod non est, speciem scilicet quam oculus non vidit, sed animus sibi fingit; ut si quis humanis membris caput canis aut arietis formet, vel in uno hominis habitu duas facies, aut humano pectori postremas partes equi aut piscis; qui hoc facit, non similitudinem, sed idolum facit: facit enim quod non est, nec habet aliquid simile sui. Ideo dicit Apostolus *quia idolum nihil est in mundo [n: (I Cor. VIII)]*. Non enim aliqua ex rebus constantibus assumitur species, sed quod mens otiosa et curiosa reperit. Similitudo vero est cum aliquid ex his quae sunt vel in coelo, vel in [0251D] terra, vel in aquis formatur: sed non sicut de his quae in terra sunt vel in mari similitudinibus promptum est pronuntiare: ita etiam de coelestibus; nisi quis dicat de sole, et luna, et stellis hoc posse sentiri, quorum formas exprimit gentilitas. Sed Moses eruditus omni sapientia Aegyptiorum etiam quae apud illos erant in occultis prohibere cupiebat, sicut Hecatem aliaque daemonum formas, quae Apostolus *spiritualia nequitiae in coelestibus* vocat Ephes. VI; de quibus forte dicitur: *Inebriatus est gladius meus in coelo [n: (Isa. XXXIV)]*. His enim formis et similitudinibus invocabant daemonia ad repellenda vel vitanda mala. Sciendum tamen quia cum decreveris hoc servare mandatum, et habere unum tantum Deum et Dominum, [0252A] hoc est bellum denuntiare omnibus aliis, quibus in baptismo renuntiasti, solum Deum confitens Patrem et Filium et Spiritum sanctum. Sed hoc confitentes nisi toto corde diligamus Dominum Deum nostrum, tota anima, tota virtute ei adhaerentes, non sumus effecti pars Domini, sed in confinio positi illos patimur offensos quos fugimus, et ad quem fugimus, propitium non efficimus. Quibus propheta dicit: *Vae duplici animo [n: (Eccli. II)]*. Et iterum: *Usquequo claudicatis utroque pede? [n: (III Reg. XVIII.)]* Ab illis ergo quasi fugaces caedimur, et a Domino nostro quasi instabiles non defendimur, unde Jer. IV: *Amatores tui inimici facti sunt tibi.* Multi sunt animae amatores, capti decore ejus, cum quibus meretricata est, dicens. *Post amatores meos ibo qui dant [0252B] mihi vinum meum,* etc. [n: (Ose. II)]: hos offendit reversa ad virum priorem. Nisi ergo tota fide permaneas cum viro tuo, pro sceleribus quae commisisti suspectus es; omnes motus tuos, aspectus et incessus notat; nil ultra in te lascivum videre, nihil dissolutum vel prodigum potest. Si ergo acceptam gratiam negligis, et implicas te saecularibus negotiis, continuo immundus spiritus redit cum septem nequioribus [n: (Matth. XII)], ne iterum expelli possit, et fiunt novissima pejora prioribus. Nulla ergo societas templo Dei cum idolis. Si Dei sumus, tales esse debemus in quibus habitet et inambulet Deus; unde Isa. LII: *Qui portatis vasa Domini, exite et immundum nolite tangere, et ego recipiam vos,* etc. Dicit ergo: *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me.*

[0252C]VERS. 5-11.-- *Non adorabis,* etc. Aliud est colere, aliud adorare. Potest quis invitus adorare, vel adulando regibus idololatris, vel tormentis victus, cum sciat quia idolum nil est. Colere vero est toto his affectu et studio mancipari. Utrumque ergo resecat, ut nec affectu colas, nec specie adores.

*Ego sum Dominus,* etc. Vide benignitatem Dei: ut nos doceat et perfectos faciat, fragilitatem humanorum affectuum non recusat; omnia agit et patitur propter nos, notis et usitatis nobis loquitur affectibus.

## CAPUT XX. (cont.)

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra.)] Omnis mulier aut sub viro est, et subjecta est legibus viri [n: (Eph. V)], aut meretrix est, et utitur libertate peccandi. Qui ingreditur ad meretricem, scit quod ad prostitutam et cunctis patentem ingressus est, ideo de aliis indignari non [0252D] potest. Qui legitimo utitur matrimonio, non patitur uxorem peccare, sed accenditur zelo ad servandam castitatem matrimonii, ut possit legitimus fieri pater. Sic omnis anima aut prostituta est cum daemonibus, et habet plures amatores ut intrent ad eam, modo spiritus fornicationis, modo avaritia, post hunc veniet spiritus superbiae et alii plurimi; alter tamen alteri non invidet, nec zelotypia movetur, sed sese invicem invitant; unde, *adducit secum alios septem spiritus nequiores se,* etc. [n: (Luc. XI.)] Sic nullam zelotypiam amatorum suorum patitur anima quae daemonibus est prostituta; si vero conjuncta fuerit viro legitimo, id est Christo, etiamsi aliquando fuerit peccatrix, ultra eam peccare non patitur, nec [0253A] ferre potest ut alludat adulteris; excitatur super eam zelus ejus, et defendit conjugii castitatem; si autem viderit eam temerantem conjugii jura, et occasionem quaerere peccandi, dat ei libellum repudii; unde Isa. L: *Propter iniquitates vestras dimisit matrem vestram;* haec qui loquitur et zelans est et zelo commotus hoc dicit. Est etiam novum genus hoc bonitatis ejus, ut etiam post adulterium revertentem et toto corde poenitentem suscipiat. Unde: *Nunquid mulier si exierit a viro, et dormierit cum alio viro, revertens revertetur ad virum suum?* etc. Et alibi: *Et postquam fornicata es in his omnibus, dixi: Revertere,* etc. [n: (Jer. III.)] Hic ergo Deus zelans si requirit et desiderat animam tuam sibi adhaerere, si servat, corripit et indignatur, velut zelotypia quadam [0253B] erga te usus, spem tibi esse salutis agnosce. Si vero correptionem contemnis, discedit a te zelus ejus, secundum illud: *Propterea discedit zelus meus a te,* etc. [n: (Ezech. XVI.)] Vide misericordiam et pietatem Dei; quando vult misereri, indignari se dicit et irasci, sicut per Jeremiam dicit: *Dolore et flagello castigaberis, Hierusalem, ut non abscedat anima mea a te [n: (Jer. VI)]*. *Flagellat enim omnem filium quem recipit [n: (Hebr. XII)]*. Hoc autem terribile, hoc extremum, si non corripimur pro peccatis: cum enim modum peccandi excedimus, auferetur a nobis etiam zelus Dei, nec ultra irascitur.

*Visitans iniquitatem,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Reddens peccata patrum in filios, etc. Aiunt haeretici quod non boni Dei sermo sit, qui pro peccatis alterius alterum dicat [0253C] plecti; Deum tamen legis justum dicunt, nec possunt ostendere quomodo injustus sit, si alium alio peccante punit. Sed interior homo noster aut dicitur habere Deum Patrem, si secundum Deum vivit; aut diabolum, si voluntatem illius facit; unde Joan. VIII: *Vos de patre diabolo estis, et desideria patris vestri facere vultis.* Sicut ergo semen Dei in nobis est, cum verbum Dei servantes non peccamus, secundum illud I Joan. III, *Qui ex Deo est, non peccat, quia semen Dei manet in eo;* ita cum a diabolo suademur ad peccandum, semen ejus suscipimus; cum facimus quod suadet, jam genuit nos, nascimur enim ejus filii per peccatum. Sed quia fere sine adjutorio non peccamus, sicut adulterium nemo solus committit, necesse est adulteram consortem [0253D] fieri, et si non plures, necesse est aliquem vel aliquam ministerio sceleris adjungi: qui omnes, velut unus ex altero, secundum persuasionis ordinem, generati, ex diabolo progeniem ducunt; velut in traditione Domini diabolus intravit in cor Judae, et primum filium peccati genuit, qui solus hoc facere non potuit; abiit ergo ad Scribas et Pharisaeos et pontifices; nascitur ergo ex Juda generatio tertia, et quarta peccati. Videamus ergo quomodo peccata patrum reddit Deus in filios in tertiam et quartam progeniem, et non in ipso. De patribus enim nihil dicitur. Diabolus ergo, quia jam peccandi modum excessit, tanquam vestimentum concretum in sanguine non erit mundus in hoc saeculo; non flagellatur [0254A] pro peccato; omnia enim ei servantur in futurum. unde Matth. VIII): *Quid venisti ante tempus torquere nos?* Redduntur autem peccata in filios quos genuit per peccatum, qui in carne positi flagellantur. *Non vult Deus mortem peccatoris, sed ut magis convertatur et vivat [n: (Ezech. XXXIII)]*. Misericors ergo reddit peccata patrum in filios, quia diabolus et angeli ejus, qui etiam peccati patres efficiuntur, indigni sunt quod in praesenti corripiantur: filii eorum, et qui per ipsos ad societatem peccati asciti sunt, recipiunt in praesenti quod gesserunt, ut, purgati, diabolo in poena socii non efficiantur. Unde psalmo LXXXVIII: *Visitabo in virga iniquitates eorum,* etc., *misericordiam autem meam non auferam ab eis.* Deus enim zelans est, et animam quam [0254B] sibi despondet in fide non vult in contaminatione peccati permanere, sed cito purgari. Si autem noluerit purgari, in interitu eorum ridebit, dicens eis Matth. XXV: *Discedite a me, maledicti, in ignem aeternum,* etc. Sciamus ergo nos in praesenti corripi, ut in futuro quiescamus. Unde: *Cum castigamur, a Domino corripimur, ne cum hoc mundo damnemur.*

[n: (ID.)] In hoc sermone solent nos haeretici suggillare, quod non sit boni Dei sermo, qui pro peccatis alterius alium judicat. Sed qui Deum legis mandantem haec dicent non bonum, justum tamen dicunt: nec ipsi quidem possunt ostendere quomodo justitiae videatur convenire si alio peccante alius puniatur.

[0254C] [n: (ISID.)] Primum mandatum prohibet subreptionem; secundum, errorem; tertium interficit saeculi amorem; quartum, impietatem; quintum, crudelitatem; sextum, fornicationem; septimum, rapacitatem; octavum perimit falsitatem; nonum, mundi cupiditatem; decimum, adulterii cogitationem. Et notandum quod sicut decem plagis percutiuntur Aegyptii, sic decem praeceptis scribuntur tabulae, quibus populus Dei regatur et daemones occidantur. In duabus enim tabulis scripta est lex propter duo Testamenta significanda: vel quia sunt praecepta duo dilectionis Dei et proximi, *in quibus tota lex pendet et prophetae [n: (Matth. XXII)]*. In una enim tria praecepta, quae ad dilectionem Dei pertinent; in altera vero septem, quae ad societatem proximi. Lapideae vero fuerunt [0254D] tabulae, quia cor Judaeorum erat lapideum et insensibile, durum et stolidum; unde Ezech. XXXVI: *Auferam cor lapideum, et dabo eis cor carneum.* Et Apostolus ait [n: (II Cor. III)]: *Non in tabulis lapideis, sed in tabulis cordis carnalibus,* quae sentiant scilicet et intelligant.

VERS. 12.-- *Honora patrem,* etc. Hoc est primum septem mandatorum quae pertinent ad proximum. Bene autem septem sunt. Septenarius enim ex ternario constat et quaternario. Ternarius vero animae congruit, quae est irascibilis, concupiscibilis et rationalis. Quaternarius corpori.

VERS. 13.-- *Non occides,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 61 in Exod.)] Et quod dictum est: *non occides,* non putandum [0255A] est fieri contra hoc praeceptum quod lex occidit, vel occidi aliquem Deus jubet: ille enim facit, qui jubet quod ministrum negare non licet.

VERS. 14.-- *Non moechaberis.* [n: (ISID.)] Quaeritur quoque quomodo differat *non moechaberis* ab eo quod paulo post dicitur: *Non concupisces uxorem proximi tui?* In eo enim quod dictum est, *non moechaberis,* poterat et illud intelligi; nisi forte in illis duobus praeceptis non moechandi, et non furandi, ipsa opera notata sint, in his vero extremis concupiscentia ipsa: quae tantum differunt, ut aliquando moechetur qui non concupiscit uxorem proximi, cum aliqua alia causa ipsi miscetur. Aliquando vero concupiscat, nec ei misceatur poenam timens: et hoc fortasse lex ostendere [0255B] voluit, quod utraque peccata sunt.

[n: (ID.)] Item quaeri solet utrum nomine moechiae etiam fornicatio teneatur, etc., *usque ad* atque illorum membrorum non legitimus usus prohibitus debet intelligi.

VERS. 15.-- *Non furtum facies,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 71 in Exod.)] Sed rursum quaeritur quomodo differat, *non furtum facias,* ab eo quod paulo post dicitur de non concupiscendis rebus proximi? Non quod omnis qui concupiscit rem proximi, furatur; sed omnis qui furatur, rem proximi concupiscit. Poterat illa generalitate, ubi de non concupiscenda re proximi praecipitur, etiam illud quod ad furtum pertinet contineri.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Non loqueris contra proximum,* etc. [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] In eo etiam quod dictum est, etc., [0255C] *usque ad* et hujusmodi.

VERS. 18.-- *Cunctus autem populus videbat voces,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 72 in Exod.)] Solet quaeri quomodo populus videbat vocem, cum vox non ad visum, sed ad auditum pertinere videatur, etc., *usque ad* audi quid luceat, non solemus dicere.

VERS. 19.-- *Loquere tu nobis,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 73.)] Significatur ad vetus testamentum timorem potius pertinere, sicut ad novum dilectionem; quamvis in veteri novum lateat, et in novo vetus pateat. Quomodo autem tali populo tribuatur videre vocem Dei, si [0256A] hoc accipiendum est intelligere, cum sibi loqui Deum timeant ne moriantur, non satis elucet.

VERS. 20.-- *Nolite timere,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 74.)] Sic illi cohibendi erant a peccatis, timendo scilicet ne poenas sensibiles paterentur; quia nondum poterant amare justitiam, et tentabantur a Domino, ut appareret cujusmodi essent; non ut Deo noti fierent qualescunque essent, quem non latebat, sed ut inter se et sibimetipsis.

VERS. 21, 22.-- *Stetitque populus,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 6.)] In quibusdam locis Scripturae historia servanda est, etc., *usque ad* Moses accessit ad caliginem, in qua erat Deus.

*Non facietis deos,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 76.)] Repetitur quod in primo praecepto dictum est; et per argentea [0256B] et aurea, omnia simulacra intelliguntur, sicut in psalmo CXIII: *Simulacra gentium argentum et aurum, opera manum hominum.*

VERS. 24.-- *Altare de terra,* etc. Ostendit ideo, interdictis simulacris, altare de terrena materia concedi, ut uni Deo hostia et sacrificia in eo offerantur.

[n: (GREG., lib. III Moral., cap. 20.)] Altare de terra Deo facere, est incarnationem Christi sperare. Tunc enim a Deo nostrum munus accipitur, cum in hoc altari nostra humilitas, id est super Dominicae incarnationis fidem posuerit quidquid operatur. In altari ergo de terra oblatum munus ponimus, si actus nostros Dominicae incarnationis fide solidamus.

## CAPUT XX. (cont.)

VERS. 25, 26.-- *De sectis lapidibus.* [n: (ISID.)] Secti [0256C] lapides sunt qui unitatem scindunt, et seipsos dividunt a societate fratrum: hos in corpore suo non recipit Christus, cujus corporis figuram altaris constructio significat. Lapides non secti ex quibus altare construi jubetur, sunt qui per fidem in unitate solidantur; de quibus dicitur I Petri II: *Vos estis lapides vivi, coaedificati in domos spirituales.* His non est injectum ferrum, quia incorrupti sunt, et jacula maligni ignita non receperunt: omnes unum altare faciunt in unitate fidei et concordia charitatis ª [cn: a | In praeceptis decalogi enumerandis Origenes et Augustinus in testimoniis Glossae initio capitis allatis videntur contrarias sequi sententias. Nam Origenes existimat non posse computari decem mandata nisi secundum sit: Non facies tibi idolum neque ullam similitudinem, etc. Augustinus autem, licet illam Origenis enumerationem non rejiciat, aliam tamen diversam judicat aptiorem, ut prohibitionem de idolis ac simulacris adorationis causa faciendis, existimet esse primi praecepti explicationem: et deinde duo praecepta statuit ad vetita desideria cohibenda, unum quo concupiscentia uxoris alienae, alterum quo concupiscentia omnium aliarum rerum quae proximi sunt, refrenetur. Origenem sequuntur Athanasius in Synopsi Scripturarum; Gregorius Nazianzenus in carmine quo decem praecepta enumerat; Chrysostomus in secunda expositione Matthaei, hom. 49; Hieronymus et Ambrosius cap. vi Epistolae ad Ephesios. Augustini autem enumerationem eo sensu sequuntur doctores scholastici, quo ipsemet Augustinus, ita scilicet eam priori praeferentes, ut tamen priorem non reputent incongruam. Et revera repugnantia quam invenit pravus affectus in duabus illis concupiscentiis subjugandis, videtur potius expetisse duo distincta praecepta, cum sint qui concupiscant uxorem alterius, et dedignantur tamen divitias aut mancipia alterius concupiscere, et vice versa: at nemo est veri Dei cultor qui difficultatem patiatur in idolis spernendis. Caeterum haec diversitas enumerandi in re ipsa nulla est: non enim ponitur aliquod praeceptum ab Augustino quod negatur ab Origene, aut vice versa; sed unus praecepta ratione cujusdam subordinationis conjungit, quae alter ratione verbalis connexionis separat, et e converso. Nam conjungit Augustinus praeceptum non faciendi idola praecepto non colendi nisi unum Deum, quia illud huic subordinatur et est explicatior ejus etiam ad caeremonias gentilium vetandas extensio: Origenes autem ea in duo praecepta dispertitur, quia contextu ipso sermonis discerni videntur, sine ulla nota connexionis, sicut caetera sequentia: Non habebis deos alienos; Non facies tibi sculptile; Non assumes, etc. Rursus illas duas concupiscentiae duplicis prohibitiones in unum praeceptum conjicit Origenes, propter consequentiam contextus, quae videntur ad unam pertinere sententiam.].

## CAPUT XXI.

[0257A]

VERS. 1. 6.-- *Haec sunt judicia,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 91 in Exod.)] Distinctius amodo explicantur ea quae ad proximum pertinent; notanda locutio cum dictum sit Moysi: *Haec sunt judicia quae propones eis;* caetera ad populum dicuntur.

*Si emeris servum Hebraeum,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 77 in Exod.)] Ne Christiani hic flagitarent a dominis suis, apostolus jubet dominis servos esse subditos [n: (I Petr. II)], ne nomen Domini et doctrina blasphemetur: illud enim inde constat in mysterio esse praeceptum, quia pertundi subula ejus aurem ad postem praecepit Deus, qui libertatem recusasset.

[n: (GREG., hom. 3 in Ezech., tom. II.)] Sciendum quia [0257B] cum activa et contemplativa vita ex Dei gratia sint, etc., *usque ad* quia illa quies intima in aenigmate videtur.

*Sex annis.* [n: (ISID.)] In sex aetatibus hujus saeculi servientes, septimo die, id est aeterno sabbato, liberabimur, si tamen voluerimus esse liberi dum in hoc saeculo servimus peccato. Si autem noluerimus, perforabitur auricula in testimonium inobedientiae, et cum uxore et filiis nostris, quos praetulimus libertati, id est cum carne et operibus ejus, peccato serviemus in aeternum.

VERS. 7-12.-- *Si quis vendiderit filiam,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 78 in Exod.)] Non abibit ita ut recedunt ancillae,* etc., *usque ad* intelligitur quod cum eo gratis exibit, non a marito separata.

VERS. 13-17.-- *Qui autem non est insidiatus,* etc. [n: (RAB., in Exod., tom. II.)] Homicidis non spontaneis, etc., *usque ad* Christi posuerit, salvus erit.

*[n: (AUG., quaest. 79 in Exod.)] Si autem nolens, sed Deus tradiderit in manus ejus,* etc. Ita hoc dicitur, etc., *usque ad* et Judas ideo juste tradidit.

VERS. 18.-- *Si rixati fuerint,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Idem est, si quis cum proximo contendens duritia mentis, vel parcitate, spernendo scilicet vel non consulendo, exasperavit; et ille infirmatus tristitia, a fervore dilectionis languerit, reus per confessionem, operam poenitentiae et impensam promissae emendationis in medicos, id est doctores, impendat, qui infirmum baculo consolationis erigant, et fomentis praedicationum in pristinum dilectionis statum restituant. [0257D] In correctione necessaria est discretio, ne qui corrigere debet, occidat, vel in desperationem vel odium mittat.

VERS. 22-28.-- *Si rixati fuerint.* [n: (ID.)] Si quis alicujus animam, post conceptum verbi, per incuriam vel fraudem laeserit, ut vitale germen boni operis sanum proferre non possit: etiam si ipsa adhuc in fide vivens perstiterit, ut damnum illatum per poenitentiam [0258A] restituat, secundum Evangelii ministerium necesse habebit. Si autem ipsa anima per errorem necata, post prolatum abortivum, hoc est opus mortiferum, in infidelitate perseveraverit, sine dubio seductor illius, quasi verus homicida, aeterna morte reus erit.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 80 in Exod.)] Quod non formatum puerperium noluit ad homicidium pertinere, etc., *usque ad* et ideo nondum sensibus praedita.

*[n: (ORIG., hom. 10 in Exod.)] Quod si litigabunt duo viri, et percusserint mulierem praegnantem, et exierit infans ejus nondum formatus, detrimentum patietur, quantum indixerit vir mulieris, et dabit pro anima sua. Quod si formatus fuerit, dabit animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo,* etc. Primum videamus de eo [0258B] qui nondum formatus exierit, quomodo jubetur damno pecuniae percuti unus ex litigantibus, cum duo dicantur. Quid etiam hoc quod vir mulieris imponit ei, et non eis; et dabit, et non potius dabunt. Quod si infans jam formatus exierit, animam dare pro anima facile intelligimus: morte scilicet vindicetur peccatum. Quae autem sequuntur, operae pretium est explicare. Nec enim videtur etiam infans formatus calce litigantis percussus, oculum in ventre perdidisse, dentes vero omnino non habuit. Si enim hoc ad matrem referamus, quomodo abortiens mulier oculum perdit, aut dentes dolet? Sed esto aut in oculo aut in dente percussa abortivit, livorem vel vulnus accepit, quid etiam combusturam dicimus pro combustura? Nunquid litigantibus [0258C] viris assistens mulier comburi potuit, ut combustura pro combustura solvatur? In Deuteronomio quoque haec facile explicari non queunt. In Scripturis tamen iisdem vocabulis et officiis membra animae nominantur, quibus utuntur vel appellantur membra corporis. Unde Matth. VII: *Vides festucam in oculo fratris tui, et trabem quae in oculo tuo est non vides.* Et Matth. XIII: *Qui habet aures audiendi audiat.* Et Rom. X: *Quam speciosi pedes evangelizantium pacem!* Ne nos ergo vocabulorum similitudo conturbet. Sunt ergo duo litigantes, duo disputantes et dogmatibus vel quaestionibus legis, et rixantes circa verborum pugnas; unde Apostolus, II Tim. II: *Nolite contendere verbis,* etc. Et ibidem: *Quaestiones legis devita, sciens quod generant lites.* Qui ergo istis in quaestionibus [0258D] litigant ad subversionem audientium, percutiunt mulierem praegnantem, et ejiciunt infantem formatum vel adhuc informem. Mulier praegnans dicitur anima, quae nuper concepit verbum Dei; unde: *A timore tuo, Domine, in utero concepimus et peperimus [n: (Isa. XXVI)]*. Qui ergo concipiunt, et statim pariunt, non mulieres existimandae sunt, sed viri et perfecti; unde alibi: *Si peperit terra in una die, et [0259A] nata est gens die una simul [n: (Isa. LXVI)]*. Ista est ergo generatio perfectorum, quae in die eadem concipitur et nascitur. Pariunt autem viri secundum illud Gal. IV: *Filioli mei, quos iterum parturio, donec formetur in vobis Christus.* Perfecti ergo et viri statim pariunt, id est, conceptum fidei verbum in opera perducunt: anima autem quae concipit, et in ventre retinet et non parit, mulier dicitur. Unde Isa. XXXVII: *Dolores partus advenerunt ei: et virtus pariendi non est in ea.* Haec ergo, inter se duobus litigantibus et scandala proferentibus, percutitur et scandalizatur: ut verbum fidei quod tenuiter conceperat nondum formatum abjiciat. Est enim in aliquibus formatum verbum, in aliquibus non formatum; unde: *Donec formetur in vobis Christus [n: (Gal. IV)]*; Christus enim est Verbum Dei. [0259B] Damnum ergo patietur, qui excussit. De damnis ergo doctorem dicit Apostolus I Cor. III: *Si cujus opus arserit damnum patietur,* etc. Et ipse Dominus in Evangelio, Matth. XVI: *Quid prodest homini si universum mundum lucretur, animam autem suam perdat?* Unde videtur ostendi quod quaedam peccata ad damnum pertinent, non tamen ad interitum, quia qui damnum passus fuerit, salvari dicitur, licet per ignem: unde Joannes dicit quaedam peccata esse ad mortem, quaedam non [n: (I Joan. V)]. Quae autem sint ad mortem, non facile discerni potest, *Delicta enim quis intelligit? [n: (Psal. XVIII.)]* Sed cum referuntur super quinque mnas acquisitae aliae quinque, et super duas duae [n: (Luc. XIX)], qui mercedem hujus acquisitionis perdit, damno dicitur percuti, sicut qui causam scandali infirmiori [0259C] et muliebri animae praebuit. Dabit autem secundum quod indixerit vir ejus, et dabit cum honore animae discentis. Vir magister est Christus, vel qui pro Christo animarum doctor est. Patietur ergo damnum qui contendit ad subversionem audientium, pro anima quae nondum habuit infantem formatum: quod potest de scandalo catechumeni accipi. Potest etiam fieri ut qui laesit, instruat et reparet animae quae perdidit, et cum honore, cum modestia scilicet, cum mansuetudine, non cum lite, sicut cum scandalum intulit. Sed cum formatus infans fuerit, dabit animam pro anima. Formatus infans potest videri sermo Dei in corde animae quae suscepit gratiam baptismatis, vel qui evidentius et clarius verbum Dei suscepit. Reddet ergo qui percussit, animam pro [0259D] anima in die judicii, scilicet apud eum judicem qui potest animam et corpus perdere in gehennam. Vel ut qui sibi conscius fuerit tanti scandali, ponat animam suam pro anima scandalizati, et usque ad mortem det operam quomodo ad fidem restituatur. Ponat oculum pro oculo: si oculum animae laesit, id est, intellectum ejus turbavit, auferatur oculus ejus ab eo qui praeest Ecclesiae, id est intellectus. Si dentem laesit, qui suscipiens cibum verbi Dei comminuere vel molaribus terere solebat, ut subtilem ad ventrem animae transmitteret sensum: si hunc dentem ille vexaverit et evulserit, ut contritione ejus non possit anima subtiliter et spiritualiter suscipere verbum Dei, auferetur dens ejus, qui non bene cibos [0260A] verbi comminuit et dividit. Propter hoc enim fortasse de Domino dicitur: *Dentes peccatorum contrivisti [n: (Psl. III)]*. Et alibi: *Molas leonum confringet Dominus [n: (Psal. LVII)]*. Sic ergo per membra dicitur laedi anima et percuti. Manum quoque pro manu, et pedem pro pede deposcit. Manus animae, virtus qua tenere aliquid et cor stringere potest, ut actus ejus et fortitudo; et pes quo incedit ad bona vel ad mala. Quia ergo scandalizata anima non solum in fide sed etiam in actibus dejicitur, qui per manus significantur, manus auferuntur illius, quibus non bene operatur, et pedes, quibus non bene incedit. Recipiet etiam combusturam, quia combussit et gehennae tradidit animam. Per singula haec ostenditur, ut percussor, truncatis omnibus membris, a corpore Ecclesiae excidatur, [0260B] ut caeteri videntes timorem habeant, et non similiter faciant. Ideo Apostolus cum doctorem describit Ecclesiae, inter caetera praecipit, *non percussorem [n: (I Tim. III)]*: ne percutiens praegnantes mulieres, id est animas insipientes, ponat animam pro anima, oculum pro oculo, dentem pro dente, etc. De qualibus dicitur Matth. XXIV: *Vae praegnantibus et nutrientibus in illis diebus, in quibus scandalizabuntur, si fieri potest, etiam electi.* Sciendum tamen quod non est perfectorum scandalizari, sed mulierum aut parvulorum; unde Matth. XVIII: *Si quis scandalizaverit unum de pusillis istis,* etc.

VERS. 29-36.-- *Quod si bos cornupeta,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Hoc est, si superbum motum animi dominus, id est spiritus, non constringit, et animabus interitum, vel [0260C] corporibus ingerit incommodum, reatus redundat in custodem. Unde Proverbiorum decimo sexto capitulo: *Cor hominis erudiet os ejus, et labiis illius addet gratiam.*

*Triginta siclos.* Hoc est secundum legis mandata, per fidem et spem et charitatem emendabit.

*Argenti.* Nitorem divini verbi, quo in fide Trinitatis et scientia decalogi instructi erant, compensabit.

*Si quis aperuerit,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XVII Moral., cap. 13.)] Cisternam aperire est valido intellectu Scripturae sacrae arcana penetrare, etc., *usque ad* inde infirmitas auditorum ad ima dilabatur.

*Si bos alienus,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Non hoc in solo bove servandum est, sed in omni pecore; a parte enim [0260D] totum intelligitur. Sed hoc de carnibus occisi pecoris fieri non potest, quo non vescuntur.

## CAPUT XXII.

VERS. 1.-- *Si quis furatus fuerit,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Secundum litteram quinque boves pro uno bove, et quatuor oves pro uno bove redduntur: quia bos quinque utilitates habet, ovis quatuor. Bos enim immolatur, arat, pascit, lactat, et corium diversis usibus ministrat; ovis vero immolatur, et pascit, lac et lanam tribuit. Allegorice vero per bovem Judaeus quilibet intelligitur, quem si quis Judaeus vendiderit, poenae legis subjacebit, quae continetur in quinque libris Moysi. Per ovem Christianus, qui Christum [0261A] imitatur, de quo dicitur: *Sicut ovis ad occisionem ductus est [n: (Isa. LIII)]*. Si quis hanc vendiderit, quatuor oves reddat, id est secundum institutionem quatuor Evangeliorum poenitentiam agat.

VERS. 2-5.-- *Si effringens fur domum, sive suffodiens,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 84 in Exod.)] Si perfodiens inventus fuerit fur et percussus mortuus fuerit, etc., *usque ad* jam enim plus est quam fur.

VERS. 6-13.-- *Si egressus ignis*, etc. [n: (RAB.)] Ignem succendimus, cum correctionem subditis praeparamus, ut spinas vitiorum consumamus. Sed videndum est ne cum vitia persequimur, virtutes laedamus, et eis qui fructum bonorum operum proferre coeperant, ante maturitatem noceamus. Qui hoc ergo commiserit, dignam poenitentiam gerat, et quod per inertiam [0261B] laesit, studiose restituat.

*Spicas.* Teneros auditores nondum ad maturitatem fructus pertingentes: quorum vitia qui acerbe et indiscrete reprehendit, quasi ignem in spicas immittit, nec ad maturitatem pervenire sinit.

VERS. 14-16.-- *Qui a proximo,* etc. A proximo mutuum postulamus, cum pro aeterna remuneratione curam Dominici gregis suscipimus. Sed si timorem Dei, quasi pecuniam exigentis, semper ante oculos cordis ponimus, quasi in praesentia ejus semper sumus. Unde II Cor. V: *Scientes timorem Domini, hominibus suademus.* Et alibi, II Cor. XII: *Quasi coram Deo, in Christo loquimur.* Mors ergo aut debilitas pecoris pastori non imputatur, si ejus curam strenue gessit, et quasi Deo praesente; aliter damnum [0261C] reddere compellitur. Unde Matth. V: *Non exibit inde, donec reddat novissimum quadrantem.*

VERS. 17.-- *Si pater virginis,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Sensus sententiae historicus, de qua nascitur oratio. Si ergo historicus sensus regnum charitatis aedificat, cupiditatis dissipat, non est necesse allegorice exponi. Lector tamen sententiam dote rectae fidei honorare debet et intactam sua expositione relinquere.

VERS. 18-20.-- *Maleficos non patieris vivere.* Qui praestigiis magicae artis et diabolicis figmentis agunt, haereticos intellige, qui a consortio fidelium qui vere vivunt, excommunicandi sunt, donec maleficium erroris in eis moriatur

VERS. 21.-- *Advenam non contristabis.* [n: (RAB.)] Dilectionem proximi per misericordiae compassionem [0261D] commendat, ne furoris aut avaritiae stimulo commoti, jus naturae negligamus. Sed quae volumus ut faciant nobis homines eadem illis faciamus, et quae nolumus fieri, non faciamus.

VERS. 22-24.-- *Viduae et pupillo non nocebitis.* [n: (RAB.)] In vidua, sancta Ecclesia, quae in die judicii exspectat Christum, quem modo non habet praesentem in pupillo, Christianus populus, cui mortuus est mundus pater, et Babylonia mater, accipi potest: quam prohibet contristari per persecutionem vel fastum mundanum, ne forte talis insectatio ad perniciem eorum spiritualem perveniat qui eos frustra odiis et contumeliis molestant.

VERS. 25.-- *Si pecunia mutuam,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Praedicatores [0262A] Evangelii monet ne superfluitatem appetant, sed habentes victum et vestitum, his contenti sint, secundum illud Matth. X: *Gratis accepistis, gratis date.*

VERS. 26, 27.-- *Si pignus,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 99.)] Genus pro specie posuit: sic enim dictum est ac si de omni veste pignus dederit, cum de illo se specialiter dicere ex consequentibus Scriptura testatur, qui non habet nisi eam vestem unde nocte operiatur.

*[n: (GREG., lib. XVI Moral., cap. 2.)] Pignus,* peccati confessio. Proximus enim debitor noster efficitur, etc., *usque ad* a nobis mox relaxatum sentiat quod deliquit.

VERS. 28.-- *Diis non detrahes,* etc. *(AUG., quaest, [0262B] 86 in Exod.)* Quaeritur quos dixerit deos, etc., *usque ad* vel latriae obsequiis honorari.

VERS. 29-31.-- *Decimas tuas,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Gen., tom. V.)] Per primitias frugum vel primogenitorum primitiva bonorum operum ostenduntur, etc., *usque ad* et perfectionis donatur effectus.

## CAPUT XXIII.

VERS. 3.-- *Pauperis quoque non misereberis in judicio.* [n: (AUG.)] Ne scilicet contra justitiam pauperi faveas causa misericordiae. Bona est misericordia, sed non debet esse contra judicium. Judicium autem dicit Scriptura, quod justum est. Ne quis autem propter hanc sententiam Deum putet prohibere misericordiam, opportune sequitur:

[0262C]VERS. 4-6.-- *Si occurreris bovi inimici tui,* etc. Quasi fac misericordiam etiam erga inimicos tuos, cum potestas est a judicando libera; non enim cum reducis errantem bovem inimici et reddis, inter aliquos judex resides.

VERS. 7-9.-- *Mendacium fugies.* [n: (RAB.)] Veritatem et judicium amat Dominus: et ad haec exsequenda populum suum hortatur, quia non est personarum acceptor.

VERS. 10-12.-- *Sex annis seminabis terram tuam.* [n: (AUG.)] Quaeritur quid colligant pauperes, si in septimo anno ita parcitur terrae, etc., *usque ad* sex annos cum colliguntur quae seminantur.

[n: (RAB.)] In senario perfectio operum, etc., *usque ad qui seminat in benedictionibus, in benedictionibus et [0262D] metet.*

VERS. 13.-- *Et per nomen externorum deorum,* etc. Per nomen suum jurare permittit, non quod bonum sit jurare; sed quia sciebat homines pronos ad jurandum esse, non vult ut jurent per nomina exteriorum deorum, ne frequenti juramento inducantur ad cultum eorum. Sic et hostias non approbat Deus, mavult tamen sacrificari sibi quam idolis.

VERS. 14-18.-- *Tribus vicibus per singulos annos,* etc. Fidem scilicet sanctae Trinitatis hic exigit Deus: in Pascha enim immolatur Filius, in Pentecoste datur Spiritus sanctus, in Scenopegia paternae majestatis potentia declaratur.

*Tribus vicibus per singulos annos,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Hoc [0263A] est omni tempore praesentis vitae et in sanctae Trinitatis confessione, per fidem et spem et charitatem bonorum operum obsequia Deo creatori vestro exhibebitis. Pascha enim celebramus mense novorum, cum per sanguinem Agni immaculati ab Aegyptia servitute liberati, per spirituales aquas de veteri homine in novum transimus, non in vetustate litterae, sed in novitate spiritus, quo in terram promissionis per gratiam Christi pervenimus. Solemnitatem vero mensis primitivorum celebramus, cum operum nostrorum, voluntatum, et sermonum primitias Domino consecramus; solemnitatem quoque in exitu anni, quando congregatis frugibus, id est virtutum fructibus, ad finem vitae et introitum regni coelestis pervenire contendimus; in tabernaculis septem diebus [0263B] commemorantes, quia per omne tempus vitae praesentis peregrinos nos esse agnoscimus, nec requiem hic, sed in futuro requirimus, sedulo curantes ne in conspectu Dei vacui appareamus.

*Solemnitatem quoque,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Maturis scilicet, frugibus, quando fructus totius anni collecti sunt, in septembri scilicet quem Hebraei Chaldaico vocabulo thisri, תשרי Macedones ὑπερβεραῖον vocant. In cujus principio Judaei feriantes amplius tuba canunt quam in caeteris mensibus, et plura offerunt, in quo dies expiationum, et dies scenopegiae quinto decimo die, qui est solemnitas Tabernaculorum.

VERS. 19.-- *Non coques haedum,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 90 in Exod.)] Quomodo intelligatur, ad verborum proprietatem nescio utrum possit reperiri, [0263C] etc., *usque ad* postea vero passi sunt non agni in lacte, sed arietes in grege.

[n: (STRAB.)] *Moraliter.* Haedus, id est peccator, non est in lacte matris coquendus, id est blanditiis dissolvendus, sed aspere increpandus et redarguendus.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *Ecce ego mittam angelum,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Josue significat ducem populi, qui ideo angelus dicitur, quia ad voluntatem Domini annuntiandam mittitur; ἄγγελος enim Graece, *nuntius* dicitur.

VERS. 22.-- *Inimicus ero,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] Radix cuncti mali superbia est, de qua dicitur Eccli. X: *Initium omnis peccati superbia.* Sunt autem ejus soboles septem principalia vitia, inanis gloria, invidia, [0263D] ira, tristitia, avaritia, ventris ingluvies, luxuria. Et quia his septem superbiae vitiis nos captos doluit Redemptor noster, ad spirituale liberationis praelium Spiritu septiformis gratiae plenus venit.

VERS. 23, 24.-- *Praecedetque te angelus.* [n: (RAB.)] Josue populum Israeliticum in terram promissionis induxit, septem gentes ejiciens, idolaque et aras eorum destruens. Mystice verus Jesus has gentes cum simulacris suis exterminat, cum septem principalia vitia et omne idolum inimici de cordibus nostris expellit, ut naturae nostrae terram secure possideamus.

*Quos ego conteram.* [n: (CHRYSOST.)] Habet unumquodque vitium in corde nostro propriam mansionem, [0264A] quam sibi vindicans, in animae nostrae recessu exterminat Israelem, id est rerum summarum contemplationem, et adversari non desinit: non enim possunt virtutes cum vitiis morari. Sed cum ab Israelitis, id est a virtutibus, fuerint vitia superata, locum quem concupiscentiae vel fornicationis spiritus possidebat, castitas obtinebit: quem furor ceperat, patientia vindicabit; quem tristitia mortem operans occupaverat, salutaris et plena gaudio laetitia possidebit; quem acedia vastavit, excolet fortitudo; quem superbia conculcabat, humilitas honestabit. Itaque singulis vitiis expulsis, eorum loca, id est affectus, virtutes contrariae possidebunt: quae filii Israelis, id est animae Deum videntis nuncupantur: qui cum universas cordis expulerint passiones, non tam alienas possessiones [0264B] rapuisse quam proprias recuperasse credendi sunt; quia secundum veterem traditionem, terram Chananaeorum filii Sem in divisione orbis sortiti sunt, quam Chananaei violenter possederunt: unde justo, judicio Dei expulsi sunt. Voluntas quoque Domini possessionem cordis nostri non vitiis sed virtutibus deputavit, quae post praevaricationem Adae insolescentibus vitiis, quasi Chananaeis, a propria regione depulsae sunt. Cum vero per Dei gratiam diligentia nostra et labore nostro restituuntur, non tam alienam terram occupant quam recipiunt propriam.

VERS. 25-27.-- *Benedicam panibus tuis,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Alia littera: *Benedicam panem et vinum tuum,* etc. Quamvis hae promissiones possint et spiritualiter intelligi, etc., *usque ad* quae impii non accipient.

[0264C]VERS. 28.-- *Emittens crabrones. [n: (AUG., quaest. 93.)]* Emittam vespas, etc. Hoc promittit Deus, etc., *usque ad* si aliquid a Christo dicitur.

Alia littera. *Emittam vespas ante te, et ejiciet Amorrhaeos,* etc. A plurali ad singularem numerum se convertit. Intelligitur autem *ejiciet Amorrhaeos,* vespa, scilicet sicut locusta, sicut rana, non quod una sit, sed per singularem intelligitur pluralis.

VERS. 29-33.-- *Non ejiciam eos a facie,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Gentes istae vitia significant, quae nec simul, nec uno tempore in sanctis exstinguuntur, ne monstra terrae multiplicentur, id est ne in superbiam erigantur et vanam gloriam et hujusmodi. Nam cum sancti contra majora vitia pugnant et vincunt, relinquunt [0264D] minora, et permittuntur dominari, ne per elationem gravius corruant. Unde Paulo datus est stimulus carnis ad custodiam humilitatis [n: (I Cor. XXII)].

## CAPUT XXIV.

VERS. 1.-- *Moysi quoque dixit: Ascende ad Dominum, tu et Aaron,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 85 in Exod., tom. III.)] Usque ad hunc locum Scripturae justificationes intelliguntur, etc., *usque ad* justificationes vero Latini eas esse dicunt quae Graeci δικαιώματα dicunt.

*Tu et Aaron,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Moyses et Aaron et Nadab et Abiu. Per hos quatuor viri evangelici significantur, qui scilicet evangelica praecepta sequuntur. [0265A] Per septuaginta vero (qui constat ex septenario decies scilicet ducto, vel ex denario septies multiplicato) significantur illi qui Spiritus sancti gratia adjuti, adimplentes denarium legis, tendunt ad contemplationem Conditoris. Vel ad litteram de quibus dicitur Num. XI: *Assume tibi septuaginta viros,* etc., de quibus Heldad et Meldad fuerunt.

VERS. 2.-- *Solusque Moyses ascendet ad Dominum.* [n: (RAB.)] Prius praecipitur ut Moyses et Aaron, Nadab et Abiu, et septuaginta seniores, ascendant ad Dominum. Et statim subjungitur quod solus Moyses ascendat ad Dominum, caeteri non appropinquent, sed adorent procul. Ubi moraliter instruimur vires nostras perpendere, nec ultra posse nostrum arcem contemplationis attingere, sed quantum divina clementia [0265B] vocat, et regula Scripturae provocat.

[n: (GREG.)] Moyses ut sublimia Dei praecepta perciperet, alta conscendit; et ut interna penetret, ab externis tumultibus occultatur: quia viri sancti qui exterioribus officiis deservire necessitate coguntur, studiose semper ad cordis secreta confugiunt, ibique cogitationis intimae cacumen ascendunt, et legem quasi in monte percipiunt, dum, postpositis tumultibus actionum temporalium, in contemplationis suae vertice supernae voluntatis sententiam perscrutantur.

VERS. 3-5.-- *Faciemus [n: (AUG., quaest. 95.)]* Notandum quod iterum populus, etc., *usque ad* apprehenderunt justitiam.

VERS. 6-9.-- *Tulit itaque,* etc. *[ID., quaest. 98.]* [0265C] Notandum est nunc primum sacrificasse Mosem, etc., *usque ad* nam decalogum in tabulis lapideis fuisse scriptum postea patet.

*Crateras.* Cratera, sive crater, dicitur ἀπὸ τοῦ κρατεῖν, quod est *capere,* eo quod sit multi vini capax.

VERS. 10, 11.-- *Sub pedibus.* Deus non loco continetur, nec situ corporis membra ponit, sicut est nostri corporis sedere, et jacere, stare, et hujusmodi, quae tantum corporis sunt. Deus autem spiritus est. Quod ergo se ostendit specie corporali, vel signis corporaliter expressis, non substantia ejus apparet, quae est quod ipse est, sed assumptio formarum visibilium ejus omni potentiae subjacet.

VERS. 12.-- *Ascende ad me,* etc. *(BED., lib. I de [0265D] Tabernac., cap. 11, tom. II.)* Locuturi de figura tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* ut Ecclesia per orbem cunctarum gentium linguis locutura designaretur.

*Daboque tibi.* [n: (ID.)] Huic simile est illud: *Docentes eos servare omnia quaecunque mandavi vobis [n: (Matth. XXVIII)]*. Non ergo Moyses, non apostoli, vel quilibet, alia debet docere quam quae Dominus docuit, et consilii decreto observanda praescripsit, in quibus vitam aeternam nos habere voluit, sicut de his praeteriri quidquam non oportet: sed omnia quae mandavit, auditoribus committere necesse est.

VERS. 13.-- *Surrexerunt Moyses et Josue. [n: (AUG., quaest. 103 in Exod.)]* Josue non commemoratus in illis quatuor subito cum Moyse apparet, etc., *usque [0266A] ad* quod modo memoratur nondum vocabatur Jesus, sed quando scriptum est.

[n: (BED.)] Josue Christum nomine et actione significat; qui minister Moysi dicitur, quia Christus *non venit legem solvere, sed adimplere [n: (Matth. V)]*. Moysi vestigia in omnibus sequitur, quia in cunctis quae scripsit Moyses, typice designatur, quasi comes individuus, si bene quaeritur, invenitur. Unde Joan. V: *Si crederetis Moysi, forsitan crederetis et mihi.*

[n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. I, cap. 1, tom. II.)] Aaron ( אהרן ) *mons fortitudinis,* Hur ( חור ) interpretatur *ignis* vel *lumen,* etc., *usque ad* et ad dilectionem Conditoris animus inardescit.

VERS. 15.-- *Cumque ascendisset Moyses, [n: (BEDA., ibid.)]* Sicut mons altitudinem perfectionis, etc., *usque [0266B] ad* coelesti benedictione protegit.

VERS. 16.-- *Et habitavit gloria Domini. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Non modo sublimitas, sed et nomen montis, etc., *usque ad* in septimo quiescere jubemur.

*Tegens illum nube. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Sex diebus nube et gloria Domini tegitur, etc., *usque ad* ut ad sublimiora divinae visionis et collocutionis dona perveniret.

VERS. 17.-- *Erat autem species,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Quasi ignis ardens species gloriae Domini apparuit, etc., *usque ad* tametsi plene illos sequi non valeant.

VERS. 18.-- *Ingressusque Moyses,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Moyses medium nebulae ingressus ascendit in montem, etc., *usque ad* ut per eorum observantiam ad salutem veniant aeternam.

## CAPUT XXV.

[0266C]

VERS. 2.-- *Loquere filiis Israel ut tollant mihi primitias,* etc. [n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. I, cap. III, tom. II.)] Primitias bonorum Deo offerimus, cum bonum quod agimus, totum divinae gratiae tribuentes, et toto corde profitentes quod nec initium bonae actionis vel cogitationis nisi a Domino possumus habere; mala vero semper a nobis diabolo instigante et coepta et consummata, nec nisi Domino donante laxanda.

VERS. 3-6.-- *Haec sunt autem quae accipere debetis,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Cuncta quae sibi Dominus ad faciendum sanctuarium materialiter offerri praecepit, nos quoque, qui spirituales filii Israel, id est imitatores [0266D] Deum videntis populi esse cupimus, spiritualiter offerre debemus: ut per has oblationes voluntarias ipsi sanctuarium in nobis faciamus, ut ipse habitare in nostro corde et sibi mansionem consecrare dignetur.

VERS. 7.-- *Lapides onychinos,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Haec offerimus, etc., *usque ad* addita bonis operibus martyrii merita signantur.

VERS. 8.-- *Facientque mihi sanctuarium. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Ostendit Dominus Moysi tabernaculum in monte, etc., *usque ad* praeclaram multitudinem sanctarum animarum recepit.

VERS. 9-11.-- *Juxta omnem similitudinem,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Imitari debemus angelos diligendo Deum [0267A] et proximum, etc., *usque ad* et post hanc vitam in illud tabernaculum, quod imitaris, introducat.

*Omnium vasorum.* [n: (BED.)] Vasa tabernaculi, singulae personae angelorum, ex quibus Jerusalem, mater omnium nostrum, in vera pace et unitate consistit.

*Sicque facietis illud. Arcam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 4.)] Arca fieri praecipitur, etc., *usque ad* sed in similitudine carnis peccati venit.

*Cujus longitudo* [n: (ID.)] Quaeritur cujus quantitatis sit iste cubitus, etc., *usque ad* unde patet quia illum designat cubitum quem duo palmi faciunt.

*Latitudo. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Unius cubiti latitudo pro dispensatione Dominicae charitatis, etc., *usque ad* ubi eum toto corde diligamus, intremus.

[0267B] [n: (ID.)] *Mystice.* Longitudo arcae longanimitatem Christi, etc., *usque ad* quia tarditatem discipulorum longanimiter ferebat.

*Altitudo, cubitum,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Habet arca cubitum in altitudine, etc., et *usque ad* hoc tantillum non nisi ab illo habemus.

VERS. 12-15.-- *Et quatuor circulos,* etc. [n: (GREG. Past., cap. 11, tom. III.)] Arca, Ecclesia, etc., *usque ad quae in vobis est,* etc.

*Duo circuli.* [n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] Quia in figura quatuor animalium, etc., *usque ad* quae ad futurae vitae gloriam pertinent expresserunt.

VERS. 16.-- *Testificationem quam dabo. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* De qua Apostolus, etc., *usque ad* judicem omnium docuit saeculorum.

[0267C]VERS. 17.-- *Propitiatorium.* [n: (ID.)] Propitiatorium tabula erat aurea ejusdem mensurae cujus arca; sic dicta quia ibi Deus Moysi apparens, et cum eo loquens, propitiabatur populo, et misericordiam significat, unde bene super arcam erat, quia misericordia ejus super omnia opera ejus.

VERS. 18-21.-- *Duos quoque cherubim,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Propter societatem angelicae pacis, quae minus quam inter duos haberi non potest. Cherubim autem angelicam militiam significat: angeli vero summa concordia et quiete Christum contemplantur; unde versis ad invicem vultibus propitiatorium respiciunt, quia illam beatitudinem se habere Dei gratia intelligunt.

[n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Ezech.)] Duo cherubim, qui *plenitudo [0267D] scientiae* dicuntur, etc., *usque ad* si aliud promitteret quod aliud negaret.

[n: (BEDA, ibid.)] Numero singulari *cherub,* כרוב plurali autem *cherubim* כרובים dicitur, etc., *usque ad* bene expansis alis ad volandum aptatis designantur.

VERS. 22.-- *Inde praecipiam,* etc., *super propitiatorium. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Super propitiatorio, etc., *usque ad* unde Habacuc ait: *In medio duorum animalium innotesces [n: (Habac. III)]*.

[n: (BED., ibid.)] Potest in arca Ecclesia figurari, etc., *usque ad* quo ipsa in fundamento summae veritatis stabilita consistunt.

[n: (BED., ibid.)] Mensa de lignis Setim, etc., *usque ad* [0268A] unde Cant. II: *Introduxit me rex in cellam vinariam, et ordinavit in me charitatem.*

VERS. 23.-- *In altitudine cubitum,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] Quod altitudo cubitum et semissem habet, etc., *usque ad* non per plenum cubitum figuratur.

VERS. 23.-- *Faciesque illi labium.,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] Labium aureum fit in mensa per circumitum etc., *usque ad* pro diversitate meritorum, gloria singulorum.

VERS. 24.-- *Coronam,* etc., et *super illam alteram coronam. [n: (BED., ibid.)]* Corona aurea additur, cum per Evangelium his qui mandata custodiunt, etc., *usque ad* quod ei sublimior gloria in receptione corporum servetur.

VERS. 26.-- *Per singulos,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] Mensa [0268B] tabernaculi quatuor pedes habet, etc., *usque ad* intrent in regnum coelorum.

VERS. 27.-- *Ut mittantur vectes per eos. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Per circulos mittuntur vectes ad subvehendam mensam, etc., *usque ad* Domini mensam cum panibus et vasis in quatuor circulis portant.

VERS. 29.-- *Parabis et acetabula ac phialas. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Varia vasa quae fiunt ad offerenda libamina, etc., *usque ad* unde: *Quis putas est fidelis dispensator et prudens [n: (Luc. XII)]*?

VERS. 29.-- *Parabis acetabula,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Evang., tom. II.)] Quid per phialas et cyathos nisi mensura praedicationis accipitur? etc., *usque ad* sed etiam parva et subtilia, quae quasi per gustum notitiam praestent.

[0268C] [n: (IDEM.)] Alius doctrina veritatis plenus auditores inebriat, et quasi phialam porrigit: Alius explere quod sentit non valet, sed etiam quia utcumque denuntiat, per cyathum gustum praebet. Qui ergo per doctrinam sapientiae ministrare phialas non possunt, quantum pro divina largitate sufficiunt, propinent proximis cyathos verbi.

VERS. 30.-- *Et pones super mensam panes propositionis in conspectu meo semper.* Josephus dicit duodecim panes ex simila fieri, singulos ex duabus decimis, qui Sabbato super mensam sex hinc et sex inde ponebantur: super quemque patena aurea cum pugillo thuris, et sic servabantur usque ad aliud Sabbatum, in quo thus cremabatur; panes vero sacerdotes comedebant calidos cum thure reponentes.

[0268D] *Et pones super mensam,* etc. [n: (BED. ubi supra. )] Bene panes propositionis vocantur, quia semper debet patere sermo salutis cunctis fidelibus, nec unquam deesse oportet in ecclesia verbum solatii: quod Dominus per praecones veritatis mundo proponens in conspectu suo apparere, et usque in finem his qui esuriunt et sitiunt justitiam incessanter abundare voluit.

VERS. 31.-- *Facies et candelabrum,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Ezech.)] Candelabrum Christus est in quo natura humanitatis fulsit lumine deitatis, etc., *usque ad* scyphi ergo et sphaerulae ad laborem pertinent, lilia ad retributionem.

*Facies et candelabrum ductile de auro mundissimo.* [0269A] [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] Candelabrum tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* et claritatem verbi omnibus praedicando et faciendo ostendit.

*Et calamos, scyphos et sphaerulas. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Scilicet praedicatores de hastili procedentes, etc., *usque ad* quae animabus sanctis, id est, floribus vernat aeternis.

VERS. 32.-- *Sex calami,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Senarius in quo factus est mundus, etc., *usque ad* unde Paulus: *Gratia Domini nostri Jesu Christi et charitas Dei, et communicatio sancti Spiritus, sit semper cum omnibus vobis.*

*Tres ex uno. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Tres calami ex uno latere, etc., *usque ad* visione ejus fruetur.

[n: (ID., ubi supra )]. Fiunt scyphi in candelabro ad nucis modum, etc., *usque ad* quia continentes illius [0269B] temporis tres ordines sanctorum eadem distinctione temporum habuerunt.

VERS. 33.-- *In nucis.* [n: (ID.)] Nux Ecclesiam significat, unde: *Descendit in hortum nucum.* Nux enim dulcem fructum habet intus, qui nisi fracta testa non ostenditur foris: sic sanctorum vita suavitatem gratiae in corde conservat, quae non cognoscitur exterius nisi, soluto carnis domicilio animae, in coelesti luce sese conspiciant.

[n: (ID.)] Tertius similiter calamus tres scyphos et sphaerulas, et tria habet lilia: quia multi conjugati ante legem, sub lege et sub prophetis erant, qui verbum Domini audire, et viam ejus currere et bonorum operum praemia exspectare gauderent.

[n: (ID.)] Item ex alio latere primus calamus, secundus [0269C] et tertius, tres scyphos et sphaerulas; tria quoque habebat lilia: quia in utroque Testamento in doctoribus, in continentibus, et in conjugatis Deo devotis tres fuerunt ordines temporum distantia. In primitiva scilicet ecclesia de Israel, in nostra electione de gentibus, in ultima collectione reliquiarum Israel, qui omnes suo tempore verbo vitae inebriati, in via pacis properare, candorem perpetuae lucis videre desiderant.

VERS. 34.-- *In ipso autem candelabro,* etc. [n: (ID., ubi supra. )] Diximus ipsum candelabrum, etc., *usque ad* sed innovata per spiritum corda capiunt.

VERS. 35.-- *Sphaerulaeque per singulos et lilia. Sphaerulae sub duobus calamis,* etc.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Sunt per singulos scyphos sphaerulae [0269D] simul et lilia, etc., *usque ad* unde: *Laeva ejus sub capite meo, et dextera ejus amplexabitur me.*

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Scyphi, sphaerulae et lilia sub duobus calamis sunt, etc., *usque ad omnis plenitudo divinitatis corporaliter.*

VERS. 36.-- *Et sphaerulae igitur et calami. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Omne opus candelabri, etc., *usque ad* unde: *In tribulatione dilatasti mihi,* etc.

VERS. 37.-- *Facies.* [n: (ID.)] Lucernae septem, septem sunt dona Spiritus sancti, qui in Christo semper manserunt, et fidelibus secundum voluntatem ejus distributa sunt: hae super candelabrum ponuntur, quia requievit super eum Spiritus sapientiae et intellectus [n: (Isai. XI)].

[0270A] *Ut luceant,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Lucernae candelabri ex adverso tabernaculum illustrabant, cum Christus plenus gratia et veritate omnibus tribuebat de sua plenitudine; mansuetis et pauperibus verbum Evangelii committens; poenitentibus medelam indulgentiae conferens. Nunc tempus esse parcendi in futuro universalis judicii tempus affirmans.

VERS. 38.-- *Emunctoria quoque, et ubi quae. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Divina verba, quibus manifeste signatur in plurimis non legis litteram, sed spiritualem sensum esse servandum: unde: *Si circumcidimini, Christus nihil vobis proderit.*

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Emunctorium, et vasa, ubi quae emuncta sunt exstinguuntur, etc., *usque ad* dicens: *Sive prophetiae evacuabuntur, sive linguae cessabunt,* etc.

[0270B] *Emunctoria quoque,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Sunt quaedam in Scripturis praecepta, etc., *usque ad* et alibi: *Ecce nova facio omnia.*

VERS. 39.-- *Omne. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Hoc est corpus Christi cum ipso capite, scilicet omnes electi, etc., *usque ad* quia merito scelerum in abyssum gravantis poenae decidunt.

VERS. 40.-- *Inspice. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Ostensum est Mosi in monte exemplar candelabri quod faceret, etc., *usque ad* exemplar auditoribus exsecutione operis et verbo doctrinae ostendit.

## CAPUT XXVI.

VERS. 1.-- *Tabernaculum vero ita et fiet,* etc. [n: (BED., lib. II de Tabernac., cap. 3, tom. II.)] Tabernaculum, [0270C] quod fecit Moyses in solitudine, et templum quod fecit Salomon in Jerusalem, etc., *usque ad* et copula divinae et propriae dilectionis jungantur.

[n: (ID., ubi supra. )] Potest figura utriusque sanctuarii ita distingui, etc., *usque ad* mirabili figurarum varietate depingit.

*De bysso retorta et hyacintho ac purpura coccoque bis tincto variatas. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 2.)]* In his quatuor cortinarum coloribus, etc., *usque ad* purpura sanguinei coloris et de conchyliorum sanguine tincta devota Deo corda figurat, et pro Deo mori parata.

VERS. 2.-- *Longitudo cortinae unius habebit viginti octo cubitos, latitudo quatuor,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] [0270D] Si ab uno usque ad septem omnes in ordine numeros pleno ordine numeraveris, *usque ad* ut per fidem et opera bona ad requiem tendat.

*Unius mensurae,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Etsi variante pictura cortinae differebant, una tamen erant omnes longitudinis et latitudinis mensura temperatae, quia etsi donationes habent electi differentes, unus tamen Dominus, una fides, unum baptisma, unus Deus et Pater omnium.

[n: (ID., ubi supra. )] Narrat Josephus, etc., *usque ad* quasi una decem cortinarum connexione tabernaculum decoratur.

VERS. 4.-- *Ansulas hyacinthinas in lateribus,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Ansulis hyacinthinis cortinae invicem copulantur, [0271A] etc., *usque ad* et in ea se perpetuo mansuros confidunt.

[n: (BEDA, ibid.)] Praeceptum est quoque fieri fimbrias per angulos palliorum, etc., *usque ad* a quatuor ventis collecti, indivisibili societate conjungemur.

VERS. 5.-- *Quinquagenas,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] In quinquagesimo anno, etc., *usque ad* et in cujus perceptione veraciter quiescitur et gaudetur, recte figuratur.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Quinquaginta ansulas habent cortinae, quia dono Spiritu sancti agitur, ut in societate pacis, quae est vinculum perfectionis, sibi invicem copulentur electi: futurae quoque spes et memoria societatis et pacis, quae in hac vita habetur, temporibus vel locis discretos una facit pietate concordes.

[0271B] [n: (ID., ibid.)] Cortinae in utraque parte habent ansas, etc., *usque ad* cum justi concordi virtutum qualitate foederantur.

*Facies et quinquaginta circulos. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Hoc plenius explicatur, cum dicitur, etc., *usque ad* imo ex omnibus electis Christi Ecclesia perficiatur.

VERS. 7.-- *Facies et saga,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Hoc in sequentibus ita reperitur: *Fecit et saga undecim de pilis caprarum,* etc. Saga, quibus operitur tabernaculum, etc., *usque ad* dum quasi saga foris tempestates tolerant.

Saga cilicina grossas hominum mentes significant, quae occulto Dei judicio quamvis dure praeferuntur, quia servire curis temporalibus non timent, ut [0271C] tentationum ventos et pluvias portent.

*Facies et saga,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Cilicium poenitentium est, etc., *usque ad* quorum tamen corda quantae sint perfectionis declaratur, cum dicitur: *Longitudo sagi unius,* etc.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Saga cilicina, vel de pilis caprarum, etc., *usque ad* nec apostolicam gratiam percipiant.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 108 in Exod.)] Undecim sunt vela capillacea, etc., *usque ad et quorum tecta sunt peccata.*

*Ad operiendum,* scilicet ne interiora tenera clara qualibet adversitate turbentur, alioquin nec byssus fulget, nec coccus coruscat, nec hyacinthus caeruleo colore decoratur: non debent ergo qui in Ecclesiae [0271D] sinu proficiunt praepositos despicere, si vacare eos rebus exterioribus vident.

VERS. 8.-- *Longitudo sagi unius. [n: (BEDA, lib. II de Tabernac., cap. 3, tom. II.)]* Longitudo habet denarium numerum, etc., *usque ad* qui tamen secundum humanae perfectionis modum inter homines sublimantur.

*Aequa erit mensura. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Quia una est fides in qua tota salvatur Ecclesia, etc., *usque ad* ubi solida parietis firmitas aberat.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Intuere etiam mensuram cortinarum, etc., *usque ad* Haec de cortinis.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Saga tricenos habet cubitos longitudinis, etc., *usque ad* eo quod sint duces sequentium domini gregum.

[0272A]VERS. 9.-- *Sextum sagum in fronte.* Mystice vero in fronte tecti sextum sagum duplicatur, cum omnes, qui sanctam intrant Ecclesiam, ita fide et sacramento Dominicae passionis initiantur, ut hujus quoque imitatione semper sibi vivendum esse intelligant. Quasi enim in ingressu sextum sagum duplicatur, ut Dominicae passionis sacramenta consequamur et exemplis instruamur. De sacramentis ait Petrus: *Qui regeneravit nos in spem vivam per resurrectionem Jesu Christi ex mortuis.* Dicit et de imitatione passionis: *Christo igitur passo in carne, et vos eadem cogitatione armamini.*

VERS. 10.-- *Facies et quinquaginta ansas in ora sagi unius. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* Ut haec supra in cortinis exposuimus, etc., *usque ad* tanto auxilium proximi, [0272B] quo confortetur, inquirit.

VERS. 11.-- *Aeneas quibus jungantur ansae, ut unum ex omnibus operimentum,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Bene autem fibulae sunt aeneae, de vocali, scilicet metallo factae, quia magnam vocem habet apud Deum humilis conscientia justorum. Unde pauper Davidicus, cum anxiatus esset et non in auribus hominum, sed in conspectu Dei orationem suam effunderet: *Domine,* (inquit) *exaudi orationem meam, et clamor meus ad te veniat.*

VERS. 12.-- *Quod autem superfuerit,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Haec ut plenius intelligantur, etc., *usque ad* decem rursus descensionis juxta orientalis parietis tabulas.

VERS. 13.-- *Et cubitus.* Quia cortinas uno cubito [0272C] transibant saga ab australi latere domus, altero a septentrionali, ideoque ad terram perveniebant, quia haec triginta cubitos longitudinis, illae duos minus habebant.

VERS. 14.-- *Facies et operimentum.* [n: (STRAB.)] Primum erat operimentum cortinarum ex bysso, purpura et cocco; secundum sagorum undecim; tertium ex rubricatis pellibus arietum; postremum erat hyacinthinarum pellium. Cortinae autem ita operiebant, ut ad latera descenderent, ad terram tamen non pertingerent; saga autem tectum et latera operiebant, et ad terram pertingebant. Pelles vero rubricatae vel ianthinae, tectum tantum operiebant, nec ad altera declinabant.

*De pellibus,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid., cap. 4.)] Arietes sunt [0272D] doctores, gregis Dominici duces. Unde: *Afferte Domino, filii Dei, afferte,* etc. Quasi, o angeli, huic officio mancipati, afferte Domino in coelos imitatores apostolorum. Hinc quoque sexta mansio populi de Aegypto egressi helin, id est arietes, nominatur, in qua erant duodecim fontes et septuaginta palmae, ut scilicet nomine et specie figuram apostolorum teneret.

*Rubricatis. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Rubricantur pelles arietum ad operiendum tectum tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* ne inter pressuras deficiant, muniunt

*De ianthinis pellibus. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Hyacinthus coelestis est coloris, etc., *usque ad* id est coeli vitam imitantes.

VERS. 15.-- *De lignis setim. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Hae tabulae [0273A] apostolos et successores, per quorum sermonem Ecclesia dilatata est, significant, etc., *usque ad* nec translatum est nomen Hebraeum, quia vix apud alios invenitur hoc lignum.

VERS. 16.-- *Singulae denos cubitos habent in longitudine, in latitudine cubitum ac semissem. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* Longitudo tabularum altitudo est quae decem cubitos habebat, etc., *usque ad: et ostendam illi salutare meum [n: (Psal. XC)]*.

VERS. 17.-- *In lateribus. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Incastratur in lateribus tabularum, etc., *usque ad* sinu amoris suscipimus, et nos ab illis suscipi credimus.

VERS. 18.-- *Quarum viginti erunt in latere meridiano. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 6.)]* Quanta fuerit longitudo tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* ne quis sibi virtutes [0273B] sine opere putet sufficere.

VERS. 19.-- *Quibus quadraginta bases argenteas,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Bases, quibus tabulae sustentabantur, verba sunt et libri legis et prophetarum, quibus Apostoli et evangelistae, quae scribere et praedicare volebant, vera esse et divina probabant. Unde: *Tunc adimpletum est quod dictum est per prophetas.* Et alibi: *Hoc autem totum factum est, ut adimplerentur scripturae prophetarum [n: (Matth. XXI)]*. Et Petrus ait: *Habemus firmiorem propheticum sermonem [n: (II Petr. I)]*.

[n: (BED., GREG.)] Per tabularum bases argenteas ordo prophetarum significatur: qui dum primi de Domini incarnatione locuti sunt, quasi bases a fundamento surrexerunt, et superpositae fabricae pondera [0273C] sustinuerunt, et tabulas, id est apostolicam praedicationem in mundo dilatatam, quasi firmi et fusiles sustinent: quia apostolorum vita praedicatione eorum instruitur, et auctoritate solidatur. Unde bases binae conjunctae singulis tabulis supponuntur: quia dum prophetae in verbis suis de Christi incarnatione concordant, sequentes praedicatores aedificant, ut quo a semetipsis non discrepant, illos robustius figant. Ex argento fundi jubentur. Argenti enim claritas ex usu servatur, sine usu in nigredinem vertitur; prophetarum vero dicta ante Christi adventum in usu spiritualis intelligentiae non erant, dum conspici per obscuritatem non poterant, et ideo quasi nigra permanebant: sed postquam Christus veniens ea ante oculos nostros incarnationis [0273D] manu tersit, quidquid lucis in eis latebat claruit, sensusque patrum praecedentium in usum dedit, quia verba rebus exposuit.

[n: (BEDA.)] Bene singulis tabulis binae bases supponuntur, ut consensus propheticae attestationis, in omnibus quae Apostoli dixere, monstretur. Vel binae per duos angulos subjiciuntur, ut bene suffultis angulis tota recte possit consistere tabula, quia omnis apostolici et evangelici sermonis in propheticis libris initium praesignatur, et finis omnis apostolorum et successorum vita ab initio fidei usque ad finem vitae praesentis mysticis veteris testamenti inserta est tabulis.

VERS. 20.-- *In latere quoque secundo.* Latus meridianum, quod vergit ad austrum, antiquam Dei [0274A] plebem significat, quae dudum lucem scientiae legis accipiens, amore Dei fervebat. Latus secundum quod vergit ad Aquilonem, gentes significat, quae usque ad tempus incarnationis tenebris et frigore infidelitatis torpebant, de quarum vocatione dicitur: *Dicam Aquiloni, Da: et Austro, Noli prohibere [n: (Isa. XLIII)]*. Quasi, dicam populo gentium diu sine fide algenti: De filiis tuis veniant ad fidem meae confessionis et amoris. Quin et plebi Israeliticae quae jam meae cognitionis lumine fruitur: Noli prohibere gentes in sortem electionis recipi.

*Viginti tabulae.* [n: (BEDA.)] Unius autem numeri, et mensurarum, et facturae, tabula utrumque latus habuit: quia una et eadem fides, spes et charitas, utrique populo per apostolos praedicatur, et ad terram [0274B] uterque regni coelestis promissam vocatur. De utroque generale praeceptum accipiunt: *Euntes in mundum universum praedicate Evangelium omni creaturae [n: (Marc. XVI)]*, id est praeputio et circumcisioni. Et absque ulla differentia subinfertur: *Qui crediderit et baptizatus fuerit salvus erit.*

VERS. 21.-- *Binae bases.* Basis est fundamentum a Graeco βασεία, id est fundo. Per bases prophetae significantur, quorum auctoritati apostoli et omnes doctores innituntur. Binae autem dicuntur propter concordiam prophetarum, qui omnes unum senserunt.

## CAPUT XXVI. (cont.)

VERS. 22.-- *Ad occidentalem,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] Occidentalis plaga, etc., *usque ad* usque ad finem saeculi sunt in Ecclesia permansuri.

[0274C] *Ad occidentalem vero plagam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Bene in occidentali plaga tabernaculum consummatur, etc., *usque ad* sed etiam pro malis a quibus liberavit.

[n: (ID.)] Bene plaga occidentalis, quae mare respicere dicta est, sex tabulis constat: quia in senario boni operis consummatio notatur: quia in illo mundi ornatum Dominus consummavit; in illo hominem in principio creavit; in illo genus humanum sua passione restauravit. Vel quia sunt sex aetates saeculi, quibus oportet nos bonis operibus perfici, ut ad aeternam et resurrectionis gloriam perveniamus.

VERS. 23.-- *Et rursum alias duas.* [n: (ID.)] Quia rursum aliae duae tabulae, exceptis sex primis, in angulum jubentur erigi post tergum tabernaculi, [0274D] quae venientem ab orientali plaga parietem excipiunt, et occidentalis plagae parieti conjunguntur, ad remunerationem futurae vitae pertinet, quae post labores et tempora unius vitae secura vel securata est, divisa in sabbatismum, id est, requiem animarum post absolutionem corporum, et gloriam resurrectionis utrique populo communis nullo fine terminandam.

VERS. 24.-- *Eruntque sibi conjunctae. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Quia omnis electorum vita una fide et charitate ad coelestia tendit, et in unum finem visionis divinae pervenit, et in una voce recti dogmatis omnis sanctorum praedicatorum sermo convenit. Recederet enim ab invicem compago tabularum si quod unus propheta aut Apostolus dixisset, alius negaret

[0275A] *Duabus quoque tabulis,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] Angulares tabulae tabulis parietum per omnia sunt conjunctae, etc., *usque ad* prophetae consona voce futura esse praedixerunt.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Hic non dicitur mensura basium, etc., *usque ad* sed immobile secura quiete servaretur.

*Facies et vectes de lignis,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 7.)] Quinque vectes qui tabulas tabernaculi continent, etc., *usque ad* nec alia quam legis mandata subdidit.

VERS. 29.-- *Ipsas quoque tabulas deaurabis [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Tabulae deauratae tabernaculi praefulgent, etc., *usque ad* sed etiam supernae retributionis lucem legunt.

*Quos operies laminis. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Laminis aureis vectes operiuntur, etc., *usque ad* cum spiritualis [0275B] intelligentia mysteriis plena ostenditur.

VERS. 30.-- *Eriges tabernaculum. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Exemplum tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* opus animumque componunt.

VERS. 31.-- *Facies et velum. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 8)]*. Etiam juxta litteram pulchritudini coelestis visionis hoc congruit. Si enim decorem flammasque astrorum, multifariam nubium speciem et ipsam irim consideras, mille trahentem et varios averso sole colores, multo plures et pulchriores quam in velo tabernaculi in coelo picturas notabis.

*Facies et velum,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Velum hoc, *usque ad* ut appareat vultui Dei pro nobis.

*Facies et velum de hyacintho et purpura coccoque bis tincto. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Hactenus de pariete meridiano, [0275C] etc., *usque ad* averso sole colores.

VERS. 32.-- *Quod appendes ante quatuor,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Quatuor autem columnae, etc., *usque ad* hoc ibi non erit ubi nihil omnino mali.

*Quae ipsae quidem deauratae. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Deauratae sunt columnae ante quas appenditur velum, quia positae intra velum coeli virtutes angelorum summae claritatis gratia vestitae sunt. Capita habent aurea, quia mentem, qua reguntur, praesentia divinae cognitionis et visionis habent illustratam.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Habent columnae bases argenteas, etc., *usque ad* argento verborum nitor ostenditur.

[n: (GREG., Moral. lib. XXVIII, cap. 6)]. Quatuor columnarum bases jubet esse argenteas, etc., *usque ad* evangelistarum dicta ore et opere portant.

[0275D]VERS. 33.-- *Inseretur autem velum,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] Quia in aeterno consilio Divinitatis erat, etc., *usque ad: in die judicii.*

*Intra quod pones arcam testimonii,* etc. Intra hoc velum posita est arca testamenti, quia Christus paternorum arcanorum conscius, post passionem et resurrectionem coelos coelorum ascendens, sedet ad dexteram Patris.

*Dividentur.* Quia Ecclesia, quae ex angelis et hominibus constat, partim peregrinatur in infimis, partim regnat in supernis, adhuc cives suos, dirimente velo coeli, habet ab invicem segregatos.

VERS. 35.-- *Mensamque extra velum,* etc. [n: (ID. ibid.)] Mensa et candelabrum tabernaculi temporalia [0276A] Dei beneficia significant, etc., *usque ad* testimonium perhibens ei.

VERS. 36.-- *Facies et tentorium,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 9)]. Exposita narratione de velo, etc., *usque ad* quia continentia carnis et animi gaudebat.

[n: (ID.)] Erat ad litteram tabernaculum domus Deo consecrata, etc., *usque ad* latitudinis quinquaginta.

VERS. 37.-- *Et quinque columnas. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Columnae quibus tentorium suspenditur, etc., *usque ad* nondum patefacta evangelica Scriptura.

*Lignorum setim. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Columnae de lignis, etc., *usque ad: sed Jesum Christum.*

*Quarum erunt capita aurea,* etc., [n: (ID., ibid.)] Aurea capita Christum significant, etc., *usque ad* electorum [0276B] animabus corruptione carentibus aedificatur.

## CAPUT XXVII.

VERS 1.-- *Facies et altare de lignis. [n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. II, cap. 11, tom. II.)]* Scilicet quia munda et incorrupta decet esse corda in quibus Spiritus sanctus habitat.

*Et tres cubitos. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Tanta fere est statura hominis, etc., *usque ad* ad altare non pertinet.

VERS. 2.-- *Cornua autem,* etc. [n: (ID., Ibid.)] Quatuor angulos habet altare holocausti, etc., *usque ad* inviolabilis, imo fortior, persistit.

VERS. 3.-- *Faciesque in usus ejus lebetes. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Vasa altaris diversa, etc., *usque ad* charitas nunquam exstinguenda flagrabit.

[0276C] *Forcipes atque. [n: (ID., Ibid.)]* Forcipes sunt praedicatores, etc., *usque ad* et lucere praecipiunt.

*Atque fuscinulas, et ignium,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Fuscinulae, quae Graece vocantur κρεάγραι, etc., *usque ad* nostrae vero capacitatis mensuram transcendant.

*Ignium receptacula.* Ad hoc deputata sunt, ut per haec ignis sanctus ab altari holocausti ad altare thymiamatis vespere et mane, ad incensum ponendum, deferretur; quia doctores tanquam ignem de altari holocaustorum ad altare thymiamatis deferunt, cum auditores de virtute in virtutem provehunt docendo, et meritis crescentibus, ad altiora et divinae visionis arcana interiora. Qui etiam ferventia pietate corda proximorum imitantur, receptacula ignium fiunt, quia flammam coelestis sacrificii, [0276D] quam in fraternis mentibus conspiciunt, in suis accendere satagunt.

VERS. 4.-- *Craticulumque in modum,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 18.)] Altare totum concavum fieri praeceptum est, etc., *usque ad* a Judaeorum doctoribus didicisse putamus.

VERS. 5.-- *Subter arulam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Habet altare arulam, etc., *usque ad* et ad finem perfectionis perducantur.

[n: (ID.)] Si quem movet juxta litteram, etc., *usque ad* tanto mundius inveniatur.

VERS. 6.-- *Facies et vectes.* Doctores scilicet qui Judaeam et Gentilitatem in unam fidei gratiam consono ore et opere vocent. Vel ex utroque latere altaris [0277A] ad portandum erunt vectes, cum praedicatores mentes fidelium in prosperis et in adversis constantiam virtutum tenere docebunt.

VERS. 8.-- *Sicuttibi in monte. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* Omnia quae nobis mystice, etc., *usque ad* semper agere jubemur.

VERS. 9.-- *Facies et atrium. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 13.)]* Sicut Sancta sanctorum, etc., *usque ad* sed ejus memoria ab intimo corde eradicatur.

*Centum cubitos. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Constat centenarium, etc., *usque ad* et continentiae temporalis assumant.

VERS. 10.-- *Et columnas viginti. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Columnae quibus tentoria suspenduntur, etc., *usque ad* quia non aliud quam verbum Dei sonant.

[0277B] *Cum basibus,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Basibus columnarum, etc., *usque ad* nunquam fructu mercedis carebunt.

*Argentea.* [n: (ID.)] Capita non argentata, sed tota argentea: quia doctores totos se divinae Scripturae subjiciunt, verba divina meditando et praedicando mancipant animam et corpus. Sicut enim membra sine capite vivere nequeunt, sic illi eloquia divina vitam suam existimantes haec nunquam obediendo portare, et se humiliando exaltare desistunt.

VERS. 11.-- *Similiter et in latere. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Eadem de latere Aquilonis repetuntur, etc., *usque ad* in uno tabernaculi latere fieri praecipiuntur.

VERS. 12.-- *In latitudine vero,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Latitudo atrii quod respicit ad occasum solis, *usque [0277C] ad* decem columnae sublevantes extollunt.

VERS. 13.-- *In ea quoque atrii. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Latitudo atrii orientem respiciens, etc., *usque ad: et vitam futuri saeculi.*

*Quinquaginta cubiti erunt.* [n: (ID.)] Quinquaginta cubitis plagae orientalis generaliter initia credentium signantur, quia in remissione peccatorum, et spe futurae beatitudinis celebrantur, quorum specialis distinctio subinfertur, quae ad eumdem finem bene considerata refertur. Sequitur enim.

VERS. 14.-- *In quibus quindecim cubitorum tentoria lateri uno deputabuntur columnaeque tres,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Quindecim namque, etc., *usque ad* et corpus sine querela in diem Domini custodire.

VERS. 16.-- *Columnasque habebit,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] [0277D] In introitu atrii quatuor sunt columnae, etc., *usque ad* omnes corporis sensus in obedientia charitatis expendunt.

*Ex hyacintho,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Recte in hoc introitu atrii tentorum, etc., *usque ad* tentorium decorant pulchra colorum varietate contextum.

VERS. 17.-- *Omnes columnae,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Quae dixerat, diligentius inculcat, ut sedulo lectorem admoneat, neminem inter doctores veritatis, columnas scilicet atrii coelestis, posse computari, qui non instar aeris invincibilem inter adversa patientiam habere didicerit, nisi sese coelestium observantia et annuntiatione verborum, velut argenti laminis undique muniendo exornaverit, nisi se omni subjectione [0278A] praeceptis divinis, quasi argenteo capiti, supposuerit, et timore Dei velut aenea basi stabilierit.

VERS. 18.-- *In longitudine,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Centum cubitos longitudinis, etc., *usque ad* fietque de bysso retorta, etc.

VERS. 19.-- *Cuncta vasa,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Haec vasa homines sunt in Ecclesia, etc., *usque ad atria Domini.*

VERS. 20.-- *Praecipe filiis Israel. [n: (ID., lib. III de Tabern., cap. 1, tom. II.)]* Disposito omni ornatu tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* lumen bonae actionis ostendat.

*De arboribus olivarum. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Notandum quod filii Israel jubentur offerre oleum, etc., *usque ad* ad [0278B] incendenda thymiamata orationum.

VERS. 21.-- *Et collocabunt. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Non est enim omnium sacramenta fidei populo praedicare, etc., *usque ad* qualibus Jacobus dicit. *Nolite plures magistri fieri, fratres mei,* etc. [n: (Jac. III)].

*Perpetuus erit,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Haec clausula, sicut quae tabernaculo, etc., *usque ad* cum sit Deus omnia in omnibus.

## CAPUT XXVIII.

VERS. 1.-- *Applica quoque ad te,* etc. [n: (BEDA, lib. III de Tabernac., cap. 1, tom. II.)] Quomodo tabernaculum, etc., *usque ad* et cunctos Ecclesiae magistros.

[n: (ID.)] *Applica quoque,* etc. Descripta factura tabernaculi, [0278C] etc., *usque ad* igne supernae ultionis absumuntur.

VERS. 2.-- *Faciesque vestem sanctam. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Vestes sanctae Aaron, etc., *usque ad* et Dei verbi dispensatorem.

VERS. 4.-- *Haec autem. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Quomodo haec singula facta sint, etc., *usque ad* praeclara et interni arbitri conspectui oportet esse gloriosa.

[n: (GREG. Past., lib. II, cap. 3, tom. III.)] Jubetur sacerdos in utroque humero, etc., *usque ad* quasi in diversa superhumeralis specie byssus torta candescit.

VERS. 6.-- *Facient autem superhumerale. [n: (BED., lib. III de Tabernac., cap. 4.)]* Quia in humeris onera portamus, etc., *usque ad* cum per abstinentiam caro [0278D] fatigatur.

*Coccoque bis tincto et bysso retorta, opere polymito. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Coccus ignis specie refulget, etc., *usque ad* in suo habitu coccum demonstrans.

VERS. 7.-- *Duas oras junctas habebit in utroque latere summitatum, ut in unum redeant. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* De hoc in sequentibus dicitur, etc., *usque ad* quam vitae invisibilis praemia requirimus.

VERS. 8.-- *Ipsa quoque textura et cuncta operis varietas erit ex auro et hyacintho ac purpura, coccoque bis tincto, et bysso retorta. Sumesque. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Non in una parte aurum, etc., *usque ad* sacerdos debet esse nitidus.

VERS. 9.-- *Duos lapides,* etc. Ut sacerdos fidem [0279A] et vitam patriarcharum imitetur et duodecim tribuum in sacrificiis et orationibus memor sit et populus intuens non aberret a patriarcharum meritis.

VERS. 11.-- *Inclusos auro,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] Apte lapides includi auro atque circumdari jubentur, etc., *usque ad* custodia mentis valeant prolabi.

VERS. 12.-- *Portabitque Aaron nomina eorum coram Domino super utrumque humerum ob recordationem.* Quia sacerdos diligenter omni hora praecedentium sanctorum vitam perpendens in adversis et prosperis virtutum ornamento debet muniri, ut per arma justitae a dextris et a sinistris gradiens in nullo delectationis infimae latere flectatur.

[n: (BED. ibid.)] Tribus causis Aaron nomina, etc., [0279B] *usque ad* sive patrum exempla quae sequantur proponat.

VERS. 13, 14.-- *Facies et uncinos ex auro, et duas catenulas auri purissimi sibi invicem cohaerentes quas inseres uncinis. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Uncini isti in supremis erant angulis, etc., *usque ad* per charitatem et bonam intentionem sunt nectenda.

[n: (GREG., Past., part. II, cap. 2, tom. III.)] Praecipitur ut in pectore Aaron rationale judicii vittis ligantibus imprimatur, etc., *usque ad* non sine magno timore regantur subjecti.

VERS. 15.-- *Rationale quoque judicii facies opere,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 5.)] Sicut in superhumerali operum perfectio, etc., *usque ad* congruant studiose cogitare.

[0279C]VERS. 16.-- *Duplex. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Factum est rationale, etc., *usque ad* ut comprehendat bravium supernae vocationis Dei.

VERS. 17.-- *Ponesque in eo. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Haec positio diversarum gemmarum in rationali, etc., *usque ad* ut et illi membra summi sacerdotis mereantur effici.

[n: (ID.)] Possumus in vario decore lapidum, etc., *usque ad* nihil illi prodest.

VERS. 19.-- *Onychinus.* [n: (ID.)] Recte autem duo lapides onychini, etc., *usque ad* ipse ad meliora proficiat.

VERS. 22.-- *Facies in rationali,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Ordo operis, etc., *usque ad* et a se invicem moverentur.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Superhumerale consummationem bonorum [0279D] operum, etc., *usque ad* si non eum accelerans bonae actionis uncinis contineat.

[n: (ID.)] Quod superhumerale strictum erat balteo, etc., *usque ad* per virtutum operationem.

VERS. 28.-- *Vitta hyacinthina,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Vittae hyacinthinae quibus uterque sacerdotis habitus copulatur, ligaturae sunt desiderii coelestis, quae annulis aureis innexae superhumerale cum rationali stringunt, cum agnita luce perennis patriae in illam gloriam suspiramus, et ut intrare mereamur concordi fide, et vita, et opere, et professione, in tabernaculo praesentis ecclesiae servire studemus.

VERS. 29.-- *Portabitque Aaron nomina filiorum Israel in rationali judicii super,* etc. Nomina filiorum [0280A] Israel Aaron super pectus memoriale coram Domino portat in aeternum, quando praesul nunquam subditorum curam intermittit, sed vitam eorum consolando, increpando, exhortando, confortat, et tutandam Domino crebris orationibus satagit commendare.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXVIII Moral., cap. 9.)] Sacerdos quando tabernaculum ingreditur, duodecim lapides in pectore portare jubetur sculptos nominibus filiorum Israel: hic est redemptor noster, qui semetipsum pro nobis sacrificium offerens, dum fortes in exordio praedicatores habuit, duodecim lapides sub capite in prima sui corporis parte portavit.

Oportet sacerdotem memoriam patrum ferre in pectore, maxime cum ministrat altari, ut in quo [0280B] sacratius est ministerium, solertius se toto studio, tota industria mentis, exornet, et corporis, exempla sanctorum respiciens, ut eorum sedulus imitator aptum se divinis praesentet aspectibus.

VERS. 30.-- *Pones autem in rationali judicii,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] Ut scilicet meminerit sacerdos, etc., *usque ad* in eo quod divina vice dispensat.

*Pones autem in rationali,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 117 in Exod.)] In quali re vel metallo ponatur demonstratio et veritas super rationale, etc., *usque ad* impositam super λογίον.

VERS. 31.-- *Facies et tunicam,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] Tunica talari tota hyacinthina vestitur sacerdos, etc., *usque ad* recte additur:

VERS. 32.-- *In cujus medio supra erit capitium [0280C] et ora per gyrum ejus textilis: sicut fieri,* etc. Capitium tunica hyacinthina firmissimum habet, et oram ex sese textam, ne facile rumpatur, cum primordium boni operis forti radice timoris Domini subnixum et contra omnes insidias antiqui hostis probatur esse munitum. Talis ora collum sacerdotis per gyrum vestit et ornat, quando rectori fiduciam praedicandi coelestia praebet: hoc quod non solum in vitae cursu recte vixerit, sed exordium quoque a rectitudine coeperit, sicut Samuel, Jeremias, Joannes, qui ab ipsa infantia spirituali gratia repleti, et in doctorum ordine sunt separati. Quia enim vox in collo est, per collum recte loquendi usus exprimitur, *sicut fieri solet in extremis vestium partibus:* sicut [0280D] vestibus opera, ita extremis vestium partibus operum consummatio figuratur. Vel extremae vestium partes, ultimae sunt nostrae sollicitudines, quibus fideles, cum finire vitam coguntur, intentius ab omni labe malorum se expurgare contendunt, cum metu et pavore curantes, ne ante districtum judicem producti pro sordido vitiorum habitu expellantur in tenebras exteriores, sed appareant induti, sicut electi Dei, viscera misericordiae, benignitatem, modestiam, patientiam et charitatem, quod est vinculum perfectionis [n: (Coloss. III)]. Tunica ergo hyacinthina habet oram in capitio textilem, sicut in extremis vestium partibus solet fieri: cum doctor egregius a tanta perfectione opus virtutum inchoat, ad quantam alius longo labore vix aliquando per [0281A] veniat; et cum tanto timore famulatus omni hora cum Deo suo ambulat, quantum alius vix moriturus, et ad judicium ultimum ingressurus habere sufficiat; sed quia tota perfectio sacerdotis in operibus et doctrina veritatis consistit, secundum illud: *Coepit Jesus facere et docere [n: (Act. I)]*, recte subjungitur: *Deorsum vero ad pedes ejusdem tunicae [n: (Exod. XXVIII)]*.

*Facies et tunicam,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] Tunica superhumeralis dicitur, etc., *usque ad* a capite usque ad pedes gratia virtutum contecta esse debere.

VERS. 33.-- *Deorsum vero,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. I Regist., c. 29.)] Cum rector se ad loquendum praeparat, etc., *usque ad* unitatem fidei cauta observatione teneatis.

[n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] Deorsum ad pedes tunicae fiunt, [0281B] etc., *usque ad* discreto sermonis sonitu produnt.

[n: (ID.)] Possumus in duodenario gemmarum rationalis intelligere, etc., *usque ad* De eodem anno et David dicit: *Benedices coronae anni benignitatis tuae [n: (Psal. LXIV)]*.

[n: (ID.)] Vel sicut supra dictum est, etc., *usque ad* in variarum splendore virtutum.

VERS. 35.-- *Ut audiatur,* etc. [n: (GREG., ubi supra. )] Sacerdos ingrediens vel regrediens, etc., *usque ad* ipsa quoque opera sacerdotis clament.

[n: (BED., ubi supra. )] Quod si Josephi verbis intendere volumus, etc., *usque ad* quadrati orbis partibus praedicaretur.

VERS. 36.-- *Facies et laminam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., c. 7.)] Lamina aurea in fronte pontificis, etc., *usque ad* ut [0281C] eamdem resurrexisse fateamur.

*Sanctum Domino,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Quod in lamina sculpi jubetur, etc., *usque ad* quam reparavit sua passione.

[n: (ID.)] Sanctum Domini auro sculptum in fronte portamus, etc., *usque ad* qui omnibus debent exemplum virtutis ostendere.

VERS. 37.-- *Ligabisque eam.* Ligatur lamina, quae sanctum Domini continet, vitta hyacinthina cum tiara pontificis, cum spe coelestium praemiorum, quam hyacinthus significat, in fide confortamur, et eo arctius sacramenta nostrae redemptionis, vel imaginem ac similitudinem conditoris ac redemptoris nostri intemeratam servamus, quo nullum aliud esse salutis iter cognovimus. De tiara suo loco [0281D] dicetur.

VERS. 38.-- *Portabitque Aaron.* Portat scilicet sacerdos iniquitates in muneribus et donariis quae obtulerunt Domino, et sanctificaverunt filii Israel: cum pro fructibus dignae poenitentiae, id est eleemosynis, caeterisque operibus justitiae, quae faciunt poenitentes, a reatu scelerum absolvit. Haec quidem ita gerenda institutio divina in habitu pontificis figuravit et verbis manifeste docuit. Proh dolor! autem, quidam donaria accipiunt, imo exigunt, et iniquitates populi non asportant nec castigant, cum ob hoc solum debeant sumere carnalia, quia ministrant spiritualia. Sed quia pro subditis potest efficaciter laborare, praedicare, et Domino supplicare cujus [0282A] animus divini nominis memoria semper est praeditus, apte subjungitur: Erit autem lamina semper in fronte ejus, etc.

*Erit autem lamina,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 8.)] Si lamina nomine Dei scripta semper fuerit in fronte Aaron, etc., *usque ad* promereri festinant.

VERS. 39.-- *Stringesque tunicam. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Quare linea dicta sit stricta, etc., *usque ad* cum dicitur: *Et tiaram byssinam facies,* etc.

[n: (BED., ibid.)] Qualiter haec facta sit, etc., *usque ad* auditoribus asperum reddat et durum.

*Et tiaram,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Tiara quae cidaris et mitra vocatur, etc., *usque ad* timore Dei perficeret.

[n: (ID.)] De factura baltei, etc., *usque ad* et caetera indumenta, cum dicitur:

[0282B]VERS. 40.-- *Porro filiis Aaron tunicas parabis lineas,* etc. [n: (Ibid.)] Dicendum est autem de balteo pontificis, etc., *usque ad* et fides cinctorium renum ejus.

*Tunicas parabis,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Tunicas habent sacerdotes lineas, etc., *usque ad* et olfactus digne Deo custodiantur.

## CAPUT XXVIII. (cont.)

VERS. 41.-- *Vestiesque his,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 9.)] Omnibus his vestiendus erat Aaron et filii ejus, sed distincte, ut ipse quidem omnibus his uteretur; filii autem ultimis tribus, quae eis proprie ascripta sunt, cum dicitur: *Porro filiis Aaron tunicas parabis lineas,* etc.

[n: (ID.)] Feminalia quae ad operiendam corporis vel carnis turpitudinem fiunt, etc., *usque ad* feminalibus, [0282C] scilicet linea stricta, cingulo, et tiara.

## CAPUT XXIX.

VERS. 1.-- *Sed et hoc facies,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ubi supra. )] Hactenus Aaron et filiorum ejus habitus qualis esse debeat, etc., *usque ad* figurate demonstrant.

*Tolle vitulum.* [n: (STRAB.)] Quisquis pontifex vel sacerdos taurum debet offerre, id est, passionem Christi firmiter credere et imitari; et duos arietes, ut credat eumdem Christum ex corpore et anima constare; et panes azymos, id est, munditiam vitae; et oleo conspersos, ut inter omnes virtutes non negligat opera misericordiae vel, non a se, sed a dono gratiae se credat habere.

VERS. 2.-- *Et crustulam.* [n: (BEDA, ubi supra. )] Crustulam [0282D] oleo conspersam ad consecrationem nostram Domino offerimus, cum omnia, quae facimus, per internam Spiritus gratiam in cordis devotione pinguescunt. Lagana oleo lita, cum foris spiritualia esse, quae agimus, indubitanter in exemplum vivendi ostendimus; quibus oblationibus consecratio nostra perficitur, dum per bona opera et cogitationes puras meritum nobis sanctimoniae, Deo donante, acquirimus.

*Cumque laveris patrem,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Prius lavari jubentur, deinde ornari vestibus, quia quicunque sacerdotii officium assumit, unda lacrymarum se abluere debet, ut ad ministerium divinum dignus approximet.

[0283A] [n: (BEDA.)] Posset in hoc lavacro baptisma sacri fontis intelligi, si consequeretur ut quis in sacerdotium electus, tunc primum aqua baptismatis in remissionem peccatorum ablueretur, et non contradiceret Apostolus dicens: *Non neophytum in superbiam elatus, in judicium incidat diaboli [n: (I Tim. III)]*.

VERS. 5.-- *Indues Aaron,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Notandum quod cum in Exodo Aaron octo vestibus induendus asseveretur, etc., *usque ad* quia venit in nomine Patris dicens: *Ego in patre et pater in me est: et qui videt me, videt et patrem [n: (Joan. IV)]*.

VERS. 9.-- *Postquam,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 25 in Exod.)] Alia littera, etc., *usque ad* sanctificari a Moyse.

VERS. 10.-- *Applicabis,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 126.)] [0283B] Alia littera, etc., *usque ad* super vitulum immolandum.

VERS. 18.-- *Oblatio est Domino.* [n: (AUG.)] Odor suavitatis Domino, etc., *usque ad* odorem corporeis naribus ducit.

VERS. 22.-- *Armumque dextrum. [n: (GREG., Past., part. II, c. 3.)]* Sacerdos divina lege, etc., *usque ad* ad sublimia armo operis invitet.

VERS. 30.-- *Et qui ingredietur. [n: (AUG., quaest. 129.)]* Quomodo ergo proprium dicit hujus unius esse, etc., *usque ad* et utrobique servaretur quod scriptum est: *Superexaltat misericordia judicium [n: (Jac. II)]*.

## CAPUT XXX.

VERS. 1.-- *Facies quoque altare,* etc. *(BEDA, ubi [0283C] snpra, cap. 11.)* Expletis mandatis consecrationis, etc., *usque ad* etiam in corpore appropinquant.

*Altare. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Apte etiam altare thymiamatis quantum metalli fulgore praecellebat, tanto quantitate minus erat: quanto enim sanctiores, tanto pauciores.

*De lignis setim. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Apte de lignis setim albae spinae similibus et incorruptibilibus, etc., *usque ad* varia donationum gratia vivificat.

VERS. 2.-- *Habens cubitum. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Unius cubiti est longitudo altaris et latitudo, etc., *usque ad* officium pietatis impendat.

*Quadrangulum. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Recte altare thymiamatis, etc., *usque ad* laetitia sempiterna erit eis.

*Cornua. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Cornua eminentiam fidei et [0283D] virtutis significant, etc., *usque ad* speciem pietatis habentes, virtutem ejus negant.

VERS. 3.-- *Vestiesque illud,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Apte vero illud aere, etc., *usque ad* quanta dulcedine Dei in abscondito vultus reficiantur.

*Tam craticulam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Bene craticula altaris, etc., *usque ad* recte subditur:

*Facies quoque ei coronam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Altare incensi coronam habet per gyrum: in his qui minores sunt meritis, nec palam protestari audent boni certaminis et servitutis et fidei sibi repositam esse mercedem: cuncta tamen agunt intentione bene placendi Deo, sed spe percipiendae mercedis.

VERS. 4.-- *Et duos annulos,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Possunt [0284A] in his annulis quatuor Evangelii libri accipi, etc., *usque ad* sequentia demonstrant: *Ponesque altare,* etc.

VERS. 7.-- *Et adolebit incensum,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 12.)] Incensum vel thymiama, etc., *usque ad* gratias reddamus.

[n: (ID.)] *Et adolebit incensum,* etc. Mane orto sole clare omnia, etc., *usque ad* in caliginoso loco.

*Mane quando componet. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Mane Aaron incensum, etc., *usque ad* et precibus vacare delectantur.

VERS. 9.-- *Non offeretis. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* In sequentibus, etc., *usque ad* stratum suum per singulas noctes irrigant.

[n: (ID.)] Possumus haec altaria interpretari, etc., [0284B] *uque ad* potest accipi.

VERS. 10.-- *Et deprecabitur,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Quia Christus sacerdos noster, etc., *usque ad* recte subjungit:

*Et placabit,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Placat Aaron super altare incensi, etc., *usque ad* Isaac et Israel, etc.

VERS. 11.-- *Locutusque,* etc. Descripto altari incensi, restat descriptio labii aenei, in quo lavarent manus et pedes ingressuri tabernaculum sacerdotes, sed unum mandatum praemittitur.

VERS. 12.-- *Quando tuleris. [n: (BEDA, ubi supra, cap. 13.)]* Hujus praecepti oblitus est David, etc., *usque ad* propriae divitiae suae.

VERS. 13.-- *Dimidium sicli. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Id est decem obolos, etc., *usque ad* nulla potest infidelium [0284C] perturbatione corrumpi.

VERS. 14.-- *Qui habetur in numero,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Vicenarius, etc., *usque ad* exspectat in coelis.

VERS. 15.-- *Dives non addet,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Quia sive magnus est quis meritis et perfectus, seu parvus, et in provectu virtutum positus, cunctis aeque lex decalogi, qua Deum et proximum diligant, imponitur

VERS. 16.-- *Susceptamque pecuniam,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Hoc fit cum quidquid agimus boni, etc., *usque ad* plaga districtae ultionis ferietur.

VERS. 17.-- *Locutusque est Dominus,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 14.)] Potest in hoc labio vel labro, etc., *usque ad* quae excubabant ad ingressum tabernaculi.

VERS. 18.-- *Cum basi sua. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Basis in [0284D] qua labrum erat positum, etc., *usque ad:* ut exhibeatis corpora vestra, etc. [n: (Rom. XII)].

*Lavandum,* etc. Christus quoque hujus labri aqua est lotus, priusquam ad altare oblaturus intraret, et thymiama sacri corporis pro salute nostra in ara crucis incenderet: pro nostro enim amore lacrymas fudit, sicut in resurrectione Lazari.

VERS. 21.-- *Ne forte moriantur. [n: (BED., ibid.)]* Mors enim timenda est aeterna, etc., *usque ad: si* manducat et bibit, etc. [n: (I Cor. XI.)]

VERS. 23.-- *Sume tibi* [n: (STRAB.)] σμύρνα Graece, Latine dicitur myrrha, qui est arbor in Arabia quinque cubitorum, cujus virgulta Arabes exurunt, ut melius pullulent et fructificent. Ex quorum nidore [0285A] incurabiles morbos contraherent, nisi fumo storacis occurrerent. Hujus arboris gummi proprie stacte vocatur, abusive etiam myrrha.

*Calami.* Cinnamomi est virgultum, et in India vel Aethiopia nascitur duorum tantum cubitorum. Dicitur autem cinnamomum, quia in modum cannae subtiles et replicatos habet calamos, cinerei vel nigri coloris; qui fracti visibile spiramentum reddunt, et subtile quidem charum; grossum vero, vile et despectum. Calamus aromatica species juxta Libanum. Myrrhae, cinnamomi, calami, cassiae. Hae quatuor species significant quatuor principales virtutes, quibus oleo unctionis, id est gratia misericordiae, Dei Ecclesia dedicanda est et sanctificanda.

VERS. 29.-- *Et erunt,* etc. *(AUG., quaest 135 in [0285B] Exod.)* Cum scilicet uncta fuerint. Quid ergo distabit jam inter illa interiora quae velo teguntur?

*Qui tetigerit.* Similiter de altari sacrificiorum superius dictum est, quod sic intelligendum est, ut liceat populo tangere tabernaculum, quando offerebant hostias, vel quaelibet dona, et tangendo sanctificabantur, propter illud oleum quo cuncta peruncta sunt: non sicut sacerdotes, qui etiam, ut aeterno sacerdotio fungerentur, ungebantur ex illo.

VERS. 34.-- *Onychen.* Onyche ostreola fertur esse parvula suave redolens, magnitudine humani unguis: unde et onyche Graece dicitur, quia ὄνυξ, onyx, Graece dicitur unguis.

*Galbanum.* Galbanum succus ferulae esse dicitur, et nascitur in Syria optimum: cartilaginosum est, [0285C] et minus lignosum, cujus odore fugantur serpentes.

*Et thus.* Thus Graece, libanum Latine dicitur, a Libano monte Arabiae: alius enim Libanus est Phoenicis, in quo sunt cedri.

*Thus* optimum, scilicet quod masculinum dicitur, quia in modum humani testis rotundum, cujus arbor nascitur in Arabia ad aeris qualitatem perplexo et in torto vimine.

*Mystice* autem hae quatuor species significant sanctarum virtutum species.

VERS. 35.-- *Faciesque thymiama,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. I Moral., cap. 39, tom. I.)] Thymiama ex aromatibus compositum facimus, etc., *usque ad* odorem de se subtilius non aspergit.

[n: (ISID.)] Incensum, quod ex quatuor odoratissimis generibus in maximam subtilitatem comminutis, id est, stacte, onycha, galbano, et thure componitur; orationes fidelium significat, quamvis quatuor elementa haec quatuor videant significare: ut thus, quod lucidum est, aeri comparetur, stactes aquis, galbanus et onyx terrae et igni, ut per haec omnium quae in coelo et infra coelum, et in terra, et in aquis, sunt placitum Deo incensum sit

*Opere,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 136.)] Non debemus putare unguentum fieri, sed thymiama vel incensum, quod apponitur illi altari incensi ubi non licebat sacrificari, et erat intra sancta sanctorum.

VERS. 37.-- *Talem,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Qui scilicet precibus et laudibus divinis non debemus uti in adulationibus [0286A] humanis. Soli enim Deo ita serviendum est, unde supra prohibetur, ne caro hominis ungatur ex eo.

## CAPUT XXXI.

VERS. 2.-- *Beseleel,* etc., qui interpretatur *in umbra Dei.* q. d. *Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea quem [n: (Psal. LXII)]*. Ab hoc dicitur David duxisse originem, et polymitarii nomen, quia Beseleel opere polymito tabernaculum construxit.

VERS. 3.-- *Et implevi [n: (AUG., quaest. 128.)]* Utrum Spiritus sancti dono opera ista tribuenda sunt, quae pertinere videntur ad opificium? an hoc etiam significative dictum est, ut ea pertineant ad divinum Spiritum sapientiae et intellectus et scientiae, quae his [0286B] rebus significantur? Tum etiam hic cum Spiritu repletus dicatur, iste divino sapientiae et scientiae, nondum legitur Spiritus sanctus.

VERS. VI.-- *Oliab,* qui interpretatur *protectio mea,* tanquam nomine dicat, *Dominus protector vitae meae; a quo trepidabo [n: (Psal. XXVI)]*? Bene autem tabernaculum construunt, qui tam constanter in Domino confidunt.

[n: (STRAB.)] Notandum quod in constructione tabernaculi mysterium Trinitatis ostenditur, sicut in baptismo et in transfiguratione. In baptismo enim in voce sonuit Pater: et Filius baptizatus est; in specie columbae Spiritus apparuit. Ooliab quoque, qui interpretatur *protectio mea pater,* Patris personam: Beseleel quoque, qui *in umbra Dei* significat, personam [0286C] Spiritus sancti: de quo dicitur. *Et virtus Altissimi obumbrabit tibi.* Virtus enim Altissimi Spiritus sanctus intelligitur. Unde Dominus dicit: *Ego novi virtutem de me exisse [n: (Luc. VIII)]*. Jussio autem, id est verbum, quo tabernaculum fieri jussum est, Filius est, per quem Pater in virtute Spiritus sancti omnia operatur.

VERS. 13.-- *Videte,* etc. Frustra gloriantur Judaei de legali observatione. Aperte enim dicitur quia signum est futurae, scilicet quietis, et beatitudinis; vel quietis sanctorum in praesenti, quia quiescunt a tumultu mundialium operum et vitiorum.

VERS. 18.-- *Duas tabulas [n: (AUG., quaest. 140.)]* Cum multa locutus sit Deus, duae tantum tabulae dantur Mosi lapideae, quae dicuntur tabulae testimonii; [0286D] quia caetera omnia, quae praecepit Deus, ex illis decem praeceptis, quae in duabus scripta sunt tabulis, pendere intelliguntur, si diligenter quaerantur, et bene intelligantur; sicut ipsa decem ex duobus, dilectione, scilicet, Dei et proximi: in quibus scilicet *tota lex pendet et prophetae [n: (Matth. XXII)]*.

## CAPUT XXXII.

VERS. 1.-- *Fac nobis,* etc. Deos pluraliter, cum unus tantum vitulus factus sit, ad similitudinem scilicet bovis Apis, quem in Aegypto coluerunt; sed qui idololatriam colit, omnibus vitiis subjicit se, et quasi tot diis et daemonibus quot vitiis servit.

VERS. 2.-- *Dixitque ad,* etc. *(AUG., quaest. 141 [0287A] in Exod.)* Intelligitur Aaron difficilia praecipere, ut hoc modo eos ab illa intentione revocaret. Factum est tamen illud ipsum difficile, ut esset aurum ad faciendum idolum: quod propter eos notandum putavi qui contristantur si quid tale propter vitam aeternam divinitus fieri, vel aequo animo tolerare jubeantur.

VERS. 6.-- *Et sedit populus comedere,* etc. Esus potusque ad lusum impulit, lusus ad idololatriam: quia si vanitatis culpa non caute compescitur, ab iniquitate mens incauta devoratur. Unde: *Qui modica spernit, paulatim decidit.* Si enim curare parva negligimus insensibiliter seducti, etiam majora audenter perpetramus.

VERS. 8.-- *Isti sunt dii tui. [n: (AUG., quaest. 142.)]* [0287B] Dominus indicans Moysi quid fecerit populus de vitulo et de idolo quod ex auro suo fecerant, dicit eos dixisse: Hi sunt dii tui, Israel, qui te eduxerunt de terra Aegypti. Quod eos dixisse non legitur; sed animum eorum hunc fuisse Deus ostendit, horum quippe gerebant verborum in corde sententiam, quae Deum latere non poterat.

VERS. 10.-- *Dimitte me,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. IX Moral., cap. 11.)] Quid est servo dicere, etc., *usque ad* iram Dei non valuit pro seipso temperare.

[n: (ID., lib. XX Moral., cap. 6.)] Aedificare lectorem juxta historiam potest, etc., *usque ad* nec misericordia disciplinae.

VERS. 13.-- *Recordare Abraham, Isaac,* etc. Patres, qui diliguntur, inducit pro filiis, qui offendunt, [0287C] nec merentur audiri; quia bona sanctorum patrum saepe subveniunt filiis.

VERS. 14.-- *Placatusque est Dominus ne faceret malum.* [n: (AUG.)] Malitiam hic poenam intelligi voluit, sicut est illud: Aestimata est malitia exitus illorum. Secundum hoc dicitur et bonum et malum esse a Deo, non secundum malitiam qua homines mali sunt. Malus enim Deus non est: sed malis ingerit mala, quia justus est.

VERS. 19.-- *Iratusque valde. [n: (ID., quaest. 144.)]* Iratus Moyses, tabulas testimonii digito Dei scriptas fregisse videtur. Magno tamen mysterio figurata est iteratio Testamenti Novi, quia vetus fuerat abolendum, et Novum constituendum. Notandum sane quanta pro populo ad Deum supplicatione laboraverit, [0287D] qui tam severus in eos vindicando fuit.

VERS. 20.-- *Arripiensque vitulum quem fecerant. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* Diaboli corpus significatur in vitulo, etc., *usque ad* absorptus est.

*Et dedit ex eo potum filiis Israel.* Tradunt Hebraei quod filii Israel bibentes aquam vituli pulvere infectam, qui commiserant idololatriam in barbis pulverem auri praeferebant, quo etiam signo rei vel immunes sceleris apparebant, et rei interficiebantur.

VERS. 24.-- *Et dederunt mihi,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 145.)] Compendiose locutus est, etc., *usque ad* non redarguit.

VERS. 25-- *Spoliaverat enim eum Aaron in ignominiam [0288A] sordis et inter hostes,* etc. Notandum, quod populus fecit, ipsi Aaron tribuitur, quia consensit ad faciendum quod male petiverat. Magis enim dictum est, nudavit eos Aaron, quia cessit eis, quam nudaverunt se ipsi, qui tantum malum flagitaverunt. Ornamentis quibus fabricatum fuerat idolum, vel quia malam voluntatem prius latentem ostenderat, vel auxilium et protectionem Dei perdiderat.

VERS. 27.-- *Ponat vir gladium,* etc. [n: (GREG., Past. p. III, c. 26.)] Gladium, etc., *usque ad* Unde subditur:

*Occidat unusquisque fratrem suum,* etc. Hos interfecit, quos puniendos invenit ab increpationis gladio, nec eis quos per cognationem carnis diligit, parcit. Si ergo ille Dei dicitur, qui ad ferienda vitia [0288B] zelo divini amoris excitatur, profecto esse se Dei negat, qui quantum sufficit, vitam carnalium increpare recusat.

VERS. 28.-- *Feceruntque,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Locutionibus, locut. 124.)] Plurale pro singulari posuit, etc., *usque ad* certisque regulis istae locutiones interponuntur.

VERS. 31.-- *Aut dimitte eis,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 147 in Exod.)] Securus quidem hoc dicit, etc., *usque ad* ut pro eis illa verba Deo funderet.

VERS. 35.-- *Quem fecit Aaron. [n: (AUG. quaest. 148.)]* Quaeritur cum superius populum nudasse dictus sit Aaron, etc., *usque ad* quod Apostolus dicit exclamans: *Quam inscrutabilia enim sunt judicia ejus:* etc. [n: (Rom. XI)].

## CAPUT XXXIII.

[0288C]

VERS. 1.-- *Locutusque,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 149 in Exod.)] Deus iratus, etc., *usque ad* voce terrebat.

*Vade,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 150.)] Continuo tanquam ad ipsum Mosen, etc., *usque ad* a facie Domini.

VERS. 2.-- *Mittam praecursorem. [n: (AUG., quaest. 150.)]* Deus cum justis est visitando, miserando, et confortando: cum impiis vero, ulciscendo et puniendo. Et est sensus: Cum his non possum esse propter te, ut vindicem et puniam; nec propter eos, ut visitem et confortem: mittam angelum meum saltem.

VERS. 4.-- *Audiens populus.* [n: (RAB.)] Pessimum [0288D] sermonem dicit audivisse populum, hoc est, crudelissimum atque moestissimum. Quod enim majus alicui praestari potest beneficium, quam Dei gratiam habere praesentem, ac conditorem suum agnoscere sibi esse propitium; aut quod majus est discrimen, quam auctoris sufferre iram? Nihil habet boni, qui creatoris sui carebit gratia atque praesentia.

VERS. 7.-- *Tollens tabernaculum,* etc. Hoc per prolepsim accipiendum, si de illo tabernaculo accipitur, quod Moysi in monte monstratum est, et fabricatum, praecipiente Domino, a Beseleel et Ooliab. Vel aliud tabernaculum fuit, ad quod jam conveniebant ad judicandum.

[0289A]VERS. 8.-- *Cumque egrederetur,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 13 in Ezech.)] Hebraeus populus de Aegyptiaca servitute liberatus, etc., *usque ad* progredi conantur.

*Aspiciebantque,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Moyses tenet figuram legis. Moysi ergo tergum populus Judaicus aspiciebat, quia nihil mysticum, nihil spirituale in lege voluit intelligere, sed superficiem tantum litterae. Ideo ejus facies abscondita erat, id est, vera et mera cognitio. Ingresso illo tabernaculum, descendebat columna nubis, et stabat ad ostium. Alia translatio dicit quod Moysi volenti ingredi tabernaculum, opponebat se nubes ante et prohibebat eum. Hic autem dicitur, quod illo ingresso loquebatur nubes ante ostium cum eo. Sciendum ergo quod aliquam [0289B] partem ingrediebatur, atrium scilicet, et tunc antequam intraret in tabernaculum, opponebat se nubes: hoc ergo loco significat eos qui minus sunt perfecti scientia et opere, nec valent intima scripturarum penetrare. Alibi autem quando medium nebulae ingressus est, perfectorum figuram tenuit, scilicet qui mysticorum sensuum arcana investigant.

*Loquebatur autem Dominus.* Secundum opinionem populi loquitur Scriptura, qui putabat Moysen ore ad os loqui cum Deo, cum per subjectam creaturam, id est per angelum et nubem ei loqueretur et appareret. Nam ejus substantiam nec hominum nec angelorum (sicut est) quisquam videre potuit, unde: *Regi autem saeculorum immortali, invisibili,* etc. Et alibi: *Lucem habitat inaccessibilem,* etc. *(I Tim. [0289C] I, VI)*.

*[n: (GREG., in I Reg., cap. 10.)] Facies Dei* cognitio ejus est. Cognoscitur autem Deus per speculum, cognoscitur per seipsum. Per speculum hic, per semetipsum in coelo. Speculum vero est illa lux quam habitat Deus: ipse autem lux illa quae ipse est.

*Si ergo inveni gratiam,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 151.)] His verbis ostendit Moyses, etc., *usque ad* ut se mundos et inviolatos custodiant et proficiant.

VERS. 17.-- *Et teipsum novi,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 153.)] Quoniam scio te prae omnibus,* etc. Nunquid Deus plus aliqua scit et aliqua minus? etc., *usque ad* sed diligentius requirendum est in prioribus Scripturae [0289D] partibus an vere sit ita.

VERS. 19.-- *Ego ostendam. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)]* Cum dixisset Moyses ad Dominum, etc., *usque ad* vocatur Dominus Christus in omnibus gentibus.

*Et vocabo. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] Vocabo* autem dixit, non vocabor, activum verbum pro passivo ponens, genere locutionis inusitato, in quo forte significare voluit seipsum hoc facere, id est, gratia sua fieri, ut vocetur Dominus in omnibus gentibus.

*Et miserebor,* etc. [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] Quod addidit, etc., *usque ad* sic Deus pronuntiavit misericordiam se esse facturum.

[n: (AUG., lib. de Praedestinatione et Gratia, cap. 10.)] [0290A]A Deo homines nullis praecedentibus meritis vocari, etc., *usque ad* si deserat qui vocavit.

*Non poteris,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] Post misericordiae suae commendationem, etc., *usque ad* huic vitae moriendum est.

VERS. 20.-- *Non enim,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XVIII Moral., cap. 37, tom. I.)] Joannes quoque ait: etc., *usque ad* quia satietas ex desiderio semper accenditur.

VERS. 21.-- *Ecce,* inquit, *locus est apud me, et stabis supra,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] Item interposito articulo dicente Scriptura, etc., *usque ad* stetit populus fidelis supra petram.

*[n: (GREG., lib. XXV Moral., cap. 16.)] Est locus apud me,* etc. Locus Ecclesia. Petra Dominus, Moyses [0290B] Judaica plebs, quae Domino praedicante in terra non credidit. Ipsa ergo in petra stetit terga Domini transeuntis aspiciens, quia, scilicet post passionem ascensionemque Domini intra Ecclesiam deducta per fidem Christum percipere meruit, et cujus praesentiam non vidit, ejus posteriora cognovit.

*[n: (GREG. ibid.)] Est locus apud me,* etc. Ecclesia scilicet, etc., *usque ad* De qua soliditate dicitur: *Super hanc petram aedificabo Ecclesiam.*

VERS. 22.-- *Cumque transibit gloria mea,* etc. [n: (EUCHERIUS, lib. de Form. spirit.)] Sed et transire dicitur Deus, cum de cordibus quorumdam hominum, in quibus ante per fidem credebatur, postea surrepente perfidia vel quolibet delicto, ab eis recedit et ad alios transit, quemadmodum de Judaeis ad gentes, [0290C] de haereticis ad catholicos, et de quibuslibet irreligiosis ad religiosos.

*Et protegam* [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] *et tegam manu mea super te,* etc., *usque ad* deinde contexit quid Dominus postea dicat: *Excide tibi duas tabulas lapideas,* etc.

## CAPUT XXXIV.

VERS. 7.-- *Qui reddis iniquitatem patrum filiis ac nepotibus iu tertiam et quartam,* etc., [n: (GREG., lib. XV Moral., cap. 22.)] Cum scriptum sit, etc., *usque ad* qui viderunt quod male sequerentur.

VERS. 14.-- *Dominus zelotes. [n: (AUG., quaest. 158 in Exod.)]* Dominus Deus enim zelans, etc., *usque ad* et perdit omnem qui fornicatur a se.

VERS. 20.-- *Primogenitum asini,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] Per [0290D] asinum immunditia, per ovem innocentia designatur. Asini ergo primogenita ove mutare, est immundae vitae primordia ad innocentiae simplicitatem convertere, ut postquam illa peccator egit, quae ut immunda Dominus respuit, ea jam agendo proferat, quae Dei sacrificio munda imponat.

VERS. 21.-- *Die septimo. [n: (AUG., quaest. 160.)]* Cum de Sabbato praeciperet, etc., *usque ad* omni tempore sabbato debere cessari.

VERS. 24.-- *Nullus insidiabitur [n: (AUG., quaest. 161.)]* Quod dixit, etc., *usque ad* ubi tabernaculum vel templum Deus fuerat habiturus.

VERS. 25.-- *Non immolabis,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 162 et 163.)] Quid est quod ait: Non occides super [0291A] fermentum sanguinem immolatorum meorum? An illa hoc loco dicit immolata sua, quae per pascha occiduntur, et praecipit ne tunc sit in domo fermentum, quando sunt dies azymorum?

VERS. 26.-- *Non coques haedum in lacte.* [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] Non coques agnum in lacte matris suae, etc., *usque ad* sed historica narratio est.

[n: (ISID.)] Moyses quadraginta diebus jejunavit, et Elias, et ipse Dominus. Praecipitur enim nobis ex lege, ex prophetis et Evangelio. Quod testimonium ex his habet. Unde in monte inter utramque personam medius Salvator effulsit, ut ab omnibus mundi illecebris aviditatem nostram tanquam jejunio temperantiae refrenemus, quandiu perfectio Decalogi per quatuor ejusdem mundi partes, id est toti orbi praedicatur, [0291B] ut decem quater ducta quadragenarium numerum signent.

VERS. 28.-- *Et scripsit in tabulis,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 166.)] De Moyse dictum est quod ipse scripsit, etc., *usque ad* sed per gratiam Dei.

VERS. 29.-- *Cumque descenderet. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* Ascendit Moyses denuo in montem, etc., *usque ad* cujus imago fuit in tabulis.

[n: (ISID. ibid.)] Descendente Moyse cum tabulis, etc., *usque ad* unde: *Revela oculos meos et considerabo mirabilia de lege tua [n: (Psal. CXVIII)]*.

VERS. 30.-- *Videns autem Aaron,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 12 in Exod.)] Scriptum est quia vidit Aaron et omnes filii Israel Moysen, etc., *usque ad* habent enim gloriam ea quae loquitur, sed tegitur et occultatur, [0291C] et omnis gloria ejus intrinsecus.

[n: (ORIG. ibid.)] Illud quoque intuere quod in lege vultus Moysi glorificatur, licet velamine contegatur, etc., *usque ad* de servitute saeculi liberati libertatem scientiae requiramus.

VERS. 34.-- *Et tunc loquebatur ad filios Isael omnia quae sibi fuerant,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 172 in Exod.)] Postquam descendit Moyses de monte, etc., *usque ad* ut hoc nomen acciperent.

## CAPUT XXXV.

VERS. 5.-- *Separate. [n: (ORIG., hom. 13 in Exod.)]* Alia littera: Sumite a vobis ipsis redemptionem Domino, etc., *usque ad* et argentum tuum, id est sermo tuus, probatum.

[0291D] [n: (ID.)] Nostis, qui divinis mysteriis interesse consuevistis, etc., *usque ad* haec omnia quae in nobis sunt faciunt.

*Omnis.* [n: (ID.)] Alia littera: Unusquisque vestrum, inquit, etc., *usque ad* ita si veniens dominus inveniat aliquid tuum in tabernaculo suo, sibi te defendit, et suum dicit.

*Aes.* [n: (ID.)] Pro fortitudine poni videtur, etc., *usque ad* Omnia ergo offerantur Deo, sensus, sermo et vox.

VERS. 6.-- *Hyacinthum.* [n: (ID.)] Videamus caetera, hyacinthum, etc., *usque ad* et offeretis primitias Domino.

*Coccumque bis tinctum. [n: (ID. homil. 13 in Exod.)]* Videamus quare coccus duplicatur, etc., *usque ad* ut [0292A] cum scientiae lumine igniculum severitatis admisceat.

[n: (ID.)] Si quis digne intelligat exitum Hebraeorum de Aegypto, etc., *usque ad* et nobiliora designat indumenta: *Induite vos Dominum Jesum Christum, et carnis curam ne feceritis in deliciis [n: (Rom. XIII)]*.

[n: (GREG., ubi supra. )] In constructione tabernaculi, etc., *usque ad* quasi sine luce sonitum dederunt.

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Post haec viri acceperunt a mulieribus suis, etc., *usque ad* unde: *Non omnes capiunt verbum istud, sed quibus datum est [n: (Matth. XIX)]*.

VERS. 6.-- *Pilosque caprarum. [n: (ORIG. hom. 19.)]* Pili caprarum offeruntur, etc., *usque ad* qui Domino offert pelles arietum.

VERS. 21.-- *Quidquid ad cultum,* etc. (GREG., *ubi [0292B] supra.* ) In ornamento tabernaculi viri cum mulieribus dona offerunt, etc., *usque ad* prout ipse dederit, proferuntur.

VERS. 27.-- *Principes vero obtulerunt lapides,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Principes obtulerunt dona sua, etc., *usque ad* ut praeesse populis mereantur.

[n: (ORIG. hom. 9 in Exod.)] Offerunt etiam principes oleum lucernis et chrismati profuturum, etc., *usque ad* cum te Dominus in loco viridi collocaverit super aquam refectionis.

VERS. 30.-- *Beseleel. [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)]* Umbra dicitur, etc., *usque ad* in justitia et judicio fratres suos exhortando roborant.

## CAPUT XXXVI.

[0292C]VERS. 1.-- *Fecit ergo Beseleel,* etc. [n: (RAB., in Exod. )] Notandum quod non solum de tribu regali, etc., *usque ad* ad corporis sui unitatem voluit pertinere.

VERS. 2.-- *Cumque vocasset eos,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Et postquam obtulit populus, vocavit, inquit Moyses, etc., *usque ad* et in suo loco aptare debeas et proferre?

*Et qui sponte,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 170 in Exod.)] Et omnes qui sponte vellent ire ad opera, ut consummarent ea,* etc. Commemoravit Moyses quosdam, etc., *usque ad* sed liberaliter et sponte devotus.

VERS. 4.-- *Unde artifices,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 171)]. Nota quia sapientes effectores operum sancti etiam moribus erant: poterant autem, si vellent, multa auferre; sed modestia prohibuit, vel religio terruit.

## CAPUT XXXVII.

[0292D]

VERS. 1.-- *Fecit autem Beseleel arcam. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* In arca testamenti fuit urna aurea, etc., *usque ad* immortalis memoriae semper viriditate florentem.

VERS. 2.-- *Coronam auream,* etc. Quia in eo quod Ecclesia per quatuor mundi partes dilatatur, quatuor sancti Evangelii libris accincta praedicatur, quae tamen intra unius coronae ambitum, id est intra ejusdem fidei firmitatem, id est unitatem, concluditur.

VERS. 4.-- *Vectes quoque. [n: (ISID., ibid.)]* Quia fortes perseverantesque doctores velut imputribilia ligna quaerendi sunt, qui instructioni sacrorum voluminum [0293A] semper inhaerentes, Ecclesiae unitatem denuntient, et quasi intromissis circulis arcam portent; qui auro quoque jubentur operiri, ut cum sermone aliis insonant, ipsi etiam vitae splendore fulgescant.

VERS. 6.-- *Fecit et propitiatorium,* etc. [n: (ISID., ibid.)] Propitiatorium super arcam testamenti, etc., *usque ad* quia Christus est Ecclesiae caput.

VERS. 17.-- *Fecitque candelabrum,* etc. Quod Spiritum sanctum significat, qui septiformi gratia illustrat Ecclesiam in unitate fidei consistentem, vel Christum portantem ecclesias septem, in quibus septiformis Spiritus splendor emicat.

VERS. 23.-- *Cum emunctoriis.* Quae in Isaia forcipes appellantur, duo Testamenta, scilicet quibus peccata purgantur, quaeque intra se sancti Spiritus [0293B] unione sociantur.

## CAPUT XXXVIII.

VERS. 8.-- *Fecit et labrum aeneum,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 17 in Evang.)] Labrum aeneum Moyses ponit, etc., *usque ad* ut per haec proficere contendamus, per quae profecisse cognovimus quos veneramur.

VERS. 20.-- *Paxillos quoque.* [n: (STRAB.)] Paxilli secundum litteram erant in summitate columnarum fixi, quibus funes religabantur: qui cortinas a terra sublevabant, firmati superius quibusdam ansulis, inferius vero religati ad praedictos paxillos cortinas extendebant, ne rugam contraherent.

Mystice vero funes significant sanctam Scripturam: de qua Salomon ait: *Funiculus triplex difficile rumpitur* [0293C] [n: (Eccle. IV)]: quia sancta Scriptura, historia, moralitate et allegoria constans, nullis haereticorum dogmatibus potest disrumpi. Paxilli in modum linguae facti linguas doctorum significant qui Scripturam exponunt. Cortinas etiam a terra sublevant et extendunt: quia subjectos docent sequi, et imitari coelestia, nullamque mali operis vel fraudis rugam contrahere [n: (Ephes. V)].

## CAPUT XXXIX.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

## CAPUT XL.

VERS. 1.-- *Locutusque est Dominus ad Moysen dicens: Mense primo,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Primus anni mensis ipse est Nisan, qui et Aprilis, in quo Judaei [0293D] pascha celebrabant, et tabernaculum erectum est. Allegorice autem primus mensis signat initium gratiae quando tabernaculum Dei, id est Ecclesia erecta est, cum Christus, scilicet crucifixus de latere suo produxit mysteria sanguinis et aquae, quibus Ecclesia dedicatur et consecratur. Et notandum quia hic primus mensis secundi anni fuit: primus enim annus ante legem fuit, secundus annus sub gratia Evangelii, cui Dominus benedixit. Unde: *Benedices coronae anni benignitatis tuae [n: (Psal. LXIV)]*. Annus enim benignitatis fuit, quo salus humani generis per humanitatem Christi apparuit: hoc ergo anno tabernaculum Dei erectum est, id est Ecclesia fundata et exaltata.

[0294A] [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] Primus annus omne tempus legis, etc., *usque ad* ut doctores Evangelii his utantur in confirmatione fidei.

VERS. 9.-- *Unges tabernaculum,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Tabernaculum cum vasis suis unctionis oleo consecratur; quia sancta Ecclesia quidquid agit cum virtutibus suis debet dedicare et consecrare gratiae Spiritus sancti. Oleum quippe unctionis spirituali gratiae comparatur, qua omnium virtutum opera Domino consecrantur.

VERS. 12.-- *Applicabisque Aaron,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Fores tabernaculi, id est, sanctae Ecclesiae, sunt apostoli, per quos debet aulam coeli ingredi: ad hos applicandi sunt Aaron et filii ejus, id est omnis coetus sanctorum et maxime praepositorum, ut eos [0294B] imitentur et eorum vestigia sequantur.

VERS. 16.-- *Et vectes.* Vectis non solum parietes nectit, sed et columnas introitus confirmat ne corruant, aut a recto statu deflectant, quia Dominus et utrumque populum in una fide dilectionis sociavit, et eorum doctores, ut in fide et actione et praedicatione perseverent, confortat. Nec mirum si et per capita ipsa, et per vectem capita ipsa continentem, Christus accipitur, quia cujusque electi regendo caput est, unde: *Caput viri Christus est [n: (II Cor. XI)]*: et quia non solum singulos ad quaerenda coelestia erigit, sed etiam omnes continet, et ne a recto statu deflecti, nec ab invicem discordando possint separari, vinculo pacis confirmat. Cui simile est quod Dominus dicitur et agnus, et pastor, et ostium, [0294C] cum pastor agnum pascat, et ambo intrent per ostium; cum proprie sit Verbum in principio [n: (Joan. I, X)]: horum vero nullum sit proprie, sed figuraliter. Pastor, quia ducit ad pascua vitae; ostium quia non nisi per illum pervenitur ad Patrem; Agnus, quia ab Aegypto salvat. Sic et hic per capita figuratur propter regimen, quo singulis praeest, et per vectem, ob generalem providentiam, quia omnes confirmat [n: (Num. IX; III Reg. VIII)].

[n: (BEDA.)] Sic anima pro diversis actionibus diversa nomina sortitur. Dum vivificat corpus, anima nominatur; dum vult, animus est; dum scit, mens est: dum recolit, memoria est; dum judicat, ratio est; dum spirat, spiritus est; dum sentit, sensus est.

VERS. 33.-- *Nec poterat Moyses,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] [0294D] Moyses ergo in hoc loco, sicut in aliis pluribus, figuram tenet Judaici populi. Moyses ergo, nube obstante, in tabernaculum non poterat intrare, quia Judaicus populus nunquam sacramenta Scripturae valuit penetrare. Nubes enim Domini per diem incubabat tabernaculo, et ignis in nocte: hoc loco ignis divinorum mysteriorum scientiam significat. Scriptura enim sancta sanctis, et ignorantiam suam fatentibus, lumen est: iniquis vero, et scientiam jactantibus, nubes, quia excaecat eos.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 176 in Exod.)] Notanda est res mirabilis multum, etc., *usque ad* nubes per diem, flamma per noctem.

In tabernaculo autem Domini erant tabulae, quarum [0295A] annulis erant infixi vectes de lignis sethim, quibus possent levari et portari de mansione ad mansionem, quae omnia mysteriis plena sunt. Per tabernaculum intelligimus Ecclesiam praesentem, in qua sunt tabulae, scilicet sancti humilitate pleni, quibus quinque vectes sunt affixi, id est spiritualis notitia quinque librorum Moysi, per quam se et alios sustollant ad claritatem aeternae beatitudinis. Per vectes ergo, ut diximus, quinque libros Moysi intelligimus, qui sunt Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, liber Numerorum, et Deuteronomium: in quibus continetur principium mundi et medium et consummatio. In Genesi describitur creatio mundi, et in Exodo recreatio: in Levitico sacramentorum Ecclesiae administratio; in libro Numerorum Evangelica [0295B] praedicatio; in Deuteronomio ultima benedictio. Unde et in benedictionibus terminatur. Est itaque in Genesi ordo creationis; in Exodo mysterium recreationis; in Levitico sanctitas Ecclesiasticae administrationis; in libro Numerorum consolatio evangelicae praedicationis; in Deuteronomio consummatio aeternae benedictionis. Inter hos autem quinque libros Moysi excellit Exodus, quem nunc ad manus habemus. In eo enim et quae filiis Israel in figura contingebant, et mysteria plene continentur Christi et Ecclesiae. Hic tamen primum de exitu actuali carnalium filiorum Israel, de historiali Aegypto agitur, in quo significatur spiritualis exitus spiritualium Israelitarum de vera Aegypto, scilicet de tenebris vitiorum. Agitur etiam de transitu maris Rubri [0295C] et submersione Pharaonis et exercitu ejus, et de liberatione populi Dei: in quo figuratur baptismus sanguine Christi consecratus, in quo diaboli vitia submerguntur, et animae fidelium liberantur. Agitur etiam de pugna Israelitarum cum Amalech, in quo victoria Christi et suorum, et confusio diaboli figuratur. Tandem catalogo mansionum descripto agitur de lege data in monte Sina; in quo nobis innuitur ut, a terrenis sublevati discamus subjici coelestibus disciplinis. Agitur iterum de constructione tabernaculi et vasorum ejus, de vestibus sacerdotum et unctione; in quo intelligitur praesens Ecclesia, et diversae personae fidelium diversis officiis deputatae, sicut vasa diversis usibus deputata erant, vel officiis, et sacramentorum et orationum sacratarum suavissima odoramenta. De his hactenus; nunc dicendum est quod secundum ordinem historiae [0296A] et secundum allegoriam, congrue in Pentateucho, secundus est liber iste: postquam enim in Genesi egit de creatione coeli et terrae, et de introitu filiorum Israel in Aegyptum, congruit ut consequenter de exitu eorum agat. Ecce quod juxta ordinem historiae congruit: juxta allegoriam quoque non incongrue factum est. Nam postquam dixit de carnali generatione, qua per peccatum primi hominis nascimur filii diaboli, congruit ut statim subdat de regeneratione spirituali, qua per justificationem secundi hominis, id est, Christi renascimur filii Dei. Liber autem iste vocatur ἔξοδος Graece, ואלה שמות veelle semoth Hebraice, exitus vel egressus Latine: ideo quia de exitu filiorum Israel de Aegypto agit. Sed quaeri potest cur liber [0296B] iste dicatur Exodus, quia de exitu illorum agit, cum in principio non de exitu, sed de ingressu illorum agatur. Ad quod dici potest, quia quamvis specialiter de exitu illorum agere intendat, tamen quia multum tempus profluxit inter exitum, de quo hic agit, et ingressum in quo primus liber terminatur vel terminaverat, ut competentius jungat narrationem suam breviter, prius repetit de introitu, et ita melius descendit ad exitum. Sic et nos in nostris sermonibus facta longa interpositione, dicturi alia, repetimus superiora, ut melius dicta continuemus. His consideratis, videnda est materia, quae est corporalis exitus filiorum Israel de Aegypto, et spiritualis exitus sanctus sanctorum de mundo. Intentione admonet nos spiritualiter exire de conformitate [0296C] mundi, sicut illi qui corporaliter exierunt de Aegypto, ut sicut fuimus conformes saeculo, ita simus conformes Deo. Modus talis est: breviter tangens de introitu filiorum Israel in Aegyptum, agit de eorum multiplicatione; deinde de novo rege, qui ignoravit Joseph et coepit affligere populum; deinde de plagis Aegypti, tandem de exitu illorum et de transitu maris Rubri et submersione Aegyptiorum. Tandem pervenit ad montem Sina, in quo lex data est, et agit de tabernaculo; et vasis ejus, et de vestibus sacerdotum et unctione, et sic terminatur.

Nota quod cum eadem sit et indivisa historia, quam proposuit sibi Moyses describendam, tamen per capitula et partes sive per libros eam distinguunt, ut lectoribus fastidium auferatur, sicut viator viam, quae est indivisa, dividit per dietas, ut labor minuatur et absit fastidium.

english:
In Hebrew VEELLE SEMOTH ( ואלה שמות ), that is, THESE ARE THE NAMES; in Greek ΕΞΟΔΟΣ, that is, THE GOING OUT.

## PROTHEMATA ON EXODUS.

[0183A]

[n: (RAB.)] In the Pentateuch Exodus excels, in which nearly all the mysteries by which the Church is instructed are figuratively expressed. For by the bodily going out of the children of Israel from Egypt our bodily going out [cj: *corporalis*; read *spiritualis*, "our spiritual going out"] from spiritual Egypt is signified. By the Red Sea, and the drowning of Pharaoh and of the Egyptians, the mystery of baptism and the destruction of spiritual enemies. By the immolation of the typical lamb, and of the deliverances of the Hebrews, the passion of the true Lamb and our redemption. From heaven manna is given, and water from the rock. *This is the bread which came down from heaven [n: (Joan. VI)]* and the teaching of Christ. On the mountain precepts and judgments are given to the people of God, that we may be made subject to heavenly disciplines. [0183B] The tabernacle and its vessels are constructed, worship and sacrifices are commanded, by which the adornment of the Church and spiritual sacrifices are signified. The mystical unction and the fragrant compounds are prepared, by which the sanctification of the spirit and the perfumes of prayer are commended. Hence Paul says: *All ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink,* etc.

[n: (I Cor. X.)] Hence John also: *These things were done,* he says, *that the Scripture might be fulfilled: You shall not break a bone of him [n: (Joan. XIX)]*.

[n: (BED.)] *Veelle Semoth* ( ואלה שמות ) in Hebrew; ἒξοδος in Greek; *exodus, exitus* or *egressus* in Latin.

## CHAPTER ONE.

VERS. 5.-- *There were therefore all the souls of them that [0183C] came out of the thigh of Jacob, seventy,* etc. Seventy souls, that is, seventy disciples, together with Jacob, that is, with Christ, enter into Egypt, that is, the world, being sent, namely, to preach. Otherwise: the seventy souls that entered Egypt are taken mystically in the number of remission, so that to this age, which is figured by Egypt, after so many sins the remission of sins may be granted.

VERS. 6, 7.-- *And when he was dead,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Exod. )] So, after the true Joseph had tasted death for all, and had destroyed him who had the empire of death, the people of the faithful was multiplied. For unless the grain had died in the earth, it would have remained alone.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 1, in Exod.)] If Joseph die in thee, [0183D] that is, if thou take upon thee the mortification of Christ, and mortify thy members to sin, the children of Israel are multiplied in thee, namely, good and spiritual senses. For if the senses of the flesh be mortified, the senses of the soul grow, and as the vices die in thee the virtues are increased, and the earth multiplies thee in good works, which are ministered through the office of the body. The earth had multiplied Paul, who said: *But to remain [0184A] in the flesh is more needful for your sake.* [var: Vulg. *permanere autem in carne, necessarium propter vos*, without *magis*, "to remain in the flesh is needful for you"] For while he remains on earth, that is, in his own flesh, the Church is multiplied by believing, by winning a people for God, and by preaching the Gospel from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum.

VERS. 8-10.-- *Meanwhile there arose a new king over Egypt,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Allegorically.* This is the devil, who *said in his heart: There is no God;* who says to his own nation, that is, to the apostate angels: *Behold the people of the children of Israel,* those, namely, who are able to see God with the mind, is mightier than we: *Come, let us oppress them wisely.* The devil perceives that the people of Israel is great, and stronger than himself, because he has often engaged them and is often overcome. He knows that Jacob wrestled, and by the help of an angel prevailed against his adversary, and was strong [0184B] with God. He has felt the wrestlings of the other saints also, he has endured spiritual contests: he fears lest at some time war befall, and they consent to his adversaries, and, these being overcome [devicto eo], depart out of his land. It seems to me, from those things which had been shown to the patriarchs and prophets concerning the coming of Christ, that he perceives that One will come who will strip off his principalities and powers, and with confidence triumph over them and afflict them on the wood of the cross.

[n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] In the Chronicles of Eusebius and Jerome we read, etc., *as far as* and he perished in the Red Sea; there were many Pharaohs.

*[n: (ORIG. homil. 1.)] Morally.* First I wish to enquire who is the king in Egypt who knows Joseph, and who is he that knows him not. For while he was reigning who knew Joseph, the children of Israel are not said to be [0184C] afflicted, nor consumed in clay and brick; nor were their males slain and their females kept alive; but only when he began to reign who had not known Joseph. If the Lord rules us, and the sense of our mind or soul is enlightened by God, remembering that Christ has risen from the dead, then in Egypt, that is, in our flesh, our spirit holds the kingdom with justice, and does not consume the children of Israel, that is, the rational senses or the virtues, in clay and brick, nor wear them away with earthly cares. If our sense should lose the memory of these things, and should not know Christ, then the wisdom of the flesh, which is an enemy to God, succeeds to the kingdom; it addresses its own nation, that is, the bodily pleasures, and, the leaders of the vices being called to council, deliberates against the children of Israel, how they may be circumvented, oppressed [0184D] with clay, and afflicted with brick; how the Egyptians may expose the males, rear the females, and build cities and fortified cities. Nor is it to be thought that the divine books relate the deeds of the Egyptians without cause; but *the things that were written were written for our instruction [n: (Rom. XV)]*, so that thou who hearest these things, if perchance thou hast been baptized and numbered among the children of Israel, and hast received the Lord as king within thee, and after this hast willed to turn aside and to do the works [0185A] of the world, to perform the doings of earth and to fulfil the offices of clay: know that there has arisen in thee another king, who knows not Joseph, the king of Egypt; he himself compels thee to his own works, to labour at brick and clay; he himself, with taskmasters and drivers set over thee, drives thee with scourges to earthly works, that thou mayest build him cities; he makes thee run about through the world and, out of covetousness, throw into confusion the elements of sea and of land; to beat upon the court with lawsuits and to weary thy kinsmen with quarrels over a scanty clod of earth; to lie in wait against chastity, to deceive innocence, to commit things foul at home, cruel abroad, and shameful within the conscience: in things of this kind know that thou art soldiering for the king of Egypt, which is to be driven by the spirit of this world.

VERS. 11-13.-- *He set therefore over them,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] The devil, having called together his own nation, desires to oppress [0185B] the rational sense, which is now figuratively called Israel: he sets over them masters of works, who may compel them to learn the works of the flesh, according to that of Psalm CV: *They were mingled among the heathen, and learned their works.* He teaches them to build cities for Pharaoh: Phithom, which signifies *the mouth of failing,* or *of the abyss;* and Ramesses, which is *the commotion of the moth,* and On, that is, Heliopolis, which is called the city of the sun. The mouth fails when it speaks a lie apart from truth and from proofs. He was a liar from the beginning, and therefore he wills such cities to be built for himself: *the mouth of the abyss,* because the abyss of perdition is his place; his other city is *the commotion of the moth:* for he who follows him lays up treasure there where the moth destroys, and thieves dig through and steal [n: (Matth. VI)]. He builds also the City of the Sun, under a false name *transfiguring himself [0185C] into an angel of light.* In these he occupies the minds which were made to see God. Yet he foresees that wars threaten him and the ripe destruction of his nation; therefore he says, The nation of Israel prevails over us, would that it might also perceive that we prevail over it: that is to say, that I may not receive the thoughts and the evil concupiscences which he sends in, but may repel the fiery darts with the shield of faith, and in all things that he shall suggest may say: *Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written: Thou shalt adore the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve [n: (Matth. IV)]*. [var: Vulg. *Vade Satana*, without *retro*] But this also which he says, Lest perchance war befall us, and these consent with our adversaries — out of the prophetic voices he foresees that war will come upon him, and that he will be forsaken by the children of Israel, and that they will consent to his adversary and be added to [0185D] the Lord. This is what Jeremias says [n: (cap. XVII)]. *The partridge has cried out, she has gathered what she did not bring forth, she has made riches, and not in judgment: in the midst of his days they shall forsake him, and in his last days he shall be a fool.* [var: Vulg. *Perdix fovit quae non peperit… in dimidio dierum suorum derelinquet eas, et in novissimo suo erit insipiens*, "The partridge hath hatched what she did not bring forth… in the midst of her days she shall leave them, and in her latter end she shall be foolish"] He understands therefore that he himself is the partridge who gathered what she did not bring forth; and that those whom he gathered without judgment will forsake him and will follow Christ, who begot them. He himself will remain a fool, when the whole creation shall have fled for refuge to its Maker and Parent; therefore he is indignant, saying: Lest they that fight against us go forth out of our land. He does not wish us to go out of his land, that we may always bear the image of the earthly: lest, having left him, we flee to him who has prepared the kingdom of heaven, leaving the image of the earthly and taking up the image of the heavenly. Therefore he appoints masters of works, who may teach [0186A] his arts and make us craftsmen of malice. And because there are many masters of malice whom Pharaoh has set over us, who command, exact, and extort earthly works: therefore, when Christ came, he made other teachers fighting against them, who, subjecting all their principalities and powers and virtues, might defend the children of Israel from violence, and might teach them Israelite works, and to see God with the mind; to leave the works of Pharaoh, to go out of the land of Egypt, to put off Egyptian manners and the whole old man with his deeds, and to put on the new, who is created according to God.

[n: (ISID.)] Israel signifies the Christian people, Pharaoh the devil: who lays upon them the most grievous yoke of clay and brick, that is, the servitude of earthly and miry work; with straw mingled in, that is, with light and irrational [0186B] deeds: so that, all being oppressed by the burden of sins, there may be none to destroy or to overcome his kingdom.

VERS. 15.-- *And the king of Egypt spoke to the midwives,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 2.)] These things we detect not only in the world, which is spiritually called Egypt, but in each one of us: the prince of this world does not wish the males to be kept alive, but the females; by the female the flesh and the affection of the flesh is designated; but the man is the rational sense, and the intellectual spirit, which can lay hold of heavenly things, understand God, and seek the things that are above. Him the prince of Egypt hates and desires to slay; but he desires that the things which are of the flesh should live, and that those which pertain to bodily matter should not only live but be increased and cultivated: for he wills that all should savour of carnal things, should seek things temporal and those that are upon the earth; that no one [0186C] should lift up his eyes to heaven; that no one should ask whence he came hither; that no one should remember paradise his fatherland. When therefore thou shalt see men leading their life in pleasures, floating in luxury, giving their labour to banquets and unchastities, know that in these the king of Egypt slays the males and keeps the females alive. But if thou see one of a thousand turned to God, lifting his eyes upward, seeking things eternal, hating delights and luxury, loving continence: him, as a male, Pharaoh desires to slay, persecutes, and assails with a thousand engines; such men he hates, he does not suffer them to live in Egypt. Hence it is that in this world the servants of God are held in contempt, exposed to insults; hence hatreds and persecutions are stirred up against them.

## CHAPTER ONE. (cont.)

*To the midwives. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)]* He strives also to corrupt the midwives. *Of whom one was called Sephora,* [0186D] that is, *sparrow; the other Phua,* namely, *ruddy* or *modest;* through these he seeks that the males be slain and the females kept alive: but the midwives feared God, and did not do as he had commanded them. The midwives have taught us, before our time, to hold a certain form of rational instruction. For midwives are physicians, and they cherish both males and females at their birth. Instruction therefore is the common rational knowledge, and it reaches almost every understanding, it instructs all and cherishes all. If anyone in it be of manly spirit, one who would seek heavenly things and follow after things divine, he would come, as one healed and made strong, the readier through these instructions to the understanding of things divine. For one of them is, as it were, a *sparrow,* which teaches loftier things and calls upward on the wings of rational teaching; [0187A] *the other, ruddy* or *modest,* is moral, it composes manners, teaches modesty and honourableness. To me, however (since Scripture says of them that *they feared God, and did not act according to the precept of the king of Egypt* ), they seem to preserve the figure of both Testaments, and Sephora, who is interpreted *sparrow,* to suit the law, which is spiritual; but Phua, who is *ruddy* or *modest,* to indicate the Gospels, which are red with the blood of Christ and glow throughout the whole world with the gore of the passion. By these, therefore, the souls that are born in the Church are tended as by midwives, because from the Scriptures all the medicines of instruction are supplied. Yet Pharaoh attempts through these to slay the males, when he suggests heresies and depraved doctrines to those who are studious in the divine Scriptures. But the foundation of God stands [0187B] unmoved. For the midwives fear God, that is, they teach the fear of God, which is the beginning of wisdom. Thus what follows is the more fittingly adapted, that because the midwives feared God, they made themselves houses. Which according to the letter has no consequence: for a house is not made for the reason that God is feared. But if thou see how the Scriptures of the New and the Old Testament, teaching the fear of God, make houses for the Church, and fill the whole world with houses of prayer, it will seem reasonably written. Thus therefore these midwives, because they fear God, that is, teach the fear of God, do not do the precept of the king of Egypt, but keep the males alive; nor yet is it said that they obeyed by keeping the females alive. But I say confidently, they do not keep the females alive. For neither are vices nor [0187C] luxury taught in the Church, nor are sins nourished, which is what Pharaoh wishes when he bids the females be kept alive; but virtue alone is cultivated and nourished. But let us refer these things to each single person. If thou fearest God, thou wilt not do the precept of the king of Egypt: for he commands that thou live in delights and covet things present; thou, if thou fearest God and dost exhibit the office of a midwife, if thou desirest to profit thine own soul, keepest the males alive, that is, thou dost heal and cherish the inner man who is in thee, and through good acts and understandings dost gain eternal life.

VERS. 16-21.-- *If it be a male,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] *Allegorically.* Pharaoh bids the males be killed, the females live: so the devil, lest the strength of faith prevail, the virtues being slain, wills the vices to live, and strives to kill the strong and manly senses of the mind by which we savour of things divine, that is, [0187D] reason, prudence, constancy, innocence, and faith; and that which is womanish, weak, frail and prone to vices he desires to survive, that is, ambition, violence, lust, wrathfulness, and things like these, which are the figure of women.

VERS. 19.-- *Who answered,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Gen., tom. III.)] It is asked whether such lies are approved by divine authority, etc., *as far as* but those whose conversation is already in heaven, I do not think ought to shape their measure of speech concerning truth and falsehood by the example of the midwives.

[n: (GREG., Moral., lib. XXXVIII, cap. 2, 3.)] A lie is above all things to be guarded against, etc., *as far as* for by sparing [0188A] they endeavoured to cover the life of the infants, by lying, their own.

[n: (AUG., in lib. de Locutionibus in Exod., tom. III.)] And because the midwives feared God, etc., *as far as* so that what is consequently set forth concerning the wages to be fixed by Laban may seem to pertain to the making of that very house.

VERS. 22.-- *Pharaoh therefore commanded,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 2.)] The Egyptians, whom Pharaoh here commanded to keep only the females alive, hated the males. For they hated the virtues, they nourished the vices. Now also the Egyptians lie in wait, if a male be born to the Hebrews, that they may slay him at once, unless they beware, keep watch, and hide him. Scripture relates that someone of the tribe of Levi begot a male, and saw that the infant was goodly [0188B] and hid him. Let us not, therefore, do our justice before men, but with the door shut let us pray to our Father in secret, and let not the left hand know what the right hand does, lest it be snatched away by the Egyptians, be set upon, be drowned in the waves. If I give alms because it is the work of God, I beget a male; but if I seek praise from men, and do not hide it, it is seized by the Egyptians, it is plunged into the river, and with so much labour and so much zeal I have begotten a male for the Egyptians.

*Whatsoever is of the female [n: (HIERON., in Ecclesiasten., c. 3)]*. Wherever in the Scriptures a woman is read of, and the frailer sex, let us transfer it to the understanding of matter. Whence Pharaoh too does not wish males to be born, but females, who are near to matter; and, on the contrary, none of the saints is related, save very rarely, to have begotten daughters. And [0188C] Salphaat alone, who died in his sins, begot all daughters: Jacob is the father of one daughter, and on her account is brought into peril.

## CHAPTER II.

VERS. 1-5.-- *He went out,* etc. [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] Hence Josephus says: But Amram, fearing lest, being seized, he should fall under the king's anger, etc., *as far as* or to lead out, as Moses was led out of the river.

*Alleg.* The parents of Moses, whose faith and works the natural law adorned [n: (ID., ibid.)], *as far as* she herself also is taught to blush to worship idols.

*A man of the house,* etc. [n: (DIOD.)] Not without design is the father of Moses passed over: for Christ also, whose type Moses bore, is without a father.

[0188D]VERS. 2.-- *And seeing,* etc. [n: (CHRYSOST., hom. 54 in Act. apost.)]. It is wonderful that not through those things which seem to be of safety, but plainly through their contraries, all things are done for us. Pharaoh ordered the boys to be cast into the river; unless the boys had been cast in, Moses would not have been saved: when he was being kept safe, he was not in honour; when he was exposed, then he was made to be in honour. A Jew threatened him, saying: *Wilt thou kill me?* and this profited him, that he might philosophize in solitude and live in safety.

*[n: (ORIG., hom. 2.)] Allegorically.* Pharaoh's daughter is the Church gathered from the Gentiles, to whom it is said by the prophet: *Forget thy people, and thy father's house, for the king hath desired thy beauty [n: (Psal. XLIV)]*. [var: Vulg. *Et concupiscet rex decorem tuum*, "And the king shall desire thy comeliness"] [0189A] This, therefore, is she who went out of her father's house and came to the waters, that she might be washed from the sins which she had contracted in her father's house: and at once she took on bowels of mercy, and had pity on the infant; and she, coming to the marsh, found Moses lying exposed by his own, and caused him to be nursed. He is nursed among his own, there he passes his infancy; being made stronger, he is brought to her and is adopted as a son. Moses signifies the law. The Church, therefore, coming to the waters of baptism, received the law shut up within the tibin and smeared with bitumen. Now the tibin is a kind of covering woven out of papyrus, and formed of rods or of the bark of trees. The law therefore lay shut up within coverings of this sort, smeared with pitch and bitumen, that is, with the base and foul understandings of the Jews; it lay soiled and forgotten until the Church should come from the Gentiles and take it up [0189B] out of the miry and marshy places into the halls of wisdom and the royal roofs. Yet it passes its infancy among its own: for among those who do not understand it spiritually it is little, and an infant, and has the food of sucklings; when it comes to the Church, Moses is stronger and more robust; for the veil of the letter being removed, perfect food is found in the reading of him. The wages of the nursing she receives from Pharaoh's daughter, with whom the law is born and nursed. But what is it that the Synagogue receives from the Church? I think it is that which Moses says: *I will lead you into emulation by that which is not a nation: by a foolish nation I will stir you up to wrath.* [var: Vulg. *Ego ad aemulationem vos adducam in non gentem : in gentem insipientem, in iram vos mittam*, "I will bring you to emulation… I will send you into wrath"] The Synagogue therefore receives this wage from the Church, that it should no longer worship idols: for seeing the Gentiles so turned to God that they no longer know idols, it blushes any longer [0189C] to worship idols. We also, if we have had Pharaoh for a father, if he begot us in evil works, when we shall have come to the waters, let us take up the law of God: let not the letters be foul to us as an obscure covering; let us eat those things of it which are small and of milk; let us take up those which are perfect, and let us store them within the royal roofs of the heart. We have a great and strong Moses: let us think nothing small of him, nothing base, but all magnificent, all excellent, all elegant: for all is great that is spiritual and of a lofty understanding.

VERS. 6-8.-- *And seeing in it a little one,* etc. [n: (THEOD.)] *Mystically.* This above all could betray him to her, for the Egyptians had not yet admitted such a mystery, although in a later time they observed the law of circumcision [0189D] in imitation of the Hebrews. Whence Jeremias: *I will consider all that cut round the foreskin, the Egyptians and the sons of Edom. [n: (Jer. IX)]* [var: Vulg. *visitabo super omnem qui circumcisum habet praeputium, super Aegyptum, et super Juda, et super Edom*, "I will visit upon everyone that hath the foreskin circumcised, upon Egypt, and upon Juda, and upon Edom"]

[n: (ISID.)] Moses, that is, Christ, is found by the faithful at the river of the laver and the water of baptism, etc., *as far as* and receiving him with religious observance they guard him.

VERS. 9-11.-- *And when he was grown she delivered him,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Josephus relates that Pharaoh's daughter brought Moses, when grown, to her father, who set his own crown upon him, which Moses at once threw down, because he saw a graven image sculptured there. Whence the priest who was present wished to kill him, saying that Egypt was to be overthrown by him, as he had [0190A] received from the oracle of the demons. But Pharaoh's daughter delivered him. And when he was of full age, he was sent by Pharaoh against the Ethiopians. And since he knew that he would journey through deserts full of serpents, he took ibises, that is, Egyptian storks, and, having measured out his camp, brought them forward, that they might devour the serpents and put them to flight: and thus the army passed the night in safety. When therefore he had come to the city which he was to storm, the queen of the Ethiopians fell in love with him, and according to the agreement delivered the city to him and married him: hence it is that Aaron and Mary quarrelled against Moses on account of his Ethiopian wife.

VERS. 12.-- *And when he had looked about this way and that.* [n: (Aug. Quaest. in Exod. )] Concerning this deed of Moses we have disputed sufficiently in that work which we wrote concerning the life of the patriarchs [0190B] against Faustus: was the natural disposition in him praiseworthy, by which he committed this sin, as rich land is praised, before useful seeds are sown, by a certain wildness of useless herbs: or is the deed itself to be justified? Which does not seem so, because he as yet bore no lawful power, neither received from God nor ordained by human society: and yet, as Stephen says in the Acts of the Apostles, he thought his brethren understood that by him God would give them salvation; so that by this testimony Moses may seem to have been able to dare this, having been already divinely admonished (which Scripture in that place passes over in silence).

[n: (ISID.)] *Allegorically.* Moses, that is, Christ, slew the Egyptian, that is, the devil, who is injurious to us in this pilgrimage, by defending us, and in the sand [0190C] buried him slain. For he lies hidden in those who have no stable foundation. But he builds the Church upon a rock, and likens those who hear his word and do it to a prudent man, who built his house upon the firm rock. But others he likens to a fool, who builds upon the sand.

VERS. 13.-- *And going out the next day,* etc. In this Moses bore the figure of Christ, who as the corner stone strove to make peace in himself between the discord of the two peoples. He who did the injury and despised the reconciler is the Jewish people, which rejected the preaching of Christ reconciling, and persisted an enemy of the believing people. Whence John IX: *Be thou his disciple, we are the disciples of Moses.*

VERS. 14-21.-- *Moses feared,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] If thus [0190D] this word has been divulged. Two things are to be noted in this expression: namely, that the sentence hangs and is so left; and then, that he put the word for the deed.

VERS. 22.-- *Who bore,* etc. *Allegorically.* Christ joined to himself the Church from the Gentiles, which by the gift of the sevenfold Spirit is one in the catholic faith. Whence: *One is my dove;* which bears a son who is called *a stranger,* and another who is *God's help:* for the saints are strangers upon the earth, but they never lack the help of God.

VERS. 23-25.-- *But after much time,* etc After Moses had taken a wife in the land of Madian, the king of Egypt died: because when Christ converted the nations throughout the world [0191A] to the faith, the principality of the devil was destroyed.

*Groaning.* Unless the king of Egypt die in thee, thou dost not know thyself to be oppressed by the servitude of Egypt, and by the works of clay and brick; nor dost thou groan in heart, nor cry out to the Lord that he may free thee.

## CHAPTER III.

VERS. 2, 3.-- *And there appeared to him.* [n: (ISID.)] *Allegorically.* There was a flame in the bramble, and it was not burnt up. The bramble, the thorns of the sins of the Jews: the flame in the bramble, the word of God, that is, the law given to that people. But the flame does not burn up the bramble, because the law that was given does not consume their sins. Others understand by the flaming bramble the Church, which is set aflame by persecutions, and which, [0191B] when the Lord speaks to her, is not burnt up. That the Lord appeared to Moses in the bramble shows that he appears to the faithful in the Church, and nowhere else. The Hebrews say that God appeared to Moses in a bramble for this reason, that the Jews might not be able to carve themselves an idol out of it. For God always cuts away the occasion of idolatry.

[n: (GREG. lib. XXII Moral., cap. 20.)] Moses, mingled with the Egyptians, was as it were awake to the world, and therefore did not hear the voice of the Lord: but when the Egyptian had been slain, after he fled into the desert, while he dwelt there forty years, he fell asleep to earthly tumults, and therefore he perceived the divine voice. For when the mind is lulled from outward things, the word of God penetrates more truly. For the throng of earthly thoughts, clamouring about it, closes the ear of the heart. For a man does not perfectly suffice for both things [0191C] when he is divided, because if he opens his hearing outwardly, he grows deaf within.

VERS. 4.-- *And the Lord seeing,* etc. [n: (GREG., praef. in Moral., c. 2.)] The angel who is described as having appeared to Moses is recorded now as the Lord, now as an angel: an angel, because by speaking outwardly he serves; the Lord, because presiding inwardly he bestows the efficacy of speaking. For when he who speaks is governed from within, he is recorded both as an angel through his service, and as the Lord through his inspiration.

*He called him out of the midst,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. XXVIII Moral., c. 5.)] Often God speaks through angels to earthly and to heavenly substances at once: as here, when he joined the fire and the bramble, and united one thing above and another below. Which is then only done, when something [0191D] great is signified by the conjunction. For in addressing Moses through the kindled bramble, he showed that he would become a teacher of the people, one who should both receive the flame of the law and not shun the thorn of sin: so that from that people should come forth one who by the fire of the Godhead should take the sins of our flesh as it were the thorn of the bramble, and should preserve the substance of his humanity unconsumed in that very flame of the Godhead.

VERS. 5-7.-- *Loose thy shoe,* etc. [n: (THEOD.)] For two reasons he bids him loose his shoes: first, that he may render him more and more religious and reverent, so that he may receive his commands with trembling; then also he is taught by what reason the priests should minister in the tabernacle of God: for they discharged the priestly office with bare feet.

[0192A] [n: (ISID.)] Because, namely, no one can worthily stand, or see God, unless he lay aside all things earthly and mortal. Otherwise, it was the custom of the ancients that if a bridegroom repudiated his bride, in sign of the repudiation he should be unshod. Therefore Moses is bidden to be unshod, and not to approach shod, as a bridegroom, to the Church, which is signified in the bramble; for this is to be reserved for Christ, who is the true bridegroom. Of whom John says: « Whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to loose [n: (Joan. I)].

VERS. 6.-- *I am the God,* etc. [n: (HILAR. lib. IV de Trinitate.)] We must not speak of God otherwise than as he himself has spoken of himself to our understanding. It is an angel of God who appeared in the fire out of the bramble: and out of the bramble in the fire God speaks; thou hast the dispensation [0192B] in the angel, because in the angel it is an office, not a nature; thou hast God in the name of nature, because the angel of God is God.

VERS. 7.-- *I have seen the affliction,* etc. [n: (GREG., Moral. )] For minds scattered abroad it is hard for each to return to himself: because evil ways hold those once taken so delightfully, in proportion as what has pleased is not lawful. Because, when the gift of discipline does not stand in the way, no penalty of retribution is foreseen to terrify. But with the eyes of the heart closed the soul is cast headlong, and penetrates temporal evils the more securely, the more harshly it despairs of eternal goods. But this wickedness of the reprobate separates the life of the elect, as grains from chaff, and while it afflicts, it sets free: because while it presses violently, it compels men to hasten to things above; which in the Israelite [0192C] people, when Moses called and Pharaoh raged, is signified. For Moses was sent to call, when Pharaoh pressed with hard works, so that the one by calling might draw, the other by raging might drive, that the people, basely fixed in servitude, might be moved either by being called or by being driven; this is done daily while, the heavenly rewards being preached, the reprobate are permitted to rage against the elect: so that those whom Egypt, that is, the present life, has oppressed by flattering, it may help by pressing; so that while God calls, torment may drive.

VERS. 8-13.-- *And I will bring out of the land,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 32.)] To a rude people something had to be promised concerning the present life, that it might be able to be more sturdily strengthened in the future. For if it did not receive small things, it would not believe great ones. God therefore by bestowing earthly things persuades to heavenly things also, [0192D] so that receiving what it saw, it might hope for what it did not see.

*Into a good and spacious land, in a land which flows with milk,* [var: Vulg. *in terram quae fluit lacte et melle*, accusative *in terram*, "into a land which floweth with milk and honey"] etc. [n: (Ibid.)] Present prosperity is sometimes given that it may call to a better life, sometimes that it may more fully condemn for ever. Hence to the Israelites the land of Chanaan is promised, that they may at some time be called to hope for things eternal: because a rude people would not believe promises, unless it received something near at hand from the promiser. Not therefore by hope alone is it drawn to things, but sometimes by things to hope. Whence Psalm CIV: *And he gave them the regions of the nations, and they possessed the labours of the peoples, that they might keep his justifications and seek after the law.*

[0193A]VERS. 14-16.-- *He who is hath sent me to you,* etc. Moses is sent to punish Pharaoh and at last to slay him: the law was sent to destroy the devil.

Jerome, writing to Marcella concerning the ten names of God, puts in the sixth place the name *ehieh* ( אהיה ), which is read in Exodus: *He who is hath sent me to you.* For God alone, who has no beginning, holds the name of true essence: which was spoken by an angel to Moses when he asked his name, because in comparison with him who truly is, because he is unchangeable, the things that are changeable are as though they were not; for what is said to have been, is not: and what is said will be, is not yet. But God only is, who knows not to have been, or to be about to be. And the Father alone with the Son and the Holy Spirit [0193B] truly is. Compared with whose essence, our being is not; whence also we say: God lives, because the divine essence lives by a life which death does not possess.

VERS. 17-20.-- *To a land flowing with milk and honey,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 4 in Exod.)] Ought we to take this spiritually, because according to propriety this was not the land which was given to the Hebrews? Or is it a manner of speech by which the richness and sweetness of the land is praised?

VERS. 21.-- *You shall not go out,* etc. [n: (AUG., ibid.)] That the Lord commanded the Hebrews to take from the Egyptians vessels of silver and of gold, and raiment, and added, *and you shall make spoil of them,* [var: Vulg. *et spoliabitis Aegyptum*, "and you shall spoil Egypt"] the judgment of this command cannot be unjust. For it is a command of God, concerning which there was no judging, but obeying. For he himself [0193C] knows how justly he commanded; it belongs to the servant to do obediently what he commanded.

VERS. 22.-- *Vessels of silver.* We ask silver and gold from the Egyptians, whereof to fashion a tabernacle for God, when we read the poets and the philosophers, that we may expound the divine Scripture more wisely and more eloquently.

## CHAPTER IV.

VERS. 2-5.-- *What is that which,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] Moses is the Jewish people; the rod, the power of the Godhead; the serpent, Christ's mortality: for since death came by a serpent, by a serpent mortality is signified. Or because it is written in Matthew X: *Be ye prudent as serpents;* [0193D] and because the highest prudence, that is, the wisdom of God, was made flesh, his mortality is rightly figured in the serpent. Whence John IV: *As Moses lifted up the serpent in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up.* Moses held the rod, because the Jewish people, before the coming of the Redeemer, trusted in the power of God; he cast it upon the ground, because through the patriarchs and prophets it announced that God was to be made flesh; the rod is turned into a snake, because Christ, remaining God in himself, was made mortal in man. But Moses also, beholding the snake, was afraid and fled, because the Jewish people, when it saw Christ mortal, was terrified to believe him God. He is bidden to hold its tail, because the people which now refuses to believe will gather itself to the faith in the uttermost part of the Lord's body, that is, in the later time of the Church, [0194A] namely at the end of the world; holding the tail of the snake, because him whom it had before despised as mortal, it will confess in the last part of the Church to be its own Redeemer. Presently the serpent returns into a rod, because as soon as the Jewish people shall have believed in Christ, he will presently appear unto judgment in the power of his Godhead: so that now the serpent is a rod, because he who on earth was a man despised will, coming from heaven, be seen as God above the angels.

[n: (ISID.)] The serpent persuaded man to death. Death therefore comes from the serpent; the rod in the serpent is Christ in death. Moses was afraid and fled: for when Christ was dead, the disciples were afraid, falling back from the hope in which they had been. He took hold of the tail, that is, of the hinder parts, and it was made a rod: because, first slain, afterwards, when all was accomplished, [0194B] he returned by rising again to that which he had been, where, death being swallowed up by life, nothing of the serpent appeared in him. Or the tail of the serpent is the end of the world, because thus the mortality of the Church is rolled onward through slippery times; some go, others come, by death, as it were by the serpent, through whom death was sown: but at the end of the world, as at the tail, we return to the hand of God, and being laid hold of we shall be restored; and when the last enemy, death, has been destroyed, we who rise again shall be at the right hand of God a rod of the kingdom.

VERS. 6, 8.-- . . . *Put forth thy hand,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] Some assert that that portent came to pass in order to show that the law is not laid down for the just man. Although afterwards he ratifies laws by what manner the disease of leprosy is to be examined and the unclean man declared, yet very many [0194C] laws are so delivered as though they were given to fools and to little children. So far does God accommodate himself to our weakness!

[n: (ISID.)] The hand is white, that is, unclean, for whiteness in the skin is leprosy, not fairness. For the very inheritance of God, that is, the people, being sent forth from him, was made unclean. Whence Psalm LXXIII: *Why turnest thou away thy hand and thy right hand,* etc. But the hand was called back into the bosom, and returned to its own colour: so the Jewish people, estranged from the bosom of God, remained unclean without; but being called back, it will return to its former colour when it shall have acknowledged the Saviour. *For blindness in part hath happened in Israel [n: (Rom. XI)]*.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *Take water,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] The water signifies the people; whence Apocalypse XVII: *The waters which thou sawest are peoples and nations.* The people therefore is turned into [0194D] blood, that is, into faith in the blood of Christ.

VERS. 10.-- *I beseech thee, Lord,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. in Exod. )] As to what Moses says to the Lord: *I pray thee, Lord, I am not eloquent since yesterday nor since the day before, nor since thou hast begun to speak to thy servant,* it is understood that he could believe himself to be made eloquent suddenly by the will of God, when he says: *nor since thou hast begun to speak to thy servant,* as though showing that it could have come to pass that one who had not been eloquent before yesterday and the day before should suddenly be made so from the time when the Lord began to speak with him.

[n: (ORIG. homil. 3 in Exod.)] While Moses was in Egypt, and was being instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, he was not of a slender voice, nor slow of tongue, nor did he declare [0195A] himself uneloquent. For he was, as regards the Egyptians, of a sonorous voice and of incomparable eloquence. But when he heard the voice of God and received the utterances of the Lord, he perceives his voice to be slender and thin and slow, and his tongue hindered, and he pronounces himself dumb, when he begins to know the true Word, which was in the beginning with God [n: (Joan. I)]: for though an untaught man be compared with dumb animals, he will seem eloquent; but if with the learned and the eloquent, foolish and dumb. But if anyone should regard the word of God and the divine wisdom, weighing it far more highly than it is weighed among us, before God he will profess himself a dumb animal. Whence Psalm LXXII: *As a beast of burden was I driven before thee.* [var: Vulg. Ps 72:23 *ut jumentum factus sum apud te*, "as a beast of burden was I made before thee"] Since therefore he advanced so far in understanding as to know himself, which is a great part of wisdom, [0195B] the divine condescension rewarded him, saying: *I will open thy mouth,* etc. Blessed are they whose mouth God opens that they may speak. Whence Psalm LXXX: *Open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it.* Likewise Paul says to the Ephesians VI: *That speech may be given me in the opening of my mouth.* The mouth, then, of those who speak true things God opens; the mouth of those who speak a lie, false witness, buffooneries, filthiness, and of whisperers too and detractors, and of those who speak idle things, the devil opens. Of Judas it is related in John XIII, *that Satan entered into him, and put it into his heart to betray him.* His mouth therefore he opened, that he might speak with the Pharisees how he might betray him for money received. Now it is no small grace to discern the mouth which God opens and that which the devil opens. God also opens the ears [0195C] of the saints to hear the divine words; whence: The Lord will open my ear. He opens the eyes, as he opened the eyes of Agar, and she saw a well of living water; whence Eliseus: *Open, Lord, the eyes of thy servant, that he may see, for there are more with us [n: (IV Reg. VI)]*. But the ear which is opened by the instruction of the Lord is sometimes open, sometimes shut; whence: Thou shalt not receive a vain hearing [n: (Eccli. XLV)]. If vain, profane, filthy things are spoken, he who knows the instruction of the Lord shuts his ear and says: *But I was as one dumb, who opened not his mouth, and as one deaf I heard not [n: (Psal. XXXVII)]*. But if the things spoken pertain to the profit of the soul, if the discourse is of God, if it teaches morals, invites to virtues, cuts away vices, let the ears lie open and the whole door of the soul. And it is to be noted that the law used the greatest moderation [0195D] in saying: *Thou shalt not receive a vain hearing;* it did not say, Thou shalt not hear; but, *Thou shalt not receive.* For we often hear vain things: for Marcion and Valentinus, and all who dispute against the Creator, speak vain things; yet we frequently hear them that we may contradict them, but we do not receive them, because the devil opens their mouth. May the Lord vouchsafe to open our mouth, that we may be able to refute the gainsayer, and to stop the mouth which the devil opens.

VERS. 11.-- *Who made the mouth of man?* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 8.)] There are those who calumniate God, or rather the Scripture of the Old Testament, because God said that he made the dumb. What then do they say of Christ, who says openly in John X: *I am come, that they who see not may see; [0196A] and they who see may be made blind.* And who, save one who does not know, would believe that anything can befall a man in respect of bodily defects which God does not will? But that he wills the whole justly no one doubts.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Go therefore,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] *Allegorically.* As to what the Lord says to Moses: *But now go thou, and I will open thy mouth and instruct thee what thou art to speak,* [var: Vulg. Ex 4:12 *Perge igitur, et ego ero in ore tuo: doceboque te quid loquaris*, "Go therefore, and I will be in thy mouth, and I will teach thee what thou shalt speak"] it appears that not only the instruction of the mouth, but the very opening of it also, belongs to the grace of God. For he did not say, Open thy mouth, and I will instruct thee; but he promises both, I will open, and I will instruct. And in Psalm LXXX: *Open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it up.* Where he signifies in man the will of receiving what God gives to him that wills, so that to the beginning of the will belongs, *Open wide thy mouth,* but to the grace of God, [0196B] *and I will fill it.*

VERS. 14.-- *The Lord being angry with Moses, said,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 10 in Exod.)] He seems, as to one distrusting, not to have given the fullest faculty, etc., *as far as* whose figure Moses bears as it were in the midst between God and Aaron, and Aaron between Moses and the people.

VERS. 15-18.-- *And I will be in thy mouth and in his mouth,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Not only to Moses is it promised that his mouth shall be opened by the Lord, but to Aaron also. For it is said: I will open thy mouth and his mouth, and I will instruct you what ye are to do.

VERS. 19.-- *The Lord therefore said,* etc. [n: (AUG., Locut. in Gen., tom. III.)] Now after many days the king of Egypt died. And the Lord said to Moses in [0196C] Madian: *Go, proceed into Egypt,* [var: Vulg. Ex 4:19 *Vade, et revertere in Aegyptum*, "Go, and return into Egypt"] etc. Many kinds of expression are to be noted in these words. For first he says: *Go, proceed into Egypt,* as though one were not enough; then, *they are all dead who sought thy life,* whereas the Scripture had said that only the king of Egypt was dead: of whom alone it had before been said that he sought to kill Moses. Or did he himself die last after the other enemies? And if it is so, it is not a manner of speech, but the sense.

VERS. 20.-- *Moses therefore took,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 12 in Exod.)] As to what is said, that Moses set his wife and his little ones upon a beast, that he might go into Egypt, but that afterwards Jethro his father-in-law met him there with them, when he had led the people out of Egypt: it is to be understood that, after that slaying which was to come [0196D] from the angel, the wife of Moses or of the child returned with the little ones. For some have thought that the angel terrified him for this cause, lest the female sex should accompany him to the hindrance of the ministry divinely laid upon him.

VERS. 21-23.-- *I will harden his heart. [n: (AUG., Serm. 88.)]* What is, *I will harden his heart,* save that, when my grace shall have been absent, his own wickedness hardens him? Just as, whenever water is bound fast by exceeding cold, it is loosed when the heat of the sun comes upon it, and when the sun departs it is hardened again: so by the cold of sins the charity of many grows cold, and they are hardened as it were into ice; and when the warmth of the divine mercy shall have come upon them, they are loosed. This we recognize in Pharao, who, as often as [0197A] the scourges were removed from him, hardened himself and raised himself up against God; as often as he was afflicted, he made supplication. There is not therefore iniquity in God. Whence it was not so much the power as the patience of God that made Pharao to be hardened. Which thing we too are wont to practise with our home-born servants, whom, when they sin frequently, we indulge, saying: I have made thee such as thou art, I by sparing thee have nourished thy insolence and thy negligence.

## CHAPTER IV. (cont.)

VERS. 24.-- *The Lord met him,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 11 in Exod.)] Another reading: *And it came to pass on the way at the resting-place, an angel met him, and sought to kill him: and Sephora, taking a pebble, circumcised the foreskin of her son, and fell down at his feet and said: The blood of the circumcision of my child hath stood, and he departed from him because of this which she said: The blood of the [0197B] circumcision hath stood.* First it is asked whom the angel wished to slay, etc., *as far as* by a great mystery, if I am not mistaken.

VERS. 25, 26.-- *Thou art to me a spouse of blood,* etc. According to history, the Gentile mother, wondering at the newness of the thing, could say to Moses: *Thou art to me a spouse of blood;* as if to say, the rite of thy nation compels me to shed the blood of my son, which among other nations is not the custom. But mystically Sephora signifies the Church from among the Gentiles, which strips the foreskin of her son, that is, of the Gentile people, with a most sharp stone, that is, with the teaching of the Holy Spirit, or with that rock of which it is said in II Corinthians X: *Now the rock was Christ,* that it may be cleansed from all defilement of flesh and spirit: *And that he may put off the old man with his deeds [n: (Col. III)]*. For the blood of circumcision stands [0197C] when this corruptible shall put on incorruption.

VERS. 27-31.-- *And the Lord said,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 32.)] Aaron met Moses, and he went out of Egypt. But it matters where he meets Moses, whose mouth is to be opened by the Lord: and he meets him in the mount of God. Deservedly is his mouth opened who meets him in the mount of God. Peter, James and John in the mount deserved both to see the Lord Jesus transfigured, and Moses and Elias with him in glory. Thou also, unless thou shalt have ascended the mount of God, and there met Moses, that is, unless thou shalt have ascended the lofty ascent of the law, unless thou shalt have seized the summit of spiritual understanding, there is no door opened to thee by the Lord. If thou shalt have stood in the lowly place of the letter, thou hast not met Moses in the mount of God; God has not [0197D] opened thy mouth, nor instructed thee what it behoves thee to speak; unless Aaron had met Moses in the mount, unless he had seen his understanding to be lofty, he would not speak to him the words of God, nor would he have delivered to him the power of the signs, nor have made him a sharer of so great a mystery.

## CHAPTER V.

VERS. 1.-- . . . . . *Let my people go. [n: (ORIG., hom. 3 in Exod.)]* Moses does not will that the people, being set in Egypt, should serve God, but that it should go out into the desert, and there serve him. For while a man remains in the dark deeds of the world, and is engaged in the obscurity of business, he cannot serve God. *For ye cannot serve God and mammon [n: (Matth. VI)]*. We must go out therefore [0198A] from Egypt: the world must be left behind, not in place but in mind, if we wish to serve the Lord. Whence John says: *Little children, love not the world, nor the things which are in the world [n: (I Joan. II)]*.

VERS. 2.-- *Who is the Lord?* He expresses the pride of the devil, who, scorning to be made subject to God, says: *I will be like the Most High [n: (Isa. XIV)]*; and as though doubting of the Lord's nativity, says:

*If thou be the Son of God, say that these stones be made bread [n: (Matth. IV)]*. But afterwards, as though under constraint, the demons cried out: *Why art thou come to torment us before the time? We know that thou art the Son of God [n: (Matth. VIII)]*. After torments they know what before they had refused to know. Pharao also, when he had been scourged, asks that supplication be made for him to the Lord. *Who is the lord, that I should hear his voice?* etc. Thou seest [0198B] what raw pride does; you will see a little later how much it profits under scourges; how much better a man is made when he has been beaten; he who now says, I know not the Lord, when he has been beaten will say: Pray to the Lord for me. Let no one therefore be so untaught in the divine discipline as to think the divine scourges a ruin and a penal destruction. Behold, even Pharao, most hardened, profits when he is beaten: for before the stripes he knows not the Lord, and when beaten he asks that supplication be made for him; and profiting under punishments, he knows how to acknowledge why he is punished. *I know not,* he says, *the Lord.* In the Gospel, being beaten, he amends this utterance, for the demons cried out: *We know thee who thou art: thou art the Son of the living God.* After the scourges he will let Israel go also, and will even urge it to depart. *For there is no fellowship of light with darkness, no part of the faithful with the unbeliever [n: (II Cor. VI)]*.

[0198C]VERS. 3.-- *The God of the Hebrews hath called us,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Exod. )] It is asked how it is said to the people, etc., *as far as* that he may obtain a just judgment.

[n: (ORIG.)] *Morally.* We set out on a three days' journey from Egypt, if we so keep ourselves from every defilement of soul and of body and of spirit, that our whole spirit, and soul, and body may be preserved unto the day of Christ.

[n: (ORIG.)] We set out on a three days' journey from Egypt, if, taking away rational, moral and natural wisdom from worldly things, we turn them to the divine ordinances. We set out on a three days' journey from Egypt, if, purifying in ourselves things said, done or thought (for these are the three by which men can sin), [0198D] we are made clean of heart, that we may be able to see God. But the prince of Egypt, when he sees himself the more vehemently pressed to let the people of God go, desires in the second place to obtain that they go not farther off, that they may not set out for the whole three days, saying: *Go not far away.* He does not will the people of God to be far from him. For he wills that, if not in deed, at least in speech they should sin; if not in speech, at least in thought. He does not will that they should set out from him for the whole three days. He wills to possess in some of us one day, in others two, in others the whole three days. Blessed are they who withdraw from him the whole three days.

*A journey of three days into the wilderness, and let us sacrifice to God,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] We walk a journey of three days going out of Egypt, that we may come to the place where [0199A] we ought to offer sacrifice to the Lord. This way is Christ, who says in John XIV: *I am the way, the truth and the life.* For whosoever shall have confessed Christ with the mouth, and believed with the heart that God raised him up on the third day, shall be saved, coming to the place in which a sacrifice of praise may be offered.

[n: (STRAB.)] *A journey of three days,* etc. At the third encampment, after they had crossed the Red Sea, they came to Ethan, which place is also called Mara, because of the bitter waters. Or of three days, that is, of three months, because in the third month after they went out of Egypt they came to Sina, where they sacrificed and received the law, where the tabernacle also was set up.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 3 in Exod.)] Now also Moses, whom we have with us (for we have Moses and [0199B] the prophets), that is, the law of God, wills to lead thee out of Egypt, if thou wilt hear it; it wills to set thee far from Pharao, to rescue thee from the work of clay and of straw: if only thou wilt hear, and understand spiritually; it does not will thee to remain in the deeds of the flesh and of darkness, but to go out to the desert, namely to a place empty of the disturbances and waves of the world, and to the quiet of silence. For the words of wisdom are learned in silence and quiet. In this place thou shalt be able to offer to the Lord the law of God, and to acknowledge the power of the divine voice. Therefore Moses desires to cast thee out of the waves of business and the noise of peoples, and out of Egypt, that is, out of the darkness of ignorance, that thou mayest hear the law of God and receive the light of knowledge.

VERS. 4-8.-- *Why, Moses and Aaron, do ye stir up,* [0199C] etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] While the people is with him, and works clay or brick, while it is occupied with straw, he does not think it to be perverted, but to walk rightly. But if it should say, I wish to go a three days' journey, and to serve the Lord, he says the people is perverted through Moses and Aaron. Today also, if Moses and Aaron, that is, the prophetic and the priestly word, should stir up a soul to the service of God, to go out of the world, to renounce all that it possesses, to attend to the law and the word of God: straightway thou wilt hear the friends and confederates of Pharao saying: See how men are seduced, and youths are perverted, that they may not labour, may not serve as soldiers, may not do anything that profits; leaving necessary things behind, they follow after trifles and idleness. What is it to serve God? They are unwilling to labour and seek occasions of idleness: these were then [0199D] the words of Pharao, these his friends speak now also, and not only with words, but they persecute with stripes as well. He commands the scribes of the Hebrews to be scourged, straw not to be given, work to be exacted; these things the fathers suffered, and now the people of God suffers them. They who have wholly given themselves over to the prince of this world prosper; all things, as they think, fall out happily: but to the servants of God even a small and lowly sustenance does not come. For these are the straws which were given by Pharao; whence certain men, being wearied, say to Pharao: Why dost thou afflict thy people? For being overcome by stripes they fall from the faith, and confess themselves to be the people of Pharao, for not all who are of Israel, these are Israelites.

VERS. 9-13.-- *Let them be oppressed with works and let them fulfil [0200A] them,* etc. *Mystically.* From the time when Moses began to speak to Pharao the people of God is the more afflicted: from the time when the word of God comes into the soul, the devil rises up more sharply, and sends in greater vices. For before the word of God came, which should reprove vices, they endured in peace; but when it came, a great disturbance arises.

VERS. 14-20.-- *And they were scourged who,* etc. The children of Israel were more grievously worn down after they had determined to go out of Egypt; because they who wish to renounce the world and evil works are assailed by the devil with fiercer temptations.

VERS. 21.-- *Let the Lord see,* etc. [n: (GREG. l. XXIX, Moral., cap. 14.)] When the divine light illumines the human heart, *as far as* he grieves that he as it were stinks in the eyes of Pharao. [0200B]

*Because to stink,* etc. *[n: (ORIG. Hom. 3.)] Allegorically.* They speak truth, although they know it not, like Caiphas, who said: *It is expedient that one should die for the people [n: (Joan. XVIII)]*; he knew not what he was saying. For as the Apostle says: *We are the good odour of Christ, to some unto life, to others unto death,* so the prophetic word is a sweet odour to them that believe; but to the doubting and unbelieving, and to those who confess themselves the people of Pharao, it is made an execrable odour. Moses himself also says to the Lord: From the time when I spoke with Pharao, thou hast afflicted thy people; because before the word of God is heard there is no tribulation or temptation: but when the trumpet of preaching shall have shown the signal of war, the battle of tribulations arises. From the time therefore when Moses and Aaron began to speak to Pharao, [0200C] the people of God is afflicted. From the time when the word of God has been uttered into thy soul, a contest is stirred up within thee of the virtues against the vices, which before endured within thee in peace. But when the word of God has begun to make the distinction between one thing and another, a great disturbance arises, and without treaty a war is born: because injustice does not agree with justice, nor drunkenness with sobriety, nor lying with truth. Therefore let us not be troubled if we seem an execrable odour to Pharao. For the execration of vice is called virtue. But as Moses stood before Pharao, let us also stand; let us not be bent, *having our loins girt about with truth, and our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace [n: (Ephes. VI)]*. And we stand confidently, we beseech the Lord that he set our feet upon a firm rock, lest our feet be moved. But let us stand, that is, [0200D] let us withstand, according to that of I Peter V: *Whom resist ye, strong in faith: that Satan may quickly be crushed under our feet.* For by how much the more steadfastly and bravely we stand, by so much the more weakly Pharao. But if we shall have begun to be weak or doubting, he will become stronger. For when Moses lifted up his hands, Amalec was overcome; when he let them down as though weary, he grew strong. Let us therefore in the power of the cross of Christ lift up our arms, and raise in prayer holy hands, that we may deserve the help of God. Hence James says: *Resist the devil and he will fly from you [n: (Jac. III)]*. Let us act therefore that he may not only fly, but be crushed under our feet, extinguished in the depth of the abyss.

But if we withdraw from the Egypt of vices, [0201A] we escape the waves of the world as it were by a solid path, through Jesus Christ.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *Lord, why hast thou afflicted this people?* [n: (AUG.)] These are not words of contumacy or of indignation, but of inquiry and of prayer, as appears from those things which the Lord answered. For he did not reprove his unbelief, but disclosed what he was about to do.

## CHAPTER VI.

VERS. 3-6.--. . . *And my name Adonai I did not show them.* As to thee. For through the successions of the ages the increase of divine knowledge grew. The Lord appeared to Abraham; he spoke face to face with Moses; but David says in Psalm CXVIII: *I have understood above the ancients,* etc. The Apostles beheld the Son of God present, and asked whatever they wished, to whom [0201B] it is also said in Luke II: *Many kings and prophets,* etc.

VERS. 7, 8.-- *Out of the workhouse of the Egyptians.* Ergastulum and ergasterium, that is, a workshop: namely where the accused were bound fast for the doing of works.

VERS. 9-11.-- *They did not acquiesce in him,* etc. Note the clemency of God: he is not believed by the children of Israel, and yet he ceases not to admonish. He is contemned by Pharao, and long-sufferingly he waits.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Behold the children,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 16 in Exod.)] The LXX. *Behold I am of a slender voice, and how shall Pharao hear me.* Yet he does not seem to excuse himself for the slenderness of his voice on account of the multitude of the people, but on account of one man also: it is a marvel if he was of so slender a voice that he could not be heard even by one. Or [0201C] perhaps the royal disdain did not permit them to speak from near at hand.

VERS. 14-19.-- *These are the princes,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 15.)] Scripture, wishing to show the origin of Moses, which his action required, began from the firstborn of Jacob, that is, from Ruben; thence to Simeon, thence to Levi: it did not go on further, because from Levi is Moses. And these are commemorated who had already been mentioned among those seventy-five with whom Israel had entered into Egypt. For God willed not the first, nor the second, but the third tribe, that is, the Levitical, to be the priestly one.

VERS 20.-- *And Amram took to wife Jochabed,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Amram is interpreted *lofty father,* who signifies Christ; Jochabed, *the grace of God,* [0201D] who signifies the Church: from Christ and the Church is born Moses, that is, the spiritual law, and Aaron, namely the true priesthood.

*And he took,* etc. She was of the tribe of Juda, sister of Naason, who was prince of the tribe of Juda in the desert: for it had not yet been commanded that each man, should take a wife from his own tribe. And these tribes, that is, the Levitical and the royal, were even then joined together, that it might be understood that Christ was to be king and priest from them.

VERS. 21-26.-- *The sons also of Isaar,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] It is asked why Core, whom the earth swallowed alive for his iniquity, is written in the genealogy of the just? But it signifies that heretics will be with catholics in the Church

[0202A]VERS. 27-30.-- *This is Moses.* [n: (STRAB.)] This Esdras adds of his own, who restored the whole library after the Babylonian captivity, all the books having been burnt by Nabuchodonosor; or Moses himself speaks of himself as of another.

## CHAPTER VII.

VERS. 1-6.-- *And the Lord said to Moses: Behold I have appointed thee lord,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 17 in Exod., tom III.)] It is to be noted that when he was sent to the people, it was not said to him: Behold I have given thee as God to the people, and thy brother shall be thy prophet; but, thy brother shall speak for thee to the people. It was said also *shall be thy mouth, and thou to him in those things which are unto God;* it was not said, *thou to him God.* But to Pharao Moses is said to be given as god, and by analogy Aaron is given [0202B] as prophet to Moses, but towards Pharao. Here it is intimated to us that the prophets of God speak those things which they hear from him; and that a prophet of God is nothing else than one who announces the words of God to men, who either cannot or do not deserve to hear God.

[n: (GREG. hom. 8 super Ezech.)] Sometimes God is spoken of by appellation, sometimes essentially. By appellation, as here: *I have appointed thee god of Pharao.* And elsewhere: *Bring him unto the gods.* And elsewhere: *God hath stood in the synagogue of gods,* etc. Essentially, as here: *I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob,* which Paul, wishing to distinguish, says: *Of whom Christ was born according to the flesh, who is God blessed for ever.* [var: Vulg. Rom 9:5 *qui est super omnia Deus benedictus in saecula*, "who is over all things, God blessed for ever"] For by appellation God is said to be among all things, but essentially above all things; that therefore he might show [0202C] Christ to be naturally God, he recorded him to be not only God, but God above all things. For any just man whatever is God, but among all things, because by appellation: but Christ is above all things, because he is naturally God.

[n: (AUG. Quaest. 18 in Exod.)] God says continually, etc. *as far as I will harden,* that is, I will show how hard it is.

VERS. 7, 8.-- *Now Moses was eighty years old,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] On account of circumcision, namely, which was commanded to be celebrated on the eighth day: for the number eighty has the same signification as the number eight which is less than it. *Now Moses was eighty years old.* When Moses and Aaron spoke to Pharao, Moses was eighty years old, but Aaron [0202D] eighty-three years old: because the law offered by preachers to the Gentiles taught spiritual circumcision, and they themselves were zealous to be perfectly cleansed, and so they preached the faith of the holy Trinity.

VERS. 9.-- *When Pharao shall say to you,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 19 et 20.)] Here there was no need of a voice, for the slenderness of which Aaron seemed to have been given to Moses, but the rod was to be cast down that it might become a dragon. Why then did Moses not do this himself, save because the mediation of Aaron between Moses and Pharao bears the figure of a great mystery. This also is to be noted, that it is written: *Aaron cast down his rod:* perhaps if it had said, he cast down the rod, there would be no question; but that it adds *his own,* whereas Moses had given it, is perhaps not said in vain. Or [0203A] was that rod common to them both, so that if it were called the rod of either of them, it would be truly called so?

[n: (STRAB.)] The rod of Moses signifies Christ, who took flesh from a royal stock. Whence that same rod, turned into a snake, devoured all the rods of the sorcerers, because the death of Christ consumed our death.

[n: (ORIG. hom. 4 in Exod.)] The Apostle says in I Corinthians XIV: *Be emulous of spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.* Let us also try to take up the emulation of good things, but to await from the Lord the fulness of the gift. For for the one it is said in Psalm LXXX: *Open thy mouth and I will fill it;* [var: Vulg. Ps 80:11 *Dilata os tuum, et implebo illud*, "Open wide thy mouth, and I will fill it"] but for the other: *Prick the eye, and it brings forth a tear; prick the heart, and it brings forth understanding.* I think therefore that Moses coming to Egypt, and bearing the rod [0203B] with which he chastises and beats Egypt with ten plagues, is the law of God, by which it may reprove and amend the world with ten plagues, that is, with the ten commandments of the decalogue. The rod by which these things are done, and Egypt is subdued, and Pharao overcome, is the cross of Christ, through which the world and the prince of the world is overcome, that is, the devil, with the principalities and powers. The rod when cast down becomes a dragon or a serpent, and devours the serpents of the Egyptian magicians. But the serpent is wont to be set for wisdom or prudence; whence Matthew X: *Be ye prudent as serpents,* etc. And Genesis III: *The serpent was more prudent than all the animals,* [var: Vulg. Gen 3:1 *serpens erat callidior cunctis animantibus terrae*, "the serpent was more crafty than all the living things of the earth"] etc. The cross therefore of Christ, whose preaching seemed foolish, which Moses, that is, the law, contains [n: (secundum illud Joan. V: De me enim ille scripsit )], after it was cast down upon the earth, that is, came to the faith of men, [0203C] was turned into wisdom, and into so great a wisdom as should devour all the wisdom of the Egyptians, that is, of this world. For behold how God made foolish the wisdom of this world, after he manifested Christ crucified to be the power and wisdom of God: and now the whole world has been laid hold of by him who said in I Corinthians III: *I will take the wise in their own craftiness.*

VERS. 10.-- *And Aaron took,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Gen., tom. V.)] And he took the rod before Pharao, etc., *as far as: I will be thy death, O death,* etc.

*Which was turned into a snake.* The law of Moses was as it were tasteless like a rod, but turned into a snake, that is, into spiritual understanding, it was made drinkable and [0203D] delightful.

VERS. 11.-- *And Pharao called the wise men,* etc. It is to be known that either by diabolical feignings they deluded the eyes of the beholders, so that things remaining in their own nature seemed to be something else; or, according to Augustine, the demons, although evil, have not lost their own nature: therefore while by their incantation the sorcerers attempt to effect something, they run through the world, and suddenly bring the seeds of those things of which the matter is in hand. And so from these, God permitting, they produce new species of things.

*Similarly.* In the first plague he says, when the water is turned into blood; and in the second, when the frogs boil forth; and in the third, when the gnats assail; in the fourth, when [0204A] the dog-fly is brought forth; in the fifth, when the hand of the Lord is upon the cattle of the Egyptians, they are said to be like things.

VERS. 12.-- *Dragons.* They are so called Apo tou δέρκειν, that is, *to see,* because they see more sharply than other animals.

*But it devoured,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 21.)] If it had been said, The dragon of Aaron swallowed up their rods, it would be understood that the true dragon of Aaron had not swallowed up the phantom feignings, but the rods, etc., *as far as* but God alone is the true creator, who has implanted in things their very causes and seminal reasons.

VERS. 13, 14.-- *And it was hardened,* etc. God hardened the heart of Pharao, because he so hardened the devil after his sin that he is never softened by the compunction of repentance, as is said in Job XLI: *His heart shall be hardened as a stone.*

[0204B]VERS. 15, 16.-- *Go to him in the morning, behold he will go forth,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 4.)] First indeed Moses does not enter in to Pharao, but meets him as he goes out to the waters; but afterwards he enters in; after these things he neither enters in, but being summoned he approaches: because whether our contest with Pharao is in the word of God and in the assertion of religion, or whether we strive to snatch from him the souls he besets, and there is in us a wrestling in disputation, we ought not at the first onset to go in to the uttermost places of the questions, but we must meet the adversary, and at his own waters, that is, the authorities of the philosophers of the Gentiles, that we may first convict them and show that they have erred; then we must go in to the inner parts of the contest. For the Lord says: *Unless a man first bind the strong one, he cannot [0204C] enter into his house and plunder his vessels [n: (Marc. XII)]*. First therefore the strong one must be bound and constrained with the bonds of questions, and so we must enter in to plunder the vessels, and to free the souls which he had possessed by deception and fraud. And when we shall have done this often, and shall have stood against him, girt namely as to our loins with truth, and standing in the Lord, and acting manfully, the ancient and crafty artificer will feign himself conquered and to give way, that he may make us more negligent for the contest. He will feign repentance also, he will entreat us to depart, but not far off: he wishes us to be near to him in some part. But unless we withdraw farther from him, and cross the sea, and say in thought, in speech, and in deed: As far as the east is distant from the west, so far hath he removed our iniquities from us, [0204D] we cannot be saved. Let us therefore pray for the mercy of God, that he may snatch us also out of the land of Egypt, out of the power of darkness, and may sink Pharao with his army like lead in the most violent water. But let us, being set free, sing a hymn to the Lord with joy and exultation. For he is gloriously honoured, etc.

[n: (ISID.)] The plagues were wrought bodily in Egypt, but in us they are wrought spiritually. For Egypt is the figure of the world.

VERS. 17-19.-- *The water of the river,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] The water turned into blood signifies worldly wisdom, in which everyone who has remained is slain, as a fish in blood. For worldly wisdom thinks it foolish [0205A] that God should die for men; whosoever therefore shall have clung to it will not be able to live.

[n: (ORIG.)] The water of the river is turned into blood, to which they had delivered the children of the Hebrews to be slain, that it might render to the authors of the crime a cup of blood: and that by drinking they might feel the gore of the polluted flood which they had stained with parricidal slaughter. Allegorically also the waters of Egypt are the erring and slippery teachings of the philosophers, who deceived those little in sense and understanding: but when the cross of Christ showed the light of truth, they are exacted for the punishments of the slaying of their own and for the guilt of blood. Whence: *All the blood which hath been shed upon the earth shall be required of this generation [n: (Matth. XXIII)]*.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *Which was turned into blood,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] The first precept is concerning the worship of one God: [0205B] Thou shalt not have other gods before me [var: Vulg. Ex 20:3 reads *Non habebis deos alienos coram me*; Migne prints *Non erunt tibi dii alii praeter me*, the form Origen expounds, and the gloss's enumeration turns on it] : the first plague, the water turned into blood. Compare the first precept with the first plague: water, from which all things are generated, signifies the one God, from whom are all things; blood, mortal flesh. The water therefore was turned into blood, because *they changed the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of the image of corruptible man,* and this change indeed takes place in the heart of the impious.

*Into blood,* etc. Because they who feel carnally about the causes of things are reproved by corrections of this sort, that from the quality of the punishments they may recognize their own error.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *And the heart of Pharao was hardened. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 22.)]* It seems that the heart of Pharao was hardened for this cause, that the enchanters of the Egyptians [0205C] did like things. But what follows teaches how great that hardening was, even when the enchanters failed.

VERS. 24, 25.-- *And they dug,* etc. Because the Gentile world, confounded by the meditation of secular philosophy, when it sees that there is nothing living nor wholesome in it, is zealous by searching to seek on every side a draught of wisdom, and finds it not, until it comes to him who says: He that thirsteth, let him come to me and drink [n: (Joan. VII)].

## CHAPTER VIII.

VERS. 2-6.-- *Behold, I will strike all thy borders with frogs,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] There are three kinds of frogs: one of the river and vocal; another of that which is called the calamite, of which it is reported that if it be thrown into the mouth of a barking [0205D] dog, the dog at once falls dumb; a third of that which is called the bramble-frog, because it lives among briars.

[n: (ORIG.)] Frogs signify the songs of the poets, which by an empty and inflated modulation, like the sounds and singing of frogs, have brought the fables of deception into the world; for that creature is good for nothing, save that it gives back the sound of its voice in shameless and importunate clamours.

[n: (RAB.)] The second precept: *Thou shalt not take the name of thy God in vain.* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:7 *Non assumes nomen Domini Dei tui in vanum*, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain"] The name of God is truth, for he himself says: *I am the truth.* He who speaks truth, speaks of God; for *he who* *speaks a lie, speaks of his own.* For to speak truth is to speak rationally; to speak vanity is to make a din. The second [0206A] precept, therefore, is concerning the love of truth, to which the love of iniquity is contrary. Truth speaks, vanity clamours. Contrary to this is the second plague, the abundance of frogs, whose loquacity signifies vanity. The lovers of truth do not take the name of God in vain, because they do not withdraw from truth into vanity. But those who contradict the truth, and, deceived by vanity, deceive others, are frogs, bringing weariness to the ears, not food to minds. Hear men speaking rationally, psalm XVIII: *There are no speeches nor languages whose voices are not heard.* Hear the frogs: *They have spoken vain things, every one to his neighbour,* etc.

VERS. 7-9.-- *And the magicians did so,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 23.)] It is asked whence they did it, if it had already [0206B] been done everywhere. But there is a like question: whence did they turn water into blood, if all the water of Egypt had already been turned into blood? But it is to be understood that the region where the children of Israel dwelt had not been struck with such plagues, and thence the enchanters were able to draw water which they might turn into blood, or to bring forth frogs for the display of magical power; although they were also able to do it after those things had been checked. But Scripture in narrating joined together what could have been done afterwards.

VERS. 10-14.-- *He* answered: *To-morrow.* [n: (THEOD.)] Pharaoh, wishing to know whether the prayers of Moses and Aaron had any power with God (for he supposed that they rested through the night), said: *To-morrow,* that he himself, having gone out to the river, might see whether the frogs had ceased. [0206C] Wherefore God, that Moses might be believed, not only made the frogs cease at that very time which Moses had appointed, but also commanded those which were upon the land to perish, lest they should think that the same had returned.

VERS. 15.-- *But Pharaoh seeing,* etc. [n: (AUG. Quaest. 24.)] Here it appears that Pharaoh was not hardened only because the enchanters did the like, etc., *as far as* he did not say gifts, or rewards, but thy judgments.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Stretch forth thy rod,* etc. *Mystically.* Moses chastising Egypt with the rod signifies the law, which rebukes the world with the ten plagues of the commandments. The rod also, by which Egypt is corrected and Pharaoh overcome, is the cross of Christ, by which the world is conquered and the devil overcome, or triumphed over. The rod cast down becomes a serpent, which signifies wisdom, according to [0206D] that of Matthew X: *Be ye wise as serpents,* etc. The rod devoured the serpents of the magicians, and the cross of Christ, whose preaching seems foolishness, overcomes all the wisdom of the world. Whence: *For he wrote of me [n: (Joan. V)]*. The rod cast upon the earth was turned into a serpent, because when the mystery of the cross came to the faith of men, it made the wisdom of the world foolish.

*And let there be sciniphs,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] This creature is upheld by wings, flitting through the air, but so fine and minute that it escapes the sight of the eye, unless of one who sees keenly. Yet when it has settled upon the body, it bores with a most bitter sting, so that he who is not able to see it flying feels it stinging. This creature therefore is compared to the art of dialectic, [0207A] which bores souls with minute and subtle stings of words, and encompasses them with such craft that the man deceived neither sees nor understands whence he is deceived.

[n: (RAB.)] *Morally.* The third precept: *Remember to sanctify the day of the sabbath.* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:8 *Memento ut diem sabbati sanctifices*, "Remember that thou keep holy the sabbath day"] By which is intimated the leisure and tranquillity of mind which a good conscience makes. There is sanctification, because there is the Spirit of God. Whence: *Upon whom shall my Spirit rest, save upon the humble and the quiet?* etc. [n: (Isa. LXVI)]. [var: Vulg. Is 66:2 *ad quem autem respiciam, nisi ad pauperculum, et contritum spiritu, et trementem sermones meos*, "but to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my words"] The restless, therefore, spring back from the Holy Spirit, provokers of quarrels, lovers of calumnies, nor do they admit the rest of the spiritual sabbath. Be thou therefore meek; let there be no tumult in thy heart, with phantasms flitting through corruption and stinging thee. Hear God saying in psalm XLV: *Be still and [0207B] see that I am God.* Thou through restlessness wilt not be still, and, blinded, thou demandest to see what thou canst not. For mark the contrary plague: the sciniphs were born in the land of Egypt out of the slime, flies namely most minute and most restless, flying without order, rushing into the eyes, and denying rest to men; while they are driven off, they return: so are the phantasms of the restless. Hold the precept, beware the plague.

VERS. 18.-- *And there were sciniphs.* Blood is the doctrine of the philosophers; frogs, the fictions of the poets; sciniphs, the sophisms of the dialecticians: all which have deceived the world.

VERS. 19.-- *This is the finger of God,* etc. [n: (ISID. ex Aug. ep. 119.)] At the third sign the magicians fail, saying: *It is the finger of God:* who had the type of heretics and their animosity. [0207C] Whence: *As Jamnes and Mambres resisted Moses, so these also resist the truth, men corrupted in mind, reprobate concerning the faith,* etc. [n: (II Tim. III)]. But these, who through corruption of mind were restless, failed at the third sign, confessing that the Holy Spirit, who was in Moses, was against them. For the Spirit is set in the third place, who is the finger of God: and he, as when appeased he affords rest to the meek and humble of heart, so when angered he harries the unmeek and the proud with restlessness, which the most grievous flies signified, under which the magicians failed, saying: *This is the finger of God,* that they might not understand whence they were deceived.

[n: (STRAB.)] It is to be noted that the magicians were overcome at the third sign, because all perfidy and worldly wisdom, or philosophy, is overcome by faith in the Trinity. For although [0207D] they discovered philosophy and disputed concerning the fabric of the whole world, they were not able to attain to the knowledge of the Trinity. By the finger the Holy Spirit is understood, not that he is less than the Father and the Son, but because in a finger there are very many divisions, and through the Holy Spirit the division of graces is given.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 25 in Exod., tom. III.)] What the magicians said to Pharaoh, etc., *as far as,* although they were not silent concerning the Son.

VERS. 20.-- *Thus saith the Lord,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] The fourth precept: *Honour thy father and thy mother.* Contrary to this is the fourth plague, namely the *cynomyia*, that is, the dog-fly: it is doglike not to acknowledge one's parents; whence their whelps are born blind.

[0208A]VERS. 21.-- *Every kind of flies.* [n: (ISID.)] *Mystically.* In the fourth place Egypt is struck with flies. Now the fly is an insolent and restless creature, in which are figured the insolent cares of carnal desires. But Egypt is struck with flies, because the hearts of those who love the world are smitten with the restlessnesses of desires. The Seventy set down *cynomyia*, that is, the dog-fly: by which doglike manners are signified, in which the pleasure of the human mind and the lust of the flesh are reproved. The forensic eloquence of men also can be signified by the dog-fly, men who like dogs tear one another.

[n: (PROCOP.)] God does not use great beasts in the storming of Egypt, but summons the ministry of the most contemptible little creatures and insects: namely, lest [0208B] the effect should be ascribed to the power of those beasts. To those abject and feeble little creatures he granted unconquerable strength, so far that Egypt despaired of being able to resist those little creatures, and cried out: *This is the finger of God:* For the whole world massed together will not bear the hand of God.

[n: (ORIG.)] The dog-fly is the sect of the heretics [ *Al.,* Cynicorum], who, upon the remaining shamelessnesses of their deception, preach pleasure and lust as the highest good. Since therefore the world was first deceived by each of these, deservedly the word and law of God, at its coming, reproves with rebukes of this kind, that from the quality of the punishments they may know the qualities of their own error.

VERS. 22, 23.-- *And I will make wonderful,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 26.)] This is to be understood to have been [0208C] done in the earlier signs also, that the land in which the people of God dwelt was vexed by no such plagues. But it was opportune that this should be set down openly there; whence now begin the signs which the magicians did not attempt to do the like of. For it is certain that the sciniphs had been everywhere in the kingdom of Pharaoh, but had not been in the land of Gessen or Gesen: there the magicians attempted to do the like, and were not able: until therefore they should fail, nothing was said concerning the separation of that land, but from the time when those things began to be done which they would not even dare to attempt.

VERS. 24, 25.-- *And there came a most grievous fly,* etc. [n: (AUG., ibid.)] The fly is put for the multitude of flies. For I know not how it is that, to the senses of men steeped in the custom of speaking, often more seems to be said by what is said in the singular than by what is said in the plural; [0208D] for example: There is a soldier there, than There are soldiers there; There is a fish there signifies more than There are fishes there.

VERS. 26-31.-- *Abominations.* The perverse Egyptians abominate good things, that is, the citizens of this world abominate sheep, that is, the simplicity of the good. For as the good abominate evils, so the evil abominate goods. Whence the good abominate the ungodly man, and the ungodly those who are in the right way.

[n: (AUG. Quaest. 28.)] Moses said that he wished to go into the desert where the Egyptians would not see their abominations. But this is to be understood as mystically signifying what we have said of the shepherds, who were abominable to the Egyptians; and therefore the Israelites [0209A] received a separate land in Egypt. For thus the sacrifices of the Israelites are abominations to the Egyptians, as the life of the just is to the wicked.

*[n: (STRAB.)] Historically.* The Egyptians abominate sheep and adore them because of Jupiter Ammon, who is painted with a ram's head. Likewise: the Egyptians worship the ox, which is consecrated to Apis, as the cow to Isis. For Apis was the greatest deity of the Egyptians, who once in the year at a fixed time appeared to their priests. And they, attending him with hymns and praises, prophesied like men frenzied.

[n: (GREG., lib. XVIII Moral., c. 28, tom. II.)] Egypt is struck with flies, etc., *as far as Be still and see, that I am God.*

VERS. 32.-- *And it was made heavy,* etc. *(AUG., quaest. [0209B] 29.)* When the locust had been taken away, it was said of Pharaoh: *Pharaoh made his own heart heavy at this time also, and would not let the people go.* Certainly it is not said now, The heart of Pharaoh was made heavy, but *Pharaoh made his own heart heavy.* So assuredly in all the plagues. From the will of man is the origin of vices. But the hearts of men are moved by causes, some in this way, others in that, even by causes not diverse, often in a diverse manner, according to their own qualities, which come from their wills.

## CHAPTER IX.

VERS. 1-6.-- *And the Lord said to Moses,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] Among the beasts horses are reckoned first, which are deceitful or false unto salvation. Then the unclean [0209C] beasts, which neither divide the hoof nor chew the cud, yet are yoked to the chariot. Next camels, which although on account of their chewing the cud they are reckoned as it were clean, yet, because their hoof is not cloven, are judged unclean. Nevertheless camels are declared to be partly of clean, partly of unclean condition. But since this plague was believed to be but little harmful, because of the vileness of the unclean animals, it passes on to oxen, and thence to the gentlest of animals, the sheep.

[n: (ORIG., hom. 4.)] In the fifth place Egypt is scourged with the slaughter of animals, or of cattle. In which the senselessness or folly of mortals is reproved, who like irrational cattle laid the worship and the name of God upon figures, not only of men but of beasts, stamped upon wood and stones: worshipping Ammon Jupiter in a ram, [0209D] Anubis in a dog, Apis in a bull, and the other monstrous gods which Egypt admires; so that in those to which they believed divine worship to belong, they might behold a pitiable punishment.

[n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] The fifth precept is: *Thou shalt not commit adultery,* etc., *as far as* mark the plague: if thou art a beast, at least fear to die.

VERS. 7.-- *And it was made heavy,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 30.)] If the cattle of the Israelites had died, there would seem a fitting cause why his heart should be weighed down to the contempt of God, as though his magicians had slain the cattle of the Israelites; but from that whence he ought to have been moved to fear or to believe, it was made heavy, and that heaviness has gone forward even to this point.

[0210A]VERS. 8.-- *Take handfuls,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 31.)] Another reading: *Take to you handfuls of ashes out of the furnace, and let Moses sprinkle it,* etc. The earlier signs were done by the rod, which not Moses but Aaron stretched over the water, or struck upon the ground. But now, two signs having been interposed, namely of the dog-fly and the deaths of the cattle, where neither Aaron nor Moses work anything with the hand, it is said that Moses should sprinkle ashes toward heaven; both are bidden to take, but he to sprinkle, not upon the earth but toward heaven: as though Aaron (who had been given to the people) ought to strike the earth, or to stretch out his hand upon the water or upon the earth; but Moses, who was in those things which pertain to the Lord, is bidden to sprinkle the ashes. What of those two earlier signs, where neither Moses nor Aaron work anything [0210B] with the hand? What does the diversity itself mean? For neither is it nothing.

[n: (RAB.)] The sixth precept: *Thou shalt not kill;* the sixth plague, pustules upon the body, blisters boiling and swarming, the burnings of wounds and the ashes of the furnace. For murderers burn with anger, with madness. If thou couldst see the souls of murderers, thou wouldst bewail them more than the putrefying bodies of the ulcerated.

VERS. 9-12.-- *[n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Wounds and blisters* with burning are brought forth at the sixth stroke. In the ulcers a crafty and purulent malice is reproved; in the blisters a swelling and inflated pride; in the burning, anger and the madness of fury.

VERS. 13-15.-- *And the Lord hardened the heart,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Note that in the sixth plague it is not said, [0210C] The heart of Pharaoh was hardened, but something more terrible is added; for it is written *that the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh,* etc. Again in the seventh, when hail and fire lay Egypt waste, the heart of Pharaoh is indeed hardened, but not by the Lord. But in the eighth, where the locust is brought forth, the Lord is said to harden the heart of Pharaoh. And in the ninth, when the darkness becomes palpable; and at last, when, the firstborn being destroyed, the Israelites had departed, it is thus said: *And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt and of his servants, and he pursued them.* And also, when Moses is sent from the land of Madian into Egypt and is commanded to do wonders, it is added: *Thou shalt do them in the sight of Pharaoh: but I will harden the heart of Pharaoh,* etc. Hence first [0210D] it was said by the Lord: *I will harden the heart of Pharaoh,* etc. A second time also, the princes having been enumerated, it is said to Israel: *I will harden the heart of Pharaoh,* etc. Not in vain was that variety made, that now the Lord is said to have hardened the heart of Pharaoh, now that it was hardened of its own accord. I see Paul, as one understanding what difference there is between the heart of Pharaoh's having been hardened and the Lord's having hardened the heart of Pharaoh, saying in Romans II: *Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, and of patience, and of longsuffering? Knowest thou not that the benignity of God leadeth thee to penance,* etc. Here without doubt he blames him who was hardened of his own accord. But elsewhere, as it were proposing a question upon this, he says: *Therefore on whom he will he hath mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth,* etc. He adds also to these: *O man, thou who art, who repliest against God [n: (Rom. IX)]*. [var: Vulg. Rom 9:20 *O homo, tu quis es, qui respondeas Deo*, "O man, who art thou that repliest against God", which the Vulgate sets as a question; Migne's *tu qui es* puts a relative where the interrogative stood, and he prints the same verse with *quis* eleven lines below at 0211A] By which, concerning [0211A] him who is said to have been hardened by the Lord, he answers not so much by the solution of the question as by apostolic authority, because of the incapacity of his hearers, as he says elsewhere [n: (II Cor. XII)]: *And he heard secret words, which it is not granted to man to utter.* Whence in what follows he deters the man who, not so much by the merit of his studies as by the lust of knowing, plunges himself too curiously [curiosus] into the more secret questions, saying in Romans IX: *O man, who art thou that repliest against God.*

[n: (RAB.)] The seventh precept: *Thou shalt not steal;* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:15 *Non furtum facies*, "Thou shalt not commit theft"; Migne's *Non furaberis* is the wording of Rom 13:9, not that of the Decalogue in Exodus] the seventh plague, hail upon the fruits. For no one has unjust gain without just loss. While thou stealest, thou gainest a garment, thou losest faith: gain visible, loss invisible: gain out of thy blindness, loss out of the Lord's cloud. For those who steal outwardly by evil desire [0211B] are hailed upon inwardly out of judgment, and the field of their heart is laid waste.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *And therefore have I set thee up,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 32.)] The Apostle set down these words, etc., *as far as* Pharaoh therefore was preserved for their profit.

VERS. 18.-- *Behold I will cause it to rain to-morrow,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Thus far the punishments are tempered to the world through the figures of its own errors: after these come stripes from on high.

VERS. 19-21.-- *Send therefore now,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 35 in Exod., tom. III.)] God seems to forewarn of this not so much in indignation as in mercy, etc., *as far as* since God had threatened the death of the cattle, although Scripture has been silent of it.

[n: (PROCOP.)] Moreover it was brought about by divine providence [0211C] that the beasts should not all perish. For there was need of beasts to draw the chariots with which Pharaoh was afterwards to pursue the fugitives, that he might slaughter them in the wilderness. But divine providence governed the whole business otherwise.

VERS. 22.-- *Stretch forth thy hand,* etc. [n: (PROCOP.)] The reader is to be advised in this place that Moses is not bidden to do all the wonders with the rod, but only certain of them; certain also to foretell, as the gnats and the destruction of the beasts; certain to accomplish by the ministry of the hands, as when he takes soot from the furnace and stirs up the hail. But what is the cause of these things? Lest the common people should suppose that the rod had been made by magical superstition, and should assign to it those wondrous effects.

VERS. 23-29.-- *And Moses stretched forth the rod,* etc. [0211D] [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] This also is to be noted, that Aaron is said to inflict certain stripes upon Pharaoh or upon Egypt, Moses certain, and certain the Lord himself. For in the first plague, where he turns the waters into blood, Aaron lifts up the rod and strikes the water. In the second he strikes the waters and brings forth frogs. In the third he stretches out his hand and strikes the dust of the earth with the rod, and there are made sciniphs. In the fourth the Lord is said to have done it, that the dog-fly should come. In the fifth also, when the cattle are destroyed, he is said to have done this thing. But in the sixth Moses sprinkles the ashes, and there are made ulcers and blisters. In the seventh he lifts his hand toward heaven and there are made thunders and hail, namely, etc. In the eighth likewise he stretches his hands toward heaven, and the Lord brings on a wind, and brings in [0212A] the locusts. And in the ninth also he stretches his hand toward heaven, and there are made darkness and gloom. But in the tenth the end and completion of the whole work is administered by the Lord. For thus it is said: *And the Lord struck every firstborn in the land of Egypt.*

[n: (IDEM.)] There is another difference to be observed: for in the first plague, when the water is turned into blood, it is not yet said to Moses that he should go in to Pharaoh, but, *go forth to meet him,* etc. But in the second, the first having been ministered constantly and faithfully, it is said to him: *Go in to Pharaoh,* etc. But in the third the sciniphs are brought in, the magicians yield, confessing that *this is the finger of God.* But in the fourth Moses is bidden to watch in the morning, and to stand before Pharaoh as he goes forth to the waters, when the houses of the Egyptians are filled with the dog-fly. [0212B] In the fifth, when the cattle are destroyed, he is bidden to go in to Pharaoh. In the sixth Pharaoh is despised, nor is it said that Moses and Aaron went in to him, because ulcers and blisters with burning were made even upon the magicians, and they could not resist Moses. In the seventh he is bidden to watch very early, and to stand before Pharaoh, when he brings forth hail and fire and thunders. In the eighth he is commanded to go in to him when the locust is brought forth. In the ninth again Pharaoh is despised, and Moses [Moses] is commanded to stretch his hands toward heaven, that palpable darkness may be made: nor does he go in, but he is called to Pharaoh. Likewise in the tenth, when the firstborn are destroyed, and he is compelled to go out of Egypt with haste.

*And the Lord gave thunders,* etc. [n: (ID., homil., 4.)] [0212C] See the moderation of the divine correction: he does not scourge in silence, but gives voices, and sends doctrine from heaven, by which the chastised world may be able to acknowledge its own fault. He gives hail, by which the tender things of the vices, still being born, are laid waste. He gives fire also, knowing that there are thorns and thistles which had to be grazed down; of which the Lord says in Luke XII: *I came to send fire in the earth [n: (Luc. XII)]*. By this fire the incitements of pleasure and of lust are consumed.

[n: (IDEM.)] There are many other things to be observed, in which the divine wisdom is shown. For at the first Pharaoh is not bent, when the water is turned into blood. At the second he seems a little softened: *For he called Moses and Aaron, saying: Pray to the Lord for me,* etc. At the third [0212D] the magicians yield, saying: *This is the finger of God,* etc. At the fourth, scourged by the dog-fly, he says: *Go and sacrifice to the Lord your God,* etc. At the fifth, where the slaughters of the cattle are said to be, he does not yield, but hardened himself the more. Likewise at the sixth, over the plague of ulcers. But at the seventh, when he is laid waste with hail and with fires, *he called Moses and Aaron, saying: I have sinned this time also; the Lord is just, but I and my peoples are wicked,* etc. At the eighth, when he was pressed with locusts, he hastily called Moses and Aaron, saying: *I have sinned before the Lord your God, and against you. Take up my sin, and even now pray to the Lord your God.* At the ninth, when he is overspread with darkness, he calls Moses and Aaron, saying: *Go and serve the Lord your God.* At the tenth, when the firstborn are destroyed, he calls them by night and says: [0213A] *Arise, go out from my people, you and the children of Israel,* etc. And he adds: *And bless me also.* These things cannot be explained save by the same Spirit by which they were done, because, according to the Apostle [n: (I Cor. XIV)], the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets; therefore the sayings of the prophets are said to be subject, not to any whomsoever for the explaining of them, but to prophets.

## CHAPTER IX. (cont.)

VERS. 30-35.-- *But I know that,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 35 in Exod.)] Pharaoh had been terrified by the crash of heaven and by the hail. Whence he begged Moses to pray for him, confessing his own iniquity and that of his people. But Moses was seeking another fear. For it is easy to fear punishment; but this is not to fear God, with that fear of piety, namely, of which Jacob says: *Unless the God of my father Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been present with [0213B] me, thou wouldst now have sent me away empty [n: (Gen. XXXI)]*.

## CHAPTER X.

VERS. 1-3-- . . . *For I have hardened his heart,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 36 in Exod.)] He did not say this as though God had need of anyone's malice, but it is thus to be understood, as if he should say: I have been patient over him and his servants, that I might not take them away, so that my signs might come upon them in order; for because the evil mind was becoming the more obstinate through the patience of God, for this, that I was patient over him, it is said, *I have made his heart heavy.* The plagues of the Egyptians are the instruction of the children of Israel, lest they be hardened in like manner, and suffer like things. When the pestilent man is punished, the little one shall be the wiser.

[n: (ORIG.)] The ten plagues with which Egypt is scourged through [0213C] the Israelites can be compared to the times of the Roman empire, because these things were done in a figure of us. The Christian and the Israelite people are of one God; the cause of both was one and made subject, the Synagogue to the Egyptians, the Church to the Romans. The Egyptians persecuted, and the Romans also persecuted. There Moses is contradicted ten times, here ten edicts against Christ. There diverse plagues of the Egyptians, here diverse calamities of the Romans. There first blood flows from the wells and rivers; here the first plague under Nero, that everywhere there was the blood of the dying, either corrupted by diseases in the City, or poured out by wars throughout the world. There the second plague, frogs in the inner chambers; famine almost destroyed the inhabitants: here under Domitian unbridled henchmen, at the command of a bloody [0213D] prince, and want, dispersed almost all the Roman citizens. There the third plague, sciniphs, most savage little flies, which in midsummer fly in swarms through squalid places, and are borne with a burning bite into the hair of men and the bristles of cattle: here the third plague stirred up the Jews under Trajan, who, whereas before, being scattered, they were quiet as though they were not, being moved by a sudden heat, went about ravaging. Besides, many cities in those same times fell down by an earthquake. There the fourth plague, dog-flies, nurslings of rottenness, mothers of worms; here under Marcus Antoninus a pestilence poured into many provinces gave over to rottenness and to worms Italy and the city of Rome, and the army of the Romans scattered through diverse winter quarters and dissolved by death. There the fifth plague, of cattle and of beasts of burden: here under Severus the persecutor, by civil [0214A] wars, the very bowels and supports of the commonwealth, that is, the commons of the provinces and the legions of soldiers, were broken in pieces. There the sixth plague, swelling blisters and running ulcers: here the plague which followed the persecution of Maximinus, who had commanded that especially the bishops and clerics, the popular crowd being passed over, the chief men of the Churches, should be tortured; and, swelling frequently with anger and perfidy, it was exalted not through the slaughter of the common people, but through the wounds of dying princes and men of power. There the seventh plague, hail gathered in the air, which was destruction to men and to beasts: here under Gallus and Volusianus, who succeeded Decius the persecutor, a pestilence was poured through all the spaces of the Roman empire, and gave nearly the whole human race to death. There the eighth correction, locusts stirred up on every side: here nations stirred up on every side [0214B] laid waste the Roman world with slaughters and burnings. There the ninth plague, darkness that might be handled, threatening more of peril than working it: here, while Aurelian the persecutor was decreeing, amid dreadful whirlwinds a terrible thunderbolt fell at his very feet, showing what so great an avenger would do, were he not patient; although within six months three emperors were slain, Aurelian, Tacitus and Florianus. There the tenth and last plague, the slaying of the firstborn: here the destruction of all the idols, which, being made first, they loved among the first. There the king proved the power of God, and felt it, and feared, and let the people of God go free: here also he did all these things, and even believed.

[n: (IDEM.)] There the people of God was not drawn back to servitude, nor here afterwards compelled to idolatry. There [0214C] the precious vessels of the Egyptians were handed over to the Hebrews: here the precious temples of the pagans passed over to the Church of the Christians.

[n: (IDEM.)] Upon the Egyptians, pursuing the Hebrews who had been let go after the ten plagues, the destruction of the sea rushed in: upon us also, as we journey, the persecution of the Gentiles remains, until we pass through the Red Sea, that is, the fire of judgment, with Christ as leader and as judge. But those who persecute Christians shall be drowned, with their king Antichrist, in the pool of eternal fire.

VERS. 4-12.-- *Behold I will bring in the locust to-morrow,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] The eighth precept: *Thou shalt not bear false witness:* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:16 *Non loqueris contra proximum tuum falsum testimonium*, "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour"] the eighth plague, the locust, a creature namely harmful with the tooth. For a false witness harms by biting and consumes by lying. Whence: *If you bite [0214D] and consume one another, take heed lest you be consumed one of another [n: (Gal. V)]*. [var: Vulg. Gal 5:15 *comeditis*, "devour"; the gloss's own verb two lines above is *consumit*, which follows Migne's reading and not the Vulgate's]

*[n: (ORIG.)] hom. 4 in Exod.)* I think that by this kind of plague the inconstancy of the human race, ever at variance and discordant with itself, is refuted. For the locust, although it has no king, according to the Scripture, leads an ordered army: but men, although they were made rational, were neither able to govern themselves in order, nor did they patiently bear the guidance of God who governs.

[n: (STRAB.)] By the locust, which has no king, is signified the rashness of those who, although punished with diverse penalties, always remain in their own hardness, as though they had no ruler.

[0215A] *The locust.* [n: (ISID.)] Locusts are taken for the mobility of levity, as souls wandering and leaping after the pleasure of the world.

VERS. 13-18.-- *And Moses stretched forth the rod.* [n: (RAB.)] Certain wonders are done through Moses, certain through Aaron, and certain through the Lord himself; that we may know that in some things we are to be cleansed through the sacrifices of the priests and the supplications of the pontiffs, whom the person of Aaron designates; in some to be amended through the knowledge of the law, which the office of Moses designates. But in the more difficult things we have need of the power of the Lord himself.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXXI, Moral., cap. 20)]. The plagues of Egypt shown forth from heaven, etc., *as far as* when with empty praises they unnerve the works of certain men who are now as it were strong.

[0215B]VERS. 19, 20.-- *There remained not so much as one,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Scripture certainly recalled a benefit of God, in that he took away the locusts, and going on it said that the Lord had hardened the heart of Pharaoh, namely by his own benefit and patience, by which that man was becoming the more obstinate while he was being spared: as all evil hearts of men grow hard by ill using the patience of God.

VERS. 21.-- *Stretch forth thy hand,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] A third time it is said to Moses: *Stretch forth thy hand toward heaven,* that the plague of darkness also might be made. But never was it said to Aaron that he should stretch his hands toward heaven. What therefore was said to Moses: *Stretch forth thy hand over the land of Egypt, and let the locust come up upon the land,* I believe this to be signified, that he who can do the greater can do the less also; but not at once that he to whom the lesser things are granted [0215C] can do the greater.

[n: (ORIG.)] The ninth plague is darkness, that the blindness of their mind may be reproved, or that they may understand that the reasons of the divine dispensation and providence are most obscure. For God *hath put* *darkness his covert [n: (Psal. XVII)]*: and they, boldly and rashly searching it out, and asserting one thing from another, have been rolled down into the thick and palpable darkness of errors.

[n: (STRAB.)] By the darkness their folly [Judaeorum] is shown, who were afflicted and did not know to what end their punishments would come. Or also by the darkness is signified the secret of the divine judgment, by which he mercifully saves the just and justly condemns the ungodly.

[0215D]VERS. 24-29.-- *Only the sheep,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Locutionibus in Exod., l. 52.)] The Greek has, *besides sheep and oxen leave ye,* and it is an unusual manner of speech, unless after a pause there be inserted, *leave ye;* and there be understood, these things, so that the sense may be: Go, besides sheep and oxen, and leave these things. For such an ellipsis is wont to be made often in the manners of speech of the Scriptures.

[n: (RAB.)] The ninth precept: *Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife:* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:17 *Non concupisces domum proximi tui, nec desiderabis uxorem ejus*, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, neither shalt thou desire his wife"; Migne's wording here is that of Dt 5:21, not that of the Decalogue in Exodus] the ninth plague, thick darkness. For there is a certain adultery even in desiring another man's wife, when his own does not suffice a man, and he attempts another's also. Truly the darkness is thick; for nothing so grieves the sufferer, nothing does the doer so refuse to suffer: he who does this is truly blinded with a horrible fury.

## CHAPTER XI.

[0216A]

VERS. 2.-- *Thou shalt tell therefore all the people,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 94 in Exod., tom. III.)] No one ought to take an example from this, etc., *as far as* that not even by this loss should those be smitten who had not been struck by the other plagues.

*That every man ask,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XXVIII Moral., cap. 17.)] Minds cleaving to the use of the carnal life, etc., *as far as* a greater fortitude of spirit is announced.

VERS. 3, 4.-- *And the Lord will give favour to his people in the sight of the Egyptians,* etc. Those, namely, who dwelt with the Hebrews in the land of Gessen, and for their sake had not been hurt by the nine plagues, and therefore loved them: by the tenth plague they were afflicted, when the Hebrews had departed from them.

[0216B]VERS. 5, 6.-- *And every firstborn shall die,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 4)] At the last the destruction of the firstborn is brought in, in which there is perhaps something above our understanding, which seems to have been committed by the Egyptians against the Church of the firstborn, which is enrolled in the heavens. Whence also the destroying angel is sent to this ministry, who spares those only who had both door-posts marked with the blood of the lamb. Again the firstborn of the Egyptians are destroyed: whether we call them principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world, whom Christ by his coming led forth, that is, led captive and made captive, when he triumphed upon the wood of the cross; or the authors and inventors of false religions, which the truth of Christ has extinguished together with their authors. Principalities, and powers, [0216C] and the rulers of these darknesses, are the firstborn of the Egyptians, which [ *Al.,* qui] in the last plague, namely when the end of the world shall have come, when he shall separate the sheep from the goats, the grain from the chaff, shall be condemned, the licence of wandering and of tempting being lost.

[n: (ORIG.)] *Morally.* The soul, while it lives in this world in errors, in ignorance of the truth, is placed in Egypt: if the law of God has begun to draw near, it turns the waters into blood, that is, it turns the fluid and slippery life of youth to the blood of the Old or of the New Testament. Then the law draws out of it the vain and empty loquacity against the providence of God, like to the croaking of frogs. It purges also its malignant thoughts, and shakes off the stings of craftiness that are like to the biting of the sciniphs. The bites of lusts also, [0216D] like to the darts of the dog-fly, it drives away; and the folly and the understanding like to that of cattle, through which *man, when he was in honour, did not understand, but was compared to senseless beasts,* etc. [n: (Psal. XLVIII.)] It reproves the ulcers of sins, the swelling of arrogance, and extinguishes the burning of fury. After these it applies the voices of the sons of thunder, that is, the evangelical and apostolic doctrines, and the chastisement of hail, that it may restrain luxury and pleasures; and at the same time the fire of penitence, that it may say: *Was not our heart burning within us [n: (Luc. XXIV)]*? Nor does it fail to draw off from it the examples of the locusts, by which all its restless and turbid motions may be grazed down, that it may learn to do all things according to order. But when it shall have been sufficiently chastised for its manners, when it shall have perceived the author [0217A] of the stripes, confessing that *it is the finger of God,* and shall have received a little of acknowledgment: then chiefly it sees the darkness of its own deeds and the gloom of its errors, and then it shall deserve that the firstborn of Egypt be destroyed in it. For every soul, when it shall have come to the fulness of age, and as it were the natural law shall have begun to defend its own rights within it, brings forth the first motions according to the desire of the flesh, which the inciting force has stirred up out of the tinder of concupiscence or of anger. Whence as a singular privilege the prophet says of Christ: *He shall eat butter and honey; before he shall do or bring forth evil things, he shall choose the good [n: (Isa. VII)]*; [var: Vulg. Is 7:15 *Butyrum et mel comedet, ut sciat reprobare malum, et eligere bonum*, "He shall eat butter and honey, that he may know to refuse the evil and to choose the good"] since before the child knows good or evil, he shall resist malice, that he may choose that which is good. But David says of himself: *The sins of my youth and my ignorances [0217B] remember not [n: (Psal. XXIV)]*. Because therefore these first motions of the soul, brought forth according to the flesh, rush into sin, deservedly in the moral sense the firstborn of the Egyptians are set down as the first things, because they are extinguished if the conversation of the remaining life directs a more amended course. So therefore in the soul, which the divine law, having taken it up out of its errors, chastises, the firstborn of the Egyptians are destroyed, unless, enduring after all these things in unbelief, it refuse to be joined to the people of Israel, so as to come out of the deep and escape unharmed, but remain in iniquity, and go down as lead into the mightiest water. For iniquity, according to Zacharias [n: (ZAC. V)], sits upon a talent of lead: and therefore he who remains in iniquity is sunk like lead into the deep [sic: *profondum*].

[0217C]VERS. 7.-- *Among all,* etc. [n: (AUG. in libro Locutionum. )] It is a most elegant manner of speech: for by the dog he signified the last, whether of men or of cattle: thus he set forth how great a quiet there should be among the Hebrews, while the Egyptians cried out in bitter bereavement.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *Pharaoh shall not hear you,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 40 in Exod.)] As though there had been need of the disobedience of Pharaoh that those signs might be multiplied: which were profitably done for the terrifying of the people of God, and for forming it to piety by that very discrimination. But this was of God, who used well the malice of that heart, not of Pharaoh, who ill abused the patience of God.

## CHAPTER XII.

[0217D]VERS. 2-4.-- *This month,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] This is April, which among the Hebrews is called Nisam, among the Macedonians Ξανθικός; and it is called *Aprilis* as it were *aperilis*, because then the earth is opened for the bringing forth of shoots, herbs and flowers: or *Aprilis* from Venus, as it were *Aphroditis*; for Venus in Greek is called *Aphrodite*. The Hebrews hold this month as the first, because the fifteenth of its Kalends was the first day of the world: the fourteenth, the second day; the thirteenth, the third; the twelfth, the fourth, on which the sun and the moon were made, and then was the first equinox; for the sun in the east and the moon in the west divided the sphere of the world equally.

[n: (STRAB.)] This is Nisan, according to the Hebrews, in which the world was made, whose full moon is always to be looked for after the vernal [0218A] equinox: in which the people of Israel is freed from the servitude of Egypt, and the human race is snatched by the blood of Christ from the power of the devil. On the tenth day of the month the lamb is taken, on the fourteenth it is sacrificed: because in the law the passion of Christ is figured, and, the grace of the Gospel flashing forth, it is fulfilled; for the number ten, because of the decalogue, signifies the law, but the number four the four gospels.

VERS. 5, 6.-- *And it shall be,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 42 in Exod., tom. III.)] That manner of speech may disturb a man, etc., *as far as* what was figured by that precept.

*According to which rite,* etc. *Allegorically.* Because Christ took flesh of the just and of sinners, that no one might despair of pardon. Or because Christ was a kid to the Jews, who said: *This man is a sinner (Joan. [0218B] IX)*, but to us a lamb without spot. Or because he appeared *in the likeness of sinful flesh* and *died for sin, whereas he had no sin [n: (I Petr. II)]*.

[n: (STRAB.)] On the tenth day of April he came to Jerusalem, and on the following day he was received by the crowds with branches of palms and with divine praises. Through the three remaining days he was watched by the Jews until the fourteenth day, that is, until the fifth day of the week, on which he supped with the apostles, and afterwards was betrayed.

VERS. 7.-- *And they shall take of the blood thereof,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 22 in Evang., tom. II.)] The blood is set on when it is drunk not only with the mouth of the body, but also with the mouth of the heart, etc., *as far as* because we bear the cross of his passion upon the forehead.

VERS. 8.-- *And they shall eat the flesh,* etc. [n: (GREG., ibid.)] [0218C] By night we eat the lamb, etc., *as far as* for he offers praise out of leaven who prepares for God a sacrifice out of rapine.

*With wild lettuces,* etc. [n: (GREG., ibid.)] Wild lettuces are exceeding bitter, etc., *as far as* that he may know that all things are dispensed through the power of the Holy Spirit.

VERS. 9-11.-- *The head with the feet,* etc. *[n: (GREG., ibid.)] The head of Christ is God [n: (I Cor. XI)]*. To devour therefore the head of the lamb, etc., *as far as* let no one be sluggish on the journey of this life, lest he lose his place in the fatherland.

[n: (GREG. NYSS., de Vita Mosis. )] By those wrappings of things he admonishes us that through these riddles we should be willing to consider and to understand that this our life is a certain passing over. For after we have entered upon it, we are always driven by a certain necessity toward the going out, [0218D] for which he wills us to be prepared with hands and feet and the remaining equipment for the journey. Lest therefore our feet be hurt by thorns on this steep journey of living, we ought to travel not with bare feet, but fortified with harder shoes. But the thorns, which, fixed in the feet, not only hold back and retard but also kill, are sins, from which the hardness of the shoes defends: namely a continent, spare and hard life, which weakens and breaks the points of the thorns, by which, from a small and slender beginning, sins so make their way onward to the things before them, that they slay utterly. To the leading of this life an ankle-length and flowing garment, that is, a voluptuous and vicious manner of living, which lies open most widely, is a hindrance: wherefore it is to be drawn in [0219A] with a certain girdle and constrained, lest it flow about hither and thither. But the girdle is modesty and a careful manner of living, which admonishes us to use things for necessity, not for pleasure. The staff with which we drive off wild beasts, and by which we are sometimes supported, is hope. But the food set before us is only from the fire, since faith, which is signified by that food, ought to be most burning, possessing nothing moist or slippery.

*Phase.* In Hebrew it is *Pesach* פסח , in Greek Πάσχα, that is, *a passing over;* because it was first celebrated by the children of Israel as they went out of Egypt: we also must pass over from things transitory to things eternal, from things earthly to things heavenly.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *In all the gods,* etc. The Hebrews report that all the idols of Egypt were broken in pieces on that night, [0219B] and the temples also, either by an earthquake or by an inundation of the river Nile. But allegorically, as we go out of Egypt, the idols of errors fall down, and all the cultivation of perverse doctrines is shaken.

VERS. 14-17.-- *And you shall have this day,* etc. *[n: (AUG., in Exod. quaest. 43, tom. III.)] And you shall keep this day in your generations as lawful, everlasting* or *eternal;* which in Greek is called αἰὼνιον, is not to be taken thus, etc., *as far as* at every time of the present life simplicity is to be kept, malice to be shunned.

VERS. 18-20.-- *In the first month, the fourteenth day,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] *Mystically.* The evening of the fourteenth day of the first month, on which the Pasch is celebrated and the immolation of the lamb is accomplished, signifies the putting off of the old man and the beginning of the new, which is begun in baptism, [0219C] that figures the death of Christ. Whence: *As many of us as are baptized in Christ Jesus, are baptized into his death,* etc. [n: (Gal. III)]. From the evening therefore of the fourteenth day of the first month until the evening of the twenty-first, a whole week namely, we are commanded [jubentur] to eat unleavened bread, because from the receiving of baptism until the end of life we ought to live simply and without guile. Whence Peter: *Laying aside all malice and all guile and dissimulation, as newborn babes,* etc. [n: (I Petr. II)].

VERS. 21.-- *The ancients.* Note that he communicates the commandments of God first not to boys, not to young men, but to the elders, because in the aged is wisdom, and in length of time prudence.

VERS. 22.-- *And a bunch of hyssop,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] [0219D] Hyssop is a lowly herb, growing upon rocks, purging the breast and the lung: and it signifies true humility, of which Christ afforded us the example in himself. We dip therefore the bunch of hyssop in the blood, when, mindful of the humility of Christ, we study to imitate him.

*Dip it in the blood,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 46 in Exod.)] It is asked what blood he calls that which is beside the door, since he would have understood the blood of that lamb by whose immolation the Pasch is made. Or does he command that it be done in that manner consequently, although he has been silent of this, that the same lamb be slain beside the door? Or, which is the more credible, he therefore said *of the blood which is beside the door,* because he who is to anoint is about to set [0220A] beside the door the very vessel in which he received the blood, that he may have it at hand while he dips.

VERS. 23-29.-- *And he will not suffer the destroyer,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Whether the smiter was a good angel or an evil one, it is not necessary to inquire: for whoever he was, he obeyed the command of the Lord. Yet it is to be known that evil angels are wont to work such plagues, by the permission of God.

The tenth precept is: *Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 20:17 *Non concupisces domum proximi tui … nec omnia quae illius sunt*, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house … nor any thing that is his"] Contrary to this is the tenth plague, the death of the firstborn. By another precept theft is forbidden, by which rapine also is condemned: for it is worse to snatch away by violence than by stealth. He therefore who wishes to take away openly or secretly has his own precept: but to covet a neighbour's goods, even if thou seek it by a just succession, [0220B] is not lawful. For those who wish to possess other men's goods as it were justly, seek also to be heirs to them when they die. When thou praisest a thing left behind, as though the man possessed it by right, God condemns him who desires it unjustly. For thou who seekest to be made heir to another dost not wish that he should have heirs, among whom nothing is dearer than the firstborn. By right therefore art thou punished in thine own firstborn, thou who, by coveting other men's goods, seekest out as it were a shadow of right, and losest the firstborn of the heart, which are the better things. The firstborn indeed is faith. For no one does good things in whom faith has not gone before. All good works are spiritual sons, but among these faith is the firstborn. Whosoever therefore thou art that secretly covetest another's goods, thou losest faith within. For thou servest not by charity but by fraud, as one loving him whom thou desirest to die, that thou mayest succeed him.

[0220C]VERS. 30-33.-- *For there was not a house,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 44 in Exod.)] Since only the firstborn were dying, how was there no house in which there was not one dead? Or had this also been divinely provided, that in all the houses there should be firstborn, in whom the Egyptians should be struck, even those who dwelt in the land of Gessen? For here they were of men, or of animals, not of the land; that is, men and animals that were firstborn were dying, by a hidden and angelic stroke: not anything had been done in the earth or in the heaven, as the frog, or the locust, or the darkness. For since the land of Gessen had been free from such plagues, the benefit reached the Egyptians who dwelt in it with the Hebrews: but by this plague all were struck.

VERS. 34.-- *The meal sprinkled,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] [0220D] *Mystically.* Without leaven the children of Israel set out from Egypt; that we, going out of this world, may cast away the leaven of malice and of wickedness, and feast in the unleavened bread of sincerity and of truth.

VERS. 35, 36.-- *And they asked,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 45.)] This had already been done before the deaths of the firstborn. But now it is repeated by way of recapitulation, for it was narrated when it was done. For how could it now come about that these things should be lent amid so great a mourning: unless perhaps one should say that by this plague also those Egyptians were not struck who dwelt with the Hebrews.

*Vessels of gold,* etc. These signify the doctrines which are learned out of the very custom of the nations by no unprofitable study; or precious souls out of the nations, as [0221A] vessels of gold and of silver; with garments, that is, with bodies: which join themselves to the people of God, that once for all they may be freed out of this world as out of Egypt.

VERS. 37-45.-- *And they set forward,* etc. [n: (ORIG. hom. 5 in Exod.)]. He who prepares to set out from Egypt, who desires to leave behind the dark deeds of the world and the darkness of errors, must first set out from Ramesse, which is interpreted *the commotion of the moth.* If thou wilt come to this, that God may be thy leader, and that the rock may follow which bestows spiritual meat and drink, go out from Ramesse, lest thou lay up treasure where the moth destroys and thieves dig through, etc.

*If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell all that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me [n: (Matth. VI)]*: this is to set out from Ramesse, and to follow Christ.

## CHAPTER XII. (cont.)

[0221B] *From Ramesse to Socoth,* etc. [n: (ORIG. ibid.)] Let us see what is the place of encampment to which they come. From Ramesse they came into Socoth, which is interpreted *tabernacles.* When therefore, leaving Egypt, thou hast shaken off the moths of every corruption and hast cast away the incitements of the vices, thou shalt dwell in tabernacles, by which, namely, we would not be unclothed but clothed upon. And the dwelling in tabernacles shows that he who hastens to God is unencumbered. But not even in this must one stand still: the camp must be moved from Socoth also, and one must hasten into Othon, which is interpreted *signs to them,* because here, namely, thou shalt hear that God goes before them by day in a pillar of cloud, and by night in a pillar of fire; not this in Ramesse, nor in Socoth, which are the second camp. The third are those in which the divine signs are wrought: this [0221C] was the three days to which Moses and Aaron were hastening, and Pharao contradicted them, saying: *Go no further.* He was unwilling that the children of Israel should reach the place of the signs, that they might be able to enjoy the mysteries of the third day. Whence Osee VI: *God will raise us up after two days, and on the third day we shall rise again, and we shall live in his sight.* [var: Vulg. Os 6:3 *Vivificabit nos post duos dies; in die tertia suscitabit nos, et vivemus in conspectu ejus*, "He will quicken us after two days: on the third day he will raise us up"] The first day is for us the passion of Christ; the second, that on which he descended into hell; the third, that on which he rose again: therefore on the third day he went before them by day in a pillar of cloud; but by night, in a pillar of fire. *It is necessary therefore that they who are baptized in Christ should be baptized in his death, and be buried together with him, and on the third day rise again, whom, namely, he hath raised up with himself and hath made to sit in the heavenly places [n: (Rom. VI)]*.

*About six hundred thousand,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 47.)] It is asked [0221D] whether the Hebrews came to so great a number through those years in Egypt, etc., *as far as* that is, after the death of Joseph they were oppressed with hard servitude.

VERS. 46-51.-- *Nor of him,* etc. The bone of Christ was not broken on the cross, because, seeing him already dead, they did not break his legs: or the strength of the Godhead in the flesh is not corrupted by blasphemy, because he is not mere man, but true God.

## CHAPTER XIII.

VERS. 2-8.-- *Sanctify unto me every firstborn,* etc. Because I slew all the firstborn of the Egyptians in your deliverance.

VERS. 9-12.-- *And it shall be as a sign,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 48 in Exod.)]. What is it that he says when he gives commandment concerning the pasch, [0222A] etc., *as far as* otherwise grace would now be no longer grace.

VERS. 13-15.-- *But every firstborn of man,* etc. [n: (CYRILL.)] He commands the firstborn of men to be redeemed, that he may forbid manslaying: he who created all things that they might be incorruptible.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXVII Moral., cap. 1.)] The ass signifies uncleanness, the sheep innocence. Therefore to exchange the firstling of an ass for a sheep is to turn the beginnings of an unclean life into the simplicity of innocence, so that after the sinner has done those things which the Lord rejected as unclean, he may now by his doing bring forth those things which he may lay upon the sacrifice of God. For we are all born in sin, and conceived of the delight of the flesh, and have contracted original guilt to ourselves. Whence also by our own will we are entangled [0222B] in sins. But he too who after the malice of the flesh is turned to the innocence of the heart exchanges the firstling of an ass for a sheep, that is, the malice of his former life. For he who ceases to be such as he was before, and, having laid hold of cleanness of the flesh, keeps innocence, has exchanged the firstling of the ass for a sheep in the offering of God.

VERS. 16.-- *And as a thing hung up.* The Jews, understanding this ill, used to bind little patches or phylacteries about their heads, in which they had the ten words written before their eyes.

VERS. 17.-- *When therefore he had sent them out,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. XXIV Moral. cap. 13)]. Often the converted, in the very entrance of their conversion, receive tranquillity of the flesh, gifts of prophecy, the teachings of doctrine, miracles of signs or the grace of healings. Afterward they are wearied by the hard [0222C] provings of temptations, from which they believed themselves to be free: because if in the beginning the bitterness of temptations were to beat upon them, they would easily return to the vices from which they have not far withdrawn. From those therefore who go out of Egypt wars near at hand are taken away: because to those who leave the world a certain tranquillity is first shown, lest, troubled in that very tenderness and beginning, they return to what they had left: first therefore they feel the sweetness of security, first they are nourished by the quiet of peace; but after the sweetness has been known they bear the contests of temptations the more tolerably, the more deeply they have known in God the things they love.

VERS. 18-20.-- *God led them not,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 49)]. Here it is shown that all things ought to be done which can rightly be done by counsel, for the avoiding of those things which [0222D] are adverse, even when God is most openly a helper [n: (Epist. ad Dam., tom. I)].

*And the children went up armed,* etc. [n: (HIERON.)] Aquila, who translates word for word, not, as they suppose, from contentiousness, but from diligence, where the Seventy set, *but in the fifth generation the children of Israel went up out of the land of Egypt,* rendered, *and the children of Israel went up armed out of the land of Egypt,* although, in place of what we have called *armed,* it may, according to the ambiguity of the Greek speech, be understood *equipped* or *furnished,* on account of the household stuff wherewith they despoiled the Egyptians. But where the Seventy set *in the fifth generation,* they who have diligently inspected the books of the Hebrews report that not "fifth" but "five" is written, so that the sense may be: but five went up, [0223A] the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt; and because this seemed to be less understood, "generation" was added. But Aquila is said to have translated properly both in the rest and chiefly in this place, as all the benches of the synagogues agree.

*[n: (AUG., quaest. 53.)] But in the fifth progeny,* etc. Whether he means to reckon a progeny within a hundred years, etc., *as far as* Naason begot Salmon.

VERS. 21-22.-- *And the Lord went before them,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] When the mystery of the third day has been received by thee, God will begin to lead thee forth and to show thee the way of salvation.

[n: (GREG.)] In the fire is terror, in the cloud the gentle soothing of a vision. The day is the life of the just man; the night, of the sinner. Whence Ephes. V: *You were once darkness, but now [0223B] light in the Lord,* etc. [var: Vulg. Eph 5:8 *Eratis enim aliquando tenebrae: nunc autem lux in Domino*, "For you were heretofore darkness"] By day the pillar was shown by the cloud, and by night by the fire; because almighty God will appear both gentle to the just and terrible to the wicked. Coming to judgment, he soothes these by the mildness of his lenity, and terrifies those by the strictness of his justice. Otherwise: the pillar of cloud went before the people in the desert, and shone with the splendour of fire not by day, but by night: because Christ, affording leadership to his followers by the example of his own conversation, shone with no light to those who trusted in their own justice; but upon those who acknowledged the darkness of their sins he shed the fire of his love. Christ is the cloud and the pillar, because he is upright, and firm, and upholds our infirmity; because he shines by night and does not shine by day, *that they who see not may see; and they who see may become blind [n: (Joan. IX)]*. The sacrament of Christ also [0223C] is manifest as it were by day in the flesh as it were in a cloud: but in the judgment as it were in the terror of night; because then there will be great tribulation, and it will shine as fire to the just, and burn the unjust.

## CHAPTER XIV.

VERS. 2.-- *Phihahiroth, which is between Magdalum,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 5 in Exod.)] Let us see what way is enjoined to be chosen. Turning back from Othon, he says, make your journey between Epauleum and Magdalum, which is over against Beelsephon, etc. Epauleum is interpreted *a winding ascent,* Magdalum *a tower,* Beelsephon *the ascent of a watchtower,* or *having a watchtower.* He believed perhaps that God would show a level and easy way, but it is an ascent, and a winding one. For the way by which one goes toward the virtues is not downhill, but the climb is narrow and difficult. [0223D] Whence Matthew VII: *For the way which leadeth to life is strait and narrow.* [var: Vulg. Mt 7:14 *Quam angusta porta, et arcta via est, quae ducit ad vitam*, "How narrow is the gate, and strait is the way that leadeth to life"] The journey therefore by which one goes forward is *a winding ascent,* and *the ascent of a watchtower* or *having a watchtower.* The ascent belongs to deeds, the watchtower to faith; it is shown therefore that both in deeds and in faith there is much difficulty, much labour: for many temptations meet us, many stumbling-blocks, when we would do the things that are God's. Then in faith thou wilt find many winding things, very many questions, the objections of heretics, the contradictions of unbelievers: this journey therefore must be made by those who follow the Lord. But there is also a tower on this road, of which it is said in Luke XIV: *Which of you, wishing to build a tower, doth not first sit down and reckon the charges, whether he have wherewith to finish it?* [var: Vulg. Lc 14:28 *Quis enim ex vobis volens turrim aedificare, non prius sedens computat sumptus, qui necessarii sunt, si habeat ad perficiendum*, "which are necessary, whether he have wherewith to finish it"] This then is [0224A] the tower, high and lofty by these virtues; and Pharao, seeing it, says: These men are astray. With Pharao, he who follows God is said to go astray, because the way of wisdom is winding, having many difficulties and turnings. If thou confess one Father invisible, and his one only-begotten Jesus Christ, and one Holy Spirit, this seems winding, difficult and incredible among unbelievers. If thou say that the God of majesty was crucified and is the Son of man who came down from heaven, these things seem winding and difficult; and he who hears (unless he hear it with faith) says that these men are astray. But be thou fixed in this faith, knowing that God has shown thee this way of faith, who says: Taking up the camp from Othon, place it between Epauleum and Magdalum.

[0224B] *He had been.* [n: (ORIG.)] Fleeing Egypt thou comest to the ascent of works and of faith, and to the building of the tower: thou comest to the sea, and the waves of temptations meet thee. Whence II Tim. III: *For they who will to live godly in Christ suffer persecution,* [var: Vulg. 2Tim 3:12 *Et omnes, qui pie volunt vivere in Christo Jesu, persecutionem patientur*, "And all who will to live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution"] because our life upon earth is a temptation. But if thou follow Moses, that is, the law of God, Egypt pursues thee. But see what shall come to pass: *There lifted himself up,* he says, *the angel of the Lord, who went before the camp of Israel, and he went away behind them. He lifted up also the pillar of cloud from before their face, and it stood behind them, and entered in between the camp of the Egyptians and Israel.* [var: Vulg. Ex 14:19-20 *Tollensque se angelus Dei, qui praecedebat castra Israel, abiit post eos: et cum eo pariter columna nubis, priora dimittens, post tergum stetit, inter castra Aegyptiorum et castra Israel*, "the angel of God … and with him together the pillar of cloud, leaving the front, stood behind"] This pillar of cloud is made a wall to the people of God: on the Egyptians it lays darkness; the pillar of fire is not carried over to the Egyptians, that they may see the light: but the pillar of cloud, that they may remain in darkness, because they loved darkness, not [0224C] the light. And thou therefore, if thou withdraw from the Egyptians, if thou flee from the power of the demons, see how great helps are prepared for thee, provided thou remain strong in faith: let not the horsemen and chariots of the Egyptians terrify thee, nor do thou cry out against the law of God, that is, against Moses, saying: *As though there were no sepulchres in Egypt, so hast thou led us forth.* [var: Vulg. Ex 14:11 *Forsitan non erant sepulchra in Aegypto, ideo tulisti nos ut moreremur in solitudine*, "Perhaps there were no graves in Egypt, therefore thou hast taken us away"]

VERS. 11-12.-- *Perhaps there were no sepulchres,* etc? [n: (ORIG., homil. 5 in Exod.)] These are the words of a mind failing under temptation: blessed is he who so receives temptations that no thought of doubt creeps upon him. To Peter also it is said in Matthew XIII: *O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?* These are the words of temptation and of frailty. Otherwise it is false, for it is better to die in the desert than to serve the Egyptians. For he who dies in [0224D] the desert, by this very thing, that he is separated from the Egyptians, that is, from the rulers of darkness and from the power of Satan, has had some profit, even if he could not attain to the whole. For it is better for one seeking the perfect life to die on the road than not even to set out. Whence the opinion of those seems to be false who, while they set forth the way of virtue as arduous and perilous, judge that it is not even to be begun. For it is better to die on the road than to be slain among the Egyptians and overwhelmed by false and bitter waves.

VERS. 13-14.-- *For the Egyptians whom you now,* etc. *[n: (AUG. quaest. 5 in Exod.)] For as you have seen the Egyptians today, you shall not again see them any more unto eternal time.* [var: Vulg. Ex 14:13 *Aegyptios enim, quos nunc videtis, nequaquam ultra videbitis usque in sempiternum*, "the Egyptians whom you now see, you shall see no more for ever"] But how are these words [sic: *ververba*] to be taken, [0225A] since the Israelites afterwards saw Egyptians? Or is it because those who then saw them did not see them further, since both they died who were pursuing, and these all, each on the day of his own death? For their descendants saw the descendants of those. Or is it to be understood, you shall not see them as today, that is, not as today pursuing and enemies, so that there may be no question even about the eternal time which he has here set down; because although both shall see one another at the time of the resurrection, yet not so as today.

VERS. 15-17.-- *Why criest thou to me?* etc. [n: (GREG.)] It is not our words that make voices before the ears of God, but our desires. For if we ask eternal life with the mouth and do not desire it with the heart, in crying out we are silent: but if we desire with the heart, though we are silent with the mouth, in keeping silence we cry. [0225B] Whence in the desert, when the people made a din with their voices, and Moses was silent from the noise of words, being silent he is heard, and it is said to him: *Why criest thou to me?* For in desire the secret cry does not reach human ears, but fills the divine.

[n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] No voice of Moses is heard, and the Lord says: *Why criest thou to me?* I would gladly know how the saints cry to God without a voice. The Apostle to the Galatians IV says: *For God will give the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying: Abba, Father.* [var: Vulg. Gal 4:6 *Quoniam autem estis filii, misit Deus Spiritum Filii sui in corda vestra, clamantem: Abba, Pater*, "And because you are sons, God hath sent the Spirit of his Son into your hearts"] And he adds: *the Spirit himself intercedeth for us with unspeakable groanings.* [var: Vulg. Rom 8:26 *sed ipse Spiritus postulat pro nobis gemitibus inenarrabilibus*, "the Spirit himself asketh for us"] And again in Romans VIII: *And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what the spirit desireth.* So then, at the asking of the Holy Spirit, the cry of the saints is heard through silence. Moses is commanded to strike the sea with his rod, [0225C] that it may give way to the people of God as they enter, and that the waters which were feared, being made a wall on the right hand and on the left, may not only know no ruin, but may even afford a defence. The liquid takes on solidity, and the floor of the sea dries into dust: understand the goodness of the Creator; if thou obey his will, if thou follow his law, he compels the elements to serve thee against their nature. I have heard it handed down by our elders that for the several tribes there were made several divisions of the waters, and a way of its own for each. And this is shown from that which is said in Psalm CXXXV: *Who divided the Red Sea into divisions,* etc. And elsewhere, in Psalm LXVII: *There is Benjamin the lesser in a stupor. The princes of Juda, their leaders; the princes of Zabulon and the princes of Nephthali:* [var: Vulg. Ps 67:28 *Ibi Benjamin adolescentulus, in mentis excessu; principes Juda, duces eorum; principes Zabulon, principes Nephthali*, "There is Benjamin a youth, in ecstasy of mind"] an entrance seems to be enumerated proper to each tribe. The Apostle [0225D] says that a baptism was accomplished in Moses in the cloud and in the sea, so that thou who art baptized in Christ, in water and in the Spirit, mayest know that the Egyptians pursue thee and would call thee back to servitude, the rulers, namely, of the world, and the spiritual wickednesses which thou didst serve before. But thou goest down into the water, and comest out unharmed and risest up new, washed from the filth of thy sins, made ready to sing a new song. The Egyptians as they pursue are drowned in the deep, and if they seem to beseech Jesus not to drown them again in the deep.

[n: (ID.)] Otherwise, if thou flee Egypt, that is, the darkness of ignorance; if thou follow Moses, that is, the law of God, and the sea meet thee, that is, the waves of gainsayers, do thou also strike the struggling waves with the rod, that is, with the word [0226A] of the law and with the vigilance of the Scriptures; open thyself a way by disputation through thy adversaries, and the waves will give place to the victor; and while they who before gainsaid stand amazed and fixed with astonishment, thou wilt cut a straight path of faith by the lawful lines of disputation, and thou wilt so far advance in the word of doctrine that thy hearers, whom thou hast instructed in the words of the law, will now rise up against the Egyptians like waves of the sea, and will not only assail but even overcome and extinguish them. For he extinguishes Egypt who does not the works of darkness, who lives not carnally, but spiritually; who either drives out filthy thoughts from his heart, or does not receive them at all, according to that of Ephesians VI: Taking the shield of faith, that you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the wicked one. [var: Vulg. Eph 6:16 *in omnibus sumentes scutum fidei, in quo possitis omnia tela nequissimi ignea extinguere*, "in all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one"] In this way therefore we can even today see the Egyptians dead, and Pharao himself, [0226B] if we live with so great faith that God crush Satan under our feet speedily through Jesus Christ.

VERS. 19-20.-- *And the angel of God lifting himself up,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] The angel, who is interpreted *messenger,* signifies the teachers, who announce to us the precepts of life, and with the cloud, that is, the knowledge of the Scriptures, go before the camp of Israel, that is, the Church, because with the knowledge of the Scriptures they preside. When the Egyptians come upon them he goes back behind, because in the time of persecution they set themselves in front on behalf of their subjects. But the cloud was dark to the Egyptians, bright to the Hebrews.

VERS. 21-31.-- *All the night,* etc. Because through the whole time of this life, which the night signifies, the grace of the Holy Spirit makes the waters of baptism passable to the faithful, [0226C] that they may pass over from spiritual Egypt into the land of promise: but it chokes the army of the enemy.

[n: (ISID.)] The Red Sea signifies the baptism consecrated by the blood of Christ; the enemies following at the back die together with their king, because past sins are blotted out in baptism, and the devil is choked: the Egyptians press on as far as the sea, and sins as far as baptism. After the passage of the Red Sea the people sing, the enemies being drowned; and the faithful, coming up from the laver, their sins extinguished, chant a hymn, saying: *Let us sing to the Lord, for gloriously,* etc.

## CHAPTER XV.

VERS. 1.-- *Then sang Moses,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 6 in Exod.)] We read many canticles in the Scriptures, [0226D] but this is the first of them all, which, when the Egyptians and Pharao were drowned, is sung after the victory. For it is the custom of the saints, when the adversary is overcome (since they know that the victory was wrought not by their own strength but by the grace of God), to offer to God a hymn of glorifying. Yet as they sing they take timbrels in their hands, as is related of Mary and Aaron. And thou therefore, if thou hast crossed the Red Sea, if thou hast seen the Egyptians drowned and Pharao cast headlong into the deep, canst thankfully sing a hymn to God, and say: *Let us sing to the Lord gloriously,* etc. And thou wilt say this more worthily if thou have a timbrel in thy hand, that is, if thou have crucified thy flesh with its vices and concupiscences.

*For gloriously,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] It is not enough, *he is glorified;* [0227A] for it is one thing to be glorified, another to be gloriously glorified. For when Christ took flesh for us, he was glorified, who came to seek what had perished, yet not gloriously, because he had no comeliness nor beauty; he was glorified when he came to the cross and endured death; whence John XVII: *Father, the hour is come, glorify thy Son,* etc. [var: Vulg. Jo 17:1 *Pater, venit hora: clarifica Filium tuum*, "Father, the hour is come, clarify thy Son"] The passion of the cross therefore was also a glory, wherein he was glorified, yet not gloriously, but humbly; whence Philip. II: *He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.* And Wisdom II: *Let us condemn him to a most shameful death.* In these things therefore he was glorified concerning himself humbly, not gloriously; whence Luke XXIV: *Because it behoved Christ to suffer, and so to enter into his glory.* [var: Vulg. Lc 24:26 *Nonne haec oportuit pati Christum, et ita intrare in gloriam suam?*, "Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and so to enter into his glory?"] When he shall come in the glory of the Father, and of the angels, [0227B] to judge the earth, and shall slay the true Pharao, that is, the devil, with the spirit of his mouth, when he shall shine again in the majesty of the Father: then shall he be gloriously glorified, when all shall honour the Son as they honour the Father.

*He is magnified, the horse and the rider he hath cast into the sea,* etc. In the signs of Egypt. But he was gloriously magnified, because he drowned Pharao and his army. Or he was magnified in working miracles before the passion, in preaching, in dying on the cross: but he was gloriously magnified when he rose again a conqueror, the devil conquered, hell despoiled.

*The horse,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] The men who pursue us are horses; and all who are born in the flesh are figuratively horses, and have their riders. There are those whom [0227C] the Lord mounts, and they go about the whole earth; of whom it is said in Habacuc III: *Thy cavalry is salvation.* [var: Vulg. Hab 3:8 *Qui ascendes super equos tuos, et quadrigae tuae salvatio*, "and thy chariots are salvation"] Others the devil and his angels mount. Judas was a horse, and while he had the Lord for his rider he was of the cavalry of salvation: for, sent with the other apostles, he gave health to the sick and soundness to the languishing; but when he laid himself down under the devil, who entered into him after the morsel, being made the horse of Satan and led by his reins he rode against the Lord. All persecutors therefore are neighing horses, but they have evil angels as riders by whom they are driven, and therefore they are fierce. If thou see thy persecutor raging beyond measure, know that he is being pricked by his rider, and therefore he is savage and truculent.

VERS. 2.-- *This is my God,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] He therefore [0227D] shall be both my God and the God of my father. Our Father, who made us and begat us, is Christ, who said in John XVI: *I go to my Father,* etc. [var: Vulg. Jo 16:28 *vado ad Patrem*, without *meum*] If therefore I acknowledge that he is my God, I will glorify him; if also that he is my father's, I will exalt him: for it is a higher understanding, how Christ, that he may bind together and unite the truth of the one God, calls him his God whom by nature he knows as Father.

VERS. 3.-- *The Lord is as a man of war,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Another reading: *The Lord shall destroy wars.* Amos IX: *The Lord is his name.* [var: Vulg. Am 9:6 *Dominus nomen ejus*, "The Lord is his name"; the wording printed is that of Jdt 16:3] He destroys not only visible battles, but those also which are ours against *principalities, and powers, and the rulers of these darknesses.--The Lord* indeed *is his name,* and there is no [0228A] creature of which he is not Lord. The chariots of Pharao and his army he cast into the sea: the chosen riders, the *ternistratores,* he drowned in the Red Sea. [var: Vulg. Ex 15:4 *currus Pharaonis et exercitum ejus projecit in mare: electi principes ejus submersi sunt in mari Rubro*, "his chosen princes are drowned in the Red Sea"] Pharao, as being more powerful in malice and holding the kingdom of wickedness, drives chariots: it is not enough for him to mount one horse, but he drives many at once, and compels them with a twisted lash. Those whom thou seest fouler in luxury, more savage in cruelty, more loathsome in avarice, know that they are of the chariots of Pharao, which he yokes to his car: on these he is borne and flies over the open fields of crimes, with loosened reins. There are other chosen riders, chosen, that is, unto malice.

[n: (ORIG.)] They are called *ternistratores* for this reason, that there is a threefold way of sinning for men. For they sin in deed, in word and in thought. Therefore they are called *ternistratores* [0228B] one by one, because they possess these three ways of sinning in us, and are ever on the watch and work by ambushes, that either the one may draw an evil word out of the wretched man, or the other wring out an iniquitous work, or the third snatch away a most wicked thought. Finally, where the seed of the word of God falls and perishes, a threefold place is described: by the wayside, among thorns, in stony ground. Contrariwise the good earth brings forth a threefold fruit, sixtyfold, hundredfold, thirtyfold [n: (Matth. XIII)]. For there is also a threefold way of doing well, since something good is done either by work, or by thought, or by word; whence the Apostle says in I Cor. III: *He who buildeth upon the foundation silver, gold, precious stones,* [var: Vulg. 1Cor 3:12 *Si quis autem superaedificat super fundamentum hoc, aurum, argentum, lapides pretiosos*, "gold, silver, precious stones"] indicating a threefold way of good things; and calling the way of evil things wood, hay, stubble. These *ternistratores* therefore are wicked angels, [0228C] who keep watch in these ways, that they may drive anyone into sin; whom the Lord will plunge into the Red Sea, and will deliver over to fiery waves in the day of judgment, and cover with a sea of punishments.

VERS. 5, 6.-- *They went down into the deep like a stone.* [n: (ORIG.)] Because, namely, such men were not stones out of which the children of Abraham might be raised up, but such as loved the deep and liquid element, that is, the bitter and flowing pleasure of things present. Whence it is said of them: *They were sunk like lead in most mighty water.* [var: Vulg. Ex 15:10 *submersi sunt quasi plumbum in aquis vehementibus*, "they were drowned like lead in the mighty waters"] Sinners are heavy, and iniquity is read to sit upon a talent of lead: hence the wicked are drowned in the deep like lead, but the saints walk upon the waters, because they are light, [0228D] and are not weighed down by the burden of sin. Christ walked upon the waters, who truly did no sin: Peter also walked, but doubted a little; for he had somewhat of lead, on account of which it is said to him in Matthew XIV: *O thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt?* All therefore are saved by fire, that if perchance anything of the kind of lead has been admitted, the fire may boil it away and dissolve it, so that all may be made the best gold, since the gold of that land is the best which the saints are to possess; and as the furnace tries gold, so tribulation tries just men. All therefore must come to the melting-pot. For God sits and melts, and purges the sons of Juda. If any man bring many good works and little of iniquity, that little is dissolved and purged as by fire, and the whole remains pure gold. [0229A] If any man bring more lead, more is burned away, that it may be the more boiled down; so that even if little, yet something of purified gold may remain; but he who comes wholly leaden is plunged *like lead in most mighty water.*

VERS. 7-10.-- *Thou hast sent forth thy wrath,* etc. [n: (AUG. quaest. 55 in Exod.)] Another reading: *Thou hast sent forth thy spirit and the sea covered them,* etc. Behold, now for the fifth time the Spirit of God is mentioned, etc., *as far as* Scripture only commanding, without the help of grace.

VERS. 11.-- *Who is like to thee,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] He does not compare God to the images of the nations, nor to the demons who falsely claim to themselves the name of gods, but he calls those gods who are so named by grace and by participation of God, according to that of Psalm LXXXI: [0229B] *I have said: You are gods.* And in the same place: *God hath stood in the assembly of gods.* But these, although they are capable of God, and seem to be endowed with this name by grace, yet none is like to him in power or in nature; and as to what is said, *we shall be like to him,* this likeness is referred not to nature but to grace, as a picture is like to him whose image is expressed in it as to grace, but far unlike as to substance. For that is the appearance of flesh, and the comeliness of a living body; this is a dye of colours, and wax laid upon boards that lack sense. None therefore among gods is like to the Lord, invisible, namely, incorporeal, unchangeable, without beginning and without end. None is the creator of all things save the Father, creating all things through the Son, and sanctifying all things in the Holy Spirit.

[0229C]VERS. 12, 13.-- *Thou hast stretched forth,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] That moves me which he says: *Thou hast stretched forth thy right hand and the earth swallowed them,* [var: Vulg. Ex 15:12 *Extendisti manum tuam, et devoravit eos terra*, "Thou hast stretched forth thy hand"] as though the cause of their being swallowed by the earth was that he stretched forth his right hand. If thou consider how the Lord, lifted up on the cross, all the day stretched out his hand to a people not believing but contradicting, and how death for iniquity crushed the unbelieving people that cried out: *Crucify, crucify him [n: (Joan. XIX)]*, thou wilt find how *he stretched forth his right hand, and the earth swallowed them.* Yet one must not altogether despair. For if he who has been swallowed come to himself, he can be vomited forth like Jonas. All of us the earth once swallowed and held in the inmost parts of hell: therefore Christ came down not only to the lands, but also to the lower parts of the earth: and there he found us swallowed up, and [0229D] sitting in the shadow of death; and leading us out thence, not only to the earth, lest we be swallowed again, but he prepares also the kingdom of heaven.

[n: (ORIG.)] The earth swallows up the wicked even today, who always think of earth, do earthly things, speak of earth, wrangle, desire earth, place their hope in it, look not up to heaven, think not of things to come, fear not the judgment of God, nor desire his promises; when thou seest such a one, say ye that the earth has swallowed him: and if thou see any man given over to lust and to the pleasures of the body, in whom the mind avails nothing but desire possesses the whole, say thou that the earth has swallowed him.

## CHAPTER XV. (cont.)

VERS. 14, 15.-- *They went up,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] The nations heard [0230A] and were angry, sorrows took hold of the inhabitants of Philisthiim, etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 15:14 *Ascenderunt populi, et irati sunt: dolores obtinuerunt habitatores Philisthiim*, "The peoples went up, and were angry: sorrows laid hold of the inhabitants of Philisthiim"] As to the history, it is certain that none of these nations was present at the wonders: how then were the Philisthiim, and the Moabites, and Edom, and the remaining nations which he enumerates, terrified with terror or angered? But, spiritually, thou wilt find that the Philisthiim, that is, *falling by the cup,* and Edom, namely, *the earthly one,* tremble: and their princes run to and fro and quake, bound fast with sorrows, when they see their kingdoms, which are in hell, penetrated by him who descended into the lower parts of the earth, that he might snatch away those who were possessed by death. Hence they fear and tremble, because they have felt the greatness of his arm; hence also the inhabitants of Chanaan pined away, that is, *the changeable* and *the moveable,* when they saw their kingdoms shaken, and [0230B] the strong one bound. Let fear then come upon them, and trembling: the demons tremble and fear the cross of Christ, in which they were triumphed over, and their principalities and power were stripped from them. Fear therefore and trembling shall fall upon them, when they shall see in us the sign of the cross faithfully fixed, and the greatness of the arm which the Lord spread out upon the cross, as Isaias LXV says: *All the day I have spread forth my hands to a people that believeth not,* etc. [var: Vulg. Is 65:2 *Expandi manus meas tota die ad populum incredulum*, "I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving people"; the wording printed is that of Rom 10:21] They will not fear thee otherwise, nor will the trembling of thee rush upon them, unless they see in thee the cross of Christ, so that thou mayest say: *But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ [n: (Gal. VI)]*.

VERS. 15, 16.-- *Let them become unmoveable as a stone,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] To be made as a stone is not to be a stone by nature. For nothing would be made save what it was not. This [0230C] we have said on account of those who say that Pharao or the Egyptians were of an evil nature, and were not brought into this from the freedom of choice; and who accuse God the Creator as cruel, as one who turns men into stones: he did not say, Let them become as stones, and then keep silence, but he appointed a time and a measure of the domination, namely, *until thy people pass over.* The former people, which was before us, was made as a hard and unbelieving stone, not that the nature of a stone should remain, but until the people pass over which the Lord has purchased. Whence Rom. XI: *For blindness in part hath happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles should come in, and then Israel should be saved;* [var: Vulg. Rom 11:25-26 *quia caecitas ex parte contigit in Israel, donec plenitudo gentium intraret, et sic omnis Israel salvus fieret*, "and so all Israel should be saved"] which by unbelief was made as a stone, whence Matthew III: *For God is able of these stones to raise up children to Abraham.* But [0230D] since he is the creator of all things, how is he said to have purchased what there is no doubt is his own? For it is said in the canticle of Deuteronomy: *Is not this the same Lord thy God, who made and created thee, and purchased thee? [n: (Deut. XXXII.)]* [var: Vulg. Dt 32:6 *numquid non ipse est pater tuus, qui possedit te, et fecit, et creavit te?*, "Is not he thy father, that hath possessed thee, and made thee, and created thee?"] For each man seems to acquire that which was not his own. Whence the heretics say of the Saviour that those whom he purchased were not his: for at a price given he bought men whom the Creator had made, and they say it is certain that everyone buys what is not his own. For the Apostle says in I Cor. VII: *You are bought with a price.* But hear the Prophet: *For your sins you are sold, and for your iniquities have I put away your mother [n: (Isa. L)]*. [var: Vulg. Is 50:1 *Ecce in iniquitatibus vestris venditi estis, et in sceleribus vestris dimisi matrem vestram*, "Behold, for your iniquities you are sold, and for your wickednesses have I put away your mother"] We are therefore all creatures of God, but each is sold by his own sins, [0231A] and departs from the Creator. We are God's, therefore, according to that we were created by him: but made servants of the devil, according to that we are sold by our own sins. But Christ coming redeemed us who served the devil, to whom we had sold ourselves by sinning; and thus he seems both to have received back his own, whom he created, and to have purchased strangers, who by sinning had acquired a strange master. But he is rightly said to have redeemed us, who gave his own blood for our price. But what did the devil give, that he should buy us? Manslaying is the devil's money, for he is a murderer from the beginning: thou hast done a manslaying, thou hast received the devil's money. The same is to be said of adultery, sacrilege, theft, false witness and the like: for with this money he buys and makes his own servants all who have received anything, however much, of this [0231B] revenue of his.

VERS. 17.-- *Thou shalt bring them in and plant them,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] The Lord will not have us planted in Egypt, nor in low and lowly places, but in the mountain of his inheritance. Of this planting the Prophet says in Psalm LXXIX: *Thou hast brought a vineyard out of Egypt, thou hast cast out the nations and planted it: thou wast the guide of the way in its sight, and thou didst plant its roots, and it filled the earth. Its shadow covered the mountains, and its branches the cedars of God.* [var: Vulg. Ps 79:10 *plantasti radices ejus, et implevit terram*, "thou didst plant its roots, and it filled the earth"; Migne prints *replevit*] Dost thou mark how God plants, and where? He plants not in valleys, but on mountains, in high and lofty places. For those whom he leads out of Egypt, that is, out of the world unto faith, he will not have set again in lowly places, but that their conversation be lofty, and that they dwell on mountains and on the heights, not creep along [0231C] the ground. He will not have his vineyard bear its fruits any longer cast down in a low place, but that the shoots be led upward, be set on high, become layered vines: and layered not upon lowly trees, but upon lofty and most high cedars of God, namely the prophets and apostles: to whom if we be joined, and the vine which God brought out of Egypt, and our shoots be spread through their branches, and being entwined with them we be made layers, bound one to another by the bonds of charity, we shall bring forth very much fruit. *For every tree that maketh not good fruit shall be cut down and cast into the fire [n: (Matth. III)]*.

*Thy most firm dwelling place,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] In the prepared habitation which thou hast prepared, O Lord. See the goodness of the merciful Lord: he will not bring thee to labour, he will not that thou thyself make thee a dwelling place; [0231D] he will now bring thee into a habitation already prepared. Whence John IV: *Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labours.*

*Thy sanctuary,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Thy holy place, O Lord,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 15:17 *sanctuarium tuum, Domine*, "thy sanctuary, O Lord"] The tabernacle of God, or the temple, is called a holy place, because it sanctifies those who approach. In Hebrews IX this is said to be made not by the hand of men, but by the hand of God: for thy sake therefore God both plants and builds; he is made a husbandman and a builder, that nothing be wanting to thee. Whence the Apostle in I Cor. III: *You are God's husbandry, God's building.* What then is this holy place prepared not by the hand of men, but of God. Prov. IX: *Wisdom hath built herself a house,* that is, the flesh of Christ, not by the hand of man, that is, not [0232A] by human work: the temple of the flesh is built in the Virgin, but the stone cut without hands grew, and became a great mountain [n: (Dan. II)]: this is the holy place of the flesh assumed, and cut both without hands and without the work of men out of the mountain of human nature and the substance of flesh.

VERS. 18.-- *The Lord shall reign,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *O Lord, who reignest unto the age and unto the age and yet further.* [var: Vulg. Ex 15:18 *Dominus regnabit in aeternum et ultra*, "The Lord shall reign for ever and beyond"] As often as it is said *unto the age,* a length of time indeed is signified, but that there is some end; and if it is said unto another age, something longer is signified, but still an end is set: and as often as ages of ages are named, perhaps some term is signified which, though unknown to us, is yet appointed by God. But that he has here added *and yet further,* leaves no sense of any term [0232B] or of an end: for whatsoever thou hast thought, in which thou supposest the end to stand, the prophetic word always says to thee, *and yet further;* as if it should say to thee, Thou thinkest the Lord will reign unto the age of the age, and yet further thou thinkest unto the ages of ages: and yet further, and whatsoever thou shalt have said of the spaces of his kingdom, the prophet always says to thee, *and yet further.*

VERS. 19.-- *But the children of Israel,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] And thou, if *thou art a son of Israel, thou canst walk on dry ground in the midst of the sea.* If thou shalt be in the midst of a depraved and perverse nation, going as the light of the sun in the midst of sinners, the moisture of sin shall not soak thee, and as thou passest through this world no wave of lust shall bespatter thee, no heat of covetousness shall lash thee. He who is Egypt, and follows Pharao, is drowned in the waves of vices. [0232C] But he who follows Christ, and walks as he walked, to him the water becomes a wall on the right hand and on the left. He himself goes forward by the middle way, over the dry ground he turns aside neither to the right hand nor to the left, until he come out to liberty, and sing a hymn of victory to the Lord, saying: *Let us sing to the Lord,* etc.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *A timbrel.* [n: (STRAB.)] According to Jerome it is a kind of trumpet having at the top a reed or a pipe; through which it renders a sounding voice. The choir, according to the same, is a simple skin with two hemlock pipes; through the one it is blown into, through the other it renders a sound: by both therefore is signified the narrow understanding of the old law. For how brief and how small it is, is shown from this, that it is carried by the hand of a woman. According to Cassiodorus a timbrel is a skin stretched [0232D] between two pieces of wood: by which the maceration of the flesh is signified. But a choir is a multitude singing together, and it is called *chorus* as it were the song of those of one age. Because therefore in a choir all the voices sound equally, by it charity is signified, whereby we are all one in Christ. Whosoever therefore renders praises to God in jubilation, let him do this in the choir, that is, in charity, and in the timbrel, that is, in the mortification of the flesh. Whence Psalm CL: *Praise ye him with timbrel and choir,* etc.

VERS. 22.-- *And Moses took Israel,* etc. The baptized are led through the world as through a desert after the passage of the Red Sea, not yet having the promised country, but hoping and awaiting it through patience, [0233A] while they are wearied by laborious and perilous temptation. But lest they turn back in heart into Egypt, neither there does Christ forsake them: for that pillar too does not withdraw.

## CHAPTER XV. (cont.)

VERS. 23, 24.-- *And they came,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 6 in Exod.)] After the passage of the Red Sea, after the choirs and the timbrels, after the triumphal hymns, one comes to Mara, that is, to *water* that is *bitter,* which the people could not drink; one comes to the peril of thirst. But Moses cried to the Lord, and he showed him a wood, by which the water was made sweet, and there God set for him justices and judgment; where, namely, there was bitterness, where there was thirst, and, what is heavier, in an abundance of waters, there was no other place more worthy and more fitting. Besides, as to what he says, *God showed him a wood,* and he cast it into the water, and it was made sweet, as though God could not [0233B] make the water sweet without a wood, or as though Moses did not know the wood. But if the law be taken according to the letter, it is bitter, and is itself Mara. For what is so bitter as that a child should receive the wound of circumcision on the eighth day, and that tender infancy should suffer the hardness of the iron? For the cup of the law is bitter to the people of God, not the people that was baptized in Moses in the cloud and in the sea, but that which in spirit and in water cannot drink and taste it, nor bear the bitterness of the victims, nor the observance of the sabbath. But if God show a wood to be cast into this bitterness, the water of the law becomes sweet and drinkable. Prov. III: *Wisdom is a tree of life to all that embrace her.* [var: Vulg. Pr 3:18 *Lignum vitae est his qui apprehenderint eam*, "She is a tree of life to them that lay hold on her"] If therefore the wood of the wisdom of Christ shall have been cast into the law, showing how circumcision is to be understood, [0233C] and the sabbath, and the law of leprosy and the like, the bitterness of the law is turned into the sweetness of spiritual understanding, so that the people can drink which has left the idols and taken refuge with God. If it hear the law teaching about sacrifices, it at once shrinks back and cannot drink. Into this bitterness therefore, that is, into the letter of the law, God set justices and testimonies, as it were, namely, into a certain little vessel he shuts up [condidit] the treasures of his wisdom and knowledge. Whence: *We have this treasure in earthen vessels [n: (II Cor. III)]*. That this water therefore may be drunk, God shows a wood to be cast into it, that he who drinks may not die, may not feel the bitterness. If therefore any man drink without the wood of life, that is, without the mystery of the cross, without the faith of Christ, without spiritual understanding, he shall die of the bitterness. Whence: *The letter killeth,* [0233D] that is, the water of Mara, if it be drunk unchanged and not turned into sweetness.

VERS. 25-27.-- *Who showed him,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 57 in Exod.)] There was a kind of wood that had this power: or could God have done it with any wood whatever, who was doing such great wonders? Yet what is said seems to signify, *he showed him,* as though it were already such; unless perhaps it was a place where no wood at all was to be found, so that this very thing was of the divine help, that the Lord showed him a wood where there was none, and by the wood made the waters sweet, prefiguring the glory and the grace of the cross. But even in such a wood who is to be praised save the Creator and the Shower of it.

*There he appointed for him precepts. [n: (ORIG., hom. 7 in Exod.)]* [0234A] Why did he add: After *God set for him justices and judgments, there he tempted him, saying: If thou wilt hear the voice of the Lord thy God.* [var: Vulg. Ex 15:25 *ibi constituit ei praecepta, atque judicia, et ibi tentavit eum*, "there he appointed for him precepts and judgments, and there he tempted him"] He seems to expound why he gave justifications and judgments, namely that he might tempt them whether they would hear the voice of the Lord God, and keep his commandments. For as to the former people, what good or perfect thing could be commanded to them who murmured and gainsaid, who a little after, forgetting the wonders of God, turn to idols? Precepts therefore are given in which they may be tempted; whence: *I gave you precepts and justifications that are not good, in which they shall not live [n: (Ezech. XX)]*. [var: Vulg. Ez 20:25 *Ergo et ego dedi eis praecepta non bona, et judicia in quibus non vivent*, "Therefore I also gave them precepts that were not good, and judgments in which they shall not live"] For being tempted in the precepts they are not found faithful, and therefore it was found that what was unto life was unto death for them. For the same thing, if it be kept, begets life; if it be not kept, death. To those therefore who keep them not [0234B] the commandments are called not good, and such as they shall not live in. But with the wood of the cross mingled in, being turned into sweetness and spiritually understood, the commandments of life have also been kept. *All the languor which I laid upon Egypt I will not bring upon thee.* He seems to say that if a man keep the commandments he shall suffer no sickness, that is, neither fevers, nor other bodily pains. But Job, altogether most just and full of all piety, is filled from the head to the feet with the worst ulcer. But the just do not have those infirmities which the Egyptians have. Egypt is the world: to love the world therefore and the things that are in the world is the Egyptian languor; to observe months, seasons, to cling to the courses of the stars, to serve the flesh, to give labour to luxury and to be at leisure for delights, is the Egyptian languor.

[0234C] *And they came,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] The people is not led into Elim before, where there were twelve fountains of waters, in which there was nothing of bitterness, but very great pleasantness from the thickness of the palm trees: but first it was led to the salt and bitter waters, which being sweetened by the wood shown by the Lord, one comes to the fountains. If we follow the history alone, it does not much edify us to know to what place they came first, to what second. But first the people is led to the letter of the law, from which, while it remains in its bitterness, it cannot withdraw. When therefore it has been sweetened by the wood of life, and spiritually understood, it passes from the Old Testament to the New, and to the twelve apostolic fountains, where are found seventy trees of palms. For not the twelve apostles alone [0234D] preached the faith of Christ, but seventy others also, through whom the world knew the palms of Christ's victory. It is not enough therefore for the people of God to drink the water of Mara, although sweetened by the wood of life; the Old Testament alone does not suffice for drinking, for one must come to the New, of which one drinks without scruple and without difficulty. The Jews also are even now at Mara, that is, at the bitter waters: for God has not yet shown them the wood by which they grow sweet, because *unless they shall have believed, they shall not understand [n: (Isa. VII)]*. [var: Vulg. Is 7:9 *Si non credideritis, non permanebitis*, "If you will not believe, you shall not continue"]

## CHAPTER XVI.

VERS. 2.-- *And all the congregation of Israel murmured,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 7 in Exod.)] O ungrateful [0235A] people! it desires Egypt, it that saw the Egyptians destroyed; and the flesh of Egypt, it that sees the flesh of the Egyptians given both to the fishes and to the birds! It murmurs against Moses, nay rather against God; but the first time pardon is granted, and the second, and perhaps the third: but if they do not cease, but persist, hear what follows, it is related in the book of Numbers [n: (Num. XXI)], and the same Apostle rehearses it, saying [n: (I Cor. X)]: *Neither do you murmur, as some of them murmured, and perished by the serpents. These things were written on account of us, upon whom the ends of the world are come.* [var: Vulg. 1Cor 10:10 has *et perierunt ab exterminatore*, "and perished by the destroyer"; the serpents belong to v. 9, and v. 11 opens *scripta sunt autem ad correptionem nostram*] But if we do not cease to murmur and complain against God, we shall incur a like peril of offence, or a like example of it. For when we lay the blame upon the inclemency of the heavens, the unfruitfulness of the crops, the rarity of showers, and upon the prosperity of some and the unprosperity of others, [0235B] we murmur against God. But these things are pardoned at first, and are severely avenged upon those who persist, because serpents shall be sent upon them, that is, they shall be handed over to unclean and poisonous spirits, which by hidden bites feed upon the inner chambers of the heart.

[n: (ORIG.)] For the correction of those who read, the sin of the people is set down: that it murmured and was ungrateful for the divine benefits, when it had received the heavenly manna. In the second month, on the fifteenth day of the month, which is not written without reason. Recall the laws of the pasch which were spoken [n: (Num. IX)], and thou wilt find there that this is the time which is appointed for the keeping of a second pasch by those who have been unclean in soul, or taken up with business abroad. Those who had not been unclean in soul, or were not journeying far off, [0235C] kept the pasch on the fourteenth day of the first month; but those far off on pilgrimage, and the unclean, keep the second pasch at this time, in which the manna came down from heaven. On the day on which the first pasch is kept, the manna does not come down, but on that on which the second is kept: the first pasch is that of the Jewish people; the second is ours. For we were unclean in soul, we who *worshipped idols; and we were pilgrims, and far off, strangers and pilgrims from the testaments of God,* etc. [n: (Eph. II.)] But manna is given from heaven, not on the day on which the first pasch is kept, but on that on which the second is: *For the bread which came down from heaven [n: (Joan. VI)]* did not come to those who were celebrating the first solemnity, but to us, who have received the second. *For Christ our pasch is sacrificed, who as true man came down as bread from heaven [n: (I Cor. V.)]* Let us see [0235D] meanwhile what is shown to have been done on this day: On the fourteenth day of the second month the people murmured, etc.

VERS. 3.-- *We sat over the fleshpots,* etc. They had flocks of sheep and herds of oxen, of which they could eat; but they burned with desire for the fish and the fowl in which Egypt abounds.

VERS. 4.-- *Behold I will rain,* etc. [n: (ORIG., homil. 8 in Exod.)] I should wish first to have a discourse upon this scripture with the Jews, to whom the oracles of God were entrusted, as to what seems to them of that which it says: *For six days together you shall gather, but on the sixth day double.* It appears therefore that that day is named the sixth which is set before the sabbath; but the sabbath is the seventh day. [0236A] I ask therefore on what day the manna began to be given? and I wish to compare our Lord's day with the sabbath of the Jews. For from Scripture it appears that on the Lord's day the manna is first given, gathered for six days together; on the seventh, which is the sabbath, there is a ceasing. Since therefore on the Lord's day God rained manna, and not on the sabbath, let the Jews understand that even then our Lord's day was preferred to their sabbath; and it was signified that on that day the grace of God did not come down from heaven to them, and that the heavenly bread, which is the word of God, did not reach them; whence Osee III: *For many days the children of Israel shall sit without king, without prince, without victim, without sacrifice, without priest.* [var: Vulg. Os 3:4 names instead *sine altari, et sine ephod, et sine theraphim*, "without altar, and without ephod, and without theraphim," and has no victim and no priest] But on our Lord's day the Lord always rains manna, that is, the heavenly words which are joyful to us. Those unhappy men sigh even [0236B] after manna as their fathers did, and do not deserve to receive it; for they cannot eat what is small like coriander seed, and white like hoar frost. For they perceive nothing in the word of God that is small, subtle and spiritual, but all of it fat and gross. *For the heart of this people is grown gross.* The interpretation also of this name sounds thus. For manna is interpreted *What is this?* The very force of the name invites to learning, so that when thou hearest the law of God recited, thou mayest always inquire and say to the teachers, *What is this?* Thou therefore, if thou wilt eat manna, and receive the word of God, know that it is small and very subtle, like coriander seed: for it has somewhat of the herb whereby it can nourish and refresh the weak. *For he that is weak eateth herbs [n: (Rom. XIV)]*. For it has also somewhat of sharpness, and therefore is as hoar frost; [0236C] but of whiteness and sweetness very much. What is whiter, more splendid, than divine learning? what sweeter, more delightful, than the words of God, which are above honey and the honeycomb?

*Loaves.* The manna, namely: it is a manner of speech by which bread is put for food; and Scripture loves rather to say *loaves* in the plural than *bread* in the singular.

*That I may prove.* This proving is a testing, not a seducing to sin; nor are they proved for this reason, that God did not know: but he shows them to themselves, that they may become the more humble in asking help and in acknowledging the grace of God.

VERS. 5.-- *But on the sixth day,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 7.)] On the sixth day let double be gathered into store, as much as may suffice also for the sabbath. The sixth day is this [0236D] life in which we now are, whence in six days God made this world; on this day therefore we ought to lay up as much as will suffice in the world to come. For if thou acquire here anything of good work, if thou lay up to thy credit anything of justice, of mercy and of piety, this will be food for thee in the world to come. For he who acquires here ten talents [n: (Luc. XIX)], there shall receive ten cities, and *what a man shall sow, that also shall he reap [n: (Gal. VI)]*. The rich of this world lay up those things which are corrupted in this world, nay together with this world: but goods laid up remain until the morrow. And it is written. *They who were unfaithful kept of the manna, and worms boiled forth out of it and it putrefied;* but what was laid up for the day of the sabbath remained whole. And thou [0237A] therefore, if for the sake of the present life and the love of the world thou lay up treasure, straightway worms boil forth, of which it is said in Isaias LXVI: *Their worm dieth not;* [var: Vulg. Is 66:24 has the future *non morietur*, "shall not die"; the present is the form of Mc 9:43-47] these are begotten by avarice and the blind greed of riches in those who have money, and who, seeing their brethren in need, shut up their bowels from them. Whence the Apostle [n: (I Tim. VI)] charges *the rich not to be highminded, nor to trust in the uncertainty of riches,* etc.; nor do worms come to be in us from any other source than from the manna, that is, the word of God. Whence John XV: *If I had not come and spoken to them,* etc. After the word of God has been received, therefore, if anyone sins, that very word is made a worm, which ever digs into his conscience and gnaws the secret places of his breast.

VERS. 6.--[n: (ORIG.)] *In the evening you shall know,* etc. *Toward evening [0237B] you shall know that I am the Lord; and in the morning you shall see the majesty of the Lord.* Let the Jews answer me how the Lord is known toward evening, and his majesty seen in the morning? Where was he acknowledged toward evening, and his majesty seen in the morning? But this is not understood save in the Gospel [n: (Matth. XXVIII)], in which on the evening of the sabbath, which *dawneth on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalen came and the other Mary to the sepulchre, and they found the stone rolled back from the monument, and an earthquake made,* and the monuments opened, and the centurion and the guards of the sepulchre saying: *Indeed this was the Son of God.* The Lord was acknowledged in this evening, because he himself was the Lord: he was acknowledged in the power of the resurrection, and in the morning his glory was seen. When the other women had come on the first day of the week very early in the morning, they found angels [0237C] sitting at the sepulchre with great brightness, and saying: *He is not here, but is risen from the dead. Come and see the place,* etc. [n: (Luc. XXIV.)] His majesty therefore was seen in the morning, because the resurrection also was announced by angels.

VERS. 7-11.-- *But what are we,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 59 in Exod., tom. III.)] They wished that they availed not so much as God, etc., *as far as* he showed the Holy Spirit to be God by adding, Acts V: *Thou hast not lied to men, but to God.*

VERS. 12-13.-- *In the evening you shall eat flesh* [n: (ORIG., ut supra. )] Morally we can understand that for each one of us there is a morning and a beginning of the day, the time in which we are first enlightened and kindled to the light of faith. In this time we cannot eat [0237D] the flesh of the word, that is, we are not yet capable of perfect doctrine; but after long exercises, after very much progress, when we are already near to evening, that is, to the faith of perfection, then we are made capable of more solid food. Let us hasten therefore to receive the manna, which yields in the mouth what savour each one wills. Whence Matthew IX: *Be it done to thee according to thy faith.* [var: Vulg. Mt 9:29 has the plural *secundum fidem vestram fiat vobis*, "according to your faith be it done unto you"] And thou therefore, if thou receive with all faith and devotion the word of God which is preached in the Church, be it done to thee whatsoever thou desirest. If thou art in tribulation, it consoles thee, saying: *A contrite and humbled heart God spurneth not [n: (Psal. L)]* [var: Vulg. Ps 50:19 has *non despicies*, "thou wilt not despise," in the second person addressed to God]; if thou rejoicest for the hope to come, it heaps up joys for thee, saying: *Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just [n: (Psal. XXXI)]*; if thou art wrathful, it says: *Cease from anger, and leave [0238A] indignation [n: (Psal. XXXVI)]* [var: Vulg. Ps 36:8 has *derelinque furorem*, "leave wrath"]; if thou art in griefs, it heals thee, saying: *The Lord healeth all thy diseases [n: (Matth. IV)]*; if thou art consumed by poverty, it says in consolation: *The Lord lifteth the needy from the earth, and raiseth up the poor out of the dunghill [n: (Psal. CXII)]* [var: Vulg. Ps 112:7 has the participles *suscitans a terra inopem, et de stercore erigens pauperem*, "raising up the needy from the earth, and lifting the poor out of the dunghill"]. Yet if anyone receives it unfaithfully, and does not eat it, but hides it, worms boil forth out of it. Nor be thou troubled if the word of God is brought to this, that it is thought to be made a worm; for he himself says: *I am a worm, and no man [n: (Psal. XXI)]*. For as he himself is the one who becomes to some a ruin, but to others a resurrection [n: (Luc. II)]; so also is he the one who in the manna is made to the faithful the sweetness of honey, to the unfaithful a worm. For he is the word of God which convicts the minds of the wicked and pierces the conscience with the darts of correction. For he is the one who is made fire to those to whom he opens the Scriptures [0238B], who say: *Was not our heart burning within us?* etc. [n: (Luc. XXIV.)] To others he is fire, in whom he burns up the thorns of the evil earth, that is, consumes evil thoughts in the heart; and therefore for sinners neither does the convicting worm ever die, nor is the burning fire quenched: but for the just and the faithful he remains sweet and pleasant. Whence it is said in psalm XXXIII: *Taste and see,* etc.

## CHAPTER XVI. (cont.)

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Another reading: *In the evening you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with loaves.* Let the Jews say what consequence there is, that in the evening they should eat flesh without loaves, or in the morning loaves without meat? what of the divine gift, what of the tempering of heavenly grace, is shown in this? Is this that wherein they can acknowledge God, who eat flesh in the evening without loaves, [0238C] and do they say that the majesty of God appears, if again loaves are eaten without flesh? let them keep such things to themselves, for those who, acquiescing in you, think that God is acknowledged in quails; but we, for whom at the end, toward the evening of the world, the Word was made flesh, say that God is acknowledged in that flesh only which he took from the Virgin: for this flesh of the Word of God no one ate either in the morning or at noon, but toward evening: for the coming of the Lord in the flesh was made toward evening, as John also says: *Children, it is the last hour [n: (I Joan. II)]* [var: Vulg. 1Jo 2:18 has *Filioli*, "Little children"] .-- *In the morning,* he says, *you shall be filled with loaves.* To us therefore the bread is the Word of God: *He is the living bread which came down from heaven, and giveth life to the world [n: (Joan. VI)]*. But as to its saying that this bread is given in the morning, whereas he was incarnate toward evening, it is so to be understood [0238D] that the Lord came toward the evening of the world and near its end; but by his coming, since he is the sun of justice, he restored a new morning to believers; a new light, namely, of knowledge, in which they are filled with loaves who have received his precepts. Nor wonder that the word is called both the flesh of God, and bread, and is called milk and herbs, and is named diversely according to the measure of believers and the capacity of those who take it. Or, after the morning made by the resurrection, he filled believers with loaves, because he granted the books of the law and the prophets, before unknown, for the instruction of the Church, and he himself is made bread in the Gospel, while the other books of the law and the prophets or of the histories may be called many loaves, with which believers from among the Gentiles are filled. Whence: *They shall go up into the mountain, and [0239A] shall drink wine, they shall be anointed with ointment.* Fittingly therefore do we receive flesh toward evening and are filled with loaves in the morning: because neither could we eat flesh in the morning, for the time was not yet; nor at noon, for scarcely do the angels eat flesh at noon, and to that order perhaps the noonday time is granted.

*And in the morning.* On the ninth day, when Christ, the sun of justice, by his coming restored to believers the things that were lost.

[n: (ISID.)] By the food of birds is figured the preaching divinely sent, which runs through sounding words, as winged things through the air, on which they are fed by faith who set out for the heavenly fatherland. Or the utterances of the old law, which fed the carnal people as with flesh through words divinely sent, as through flying things. Whence also it is given in the evening, because [0239B] all things granted to them carnally were to have an end. But in the manifest light of faith the manna is given, which is Christ, namely the *living bread which came down from heaven [n: (Joan. VI)]*, who is rained through the evangelical clouds upon the whole world: not now upon the murmuring and tempted Synagogue, but upon the believing and hoping Church.

VERS. 14.-- *In the likeness of hoar frost upon the earth.* The hoar frost signifies Christ: for the manna was first given on the Lord's day, and Christ rose again on the Lord's day.

*Pounded.* That is, most clean. For as wheat, or millet, or some other such thing is bruised in a little mortar with a pestle and stripped of its husks, so the body of Christ was stripped of mortality through the tribulation of the passion and the pestle of the cross. Or the small manna is the subtlety of heavenly [0239C] doctrine, which is pounded with the pestle that the literal sense may be stripped away.

VERS. 15.-- *Man hu. [n: (GREG., lib. XXVII Moral., cap. 7.)]* What is designated by the manna given from above to the children of Israel, save the wonder of the heavenly sweetness? For sweet is the food which is received from on high; it is called *man hu*, which is interpreted *What is this?* which we say when we behold what we wonder at not knowing. The soul therefore perceives the heavenly manna, when, lifted up by the voice of compunction, it is astonished at the new appearance of the eternal refreshment, so that, filled with the divine sweetness, it may rightly answer *What is this?* because while it is held suspended away from the lowest thought, it beholds those things which are from on high and wonders at them as at things unwonted. And when by this voice the deafness of our torpor is broken, the practice of the old life is [0239D] changed, so that the soul, breathed upon by the heavenly Spirit, both desires in the highest things what it had despised, and despises in the lowest things what it had desired.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *According to the number of your souls,* etc. [n: (AUG., locutio 78.)] Often Scripture calls men souls, the whole from a part: but not readily fleshes for men, but flesh; as in psalm LV: *I will not fear what flesh can do;* which it says more openly in the same psalm, *what man can do to me.* [var: Vulg. Ps 55:5 has *non timebo quid faciat mihi caro*, "what flesh can do to me," keeping the *mihi* which the second quotation retains] But it would not say, according to the number of your fleshes, as it said, *according to the number of your souls.*

VERS. 18, 19.-- *According to what they were able to eat,* etc. Because in the present life everyone ought to learn as much as [0240A] he can, lest he leave anything unexamined, lest he begin to learn when he cannot.

VERS. 20.-- *But some of them left of it until the morning,* etc. The beginning of the other life, in which it will not be permitted to give leisure to doctrine, but the manna will putrefy, and swarm with worms, that is, it will beget for them eternal punishment.

VERS. 21.-- *And when the sun grew hot, it melted.* Because then all understanding of Scripture will lie open, since *now we see through a glass in a dark manner, but then we shall see face to face [n: (I Cor. XIII)]*.

VERS. 22.-- *Double food.* The things necessary, namely, for soul and for body. For in the seventh, which is understood as the age of the dead, there will, namely, be no place for working.

VERS. 23-32.-- *The rest of the sabbath,* etc. By hearing the word of God and doing it, or by living well and showing mercy [0240B] to others. What was laid up for the sabbath was not corrupted, because good things done for the rest to come remain whole in the life to come. Otherwise worms boiled forth and what was kept putrefied: for those who lay up treasure for the sake of the present life and the love of the world, for them boils forth the worm that shall not die.

VERS. 33, 34.-- *And lay it up before,* etc. [n: (AUG. quaest. 61 in Exod.)] It can be asked where Aaron was to lay it up before the Lord, when there was neither any tabernacle, nor had the ark of the testament yet been set up. Or was it perhaps of the future, and did he therefore say *lay up,* that it might be understood that it could then be laid up before the Lord, when the ark was to be? Or rather was it said 'before the Lord' of that which is done by the very devotion of him who offers, in whatsoever place [0240C] it were placed? For where is God not? But what he adds: *And Aaron laid it up before the tabernacle to be kept,* rather asserts the former sense. For in this manner Scripture spoke by prolepsis of what was done afterwards, when the tabernacle of the testimony began to be.

VERS. 35, 36.-- *And the children of Israel ate manna forty years,* etc. *(AUG., ibid., quaest. 62.* Another reading: *And the children of Israel did eat manna forty years,* etc., *as far as* for God knew what they desired and from what kind of flesh he might satisfy them.

*They ate manna forty years.* The body of Christ, namely the Word of God, which we now perceive in a dark manner, but then face to face [n: (I Cor. 13)].

*Until they came into a habitable land,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 63 in Exod., tom. III.)] Another reading: *Until [0240D] they came into the region of Phoenice.* By repetition he sets forth what land he said was inhabited, etc., *as far as* for antiquity changed the names of many lands, places, rivers and cities for certain causes.

## CHAPTER XVII.

VERS. 1, 2.-- *All the multitude of the children of Israel therefore setting forward,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod.)] All who wish to live piously in Christ suffer persecution, and are assailed by enemies: and he who walks the road of this life ought always to be ready and to stand in the camp. Whence all the synagogue of the children of Israel set forward from the desert of Sin according to their camps by the word of God. There is indeed one Synagogue of the Lord. but it is divided into four camps, which are described in the book of Numbers as placed [0241A] round about the tabernacle of the Lord. Do thou therefore, armed and serving in the camp of the Lord, not entangle thyself in secular business, and keep watch always in the camp of the Lord, that it may be said of thee that thou hast set forward by the word of the Lord from the desert of Sin, and comest into Raphidim. Now Sin is interpreted *temptation*; Raphidim, *soundness of judgment:* he who comes well out of temptation comes to soundness of judgment. For in the day of judgment he will be sound. Whence Apocalypse II: *To him that overcometh, I will give of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of my God.* He therefore comes to soundness of judgment who orders his words well in judgment.

*Sin.* Here Sin is taken specially for one station out of those five which were from the Red Sea as far as mount Sina, which Josephus describes by name. For in general that whole desert is called Sin, [0241B] as also Raphidim is.

*They encamped in Raphidim. [n: (HIERON. de Loc. Hebr., tom. III.)]* It is a place in the desert beside mount Horeb. And it is to be known that the whole wilderness as far as mount Sinai is called Sin, and that from the whole province the place of a single station also took its name, as Moab is the name both of a city and of a province. In this solitude there are five stations, Zuph, and the desert of Sin, Alus, Depheca, Raphidim. Whence it is well said that *all the multitude of the children of Israel set forward from the desert of Sin by their stations according to the word of the Lord, and they came into Raphidim.* Whence it is plain that many stations are denoted by the name of one region.

VERS. 3, 4.-- *The people therefore thirsted there,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra )]. Another reading: *The people,* he says, *thirsted for water, [0241C] and murmured against Moses.* It was enough to say that *he thirsted,* what need was there to add *water?* The addition is not superfluous. There are therefore diverse thirsts, and each man has his own. They who are good hunger and thirst after justice [n: (Matth. V)]. Others too say: *My soul hath thirsted after thee, O God [n: (Psal. XLI)]* [var: Vulg. Ps 41:3 has *sitivit anima mea ad Deum fortem vivum*, "my soul hath thirsted after the strong living God"]. But they who are sinners suffer not the thirst of water, not the hunger of bread, but of hearing the word of God. The people therefore thirsted for water, which ought to have thirsted for justice. But God, the instructor of the simple, the master of the unwise, corrects faults and amends errors, saying to Moses that he take the rod, and strike the rock, and bring forth waters. For he wills them now to drink of the rock and to make progress, and to come to the inner mysteries. For they murmured against Moses, and therefore the Lord commands that he show them the rock [0241D] whereof they may drink. For if there is anyone who, reading Moses, murmurs against him, and the law according to the letter displeases him, because in many things it seems not to hold together, Moses shows him the rock, which is Christ, that from it he may drink and repair his thirst. But this rock does not give waters unless it is struck, and when struck it brings forth fountains: for Christ, being struck and slain upon the cross, brought forth the fountains of the New Testament. Whence Zacharias VIII: *I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered.* [var: Vulg. Zach 13:7 has the imperative *Percute pastorem, et dispergentur oves*, "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered"; the words printed here are those of Mt 26:31] For unless he had been struck, and blood and water had gone forth from his side, we should all suffer thirst for the word of God. Whence: *And they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them: and the rock was Christ [n: (I Cor. X)]*.

[n: (ISID.)] The people, thirsting for water, murmured against [0242A] Moses: therefore God commands that he show them the rock whereof they may drink. But if anyone, reading Moses, murmurs against him, and the letter of the law displeases him, Moses shows him the rock, which is Christ, and leads him to it, that from it he may drink and repair his thirst.

VERS. 5.-- *Go before the people,* etc. Not Moses alone leads the people to the waters, but also the elders of the people. For not the law alone announces Christ, but also the prophets and the patriarchs and all the elders by birth.

*And the rod,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 64 in Exod.)] It is read that Aaron, not Moses, struck the river with the rod. For Moses divided the sea with that same rod, not the river. What then does this mean: *Take the rod wherewith thou didst strike the river?* Or did he perhaps call the sea a river? and is an example of this manner of speech to be sought? Or was what Aaron [0242B] did rather attributed to Moses, because through Moses God commanded the things which Aaron did, and in the one was the authority, in the other the ministry? Whence: *He shall be to thee for the people, but thou to him in those things which are unto God.*

VERS. 6, 7.-- *And thou shalt strike the rock.* Christ, who was struck upon the cross by the Jews: to whom the rod came near, that is, the wood of the passion, that water might remain for the faithful.

VERS. 8.-- *But Amalec came,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Amalec was the son of Ismael, from whom are the Amalecites, who are also Ismaelites: these are the Saracens. Now it is interpreted *drinking* or *licking up blood,* and it signifies the devil, who ever assails the saints going out of Egypt and making toward the land of promise, and desires to drink the blood of souls.

[0242C] [n: (ORIG., hom. II in Exod.)] The war made with the Amalecites is described. Before the people ate bread from heaven, and drank water from the rock, it is not said to have fought; but it is said to it: *The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.* There is therefore a time when the Lord fights for us, and does not permit us to be tempted above what we can bear, nor suffer those unequal in strength to come to a stout encounter. Job also, being already perfect, fulfilled the contest of his temptation; and thou therefore, when thou hast begun to eat manna, the heavenly bread of the word of God, and to drink water from the rock, and when thou hast drawn near to the inner things of spiritual doctrine, look for the fight, prepare thyself for war.

VERS. 9, 10.-- *And Moses said to Josue,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ibid.)] Another reading: *Moses said to Jesus: [0242D] Choose out men for thee,* etc. Up to this point mention was never made of the blessed name of Jesus. Here first Moses called Jesus, and said to him: *Choose men for thine own self.* Moses calls Jesus, the law invokes Christ, that he may choose for himself mighty men from the people: Moses could not choose, but Jesus alone, who says in John XV: *You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you [n: (Matth. XII)]*. He is the leader of the elect and the prince of the mighty. He contends with Amalec. For he himself enters into the house of the strong man, and binds the strong man, and plunders his vessels.

*I will stand on the top of the hill.* [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Moses, he says, went up not to the top of the mountain, but to the top of the hill. For it was kept for him to go up then to the top of the mountain when Jesus was to go up, [0243A] and with him Moses and Elias, and there to be transfigured in glory. Now therefore, as not yet glorified by the transfiguration of Jesus, he does not go up to the top of the mountain, but to the top of the hill. And when Moses lifted up his hands, Israel prevailed. Moses lifts up his hands, he does not stretch them out; Jesus, who embraced the whole world, being lifted up upon the cross, says: *I have stretched out my hands to a people that believeth not [n: (Isa. LXV)]*. [var: Vulg. Is 65:2 has *expandi manus meas tota die ad populum incredulum*, "I have spread forth my hands all the day to an unbelieving people"; Rom 10:21, whose wording is nearest, has *expandi manus meas*] To lift up the hands, this is to raise one's acts to God, that a man may not have his acts cast down and lying on the ground, but pleasing to God and raised toward heaven. He therefore lifts up his hands who lays up treasure in heaven. For where the treasure is, there is the eye, there the hand. He lifts up his hands who says: *The lifting up of my hands an evening sacrifice [n: (Psal. CXL)]*. If therefore our acts be lifted up, Amalec is overcome: whence Isaias [0243B] XXXV: *Lift up the hands which hang down and the feeble knees.* [var: Vulg. Is 35:3 has *confortate manus dissolutas, et genua debilia roborate*, "strengthen ye the feeble hands, and confirm the weak knees"; the wording printed here is nearest Hbr 12:12] If the people keeps the law, Moses lifts up his hands, and the adversary is overcome. If it does not keep the law, Amalec grows strong. Since therefore for us the fight is against the princes and powers, the rulers of the darkness of this world, if thou wilt conquer, lift up thy hands, that is, thy acts; let thy conversation be not on earth, but in heaven. Do thou too lift up thy hands to heaven unto God, fulfil the commandment of the Apostle: *Pray without ceasing [n: (I Thess. V)]*; and then shall come to pass what is written, that as the calf licks up the green grass in the fields, so shall this people lick up the people that is upon the earth; wherein it is brought in that the people of God fought not so much with hand and with arms as with voice and tongue, and laid its enemies low by prayer. Lift up thy acts therefore, be instant in prayer: this is the Christian's [0243C] fight, which overcomes the enemy. And I think that by this figure two peoples are signified, of whom one, from the Gentiles, lifts up the hands of Moses, and raises on high the things which he wrote and the understanding of them, that so it may conquer; but the other, that is, the Jewish people, does not lift up the hands of Moses from the earth, nor understands anything high or lofty in him, and so is overcome by its adversaries.

*Having the rod of God,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 65.)] Now it is called the rod of God, which first was called Aaron's, afterwards is called Moses'. As the spirit of Elias is spoken of, which is the Spirit of God, of which Elias is said to be partaker; and the justice of God, which is ours. Whence: not knowing the justice of God, and wishing to establish their own [n: (Rom. X)], that is, [0243D] as though prepared by themselves for themselves.

VERS. 11.-- *And when Moses lifted up his hands,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Because when the law is understood mystically, and the passion of Christ is spiritually weighed, the devil is overcome and put to flight. But when the hands are let down, that is, when the precepts of the law are less zealously practised, the enemy follows after as victor.

VERS. 12, 13.-- *Taking therefore a stone,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 33 in Evang.)] Moses sat upon a stone, etc., *as far as* those whom she justly condemns, he himself mercifully sets free.

VERS. 14.-- *For I will blot out,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] In this he signifies that almighty God, through the law (which Moses signifies, and which pronounces concerning Christ), blots out [0244A] the memory of the spiritual enemies. Whence psalm XIX: *Their memory hath perished with a noise.*

VERS. 15, 16.-- *And Moses built an altar,* etc. All who conquer the devil ought to build in their hearts altars of faith, on which they may offer spiritual victims.

## CHAPTER XVIII.

VERS. 1-4.-- *And when Jethro had heard,* etc. That Moses, when he was about to deliver the children of Israel, sent away his wife and sons, whom afterwards he received back in the desert, signifies that preachers, when they are sent to the work of preaching, ought to unburden themselves of temporal solicitude: but when afterwards they are taken up to the episcopate or to some other dignity, then they ought to bear solicitude for those subject to them [0244B] both in spiritual and in temporal things.

VERS. 5-11.-- *Jethro therefore came,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11 in Exod.)] Another reading: *After these things Moses came to the mount of God, and Jethro went out of the camp to meet him as he came toward him, nor did he lead him to the mount of God, but to his own tent.* For the priest of Madian could not go up into the mount of God, nor yet go down into Egypt, nor could the wife of Moses; but now she comes to him with her sons. For no one could go down into Egypt, and undergo the contests of the Egyptians, save an approved athlete, and one who, striving in the contest, refrains himself from all things. Moses, because a great and mighty athlete, went down into Egypt to the contests and the exercises of the virtues; Abraham too and Jacob, who [0244C] by his very name is an athlete, when he had gone down into Egypt, was made as the stars of heaven in multitude. To others it turns out contrariwise to have gone down into Egypt. I know that Jeroboam, fleeing from Solomon, went down into Egypt, and rent and corrupted the people of God; because going down into Egypt he received from king Susachim as wife Tethimene, the sister of his wife.

VERS. 12-15.-- *Jethro therefore offered,* etc. *[n: (AUG. in Locutionibus, locut. 85.)] And Jethro the kinsman of Moses took holocausts,* etc. He put *took* for *offered*: or is it perhaps a matter of the sense, not of the manner of speech, so that he is understood to have offered what he is understood to have taken; although Moses is not read to have sacrificed, nor Aaron, nor any one of the Hebrews who were led out of the land of Egypt: yet nevertheless it was said above that Moses set up an altar. But Jethro [0244D] we read to have been a priest of Madian, that is, of the nation of Madian. But it is a wonder if at his coming Moses began to sacrifice, and not rather he himself who was a priest.

*And they came,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] Another reading: *There came,* he says, *the elders, Aaron, and all Israel, to eat bread with the kinsman of Moses in the sight of God.* Not all eat bread in the sight of God, but they who are elders, who are the older men, that is, who are perfect, proved in their merits, who whether they eat or drink, do it to the glory of God. All therefore that the saints do, they do in the sight of God: the sinner flees from the sight of God. Adam, after he had sinned, fled from the face of the Lord, and being questioned answered: [0245A] *I heard thy voice, O Lord, and I hid myself, because I was naked [n: (Gen. III)]*. [var: Vulg. Gn 3:10 has *vocem tuam audivi in paradiso: et timui, eo quod nudus essem, et abscondi me*, "I heard thy voice in paradise; and I was afraid, because I was naked, and I hid myself"] Cain went out from the face of the Lord, because he was unworthy of the sight of the Lord. Therefore they who receive a fuller knowledge of God, if they do evil, do it before God. Whence psalm I: *To thee only have I sinned,* etc. He who does evil before God straightway repents, and says, *I have sinned.* He who departs from the sight of God knows not how to be converted and to purge his sin by repenting. This therefore is the difference between doing evil before God, and departing from the sight of God.

[n: (ORIG.)] Not in vain did Jethro come to Moses, nor in vain did he eat bread with the elders of the people in the sight of God; he gives Moses a counsel approved and useful, that he should choose men, and appoint as princes of the people such as worship God, are able, and hate pride. For such [0245B] they ought to be as are not proud, and hate pride; that is, that not only should they themselves be without vice, but should hate the vices in evil men: I do not say the men, but the vices.

*Before God,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 66.)] It is asked: where, seeing that there was neither a tabernacle, nor the ark of the testament, which were instituted afterwards? nor can we take this as said of the future, as it was said of the manna, which was placed in a vessel, a golden one, namely. Therefore we ought to take that as done before God which was done in honour of the Lord.

VERS. 16-18.-- *I will show the precepts,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 67.)] It can be asked how Moses here said, etc., *as far as* he could not judge justly.

VERS. 19, 20.-- *But hear my words,* etc. *(ID., [0245C] quaest. 68.)* The first question is why God should have his own servant, etc., *as far as* whereby it becomes the fuller, the more freely it is extended into things heavenly and eternal.

*Be thou to the people,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 69.)] But as to what he adds, etc., *as far as* but whence this can be proved I know not.

VERS. 21-23.-- *But provide,* etc. Unto the keeping of humility he is instructed by a stranger, lest he who was learning so many secrets of God from God himself should be lifted up, and should think that he had no need of human counsel. It was also prefigured that the teaching of the Gentiles would surpass the knowledge and the pride of the Jews; and that the things which were lacking in the law, believers from among the Gentiles would suggest for their fulfilling, and would bring a spiritual understanding to the law of God. Moses also knew that the law would hear this people, and [0245D] would do whatsoever it should say, and that a lessening of the law would also come about at the suggestion of the Gospel.

*And appoint,* etc. [n: (ORIG., hom. 11.)] Thou shalt ordain them, he says, tribunes and centurions, and they shall point out [cj: *indicabunt*; read *judicabunt*, "shall judge"] the people at every hour, but nevertheless what shall be of greater weight they shall refer to thee. Let the princes of the people and the elders of the commons hear, who ought at every hour to judge the people, always and without ceasing to sit in judgment, to settle suits, and to reconcile those at variance, to call back the discordant into favour. Let each one learn from the holy Scriptures his own office. Moses, he says, that he may be in those things which are unto God, and may set forth the word of God to the peoples. But the other princes, whom he called tribunes, because they are set over a tribe, or centurions, or captains of fifty, [0246A] who are set over the lesser judgments, deciding those matters which pertain to individuals. And this figure I think is to be kept also in the world to come. Whence Matthew XIX: *When the Son of man shall sit upon the throne of his majesty, you also shall sit upon twelve seats,* etc. Thou seest therefore that not only does the Lord judge, to whom the Father has given all judgment [n: (Joan. V)], but he has appointed princes to judge of lesser causes; but the matter that shall be of greater weight, let them refer to him. Therefore the Lord says of one man, Matthew V: *That he shall be in danger of the council;* but of another, Matthew XII: *He shall be in danger of hell fire.* But also of every idle word they are said to render an account. And therefore he did not say that we shall render an account to God, as concerning perjury. *But thou shalt render thy oaths to the Lord.* Matthew XII: *The queen* also *of the south [0246B] shall rise in judgment with the men of this generation, and shall condemn it.* [var: Vulg. Mt 12:42 has *cum generatione ista*, "with this generation"; *cum viris generationis hujus*, with its men, is the wording of Lc 11:31, which closes *et condemnabit illos*, "shall condemn them"] Behold another kind of judgment, Matthew XIII: *He that hath ears to hear, let him hear:* for all these things are a shadow of things heavenly and an image of things to come.

[n: (IDEM.)] As it is written in Ecclesiastes I: *The eye shall not be satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing,* [var: Vulg. Ecl 1:8 has *non saturatur oculus visu, nec auris auditu impletur*, "the eye is not filled with seeing, neither is the ear filled with hearing"; the gloss takes up *satiari* from the form printed here] neither can we be satisfied in considering the things which are written, wherewith it may build us up, in how many ways it may instruct us. For when I behold that Moses, a prophet full of God, to whom God spoke face to face [n: (Exod. XXXIII)], received counsel from Jethro his kinsman, a priest of Madian, I am struck dumb with exceeding wonder. For Moses heard the voice of his kinsman, and did whatsoever he said to him. He did not say, Since God speaks to me what I ought to do, how shall I receive counsel from a man, and from a Gentile man, [0246C] a stranger to the people of God? and he listens not to who it is that speaks, but to what is said. We therefore, if we find anything wisely said by the Gentiles, let us not, together with the author's name, despise the sayings also; nor, because we hold the law of God, does it become us to swell with pride and to despise the words of the prudent; but proving all things, let us hold fast that which is good. But they who today are set over peoples, I do not say if certain things have already been revealed to them by God, but if they have any merit in the knowledge of the law, disdain the counsel of an inferior, even of a priest, much less of a layman, much less of a Gentile: but Moses, who was meek above all men [n: (Num. XII)], received [sic: *accepti*] the counsel of an inferior, that he might give to princes a pattern of humility, and might mark out the image of a mystery to come. He knew that one day it would come to pass that Gentiles would bring forth good [0246D] counsel, bringing to Moses a good and spiritual understanding for the law, and that the law would hear them, doing all things that they should say. For the law cannot do as the Jews say, because the law is weakened in the flesh, that is, in the letter, and can do nothing according to the letter. For the law brought nothing to perfection [n: (Hebr. VII)]. But according to this counsel which we bring to the law, all things can be done spiritually, and sacrifices offered which now cannot be offered carnally; the law of leprosy can be kept spiritually. As therefore we understand, perceive and give counsel, the law does all things: but according to the letter not all things, but few.

VERS. 24.-- *Moses did all things which he had suggested,* [0247A] etc. A man familiar with God, most wise, not blushing to be taught by a lesser man and a Gentile, gave a pattern to teachers, that they should not blush to be instructed by any whomsoever.

VERS. 26, 27.-- *But whatsoever was of greater weight,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 88.)] Others: *But the weighty matter they referred upon Moses:* for so the Greek speech has it, which the Latins have translated, *to Moses.* By that manner of speech indeed the very care itself is figured, whereby it was said *upon Moses,* as though a burden laid upon him is signified. And *matter* moreover *weighty* was said for a weighty question.

## CHAPTER XIX.

VERS. 1, 2.-- *In the third month,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Another reading: *And the going out of the children of Israel from the land [0247B] of Egypt was of the third month: on this day they came into the desert of Sina, and they set forward from Raphidim, and came into the desert of Sina, and Israel pitched there over against the mountain. And Moses went up into the mount of God, and the Lord called him from the mountain, saying: These things shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and thou shalt announce to the children of Israel,* etc. And a little after: *Go down and charge the people, and thou shalt purify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and let them be ready against the third day. For on the third day the Lord will come down upon mount Sina in the sight of all the people.* On this day the law is found to be given, which was written on tables of stone by the finger of God, as the things that follow teach. And this third day appears to be of the third month from the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt; from the day on which they kept the pasch, that is, immolated and ate the lamb, which was the fourteenth of the first month, as far as [0247C] that on which the law is given, fifty days are numbered, seventeen namely of the first month, the rest from the fourteenth itself. Then all thirty of the second month, which make forty-seven, and the third of the third month, which from the solemnity of the slain lamb is the fiftieth; and by this, in that shadow of things to come, according to the feast day of the immolated lamb; because on the fiftieth day the law was given, written by the finger of God. So in the very truth of the New Testament, from the festival of the immolated Lamb Jesus Christ fifty days are numbered, wherein the Holy Spirit was given from the highest places, who is the finger of God.

*On this day,* etc. On the forty-seventh day, namely, after they went out of Egypt, on the first day, namely, of June, they came to mount Sina, and there, when the two days were passed in which they were sanctified, on the third, [0247D] that is, the fiftieth, they received the law: and this is Pentecost.

[n: (RAB.)] In Sina there was one station, but the greatest of all. For there the law was received, the tabernacle set up. There Exodus and the greatest part of Leviticus and all the books of the law were almost wholly written.

VERS. 3.-- *But Moses,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. VI Moral., cap. 27.)] Another reading: *But Moses went up into the mountain, and the Lord came down to him.* The mountain is the height of contemplation, into which we go up, that by gazing we may be lifted to those things which are beyond our weakness. But the Lord comes down, because, to saints who make much progress, he opens some small thing of himself.

VERS. 4, 5.-- *The wings of eagles.* He calls the teachings [0248A] of the two Testaments, which bear us from the lowest things to the heavenly.

VERS. 6.-- *You shall be to me a priestly kingdom,* etc. Members, namely, of the high priest who is to come into the kingdom of heaven.

VERS. 7-9.-- *He set forth all the words,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] It is to be noted that the law is not thrust upon the unwary or the ignorant: but when the rewards which are due to those who keep it have been set forth, and the past benefits which they have already experienced, and the wonders, when of their own accord they devote themselves to the keeping of the law, the law is given to those who ask for it: so that according to their own promise, as men bound by a vow, those who violate it may be judged, and may not complain of violence done to them.

VERS. 10.-- *Go to the people,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Go down [0248B] and testify to the people, and purify it today and tomorrow, and let them wash their garments, and let them be ready against the third day,* etc. He who wishes to come to the word of God, let him hear what the Lord commands: he ought to come sanctified and with washed garments. For if thou bring soiled garments, it will be said to thee, Matthew XXII: *Friend, how camest thou in hither not having on a wedding garment?* No one therefore can hear the word of God, unless first sanctified, that is, holy in body and in spirit and with garments washed: for he is about a little after to enter to the marriage supper, to eat of the flesh of the lamb, and to drink the cup of salvation. No one enters to this supper in soiled garments; whence Ecclesiastes IX: *At all times let thy garments be clean.* [var: Vulg. Ecl 9:8 has *Omni tempore sint vestimenta tua candida*, "at all times let thy garments be white"] For thy garments were washed once by the grace of baptism. II Corinthians VII: *Thou art purified in body, cleansed [0248C] from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit.* [var: Vulg. 2Cor 7:1 has the first-person exhortation *mundemus nos ab omni inquinamento carnis et spiritus*, "let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of the flesh and of the spirit"] Acts XI: *What therefore God hath cleansed, do not thou make unclean.* [var: Vulg. Act 11:9 has *tu ne commune dixeris*, "do not thou call common"; Act 10:15 *Quod Deus purificavit*] Hear the manner of sanctification: go not near, he says, to a woman today and tomorrow, that on the third day thou mayest hear the word of God; this is what the Apostle says, I Corinthians VII: *It is good for a man not to touch a woman,* saving nevertheless to the weak the remedy of marriage. I Corinthians VII: *But because the time is short, it remaineth that they who have wives be as if they had none.*

*Sanctify them,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] He who desires to come to the sight of God, let him sanctify himself by faith and by conversation, and wash his garments, that is, his works, today and tomorrow, that is, in the present and in the world to come, that he may come to the glory of the resurrection, which the third day intimates.

VERS. 11.-- *For on the third day,* etc. On this day was given [0248D] the law written on tables of stone by the finger of God, this is the third day of the third month from the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt. From the day therefore on which they kept the pasch, that is, the fourteenth of the first month, until the law was given, fifty days are numbered, seventeen namely of the first month, the rest from the fourteenth, and all thirty of the second, which are forty-seven, and the third of the third month, which from the slaying of the lamb is the fiftieth: as from the passion of Christ, until the Holy Spirit is given, fifty days are numbered. for the finger of God signifies the Holy Spirit.

[n: (ISID., Quaest. in Exod., cap. 28, tom. V.)] On the fiftieth day after the pasch the law of Moses was given etc., *as far as* or because he spoke the truth of the law to the unbelieving through a mist, [0249A] *that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might understand us [sic: *nos*] [n: (Isa. VI)]*. [var: Vulg. Lc 8:10 has *et audientes non intelligant*, "and hearing they may not understand"; the Clementine Is 6:9 reads *Audite audientes, et nolite intelligere*]

VERS. 12.-- *Take heed,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] First he forbids the people to go up into the mountain, and threatens death: now he commands that at the sounding of the trumpet they go up into the mountain, restraining, namely, human boldness, and inviting to obedience: because at the voice of preaching we ought to raise ourselves to things above, and not of our own accord to presume upon the searching out of the mysteries, but to follow the calling of God.

VERS. 13.-- *Trumpet.* As it were *vocina*: from *vox*, the voice, or from *vocare*, to call, or from *bucca*, the cheek

VERS. 14-17.-- *And when they had washed their garments,* etc. It does not suffice, for the virtue of contemplation, to cleanse one's works with the tears of penance, unless there follow chastity [0249B] of mind and of body. Whence Matthew V: *Blessed are the clean of heart,* etc. And Wisdom I: *Into a malevolent soul wisdom shall not enter.*

VERS. 18, 19.-- *And all mount Sinai was smoking,* etc. [n: (GREG. lib. VI Moral., cap. 27.)] The Lord, being about to give the law, came down in fire and smoke, etc., *as far as* they overcome what they are.

[n: (ID., lib. II Moral., cap. 2.)] The sacred words in the opening of their narratives express the qualities and the bounds of their subjects, sometimes from the position of a place, sometimes from the position of the body, sometimes from the quality of the air, etc., *as far as* but they are recorded to have come in the evening when they were to punish Sodom.

VERS. 20-25.-- *And the Lord came down,* etc. [n: (ID., lib. V Moral., cap. 26.)] Moses went up, etc., *as far [0249C] as* we in some measure echo him by stammering.

## CHAPTER XX.

VERS. 2.-- *I am the Lord thy God. [n: (ORIG., hom. 8 in Exod.)]* Of him who despises the present world, that is to say Egypt, and, being translated by the word of God, is not found, because he hastens to the world to come, God says: *I am the Lord thy God,* etc. Not to those only who set out from Egypt, but to those who serve the Egyptians no longer, brought out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage [n: (Psal. LXXX)]. The businesses of the world, the acts of the flesh, are the house of bondage: just as to leave the things of the world, and to live according to God, is the house of liberty. Whence John VIII: *If you shall continue in my word, you shall know the truth, and [0249D] the truth shall make you free.* Egypt, therefore, is the house of bondage; Judea and Jerusalem, the house of liberality. As, therefore, earthly Egypt is called for the children of Israel a house of bondage in comparison with Judea and Jerusalem, which for them is a house of liberty: so, in comparison with the heavenly Jerusalem, which is the mother of liberty, the whole world and the things that are in it are called a house of bondage: and because from the paradise of liberty men came, through sin, to the bondage of the world, the first word of the decalogue is concerning liberty: *I am the Lord thy God who brought thee out of the land of Egypt,* etc.; this voice thou wilt not be able to hear in Egypt. Even if it be laid upon thee to keep the pasch, to gird thy loins, to take sandals [0250A] upon thy feet, to hold a rod in thy hand, and to eat unleavened bread with bitterness. But neither in the first station, nor in the second, nor in the third, nor when thou shalt have passed the Red Sea, even if thou come to the sea and the bitterness be turned for thee into sweetness, nor in Elim, where were twelve fountains of waters and seventy palm trees, even if thou pass Raphidim by and climb the remaining stages, art thou yet judged fit, but only when thou shalt have come to Mount Sinai. Scarcely, therefore, wilt thou at some time deserve to receive the precepts of liberty, and to hear: *I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.* This, however, is not the word of a commandment, but it shows who he is that commands. The first commandment, therefore, is: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me.* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:3 *Non habebis deos alienos coram me*, "Thou shalt not have strange gods before me"; Migne's own lemma at VERS. 3 below prints the Vulgate form, and the wording used throughout this gloss is the Septuagint's]

[0250B] [n: (AUG. quaest. in Exod.)] It is asked: how are the ten precepts of the law to be divided? etc., *as far as* unless to that which was said: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me?*

[n: (ISID.)] God gives to Moses the law of our innocence and of the knowledge of himself, which consists in ten words, written on tables of stone by the finger of God. There are three which pertain to the love and the knowledge of the Trinity, seven to the love of one's neighbour, by which human society is not injured. The first pertains to God the Father: *The Lord thy God is one God,* that, hearing this, thou mayest worship one God the Father, and mayest not pour out fornication upon many feigned gods. The second to the Son: *Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain;* that is, do not think that Christ the Son of God is a creature, because every creature is made subject to vanity, but equal to the Father, God of God, [0250C] light of light.

VERS. 3.-- *Thou shalt not have strange gods,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] The first commandment is: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me;* and there follows: *Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor any likeness,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 20:4 *Non facies tibi sculptile, neque omnem similitudinem*, "Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing, nor the likeness of any thing"; the distinction between idol and likeness drawn below rests on the word Migne prints] Some think all these together to be one commandment: but if it be so reckoned, the number of ten commandments will not be made up. The first commandment, therefore, is: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me,* etc. The second, *Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor any likeness,* etc. Let us begin, therefore, from the first commandment: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me.* If he had said, They are not, the statement would seem more absolute; but because he says, *There shall not be,* he did not deny that they are, but forbade that they should be to him to whom these precepts are given. Hence I think Paul took it, I Cor. VIII: *If indeed [0250D] there are those who are called gods, whether in heaven or on earth.* And in other places thou wilt find gods named, as there: *A great king above all gods,* and *God hath spoken to God,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ps 49:1 *Deus deorum Dominus locutus est*, "The God of gods, the Lord, hath spoken"; the verse is adduced to show that Scripture names gods in the plural] Of lords the same Apostle says: *Whether thrones, or dominations,* etc. [n: (Col. I.)] But dominations are nothing else than a certain order and multitude of lords. In which the Apostle seems to open the sense of the law; as if he should say: Though there be many lords, who rule over other nations, and many gods who are worshipped by others: yet nevertheless there is one God to us, and one Lord. Whence Deut. XXXII: *When the Most High divided the nations and separated the sons of Adam, he appointed the bounds of the peoples according to the number of the angels of God.* [var: Vulg. Dt 32:8 *juxta numerum filiorum Israel*, "according to the number of the children of Israel"; the reading Migne prints is the Septuagint's, and the argument that follows stands on it] The angels, therefore, to whom the Most High committed the nations, Scripture calls lords [0251A] or gods: gods as being given by God, and lords as having obtained power from the Lord. Whence it is said to them in psalm LXXXI: *I have said: You are gods, and all of you the sons of the Most High. But you like men shall die, and shall fall like one of the princes;* imitating, that is, the devil, who was made the prince of all unto ruin. Whence it is plain that transgression, not nature, made them accursed. To thee, therefore, O Israel, who art the portion of God and his cord, *there shall not be,* he says, *to thee other gods beside me:* because he who is truly God is one God, and he who is truly Lord is one Lord; but upon the rest, created by himself, he conferred this name not by nature, but by grace. Nor are these things said only to Israel according to the flesh, but rather to thee who hast been made Israel by seeing God in mind, and circumcised in heart, not [0251B] in flesh; if only thou so act that thou be worthy to be the portion of God, and to be measured in the cord of his inheritance: otherwise let those be an example to thee who had been called to this, that they should be the portion of God, and, their sins requiring it, were scattered through all nations, and, having been brought out of the house of bondage, now serve not the Egyptians alone, but all nations. *For he who sins is the servant of sin [n: (Joan. V)]*.

VERS. 4.-- *Thou shalt not make,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] *Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor any likeness,* etc. Idols are one thing, gods another. For of gods the Apostle says, I Cor. VIII: *If indeed there are many gods, and many lords,* etc. But of idols, *that an idol is nothing in the world;* of likenesses, however, he did not add that they are nothing. But here it is said: *Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor any likeness whatsoever.* It is one thing, therefore, to make [0251C] an idol, another to make a likeness. For example, if a man in gold and silver, in wood or in stone, makes the figure of a fourfooted beast, or of a serpent, or of a bird, and sets it up to be adored, he makes not an idol but a likeness. But he who makes what is not, that is, a figure which the eye has not seen but the mind feigns to itself; as if a man should form a dog's head or a ram's upon human limbs, or two faces in the one shape of a man, or the hinder parts of a horse or of a fish upon a human breast; he who does this makes not a likeness, but an idol: for he makes what is not, nor has it anything like itself. Therefore the Apostle says *that an idol is nothing in the world [n: (I Cor. VIII)]*. For no figure is taken from things that subsist, but what an idle and curious mind has invented. But a likeness is when something is formed out of those things which are either in heaven, or on [0251D] earth, or in the waters: but as it is easy to pronounce concerning the likenesses of those things which are on earth or in the sea, it is not so concerning the heavenly ones; unless one should say that this can be understood of the sun, and the moon, and the stars, whose forms the heathen represent. But Moses, learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, desired to forbid also those things which among them were in secret, such as Hecate and the other forms of demons, which the Apostle calls *the spirits of wickedness in the high places*, Ephes. VI; of which perhaps it is said: *My sword is inebriated in heaven [n: (Isa. XXXIV)]*. For by these forms and likenesses they used to invoke demons for the repelling or the avoiding of evils. Yet it must be known that when thou hast resolved to keep this commandment, and to have one God and Lord only, [0252A] this is to declare war upon all the others, whom thou didst renounce in baptism, confessing God alone, Father and Son and Holy Spirit. But confessing this, unless we love the Lord our God with the whole heart, cleaving to him with the whole soul, with the whole strength, we are not made the portion of the Lord, but, set on the border, we suffer those whom we flee to be offended, and him to whom we flee we do not make favourable. To whom the prophet says: *Woe to the double soul [n: (Eccli. II)]*. And again: *How long do you halt upon both feet? [n: (III Reg. XVIII.)]* [var: Vulg. 3 Kg 18:21 *Usquequo claudicatis in duas partes?*, "How long do you halt between two sides?"] From those, then, we are cut down as fugitives, and by our Lord we are not defended as unstable, whence Jer. IV: *Thy lovers are made thine enemies.* [var: Vulg. Jer 4:30 *contempserunt te amatores tui; animam tuam quaerent*, "thy lovers have despised thee, they will seek thy life"; the sentence Migne prints stands nearest Lam 1:2] Many are the lovers of the soul, taken with her beauty, with whom she has played the harlot, saying: *I will go after my lovers who give [0252B] me my wine,* etc. [n: (Ose. II)]: these she offends when she returns to her former husband. Unless, therefore, thou remain in whole faith with thy husband, thou art suspect for the crimes which thou hast committed; he marks all thy motions, thy looks and thy goings; he can see nothing further in thee that is wanton, nothing dissolute or prodigal. If, therefore, thou neglect the grace received, and entangle thyself in worldly businesses, straightway the unclean spirit returns with seven others more wicked [n: (Matth. XII)], that he may not be cast out again, and the last things become worse than the first. There is, then, no fellowship of the temple of God with idols. If we are God's, we ought to be such in whom God may dwell and walk; whence Isa. LII: *You that carry the vessels of the Lord, go out and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you,* etc. He says, therefore: *There shall not be to thee other gods beside me.*

[0252C]VERS. 5-11.-- *Thou shalt not adore,* etc. It is one thing to worship, another to adore. A man can adore unwillingly, either flattering idolatrous kings, or overcome by torments, when he knows that an idol is nothing. But to worship is to be made over wholly to these with affection and zeal. He cuts off both, therefore, that thou mayest neither worship with affection, nor adore in outward show.

*I am the Lord,* etc. See the kindness of God: that he may teach us and make us perfect, he does not refuse the frailty of human affections; he does and suffers all things for our sake, and speaks to us by affections known and familiar to us.

## CHAPTER XX. (cont.)

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra.)] Every woman is either under a husband, and is subject to the laws of her husband [n: (Eph. V)], or is a harlot, and uses the liberty of sinning. He who goes in to a harlot knows that he has gone in to one prostituted and open to all, and therefore he cannot [0252D] be indignant about the others. He who uses lawful marriage does not suffer his wife to sin, but is kindled with jealousy to keep the chastity of the marriage, that he may be able to become a lawful father. So every soul is either prostituted with demons, and has many lovers that they may come in to her, now the spirit of fornication, now avarice, and after this will come the spirit of pride and very many others; yet the one does not envy the other, nor is moved with jealous rivalry, but they invite one another in turn; whence, *he brings with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself,* etc. [n: (Luc. XI.)] So the soul that is prostituted to demons suffers no jealous rivalry of her lovers; but if she has been joined to a lawful husband, that is, to Christ, even if at some time she has been a sinner, he does not suffer her to sin further, nor [0253A] can he bear that she should dally with adulterers; his jealousy is stirred up over her, and he defends the chastity of the marriage; but if he sees her violating the rights of the marriage, and seeking an occasion of sinning, he gives her a bill of divorce; whence Isa. L: *For your iniquities has he put away your mother;* and he who speaks this is both jealous and, moved by jealousy, says this. There is also this new kind of his goodness, that he receives her even after adultery when she returns and repents with her whole heart. Whence: *If a woman go out from her husband, and sleep with another man, shall she return again to her own husband?* etc. And elsewhere: *And after thou hast committed fornication in all these things, I said: Return,* etc. [n: (Jer. III.)] Here, therefore, if God being jealous requires and desires thy soul to cleave to him, if he keeps it, rebukes and is indignant, using as it were a certain jealous rivalry [0253B] toward thee, know that there is hope of salvation for thee. But if thou despise the rebuke, his jealousy departs from thee, according to that: *Therefore my jealousy departs from thee,* etc. [n: (Ezech. XVI.)] See the mercy and the loving-kindness of God; when he wishes to have mercy, he says that he is indignant and is angry, as he says by Jeremiah: *Thou shalt be chastised with sorrow and with the scourge, O Jerusalem, that my soul depart not from thee [n: (Jer. VI)]*. *For he scourges every son whom he receives [n: (Hebr. XII)]*. But this is a terrible thing, this is the utmost, if we are not rebuked for our sins: for when we exceed the measure of sinning, even the jealousy of God will be taken from us, and he is angry no more.

*Visiting the iniquity,* etc. [n: (ORIG.)] Rendering the sins of the fathers upon the sons, etc. The heretics say that it is not the word of a good God, who says that one is punished [0253C] for the sins of another; yet they say that the God of the law is just, and they cannot show how he is unjust [cj: *injustus*; read *justus*, "how he is just"], if he punishes one when another sins. But our inward man is said either to have God for father, if he lives according to God; or the devil, if he does his will; whence John VIII: *You are of your father the devil, and you will do the desires of your father.* As, therefore, the seed of God is in us, when, keeping the word of God, we do not sin, according to that of I John III, *He who is of God sins not, because the seed of God abides in him;* so when we are persuaded by the devil to sin, we receive his seed; when we do what he persuades, he has now begotten us, for we are born his sons through sin. But because we scarcely ever sin without a helper, as no one commits adultery alone, it is necessary that a partner in the adultery be made, [0253D] and if not more, it is necessary that some man or woman be joined to the service of the crime: all of whom, as it were one from another, begotten according to the order of the persuasion, draw their offspring from the devil; as in the betraying of the Lord the devil entered into the heart of Judas, and begot the first son of sin, who could not do this alone; he went therefore to the Scribes and the Pharisees and the chief priests; there is born, therefore, from Judas a third and a fourth generation of sin. Let us see, therefore, how God renders the sins of the fathers upon the sons unto the third and the fourth generation, and not upon the man himself. For of the fathers nothing is said. The devil, therefore, because he has already exceeded the measure of sinning, like a garment clotted in blood, will not be clean in this world; he is not scourged [0254A] for sin; for all things are kept for him unto the future. whence Matth. VIII): *Why art thou come to torment us before the time?* But the sins are rendered upon the sons whom he has begotten through sin, who, being set in the flesh, are scourged. *God wills not the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live [n: (Ezech. XXXIII)]*. Mercifully, therefore, he renders the sins of the fathers upon the sons, because the devil and his angels, who are also made the fathers of sin, are unworthy to be rebuked in the present: their sons, and those who through them have been taken into the fellowship of sin, receive in the present what they have done, that, being purged, they may not be made partners with the devil in punishment. Whence in psalm LXXXVIII: *I will visit their iniquities with a rod,* etc., *but my mercy I will not take away from them.* [var: Vulg. Ps 88:34 *misericordiam autem meam non dispergam ab eo*, "but my mercy I will not scatter away from him"; Migne's plural is what carries the argument to the sons] For God is [0254B] jealous, and the soul which he betroths to himself in faith he wills not to remain in the defilement of sin, but to be quickly purged. But if she will not be purged, he will laugh at their destruction, saying to them, Matth. XXV: *Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire,* etc. Let us know, therefore, that we are rebuked in the present, that in the future we may rest. Whence: *When we are chastised, we are rebuked by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world.*

[n: (ID.)] In this saying the heretics are wont to reproach us, that it is not the word of a good God, who judges one for the sins of another. But those who shall say that the God of the law who commands these things is not good, yet call him just: nor indeed can they themselves show how it should seem agreeable to justice if, when one sins, another is punished.

[0254C] [n: (ISID.)] The first commandment forbids stealthy deceit; the second, error; the third slays the love of the world; the fourth, impiety; the fifth, cruelty; the sixth, fornication; the seventh, rapacity; the eighth destroys falsehood; the ninth, the coveting of the world; the tenth, the thought of adultery. And it is to be noted that as the Egyptians are struck with ten plagues, so the tables are written with ten precepts, by which the people of God may be ruled and the demons slain. For the law was written on two tables that the two Testaments might be signified: or because there are two precepts of love, of God and of one's neighbour, *on which the whole law hangs, and the prophets [n: (Matth. XXII)]*. For on the one are three precepts, which pertain to the love of God; on the other seven, which pertain to the fellowship of one's neighbour. But the tables were [0254D] of stone, because the heart of the Jews was stony and unfeeling, hard and dull; whence Ezech. XXXVI: *I will take away the stony heart, and will give them a heart of flesh.* And the Apostle says [n: (II Cor. III)]: *Not in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the heart,* which, that is, may perceive and understand.

VERS. 12.-- *Honour thy father,* etc. This is the first of the seven commandments which pertain to one's neighbour. And rightly are they seven. For the number seven consists of three and four. And three befits the soul, which is irascible, concupiscible and rational. Four, the body.

VERS. 13.-- *Thou shalt not kill,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 61 in Exod.)] And as to what was said: *thou shalt not kill,* it is not to be thought [0255A] that anything is done against this precept in that the law kills, or that God commands someone to be killed: for he does it who commands what it is not lawful for the minister to refuse.

VERS. 14.-- *Thou shalt not commit adultery.* [n: (ISID.)] It is also asked: how does *thou shalt not commit adultery* differ from that which is said a little after: *Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife?* [var: Vulg. Ex 20:17 *Non concupisces domum proximi tui, nec desiderabis uxorem ejus*, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, neither shalt thou desire his wife"; the wording Migne prints is Dt 5:21's] For in that which was said, *thou shalt not commit adultery,* that also could be understood; unless perhaps in those two precepts of not committing adultery and not stealing the deeds themselves are marked, but in these last the very concupiscence: which differ so far, that sometimes a man commits adultery who does not covet his neighbour's wife, when he is joined to her for some other cause. But sometimes he covets, and is not joined to her, fearing punishment: and this perhaps the law wished to show, [0255B] that both are sins.

[n: (ID.)] Again it is wont to be asked whether under the name of adultery fornication also is held, etc., *as far as* and the unlawful use of those members ought to be understood to be forbidden.

VERS. 15.-- *Thou shalt not steal,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 71 in Exod.)] But again it is asked how *thou shalt not steal* differs from that which is said a little after concerning the not coveting of a neighbour's goods? Not that everyone who covets his neighbour's goods steals; but everyone who steals covets his neighbour's goods. In that generality, where it is enjoined not to covet a neighbour's goods, that also which pertains to theft could have been contained.

VERS. 16, 17.-- *Thou shalt not speak against thy neighbour,* etc. [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] In that also which was said, etc., [0255C] *as far as* and things of this sort.

VERS. 18.-- *And all the people saw the voices,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 72 in Exod.)] It is wont to be asked how the people saw a voice, since a voice seems to pertain not to sight but to hearing, etc., *as far as* hear what shines, we are not accustomed to say.

VERS. 19.-- *Speak thou to us,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 73.)] It is signified that fear pertains rather to the Old Testament, as love to the New; although in the Old the New lies hidden, and in the New the Old lies open. But how it can be granted to such a people to see the voice of God, if [0256A] this is to be taken as understanding, since they fear that God should speak to them lest they die, is not sufficiently clear.

VERS. 20.-- *Fear not,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 74.)] Thus they were to be restrained from sins, by fearing, that is, lest they should suffer sensible punishments; because they were not yet able to love justice, and they were tempted by the Lord, that it might appear of what sort they were; not that they might become known to God whatever sort they were, from whom nothing was hidden, but that they might become known among themselves and to their own selves.

VERS. 21, 22.-- *And the people stood,* etc. [n: (GREG., homil. 6.)] In certain places of Scripture the history is to be kept, etc., *as far as* Moses went to the darkness in which God was.

*You shall not make gods,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 76.)] What was said in the first precept is repeated; and by the things of silver [0256B] and of gold, all idols are understood, as in psalm CXIII: *The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of the hand of men.*

VERS. 24.-- *An altar of earth,* etc. He shows that therefore, idols being forbidden, an altar of earthly matter is granted, that to the one God victims and sacrifices may be offered upon it.

[n: (GREG., lib. III Moral., cap. 20.)] To make God an altar of earth is to hope for the incarnation of Christ. For then is our gift received by God, when upon this altar our humility, that is, has laid whatever it does upon the faith of the Lord's incarnation. Upon an altar of earth, therefore, we lay the offered gift, if we make our acts firm by faith in the Lord's incarnation.

## CHAPTER XX. (cont.)

VERS. 25, 26.-- *Of hewn stones.* [n: (ISID.)] Hewn [0256C] stones are they who cut the unity asunder, and divide themselves from the fellowship of the brethren: these Christ does not receive into his body, of which body the building of the altar signifies the figure. The stones not hewn, of which the altar is commanded to be built, are they who through faith are made firm in unity; of whom it is said, I Peter II: *You are living stones, built together into spiritual houses.* [var: Vulg. 1 Pt 2:5 *et ipsi tamquam lapides vivi superaedificamini, domus spiritualis*, "be you also as living stones built up, a spiritual house"] Upon these no iron has been laid, because they are uncorrupted, and have not received the fiery darts of the evil one: all make one altar in the unity of faith and the concord of charity. [nt: In numbering the precepts of the decalogue, Origen and Augustine, in the testimonies of the Gloss cited at the head of this chapter, seem to follow contrary opinions. For Origen holds that the ten commandments cannot be reckoned unless it stand thus: Thou shalt not make to thyself an idol, nor any likeness, etc. Augustine, however, though he does not reject that enumeration of Origen's, yet judges another, a different one, more fitting, so that he reckons the prohibition of making idols and graven images for the sake of worship to be the explication of the first precept: and then he sets down two precepts for restraining forbidden desires, one whereby the coveting of another's wife, the other whereby the coveting of all other things that are one's neighbour's, is to be restrained. Origen is followed by Athanasius in the Synopsis of Scripture; Gregory Nazianzen in the poem in which he numbers the ten precepts; Chrysostom in his second exposition of Matthew, homily 49; Jerome and Ambrose, chapter six of the Epistle to the Ephesians. Augustine's numbering, in that sense, is followed by the scholastic doctors, who, even as Augustine himself, prefer it to the former, yet without holding the former to be unfitting. And indeed the contrariety which a perverse disposition finds in subduing those two covetings would seem rather to have wanted two distinct precepts, since there are those who covet another's wife, and yet disdain to covet another's wealth or servants, and the reverse: but no true worshipper of God finds it difficult to spurn idols. Yet this diversity of numbering is, in the thing itself, nothing at all: for no precept is laid down by Augustine that is denied by Origen, or the reverse; but the one joins precepts by a certain ordering of subordination, which the other separates by reason of a verbal connection, and conversely. For Augustine joins the precept of not making idols to the precept of worshipping no God but one, because the former is subordinate to the latter and is the fuller explication of it, extending also to the forbidding of the ceremonies of the Gentiles: but Origen divides that same matter into two precepts, because they seem to be distinguished by the very structure of the sentence, with no mark of connection, just as the rest that follow: Thou shalt not have strange gods; Thou shalt not make to thyself a graven thing; Thou shalt not take, etc. And again, those two prohibitions of the twofold coveting Origen joins into one precept, on account of the sequence of the context, which seem to belong to one and the same sentence.]

## CHAPTER XXI.

[0257A]

VERS. 1. 6.-- *These are the judgments,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 91 in Exod.)] From now on those things are more distinctly explained which pertain to one's neighbour; the manner of speaking is to be noted, since it was said to Moses: *These are the judgments which thou shalt set before them;* the rest are said to the people.

*If thou buy a Hebrew servant,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 77 in Exod.)] Lest Christians should here demand this of their masters, the apostle commands servants to be subject to their masters [n: (I Petr. II)], lest the name of the Lord and the doctrine be blasphemed: for from this it is plain that it was commanded as a mystery, because God commanded the ear of him who had refused liberty to be bored through with an awl to the door-post.

[n: (GREG., hom. 3 in Ezech., tom. II.)] It must be known that, [0257B] since the active and the contemplative life are from the grace of God, etc., *as far as* because that inmost rest is seen in a dark manner.

*Six years.* [n: (ISID.)] Serving in the six ages of this world, on the seventh day, that is, in the eternal sabbath, we shall be set free, if only we have been willing to be free while in this world we serve sin. But if we have been unwilling, the ear will be bored through in testimony of disobedience, and with our wife and our sons, whom we have preferred to liberty, that is, with the flesh and its works, we shall serve sin for ever.

VERS. 7-12.-- *If a man sell his daughter,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 78 in Exod.)] She shall not go out as maidservants are wont to depart,* etc., *as far as* it is understood that she shall go out with him freely, not separated from her husband.

VERS. 13-17.-- *But he who lay not in wait for him,* etc. [n: (RAB., in Exod., tom. II.)] For those who are homicides not of their own will, etc., *as far as* he shall have set of Christ, he shall be saved.

*[n: (AUG., quaest. 79 in Exod.)] But if he did it unwillingly, and God delivered him into his hands,* etc. This is so said, etc., *as far as* and therefore Judas justly betrayed him.

VERS. 18.-- *If men quarrel,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] It is the same thing, if a man, contending with his neighbour, has exasperated him by hardness of mind, or by niggardliness, that is, by despising him or by not taking counsel with him; and he, made weak by sadness, has languished away from the fervour of love: let the guilty man, by confession, expend upon the physicians, that is, the teachers, the labour of penance and the cost of the promised amendment, that they may raise up the sick man with the staff of consolation, and by the fomentations of preachings restore him to his former state of love. [0257D] In correction discretion is necessary, lest he who ought to correct should kill, or should cast a man into despair or into hatred.

VERS. 22-28.-- *If men quarrel.* [n: (ID.)] If anyone, after the conceiving of the word, has injured another's soul through carelessness or through fraud, so that it cannot bring forth sound the living germ of a good work: even if that soul itself has persevered still living in the faith, it will be necessary, according to the ministry of the Gospel, that he make restitution [0258A] through penance for the loss inflicted. But if the soul itself, slain by error, after the bringing forth of the abortion, that is, of the death-bearing work, has persevered in unbelief, without doubt the seducer of it, as a true homicide, will be guilty of eternal death.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 80 in Exod.)] That he would not have an unformed birth pertain to homicide, etc., *as far as* and therefore not yet endowed with senses.

*[n: (ORIG., hom. 10 in Exod.)] But if two men shall quarrel, and shall strike a woman with child, and her infant shall come forth not yet formed, he shall suffer detriment, as much as the woman's husband shall lay upon him, and he shall give for his own soul. But if it shall have been formed, he shall give life for life, eye for eye,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 21:22-23 *et abortivum quidem fecerit, sed ipsa vixerit: subjacebit damno quantum maritus mulieris expetierit, et arbitri judicaverint. Sin autem mors ejus fuerit subsecuta, reddet animam pro anima*; the Vulgate has no formed/unformed distinction at all, and the whole gloss below expounds it; the reading Migne prints is the Septuagint's] Let us see first concerning him [0258B] who shall come forth not yet formed, how one of the litigants is commanded to be struck with the loss of money, whereas two are spoken of. And also this, that the woman's husband lays it upon him, and not upon them; and he shall give, and not rather they shall give. But if the infant shall come forth already formed, we easily understand the giving of life for life: that is, that the sin be avenged by death. But the things which follow it is worth while to explain. For neither does the infant, even formed, seem to have lost an eye in the womb, when struck by the heel of a litigant, and teeth it had not at all. For if we refer this to the mother, how does a woman miscarrying lose an eye, or suffer in her teeth? But be it that, struck either in the eye or in the tooth, she miscarried, and received a bruise or a wound, what shall we say also of burning for burning? Could a woman standing by men [0258C] who quarrel be burned, so that burning should be paid for burning? In Deuteronomy also these things cannot easily be explained. Yet in the Scriptures the members of the soul are named by the same words and offices by which the members of the body are used or called. Whence Matth. VII: *Thou seest the mote in thy brother's eye, and the beam which is in thine own eye thou seest not.* And Matth. XIII: *He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.* And Rom. X: *How beautiful are the feet of them that preach peace!* Let not, therefore, the likeness of words disturb us. There are, then, two litigants, two disputing also about the doctrines or the questions of the law, and quarrelling about strifes of words; whence the Apostle, II Tim. II: *Contend not in words,* etc. And in the same place: *Avoid the questions of the law, knowing that they beget strifes.* They, therefore, who [0258D] quarrel in these questions to the subverting of the hearers, strike a woman with child, and cast out an infant formed or still unformed. The woman with child is called the soul, which has lately conceived the word of God; whence: *From thy fear, O Lord, we have conceived in the womb and have brought forth [n: (Isa. XXVI)]*. They, therefore, who conceive and straightway bring forth, are not to be reckoned women, but men and perfect; whence elsewhere: *If the earth brought forth in one day, and [0259A] a nation was born in one day together [n: (Isa. LXVI)]*. This, then, is the generation of the perfect, which on the same day is conceived and born. And men bring forth according to that of Gal. IV: *My little children, of whom I am in labour again, until Christ be formed in you.* The perfect, therefore, and men bring forth straightway, that is, they carry through into works the word of faith conceived: but the soul which conceives, and holds in the womb and does not bring forth, is called a woman. Whence Isa. XXXVII: *The pains of birth are come upon her: and there is not strength in her to bring forth.* This soul, therefore, while two are quarrelling among themselves and putting forth scandals, is struck and scandalized: so that it casts away the word of faith which it had thinly conceived, not yet formed. For in some the word is formed, in some not formed; whence: *Until Christ be formed in you [n: (Gal. IV)]*; for Christ is the Word of God. [0259B] He, therefore, shall suffer loss who has struck it out. Concerning losses, therefore, the Apostle speaks of the teacher, I Cor. III: *If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss,* etc. [var: Vulg. 1 Cor 3:15 *detrimentum patietur*, "he shall suffer detriment"; the exposition that follows is built throughout on the word *damnum* which Migne prints] And the Lord himself in the Gospel, Matth. XVI: *What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?* [var: Vulg. Mt 16:26 *animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur*, "and suffer the loss of his own soul"] Whence it seems to be shown that certain sins pertain to loss, yet not to destruction, because he who shall have suffered loss is said to be saved, though by fire: whence John says that certain sins are unto death, certain not [n: (I Joan. V)]. But which are unto death cannot easily be discerned, *For who understands sins? [n: (Psal. XVIII.)]* But when, upon five minas, five others gained are brought back, and upon two, two [n: (Luc. XIX)], he who loses the reward of this gain is said to be struck with loss, like him who has given cause of scandal to a weaker [0259C] and womanish soul. And he shall give according to what her husband shall lay upon him, and he shall give with honour to the soul that learns. The husband is the master Christ, or he who is for Christ a teacher of souls. He, therefore, shall suffer loss who contends to the subverting of the hearers, for the soul which had not yet a formed infant: which can be taken of the scandal of a catechumen. It can also come to pass that he who has injured should instruct and repair the soul which he has lost, and that with honour, that is, with modesty, with meekness, not with strife, as when he brought in the scandal. But when the infant shall have been formed, he shall give life for life. The formed infant may be seen to be the word of God in the heart of the soul which has received the grace of baptism, or which has received the word of God more evidently and more clearly. He, therefore, who struck shall render life for [0259D] life in the day of judgment, that is, before that judge who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Or, that he who shall be conscious to himself of so great a scandal, should lay down his own soul for the soul of the man scandalized, and even unto death give his labour that he may be restored to the faith. Let him lay down eye for eye: if he has injured the eye of the soul, that is, has troubled its understanding, let his eye be taken away from him by him who presides over the Church, that is, his understanding. If he has injured a tooth, which, receiving the food of the word of God, was wont to break it small or to grind it with the molars, that it might pass on a subtle meaning to the belly of the soul: if he has vexed and plucked out this tooth, so that by the wearing away of it the soul cannot subtly and spiritually receive the word of God, his tooth shall be taken away, who does not well break small and divide the foods [0260A] of the word. For on this account perhaps it is said of the Lord: *Thou hast broken the teeth of sinners [n: (Psl. III)]*. And elsewhere: *The Lord shall break the grinders of the lions [n: (Psal. LVII)]*. So, then, the soul is said to be injured and struck through its members. He demands also hand for hand, and foot for foot. The hand of the soul is the power by which it can hold something and grasp it to the heart, as its act and its strength; and the foot is that by which it goes to good things or to evil. Because, therefore, the soul that is scandalized is cast down not only in faith but also in acts, which are signified by the hands, his hands are taken away by which he does not work well, and his feet, by which he does not walk well. He shall also receive burning, because he burned and delivered a soul to hell. By each of these things it is shown that the striker, all his members being lopped off, is to be cut away from the body of the Church, [0260B] that the rest, seeing it, may have fear, and may not do the like. Therefore the Apostle, when he describes the teacher of the Church, among other things enjoins, *not a striker [n: (I Tim. III)]*: lest, striking women with child, that is, unwise souls, he should lay down life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, etc. Of such it is said, Matth. XXIV: *Woe to them that are with child and that give suck in those days, in which they shall be scandalized, if it be possible, even the elect.* [var: Vulg. Mt 24:19 ends at *in illis diebus*; the clause that follows welds on Mt 24:24 *ita ut in errorem inducantur (si fieri potest) etiam electi*, "so that even the elect (if it be possible) be led into error"] Yet it must be known that it does not belong to the perfect to be scandalized, but to women or to little ones; whence Matth. XVIII: *If any man scandalize one of these little ones,* etc.

VERS. 29-36.-- *But if the ox was wont to push with his horn,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] That is, if the master, that is the spirit, does not restrain the proud motion of the mind, and brings destruction upon souls, or [0260C] harm upon bodies, the guilt redounds upon the keeper. Whence in the sixteenth chapter of Proverbs: *The heart of a man shall instruct his mouth, and shall add grace to his lips.* [var: Vulg. Pr 16:23 *Cor sapientis erudiet os ejus*, "The heart of the wise shall instruct his mouth"]

*Thirty shekels.* That is, according to the commandments of the law, he shall make amends by faith and hope and charity.

*Of silver.* He shall repay the brightness of the divine word, in which they had been instructed in the faith of the Trinity and the knowledge of the decalogue.

*If a man open,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XVII Moral., cap. 13.)] To open a cistern is to penetrate the secrets of Holy Scripture with a strong understanding, etc., *as far as* thence the weakness of the hearers should slip down to the depths.

*If another's ox,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] This is to be observed not in the ox alone, but in every beast; for from the part the [0260D] whole is understood. But this cannot be done concerning the flesh of a beast that has been killed, on which they do not feed.

## CHAPTER XXII.

VERS. 1.-- *If any man steal,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] According to the letter, five oxen are rendered for one ox, and four sheep for one sheep: because an ox has five uses, a sheep four. For an ox is sacrificed, ploughs, feeds, gives milk, and furnishes its hide for various uses; but a sheep is sacrificed, and feeds, and yields milk and wool. Allegorically, however, by the ox is understood any Jew, and if any Jew sell him, he will lie under the penalty of the law, which is contained in the five books of Moses. By the sheep, the Christian, who imitates Christ, [0261A] of whom it is said: *He was led as a sheep to the slaughter [n: (Isa. LIII)]*. If any man sell this one, let him render four sheep, that is, let him do penance according to the ordinance of the four Gospels.

VERS. 2-5.-- *If a thief be found breaking open a house, or undermining it,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 84 in Exod.)] If a thief be found breaking in, and being struck shall die, etc., *as far as* for now he is more than a thief.

VERS. 6-13.-- *If a fire break out*, etc. [n: (RAB.)] We kindle a fire when we prepare correction for our subjects, that we may consume the thorns of vices. But it must be seen to, lest, while we pursue the vices, we injure the virtues, and harm before their ripeness those who had begun to bring forth the fruit of good works. He, therefore, who shall have done this, let him bear worthy penance, and what he has injured through slothfulness [0261B] let him diligently restore.

*The ears of corn.* Tender hearers not yet coming to the ripeness of fruit: whose vices he who sharply and indiscreetly rebukes, casts fire as it were into the ears of corn, and does not suffer them to come to ripeness.

VERS. 14-16.-- *He who from his neighbour,* etc. We ask a loan of our neighbour when for an eternal recompense we take up the care of the Lord's flock. But if we always set before the eyes of the heart the fear of God, as of one exacting money, we are as it were always in his presence. Whence II Cor. V: *Knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men.* And elsewhere, II Cor. XII: *As before God, in Christ we speak.* The death, therefore, or the maiming of the beast is not imputed to the shepherd, if he has borne its care strenuously, and as though God were present; otherwise he is compelled to render the loss. [0261C] Whence Matth. V: *He shall not go out thence, till he repay the last farthing.*

VERS. 17.-- *If the father of the virgin,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] The sense of the sentence is historical, out of which the discourse is born. If, therefore, the historical sense builds up the reign of charity and destroys that of cupidity, there is no need for it to be expounded allegorically. Yet the reader ought to honour the sentence with the dowry of right faith, and to leave it untouched by his own exposition.

VERS. 18-20.-- *Thou shalt not suffer wizards to live.* Those who work by the sleights of the magic art and by diabolical feignings, understand as heretics, who are to be excommunicated from the fellowship of the faithful who truly live, until the evil-doing of error die in them

VERS. 21.-- *Thou shalt not grieve the stranger.* [n: (RAB.)] He commends the love of one's neighbour through the compassion of mercy, [0261D] lest, moved by the goad of fury or of avarice, we neglect the right of nature. But what we wish men to do to us, the same let us do to them, and what we do not wish to be done, let us not do.

VERS. 22-24.-- *You shall not hurt the widow and the orphan.* [n: (RAB.)] By the widow, holy Church, which in the day of judgment awaits Christ, whom now she has not present; by the orphan, the Christian people, to whom the world their father, and Babylon their mother, is dead, may be taken: whom he forbids to be grieved by persecution or by worldly pride, lest perchance such harrying come to the spiritual ruin of those who vex them in vain with hatreds and reproaches.

VERS. 25.-- *If money on loan,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 22:25 *Si pecuniam mutuam dederis*, "If thou lend money"; Migne's nominative *pecunia* does not construe with the accusative *mutuam*] [n: (RAB.)] He warns the preachers [0262A] of the Gospel not to seek superfluity, but having food and clothing, to be content with these, according to that of Matth. X: *Freely you have received, freely give.*

VERS. 26, 27.-- *If a pledge,* etc. [n: (AUG., loc. 99.)] He put the genus for the species: for it was so said as if he had given a pledge of any garment, whereas Scripture testifies from what follows that it speaks specially of him who has no garment but that one wherewith he may be covered by night.

*[n: (GREG., lib. XVI Moral., cap. 2.)] A pledge,* the confession of sin. For our neighbour is made our debtor, etc., *as far as* let him feel that what he has done amiss is presently remitted by us.

VERS. 28.-- *Thou shalt not speak ill of the gods,* etc. *(AUG., quaest, [0262B] 86 in Exod.)* It is asked whom he called gods, etc., *as far as* or to be honoured with the services of latria.

VERS. 29-31.-- *Thy tithes,* etc. [n: (ISID. in Gen., tom. V.)] By the firstfruits of the crops or of the firstborn are shown the first beginnings of good works, etc., *as far as* and the effect of perfection is granted.

## CHAPTER XXIII.

VERS. 3.-- *Neither shalt thou have pity on a poor man in judgment.* [n: (AUG.)] That is, lest against justice thou favour the poor man for mercy's sake. Mercy is good, but it ought not to be against judgment. Now Scripture calls judgment that which is just. But lest anyone, on account of this sentence, should think that God forbids mercy, there fittingly follows:

[0262C]VERS. 4-6.-- *If thou meet thy enemy's ox,* etc. As if to say: show mercy even toward thine enemies, when the power is free from judging; for when thou leadest back the straying ox of thine enemy and restorest it, thou art not sitting as judge between any parties.

VERS. 7-9.-- *Thou shalt fly lying.* [n: (RAB.)] The Lord loves truth and judgment, and to the performing of these he exhorts his people, because he is no respecter of persons.

VERS. 10-12.-- *Six years thou shalt sow thy ground.* [n: (AUG.)] It is asked what the poor gather, if in the seventh year the land is thus spared, etc., *as far as* six years, when those things are gathered which are sown.

[n: (RAB.)] In the number six is the perfection of works, etc., *as far as he that soweth in blessings, in blessings shall also [0262D] reap.* [var: Vulg. 2Cor 9:6 *de benedictionibus et metet*, "shall reap also of blessings"; Migne repeats the preposition of the first member]

VERS. 13.-- *And by the name of strange gods,* etc. He permits swearing by his own name, not because it is good to swear, but because he knew that men are prone to swearing; he does not will that they swear by the names of outward gods, lest by frequent oaths they be led into the worship of them. So too God does not approve victims, yet he had rather that sacrifice be made to himself than to idols.

VERS. 14-18.-- *Three times in every year,* etc. Here, that is, God requires the faith of the holy Trinity: for at the Pasch the Son is immolated, at Pentecost the Holy Spirit is given, at the Scenopegia the power of the Father's majesty is declared.

*Three times in every year,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] This [0263A] is: at every season of the present life, and in the confession of the holy Trinity, through faith and hope and charity, you shall render the services of good works to God your creator. For we celebrate the Pasch in the month of new things, when, delivered by the blood of the unspotted Lamb from Egyptian servitude, we pass through spiritual waters out of the old man into the new, not in the oldness of the letter but in the newness of the spirit, whereby we come into the land of promise through the grace of Christ. But we celebrate the solemnity of the month of firstfruits when we consecrate to the Lord the firstfruits of our works, of our wills and of our words; the solemnity also at the going out of the year, when, the crops being gathered in, that is, the fruits of the virtues, we strive to come to the end of life and to the entrance of the heavenly kingdom; in tabernacles [0263B] commemorating for seven days, because through all the time of the present life we acknowledge that we are pilgrims, and seek rest not here but in the time to come, diligently taking care that we appear not empty in the sight of God.

*The solemnity also,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] When the crops, that is, are ripe, when the fruits of the whole year have been gathered: namely in September, which the Hebrews call by the Chaldee word thisri, תשרי, and the Macedonians ὑπερβεραῖον. At the beginning of it the Jews, keeping holiday, sound the trumpet more than in the other months, and offer more things; in which month is the day of expiations, and the day of the Scenopegia on the fifteenth day, which is the solemnity of Tabernacles.

VERS. 19.-- *Thou shalt not boil a kid,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 90 in Exod.)] How it is to be understood according to the propriety of the words, I know not whether it can be found out, [0263C] etc., *as far as* but afterwards it was not lambs in milk that suffered, but rams in the flock.

[n: (STRAB.)] *Morally.* The kid, that is, the sinner, is not to be boiled in his mother's milk, that is, dissolved by blandishments, but sharply rebuked and refuted.

VERS. 20, 21.-- *Behold I will send an angel,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] Josue signifies the leader of the people, who is therefore called an angel because he is sent to announce the will of the Lord; for ἄγγελος in Greek is called *a messenger*.

VERS. 22.-- *I will be an enemy,* etc. [n: (GREG.)] The root of all evil is pride, of which it is said in Eccli. X: *Pride the beginning of all sin.* Now its offspring are the seven principal vices: vainglory, envy, [0263D] anger, sadness, avarice, gluttony of the belly, lust. And because our Redeemer grieved that we were held captive by these seven vices of pride, he came full of the Spirit of sevenfold grace to the spiritual battle of our deliverance.

VERS. 23, 24.-- *And an angel shall go before thee.* [n: (RAB.)] Josue led the people of Israel into the land of promise, casting out seven nations and destroying their idols and their altars. Mystically the true Jesus exterminates these nations with their images, when he drives out the seven principal vices and every idol of the enemy from our hearts, that we may securely possess the land of our own nature.

*Whom I will destroy.* [n: (CHRYSOST.)] Every vice has its own dwelling in our heart, [0264A] and, claiming that dwelling for itself, it exterminates Israel in the recess of our soul, that is, the contemplation of the highest things, and does not cease to oppose; for virtues cannot abide together with vices. But when the vices have been overcome by the Israelites, that is, by the virtues, the place which the spirit of concupiscence or of fornication possessed, chastity shall obtain; the place which fury had seized, patience shall claim; the place which sadness working death had occupied, saving gladness full of joy shall possess; the place which sloth laid waste, fortitude shall cultivate; the place which pride trod down, humility shall make honourable. And so, the several vices being expelled, their places, that is, the affections, shall be possessed by the contrary virtues; and these are named the sons of Israel, that is, of the soul that sees God: who, when they have driven out all the passions of the heart, are to be believed not so much to have seized [0264B] other men's possessions as to have recovered their own; because, according to the ancient tradition, the sons of Sem obtained by lot, in the division of the world, the land of the Chananaeans, which the Chananaeans possessed by violence: whence by the just, judgment of God they were driven out. The will of the Lord also assigned the possession of our heart not to vices but to virtues, which after the transgression of Adam, when the vices grew insolent like Chananaeans, were driven from their proper region. But when by the grace of God they are restored by our diligence and by our labour, they do not so much occupy another's land as receive back their own.

VERS. 25-27.-- *I will bless thy loaves,* etc. [n: (AUG.)] Another reading: *I will bless thy bread and thy wine,* etc. Although these promises can be understood spiritually also, etc., *as far as* which the ungodly shall not receive.

[0264C]VERS. 28.-- *Sending out hornets. [n: (AUG., quaest. 93.)]* I will send wasps, etc. This God promises, etc., *as far as* if anything is said by Christ.

Another reading. *I will send wasps before thee, and it shall cast out the Amorrhites,* etc. He turns himself from the plural to the singular number. And *it shall cast out the Amorrhites* is understood of the wasp, namely as of the locust, as of the frog: not that it is one, but by the singular the plural is understood.

VERS. 29-33.-- *I will not cast them out from the face,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] These nations signify the vices, which are extinguished in the saints neither all together nor at one time, lest the monsters of the earth be multiplied, that is, lest they be lifted up into pride and vainglory and things of this kind. For when the saints fight against the greater vices and conquer, they leave [0264D] the lesser, and these are permitted to have dominion, lest through elation they fall more grievously. Whence to Paul was given a sting of the flesh for the keeping of humility [n: (I Cor. XXII)].

## CHAPTER XXIV.

VERS. 1.-- *And to Moses he said: Come up to the Lord, thou and Aaron,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 85 in Exod., tom. III.)] Up to this place the justifications of Scripture are understood, etc., *as far as* but the Latins say that those are justifications which the Greeks call δικαιώματα.

*Thou and Aaron,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Moses and Aaron and Nadab and Abiu. By these four are signified evangelical men, that is, those who follow the evangelical precepts. [0265A] But by the seventy (which number consists of the number seven taken ten times, or of the number ten multiplied seven times) are signified those who, helped by the grace of the Holy Spirit, fulfilling the ten of the law, stretch toward the contemplation of the Creator. Or, according to the letter, those of whom it is said in Num. XI: *Take unto thee seventy men,* etc., among whom were Heldad and Meldad. [var: Vulg. Nm 11:16 *Congrega mihi septuaginta viros de senibus Israel*, "Gather unto me seventy men of the ancients of Israel"]

VERS. 2.-- *And Moses alone shall come up to the Lord.* [n: (RAB.)] First it is commanded that Moses and Aaron, Nadab and Abiu, and the seventy elders should come up to the Lord. And at once it is subjoined that Moses alone should come up to the Lord, and that the rest should not draw near, but adore afar off. Where we are morally instructed to weigh our own strength, and not to reach the citadel of contemplation beyond our power, but so far as the divine clemency [0265B] calls, and the rule of Scripture invites.

[n: (GREG.)] Moses, that he might receive the sublime precepts of God, climbed on high; and that he might penetrate inward things, he is hidden from outward tumults: because holy men, who are compelled by necessity to serve outward offices, always flee back studiously to the secret places of the heart, and there ascend the summit of their inmost thought, and receive the law as it were upon a mountain, while, the tumults of temporal actions being set aside, they search out upon the height of their contemplation the sentence of the supernal will.

VERS. 3-5.-- *We will do [n: (AUG., quaest. 95.)]* It is to be noted that again the people, etc., *as far as* they laid hold of justice.

VERS. 6-9.-- *He took therefore,* etc. *[ID., quaest. 98.]* [0265C] It is to be noted that Moses now sacrificed for the first time, etc., *as far as* for that the decalogue was written on tables of stone appears afterwards.

*Bowls.* A *cratera*, or *crater*, is so called ἀπὸ τοῦ κρατεῖν, which is *to hold,* in that it is able to hold much wine.

VERS. 10, 11.-- *Under his feet.* God is not contained by place, nor does he set the members of a body in a posture, as it belongs to our body to sit, and to lie, to stand, and the like, which are of the body only. But God is a spirit. Therefore that he shows himself under a bodily appearance, or by signs bodily expressed, is not the appearing of his substance, which is what he himself is; rather the assumption of visible forms lies subject to all his power.

VERS. 12.-- *Come up to me,* etc. *(BED., lib. I de [0265D] Tabernac., cap. 11, tom. II.)* Being about to speak of the figure of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* that the Church might be designated as about to speak throughout the world with the tongues of all nations.

*And I will give thee.* [n: (ID.)] Like to this is that: *Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you [n: (Matth. XXVIII)]*. Therefore neither Moses, nor the apostles, nor anyone whatever, ought to teach other things than those which the Lord taught and prescribed by the decree of his counsel to be observed, in which he willed that we should have eternal life; and just as nothing of these ought to be passed over, so it is needful to commit to the hearers all things which he commanded.

VERS. 13.-- *Moses and Josue rose up. [n: (AUG., quaest. 103 in Exod.)]* Josue, not mentioned among those four, suddenly appears with Moses, etc., *as far [0266A] as* that at the time now recorded he was not yet called Jesus, but when it was written.

[n: (BED.)] Josue signifies Christ in name and in action; who is called the minister of Moses, because Christ *came not to destroy the law, but to fulfil [n: (Matth. V)]*. He follows the footsteps of Moses in all things, because in all that Moses wrote he is typically designated, and, as an inseparable companion, is found if he be rightly sought. Whence John V: *If you did believe Moses, you would perhaps believe me also.*

[n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. I, cap. 1, tom. II.)] Aaron ( אהרן ) is interpreted *the mountain of strength,* Hur ( חור ) *fire* or *light,* etc., *as far as* and the mind burns toward the love of the Creator.

VERS. 15.-- *And when Moses was gone up, [n: (BEDA., ibid.)]* As the mountain the height of perfection, etc., *as far [0266B] as* he protects with heavenly blessing.

VERS. 16.-- *And the glory of the Lord dwelt. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Not the loftiness only, but the very name of the mountain, etc., *as far as* on the seventh we are bidden to rest.

*Covering it with a cloud. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* For six days he is covered with the cloud and with the glory of the Lord, etc., *as far as* that he might come through to the loftier gifts of the divine vision and converse.

VERS. 17.-- *And the appearance was,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The appearance of the glory of the Lord appeared as a burning fire, etc., *as far as* although they are not able to follow them fully.

VERS. 18.-- *And Moses entering in,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Moses, having entered the midst of the cloud, went up into the mountain, etc., *as far as* that by the observance of them they may come to eternal salvation.

## CHAPTER XXV.

[0266C]

VERS. 2.-- *Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring me firstfruits,* etc. [n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. I, cap. III, tom. II.)] We offer to God the firstfruits of our goods when, ascribing wholly to divine grace the good that we do, we profess with our whole heart that we cannot have even the beginning of a good action or thought save from the Lord; but that evils are always both begun and consummated by us at the instigation of the devil, and are not to be loosed save by the Lord's gift.

VERS. 3-6.-- *And these are the things you must take,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] All the things which the Lord commanded to be offered materially for the making of the sanctuary, we also, who desire to be spiritual children of Israel, that is, imitators [0266D] of the people that sees God, ought to offer spiritually: that by these voluntary oblations we may ourselves make a sanctuary within us, so that he may vouchsafe to dwell in our heart and to consecrate a habitation to himself.

VERS. 7.-- *Onyx stones,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] These we offer, etc., *as far as* are signified the merits of martyrdom added to good works.

VERS. 8.-- *And they shall make me a sanctuary. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The Lord showed Moses the tabernacle on the mountain, etc., *as far as* it received the glorious multitude of holy souls.

VERS. 9-11.-- *According to all the likeness,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] We ought to imitate the angels by loving God [0267A] and our neighbour, etc., *as far as* and after this life may bring thee into that tabernacle which thou imitatest.

*Of all the vessels.* [n: (BED.)] The vessels of the tabernacle are the several persons of the angels, of whom Jerusalem, the mother of us all, consists in true peace and unity.

*And thus you shall make it. An ark,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 4.)] The ark is commanded to be made, etc., *as far as* but he came in the likeness of sinful flesh.

*The length whereof* [n: (ID.)] It is asked of what size this cubit is, etc., *as far as* whence it appears that it designates that cubit which two palms make.

*The breadth. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The breadth of one cubit for the dispensation of the Lord's charity, etc., *as far as* where we may love him with our whole heart, let us enter.

[0267B] [n: (ID.)] *Mystically.* The length of the ark the long-suffering of Christ, etc., *as far as* because he bore with long-suffering the slowness of the disciples.

*The height, a cubit,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The ark has a cubit in height, etc., and *as far as* this little we have not save from him.

VERS. 12-15.-- *And four rings,* etc. [n: (GREG. Past., cap. 11, tom. III.)] The ark, the Church, etc., *as far as which is in you,* etc.

*Two rings.* [n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] Because in the figure of the four living creatures, etc., *as far as* they expressed the things which pertain to the glory of the life to come.

VERS. 16.-- *The testimony which I will give. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Of which the Apostle, etc., *as far as* he taught the judge of all ages.

[0267C]VERS. 17.-- *A propitiatory.* [n: (ID.)] The propitiatory was a golden board of the same measure as the ark; so called because there God, appearing to Moses and speaking with him, was made propitious to the people; and it signifies mercy, whence it was fittingly above the ark, because his mercy is above all his works.

VERS. 18-21.-- *Two cherubim also,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Because of the fellowship of angelic peace, which cannot be had among fewer than two. Now the cherubim signify the angelic host; and the angels contemplate Christ in the highest concord and quiet; whence, with faces turned toward one another, they look upon the propitiatory, because they understand that they have that beatitude by the grace of God.

[n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Ezech.)] The two cherubim, which are called the *fulness [0267D] of knowledge,* etc., *as far as* if he promised one thing while he denied another.

[n: (BEDA, ibid.)] In the singular number it is called *cherub,* כרוב but in the plural *cherubim,* כרובים etc., *as far as* they are well designated by wings spread out and fitted for flying.

VERS. 22.-- *Thence will I give orders,* etc., *over the propitiatory. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Over the propitiatory, etc., *as far as* whence Habacuc says: *In the midst of two living creatures thou shalt be made known [n: (Habac. III)]*. [var: Vulg. Hab 3:2 *in medio annorum notum facies*, "in the midst of the years thou shalt make it known"; the whole gloss rests on the two living creatures]

[n: (BED., ibid.)] In the ark the Church can be figured, etc., *as far as* wherein they themselves stand established upon the foundation of the highest truth.

[n: (BED., ibid.)] The table of setim wood, etc., *as far as* [0268A] whence Cant. II: *The king brought me into the wine cellar, and he set in order charity in me.* [var: Vulg. Ct 2:4 *Introduxit me in cellam vinariam, ordinavit in me caritatem*, without *rex*, "he brought me in"]

VERS. 23.-- *In height a cubit,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] That the height has a cubit and a half, etc., *as far as* it is not figured by a full cubit.

VERS. 23.-- *And thou shalt make for it a lip.,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] A golden lip is made on the table round about, etc., *as far as* according to the diversity of merits, the glory of each. [var: Vulg. these words stand at Ex 25:24; Migne's address repeats VERS. 23]

VERS. 24.-- *A crown,* etc., and *over it another crown. [n: (BED., ibid.)]* A golden crown is added, since through the Gospel to those who keep the commandments, etc., *as far as* that a loftier glory is kept for it in the receiving back of their bodies.

VERS. 26.-- *For every one,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] The table [0268B] of the tabernacle has four feet, etc., *as far as* they may enter into the kingdom of heaven.

VERS. 27.-- *That the bars may be put through them. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Through the rings the bars are put for carrying the table, etc., *as far as* they carry the table of the Lord with the loaves and the vessels in four rings.

VERS. 29.-- *Thou shalt prepare also dishes and bowls. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The various vessels which are made for offering libations, etc., *as far as* whence: *Who, thinkest thou, is the faithful and prudent steward [n: (Luc. XII)]*?

VERS. 29.-- *Thou shalt prepare dishes,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Evang., tom. II.)] What is understood by the bowls and the cups but the measure of preaching? etc., *as far as* but also small and subtle things, which afford knowledge as it were by a taste.

[0268C] [n: (IDEM.)] One man, full of the doctrine of truth, inebriates his hearers, and as it were holds out a bowl; another is not strong enough to fill out what he perceives, yet, because he does declare it after some fashion, affords by a cup a taste. Those therefore who cannot minister bowls through the doctrine of wisdom, let them, so far as they suffice by the divine bounty, pour out to their neighbours cups of the word.

VERS. 30.-- *And thou shalt set upon the table the loaves of proposition in my sight always.* Josephus says that twelve loaves were made of fine flour, each of two tenths, which on the Sabbath were set upon the table, six on this side and six on that: upon each one a golden dish with a handful of incense, and thus they were kept until another Sabbath, on which the incense was burned; but the priests ate the loaves warm, putting back the incense.

[0268D] *And thou shalt set upon the table,* etc. [n: (BED. ubi supra. )] They are rightly called the loaves of proposition, because the word of salvation ought always to lie open to all the faithful, nor ought the word of comfort ever to be wanting in the Church: which word the Lord, proposing it to the world through the heralds of truth, willed to appear in his sight and to abound unceasingly, even unto the end, for those who hunger and thirst after justice.

VERS. 31.-- *Thou shalt make also a candlestick,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 6 in Ezech.)] The candlestick is Christ, in whom the nature of humanity shone with the light of the Godhead, etc., *as far as* the goblets therefore and the little spheres pertain to labour, the lilies to reward.

*Thou shalt make also a candlestick of beaten work of the purest gold.* [0269A] [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] The candlestick of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* and by preaching and by doing he showed the brightness of the word to all.

*And the branches, the goblets and the little spheres. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Namely, preachers proceeding from the shaft, etc., *as far as* which blooms for holy souls, that is, for eternal flowers.

VERS. 32.-- *Six branches,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The number six, in which the world was made, etc., *as far as* whence Paul: *The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communication of the Holy Spirit, be always with you all.* [var: Vulg. 2Cor 13:13 *sit cum omnibus vobis*, without *semper*, "be with you all"]

*Three out of one. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Three branches out of one side, etc., *as far as* he shall enjoy the vision of him.

[n: (ID., ubi supra )]. The goblets are made on the candlestick after the manner of a nut, etc., *as far as* because the continent of that [0269B] time had three orders of saints by the same distinction of times.

VERS. 33.-- *In the manner of a nut.* [n: (ID.)] The nut signifies the Church, whence: *He went down into the garden of nuts.* [var: Vulg. Ct 6:10 *Descendi in hortum nucum*, "I went down into the garden of nuts"; Migne's third person moves the words out of the Bride's mouth] For the nut has a sweet fruit within, which is not shown without unless the shell be broken: so the life of the saints keeps the sweetness of grace in the heart, which is not known outwardly, save when, the dwelling of the flesh being loosed, they behold themselves in the heavenly light.

[n: (ID.)] The third branch likewise has three goblets and little spheres, and three lilies: because many married persons were before the law, under the law and under the prophets, who rejoiced to hear the word of the Lord, and to run his way, and to look for the rewards of good works.

[n: (ID.)] Likewise from the other side the first branch, the second [0269C] and the third, three goblets and little spheres; three lilies also it had: because in both Testaments, among the doctors, among the continent, and among the married that are devoted to God, there were three orders by a distance of times. Namely in the primitive Church out of Israel, in our election out of the Gentiles, in the last gathering of the remnants of Israel: all of whom, inebriated in their own time with the word of life, desire to hasten in the way of peace, and to see the whiteness of perpetual light.

VERS. 34.-- *And in the candlestick itself,* etc. [n: (ID., ubi supra. )] We have said that the candlestick itself, etc., *as far as* but hearts renewed through the Spirit receive them.

VERS. 35.-- *And little spheres under every one, and lilies. Little spheres under two branches,* etc.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] There are under the several goblets little spheres [0269D] together with lilies, etc., *as far as* whence: *His left hand under my head, and his right hand shall embrace me.*

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The goblets, the little spheres and the lilies are under two branches, etc., *as far as all the fulness of the Godhead corporeally.*

VERS. 36.-- *The little spheres therefore and the branches. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The whole work of the candlestick, etc., *as far as* whence: *In tribulation thou hast enlarged me,* etc.

VERS. 37.-- *Thou shalt make.* [n: (ID.)] The seven lamps are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, which always remained in Christ, and are distributed to the faithful according to his will: these are set upon the candlestick, because the Spirit of wisdom and understanding rested upon him [n: (Isai. XI)].

[0270A] *That they may give light,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The lamps of the candlestick lighted up the tabernacle over against them, when Christ, full of grace and truth, bestowed on all out of his fulness; committing the word of the Gospel to the meek and the poor, conferring on the penitent the remedy of pardon, affirming that now is the time of sparing, in the time to come the time of the universal judgment.

VERS. 38.-- *Snuffers also, and where the things. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The divine words, by which it is manifestly signified that in very many places not the letter of the law but the spiritual sense is to be kept: whence: *If you be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing.*

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The snuffers, and the vessels where the things that are snuffed off are extinguished, etc., *as far as* saying: *Whether prophecies shall be made void, or tongues shall cease,* etc.

[0270B] *Snuffers also,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] There are certain precepts in the Scriptures, etc., *as far as* and elsewhere: *Behold, I make all things new.*

VERS. 39.-- *The whole. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* This is the body of Christ together with the head itself, that is, all the elect, etc., *as far as* because by the desert of their crimes they fall down into the abyss of oppressing punishment.

VERS. 40.-- *Look. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* There was shown to Moses on the mountain the pattern of the candlestick which he should make, etc., *as far as* he showed the pattern to his hearers by the performance of the work and by the word of doctrine.

## CHAPTER XXVI.

VERS. 1.-- *And the tabernacle shall so be made,* etc. [n: (BED., lib. II de Tabernac., cap. 3, tom. II.)] [var: Vulg. Ex 26:1 *Tabernaculum vero ita facies*, "the tabernacle thou shalt make thus"; Migne's impersonal passive drops the command addressed to Moses] The tabernacle [0270C] which Moses made in the wilderness, and the temple which Solomon made in Jerusalem, etc., *as far as* and they may be joined by the bond of divine and of proper love.

[n: (ID., ubi supra. )] The figure of both sanctuaries can be distinguished thus, etc., *as far as* he depicts with a wonderful variety of figures.

*Of twisted fine linen, and of hyacinth and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, diversified. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 2.)]* In these four colours of the curtains, etc., *as far as* the purple, of a bloody colour and dyed with the blood of shellfish, figures hearts devoted to God and ready to die for God.

VERS. 2.-- *The length of one curtain shall have twenty-eight cubits, the breadth four,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] [0270D] If from one up to seven thou number all the numbers in order, by a full order, *as far as* that through faith and good works it may tend toward rest.

*Of one measure,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Although the curtains differed by a varying embroidery, yet they were all tempered to one measure of length and breadth, because although the elect have differing gifts, yet there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all.

[n: (ID., ubi supra. )] Josephus relates, etc., *as far as* the tabernacle is adorned as it were by the one connecting of ten curtains.

VERS. 4.-- *Loops of hyacinth in the sides,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] By loops of hyacinth the curtains are coupled to one another, [0271A] etc., *as far as* and they trust that they shall abide in it for ever.

[n: (BEDA, ibid.)] It was commanded also that fringes should be made at the corners of the cloaks, etc., *as far as* being gathered from the four winds, we shall be joined in an indivisible fellowship.

VERS. 5.-- *Fifty each,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] In the fiftieth year, etc., *as far as* and in the receiving of which there is truly rest and joy, it is rightly figured.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The curtains have fifty loops, because it is brought about by the gift of the Holy Spirit that the elect are coupled to one another in the fellowship of peace, which is the bond of perfection: and the hope also and the memory of that fellowship and peace to come, which is had in this life, makes those who are separated by times or by places to be of one accord in the same piety.

[0271B] [n: (ID., ibid.)] The curtains have loops on either part, etc., *as far as* when the just are leagued together by a harmonious quality of virtues.

*Thou shalt make also fifty rings. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* This is more fully explained when it is said, etc., *as far as* nay rather, that out of all the elect the Church of Christ may be perfected.

VERS. 7.-- *Thou shalt make also tent-cloths,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] This is found thus in what follows: *He made also eleven tent-cloths of goats' hair,* etc. The tent-cloths, with which the tabernacle is covered, etc., *as far as* while like tent-cloths they bear the storms without.

The tent-cloths of haircloth signify the coarse minds of men, which by the hidden judgment of God are preferred, however harshly, because they fear not to serve temporal cares, that they may [0271C] bear the winds and rains of temptations.

*Thou shalt make also tent-cloths,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Haircloth belongs to penitents, etc., *as far as* yet how great is the perfection of their hearts is declared when it is said: *The length of one tent-cloth,* etc.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The tent-cloths of haircloth, or of goats' hair, etc., *as far as* nor do they receive the apostolic grace.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 108 in Exod.)] There are eleven hairy veils, etc., *as far as and whose sins are covered.*

*For a covering,* namely lest the inner things, tender and bright, be troubled by any adversity whatever; for otherwise neither does the fine linen shine, nor the scarlet glitter, nor is the hyacinth adorned with its blue colour: those therefore who advance in the bosom of the Church [0271D] ought not to despise their superiors, if they see them taken up with outward things.

VERS. 8.-- *The length of one tent-cloth. [n: (BEDA, lib. II de Tabernac., cap. 3, tom. II.)]* The length has the number ten, etc., *as far as* who nevertheless, according to the measure of human perfection, are exalted among men.

*The measure shall be equal. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Because there is one faith in which the whole Church is saved, etc., *as far as* where the solid firmness of a wall was wanting.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Consider also the measure of the curtains, etc., *as far as* So much for the curtains.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The tent-cloth has thirty cubits of length, etc., *as far as* in that they are leaders of the flocks that follow their lords.

[0272A]VERS. 9.-- *The sixth tent-cloth in the front.* Mystically, however, in the front of the roof the sixth tent-cloth is doubled, when all who enter the holy Church are so initiated by faith and by the sacrament of the Lord's passion that they understand that they must always live by the imitation of it as well. For as it were at the entrance the sixth tent-cloth is doubled, that we may both obtain the sacraments of the Lord's passion and be instructed by his examples. Of the sacraments Peter says: *Who hath regenerated us unto a lively hope, by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.* And he says also of the imitation of the passion: *Christ therefore having suffered in the flesh, be you also armed with the same thought.*

VERS. 10.-- *Thou shalt make also fifty loops in the edge of one tent-cloth. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* As we have expounded these things above concerning the curtains, etc., *as far as* so much the more does he seek the help of his neighbour, [0272B] whereby he may be strengthened.

VERS. 11.-- *Of brass, wherewith the loops may be joined, that of all there may be made one covering,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Now the buckles are rightly of brass, made, that is, of a sounding metal, because the humble conscience of the just has a great voice with God. Whence the poor man of David, when he was in anguish and was pouring out his prayer not into the ears of men but in the sight of God: *O Lord,* (he says) *hear my prayer, and let my cry come to thee.*

VERS. 12.-- *But that which shall remain over,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] That these things may be more fully understood, etc., *as far as* ten again of descent along the boards of the eastern wall.

VERS. 13.-- *And a cubit.* Because the tent-cloths passed beyond the curtains by one cubit [0272C] on the southern side of the house, and by another on the northern, and therefore reached to the ground, since these had thirty cubits of length and those two less.

VERS. 14.-- *Thou shalt make also a covering.* [n: (STRAB.)] The first covering was that of the curtains of fine linen, purple and scarlet; the second that of the eleven tent-cloths; the third of the reddened skins of rams; the last was of hyacinth-coloured skins. Now the curtains so covered that they came down at the sides, yet did not reach the ground; but the tent-cloths covered both roof and sides, and did reach the ground. But the reddened or violet skins covered the roof only, nor did they slope down to the other parts.

*Of skins,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid., cap. 4.)] The rams are [0272D] the doctors, the leaders of the Lord's flock. Whence: *Bring to the Lord, O ye children of God, bring,* etc. As if to say: O angels, appointed to this office, bring to the Lord into the heavens the imitators of the apostles. Hence also the sixth station of the people that went out of Egypt is named helin, that is, rams, in which there were twelve fountains and seventy palm trees, that so by name and by kind it might hold the figure of the apostles.

*Reddened. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The skins of rams are reddened for covering the roof of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* lest they fail amid oppressions, they fortify

*Of violet skins. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The hyacinth is of a heavenly colour, etc., *as far as* that is, imitating the life of heaven.

VERS. 15.-- *Of setim wood. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* These boards [0273A] signify the apostles and their successors, through whose discourse the Church was enlarged, etc., *as far as* nor was the Hebrew name translated, because this wood is scarcely found among other peoples.

VERS. 16.-- *Every one shall have ten cubits in length, in breadth a cubit and a half. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* The length of the boards is the height, which had ten cubits, etc., *as far as: and I will show him my salvation [n: (Psal. XC)]*.

VERS. 17.-- *In the sides. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* It is mortised in the sides of the boards, etc., *as far as* we receive in the bosom of love, and believe that we are received by them.

VERS. 18.-- *Of which twenty shall be on the south side. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 6.)]* How great the length of the tabernacle was, etc., *as far as* lest anyone think that virtues [0273B] without work suffice him.

VERS. 19.-- *For which thou shalt cast forty sockets of silver,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The bases by which the boards were held up are the words and the books of the law and of the prophets, by which the apostles and evangelists proved that the things they willed to write and to preach were true and divine. Whence: *Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by the prophets.* And elsewhere: *Now all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled [n: (Matth. XXI)]*. [var: Vulg. these words stand at Mt 26:56; the address Migne prints points to Mt 21:4, which reads *ut adimpleretur quod dictum est per prophetam dicentem*] And Peter says: *We have the more firm prophetical word [n: (II Petr. I)]*.

[n: (BED., GREG.)] By the silver bases of the boards the order of the prophets is signified: who, when they first spoke of the Lord's incarnation, rose as it were as bases from the foundation, and sustained the weights of the fabric set above them, [0273C] and they sustain the boards, that is, the apostolic preaching spread abroad in the world, as firm and molten bases: because the life of the apostles is instructed by their preaching, and is made solid by their authority. Whence two bases joined together are set under each board: because while the prophets agree in their words concerning the incarnation of Christ, they build up the preachers that follow, so that, in the point where they do not differ among themselves, they may fix those others the more strongly. They are commanded to be cast of silver. For the brightness of silver is preserved by use, and without use turns to blackness; but the sayings of the prophets, before the coming of Christ, were not in the use of spiritual understanding, since they could not be beheld through their obscurity, and therefore they remained as it were black: but after Christ, coming, wiped them before our eyes with the hand of his incarnation, [0273D] whatever of light lay hidden in them shone forth, and he gave the understanding of the preceding fathers into use, because he expounded the words by the things.

[n: (BEDA.)] Rightly are two bases set under each board, that the consent of the prophetic attestation in all the things which the apostles said may be shown. Or they are put beneath, two by two, at the two corners, that, the corners being well propped, the whole board may be able to stand upright: because the beginning of all apostolic and evangelical discourse is prefigured in the prophetic books, and the end of the whole life of the apostles and of their successors, from the beginning of faith unto the end of the present life, is inserted in the mystical boards of the old testament.

VERS. 20.-- *On the second side also.* The southern side, which looks toward the south wind, signifies the ancient people of God, [0274A] which, long ago receiving the light of the knowledge of the law, glowed with the love of God. The second side, which looks toward the North, signifies the Gentiles, who until the time of the incarnation were torpid in the darkness and cold of unbelief; of whose calling it is said: *I will say to the North: Give up; and to the South: Keep not back [n: (Isa. XLIII)]*. As if to say: I will say to the people of the Gentiles, long benumbed without faith: Let there come of thy sons to the faith of my confession and of my love. Yea and to the people of Israel, which already enjoys the light of my knowledge: Keep not back the Gentiles from being received into the lot of election.

*Twenty boards.* [n: (BEDA.)] Now the board on either side was of one number, and of one measure, and of one making: because one and the same faith, hope and charity is preached to either people through the apostles, and to the promised land [0274B] of the heavenly kingdom either people is called. Of both they receive a general precept: *Going into the whole world, preach the Gospel to every creature [n: (Marc. XVI)]*, that is, to uncircumcision and to circumcision. And without any difference it is subjoined: *He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.*

VERS. 21.-- *Two sockets.* A base is a foundation, from the Greek βασεία, that is, I found. By the bases the prophets are signified, upon whose authority the apostles and all doctors lean. And they are called two because of the concord of the prophets, who all thought one thing.

## CHAPTER XXVI. (cont.)

VERS. 22.-- *Toward the west,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] The western quarter, etc., *as far as* they are to remain in the Church unto the end of the world.

[0274C] *But toward the western quarter,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Rightly is the tabernacle completed in the western quarter, etc., *as far as* but also for the evils from which he delivered them.

[n: (ID.)] Rightly does the western quarter, which is said to look toward the sea, consist of six boards: because in the number six the consummation of a good work is marked; because in it the Lord consummated the adorning of the world; in it he created man in the beginning; in it he restored the human race by his passion. Or because there are six ages of the world, in which we must be perfected by good works, that we may come to the eternal glory and to the glory of the resurrection.

VERS. 23.-- *And again two others.* [n: (ID.)] That again two other boards, besides the first six, are commanded to be raised up at the corner behind the back of the tabernacle, [0274D] which receive the wall coming from the eastern quarter and are joined to the wall of the western quarter, pertains to the reward of the life to come, which after the labours and the times of one life is secure, or made secure, being divided into a sabbath-rest, that is, the rest of souls after they are released from bodies, and the glory of the resurrection common to either people, to be ended by no end.

VERS. 24.-- *And they shall be joined to one another. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* [var: Vulg. Ex 26:24 *Eruntque conjunctae a deorsum usque sursum*, "and they shall be joined together from beneath unto the top"; Migne's *sibi* makes the joining mutual] Because the whole life of the elect tends by one faith and charity toward the things of heaven, and comes to the one end of the divine vision, and in one voice of right doctrine all the discourse of the holy preachers agrees. For the framing of the boards would fall apart from one another, if what one prophet or Apostle had said, another denied

[0275A] *And to the two boards also,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)] The corner boards are joined in all things to the boards of the walls, etc., *as far as* the prophets foretold with a consonant voice that these things should be.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] Here the measure of the bases is not stated, etc., *as far as* but that it might be kept unmoved in secure quiet.

*Thou shalt make also bars of wood,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 7.)] The five bars which hold together the boards of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* nor did he lay upon them other things than the commandments of the law.

VERS. 29.-- *The boards themselves also thou shalt overlay with gold [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The gilded boards of the tabernacle shine forth, etc., *as far as* but they gather also the light of the supernal recompense.

*Which thou shalt cover with plates. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The bars are covered with plates of gold, etc., *as far as* when the spiritual [0275B] understanding is shown full of mysteries.

VERS. 30.-- *Thou shalt set up the tabernacle. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The pattern of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* they compose both their work and their mind.

VERS. 31.-- *Thou shalt make also a veil. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 8)]*. This agrees, even according to the letter, with the beauty of the heavenly vision. For if thou consider the comeliness and the flames of the stars, the manifold appearance of the clouds and the rainbow itself, drawing out a thousand and diverse colours when the sun is turned away, thou shalt mark in heaven many more and fairer paintings than in the veil of the tabernacle.

*Thou shalt make also a veil,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] This veil, *as far as* that he may appear before the face of God for us.

*Thou shalt make also a veil of hyacinth and purple and scarlet twice dyed. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Thus far concerning the southern wall, [0275C] etc., *as far as* colours when the sun is turned away.

VERS. 32.-- *Which thou shalt hang before four,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Now the four pillars, etc., *as far as* this shall not be there where there is nothing at all of evil.

*Which indeed shall be gilded. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The pillars before which the veil is hung are gilded, because the powers of the angels, placed within the veil of heaven, are clothed with the grace of the highest brightness. They have heads of gold, because they have the mind by which they are ruled made bright by the presence of divine knowledge and vision.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The pillars have bases of silver, etc., *as far as* the brightness of words is shown by the silver.

[n: (GREG., Moral. lib. XXVIII, cap. 6)]. He commands the bases of the four pillars to be of silver, etc., *as far as* they carry the sayings of the evangelists by mouth and by work.

[0275D]VERS. 33.-- *And the veil shall be inserted,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] Because it was in the eternal counsel of the Godhead, etc., *as far as: in the day of judgment.*

*Within which thou shalt put the ark of the testimony,* etc. Within this veil the ark of the testament was placed, because Christ, conscious of the Father's secrets, after his passion and resurrection, ascending the heaven of heavens, sits at the right hand of the Father.

*They shall be divided.* Because the Church, which consists of angels and of men, partly sojourns in the lowest places, partly reigns in the highest, has her citizens still separated one from another, the veil of heaven parting them.

VERS. 35.-- *And the table without the veil,* etc. [n: (ID. ibid.)] The table and the candlestick of the tabernacle signify the temporal [0276A] benefits of God, etc., *as far as* bearing witness to him.

VERS. 36.-- *Thou shalt make also a hanging,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 9)]. The narrative concerning the veil being set forth, etc., *as far as* because it rejoiced in the continence of flesh and of mind.

[n: (ID.)] According to the letter the tabernacle was a house consecrated to God, etc., *as far as* of breadth fifty.

VERS. 37.-- *And five pillars. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The pillars by which the hanging is suspended, etc., *as far as* the evangelical Scripture not yet laid open.

*Of setim wood. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The pillars of wood, etc., *as far as: but Jesus Christ.*

*The heads whereof shall be of gold,* etc., [n: (ID., ibid.)] The golden heads signify Christ, etc., *as far as* it is built up of the souls of the elect [0276B] that lack corruption.

## CHAPTER XXVII.

VERS 1.-- *Thou shalt make also an altar of wood. [n: (BED., de Tabernac., lib. II, cap. 11, tom. II.)]* Namely because clean and uncorrupted ought those hearts to be in which the Holy Spirit dwells.

*And three cubits. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Such, well nigh, is the stature of a man, etc., *as far as* it does not pertain to the altar.

VERS. 2.-- *And the horns,* etc. [n: (ID., Ibid.)] The altar of holocaust has four corners, etc., *as far as* it abides inviolable, nay rather the stronger.

VERS. 3.-- *And thou shalt make for the uses thereof cauldrons. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The divers vessels of the altar, etc., *as far as* charity, never to be quenched, shall burn.

[0276C] *And tongs. [n: (ID., Ibid.)]* The tongs are the preachers, etc., *as far as* they bid also to shine.

*And fleshhooks, and firepans,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The fleshhooks, which in Greek are called κρεάγραι, etc., *as far as* they should go beyond the measure of our capacity.

*Receptacles of fire.* For this were they appointed, that by them the holy fire might be carried from the altar of holocaust to the altar of incense, evening and morning, for the setting on of the incense; because the teachers carry fire as it were from the altar of holocausts to the altar of incense, when by teaching they advance their hearers from virtue to virtue, and, as their merits grow, to higher things and to the more inward secrets of the divine vision. And they who imitate the hearts of their neighbours fervent with piety become receptacles of fires, because the flame of the heavenly sacrifice, [0276D] which they behold in their brethren's minds, they are busy to kindle in their own.

VERS. 4.-- *And a gridiron after the manner,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 18.)] The whole altar was commanded to be made hollow, etc., *as far as* we think they learned it from the teachers of the Jews.

VERS. 5.-- *Beneath the hearth,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The altar has a hearth, etc., *as far as* they may be brought to the end of perfection.

[n: (ID.)] If it moves anyone according to the letter, etc., *as far as* it may be found the cleaner.

VERS. 6.-- *Thou shalt make also bars.* The teachers, namely, who may call the Jewry and the Gentile world into one grace of faith with harmonious mouth and work. Or, on either side of the altar [0277A] there shall be bars for carrying it, when the preachers shall teach the minds of the faithful to hold the constancy of the virtues in prosperity and in adversity.

VERS. 8.-- *As to thee [sic: Sicuttibi] in the mount. [n: (BEDA, ibid.)]* All the things which for us mystically, etc., *as far as* we are bidden always to do.

VERS. 9.-- *Thou shalt make also a court. [n: (ID., ubi supra, cap. 13.)]* As the Holy of holies, etc., *as far as* but the memory of it is rooted out from the inmost heart.

*A hundred cubits. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* It is agreed that the number of a hundred, etc., *as far as* and they may take up the continence of things temporal.

VERS. 10.-- *And twenty pillars. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The pillars on which the hangings are hung, etc., *as far as* because they sound forth nothing other than the word of God.

[0277B] *With bases,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] By the bases of the pillars, etc., *as far as* they shall never lack the fruit of a reward.

*Of silver.* [n: (ID.)] The heads not silvered over, but wholly of silver: because the teachers wholly subject themselves to the divine Scripture, and by meditating and preaching the divine words make over to them soul and body. For as the members cannot live without the head, so they, accounting the divine oracles their own life, never cease to bear these by obeying, and to exalt themselves by humbling themselves.

VERS. 11.-- *In like manner also on the side. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The same things are repeated concerning the side of the North, etc., *as far as* they are commanded to be made on one side of the tabernacle.

VERS. 12.-- *But in the breadth,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The breadth of the court which looks toward the setting of the sun, *as far [0277C] as* ten pillars lift up and bear it.

VERS. 13.-- *In that breadth also of the court. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The breadth of the court looking toward the east, etc., *as far as: and the life of the world to come.*

*Fifty cubits shall be.* [n: (ID.)] By the fifty cubits of the eastern side are signified in general the beginnings of them that believe, because they are kept in the remission of sins and in the hope of future blessedness; and the particular distinction of these is subjoined, which, being well considered, is referred to the same end. For there follows.

VERS. 14.-- *In which there shall be hangings of fifteen cubits allotted to one side, and three pillars,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] For fifteen, etc., *as far as* and to keep the body without complaint unto the day of the Lord.

VERS. 16.-- *And it shall have pillars,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] [0277D] In the entrance of the court there are four pillars, etc., *as far as* they spend all the senses of the body in the obedience of charity.

*Of hyacinth,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Rightly in this entrance of the court of the hangings, etc., *as far as* they adorn the hanging woven with a fair variety of colours.

VERS. 17.-- *All the pillars,* etc. [n: (ID.)] What he had said he inculcates the more diligently, that he may earnestly admonish the reader that none can be reckoned among the teachers of truth, that is, the pillars of the heavenly court, who shall not have learned to have, after the likeness of brass, an unconquered patience amid adversities; unless he shall have adorned himself by fencing himself about on every side, as with plates of silver, with the observance and the announcing of heavenly words; unless he shall have put himself under the divine [0278A] precepts by every subjection, as under a head of silver, and shall have made himself steadfast in the fear of God as upon a base of brass.

VERS. 18.-- *In length,* etc. [n: (ID.)] A hundred cubits of length, etc., *as far as* and it shall be made of twisted fine linen, etc.

VERS. 19.-- *All the vessels,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] These vessels are men in the Church, etc., *as far as the courts of the Lord.*

VERS. 20.-- *Command the children of Israel. [n: (ID., lib. III de Tabern., cap. 1, tom. II.)]* All the adornment of the tabernacle being disposed, etc., *as far as* it may show the light of good action.

*Of the trees of the olives. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* It is to be noted that the children of Israel are bidden to offer oil, etc., *as far as* for [0278B] the burning of the incense of prayers.

VERS. 21.-- *And they shall set. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* For it belongs not to all to preach the mysteries of the faith to the people, etc., *as far as* to such as James says: *Be ye not many masters, my brethren,* etc. [n: (Jac. III)].

*It shall be perpetual,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] This clause, like those which to the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* since God is all in all.

## CHAPTER XXVIII.

VERS. 1.-- *Take also unto thee,* etc. [n: (BEDA, lib. III de Tabernac., cap. 1, tom. II.)] How the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* and all the masters of the Church.

[n: (ID.)] *Take also,* etc. The making of the tabernacle being described, [0278C] etc., *as far as* they are consumed by the fire of the vengeance from above.

VERS. 2.-- *And thou shalt make a holy vesture. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The holy vestments of Aaron, etc., *as far as* and a dispenser of the word of God.

VERS. 4.-- *And these. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* How each of these was made, etc., *as far as* they ought to be excellent and glorious to the sight of the inward judge.

[n: (GREG. Past., lib. II, cap. 3, tom. III.)] The priest is bidden on either shoulder, etc., *as far as* as in the diverse fashion of the superhumeral the twisted fine linen shines white.

VERS. 6.-- *And they shall make the superhumeral. [n: (BED., lib. III de Tabernac., cap. 4.)]* Because on the shoulders we bear burdens, etc., *as far as* when through abstinence the flesh [0278D] is wearied.

*And scarlet twice dyed, and twisted fine linen, of embroidered work. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The scarlet shines with the appearance of fire, etc., *as far as* showing the scarlet in his own habit.

VERS. 7.-- *It shall have two edges joined at the top on both sides, that they may be closed into one. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Of this it is said in what follows, etc., *as far as* than that we seek the rewards of the invisible life.

VERS. 8.-- *The very texture also and all the variety of the work shall be of gold and hyacinth and purple, and scarlet twice dyed, and twisted fine linen. And thou shalt take. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Not gold in one part, etc., *as far as* the priest ought to be bright.

VERS. 9.-- *Two stones,* etc. That the priest may imitate the faith [0279A] and life of the patriarchs, and be mindful of the twelve tribes in his sacrifices and prayers, and that the people, beholding, may not stray from the merits of the patriarchs.

VERS. 11.-- *Set in gold,* etc. [n: (BED., ibid.)] Fitly are the stones bidden to be set in gold and to be encompassed about, etc., *as far as* they may be able to slip away from the keeping of the mind.

VERS. 12.-- *And Aaron shall bear their names before the Lord upon both shoulders for a memorial.* Because the priest, diligently weighing at every hour the life of the saints that went before, ought in adversity and in prosperity to be fortified with the ornament of the virtues, so that, walking by the arms of justice on the right hand and on the left, he may be bent aside on no side of the lowest delight.

[n: (BED. ibid.)] For three causes the names of Aaron, etc., [0279B] *as far as* or may set forth the examples of the fathers which they are to follow.

VERS. 13, 14.-- *Thou shalt make also hooks of gold, and two little chains of purest gold, linked one to another, which thou shalt put into the hooks. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* These hooks were in the topmost corners, etc., *as far as* they are to be knit together by charity and by good intention.

[n: (GREG., Past., part. II, cap. 2, tom. III.)] It is commanded that upon Aaron's breast the rational of judgment be fastened with binding fillets, etc., *as far as* subjects are not ruled without great fear.

VERS. 15.-- *Thou shalt make also the rational of judgment with work,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 5.)] As in the superhumeral the perfection of works, etc., *as far as* they may study earnestly to think what befits them.

[0279C]VERS. 16.-- *Double. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The rational was made, etc., *as far as* that he may lay hold of the prize of the supernal vocation of God.

VERS. 17.-- *And thou shalt set in it. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* This setting of divers gems in the rational, etc., *as far as* that they too may deserve to be made members of the highest priest.

[n: (ID.)] We can in the varied comeliness of the stones, etc., *as far as* it profits him nothing.

VERS. 19.-- *The onyx.* [n: (ID.)] Rightly moreover the two onyx stones, etc., *as far as* he himself may advance to better things.

VERS. 22.-- *Thou shalt make in the rational,* etc. [n: (ID.)] The order of the work, etc., *as far as* and they would be moved apart one from another.

[n: (ID., ibid.)] The superhumeral the consummation of good [0279D] works, etc., *as far as* if he does not, hastening, hold it in with the hooks of good action.

[n: (ID.)] That the superhumeral was drawn tight with a belt, etc., *as far as* through the working of the virtues.

VERS. 28.-- *A hyacinth fillet,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The hyacinth fillets by which both habits of the priest are coupled are the bindings of heavenly desire, which, knit into the golden rings, draw the superhumeral together with the rational, when, the light of the everlasting fatherland being known, we sigh after that glory, and, that we may deserve to enter in, are earnest to serve in the tabernacle of the present Church with concordant faith, and life, and work, and profession.

VERS. 29.-- *And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the rational of judgment upon,* etc. The names of the children [0280A] of Israel Aaron bears upon his breast as a memorial before the Lord for ever, when the prelate never intermits the care of his subjects, but strengthens their life by consoling, rebuking, exhorting, and is busy to commend it to the Lord to be guarded with frequent prayers.

[n: (GREG., lib. XXVIII Moral., cap. 9.)] The priest, when he enters the tabernacle, is bidden to bear on his breast twelve stones graven with the names of the children of Israel: this is our Redeemer, who, offering himself a sacrifice for us, while he had strong preachers at the beginning, bore twelve stones under the head, in the first part of his body.

It behoves the priest to bear the memory of the fathers on his breast, chiefly when he ministers at the altar, that in the ministry which is [0280B] the more sacred he may the more skilfully adorn himself with his whole study, with all the industry of mind and of body, looking upon the examples of the saints, that as their earnest imitator he may present himself fitted to the divine gaze.

VERS. 30.-- *And thou shalt put in the rational of judgment,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] That the priest, namely, may remember, etc., *as far as* in that which he dispenses in God's stead.

*And thou shalt put in the rational,* etc. [n: (AUG., Quaest. 117 in Exod.)] In what thing or metal the doctrine and the truth are set upon the rational, etc., *as far as* set upon the λογίον.

VERS. 31.-- *Thou shalt make also a tunic,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra. )] The priest is clothed with a tunic reaching to the feet, wholly of hyacinth, etc., *as far as* it is rightly added:

VERS. 32.-- *In the midst whereof above there shall be a head-opening [0280C] and a woven border round about it: as it is wont to be made,* etc. The hyacinth tunic has a most firm head-opening, and a border woven out of itself, lest it be easily rent, when the beginning of a good work, propped by the strong root of the fear of the Lord, is proved to be fortified also against all the snares of the ancient enemy. Such a border clothes and adorns the priest's neck round about, when it affords to the ruler confidence in preaching heavenly things: this, that he has not only lived rightly in the course of his life, but has also begun his beginning from rectitude, like Samuel, Jeremias, John, who from their very infancy, filled with spiritual grace, were also set apart in the order of teachers. For because the voice is in the neck, by the neck is expressed the practice of right speaking, *as it is wont to be done in the outermost parts of garments:* as [0280D] by the garments the works, so by the outermost parts of the garments the consummation of the works is figured. Or, the outermost parts of the garments are our last anxieties, in which the faithful, when they are compelled to end their life, strive the more intently to purge themselves of every stain of evils, taking heed with fear and trembling lest, being brought before the strict judge, they be cast out into the outer darkness for the filthy habit of vices, but may appear clothed, as the elect of God, with bowels of mercy, benignity, modesty, patience and charity, which is the bond of perfection [n: (Coloss. III)]. The hyacinth tunic, therefore, has a border woven in the head-opening, as it is wont to be made in the outermost parts of garments: when an excellent teacher begins the work of the virtues from so great a perfection as another scarcely at any time arrives at by [0281A] long labour; and when with so great fear of service he walks at every hour with his God, as another, about to die and to enter upon the last judgment, scarcely suffices to have. But because the whole perfection of the priest consists in works and in the doctrine of truth, according to that: *Jesus began to do and to teach [n: (Act. I)]*, rightly is it subjoined: *And beneath at the feet of the same tunic [n: (Exod. XXVIII)]*.

*Thou shalt make also a tunic,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] The tunic is called of the superhumeral, etc., *as far as* that from the head even to the feet it ought to be covered by the grace of the virtues.

VERS. 33.-- *And beneath,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. I Regist., c. 29.)] When the ruler prepares himself to speak, etc., *as far as* you may hold the unity of the faith with wary observance.

[n: (BEDA, ut supra. )] Beneath at the feet of the tunic there are made, [0281B] etc., *as far as* they disclose by the distinct sound of speech.

[n: (ID.)] We can understand in the twelvefold number of the gems of the rational, etc., *as far as* Of the same year David also says: *Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness [n: (Psal. LXIV)]*.

[n: (ID.)] Or as was said above, etc., *as far as* in the splendour of divers virtues.

VERS. 35.-- *That it may be heard,* etc. [n: (GREG., ubi supra. )] The priest going in or coming back, etc., *as far as* the very works of the priest may cry out.

[n: (BED., ubi supra. )] But if we will attend to the words of Josephus, etc., *as far as* it might be preached to the parts of the foursquare world.

VERS. 36.-- *Thou shalt make also a plate,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., c. 7.)] The golden plate on the forehead of the high priest, etc., *as far as* that [0281C] we may confess that she has risen again.

*Holy to the Lord,* etc. [n: (ID.)] That which is bidden to be graven on the plate, etc., *as far as* which he repaired by his passion.

[n: (ID.)] We bear on the forehead the Holy of the Lord graven in gold, etc., *as far as* who ought to show to all an example of virtue.

VERS. 37.-- *And thou shalt tie it.* The plate which contains the Holy of the Lord is tied with a hyacinth fillet to the tiara of the high priest, when by the hope of heavenly rewards, which the hyacinth signifies, we are strengthened in faith, and keep the more closely undefiled the mysteries of our redemption, or the image and likeness of our maker and redeemer, the more we have known that there is no other way of salvation. Of the tiara it shall be said in its own place. [0281D]

VERS. 38.-- *And Aaron shall bear.* The priest bears, namely, the iniquities in the gifts and offerings which the children of Israel have offered and sanctified to the Lord: when for the fruits of worthy penance, that is, for alms and the other works of justice which the penitent do, he absolves them from the guilt of their crimes. These things indeed the divine ordinance figured in the habit of the high priest as to be so performed, and taught manifestly in words. But, alas for the grief! certain men receive offerings, nay rather exact them, and do not carry away nor chastise the iniquities of the people, when for this alone ought they to take carnal things, because they minister spiritual ones. But because he can labour effectually for his subjects, and preach, and beseech the Lord, whose [0282A] mind is always furnished with the memory of the divine name, it is fitly subjoined: And the plate shall be always on his forehead, etc.

*And the plate shall be,* etc. [n: (BED., ubi supra, cap. 8.)] If the plate written with the name of God shall have been always on Aaron's forehead, etc., *as far as* they hasten to earn.

VERS. 39.-- *And thou shalt gird the tunic. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Why the linen one is called drawn tight, etc., *as far as* when it is said: *And thou shalt make a tiara of fine linen,* etc.

[n: (BED., ibid.)] In what manner this was made, etc., *as far as* it may render it harsh and hard to the hearers.

*And the tiara,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The tiara, which is called cidaris and mitre, etc., *as far as* he might accomplish by the fear of God.

[n: (ID.)] Of the making of the belt, etc., *as far as* and the other garments, when it is said:

[0282B]VERS. 40.-- *But for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunics,* etc. [n: (Ibid.)] But it must be said of the belt of the high priest, etc., *as far as* and faith the girdle of his reins.

*Thou shalt prepare tunics,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The priests have linen tunics, etc., *as far as* and the smell may be worthily kept for God.

## CHAPTER XXVIII. (cont.)

VERS. 41.-- *And thou shalt vest with these,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 9.)] With all these were Aaron and his sons to be vested, but distinctly, so that he indeed should use all of them; but the sons the last three, which are properly ascribed to them, when it is said: *But for the sons of Aaron thou shalt prepare linen tunics,* etc.

[n: (ID.)] The breeches, which are made for the covering of the shame of the body or of the flesh, etc., *as far as* with the breeches, [0282C] namely, the linen drawn tight, the girdle, and the tiara.

## CHAPTER XXIX.

VERS. 1.-- *But this also thou shalt do,* etc. [n: (BEDA, ubi supra. )] Thus far of what sort the habit of Aaron and of his sons ought to be, etc., *as far as* they show figuratively.

*Take a calf.* [n: (STRAB.)] Whosoever is high priest or priest ought to offer a bullock, that is, firmly to believe and to imitate the passion of Christ; and two rams, that he may believe that the same Christ consists of body and soul; and unleavened loaves, that is, cleanness of life; and sprinkled with oil, that among all the virtues he may not neglect the works of mercy, or, not of himself, but of the gift of grace, may believe that he has them.

VERS. 2.-- *And a wafer.* [n: (BEDA, ubi supra. )] A wafer [0282D] sprinkled with oil we offer to the Lord for our consecration, when all the things which we do grow fat through the inward grace of the Spirit in the devotion of the heart. Cakes anointed with oil, when we show without all doubt that the things we do are spiritual, for an example of living; by which oblations our consecration is perfected, while through good works and pure thoughts we acquire for ourselves, by God's gift, the merit of holiness.

*And when thou hast washed the father,* etc. [n: (ID.)] They are bidden first to be washed, then to be adorned with vestments, because whosoever undertakes the office of the priesthood ought to wash himself with the wave of tears, that he may approach worthy to the divine ministry.

[0283A] [n: (BEDA.)] There might be understood in this washing the baptism of the sacred font, if it followed that one chosen to the priesthood should then first be washed with the water of baptism unto the remission of sins, and if the Apostle did not contradict, saying: *Not a neophyte, lifted up into pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil [n: (I Tim. III)]*. [var: Vulg. 1Tim 3:6 *Non neophytum: ne in superbiam elatus, in judicium incidat diaboli*, "Not a neophyte: lest, being lifted up with pride, he fall into the judgment of the devil"; Migne prints no *ne*, so the purpose clause has lost its conjunction]

VERS. 5.-- *Thou shalt clothe Aaron,* etc. [n: (ID.)] It is to be noted that whereas in Exodus Aaron is asserted to be clothed with eight vestments, etc., *as far as* because he came in the name of the Father, saying: *I am in the Father and the Father is in me: and he that sees me, sees the Father also [n: (Joan. IV)]*. [var: Vulg. Jn 14:10-11 *ego in Patre, et Pater in me est* joined to Jn 14:9 *qui videt me, videt et Patrem*; Migne's own citation names Joan. IV]

VERS. 9.-- *After that,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 25 in Exod.)] Another reading, etc., *as far as* to be sanctified by Moses.

VERS. 10.-- *Thou shalt bring near,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 126.)] [0283B] Another reading, etc., *as far as* upon the calf to be immolated.

VERS. 18.-- *It is an oblation to the Lord.* [n: (AUG.)] An odour of sweetness to the Lord, etc., *as far as* draws in the odour with bodily nostrils.

VERS. 22.-- *And the right shoulder. [n: (GREG., Past., part. II, c. 3.)]* The priest by the divine law, etc., *as far as* he may invite to lofty things by the shoulder of work.

VERS. 30.-- *And he that shall enter in. [n: (AUG., quaest. 129.)]* How then does he say that it is proper to this one alone, etc., *as far as* and on both sides that would be kept which is written: *Mercy exalteth itself above judgment [n: (Jac. II)]*.

## CHAPTER XXX.

VERS. 1.-- *Thou shalt make also an altar,* etc. *(BEDA, ubi [0283C] snpra, cap. 11.)* The commands of the consecration being fulfilled, etc., *as far as* they draw near even in the body.

*An altar. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Fitly also the altar of incense, by as much as it excelled in the brightness of its metal, by so much was it less in size: for the holier, the fewer.

*Of setim wood. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Fitly of setim wood, like to the white thorn and incorruptible, etc., *as far as* it quickens with the varied grace of gifts.

VERS. 2.-- *Having a cubit. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Of one cubit is the length of the altar and the breadth, etc., *as far as* he may spend the office of piety.

*Foursquare. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* Rightly the altar of incense, etc., *as far as* everlasting gladness shall be theirs.

*Horns. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The horns signify the eminence of faith and [0283D] of virtue, etc., *as far as* having the appearance of piety, they deny the power thereof.

VERS. 3.-- *And thou shalt overlay it,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Fitly moreover it with brass, etc., *as far as* with how great sweetness of God they are refreshed in the hiding of his face.

*Both the gridiron,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Well the gridiron of the altar, etc., *as far as* it is rightly subjoined:

*Thou shalt make also to it a crown,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The altar of incense has a crown round about: in those who are lesser in merits, and dare not openly protest that the reward of the good fight and of servitude and of faith is laid up for them: yet they do all things with the intention of pleasing God well, but with the hope of receiving the reward.

VERS. 4.-- *And two rings,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] There can [0284A] be taken in these rings the four books of the Gospel, etc., *as far as* the things that follow show: *And thou shalt set the altar,* etc.

VERS. 7.-- *And he shall burn incense,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 12.)] Incense, or thymiama, etc., *as far as* let us render thanks.

[n: (ID.)] *And he shall burn incense,* etc. In the morning, the sun being risen, all things clearly, etc., *as far as* in a dark place.

*In the morning when he shall dress. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* In the morning Aaron the incense, etc., *as far as* and they delight to have leisure for prayers.

VERS. 9.-- *You shall not offer. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* In what follows, etc., *as far as* they water their couch every night.

[n: (ID.)] We can interpret these altars, etc., [0284B] *as far as* [sic: *uque ad*] it can be taken.

VERS. 10.-- *And he shall pray,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Because Christ our priest, etc., *as far as* he rightly subjoins:

*And he shall appease,* etc. [n: (ID.)] Aaron appeases upon the altar of incense, etc., *as far as* Isaac and Israel, etc.

VERS. 11.-- *And the Lord spoke,* etc. The altar of incense being described, there remains the description of the brazen laver, in which the priests about to enter the tabernacle should wash their hands and feet; but one command is set before it.

VERS. 12.-- *When thou shalt take. [n: (BEDA, ubi supra, cap. 13.)]* Of this precept David was forgetful, etc., *as far as* his own riches.

VERS. 13.-- *Half a sicle. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* That is, ten obols, etc., *as far as* it can by no [0284C] disturbance of the unbelieving be corrupted.

VERS. 14.-- *He that is counted in the number,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] The number twenty, etc., *as far as* awaits in heaven.

VERS. 15.-- *The rich man shall not add,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] Because whether a man be great in merits and perfect, or little, and set in the advancement of the virtues, upon all alike is laid the law of the decalogue, by which they should love God and their neighbour

VERS. 16.-- *And the money received,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid.)] This is done when whatsoever good we do, etc., *as far as* it shall be smitten with the stroke of strict vengeance.

VERS. 17.-- *And the Lord spoke,* etc. [n: (ID., ibid., cap. 14.)] There can in this laver or basin, etc., *as far as* which watched at the entrance of the tabernacle.

VERS. 18.-- *With its base. [n: (ID., ibid.)]* The base on [0284D] which the basin was set, etc., *as far as:* that you present your bodies, etc. [n: (Rom. XII)].

*To be washed,* etc. Christ also was washed with the water of this laver, before he entered in to offer at the altar, and burned the incense of his sacred body for our salvation on the altar of the cross: for out of love for us he shed tears, as at the raising of Lazarus.

VERS. 21.-- *Lest perhaps they die. [n: (BED., ibid.)]* For the death to be feared is the eternal one, etc., *as far as: if* he eats and drinks, etc. [n: (I Cor. XI.)]

VERS. 23.-- *Take to thee* [n: (STRAB.)] σμύρνα in Greek, in Latin is called myrrh, which is a tree in Arabia of five cubits, whose twigs the Arabians burn up, that they may sprout and bear fruit the better. From the reek of which [0285A] they would contract incurable diseases, did they not meet it with the smoke of storax. The gum of this tree is properly called stacte, and by misuse also myrrh.

*Of cane.* It is the shoot of the cinnamon, and it grows in India or Ethiopia, of two cubits only. And it is called cinnamon, because after the manner of a reed it has slender and folded canes, of an ashen or black colour; which, being broken, give back a visible breath, and the slender indeed is precious; but the thick, cheap and despised. The cane is an aromatic kind near Libanus. Of myrrh, of cinnamon, of cane, of cassia. These four kinds signify the four principal virtues, by which with the oil of unction, that is, with the grace of mercy, the Church of God is to be dedicated and sanctified.

VERS. 29.-- *And they shall be,* etc. *(AUG., quaest 135 in [0285B] Exod.)* When, namely, they shall have been anointed. What then shall now be the difference between those inner things which are covered by the veil?

*He that shall touch.* In like manner it was said above of the altar of sacrifices, which is so to be understood that it was lawful for the people to touch the tabernacle, when they offered victims, or any gifts whatsoever, and by touching they were sanctified, on account of that oil with which all things were anointed: not as the priests, who also, that they might discharge an eternal priesthood, were anointed from it.

VERS. 34.-- *Onycha.* Onycha is said to be a very small shellfish of sweet smell, of the size of a human nail: whence also it is called onycha in Greek, because ὄνυξ, onyx, in Greek is called a nail.

*Galbanum.* Galbanum is said to be the juice of a fennel-plant, and the best grows in Syria: it is gristly, [0285C] and less woody, and by its smell serpents are put to flight.

*And frankincense.* Thus in Greek, libanum in Latin it is called, from Libanus a mountain of Arabia: for there is another Libanus, of Phoenicia, in which are the cedars.

*Frankincense* the best, namely that which is called masculine, because after the manner of a human testicle it is round, whose tree grows in Arabia, in a withe tangled and twisted according to the quality of the air.

*Mystically* moreover these four kinds signify the kinds of the holy virtues.

VERS. 35.-- *And thou shalt make incense,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. I Moral., cap. 39, tom. I.)] We make incense compounded of spices, etc., *as far as* it does not scatter from itself an odour more subtle.

[n: (ISID.)] Incense, which is compounded of four most odorous kinds ground to the greatest fineness, that is, of stacte, onycha, galbanum, and frankincense, signifies the prayers of the faithful; although these four may see the four elements to signify: so that frankincense, which is bright, may be compared to air, stacte to the waters, galbanum and onyx to earth and to fire, so that by these there may be an incense pleasing to God of all things which are in heaven and beneath heaven, and in the earth, and in the waters

*With work,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 136.)] We ought not to think that an ointment is made, but incense or frankincense, which is set upon that altar of incense where it was not lawful to sacrifice, and it was within the holy of holies.

VERS. 37.-- *Such,* etc. [n: (RAB.)] We, namely, who ought not to use prayers and divine praises in the flatteries [0286A] of men. For God alone is so to be served, whence above it is forbidden that the flesh of man be anointed from it.

## CHAPTER XXXI.

VERS. 2.-- *Beseleel,* etc., who is interpreted *in the shadow of God.* As if he should say, *The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom [n: (Psal. LXII)]*. [var: Vulg. Ps 26:1 *Dominus illuminatio mea et salus mea: quem timebo?*, the very verse Migne's own next citation names as Psal. XXVI; his *Psal. LXII* points elsewhere] From him David is said to have drawn his origin, and the name of embroiderer, because Beseleel built the tabernacle with embroidered work.

VERS. 3.-- *And I have filled [n: (AUG., quaest. 128.)]* Whether those works are to be attributed to the gift of the Holy Spirit, which seem to pertain to handicraft? or whether this too was said significatively, so that they pertain to the divine Spirit of wisdom and of understanding and of knowledge, which are signified by these [0286B] things? Then also, whereas here he is said to be filled with the Spirit, that man with the divine Spirit of wisdom and of knowledge, the Holy Spirit is not yet read of.

VERS. VI.-- *Oliab,* who is interpreted *my protection,* as though he should say by his name, *The Lord is the protector of my life; of whom shall I be afraid [n: (Psal. XXVI)]*? And well do they build the tabernacle who so constantly trust in the Lord.

[n: (STRAB.)] It is to be noted that in the construction of the tabernacle the mystery of the Trinity is shown, as in the baptism and in the transfiguration. For in the baptism the Father sounded forth in the voice: and the Son was baptized; in the appearance of a dove the Spirit appeared. Ooliab also, who is interpreted *my protection, father,* the person of the Father: Beseleel also, who signifies *in the shadow of God,* the person [0286C] of the Holy Spirit: of whom it is said. *And the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee.* For by the power of the Most High the Holy Spirit is understood. Whence the Lord says: *I know that power has gone out from me [n: (Luc. VIII)]*. But the bidding, that is, the word by which the tabernacle was bidden to be made, is the Son, through whom the Father works all things in the power of the Holy Spirit.

VERS. 13.-- *See,* etc. In vain do the Jews glory in the legal observance. For it is openly said that it is a sign of that which is to come, namely of rest, and of blessedness; or of the rest of the saints in the present, because they rest from the tumult of worldly works and of vices.

VERS. 18.-- *Two tables [n: (AUG., quaest. 140.)]* Whereas God spoke many things, two tables only of stone are given to Moses, which are called the tables of the testimony; [0286D] because all the other things which God commanded are understood to hang upon those ten precepts which were written on the two tables, if they be diligently sought out and well understood; as those ten themselves upon two, namely the love of God and of the neighbour: on which, namely, *the whole law hangs and the prophets [n: (Matth. XXII)]*. [var: Vulg. Mt 22:40 *In his duobus mandatis universa lex pendet, et prophetae*, "On these two commandments dependeth the whole law and the prophets"; Migne has *tota* for *universa*]

## CHAPTER XXXII.

VERS. 1.-- *Make us,* etc. Gods in the plural, although one calf only was made, after the likeness, namely, of the ox Apis, whom they worshipped in Egypt; but he who cultivates idolatry subjects himself to all vices, and serves as many gods and demons as vices.

VERS. 2.-- *And Aaron said to,* etc. *(AUG., quaest. 141 [0287A] in Exod.)* Aaron is understood to command hard things, that in this way he might call them back from that purpose. Yet that very hard thing was done, that there might be gold for the making of the idol: which I thought was to be noted on account of those who are grieved if they are bidden to have any such thing divinely done for eternal life, or to bear it with an even mind.

VERS. 6.-- *And the people sat down to eat,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 32:6 *sedit populus manducare*; Migne prints *comedere*] Eating and drinking drove them to play, and play to idolatry: because if the fault of vanity is not warily restrained, the unwary mind is devoured by iniquity. Whence: *He that despises little things, falls little by little.* [var: Vulg. Sir 19:1 *qui spernit modica paulatim decidet*, "he that despiseth small things shall fall by little and little", a future; Migne has the present *decidit*, and reverses the order of the first two words] For if we neglect to care for small things, being insensibly seduced, we boldly perpetrate even greater ones.

VERS. 8.-- *These are thy gods. [n: (AUG., quaest. 142.)]* [0287B] The Lord, showing to Moses what the people had done concerning the calf and concerning the idol which they had made out of their own gold, says that they had said: These are thy gods, O Israel, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt. Which it is not read that they said; but God showed that this was their mind, for they bore in their heart the sense of these words, which could not lie hid from God.

VERS. 10.-- *Let me alone,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. IX Moral., cap. 11.)] What is it to say to a servant, etc., *as far as* he could not temper the anger of God for himself.

[n: (ID., lib. XX Moral., cap. 6.)] It can build up the reader according to the history, etc., *as far as* nor mercy of discipline.

VERS. 13.-- *Remember Abraham, Isaac,* etc. He brings in the fathers, who are loved, on behalf of the sons, who offend, [0287C] and do not deserve to be heard; because the good things of the holy fathers often come to the aid of the sons.

VERS. 14.-- *And the Lord was appeased that he would not do the evil.* [n: (AUG.)] By malice he wished punishment to be understood here, as is that: The malice of their going out was esteemed. According to this both good and evil are said to be from God, not according to the malice by which men are evil. For God is not evil: but he brings evils upon the evil, because he is just.

VERS. 19.-- *And being very angry. [n: (ID., quaest. 144.)]* Moses, being angry, seems to have broken the tables of the testimony written with the finger of God. Yet by a great mystery the repetition of the New Testament was figured, because the old was to be abolished, and the New to be established. It is indeed to be noted with what great supplication he laboured to God for the people, [0287D] who was so severe in taking vengeance upon them.

VERS. 20.-- *And catching the calf which they had made. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* The body of the devil is signified in the calf, etc., *as far as* he was swallowed up.

*And he gave it to the children of Israel to drink.* The Hebrews hand down that, when the children of Israel drank the water infected with the dust of the calf, those who had committed idolatry bore the dust of the gold upon their beards, by which sign also the guilty or those free of the crime appeared, and the guilty were slain.

VERS. 24.-- *And they gave me,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 145.)] He spoke compendiously, etc., *as far as* he does not refute.

VERS. 25.-- *For Aaron had stripped him unto the ignominy [0288A] of filth and among his enemies,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 32:25 *spoliaverat enim eum Aaron propter ignominiam sordis, et inter hostes nudum constituerat*, "for Aaron had stripped him by reason of the ignominy of filth, and had set him naked among his enemies"; Migne has *in ignominiam*] It is to be noted that what the people did is attributed to Aaron himself, because he consented to the doing of what they had ill demanded. For it is rather said, Aaron stripped them, because he yielded to them, than that they stripped themselves, who demanded so great an evil. With the ornaments out of which the idol had been fashioned, either because he had shown their evil will which lay hid before, or because he had lost the help and protection of God.

VERS. 27.-- *Let every man put his sword,* etc. [n: (GREG., Past. p. III, c. 26.)] The sword, etc., *as far as* Whence it is subjoined:

*Let every man kill his brother,* etc. He killed those whom he found to be punished by the sword of rebuke, and he does not spare those whom he loves by kinship of the flesh. If therefore he is called of God who is stirred [0288B] by the zeal of divine love to smite vices, assuredly he denies himself to be of God who, so far as suffices, refuses to rebuke the life of the carnal.

VERS. 28.-- *And they did,* etc. [n: (AUG. in Locutionibus, locut. 124.)] He put the plural for the singular, etc., *as far as* and these manners of speech are interposed by fixed rules.

VERS. 31.-- *Or forgive them,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 147 in Exod.)] He says this indeed securely, etc., *as far as* that he might pour out those words to God on their behalf.

VERS. 35.-- *Which Aaron made. [n: (AUG. quaest. 148.)]* It is asked: since Aaron was said above to have stripped the people, etc., *as far as* that which the Apostle says, crying out: *For how unsearchable are his judgments:* etc. [n: (Rom. XI)]. [var: Vulg. Rom 11:33 *quam incomprehensibilia sunt judicia ejus*, "how incomprehensible are his judgments," and without *enim*; Migne has *inscrutabilia*] [var: Vulg. Ex 32:35 *quem fecerat Aaron*, a pluperfect; Migne has the perfect *fecit*]

## CHAPTER XXXIII.

[0288C]

VERS. 1.-- *And he spoke,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 149 in Exod.)] God being angered, etc., *as far as* he terrified them with his voice.

*Go,* etc. [n: (ID., quaest. 150.)] Straightway, as though to Moses himself, etc., *as far as* from the face of the Lord.

VERS. 2.-- *I will send a forerunner. [n: (AUG., quaest. 150.)]* God is with the just by visiting, by showing mercy, and by strengthening; but with the impious by avenging and by punishing. And the sense is this: With these I cannot be for thy sake, so as to avenge and to punish; nor for their sake, so as to visit and to strengthen: I will at least send my angel.

VERS. 4.-- *The people hearing.* [n: (RAB.)] He says that the people heard a most evil [0288D] word, that is, a most cruel and most sorrowful one. For what greater benefit can be bestowed upon anyone than to have God's grace present, and to acknowledge his Maker to be favourable to him; or what greater peril is there than to endure the wrath of his Author? He has nothing of good who shall lack the grace and the presence of his Creator.

VERS. 7.-- *Taking the tabernacle,* etc. This is to be taken by way of prolepsis, if it is taken of that tabernacle which was shown to Moses in the mount, and made, the Lord enjoining it, by Beseleel and Ooliab. Or else it was another tabernacle, to which they were already assembling for judgment.

[0289A]VERS. 8.-- *And when he went out,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 13 in Ezech.)] The Hebrew people, freed from Egyptian servitude, etc., *as far as* they endeavour to go forward.

*And they looked,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] Moses holds the figure of the law. The Jewish people therefore looked upon the back of Moses, because it willed to understand nothing mystical, nothing spiritual in the law, but only the surface of the letter. Therefore his face was hidden, that is, the true and pure knowledge. When he had entered the tabernacle, the pillar of cloud came down and stood at the door. Another rendering says that when Moses wished to enter the tabernacle, the cloud set itself before him and hindered him. Here, however, it is said that when he had entered, the cloud spoke with him before the door. It is to be known, therefore, that he was entering [0289B] some part, namely the court, and then, before he entered into the tabernacle, the cloud set itself against him: in this place, therefore, it signifies those who are less perfect in knowledge and in work, and are not strong enough to penetrate the inmost things of the Scriptures. But elsewhere, when he entered into the midst of the cloud, he held the figure of the perfect, namely of those who search out the secret things of the mystical senses.

*And the Lord spoke.* Scripture speaks according to the opinion of the people, who thought that Moses spoke mouth to mouth with God, whereas he was speaking and appearing to him through a subject creature, that is, through an angel and a cloud. For his substance neither of men nor of angels (as it is) could anyone see, whence: *But to the King of ages, immortal, invisible,* etc. And elsewhere: *He dwelleth in light inaccessible,* etc. *(I Tim. [0289C] I, VI)*.

*[n: (GREG., in I Reg., cap. 10.)] The face of God* is the knowledge of him. Now God is known through a glass, and is known through himself. Through a glass here, through himself in heaven. But the glass is that light which God inhabits; and he himself is that light which he himself is.

*If therefore I have found grace,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 151.)] By these words Moses shows, etc., *as far as* that they may keep themselves clean and inviolate, and may go forward.

VERS. 17.-- *And thee thyself I have known,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 153.)] Because I know thee above all men,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 33:17 reads *ex nomine*, "by name"; Migne prints Augustine's *prae omnibus*, "above all," and the question that follows is put only because of it] Does God know some things more and some things less? etc., *as far as* but it is to be sought more diligently in the earlier [0289D] parts of Scripture whether it be truly so.

VERS. 19.-- *I will show. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)]* When Moses had said to the Lord, etc., *as far as* the Lord Christ is called upon among all nations.

*And I will call. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] I will call,* however, he said, not "I shall be called," putting an active verb for a passive, by an unwonted manner of speech, in which perhaps he willed to signify that he himself does this, that is, that it comes about by his grace that the Lord is called upon among all nations.

*And I will have mercy,* etc. [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] That which he added, etc., *as far as* thus God declared that he would show mercy.

[n: (AUG., lib. de Praedestinatione et Gratia, cap. 10.)] [0290A]That men are called by God with no merits going before, etc., *as far as* if he who called should forsake them.

*Thou shalt not be able,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] After the commendation of his mercy, etc., *as far as* one must die to this life.

VERS. 20.-- *For not,* etc. [n: (GREG., lib. XVIII Moral., cap. 37, tom. I.)] John also says: etc., *as far as* because satiety is ever kindled out of desire.

VERS. 21.-- *Behold,* he says, *there is a place with me, and thou shalt stand upon,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 154.)] Again, when Scripture interposes the article and says, etc., *as far as* the faithful people stood upon the rock.

*[n: (GREG., lib. XXV Moral., cap. 16.)] There is a place with me,* etc. The place is the Church. The rock is the Lord; Moses, [0290B] the Jewish people, which did not believe the Lord preaching upon earth. It therefore stood upon the rock, beholding the back parts of the Lord as he passed by, because, that is, after the passion and ascension of the Lord, being led within the Church, it deserved to receive Christ by faith, and of him whose presence it did not see, it came to know the hinder parts.

*[n: (GREG. ibid.)] There is a place with me,* etc. The Church, namely, etc., *as far as* Of which solidity it is said: *Upon this rock I will build the Church.*

VERS. 22.-- *And when my glory shall pass,* etc. [n: (EUCHERIUS, lib. de Form. spirit.)] But God is said also to pass over, when out of the hearts of certain men, in which he was before believed by faith, afterwards, faithlessness creeping in or some offence whatever, he withdraws from them and passes over to others: as from the Jews to the Gentiles, [0290C] from heretics to Catholics, and from any irreligious persons whatever to the religious.

*And I will protect* [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] *and I will cover with my hand over thee,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 33:22 *protegam dextera mea, donec transeam*, "I will protect with my right hand, till I pass by"; Migne prints Augustine's wording *tegam manu mea super te*], *as far as* then he weaves in what the Lord says afterwards: *Hew thee two tables of stone,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 34:1 *Praecide … tibi duas tabulas lapideas*, "Cut thee two tables of stone"; Migne prints *Excide*, "hew out"]

## CHAPTER XXXIV.

VERS. 7.-- *Who renderest the iniquity of the fathers to the children and to the grandchildren unto [sic: iu] the third and fourth,* etc., [n: (GREG., lib. XV Moral., cap. 22.)] Since it is written, etc., *as far as* who saw that they were following after evil.

VERS. 14.-- *The Lord is jealous. [n: (AUG., quaest. 158 in Exod.)]* For the Lord God is jealous, etc., *as far as* and he destroys every one that goeth a-fornicating from him.

VERS. 20.-- *The firstling of the ass,* etc. [n: (ISID.)] By [0290D] the ass uncleanness is designated, by the sheep innocence. To exchange, therefore, the firstlings of the ass for a sheep is to turn the first beginnings of an unclean life to the simplicity of innocence, so that, after the sinner has done those things which the Lord rejects as unclean, he may now by his doing bring forth such things as he may lay clean upon the sacrifice of God.

VERS. 21.-- *On the seventh day. [n: (AUG., quaest. 160.)]* When he was giving precept concerning the Sabbath, etc., *as far as* that at every season there must be a resting on the sabbath.

VERS. 24.-- *No man shall lie in wait [n: (AUG., quaest. 161.)]* That which he said, etc., *as far as* where God was to have his tabernacle or temple.

VERS. 25.-- *Thou shalt not immolate,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 162 et 163.)] What is it that he says: Thou shalt not slay upon [0291A] leaven the blood of my immolated things? [var: Vulg. Ex 34:25 *Non immolabis super fermento sanguinem hostiae meae*, "Thou shalt not offer the blood of my victim upon leaven"; Migne's *immolatorum meorum*, "my immolated things," is the very wording the question that follows is built upon] Or does he here call those things his immolated things which are slain at the pasch, and give precept that there be no leaven in the house at that time, when the days of unleavened bread are come?

VERS. 26.-- *Thou shalt not boil a kid in milk.* [n: (AUG., ubi supra. )] Thou shalt not boil a lamb in the milk of its mother, etc., *as far as* but it is a historical narrative.

[n: (ISID.)] Moses fasted forty days, and Elias, and the Lord himself. For it is enjoined upon us out of the law, out of the prophets, and out of the Gospel. Which testimony it has from these. Whence upon the mount the Saviour shone forth in the midst between the two persons, that we may bridle our greediness away from all the allurements of the world as by the fast of temperance, so long as the perfection of the Decalogue is preached through the four parts of that same world, that is, to the whole globe, [0291B] so that ten multiplied four times may signify the number of forty.

VERS. 28.-- *And he wrote upon the tables,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 166.)] It was said of Moses that he himself wrote, etc., *as far as* but by the grace of God.

VERS. 29.-- *And when he came down. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* Moses went up again into the mount, etc., *as far as* whose image was in the tables.

[n: (ISID. ibid.)] When Moses came down with the tables, etc., *as far as* whence: *Open thou mine eyes, and I will consider the wondrous things of thy law [n: (Psal. CXVIII)]*.

VERS. 30.-- *But Aaron seeing,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 34:30 *Videntes autem Aaron et filii Israel cornutam Moysi faciem*, "But Aaron and the children of Israel seeing the horned face of Moses"; Migne prints a singular participle, and the gloss beneath it has them see *Moysen*, Moses himself, not his horned face — which is the reading Origen's homily is built upon] [n: (ORIG., hom. 12 in Exod.)] It is written that Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, etc., *as far as* for the things which he speaks have glory, but it is covered and hidden, [0291C] and all his glory is within.

[n: (ORIG. ibid.)] Consider this also, that in the law the countenance of Moses is glorified, although it be covered with a veil, etc., *as far as* that we, freed from the servitude of the world, may seek after the liberty of knowledge.

VERS. 34.-- *And then he spoke to the children of Israel [sic: Isael] all things which had been to him,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 172 in Exod.)] After Moses came down from the mount, etc., *as far as* that they might receive this name.

## CHAPTER XXXV.

VERS. 5.-- *Set apart. [n: (ORIG., hom. 13 in Exod.)]* Another reading: Take from your own selves a redemption for the Lord, etc., *as far as* and thy silver, that is, thy word, tried.

[0291D] [n: (ID.)] You know, who are wont to be present at the divine mysteries, etc., *as far as* all these things which are in us do them.

*Every one.* [n: (ID.)] Another reading: Each one of you, he says, etc., *as far as* so, if the master at his coming find anything of thine in his tabernacle, he claims thee for himself, and calls thee his own.

*Brass.* [n: (ID.)] It seems to be put for strength, etc., *as far as* Let all things therefore be offered to God: sense, speech, and voice.

VERS. 6.-- *Hyacinth.* [n: (ID.)] Let us see the rest: hyacinth, etc., *as far as* and you shall offer firstfruits to the Lord.

*And scarlet twice dyed. [n: (ID. homil. 13 in Exod.)]* Let us see why the scarlet is doubled, etc., *as far as* that [0292A] with the light of knowledge he may mingle a little fire of severity.

[n: (ID.)] If any man worthily understand the going out of the Hebrews from Egypt, etc., *as far as* and it designates nobler garments: *Put you on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh in its delights [n: (Rom. XIII)]*. [var: Vulg. Rom 13:14 *induamini … in desideriis*, "put ye on … in its desires"; Migne prints *Induite vos* and *in deliciis*, "in its delights"]

[n: (GREG., ubi supra. )] In the construction of the tabernacle, etc., *as far as* they gave forth a sound as it were without light.

[n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] After these things the men received from their wives, etc., *as far as* whence: *All men take not this word, but they to whom it is given [n: (Matth. XIX)]*.

VERS. 6.-- *And goats' hair. [n: (ORIG. hom. 19.)]* Goats' hair is offered, etc., *as far as* he who offers to the Lord the skins of rams.

VERS. 21.-- *Whatsoever for the service,* etc. (GREG., *ubi [0292B] supra.* ) In the adorning of the tabernacle the men together with the women offer gifts, etc., *as far as* they are brought forth according as he himself shall have given.

VERS. 27.-- *But the princes offered stones,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] The princes offered their gifts, etc., *as far as* that they may deserve to be set over the peoples.

[n: (ORIG. hom. 9 in Exod.)] The princes offer also oil that shall serve for the lamps and for the chrism, etc., *as far as* when the Lord shall have set thee in a green place, upon the water of refreshment.

VERS. 30.-- *Beseleel. [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)]* He is called a shadow, etc., *as far as* they strengthen their brethren by exhorting them in justice and judgment.

## CHAPTER XXXVI.

[0292C]VERS. 1.-- *Beseleel therefore made,* etc. [n: (RAB., in Exod. )] It is to be noted that not only from the royal tribe, etc., *as far as* he willed them to belong to the unity of his own body.

VERS. 2.-- *And when he had called them,* etc. [n: (ORIG., ubi supra. )] And after the people had offered, Moses, he says, called, etc., *as far as* and oughtest thou to fit it in its own place and bring it forth?

*And they who willingly,* etc. *[n: (AUG., quaest. 170 in Exod.)] And all who of their own will would go to the works, that they might finish them,* etc. [var: Vulg. Ex 36:2 *et qui sponte sua obtulerant se ad faciendum opus*, "and who had of their own accord offered themselves to do the work"; Migne sets the Vulgate lemma and Augustine's *vellent ire ad opera* side by side] Moses made mention of certain men, etc., *as far as* but liberally and of his own accord devoted.

VERS. 4.-- *Whereupon the craftsmen,* etc. [n: (AUG., quaest. 171)]. Note that the wise workers of the works were holy also in their manners: yet they could, if they had willed, have carried off much; but modesty forbade, or religion made them afraid.

## CHAPTER XXXVII.

[0292D]

VERS. 1.-- *And Beseleel made the ark. [n: (ISID. in Exod., tom. V.)]* In the ark of the testament there was a golden urn, etc., *as far as* flourishing always with the greenness of immortal memory.

VERS. 2.-- *A golden crown,* etc. Because in that the Church is spread abroad through the four parts of the world, she is preached as girt about with the four books of the holy Gospel, which nevertheless is enclosed within the compass of one crown, that is, within the firmness of the same faith, that is, its unity.

VERS. 4.-- *The bars also. [n: (ISID., ibid.)]* Because strong and persevering teachers are to be sought out as timbers that cannot rot, who, ever cleaving to the instruction of the sacred volumes, [0293A] may proclaim the unity of the Church, and, as it were with rings let in, may carry the ark; and they are commanded to be overlaid with gold also, that while they sound in the ears of others with their word, they themselves may also shine with the splendour of their life.

VERS. 6.-- *He made also the propitiatory,* etc. [n: (ISID., ibid.)] The propitiatory above the ark of the testament, etc., *as far as* because Christ is the head of the Church.

VERS. 17.-- *And he made the candlestick,* etc. Which signifies the Holy Spirit, who with sevenfold grace enlightens the Church that stands in the unity of faith; or Christ bearing the seven churches, in which the splendour of the sevenfold Spirit shines forth.

VERS. 23.-- *With the snuffers.* Which in Isaias are called tongs: namely the two Testaments, by which sins are purged, and which are joined together within themselves by the union of the Holy [0293B] Spirit.

## CHAPTER XXXVIII.

VERS. 8.-- *He made also a brazen laver,* etc. [n: (GREG., hom. 17 in Evang.)] Moses sets a brazen laver, etc., *as far as* that we may strive to go forward by those things by which we know that they whom we venerate went forward.

VERS. 20.-- *The pins also.* [n: (STRAB.)] The pins, according to the letter, were fixed at the top of the pillars, to which the cords were bound: which cords raised the curtains from the ground, and, being made fast above by certain little loops but below bound to the aforesaid pins, stretched out the curtains, that they might not draw into a wrinkle.

But mystically the cords signify Holy Scripture, of which Solomon says: *A threefold cord is hardly broken* [0293C] [n: (Eccle. IV)]: because Holy Scripture, consisting of history, morality and allegory, can be broken asunder by no doctrines of heretics. The pins, made after the manner of a tongue, signify the tongues of the teachers who expound Scripture. They raise the curtains also from the ground and stretch them out: because they teach their subjects to follow and to imitate heavenly things, and to draw no wrinkle of evil work or of deceit [n: (Ephes. V)].

## CHAPTER XXXIX.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

## CHAPTER XL.

VERS. 1.-- *And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: In the first month,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] The first month of the year is Nisan itself, which is also April, in which the Jews [0293D] celebrated the pasch, and the tabernacle was set up. Allegorically, however, the first month signifies the beginning of grace, when the tabernacle of God, that is, the Church, was set up, when Christ, namely, being crucified, brought forth out of his side the mysteries of blood and water, by which the Church is dedicated and consecrated. And it is to be noted that this was the first month of the second year: for the first year was before the law, the second year under the grace of the Gospel, which the Lord blessed. Whence: *Thou shalt bless the crown of the year of thy goodness [n: (Psal. LXIV)]*. For it was the year of goodness, in which the salvation of the human race appeared through the humanity of Christ: in this year therefore the tabernacle of God was set up, that is, the Church founded and exalted.

[0294A] [n: (RAB. in Exod., tom. II.)] The first year is the whole time of the law, etc., *as far as* that the teachers of the Gospel may use these things in the confirmation of the faith.

VERS. 9.-- *Thou shalt anoint the tabernacle,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] The tabernacle with its vessels is consecrated with the oil of unction; because whatsoever holy Church does with her virtues she ought to dedicate and consecrate to the grace of the Holy Spirit. For the oil of unction is compared to spiritual grace, by which the works of all the virtues are consecrated to the Lord.

VERS. 12.-- *And thou shalt bring Aaron,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] The doors of the tabernacle, that is, of holy Church, are the apostles, through whom one must enter the court of heaven: to these are Aaron and his sons to be brought, that is, the whole company of the saints and chiefly of those set over them, that they may [0294B] imitate them and follow their footsteps.

VERS. 16.-- *And the bars.* The bar not only binds the walls together, but also strengthens the pillars of the entrance, that they fall not down, nor bend away from their upright standing; because the Lord has both joined either people together in one faith of love, and strengthens their teachers, that they may persevere in faith and in action and in preaching. Nor is it wonderful if by the heads themselves, and by the bar which holds those heads together, Christ is understood; because he is the head of every elect person by ruling him, whence: *The head of the man is Christ [n: (II Cor. XI)]* [var: Vulg. 1Cor 11:3 *omnis viri caput, Christus est*, "the head of every man is Christ"; these are the words Migne prints, reordered, but his own citation names II Corinthians]: and because he not only raises up single men to seek after heavenly things, but also holds all together, and, that they may not be bent away from their upright standing nor be parted from one another by discord, confirms them with the bond of peace. To which is like that the Lord is called both lamb, and shepherd, and door, [0294C] since the shepherd feeds the lamb, and both enter by the door; whereas properly he is the Word in the beginning [n: (Joan. I, X)]: but of these none is proper to him, but figurative. Shepherd, because he leads to the pastures of life; door, because it is not except through him that one comes to the Father; Lamb, because he saves from Egypt. So here also he is figured by the heads, on account of the rule by which he is set over individuals, and by the bar, on account of the general providence, because he confirms all [n: (Num. IX; III Reg. VIII)].

[n: (BEDA.)] So the soul obtains diverse names for its diverse actions. While it gives life to the body, it is called soul; while it wills, it is mind; while it knows, it is understanding; while it recalls, it is memory; while it judges, it is reason; while it breathes, it is spirit; while it perceives, it is sense.

VERS. 33.-- *Nor could Moses,* etc. [n: (STRAB.)] [0294D] Moses therefore in this place, as in very many others, holds the figure of the Jewish people. Moses, therefore, the cloud standing in the way, could not enter into the tabernacle, because the Jewish people was never able to penetrate the sacraments of Scripture. For the cloud of the Lord brooded over the tabernacle by day, and fire by night: in this place the fire signifies the knowledge of the divine mysteries. For Holy Scripture is light to the holy, and to those confessing their own ignorance; but to the wicked, and to those boasting of knowledge, it is a cloud, because it blinds them.

[n: (AUG., quaest. 176 in Exod.)] A thing much to be wondered at is to be noted, etc., *as far as* a cloud by day, a flame by night.

Now in the tabernacle of the Lord there were boards, in whose [0295A] rings were fixed bars of sethim wood, by which they could be lifted and carried from station to station, all which things are full of mysteries. By the tabernacle we understand the present Church, in which there are boards, namely the saints full of humility, to whom five bars are fastened, that is, the spiritual knowledge of the five books of Moses, by which they may raise up themselves and others to the brightness of eternal blessedness. By the bars, therefore, as we have said, we understand the five books of Moses, which are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, the book of Numbers, and Deuteronomy: in which are contained the beginning of the world and its middle and its consummation. In Genesis is described the creation of the world, and in Exodus its re-creation; in Leviticus the administration of the sacraments of the Church; in the book of Numbers the evangelical [0295B] preaching; in Deuteronomy the last blessing. Whence also it is ended in blessings. And so there is in Genesis the order of creation; in Exodus the mystery of re-creation; in Leviticus the holiness of the Church's administration; in the book of Numbers the consolation of evangelical preaching; in Deuteronomy the consummation of eternal blessing. Now among these five books of Moses Exodus excels, which we now have in hand. For in it are contained both the things which befell the children of Israel in a figure, and fully the mysteries of Christ and of the Church. Here, however, it treats first of the actual going out of the carnal children of Israel, of the historical Egypt, in which is signified the spiritual going out of the spiritual Israelites from the true Egypt, that is, from the darkness of the vices. It treats also of the passage of the Red Sea [0295C] and of the drowning of Pharao and his army, and of the deliverance of the people of God: in which is figured the baptism consecrated by the blood of Christ, in which the vices of the devil are drowned, and the souls of the faithful are delivered. It treats also of the battle of the Israelites with Amalec, in which is figured the victory of Christ and of his own, and the confounding of the devil. Then, when the list of the stations has been described, it treats of the law given on mount Sina; in which it is intimated to us that, being raised up from earthly things, we may learn to be made subject to heavenly disciplines. It treats again of the construction of the tabernacle and of its vessels, of the vestments of the priests and of the unction; in which is understood the present Church, and the diverse persons of the faithful appointed to diverse offices, just as the vessels were appointed to diverse uses, or offices, and the most sweet perfumes of the sacraments and of the consecrated prayers. Thus far of these things; now it is to be said that according to the order of history [0296A] and according to allegory, this book is fittingly the second in the Pentateuch: for after he had treated in Genesis of the creation of heaven and earth, and of the entering in of the children of Israel into Egypt, it was fitting that he should consequently treat of their going out. Behold what is fitting according to the order of history: according to allegory also it was not unfittingly done. For after he had spoken of the carnal generation, by which through the sin of the first man we are born sons of the devil, it was fitting that he should straightway add concerning the spiritual regeneration, by which through the justification of the second man, that is, of Christ, we are born again sons of God. Now this book is called ἔξοδος in Greek, ואלה שמות veelle semoth in Hebrew, going out or departure in Latin: for this reason, because it treats of the going out of the children of Israel from Egypt. But it may be asked why this book [0296B] is called Exodus, because it treats of their going out, whereas in the beginning it treats not of the going out, but of their entering in. To which it may be said that although it purposes to treat especially of their going out, yet because much time flowed by between the going out, of which it here treats, and the entering in with which the first book is ended or had been ended, in order that it may more suitably join its narrative together briefly, it first repeats concerning the entering in, and so descends the better to the going out. So we also in our discourses, when a long interposition has been made, being about to say other things, repeat what went before, that we may the better continue what has been said. These things being considered, the matter is to be looked at, which is the bodily going out of the children of Israel from Egypt, and the spiritual going out, holy, of the saints from the world. By its intention it admonishes us to go out spiritually from the conformity [0296C] of the world, as they did who went out bodily from Egypt, that as we have been conformed to the world, so we may be conformed to God. The manner is such: touching briefly upon the entering in of the children of Israel into Egypt, it treats of their multiplication; then of the new king, who knew not Joseph and began to afflict the people; then of the plagues of Egypt, and at length of their going out and of the passage of the Red Sea and of the drowning of the Egyptians. At length it comes to mount Sina, in which the law was given, and it treats of the tabernacle, and of its vessels, and of the vestments of the priests and of the unction, and so it is ended.

Note that although the history is one and undivided which Moses set before himself to describe, yet they distinguish it by chapters and parts, or by books, that weariness may be taken away from readers, just as a traveller divides the road, which is undivided, into days' journeys, that the labour may be lessened and weariness be absent.